scorecard

Well we have an old aunty who speaks about 10 words of English and gets very angry when anybody tries to improve her pronunciation. E.g: She insists the word is sabaghetti, not spaghetti. And insists the correct word is com, not computer. She's tried to insist my Thai son (native speaker of Thai and English) correct the teachers at the schools his 3 kids attend, all of which have excellent well qualified and experienced native English teachers. The best are mid 20's, from the UK, relate well to the kids and keen to do good work.

My devices are set for UK English and that's just fine.

No true.

Where's the full list of 'scores'?

And many Thai and western folks don't understand hte brod accents of many UK people.

"until you root out the rotten education system in this country nothing will ever change." Totally agree. Band Aids a waste of time. IMHO the best approach/strategy would be to copy, in every aspect, the Singapore education system. It has excellent foundations and it works and it strongly incorporates student centered learning. My Thai son, for years my Thai son attended a 'bilingual' high school in Bkk (which promised many things: Qualified /experienced western teachers / student centered learning which continuously prompts the students to get involved. Plus Qualified /experienced Thai teachers who speak good English student centered learning which continuously prompts the students to get involved (but in reality never ever seen)). Then he transferred to a good high school in SIngapore. After 3 months he came back to Bkk (thanks budget airlines for cheap fares), got in the car at Swampy airport and started talking at length about human rights and the international court in the hague. And many other advanced subjects. A new son had arrived. All prompted by the Singapore education system. But of course changin Thailand to the S'pore Ed system would be a major undertaking and would take time. So let's get started. And there's proof, Vietnam has made major changes to it's education system, all copied from the S'pore Ed system. It works.

Retail business.... - I believe 3BB has a TV app similar to AIS Play. I wonder if one will be dropped as part of the amalgamation of the 2 companies, or will we 2 TV services to choose from?

Yes, tried that. Thanks

Yes replaced. A Also we have an LG 50inch same vintage which is working perfectly. I swapped the power cables, didn't make any difference to the problem. Thanks for your post.

Thanks, that's where we purchased the TV new. Will take the set there tomorrow.

Bought a slim LG 46inch in Chiang Mai about 5 years ago. Used only as for AV for AIS Play. Suddenly the set is without any prompt switching off and then on again. 'Off' could be 1 minute or 1 hr., it's intermittent, period of time working correctly could be most of a day or on and off several time in one hour. Would appreciate any suggestion for a repair shop which has provided good professional service and of course hopefully at a reasonable cost. Thanks.

Interesting, and i have no idea what he answer is, but i'll be keen to see a legitimate correct response. I can share a case that I'm aware about 3 years back. I was in a large famous supermarket in Chiang mai and a western man and his wife approached me (both mid 30's) and asked me to join them in the s'market coffee shop for coffee and cake. We sat down and they asked what visa I am on. I shared 'Permanent Residence, for 27 years'. They shared some of their circumstances and it was obvious they were independently wealthy, they had been in Chiang Mai for over 2 years. They shared that they were aiming to get PR and said their visa agent had told them: - Any foreigner can automatically get PR if you have been in Thailand (never gone out) for 10 years, and - When the 10 years in Thailand is achieved PR is issued to both husband and wife jointly, and - Visas issued in that 10 years must be done using one agent, cannot change the agent. They asked If I would confirm this is all true. I told them 'This is not the criteria / process as I know it, my knowledge nd experience is a minimum of 3 years of official continuous work permits and proof that personal Thai taxes have been assessed and paid for the same 3 year period. They insisted I must be wrong. I put them in touch with a lawyer friend who is well aware of this subject, and the lawyer showed them official documentation proving that '10 year in Thailand' is NOT the criteria. The lawyer took them to another agent who had some work to do to sort out the many visa errors that had come into the picture. As soon as possible they fled home to the US.

The Thai government (since decades ago) wants to have an address for every person in Thailand, Thais folks and foreigners. Thais have an address, recorded in their blue Tabien Baan book. Foreigners who are in Thailand on long-term visas (and some other circumstances) have a yellow Tabien Baan book. Ninety day reporting is part of the quest to have an address for everybody.

