chilli42

I have no clue what he means by “a hub of soft power” but from a pure real estate development perspective he is dead on with the value of this building. There is so little of the old Asia charm left in Thailand …. sure the Chinese tourists don’t care but other nationalities will and in time so will Thai’s

I can’t say I have any specific knowledge of the banking rules here. I have deposited over B3 million in a number of different banks on a number of occasions. Never had a question …. and would not have expected any. Don’t think you have anything to worry about.

I do agree with you. I certainly was vaccinated in school more than I can remember. Nobody asked me or my parents. We lined up for the vaccine and that was it. The outcome was that tremendous strides were made in public health ... no more polio, no more diphtheria, etc. These were real vaccines that worked to prevent the spread of disease and stopped them cold. I am not convinced that the analogy works so well with Covid 19 vaccines. The best one can hope for a reduction in symptoms and a reduced likelihood of death. I am double vaxed. I did this to allow me to travel. I am not convinced that isolating a group of people who choose against a vaccine, that does not really work, is sensible (if it did work then I would be on board). Also, there is never any mention of the untold millions that have been infected with Covid and recovered (or were asymptomatic). Anyway, the die is cast for now and this is the direction every country will take. Lets see how we all feel about this when we are asked to get booster vax #4 and #5 and that being "properly vaxed" is a condition of our visa extensions.

Indeed.

A hefty percent of that will find its way into the pockets of the usual crowd.

It takes a few attempts to get it right but you will eventually get all the ingredients etc dialed in. You might consider buying your casings and spices back home. If you go this way, invest in a decent meat grinder and be sure to chill the parts before you do the grind. Also, you can start to make some of your own exotic flavor variations

If I understand correctly these inspirations (serve the needs of government and business) were the origins of the school systems in many countries during the industrial revolution. Basically, the need was for compliant sufficiently educated people to man a production line. The world has of course changed. Some countries have found a way forward to better eduction systems and others have stumbled badly. It’s easy to see that the inmates of the current system in Thailand would do nothing more than double down on what has filled their rice bowl up to this point. The Military must be thrilled with these changes.

No not from scratch. Just spent my time making a larger international business much bigger.

Have we met? You seem to think you know something about my background. In any case, if it’s such a brilliant idea and the Central Group such a savvy high performing company perhaps you should put some skin in the game and invest in their common stock. Easy money it would seem.

Not feeling too good about the high level of false positives that have been seen in Thailand lately … end up being whisked away to a detention facility (quarantine) until a confirming PCR test is done (which is also has its share of false positives)

Well they have my recognition …. Not that that counts for much. These gals are one of the attractions that make living in the kingdom bearable.

That’s right. These kinds of stores are in trouble around the globe. Thing is this Thai company is looking at this ‘takeover’ through their own local lens. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.

I have been in Thailand for 31 years. I have mixed feeling about it … that my Thai wife does not share. I know you did not ask for advice but can I suggest that rather than dive in and buy a house (which is not as simple as it seems) that you rent a house or condo in the area you plan to live. The Thai government goes out of their way to raise barriers and create complications for foreigners that want to live here …. you will want to go into this with both eyes wide open. Thailand is mostly a fun holiday destination, living here is no holiday. Like anywhere there is good and bad. Anyway, suggest you first rent and during this time you can get a feel for the country and location you have chosen to see if it’s a “fit” and assess the rough patches in the road that you will be hitting.

Poor fella must be exhausted from issuing so many order this week …. and it’s only Wednesday.

I am still looking forward to see a Covid vaccine developed.

Wow, I am impressed. I would not have guessed anyone would have noticed or cared about what variant of Covid test they had. Well done!

Generally true but the Baht was 25 to the US dollar back in 1997, the Indonesian Rupiah was 2,500 to the US dollar etc. Point being that nobody knows what FX rates will be next week or two years from now.

Unless you have family in Thailand, what’s the rush? Lots of other more enjoyable and sensible places to visit and holiday. Seems advisable to hold off for the next 6-12 months to see if things return to normal.

The COE was handled by the Thai embassy staff in the country you applied. Basically a fully manual system. So as your experience demonstrates it was easy to resolve issues. This new pass is handled by a nameless central processing facility in Thailand. I do understand why they had to go in this direction … embassy staff scouts not be expected to handle the volume of applications that will eventually come through the new pass system. I have no idea how you contact them but I would guess its are not set up with the assumption that they will have to field calls/questions … it’s all automated you see.

Came to Thailand originally with my employer. Been here now for 31 years. I liked it while I was working and traveling for work outside of Thailand - too busy to notice that it was very one dimensional. Once I retired I discovered, for me at least, Thailand to be shockingly boring. OK for 3 months a year but not a permanent year round residence. Wife and I have tried living overseas but she won’t/can’t adjust. So after 31 years I am now stuck here. As they say, once you make your bed you have to lie in it.

I hear you and what could be worse than a greedy power hungry man with brains, talent and support. Will be interesting (potentially disastrous) if he can gain the full support of the other two pillars of power in Thailand

Understand, your issue is the quality of insurance available. Certainly if you can’t count in your insurance then that is a real problem. Related to this. I am 68 and in the last 3 years I unfortunately have had a couple of serious medical conditions (that thankfully seem behind me now). The cost of seeing these resolved was in the range of US$100,000. Hope you don’t bump up against the same.

So the issue is the “quality” of insurance coverage available?

Maybe expected but never seen

I bought 2 weeks of Covid insurance. They were happy with that.