wolf81

My opinion as someone who still is very basic in Thai.

I feel the language itself is pretty simple. More difficult concepts are often created by mixing words. So I feel you should be quite effective if you learn a quite limited set of words. 

Words don't change based on past, present, future tense, unlike in English, German, Dutch, French ... That itself is great. It seems to put something in past tense people just add "leao" (meaning: already) add the end of the sentence.

The alphabet isn't too difficult to learn. Though it does take a little while to get used to the ordering of vowels and consonants. But after some time reading the language becomes mostly automatic (for me). Though I'm still a quite slow reader I have to admit.

The most difficult aspect is the tones. Saying something in the wrong tone can give people a very puzzled look. For us Westerners some tones might seem very similar, hard for us to spot the difference or to utter a tone correctly. I guess one has to talk a lot with Thai people to practice and better understand tonal differences. 

I live in the Chiang Mai Province. Overall I like it here, but burning season is hell. Our daughter is 3.5 years old and goes to a private school nearby and that seems decent enough for now. At least she learns to communicate in Thai with other students, learns to play together, etc...

I like the mountain area, but I do miss the beaches at times.

Anyways ... due to the burning, at some point we'll have to move. And at this moment I'm considering Hua Hin. Probably decent air there, from what I've seen some decent affordable schools teaching English curriculum. If my daughter would pass through a school like that, she has more opportunities I believe, she can consider studying in Europe once she's 18 for example. 

But my GF does have a nice 3 rai farm here that she enjoys working on. Our house is pretty ok considering the cost (~40.000 EUR or so). People in our village are friendly. The hilly snake road between Chiang Mai and Chaiprakan is always a joy to drive. Overall it's pretty good. I certainly prefer life here over living in The Netherlands.

To me it seems a really bad idea to buy a condo if you don't have any more for a bit of downpayment to be honest. Sounds like if sh*t hits the fan, you'd be in big trouble. Or do you have some pension and plan to pay the mortgage with your pension? I guess in that case you have some security in terms of income.

The only mortgage in Thailand that I found was MBK guarantee, but they require a 50% downpayment and it seems the costs are really high. Not very attractive. Seems to me this company has virtually no risk and can basically print money with those terms. 

https://mbkg.co.th/en

They do claim to be very easy in accepting people though. Don't need work permits and such. 

Quote

Yuthasak expects the schemes to be implemented next year, adding that they will inject about Bt20 billion in extra foreign investment if the TAT can sell 1,000 elite cards under the programme.

Sure, and I'm sure they'd be able to inject an extra Bt100 billion in extra foreign investment if the TAT can sell 5,000 elite cards under the programme.

But did these guys even do some market research? Do they have some very clean indications that they'd be able to sell an extra 1,000 elite cards under the programme? Or are they just pulling numbers from where the sun don't shine and hope for the best? 

5 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

the government is so clueless. what they should be doing is setting the price at one million baht for a condo and a free elite visa for 5 years. then the glut of condos, especially at the low end would be cleared overnight and the Thai real estate market will recover faster. 

 

 

 

 

I believe you didn't think this through. Do you realise how many dirty farangs would come to Thailand if condos could be bought so cheaply?

12 minutes ago, DogNo1 said:

Be careful to get a card with no foreign exchange fee and then always pay in Baht.  Otherwise either the dollar exchange rate or foreign exchange fees will cost you a lot.

I paid mine using TransferWise. TransferWise doesn't cheat with exchange fees like most banks. 

Yesterday a Dutch expat told me the cheapest Thai Elite visa will go up in price by 100.000 THB next year. I can't confirm it myself, but if true and you're considering to buy a Thai Elite visa, might need to buy one in the next 2.5 months unless one wants to spend an extra 100.000 THB.

Another option to consider is buying a condo from a big brand developer, ideally a developer that still manages / maintains the condo. I believe Sansiri does this at least for some of the condos they've build and you can find some info here.

