Snow Leopard

Just now, cracker1 said:

My wife works for an International Five Star hotel where the service charge is divided equally by all staff. Last month they received 19,700 TB each. I am aware of some locally owned 4 and 5 Star Hotels that take a large slice  themselves and share the balance with the staff. The "Thai Way" ?

That's good to hear. I am sure that in most cases 50% of the 10% charge is the best that can be expected to be received by the employee. 

I see the 10% service charge on a bill as an additional tax. Basically, robbery so the restaurant owner can make more money. I like what someone posted about a Thai guy asking for it to be removed. If I don't see the statement written down somewhere on the menu that all prices are subject to a 10% service charge I might try it. 

I also don't like to see the 7% VAT added on after either because in most other countries it is included in the printed price on the menu. I don't want to look at the price of something on a menu and then start adding 7% to see what the actual price is. I am the end user at the point of sale so I cannot claim the VAT back. 

3 hours ago, suzannegoh said:

There's a highend veg restaurant in a touristy part of Chiang Mai that is upfront about the money going to the boss. They put a sign at the tables saying that the Service Charge is not a tip and that if you want to tip the staff you must leave money in addition to the 10% SC and 7% VAT.

So its a 10% tax then. 

Aluminium or Fibreglass? If it was Aluminium and you could get a set of fabrication drawings I am sure you could get one built here. 

It might be a good idea to post the picture. Or at least give another clue. 

5 minutes ago, fruitman said:

Oh that thing which china already uses everywhere?

Still none the wiser?

Total Bribe. But used correctly and not just wasted it could be a good thing. If it's used for redevelopment. 

I want to comment here on what I think he is talking about but I am not sure what AI would do in regards to people entering and leaving the country. Is the meaning related to some kind of biometric thing? 

2 minutes ago, Vacuum said:

I'm here for the temples.

Me to

I have worked in South America and I liked it. Many moons ago though. I worked in Venezuela (Non-Starter at the moment), Colombia and Argentina. All are a bit violent and Mexico has its drug wars. 

I haven't been to Ecuador which I think is the main retirement area in South America. I have been to Belize as a tourist and I liked it. Again though I haven't stayed in Costa Rica which I think is the main retirement spot. Just went through the airport and onto a vessel. 

You could flip between the 2. 

1 hour ago, xylophone said:

Except that they can all play a part in the grand scheme of things........they are inextricably intertwined here.

 

Agree on some aspects of your post but it seems that we will have to agree to disagree in the main.

Fair enough. It's not worth arguing over is it.

1 hour ago, madmitch said:

Yes< accidents do occur but more often than not there's some culpability somewhere. The issue in Thailand is that few people are ever strong enough to accept responsibility for their actions.

Yes, I agree but even in well-developed countries with excellent safety standards, with people that are well-educated accidents like this (Human Error) occur quite often, culpability has more chance of being applied in these countries than in Thailand. 

This is what I meant originally. 

Culpability = A culture of Ambulance chasing lawyers invented in the USA that tries to get a percentage of a fee that more often than not an insurance company is going to pay. Because it has been so successful now governments use this as well to extort money from private companies. It simply does not mean that the vessel owner is at fault because the engineer involved installed a deal wrong or something mechanical broke. 

Safety Culture = Attitudes change and improve due to a major accident, incidents or a major disaster. Usually involves a mass loss of life. Pheonix is not in this category. So nothing will change at all. It's that simple. 

Safety Standards = This is what Thailand needs to do. This is done by education, training in safety culture and then an improvement in overall safety. Then enforceable inspections come into play. If everyone complies and does this then ticket prices will increase but fairly because no one has an edge. 

Talking about Culpability where bribery, corruption and a complete lack of transparency are in play means nothing. 

8 minutes ago, xylophone said:

Well that's how things work.............

 

If you are the owner of a company and responsible for its running and the welfare of its employees and customers, then you are also responsible and accountable for the maintenance of the "vehicles" and the training of the staff, as well as the safety procedures and so on.

 

The old saying, "the buck stops here", was not something just dreamt up out of nowhere, as it does apply to many things in life.

