Bulldozer Dawn

The best of luck to you and your family. May you all be together as soon as possible.

click bait troll

There are a few on here who are TE members both 5 year and the 20 year, dont listen to the people who p*ss on the program, these are people who dont have the money anyway to buy a TE, i personally dont because i work here, but if i wasnt the 5 year card would be good option for me, less than thb 300/day

Soutpeel thinks that he is the only one who has ever had a job.

I could buy 100 Thai elite visas if I wanted. But I wont.

Staying here on Tourist visas is easy and cheap and you avoid the idiotic 90 reporting. You are also not pinned to any geographic location and can travel around at will.

Going to Laos twice a year will cost you less than 20Kthb.

If you invest 500KTHB (the price of the cheapest elite visa) in Thai shares such as SAMTEL or JAS your dividend yield alone will pay for your visa expense, and, at the end of 5 years, your 500KTHB will probably have grown in value also.

If you don't like individual investing then you could buy some units in an Aberdeen fund or in a Bualuang fund.

The idiots harping on about how cheap the elite visa is never consider the time value of money that is lost when paying up front.

Or perhaps they aren't idiots in the first place and can readily afford some of life's luxuries... such as the Thai Elite Visa, expedited transfers through the airport - home, Golf, Massage... which after a while (8 years for me) mean that membership has paid for itself.

Of course, you could pay for many of these items directly.... Unless of course you'd rather keep your money in a fund and watch it grow instead of spending it and enjoying life.

We've gone round in circles on many threads before discussing the virtues of 'investing' rather than spending 500,000 baht on a 5 year Visa (or 1MB of those of us early enough to get the lifetime membership).

The one certainty from these discussions is that different people have different priorities and differing levels of expendable income permitting choices of convenience.

....we don't really care if you could buy 500 Thai Elite Visas, the point is completely irrelevant your circumstances are different... What happens when your Back-to-Back Tourist Visa's start getting rejected?

Piffle.

Tell me why someone with a valid tourist visa will be "rejected".

Moreover, I am enjoying my life just fine without having been ripped off 500KTHB.

If civil unrest breaks out here when the unspeakable happens I will take my assets, including my 500KTHB with me when I move to another country.

What will you do? You will move also, but you will then start posting statements here like...its ok it was only 1 million baht which is nothing to me...

Years ago Mercedes were concerned about cheaper luxury car manufactures stealing their market share. They responded by lowering the price of their cars. Sales slumped further. The execs at Merc scratched their heads in disbelief and then, in a stroke of genius, increased the price of their cars significantly. Sales skyrocketed.

The moral to that case study is that there are a good deal of people who are happy to line up and be ripped off in exchange for the perception they are "elite".

Savannakhet Laos.

There are a few on here who are TE members both 5 year and the 20 year, dont listen to the people who p*ss on the program, these are people who dont have the money anyway to buy a TE, i personally dont because i work here, but if i wasnt the 5 year card would be good option for me, less than thb 300/day

Soutpeel thinks that he is the only one who has ever had a job.

I could buy 100 Thai elite visas if I wanted. But I wont.

Staying here on Tourist visas is easy and cheap and you avoid the idiotic 90 reporting. You are also not pinned to any geographic location and can travel around at will.

Going to Laos twice a year will cost you less than 20Kthb.

If you invest 500KTHB (the price of the cheapest elite visa) in Thai shares such as SAMTEL or JAS your dividend yield alone will pay for your visa expense, and, at the end of 5 years, your 500KTHB will probably have grown in value also.

If you don't like individual investing then you could buy some units in an Aberdeen fund or in a Bualuang fund.

The idiots harping on about how cheap the elite visa is never consider the time value of money that is lost when paying up front.

Easy.

There is a lot of videos and other information available on the web clearly define the risks of renting a jet ski in Thailand.

Unfortunately the SEO links are on in English.

The new renters are from India, China, Kuwait and the like.

It will take a while for the information to build up on websites in their language. The positive thing is that that is happening as we speak.

I posted months back that one of the reasons that the Chinese are still coming here is that they have limited access to google.

Oh the only border in the world where you need a cancellation letter from your school to exit the country, that says it all.

Vientiane has been a huge visa run destination for too long, officers are getting moody.

I personally avoid that place now.

Yep, I second that. After my last visit there my advice on this forum is avoid Vientiane at all cost.

No problem. When immigration links with the ATO that is when I will be concerned.

Hey.

Where did you get your new passport?

I need one as well but have had no luck contacting the Honorary Consul in Phuket.

The thing that I bought is fragrance free (my nose confirms) and promises "100% natural".

As written I just bought it yesterday but the rashes started long before.

I stopped using spray and changed to a "roll on".

Improved the situation for a while but now back.

Whether this mineral stick helps will take me a few days to find out.

If it is 100 percent natural then is it aluminum chloride crystal. A big bag of that (about half a kilo) is 20THB.

Why would you buy a small stick that costs...50THB?

Become a vegetarian then you won't need any. I have never used deodorant here.

In my former life I had a co-worker who was vegan (more extreme).

His mouth odor was so foul you couldn't stand to have him close.

His body odor not much better.