I guess the maintenance fee would be higher when making use of such a service, but perhaps less worries is worth it.

Other big brand developers in Thailand are Asian Property Group (AP) and Land & Houses. 

I never had any issues with my Credit Cards (MasterCard + American Express) in Thailand. Or any other countries for that matter.

My cards to have some kind of extra check, a pincode that needs to be entered for the payment to succeed. Also, when doing internet purchases a password is required as well.

I guess that makes it hard (perhaps close to impossible) to copy your card and use it?

7 hours ago, ChrisKC said:

While we are on divorce topic, I have a question for all you men out there.

During my 5 or 6 years of seeking a new partner, I have met more than 20 women, had 2 serious relationships and hundreds and hundreds of associations on the Internet.

Of ALL those women claiming divorce, not a single one was that the man divorced the woman - I know, I asked many of them - without pushing this too far!

 

So from a a woman's perspective, she is the victim, from a man's perspective, in the majority of cases I read about and knowing a few, HE is the victim.

 

Who is to "blame"? Only one answer - depends which of the two you are hearing the story from, but probably both!

 

My question is; What do you think of my observations?

I do believe woman have hypergamous tendencies, which basically means that if a woman sees an opportunity to marry up, she might be tempted to take advantage of this opportunity. By the way I also believe this is just human nature and people can sometimes do things that go against their nature. I.e.; men have been programmed to try to have sex with as many woman as possible (irregardless of status, as long as the woman looks good), but many men stay with one lady their whole life. 

So those could be grounds for a divorce. Perhaps a lady found a man with a higher status which can provide benefits that are of interest to woman (e.g.: better life for her children, more disposable income to buy stuff like shoes and bags, etc...). Perhaps a man found a younger lady that he got more attracted to. However keep in mind that for most men it's harder to attract a beautiful young lady as compared for a lady to find a men. There's been experiments on Tinder that indicate that most woman "fight" for maybe the top 20% of men and the rest are ignored. Men are open to meeting a larger group of woman. More info here: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/tinder-man-swipes-right-200-000-women-little-success-a7168056.html

Of course there could be many other reasons for people to divorce: substance abuse, physical abuse, financial issues, religious incapabilities, family issues, etc...

I can't give you the answer, but I have 1 serious question.

Why do you want to get married? Do you need the marriage visa? (If you're over 50 years old the retirement visa is probably easier). Or do you want to make sure that if you die, your future wife can inherit everything or something? 

4 hours ago, dyertribe said:

last time I looked at the water in Pattaya, there was raw sewerage floating past.  Hopefully Jomtien will miss out on that "beauty".

Last time I swam in the sea near Jomtien, around March this year, I encountered a floating condom and lots of other filth. For a clean beach you need to go to the military beach near Bangsaray. 

2 hours ago, Caldera said:

What I would like to see are some Smart Visa key figures. Based on what I've read about this "scheme", I suspect that it hasn't been very successful, so I would really like to know how many smart visas have been issued so far and what their distribution across types, industries and companies is.

I'm not sure exactly in what topic, but the numbers were posted elsewhere in these forums. IIRC it was around 50 smart visas granted in total or something. So indeed it's not a very successful program.

Initially I thought the smart visa could be interesting for me, but when I read the requirements I got tired just thinking about the whole application process. 

What Thailand really should work on is a digital nomad visa. Some European countries already grant such a visa (e.g. Estonia) and other European countries will likely follow suit soon (e.g. Croatia). Many digital nomads like to stay and work from Thailand. It's time Thailand makes this legal without jumping through many complicated hoops. 

I kinda wonder why Pattaya isn't recommended more in this post. I believe the air should be relatively clean all year round right? As long as not driving in city center, staying close to the beach (e.g. Jomtien area). Of course, in the city center will all traffic it can be pretty bad.

