konying

Agreed. But you should be able to walk around freely without being harassed by these nut jobs. They are the source of many crimes here in Pattaya. Don't want to generalize, but those on beach road late at night need to be dealt with.

I no longer get bothered by them, might have something to do with having my 40kg pitbul with me

Happy to rent him out on hourly basis

Had a friend a girl with maybe 40 kg who had an unusual big Rottweiler and always went for a walk in a pretty bad area. She told frequently other women asked her if they can walk along and if she might change the route a bit so it goes closer to their place.....Lovely dog...unfortunately complete untrained and a bit nervous.....

Oh mine has not had any training , since puppy he hates Thai man. No idea why. Loves women but hates Thai man

Agreed. But you should be able to walk around freely without being harassed by these nut jobs. They are the source of many crimes here in Pattaya. Don't want to generalize, but those on beach road late at night need to be dealt with.

I no longer get bothered by them, might have something to do with having my 40kg pitbul with me

Happy to rent him out on hourly basis

Looks like a Hi-So tourist and start to throw verbal profanities at a GROUP of actually young men who dress like women at the age 69.

I would only do that if I am sure I can outrun them (if they wear hi-heels)

May be deep inside he respects women, so did not want to fight back

One more data point. The "early hours" are for sleeping.

So morning jogs are not permitted?

A non-recourse mortgage is what people get in 13 States, and that means that if you get sick of your house or it goes down in value, dramatically, you can throw the keys on the table, and all they get is the collateral; they can't come after you. I was told by the head of an Australian investor group, buying homes in America, that is something people can only dream about in OZ, and if they did have them, they sure as heck wouldn't be buying houses in Atlanta and Detroit.

http://phoenixwealthgroup.com.au/about-salena-kulkarni/ from Canberra.

So not only we are back to America, which again for the 4th time has nothing to do with OP, but now someone told you what people in Australia dream about.

Wow beat me to it, but will still offer my help

Give me her name and number, send me the money and i will pass it on

Same here, Konni, over and over, and many act like it was the biggest accomplishment of their lives. If you don't declare bankruptcy, they will still get a judgement against you for 10 years plus interest, and it can be renewed for an additional 10 years...if it attaches to real property, they will be the first ones paid, when it is sold, or could stop the transaction altogether, Bankruptcy laws are more stringent now, you will disclose everything, and lying would become a Federal matter. Student loans aren't dis-chargeable.

Thankfully, not everyone comes from a country, where government can rape you and still consider itself to be biggest democracy

In OP's case, what happens in US or to US citizens has zero relevance.

Try getting a non-recourse mortgage in Australia, with 3% down or even 50% down.

What is a non-recourse mortgage? Again , 3rd time, what happens in America has no relevance to OP or this discussion

You should not rest easy because you will be paying more for a lot of things for decades. Many employers also look at your credit (in America), it's perfectly legal. "Delinquent" doesn't go over to well with landlords, either, who are also creditors. Pfizer makes an 8000% profit on a tablet of Zithromax...doesn't mean it's ok to steal from a pharmacy.

Again what happens in America or to Americans has no relevance to OP at all.

In Australia, landlords can not look into your credit history easily, it cost money and most do not.

Also after 7 years your credit history is cleared.

People are not employees of the banks to take your comparison to Pfizer

Bank willingly issues credit card, being well aware it is an unsecured loan, ie takes a risk. The return on banks gamble is ridiculous fees and interest rates.

PS. I will be paying more respectively, because banks will continue to raise fees or introduce new fees using any excuse imaginable while still showing billions dollar profits

Probably mentally unbalanced to begin with...weird how some guys can't seem to spot them beforehand. And yeah, the seventh floor is a bit iffy...should be at leat ten or higher to guarantee the desired result. She may now just be a quadrapalegic the rest of her life.

You're pretty clueless about mental health. Stress causing anxiety and depression can come on slowly caused by relationship troubles. She may have been perfectly OK when they met. Her partner may have mental conditions, which caused her to flip.

Also, being Thai, communication may have been very difficult and added to the stress of her relationship. Most guys find it's hard enough to get along with women in their own country, let alone with a women from a totally different language and culture, and in most cases uneducated. Most guys are seeking companionship here because they failed back at home.

