hagler

"profession" ??????

Since when was pushing a trolley and serving drinks deemed to be a profession. Must have missed that course when I was at Uni.

Gawd almighty ! If someone posted a topic here that said eveyone was going to get 10 million dollars and never have to work again there would STILL be some people who would have a whinge. Get a life !

I travel on internationals planes a fair amount ( at least 20 times a year), only ever have carry on luggage and head to all kinds of countries, both first world and third world. If the rules of flying as a passenger on a commercial flight were to change tommorow so that you had to wear a pink tu-tu, sing "silent night " at the top of your voice on the way to the airport and drink only water for a week prior to flying and 2 weeks after I would GLADLY do it and anything else imposed upon me. Why?

Cause every time I am heading to the airport I say a quiet and heartfelt thankyou that I am living in a time in history where airtravel is cheap enough and convient enough so that I can step on a plane and a few hours later step off it in another country. To all those whinging, whining, complaining malingerers that seem to be starting to infest this forum I say before you start your usual rantings next time just spare a thought for those people who, even as recently as 50 years ago, would not have had the chance to even think about getting on a plane and jetting off to foreign climes.

Modern airtravel has allowed almost anyone to see any part of the world with ease and comfort. Unfortunately this also means that people who should never be allowed to leave home are doing so. Keep your petty predujices and complaints in the cupboard at home and if you cant then you stay there too.

For those of you who are scrabbling around trying to find ways to stay in LOS long term on 30 day TOURIST visas I say either legitimise your life in LOS or bugger off somewhere else and bring down the reputation of your fellow countrymen there. You are no better than any other visa jumper in any of your home countries.

It's a fair point Hagler - but you must have some sympathy for those folk who are married with kids but still slip just under all the requirements for a visa. (age, income etc)

As things currently stand (though surely not for much longer) you can still get a 2 month tourist visa from Penang which you can extend in country for a further month. Giving you 3 x 30 visa exemption plus 3 x 30 days tourist visa. This loophole surely will be closed though. ?

I hear why you are saying Markg and probably would have had some sympathy for them 20 years or so ago when I was an idealistic university student. But you always reap what you sow and I am sick and tried of hearing people whinge and complain and try and find someone else to blame for their predicaments which are always as a consequence of their own actions or decisions. Many of the farangs ( and not all by any means) I come across in LOS really are less than desirable characters whose actions and demeanours only cause grief and problems to other farangs who are operating legitimate businesses and lifestyles in LOS. If people cant afford to live in LOS, or any other country that is foreign to you legitimately, then dont try and live there. Either make a go of things in your original country or if you cant then, through hard work, determination and planning, obtain the necessaryand correct means to move to the your new country and make a new life there while contributing positively to the community and nation.

It is really simple.

You can come and go as many times as you want within a 6 month period for a grand total of 90 days staying within the kingdom borders. So 3 stays of 90 days or 10 stays of 9 days or whatever combination you like to have and you will comply: 91 days and above in any 6 month period and you dont and you are out. The 180 days ( 6 months) starts from the first time you enter the kingdom and is "reset" when you leave for the compulsory "exclusion" period. It cant be any simpler can it?

For those of you who are scrabbling around trying to find ways to stay in LOS long term on 30 day TOURIST visas I say either legitimise your life in LOS or bugger off somewhere else and bring down the reputation of your fellow countrymen there. You are no better than any other visa jumper in any of your home countries.

Look if you dont want to hear about these advisories then just dont read them. Pretty simple really.

I will say it again for those of you who are a bit thick.

If you dont want to hear about them dont read them.

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the thai market has just stagnated due to many negative factors but is still trading at 40% below its fair value.

thats a pretty big call. Want to elaborate on how you came up with those figures ?

If you are legitimately entering Thialnd for business reasons as often as you say you are then you can solve all your problems and get yourself an APEC card. Gives you 3 years multiple entry and no visa requirements to all countries that are members of APEC ( that includes Thailand). It also means that you have your own very fast customs line just for APEC card holders at all airports. Cant see why you wouldnt have one already if you are legimately doing that much business travel in Asia.

I personally like the idea of higher airfares to the Island. It would be even better if the ferry's were to raise their prices by 1000% too. It might get rid of a lot of the "trailer trash tourists" and "dreadlock hippies" that have started to infest the place.

Some of the best experiences and holidays I have had have been in places like Bhutan, The Maldives and some of the more "upmarket" lodges in Africa. If you take Bhutan for example, it is a requirement that you are spending at least $ 250 USD per day for each of the days you visit and yes you have to have the money upfront. Fantastic and fascinating country that is smart in that it limits the number of tourists because of its pricing and there is none of the problems that go with the "$ 20 dollar a day" dreadful travellers that scowl and lounge around in a lot of SEA countries making a nuisance of themselves and spoiling the place.

hmmm let me see...

I bought my first investment house for $ 16 000 with a mortgage of $ 14 000 ( guaranteed by my folks) when I was 16 ( 29 years ago). All my friends at the time thought I was mad and went out and bought themselves a car. The house is now worth $ 1 600 000 and yes I still have it.

At 20 I bought 3 more houses for around $ 22 000 each in the middle of a huge downtown in the market using the equity that I had built up in the first house. People said I was crazy and that it would all go wrong. I still have those houses and yes they are all worth over a $ 1 000 000 each.

Between 24 and 30 I bought another 16 properties all using the equity built up in the earlier purchases. People told me I was crazy and that I should just be careful not to lose my money cause the market was about to fall big time.... and yes I still have them; and yes they are worth a lot more now.

From 30 to 40 I bought a lot more properties both inside my country and also started buying properties in South East Asia. EVERY time I bought one, someone would say ' just hold off the market is going to crash". Even the properties I bought just before the Asian financial meltdown of 97 are ALL worth at least 3 times what I paid for them now. Many of the others in Asia have achieved truly spectacular results.

And the moral of the this story is ? Dont listen to the "doom and gloom" brigade; but be happy they are there as they are the ones who make you richer by paying off your mortgages through their rents.. Real Estate investment is the BEST way to achieving financial and personal independance. Paying rent is the equivilent of showering in $ 100 bills, once it leaves your hands you never see it again.