AlexO

32 minutes ago, Doctor Tom said:

They are here, without a shadow of a doubt 

Have to agree, the women are by far the worst drivers, seem to be in a dreamland when driving. The higher death ratio for men is probably due to women do not consumed the amount of Lao Khow that men do. I have seen guys hardly able to walk get on on bike and then attempt to drive home. The bike the poor British lad was driving does not appear to be badly damaged so it looks as if he breaking, but does not need much to get airborne in a bike accident. RIP

On 11/30/2020 at 12:58 PM, UncleMhee said:

While the quote is a fair enough question from the Senior IO; it prompts me to ask this, "Why are you getting house visits on a retirement extension?"

Genuinely interested as it's not something I've heard of before. TIA

I had one about 18 months ago, met the IO at a later local event and asked same. He said just checking on address as well. Easy in rural areas, near impossible in Bangkok or Patts I would think. No hassles, pleasant enough, just slightly uncomfortable at the size of the sidearm he was carrying.

On 9/10/2020 at 11:00 AM, spidermike007 said:

This hapless administration needs to develop some courage and initiative. They can't hide from the world forever. Extreme timidity from supposedly tough men is an amusing thing to witness. However, the pain they are inflicting on millions is not. ALL people from ALL nations should be welcome starting tomorrow. If you are willing to endure quarantine, no restrictions whatsoever. No begging of a consulate for permission to visit. That is nonsensical stupidity. Where is the dignity or common sense in that?

 

There are alot of expats who continue to support their local establishments, and it is just enough for them to remain in business. Some domestic tourists are picking up the slack. Otherwise, the nation is hurting. Some places seem to be thriving, while most are just hanging on. Spending is way, way down. Income is way, way down. Government assistance and creative programs to help the lower income majority, is virtually non existent. So, where is all of this going to lead when they cannot even agree to let ANY and ALL foreigners in, who are willing to pay for, and subject themselves to quarantine? Such timidity and a stunning lack of courage on the part of the administration. So weak. So incompetent. My heart goes out to the average Thai. 

 

One thing is for certain. The longer they wait to normalize tourism, the fewer people will come back. The masses have a short memory. It is my prediction that tourism will not recover even close to it's former levels here, within our lifetimes. Although that is a good thing for most of us, it is a tragedy for millions of Thais working in the industry. 

I for one am really happy that my daughter can go back to school, factories are reopening, I can buy a beer in my local M&P shop. I also like giving the wife's family members some work on our land to help out. Do I care about the pimp gogo bar owners, brothel keepers and those that catered to the Thai Underbelly bemoaning their lack of income. Not a jot. 90% of Thai economy getting back on its feet, do you want to destroy it the same way Europe has done by opening too early??

15 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Or many other irrelevant things.

Why do they own TV stations for example? I go to an army run hospital.

There's just no need for the large military in Thailand.

Yes there is in inverted comma's, my wife's nephew was conscripted in April, he is now sitting at home with no military wages and not allowed to take an 'official job' as he is still on the books for Army wages and food allowances. Guess who are picking up his wages and allowances and there are hundreds of guys in his unit the same.  

14 minutes ago, bkkcanuck8 said:

The models (professional model - which tend to be fairly accurate) indicate that without any mitigation - the US at the end of this outbreak would have 1.2 million deaths.  With current mitigation efforts - that could be limited to 100,000 up to maybe 240,000 (depending on what percentage of people take the effort seriously).   The R0 ('R not'), which is a combined factor of transmissibity and opportunity, would drop to near 0 in 30 days if all people took this social distancing very seriously (not somewhat seriously or not at all serious) - which means the cases would crater (as happened in China).  NY is now has about 6 days of ventilator stock left, which means that if it does not level or peak within that time but continues on current trajectory - you have to start telling the serious cases with low blood oxygenation your are SOL (maybe all over 60 as in Italy, or those with pre-conditions such as hypertension, or first come first serve) and you will have organ damage and possibly die (more than 5% of cases - but less than maybe 18 or 19% of cases - which could be halved depending on those that have mild or no symptoms).  It is not the flu (in one way that is a positive since once you are immune you will likely be immune for the foreseeable future or life), and even cases that are not severe (but not asymptomatic carriers) ... you really really do not ... on the same order as not wanting dengue fever...  yes you will survive if you are in that class of people but not without consequences. 

