docshock13

I thought Thailand said they didn't have an unemployment problem? A 25% increase sure sounds like a problem to me. Anybody who knows about Thailand would also know their unemployed figures are inaccurate anyway because of all the people who do not report and seek help from the gov. So I can only imagine what the real numbers are.

SNAFU

Pre-empt coups !

Not bad coming from a govt which is in office by virtue of a coup.

Anyway the way things work here no amount of legislation will prevent a military officer and his pals from deciding the nation would be better off with them running the show. Just think, somewhere in the ranks of the military there's an officer who ... !

When Uncle Too retires from public life, will Thailand have an elected PM? If so, elected (or more aptly "selected") by whom?

I'm afraid the next PM will be the same package, just different wrapping.

The most frightening paragraph in the OP is the last one...............

"It also defines the fundamental purpose of the education system as being to instill virtue, discipline and pride in the nation."

communism

Sounds more like national socialism to me.

As CNXBBKMAN has mentioned, 12 Go and Orient Thai are one and the same. 12 Go had a fatal crash in Phuket some years ago (2007/2008). Unqualified/unlicensed/fatigued/under-experienced pilots at the helm or something. You can look it up on the interweb. Cannot remember all details.

I was amazed to find Orient Thai still in business until I did a bit of research. Connected family. And super shady business.

Would rather "fly" with Nakhon Chai Air Bus Co.

"Mafia kingpin affirms all suspect enterprises are legal."

Truck hauling tapioca flour. Van hauling ass. What a smash up!

I feel horrible for the policeman, Pallop Ringrot. Hope we was also able to get treatment at the hospital.

P.s. my feeling is the closure of his business is out of a matter of principle not money (or lack thereof).

Only met the fellow in the OP once or twice. And while I am obviously not privy to his private or business affairs, my impression was that he is an honest businessman with ties to (and respected by) the local community and sufficiently capitalized. So if I had to pick sides, I would put money on Mr. Pretzmann's side of the story. Note: Never have done business with the gentleman. Nor do I work for him. Hell, I am not even in Thailand!

"Rights groups had expressed fears that a drawn-out case, lasting anything up to two years, could put the hundreds of witnesses at risk because of inadequate police protection."

Hmmmm. I can see the headlines now: "Charges dropped against all 92 suspected traffickers--key witnesses "escape" police protection"

Bye bye, Birdie!

"The centre said that it raised Mr Saravuths detention with Colonel Piyapong Klinpant, spokesman of the NCPO on March 11 and was told that he knew nothing about the detention and had no idea why he was detained."

Sounds more like Sgt. Schultz than Col. KLINKpant. "I know nothing. I see nothing."

So contrary to some popular horror stories old uncle lam not only wasn't under the control of some insidious gang but also managed to accrue a million baht. Nice going uncle pity all your merit making couldn't secure you a spot in the temple. Absolutely disgraceful performance by the way.

Hopefully his kindness has secured a better future for him in the next life.

RIP little fella. Good to see his friends had the presence of mind to get help instead of attempting a rescue on their own or there may have been more than one fatality.

BKK annoying? Yes. Dangerous? No. If you go looking for trouble, it will find you no matter where you are in the world.

Nice work if you can get it. 4200 before breakfast! Not a bad haul for a few hours at the office.

Hope the injured recover.

RIP to the driver.

Need another crackdown to stop this senseless carnage.

Crackdown on cranes!

I was married to an Aussie girl from Camden. It was the most enjoyable sex I ever had. Nothing came close after that.

AussiegirlfromCamden posts: "I was married to the guy from another forum. Least enjoyable sex I ever had. Could not let another man close to me after that. I am now a lesbian."

Hee hee

I havent read the rest , but you do NOT have to be a "Non-resident for taxation purposes" !

You are only that if YOU nominate to be so , and dont let any accountant tell you otherwise.

( Thus you pay 'normal' tax - and will/may be eligible for a pension )

Simply ALWAYS state you are on extended vacation on any Aus documentation , never ever admit you are Living O/S , and make yearly or 2 visits home , and maintain a permanent address at a friends or kids place.

