Stevemercer

If having a Thai massage, I always select the oldest and weakest looking lady.

As usual, the article begs more questions than answers. Does TV have a new translator?

Sorry, I should have clarified I was talking about country Thailand - the non-tourist parts.

Thai people like Thai music played loud, but have no tolerance whatsoever for loud westen music. Nobody will say anything when Thai music is too loud, but the complaints will come thick and fast if it is loud western music.

We still have plenty of geckoes around, but the insect population is still down. Normally, we get swarms of flying ants/termites attracted to the lights after the first few wet season storms, but nothing so far this year. So, yes, I think it is the hot and dry weather we have been having. Cats will certainly keep the lizard population down, together with native birds and any other wildlife.

Siem Reap, in parts, still has a bit of a frontier feel. If you are free to wander around there are some interesting nooks. I would agree with other posters that it is certainly worthwhile visiting Ankor Wat at least once in your life. I have been a couple of times and found it worthwhile.

I think there is something in that. I tell my wife I have been with many Thai ladies, but it is only her I fell in love with. Most ladies are forgotten when they are out of sight. But I knew I was in love with this one when she went back to Thailand and I really, really missed her and couldn't stop thinking about her. So why her, and not the many other ladies? I really don't know. I must admit I have some sympathy with the often desperate blokes who fall in love in what everyone else can see is a hopeless relationship. I'm not sure we choose who we fall in love with, it just happens if we are open to the possibility. Why are Thai ladies over-represented in the sex industry wherever you go in the world? It must have something to do with the Thai trait of living for the moment and not obsessing about the past or worrying about the future. Having said that, some Thai ladies will think too much and never adapt to the trade. I remember one lady who had a client die on her. She went crazy after that, and who can blame her.

If you are really interested in the land you should make an offer. If the seller/broker is interested in selling they will come back to you with a counter offer. If they are just testing the market they will get all huffy. Their reasoning is that the land is worth every baht of the asking price and you are trying to cheat them out of a fair price. Worse, if they accept such an 'insulting' offer they will lose face. It's like a landlord being forced to accept a rent of 7,500 Baht per month during hard times (e.g. Covid) when before he got 10,000 Baht. Instead of being grateful to get any rent at all, the landlord may be resentful believing the tenant is cheating them out of 2,500 Baht per month that is rightfully theirs.

I started riding electric assist bicycles some 20 years ago, using lithium batteries. Lead-acid would be far too heavy for anything you might have to pedal yourself. I bought a KingSong (Chinese) electric wheel 6 or 7 years ago, powered by lithium batteries. When I first got it, it would go up to 50 km/hr with a range of about 75 km. Now, it'll still top out at about 50 km/hr, but the range is probably about 50 km. It cost about 25,000 Baht and most of that was for the quality lithium battery pack. Spend the money for good quality batteries, and look after them with a proper balancing charger, and you might get close to 10 years. You can NEVER allow lithium batteries to run empty (most machines will have automatic cut-offs) and it is best to keep them fully charged when not in use (they will last much longer). Most lithium batteries die because of a cheap charger that overcharges them, doesn't balance the cells or is prone to overheating and irregular charge cycles. The second cause is people running them down below 25% and neglecting to recharge them for a week or so. In my view a 40,000 - 60,000 Baht petrol scooter will outperform and outlast an equivalent priced electric scooter. It will also be street legal. In my opinion, electric scooters are not quite there yet in terms of price, performance and life. While manufacturers try to make things simple, you cannot expect a battery to last long without attention to charging (e.g you can't just hop on it and forget about it - expecting someone else to charge it). Leave it lying around (without topping it up) for two or three weeks and you've permanently lost 5% of your battery capacity. Any electric vehicle <10,000 Baht will last less than a year. Up to 20,000 Baht and you might get a year or two out of it before the battery needs replacing. A decent lipo battery is going to start at 20,000 Baht (just for the battery).

Yes, Joe will be sadly missed. There are a few others who have been pretty quiet recently, including Colin (who was in a wheelchair and a lively contributer) and even Rooster seems to come and go a bit.

I'm with the SCB which has some sort of 'compulsory' accident insurance, but it only costs 600 Baht per annum. Last year, I fell through the roof and my wife took me to the Bangkok Hospital in Khon Kaen. They asked for my SCB ATM card which paid for 18,000 Baht of the overall 28,000 Bahtt bill. At the time, I wasn't aware of the insurance so it was a nice surprise.