Amazing, a new virus that has been around for about 4 months and now "

'experts' are telling us that "It is not the flu (in one way that is a positive since once you are immune you will likely be immune for the foreseeable future or life)," Is this conclusion backed by extensive research or just another quack wanting his name in journals. Who is more dangerous, the misinformers or the fear mongers.

6 hours ago, Assurancetourix said:

If they want to completely disorganize their already sick economy this is the right thing to do.
but they won't.
It is an announcement to scare those who do not believe in the danger of the virus.
Make them wear a mask,
force them to wash their hands frequently,
force them to stay away from others when they leave their house,
etc ...

How?, just explain How?.  Jeez we allow them to walk amongst us.

3 hours ago, Henryford said:

500,000 flu deaths a year, doesn't sound like much of a vaccine to me. More fatal that Coroana.

Covid-19 has only really been in the general population for 6 weeks. The fatalities numbers are doubling every 3/4 days. Start with todays numbers and do the math's of when we will be over 500K a DAY. 

5 hours ago, Assurancetourix said:

It is however the only real solution;
let nature take its course even if tens of millions of people will die faster than expected.
There are too many people on this earth who can no longer bear it;
would you prefer a big meteorite to crash and kill 1 billion?

What is 10 or 20 million compared to 7 billion?
It's peanuts
and at least the world economies would continue to function normally because the vast majority of those who must die are retired (I am one of them)

We probably are not too far off your "let them die" scenario. The initial shock/horror of this virus will soon wear off if our lifestyles and freedoms are interfered with too much. Then political decisions will have to be made to prevent a 'Mad Max' type of society evolving. Just a thought! nuke the <deleted> out of China. Helps with World overpopulation and most of these new virus's start there. 2 birds with a few bombs so to speak.

9 hours ago, law ling said:

Not exactly my experience - I haven't found here the much cheaper generic brand statins (for cholesterol) and hypertension meds - only have here the more expensive brand-name versions.

Sorry mate. I get mine from the local hospital (who found out my hypertension and high cholesterol when I went for my driving license medical paper) I don't think I have paid more than 250Baht for 3 months supply of each. Try them 500 Baht (liver, kidney and blood sugar included) for the blood test and nearly <deleted> all for the meds. Takes about 4 hours but <deleted> are we that busy. 

17 hours ago, Nickthegreek said:

Heaven forbid one day we might get treated like adults and only report once a year like other normal places 

So when a Thai has to report every 30 days to UK Immigration its because they are a normal place?? The UK makes Thailand look like it has no borders and no rules.

4 hours ago, Thongkorn said:

Agree with everything you say, The NHS can  treat, Smokers, Drinker, Fat people Druggies Car accidents, Immigrants, but not older Citysens who need medical attention ,

A wee bit off being accurate there Thongkorn. My father (85) died 9 years ago from terminal Cancer of the Asophoagus (not sure about the spelling) he refused any kind if experimental treatments and told everyone he was going to die at home. He was given exceptional home care treatment in his final days with nursing staff,  hospital bed and oxygen making machine all supplied to the house by the NHS. Our only concern after he passed was the amount of meds/drugs that were thrown away because they had been already issued., must have been thousands of quid's worth. Mums (91) the same now with terminal lung cancer and she is receiving real good care. Have always found the NHS absolutely great for emergency/palative care but not so great for the wear and tear treatments as you get older.   

Rules have changed for the worse mate. Your DHL 10 years ago would have been to Hong Kong. Now you have to appear in person at the Embassy/Consul of the Country of residence where they check your paperwork and take your money. They send to Liverpool for again checking and processing your new passport, then send it back to the Embassy where you have to attend in person to pick it up. That was 4 years ago and I have heard rumours that agencies might be allowed now but who knows.

