bazza40

8 hours ago, SoiBiker said:

"Oppressive restrictive government" - Thaivisa code for "7-11 won't sell me Leo in the afternoons".

Perhaps they can't find space in their refrigerators?

9 minutes ago, MissAndry said:

Closed all the bars in CM at midnight.

Army checkpoints, and armed soldiers raiding night spots.

Burmese working on the sly in markets being arrested and deported all around Chiang Mai.

Corruption at CM immigration increased tenfold.

Many of the Thai population are following their new leaders dislike of white foreigners.

 

Do I need to find more?

Midnight closure of bars is not important to me, possibly to some.

I travel from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai regularly, and don't see any change in checkpoints. Admittedly I wouldn't see raids on nightspots, because I'm not there.

So you have a head count based on personal observation of the Burmese being arrested?

What quantitative measure do you have that corruption at CM immigration has increased tenfold?

Based on my observations, many of the Thai population in the North openly mock the new leader's television monologues.

No, you don't need to find more. Just some meaningful data to substantiate your rather wild allegations.

2 minutes ago, Franky Bear said:

WH=hat does it matter <deleted>

If you want to double-team me with rogeroc,  I suggest you bring something more coherent.

29 minutes ago, rogeroc said:

 

Can you not see that i found it offensive because it was simply rude, unnecessary, completely unfounded, unintelligent and pointless.

Having said all that, I find it interesting you were not prepared to disclose your daily/weekly consumption pattern.

This thread seems to attract quite a few hothouse flowers.

7 minutes ago, rogeroc said:

 

Well that is exactly what this thread is about, moving somewhere, else hence my comments which were far from limited to the bar scene. I am personally saddened that i need to consider moving elsewhere as i think potentially Thailand has so much to offer.

 

I can relate to the OP and think insults in this thread such as whingeing Pom are inappropriate and like your comment about me being an alcoholic are not very intelligent.

 

 

I've encountered many whinging Poms over the years, so to me it's not an insult - merely a classification.

I suspect you are offended by the alcoholic comment because it's a bit close to the bone. When you are out drinking at night, how many drinks do you have, and how many non-alcohol days in the week do you have?

9 minutes ago, Franky Bear said:

No, i'm not, i prefer to drink at night. 

Excuse me if I don't understand. You are located in Hong Kong, and are complaining about drinking hours in Thailand?

There is a difference between drinking between 8 pm and midnight, and drinking from midnight to 4 pm. I find it difficult to imagine why anyone would want to do that; however,each to their own.

8 minutes ago, Franky Bear said:

What if we prefer to go out after midnight. I don't like day time drinking personally. 

1 minute ago, rogeroc said:

 

What  a ridiculous and offensive comment. As Franky Bear said i don't like drinking in the day and i rarely venture out until after 10 in the evening. I am a night person i like to go out and enjoy the cooler night air. That does not make me an alcoholic !

So move to somewhere so you can drink to your heart's content in the wee small hours. Possibly most of us don't find Thailand's bar  hours overly restrictive. OK, you're not an alcoholic. Are you an insomniac?

2 minutes ago, rogeroc said:

I am surprised when people say that the political situation is not affecting them. I have been coming to Chiang Mai for 10 years now and more regularly since retirement. The place used to buzz but not now. Restricted drinking hours seem pointless, virtually every bar pulls its shutters at midnight and if you want a drink you are enclosed and not enjoying the warm night air as before. 10 years ago the sight of a Policeman in Chiang Mai was rare, now they are on every street corner and do they make you feel an ounce safer?? The Army move on mass to tourist spots to check on passports and intimidate. The traffic is worse, the pollution from burning lasts 3 months a year, you cannot now walk near the moat without seeing dozens of rats. I rarely even get called a 'hansum man' anymore but i suppose i am 10 years older.

 

Now compare for example with London where the policies have reduced traffic problems in the centre and where low polluting vehicles and lots of bicycles are the norm. The Government has relaxed and not tightened licensing laws, guidance on random stop and search by Police on Londons streets has been tightened to prevent accusations of discrimination. Spend a few days in London and then a few in Chiang Mai and just look and observe how dirty and rubbish ridden Chiang Mai is in comparison. Even the walking path through the jungle to Doi Suthep is spolit by the littering. London is slowly moving forward whilst Chiang Mai is regressing.

 

Greece is a favourite travel destination for me, i spent 6 weeks in 4 different islands last Autumn and don't recall seeing a single Police Officer and i could get a drink when i wanted to. Not a lot more expensive either,

 

In summary the appeal of Thailand is lessening month by month and a lot of that is surely as a result of policy. I cannot comment on other places in Thailand but i can accept that those in a more rural Thailand may have seen limited change and been unaffected. But can anybody who knows Chiang Mai contradict my observations? 

