ronnie50

Maybe, but East and SE Asians have a a different BMI cut off for 'healthy'. it's 1-2 points lower than ours. Apparently they carry more fatty tissue and less muscle mass than the average Westerner. So if they had the same height/weight ratio as you or I, their BMI would not be the same as ours. Or at least they would score differently.

So you're okay with 26 more senators? All Canadian? Or how about House of Reps? Ontario? It would be the fifth largest 'state' - more populous than Pennsylvania and just a a couple of million behind New York State. Quebec would come in 10th, just behind Michigan - et, en francais seulment, bien sur. Comprenez?

Another question. When you finally got the e-visa, did you have any hassle at airport check-in? Air Asia tells me because the VN visa has my last name first (duh, like all visas) and as the air ticket in my name has my first name first (not my last name first) it's a problem. Surely the VN official visa and the order of the names on it trumps Air Asia's format??

A fit 60 year old farang guy here can still easily pull a 40-something fit, attractive Thai woman. The latter would include middle class Chinese-Thai divorcees (They already did their duty by marrying into a similar class and had kids - now it's their turn to go out with whomever they like without family/parent constraints or pressures - the guangxi has already widened and everyone in her family is happy).

Actually, Thai female obesity is only 18.6% (ranked 139th among countries). Obesity - not overweight. Not a big surprise that the USA's women are very noticably obese - well, 44% of them at least, according to the ranking (36th among nations) Australian women are quite obese too - at least 30% of them. World ranking #79. The top tier belongs to Pacific Islanders, Middle Easterners, Caribbean and Latin American women. https://data.worldobesity.org/rankings/?age=a&sex=f

Correct as the article in the OP explained. It's military 250 anniversary - but Trump gets an add-in because it's his birthday - or at least that's what is being considered. Also correct about Memorial Day. Of course, in any case, few Americans reallize the WW2 D-Day involved many countries' forces. US landed at Omaha and one other beach, Canadians landed at Juneau Beach (famous video from inside landing craft and of the landing craft door dropping open), and British at Sword Beach. Few others realize that, in WW1, the US entered the war at almost the very end. The British and allied forces had fought to a stalemate with the German forces and its allies. Both sides exhausted and little military gains. The fresh arrival of allied (US) forces simply tipped the balance and that was the end of WW1.

Just to confirm, if on an O visa 12 month retirement extension, we can choose THA as the country of residence is that still correct?

Sort of an 'il Duce' moment, right?

This abuse of international student visas goes on in many countries. The Chinese are not the only abusers, the Indians are bad and so are applicants from many African countries. It's a big problem in USA, Canada, UK and probably Australia. They are facilitated however by dodgy 'schools' and 'colleges' in those countries that know full-well the tuition they get won't match the student attendance. The 'student' goes in once a month to a class and spends the rest of the time flipping burgers or doing cleaning jobs all of it is to send money home - not study.

According to plans seen by the Associated Press and picked up by CNN, the Independant and others, the US Military is seriously considering adding an extra element to its long-planned 250th anniversary parade next month that could now include a tribute to President Trump (thousands of extra soldiers, weapons and hardware on display) that also coincides with Trump's 79th birthday (has there ever been a parade in honor of a sitting president in the past? Maybe WW2?). The plans have not been made public yet according to AP. https://apnews.com/article/army-parade-trump-birthday-96bb9c8e9af1ef285c56fdc3d1ba4b35

I thought it said 24 years for the billionnaire head of the family. But really, this is, almost certainly, just the latest move by the Establishment Trinity vs the Thaksin group of outsider billionnaires. It's showing the Thaksin group that the trinity is still well in charge.

Didn't take long to confirm my hunch. Billionaires in Thailand like this guy and his family are either on the 'right' side (like the most prominant billionnaire oligarchs that run all the retail, food, booze, hotel) - or on the 'wrong' side of Thailand's 'Loyalty Scheme'. This guy's family (his scion in particular) are on the 'wrong' side - in other words the competition side - the 'Thaksin side'. The other side - the 'right' side - would never be facing a court decision like that. Never. This also (IMO) answers what seemed like a bewildering move for Thai authorities to side with Neslte, an outside foreign conglomerate, over the cherished and obligatory 'Thai majority partner' (let John Lewis and Waitrose try the same move against Central/Tops and see what happens). BTW, Forbes did a gush-umentary on the scion some time ago.. https://www.forbes.com/global/2012/0507/feature-next-tycoons-tta-prayudh-chalermchai-mahagitsiri-troubled-waters/

I'm actually surprised this topic was 'allowed' into World News..