"But, before you can marry your girlfriend in Thailand, you will need to have obtained from your home country's embassy in Bangkok an affirmation of freedom to marry document." 

OJAS is correct but obtaining the document can be a real pain in the ass. UK embassy in Bangkok operate a crazy appointment system that if you are lucky you will get an appointment for Consular services some 60 days from booking. You will then have to get the English language doc translated into Thai before submission to the Thai Government department that deals with foreign affairs for their approval stamp. You then need to go to the Anfur where your G/F is registered and find out their specific requirements about what documentation and witnesses are required for signing the docs. Then you can get married and the troubles begin. It is quite a time consuming and a lengthy procedure. 

Any request for a residency certificate or similar? A friend of mine has been asked for that in Vientiane and his visa denied, a tourist visa was given instead. I specify that he was applying for a Non Immigrant O based on retirement, not based on marriage like in your case.

Hi Siriam.

I did the Vientiane run a couple of weeks ago and was assured by the guys outside I had no chance of getting a Non O.

I took the chance and it was approved but I had to give the consulate people copies of my Yellow Book as well. I also found it a bit strange that even after presenting my current bank details ie last page updated in Udon the day before they asked for copies of all pages in the book and attached the original book to the application.

I think if you can prove residency it is a bit easier, have to admit that I was unaware of the proof of financial funds was required for Non O. I thought that that was only for Retirement Extension actually inside Thailand.

Hi Gents

Have just come bak from working in Laos for a year. They refused to give me a non O visa and would only issue a 2 entry 60 day tourist. How do I go about changing to non O in Thailand and then applying for retirement extension, money in Thai account no problem.

Where did you apply for it? Did you have your bank book to show the money was there?

You can apply a change of visa status at Bangkok immigration and a few nearby offices.(Jomtien is one) to get a 90 day non immigrant visa entry. You can do it any time during your 60 day entry from the visa up to the last 15 days.

It will require 2 trips to immigration 15 days apart to get the visa/entry stamps.

Thanks for your reply Ubonjoe

I applied in Vientiane and had Kasikorn bankbook to back up my application, but was told can only issue if married to Thai and some other things that I did not really understand. Tried to tell them that I had 2 retirement extensions before working in Laos but no good. Can I apply for the change to non O in Udon Thani. Thanks again.

That is strange because many people have gotten the single entry non-o visa for being 50 or over in Vientiane. All they showed was their bank book.

Was your bank book recently updated?

Ubonjoe's advice is simplest and best. Convert your TV to a 90-day non-o, then in its last 30 days do a year-long extension for retirement

Hi Gents

Have just come bak from working in Laos for a year. They refused to give me a non O visa and would only issue a 2 entry 60 day tourist. How do I go about changing to non O in Thailand and then applying for retirement extension, money in Thai account no problem.

Where did you apply for it? Did you have your bank book to show the money was there?

You can apply a change of visa status at Bangkok immigration and a few nearby offices.(Jomtien is one) to get a 90 day non immigrant visa entry. You can do it any time during your 60 day entry from the visa up to the last 15 days.

It will require 2 trips to immigration 15 days apart to get the visa/entry stamps.

Thanks for your reply Ubonjoe

I applied in Vientiane and had Kasikorn bankbook to back up my application, but was told can only issue if married to Thai and some other things that I did not really understand. Tried to tell them that I had 2 retirement extensions before working in Laos but no good. Can I apply for the change to non O in Udon Thani. Thanks again.

Ubonjoe's advice is simplest and best. Convert your TV to a 90-day non-o, then in its last 30 days do a year-long extension for retirement

Hi Gents

Have just come bak from working in Laos for a year. They refused to give me a non O visa and would only issue a 2 entry 60 day tourist. How do I go about changing to non O in Thailand and then applying for retirement extension, money in Thai account no problem.