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Mike Teavee

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Posts posted by Mike Teavee

  1. Use http://matrix.itasoftware.com/ to narrow down dates (You can search for dates up to 1 month after a date & for a duration of up to 7 days difference - e.g. 12-19 days from 1st February would pull back all 12-19 day flight options until 1st March) & nearby airports (Not that handy for UK, but might be worth it to you if don't mind going to London instead of Manchester for example...)

     

    Once you have your dates, airlines & duration, use Skyscanner, Expedia, Kayak & the Airlines own site to find the best deal

     

     

     

     

    • Like 1
  2. 18 minutes ago, Yuraj said:

    I think the figure is wrong because I was in the Pattaya night club and they were spending 5800 per minute. 
    see the link below if you don’t believe

     

    I believe you, my 2 Indian mates spend a fortune when we're on a party weekend.

     

    Reminds me of when I was working in London & once a month (Payday) one of the Indian Project Managers would get 2 bottles of Dom Perignon (It was approx £375 a bottle back then) & walk around all night topping people's glass up whilst sipping on his coke (He didn't drink), When I asked him why he did it, he simply said that he enjoyed doing it - Fair enough... 

     

     

     

    • Like 1
  3. 31 minutes ago, Yuraj said:

    I think your math is wrong. Because in two weeks the new Indians will come and replace the previous group. So let’s say 2 million Indians visit s thailand that would be 2 million times 5000 bht for 14 days

    you can find the answer yourself. 
    There between 300 million to 400 million middle class Indians and they have just started to travel. 

    Again, it all depends on what you're trying to compare... 

     

    The original post was about @NCC1701Aspending over 52 weeks 13.3 x what the average Indian Tourist will spend on a 2 week holiday

     

    That's it, it's not about him spending more money that 26 Indian Tourists spending 2 weeks consecutively it's a like for like comparison (1 person spending 13.3 times what another person spends over a 12 month period).

     

    When I visit with my mates I spend an average of about 20,000 per day (excluding hotels & flights), when I leave there will be somebody else coming to replace me who's spending 20,000 per day, it doesn't mean that I spend > 3.4 times the average Indian.  If I only visit for 4 days in 1 year I spend 0.985 of what the average Indian Tourist spends over their 2 weeks.

     

    I actually visit approx 120 days per year & would say my average spend per day on a normal trip is more like 8,000 per day (excluding accommodation, rent a Condo in BKK all year round & flights) probably around 1.2Million per year including the Party visits, compared to back-2-back Indian visitors spending 696,000 THB over the same 120 day period.

     

     

     

     

  4. 6 minutes ago, tgeezer said:

    That is difficult too understand. The National Health System in UK charges me nothing, 2-3 times that is how much? 

    Technically if you've been out of the UK for > 6 months, unless you're returning to settle in the UK you're no longer eligible for free (non-emergency) treatment on the NHS & as a British Citizen the NHS will charge you 1.5x what it would charge a non-British citizen.  

     

    How messed up is that!

     

    Edit to Add link to Telegraph Article: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/expat-health/11571256/British-expats-from-outside-Europe-must-pay-for-NHS-hospital-care.html

    Expats from outside Europe who return to the UK to use NHS hospitals will be billed for 150 per cent of the cost of treatment if they don’t have sufficient insurance.

    Treatment remains free for those with a European Health Insurance Card (Ehic) and UK state pensioners living in the European Economic Area (EEA).

    The charges only apply to hospitals – appointments with GPs and accident and emergency treatment remain free. Patients should expect to be asked questions about their residence status in the UK.

     

    • Thanks 1
  5. 4 hours ago, thinktoomuch said:

     

    I thought that the 800k had to be in the bank for a minimum of 2 months before you apply for the extension based on retirement, which I understand you can apply for during the last 30 days of the Non-O.

     

    I've read of a number of people using the Non-O issued for the purposes of applying for an extension based on  retirement to open the bank account necessary to season the 800k.

     

    That's correct for extending an existing Non-O but if you're converting from a Visa Exempt or Tourist Visa, there is no minimum period that the money has to be in the Bank, you just need to be able to show that it came from overseas. 

     

     

     

     

  6. 1 hour ago, Sattphalat said:

    Go to a decent hotel.
    Last time I visit Sheraton in cha am a Indian couple had rented most of the hotel over the weekend for a wedding. 
    several hundred guests. 
    nice people.

    Yes, my mate's son got married (3 day wedding) a couple of years back & he spent > £40,000 on the venue/facilities/catering alone, spent >£5,000 on Photographers/Video!

