NorthernRyland

There's the Maya mall intersection in 2011 (the earliest photo on google). There's been an explosion of malls since that time and one of them already died. People that want malls are probably already in Bangkok I would guess.

Maya killed Kad Suan Kaew I think. They were too close to each other and obviously one old and broken down. That's 3 solid malls (including Airport). I question if CM really has customers to make another one profitable. Are malls even still popular as ever? I hate going to those things and finding parking then walking around in circles to get to one shop. Such a pain in the ass. For kids and families it's a fun way to kill time but not a good experience for actual shopping.

Malls were last cool in the 80s and 90s but people are sick of them now. The mall in my hometown was torn down and replaced with an outside walking mall. There's still some in the suburbs and they're depressing as ever. They make poor working class people feel glamorous for a day because of all the shiny stuffs inside but they're a mirage. Man I really hate malls. 😂

You want MORE malls? Two of them already shut down due to lack of customers. There were 2 McDonalds (maybe 3 but I can't find proof) when I first came to Chiang Mai and now there are 9. If I wanted car culture and to eat processed food in shopping malls I would have stayed in America. Makes me depressed just thinking about it but people keep piling in so what do I know.

I was once asked what just a crown would cost in the US, no insurance and they told me $4000 so I obviously got that done in Thailand (can't recall the price but around 10k I think).

Was this subsidized somehow like the NHS? I'm guessing yes. Even so the $8/month dental insurance my boss had seemed too cheap too. Usually the US is brutal with medical costs and labor costs in general so how they're getting near Thailand prices is wild.

I forget but you may be right, however they have been known to clamp down on air travel if there is a long history. Were you doing the visa exempts more than twice a year for multiple years? That may have been the reason. I don't think you can get away with that anymore and Chiang Mai isn't what it used to be, they're getting inundated by people too and it's change a lot over the recent years in particular.

You're taking this too far. I bought some roofing tiles today and the people were exceptionally kind to me. The owner of the shop even asked for number and invited me for coffee. I think in some areas the people are so fed with tourists they turn bitter, and who can blame them with all the nonsense they have to put up with.

Why not try ordering from a known store in Thailand with a physical location which has been open for years? Better yet, where are you located? Is there any mall nearby? I would just get the product from there because if it's genuine the price will be comparable.

Are they still doing the 2 visa exempts entries per year rule? I thought as long as you follow those guidelines you were legal and good to go, hence why I question if there were other factors involved.

what was happening before that 3 months though? were you on tons of visa exempts over years? Were you dressed strangely and wearing elephant pants and dreadlocks or anything like that which could annoy them? Something must have set that woman off in your case. Just bad luck maybe, you could have had a totally different experience with another officer probably.

I would never put anything in my body coming from Lazada.

I was just in a meeting with my boss in America, myself in Thailand and 3 Indians. I mentioned that I got a root canal here and it's going to be 40,000 baht. This includes the root canal, an artificial root and a crown (Maysa Dental Clinic in Mae Jo, Chiang Mai). The root canal portion is 20k while the crown is 20k, partially because I chose the most expensive material on offer. Anyways, I asked the Indians what it costs there and one of them said it was 4000 rupees, which is 1500 baht. I find this very hard to believe but he insisted. I'm thinking this is a public hospital or subsidized somehow but I have no idea, could be the real price at a private clinic to the same standards as Thailand. Then my boss in America tells me he pays $8/month for his dental insurance and would pay around $1500 deductible for a root canal in America (50,000 baht) and I'm sure this varies by location quite a bit. So what is going on here? I thought 40k was a good price for cash but $8 USD/month is nothing and Indian prices totally blew me away. Did I get ripped off at my clinic? What prices have you seen for root canals in Thailand?

One of the stated goals for immigration was rebalance the budgets by brining in new workers to things like pensions. It's not working though and there's a good reason for that, namely they're getting the wrong kind of immigrants.

Other countries in Europe have run the numbers and immigrants from certain countries are TAX NEGATIVE over their life time. UK is literally importing a manufactured budget crisis and there's no end in sight. Obviously this does not end well.

well you appear to have more than one pension so that's probably why.

I don't understand this. Why does any agreement have to be made? Thailand has no vested interest in how the UK government handles their pensions and the reverse is true also.

OK, sorry I get what you mean. Yes a holiday resort area catering to tourists should obviously be speaking English. I read the OPs post as an expat who was living in Thailand and became annoyed overtime.

I don't get this. If anywhere people are speaking English it's a holiday resort. Most of Thailand speaks little to no English. It's the norm and should be expected.

All of us foreigners have been foisted on them so what should they do now? Even going back 30 years none of these people would have ever dreamed on 40 million foreigners entering their country and they had no time to adapt when they were young enough to do so. You should be grateful for their service and years of experience at an affordable price. PS. Instead of be bothered by them take some action in your own life and learn Thai.

I know these people very well actually and pass through their villages often. Nothing has changed in the 20 years I've been observing them. They're in another world from the rest of us. Nothing any of us can do can change these people and I don't think we should be interfering with them. They're slowly going to fade out as their women marry out of the culture and their kids move to the cities. Just how it is.

It's a phase of life. They do the work and they move on. A good friend of my wife was a flight attendant. She did the time and then moved on like the rest of them. Many jobs are like this. Same thing with Americans demanding minimal wage jobs like McDonalds pay a "living wage" when these were always intended to be temporary jobs for students and teenagers.

indeed it sounds very predatory. I would entirely ban these people from operating within Thailand. I have no idea why it's permitted in a country which is so strict with foreigners.

I'm not against Christians in general but those people who come to Thailand and prey on the hill tribes really bother me. Those people don't have a written language or formalized religion so they're easy targets. I am however surprised they were receptive to foreigners telling them anything because they're incredibly inward looking and standoffish people. If people know or can read Thai you'll see this yellow signs often hung up high up in trees in the mountains regions of the north where the hill tribe live. The general message is always something like "Jesus is the way to eternal life, repent etc... etc....". I wish the government would tear them down because they're clearly posted illegal on public roads and often in public forests too. They've been successful too because you do see the jesus fish on cars far more often then you think if you live around those populations. I see crosses hanging in cars and on necklaces too and of course the odd church here or there.

This sums it all up right here. Not surprised unions were behind this. The idea of discrimination has turned totally pathological and now prevents the mere having of standards, literally state mandated low standards.