dageurreotype

Why should they speak a foreign language? Speak to the doctor in Thai, its Thailand

I have yet to meet a dentist or doctor who doesn't speak English. I would be very wary of a professional in one of these disciplines who'd not availed themselves of access to international medical research which is of course in the international language that is English. Would you? Or do you just pop off to the village mor chit?

OK. maybe roughly 50 percent more in Thailand on non-sale prices?

That's not as bad as I expected.

I bought a bunch of stuff a couple of days ago and can tell you H&M do far better quality at significantly lower prices than that which Thai clothing stores offer. Now M&S, that's a way different matter ..

How about you ask this question regarding THEM and US to the Irish Gentleman who has lost his Thai estate worth of 65 Million BHT.

The Thai Wife,The Thai Court ,The Thai Loan Shark, The Thal Lawyer,The Thai land office ,The Thai police,and The Irish Genteman.

Link pls

Can't. The junta's blocked Drummond's site. The Irish guy was stupid. Keep dick in pants comes to mind. Then you'll have nothing to whine about all over the net about, using your kids in some campaign for justice when you are the one who they should be aiming their ire at.

2.4% interest is an average rate,you can get a fixed term where you pay no tax,but immigration dont recognise the account if using for retirement extension cos you cannot draw on it.

As far as buying a condo,its difficult to see capital appreciation cos most people want to buy new/off the plan rather than 2nd. hand....also over a number of years the building falls into disrepair unless you have a good management team.

If you buy high end,and i'm talking millions of baht worth,yes you can get capital appreciation.

Better to keep money back home and bring over when necessary,and rent here.

For all those suggesting keeping money 'back home', what if all friends/family are dead and you've not visited 'back home' for twenty years, let alone kept a bank account there.

Who the <deleted> would want to invest funds at 2 or (God forbid) 2,4 percent anyway - forget the alleged racism, think about the rational of the investment. You couldn't convince me to fart in bed for a 2 or 2.4% return.

As to buying a condo, get your Missus to buy it at the Thai price of 1.88M.

Sorted

That's all very well if you have substantial funds to enable you to invest overseas, otherwise you're stuck with the best niggardly rate a Thai bank will give you.

Also, believe it or not, many of us neither have nor want a bloody Thai wife. Next!

The buildings (resort?) in that pic look a tad too utilitarian, rather like Penang (not George Town). Chinese influence?

<snip>

As I have said many times before just look at what rights farangs have in Thailand. Zilch!

What a ridiculous argument.

"Just look at what rights people in North Korea have. Zilch!"

Hardly apples for apples, is it. How many 'farang' are denied basic rights, to access to citizenship/landownership in Korea? I would guess none as no one wants to/could live there. Bit of reciprocity well overdue.

There was a thread on a while back started by a poster asking whether or not he should step in to assist the Thai wife of an allegedly abusive English husband. She'd been resident in the UK for three years. Suggestions were being made as to her being eligible for free legal advice, alternative public housing. Doubt by some posters was cast on her version of events and rightly so. There are many who'd marry for the chance of citizenship in a welfare state. Should the British taxpayer be obliged to support them as well as every man and his dog from former British colonies?

No one selling Kamagra and copy football tops?????

No. Only you

None of the above categories. I moved out of tourist areas several years ago.

My life since then has been fantastic.

Cost of housing try 1 mil: bht for a 5 double bedroom 6 wet room place was 6 bedroom but have changed one to a western style kitchen.

Other cost are Thai prices not the over inflated ones some have to fork out.

Xenophobia and the likes doesn't exist here, in fact on the contrary the locals go out of their way to welcome you in.

Driving on roads where I live are a doddle not to much traffic well only on holiday weekends.

Regards the Visa if you have the right amount of monies and requirements all is easy.

A trip once a year to the office how simple can that be.

People make their own problems go with the flow Thai fashion get away from tourists areas and you will find your life will improve 500%

Off now have just had my BKK Post delivered.

