thaipara

7 hours ago, Proboscis said:

 Money expected, of course. If you include such women, I guess you would be well above the million mark.

I quite agree. Former gf is inundated with friends/acquaintances wanting "take care" of me when I visit next month. Hotel workers, sellers of stuff in the market, stay at home mothers, none ever involved in prostitution as would be recognized as such in the West. 

This video shows a typical installation procedure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tdoXj_KkwE

No indication of how they came up with the 1,900 figure. Are they counting as 0 the income of all those who have left? In that case the remainers (sorry for triggering phrase for some Brits) would have a lot higher average income. Also, this is a classic case where the median  (middle of the income distribution) would be more informative, since the big bosses' salaries are so much greater than what the folks at the cutting edge earn. 

23 hours ago, sirineou said:

I did not say that 5% will get it, I said that 5% have the potential to get is. 

Yes, you did say that. But I feared folks might not read so cIosely, and further, thought the the most enlightening part of the quoted material was in the final sentence: "the actual percentage of vaccinated people in the Pfizer (and Moderna) trials who got COVID-19 was about a hundred times less than that: 0.04%." Four cases out of 10,000 people.

20 hours ago, sirineou said:

If the vaccine  is 95% affective, then for every 100 people vaccinated, 5% will have the potential to catch the virus if exposed,

It's not as dire as that. I quote from a story on livescience.com:

"One common misunderstanding is that 95% efficacy means that in the Pfizer clinical trial, 5% of vaccinated people got COVID. But that's not true; the actual percentage of vaccinated people in the Pfizer (and Moderna) trials who got COVID-19 was about a hundred times less than that: 0.04%."  

Googling "meaning of 95 effective vaccine" will provide more details, if wanted.

14 hours ago, bluesofa said:

20 hours ago, rooster59 said:

putting the pee in priapism

 

But surely the problem was the pee couldn't get out of priapism? 

Assuming that you you want to alleviate your present state of celibacy, the fundamental question is whether you  are a 4F  sort of guy, or not. (see the urban dictionary under 4f, definition 5, if you are too young to recognize its meaning immediately).

If you are, the online resources already recommended are your go-toplaces. Otherwise, gentlemen's clubs and bar beers and agogos are slowing winding up, in Pattaya at least.

On the other hand, if you like longer term associations, assuming that you can contact some of your "friends" (in the Thai sense) from before, and if they are well-disposed towards you, they will be able to set you up with some companions to "take care" of you for a week or so at a time.

In a sense, things are no different from before; how much you enjoy really depends on you. With the right attitude and application you can find the experience as fulfilling as you wish.

Has it yet been mentioned that implementing a proof of vaccination requirement will prevent children from travelling? In several countries a covid vaccination is not going to be given to children any time soon.

Did anyone notice the real pros amongst them? They held their drinks high, not allowing them to be be contaminated with mere water, clean or not.

I am afraid this is a bit tangential, but I have a Thai friend who returned from Europe about three weeks ago and was found to be covid-positive upon arrival. She was discharged from a 15-day stay in a hospital to return to her family's home in Udon. There she continues to suffer various  serious symptoms and is self-quarantined, being checked in on by a doctor every day.

Her biggest fear now, she says, is that when (as she puts it) she dies, no one will come to attend her funeral ceremonies. The thought is making her feel quite depressed.

Being between Udon and Loei (both affected), Nongbualamphu missed out how?

17 hours ago, smedly said:

Face screens are well documented as useless, wear a mask or nothing

I quote an article: "A recent opinion piece in JAMA by Eli Perencevich, M.D., a professor of internal medicine and epidemiology at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, and two of his colleagues pointed to such benefits of shields for infection prevention, and noted that “face shields appear to significantly reduce the amount of inhalation exposure to influenza virus, another droplet-spread respiratory virus. In a simulation study, face shields were shown to reduce immediate viral exposure by 96 percent when worn by a simulated health care worker within 18 inches of a cough.” "

For the "smell cigarette smoke if using a face shield crowd", I offer an excerpt from a Washington Post article: "to what extent the virus can be transmitted as an aerosol — although the evidence is far from conclusive and no such infections have been documented." Cigarette smoke is an aerosol.

