CM Dad

4 hours ago, HaoleBoy said:

The practicalities of sitting in a bar were paramount - people would stay in close proximity for a long time and forget themselves and forget the rules. 

 

But there are medical reasons ...

 

If this is all true, then why are bars allowed to open in Phuket?  One of the deputy ministers of health was down in Phuket observing the bars along Bangla Rd to see how / if these establishments were obeying the social distancing and such.

If you say the name of that island using the correct English pronunciation for the letters "ph", you will understand why.

I visited Phuket once thirty years ago.  Beautiful scenery and nice beaches, but I have never had a desire to return since.

I have been here for more than thirty years.  Most of those years I worked and paid taxes.  When working, my employer handled the paperwork.  When I retired, I switched to a spousal visa and did all of the paperwork myself.  Every year there was always some new requirement.  As a result, the paperwork packet just kept growing larger and larger.  I few years ago I just got fed up with dealing with it so turned everything over to a Thai friend who is also an agent.  Now I only go to immigration once a year for about ten to twenty minutes.  My friend, the agent, charges me less than 10,000 baht per year - well worth the cost to avoid the hassles.  I do speak Thai quite well and my wife never has had to speak for me.  I have always done all the talking, and still do whenever we deal with banks or the government.  I have more than the required amount of money in the bank as well.  I just got fed up with having to jump through more and more hoops.  I am now very happy to pay someone else to take care of things for me.  

The smartest thing for you to do would just be to hire a car with a driver.  Why set yourself up to be shaken down by renting a car with red plates?

I have lived here for more than thirty years and have had no desire to shop at a Makro for at least twenty-five.  Shop somewhere else.

Thailand encourages and welcomes people over the age of fifty to retire here as long as they die before age seventy.  If the country is going to require health insurance for older expats, especially those with Thai families, then insurance needs to be offered at a reasonable price.  Retirees and those with Thai spouses and children are not the ones who leave the country with unpaid hospital bills.  Those who do that are tourists.

Was it raining?

Your complaint should be addressed to your employer, not the bank.  I do suggest that you contact your employer to make sure there will not be a problem when your Thai taxes are filed next March.

One more reason why I stopped dealing with immigration myself and doing all my own paperwork when they stopped accepting income confirmations from some countries.  All I do now is sign papers, go to immigration once a year for about ten minutes where I smile and have my picture taken.  After being here and at the same address for thirty years, I am sure that they have a large album filled with my photos and a file cabinet filled with my paperwork.  For a very small and quite reasonable fee, I no longer have to deal with any of the frustrations so often posted here.

Broccoli  does not like rain.  It is always much more expensive and difficult to find during the rainy season.  Smart farmers here do not even plant it during this time of year.  Relax, the price will come down soon as the weather gets drier..

I hope it opens soon for vaccinated students, teachers, and staff.

I had my first Pfizer shot in late August and the second in early September.  I had no problems after either one.  In fact, all I felt was extreme relief, gratitude, and peace of mind.  My sixteen-year old son got his first Pfizer shot this past Tuesday.  His reaction was the same as mine.  We both look forward to his second shot in mid-November.  Hopefully, he will be able to study on-site at his school for the second semester.  We are both tired of what we consider to be less than effective on-line classes.  By the way, I am a retired teacher who believes that the social inter-action between students and between students and teachers is an important part of education.

10 hours ago, nightfox said:

Are non-immigrant (O-A) visas based on retirement or marriage?

Retirement, which is why I keep my Non-O marriage visa even though many of my married foreign friends think having a retirement visa is easier than a marriage one.

Yes - birthdays, which I now prefer to ignore, Christmas, which I no longer celebrate, and school holidays, which I no longer have.  Now, at my advanced age, I am simply grateful for each new day.

For the most part, yes, I do go to a branch of my bank or use the ATM's just outside the branches.  I very, very rarely use my debit/credit card to pay for anything - certainly not online or by using my phone.

