rickudon

Lived - UK, 22 years (London, Kent, Surrey, Birmingham, Hereford) Libya 1 year (oil industry and dodging bullets) UK 3 years (Birmingham) Australia 1.5 years (Northern Territory, dodging crocodiles) UK 30 years (Birmingham, mainly Hampshire) Udon Thani , Thailand, 12 years. Visited, for shorter periods, some holidays, not counted one day only Scotland Wales Malta Denmark Sweden France Belgium Germany Switzerland Spain Czech republic Slovakia Netherlands Florida, USA Ghana (ex-wife's home) Singapore Hong Kong Laos

An 80 year old friend was recently knocked down by a Grab rider while crossing a road. The driver did stop, but his insurance would only pay maximum 30,000 baht. His first day hospital bill was 32,000 baht. Lucky that he still has some baht in the bank. Grab should be responsible for insuring their drivers for an adequate amount - 30,000 baht just doesn't do that.

A couple of points. 1. Fixed pensions. Not that common these days (except UK state pension if you live in Thailand), well you have to plan ahead and expect inflation. Just because inflation was only 2% the year you retire doesn't mean it will stay that low. You can easily live 20 years after retirement and in that time everything could easily double in price due to inflation (and, maybe, much more). Anyone who retires to another country with only a fixed income needs either a lot or an exit plan (low balcony?). 2. why so many brits? Pensions for many Brits are pretty <deleted> (I know!). For those of us who have no partner, retirement in the UK is just a slow death for most - the pension means survival, but all holidays, sports and other leisure activity are expensive. Thailand offers more opportunity to enjoy your sunset years. For me the idea of living in a bedsit with just a tv and a computer for entertainment, and miserable weather, for half the year, was not an appealing prospect. I chose the Thai option. 3. Why complain? See 2. Low pension, high cost of living means many of us had to budget, have ALWAYS had to budget. Existence was always a bit McCawber like. So 10 baht here, 10 baht there and a bit of shrinkflation means choosing what to go without. Thailand has it's attractions, but why anyone who was rich would choose to retire here is beyond me. If when i retired i had a million pounds i doubt i would live in Thailand - holiday maybe, but live no. I had a nice property in France, and another in Florida on my retirement options, but redundancy and divorce sunk those. Ok moan finished!

Sparktrader probably has problems reading any statistics . Even the NOAA data he originally referred to shows clear warming - and as many factors affect annual global temperature, one cool or hot year doesn't make a trend. Some simple facts from the NOAA data: Average Global temperatures have increased by 1.1-1.3 Centigrade in the last 100 years (depends exactly what years you pick). The global temperature record was broken by a large margin (about 0.3 centigrade in 1998. That was a wakeup call. That lasted until 2010, when it was broken again. It was broken again in 2014, every year since then has been warmer than 2010. The record was broken again in 2015 and 2016, the record was equalled in 2020 (not even an El Nino year, when temperatures are on average higher). The average temperature increase for the last 5 years against last century was 0.86 Centigrade, for the previous 5 years it was 0.81 Centigrade - Sparktrader thinks that is a cooling trend!

Just seen this - 2 days ago in Udon Thani (a different crossroads) also had a light failure - i wondered why the cars in front of me were only moving sometimes, then saw that another direction also had a green light! Did see one red light, didn't check the fourth as i was too busy shooting the gap in front of me , needed all 4 eyes on the road......

Yes, they do it. But an utter bit of bureaucratic <deleted>.

Sovereignty is just a word, British citizens do not have any greater rights since Brexit, rather the reverse, lost the freedom to travel and live in Europe with no restrictions. Brexit sold the UK fishing industry out to complete the deal, and the farming industry as well. Now busy trying to roll back Environmental promises as well. Small and Medium enterprises lost the ability to export to Europe with no restrictions, and exports from them have fallen substantially - it is no longer financially viable. Only people to benefit so far are the larger companies (less competition for them). Life was a damn sight better 15 years ago in the UK.

Everything mentioned in the article i can do online with my UK banks from Thailand, with the exception of getting new bankcards sent internationally. Thai banks - lots of counter staff, who are quite helpful, but apart from paying in money, hopelessly bureaucratic. Hours or days to open an account, no credit card, and getting any bank statement /letter takes ages. Even need to photocopy passport for every withdrawal !

I think websites are safer. My internet banking apps on my computer require 3 level security - account number, password and a 3rd level access check which changes every login you make (and also specific to using your own computer). And they always warn you to NEVER give out passwords etc. I get plenty of dodgy phone calls (usually only Thai speakers, ask for english and they always hang up), but practically no phishing emails - various levels of computer security see to that.

Rubbish maths. First was that 19 years, 18 years or 17 years? the 1262 figure equates to 18 years. 1262 deaths a year works out as 3.45 deaths a day, not 5. Trust Thai statistics? Ha! Yes, drownings are an issue, but lets have proper facts. Likewise Dengue fever may be a nasty disease, but death rate is under 0.1% and nothing like as contagious as Covid-19, or many other diseases.

I see a mind wavering between genius and insanity. Or a troll. Not sure which.

It is easy enough to avoid/reduce inheritance taxes with a bit of simple planning - downsize property after retirement, give surplus money to your inheritors. Borrow money and use/give away, any debt reduces your inheritance tax. Of course, you may be so rich that above doesn't make much difference. Then you can afford to pay for advice! I have no inheritance tax liability in UK at all, all done years ago.

