HauptmannUK

Not sure why its not believable. Over the years a lot of things have happened to me in Thailand that you just couldn't make up.... Many in connection with my wife and her 'interesting' friends and family and various 'business dealings'. We are back in the UK for a couple of months and last week she was on the phone to a cop she knows in Udon negotiating the price to arrest a guy who'd shot out the windows of a house she owns. 7k was agreed on and she transferred the money to his account. The guy is now locked up apparently (I'm told he didn't go quietly and they had to taser him).

When my wife was setting up a restaurant about seven or so years ago I remember us both flying to UK on Emirates BC with Skywards Gold and we had the best part of 100kg checked luggage most of which was Thai foodstuffs of every type you can imagine. Probably illegal but my wife is not one to pay heed to the law. We struggled to move it. Many times travelled with combined 70kg. Was only ever stopped once - I was alone and had few kilogram dried fish and was waved through.

That Aussie is of Indonesian ethnicity. 'Australian' seems to cover a multitude of sins these days....

I don't regard 58 as 'elderly'!

I used to travel a great deal and after several years of using 'mid range' luggage brands I decided to buy myself a nice quality Samsonite wheeled suitcase. On the VERY FIRST TRIP it arrived in Dubai with a couple of wheels smashed off and the handle damaged. Basically it was unusable. Bad luck probably... Anyway, Emirates wouldn't compensate me (wheels not covered apparently). I took lots of photos of the damage and got a copy of the damage report from Emirates but Samsonite knocked it back - 'not covered by guarantee'. I was bitterly disappointed and out of pocket. I bought a cheap replacement ('Tripp' - a UK brand I think) still using it today although its very knocked about and on its last legs.

20-30 years ago it was rare to find a chubby Thai woman of any age. Now they are everywhere. Its the abundant availability of sugary and ultra-processed foods. My wife doesn't like anything sugary and eats a very healthy traditional diet with lots of green leafy salad and vegetables. Her 14 year old niece eats masses of snack foods from 7-11, likes KFC and pizza - she is very slim at the moment, but that won't last.

The new BA route is LGW-BKK, not LHR, and only three times per week using older aircraft. BA have almost no domestic connections to LGW either so its very unattractive to those of us north of Watford. BKK is mainly a leisure destination hence at the moment less interest from carriers and less capacity.

I think there are somewhat fewer seats on this route than prior to Covid. A friend travelled LHR-BKK on TG at end of Feb and is returning end of March - booked a few months ago. Was just over £1000 I believe - quite pricey for low season. I think the era of cheap long-haul is over - although you do ocassionally see limited promotional offers on indirect flights, but usually only available for a few days and checked baggage an expensive extra.

Given that she doesn't want to eat what you'd cooked and was instead eating junk food suggests a relationship problem and depression. Further red flags are that you say she doesn't respect her body and (it seems) was 'upstairs' and not eating with you. She could potentially become obese in a lot fewer than 10 years.... I would suggest getting to the root of her depression. A woman who is happy and positive about life will take pride in her physique. My wife of 12 years is still the same weight as the day we married. She gets up early and is very active - exercises every day and avoids sweet stuff.

IMHO contracts related to land and housing (lease/usufruct etc) are barely worth the paper they are written on for Wrsterners in places like Thailand and Laos. If there is a change of heart or death of a signatory etc then whoever owns the land will simply make your life a misery until you eventually leave - or even just kill you if you cause too much trouble.

Given your account of the fault I don't think its related to your lighting installation. More likely is a power quality issue on the supply side, either in the building or upstream of the building. Flickering is often caused by a bad connection - maybe corrosion or a poor crimp on the neutral line. Your voltmeter doesn't have a sufficiently fast response to show what is going on. There may well be quite large voltage excursions over a short timescale. Try to beg or borrow a power quality analyser that will log short-term voltage excursions. Then monitor in your apartment and at other locations in the building.

Not unusual. Thais are often wary of other Thais. About 13 years ago my wife bought a couple of new condo units in Pattaya - very basic rooms near King Power off Sukhumwit. She will only rent to Westerners... not Thai, Indian or Russian.. 'too many problems'. Its worked out OK so far and I think she's now got back more in rent than she paid for them with only a lick of paint and some minor repairs. One is occupied by an elderly 'down on his luck' American and the other is a Czech guy.

