Lacessit

4 hours ago, sanemax said:

Thats not the only positive .

I have found that I no longer have to buy cigarettes anymore , just go outside and breath in

So there's nicotine in the haze also? Well I never.

4 hours ago, talahtnut said:

I believe you are right. It has been said that after 1990, M Benz cars

are designed by accountants.  Resale values are lead canoes.

BTW I don't like your photo.   

Have a little compassion - he probably looks worse in real life. Like the picture of Dorian Gray.

You can hire a boat or take one of the tours out to the islands, where you can swim in clear water to your heart's content. Krabi is inland, better to stay at Aonang Beach.

1 hour ago, Brunolem said:

We all know that the official inflation numbers are massaged in order to keep it low...it looks good for the country and it allows to limit as much as possible the increase of anything indexed on inflation, including retirement pensions.

In Europe, many countries manage to not raise at all for many years, thanks to the lack of (official) inflation.

Anyway, here in Thailand, inflation is running fast...over the last 10 to 12 years, prices have doubled on average.

In the meantime, retirement pensions have certainly not doubled and currencies like the dollar or the euro have lost 30%...painful indeed...

Really? My condo rent has actually decreased from 10,000 baht/month to 8500 baht/month over the last 5 years. My Australian part pension has increased from $400 to $700 per fortnight in the same time frame.

AFAIK, in Chiang Mai the price of fruit and vegetables in season is unchanged. And if you are interested in other aspects, the price of pussy hasn't changed.

7 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

After I broke my arm, and had to go to hospital every day for dressings, my wife resented having to take me. I have no doubt she wouldn't have cleaned up after me, if I became incontinent.

We all want to believe the idea that all Thais take care of their family, but for some of us, that ideal is not a reality.

Perhaps you were unlucky in your wife choice, and I was lucky in my GF choice. Life is a lottery. I have had ample evidence my GF is genuinely concerned for my welfare.

I'm just wondering how impoverished this guy was to be stealing such a trivial sum from an organisation which is revered by most Thais. Forget about the moral aspect, how did this guy even get into Thailand or maintain his visa?

No no, don't tell me - he's broke because a Thai girl from an Issan village outsmarted him.

1 hour ago, HHTel said:

I never said it was.  I was replying to a post implying that it would never happen.  But of course TV can only comment derogatorily.   It will never be accepted on this forum that the norm in general is much better than portrayed here. 

Fair point - perhaps I should have used the term "someone" rather than "anyone" to avoid overstating my case. However, it would seem you've done the same with the terms "only" and "never".

2 hours ago, jacko45k said:

I don't understand that... I certainly refuse to use my UK cards in Thailand because of the 200 baht charge, way too much and that is before my UK bank gets started!  ATM withdrawals are free in Thailand from my Thai account. Nothing wrong with striving to prevent banks  nickel and diming your money away.

I've been charged 150 baht on my Kasikorn card for an ATM withdrawal in Chiang Rai outside the Kasikorn Bank, apparently because as soon as one goes outside the province where the card was issued ( Chiang Mai ) charges kick in.

7 hours ago, HHTel said:

Several years ago, I had anonymous transactions on my BKK bank.  When I queried it at the bank they ascertained that it was being used on the internet.  They immediately cancelled my card and re-issued a new one.  I highlighted the erroneous transactions and the bank reimbursed me in around a week.  It wasn't a large amount, around 15,000 baht from memory, but it was reimbursed into my account without any hassle. 

Can you say the same would happen with all Thai banks? Your happy experience is hardly a statistically significant sample.

9 hours ago, jacko45k said:

I have a pal who does like you, withdrawing his monthly spend with passbook etc at the bank and refusing to have an ATM card and other modern entrapments of banking. I called him a Luddite only yesterday.

Yet he ridiculed me as he pays all his utilities by direct debit and my Mrs goes off to the nearby electric or water office to pay ours. Never like direct debits. We all have different ways.!

To be pedantic, Luddites got their reputation by smashing machinery during the Industrial Revolution, not by ignoring the machinery.

I don't refuse to have an ATM card. It's there for emergency use. My aversion to them thus far has been based on being charged 150-200 baht per transaction, when a passbook withdrawal is free. Call me Cheap Charlie if you want, but that's the cost of a one hour massage or a good meal. As you say, we all have different ways.

2 hours ago, Tofer said:

I agree they are not generally considered assets, but they do have an intrinsic value at any age, unlike groceries!

 

You don't need to be an expert to buy a second hand car, I never even test drove the one I bought, didn't want to sit in BKK traffic listening to the engine idling for a couple of hours, with only 6k on the clock and 2 years warranty remaining not much to worry about, and bought from a mature professional British expat.

 

If you are concerned you can always insist on a thorough check over at the nearest dealer.

 

We had earlier looked at one from a second hand dealer, he wouldn't allow a test drive 5 kms down the road to the Mitsubishi dealer to get it checked over, so told him where to stick it. He did us a huge favour, saw the one we bought on bahtsold a week later.

IMHO it's fair to say one is unlikely to have problems with a car bought from an expat, because they are usually conscientious about servicing and maintenance.

I check out vehicles myself, apart from having a compression test done.

It sounds to me like the immigration officer up-country was trying it on. Fining falangs is a blood sport for some.

It's common knowledge TM30's are not required in Bangkok - the city would disappear in a blizzard of paper if they did.

4 hours ago, Skeptic7 said:

Differ away! While true that tech is not perfect...it by far has made life easier, faster, more convenient, usually more secure and much better than worse. No contest.

