Kalasin Jo

Especially in my home! But actually in public yes people do. It depends on the etiquette of the country, the type of eatery, whether there are staff employed to clear tables as there are here in food courts, after all labour here is cheap, employment laws and rights minimal, not so in Europe. For example in France it is the etiquette in this type of often huge budget eatery to clear up your " mess" yourself putting it on the tray on which you not a server brought the food from the servery/buffet and taking that tray to a stacking trolley for them. Many French diners keep everything on the tray as they eat. I emphasize budget self service type eatery. Restaurants with waiting staff will of course present a menu, take your order, serve and clear each course, pour your wine, bring your coffee and your bill, take your payment ....and a tip or service charge is often added to the bill of 10 even 15% of the total although you are not obliged to pay it. The portable digital card payment machines in France and the UK give you the choice of accepting or rejecting that added element with the default setting being accept. Of course there is a not altogether fair in my view subliminal aspect to it for the customer... your a ******* if you don't accept. Personally I do tip for a pleasant welcome, attentive but unobtrusive cheerful service and any personalised extra mile , for example for a special occasion, for perfectly timed gaps between courses which the waiting staff must judge according to their assessment of the customer, progress of the meal, state of the conversation at that table, and which is as much about the kitchen as front of house staff and communication between the two. I somewhat resent that this now almost mandatory added element includes the price of the drinks, which often is more perhaps far more than that of the food, especially wine: they only had to open it and pour without spilling ! In Venice I once experienced the most extraordinary and elaborate wine ritual at our table, pure theatre. But that's a story for another time, if ever, here.

Especially in my home! But actually in public yes people do. It depends on the etiquette of the country, the type of eatery, whether there are staff employed to clear tables as there are here in food courts, after all labour here is cheap, employment laws and rights minimal, not so in Europe. For example in France it is the etiquette in this type of often huge budget eatery to clear up your " mess" yourself putting it on the tray on which you not a server brought the food from the servery/buffet and taking that tray to a stacking trolley for them. Many French diners keep everything on the tray as they eat. I emphasize budget self service type eatery. Restaurants with waiting staff will of course present a menu, take your order, serve and clear each course, pour your wine, bring your coffee and your bill, take your payment ....and a tip or service charge is often added to the bill of 10 even 15% of the total although you are not obliged to pay it. The portable digital card payment machines in France and the UK give you the choice of accepting or rejecting that added element with the default setting being accept. Of course there is a not altogether fair in my view subliminal aspect to it for the customer... your a ******* if you don't accept. Personally I do tip for a pleasant welcome, attentive but unobtrusive cheerful service and any personalised extra mile , for example for a special occasion, for perfectly timed gaps between courses which the waiting staff must judge according to their assessment of the customer which is as much about the kitchen as front of house staff and communication between the two. I somewhat resent that this now almost mandatory added element wlways includes the price of the drinks, especially wine: they only had to open it and pour without spilling ! In Venice I once experienced the most extraordinary and elaborate wine ritual at our table, pure theatre, but that's another story!

Like you did within a minute, find another free table if alone, or if accompanied one of you stays at the table and the other gets the food in. Or sit and when the owner(s) of the left items returns politely say how glad you are they remembered they had left the items behind as you were about to hand them in to staff. If they say it was to " reserve" the table you could politely say tables are not reservable here but I don't mind sharing the table with you or ask them if they mind sharing the table with you as it is so busy. at the moment. Better still go earlier or later., after the rush. I think this is inevitable at busy times. Yes it is annoying but it's even more so if your alone, you've got your food on a tray but there is nowhere to sit, especially if you see people who have finished still lingering, deeply involved with their mobiles. I'd go and stand in front of them with full tray looking desperate. Polite people should get the message, clear the table and move. These places are designed for rapid turnover not for a leisurely meal.

No. It happens in other countries too. Not to mention the habit of placing a beach towel on a sunbed by the hotel pool at dawn apparently to reserve it for the day then clearing off for a an hour or more to get some more sleep, put your make up on, go to the gym, get breakfast etc. One nationality excelled at this antisocial behaviour but now it seems it's very common place.

