xeniv23

I lived in Nonthaburi for a year then almost three years on the south of Phuket near Chalong Bay. The temps stated in the above article are not even close. Thailand has three seasons: Warm and pretty nice. Dry and very hot. 37+ most days and humid as hell. Dry meaning only that it is not pouring rain. Hot and very wet. I have been kayaking on the khlongs and on the Chao Praya River in Bangkok and the heat index has been in excess of 140 F. If, like most people of retirement age, you have had some healthcare adventures the insurance companies will know all about it already. You must fill out the forms honestly and include everything. Don't be tempted not to because you are now in Thailand. You have a tail. It follows you everywhere. What does this mean? Your healthcare policy will have so many exclusions that you are effectively uncovered for anything that is likely to develop. To keep the policy affordable your deductible will be large, very large. As you age out of the system your premiums will climb, not quite exponentially, but it can seem so. You will be paying for all the routine stuff anyway from your pocket. I was paying just under 2,600 usd a year. I switched from an O-A retirement visa to an O visa which did not require the health insurance policy. Perhaps that will change in the future. In any event, I felt that all the health insurance premium money I gave out was a complete waste. You will have to decide that for yourself but the above rosy picture is painted by someone trying to sell you health insurance. A bit like being in AARP: An insurance company masquerading as an advocacy group for Seniors.

I did my open water dive training and certification course while I still lived in Oregon. The first part of the course was done in the local municipal swimming pool at night after it closed. I remember vividly sitting with 8 or so other students and two instructors on the bottom in the deep end. The bottom six inches of the pool were covered with this gelatinous mixture of snot, spit, piss and smears of brown material. That was in 1986. I have never been in another pool.

Most, not all, problems with heavy exhaust are usually problems with unregulated air either on the combustion/turbo side (old cracked hoses to/from the turbo) or an air leak on the exhaust side. A new mass airflow switch or air cleaner can help a lot. When I lived in Phuket my diesel suv was older than seven years so I had to do the annual check to renew the registration. Without fail when the exhaust was checked the probe was lined up about a meter to one side so as to be completely clear of the exhaust stream. The underlying problem is that those Thai people who need vehicles as part of their work don't have the extra cash to stay on top of such things. The government frequently announces crackdowns but I never saw anything concrete happening.

Hand shoots into the air....."I know this one! I know this one!" The purpose of all life is to hydrogenate carbon dioxide.

I spent some time in Chiang Rai and liked it. Hiked to some waterfalls in the mountains. Saw the white temple, ate on the barge. It was the middle of Covid and I drove up from Nonthaburi during one of the windows when you could travel. Only complaint that I had was the air pollution. Passing through Chiang Mai you sort of had the sense that there might be a mountain to the west but you could not see it. No tourists. It was nice.

1953 Chevrolet Coupe. 35 dollars in 1967. Flathead 6 with 3 on the column. Ran so quiet and smooth that, in the beginning, I would grind the starter at stop signs not realizing that it was indeed running. Capacious backseat (fun zone). Best car I ever owned.

Boone's Farm Apple.....lol

Avoid Chevys like the plague.

English is hard. There was no viewing audience in the studio where the debate took place. There were millions of people viewing via tv etc. No live audience present.

Picasso said it best "The best aphrodisiac is a new woman." If you know, you know.

McBoeing: When the job absolutely has to be done wrong.

In the 70s and 80s I ran a business on the road from phone booths and motel phones. Is it easier now? Absolutely but it's obvious that it all got done before the advent of the internet and cell phones. I still remember my first cell phone: Had a regular handset and a keypad. Weighed about 5 lbs. Just about zero coverage. Had to use phone booths most of the time. The range on that thing was about as far as I could throw it.

RFK jr trying to plant a brain worm in Convicted Felon Trump.

RFK jr. That guy is seriously out of plumb. Maybe Convicted Felon Trump will replace jd vance with RFK jr. The potential excitement is palpable.

Imagine what it must be like for them. Ease up a bit.

Last two years in Phuket was a very shortened or no cool season at all.

Ukraine will leave that bridge up so that as the Occupanti begin to panic there will be a route open for all the Orcs who moved to Crimea after the original invasion in 2014 and took over the housing of Ukrainian and Tatar residents to flee. That will simplify the retaking of Crimea and remove a lot of useless mouths that will have to be fed and cared for. Better to leave a route open so that the Russians may remove themselves.

Ron Clarke and Peter Snell.

Better (less anxiety ridden) living through modern chemistry.

Elena Bobbit started something.......

Travel back in time to the moment just before you pressed the button.....absent that ability then you might well be hosed.

But I did and they have the 90 day reports and TM30s on file. So.....

I can easily imagine a Thai universe in which I am sitting across from the Thai IO at my annual extension interview and the IO says "Where are your tax documents proving that you have filed and paid taxes in Thailand on your worldwide income?" Game over at that point. In addition you just never know how the IO you are sitting in front of will interpret the law. Arbitrary and capricious are a couple of words that come to mind.

Been living here for about four years. No trouble with 90 day reports. Visa extensions are another matter. Am I wrong when I hear that IOs must serve a four year apprenticeship as Phuket airport minivan drivers in order to be inculcated with the proper attitude toward foreigners and customer service? I'm not saying that but I hear other people saying that. In any case next week I'm moving to a different continent. Looked at another way: When you are given a visa to live here you are actually being hired and your job is to spend money. I played by the rules and did the best job I could. I'm just doing what one should do when confronted by a difficult, even intractable, boss. I quit.

That's just it in a nutshell. You could be doing your annual extension exercise and suddenly the IO says what is your Thai TIN? The point being that you could be ambushed with this. It may not even be right. What is right seems, in my opinion, not that important when they are have got you at their desk. The IOs at Phuket seem to have a particular talent for focusing on some small detail near the end of the process and start yelling at you because you don't know some esoteric detail that's in Thai to begin with. Chain jerking the Falang seems a popular sport. The tax thing just widens the scope and pressure immensely.