lamyai3

It was a civil servant responsible for assessing asylum eligibility - Ministry of Defence is keeping it anonymous.

There's always been bars down in Pattaya catering to this, and never any shortage of punters. I think the going rate was 100฿ tip for as long as you could stay under without coming up for air.

For the British teas there are some alternatives (from Sri Lanka I think) in Gourmet which are a fair bit cheaper than Twinings and a ton better than Liptons.

Oolong tea is from China

"Hello, are you dead yet?" "Yang mai die?" is one of my favourite Thai greetings...

"I play old skool anthems" Have you got any Bachman–Turner Overdrive?

"Is it true sir," West Palm Beach lawyer Spencer Kuvin asked Epstein, "that you have what's been described as an egg-shaped penis?"

Complete and utter clusterf*ck.

Bear in mind the tax situation has become a big concern for expats recently with the current government expressing their intent to go after worldwide income in the near future. Whether it ultimately happens or not is moot, but the freedom from tax concerns that have been enjoyed here since the early 90's (for locals and foreigners alike) is no longer a given.

Just at the same time as Pattaya is lamenting the drop in Chinese tourists, they decide to ostracise one third of the world's smoking population. You couldn't make it up...

Worth following the officers advice and getting the other certificate while it's still very easy to do the renewal. Recent announcements from DLT suggest that in the near future it might be a requirement to do full written and practical tests when applying for a new licence.

It's probably one of the reasons that the girls frequently nip out of the bar for a quick bowl of som tam. Sure they love the stuff, but they must have also noticed it puts more than a few customers off wanting to kiss them. Also the reverse cowboy grinding they often do when they go and sit with customers avoids such unpleasantries.

Snogging visibly in public was very big in the 1980's with kids doing it in the school corridors etc - it was one of the things along with smoking that was in large part about looking cool and rebellious. Not sure if this happened so much a generation earlier with stricter social norms etc (and don't know how much it still happens now) but your friend is a Gen X'er, and he'll probably never be able to shake off the underlying feeling that people around him are secretly impressed to see girls kissing him "with tongues".

The non-grandfathering applied to the extensions as well, that's what made the visa unworkable for many. Non O-A was one of the best options for years until it suddenly wasn't - if the government ever pulled the same trick with Non O extensions then many people are going to be up the junction.

This is definitely a concern. Changes made to the Non O-A visa a few years ago were not grandfathered in, confidence in them honouring this in the future is not high.

The OP mentioned a potential new risk of high taxation in Thailand based on proposals to tax worldwide income - I agreed that it would likely cause many people to leave, at least to the point of becoming non tax resident in Thailand. Of course they'll be subject to tax rules elsewhere, no one has suggested they wouldn't. Regarding DTAs etc, the Revenue Department has failed to make things clear at the present time, especially regarding what constitutes assessible income etc. But that's a different topic completely.

I mean non resident status in Thailand - for sure that might mean reverting back to tax residence in your home country or elsewhere. Nothing in their current laws or proposals talks about taxing people who spend less than 180 days here, now or in the future.

Good list. I guess the biggest concerns are 1, 3 and 7. If they implement worldwide taxation like they've said they would, it'd drive many out, or at least see them shifting to a non resident status.

Just as long as you don't put money down on Pascal's Wanger

This condition is like a conjuror's trick - now you see it, now you don't.

"The family's journey begins in Bangkok, moving to Hua Hin to determine living costs."

He was around Nana in the months prior to that, often on the steps of Family Mart. I think he finally outstayed his welcome and someone was assigned to relocate him one night.

I was a cider mogul in my mid teens for a couple of years before I could afford lager.

According to the rule book Crazy Golf has an eight shot limit per hole.

In case it hasn't been mentioned yet, it's low season. It'd be highly unusual if things were super busy.