Salerno

Such as what?

I did see it as such, I knew exactly what you where saying in response to the over the top post and agree with you.

Because some people like purposefully leaving out pertinent info to wind people up. Re the house and condo, I read that as a separate issue in that it was just a mini-brag to highlight that he lives a very comfortable lifestyle here in response to the claim he was replying to.

Not necessarily incorrect, more, lacking in information. Couple of options to make it less "incorect" off the top of my head 1 Regularly take outside trips - 90 days resets every time you enter therefore, quite possible to not to need to do a 90 day report (not so easily done during the height of covid obviously). 2 Be on an elite visa and live in Bangkok - "technically" you don't have to physically do a 90 day report as they do it for you.

Perhaps next visit, take a short trip to a more foreign-friendly area; numerous people have acquired a driving licence on just a visa exempt in Pattaya for example.

No, by Indonesian citizens. You didn't specify "by the government", in which case you'd have to go back further. As to the quote you originally posed the question too, it's just dumb <deleted> redneck BS. Which is why we are in the mess we're in.

https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/bali-bombings

Why did the pervert cross the road? He couldn't get his dick out of the chicken.

I've failed everytime I looked, thing is it might have been Legs & Co and not Pans People ... it's been a while.

Every now and then I try and find a certain episode on YouTube but to no avail. I'm 99.9% certain Pans People where braless with see through tops ... or it might have just been the vivid imagination of a horny 12 year old ????

Nope, your just getting old and are set in your tastes. The same question is posed by the vast majority of all generations, some move with the times and their tastes evolve, not necessarily replacing what they enjoy but adding to it.

Not seeing your point? Many places have seperate language menus, not only in Phuket, everywhere; as I illustrated. The fact there are others with dual languages doesn't negate the topic of the thread, particularly if the prices are in Thai and not western digits. If you don't read Thai you might figure out a Chang at this restaurant for example is cheaper for Thais (free ice all night for Thais too) but how many people pay that much attention when the info is in English right next to it? As to the larger dual pricing issue, without reading Thai you would have no clue you are paying 5 times as much as a Thai to enter this park: Or even paying more for honey at a stall in Chaing Mai: (Pics from 2016 https://planetbell.me/2016/04/24/is-it-fair-to-charge-foreigners-higher-prices/) As I've said in other threads over the years when this topic has been dissected, personally, I don't have a major issue to a small "tourist surcharge" for things like parks, temples, historical attractions etc. if the money goes to the upkeep of such places (or supposed to at least). I have an issue when it starts to get to 5 x, 10 x or even 20 x the locals price and certainly when it comes to basics such as food. Then I vote with my feet.

I suspect it happens everywhere there is a decent size foreigner presence. I was in Maha Sarakham and the girl I was with handed back the English menu and got them to bring the Thai version, have to admit I didn't think about dual pricing at the time, just figured she was more comfortable reading the Thai menu and pointing out my favourite dishes and explaining what others I pointed out where (I really should learn to read Thai!).

I've seen reports of it over the years from numerous places, even a few where the tourists sat down and started looking at a Thai menu and the waitress came and swapped it with the inflated English menu. I think that was one of the first accounts I read as the tourists noticed the inflated prices and got up and left. Got to hand it to some of them, certainly sneaky buggers. Edit Thought I'd add a snippet from Richard Barrow (yeah, yeah, I know) written in 2018: While we are on the subject of menu scams, there is in fact another one that you should be careful about. Most food shops, like in the above picture, show their menu in Thai on the wall. However, what they do in some food shops is to have a separate menu in English for tourists. I know what you are thinking, that is very kind of them. And quite often it is just that. But every now and then, there is an ulterior motive. The prices on the English menu are sometimes double of what it is on the Thai menu. Of course, most tourists won’t know that as they cannot read Thai. But if you see Thais in the same shop being given a different menu to you, then chances are high that you have the one with the inflated price. And even if you share the same menu, I was once in a food shop in a tourist area and as some Thais came in, the vendor loudly proclaimed that there is a discount for Thais. She didn’t realize that I could speak Thai. Of, course, I just got up and left the shop. https://www.thaitravelblogs.com/2018/01/beware-of-menu-scams-in-thai-restaurants/

Seperate menus - Thai and English. If you don't know how likely are you to ask for the Thai version? It's not just a Phuket thing.

Yes, for all intents and purposes they are "real", the airlines can look them up and you'll be in the system. The only difference from a "real" ticket of course is you can't fly out on it. Not 100% sure how they work, but I believe it's a valid booking through "an agency" that can cancel, hence only valid a short period.