Of course Thailand needs submarines, the same as any maritime nation dependent upon the ocean for its oil/gas and trade. Not so much as an offensive/defensive weapon, but to train officers and crew and allow rapid force expansion if the worst should ever happen. The most important strategic reason is to allow Thailand to develop a credible anti-submarine deterrent force. To do this, it needs real subs to practice on (and to fight back).

It is the same system in Australia. If the government files show you are married to a non-citizen, you will get the married pension divided by half. The government makes the assumptiom that your wife has no entitlement to any Dutch benefits, but that she will contribute her own Thai salary/benefits/assets/pensions to the marriage. If you subsequently separate (and/or divorce) you will revert to the single pension.

I think it is a little tricky. You never registered your marriage in Thailand so you are not recognised under Thai law as being married. However, you successfully applied for a marriage extension, and renewed this many times, based on your overseas marriage. Usually your marriage has to be registered in Thailand before Immigration will do this. I guess many of us responding to your OP are a bit confused by this and wonder if you or your wife registered the marriage many years ago and simply forgot about the paper work. Probably not, because it is a somewhat complicated process organising transalations, consulate certifications, notarisations etc. etc. The bottom line is you are not registered as married in Thailand and the divorce will be uncontested. A other posters have stated, you will have to get the divorce in the relevant American jurisdiction. If you are living with another Thai lady then you can tell her and sundry that you are separated from your wife and will be getting a divorce soon. If she is worried about gossip, and you are sure she is the one, just go through the Buddhist ceremony to satisfy her friends and family that you are not 'living in sin'.

If it is not a large area, you can lay down some chilli/pepper powder (or other irritant) to move the dogs along. Similarly you can get various dog repellant sprays from larger stores that might work. The sonic alarms are not permantly on, but they usually seem to work (e.g. point and click at the dog within about 10 meters). If you do this often enough the dogs will move on. The above will not work if somebody is feeding or watering the dogs at that location. But if there is no rubbish and waste food scraps lying around that would seem unlikely.

I reckon an average 60,000 Baht a month (excluding rent and any capital costs) would allow you to live at a decent standard and to entertain yourself. If you are not married/no girlfriend, you could find and marry an ex-government retiree and benefit from her free medical coverage (which extends to her husband). But you would need an extra 20,000 Baht a month (e.g. 80,000 per month) to support a wife or live-in girlfriend.

When I first came to Thailand I did all the social things: weddings; funerals; birthdays; karaoke bars; holiday trips etc. etc. Now I don't so much unless it's someone I know. Everyone is always excited to meet 'the farang' and take photos, but then it's all about the drinking and eating. Not so much for me these days. I still enjoy dancing and that has been, and remains, a good way to get to know Thai people. The blokes want to buy you a drink and the ladies all want to dance with you. But I am happy enough with my own company for the most part. Loud music, heavy drinking not so much these days. But I think it would be the same whatever country I lived in.

It's odd how many farang won't acknowledge a friendy hello. But their Thai wives/girlfriends will always respond with a smile and often stop for a chat. Sometimes it seems like they are apologising, or over-compensating, for their husband's/boyfriend's indifferent manners. Thai people will always respond positively to a smile and friendly hello.

I've had one or two friends over, but try and avoid it. You have to set them up with a girlfriend, show them the sites, explain all over again the do's and don'ts. It always costs you money and time traveling around. I generally try and palm them off on my wife, if I can, particularly if she has set them up with a cousin or friend, but it usually ends in tears.

We had to wait about 6 weeks for the survey.

I have considered this route for tax reasons under the Thai-Australia Tax Agreement. However, when I looked at it a year or two ago the Agreement states I must be a 'citizen' of Thailand to pay taxes under Thai law, rather than Australian law. It seemed a bit too difficult for me at the time.

I did it 2 years ago (withdrew 100,000 a few days after my application was accepted). It was an emergency and I would have preferred to leave the money until I got the final stamp. At my immigration office (Mahasarakham) they have never checked the balance (or anything else) for the final stamp. Having said that, my recommendation would be to leave the money unless you have a genuine emergency (eg. the wife needs a gold necklace or something like that).

I sometimes go for a massage at jails. There is normally a massage place attached to a woman's jail as a sort of 'return to work' scheme. The massages are normally good and very cheap.

Hmm....I don't want to be the one to spoil the fun.

It would help if more people complained when exhorted by the police, but of course there is no protection for whistle blowers in Thailand. It is ony safe to complain if you are a citizen of another country and only when you are safely home (and never intend to visit Thailad again).