Scouse123

Great response, Agree absolutely with you.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/nov/17/how-wearing-shoes-tropical-diseases-podoconiosis-acc

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/nov/17/how-wearing-shoes-tropical-diseases-podoconiosis-acc

No, you won't hear Asian people complaining about it because the majority are sheep and would drive off a cliff if everybody else was doing it, and it's called not thinking for themselves. I have pointed out the dirty habits displayed by the locals regarding food and hygiene, and that part of the post has been ignored. Nobody is being a boorish clod walking around with an air of superiority, that is a dull and thoughtless way of trying to explain something that you are unable to explain, so you resort to name-calling. Your response is ill-thought-out and childish.

I've seen and been in shops with chipped, dog-eared and broken lino that insist on the removal of shoes.

Well, how do shops feel in the UK where we have a rainy climate? They seem to manage and the shops are always clean as a rule. And there are no set rules to it in Thailand, as other posters have pointed out. In some places where you would expect the removal of shoes, they don't mind, and in places where you would think they wouldn't care, they do! Keeping a clean floor is part of general housekeeping running a shop in any country, and it's not unique to Thailand.

Silly man with little or no money, a long stay in jail and him at 45 years old. What a dope!

This is a contentious issue, so before all the poison pen letters commence, read with an open mind. It has always been a bit of a bugbear to me in Isaarn households. I can understand a dwelling, family home and local customs where the family sleeps, eats and moves around on the floor, much as though it is alien to me., scurrying around on the floor. It is their house and their rules. That is OK. I'll even go along with the reasoning about bringing dirt, dust and grime from outside as the reason. It makes sense, even though these houses are usually untidy and in complete disarray, except that small square of linoleum they insist must be kept clean. I don't get it when it is a shop selling products, services and goods, why do they want me to take my shoes off entering a doctor's/dentist surgery or similar? I don't take my shoes off entering Lotus or going to the shopping mall etc They claim it's a hygiene thing. Well, my sensibilities get offended and go on high alert when I see these families all huddled together inside AND outside the dwelling, on a dirty mat eating food in the grime, then one trots off to the Thai-style toilet and returns, throwing the water off their hands, and drying them on an old shirt in front of you, to sit and eat from a communal bowl again. You know full well without asking, that they haven't thoroughly washed their hands after toilet use. That is far more unhygienic than not removing one's shoes. I have seen the inside of too many Thai toilets in homes where there is no soap, hand cleanser, paper towels or anything to clean one's hands after a person has used the facilities, only to sit down and munch away with their hands communally. When you are using the family bathroom, they are usually untidy, not clean, with a cup with toothbrushes sticking out all over the place and old bits of soap, here, there and everywhere. Disorganised, and I've seen this in many homes, including those that are allegedly middle class with government jobs. No, I am not contradicting myself regarding the soap issue. There are either tiny pieces scattered around or none at all. And then the dreaded dirty holding tank where the stagnant water lingers that they use to flush the toilet. It's not like the Vietnamese way of eating, where anything taken from a communal plate involves the use of chopsticks, placed in your bowl, and then separate utensils used for eating, to avoid cross-contamination.

They only see life through their blinkered vision.

Agents who are in the widespread practice of obtaining extensions from different provinces for people who do not have the necessary funds in the bank. There are plenty in the likes of Bangkok and Pattaya, who work hand in glove with immigration, however, I think you know this already, and have nothing better to do with your time, except stalk on here acting or being obtuse.

Yes, But, you are doing continuous extensions. This guy is applying for a new extension each year and it is quite legal what he is doing. He is doing the two-month seasoning and getting one year. Then using his money in total. The following year, when his extension expires, he is leaving and then entering on a waiver I believe, and then applying for a 90-day visa whilst in Thailand and putting his money in the bank for two months. Then he gets another 1-year extension. Rinse and repeat, that is how I understood him to be doing it anyway.