     

    It really is good business for Thailand if it can tap into that market & IIRC Wedding season runs Oct-Dec, which is usually low season for Thailand + Mid April-May (Post Songkran boost). 

     

     

  7. 5 hours ago, Traubert said:

    Quite. But there are more than 1m Indian tourists and less than 200k farang residents and one is going up and the other are dying off so put that in your spreadsheet and smoke it. ????

    Quite, but this whole sub-thread was about how 1 particular Expat living in Thailand 52 weeks of the year, spends the same as 13.3 x one 2 week visitor from India.

     

    if you want to discuss total spends of 1 Million Indians Vs 200,000 Expats then assuming the average Expat spends 65,000 pm (I have no idea what the number is so use Immigration baseline) then it becomes... 

    image.png.a0be247c1dbe39f6b03efe609663da44.png

    [NB 1) This also assumes that the average length of visit per Indian is 14 days, in reality I would expect most would visit for 7-10 days max & 2) There are a lot more than 200,000 Expats living in Thailand, but I've used your number]

     

    If this expands to 2 Million visitors per year then it's... 

    image.png.2c5d5e59dd73cfaf0a1334d7856c35f8.png

     

    Actually quite close, obviously if this goes to 14 Million then the scales swing completely in favour of the Indian tourists

    image.png.6d9efc92c966120f30b44be5042d0f22.png .

    Please note, I have nothing against Indian visitors, living in Singapore and working in Changi Business Park (We call it Changalore as it's probably 75%+ Indians working there) I have a lot of Indian friends who are a pleasure to spend time (especially meal times) with, this was purely a discussion around the logic/maths of the situation. 

     

    Oh & I didn't take your "Dying off & going up in Smoke" comment as a dig at my age, I'm "only" 53 so probably younger than most BMs on here and am not being defensive about being an Expat, I have no reason to be so as I'm not yet (& may never be) a fulltime Expat in Thailand, again just a discussion on the logic around the relative spends between 1 Expat & 1 Indian tourist.  

     

    I'll leave it at that now... 

     

     

     

     

     

    • Like 1
  8. 23 minutes ago, Petchou said:

    You need to attend calculation and logic 101 courses.   You really don't know what you are talking about.  A 10 year kid would do better than you.

    Why don't you explain the error in my logic... [In language a 10 year old kid would understand obviously]

     

    Edit:

    Answer this Maths quiz...

     

    An Indian spends 2 weeks per annum in Thailand & spends 5,800 per day while there, how much per annum do they spend in Thailand?  Let's call this X.

     

    A Caucasian spends 12 months in Thailand & spends 90,000 THB pm whilst there, how much per annum do they spend in Thailand? let's call this Y

     

    Divide Y by X, what do you get?

     

    [Spoiler Alert: It isn't 0.6]

     

    I'll make it a little easier for you to visualize... 

    image.png.7bf3d7400469b7676b076daa9e628b86.png

     

    Does that help with your homework?

     

  9. 1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

    It sounds like it was written prior to the new police order and also last Aoril's Cabinet Resoltion. 

     

    Also I may be wrong but I think a change to the amount tequired for a retirement extension would require either a change to the Immigration Law or a special Cabinet Resolution. Immigration can't just do it on their own.

     

    There just was a Cabinet Resolution passed regarding health insurance and retirees but limited to O-A visas.

    Hi Sheryl,

     

    The article references RTP Order #548/2562 dated September 27th 2019 so would seem to be fairly recent... 

    new-immigration-rules.jpg?fit=364%2C450&ssl=1

     

    To my mind it makes perfect sense to allow people to self-insure by keeping the equivalent money in the bank in lieu of the Insurance, something along the lines of:-

    1. Must keep 1,240,000 THB for 2 months prior to extending (800,000 + 400,000 to cover inpatients & 40,000 to cover outpatients)
    2. Must keep same 1,240,000 THB for 3 months after extending
    3. Must keep 840,000 THB for the remainder of the year (obviously this is the 400,000 you have to keep now + 400,000 Inpatients & 40,000 Outpatients)

    ... for those using the Income method, must keep 440,000 THB in an account all year round

     

    I personally wouldn't have such a low level of "Cover" but it would seem to meet the minimum set by RTP & for those guys who choose (or have to) Self Insure, it sets a baseline to ensure there's always something there if needed

    • Thanks 1
  10. Came across a link to this in one of my regular newsletters...  https://www.expatden.com/thailand/mandatory-health-insurance-rules-for-retirees/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=A+Guide+to+Thailand+s+Mandatory+Health+Insurance+Rules+for+Retirees&utm_campaign=Published%3A+A+Guide+to+Thailand+s+Mandatory+Health+Insurance+Rules+for+Retirees

     

    Mainly stuff we've read before (though the article seems a lot more certain that the new requirements will apply to existing Non-OA holders when they come to renew) but one part stood out which I haven't seen mentioned before... 