Another advantage of Hua Hin and Pattaya compared to Phuket, would be less risk of tidal waves. I've been once to Hua Hin and I liked it there (though I guess it's not really a party town, so if you're into that, not a good place to be). Hua Hin to me seemed cleaner, better organised. I did remember seeing more wide pavements like in European style which certainly is nice for walking around town. The city just seemed cleaner overal compared to Pattaya. And from my experience it's also really small still, so pretty easy to get around.

What I don't like about Hua Hin is it's distance to the airport compared to Pattaya. 

In the future I plan to buy a condo here and there's one project in Pattaya that I really like, that I believe has good build quality and fits my other requirements.

Are there any decent options of condos to buy in Hua Hin, any recommendations? What I'll be looking for is a condo that can fit a small family of 3 people. 2 bedrooms, maybe 100 m2 and not a crazy high price. Also I want a big swimming pool. Preferably a "boring" style swimming pool for daily exercise.

13 hours ago, Susco said:

Thanks for your suggestion, but once you have uses a Senseo, you don't want anything else any more.

 

The comfort and convenience you have from that is unmatchable.

 

So I will place an order with Take-5 coffee, as Peetje suggested, and if the coffee tastes good that will be my go to.

 

I considered the pods from Boncafe, but at 14 Baht a pod, way overpriced in my opinion.

I respectfully disagree on "not wanting anything else anymore". I used to have a Senseo before back when I lived in The Netherlands and used it for many years, not so much for taste (I generally found the taste acceptable, not great), more out of convenience. 

Here in Thailand in our home I use an Ascaso espresso machine that my girlfriend bought second hand for 8000 THB. Previously I bought my coffee beans in a nearby coffee shop (Doi Wiang Café), though recently I've found some very nice beans in the local Makro which I'll probably buy from now on (Zolito High Mountain). I also have an electrical grinder at home to grind the beans according to my taste. Also, I love cappuccinos and the Ascaso machine has a steam wand for frothing the milk, so for me it's the best option. To me this machine using my choice of beans and grinded to my preference provides a vastly superior taste.

I do agree the Senseo delivers on convenience by the way. The main reasons I used a Senseo in The Netherlands were: 

- The machine was pretty cheap (40 EUR or so).

- It's very quick to make a cup of coffee in the morning, just before heading out to work. 

Here in Thailand I am not in a hurry however (I work from home), so for me the espresso machine is the best option. My Moka pot is mainly used in emergencies when electricity is cut off (I can still make coffee then using our gas stove and the Moka pot).

-

Another option to consider and probably better tasting is to buy a moka pot. You can then use grinded coffee. And then add sugar or milk according to taste. Moka pots can be bought very cheap, so money shouldn't be an issue. As long as you have some (electrical) stove in your home you should be able to use the pot to make a decent coffee.

In my humble opinion the 3-in-1 or 2-in-1 coffees taste horrible. Moka for me is acceptable.

https://shopee.co.th/หม้อต้มกาแฟ-กาต้มกาแฟ-มอคค่าพอท--MOKA-POT--อลูมิเนียม-6-CUP-i.63390364.4250983006?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIj8OKgpqH7AIVCKyWCh0jfg0aEAQYAiABEgIpkPD_BwE

5 hours ago, nobodysfriend said:

It should be delayed , not accelerated .

Nobody knows the outcome of the ' Covid ' situation yet .

There could be hard times coming for Thailand ...

Better keep the money for now , until the ' dark clouds ' are gone ...

I am not sure about that. Usually economists say it's a good idea to invest in infrastructure when economy is down. Workers on the projects will earn an income, prevents some job losses. And once the economy picks up, the improved infrastructure should provide a benefit as well. 

By the way, I believe a lot of work on infrastructure is done all around Thailand. I've seen a lot of work on the road between Chiang Mai and Bangkok. A lot of roadwork in Pattaya. And also in the north between Chaiprakan and Fang. 

Luma Health Insurance recently send me an e-mail for some COVID policy. You can check the policy here.