You are being pedantic as I think you know very well what I am getting at.,

Without a doubt. Clowns on here want to inconvenience thousands of incoming travellers for a few silly mishaps. As you say, the offenders have not even got any criminal history, so how would 'screening' help? Nothing but soundbites from an empty head in a government press office.

There is only so much screening that can be done, and the rest is the luck of the draw. As I said before, they can't expect massive revenue to come through the airports and spend trillions in the country without some hiccups, and that is all these things are Hiccups. A young kid playing with a horse, A Swiss that kicked a woman on some steps, and a couple of Kiwis that subdued an overzealous policeman? These are hardly mass shootings, murders or bombings, are they? There was even one poster on here last week advising that every person should have their luggage checked on arrival at the airport!!!! .............Could you honestly imagine that? Way too many knee-jerk reactions here, by a sensationalist press corps with too much time on their hands!

They can't stop their income stream, that would be very Un-Thai.

Well, If you are going to break the rules, you might as well go the whole hog and not do things by halfway. Well done!

Too many to count at my age.

Can you enter this country on a 30-day waiver and then apply in the country for a 90-day visa to allow you to put funds in the bank for the 2-month seasoning time? I've just had 800K in the bank solidly for 12 years.

I have read on this forum about some guys who just put the 800K in 2 months before, got the retirement extension and then used all the 800K. The following year they just reapply for a new extension, thereby, not having to keep money in the bank for the additional 10 months when they obtained the extension. What is wrong with that method? I suppose a bit of messing about.

three to four days.

No, it won't, it will lead to unnecessary hardship on the wrong people. I can afford to pay plenty more for an annual extension of stay, but why should I and what benefit is it? I resent the present rules where you have to permanently leave 400K always in the bank and for five months at least, 800K in the bank. It's daft, I have had separate health insurance for many years, those on the 65K method don't have to do this, so why should I? And no, I don't want the faff and bother of proving the 65K a month method along with proof and paperwork continuously, nor do I want an illegal agent.

With 40 million foreign nationals coming through the airports, you should reasonably expect some trouble and inconvenience. It's the price you pay for being a hideaway for crooks in the past, much like Spain was, and its famous well-known worldwide Red Light districts of Bangkok and surrounding areas. There are many more good tourists than bad ones.

And how does that help weed out the bad apples? It doesn't, it just inconveniences a great deal of pensioners who have done nothing wrong but are nearing the minimum limits to stay. The real ones involved in organised crime wouldn't care if it was increased tenfold. Crooks don't follow the rules or the law.

I listed them, and I have better things to do with my time than encourage an online troll with plenty of time on his hands.

1. We don't have CM smog. 2. We don't have CM traffic. 3. it is a pleasant laid-back place to live, especially in my area with a low crime rate. 4. People are pleasant and very much treat you, as you treat them. 5. The Police do not harass you. 6. I don't get asked for tips or backhanders at Immigration when applying for my extension. 7. Prices for food and drink are very reasonable in the local bars and eateries. 8. Roi Et airport is 45 mins, so handy for Bangkok and all SE Asian countries that I can depart to from DMK. 9. We are two hours away from Khonkaen with some of the best hospital care available. 10. Our town is situated an hour from Savannakhet, Laos for border crossings, visas, etc. 11. We have a range of tourist attractions from the Annual pageants, to the famous Rocket Festival and the Dinosaur Museum. 12. We are fairly light in numbers of foreigners and those that are here tend to blend in and keep themselves to themselves. 13. The main local Crown Prince hospital is less than a mile away. 14. Our area has good employment with one of the main and biggest sugar factories in Thailand located here. 15. You don't live here.....😂😂 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitr_Phol_Group https://www.thailandee.com/en/events-thailand/kalasin-rocket-festival-kuchinarai-district-216 https://itsbetterinthailand.com/activities/dinosaur-park-kalasin/ https://th.kompass.com/c/crown-prince-kuchinarai-hospital/th0030191/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuchinarai_district Here are a few reasons why I like it.