Andrew65

What's the betting that loan-sharking was his 'business' back home?

I lived for 20 years in Thailand, and besides a year or 2 of company-related insurance, I never had health insurance. It was the luck of the draw that I never got seriously ill. I do have an pre-existing condition, which would make it more expensive. I believe that once we reach 70 years old premiums can become prohibitively expensive.

You don't need to be chatting anyone up. The thing with a gold necklace is that it's visible from quite a distance, and someone walking towards you just needs to snatch it from your neck, and run, in the bilnk of an eye, it would be gone before you realise what's happened!

This will please an old friend from Vancouver (he worked on the docks there). `In his younger years he was a bit 'wild', and he suspected that the police in the US might want him for a 'misdemeanour' there a long time ago. That meant that flying through Seattle wasn't on for him. He had often said that he wished that they had direct flights to Thailand.

When I worked in Africa, a few times I saw guys doing a kangaroo-impression on the side of the road

It's more often farang men doing something (figuratively) similar with Thai women!

Did you read about that top-cop some years ago whose home was found to contain 10's or 100's of millions of Baht, and an Aladdin's-cave of other goodies?

Probably with some added 'chemical-assistance'?!

In my 20 years there, I got the impression that loads of expats drink & drive in Thailand, and not just Brits. This guy was just unlucky to get caught.

Additionally, hang your amulets on the rear view mirror?! Will make you much less likely to have an accident!

This sounds exactly like what happened to an old friend in Khon Kaen about 8 years ago. Ran out of money, not getting on with his Thai wife, hanged himself. The same kind of circumstances. RIP

Cigrettes/tobacco are a big tax/revenue earner for the Thai government. Just thinking about why they would ban something that means that people smoke less?

Many years ago I arrived by taxi at Saigon (aka HCM City) Airport 4 hours pre-departure hoping to check in early and avoid crowds (and to have a look around duty-free and have a few beers), to be informed that the check-in didn't open until 3 hours pre-flight... I did then get caught in the ensuing melee at check-in etc

For some nationalities that also applies to whether or not you get 15 or 30 days when entering Thailand across a land border. At one time I think it was only people on G7 country passports who got 30 days?

Like many such things in Thailand these things are often applied inconsistently. I remember once at Swampy I was let through without the fine (just had a finger wagged at me). Another time at Nong Khai border post I was hit with the 500 Baht fine.

Another "Mickey-Monk", as my Irish friend used to call them.

2pm to 5pm I think. There were similar 'licensing laws' in the UK not that long ago.

I reckon it just depends on what kind of mood the IO is in. Many years ago I was let off with a finger-wagging, probably 12-14 hours after midnight, another time I was fined, so it's hard to say.

Being physically present in a country. In the UK I think it's for more than 90 days per annum (for tax purposes).

Not in politics, but many years ago my girlfriend was a hotel receptionist, she said that her colleague was raped by the hotel manager.

Sounds like they're being diddled. I used to pay around 2,000 a month with a lot of a/c use. (around 800/month without).

I spent my time living where lots of expats live in Bangkok. I did sometimes notice that when guys showed up from 'up-country' they tended to talk a lot. Something I saw that even if we speak Thai, conversation with Thai people might be limited, because we have different 'common-knowledge or references? A old friend has been retired in Bangkok for 15 years now, and he seems happy enough reading books and watching TV. Personally, it became apparent that even if you have good TV channels, it's not going to be nearly enough for 16 hour days.

In the last 3 years that I was in Thailand boredom became a big thing for me. And then you can end up in the bars every day, basically drinking yourself to death!😒

It was a factor in why I returned to the UK (in 2018) after 20 years in Thailand. Finances were probably the biggest thing, also that at 53 I needed to get a job. I returned to the UK with quite a lot of money, and I believe that made doing so much easier. In the last 5 or 6 years that I lived in Thailand I pretty much never screwed around at all, although I had done so a lot in previous years. I became very 'cynical' about the bargirl blah blah blah stuff. (I'll add that I loved Thailand as my home for 20 years, and always will, if I won the lottery I would retire there).

I suspect that when the death penalty was abolished in the UK, people were under the impression that the life sentence that replaced it would mean that someone would spend the rest of their life in prison, not 10-12 years, as is often the case. (Before someone mentions it, I'm fully aware that when someone is released early they spend the rest of their life on-licence, I'm talking about the amount of time that people actually spend in prison).