StevieAus

I hate to spoil your argument but in the UK as in Australia, US etc the men surveyed may be citizens of those countries but genetically from elsewhere.

15 hours ago, Polar Bear said:

I can only speak of Manchester, and it's an absolute mess. They've hardly got any staff on passport control, and then I waited over 90 mins for bags to come out. The e-gates at passport control have been hit and miss, with either all or most of them out of service a lot of the time. Cynically, I wonder if the PC delays are deliberate, to reduce the wait and crowding in baggage claim. If it hadn't taken an hour to get through PC, I'd have been waiting even longer in baggage claim, but maybe they have their own problems too.

 

Flying out was even worse. Qatar are opening their check in desk 4 hours before the flight now, and there were still people who missed the flight, probably because they couldn't get through security in time because the queues were ridiculous.

In Manchester, it's mainly down to the airport managing company (MAG) laying off staff during the pandemic to save money and then not rehiring them until the last possible minute, without leaving time to get people security cleared and trained up.

 

I have flown through Manchester many times over the years pre Covid and it always seems chaotic.

There always seem to be long queues at the Immigration and few staff manning the desks.

I found out recently that as I have an Australian passport I could have used the automatic gates not sure if that speeds up the process.

On the last trip they had introduced a five pounds charge if you being picked up or dropped off in a taxi or private car.

I understand that it is owned and operated by Manchester City Council, maybe that’s the problem.

54 minutes ago, Muhendis said:

The cost was split between the three visits.

First to dig out what was left of the old tooth.

Second to screw in the post.

Third to fit the crown which I elected to be acrylic. If I had gone for ceramic the cost would have been several thousand more (can't remember exactly).

The location of the gov. dentist is opposite the central police station in Buriram. I was recommended to go there because my local gov. hospital dentist did not have the training for this procedure.

That sounds like an implant not a crown as crowns are fitted to the tooth it is not removed.

5 hours ago, Muhendis said:

Ridiculous sums of money and certainly not cheap.

Price for foreigner is about 6k for a crown in gov. dentist.

Considering that the biggest cost is for the crown not the procedure I find the above very hard to belive.

4 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

Kings Cross once a red light district many moons ago, is now a trendy upmarket area, besides they have strict noise pollution rules in Sydney.

 

I suppose at the end of the day it's the luck of the draw, I chose the country life away from neighbours, only music, if any that I can hear is from a distance when there is a festival of sorts and it is not enough to bother me.

 

As for answering the topics question, the environment in Thailand is much harsher than the 4 seasons I was used to, that said, with a well insulated and comfortable home, it beats the hell out of working 5/7ths if not 6/7ths of your life and in an office environment for most who would also be stressed out from the work, not happy having to travel in the traffic and have very little time for themselves.

 

Retirement in the old country for most is not sustainable, just a couple of examples, rents shy high, your pension would just about cover your rent if you didn't own a property outright, then it would be to the local grocery store for tonight's dinner, canned dog food.

 

The cost of living is crazy, a kilo of chicken breast will set you back 250 baht vs 88 baht here and you can keep adding on from there.

 

The cost of living here is way cheaper than back home if you go easy on the imports where they stick it to you.

 

I mean what's a drivers licence cost here for 5 years, 300 odd baht, home country you would be lucky to see any change from 4,750 baht.

 

Living here, you have to take the good with the bad, it's not perfect, but perfect is what you make of every situation.

 

I'm good, just have to turn off when it's bad and wait for the good to come up again, that said, it's mostly good and relaxing living the life here in Thailand.

 

Whatever you do, don't talk health insurance costs because that is in the bad, but part of life ????

 

I read only recently that Sydney is supposed to be the second least affordable city in the world for accommodation.

Agree with the rest of the comments, I’m staying here.

6 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Well, there are regulations in both countries. Providers aren't free to charge whatever they wish.

To bring this to a timely end I responded to a post where the poster made a comment about private companies supplying electricity here and increasing prices.

I pointed out that private companies don’t supply the electricity here not about the cost. 
Time to move on

5 hours ago, Bandersnatch said:

Reasons I own an electric car:

- I don't pay for fuel as I use solar after my house batteries are full

- I don't have to worry about fuel price rises or fuel shortages

- I drive a top of the range luxury SUV the size of a Honda CRV but cheaper than the bottom of the range CRV

- Relaxing and silent to drive 

- Great performance with instant torque and a 0-60 in 6.9 seconds

Your choice I am not interested which is my choice.

5 hours ago, placeholder said:

What's more, in most countries where electricity is supplied by private companies, the rates are subject to regulation. They're not free to charge whatever they wish.

Not sure which countries you are referring to costs in Australia continue to rise and friends in UK say very expensive.

6 minutes ago, StevieAus said:

Unlike the case in many western countries the provision of electricity hasn’t been privatized in Thailand so there are no power companies.

That aside considering how long the majority of people keep their cars here I cannot see a huge rush to EV’s and I certainly will not be one.

 

12 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

Yes for now.  However when the power companies have to build more power plants and improve the grid to meet the demand do you really think that electric rates are going to remain as low as they are now?  Particularly when the power companies know they have you by the throat with you requiring their service to now charge your car as well as power your home.  

 

Unlike the case in many western countries the provision of electricity hasn’t been privatized in Thailand so there are no power companies.

That aside considering how long the majority of people keep their cars here I cannot see a huge rush to EV’s and I certainly will not be one.

On 4/3/2022 at 9:44 AM, Bandersnatch said:

I agree "the electric grid was never designed with charging cars in mind" It was also never designed with the 21st Century or Climate Change in mind. In Thailand air-conditioning is no longer considered a luxury.

