Gecko123

I thought hotels were required to report to immigration when a foreigner checked in/checked out. How would they be able to do this without a passport number? If the pink ID card does not contain your passport number, then the hotel must be registering you as a non-foreigner, possibly in order to circumvent the TM-30 reporting requirement. That is an incentive for hotels to accept the pink card in lieu of a passport, but I wonder if that practice is considered kosher from immigration's standpoint, and if some hotels in some areas have been fined for doing this, which might explain why there is inconsistency about whether pink ID's can be used universally to check in to hotels.

Pamphlet introducing writing system does appear to be available as a free download, but that does not appear to be the case for the main textbook and workbook and listening tapes. I found vintage sets of this set at AU249 and 167 British Pounds for sale on line. 1500 baht price I offered still stands.

I have a complete Linguaphone Thai language course in very very good condition that I would be willing to sell for the bargain price of 1500 baht. Tapes are in cassette format. If anyone is interested, they can PM me.

My backwater amphoe is such a bureaucratic nightmare to deal with that the thought of applying for any type of optional supplementary ID documentation (yellow tabian ban book, pink ID card, etc.) through them sends shivers up my spine, and I would not do it for all the tea in China unless absolutely necessary. Something else to consider would be the hassle of updating these documents in the event you change addresses. It was interesting to read the comments about how pink ID facilitated certain transactions (many of which I was unaware of), but for me carrying my passport while traveling has become second nature and not a big deal. If I happen to have a request for my passport and I don't have it on me (for example when mailing an international letter) my Thai driver's license, which has my address on the back, suffices as a backup ID. It is almost certain that banks, which demand your passport for most transactions and also verify that your visa is valid, would not accept an ID card in lieu of your passport. I am also skeptical that when renewing my driver's license, the local transport office (DMV) would accept a pink ID in lieu of an address verification letter from immigration, for the understandable reason that your ID card may have been issued eons ago, and they need verification that your address is current.

This is a translation from a Le Monde article providing details of Trump's 15 point proposal. https://www.lemonde.fr/international/live/2026/03/24/en-direct-guerre-au-moyen-orient-l-aiea-appelle-a-la-retenue-maximale-apres-une-nouvelle-frappe-sans-degats-sur-la-centrale-nucleaire-de-bouchehr-en-iran_6673056_3210.html Of the 15 points put forward, the first five concern the nuclear sector: Washington demands that Iran never attempt to acquire nuclear weapons, that Tehran surrender all its enriched fuel by a date agreed upon by the parties, and that several major nuclear facilities be dismantled. Iran must also cease its support for its proxies and stop funding or arming groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. Limits will be placed on the number of missiles the country can possess and their range. Furthermore, the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 20% of the world's hydrocarbons transit, must remain open to maritime traffic. In return, Iran would receive a lifting of international sanctions against it and support for its civilian nuclear program. The plan makes no mention of regime change in Iran. I don't see how the US could possibly think this would be in any way acceptable to Iran, and after reading these details, I suspect that this peace proposal is little more than a ruse to calm oil and financial markets as well as to buy time in order to position ground forces for attack.

After a thorough review of personal and family medical history and lifestyle factors (to assess probability of a chronic illness materializing), and adding up the the travel expenses, premiums, co-pays, and deductible expenses which would need to be incurred to access stateside medical care, I decided to drop Part B after initially paying the premiums for 5 years. While the probability of a medical problem arising obviously increases the older you get, I concluded that there was a high probability that the medical problems I would most likely encounter would most likely have to be addressed on an urgent or time-sensitive basis, thus effectively stripping away the option of returning home in order to access medical care anyway.

Of course no one is going to start blindly studying the writing system until they are confident that they want to make that investment in time and energy. The early exploration of the language is more than likely going to be focused on verbal interaction which helps with getting to know people and making transactions smoother. All the people who are advocating learning to read and write the language are saying is that once you are confident that you want to make a serious commitment to learning the language, the sooner you learn to read and write the language, the better off you'll be, the faster your progress will be, and that if you choose not to do this, it is likely that your proficiency will plateau at a relatively elementary level.