I'm guessing you have a Thai spouse? Not all expats want one. Nor do we want to reside (i hesitate to use the word 'live') in the boonies. As to the visa issue, fact is the more 'farang' the increased likelihood of being driven to 'visa agents' with whom the fee is shared. I understand you live in the jungle, but perhaps a trip outside now and again, will enable you to post on a general 'expat' forum with the benefit of a wider perspective.

I would hope that people living in Thailand can actually meet the minimum income or cash requirements. I think the standards are reasonable. It basically is $2,000/month. It is of course possible and many people do live on less than that, or spend down some or all of the 800,000 baht cash in a year, reload and go another year. The whole idea is kind of that the Thai government wants to have some assurance that you can support yourself and not be a burden on them. OK, of course they probably hope you spend a lot of money too.

Remember, they are not asking that you certify you have a Net of 65,000 baht income left over to spend. They are just asking that you have the income. That alone is a generous relief. Your end of the year tax liability in your home country is not considered, nor is any other outgoing payments you may have to be making (child support, alimony, car payments, insurance, etc.)

How so?

Via ouija board

WOW. Your post count is going up quicker than a rock climber on yaba.

I wonder what your name was before you were banned last time?

i wasn't. Next?

You know, you really overestimate yourself/are oblivious to your obvious standing. You really should be ashamed. Alas, alike many a shill before you, you aren't 'dj'jamie

Indeed.

Hard to avoid being cynical when "verified bank accounts" is in the same sentence as "Royal Thai Police" and "Donations".

The amount of money and supplies leaving the country, and that being poured into buddhist temples, is staggering when you consider folks still live on dirt floors here, and farmers kill themselves out of despair.

Why's that then? D'ya think?

Can overthrow the elected government in an illegal military coup but can't hold a referendum on the new constitution?

Funny boy.

Why on earth do you think it was an illegal military coup ? and do you know the difference between a legal military coup and an illegal one ? This coup had the backing of the Big man...... So , nothing was illegal... jamesjohnson, go look in your mirror and tell that fool looking back at you better to keep your mouth shut and let people Think you are stupid, than to open it and prove them right..!

The coup was illegal but he gave himself amnesty. Brave warrior.

Via ouija board

For those of indeterminate understanding, coup = misappropriation pertaining to goods /country = theft.

Peace TV may petition King over station shutdown

No, no, stay your hand

I think that when you strip away the poor translations, what this is talking about is rebuilding the existing Northern line to Chiang Mai, doubling the track and realigning some curves to allow higher speeds and increase the capacity of the route.

Incidentally, whilst it is a joy to follow the developing relationship between ExPratt and NongKhaiKid, I trust we will be spared the details of any subsequent consummation?

We don't kiss, we don't tell and it could never happen. i believe the charming Ex P is English and I'm a card carrying Scottish Nationalist.

See U Jimmy !

Ahh, a union by any other name?

Which is wrong, how? Discuss.

Meanwhile, in other old news, infrastructure every bloody where is in desperate need of maintenance/upgrading and the purportedly 'International World Tourist island ' of Phuket STILL has NO public transport. Lots of soldiers going around threatening the tourists they're constantly banging on about the need for, having their armed thugs (from an outsiders' perspective), ordering them to take up their folding canvass chairs and go' Pathetic.

Really looking forward to this year's 'High Season'

Has anything changed after all this supposed checking? Solid proof now. Price of noodles/food courts. Price of eggs. Price of lottery tickets, which according to today's 'Happiness to the people' purports a month in jail. Which hasn't deterred sellers opposite my local police station today selling them at 120 baht per ticket. Seriously, anything actually improved/changed here. Veridical evidence only please.

I've just had a Thai working on my house and the difference between him and the Burmese is astounding. All he does is complain of being bloody tired. He's only 45! Another Thai professor told me the same thing, the Burmese, whilst not yet up to specialisation, don't complain and rip through the building in half the time. The Thais are on a hiding to nothing with any so called competitiveness once their neighbours' skills are updated.