15 hours ago, JusticeGB said:

 

BDSM with social distancing that might be difficult!

Everybody has to stay a whip's length apart. . . 

8 hours ago, Mac98 said:

It's easy to social distance. Just pretend every facility is the auditorium of an '80s adult theater. Nobody sat anywhere near anyone else and liked it that way.

Might it not be more correct to say "needed it that way"?

A dehumidifer _is_ an air conditioner, or, better to say, a dehumidifier wraps up all the components of an aircon in one package. Being a single package, as noted above, it raises the temperature in the room it dehumidifies, just as a refrigerator does. It's quite a complex analysis to determine whether or not your particular unit is the most cost-efficient way to go or not. The electric bill will tell the tale.

I had a friend in the US many years ago who did commercial and domestic HVAC. His big selling point for central air was the inclusion of adjustable ducting that allowed the user to make the choices we have here with split unit air cons - "cool" or "dry". He called it the "desert breeze" setting and after trying it there were few users who would go back to the "cool" option.

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Download: TM30 Form Notification of aliens staying at a residence

Proof of residence which can be rental agreement with signed copies of owners house book and ID card or if you own your own condo proof of ownership for it.

The funny thing is that in May, when I went to do this at the Jomtien office when moving into a rented condo, I filled in the form with my details as "possessor" on the first page and listed myself on the second page as being the person arriving. No problem with that. Maybe the saucy Immigration lady just liked me. I was a day late in reporting and she said in a most pouty way, "why you wait to come to see me?" No fine for the delay, by the way. She also said there was no need to come to see her again after a trip unless I had a change of address. 

Thanks for the responses, all. It's a relief to know that the income letter date isn't terribly essential (in my case). I'm getting a letter with seal from the juristic person and see how that works out.

Hi, I am due to renew my permission to stay in Jomtien soon(ish). I have questions unresolved by googling around the net,  

1) How recent does the income letter have to be? Some places say six months, some three, and in at least one reference says 30 days. 

2a) Will the current TM30 serve as the evidence of residence?

2b) Will a letter from the juristic person at the condo I rent suffice? It did at last year's renewal, when the sheaf of documents, contract copies and so on were rejected.

2c) Will the fact that they must have a record of the certificates of residence I got last month serve as residence evidence?

2d) If I still had one, would a certificate of residence satisfy the renewal requirement about residence? 

Thanks for reading!

3 hours ago, inThailand said:

Never seen any govt office excepting a document for residency from the condo JP Mgr.

 

Earlier this month Jomtien immigration accepted a letter from the JP of the condo where I was staying as residence proof when I went to extend my permission to stay. Two days later, they issued a residence certificate based on only a photocopy of the original JP letter!

When I worked in Malaysia I was friends with a Chinese family, one of whose sons was regularly "possessed" by one of the Taoist "gods". In his case, it was an intentional possession, i.e., he could decide when and where to be possessed, which he did on a regular basis. Inhabitants in his shanty-town neighborhood would come to see the god for advice.

A nice little earner for him, I thought. Play the possessed person for a bit, get plus points for face and status, what's not to like about it? Not to mention the gifts his petitioners would offer.

I was invited to witness one of the "visitations". The god in question, his name escapes me at the moment, is the one who is really fond of alcohol. There was a bit of ritual involved as he became possessed, and his voice, posture, and demeanor changed. One of the neighbors, come to consult, offered the "god" a sealed litre bottle of Johnny (the color escapes me (at the time I didn't know JW comes in colors). The "god" drank the bottle dry within ten minutes, and this, combined with lesser offerings of stout and beer, soon had him acting really, really drunk. (I checked the empty bottle afterwards; it wasn't tea that he had been drinking.)

