nigelforbes

Twin beds or a double sir; smoking or non-smoking room sir; western or asian balcony rail height sir.

Presumably the vaccinations must have been within the previous X months? The health insurance rule is risky, that may deter some tourists and will impact older expats. Enforcement of facemasks in public places sounds almost unenforceable.

The average height of the Watussi tribe male is over 6 feet during early adulthood. Should all balconies in Thailand be upwards height adjusted, in case one of the tribe decides to visit?

You said that, not me! Perhaps if people understood the average height issue they would be able to better help themselves. TBH it was one of the first things I noticed when I first visited in the 1990's, probably because I'm 6 foot 3. But I'm not sure how reasonable it is to require all building codes that involve height related issues, to be constructed to Western standards. What about the step ladder maximum weight issue I mentioned, should they all be constructed to allow for a 150 kg foreigner, in case he happens to buy one!

Yes, that will work for some but not all. Technically, under NHS rules, GP's are meant to remove from their active lists, any patient they have not had contact with in the past twelve months. This is because GP's are paid by the NHS, based on how many patients are registered at a practise. My old GP practise in the UK transferred me to a subs system after 12 months, when I went back some years later I was recalled and put back on the main system, for 12 more months.

Standards for things like balcony rail height are determined according to the average height of the native population, not on the average height of anyone who ever may visit. The center of balance is different between a five foot five Asian and a six foot three westerner. Just the same way that clothes sizes are determined. The drop factor determines how big size Large is in Asia versus how big it is in the USA, they are not the same. On this same point, have you ever climbed a metal ladder in Thailand? Next time you do, look at the safety label on the side, most read they are safe up to 75, 80 or 85 kilo's, no more. That's fine for Asians but hellish for Westerner DIY people!

"This article is a pre-print and has not been peer reviewed. It reports new medical research that has yet to be evaluated and should not be used to guide clinical practice". "You really have two choices. Reject any and all research because it doesn't say exactly what you want it to, or examine it on its merits and maybe even learn something".

BOT admitted to intervention in the FOREX market, not to currency manipulation. When USD was rapidly strengthening and was at 38, they attempted to smooth out some of the peaks, I think some at BOT were having a 1997 moment! That was not currency manipulation in the sense that the US defines it, nor is it that in the classical sense. BOT saw the ever strengthening USD as a threat to exporter survival and attempted to defend the Baht, even though the same thing was happening to other EM and regional currencies. One can argue that, under IMF rules, it is the central banks responsibility to smooth out the peaks and troughs of currency volatility. That incident was more than peaks and troughs, it was quite unprecedented. The US problem with Thailand and their currency strength is very different. Thailand maintains imports artificially low which nearly always generates a trade surplus and a surplus in the current account. Those two things, combined with an an aver increasing volume of foreign currency in the Foreign Currency Reserves, makes THB strengthen almost continuously. If Thailand were to loosen import restriction, the trade balance would become more realistic and THB would be more influenced by market forces.

Not really. I might have added a comma or two into the last para but otherwise I thought it was very eloquent. ????

A friend and neighbor in the UK had a six month wait for heart reconstruction surgery, they took the damned thing out and pretty much reconditioned it, new valves the works, (even gave it a wash and wax afterwards)! Pretty serious and major stuff but that was a six month wait and he could barely walk before going in. A returning expat is hardly going to find surgeons just sitting around to treat them.

Phuket is not the richest province in terms of GPP, it's quite a way down the list. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Thai_provinces_by_GPP

Sorry, my error, I used GBP to make my point and intended to use USD, I've now changed it.

Post a citation that Sinovac saved at least one life in Thailand.....get real. You can waste your time on that, not mine. On second thoughts, try this, I just happened to have it to hand. https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2022/07/13/which-covid-19-vaccine-saved-the-most-lives-in-2021

My previous post on this subject seems have been deleted, I wonder why! Regardless, there is no evidence that BOT manipulates the Baht, most importantly it's not in their best interests to do so. The Baht strengthened because USD dipped slightly because the FOMC minutes are due to be released and because of forecasts on Chinese tourist arrivals. Markets have already said that THB and SGD will be the strongest growing currencies this year. But back to best interests, why? Firstly, a Baht at 33 is good value all round and everyone knows this, except expats. 33 is a level where export prices are attractive, without exporters being screwed. Secondly, any markets intervention would be to weaken THB, not strengthen it, to try and strengthen the Baht would be to hurt tourism and exports, plus it would risk the US labelling BOT as a manipulator, of which it has already been established there is no proof. Lastly, THB typically strengthens at the start of the month, around 3 or 4, as US Social Security payments are received in Thailand. The Baht is such a small currency that even that relatively low volume of THB purchases against USD, has an impact on the restricted and boutique currency.