Ruparelia is an Indian (Hindu) surname - most likely from western Gujarat. Very likely that's where his parents hail from - possibly via East Africa. Anyway, its yet another nonsense article based on some self-promoting TikToker. Not sure why the media bother with these stories. I don't suppose he'll be any more successful in Thailand than in the UK. Not sure what career opportunities Thailand can offer over the UK. Possibly he can take a position teaching English on poverty wages with no pension. Despite all the criticism of the UK there are still lots of opportunities to get on. My wife arrived from Thailand in 2015 with virtually no English and no qualifications and in 2016 went into partnership in a hotel/restaurant. She now makes serious money - many times what she'd earn in Thailand.

The crime here is the price. 14k is absolutely ridiculous!

What's the current price for Extension of Stay - ฿1900 ? Plus multi-entry permit which is ฿3800. So less than ฿6k total. Would they really increase that to ฿40k+ (£1000) ?. I doubt it.

If these increased costs really do come to pass then its going to have a profound effect on visitor behaviour. And the cost on in-country extensions will need to rise accordingly. The ME tourist visa looks particularly unattractive when a 30 day visa waiver entry is available. Also those of us with Thai family will switch away from 90-day Non-O to multiple 30-day entries. At the moment a 90-day costs £60, which I accept. But £380+ is a bit much to stomach, even though I consider myself reasonably affluent. I could do 3x 30-day free entries interleaved with two side trips to neighbouring countries and that £385 would go a long way toward paying for those trips. And the 1-year ME N-O at about £1000 looks terrible value for over-50s when you can pay an agent less than half that for a retirement visa. So will they clamp down on number of visa waiver entries and radically increase the price of extensions?

I have a matching Samsung soundbar and subwoofer for my Samsung TV. It all connects together wirelessly and works well. It wasn't expensive - around ฿16000 IIRC.

That page was last updated Sept. 2022. The fee increases posted by RTE NZ are effective from March 19th 2024. I think its a case of 'watch this space'....!

I don't see how. Can you explain please?

If you have a trip planned in the next few months then it would be prudent to apply now. My wife (Thai) and I usually split our time between UK and Thailand - with 2x 3-month visits each year. Myself entering on a 90-day 'Family non-O'. We have a trip booked for May so I shall apply for the visa next week. If these new fees come to pass then we won't be doing any more 90-day trips. It'll be 30 days Thailand then a visit for a few weeks to somewhere like Vietnam or Japan, back to Thailand for 30 days etc. Rather irksome that the Russians get a 90 day waiver. Still, up to the Thais to choose their preferred visitor demographic I guess.

I've had them done routinely every few on UK NHS since I turned 50. Always been very professional and done without sedation. I felt quite relaxed. Feels a little bit weird, but definitely not painful.

I drink very little and don't take drugs. I do very much enjoy sex though, as does my wife, and we often take a girl together. The only problem is finding girls who are not shy to do a three-way - we have 'regulars' though. Some girls I take alone (with my wife's agreement). She thinks its good for my 'gamlangjai' (morale). We've been together almost 13 years and this has been a regular pastime so its just not an issue - just something to enjoy for an hour or so then get on with our day.

Its the latest E-Visa software using AI. Designed to mimic the behaviour of Thai immigration officers in rejecting documents that were previously accepted! But seriously, try adjusting the picture brightness and contrast.....

The LED glowing (known as 'ghosting') when switched off is because LEDs will give off some light with only a very tiny current. This ghost current is usually due to capacitive coupling in the light switch, or associated wiring, especially if the switch has been wired into the neutral rather than live. You could use a different design of switch or insert a lighting capacitor to bypass the current as mentioned above. Additionally there are LED units available with drive units that are designed to 'ignore' the ghost current. Your shower unit should be fed with a supply suitable for up to about 40A. Which means 6mm cable and 2.5mm earth. Obviously if the cable is undersized then you'll get voltage drops when the shower is pulling current and depending on how the house has been wired you could get voltage variations on other circuits. To be honest, from the situation that you've described, I would not mess about with your existing shambolic wiring. It sounds potentially hazardous. I would hire a proper professional electrician (from Bangkok if necessary) and have the house rewired with correct sized cables, earthing, new sockets and switches etc. We have a few properties in Pattaya and also up in Udon, all with LED lights and I can't recall replacing any for at least a few years. I think they are a mix of Philips and Panasonic.

Reads like a load of made-up claptrap to me...