    What if I Can’t Buy Health Insurance?

    The Thai government is changing the financial requirements and will soon update retirement visa holders.

    But if you can’t buy health insurance for whatever reason, you should expect to have to show more money in your bank account when you apply for your new retirement visa.

    This is to make that you have enough money to pay for your medical bills if you don’t have health insurance.

    This rule is not set in place yet. Soon, we may see changes in retirement visa requirements. Visa requirements may be separated between those who have health insurance and those who don’t.

     

    This seems like a reasonable thing to do (& similar to the way Malaysia does it as part of MM2H), though the comment about "Changing the Financial Requirements" sounds a little ominous.  Has anybody come across any other articles about this?

     

     

    • Like 2
  11. 5 hours ago, Petchou said:

    One thing is sure you are not good at basic logic for comparison.

     

    5800 per day should be compared to your spending for one year by using same amount of time for Indians.

    An Indian would have spent 2,117,000 in one year

    You worth half of an Indian.   Nothing to be proud of.  Lol

    I think it's maybe you that lacks basic logical comparison skills as we're discussing comparative spend in Thailand per annum. 

     

    If @NCC1701A only spent the same amount of time in country as a single Indian, then yes he's worth about 0.6 in spend terms

     

    However, he spends that amount 52 weeks of the year so assuming the Indian being compared spends 2 weeks in Thailand then his total spend in Thailand is 13.3 x that of 1 x 2 week Indian vacationer.  Obviously if you want to compare him against 26 x 2 week visitors, then he's still "Worth" 13.3 x any single one or 0.6 of the 26 (Do the maths) 

     

    Is it really so difficult to comprehend? 

     

    Edit: Let me put it another way, a couple of times a year I do a Pattaya visit with 8-9 friends 2 of whom are (British) Indians (living in Singapore for many years) and our average spend across 4 days is around 80-100k (Let's say 20K per day, excluding flights & hotels which are paid upfront) & I can safely say that my Indian mates are more towards the right side of that scale (if not beyond) than us Caucasian Brits... But I can guarantee that if we were to move there full time mine & (a couple of the other guys) monthly budget would be 2-3 times theirs'.

     

    E.g One of my Caucasian mates has recently bought a Pool Villa at the Banyan Tree resort in Phuket, when in Pattaya he spends about 1/2 of what the 2 Indian guys spend when we're on a trip, hates buying ladies drinks but thinks nothing of cocktails & seafood buffet at the Hilton, difference being he would do that every week if he lived there

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
  12. 15 hours ago, CNXexpat said:

    World: Electing Trump is the stupidest thing we’ve ever seen.

    Britain: Hold my beer!

    Shouldn't that be the other way round seeing as the Brexit vote was in June 2016, & Trump was elected in November 2016.

     

    I said at the time that Trump was only elected because the US wanted the title of "Dumbest Nation on the Planet" back from us Brits after Brexit... 

     

    Bit like the Ryder cup really ???? 

     

  13. 14 hours ago, Jingthing said:

    Why did it happen? Did I want to lose it? No. If of course not. But keeping it current with the new real ID requirements at least in my state made that almost impossible. If I could have gotten past that with some games then I would have had to sign a document stating I'm a state resident but obviously I'm not. Isn't that a felony?

    Exactly the same thing with me , I lost my UK license 6 years ago when it expired, could have signed a form that says I was living at my parents house & provided proof like utility statements (I have the same name as my Father) & bank statements (I use my Parents house for my Bank correspondence) but am not comfortable with lying to a Government agency (especially as I take great pains to be non-UK Resident for Tax purposes) plus I feel like I shouldn't have to if I'm doing things right (And I didn't have to, I should have transferred my license over to a Singaporean one within 6 months of getting here).

     

     

    Other than that I've not burnt any bridges with the UK... 

