ICELANDMAN

I don't care

Biometric use for open a bank saving ? For take the bad guy ? No seriously the government think the bad gay go open a deposit account ?

Why this Thai time is so funny.....

2 hours ago, captnhoy said:

My situation is similar to the OP's. Just arrived on Friday on my 2nd METV after spending 5 months in my home country. I am intentionally striving for about 6 months here and 6 months at home each year. My return flight is for early April. I entered through Swampy, my passport was stamped and handed back to me and the IO said "You stay for 6 months?" I answered yes, he nodded and I went on my way with no further exchange. Now with the OP's report I am wondering about my plan to see Vietnam this year as a break and returning to Thailand afterwards. Is it as simple as finding flights out of Swampy instead of DMK? The consulate considers me to be a tourist as they issue the METV again. If not a tourist then what? It is my opinion that those TV members who side with immigration on this topic are basically endorsing the corruption scheme that is behind their actions. As a final note I was yelled at last April at the Andaman Pier by the IO who was outraged that "You are living in Thailand" and he refused to acknowledge the 6 month stay in my home country as he casually thumbed through my passport taking in the various stamps. Previously I lived in Thailand full time based on retirement. I like this balance better.

I not see your problem, make one re-entry before go Vietnam

28 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

Early spring...March April?

So we have another six months or so of boring, Thai bashing posts from someone who is leaving to look forward to.

Followed by a lifetime of further posts saying how good it is to be back home.

 

Why do people feel the need to announce their intended departure?

Did they announce their arrival?

Don't know why they do it, since nobody cares.

Perhaps because they are not sure they have made the good choice now the winter came soon.

11 minutes ago, Duck J Butters said:

I know right? Plus, Thailand isn’t cheap. You don’t retire to Thailand because it’s cheap, you retire here for the awesome and fun lifestyle. “townhouse, pickup truck and motorcycle” are all way cheaper in the USA. 
 

You might as well just retire in Hawaii, USA if you want cheap and tropical. I just bought a giant 5 bedroom house on the big island of Hawaii for $250k. Yes, the land is next to a Volcano but meehhh...it was a great deal and I’m not there often enough to really worry. I live in Phuket but sometimes like to venture to Hawaii. Hawaii is very boring compared to Phuket but you won’t find any 5 bed homes with an acre of land in Phuket for such a low rate.

 

15 million baht is the minimum price to get a decent house in Phuket. And I’m sure other areas of Thailand aren’t much cheaper. I was up in my wife’s hometown of Chiang Rai last month and was shocked by how little 10 million baht will get you. Not much. The homes / architecture in Chiang Rai are very undeveloped so it was shocking to me that these square boxes of cement would cost me $300k. 
 

The one thing about the USA is that it’s amazing bang for buck. It’s a very boring country but you get amazing quality for fairly cheap. Cars in the US are about 50% cheaper than they are in Thailand and gas is also cheaper. Our food is expensive but it’s also very high quality, pesticide free and not loaded with cancerous junk.
 

Point being, you don’t retire to Thailand because it’s cheap. It’s definitely not cheap if you expect to maintain the same standard of living you had in the West. I would argue that it’s twice as expensive to retire in Thailand. I mean my God, my wife’s sister just dropped $180k on a Mercedes here in Thailand that you can get for $65k in the US. And if you don’t want to eat food loaded with msg and cancerous pesticides, you’re going to need to shop at Villa or Gourmet Market which is twice the cost of Whole Foods in the US. 

Thailand isn’t cheap. 
 

If you’re American, the increased cost of living in Thailand vs America is offset by the foreign earned income exclusion. So for me, it’s actually cheaper to live in Thailand vs the USA ( while maintaining the exact same standard of living ) but that’s only because of the massive tax break I get. And other countries, you probably don’t have to pay any tax at all so yeah, Thailand can still be cheaper for you. 

I agree with you just not paying taxes, it's even more convenient to live in Thailand but it's just a small saving. Living in Thailand is a personal choice that can be diminished by the ability of the IO to become less attractive.

No bath not strong he is like the stable Swiss franc because the Thais government has not made large debts, having about 45% of debt on the PIB, instead it is the currencies of countries like England, Australia and New Zealand to have high public debts, see how incredibly the value of housing in these countries has increased, which means that the currency has devalued by 50%.
The fault is not of the Thailand but of your governments that stone your money. A social state like these countries has no future but is doomed to failure.

5 minutes ago, holy cow cm said:

Even at 40,000 retirees times 800,000 is 32,000,000,000 baht or $1,049,859,924.54. That is a lot of money that is free for the using by the banks. That right there can spin the Thai economy.

The strong Bath is because us? ????  Not said nothing IO

Big innovation from university, next robot barbecue pork for Mars

PM warns private and public with the air force has a plan to upgrade 14 light attack Alpha Jets at a cost of 3.38 billion baht after about two decades of using them mainly in close air support operations, and sometimes........ for supporting artificial rainmaking operations conducted by the Royal Rainmaking Project.

Not is not a joke deeply serious????, read https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1763064/air-force-chief-wants-new-gear

Mr. Pramudwinai noted that Thailand now ranks sixth globally in terms of universal health coverage.

Where hi read this ???