I guess it has to do with the fact that they can't use any of the usual stuff for washing, showering, teeth brushing.

Back to topic:

I have more and more skin problems like rashes under the armpit and suppose it has to do with deodorant (and/or washing detergent), I am searching for alternatives.

Yesterday I bought one of these "crystal sticks", claiming to be 100% natural, non allergenic.

Does anyone have experience with that?

Toss the crystal stick, it has chemical and perfumes in it that are probably caused your reactions. Look at my earlier post on this thread the discusses the san som crystals you can buy from the mom and pop stores here for 20 THB a bag. That stuff is raw aluminum chloride crystal, no other chemical. Just use that by itself. Until your skin clears. Then you can experiment with using a nam hom later.

I am not a teacher here thank goodness but I do know a couple and have heard the stories.

I am now thinking of a different angle on this and that would be for parents to approach schools directly demanding they have an adequate number of foreign teachers present at all times. How else can their children learn anything at all?

I recently attended a parent teacher meeting at a remote school in Isaan the has no Farang teachers. I was there because my GF nephew attends the school and I took him in to class. I posted my experiences at the meeting on another thread if you do a search. Basically it was an angry lynch mob demanding why the pricipal (and the head of schools for the area who was also in attendance) had not yet secured an English teacher. The HOS and principals reply is that is was their dream, but it was impossible.

The problem is that Phuket immigration has made the ED visa requirements so obfuscated that even the IOs no longer understand them. And just look at how they are burning through your passport pages with the ridiculous big stamps. Dump the ED and move on to a double entry tourist visa. You will save yourself a fortune and you will lower the risk of getting killed on the most deadliest road in the word commuting to your school. If you really want to learn Thai study online from the comfort and safety of you own home.

I would have used finally at the commencement of your ultimate paragraph.

Lastly implies you have counted off the points made, up until that point, in your post.

They are more tasty than dangerous.

Lots up here at the moment too. I saw one the other day crossing the road that was damn near as big as a dinner plate.

You should buy a big bottle of hang dong and then put them in that. You can also add a cobra for garnish.

I smell a visa bidding war between Thailand and its neighbours.

This might get interesting.

I saw one of these the other evening when riding through the jungle just on dusk. But it had a red fur similar to a fox. Civet?

He's talking about Thai withholding tax. Not tax in his home country.

I have three bank accounts in the same bank that I use for the 800,000 baht. Bangkok Bank in Chiang Mai. I don't touch the money during the 90 day ageing period. Never a problem. YMMV

I did have a problem the one year I withdrew the interest that had been adding up during the 90 day period, but the balance didn't go below 800,000. Silly me. It just took a little song-and-dance at Immigration and showing them the new shoes I bought with the money I'd withdrawn. (the bank branch is next to a shoe store) That taught me the value of not touching the money during the 90 day ageing period -- I'm not very good at tap dance.

Thanks Nancy. I have two accounts because if the balance is over 700K they deduct witholding tax from any interest. Solution (suggested to me by the bank manager himself) open two accounts. As an added safety precaution I specifically requested no atm card be issued for either account. If someone is going to skim or steal from my accounts, they will have to use my bank book.

Wow it is incredible how fast a simple thread can get pulled off track by numpties here on TV....sigh

Who pays tax on the money held in a foreign bank account? I've never heard of such a thing. As a citizen of the USA, I submit my FBAR every year and include the FATCA in my filed income tax return. I only pay tax on money that I earn as dividends or interest and that amount is negligible. It is easily reported on the tax return.

Really. You have never heard of witholding tax?

I know two fellas here in Chiang Mai who both recieved a non-o in Vientian without any problems: letter of income from consulate, all of the proper forms filled out but no proof of residence. They are both Scotish and they did use an agent for thir applications, the last one was about 4 weeks ago.

No intention of using an agent in V. Might use one if I go to Penang on the death bus.

Hells bells the topic has developed. Anyway here is the update. ....yes obtained my single entry non imm o based on retirement. As Paz pointed out the clerk is not an IO. His advise was incorrect. Keep in mind he tried to hand back my application TWICE. was only when I stated ..."why do I need a house book....I have one but what if I was using my non imm 90 days to obtain a lease.

Also it seems now Vientiane consulate requires payment on collection day.

As for process , I won't bore members. I will never do a border gig again.

I would love it if say Saigon did non imm o based on retirement. Such a smoother consulate and chilled city for holiday. Stuff buses and all the other stuff.

Ubon is again correct about non imm o for my gig in AU.

They want to issue OA. BTW the process isn't hard. Any questions message me no problem.

I'm back in udon. Thank goodness

good news.

Can you please list in bullet points exactly what you handed over to make your application?

Bank told me it is ok. They will issue the letter even though I have two accounts. I have two accounts because one of the features of my accounts are that there is no witholding tax for balances below 700K. Wonder why that figure is just south of 800K?

Topic title says it all.

I have my 800K spread across two account with the same bank (to minimise tax).

Will the bank give me the letter I require for immigration with two accounts?

And will immigration accept it if I arrive there with one letter and two bank books?

Where are you staying in Vientiane? And did you find the food and drinks expensive?