On 9/18/2020 at 1:51 PM, rak sa_ngop said:

The probable catch is that if you outlive the policy  you will lose the whole amount.

Should not be true with ThaiLife (ThaiPrakan) insurance. My girlfriend pays such an insurance for her mother and she told me she gets money either if her mother dies or after a set amount of years.

When using Google Translate for the ThaiLife website I see the following: https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&pto=aue&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&sp=nmt4&tl=en&u=https://product.thailife.com/%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%9B%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B0%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%B5%E0%B9%88%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%B0%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%8A%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%B8%3Flifestage%3D60%2B&usg=ALkJrhjUsCTYEEiRBpk_dHJLWYLkHTd2aQ
 

Quote

Sap mascot 90/15
- Covered until age 90
- Death to receive 100% of the sum assured
- At the end of the contract, receive a lump sum of 150% of the sum assured

I did always feel that it might be better to just invest the money, might get higher returns using index funds (I figure this is what insurance companies do anyways ... invest your money). Perhaps if one is of old age, investing in index funds might seem less attractive. In such cases a life insurance policy might give better guarantees of the returns.

I am not sure what your financial position is. But this is a situation I ponder about occasionally, as I am also unmarried and have a 3.5 years old daughter with my Thai girlfriend.

Of course, you need to be able to communicate with your ex and from what I understand right now that's hard. But if she wants money from you, you can be sure she'll contact you soon. 

I believe if we ever separate, what I suggest is one of 2 options:

- I take care of our daughter. She will get good education. Will be able to support my girlfriend in the future. And I will make sure my girlfriend has some opportunities to meet our daughter. I might visit her village every month or she could visit wherever I am staying in Thailand. I would also send my girlfriend some money every month so her life is pretty easy. Perhaps 10.000 THB per month until our daughter is 18, but certainly not more. My girlfriend likes living on the Thai countryside near her farm, so that should be sufficient.

- Or she could take care of our daughter. I would warn her this might not be the best way to go. If she would get a new boyfriend, there's risk of abuse by stepfather. Our daughter as "luk khrueng" would fit in less with other students in school. Education in the countryside is worse, meaning worse opportunities in future. In this case I would support her with a bit more money every month, perhaps 25.000 THB until our daughter is 18. But support would stop immediately if I would find out about any abuse. And I would visit her at least once a month to see daughter.

So perhaps these plans could give you some ideas on what to do.

Recently I read some news that Croatia is actually going forward in creating a digital nomad visa. The reasoning is that these digital nomads pay rent, spend money in local economies, etc ... it should be good for the development of Croatia. This Croatian visa will be valid for 1 year at a time.

See: https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/pm-plenkovic-croatia-will-soon-introduce-digital-nomad-visas/

I believe in Thailand there have been some plans for a digital nomad visa and it would make a lot of sense to have it here (seeing many people work remotely from Thailand), but as of yet no progress has been made. Ideally these digital nomads should get a work permit as well and pay a bit of income tax without needing to be employed by some other company or by settings up a company that is 51% owned by Thais. 

This should be an easy, low-key visa to work on. 

1 hour ago, TERMINATOR3AB said:

The more I read  about Thailand  the  less I  would ever want to  live there  ( totally  ruined  by the idiots  who  control and  run  it !!! )

Soon  as I  can  my wife  will sell her Condo  I  bought  for  her and  she  wants to  live in Australia  ( Only  24 million in whole  counrty)

Who would blame her (  Beautiful  people mostly....free  medical  ...free   Social  Security  ....Low  cost housing for the  lower  income )

Australia  is like  living in heaven  compared to Thailand  sorry  but it is  very true (ref to QLD) where I live (Speak English  too  ...lol )

Our  north  is  as  beautiful  as any place in Thailand  mate  a lot  bigger   and a lot  cleaner  and  a  hell of  a lot  better and private 

Good  Luck Thailand 

Sure but how are the Thai massages in northern Australia? Do you have nice gogo bars there? And how about Thai food?