rose33

No, foreigners are not treated equally or fairly in Thai courts. Every inch of Thailand belongs to those who are of Thai blood. Solved.

Looking at the DLT vehicle ownership transfer form right now. There is a blank space marked 'บาท' for entering the baht amount. No mention of market value equivalents... USD, cowrie shells, etc. It would be much appreciated if someone knowledgeable & constructive could chime in, please ????

Do you prefer the word 'recorded' to 'approved'? I'm talking about DLT updating the blue book ????.

R U high? You're saying I'm saying things I'm not saying :-D I didn't advise him to travel without passport, quite the contrary. HIstorically, there have been MANY incidents of passport theft in Thailand. So only hand it over when absolutely necessary. Have alternatives available to offer first. Often, it works. Walk outside in fresh air and big drink of water?

This is 50% golden advice for Thailand... and 50% a bit too naive for Thailand. Use discretion, depends on situation.

Passport when necessary at bank/hosp/immi... Of course. But I avoid handing it over whenever possible.

By law, a foreigner in Thailand must carry passport on their person at all times. In practice, when checking into hotels and am asked for "passport", I just hand over Thai driver licence and that has always been enuf.

I understand your point, but TIT ????. Logic and fairness play no predictable role here. Madness and one-sided rules prevail here, especially for anything to do with farang and foreign currency.... ????. The transfer would only be legit if approved by Thailand's DLT; selling a car is not like selling a pushbike or a fridge. Hence the question.

Is there any requirement in Thailand that car transfers be for Thai baht? (Expats selling between them may prefer to deal in a different currency.) Thanks.

Won't cause psychosis. Won't cause a sex crime rampage thru the streets. Won't cause pedophilia overnight. May contribute to a lot of divorces, failed relationships, and depression in the long term (for men and also for the women trying to have intimacy with them). Subtle downstream effects. Don't you think?

Hi, Thanks for your thoughtful reply. Scientific studies of the effects of pornography are rarely conducted. Why? Because early studies showed harm so clearly, that it became almost impossible for researchers to get ethics approval for more experiments. Men have been propagandised to believe it is healthy & liberating for them (much like cigarette smoking was encouraged for many decades). This is particularly so in the US, where people are taught that access to pornography should be defended as part of America's hard-won constitutional freedoms. But the First Amendment was never intended to protect speech that has no social merit, artistic quality, or political purpose. Most online pornography would not meet those standards, meaning that the Free Speech rationale for pornography has little merit or relevance today. I agree with you that digital delivery is a completely different ballgame to the old school 20thC methods like videos, DVDs, magazines, movie theatres. Those required a bit more determination and forethought by the user! 2000 was the year it really got started (high speed internet became widely available in the home). Interesting for us to look back now, 23 years down the track. I also agree with your very sensible observations about the effects on young men.

No no no, get it straight, Goat. It's not a self esteem issue in the sexpats. As they all point out, it is all the fault of western women, for being universally mean, fat and ugly. These guys are elite connoisseurs of women and will not tolerate the West's inferior product. That's why they are here, enjoying sexual caviar daily. Because of their class.

You hit the nail on the head ????. Western women don't hate men, we're simply living in a very artificial (and unsustainable) environment where life is more pleasant without one. Big government is the culprit. A woman's body & mind can adapt to celibacy very easily. For us, it's a serene way to live. Especially since around 2000, when high speed internet brought digital pornography into the home of every western couple. Pornography kills the relationship, and women know it. Governments turn a blind eye. Many women prefer to be single and self supporting than to try to relate to a partner with this digital junk in his head. Statistics on male pornography use in the west are astounding. Used in the last month, 86%. In the last week, 46%. In the last day, 25%. So, government response to pornography is an important element, in addition to what you mentioned... no-fault divorce, welfare state, and asset stripping in property settlements. Interestingly, educated young THAI girls notice the way my generation of western women live, and they want the same thing. "I'll never get married"... Several gorgeous Bangkok girls in their 20s have proudly told me this. Does that mean it's time for tax hikes in Thailand?

Citizens have voting rights and non-citizens do not. It is the same everywhere. This is not news.

I have a feeling you could be right about this. For example, my car is registered to my correct address in Chiang Mai. I bought it from a dealer here in CM, second hand, with BKK white plates. In the blue book, where it records my registration, DLT has allocated a Chiang Mai plate number. But I never received any physical plates from the dealer. Have never had a problem getting Type 1 insurance (probably because Type 1 is profitable for the insurers hahaha), and never any problems with annual renewal at DLT. One snafu -- tried to my buy my humble Por Ror Bor insurance from a Krungthai Vank branch and they wouldn't let me, because my plates don't match my blue book. On that basis I am guessing that, technically, our plates are meant to match the current province and plate number listed in the blue book. It's just that 99% of the time, no one cares. Are we on the same page Ralf001?

That's why I carefully specified 'majority'. Twice. Sorry to sound patronising.

Agree. How could the majority of them possibly be friendly? The majority are TAUGHT, FAMILY-PRESSURED and PEER-PRESSURED to hate us. Even their legal system treats us like dirt. It's institutionalised.

What!!?? WHY don't you enjoy living in a cynical, racist, shallow, overpriced, unequal, hot, humid, smelly, polluted country that does not value education? WHY YOU NO LOVE THAILAND?????

Thailand life has a way of destroying all the lies that contemporary western 'society' is built upon. By lies, i mean the foolish programming we carry inside our minds. In one year living in Thailand -- I've learned more about human nature, history & religion, propaganda, men & women, my home culture, myself, than I learned from decades of being based in the west. It has made me clear-sighted. As you've alluded, Thailand has its own brand of BS -- but that's not actually a criticism, because every culture does. In summary, Thailand is an Education. It forces me to see new angles on everything. Even all the farang guys in SE Asia who are horrendously rude to single, middle aged women like me, who are here for the their own reasons and are not bothering anyone else -- I'm no longer bothered by their rudeness... They are simply projecting their own stuff onto me -- it says more about them than me ♥️. I'll leave Thailand as soon as the negatives outweigh the positives. Hasn't happened yet ✨.

Pardon my ignorance about the cause of smoky season. What are you implying is the cause? - large numbers of people burning plastic rubbish in backyard? - or, a small number of selfish people creating the smoky season (presumably through agricultural burnoff). Which?

Or we could call it Stockholm Syndrome ;-)

???? There is also a category of farang we could rightly describe as Thai Apologists...

It was the nation-building movement to create cohesive, modern, constitutional Thailand. Centralisation of political power in Bangkok under the (then) new parliamentary system. A very interesting question is whether their particular law is still on the books. I haven't been able to find an answer to that, so far.

Thai Rak Thai goes deep... Here's the ratthaniyom Number 2 (attached) from 1939. It's worthwhile for every farang to know about this.

G'day, Australia halted incoming seamail for about 7 weeks during October to November 2022. However, Oz has now resumed accepting seamail so there shouldn't be a problem any more. I asked at 2 Thailand Post outlets today (including an outlet at an international airport) and they said it's not possible to get mail to Australia by boat right now -- they said airmail is the only option. Thailand Post website English version is not informative on this point. There's quite a difference in price between air and sea mail. Can anyone please shed light? Do we have any solutions or workarounds, eg, other companies. Has anyone asked the Australian embassy? Thank you.