RikDao

So  basically, here in Thailand there are plenty of immigration rules, but they are interpreted differently depending on the immigration officer and where he/she is located. Seems kind of crazy to a lot of us, right? 

Well, I think I at least somewhat understand this system now. Let's say Rule "A" is interpreted differently by officers in Phuket and Chiang Mai. Why are they not interpreted the same? Because the rules themselves are vague and it would be an insult (resulting in loss of face) to the officer in Chiang Mai if an officer from Phuket called him and claimed he was interpreting the rule incorrectly. Therefore, no phone call and nothing changes! 

The REAL leaders of the country, whoever they are, can't be operating in this way. For instance, let's say a military matter of life and death came up. The matter would need to be resolved professionally or somebody might get killed, right? 

On 8/23/2013 at 6:07 PM, Sticky Rice Balls said:

Yep drive by it almost daily and have yet to see 1 person in there..guess its more in the evening i drive past..

My concerns with this, having been a cook for 25 yrs, is just how fresh is the food...as opposed to a high

turnover place ur assured of food being used daily and fresh food brought in..im not big on frozen and microwaves

Hence my passing by and not stopping in as in my exps working in kitchens food waste is money lost, or all frozen.....

Just cant see this place making it as it seems large, right on canal, and add all the other mex places in Cm already..

Hahahahah! You've been a cook for 25 years?!? Okeh!

You completely trash the place without even trying the food first. 

Great hack job! But why?

I actually stopped in tried the food. Pork fajitas, tortilla soup, fresh and very tasty. People who run the place are very nice, speak good English. Can't wait to go back!

Lol! 

The old ones, male and female, who got those ugly tattoos back in the day, when their bodies were somewhat intact. They should be compelled to wear long sleeved shirts everywhere. 

Aside from SK, NK borders Russia (a little bit) and China (a lot). 

There will be no US attack on NK. 

One of the most clear and blatant rituals used to inculcate Thai males with a sense of entitlement is the penis-kissing of babies.

If you've been involved with a working-class or peasant (farming) Thai family, you either recognize EXACTLY what I'm talking about, or you're deeply in denial.

It goes like this: the mother, grandmother and aunties gather around the male baby, taking turns smooching its stomach, and from time to time, directly kiss the penis. Sometimes, they'll out and out suck it. And sometimes, if the little guy gets a baby stiffy, they'll applaud the event.

My girlfriend even commented on this treatment of her grandson (by herself and various aunts of the baby): "Oh, he just loves having his penis kissed."

Um...yeah. I think that statement applies to males of any age, pretty much worldwide. Duh.

Mind you...I am NOT accusing working class and peasant Thai women of Thai sexual abuse. For them, this activity is not sexual in the least. They're just "tickling" the baby.

But let's get real...in the male baby's unconscious, it is most CERTAINLY sexual. Psychiatrists would have a field day with the implications. Our very early experiences as children--yes, as infants--shape who we become sexually as adults in an undeniable way.

For me, the subconscious message to the Thai male is clear: "if my mother, grandmother and aunts would suck me off, well, any <deleted> bitch I meet as an adult damn well better be willing to...for I am the MALE, and I deserve to have my desires satisfied..." This goes a long way to explaining why a Thai man would, and often does, break the jaw of a woman who would deny him the genital servicing he became used to from a (VERY) early age...

The "baby stiffy" issue is interesting. What about the lil fellas who don't get one of those? Are they future ladyboys? Are they forever uninterested in sex? Are they, ahem, "normal?"

No way is the 27 to 1 accurate, but it is true that the women carry the biggest load in this country.

After I'd spent about three months here, it struck me: women run this show.

Impossible for Westerners to understand, and equally impossible for Thais to explain.

Actually, I could be wrong about that: they might think karma explains it, as well as justifies it.

Does a Thai need a passport to go to Laos for two weeks, or will a Thai ID do the trick?

I've heard they can go to Vientiane (only) for two days (only) with just an ID, but ya never know.

Thanks in advance.

My understanding of "basic economics" tells me it ain't the farmer, but the vast array of middlemen who are the problem.

I don't think you'll find much interest among British farmers in trucking a few lorries of their grain out to a Somali market in the hopes of making a sale.

'Middlemen' have always been what drives international commerce.

Wow. Your astute comment makes perfect sense on the face of it, but, umm, anyway, I was saying that prices are high not so much because of the farmer...

(Interesting and ironic that you chose Somalia as an example, as it's surely one of the poorest countries around).

How would they have found enough work to support their families much less the food to live on? The house we call earth is becoming too small to provide what is required to support in a comfortable style the growing population as it is. Personal freedoms are probable the least of the problems the upcoming generation will have to solve.

The world has mountains of excess food produced every year, always has since the start of the industrial age.

Staving people is caused by poverty, not lack of world resources.

