mfd101

When my friends back in Oz ask how my Thai's coming along, I tell them that - as for many decades - my French both spoken & reading remains excellent, and I'm making good progress on improving my German vocabulary (which I've always found difficult), and I'm working on my Italian & Spanish reading-only.

They seem to find that funny for some reason. "So how's your French amongst the peasants there, Muz?"

The Vatican - rather like the Chinese - looks to the long-term, which is not governed by democratic election processes. It takes the view - based on long experience with the Soviets, not irrationally but perhaps optimistically - that dialogue is better than standoff & silence.

Whether in the process the Vatican made too many concessions only the future will tell.

So in which particular part of the Pacific are the British government aiming to reposition the British isles?

While one can often make good arguments in favour of free trade in all directions (The more the merrier), it's not obvious to me that Britain joining the TPP is really a great idea - certainly at this stage - for the other members who are still in the process of ratification. When you're trying to encourage a whole bunch of countries at different stages of development & with very different cultural attitudes towards trade, honest dealing & openness, allowing a large & selfish country like the UK to stagger into the room is not necessarily a positive for anyone, even the Brits.

I have a Mazda 3 bought in June 2016. All fine, no major problems. Beautiful design, very snaz. Spunky & peppy. But built for Japanese driving, not Thai country roads. Fine when I'm driving it but my b/f's driving knocks a few weeks off its lifespan every time he gets behind the wheel ...

There are multiple different devices available on the market now. A big surge over the last couple of years. They are advertized everywhere, including I think on ThaiVisa.

If available in shops/department stores, the obvious thing would be to try one out before buying ...

My experience with ALL difficult THAI issues: Don't interfere, don't ask questions, cleate ploblem.

They grow in our back yard, usually after rain. My b/f says poisonous. We don't touch, just take photos to place on Fbk and wow them in Oz.

After some 3 years of mostly drought, the rice paddies all round me are now drowning in water. Crop will be small & poor quality.

Regularly every 4 years Usofans give the world a demonstration of 'democracy' irrational & incompetent on a giant scale. The Supreme Court vacancy issue reinforces the point.

They almost make Thailand's government & political culture look sensible.

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The EU wants to make sure the open border with Ireland doesn't act as a back door into the bloc for goods. Britain wants to make sure goods flow freely between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.

The EU has a right. The UK has a different right.

The two rights are incompatible. So they will just go round in circles.

1 hour ago, soalbundy said:

Maybe we are getting the fringes already? it's been raining heavily for most of the night (still raining) in Surin province.

Yes, lovely lovely. I can't remember when was the last time we had steady & heavy rain pelting down for (so far) about 7 or 8 hours non-stop. Usually it's anything from 3 to 20 minutes ...

Ask question cleate ploblem.

2 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

 

How are there few middle class? Have you redefined middle class?

Many - not all - of what counts as 'middle class' here would be counted amongst the urban poor in The West.

1 hour ago, seancbk said:

 

I'm confused how that made you mad in Thailand.   

 

Probably mad before he arrived.

What do people expect? In a corrupt society the wealthy pay little income tax, the middle classes are relatively few & not wealthy by 'Western' standards, and the poor have no money. So the government, corrupt & incompetent, can't rely on income tax as its main revenue (as in 'Western' countries).

They have to rely on good & services taxes (VAT, GST etc). And import duties on luxury items are big on the list.

Apirat is very thin so he's well-qualified to do the job.

Quote

 

1 hour ago, JimHuaHin said:

But massive tourism and greed killed the beauty of all those locations, just like it will kill Koh Chang, if allowed.

Yes, advertising it is the quickest way to destroy it.

What they ought to be doing is negotiating deals with the 3 or 4 most likelies in US, Canada, Oz, UK, China, Europe to ensure they're high on the queue for supplies once the 2 or 3 winners in the vaccine race are in production.

I don't think any Thai University or lab is in the race. They're just playing with themselves at home.

Here's my current experience, setup still mid-stream:

My OA-derived renewal of stay (retirement) comes up on 10 Oct. I plan to do the renewal on 8 Oct at Kap Choeng (Surin) in case of any problems (not expected).

I decided on Pacific Cross for the health insurance as I'm 71 & healthy but currently with no health cover. I decided it was time to fix that. PC offer real insurance & various options. I'm going for a 3million cover + 60K or so outpatient, with 40,000฿ deductible (which means I pay the 1st 40K in any year). Premium - still to be fixed following my multiple-tests checkup last Friday - will be around 110K฿. It comes with annual deductions (10%, 15% etc) with no claims (which I will certainly be aiming for ... but at 71 there's no certainty to that). The 5760฿ checkup cost at Ruempaet Private H will be refunded by PC [up to 7500฿ max].

Currently awaiting PC consideration of my checkup results (multiple pages forwarded to them digitally in BKK). So far so relieved.

PS: I have asked for the insurance, assuming approved, to be effective from 10 Oct to 9 Oct.