4MyEgo

Perhaps if the USA & UK didn't interfere when they had a deal on the table with the help of Turkey, then they wouldn't be in this situation, but oh no, the Yanks and Brits had to tell the school teacher/president that he wasn't to accept that because they had spend billions on propping up his government after ousting the Russian favoured government previously. If you keyboard warriors don't understand that there are two sides to a coin, then I can't help you. The USA has been pushing NATO onto Russia's border for at least a decade, when they said they wouldn't under the 1991 treaty. Is Russia a threat, I think not, now yes, you keep poking the bear and it will retaliate, he gave everyone fair warning, but they didn't want to here it, because they wanted him to invade the Ukraine, because it's business for those who control the democrats and supply the goods to them to fight the Russian's. No doubt the above will get some arm chair keyboard warriors started

I would like to ask, where were the parents in all of this, no doubt they would have had to sign off as their guardian's, heaven forbid I seen14-15-16 year old's topless on Bondi Beach, should I sue them for throwing that in my face without my consent. It is not porn, it is art and there is the fine line. Haven't seen the movie, but...????

Must have run out of money, but was good for the money at the time, now 54 years later crying over spoilt milk, good luck with going up against the giant, be years before they get anywhere, probably closer to their graves before anything comes of it, if anything.

I suppose one has to find out how many expats have private cover and how many expats don't.

Throw him in the slammer and throw the key away, case closed. Sell his assets if any and give the proceeds to the victims family. That would reduce others in the future being caught drunk, e.g. 6,992 drunk drivers caught in the last 6 days driving under the influence, you can also x that by 10, you know, the others who paid their way out of going to jail for the night and being recorded as DUI.

I would suggest you get your wife to contact your local immigration office. We came back from an overseas trip recently, stayed overnight in Bangkok in a hotel booked under my name and when we returned home immigration said the wife as the blue house book holder must report all Aliens staying in the house, including husband. This will vary from immigration office I am sure, so the call is the only way your wife is going to find out, as for you, NO, you do not need to do anything. Wife calls, they say, yes or no to her reporting you are staying there again, which I believe can also be done online. Be interested to know what they say as an update for others if you don't mind. Whether this is a TM30 matter or not, I have no idea, but the wife had to report that I was back in our house (technically speaking).

How many paid there way out of it, I would say times that x 10 at least. Been there, done that.

I believe that as foreigners who live here on a full time basis, i.e. those who do their annual extensions, not the ones who come in on the 12 monthly multi-entry ones would benefit as would the Thai government as it's 10,000 baht per head per year on those on marriage extensions and those on retirement extensions. Those on the O-A I believe it's called, the 12 monthly with the multi-entry would have to continue to have insurance in place. The Thai insurance industry in my opinion doesn't really come into the maths for most foreigners here as they would cater to the Thai's as most foreigners don't trust them in my opinion, talking from 3rd party talks on their experiences. Fact is most foreigners, remember I am talking about married and retired expats, contribute more than most Thai's to the Thai economy on an annual basis, e.g. if a Thai is making 40,000 baht per month, take out tax etc then they would be spending less than what a foreign pensioner would spend here per month. I am not on the pension, but I know I spend double the above amount per month to live here with no health insurance because paying 150,000 baht per year for me is excessive in my opinion, no inpatient, emergency cover only, that policy would be cheaper back in my country.

In my opinion, it is always a good time to buy/build property if your going to live in it in the current climate, even better if your mortgage free, suffice to say market fluctuations won't bother you either way as everyone needs a roof over their heads. If one has investments in real estate and are not debt free, then they are open to the market fluctuations including interest rate increases at the whim of the banks or government policies. Will be an interesting year ahead, perhaps for many more to come.

If the Thai government made it mandatory for retired and married expats to pay for health insurance into the Thai public health system, I am sure that would sort out a lot of problems, e.g. it could be paid when renewing extensions, e.g. 10,000 paid per annum and stamped into their passports. The above said, the cover could be for emergency cover only, i.e. a 24 for hour stay in hospital or longer. Those that have annual health insurance premiums with other insurers would need to show a current paid policy that would match up with the dates of their extensions, that way they could be excluded, that said, no proof equals 10,000 baht annual public health insurance emergency cover. That's just my take on it, I mean you don't have to be Einstein to work something out like this, I would imagine foreigners who can't afford or are excluded from obtaining insurance because of age or pre-existing conditions could get the treatment they otherwise couldn't afford because of the lack of insurers wanting to take them onboard on a risk vs profit basis.

Waste of tax payer money if you ask me.

Good luck with that, more like a worldwide slump/crash, call it what you like will happen in 2023. The writing is on the wall, just look at China's biggest developer failing and house prices all around the world being over inflated. I won't be putting my money into property.