No one can 'make' you be a non-resident or stop 'holidaying' , as long as you maintain thats what you are doing.

I have been doing this here for 8 years .

Dont know what the others have rec'd re the missus and biz - just dont outlay precious capital on things you cant own !

Get to know lots of people , and small jobs will fall into her hands.

Mine does laundry , cleans villas and is a casual in a restaurant - all work thats up to her and all the cash she keeps....

Finally : DO NOT BUY A HOUSE !!

is it necessary I go back home every 2 years you think? The ATO have full access to immigration info now and I doubt they'd see a weeks vacation every 2 years would constitute residency in their eyes. As far as a permanent address goes, I can use my son's address but for what? Again the taxation department knows your every move these days. Appreciate the advice though

I haven't been back since I left in 2010 and have never declared myself as a non-resident. I have a mailing address in Australia (a mate's place), I keep bank accounts there and still have private health insurance. These days ATO completes my tax return automatically, with all info prefilled. I just submit it. The way I see it they've already decided my residential status. Who am I to argue?

I can't withdraw my main superannuation as it's locked in to Comsuper. I haven't claimed a partial OAP, as it would entail returning and probably staying there for two years.

On the subject of Thai wives, mine works all day, every day. I can't get her to stop and rest even during the current heat wave. She cooks all meals, mainly western for me and smelly fish for her, cleans the house and yard daily, feeds and cares for the animals, cleans the pool, tends her showcase garden for hours and just yesterday I caught her painting the beams on the house. She was only supposed to be completing the painting of some walls, left by a workman after he fell and cracked his skull last week.

I initially rented here, but hated it, so bought a house, now in her name. I have a usufruct agreement for my lifetime.

She also has a massage business (non sex) which she needs to visit most days, bringing home masses of towels which she washes by hand, despite us having an expensive and large size washer. The shops (has had 4 in all) have cost me (the military closed down the biggest earner!), but the current one is making money. However, I would prefer her to give it up.

My bank accounts and super funds, both in Australia and here, are controlled by myself and I could walk (!) away from everything in Thailand if I had to. I have no such desire

"My bank accounts and super funds, both in Australia and here, are controlled by myself and I could walk (!) away from everything in Thailand if I had to."

Excellent tip! Always have a Plan B in case things go banana shaped.

Croc, does your missus have a sister? Sounds like you found a gem. Congrats.

Well, its the old joke about how to make a small fortune in Thailand - start with a large fortune!

My experience of watch foreigners attempt business in Thailand is that it invariably ends in tears. If you want something for your wife to do as a 'pastime' then fair enough - you may be able to get her into something where she can break even or make a bit of 'pin money'. I would avoid any large investment at all costs because seen too many guys lose everything (or lose enough to make life miserable).

One guy who arrived in rural Isaan about two years ago set himself up in farming (all in his wife's name, of course) - lovely bloke. She is a nice enough girl, but half his age and obviously getting bored with him and farm work - the relationship is going south and probably at least 2 mill THB in her name (house, farm building, land)...

Of course if YOU work then there might well be work permit issues - you just need to upset the right person. I definitely wouldn't get into money lending. A good way to make enemies - so dangerous from a variety of perspectives.

+1. Seen too many heartbreaking stories over the years and tried to learn from the tough lessons of others.

Personally, I earn my money outside of Thailand and spend it in Thailand enjoying life. It has been a good way for me to keep enjoying my time and people when in Thailand and avoid the headaches and hassles associated with doing business in the Kingdom.

I have witnessed too many bitter expats who put all their eggs in the Thai basket to build their dream life in a new country only for it to turn out to be a nightmare after the honeymoon is over. Though, there are also success stories.

Most of the successful expat biz owners I know have setup small hobby businesses that reflect their personal interests, not as money makers. However, most do not rely on the income from their businesses to finance their lives. Most, if not all have alternative sourcescof income from abroad.

So the deadline has now passed. Wonder if the RTP will release a statement this weekend about how many actually turned themselves in?

