Lacessit

Meat is a banned import in Thailand for incoming passengers, even meat containing products such as Marmite are not allowed. Those posters who say they brought meat in got away with it. It's a fair bet they did not declare it. There are plenty of imported meats on supermarket shelves; however, I assume there are different regulations applied.

History will repeat itself, he'll take the Fifth, then keep the money rolling in from the gullible.

Australia is so vast many Australians can't get their heads around how big it is. While Australia is harsh on people low in the socio-economic order, its main attribute for the description of hell on earth is boredom. This may come as a surprise to you. In terms of foreign ownership of Australian assets, the USA heads the table. America also heads the table with its corporations in Australia in terms of tax avoidance. I forget who it was said when one shakes hands with an American on a business deal, they count their fingers afterwards. The US sells us highly expensive military equipment, some of which does not work as intended. IIRC, the latest deal is to sell us 30 yo nuclear submarines so America can upgrade its fleet without the cost of decommissioning the old ones. The US dominates the fast food franchise system in Australia, all of which make us obese. Similarly, its tobacco industry makes us sick. About the only thing America does not own is the beer industry, possibly because they don't know how to make it. Your post takes me back to the Peter Sellers classic, "The Mouse That Roared." Thank you for the kind offer of assistance. However, I think we get quite enough help from America already.

I'm not kidding myself the relationship with my Thai GF started out as non-transactional. Having said that, I believe some relationships can morph into something else. As for having a wife or GF my own age - been there with two women, neither worked. I prefer looking at a woman who can still stir up my libido.

300 - 500 km. Google towns such as Nymagee, Nullagine, Ravenshoe or Katherine, although places like Ceduna are right on the coast, but still back blocks.

My GF is 23 years younger than me. What I find interesting is the reactions of people in my place of origin, Australia. The men are secretly envious. They are hesitant about asking me questions in front of their dragon wives. The women all hate me, I am setting a bad example for their menfolk.

I've had no problems with Lazada, perhaps I'm just lucky. Pay them with a Kasikorn debit card.

Only if it is Cumberland sausage. Chip butties are a walking obesity invitation, but they are quite tasty.

Would not even know if there was a tailor in Chiang Rai. In any case, my GF buys good quality clothes for me in the secondhand shops.

Obeid etc. is the stuff that is visible, who knows how much is sitting below the surface like an iceberg? I was quite burnt during the GFC from investments in the property sector. There's no other way to put it, company directors were looting the funds of investors, and were allowed to get away with it. Remember John Hewson? While he was chairman, he approved a loan of $64 million to one of the directors of Elderslie Finance, Peter Alexis George. After the fund collapsed, George and the money disappeared. Hewson was never even questioned by ASIC, and still writes opinion pieces for MSM like the Financial Review.

The unsaturated oils in avocados are heart healthy. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/health-benefits-avocado

What is it with the Brits? Cold pork pies, warm beer, and now jellied eels. Stuff most dogs would turn up their noses at. Stick to making cheeses, please. That's something you guys are good at.

You think hookers are different in Thailand? Please elaborate.

Yes. worked there for a while, was like a sauna.

You can comfort yourself you are eating something healthy.

You are partly correct, the small corruption is more common here. I'm more thinking of Eddie Obeid , John Barilaro, or a Treasurer who hands out $40 billion to businesses that don't need it, and declines to get it back. Guess how many company directorships are waiting for him.

Let me suggest if you were on a pension in England, those top places would be well beyond your budget. It's the same in Australia, pensioners who do not own the roof over their head are finding life very hard. I don't mind being asked if I want a massage, especially if it is a good-looking chick. How many of those do you have in the UK? Seems to me the English birds all have legs like tree-trunks.

What intense heat and humidity? Chiang Rai is cooler than most other parts of Thailand.

Given the famous UK climate, I'm wondering why anyone would even consider living there. Perhaps that's why Brits have spread to all corners of the globe.

You presumably missed the SOL reference. I'll save us both the trouble of further argument, as my advice is unwelcome. On ignore now.

I did read your OP, and it did not say anything about keeping the card active. You did say other cards had been cancelled; however, I am not a mind-reader. If you make one purchase a month on Lazada, that should be sufficient to keep the card active. Small purchases. I buy fenugreek seeds on Lazada, about 120 baht including delivery. Apparently recommended for lowering blood sugar, and SOL.

When I read this kind of stuff, it's obvious there are some clueless foreigners in Thailand. Any day market would have avocados at 40 - 60 baht/kilo. Nobody with any smarts at all would buy their fruit and vegetables at a supermarket here, most of it isn't even ripe anyway, straight out of cold storage. It's like people who come here and steadfastly refuse to learn any Thai. Then wonder why life is difficult and frustrating.

IMO you are better off having a Thai bank account, and a Thai debit card. That's what I have for Lazada. I have two Australian debit cards, they are only for emergencies. I suspect by the time the credit card provider does the exchange rate, and commissions etc. come in, it would get to be an expensive purchase.

Corruption is endemic in Australia as well, it's just not as blatant. Such as the pork-barrelling of electorates, gas being exported without regard to domestic needs, a Prime Minister's Department that was staffed with 90% of people connected to the coal industry. Freedom of speech is suppressed by people and companies with deep pockets, who will sue those who speak out. It gets very expensive to defend, even if one has truth as a defence.

Act 1. Trump says only mobsters take the Fifth. Act 2. Trump revises the laws on documents. Act 3. Trump's lawyer states all documents have been returned. Act 4. Trump goes public with the FBI raid. I don't know what Act 5 is going to be, but hoist with one's own petard seems to be the order of the day.