I am still happier to be here than in my country of birth.  However, I used to be much happier, and certainly more content, when things here were simpler and the government didn't make me feel so unwelcome with all of their ever-changing rules, edicts, and requirements.

There is no need for sex toys in a country known world-wide for its sex industry.  That said, the markets are full of a variety of fruits and vegetables in a multitude of sizes which can be purchased both legally and inexpensively.

15 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

So the way I see it is that the deceased Thai guy was in love with the Swiss guy's wife, and she managed to convince him to sell the land so that she could move away from the husband with this guy. 

 

The land sale shouldn't be too hard to confirm, e.g. when it was sold, the amount paid for and who he sold it to, i.e. if there was an actual sale of land.

 

Once the above can be established, then they can look at any deposits/withdrawals that put in/taken out of his bank account, as well as any transfer/s that he might have made to the Swiss guy's wife.

 

She dumps the deceased guy after cleaning him up of his money, then makes up many excuses, e.g. my husband will kill me, I changed my mind, etc, etc. The deceased gets both pi$$ed and pi$$ed off and comes up with of a brain storm idea amongst his moment of rage and then decides to go around with his gun demanding his money back, he doesn't care if he spills the beans to the farang but the only English he knows is "Money Money" and the Swiss guy thinks he is trying to robe him.

 

At the end the farang will have to end up paying compensation to the deceased's family and then let go. The wife will be charged with nothing and of course another deceased adds to the list of deceased over the feeling of love.

 

Lesson to be learned here for all you farangs who allow your wives out drinking with "friends", expect more than just drinks with them, I think it's called friends with benefits and I have seen it on a few occasions, and no, I won't tell the guys, because it ain't my business and I know exactly what these clowns will say in defence of their pretties, so it ain't worth it.

 

I think if the cops do their job properly, they will end up seeing the wife has most of the 300k baht, the Swiss guy is innocent of murder or manslaughter and they can't touch the wife, because as far as anyone is concerned the deceased gifted it to her, case closed. 

 

 

 

It would have to be a very, very small piece of land if he only got 300,000 baht for it.....oh wait, I forgot about the new Harley that has gone missing as well.

What I want to know is what happened to the brand new Harley motorcycle that the dead man rode to the house with his pockets stuffed with cash? 

2 hours ago, EricTh said:

I see more Americans than British or Russians in Thailand, why aren't they in the top 5?

Most Americans don't want to live in a condo.  We much prefer homes with no shared walls and with a garden.

20 hours ago, pgrahmm said:

Our 14 year old daughter seems to screw around playing on the phone 50%+ of the time - other times drawing.....If she hears us moving the hands move fast and the phone page is at a neutral home screen.....

She first started and was at the desk working 830-1600....Then it was 1500 - then 1400 - then 1300 = the last 3 days 1100-1200....

My wife double checks on the Line app following up....

Three days this week our daughter said she was done....AND all 3 days my wife found an afternoon test our daughter "didn't" know about .....She would have missed the testing if not checked on & it's a crappy attitude we get back when we catch her.....

The class start times seem to fall within operational "Thai time" cultural time like windows instead of a regimented, solid start/end time.....I look over & she's bored just sitting and waiting......

It makes continuity and parental follow up difficult....

 

So - hell yes it raises stress = MINE for one.....My wife for two....Our daughter seems ambivalent....One of my wife's degrees is in education.... She's tried to help and monitor the program, but is frustrated at the inability to completely follow up..... It's turned out to be policing versus education and everything seems spotty and sporadic....

 

Our daughter is bilingual + taking Japanese and has the benefit of smart phones, laptops, a printer, and 100% full access wifi.....

I can only imagine what some students & families are going through that don't have these tools to use....It has to be frustrating for any students/parents that really care.... Especially the language courses, would be damn near impossible....

 

Part of this is understandable as educators were caught off guard and ill prepared for 100% online curriculum.....

 

I be glad and relieved when she's back and attending at the school itself....

I am in Chiang Mai as well.  I will be happy when my son, 16, returns to on-site learning.  I think there are too many distractions at home.  I also think that interactions with his classmates is important.