persimmon

Maybe it`s best to be prepared for all eventualities if a border bounce is needed - ask at departure if you can come back in on the same day and be prepared to spend a couple of days in Vientienne if not. By the way , can you pay for buses , food etc . in Baht or do you have to carry the local Lao currency ( is it Kip ? ) .

Maybe the answer to the bank account problem is just to rely on having a Wise account ?, unless they decide to follow the others and restrict access to UK residents only .

Trouble with some of these out-of-the-way places is , what would you do all day ? OK if you have a Thai GF / wife and nice house where you can relax , but if stuck in a small hotel with no pool ....? There`s nowhere to walk and no beach to sit on . Best idea would be to just travel around from place to place , although many of these small towns look the same .

That`s what worries me about a permanent move to Thailand - it would mean leaving all my pastimes and hobbies behind and trying to find new ones . Just sitting on a bar stool and drinking beer all day - well maybe it`s ok for some , but I think I would get bored of that fairly quickly .

Some of these charity bosses are on 6 figure salaries . No way that I would ever give to one of those .

It`s possible - live under a bridge and sit on the pavement / sidewalk with a begging bowl . Or busking in Pattaya ( until the police arrest you ).

I`m thinking about getting a Wise card . Tried to apply online but they want me to send a pic of my PP or drivers license . Is this really needed or am I being scammed ?

Happened to me a few years ago - girl on the check-in counter asked why my return flight date was longer than my TR visa allowed . I had to argue with her for a while . She finally called a supervisor over who allowed me to check in . Neither of them seemed to know much about how the system worked in Thailand , yet they were trying to stop me boarding WTF !

The Grace Hotel on Suk 3 used to be a major meeting place for these types of people . I remember walking past there on my way home when I was approached by a dodgy looking character who said something like " Hey mister , I make business with dollars , you interested , do you have a mobile number " . I politely declined his offer .

Taking out life insurance with the wife as beneficiary .

Last time I had a return flight to come back to the UK after 5 months . Thai Airways never asked any questions . I had a SETV. Do you think if I did the same but without visa they might demand a flight out within 60 days ?

Maybe the locals could club together and hire some private security guys . Suitably armed with BB bats they would soon discourage these low lifes who plague Patts . I remember a few years ago at a concert there was a scruffy old Thai guy harassing 2 members of the audience . The security soon dealt with him by ripping his shirt off and giving him a kicking with their large boots . Instant justice . Shame things like this aren`t allowed in the Liberal West anymore .

Food prices are a rip-off compared to non tourist areas . No complaints about the quality of the stuff at my favourite veg . restaurant ( been going there for nearly 20 yrs and the food is exactly the same every time ) , but the prices are now at western ( UK ) levels - 110 bt for rice ! By comparison , same thing in Udon would be a quarter of the price . Now I prefer to make my own , all the ingredients are available , so why not ?

I think a Thai can open an account with Interactive Brokers . Then , it`s just a matter of choosing investments that throw off a 5 % dividend - there`s lots of options such as REITS or high yield bonds or ETFs comprised of a selection of higher dividend yielding global shares . Currency conversion losses might be an issue , ie. Baht ---> $ , then back to Baht again . Also accounting problems for tax purposes .

re. places to stay , why bother booking in advance - there are loads of cheap resort places every few miles .

Same here , such a relief not to have to go through that arcane procedure of applying for the TV online . Let`s hope this new rule is here to stay .

£ 14 k / month is scandalous ! Better to spend everything in Thailand and go back to the UK penniless and get everything for free , or throw away your pp and arrive in a small boat and claim asylum and get luxury accomodation and priority healthcare .

Life in Issarn can be interesting . There are lots of places to visit and sights to see , but ...you really need a Thai GF / wife with a car because many of the most interesting spots are off the beaten track and not well publicised . Without this you are stuck in the major towns and reliant on buses which really limits things . One thing I like about Issarn towns - they feel like real places , not like Patts which feels like a stage set populated by hoards of tourists .

The problem might be the anxiety and hassel caused by having to submit many documents that are hard to get hold of . Another potential issue for UK residents is income from ISA which is tax free in the UK but may not be in Th .

If the new 60 day VEE comes in it should make life easier ie. 60 + extension ( 30 ) = 90 , leave the country and re-enter gives another 90 , total 180 .

Yes , same here , just sign a couple of papers and it`s all done . Takes 20 mins

Taken at face value , this sounds quite good for those who like to spend the Winter months in Thailand ( 5 years visa free access )and should be cheaper than the alternative ( ie. 5 x TV and visa runs etc ) . Like many things though , if it sounds too good to be true then ....

AFAIK money in a pension is not part of one`s estate and so not liable to IHT . How much tax the recipient ends up paying if the pension is withdrawn depends on various factors and is more complicated if the beneficiary is Thai ( will they pay tax on an inheritance ? ).

I`m sure TAT won`t be worried about the fall in numbers from Europe - India and China are going to be the new economic superpowers and will provide many more high spending tourists . For us Brits , the attraction was always cheap sun . When flights were £ 400 and the xchange rate was 70 , rooms could be had for 6 k baht / month ....happy days , very different now .

Good for tourism ? I don`t think so judging by the reaction of the crowd on Walking street when threatened with people throwing buckets of water - they made a big detour to avoid being soaked . At least some of the Thais ask before a soaking - I was crossing the road last year and a Thai chap with one of those blue water pipe guns pointed it at me and said " Hey Mr. ...you want ? " .... er. let me think about this , do I want to be blasted in the face with dirty water , ruining my whole evening , or not ? I politely declined his offer .