You're being pedantic. Phasa Thai may be the formal transliteration, but Passa Thai is an extremely common colloquial transliteration as well. GammaGlobulin may have expressed his opinion a little too forcefully for your tastes that learning the writing system was a must for making advanced progress in the language, but it was well-intentioned, and more importantly, quite accurate. Edit: คำว่า "ภาษาไทย" สามารถเขียนเป็นอักษรโรมันได้ทั้ง Phasa Thai (สะกดตามระบบถอดอักษรมาตรฐาน) และ Pasa Thai (สะกดแบบย่อ/ทั่วไป) โดย Phasa Thai นิยมใช้มากกว่าในบริบทที่เป็นทางการ เพื่อให้ตรงกับเสียง "พ" หรือ "ภ" (pʰ) Facebook +1 Phasa Thai: เป็นการสะกดที่ตรงตามระบบ Royal Thai General System of Transcription (RTGS) มากที่สุด Pasa Thai/Passa Thai: เป็นรูปแบบที่มักเห็นทั่วไปหรือในชื่อแบรนด์

It's not a question of whether it is possible to learn some Thai without learning to read and write the language. The question is how far can you go without learning to read and write. I, too, spent my first year and a half memorizing vocabulary and phrases and listening to tapes without learning the writing system. That was not a waste of time by any means, but my progress increased many fold after I took the time to master the writing system. Also, I am extremely confident that an adult non-native learner will almost always plateau out once they reach the limits of phrase book Thai unless they invest in learning the writing system. Numerous people on this thread have claimed that learning the writing system isn't necessary, but then go on to say they eventually learned the writing system, which begs the question, if not learning the writing system can result in equally positive results, why did these people eventually buckle down and learn the writing system? As to the argument that children learn a language before learning to read and write, so why can't I?, "learning a second language (L2) differs from acquiring a mother tongue (L1) primarily because L1 is an unconscious, natural immersion process from birth, while L2 is usually a conscious, formal learning process later in life. Adults learning an L2 face challenges like cognitive interference, limited time, and existing mental language patterns, unlike children who effortlessly absorb their first language."

I completely agree with the assessment that Becker's 'Fundamentals of the Thai Language' is an excellent and probably the best place to start. I only say probably because it has been decades since I began studying Thai and I am not very familiar with what other resources are currently available. A huge advantage of this book is that it uses the most accurate international phonetic alphabet which is the same phonetic alphabet used in Mary Haas' Thai-English Student's Dictionary (ISBN 0-8047-0567-4) With just these two resources you can make a tremendous amount of progress if you apply yourself. The problem with transliteration pronunciation guides which attempt to use the English alphabet is that they are imprecise and non-standardized, so the transliteration guides bounce around from grammar book to grammar book which is extremely inefficient. For several reasons, those who claim that learning the Thai writing system it is not a prerequisite for progressing beyond a beginner's level, in my opinion, are giving misguided advice. Not only will you not be able to differentiate between all of the unique sounds of the Thai language, but if you think you can build and retain a large vocabulary without mastering the writing system, you're kidding yourself. Finally, NO Thai/English dictionary or phrase books which go beyond elementary vocabulary rely on English transliteration to guide pronunciation. In other words, with all Thai dictionaries beyond intermediate level, if you look up a word in Thai script (which, by the way, you won't be able to do unless you master the writing system), the dictionary, if it gives a pronunciation guide at all, will use Thai script to guide pronunciation. So if you elect not to bother to learn the Thai writing system, all Thai dictionaries will be unavailable as learning resources. That is not a recipe for success, and predictions that you will end up frustrated and giving up are well-founded. Edit: The idea that a person without any background in the language can learn Thai "between the sheets" or by immersing yourself in a Thai community is very misleading. Sure, you can pick up words and phrases, but, in my opinion, that's about it. First of all it presumes that there is an endless supply of willing AND capable teachers who can guide you. Speaking Thai and being able to teach Thai to a non-native speaker are not the same things. With the prevalence of English nowadays, someone will quickly switch to English as soon as your lack of proficiency reveals itself. I have found, with the exception of young children, that Thais have low tolerances and patience for poor pronunciation, and even decent pronunciation from non-native speakers. Even spouses and girlfriends seem to have limited appetite for being turned into a Thai tutor. While some will disagree, and claim - usually online - to have made great and lasting progress using the "immersion" method, in my experience 95% of guys who head out to rural Thailand with rudimentary Thai have made minimal progress even after decades of "immersion."