True, but not everyone has a Thai bank account. Depending on the card, more costly than using a Wise card with Thai Baht on it (some countries still have a poor selection of cards with extortionit forex and bank fees).

Yes there are fees (see above). It can be useful for shopping online or paying via "credit" card but not ATM withdrawal. Also useful for building a stash when the rates are favourable i.e. build a Baht holding in the account.

As far as I see it, using Wise as an ATM card is a bad move. The "free" withdrawals are extremely low and only twice a month, you get hit with the Thai ATM fees then hit with Wise fees after the "free" withdrawals on top of the Thai fees: If your card was issued in Europe or the UK: You can take out money for free twice a month — as long as the total amount is under 200 GBP/EUR. But after that, we’ll charge you 0.50 GBP/EUR per transaction. This is a fixed fee. If you take out over 200 GBP/EUR in one month, we’ll charge you 1.75% on top of that. If your card was issued in Australia, New Zealand, or Singapore**: You can take out money for free twice a month — as long as the total amount is under 350 AUD/NZD/SGD. But after that, we’ll charge you 1.50 AUD/NZD/SGD per transaction. This is a fixed fee. If you take out over 350 AUD/NZD/SGD in one month, we’ll charge you 1.75% on top of that. If your card was issued in Japan**: You can take out money for free twice a month — as long as the total amount is under 30,000 JPY. But after that, we’ll charge you 70 JPY per transaction. This is a fixed fee. If you take out over 30,000 JPY in one month, we’ll charge you 1.75% on top of that. If your card was issued in the US: You can take out money for free twice a month — as long as the total amount is under 100 USD. But after that, we’ll charge you 1.50 USD per transaction. This is a fixed fee. If you take out over 100 USD in one month, we’ll charge you 2% on top of that. If your card was issued in Malaysia: You can take out money for free twice a month — as long as the total amount is under 1,000 MYR. But after that, we’ll charge you 5 MYR per transaction. This is a fixed fee. If you take out over 1,000 MYR in one month, we’ll charge you 1.75% on top of that. If your card was issued in Canada: You can take out money for free abroad twice a month — as long as the total amount is under the equivalent of 350 CAD. But after that, we’ll charge you the equivalent of 1.50 CAD per transaction. This is a fixed fee. If you take out over 350 CAD in one month, we’ll charge you 1.75% on top of that. If your card was issued in Brazil: You can take out money for free twice a month — as long as the total amount is under 1,400 BRL. But after that, we’ll charge you 6.50 BRL per transaction. This is a fixed fee. If you take out over 1,400 in one month, we’ll charge you 1.75% on top of that. If you’re using a different currency, the sum will be equivalent to the currency your card was issued in. https://wise.com/help/articles/2935769/how-much-does-it-cost-to-withdraw-cash

You would hope Thai would be more understanding but you never know. Personally never been in the position to worry about it but have seen people refused. A guy in front of me at check-in (I think it was a Malaysian flight) argued until he was blue in the face, eventually had to book a flight there and then and show the confirmation. As the check-in lady pointed out, the extension is an option not a right and the airline can't guarantee he wouldn't be refused entry with the onus on the airline to return him. The fact Thai immigration doesn't seem to care or check is irrelevant to the airline. Why worry about it when you can negate the issue for a few bucks?

True. There's plenty of companies for throwaway tickets though that only take a few minutes such as: https://onwardticket.com/ ($14, ticket received in a minute or two) https://bestonwardticket.com/ ($12, valid for 48 hours but can postpone issuance for $1) https://aironwardticket.com/ ($7.99 valid for 36 hours but can postpone issuance for $1)

Some airlines do indeed refuse boarding in these cases. If that happens he can book an outward flight there and then (either a real one with a cancelation policy or a "fake" throwaway for around $15). Best bet is to get to the airport allowing enough time for this eventuality or buy a throwaway prior.

I've watched them all, it's propaganda, taking what Baker said in negotions re Germany reunification and extrapulating it to encompass NATO and the whole of Europe. Show me any treaty, memorandam, official announcement to be the case otherwise - not just someone saying it was agreed. NATO has, and always will have, an open door policy. Soverign nations have a right to decide what organisations they wish to be members of.

Pure propaganda. “The topic of ‘NATO expansion’ was not discussed at all, and it wasn’t brought up in those years. … Another issue we brought up was discussed: making sure that NATO’s military structures would not advance and that additional armed forces would not be deployed on the territory of the then-GDR after German reunification. Baker’s statement was made in that context… Everything that could have been and needed to be done to solidify that political obligation was done. And fulfilled.” Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2014)

I was quoting it purely for the alleged losses figure to compare to 2013 (hence bolding the figures), not the gumph around it.