Lacessit

Strange, I've found when I am sober and a drunk is talking to me they are the ones that are boring. Most can't even put a sentence together coherently. I don't mind a drink or two; however, I seem to have an internal governor that says that's enough.

The OP did clarify 10 am was a one-off event, not to be repeated. What conclusion would you draw from his initial description?

IMO there are quite a few posters here who pretend to be other than what they are, in order to get attention or a reaction.

I'd say choose another tourist destination. It seems the automatic assumption by Australian authorities about Thai women is they are coming to Australia to work as prostitutes. I took my GF to Australia about 6 years ago. Our first tourist visa application was rejected despite ample evidence I could afford to support her, and she owned a home in Thailand. It must be wonderful to work in a bureaucracy that does not have to account for any of its decisions. A Brisbane-based lawyer, who boasted a 100% success rate, got the visa on the second try. It does beg the question of how he did that without some corruption involved. $1200 thank you, plus the cost of the first and second applications. In four weeks, I spent about $15,000 on the holiday. It's either BOHICA, or saying f##k Australia as a tourist destination. They certainly won't see my tourist dollar again.

Being an alcoholic is not a good idea either, and with a 10 am start IMO you fit the description. I have yet to see an alcoholic here that died peacefully, I remember one who spent his last 6 months s##tting blood, before he committed suicide. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3391950/ As they say, up to you.

Morning tea was a tradition at the first company I worked for, complete with biscuits. Another tradition I encountered was in South Africa. Lunch at ISCOR consisted of sitting down and waiting for the general manager to arrive. When he started eating, so did everyone else. When he stopped eating and got up from the table, it was the signal for everyone else to do so. When in Rome, etc. However, I did not think much of that tradition.

Going even further back, there was the Rover 90. IIRC the main claim to fame of the 3500 was the aluminium alloy engine.

I remember many years ago a buyer in Australia who was so disgruntled with his Ford Falcon, he invited the media along to film him torching his car, with a couple of jerrycans of petrol. There are some brands and dealerships that treat customer problems seriously, and others that throw car buyers under a bus. In Thailand, I guess it is a lottery.

I can accept traditions other people follow if they do no harm. There are many traditions that do. Only in America could anyone establish a tradition of pardoning turkeys. IMO one of the most ridiculous traditions I have ever seen is Christmas dinner in Australia, a roast dinner with hot plum pudding for dessert when the ambient temperature in the shade is 40 C. I created my own tradition of cold crayfish, salad and a Margaret River dry white with a dessert of fruit salad. The traditions of law courts and government assemblies IMO are anachronisms, they remind me of Henry Ford's observation that history is bunk. I observe the traditions of golf, a sport I have played most of my life. That's about it.

One of the funniest posts I have read on this thread, albeit unwittingly.

Why does the OP need a divorce? That would only be necessary if he was to get married again, which would fit the definition of insanity. According to the OP, there are no assets to split. Just change the locks, or move somewhere else. Plenty of other women eager to hook up with a farang.

China is taking note of how difficult the Russians have found it to sustain logistics when Russia's border is contiguous with Ukraine. How much more difficult do you think it would be across 130 km of water, with nuclear submarines lurking?

The value of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine on the battlefield is limited, and would only stiffen the resolve of Ukrainians and the West both. IMO it's another empty threat from Putin. He's losing, and he knows it, whatever he may say to the Russian people. The sellout of airline tickets to anywhere out of Russia, and the lines of cars trying to get into Finland, are proof many Russians no longer believe him.

A 17 yo would be too demanding on many fronts for me. Ten years on, the brother is 68, and she is 27. I guess he'll be wearing horns by then.

As an elderly person, I consider my knowledge base is shrinking as knowledge expands way beyond my comprehension. Younger generations have mastered skills that leave me floundering. Having said that, I think I have acquired sufficient wisdom to know my limitations, and stay within them. IMO in any generation, there are about 5% of people who make a difference, and about 30% who should not be allowed to vote. Most of the stupidity I observe has a basis of belief, not fact. Trump supporters, climate deniers, anti-vaxxers, and the majority of Russians in Russia, take a bow.

My GF's father died a few months ago, I was asked to help with 15,000 baht. My GF said total cost was 30K.

"Any place in Thailand is good IF there are no worms like there are in America" These are an expensive delicacy in my GF's village, although not as big as Aussie witchetty grubs. Apparently they grow in bamboo. A Chiang rai condo and my GF's village is all I want or need.

The only stuff I pay for in advance is on Lazada, even then no more than 1000 baht for any purchase. Somebody asking me to transfer 6000 baht to prove my identity? No chance.

The common fees can range from 10K baht to 30K baht/year in a condo. I have not heard of common fees for a separate house or bungalow, although admittedly I don't rent one. Landlords pay the common fees in the condos I have rented. IIRC my GF pays 100 baht/month for her house in the village for garbage collection. In the OP's shoes, I would check if the electricity and water bills go directly to him from PEA, or through the lessor. If it's the latter, I suspect he should prepare to be gouged if he signs the lease.

I suppose she could go to the bank and claim the passbook is lost, please issue me a new one. However, that would then be fraud if you turn up with the existing one. If she is a signatory that can draw funds, best to get in first. I suggest you watch your back as well.

You seemed to have your knickers in a highly advanced twist at the start of the thread, I'm assuming you got a lower exchange rate. Be that as it may, if you are happy to be shot of ANZ, good for you.

If you knew the answer already, and are holding the bank book anyway as a safeguard, why are you starting a thread on it? Nothing better to do?

Sorry, I don't get it. I transfer AUD 20K at a time from my credit union via a telegraphic transfer, going through ANZ which charges me a flat fee of $30 irrespective of the amount. Perhaps you should be seeing if you can get a telegraphic transfer form rather than trying the international transfer route. I am currently trying to access WISE, which has set off alarm bells in the fraud unit of my credit union.

A lump causing pain may be a benign cyst, or something more sinister. The problem with doctors here is they think they are gods, when in reality quite a few are incompetent shills for the pharmaceutical industry. Several times, I have been prescribed medications which I did not want or need, or were actively dangerous for someone of my age. I have only once been asked for my previous medical history by a Thai doctor. Telling them what the problem is, or questioning them, does not sit well with them. I would suggest sending Sheryl a PM, she may be able to recommend a competent specialist.

Bangkok Hospital in Chiang Mai has truckloads of specialists in a number of fields, and invite potential clients to make an appointment with all of them online. https://www.bangkokhospital-chiangmai.com/en/