Blah blah blah! My reply was in response to your remarks that, "living up a tree and putting one’s head in a paper bag. The latter was more useful than the Chinese vaccines". No those things were not more useful. As much as you may wish to bash the Chinese and their early vaccines, they did save lives at the time, not as well as other Western vaccines did subsequently but that was later.

It's only within recent years that PM2.5 measurement technology became available on a widespread basis. For many years, Thailand had only five air pollution measuring stations, none of which could measure PM2.5, only PM10. PM2.5 is a sub set of PM10 and can be calculated as a percentage albeit, there is some disagreement about its accuracy, naturally. Regardless of that, a PM2.5 reading is always going to be smaller than a PM10 reading, that is without question. It therefore follows that your PM2.5 reading, translates into a PM10 reading of what, 400, 600, 1,000? FWIW I recall debates on this subject were that the percentage to use in the calculation was 20%. So if you believe that reading is PM2.5, you may want to check it for accuracy against other measurement methods or devices, failing that, move pretty damned quickly!

That's Welsh expats screwed then.

I was planning to move back to the UK back in 2015 or thereabouts and was over there scouting for a flat. Because I thought I'd found what I wanted and thought my offer was going to be accepted, I went to register with a GP. I explained my circumstances to the practise, their response was that they couldn't register me until I had a council tax bill etc, which of course was nonsense. But just goes to show how different places handle the same thing differently.....bit like Thailand really!

Same with any country really, the UK, Europe, how about the US! If that were the criteria to remain, half the population would have to leave the US.

Commonly known in economics as the wealth transfer trickle down principle. :))

Wow, you very clearly don't have much experience of Asia....crumbles? The worlds second largest economy? Just for info. China has currency export restrictions on ALL Chinese citizens, the amounts they can export is quite small and it's been this way for many years. The casino's at Macau used to be a popular route for this, now, Thailand is major destination for funds, legal and otherwise. Yes, Thailand's economy is very small by comparison and it's currency is an exotic boutique currency that represents less than 1% of global forex trading. That means it doesn't take much to move the value of the currency either way, but since THB is a restricted currency, that can only really happen from within the country, or via trade, aka tourism and exports. Talk to me again in April, I've put you in my diary, you come round for tea if you like. :))

No, at least not for a long while, it would negatively impact tourist arrivals and that's a major risk to GDP.

Where I live in northern Thailand, I'm surrounded by Chinese families, over 80%. I know first hand that Thailand is a very cheap destination for the Chinese. I also know that many many Chinese are desperate to get money out of China and I know that Thailand is a prime destination for that. A recession in China as far as impact on tourist numbers is concerned, doesn't mean anything whatsoever. A recession in China as far as other exports are concerned, also doesn't mean much. Thailand is already pushing USD 22 bill. a month without China business, now that China is opening up, that figure will only increase. Whyever do you think that international currency markets are forecasting THB and SGD as this years star performing currencies! Get with the program man, you're way behind the curve on this one. Tell you what, talk to me again in April when 1Q23 numbers are in.

I missed it, 11.8 mill. tourists confirmed in 2022, another 8 mill. should be walk in the park.

No I don't believe they do plus I don't think it's that difficult to become registered with a GP who will likely treat anyone regardless. The problem comes when the medical complaint becomes serious and needs investigation or urgent treatment, almost certainly when hospitals become involved and other doctors and staff become involved. Hospital doctors start to examine patient history and look at the patients medical records, seeing the expats records are mostly blank for long periods will raise concern. "So you haven't been ill for a while, no symptoms, you haven't seen a GP in five years"? What is the person to do, lie and say no or try and help matters by explaining that they had been treated overseas for several years for this or that? That is likely a trigger point, surely the doctor will need to update the patients NHS record with this information, perhaps others involved in hospital backroom operations will take action, dunno. When someone does begin to investigate and ask questions, that's where the Ordinarily Resident test kicks in. Can you show daily banking transactions for the past six months or so? Where do you live? Do you pay Council Tax and if so where? Are you really homeless, you said you'd been treated overseas in Thailand for several years, did you have medical insurance, that can't have been cheap. Remember, at this juncture the scamming patient is under pressure and is also vulnerable because of health issues. Personally, I'd find it very hard to come up with a plausible set of circumstances under those circumstances. I suppose as a last resort you could always say, I became sick overseas and had no money so I came here and now I intend to remain, I am a genuine returning expat who as of today is ordinarily resident. If that bought that and threw up their hands, fine. If they didn't and you have assets in the UK, such as a home, watch out.