Marvest

Condo

I think the OP has some good points. Like a poster above, I'm also relatively new to this forum. I was very happy and excited to find it in the first place. I thought it would be a good resource for living in Thailand as an expat. And I have to thank UbonJoe and the other visa experts for constantly contributing their expertise. But after that, it falls off fast. Nearly every topic is instantly criticized and bashed. The personal attacks and nastiness are unappealing. And most of the bashers seem uninformed and have little relevant expertise or intellect. Many come across as bitter or holding a grudge. It's a shame because I feel like this forum could be so much more better and so much more informative. I guess it will be what it will be. Personally, I'd enjoy it more if it were a more respectful and informative.

This is not a Thai supermarket problem. It's not a Thai problem. We are experiencing global inflation. Thailand is still relatively less expensive than the high prices you moved from in your country with a highly developed economy. COVID disrupted supply chains and exposed concerns and vulnerabilities. Inflation is the result of a less reliable global supply chain. It will take time for the volume and efficiency to return. At the same time, countries are trying to reduce their dependence on certain foreign goods. The future supply chain will be different than the past. This contributes to new inefficiencies that will have upward price pressure to be ironed out over time. The Ukraine situation has caused oil to jump which temporarily adds to global inflation. If you moved here to avoid higher prices in your home country, you have two things working against you; 1. global inflation, 2. Thailand's is becoming a late stage industrialized nation that will, along with many good things, increase the cost of living. The solution? Move to an economic area that is further behind in it's development -- like many of you did when you moved to Thailand years ago. But if you believe inflation is truly encroaching on your standard of living there is another solution: borrow money at low fixed interest rates and buy depressed real assets. Interest rates are low and the Bank of Thailand just announced they will keep rates low for several months. I know the mood of this forum is that property is a bad endeavor because it's depressed, rent is cheap, tourism is dead, etc. What is the saying? "Buy low, sell high." Guess what?, real property prices are low, inflation is high, and money is cheap.

Suvarnabhumi departure hall on February 6th, 2022 at 1:17 p.m. Most of the restaurants were closed.

When I entered under the first T&G program last December my hotel told me to replace my Morchana profile picture with a picture of the ATK result beside my passport title page. That's what I did. I have extended my visa twice since without problems. No one has come to get me, yet.

The RRC bus from Suvarnabhumi airport (BKK) to Hua Hin It's a 23-seat coach class bus with toilet on board The cost is 294 baht per seat and takes three to four hours Go to door #8 on the lower level of the airport to purchase a ticket It looks like the bus departs three times per day now: - 10:00, 13:30, 17:00 Water is provided but no alcohol allowed The bus arrives at the RRC bus station near Hau Hin airport from there, they offer a mini bus to local hotels for an additional 100 baht they also offer a mini bus to the Hua Hin clock tower in center Hua Hin at no charge To ensure a seat, purchase the ticket in advance online: https://airporthuahinbus.com/airport-to-huahin

RRC bus from Suvarnabhumi airport (BKK) to Hua Hin It's a 23-seat coach class bus with toilet on board The trip takes three to four hours and cost is 294 baht per seat Go to door #8 on the lower level of the airport to purchase a ticket It looks like the bus departs three times per day now: 10:00, 13:30, 17:00 Water is provided but no alcohol allowed The bus arrives at the RRC bus station near Hau Hin airport From there, they offer a mini bus to local hotels for an additional 100 baht They also offer a mini bus to the Hua Hin clock tower in the town center at no charge To ensure a seat, purchase the ticket in advance online: https://airporthuahinbus.com/airport-to-huahin

Update 26 February 2022 San Paulo Hospital has reduced their rate to 3200 baht. The process remains the same including an emailed test result. They have added a medical certificate option for an additional 300 baht, but not needed for travel. Maven Stylish Hotel also offers a test for guests with result the next morning at 10:00 a.m. (via San Paulo). This might be useful for someone who needs an evening test with result the next morning. The package price is: One guest, one night, one PCR test: 5200 baht Two guests, one room, one night, two PCR tests: 8400 baht

Here's a reference: https://thaiest.com/blog/test-and-go-hotels-hua-hin

Thailand's Public debt ratio is about average as compared with the rest of the world and less than most industrialized nations. As a developing industrialized nation, increasing public spending from this level will be beneficial. Now is a good time given the stage of economic development, interest rates environment, and competitive landscape.