Farmers grow food to earn money, if you can't pay for it, they won't give it to you.

All through my life I've read about, milk mountains, butter mountains, rice mountains, wheat mountains.

Food that's just left to rot, because nobody who needs it, has the money to pay for it.

You need a better understanding of basic economics, before you write nonsense about too many people in the world.

When what you really mean is too many poor and useless people in the backward countries of the world.

My understanding of "basic economics" tells me it ain't the farmer, but the vast array of middlemen who are the problem.

And hey, hat's off to the "poor and useless people" out there in the "backward countries of the world," indeed.

It's difficult to understand how the west has managed not to collapse when I think about the high quality individuals who have left the 'nanny state' to enjoy life in Thailand. Every where I go in Thailand I meet these guys, highly educated, highly qualified, high achievers, high contributors; the movers and shakers the west so desperately needs and must be hurting on account of their absence.

Even though not in the west, and perhaps not been in the west for a number of years, they have their finger on the pulse, they understand the problems, they have all the answers - they know precisely who to blame. They are a sad loss to their home countries.

But then they do at least quietly sneak home to 'nanny' when they need her.

LOL. At first I was "Whaaa?" But after a few words, I realized...

Vicious, but fair.

(That's the name of an LP by the Streetwalkers, whose singer was the GREAT Roger Chapman, of Family fame. One of the best singers that England ever offered the world, I'm not sure he ever made a decent dollar).

I grew up in the greatest place, in the greatest country, at the greatest time the world has ever known. I don't think it will ever be that way again.

Cheers.

Wow. So you're from Gary, Indiana?

Small world.

Only old Americans know anything about WW2, because they fought in one of the theaters, watched movie newsreels, read newspapers and listened to the radio during that era. Much of what they were told was myths, lies and exaggerations. There's a reason why WW2 documents have been sealed for 100 years. To give the allied war criminals time to die off. Today's generation of Americans don't care about WW2 anymore then they care about what is really going on at home and abroad. What they hear during 15 seconds of news watching as they are running out the door to work is enough for them. Many American kids believe, the U.S and Germany fought against Russia. Good luck with enlightening the Thai.

You might be right about a lot of the above. The last statement is humorous, and unfortunately, maybe true. I'd actually take it a little further by saying many American kids don't even know that Russia fought in WW II.

Oh, I wasn't aware that the Japanese had occupied Belgium, Holland, Denmark etc in WW II. Thanks for schooling me on that one.

The Thai Ambassador to the UK delivered a declaration of war to London, but a declaration was not forwarded to Washington by the equivalent Thai Ambassador. And yeah, maybe the Thai government (not necessarily the same as the Thai people, perhaps even you would agree) did help the Japanese; what would you have done? Fought against them?

You obviously need schooling on reading a simple statement in English. Notice those quotation marks on "offer they couldn't refuse"?

And your comment regarding the ambassador in English not forwarding a declaration of war from London to Washington? What absurdity! Perhaps they should have declared war in Saniago or Cuba? Declarations of war do not need forwarding from anywhere to anywhere else.

In the early part of the war, the government was supported by the Thai people, particularly during the Thai-French battles before WWII. The Thai newspapers glorified Thailand's participation. Yes, I have read those newspapers.

Try learning something from original papers.

The Thai government was instructed by the Japanese to declare war on the UK and the good ol' USA. The Thai ambassador to London delivered the declaration to the British like a good boy, and thus war was officially declared. However, the (equivalent) Thai ambassador to Washington refused, like a naughty boy, to deliver the official declaration to the Americans, stating that the Americans had always been friends with Thailand (unlike the British, perhaps?) Therefore, war against the USA was never officially declared. Perhaps my use of the word "forwarded" was incorrect; I should have said "delivered."

I made a snide remark about the Japanese occupying Belgium, etc, I couldn't resist. However, please notice I was able to refrain from attacking you personally.

The limit of my ex's and her family and village knowledge stopped at what was to eat,who was shagging who,she admitted she only voted for Thaksin because she got 200 b ,had no clue about his policies,new nothing of any history,except Thailand was the greatest country in the world,and could beat any other,she watched the news,but when something about syria,or something outside Thailand came up,no interest.Compare this to my friend in the Philippines,who not only can i have a proper conversation with,but knows about Syria,the refugee crisis in Europe,ww2,and heaps of stuff,her biggest dream is to travel,where as my ex mrs refused to ever leave Thailand[mainly due to the panic of no som tam],my freind in the phillippines comes from a poor family,but her EDUCATION has been so much better,and this is the crux of the matter the crazy face saving,and lack of a decent education,Thailand has and never will do anything but sit in it's own insular bubble as the rest of southeast asia draws further and further ahead and away,and the main reason for this they have better educated and informed populations,who actually want to learn about the outside world, i mean my local immigration office has no one who can speak good English,the immigration office.!!!!