I get the impression that prices have gone up alot in the big chain supermarkets where I tend to buy the same things every visit. Seems to me that what used to be an under 2,000 baht spend pre Covid is now nearer 2,500 although I haven't tried nailing which items are the culprits, but with a baht or 3 added it could be all of them. Availability of items locally has improved a great deal with several new, not Mom & Pop, shops and even a small pharmacy opening just down the road in the last 12 months but still no 7/11. And at last an ATM at one of them. Many online offerings of western foods with free delivery ( with a minimum spend) nationwide are there too these days. So I tend to use the big supers far less. It's a 60+km round trip to do so. I don't eat a great deal of western food these days, always rather limited round these parts, mostly relying now on the local markets for fresh food and the new shops for the packaged things, most dry goods, beer and spirits. Sadly nobody locally sells wine, not even the dreadful fruit wine! There's no demand I guess, so no supply. Compared to " back home" the choice of real wines made with grapes even in the big supers here is very limited and of course expensive. For a decent choice it has to be 75km to Khon Kaen ....and back. There's been no or minimal change in the price of the Thai beers and spirits that I've noticed. Mom and Pop shops haven't changed their pricing in years but it's a 10 baht " premium" over the new shops, which offer very competitive prices, close to or only a baht or 2 more than the supers 30 kms away. In the local daily markets I've very recently started to notice price increases on things like fresh eggs, 10 for 40 baht are now 45 baht from my usual stall but it pays to wander as yesterday another was offering 10 for 40 baht. Cooked food to take home is creeping up, I paid 25 baht to a stall holder for a krapow that used to be 20. Yesterday a cake seller I patronise apologised that she is now charging 30 baht for her fancy items after years at 25. Meals in the simple local eateries have not yet altered. I can still get a krapow kai dow for 50, sometimes only 40, baht here. New smart eateries and coffee shops where money has been spent on creating ambience are springing up and charge a great deal more for better, classier, food and service. Our electricity and water bills haven't changed much in the 7 years I've been here now, apart from last month and this month's shockers due to the heat and heavy use of aircon and alot of water for the garden. Calor cooking gas seems to have gone up by about 50% since I last bought a cylinder. 7 years ago I seem to recall gasoline filling stations were charging around 26 baht a litre, now it's around 38 and briefly was over 40. Compared to Europe and the UK that's still cheap and the increase doesn't seem to have altered Thai driving habits ( either agonisingly slow or crazily fast, lane switching, overtaking on blind bends or just before the crest of a hill etc etc) nor usage and the huge distances they seem happy to travel as well as jumping on a scooter/ bike for what would be a 2 minute stroll. Massive aggressively styled pick ups, often with luxurious interiors, are replacing the older beat up models which still abound here but there are many more new cars now as well as of course plenty of scooters and small motorbikes, licenced or not, riders often unhelmeted, often kids. Gas prices don't seem to have affected their riding styles or passenger loading either. I

Agree. I've noticed that more and more market traders are now offering QR code payment. It's spreading fast. As I pointed out to one that creates a digital trail which the tax man could access, cash does not. As others have remarked it's also tedious waiting while people fiddle with their phones to make a digital payment. Anyone know what's going on payment wise when the purchaser has to present their ID card and the cashier takes a photo of the person and their ID? Seen that quite a few times locally. That can also take a while.

I've been asked once, completely random. I was with a bunch of Thais, waiting for sister in law outside her room. A guy drives up and when he gets out he's in immigration uniform. He says hello. Says he's her neighbour. Do you mind if I look at your passport? No problem I reply and produce it. Lucky I had it with me! Then he asks if I mind him taking a photo of me with his phone. OK. Next he asks one of the Thais to take one of him with me and puts his arm round my shoulder and puts on a big meaning smile. Thank you so much he says went into his room. Never saw him again. I have had a guy at Immigration Office ask to take photo on his mobile plus my number. Sure I said if I can do the same with you. So we exchanged photos and numbers. Nothing has come if that either!

The land that surrounds and belong to our house is regularly littered by the Thai family. I make regular rounds to clear up the beer bottles, plastic bags, cigarette ends and other detritus that they leave where it falls. I've taken to providing bins but still rarely used.. same in the house...their idea of clearing up and cleaning is a quick sweep with a broom. Done Na krup? Inside they have at least learned to use the bins. But empty them when full to overflowing. Nah. I sometimes deliberately let the kitchen one overflow to see if anyone will deal with it, nah just try and stuff even more in and then get " why you not empty the bin?" To which they get the obvious response " why don't you?" Food put in the fridge by them just stays there until I throw it out.....of course that happens everywhere not just thailand. Chucking empties out of the window of cars and pick ups is an out of sight out of mind thing. At this social class here they either don't care or it's someone else's job to clear up, not theirs. I suspect it's the same all over the world. A recent photo of a sea of rubbish after some important footy match in Europe says it all

So defamation is a criminal offence in Thailand? If convicted by the Criminal Courts a prison sentence, a hefty fine( or both)and ordered to pay the restaurant compensation for their allegedly damaged reputation? Surely it should be a civil matter? Thailand can be a scary place because of its laws. Best keep your trap firmly shut until out of the country and know you won't be returning. Never publicly complain. Next thing we'll learn is that he is on overstay and detained until deported.