This warped world view can be summed up in one sentence: All of the world's problems are caused by the "other" guy, and there is therefore absolutely no need for me to reflect on what role I have played in causing or contributing to the problem.

Your comments show an abysmal ignorance of France's past and present colonial history, which goes a long way towards explaining migration patterns. France didn't "import" a bunch of Arabs. It historically allowed immigration into France from its colonies, which in many cases were brutally exploited in terms of natural and human resources. Also, much of the immigration into France from North African colonies post WWII was to fill massive labor shortages, particularly in the construction sector. Right wing groups in France and in many other countries love to point to Muslim unwillingness to assimilate into the local culture, but the truth is that much of that failure to assimilate can be traced to job, housing, and social discrimination.

That's why the article said "French national." "National" just means they hold citizenship, nothing to do with whether a person is native born. These types of low-brow, predictable, and racist comments really do make for tedious reading.

I'd just like to say in defense of this post, which has caught quite a bit of flack, that if you happen to be on a marriage visa and cannot readily qualify for an alternative, either because of your age or finances, there is some truth in what he is saying. As far as his comments being indicative of a rocky marriage, if you have registered real estate property in the wife's name, that creates a moral hazard for kicking you out of the country should a motive arise down the road for her to want to do this (infidelity, opportunity for financial windfall, dissatisfaction with the marriage). That reality puts many more seemingly "rock solid" marriages into the "rocky" marriage category than many might realize. Also, if for any reason in the future, there are any irregularities with your visa (i.e., lack of sufficient funds, need to use an agent, or, God forbid, an expired visa or passport, on a marriage visa, you would be far more likely to have to make your wife aware of these irregularities, which it cannot be denied could be exploited, if not now, down the road, were you to encounter marital problems. As far as "tying up 800K" for a full year, the marriage visa requires 400K, so you are only "tying up" an additional 400K when you are comparing a retirement visa to a marriage visa. Also, if you happen to be using an agent in order to circumvent the banking requirement, the agent's fees need to be deducted from the savings you claim to be realizing by not having to keep the 800K on deposit. If you claim that you're earning 4% on 800,000 by investing it overseas in bonds, as opposed to 1% here in Thailand, you might be earning an extra 24,000 baht ($750) by keeping the money overseas, but if the agent is costing you $15K+ your net earnings on that 800K overseas is now reduced to 9,000 baht, hardly a bumper return. Plus, on the presumption that you maintain minimal funds in Thailand, you have a considerable currency risk exposure, were you to have to transfer a large sum from overseas unexpectedly. And that currency risk, with ever ballooning sovereign debt in Western countries, is on the rise.

Should have checked thoroughly with people in the area before taking the cat. I'd be pissed too especially as there was every indication that the cat was not a stray.

This is the point I was trying to make earlier. There is a power dynamic and sexual undercurrent at play in the tipping ritual, particularly in a sex tourism setting where it is mostly foreign men who are the tippers and mostly local women who are the tip recipients.

You sound like a decent guy. I assumed you were in Pattaya because you posted in Pattaya forum.

Actually, in some circumstances tipping can be a demeaning reminder that the person tipping is of a higher socio/economic status than the person receiving the tip. This thread is about tipping in Pattaya, which as many posters have pointed out, does not necessarily reflect patterns elsewhere in Thailand. Sure, it's endemic in Pattaya's bar scene (lady drinks, tip anyone who comes to your table, tip the bartender, etc.), but let's take a look at tipping outside of the bar scene. The examples of the people the OP says he tips are mostly men (parking attendants, gasoline vendors, doormen) which, if true, is commendable. But, given the contempt voiced so often on this forum towards Thai men, I suspect that most commonly it is Thai women who are receiving these tips, often handed to them with a hopeful gleam in one's eye that perhaps this largesse might lead to some romantic encounter with the chamber maid, front desk clerk, waitress, soft drink or grilled squid vendor, or that at a minimum you will be rewarded with a broad smile, genuflection, and perhaps a hint of tears welling up in her eyes for your 50 baht tip. I strongly suspect that much of the tipping of women that goes on in Pattaya outside of the bar scene is often little more than a predatory sexual overture done more out of an attempt to suss out potential economic vulnerability than any genuine humanitarian impulse. And just as a reminder, there are many other ways besides tipping to contribute to the welfare of the community (donations, volunteer activities, etc.), so stop acting like tipping is the sole barometer of a person's generosity. Also, even in Pattaya, there are certainly many, many Thais who have the same wealth and income as many expats, and I highly doubt that their pattern of tipping their fellow Thais follows the Western pattern of tipping.