 

Domestic chargers are all AC not fast DC. They are restricted to 7kW in the vast majority of cases. A few EVs now come with on-board 3-phase 11 and 22kW chargers but they require to be connected to a 3-Phase grid connection.  Plugging an 11kW 3-phase charger into a single phase grid connection would give you only 3.6kW if even worked at all. As domestic three-phase is quite rare in Thailand it is unlikely that 3-phase on-board chargers will be sold here as is the case in the UK. 

 

TOU rate electricity will mean that most EV drivers will charge at night when rates are cheap and demand is low. Variable tariffs which are common in most developed countries will come eventually where EVs will intelligently charge when rates are cheap and via V2G sell back to the grid when rates are high helping to stabilise the grid. 

 

“As domestic three-phase is quite rare in Thailand”

Not my understanding and not where I live in the North.

5 hours ago, brianthainess said:

That is to check Emissions nothing to do with the decibel reading.

Not what they told me ((through my wife) at the local testing place.

Told her they wouldn’t pass if noisy.

Just now, StevieAus said:

When cars or motorcycles are more than 5/6 years old you have to have them checked before you can renew the annual tax/ registration.

There is a place next to our local DLT office that carries out the check and from memory issues a document.

For motor cycles they check the exhaust with some sort of machine.

Maybe this is the place to h

Last word missing “go”

When cars or motorcycles are more than 5/6 years old you have to have them checked before you can renew the annual tax/ registration.

There is a place next to our local DLT office that carries out the check and from memory issues a document.

For motor cycles they check the exhaust with some sort of machine.

Maybe this is the place to h

14 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

Flew Qatar to Manchester & whilst you had to wear a mask when getting on the plane, it was only recommended (not enforced) that you wear one throughout the flight. 

 

As an aside, coming back & Manchester Airport was heaving with people (must have been a 2hr queue to get through security) & I'd guesstimate < 1 in 1,000 were wearing a mask. 

Thanks for that update very useful as that is the airline and route intended, but will be later in the year too cold now for us.

On 4/2/2022 at 9:13 AM, Lemsta69 said:

so why let a little form-filling get in your way if you want to take trip somewhere? TP can be a p.i.t.a. but it's not a deal breaker.

 

my beef is with the cost of the on-arrival RT-PCR test and the chance of being forced into a hospitel at my own expense. I can easily afford both but I begrudge shelling out money if it doesn't bring me any pleasure.

Maybe I’m just becoming cantankerous in my old age, I don’t particularly like the idea of wearing a mask for 15 hours which will be the case if we go to Europe.

I comply and do wear one but find for long periods very uncomfortable.

Just now, StevieAus said:

 

No I am talking about leaving and returning to Thailand where I live.

I have certainly no wish to return or visit Australia as we have everything we want here, particularly when you look at the cost of living in Australia and Sydney where we use to live was recently designated as the second least affordable city in the world for accommodation.

Totally agree about the nanny state..

13 hours ago, Lemsta69 said:

strewth mate, so you'd rather sit in boring old Straya the nanny state when you could be living it up in LOS because of a few forms to fill in? I'd walk over broken glass to get out of there if I had to. 

 

ps. I came over in December when TP was in its infancy. it really wasn't that hard at all.

 

pps. I love Straya but it's nowhere near as much fun as over here.

11 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

https://partner.fwdgi.co.th/en/fwdgi/corona-virus-inbound-insurance?utm_source=tqmbroker 650THB for a 30 day policy... My mate used this as his HR couldn't get him the certificate he needed for the Thailand Pass, he's on a BOI Smart Visa (good for 3 years) & got a 1 year stamp on entry. 

 

No I live in Thailand I am talking about leaving and returning here

I have no wish to return to or visit Australia particularly when you look at the cost of living and Sydney was recently designated as the second least affordable city in the world for accomodation

7 hours ago, Lacessit said:

This BS is why I am advising my friends in Australia not to come here, and many in Thailand are not traveling because they do not want the hassle of getting back in.

Perhaps the authorities will come to their senses, but I won't hold my breath.

Totally agree and doing exactly the same, it’s a farce.

When we return to being able to turn up at the airport with a ticket and passport and perhaps proof of vaccination certificate I will travel.

I understood that the level of insurance cover for the Thailand Pass was to be reduced to $US 20,000 from I April 2022

Has that happened ?

21 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

I would suggest a lot of your plan is illegal. 

What is illegal?

If you have a joint bank account that allows either signatory to make withdrawals that is not illegal.

Perhaps not notifying the bank of the death, but notify them after making the withdrawal.

1 hour ago, Cake Monster said:

And add to this the fact that Thailand is not competitive any longer for Medical Tourists.

India is way better and much cheaper than Thailand now for example.

 

How is India better?

Have been dealing with Chiang Mai Ram for about eleven years and cannot imagine how you could get a better standard of treatment anywhere.

Coota I am curious about your comment in your last paragraph about the Australian passports being useless in the future.

Both my wife and daughter hold Thai and Australian passports and I can assure you that it is easier to travel outside SE Asia using an AustralIan passport and easy enough to renew in Thailand.

1 hour ago, possum1931 said:

"she wants to gain more experience before standing for the post of the country’s prime minister."

What about the present PM?? Unelected along with his soldiers. The only experience he had with anything before he took the country by force was in the army barracks and parade grounds, and probably with the same low IQ as the average Thai.

In the eight years he has been posing as an PM he has learned nothing, ie appointing a guy with an engineering degree as a health minister.

Come lass, get into it and help rid this country of the circus of clowns and midgets who are there at present.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would be interested to know in which country the Health Minister has a medical degree and which of the other Ministers have a qualification in their own portfolio.?

Doesn’t work like that in politics.