mstevens

Such a shame that this crap has made its way beyond Bangkok and Pattaya and is now in the "real Thailand".

I had always thought that outside of the tourist areas the farangs you came across were generally placid, laid-back and just kicked back and enjoyed life.  These reports of farang on farang conflict in Surin are not a welcome development.

3 hours ago, JerryinTH said:

Google 'president outlaws mc thailand bangkok' and click the first link.. 

 

And if you Google "remembering a bully bangkok" you get a long story about the colourful Bangkok life of the leader of the gang in Bangkok who died a couple of years ago.

I'm not someone who necessarily has the northeast of Thailand on his radar, but I've always thought that it might be  nice to find a quiet place up there to retire to.  When I read stories like this with a bike gang going wild and destroying a business in Surin, a town I thought was peaceful, it makes me wonder if there is anywhere in Thailand that is untouched by troubled foreigners.  I'd never retire in the likes of Phuket or Pattaya because they are just too raucous for me, but the northeast always had an appeal because it was quiet and those foreigners there just wanted to enjoy a quiet and peaceful life.

12 hours ago, Travel2003 said:

Time will tell.

Where is your condo located in the soi?

Sounds like the Trendy in soi 13.

2 hours ago, 007 RED said:

Regarding the ban from entering the country for 5 years, I suspect that would be covered by a Ministerial Order (I'm not able to lay my hands on it at the moment).  No doubt there is a ‘tariff’ relating to various types of offences for which deportation is applicable.  When you think about it, there would be no point in deporting someone for them to be able to return on the next available flight.

You're applying Western logic to Thailand which does not always work.  I repeat that I have never before heard of this being banned for a period due to being convicted of any crime other than overstaying.  For all other crimes it is supposed to be mandatory deportation (but in effect is not) and in the case of serious crimes, possible blacklisting.

33 minutes ago, maigeng said:

There's some comments about a limit on the amount of Thai baht that one can take out the country.  Does anyone know what this amount is?

50,000 Thai baht.  I believe a much higher figure can, however, be taken to neighbouring countries (500K baht comes to mind but am not sure).

I don't ever like to suggest that someone breaks the law, but is this not something that could be done under the table?  A consultant will often work alone and if that can be done in this case, is it not possible for him to do his work away from your business premises and present you with the report or whatever it is he is tasked with doing without anyone seeing what he is doing?  Of course that means you'll have to pay him with cash and not write off the expense....but that's got to be easier than trying to do it by the book.

5 minutes ago, Techno Viking said:

Why do they take a picture then ?

To save it in their files.

Immigration authorities all over the world have been taking photos for many years....having cameras at immigration taking travellers' photos does not necessarily mean the system is hooked up to facial recognition software.

9 hours ago, vasudev said:

No ,,, i was not overstayed even for a single day,,, i was on court case under consideration visa

So the bit I don't get is that you have been banned from returning for 5 years i.e. banned for a period of time.

Why I don't understand this is that my understanding was that in the case of a foreigner being found guilty of crime in Thailand that you were deported (and could return again) OR in the case of conviction for a serious crime, were blacklisted and could never return to Thailand again.  This banning for a period of time only came in to effect with the recent overstay laws.....at least that has always been my understanding - or do I have it wrong?

10 hours ago, Techno Viking said:

Those facial recognition camera's dont actually work ?

I doubt facial recognition software is being used in Thailand at this point in time.  There certainly have not been any verified reports of it being installed and used.

Live music and sexy girls dancing....sounds like the best of both worlds!

So you've been banned for a period and not blacklisted entirely, right?  Would I be right in thinking that this ban is because you got caught up in the court system and could not leave the country, subsequently overstayed your visa so the ban is technically for overstaying?  The reason I ask is because this is exactly what happened to a friend of mine.

I moved a similar amount back not that long ago.  I withdrew a bit over half a million baht in cash and changed it at Super Rich in to Australian dollars.  I carried half back the cash myself and my girlfriend carried half back and that way we were just a bit under the $10,000 limit at which you each have to report cash being brought in to the country.  The rest I just made withdrawals using ATM machines here.  Yes, there is a fee for each time you do that but it's small and in the big picture it's not enough to worry about.

You could of course withdraw it all as cash in Bangkok, convert it in to Australia dollars, carry it back with you and declare it when you return to Australia.  There should be any problems re-entering Australia.  That'd be the least of my worries.  The reason I did not do it that was is that I didn't want to declare money leaving Thailand as I don't know what "pomplems" might arise.  When you exit Thailand you have to declare if you are carrying $20,000 or more in cash.  If you have that amount and don't declare it, you can face charges and forfeiture of the money.  That happened to a fellow (Canadian?) not so long ago who flew in from Singapore and didn't declare the cash he had on him.  If I remember right he lost the money and got 15 months in prison for it!

