persimmon

The West needs to send all their best weapons now , before it`s too late . Once Putin seizes more Ukrainian territory , and deports the population , it will be hard to make Ukraine a functioning country again .

I suspect that`s one of the main reasons people stay long-term - once you develop relationships and have people that rely on you , it`s hard to break away . Regarding the cost of living though , I did some rough calculations and came to the conclusion that it`s costing me 50 - 100 % more ( so almost double ) to live here than it would back in the UK ( that`s without any payments to support wife / gf ) , most of the extra cost being visas , flights , rent and health / travel insurance .....so much for Thailand being a cheap alternative . One thing you can`t really put a price on is waking up to clear blue skies every day - the weather up here in Udon is great ATM , cool early mornings and warm and sunny days . So different to the UK where it`s mainly cold , wet and windy , and that`s just in Summer ????

This is a bit like the theft from hotels room safes . It`s an invitation to crims , so why do people trust them ?

From Jomtien you can book up to 3 days in advance .

Anywhere gets boring if you stay there long enough . Thailand was cheap a few years ago when £ 1 bought 70 + Bt. Not now though . 5-6 months here and the rest back in the UK suits me . I`d hate to burn all my bridges and be stuck here for the rest of my life . I was lucky ( or unlucky ???? ) enough to chance upon a meeting of expats up here near Udon . It was not a happy occasion . They looked old , tired and generally p*ssed off with life . The Gfs looked even less happy .

Some people think the major index trackers have too much US large cap tech exposure , so mix them up with regional trackers and small cap ETFs to give a more balanced portfolio . Maybe even add some UK - doing well ATM .

The original sign was wrong anyway - it should have read " bang Sir " , not SUE , a girl`s name and not the way the Thai word should be pronounced .

I need to cross the border at Nonghai next month for a 45 day VEE . I then need to extend this by 30 days to match my flight date . Is this likely to be a problem when coming back into Th . - will they require a flight out within the 45 days ? Great report BTW , did you take notes as you were going through the process , or just remember it all afterwards ?

The last hotel I stayed at in Patts had one of these lockable boxes with a key pad . I had a quick look at it and it looked cheap and flimsy . It was only attached by a couple of screws - anyone with a toolkit could remove it . So I decided against using it . It does make life difficult though , having to take all your valuables with you wherever you go , and pretty much rules out going for a swim. I felt much more relaxed when I rented my own room on a longer term basis , when the door could be locked and I knew the owner . Hotels often employ poorly paid migrant workers to whom a few thousand Bt may be a temptation they can`t resist .

Is it any wonder that many Thais dispise farangs ?

Why would anyone put all their valuables in a small box in the room , when an unknown number of people have keys to open it ?

So no check getting back into Thailand , what about Laos ?

# 1 . I`m hoping that 6 months limit is for recovery from Covid , not a time limit on when people were vaccinated .

I don`t think you can say Patts is more dangerous than say , Udon . Yes , more foreigners die in Patts, but then there are many more of them than in Udon . If you watch Thai Rath News Show , there is a lot of crime in the Udon area , much of it drug related , and guns seem to be cheap and easy to get hold of . Bottom line is - stay away from dodgy areas and people , and don`t get into disputes with locals , particularly where money / serious loss of face is involved .

Just looking at the chart , 3500 would seem about right to be on the long term trend line . So another 5-10 % fall before it reaches " fair " value .

Interesting , but all this is already priced into markets , so much too late to start moving assets around .

If residing in Thailand , does income and gains from a share portfolio ( held with a UK broker )count as UK income which needs a SA tax return ?

Reminds me of when I went to change some money at the local KTB branch . It seemed to take all afternoon , what with waiting half an hour to get to the counter , then every note had to be carefully examined ( several were rejected for very minor blemishes ) then photocopied and the copies signed by me . Wow , what a rigmarole . Never again !

It`s a day`s trip on the bus there and back , so I thought it would be easier to ask here .

A related question - Does Super Rich do £ ---> $ or do I have to go £ ---> Baht ---> $ . Thanks - ( I need $ 40 for a trip across the bridge at Nonghai ) .

I try to avoid handing over my p/p to anyone apart from Immigration , so I only give hotels a photo of the main page . Seems to work OK . If they demand to see the original , I`d just go somewhere else . I recently had to get a new ATM card ( old one date expired ) , so I gave them my old expired p/p , which they accepted ( they could not have checked my status , cos it was 6 yrs out of date ).

There is one of these at a house on our soi . It`s huge and I wouldn`t want to be anywhere in the vacinity if it ever got out . The main reason people keep these things is to intimidate the neighbours . The Thai media has christened them " kartagorn see kah " , or 4 legged killers - that`s just about right. The owners of these dogs that savage people should be charged with manslaughter and put behind bars .

Bottom line with investing is - if you want safety , you have to accept lower returns . That usually means cash deposits or investment grade bonds . To have the chance of higher returns , you need to take more risk , which means stocks ( shares ) and holding for a minimum of 5-7 years . A global index fund ( c. 60 % US ) would give cheap coverage . The problem here is currency conversion and other fees might take a big chunk out of the returns .

New SIM cards now are only sold if you provide passport details ( and a photo ) , so it would be easy to track this guy by his phone GPS down to the nearest metre . Also , how did he think walking along the side of the road was keeping a low profile ? ???? Farangs stand out a mile here , particularly in rural areas , he would have been much safer in Patts or Bkk .

" threatened by a policeman in plain clothes who he believes may have been fake " ...it gets more and more ridiculous . A classic example of why not to invest in the nightlife scene in Patts .