Dirk Z

There is no consistency. I had not done a TM30 for quite a long time, in which I have been in and out of the country a few times. However, last time I had to do a 90 days (in person because of entering again) I was cautioned that I needed to do a TM30 again. My landlord is my wife, we live in the same condo for more than 10 years already. So I went to the website and could not get it done, without understanding why. My wife then called the immigration number and we got on the phone with an English speaking official. He was very patient and took a lot of time to help me. Thing was they renewed the website and the original profile (of my wife) needed to be updated with a few items that had been added but not been filled in (e.g. gender). After that all went well and I could confirm my status as approved. Pfffff........

So we have two criminals, self-declared world leaders, doing business over countries that don't belong to them? I have always seen the US as a reliable ally with checks and balances. In no time it has changed to a traitor. Disappointed hardly covers the feeling. It's disgust over this orange kcuf face with his smug grin, thinking he can "do it all".

Just saying what he said. If anyone has the real answer... please!

A senior executive from Mazars held a talk and in the Q&A it was explained that if you transfer money from abroad directly to your (Thai) wife's account it is not taxable up to 20M baht per year. Even my wife doesn't spend that. What happens if the wife then buys you are car or a beer is unclear so far. And also not very easy to quantify.

I totally disagree. I have been visiting China since 1998, going there every year as a foreign expert. This ended when Covid came. But we made another visit last year in September because I wanted to see my friends and colleagues and also see what China was like now. Nothing was more simple. We did not need a visa and even though the entry card required the name of the hotel nobody ever asked for it or seemed to care. We just simply walking and could do whatever we liked. This doesn’t mean the government doesn’t have an eye you. Of course there is registration at the hotel but also every train ticket is connected to your passport. So you are watched every second of the day, but it did not bother me, I have nothing to hide. And I realise that WeChat probably also shares every ice cream and cup of coffee you spend with the Party. We were in Shanghai for a few days and found it a very pleasant, friendly and clean city. When the light turns green at the intersection the hoard of motorbikes takes off without a sound. Most vehicles are electric, nothing like the noisy and smelly tuk-tuks and wannabe racers of Bangkok. Hotels are affordable, as are restaurants. Travelling is very easy. There are very many train connections, they are reliable, run on time and not really expensive. Obtaining a ticket can be online or at a ticket office, always have your passport present. For Internet we bought a SIM card at True, in a shop you can find in many of the malls. It worked very well with sufficient data. In most public places there is Wi-Fi. Use of a VPN maybe necessary, depending how you use Internet. I use GooseVPN, a reliable service with an excellent helpdesk. For payment everybody uses WeChat. You can either have a QR code scanned on your phone or scan a code yourself. Even the bicycle taxi showed me the QR, and although I have brought some cash money I didn’t use a single renminbi. You can connect your Wise card or any other card with WeChat. For me it worked well, my wife’s MasterCard was blocked after returning, for abuse detected by the issuer. So you do need to keep track of your spending carefully and set your limits right. China has a lot to offer in terms of nature and history. It is an interesting country and under the present circumstances we will certainly go back there.

Tests have shown that self-declared beer lovers are not able to identify their most favourite or most disliked beer in a blinded test of standard pilsener beers.

3 hours for around 200 km? Hardly call that Express....

Looks like it's not always that straightforward. I extended my stay and on the same day filed a 90-days (in person, having come from outside). I got the 90 days but with the remark that I needed to do a TM-30 again. No change of address, first time I got this remark.

Cabbages & Condoms is a very nice restaurant with nice outdoor seating, a genuine Thai menu and good service. I have been there many times, especially with visitors in view of their unique theme. Very much recommended. Not sure about typical Aussie bars, but Aussies seem to hang out everywhere. Very good jazz place (not really a bar) is the Living Room in Sheraton Sukhumvit. I beleive they also have jazz and jamming at Queeen B, soi 26.

We have our fiber internet with True and it includes a sim card for data, 10 GB per month. You can use it for phone calls but then need to pay extra. We pay THB 640,93 for the internet (500 Mbps up and down). I always use this card in my phone, since my phone card only has 1,5 GB.

And after nine months Mary gives birth to the baby. Congratulations Mary, what a lovely girl!

Our staff are very nice people. We give the three security staff and the two cleaners 500 baht each at New Year and Songkran. Their smiles are our priceless reward.

I tried twice and got rejected. Had to show up in person. High on my harassment top-ten.

Wonderful plan. Bangkok can use some more noise, pollution and safety issues.

Same here, but as far as I can tell I still get the discount. The price for my standard ride has not changed.