Retiredandhappyhere

The only consolation for us normal mortals is that they are no better off personally than if they had just 1 billion, because they cannot really make themselves any happier with the extra billions.   There is only so much you can spend on yourselves.

It could almost be said that religion is the route of all evil. It certainly contains quite a bit of it.  Many other "religions" at least seem to have some monitoring process before applicants are accepted, but in Thailand almost anyone can become a monk, even if just for a week or two.  This needs to change as too many criminals and potential criminals are slipping through the net.

Can anyone tell me exactly what the Monopolies Commission does?

The two fairly recent obvious objects for investigation would surely have to be the take-over of Tesco Lotus and the amalgamation of Dtac and True Visions.

And yet, what has happened?  Both were approved, despite obvious monopoly claims!  Just what has the Monopolies Commission done so far and at what cost to the taxpayer?

Is it any wonder that fewer and fewer people believe in religion nowadays?

In my youth (wow, what a memory!) I attended (i.e. was obliged to attend)  chapel and church regularly, but as I learned more and more about the lies that the church told and all the kiddy-fiddling and resultant covers ups that occurred, I was horrified and just let my faith lapse.

One of the blatant lies told by the Catholic Church was that hell awaited anyone, who died without confessing his sins, had he not gone to Mass on a Sunday.  If anyone can show me where this appears in their Bible, I would be interested to see it. 

Muslims kill infidels, and then shout "God is great!"

Here in Thailand, we are increasingly hearing of monks behaving badly and yet I see no reduction in contributions to their cause.  I see some monks living quite easy lives in accommodation that would be fine for me, apparently with enough cash to purchase personal computers, televisions and telephones etc which would suit most people.

It is absolutely amazing that all the activity to arrest this guy and to stop him leaving the country seems to start in earnest on the very day that the Statute of Limitations on his crime expires.

I assume this is just to try to show us plebs that great attempts have been made to arrest this individual, but despite their best efforts, they have failed.

Somehow, this seems to ring a bell with another longstanding case involving the son of a very rich and influential family. 

Generally, I have found the Thai banks I have dealt with over the past 17 years to be satisfactory.  Exceptions were:

1) When living near Nakon Sawan, using a local Bangkok bank, I was told that I had to travel to Bangkok (350 km) to get my full passbook renewed.

2) When needing to move 600K from one account in Kasikorn bank to a new one at the same branch, I was obliged to withdraw that sum in cash and then sit with it in the bank until my number came up at a different counter.

On reaching the counter, my passport was inspected and I was told that they could not open a new account because I had changed my Visa from Retirement to Marriage and that I had to bring my wife with me, even though both the old and the requested new account were in my sole name.  I was so annoyed, I returned home with the cash, which the bank never saw again.

3) The amount of paper work, signatures and time apparently necessary to complete a simple transaction at the counter is extraordinary.

As my name suggests, I am happy living in Thailand, aged 80,  having retired here 17 years ago.

When arriving here, I made all the usual (stupid) mistakes, spending about 11 million bahts on non-chanote property, which was taken over by the Junta in 2015., although my ex-Thai wife is still allowed to live there.  Thus, the 50% I was entitled to in the divorce agreement never materialised.

I was fortunate enough to have invested in property in the UK before I left, which has provided me with just enough rental income to live reasonably comfortably here with my new wife. That income has been supplemented by my State Pension, which according to UK law, as applicable to expats in Thailand, has not been increased since it started 15 years ago, and has infact been reduced to just 368 pounds per 28 days, after a working lifetime in the UK paying full contributions.  In fact, due to an error several years back, I now only receive 246 pounds (11000 bahts) each time. Of course I still have to pay exactly the same amount of Income Tax on my total income (and a substantial amount of VAT)  as I would living in the UK, while receiving none of the benefits, particularly the free National Health Service.  I would never consider returning to the UK. In fact, were I to return temporarily to the UK for medical treatment, I would be charged 150% of the total cost, whereas a permanent return would make it free.

Nevertheless, despite all the negative elements outlined above, the unlisted positive elements of living in Thailand (mainly the climate, and the comparatively relaxed attitudes) outweigh them all and I am very happy to now be married to a lovely Thai lady  (6 years so far) and am lucky enough to be in good health, so what more can I ask for, except perhaps another 20 years to make it to a round hundred.  

I am retired in Thailand, but if I were still working in the UK, I would have to give my employer several weeks notice of an intended holiday.  I would only do that if and when I was certain of the exact requirements and conditions attached to my intended holiday destination and certainly not if there was a possiblity of unexpected last-minute changes and related costs.

Surely, many potential tourists will be in a similar position and will decide instead to visit a safer country, or leave a visit to Thailand until at least the New Year?