I realize this thread is in the Pattaya forum and tipping is probably more prevalent there than it is in many parts of Thailand. In rural Thailand I don't interact with doormen, or security guards because there aren't any. There's a security guard at my bank who holds the door open when I enter the premises. It has never even crossed my mind to give him a tip, and I'm sure it has never crossed the mind of 99.99% of the Thai customers either. Same is true for Thai customers of hole-in-the-wall noodle shop restaurants. I give New Year's tips to bottled water delivery, septic pump, and package delivery guys. If someone hops on their motorcycle to guide me to an out of the way place I'm looking for, I'll certainly offer them a tip. It's not a question of being a "mean lousy tight a$$," as you put it, it's that the culture in smaller towns and villages is different. Of course, on some level, everyone appreciates being handed money unexpectedly, but as I pointed out in my earlier post on page 5, indiscriminate tipping to "grease the wheels" so to speak, does raise expectation management issues over time. It's not Just all rainbows and unicorns as the OP's post would have one believe. Not that it's likely to change your point of view, but Google is telling me that the minimum wage in Pattaya (high tourist area/elevated cost of living) is currently 400 baht a day, based on a 8 hour work day, and just as a reminder, there are probably some broke-ass foreigners in Pattaya living on not much more per month. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that you might want to tone down the self-righteous knight-in-shining-armor rhetoric.

After years of on-and-off experimenting, I can't say I'm a big advocate of tipping. Yes, I still do it in certain situations, but I'm not known as a tipper. And I'm comfortable with that. First of all, it's not really a part of Thai culture - even today. You may engender obsequious and servile faux gratitude for handing out tips, but in general, unless you do it very consistently and steadily ramp up the amount given over time, you are just as likely to engender well-justified (albeit hidden) resentment that you are only doing it to play the good-hearted farang and to feel better about yourself, rather than being motivated out of goodwill for your fellow man. Another problem, especially in a close-knit community, is that it can breed resentment amongst anyone who hears about your generosity but has never been on the receiving end of your largesse. While no one is going to say this to your face, it is also entirely possible that your tipping will not so much be perceived as generosity but an attempt to "buy" social stature and acceptance, or raise questions about whether you have a pitying attitude towards them. Also, it can make you a target by making you appear to be a "soft touch" when it comes to being asked to loan money which will likely never be paid back. I'm not trying to discourage anyone from tipping here, but I'm less than convinced that tossing money around in handouts is the route to establishing mutually respectful relationships between foreigners and locals.

Amateurs, which further points towards inside job spur of moment crime of opportunity. Phones likely ditched out of fear of tracking software or unusable due to face recognition/passcode software. Cops likely suspect girlfriend, as do I.