But you've got to ask yourself why it is that the Burmese in Thailand work harder for less money than the Thais.

Burma is bad place, very few foreign companies want to re-locate their manufacturing plants to Burma, and this is partly because Burma has far less democracy and freedom than Thailand. It's simply untrue when people claim that Burma is open for business nowadays. Even during the last few years, with the 'new' system in Burma, it still turns out that Thailand has received far more foreign investment than Burma.

Basically, one of the few ways for a Burmese man to make money is enter into Thailand, and work hard. If Burma was an okay place, well, practically all the Burmese in Thailand would go back home in Burma. A lot of the Burmese working in Thailand are illegal migrant workers, they have rights, and are scared of being sent home, that's one of the reasons why they tend to shut up and work hard. They work like slaves, and that is because, well, they are.

Is it right for Thais and foreigners in Thailand to exploit the cheap labour by giving them jobs ? Thailand itself keeps the Burmese in Thailand as slaves, a lot have no work permit and no rights. A lot of the Burmese work hard, but lose a lot of money by being forced to pay bribes, and being extorted by Thai people. Thailand will make sure that the Burmese in Thailand are second-class workers or slaves, it is cruel, but that's what's happening. The Burmese in Thailand will never be allowed to compete with the Thais on a level playing field. I reckon it would be a better idea to simply remove all the Burmese, and pay the Thais a better wage to encourage them to work harder.

I needn't 'ask myself' anything. The rest of your post is a given. However, you must ask yourself, if the situation between the Thai and the Burmese were reversed, would the Thai be as bloody indolent? From long experience of both nationals, I don't think so. The overwhelming difference is the Thai sense of 'entitlement'. No other SE Asian country comes close to this.

So how much longer does he plan on sticking around, exactly?

My best guess is that when people wake up and realise they've been duped and that 'new boss same as the old boss' is standard in a country who's democracy has never been allowed to develop.

In and around our village there is little to no industry. Some female villagers seem content to doing a chore/job on occasion e.g. cut rice. There seems to be little prospect for employment, educational standards seem low, skilled workers seem non existent, and frankly it seems like the main interest is in socializing vie various ceremonies which are frequent.

My wife has solicited men in the village to do various odd jobs for us at a higher than average wage, but few seem to want to engage in physical labor.

I feel ya brotha

"stating that as he is a soldier and not a politician"

Prayut is a holder of public office - Head of Government. The military does not have the rank of Prime Minister though it would be closer to reality if it did.

Prayut is a politician. He negotiates government positions with a variety of special interest groups that seek out special treatment. He uses the treasury to buy potential protester silence, cooperation, and loyalty. He has imposed on the Thai public HIS ideology and national policies. It is irrelevant how he became the PM from the viewpoint of a politician. The fact is that HoG is the highest political position in a nation.

He may not seek election as PM when he decides to allow elections, but that doesn't diminish his actions as HoG. And last known, Prayut did retire from the armed forces as a soldier, albeit he has retained his position as Chief of the NCPO.

Prayut is a politician, just not an elected one.

No. He's not.

I've just had a Thai working on my house and the difference between him and the Burmese is astounding. All he does is complain of being bloody tired. He's only 45! Another Thai professor told me the same thing, the Burmese, whilst not yet up to specialisation, don't complain and rip through the building in half the time. The Thais are on a hiding to nothing with any so called competitiveness once their neighbours' skills are updated.

Does this minimum wage apply to non-Thai workers? Major stores on Phuket are being stuffed with Burmese and Khmer now, so I'm guessing Thailand is now taking a leaf out of the UK's book and encouraging immigrants from poorer countries in order to maintain their obscene profit margins, thus depressing the already piss poor daily wage. Way to go Siam.

My decorator, having been startled by a Tookay, flung a pot of acrylic paint over my tv screen, then smeared it trying to get it off. He's about to use paint thinner to remove it. I've told him to stay his hand until I'm able to research an alternative. I've just tried distilled water and white vinegar, no chance. Any suggestions please?