4MyEgo

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

1. Still in touch on a daily basis from long time friends back in the old country via social media messages and a call once or twice a week. I also have friends here that I see twice a week, although some have kicked the bucket of late. 2 Yes, happily married 15 years. 3. Have my daily routine which keeps me busy at MY pace, and always put at least 30 minutes work in the gym to keep the muscle from sagging as we age, besides it's good for us. 4. Happily retired 7 years and always looking to make a tax free coin by day trading if the markets looking good, if not, will sit on the fence until it looks good. 5. Passion has always been for the ladies here, can't help that, have always been a passionate guy, and when my lights go out, I will do my best to go out with a smile. So based on the above I consider my score to be a pass with 5/5 ????

Some of us prefer to laydown when they have been f'd over, well that is up to you. Hong Kong or Korean crime flick, nah, prefer Scorsese's crime movies actually.

Well I suppose it all boils down to individual needs and what kind of support you wish to provide to your wife, i.e. if she is not working and looks after your children. Building a house in Thailand is cheap, especially for one's retirement vs trying to retire in the old country, not to mention the tax breaks here as a non-resident. I see nothing wrong with building one's wife a house and buying her a car after they have been together for at least a few years and that the outlay to build the house and buy the car is no more than 10% of one's worth. Personally, I was with my wife for 8 years before the house build started, and it took 18 months to build, 2 man crew, others when required, e.g. renderers. Now after 15 years of a very happy marriage to a woman who is rare to find, but others have and kudos to them, if the marriage went pare shape tomorrow, the house, all of the contents and the car are hers, why, because she earned them looking after me and the children, that said, I would walk away with 90% of my worth still in tact, while she has 10% of my worth to do and chose as she pleases. The above said, if one looks at the house at cost and the car being half it's value today, plus all the contents of the house, over the 15 years, I would say my investment of 550 baht per day was an excellent investment, because in those 15 years of marriage, she cooked, cleaned, ironed, did the shopping, picked up and dropped off the kids from school and of course slept with her husband. Sounds like money well spent to me over my long term investment, albeit it might sound as if I don't love the girl and that she is my slave, but it's up to you how you perceive things, you see, to me, it's all about having the financial edge as opposed to going all in, and of course the laws of the land where you keep your assets, as we know in Thailand, you can't own land, and if push comes to shove, you can force the sale of the house providing you can prove that you built it ect, but why bother for chumps change, she's got to have a roof over her and kids heads, and a car to drive them to and from school.

Can you not read, revenge is bitter sweet.