Speedhump

3 hours ago, Neeranam said:

I feel like an expatriate, but I am an immigrant... ????

 

 

I feel like you're both off your chump. ????

18 minutes ago, Leaver said:

Do you have a Plan B?  

Why, what's going to happen? All my funds are outside Thailand except a small house and a small four year old car, why worry? 

33 minutes ago, ICELANDMAN said:

 

If you go to Malaysia " The Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H)" you can get the right of permanent stay ten years after renovated automatics if the conditions no changed.

I'm actually happy being an expat in Thailand for now. 

On 12/17/2020 at 10:04 AM, ICELANDMAN said:

I have been reading the ThaiVisa forum for a couple of years to improve my English even if sometimes what I write becomes incomprehensible and it seems to me, except for errors, that there are two counter posed fields that were addressed on the forum, on the one hand expatriates and on the other other immigrants and now the time has come to clarify in order to avoid unnecessary discussions on various topics, for clarity,

 

From https://dictionary.cambridge.org/fr/dictionnaire/anglais/expatriate

 

relating to people who do not live in their own country:

The company has eight expatriate staff working around the world.

 

 

1)  expatriates are those who plan to stay a certain period of their life in Thailand

 

 

2)   immigrant

 

a person who has come to a different country in order to live there permanently:

 

while for immigrants they are those who want to integrate completely and stay forever in Thailand.

 

For many of us who have lived in Thailand for several years I would have a question to ask.

 

Do you feel like an immigrant or an expatriate? 

 

 

 

 

You explained the difference. How can you claim to be an immigrant in a country that only allows you to visit? I was in UAE for 13 years but could never claim the permanent right to settle, and the same in Thailand. 

Yet ignorant people try to say that calling yourself an 'expat' is displaying arrogance whereas it's only being entirely accurate. ????

Unanswerable question really. Wife and I own a 3 bed house/pool and our car, and get by on 70k a month incl setting aside money for first class health insurance for the year and potential doctor bills, and one flight a year to home country. No need to touch savings. 

90k used to be comfortable but exchange rates are killing. 

8 minutes ago, sezze said:

Nothing wrong with that ... It is a taste enhancer , and if you do not like , up to you . I am not the 1 who says you eat this or you eat that . I only say that there is no proof at all that it is harmful so it is ok to use . You do not like it fine , some people like 20 chillies on their plate of food , while for me 3-4 is plenty . I do not like the fermented fish ( palar ) as it smells for me the same like baby milk puke . People like , upto them , same like MSG , but there is no proof whatsoever that is is harmful .

You're saying that severe allergy or sensitivity is not harmful? Products containing nuts should say so, same with any product containing allergens, or additives like MSG to which some people have extreme sensitivity with dangerous reactions. 

On 12/21/2020 at 12:15 AM, Meat Pie 47 said:

I am not to sure if it makes food taste good it is used to soften meat and maybe other stuff

It certainly is to add taste. In Chinese hotpot restaurants you'll see a bowl of it with the other condiments, to add some to your dipping bowl. 

18 hours ago, BigStar said:

Indeed it can. You can use a dedicated app, a music player app like AIMP, or a radio plugin for, say, Kodi. I listen via my box sometimes or if I'm out on my Android tablet. Needless to say you can also play your own music files.

That was exactly what I need. I guess I'm too old to think around all the options now. I've set it up and it's perfect for my purposes. Thanks.

THANKS TO EVERYONE who replied with help and advice. Great people here.

The answer I needed is from BigStar, as I already have an Android STB. I've put Radio Player from Audals on it, as it's free and has many thousands of worldwide stations. 128 kbps, but good enough for my puroses.

Now to buy my cheapo 20,000 Baht A/V receiver, hook up all my Klipsches (except the bass box which is beyond repair, no parts available any more, and the sound is truly frightening anyway) and blast the neighbours eardrums to kingdom come (not really ????).

????

6 hours ago, Encid said:

 

A little bit off-topic but that's similar to what I do too.

I download media via my PC to a USB HDD, then plug that into the Android box... an SSD is not really need to playback media files, even 4K media with Dolby Atmos or DTS:X soundtracks.

 

Exactly what I do, I find the STB is fine except for playing some large .mkv files, say 4GB and over. Also it doesn't have a codec for playing a few .mkv files but simple to download a different file. 

3 hours ago, BigStar said:

Why not just get a cheap Android media box? You'd not only get all the internet radio stations but streaming video channels as well. Moreover, you can stream your own video files, desktop, and photo gallery. Can control w/ separate remote, optional wireless keyboard & mouse, phone, or computer. Could save a lot on the stereo amp. 

I have a set top android box, have had for years. It will be plugged into the A/V receiver via HDMI. So if it can play Internet radio that's perfect. I never thought of that. Its a bit crappy controlwise, I can only connect either Bluetooth mouse or keyboard, as only one free USB slot (the other one's for a hard drive). Still, worth a thought, if I can save 10,000 Baht on the receiver I buy. I can try this out before I spend any money! Thanks. ????

22 minutes ago, recom273 said:

Check your TV - mine has the tunein app, then control via your tv remote.

 

Spotify has a free and paid service.

Thanks, that's good advice! 

51 minutes ago, Techno Viking said:

 

 

I purchased a yamaha one, plays spotify and all that, would love an Alexa... are they available in Thailand ?

