Enzian

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?

But it does! I'm in Phnom Penh. Why? Because this way I've put off doing a 90 day report for almost 3 more months (and I won't then). I've been to Hong Kong, Penang, Manila, Singapore, all because the 90 day gave me an excuse to get off my rear and see more of the nearby world. It's good, whatever it takes. And Cambodia has an e-arrival system which is distinct from the evisa, though still causes confusion. But it works, is not difficult, and perhaps it helps them in some way. My question is why Americans can't get an exemption on arrival like with Thailand, but that's their business. (It's also my question with India.)

And why did he flee to Cambodia and not, say, Burma or elsewhere? People involved in Cambodia would have as much motive to liquidate him as to protect him, probably more. But apparently police there got him before he could get settled. And the Thai police had such good evidence that it couldn't be ignored. Now are we going to learn anything about how high up this goes in Cambodia?

"The maximum amount that you can send per transfer depends on the recipient's bank." That's exactly what I asked a manager and teller at my usual Krungsri branch in Exchange Tower here in Bangkok yesterday. (I told the teller after a withdrawal that I wanted to speak with a manager, and she spoke to the same teller before fully answering me.) I recently started using Wise instead of a direct Swift transfer from my US bank to my baht account at Krungsri (to get a better conversion rate of course). But the limit was a hard and fast 49,999, unlike a direct bank to bank Swift transfer used in the past. I asked the manager if I could double that by signing something at the bank end here. She said no, it was a city or country wide rule. (She funnily waved her arms upward and said that it was from the big man above lol.) For ALL banks. (BTW I did have my sender try to check with Wise first and got nowhere.) Now if SCB were an exception I could attempt a transfer to my gf's account there as a test, but it's too soon to consider that. So the question is, does it indeed depend on which bank at this end, or on the difference between a direct bank-to-bank Swift transfer, as opposed to the use of a middleman service like Wise?

There's a club called The Overstay. Look it up.

It doesn't matter which one it was, what matters, and what matters for the world ongoing, is that the Chinese did not and do not cooperate. Even if they did, it might not answer the question, which reinforces the point that it doesn't matter; we are still going to try to prepare for both. But there would be some satisfaction if a smoking gun were to one day appear.

Occurs to me that a big problem with the current and developing situation is that it could be considered inherently unfair by many nationalities. In the business I'm in (RE) I have to treat everyone the same, and I would want to anyway. I can't treat someone who moved to my area from NYC differently from someone who came from Hawaii. The DTA system is literally from another century. Americans are favored, others not. It's a mess, and needs a complete overhaul. Ideally ex-pats would be exempt if they otherwise contribute to the economy. But the current mess is a big reason why it may take a very long time for any kind of enforcement to come about.

Were the Duty Free shops at Swampy Arrivals (when you land in the country and leave the airport) ever removed as was proposed earlier this year? I like good Scotch and fly often enough that half my collection has come from Duty Free here and elsewhere. But when I last arrived and walked out on 11/25 I didn't see any shops, but I may have missed something. (And I already had my limit in my bag from my point of departure, so it was not important that day.) Anyone know?

Example of an exception. I American (on Non-O only) was in a 4 year relationship with a Thai woman (not married), and for the last two years we lived in a condo she had owned all along in Din Daeng. For some reason (I was giving her money for the mortgage, but that was informal) we decided to put me in her blue book as that would give me a yellow book and pink card; the process at the local office was not difficult. After we broke up I eventually discarded the yellow book with the irrelevant address, but the pink card, which never expires, still comes in handy. And FWIW, I have no current interest in activating the number on the pink card to be a TIN, partly because I'm in a situation where I only remit US SS. (Oh and I should add, the reason may have been that I was thereby exempt from filing 90 day reports, and so I did not, and never heard any protest from Immigration at time of extension.)

When a young Bangkokian sees the real availability of a middle class lifestyle and then thinks "I could opt for that, or have kids and remain in relative poverty for the rest of my life", it's pretty much a no brainer.

Another thing they do is put their hands at your lower groin on the sides of your junk and then lean in and hold pressure. I usually have to tell them to do soft, or just move on. I've heard that some do this because when they release the pressure there is a rush of blood which may incline you more to paying for a happy ending upsell. But many overdo it, and for an old bod it can be painful and dangerous. If I sense a neck crack is coming, I try to be ready with a big NO.