I've said this before on another thread. You should try the service in France. Of course there's always the exception or indeed several that I have personally experienced and where appropriate rewarded or at least thanked and provided positive feedback but mostly in France it's poor if they think or know you are a foreigner, often made worse if you speak French as then it becomes a battle of wills. Here? Language issues can be the killer, just as in France but in France there seems to be an arrogance issue too. Not so here, although public, even private, loss of face here is a huge issue for Thais whereas most westerners are not much concerned about losing face, their own or anyone else's. Here the times I've had to use the banks or mobile phone call centres I've had excellent service, in English, unlikely to get an English, or any other foreign language speaking option in France, but their over the counter service not so much. If communication becomes an issue here counter staff often seem to switch off, give you the 1,000 yard stare of incomprehension, say solly or cannot and either wander off or indicate you should so they can serve the next customer. Actually my wife does this too😆 That said mostly I've found service here friendly and once it's understood what you are asking for, speedy and smiley. Best to be smiley yourself and make a bit of a joke of language issues. Not look or sound angry which requires a conscious effort as I think we westerners may look/ sound angry to Thais and when we are not ( yet). There's always the translate app in your phone to solve this these days too. I conducted a whole car purchase transaction using the app and so did they! Servers delivering food cold that should be hot may not be their fault. The plate could be hot and the food cold. And here I've noticed that Thais tend to eat food tepid or at room temperature anyway. As for bursting in to tears, well it might have been her first day in the job or potentially her last if a customer complained or she thought they would.. Better than having your plate of food plonked carelessly down with a " there you go" over the shoulder as she quickly disappears to the back so as not to engage further. That's happened to me in the UK and US.

A further thought. If it is rightly considered we tax resident retired pensioners would be a huge burden, at least from the cost point of view why not do as the French? They have a contributory, means assessed, system for foreign residents not in work such as retirees and early retirees using their State Healthcare System. Complicated? Not at all. Legal residency obligates you to register in the French tax system and declare your revenues, arising wherever in the world in fact, whether remitted to France or not. The means test uses your annual tax assessment to arrive at your contribution, which is then paid monthly.

Ah that's why my wife has stopped asking me for 30 baht each and every hospital outpatient attendance then! And would tax resident expats really be such a huge burden? May be. May be not. There aren't that many of us but most of us are old if not working here and in the system anyway. I know a few Thais who are resident in the EU and can and do claim benefits as well as healthcare, working or not. My own opinion is that the simplest thing regarding tax here is simply to exclude pensioner retirees pension income. After all I spend nearly all of it here anyway, alot of it supporting my Thai family, but get no recognition, no benefits other than toll free roads... and I don't use those so much these days. Sadly as a a Brit there is nothing in the relevant DTA that takes away double taxation on pensions, private or state. The only one that is covered is a government pension for its retired employees. But it is what it is. It looks as if with the various allowances in the Thai tax system I won't be paying much, if any, tax here but will nevertheless have the hassle of doing a tax declaration.

What kind of cream would that be?

No. It wasn't the now defunct Thai Smile, reabsorbed in to Thai Airways. I used them regularly. I miss them.

EU regulations require airlines operating there to pay compensation to passengers for delays over 3 hours, with some exceptions. I got the minimum of €250 from Ryanair a few years back with no quibbling from them on their route Limoges, France to London Stansted. And whilst waiting we were kept updated, given a € 10 voucher to spend in the café and claim forms were distributed. It's never great to be delayed especially if that messed up onward travel but they really did a good job. They flew in from Stansted a replacement unit for the failed one, an engineer to fit it and a fresh crew. Different story when I decided to book the same journey by train and strike action led to cancellations on the day. No compensation, 3 years to recover the price of all the tickets. A lesson learnt: do consider carefully buying travel insurance to cover the journey!