One good point, (just my opinion) re the Social Security Fund is that you can continue your Injury and Sickness benefits for life after retirement by transferring to SSF Voluntary Insurance system. Members pay 432Baht a month direct to the SSF (bank transfer the easiest). Not as good as commercial health insurance, which has age limits, and is very expensive. Last year 78 year old Dutch friend paid 13x,xxxBaht premium for lowest level of cover, for the final year the fund will accept him, cannot continue after this year.

Bali is not just a tourist spot. There's plenty of places outside the immediate Bali beaches / town, which are very local. Very friendly caring people, always happy to share great food. Enough English, great architecture, black and white checked symbolic flags everywhere, lots of artisan workshops. And then there's UBUD, city way less tourists, very Balinese style, attitudes and the location of the famous / wonderful Dirty Dick restaurant.

Been there done that! As suggested get rid of 99% by selling, dumping, give to charities. But be a little wary. I called 4 different religious charity organizations in Sydney and asked if they would take (at no cost to them) a whole apartment of furniture, appliances, blankets, etc., most fairly new and all in good condition. A summary of the responses: - "We charge AUD200 to visit and look at what you want to give away and we charge between AUD250 to AUD500 for transport plus fees for however many workers will be needed". Then I spoke to a nearby RSL Lifecare War Vets village. They asked for a few photos, I sent the photos. Their immediate response give us a date we will have a team of RSL Lifecare volunteers take care of the whole situation to fit out a nearby empty apartment for a severely disabled army nurse. They also did a good clean up. Cost me nothing.

It's compulsory for full-time Thai and foreign employees to join the Thai Social Security Fund. A post just above this one gives a lot more details.

I want to go but ....I have this image of tattooed Aussie bogans/chavs holding beer bottles " Yes quite a few Aussies like Bali for their hols. I've been there about 10 times, for company meetings and as a location for Indo. government seminars etc. I enjoyed every trip. I found the locals friendly and welcoming, and plenty of English. Give it a try! I guess some searching will open up details r retirement and some comments from westerners already retired there. God luck.

As always Google is your friend, I searched "furniture and storage companies in Thailand". Got some responses. Other search words will probably reveal even more providers. Good luck. But note, storage in secure vermin proof facilities (if that's what you want) is far from cheap long-term.

QUOTE: "I doubt anyone in my Thai family qualifies." By law, all full-time Thai and foreigner employees have to join the Thai Social Security Fund. The employer is responsible to start membership for new full-time employees and the employer is responsible to deduct member contributions (around 450+Baht) per month then employer must add the same amount and send all the member / employer contributions to the Thai Social Security Fund (SSF) by the middle of each month. I think I've read there are some other specific categories of people who can join but that needs to be checked, but I do know membership is not available to all. When SSF contributing foreigners leave Thailand they can get a refund of their member contributions. The Thai SSF is governed by an act of parliament the Social security Fund Act. An English language copy is attached to this message. Keep in mind there's a couple of other funds which provide sickness benefits to basically all Thais but not to foreigners (e.g. the 30Baht health fund). SOCIAL_SECURITY_ACT_2533_SSO_1...3.pdf

Re point 2 above. I read an article which said that if it's a state pension being transferred broad and in the home / originating country it's tax exempt then the tax exempt status would also be the classification of the Thai Revenue Dept. on those funds.

I asked already about: - a state pension payment transferred by the paying government direct to a thai bank account, - where there's a double tax agreement between the 2 governments, - and where the paying government classifies state pension payments as tax exempt. Answer was Thai Revenue Dept not focused on such payments, the answer was 'not interested is these payments / transfers into Thailand.

But is there a double tax agreement between the UK and Thailand?

Plus, in addition to the above, it's been said clearly that state pensions that are by law tax exempt in the originating country will be respected as tax exempt when these funds arrive in LOS. Plus, it's been said clearly that these new laws / adjusted laws, if ever implemented, are aimed at one cohort - Thai citizens who earn big money abroad and currently don't pay Thai tax on these big earnings.

So that seems to bring the situation where for Aussies who have NOT gone through the 'return for 2 years and initially re-established a residence in Australia' it seems they have not qualified for PORTABILITY. So how do these folks achieve PORTABILITY???