"Nobody speaks English at the immigration office? Gee, too bad!" is what many Thais are thinking, and likely saying out loud amongst themselves.Could it possibly be that, unbelievable as it may sound, they're getting tired of us being here? Perish the thought!

Honestly, many of them are sick to death of farangs who come here and constantly denigrate them and their society. Don't think they're not aware of it.

"Don't like it here? Move to Guatemala! Likely you'll be begging to come back here within six months. Can't afford to live in your home country? Don't blame us!"

Boring, boring, boring.. Yet another of the "if you dont like it go home" brigade. When will you find a new song to sing.

People who live here are bound to make comments on the good and bad of living here, get used to it, it isn't going to change. Probably the same way that Thai people do when they live abroad and every other nation for that matter.

Wasn't singing, nor was I trying to express something that meets with your approval. Also, I have plenty of songs to sing when I'm in the mood, and I try not to rely on old, stale cliches when I reply to someone who disagrees with me.

Merely stating a theory as to why the immigration offices (some of them) seem to be getting bogged down, as in, it might be happening by design. Your attempt to censor me is amusing. Speaking of boring, why not try to come up with something a bit more interesting than the old "people who live here are bound to make comments" routine? Everybody knows that already.

I dont think many people even in the West realise Russias losses in the war and the fact Europe was just a side show for the Germans

lf Europe was "just a side show for the Germans" then pray tell where the Germans' main show was?

Russia's losses were at least 25 million.

I'm getting confused. Isn't the guy saying Russia was the main show for the Germans? Stopping communism and all that...

In answer to the OP; Simple: The US wanted an empire but couldn't beat Britain at sea. They engineered an illegal Asian and European war, and blackmailed a washed out British spokesman (hero in his early days certainly) to be the worst traitor in British history (that's saying something).

This post will probably be deleted because the victors claptrap is still widely held to be the truth despite the palpable absurdity to those who have bothered to check and do not have a vested interest in the establishment.

It's a sad story for us that inherited Churchill's price for hanging on to Chartwell and a place in history. Serving his mother's homeland interests more closely than his father's.

I think FDR was probably the biggest and most successful opportunist in history. Fair play to him; audacious and a winner, wish we'd had one.

I think that is succinct enough for a Thai.

Hmm, interesting opinion, stated as if it were fact.

Forgive me, I'm not British, I'm American, and I don't understand what you're talking about. I'm not denying what you say, don't get me wrong, and I'm not criticizing. I just really, really don't know what the deuce you're on about. Like, how was Churchill a traitor, again? For fighting the Germans? Hey, maybe you're right. Maybe Hitler knew Churchill was being blackmailed (for what, exactly? I have no idea), which might explain Dunkirk?

The limit of my ex's and her family and village knowledge stopped at what was to eat,who was shagging who,she admitted she only voted for Thaksin because she got 200 b ,had no clue about his policies,new nothing of any history,except Thailand was the greatest country in the world,and could beat any other,she watched the news,but when something about syria,or something outside Thailand came up,no interest.Compare this to my friend in the Philippines,who not only can i have a proper conversation with,but knows about Syria,the refugee crisis in Europe,ww2,and heaps of stuff,her biggest dream is to travel,where as my ex mrs refused to ever leave Thailand[mainly due to the panic of no som tam],my freind in the phillippines comes from a poor family,but her EDUCATION has been so much better,and this is the crux of the matter the crazy face saving,and lack of a decent education,Thailand has and never will do anything but sit in it's own insular bubble as the rest of southeast asia draws further and further ahead and away,and the main reason for this they have better educated and informed populations,who actually want to learn about the outside world, i mean my local immigration office has no one who can speak good English,the immigration office.!!!!

"Nobody speaks English at the immigration office? Gee, too bad!" is what many Thais are thinking, and likely saying out loud amongst themselves.Could it possibly be that, unbelievable as it may sound, they're getting tired of us being here? Perish the thought!

Honestly, many of them are sick to death of farangs who come here and constantly denigrate them and their society. Don't think they're not aware of it.

"Don't like it here? Move to Guatemala! Likely you'll be begging to come back here within six months. Can't afford to live in your home country? Don't blame us!"

Lol. Speaking of the English, they abandoned British-occupied Burma to the Japanese, who in turn slaughtered thousands of unarmed Burmese on their way to the coast. England heroically fought the Germans, yeah, but the Thais would've been slaughtered by the Japanese. Better to make a deal with them in order to survive the war and avoid unnecessary suffering for the population. Speaking of which strategy, isn't that kind of what the French government did in WW II?

(Not putting down the French here; they had a very courageous and effective unofficial armed resistance, as we all know).

Given Thailand's collusion with Japan during WW2 it is probably no surprise that the subject is not spoken about in Thai schools.