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_health_insurance_coverage

On 9/28/2019 at 11:56 AM, NanLaew said:

So, it all comes back to the dazzlingly cosmopolitan but mostly laid back provincial life style that only Meuang Udon Thani, the unchallenged star of Isaan can offer.

 

International private health care choices at lower prices than the regular Thailand farang traps.

Serviced by 28 daily flights by 4 carriers to/from 6 domestic destinations.

Four daily trains to/from Bangkok.

Less than 1 hour from Laos and a whole other country.

Malls, markets and old-fashioned 'high street' shopping.

Villa Market, Tops and Big C Extra for the imported food fan.

Parks with lakes and walking, jogging, running and cycling trails.

Hotels from 2-star to 5-star.

Guest houses.

Condominiums.

Gated, secure villages.

New build homes from 2.9 m baht and up.

Rental homes from around 6000 baht/m and up.

Recently inaugurated 2-route, cross-town city bus service that includes the airport for just 20 baht flat fare.

And also high pollution for free 154  2.5 https://www.airvisual.com/thailand/changwat-udon-thani/udon-thani

30 minutes ago, Assurancetourix said:

You are right and Prayuth 

banned it another year or two ago; the safety belt MUST be attached to the front and back;
as there are no belts in the bucket of a pickup, a minimum of intelligence makes you understand that it does not put people.

I have just made a little trip of 2,000 km;
from my home to Prachuap Khiri Khan;
being nice, about 99% of sedan and pickup drivers have passed me and some have unreasonable speeds
My vehicle is very far from being a slow machine;
it is a pickup Isuzu of 3,000cc with automatic transmission and I roll between 90 and 95 per hour so at the maximum speed allowed.

 

2,000 km and no see police along the road ;

only automatic radars on high mats .

I don't know if the police Thai highways are totally under number or are quietly cool in the offices waiting for the next accident.

This is also a very important economic loss for the country due to these high massacres roads.

"" The second was an Iraqi who had been blacklisted for ten years but managed to get back in and was found staying at a hairdressers in Patong. ""

Be careful now with the hairdressers, have all the biometric videos installed

21 hours ago, Stocky said:

The upgrade to dual-track and electrification is far more important and much needed. Malaysia completed its upgrade several years ago now, 3-4 years for Thailand's completion is optimistic. High speed 21st Century vanity projects can wait, try getting the railway out of the 19th Century first!

I agree and start buying new trains because they are two centuries ago instead of wasting milliards  on Thai Airways that is destined to fail, this is another vanity projects.

On 9/26/2019 at 9:51 AM, ChipButty said:

Be careful what you wish for, the could install facial recognition in every 7/11 

Maybe this is the true, 7/11 have video in connection with central police for security and I think is easy connect with computer police facial recognition, maybe is this speaking about police Thai.

3 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

You mean you never travel? Many of the highways here are excellent. Plenty of four land divided roads. If what you mean by highways is limited access freeways, that is a far different story. 

I mean like really highways the western countries, where you don't see bicycles and cows on highways

11 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I heard they have plans to use freight trains on the same line. May not be as high speed as the passenger trains, not sure. But something needs to be done to relieve the congestion on the highways, caused by a massive volume of truckers, who drive slower than the car traffic, often refuse to move over and make way for the cars, and slow everything down. 

I never see Thailand  highways outside Bangkok

9 minutes ago, overherebc said:

Unfortunately I don't think it would solve traffic problems. That would only happen with a total mind set change on 'I have a new car so I must use it every day so people will see me in it'.

Maybe next karma, everyone now dream Porsche Taycan, not only Thais ????.

I also sold my car two years ago for non-use because I mainly use the bike, but society where people work and are not yet retired there is no solution for personal transport throughout the territory, with the train it can only connect agglomerations of cities to other urban centers. In Europe I have not seen happier and more friendly people on trains, no one even speaks because the seats are all in one way. One thing is to idealize and another to actually do it, In Japan the collective transport system is really effective but it has its limits, the private car is indispensable in many areas, even there I have not seen many people to chat happily about trains and buses, all rather silent.

18 minutes ago, Skallywag said:

High speed rail as with many other forms of mass transit will not be a money maker because the personal automobile and motorcycle is so easy to acquire here with no down payment,  low monthly payments, no insurance requirements, etc... 

Short Rant:

Did not read the long diatribes by Greta Thunberg, yet if the human race is going to save the planet, we need to start by changing peoples attitudes towards transportation and conveniences that burn fossil fuels.

People should have to pay the real cost of owning their gas guzzling freedom vehicles. Taxes, parking fees, tolls, etc... 

These changes would also create healthier, safer, and happier societies, where people are walking to the train, conversing with others, and becoming connected with their neighbors and community. 

Personal transportation removes you from interacting with others, causes stress, traffic, pollution, and of course 100's of thousands of fatal accidents every year, etc...   

The industrial revolution is over 100 years old, we know it is killing us and our planet, yet we are not willing to give up anything to evolve and try and create a better society in the future    IMO

 

 

Do you really believe what you say ? ? ?

In the vision of the general mathematics to another value, they have saved 8 billion, the next time you buy a car you can do the same calculation

28 minutes ago, Da Nang said:

So, that 3,5km track in Korat is Museum of Thailands Great High Speed Train Project.

When it is finished next two years