Yes prices of many things are increasing. Coffee prices up worldwide. The hiccup with Nestle in Thailand. Those probably affected coffee prices here. Also, the US dollar has fallen 8% since the beginning of the year thanks to the D-bag in Washington. As USD is Thailand and the world's trading currency, that should mean it's cheaper for Thailand to import products and commodities (from any country) for cheaper, so, really, prices in Thailand should be reducing if anything. Doesn't make sense. Could be an advance money grab by the oligarchs fearing what's next to come - tariffs and recession? Get the money now before it's gone?

Build the wall as high as you like - maybe you're not paying attention. Canada is in the process of ignoring the United States, not buying its sh!t, not visiting there, and finding other trading partners. Finding other trading parrtners and increasing those that exist is easy enough. Will there be a hit on the Canadian (and US) economy over the next year? Yes, of course. And if Trump wants to completely back out of the US Canada Mexico FTA, that's already been factored in too by Carney. Remember, this guy was the head of the Bank of Canada AND the Bank of England. Sitting in the same room across from Trump is like an Oxford Don sitting opposite a kindergarden child with crayons (and bone spurs).

Exactly. Tipping is not really the core issue in the US. The real problem is a country whose culture is revolted by any social regulations in the workplace (or anywhere else for that matter). If the waiters were paid $15 an hour - the bare minimum wage in most western countries - and then a discretionary 10% tip was left up to the customer then that would make much more sense. But it won't happen because that would be "socialist".

If the service is good and the food is brought hot to the table, and the waiter follows up to see if all ok, then I don't have a problem with 20%, but I'm not going to pay 20-25% tip on a $100 bottle of wine if the waiter just opened it and left it on the table up to us to fill our glasses.

That's quite an increase. It would backfire as others have said. Expats would clean out (most) of their Thai baht accounts and come in and out on visa exemptions or tourist visas - with a break in between them long enough to hang out in Vietnam (for cheap) for several months. More difficult for families of course. Still, it could drain millions of baht out of the economy.

Correct. I was told by BOI that, in order to be considered for the 80K, you have to show minimum of 12 months passive income (e.g. pensions, inerest payments, investment yieds, etc.) in excess of 80k

Lowest minimum wage in the western world..in the world's biggest economy.

I've noticed more places add a service charge automatically to the bottom of the bill - usually 10% - and THEN another 7% VAT on top of it all. They are in the minority, but I mean should a waitress at FUJI or Greyhound (as examples) automatically get 150 or 200 baht tip, when in other places I leave maybe 40 baht?

Nah. Amateur stuff. Remember THIS guy at a Las Vegas hotel in 2017 who killed nearly 60 people and wounded 500 from his hotel window and a rapid fire weapon? Not an immigrant. A good-ol' boy from America with lots of guns. https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/las-vegas-shooting/las-vegas-police-investigating-shooting-mandalay-bay-n806461 In America, you are what you shoot.

There was a similar discussion about this a couple of months back when the US was planning to upgrade Thailand. The feeling at that time (by American posters) was that most US carriers wouldn't bother flying here to Bangkok - regardless of FAA upgrade. Maybe THAI will fly to LA again. Air Canada operates the only non-stop from Thailand to North America at present - but it's seasonal - and the seasonal flight might have already stopped now.

Hmm, worse traffic than the polluted one-way giratory of CM city? When they think their crumbled red brick wall and a dirty dried up moat is a great tourist draw, you gotta wonder about their medium-long term visitor plan. CM just gets more attention because of the old-money Chinese immigrant families that live there (e.g. higher GDP than other secondary cities). Probably half of the population is Chinese-Thai in CM. Maybe that's why the Americans band together up there. The Chinese-Thai would be suspicious of the farangs living there (competition for business). Strength in number I guess. BTW - not sure who's been to Khon Kaen in recent years, but it's also on the fast train line from Kunming, and the development of the city is almost unrecognizable. I hadn't been there for some years until a few months ago. (No, I wouldn't move there either - just making an observation).

Spot on about Chiang Mai city. Been that way for years. Retired Americans seem to gravitate to it - don't know why. Pai and Lamphung seem to be their other favorites - perhaps they have secret clubs up there.... Maybe outside of the city in the hills of Chiang Mai might be okay. Not for me though - Bangkok still number one, despite its well-reported issues.