Do you hold medical degree to make your assertions? or may be have become an expert on how Thai think?

Some hurt themselves to get the attention

Some hurt themselves to get pity

Some are just plain stupid to understand or consider the consequences

Some want to test the waters, hoping to be stopped.

i have had the pleasure of being with 2 idiots like that.

One threw her self in front of a slow moving car because i broke up with her, her motivation was get pity and for me to take her back.

Second one, decided to jump from 26th floor of my condo, because i told her i did not want her anymore. Apparently her wanting to jump and kill herself, were my words which triggered some memory of her father not wanting her.

Everything was in slow motion,i am assuming to get me to stop her, which i did, but still did not want to be with her, so to achieve her goal, she decided to cut her wrists.

Sadly for her, this also failed and after fixing up her wrists, she was on her way and banned from returning.

Strangely enough, on both occasions 2 days later, both of them had no "mental issues" to stroll the streets looking for the next idiot, naturally all heart broken

And for your last assertions why most guys are here, is it safe to assume this is the reason why you are here? because you failed back home?

For the life of me, can not figure out, how and when you became an expert on what most guys found back home and why most were here

Same here, Konni, over and over, and many act like it was the biggest accomplishment of their lives. If you don't declare bankruptcy, they will still get a judgement against you for 10 years plus interest, and it can be renewed for an additional 10 years...if it attaches to real property, they will be the first ones paid, when it is sold, or could stop the transaction altogether, Bankruptcy laws are more stringent now, you will disclose everything, and lying would become a Federal matter. Student loans aren't dis-chargeable.

Thankfully, not everyone comes from a country, where government can rape you and still consider itself to be biggest democracy

In OP's case, what happens in US or to US citizens has zero relevance.

This has been said in different ways, but I'd like to put it more directly:

When you borrow from any institution with no intention of repaying, you aren't screwing the institution (and no twisted rationale justifies the attempt). You are screwing ordinary people who will compensate the institution either through increased costs or taxes. Congratulations on your moral bankruptcy.

Well said. We all pay for it in the end.

I've heard and heard of several people boasting how they ran up huge credit and store cards and shortly before leaving took out bank loans and pay day lender loans then skipped the country - one had schnuffled over $20,000 altogether, and it sickens me. The worst thing is that nobody will chase them for the money, it isn't worth their time and money to chase someone living out of the country unless it's a significant amount. The debt collectors will make more effort than the banks but they will write it off pretty quickly.

I really don't know how these people sleep at night.

Sorry to say, but its rubbish,

We do not pay for it.

Banks write it off as a loss and get a tax deduction.

If everyone paid, banks would just find another way to create tax write offs and still raise the fees.

With people defaulting and bad economy, banks still show billion dollar profits on quarterly basis,not to mention most important factor, banks gamble and loose 100 times more in shares and funds than the bad debts, and after having lost billions, executives get bonuses in the millions and pay rises, while we the people pay higher fees.

I have a few cards for about 20 years now which cost me $350 per year in annual fees, thats $7000 already paid for nothing.

Interest rate on those cards is around 26%, while banks borrow at 2%, personal loans at 7%-9%, rest assured, with interest being almost 15 times the cost or 3 times the rate, bank did not loose any money if someone defaulted when looking at the whole picture.

Bank gives you 4% interest on your money, but charges you 26% on the card, plus the annual fees, plus $20 for late payment even if the payment should be $0.01

So who is the real crook? Should i default and not be able to repay, rest assured i will not loose any sleep over it, being well aware that over the years i was raped on yearly basis and in actual fact bank did not loose a cent, if anything even with me defaulting, bank would still be ahead over the years

There is no silver bullet I'm afraid. The international insurers Cigna / Bupa Intl / etc etc will offer the best coverage but at a steep premium price. The local Thai insurers Bupa / AIA / etc will offer good hospital coverage and easy use cards but pre-existing conditions AND anything related to pre-existing condition will potentially be excluded from coverage. What that means is high blood pressure even when treated, excludes you from coverage for stroke, heart disease, kidney disease if they can be linked somehow....