 

The problem here is that such scant regard is given to things that really do concern safety, in return for the baht and backhander and because it's a way of life (or death) these things are going to continue to happen.

 

And it pays to remember where you are!!

Sorry but it's not how things work. You strive to make everything as safe as possible. But humans are humans. Accidents happen. Culpability is a stupid lawyer thing because someone must be to blame. No matter what. Not saying it is the actual cause in this instance but mechanical things do fail sometimes, They always have done and always will do. There are crossover points in responsibility between the person doing repairs and the owner. 

You missed my point. The whole safety culture is wrong in Thailand in many industries, services and walks of life. Raise the bar. No one is interested in doing this because of the points you stated. Baht and Backhanders. 

Putting a few people in jail won't make any difference at all. 

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I'm sure after 45 leaves office the press will have lots of material covering his trials and imprisonment, or perhaps his escape to Moscow. 

Waiting for the movie. 

Not again. Nooooo. America needs Trump. ???? What would all the journalists and CNN have to report on if Trump left office? Oh, maybe some actual news?

3 minutes ago, seasia said:

Hi

 

I agree with both Crossy and Britman on the banking aspect so will just comment on a suggestion re investments.

 

H -L the company you are currently with do have a good reputation within the industry, hopefully something can be sorted out with them.

 

If not take a look at Interactive Brokers, US company but have websites specific to many different countries, Including UK  & HK.

Very low charges, biggest US on line broker. Good reputation.

My brother has used them for many years, opening a US based account, although he is British but an expat in Europe.

 

Take a look, contact then to see if they can be of use to you. 

 

https://www.interactivebrokers.co.uk/en/home.php#

 

 

 

Another one is Saxo bank. Danish but again operating in many different countries, including Singapore.

Good reputation.

 

https://www.home.saxo/

 

 

Both the above do a lot of business with very active traders but also have options for investors.

 

GL

I like Saxo Bank.

I stated in a post on this thread minutes ago that I don't use the Offshore investment funds created by HSBC and under the HSBC Expat banner. That's because I use Saxo Bank instead. I have been using them for the past 6 months and I have no issues except for some of their fees. You can pretty much access anything you want anywhere in the world.   

22 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Correct answers above but you may be able to legally retire in nearby Cambodia until you're 50, then come on over (if you still want to). 

My current Cambodia retirement visa information is that if you're 55 and up you don't need to prove your finances, but if you're under 55 you will be required to show your finances meaning if you have solid proof of them, there is a good chance you get it.

Must be renewed annually. No bank deposits or imports requirement.

Cheers. 

Good post. 

17 minutes ago, White Christmas13 said:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/06/garden-becomes-top-rated-london-restaurant-tripadvisor-site/

Unbelievable. If you just want reasonably priced decent Non-Thai food Pattaya has loads of places. The real high end leaves a little to be desired and Bangkok is the better option here if that is what you are looking for. 

I enjoy the seafood in Pattaya. Always good. Mostly Thai. 

Right now you need a cure quickly so the professional route is the way to go. After the infestation problem is resolved then you need to look at future prevention. I found loads of info on YouTube. Some of it is quite simple. 

22 hours ago, White Christmas13 said:

I don't like trip advisor it's not accurate and manipulated 

Correct

I always find it amazing in modern society how someone always has to be blamed. It is always someone's fault. Someone is always culpable. No matter where you are. 

If you look at this situation. If this company had a better maintenance program, Better trained personnel, Rigorous safety procedures and standards what would happen to the price of a ticket? It would go up. So then the Chinese tourists are free to go and sail on a cheaper less maintained vessel of a competitor. 

Don't pick on one company or a few individuals. The whole industry needs to be lifted up. The military government is really good about passing stupid laws like banning smoking in an airport where there are already smoking rooms. They are totally incapable of enacting laws that relate to safety at sea and other serious issues affecting Thailand. Jesus, they have a Navy and Coast Guard for god sake. They are about to operate a fleet of military submarines. Get a grip and take responsibility that your existing systems don't work, Are outdated, Open to corruption and fix it. Where is Big Joke when you need him?