Always the problem: mass tourism ruins everything it touches. As do media articles about " undiscovered" wonders: the kiss of death because then we all put them on our bucket lists. No doubt as with Railay beach, Krabi too many boats too willing for the money to ferry the world and his wife and kids there and back. My favourite beach is in Cornwall, south of Penzance. Accessible only on foot and a steep narrow path down, leaving your car some distance away. No services of any kind on the beach so you have to carry whatever you will need. Cut off either side of high tide. Never been any boat service to get there either. Been like that for a lot longer than the the last 40 years since I discovered it. Of course the British weather can be a downer! And the water is cold.

Yes!

Apart from finding underage girls now and then.

May be it's my age but these days I like to avoid travel stress so always check in as early as I can, especially as Business Class will have a nice lounge with free drinks and food, some airlines better than others. That said using the fast track security and immigration that comes with the ticket is usually quick. So I'd say 1 hr 40 mins before departure should be enough. But until checked in and bags taken you risk missing the flight. I once I got stuck at KLM business class check in. Online check in hadn't worked. Some problem, I suspect over booking or someone mistakenly offered an upgrade. Had to step aside for a good 30 minutes. People were starting to stare and I felt like a miscreant. Eventually all sorted but no explanation offered, my time in the excellent Air France business lounge KLM share severely curtailed. On the plane business class was completely full.

Avoid traditional Thai massage. Go for an oil massage which will also be on the menu and is in my experience much kinder.

I think he is being ironic given the amount of farang bashing that's seems to fill the headlines these days In this case Catherine, in death, RIP, did a wonderful thing for her long standing Thai maid. I once was involved in a disputed will case in England where a wealthy elderly lady left her entire estate to her gardener who also did her shopping and generally helped her and was her only friend. She lived alone. Her relations hadn't visited her for decades yet showed up on her death and challenged the will through the courts. Bitterly. The judge upheld the will and was robustly critical of the relations. They then turned on their own lawyers alleging negligent preparation and presentation of their case!

ZZZZZ. Seems to me the news here is full of either foreigner bashing or outrage at at tik tok viral videos of questionable taste, worst of all if combining both. On the foreigner bashing perhaps Thais were glad to get their touristy venues and beaches back mass tourism free during Covid ( as were resident expats in most cases) and now resent it's full throated return. If so, they are not alone. The paradox of natural beauty and historic cities and sites being that is where tourism flourishes and so destroys that very attraction. I don't blame them for that. As long as you and yours were Covid free and not locked down or isolated it was a delight to enjoy places quiet, peaceful, crowd free, roads almost empty. Tik tok and other social media platforms where attention seekers, amateurs and " influencers " put up these videos are a both a blessing and a curse. A blessing to those who wish to bring their skill and talent to a wide audience, even monetise it, eg musical instrument playing, sporting achievement; a curse because every nutjob can also post their " skills", their prejudices, encourage others and attract a dubious following. In this case I wonder if anyone actually witnessed this live and in person and report to the police? If not why click on the video and watch it if it looks likely to offend and having been duly offended as anticipated then report the content?

Why shouldn't a foreigner ? I have passed a roadside rocket seller here a few times recently with several sizes on sale. The largest and longest looks a bit of a beast. Rockets and firecrackers are quite often, randomly it seems, set off in our locality. By locals..and I don't mean the ones they set off at Temple funerals. As the only foreigner in this village am I not allowed? Are the locals not allowed to do this without a permit of some kind? Either way the nearest cop shop is several kms away so unlikely they would show up before the show had ended and the "perps" long gone. What about the flying candle lanterns? Is that ok then? No noise involved! If making too much noise is a criminal offence round here most of the locals would spend half their time in jail for extremely loud music. Now that would peaceful. Where to draw the line?

5.30 a.m. ? ' nuff said.

Never been a problem here in Kalasin. Indeed when the rule was changed to the current one as you describe @DrJack54 the IO expressly told me no need for the house master to do again unless I am on a new visa, have a new passport with a different no. or a change of permanent address in or outside their province. Since then the TM 47 90 day notice has always worked for me, after I changed the entry date if I left and returned on re entry permi. Although last time I had to call them to ask why the delay in actioning my online lodged 90 day notice and receiving system generated emailed auto receipt. It had been sitting there pending for 15 days. Oops! Doing it now, check your email they said. Sure enough within a few minutes it had been done with correct "paperwork" for me to download and print. Saved me a 60 km round trip so worth the call.