The best advice is to get a hospitalization plan you can afford, out patient coverage generally not cost effective, live as healthy as you can and make sure you get high limits as much as you can afford. No easy answers.

BTW...all insurers will tell you what you want to hear not just ones that advertise here.

Local insurers also can and often do cut off at a certain age, while international covers are for life.

Best to contact a broker and get a few quotes to compare.

Make sure to get one withOUT cut off age.

Premiums are determined by the age, then there is the pre existing conditions, which may result in some loading.

If you are a non smoker, and within insurance category of fit, some offer really attractive packages, not too sure what happens when lodging claims though

There is a possibility of three problems with every foreigner/Thai interaction.

Problem 1

Thai doesn't know the answer, but will give one anyway so not to appear stupid.

Problem 2

Thai person does know the answer, but their English isn't good enough to tell foreigner, so just says 'not have' or similar.

Problem 3

Thai person can't understand your question (their poor English), but too proud to admit can't understand you, so just give out random information unrelated to your question.

All very true, in this case though neither apply.

He only wanted residency certificate.

She did not refuse that, she advised he could not open a bank account, even after getting one

Not quite. A terrorist is a terrorist and they operate by actions directed against the civilian population. A freedom fighter fights a gov't.

Those fighting the Assad regime are not terrorists. They are the enemy of Assad. Those lopping off heads, holding sex slaves and other atrocities are terrorists.

The two groups aren't always mutually exclusive, by the way.

So by your account , when freedom fighter cuts out soldiers heart and eats it, does he fall into a terrorist or a freedom fighter category?

When one is sponsored by foreign entity to remove current government for the benefit of foreign entity , is one a terrorist or a freedom fighter?

Cutting out the heart of a soldier does not make him a terrorist. Deliberately cutting out the heart of of a civilian does.

But I don't think this topic is about a definition of a terrorist. It's about Assad not negotiating with armed groups.

Nor he should, unless you believe some idiots with guns are the ones to run the country

Not quite. A terrorist is a terrorist and they operate by actions directed against the civilian population. A freedom fighter fights a gov't.

Those fighting the Assad regime are not terrorists. They are the enemy of Assad. Those lopping off heads, holding sex slaves and other atrocities are terrorists.

The two groups aren't always mutually exclusive, by the way.

When one is sponsored by foreign entity to remove current government for the benefit of foreign entity , is one a terrorist or a freedom fighter?

The debt is almost certainly non-recoverable - that doesn't mean your chum gets away with non-payment. His bank, assuming it's the one in Australia, will go through their usual debt collection process... which means his credit rating at home will be lousy if he goes home and if he goes home, they'll be following up on collection no matter how his circumstances are.

While debts are normally enforceable globally, in practice - it's nigh on impossible for an Australian bank to collect a debt in Thailand. It's more likely the debt will be sold on at 30% of the $ value to a debt collection agency and they will try to collect at home.

If it's a Thai bank... the reverse would be true if he now fled to Australia.

There is no statute of limitations on a debt you incur knowingly. If, for example, you run up an overdraft, pay it off (but miss a small portion) and then leave your country and come back 7 years later - they will normally write that off because you didn't know and they didn't contact you to put it right (mainly because they couldn't). But there's no point at which a debt (like a hospital bill) just gets written off... however, if you do want to clear the debt for pennies on the dollar. The best time to make an offer is after your bank threatens to sell the debt on to a debt collection agency - 35% of the figure as a lump sum will do the trick (it's more than they'd have got from the agency). You can also get them to clear your credit rating at the same time if you do that.

Bad debt gets written off and your credit cleared after 7 years( from memory)

New law introduced few years ago allows you to tell who ever is harassing to stop calling as an official warning. Should they ignore it, a complaint to ombudsman gets company fined $10000-$100000 per incident.

If it's a credit card, bank can not and will not do anything.

Credit cards are an unsecured credit, hence the crazy interest rates.

Bank will sell the debt to collection agency who will annoy you endlessly.

Despite what "experts " on Thai visa like to believe , bank will struggle to get a court judgement on a credit card debt, furthermore legal costs would be very high with no recourse.