When i came to Thailand i assumed that snail mail would never be a good idea. So i arranged for everything to come to me via email (either directly or via scan by family member). Only received about 10 physical letters and 3 items in 12 years...... However, as far as i know, no mail has failed to arrive, and usually in well under a month. Last letter i sent (signed documents) was about 6 years ago.

Rubbish. Covid was very active in West Africa at the start of the year. Low cases is due to 3 factors - warm climate, a young population, but above all, very low testing. My son was there and caught Covid in January, and many of his friends also went down with symptoms. To get tested, he had to go to a private hospital - rapid antigen tests are in short supply - his test cost equivalent of 70 GBP, several weeks salary for many locals - so hardly anyone gets tested. Public healthcare is basic, if it exists, most prefer to stay at home. Deaths - well if you die at home unlikely you will get tested. Plenty of other diseases to choose from for your death certificate (if one is ever provided).

I would love to have 8 ponds, but i think that with all the bank space i would end up with very little water! Did want to buy neighbours swamp land, but the price was too high. He is slowly filling it in with the most disgusting waste, half of it plastic (the polystyrene blows into my pond).

Strange that in these encounters very rare that arrests are made or injured mules found, only dead ones. No witnesses to question about how many pills actually crossed the border....

Next, the main pond, about 1.2 rai. stocked with anything i can get (mekongs, striped catfish, tilapia, Java barb, Pacu, giant Gourami, Carp, climbing Perch, Snakeheads) next, As i have a bad back, the Isaan slaves do the heavy lifting! (wife supervising) Finally, the rice field next to the main pond, about 1 rai. Originally all 3 were one big pond .... or more accurately, swamp, shallow and sometimes mainly dry. Redesigned by self and dug out by a large excavator (the rice field was my wife's idea, and was double the intended size!

here are my photos..... First, the stock pond, 0.6 rai, stocked with tilapia and Java barb and drained about once every 2 years.

The 'fishing hut' also wiped out a year of savings..... Oh, and forget about the hard graft! 2 hours a day is about my maximum. One reason i like this thread is that I see similarities to my situation, although with differences. We both previously had afro wives (mine was from West Africa), came to Thailand at a similar time, got married, and we both had a daughter (mine is 10 years). We both live in a village (although mine is somewhat urbanised, on the edge of Udon Thani), both like ponds and fish, and both like a bit of farming (although Owl is serious about it, i just play at it). My daughter also likes drawing and painting.

Not posted here for a long time - got distracted with other events. I was building up the banks of my ponds, and it took a lot longer than anticipated, doing it by hand! Had a truck load of soil and bought a wheel barrow to shift it. I found that typically 10 loads a day was my limit - it was more like boulder clay and took some time to dig it out and then spread it where needed - mainly about 10-80 metres away. By end of March i had done about 75% of it, and 65 metres of bank had been raised by 5-15 cm. It was good exercise, but getting a bit hot by end of March. Now, i had kept telling the wife i wanted a fishing hut on the pond for shade. We had plenty of old wood from when the house was renovated, so wanted to use that. Unfortunately i am hopeless at DIY, so needed a worker. Wife was not enthusiastic. But then her sister built a very nice Sala, and now she said OK - but said she wanted something a bit nicer - I should have heard the alarm bells ringing! What i got was this - A copy of her sisters Sala with a new road up the side of the pond (including 10 trucks of fill) which obliterated most of my 3 months of bank building!

Constituents do not get a vote without democracy.

Putin is just another Hitler. You cannot let such a man prevail.

I do the marriage, and as said, just need to get your copies of documents and photos day before, then bank statement on the day. Any wait at immigration on the day is more about your queue number than the interview - maybe takes them one hour to get documents stamped and ready instead of 30 minutes. I only live 20 minutes away from the IO so going back after the under consideration period not an issue. Apart from having to keep 400,000 baht less in the bank account, you can actually use it during the year (well, 9 months of it anyway) while retirement you must keep half (400,000 baht) in the account at all times. You can do monthly income, but it has to be EVERY month - whether in Thailand or not. And one cockup and your visa may not get extended next time. The 400,000 i save makes 5-10 times more money than the interst it would get in a Thai bank account

That works out as about 5 million pounds a year. Considering how prone to flooding Bangkok is, they are not spending enough. And no grand plan, just haphazard local works, pumping and draining water to the next district ...... he who has the biggest pump wins!

Urban tap water is pretty safe in Thailand. been here 14 years and number of times i have had serious stomach problems i could count on the fingers of one hand. Brush teeth, boil tap water and use, I trust it more than the wife does! Most cases i can trace to contact with dirt and water in the environment. I studied water management so know a lot about water safety. Bottled water often has a higher bacterial count than tap water. But, as in any country, accidents and incompetence can happen (Flint Michigan?). I was once asked to check water tanks where i worked in the UK after someone claimed to have caught Paratyphoid form it. I was pretty shocked - water storage tanks were uncovered, with open windows close by, loads of sediment on the bottom and even sparrow skeletons in 2 tanks! Water samples i took were OK but chlorine levels low. After i presented the results, access to the tank areas was sealed (to me!) and all the tanks were replaced....... Bottled water is also only as good as the adherence of the company who makes it to safety regulations, testing and maintenance.