soi3eddie

New recruit for The Royal Thai Navy?

Parked under one of these trees at Khao Sok last week. Dropping reddish soft seed/fruit onto the ground and vehicles.

4 hours ago, BillStrangeOgre said:

I've just noticed that there's a requirement for my passbook and deposit certificate from the bank to be dated the same day as the application. How does that work? Will the bank do all the necessary in the morning to allow me to submit the application at Chaeng Wattana in time, same day?

Cheers

I did, in 2019, exactly what you are going to do. I too, did it at Chaeng Wattana. Very straight there. No BS looking for you to engage services of an agent (such as in Jomtien). I use Kasikornbank who have a branch in the basement of CW. They do the 12 month bank statement and immigration letter on demand (usually takes 10 minutes). Good luck on your journey. Just don't forget to obtain a re-entry permit before leaving Thailand. I have renewed retirement extension at CW each year since with no hassle at all. 

11 hours ago, Geoffggi said:

While I do not entirely disagree with your comments, I would rather you quote me on what I actually said !!

I thought I had replied to with a quote of your comments. Apologies if I got it wrong.

5 hours ago, Geoffggi said:

Next thing you know the media will be claiming that most refugee applicants in UK/USA/etc are fake refugees.

Very unlikely that the mostly left wing main stream media would ever say that. It's only really the independant reporting and online publications and YouTube channels, Tik Toks, X etc. that seem to tell it like it is these days.

9 hours ago, Darksidedude said:

Forced into prostitution, may be the case for some but most know exactly what they are going there for.

I know a couple of ladies who went to Dubai in late 2020. Supposedly to work in a massage spa. Must be very lucrative as one of the ladies has already earned enough to build a house in Issan and bought a new car. Think she's been back to Thailand just 3 times since 2020.

On 3/2/2024 at 4:55 AM, Tony M said:

The Swiss Embassy has now promulgated a video of their town hall meeting with a member of the Thai Revenue Department.  You (the British Embassy), on the other hand, have not even bothered to respond to any of the posts on this subject. Could you explain why that is ?  Are you intending to offer some guidance to British citizens living in Thailand, or not ?  This is a "Q&A" forum, but the "Q"s are not being "A"ed. Is it that you cannot be bothered, or is the question of taxation of Britsih citizens abroad too diffficult for you to respond to ?

if ever a reply is given, expect it to be along the lines of "taxation in Thailand is a matter for the Thai revenue department, refer to them".

Driving the wrong way against traffic isn't just reserved for motorcyclists. Countless times I've seen pickup trucks doing it too.

3 hours ago, Andrew65 said:

In the UK the immigration Dept is employing Indian nationals who are waving other Indians through Heathrow Airport and onto flights to Canada, where they claim asylum.

That was an airline employee at British Airways. £25,000 a time apparently. 

18 hours ago, Smokey and the Bandit said:

UK have long wait times.

UK border now has e-gates for pretty much everyone that doesn't require a visa to enter. True, they could do with more machines at times. There is no outbound immigration checks from the UK (except at southern ferry ports or Eurostar where French immigration process before even leaving UK soil - thus no immigration check on arrival in France).

Hua Hin is a Thai weekend destination for many and lots own holiday homes there. There are a large number of western expats living in HH. Quite likely far fewer western tourists than before Covid. Especially since the end of the Pattaya ferry service. The Rama 2 road out of Bangkok is still a total disaster. I can remember them working on that since as far back as 2017 (possibly earlier). Seems like the train hasn't got much faster either. HH nightlife has changed a lot with Bintabaht much quieter than pre-Covid. Soi 80 still reasonable and now Wonderland Soi 94 taking up business. Still, a nice place to visit for a few days IMO.

Anyone noticed how readily the name, age and nationality of the poor deceased gentleman and his state of dress is disclosed? But never the location of the actual tragic event. It's not as if anyone is going to blame the building for his demise (or will they accuse the building of low balcony heights?). RIP Khun Yippun.

18 hours ago, Sandboxer said:

 

 

First thing I did after purchase was to have the balcony railing extended another 50cm (bit of a fight with the juristic getting permission but after I told them I'd get a lawyer they relented). Before that it was super scary to be anywhere near the railing as it was basically just above hip height for me and I'm not super tall at 187cm. Looks like crap but safety first.

I was at my GFs apartment last week. Forget hip height. The balcony top railing there is just halfway between knee and hip height for me and I'm average height for a westerner. Just as well I don't overnight there anymore (she stays with me).

19 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

 

wowzers, how long she get ?

Was set up by a "religious" group. Now out on bail. Full court case in July AFAIK.

Hub of hubs of hubs... What would make Thailand more attractive or competitive for data centres? Certainly space might be cheaper but for a data centre connectivity would be a major factor. Hands down Singapore would be the better option for any of the cloud providers. 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Despite the burgeoning competition, Wanchai Vach-shevadumrong, Deputy Managing Director of Internet Thailand (INET), identifies hidden opportunities. He predicts a continued demand for cloud services as businesses seek to cut costs, increase automation, and speed up digital transformation.

Lower costs, if realised, might be about the only real attractiveness. The market will usually resolve to fair value anyway. Good luck to INET in their obvious predictions.

2 hours ago, Henryford said:

My condo has banned EV parking/charging. Too dangerous for other cars and the condo when it bursts into flames.

Our Condo AGM addressed this last year. Thankfully sense prevailed and EV charging was banned too. Too much risk if and EV car burst into flames and took out all the other cars, and quite likely, destroying the whole building too. Anyone see the fire at Luton Airport parking structure last year? 

23 hours ago, sandyf said:

BA still operate London to BKK via Doha using Qatar Aiways.

This type of arrangement always makes me smile. What it really means is that you can buy a ticket with BA and they will put you on a different airline's flight. Yes, I know the ownership arrangements, but the service, perks, priveleges and attitude are sometimes completely different (and with a stop over). Maybe an improvement versus BA possibly 🙂 Still, with BA not flying to BKK themselves, there is reduced competition on the direct non-stop LHR/BKK route which means that THAI (and EVA) can get away with charging higher fares.

21 hours ago, noobexpat said:

Uk IHT trust solutions that "will pay you a fixed monthly income" (i'm contradicting myself for your simplicity) are called discounted gift plans. There a very few solutions whereby you, as the settlor, can benefit, as that becomes a gift with reservation, but this is one.

This is exactly what our family is currently considering. Quite complex, but handled by our independant financial advisor of many years. Apparently it makes payout to those named in the trust, much easier and faster. And potentially no IHT on that amount so long as 7 years have passed. Under 7 years IHT Tax is reduced though not completely.

2 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Wow !! Who'da thought if you raised your prices 60% and there was little competition you would take go into profit ! I'm quite sure if BA were still flying direct to BKK their profits would be down more on the UK flights !

BA are not currently flying into BKK as they don't have enough planes after scrapping all their B747s. They took the B777s used for BKK and used them for more profitable routes such as North America. I am told by a friend, who was a route scheduler at BA that they will likely recommence the route once new plane orders are delivered.

4 hours ago, dogfish180 said:

So why are there still 20+ Thai Airways planes parked up behind the terminal since Covid? 🤔

Because they have been rotting for the last 4 years in the humidity and tropical weather, are fuel inefficient and the costs of servicing them back into fleet usage would be immense. THAI had way too many different aircraft types and was a vanity project and a gravy train for far too many. With a streamlined modern, fuel efficient fleet (B787s etc.), they can maximise their hardware and staffing efficiency.