Lend out the money at 2 % interest pm...if done properly it can be a nice money spinner

I did look into that back in the village and was spose to be a dead cert but on closer inspection no one could provide anything like a guarantee. It sounds good if everything goes ok or you had a tough savvy woman to take care of stuff but..... Knowing my luck...

Thailand has strict usury laws (the enforcement of which depend on who you know and how much "tax" you are willing to pay to the authorities to turn a blind eye should you be caught).

Currently, the maximum LEGAL rate for lending money is 15% per annum (or 1.25% per month). Anything over this amount is loan sharking and technically illegal.

Could spell big trouble (as it did for a British neighbour of mine a few years back) if a debtor refuses to pay and decides it easier to report you as a foreign "mafia" loan shark.

He neither had the connections nor enough money to make the charges go away. Once the lawyers and police bled him dry, he left (deported?) virtually penniless.

He was a nice bloke and just trying to supplement his income to subsidize his utils etc. Seems he lent money to the wrong person and did so illegally. Ended up paying for his mistake dearly.

It's a jungle out there, Kenny!

There is strategy you can deploy when an airline cancels a flight. It works better with a full service airline BA, TG , KLM etc rather than air Asia. It won't work for everybody but for some people such as single travellers it's worth a go.

The airline emails you or sms's that your flight is cancelled. They give you the options that suit them, least costly to the airline. Ignore these and go to the airport to check-in as if the flight was still running. Go to the desk and say where is flight 1234 to wherever? Act like you don't know it was cancelled. Show them the print out you made when you booked it. Airline says it was cancelled, emails sent etc. You I didn't get any email? Nobody called me? Etc. You say I need to be in "wherever" for a important meeting, wedding, cruise, joining your children blah blah blah. What are they going to do about? You say they need to put you an alternative flight. They can do this and it will solve the problem you represent standing at the ticket desk plus they the airline have cancelled the flight, it's not your fault , they can't blame you. 10 mins later you have been "rerouted"on an alternative airline to your original destination or they give you a hotel room and then the alternative flight the next morning.

This costs the airline some money but the airline are only doing if for you so it's small change really and solves the problem that is standing in front of them. The other 200 passengers might not be happy but have accepted the least costly options offered by the airline in the email. Hopefully you get to your destination at time not much different to what you booked.

This is good advice and it works. Well, it worked for me last month with Air China. Only hitch was that I missed my connection with a different carrier to my final destination. However, I purchased a rebookable ticket so cost me nothing (only time) and AC got me on an alternative airline, put me up in Beijing and I got bumped up a class on the next flight. Did not expect the hotel or bump. But I was patient and polite and the AC staff in Beijing tried their best to sort me out at 3:00 am.

Kenny,

Only my opinion, but I would keep what you don't need to live offshore (i.e. back in Oz or elsewhere). Going on the safe side, if you do decide to throw some money into a biz in LOS, only invest what you can afford to lose and treat that money as if it is gone. If it goes, you were well prepared to take the loss. If you can make some money or break even and enjoy your life here, that's a bonus!

Again, only my opinion. Do check around. There are some decent options around for low-risk, offshore investments outside of Oz. Not fantastic, get-rich-quick returns but better than the bank rates in Oz. Now that your retired, you have all the time in the world to research where you would like invest, how much and when. It is your money. Never feel pressured into making an investment. 0.25% of something is better than 100% of #$&* all!

Congrats on retirement! Enjoy!

As previous posters have mentioned, no need to return to Canada to apply for a new non-o (marriage) visa. The nearest and most convenient Thai consulate or embassy should do. However, I have heard conflicting reports about proof of finances--i.e. different consulates have different requirements. I have used Savannakhet in recent years, and no financial proof required. However, I have heard Vientiane requires it.

In any case, no need to return to your home country to apply. My Thai wife and I have been all over. When returning to MY home country to visit family, she need only apply for a visa at my embassy in the country we are staying and not apply in Thailand. I think the same should apply in your case. Good luck.