Enzian

IMO no single entity runs the country; as much as anything can, the country pretty much runs itself. At the same time, if there is anyone in charge, it's the ever shifting money/power elite in it's many forms and permutations; he is part of that. Both these views can be true at once. As regards the trade negotiations, the people at the top are in a very hard place it seems. Thailand has the weaker hand by far, but no one can afford to be seen to be giving in to the US, thereby losing face, the ultimate embarrassment. Interesting times ahead.

A robber with a gun saying "Your money or your life" is also a negotiation move, not that Thailand doesn't fully deserve it.

Funny but this is one of my greatest fears as an 80+ who still travels a lot, and who likes to take random walks after sunset and before dinner. If I get bit in Europe somewhere, there goes my trip. And Thailand is worse, the dogs absolutely cannot be trusted. It's not the pain of the bite, it's the schedule of multiple shots after.

I'm in California (an expensive state) rn and good Scotch and American whiskies are nearly half the price as in Bangkok. But these policies may reduce my overall alcohol intake there; I can't recall lol. But I do recall wondering exactly whose pockets these markups ultimately end up in.

Except a naturally angry woman.

The Thai cyber police specialists are doing important work, but also needed is more public awareness campaigns to educate the populate about things online to absolutely avoid. Not to be Thai-bashing, but there's a certain element of those in influence which seeks to keep the mass of citizens uneducated and naive, and I don't doubt that that leads to some of the bad outcomes we keep hearing about.

Last week I picked up a liter of JW Island Green (travel retail) in Taipei for $51. Months earlier when there was still Duty Free at Arrivals in BKK, the same was over $70. Something needed to change.

Unpopular opinion I know, but maybe there's some advantage to the Asian preference for a "strong man" (or woman as the case may be). Her expression in the photo is impressive. Still, I would have liked to see what Pita could do.

Its not much cheaper in Cambodia. I was in Phnom Penh earlier this year, and generally the difference is not phenomenal, but it is notable. Personally I don't gaf about saving a few bucks here and there, but the thing that stood out was imported spirits, similar to prices in Europe and the US, or lower. Which just went to show me that the outlandish prices we pay in Thailand really are as rigged as we've always assumed.

The elephant in the room is household debt, which this article doesn't even mention. It's a cultural issue more than monetary or fiscal, and the drop of 25 basis points is not likely to help very much.

This is interesting because my tgf owes that bank over a half mil baht for a loan on farm land she bought (though she has this dream that some day it will have a commercial use, the odds of which I have no idea).

That's it exactly. If we are required by law to get tax numbers and do tax returns and pay some tax because we are tax RESIDENTS, then we are no longer tourists, visitors or guests, we are residents. Therefore we should be issued with resident ID cards that distinguish us from tourists, so we get the Thai price at national parks and hospitals and all the other things that have dual pricing. This is what I've always assumed to be the ultimate reason that the EU requires tourists to not stay in the territory for more than 90 out of any given 180 day stretch; they might have to include us in resident systems if they allowed it longer officially. A quick Google search, however, does not confirm my assumption. If anyone has better info, please chime in, and it probably applies to LOS in some way also. FWIW, I'm an American in Italy now (home is Bangkok) counting my days.

I went out for a walk on Thursday evening along the klong in Bangkok, forgot my mask and didn't go back for one, and regretted it. I could feel it in my lungs and especially in my eyes. But then 19 out of every 20 persons I encountered were also maskless, and I can't comprehend it. If this continues I may turn into one of those Get out of Dodge people.

And has that change actually been set in stone, or does it need to be formally published or could it still be taken to court or something?

So what if my son in the US decides to gift my TGF--in appreciation of her kindness to his aged father, not as payment for services rendered--an amount roughly equal to the monthly allowance I normally would give her? Is she liable for taxes on that gain? How could I be liable for taxation? I didn't do it; it was his money. And they can't tax him; he doesn't live here. Am I getting somewhere?