Paulaew

It's amazing that so many immigration offices want a hand-drawn map. Either they want to verify that we really know where our house is, or they can't read a Google map. Paul Laew

I've used ThaiVisa for 17 years to successfully navigate the maze of visa regulations. After some visa exempt entries, I entered on a 90 day tourist visa, then converted to a Non-O by reason of retirement, then to a marriage visa and back to a retirement visa. Through annual extensions and new passports and re-entries, I always found the information I needed in this forum and never needed to pay an agent to do it for me. Kudos to ubonjoe (and all that came before him) for all the helpful advice. Paul Laew

If it's retribution you're after, it's fair to say that a life sentence in a Thai prison would be worse than execution by a relatively humane method. The important thing is that this man be removed from society so that he can't kill anyone else. If you also want him to suffer, a Thai prison for the rest of his life should do the trick. Paul Laew

Yes, good tip. I always go after my birthday, sometimes even a few months later. I believe you can still renew up to 1 year after expiry. A lot of Thais drive around with expired licenses (or no license at all). Paul Laew

I did my 5 year license renewal this year. I used my yellow tabien baan for proof of address. If you don't have the yellow book or a pink ID card, you might need a letter from your embassy for proof of address (I'm not sure what the other options might be). My renewal was at age 68, too young for age-related questions to arise. Just had to watch an hour long safety video in Thai. Paul Laew

One can only imagine the video presentation the Pattaya tourism operators will give the Saudis. "Look, here is our Walking Street, very family friendly. See, no cars!". "And you can take a walk along the seaside on our Beach Rd in the evening. See how our Thai ladies there offer the friendly greetings to the foreigners!" Paul Laew

As an agricultural and manufacturing economy (with a seriously impaired tourist industry), Thailand is going to need workers in the coming years, a lot of them. Most will have to come from neighboring countries, but the government will have to realize they will need skilled workers from the West and India as well. Right now, Thailand just looks like a case of too soon old, too late smart. Paul Laew

Under the Thailand Condominium Act of 2008, the rules and regulations of the condominium are set by the owners at the Joint Owner General Meetings. If the owners at your condominium don't care enough to protect their investments by ensuring that the condominium is well run, it is time to move on. At my condominium in Bangkok, the rules and regulations are strict to the point of strangulation. But there are certainly no abandoned vehicles in the car park. Paul Laew

Thailand played off the British and the French in the 19th century and managed to retain their independence. It looks like they are trying to do the same with China and the USA. They let both sides offer their inducements and they take the ones that seem to work for Thailand. Whether Thailand can walk this tightrope successfully again remains to be seen. Thailand's biggest problem may be a looming demographic crunch that will prevent them from developing their economy. Paul Laew

A cashier's check from a bank, or an international money order from Thailand Post should work. Here's a link to the Thailand Post money order page. Hope this helps. Paul Laew

In life we should always grab the low hanging fruit. That's why many of us came to Thailand. I say go for it ... Paul Leaw

Yes, still married. I try to keep the family together for the sake of our wonderful son. I wouldn't want to say more. Everyone finds their own path through life. Let's just say it's possible to love someone and not want to be near them. Paul Laew

Neither of my parents had middle names. And my father always signed his name with his initial and his last name, a practice that I picked up and continued to this day. Sort of like R. Crumb (you probably remember Mr. Natural). But this is a digression from a digression... my apologies. Paul Laew

The old ACH method to transfer funds through Bangkok Bank NY is no longer available. I haven't found a financial institution that supports ACH in the IAT format. So SWIFT is the right method to transfer to Bangkok Bank (or any other Thai bank) from the USA. I made a transfer last week from Fidelity and it was easy and fast (and free, except for the 500 baht charge from Bangkok Bank). Hope this helps. Paul Laew

If the divorce is by mutual consent you can go to the Amphur where the marriage was registered and file for divorce. You need a divorce statement that sets out how the property will be divided. I haven't done this myself, but my wife has threatened to do it multiple times so I had to become acquainted with the process. Paul Laew

There are many foreigners who work in Thai workplaces without work permits. It's illegal and potentially dangerous, but most get away with it. But working at home doing programming or creating digital content for clients overseas is illegal but not dangerous. Who is to know what you are doing? If you receive payments abroad and transfer funds to Thailand periodically for your living expenses, your financial transactions are typical of any foreigner retired in Thailand. If I personally have participated in either of the cases mentioned above, I wouldn't admit it. Paul Laew

There are now some consumer test kits for checking THC levels in a cannabis sample. Here is a review of some of the products on the market: https://herbceo.com/cannabis-testing-solutions/ Paul Laew

Right, the Thai phrase is ying kretai, ยิง-กฺระ-ต่าย And no, it's no applicable to the topic. Now go shoot a rabbit ... Paul Laew

A pretty shocking event, especially for those of us who live in the quiet town of Chanthaburi. We are accustomed to the occasional murder of a gem dealer for an unpaid debt, but this crazy guy went out and settled all his old scores in one day. Then he went to a bar and had a couple of much needed drinks. I can only be thankful that it wasn't one of those American-style shooting sprees with random people as targets. Paul Laew

There are 3 UN treaties on the control of cannabis: the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. Countries that have legalized recreational use of cannabis are Canada, Georgia, Malta, Mexico, South Africa, and Uruguay, plus 18 states, 2 territories, and the District of Columbia in the United States and the Australian Capital Territory in Australia. These countries have defied the outdated prohibitions on cannabis usage, with no ill effects. Change on drug policies has to come from the bottom up, we cannot wait for the UN to change these treaties, it would take decades. There are precedents for Thailand to follow in the legalization of cannabis. Reference to the UN treaties is just an excuse for the powers-that-be to manage the sale and distribution of cannabis for their own benefit. Paul Laew

Quite correct, there is no concept of common law marriage in Thai law. A couple who live together over an extended period are not considered to be married under law, even if they were married in a Buddhist ceremony. So there is no right to marital property as in a legal marriage that is officially registered. There are hiso's who take advantage of this quirk of Thai law. Yingluck Shinawatra, for example, was not legally married to her "husband", Anusorn Amornchat, so he had no claim to any of the Shinawatra fortune in case of a separation. Paul Laew

We don't know if the current slump is a correction or the beginning of a bear market. But even if it's a bear market, it usually only lasts for a year or two. If we can get past this Covid and bring inflation down, we can return to some sort of normality. If you're taking 5% a year out of your retirement funds, this slump will just be a blip. I'm not worried. This year's expenses came out of my cash account, and I'm holding all my mutual funds and ETF's. I've been increasing my position in S&P 500 funds, but still holding funds that have been big winners like the Fidelity Contrafund. My family is funded for life, that's what matters. Paul Laew

If you're 69 and you're riding a motorcycle in Bangkok and you're still unscathed, then your reflexes are damn good. Or you're just very lucky. I'm 68 and I have no problems driving a car in Bangkok, especially if I know the route. But I do drive defensively. Most of the drivers are ok. It's the few crazies that I worry about. Paul Laew

One has to wonder if the powers-that-be have any idea of Thailand's reputation around the world. It can be embarrassing to inform your friends and family that you live in Thailand. About the only successful thing the Thai government has ever done to exert their "soft powers" is their support for the establishment of restaurants around the world serving ersatz Thai food. Paul Laew

I always acknowledge other farangs when walking in my neighborhood in upper Sukhumvit. They probably live here and its good to be friendly. But if I'm walking around Nana, I'm not going to acknowledge every tourist I see. But if they stop and ask me for directions, I'm always glad to help. Paul Laew