I'm surprised this news is viewed by this forum as mostly negative. Damned if they do, damned if they don't.

I've had a Forex account for years, but rarely take a position. I opened a Forex account because I wanted to hedge my exposure to currency exchange risk on an investment and my stockbroker was unable to purchase currency futures for me. Expatriates are naturally currency speculators. For smaller amounts, I use Wise. I find Wise is very convenient to hedge expenses for living and traveling abroad. I don't know how to determine whether a currency pair will move, so I do not use Forex to trade for gain.

Then there's this... https://abcnews.go.com/Health/dying-covid-unvaccinated/story?id=82834971

Grab a DD

Good for them! And good for Thailand. Looks like it is possible to attract expatriates despite Thailand Pass. Maybe it's the climate and low cost of living.

Thailand Pass is similar (but not quite as strict) as Korea and Japan's entry policy. According to this thread, Cambodia or The Philippines might be good options. Does anyone know what happens if you test positive on arrival at Cambodia or The Philippines?

By "relative safety," do mean that you feel U.K. is safer than Thailand as far as COVID is concerned?

Maybe it's been said above - I did not read all nine pages of comments... Nothing will really change. The Thais will continue to call it Krung Thep and foreigners will continue to call it Bangkok. The move to 'officially' change the name only validates common practice and will lend certainty in legal documents. I view it mainly as a political move to unite nationally, nationalism if you will. Many world wide local language names that don't 'match' with foreign names or English phonetic interpretations. There are numerous examples: Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City, Pekin/Beijing, Japan/Nihon, Berma/Myanmar, Bombay/Mumbai, Rome/Roma, Germany/Dueche, Torino/Turin - just to name a few. It will not affect the vast majority of Foreigners. Foreigners may, and will, continue to use 'Bangkok' as if the official name change did not happen. The names of hotels, lyrics of songs, maps, and airport codes, will remain the same. Chinese will continue to use 曼谷 (màngǔ), and Japanese will continue to use バンコク (bankoku), and so on.

I don't know. I believe owning Thai property will outpace renting in the years to come. But I don't know if Bitcoin will do better. I suspect maybe so. I'm long in Bitcoin too. Diversify!

Omicron 'infections' are in the rear view mirror, long COVID is on-going.

I'm bullish! I see a lot of pessimism. That's the best time to buy, when there is blood in the streets. Those that say it is a bad time to buy because rents are low are mistaken. This is the best time to buy. Say you will save a lot on a low long-term lease? Compare that to lost appreciation. 'Skyrocketing' construction costs? That too will only boost appreciation. I like quality income properties in areas depressed by tourism. Don't worry about income today, expect double to triple the value in five to ten years' time. The risk is capital gains tax, exchange rate (if you hope to convert), and the possibility of new property taxes.

People or a person? While this could be true, I doubt if very many people tested positive on the 11th day of quarantine. Before virologists were able to determine incubation periods of Coronavirus, 14 days was a common quarantine period because most viruses incubate (earliest possible exposure to onset of symptoms) within that period. Delta's average incubation period was about four days. Omicron is faster, about 73 hours. I agree that it is 'possible' (while unlikely) to test positive on the 14th day after exposure. The fifth day will reasonably find the vast majority of cases.

Hypothetically speaking, what would that look like if we choose the '20% profit' option?

Positively a great topic for this forum. ...I hope that wasn't too negative. ????

I know... Thailand should create an air travel bubble with every country!