When BBK first started to pressure me to get a house registration book, there was a period of time where I could have closed my daily account and moved to another bank and that would have been the end of the story. The problem was that I had several term accounts (3, 6, 12 and 3 year) all of which would have come up for renewal during 2026. I most likely could have cancelled all of these accounts early on, but this, no doubt, would have resulted in forfeiting the earned interest on the accounts which is something I didn't particularly want to do. I had several conversations with the branch manager about just letting me wait for the term accounts to expire over the course of 2026 without getting a yellow book, and the manager clearly told me that that would be acceptable. This was definitely not a case of me misunderstanding what he said due to language barrier problems. But in January when I attempted to begin the process of closing the first of the term accounts, I was abruptly told that I couldn't do this (transfer funds from a fixed account into my daily account). I was still able to withdraw funds from my daily account, which I immediately did, but I was prevented from transferring funds from one account to another. Regarding getting the yellow book, if your amphoe is anything like mine this is a very cumbersome process which involves getting a letter from your embassy verifying your passport is genuine, and then contacting the Thai foreign affairs office and getting some other verification from them as well. Not to mention the hassle of getting the owner of the property and the puu yai involved as well. Bangkok Bank did show me an internal document which showed that BKK would accept several alternative documentations other than a yellow book, including simply obtaining a letter from your embassy verifying that your passport was genuine. I was able to do this relatively easily by mail (1600 baht processing fee plus return courier 100 baht fee) with the US embassy with less than a week turn around time. I didn't see any benefit in obtaining a yellow book, as BKK bank is the only time I've ever been asked for a yellow book in 25 years of living here. Even though I have satisfied BKK's demand for verification of the authenticity of my passport, I am still leaving BKK bank for the following reasons. BKK's demand that I verify my passport (after 23 years of doing business with them) struck me as extremely high-handed and somewhat xenophobic. My understanding is that BKK experienced some problem with foreigners opening bank accounts with fake passports. I get that that is a problem, and banks have Know Your Customer requirements, but demanding that all foreigners go through the process of verifying that their passports are authentic, struck me as overkill and punitive towards foreigners. I thought to myself, would BKK be demanding that all Thai nationals verify that their national identity cards were authentic if they discovered that some Thais were using bogus id cards to open accounts? Of course they wouldn't dare do that because they know full well that there are a dozen other banks out there that a Thai could move to with the drop of a hat. BKK seemed to be banking on the fact that changing banks is a more cumbersome process for foreigners. And the thought that they would dare freeze or threaten to freeze accounts of ordinary Thai customers I find laughable. As I told several locals, if a bank pulled a stunt like that with Thais, Thai customers would be in the bank armed with machetes and pitchforks. The freezing, and threats to freeze my account as a foreigner living oversees was so jarring and traumatizing that it deeply shook my trust in BKK bank. I asked myself, if they were willing to do this to coerce me into complying with their high-handed demands, were there other circumstances where they would feel entitled to freeze or limit access to my bank funds, i.e., during a banking crisis? The other major turn-off about how this handled, is that there was never any effort to explain in English WHY the bank felt a need to do this, the proceedures needed to fulfill their request, or a full disclosure of what options customers had to fulfill the authentication requirement and what the deadline dates were. Another thing which stuck in my craw was that I was initially told by BKK's staff that getting a yellow book was a government regulation, and it was only after checking around with other banks that I found out that it was only BKK bank who was requiring this. All in all, I thought the whole thing was handled in an unprofessional, high-handed and arrogant manner which left a permanent bad taste in my mouth, and made the decision to leave BKK final.

I would say the biggest damage the SCOTUS ruling has inflicted on Trump is that his iron grip on the lackey Republicans in Congress has been broken. In order for these newly implemented tariffs to be extended beyond 150 days will require the acquiescence of Congress. Given how unpopular these tariffs are with the American people it is difficult to imagine Congress going along with extending them, especially on the eve of the mid-term elections. Once Congress balks at doing Trump's bidding over the tariffs, it's gonna open the floodgates in terms of challenges to his authoritarian grip on the government. You may be about to see a "panic in needle park" effect with Republicans scrambling to distance themselves from Trump in order to save their own hides. This morning's selloff in the crypto markets may be an early indication of a drop in confidence that Trump's ability to ramrod crypto friendly legislation through congress has been significantly diminished.

Fewer additives, gentle, pleasant alternative to major brands

I am absolutely convinced that Lamar Kendrick's half-time performance last year will end up being regarded as the best half-time performance of all time. It's current 4th best of all time rating by the critics does not do it justice. If you watch that performance with an impartial eye, it is nothing short of amazing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDorKy-13ak&list=RDKDorKy-13ak&start_radio=1 Half time show lyrics: https://www.google.com/search?q=lamar+kendrick%27s+superbowl+performance+lyrics&oq=Lamar+Kendrick%27s&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBggBEEUYOzIGCAAQRRg5MgYIARBFGDvSAQg3NTEyajBqMagCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8