    • Keep in touch with family & a small number of friends (I visit 2-3 times per year so not just "electronically")
    • Kept my house (though it's rented out, so I couldn't return to it without notice but I wouldn't do anyway as I'd rent somewhere smaller & closer to family)
    • Kept up with state pension contributions (AVCs - Additional Voluntary Contributions), though I think this year puts me on 36 years which is 1 more than I need for maximum state pension 
    • Kept my bank accounts & credit cards 

    Things I don't do because I don't live in the UK...

    • Renew my driving license (As above)
    • Add anything to my tax free saving schemes (ISAs)
    • Rely on NHS when I visit (I always take out an annual travel insurance policy, I travel so much that I do this anyway, the fact it covers me when I'm in the UK is a bonus)

    I could do all 3 of the above but again, I try to do things the right way if for no other reason than that way I know how things (are supposed to) work.

     

     

     

    • Like 2
  14. On 10/22/2019 at 11:18 AM, scubascuba3 said:
    On 10/22/2019 at 10:51 AM, Leaver said:
    This is one of the bigger online visa agents.
     
    They are still offering 3 month multiple entry visa on arrival for $43 to the agent, and $50 to immigration at the airport.
     
    I checked a couple of others and they are also still offering 3 month multiple entry visas. 
     
    https://www.myvietnamvisa.com/

    You can't just do it on arrival?

    You do sort of get it on arrival, but you need to arrange an "Invitation" (IIRC it is or at least was called a "Letter of Invitation") from an online "Agent" before you arrive.

     

    Process goes, you contact one of the online agencies, pay them the $43 and they send you the paperwork to visit Vietnam, then when you arrive in Vietnam, you pay $50 and get your 3 month Visa. 

     

    Not too long ago you had to do this to enter the country anyway, nowadays there is limited visa exempt (As I Brit I think it's 14 days but you're only allowed to do it once within a certain number of months, 3 or 4).


    My 1st trip to Vietnam (2008) never happened as me & my mate rocked up at Changi airport and with no Visa or Letter of Invitation were rejected at check-in, fortunately this was in the days where we were PPS (SIngapore AIrlines Privileged Flyer Scheme) members so a quick visit to SIA ticket desk & $10 had us on a flight to Phuket within the hour (love Changi airport). 

     

     

     

    • Like 1
  15. 2 hours ago, JamesBlond said:

    The truck came through Holyhead but the container arrived from Belgium at a port in Essex. The police put out wrong information. Great job, plod. And why would they arrest the driver of the truck on a murder charge? The people would have been dead long before they arrived in the UK.

     

    Has it been reported anywhere why they stopped the truck & found the bodies?

     

    I can see how they could find them on arrival if they were still alive, but it seems the container was offloaded & on it's way to its destination when it was stopped & the bodies discovered - doesn't say anywhere why the driver was stopped. 

     

    [I appreciate this isn't the key thing here, I'm just curious as to how they knew to stop the truck & whether this will help them to not only identify the poor souls involved, but help them to get closer to catching the criminals that are running these rings] 

     

    RIP

  16. 2 hours ago, Hugh Jarse said:

    UbonJoe and others in this thread have stated that those who already hold a Non I O visa do not need this cover when applying for a further annual extension of stay.  Who is right here or should one see the Officer in charge for confirmation? My current extension of stay based on Marriage expires  towards the end of November so wondering if I should apply for the extension before the 31st October?

    We'll only find out who's right once the dust has settled after 31st October, but I very much doubt you'll have any problem on a Non-O M (Non-O > 50 are much more likely to get caught up in it despite the new rules not applying to them/us).

     

    if you do then it's a rouge Immigration office/officer rather than the law, however there's no harm in getting your extension early (you'll be extended to the same date anyway) so why not get it done before 31st, then you can happily sit back for 13 months and watch the dust settle. 

     

    • Like 1
  17. 5 hours ago, Tagged said:

    Still interesting how people world wide joining a club, where there is obvious benefits for the right people, and not everyone. 

     

    God´s given promises to his people, do not account everyone in

    Am reminded of the Dave Allen Joke... 

     

    A man dies, and goes to heaven, when he gets there he’s overwhelmed as the place is vast, but then an angel appears, offering help. 

     

    “Are you lost?” asks the angel. “Let me show you round.”  So, they go for a walk.

    “This is the Sikh area,” the angel tells him. “And this is where the Hindus are. Over there are the Jews, and in that corner are the Anglicans.”

     

    Finally, he lowers his voice to a whisper, and says: “And now we’ll just tip-toe past this room, which is where the Catholics are.”

    The man is confused: why the need for hush?

     

     

    “Well, they think they’re the only ones in here,” says the angel.

     

    • Haha 2
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