 

Personally, I'll take the extremely miniscule potential loss of security to rid myself of slow, bulky, inconvenient, outdated passbooks, which can also easily be lost. Traveling to a bank...waiting in line...dealing with people (ugh!), carrying my passport (along with my passbook), using a pen to sign paper...just to make a deposit or withdrawal or transfer is not at all appealing IMO. No thanks! Time is money and is wasted going to the bank every time a simple automated transaction can be handled online or at a nearby ATM in a fraction of the time a visit to a bank teller takes. 

In Western countries, I'd agree with you. However, if you think the potential loss of security is miniscule in Thailand, you are living in la-la land. Just ask anyone who has tried to get a Thai bank to reimburse them for fraud. I'm quite happy to visit my bank with a passbook once a month - it's not a big call on my time. My debit cards are for emergency use only.

Don't come whining on TV if/when you get scammed, OK?

56 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

 After 3 marriages to Thais- I  stopped asking.

 

Slow learner?

1 hour ago, Acemaker said:

Deary Me, Wakey, Wakey. 

From memory, the full quote is Wakey, wakey, hands off Snakey. Possibly appropriate for the OP's situation.

4 hours ago, JSixpack said:

 

 

Many an expat leaves simply because he needs the "free" healthcare back in the nanny state or the free education for the kids.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I do admit to going back to the nanny state of Australia for medical procedures, because there they cost me nothing but the airfare. Always can't wait to get back to Thailand. I can feel myself relaxing as the plane lands in Chiang Mai.

Your comment about learning Thai is soooo valid. While I'll never be fluent, it amazes me that some retirees expect everything to go smoothly when they refuse to learn any Thai. Don't they realise it's a reasonable antidote to Alzheimer's?

I have to admire the social structure of the Thais. If you are family, they will always support you. I asked my Thai GF ( 8 years now ) what she thought about cleaning up after me if I became incontinent. She said " No problem, I can do". Try asking a Western partner that question.

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

I've just moved from a BMW X5 (F15) to a Mazda CX-5....  there really isn't much difference in ride or quality....

 

Mazda's has stepped up its game with its 2018 top of the range models with premium materials and specification...  Toyota and Honda seemed to lack a certain refinement, but with regards to build quality and ride... there is very little difference. 

 

 

The real difference is German decision-making. They have decided to try competing with the Japanese and Koreans on price. So in the lower echelons of their cars, they cut the costs by removing premium options - which the Asian manufacturers put on their vehicles as standard.

I can't remember which year it was; however, at one stage the list of defects on new BMW's occupied 38 pages.

3 hours ago, Skeptic7 said:

And banks here still issuing "passbooks"!

 

Did away with those in the states decades ago. 

I beg to differ. Sometimes technological advances can open the door for scammers.

Unless one's debit/credit cards are in a Faraday cage ( and sometimes not even then ) a scammer with the right equipment can lift all the information and clone it, just by standing next to you in a lift or crowded public place.

In contrast, with a passbook you need to present your passport and sign in the presence of a bank officer three times - twice on the withdrawal form, once on the copy of the passport they make. Signature has to match that on your passport and in the passbook. Your face has to match the passport.

I hear constant stories of people getting their cards skimmed at ATM's, data stolen and fraudulent transactions. I have yet to hear of anyone being defrauded via passbook.

Possibly someone will find a way around passbooks; however, AFAIK no-one has yet.

3 hours ago, gamesgplayemail said:

 

You perfectly don't know what you are talking about.

 

Go drive any new benz and any new toyota and honda, then if you do not realize how wrong you are, you have a very big problem.

 

 

 

Sorry, you are the one with your facts wrong.

Back in the early 1990's, Benz and BMW ruled the roost because they had technological advances in their vehicles. Stuff such as independent suspensions all round, ABS, disc brakes all round, fuel injection, high efficiency engines, AMG ( all-wheel drive ) etc. Now the rest of the world has caught up with them and even surpassed them. Benz and BMW now sell the concept of the brand cachet meaning the driver is someone important, for those shallow enough to believe them. The Germans spend megabucks every year inviting motoring journalists to Switzerland or Spain to be wined and dined. The quid pro quo for the luxury is the journalists only write flattering reviews of the vehicle being launched.

Of course, if you like shelling out 100% duty on a Benz or BMW in Thailand just so you can feel superior, it's your money. I have better things to do with mine.

I'm not the one with the problem. But don't take my word for it. Try this Australian video from someone who tells it like it is. Admittedly it's a comparison of 2015 models; however, IMHO the underlying facts are unchanged today.

9 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

I don't understand that, it's been mentioned numerous times in TV threads for many years that Thai law does not have such a thing as a restraining order. 

 

Not my direct business but personally, because of a problem experienced for many years by a Thai relative, I hope there is such a thing.

 

It would be nice to see a real and correct legal interpretation (not TV opinions about what it should be)  on this subject. 

 

 

I guess someone with enough curiosity could get a definitive answer from a Thai lawyer if they were willing to pay.

1 hour ago, juice777 said:

Yeah like most of us are going to have trouble throwing out a 45kilo Thai girl lol.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
 

The problem could escalate if she calls in a few of her 90 Kg male friends/relatives. Some Thais are built like telephone booths.

I don't know if anyone else has noticed; however, it's the Thai women that do a lot more here than Thai men. It's something trained into them from an early age, just as privilege is trained into the boys.

Gay or hetero, IMHO for the OP to be expecting anything more than what is happening now is wishful thinking.

3 hours ago, HooHaa said:

  It has not happened to me because i have never presumed to move a woman in who is not my equal socially or intellectually.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

You are either extremely fluent in Thai, or live alone - assuming you live here.