Umm, you sure? There's a small museum in Phrae dedicated to the memory of the Thai underground anti-Japanese resistance in WW II. They taught British and American intel agents how to survive in SE Asian jungles, engaged in anti-Japanese sabotage, and radioed information on Japanese military activities and troop strength in Thailand to the Allies in Sri Lanka (Ceylon).

The Thai government was given an offer they couldn't refuse* by the Japanese, who were headed to Burma from China, but I wouldn't say Thailand 'colluded" with the Japanese.

* Basically, declare war on the Allies, or else!

That "offer they couldn't refuse" was the same one given to Belgium, Holland, Denmark etc. wasn't it? Somehow those nations did refuse.

And no, Thailand did not collude with the Japanese: they joined them and became full allies and declared war on the western nations, even to the surprise of the Japanese!

That underground anti-Japanaese resistance was the Seri Thai, the best equipped, best communicating, best organized, best supported, and least effective of all anti-Axis resistance forces in all of World War II. They did radio information about bomb targets and damage reports, and rescued a few downed airmen, but caused no damage to the Japanese forces whatsoever.

Oh, I wasn't aware that the Japanese had occupied Belgium, Holland, Denmark etc in WW II. Thanks for schooling me on that one.

The Thai Ambassador to the UK delivered a declaration of war to London, but a declaration was not forwarded to Washington by the equivalent Thai Ambassador. And yeah, maybe the Thai government (not necessarily the same as the Thai people, perhaps even you would agree) did help the Japanese; what would you have done? Fought against them?

And one of the reasons for helping the Japanese was to try to regain some Thai territory that had previously been annexed by Burma. Apparently, by the end of the war the Thai people at large were firmly anti-Japanese.

Given Thailand's collusion with Japan during WW2 it is probably no surprise that the subject is not spoken about in Thai schools.

Umm, you sure? There's a small museum in Phrae dedicated to the memory of the Thai underground anti-Japanese resistance in WW II. They taught British and American intel agents how to survive in SE Asian jungles, engaged in anti-Japanese sabotage, and radioed information on Japanese military activities and troop strength in Thailand to the Allies in Sri Lanka (Ceylon).

The Thai government was given an offer they couldn't refuse* by the Japanese, who were headed to Burma from China, but I wouldn't say Thailand 'colluded" with the Japanese.

* Basically, declare war on the Allies, or else!

The requirement is to report after being 90 days in the country.

If you are not here 90 days you do not report.

Simple really.

Thanks again for all the replies.

What was tricky for me is the "90 consecutive days" aspect.

I was thinking in terms of "90 days in Thailand since my last 90 day report," regardless of whether those days are consecutive or not.

Speaking of my trip out of Thailand, I was coming back from the States with my Thai wife thru Korea on a round trip to Chiang Mai. The Korean ticket lady asked me to prove I had a ticket back out of Thailand. Took 15 minutes (with a few "Please wait here, sirs") to explain my re-entry permit and how my retirement extension is good until July. Man, a lot of Korean women clicking around on high heels, that was. Meanwhile, we had to get to the gate!

OK! Many thanks to all three of you who replied!

I guess this rule makes sense, but I couldn't find it anywhere. However, it doesn't matter whether it makes sense or not, yeah?

Reading my reply, let me clarify:

I couldn't find the RULE anywhere, not I couldn't find the sense of it. LOL!

I mean, I guess the sense of it is... Oh, who cares, right?

OK! Many thanks to all three of you who replied!

I guess this rule makes sense, but I couldn't find it anywhere. However, it doesn't matter whether it makes sense or not, yeah?

Apologies if this has already been covered, but I couldn't find anything on here to answer my question.

Let's say you have a 1 year retirement extension, and during that year you do one of the usual 90 day reports. Then, 30 days after you do the report, you leave Thailand for, let's say, 60 days. My question is: do you have to do the next 90 day report 60 days after you get back, that is, adding the 30 days from before you left, plus 60 more, or do you just need to do the 90 day report 90 days after you returned?

Sounds a bit complicated, but I hope I've made the question clear enough.

Thanks in advance, and Happy New Year!

Since the locals got internet and social media - a hell of a lot more of them know exactly what old Western men marrying younger women are all about . . . thank God

LOL. The implication being they didn't know about old farang geezers and young Thai women before Facebook.

That's not what I was implying. The clue to that fact was in the use of the word "more"

Nope, cannot accept. Maybe you weren't saying it outright, but with or without the use of the word "more," you were definitely implying it.

It seems, due to their education system, perhaps, that Thais don't have the same sort of inquisitive nature as we Westerners do, but they aren't dummies.

You're welcome to your opinion

. . . however idiotic

Oh, thank you for reassuring me that I'm welcome to my opinion, I was worried for a minute.

However, in this case, I'm not expressing my opinion, I'm stating facts.