When the consultations ended, there was another bit of ritual to bring him out of the trance, after which he was completely sober! Sat around, talked, watched TV, ate dinner just like the episode had never happened. No evidence that he had so much as sipped a even a beer.

So, in short, I didn't witness the scam I had been expecting to see, and I saw something that I cannot explain, to this day.

Thanks so much for the encouraging information. Seems like things can work out as I have hoped.

Hooray for experts!

I presently hold an multiple-entry non-O visa, issued for purposes of investigating retirement; its use-before date is May 8, 2013. I understand that if I enter Thailand on, say May 5, I will be granted permission to stay of 90 days. My question is whether I should be able to get a multiple-entry endorsement to preserve this permission to stay. (After three hours checking here and on the web in general, the answer is not clear, to me, at least. )

I intend to apply for an extension of stay for purposes of retirement, but, for reasons irrelevant here, I want to do this in June or July, and I need to travel in SEAsia before then. I know that I could get a tourist visa, but that would entail changing to an O here, or getting one in another country, so the idea of preserving the permission to stay seems simplest, if it is even possible.

And thanks to the board for having mentioned the need to check the immigration stamp when entering. I June I was only given the 30-day stamp at Don Muang. I had entered my visa number, but it got ignored. When I mentioned this to the officer he checked and peered and looked very confused. Finally, he asked me if 90 days was the appropriate period. I assured him that it was, corrections were made, and I went happily on my way, having dodged a nasty complication, thanks to TV.

I thought I'd check on some of the "facts" asserted in some of the previous postings and discovered that the reasons for US visa denial related to crimes involves "crimes involving moral turpitude".

Googling shows many sites which explain this. A site for US visa lawyers in the UK says: "Moral turpitude refers generally to conduct which is inherently base, vile, or depraved, and contrary to the accepted rules of morality and the duties owed between persons or to society in general. [Citations omitted] Moral turpitude has been defined as an act which is per se morally reprehensible and intrinsically wrong, or malum in se, so it is the nature of the act itself and not the statutory prohibition of it which renders a crime one of moral turpitude." Elsewhere, one learns that the decision in such cases is within the discretion of the officer evaluating the application. There are no clear-cut lines.

But, even in the case that one is so convicted, it is always possible to apply for a waiver of this requirement; see US immigration forms I-601 and I-192.

In short, there are pleny of ways that a visa could have been issued legally, without any special contrivances, plots, or external influences.

Just sayin' . . .

Amazingly, I think I am beginning to understand, thanks so much. I will contact Mary at the Portland CG as suggested. The complexities of this are, to me, stupefying, but I am beginning to see. Thanks again to all, especially Jim Gant and wayned.

Thanks for the advice. It's nice to hear that that the retirement visa can be so flexible. Unfortunately, the Portland CG's site says "Only issued by Thai Embassy - Washington DC or the Los Angeles, Chicago or New York City Consulates." Will check more thoroughly there about the retirement visa. . .

Having done so, I see that this is not an easy process. Sigh. For one thing, the NY CG site says income of 65,000 baht per month is OK, but the Chicago CG lists this option only for renewals. Neither says that the 800,000 baht has to be in a Thai bank, nor do either say it say that the amount has to be in a certain kind of account, which I gather it must be.

If I do go through with this, I may just extend the retirement visa for another year just to avoid having to plan trip timings and all in the future. (I make 4 or five trips a year, though of shorter duration, but often including land crossings, with the 15 day VOA.)

Any idea what an "income certificate" is? I gather that in Thailand I could get this from the American embassy, but if I were to try to do this via a CG here, what would it be? A notarized letter from my university? Bank?

And, since I would never be in Thailand for as much as 90 days, does that mean there would be no need for 90 day reporting? Logic tells me one thing, but experience in SEAsia warns me logic may not apply.

Thanks again for the info.