8 minutes ago, csabo said:

"Good for them because I am already bracing myself with elbows sticking out."

 

I have been doing this for years.  I am a big solid mass and I was zigzagging all over the place to avoid shoppers 1/3 my size to avoid collisions when walking through the mall.  I noticed people think if they keep their head down they can just walk straight and let everyone else get out of the way.  No more.  I have sent people crashing to the floor bags flying everywhere clutching their shoulders in pain.  I especially love the bonus rounds when I catch people walking backwards not looking where they are going.  CRUUUUNCH!  And how about the grocery store shoppers who stand in the center of an aisle deciding on an item while completely blocking other shoppers and ignoring them as they approach.  Imagine a steam roller vs a chicken.

I scratch my head and wonder about this.  If you see someone coming your way and anticipate that they might collide with you, why would you allow that to happen even if they are playing with their phone.  Yes, they might be self-absorbed and yes, you might be able to argue that by them not looking they were at fault, but in my estimation you're every bit at fault as them because you saw them coming and chose not to do anything about it and let it happen!

Imagine if they fell over and hurt themselves or even if their phone fell and the screen cracked.  Would you not feel guilty knowing that, at the minimum, you were a contributing factor - because you could have avoided that happening?

Yes, it is annoying when people walk around like this - I am with you 100% on that - but I think allowing someone to walk in to you when it could be so easily avoided is just plain silly and ungentleman-like.

Good on you for going back to try and help him.  From your description, this guy's situation sounds precarious and I really hope he gets the help that it sounds like he desperately needs.

Anyone in the area?  Would be nice to know one way or the other if it has been leveled or if it's business as usual.

On 9/4/2017 at 1:02 AM, sinbin said:

Exercise by all means but F*** the dieting. Eat a balanced diet.

Fresh fruit & veges, fish, lean chicken, nuts, grains, yogurt.....  Actually, I think he is eating a balanced diet!

14 minutes ago, joeyg said:

This is nothing.  He is potentially dangerous.

 

I don't like to say too much about someone I have never met, but the impression I get from these videos is of a crass, foul-mouthed, arrogant bully who is extremely volatile but who sees his own behaviour as perfectly normal.  Sorry, pal, while you can do what you want inside your own castle, when you're out in public places and other people are around there are certain things that aren't acceptable - and abusing others and mouthing off at people and cussing them are amongst them.

This guy is not right in the head.

21 minutes ago, Elkski said:

It's pretty arrogant to assert that you were smart enough to predict  or plan for this baht exchange rate. 

It most likely means you were fortunate to have started with twice what common financial assumptions would have predicted.  

My situation is different to many here in that I am semi-retired and LIVE IN MY OWN COUNTRY and simply travel to Thailand and spend anything from a couple of months to several months each year.

I retired earlier than most and the only way I was able to do this with confidence was to plan financially for it.  I have all sorts of backup plans in place and am fortunate that my financial situation is strong and I planned for almost all possibilities.  Critically, I own my own property here in my country which at any time I can come back to.

The issue I see in Thailand is that some people retire early.  They have not just 15 or 20 years ahead of them, but potentially 30 or 40.  When you retire so young you need a huge nest egg to ensure that you don't run out of money.  And many of these people burn their bridges at home as they don't have property of their own to return to.  That doesn't strike me as planning, but of taking a huge gamble.

The commonalities I see in many farangs in Thailand are retiring young without enough money and without assets / property to be able to return home to if things down work out.  You can blame currency movements all you like but at the end of the day it means you didn't plan for that possibility.

10 hours ago, toenail said:

Look at this loser's eyes... surely on something & it ain't cornflakes.

Yep, he seems to be all over the place and strikes you as a highly volatile individual.  I believe very little of what he says and these comments he made about being followed and set up by a French videographer sound like nonsense.

25 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

I think that anyone who buys a condo in Thailand without living in the building (and ideally the unit in question) for at least a year is a fool.

 

And I would only buy something here if I intended to own it for at least 10 years. Less than that and purchase/selling costs and the general difficulty of selling would make it not worthwhile.

This is really excellent advice and gels with my experiences in Thailand entirely.

Peer to peer lending is still not widely known by the masses - and that usually means that the masses likely wouldn't trust it, even if it was carefully explained to them how it works.  In theory, peer to peer is a good idea.  Personally, I remain unconvinced of it.  I have been tempted to put some money in to it but just cannot pull the trigger.

You've been issued the holy grail of visas, luck you!