 

 

If you need a drink after midnight, I'd suggest you are an alcoholic.

Perhaps the OP reads the constant whinges on Thai Visa and takes them to heart.

I have been here eight years, and feel none of the pressures the OP alludes to. Having visited Vietnam, I may well have settled there too. For a communist country, there seems to be far less police and army presence compared to Thailand. Having said that, they don't concern themselves with me. So I'm still happy here. Thais have a unique capacity to exasperate me, and simultaneously gladden me.

If the OP found Australians and Australia to be a pain in the butt, I can guarantee Aussies thought he was the classic whinging Pom.

20 hours ago, Hedghog said:

So a doormat made from a Thai flag would be acceptable ?

Your point

4 hours ago, dick dasterdly said:

Rubbish.  I'm a pretty heavy smoker, but have never yet coughed up what you describe.  That's reserved (as far as I know) for those with colds.

Just wait for the lung cancer,and you'll be coughing up blood instead.

It baffles me how smokers can ignore simple statistics. 50% of smokers will die of smoking, via cancer, emphysema, COPD, heart disease or stroke. 50% of those will die before age 50.

Yes, there are smokers who defy the odds, and you may be one of them. It doesn't mean because you are one data point

in millions no other smoker coughs up phlegm. It's actually the mechanism of a body trying to protect itself from damage.

Back on topic, OP should move if it bothers him too much.The stress isn't worth it.

3 hours ago, canuckamuck said:

Some have nothing to offer.

Some adopt sensible Thai hygiene, and leave the primitive Western practices behind.

9 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

 

Whatever you do, dont turn the fan off with your foot, even though the fan is on the floor at foot height. 

Nonsense. My Thai GF does it all the time, and she has never reproached me for so doing.

The basic concept of pointing at someone with your foot is the implication you are treading on their face. Inanimate objects, with the exception of currency, which bears the face of royalty, don't qualify.

On 8/19/2016 at 3:14 PM, sipi said:

So pointing your smelly feet at a fellow passenger on the Piccadilly line is ok?

Smelly feet on the London underground is the least of my worries. I sometimes think the Brits achieved their empire while everyone else was gagging on their smell.

Q. " How do you get an Englishman out of the shower?"

A. "Throw a bar of soap in".

Just buy a bus, take out the seats, and furnish it.

Get them checked for gold content.......

I did it some years ago on a tourist visa with Bangkok Bank, 20,000 baht deposit. Savings account only, but that suited me. All they wanted was a copy of my passport. Possibly the rules have tightened up since then.

I don't understand why working for a company in the UK would be classed as illegal in Thailand. I believe the criteria include not depriving a Thai of employment, which is clearly not the case here.

If I'm retired, and trading Australian shares and options remotely in Thailand, am I working?

It's possible; however, he would have to generate income while waiting for a UK pension to preserve capital. Fairly difficult in these times as savers are being dudded in favour of debtors.

The worst thing he could possibly do is bring the 16 million baht to Thailand. His best course of action is to invest 80 - 90% of his funds in the UK for income, and only bring 10-20% here.

Retiring at 50 is a rather drastic step. I found it difficult to come to terms with retiring at 70.

6 hours ago, Isan Farang said:

 

This is a reading from the tap in Ubon, and then a reading using a 5 stage RO filter. I guess its unknown how accurate the reading is if you do not have a calibrated device.

The instrument is not a water hardness monitor. It states clearly on the front it is measuring conductivity in micro Siemens, which is the standard unit for for conductivity. Hardness is measured as a calcium equivalent in various units, usually ppm or mg/L. Unless the instrument also incorporates a calcium ion-specific electrode ( unlikely) the claim it is  a Water  Hardness Monitor is BS.

On 8/6/2016 at 2:58 AM, kannot said:

dig a  well 80metres  deep then get a proper water test like I did............ok it aint so convenient but it was well tested cost 5k baht to do and is very clean

How do you know the water quality does not change over time? You would need to test at least once a month to ensure it has not been contaminated.

Far easier and cheaper to simply boil water out of the tap or street machine. Chlorine and chloramines are steam distilled off, and bacteria/viruses are zapped.

Have never had a problem with a fixed term deposit - even when the maturity clashed with the 3 month " seasoning ", a letter from the bank was sufficient to resolve it.

If you treat life in Thailand as a daily adventure, retirement is great.

You cannot reason with a mentally ill person. Sell up or rent out your property, and move away. From the original post, you can't afford legal action which may or may not be successful.

You would not shake my hand if offered...?

Probably not.

Why...?

Because some people are miserable human beings.