Banks know this and that's why they sell the debt to collection agency for a fraction of the debt and write off the rest as a loss, ie tax deduction

Maybe he should focus on rebels and not civilians:

http://time.com/4129222/russia-airstrikes-syria-civilian-casualties-isis/

One airstrike hit a post office, part of a series of strikes that killed 17 civilians. At least four other attacks targeted hospitals. An airstrike on Sunday hit a marketplace, killing at least 30 people.

Russias military intervention in Syria is killing civilians at a high rate in rebel-held areas of the countrys northwest, even as the campaign has failed to produce a decisive shift in the larger civil war between regime of president Bashar Assad and his opponents.

Well at least he does not bomb hospitals , ehh?!

Which of the four hospitals that were targeted were not hit?

Which of the 4 did not house terrorists ? And which were totally terrorist free?

I don't think there are any easy answers. But it was pretty much started by brutal dictators who've ruled Syria with an iron fist for decades. Syria, like many other countries in the ME, got caught up in the Arab Spring uprisings.

I did read this and it make sense. But who knows.

http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/us-russia-gas-pipeline-war-syria-could-destabilise-putin-103505758

As Orenstein explained, in 2009, Qatar proposed to build a pipeline to send its gas northwest via Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Syria to Turkey However, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad refused to sign the plan; Russia, which did not want to see its position in European gas markets undermined, put him under intense pressure not to.

Russias Gazprom sells 80 per cent of its gas to Europe. So in 2010, Russia put its weight behind an alternative Iran-Iraq-Syria pipeline that would pump Iranian gas from the same field out via Syrian ports such as Latakia and under the Mediterranean. The project would allow Moscow to control gas imports to Europe from Iran, the Caspian Sea region, and Central Asia.

Interesting analysis, under so called brutal dictator there was no civil war and Syrians did not migrate to Europe in millions , yet under great democracy defined by some, hundreds of thousands are killed and millions hiding elsewhere.

Maybe he should focus on rebels and not civilians:

http://time.com/4129222/russia-airstrikes-syria-civilian-casualties-isis/

One airstrike hit a post office, part of a series of strikes that killed 17 civilians. At least four other attacks targeted hospitals. An airstrike on Sunday hit a marketplace, killing at least 30 people.

Russias military intervention in Syria is killing civilians at a high rate in rebel-held areas of the countrys northwest, even as the campaign has failed to produce a decisive shift in the larger civil war between regime of president Bashar Assad and his opponents.

Well at least he does not bomb hospitals , ehh?!

Market is balancing itself out, clearly not in favor of expansive hotels.

When i first visited PP, there were just 3 choices.

Guesthouses for around $22, a horror

Something OK, was around $40 per night and then the 5 stars $100+

Now, more options have opened up, for $25/night, one can get a decent room, equivalent to what use to be $40 with good security, all the facilities and good location

The old $40 is now asking for $65.

I guess the top end, now has to either offer more or drop prices to compete, simple economics really

An observation today at Pattaya immigration.

While waiting to get my ticket, one guy in front of me wanted a letter of residency to open a bank account.

Officer/lady serving him, advised him that unless he has at least a 2 months visa he will not be able to open a bank account.

She reassured him 5 times, leaving poor guy in despair for whatever reason.

The truth is. not only he did not need letter of residency as clearly some branch advised him, but he can most certainly open a bank account even on a 15 day stamp.

Just recently, had a mate over, who lives in UK but holds Latvian passport, so he gets only 15 day stamp.

He easily opened a bank account at Krungsri Bank, Pattaya Tai branch.

His account is restricted from transferring money from Thailand, but no problem transferring to Thailand or doing any deposits/withdrawals.

So, just heads up, just because someone wears a uniform, it does not mean they are telling the facts.

I found when you ask same question but different person, in Thailand , usually get totally different and often contradicting answers.

PS, I did approach him and told him she was wrong and where to go to open an account, but he refused to accept it claiming but immigration told him otherwise

Anyone know how or where Adam learned Thai, because he really is fluent

increase the rate??? are you kidding

thai people can not pay their huge debts now. you are really expert joepai

I did not realize BOT sets interest rates based on what people can afford

Ohhh true love no matter how idiotic it may be, and of course distressed boyfriend was lacking any and all brain cells to at least put a shirt on himself