Why do you think they came here for, more than likely it is more affordable to live here than in their own countries thanks to governments selling everyone short, just look at the cost of living back in your home country vs living here, do you think pensioners eat well, or is canned dog food back in the menu for them, i.e. after they have paid rent ? Some are not so fortunate, life's journey hasn't been kid to them, e.g. they could have been divorced, with say 3 kids, wife gets the lot (lottery), i.e. his life's savings and hard work has gone down the drain, seen that many times because of such laws that don't recognise the male as anything more than a saviour of the government so that the wife and kids don't fall onto the welfare system costing the government money. There can be other factors as well outside of their control, then there is as you say, no proper planning and money, always to sides of the coin. Thailand is the perfect retirement destination for pensioners who can get by, however without insurance, when and if something does go wrong, it does end up on the Thai's, but let us not forget, they do contribute to the Thai economy spending their pensions every single month of the year while they live here. Perhaps the Thai government should look at including retirees onto their health system for an annual fee, maybe then things would balance out, especially for those that cannot afford health insurance or cannot obtain health insurance, can't be a one way street, although it is. As I mentioned previously, compassion doesn't cost anything.

Put his foot in it but didn't want to lose face, (ego). Welcome to the land of smiles, asked my wife one day when we were on holidays why everyone smiled so much after I spoke with them, her reply was because they don't understand you darling and they don't want to lose face, appears to be a phenomenon. Good luck sorting it, can't say that I don't feel for yah.

You had me ????

There is no requirement for expats to have insurance, and until such time, they will continue to come here and around the world, that's just part of life. Have you ever considered that some can't get insurance because of age, pre-existing conditions or is far too expensive. I had insurance up until last year, it jumped 100% because the insurer changed under righters, that said, I am fortunate enough to have money to back me up if I fall ill, but not everyone is in the same boat. It's a crappy situation for most to be in, through no fault of their own, for insurers it's all about risk and profits. Terrible situation for this guy to be in and he has placed a heck of a burden on his friends and family, but it is what it is and his friend is asking for advice, it isn't time for the blame game and life isn't black and white, there has to be some grey in there. I hope his friend can get him transferred to a public hospital, but what kind of treatment he gets there one can only tell in the future. At the end of the day, I commend his friend for taking on the burden, that's what mates do, but there is also a degree as to how far he can support him financially without putting himself in a bad place. Compassion doesn't cost anything, don't get me wrong, would love to see everyone with affordable insurance opportunities, but the reality is, we live in a dog eat dog world.

Far better investments than real estate anywhere at the moment. 2023 is going to be a very interesting year, will it all fall apart when interest rates start to be lowered, will Russia send up a Nuk, will the stock market crash and when I say crash, I mean crash, i.e. take years to recover, will cash be something of the past with digital money coming into play. If you ask me, gold looks to be the safe haven at the moment and they can't put a hold on it as a currency, not to mention it can have some great capital appreciation vs rental returns. So maybe, just maybe do yourself a favour and buy some gold, have it put in a safe place and see where it's at in a year or two, i.e. if you haven't been nuk'd or died from some strange virus that could have been leaked out of a lab by then.

I think he went against the grain and put a few high ranking noses in the troth out of place. Did they try and take him out or did he stage that attempt on his life shooting at his car, on his own, who knows, could it be that he has too much dirt on others and they just might know it, after the attempt on his life, e.g. take me out and I will let the tiger out of it's cage, taking them all down with him. The mind boggles.

Most of us here on the forum would go it at least 30 days prior to renewing. Last year I went in on the 21st December, my extension expires 31 January this year, no issues, going back 1 March to get my stamp in my passport, that said will go in on the 2nd because last year on 1 March when they told me to come in on that date, they didn't have the approval and I had to go back the following day as they rang me when I got home an hour 30 minutes later. I like to get things out of the way, no last minute f ups and I have to say, this year was one of the smoothest with the paperwork, other times had to go back because of that new ruling that seems to appear every 2 or 3 years at my immigration office requiring additional documents, even though I carry everything with me, sometimes, they throw a curly one outside of what I can provide them with on the spot.

Effortless

I'm usually a 10pm type of guy, and I fall asleep within seconds of my head hitting the pillow and my sleep quality is good, albeit that I wake up at about 1.30am and 5.30am to go to the loo. The above said, if the wife is inconsiderate and has an itch, she will come in to the room at anywhere between 11.30pm-12.00am and ask me to scratch it, I dare not say no, I do try and tell her that I'm sleeping, but she looks at me in whatever outfit she is wearing as if to say, well your awake now aren't you, and then proceeds to get the best of me and then leaves saying money is on the table as she closes the door. True story, I realise that somehow I sleep through till about 5.00am before I wake up to go to the loo so the exercise must help tire me more ????

It all depends what your looking for, I have been to both, and for me, I like Patong in Phuket as it's smaller and with everything within walking distance of your hotel if you plan it well. I also like heading out to Kata, and Nai Harn Beaches for the day etc. But as with everything in touristy parts of Thailand, look out for the rip offs, prices vary muchly, but if you do your homework and book things in advance off sites, you should be fine.

Sounds like they are starting to worry that the Chinese are going to infect Thailand with Covid 19, hence the free jabs.....LOL