That's the sort of thing I want, yes, with a free streaming radio service (I don't mind the station ads). I don't think there's a free Spotify option, or maybe I'm wrong?

(actually scrub that, I want an Internet radio app which has thousands of stations to choose from, each of which have their own  playlists - tunein.com for example). 

55 minutes ago, recom273 said:

Looking at the piyanas page, none of those receivers have DAB - doing a bit of reading suggests it’s a thing of the past - seems like streaming audio is the way to go, my receiver has spotify, my wife tells Alexa what to play and the receiver responds automatically.

Here is a screenshot of musicbox GUI - seems pretty straightforward to me, not dissimilar from navigating Facebook.

 

Internet radio isn't DAB, it is streaming media, I don't want DAB actually. As far as Internet radio goes I think I read that one manufacturer has the tunein.com app built into their firmware. That's a good one which I think won't disappear anytime soon. 

Otherwise I guess I could just buy a small Internet radio (like the Ocean Digital Internet Radio) and hook it up to the receiver wirelessly (I'll read up), but then its two boxes! ????

1 hour ago, KannikaP said:

You mean one of those bloody big black things advertised on Piyanas?   LOL

She approved the Onkyo before (Well, I had already bought it, with the huge Klipsch speaker system) so I think I'm OK. What she hates is anything that looks boffinish, or wires showing. ????

12 hours ago, KannikaP said:

Most internet radio apps only stream music in stereo at 128kb/s. Connect via your phone or PCs sound card and into a power amp. All controls will be on the sound card software.

I need a nice tidy living room friendly solution. I think the wife will accept a replacement A/V receiver only! 

12 hours ago, Jai Dee said:

This page from Piyanas should give you all the information you need regarding makes, models, and specifications.

 

20K baht is probably the bottom end of the spectrum... for another 10K you would be able to get a very nice networked multi-channel AV receiver.

Yes I thought that seems the case. 30k minimum. I guess I'll have to bite the bullet. 

Thanks. I'll need to choose one with a good Internet radio app I suppose (with a huge number of stations), and a service that will definitely still be around in a few years time? You can only have what's on the receiver firmware I think, you can't tinker with it yourself? 

On 12/8/2020 at 8:51 PM, recom273 said:

If budget is an issue, have you thought about musicbox on a raspberry pi and plug it into a receiver ? You select the stations from a web based GUI on your phone or tablet.

 

I have a few around the house connected to a receiver and a couple of amps running Volumio - the onboard sound isn’t good enough, you either need a sound card / DAC or a DAC hat for the pi. 

Thanks that's an interesting solution, but a bit Heath-Robinson for the wife to operate (or look at!). 

1 hour ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Like I said, It becomes my business when an illegal modified scooter rides dangerously close at speed on the roads that I travel on.

I reckon people who want to act in this way/poor behavior on public roads get a proper motorbike, go to the track without your family as pillion and make as much noise, riding recklessly. 

 

I'm fed up with some of the Thais and their unsafe road manner. I would like to travel on the public roads safely, we don't need foreigner's that haven't grown up using public roads that we travel on. 

No, that wasn't 'like you said' at all. 

You were beatching about him not wearing a helmet and you know it. 

Stop trying to move the goalposts, your own goal stands because everyone is calling you out as a censorious killjoy. 

Now, think about it and try to get a life. Live and let die (if that's what the biker wants). 

24 minutes ago, polpott said:

I guess you must be right. I would never ride a bike without a helmet but rarely wear a seat belt. Personal choices. One of the things that make Thailand an enjoyable place to live. I'm happy to sit in a bar chatting to some guy with a ladyboy on his knee. My mates don't have a problem with me going upstairs with 2 girls even though they don't do it themselves.

 

Thailand just isn't the place to sit in judgment on others.

Amen, brother. Just do what you want to do and let others do the same. Life is short, make it sweet. 

On 12/2/2020 at 7:20 PM, twocatsmac said:

 

As mentioned above, most normal people don’t use face ache.

Sure only 2.7 billion active users worldwide (excluding dormant accounts). So many 'abnormal' people, eh.   

I have a 3 mill. Baht in patient policy with an approved (for visa purposes) Thai insurance company. 

They have never sent me anything to say that COVID has been added to policy exclusions. 

So as far as I'm concerned, I'm covered for any COVID hospital treatment which involves me staying there.

Anyone disagree? 

On 12/2/2020 at 12:08 PM, NCC1701A said:

give him a break. I am sure he wore a helmet when he first got here. 

 

but now he has be assimilated by the Borg and has lost his will to fight. 

I'm just sick to the back teeth of westerners who insist on applying their own moral/social/safety standards to life in an utterly different country. 

If people want to 'go native' what business is it of these nosey prigs? 

Maybe some people are happy to be rid of the 'nanny state' they escaped from and are enjoying a little rebellion? 

Headshakers and fingerwaggers mske me want to puke, seriously. Yes, I still wear my car seat belt. But my choice, no one has the right to judge me either way. 

How about MYOB? Is it your life? Do you have no real concerns? 

11 hours ago, bangsaenguy said:

Piyanas should have  what you need.

https://www.piyanas.com/

Thanks. I'll give them a call if no-one has any actual models they can point me at.

Hey, you've made 666 posts. You little devil, you.