mfd101

44 minutes ago, Aussie999 said:

Hope you live long enough... at 71 I might not.

I'm 76 but I'm aiming for 100+.

The key thing is to supply maximum evidence that noone in the group has an interest in overstaying or working illegally. 

So: evidence of current employment, property and incomes in Thailand would be helpful; evidence of a previous crime-free visit; the wedding invitation details are good; Thai police criminal record clearance ... 

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

The police nor the highway patrol have ever been particularly concerned with traffic safety. I only see them after the scene of an accident or at a traffic stop. I very rarely ever see anyone pulled over while driving and doing something reckless. It is almost unheard of. 

That's part of the local culture in Thailand, at every level of society. No concept of preventing a disaster with forethought, just pretty good at picking up the pieces afterwards (cf collapsed building a couple of months ago).

1 hour ago, Aussie999 said:

I have been told they are already constructing government buildings in Nakhon Ratchasima, perhaps preparing for a future relocation.

I'll believe it when I see a whole central government department up and move to Korat.

22 minutes ago, Gsxrnz said:

Declining school enrolments are the first problems to arise when the birth rate is decimated to below 1.0

And surely that's an opportunity - not to reduce classrooms and teacher training - but to reduce the size of classes so the over-worked teachers can do what (in theory) they are employed to do!

10 hours ago, rwilem said:

in my opinion that's better done separate from extension time.

Ideally, best to do it in conjunction with an in-person 90-day report.

Agree. Here in Surin I've done it a couple of times over the years, always coinciding with 90-day report. No papers required, no request from me, just hand over the old & the new p/p. All done in 5 minutes.

So the wheel turns. Where it will stop noone knows, least of all the main players.

3 hours ago, JimHuaHin said:

Time for another coup - the party of the Thai people is more popular than the corrupt establishment.

Sadly, you're probably right. The question is - when & if - will The People stand by The People's Party and take to the streets of ALL Thai cities in sufficient strength & endurance & cleverly led so a coup or other elites' tricks (law courts) come to nothing?

A rather unorthodox Crown Princess ...

4 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Chuwit is and has only ever been a pimp and a grass. He's irrelevant now and knows very little about this situation.

 

Hun Sen has played a blinder, he has not only shown the Thai establishment up for what they are, but he has almost singlehandedly divided the ruling Thai party and caused instability the likes we have not seen since pre-2014 coup levels.  😄

 

All this without a shot being fired, and while the Thais are all bluster about sending jet fighters over the border. 

 

By telling the truth about Thaksin's faked illness he has run rings around Paetongtarn politically. 

 

It's incredible theatre and the Thais are a laughing stock.

Yes, worthy of a Shakespearean play. Sold-out for weeks on end.

So this is a UK magazine that depends on US advertising?

Many love affairs end in tears. So sad.

19 hours ago, khunPer said:

and don't forget that Siam Reap once was part of Thailand

Only for 5 minutes, thanks to cooperating with the Japs during WW2.

The part that the Cambodians remember is that the southern half of Isaan was once part of the Khmer empire, long before the world had heard of the Thais.

Government in Thailand makes Western democracies look like models of good administration.

Basic rule here: Never address anything important. Always deflect with trivia. The People love trivia.

And, sadly, it works. 

The trouble with this whole smart-arsy discussion is the usual Western 'cultural superiority' syndrome. 

Doesn't seem to occur to most of the commentators above that 'IQ' as measured by 'IQ tests' is a measure of what is important in 'Western' cultures, namely abstract thought & logic & reading ability.

So where does that leave people like the older members of my Khmer peasant family who have never been to school, have never learned to read & write, don't know what a world map is that I pinned on the wall of the new house I built for them a decade ago etc etc. Does that mean they're 'stupid'? 'dumb'? unable to get thru life successfully? ... 

Well, it would be interesting to see who would cope better in the rice paddies and in other food-production processes following a major war that cut all international & many intra-country supply lines. I wonder who would be laughing then?

And so the wheel begins to turn ...