Drumbuie

18 minutes ago, James105 said:

 

Yes he is and I am sure the UK taxpayer will have to fund his stay at a cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds in a comfortable prison for the next several years rather than spending that money on something useful, but this is not good enough any more.   Too many girls are getting raped by foreign nationals (disproportionately so) and questions have to be asked as to what they are doing in the country and who approved their entry and how someone like a camel herder was able to fund it.    

 

I'd go as far to suggest that no male from any country that requires women to be covered from head to toe should be allowed to enter the UK (or any western country) as the men from those areas/cultures obviously cannot control themselves when confronted with an uncovered western woman's arm or leg.   It's long overdue that we acknowledge that not all cultures are equal and policies/laws are designed around this blatantly obvious fact.   

Wait a minute. You are writing this in *Thailand* where western men arrive in droves for the sole purpose of getting laid by the local women, hence the name " sexpats".

Pot.Kettle.Black. 

Despite taking precautions I went down with COVID last week *- only the second time I've had it and very different from the first. Only wiped out for two days, not a week. 

However I still recommend putting some effort not getting it. Those two days were worse than any cold or ' flu.Plus there is good evidence ( actual scientific studies, not some quack on YouTube or RFK Jr) that repeat infections take a cumulative toll on the body, particularly the heart. 

* Probably caught from a friend just returned from the UK. 

If you are resident in Thailand, Thai citizen or not, you can get free advice on wills from the Office of the Attorney General ( use Google Maps to search for your nearest Office). 

"Fo fum fi fee, I see the trace of ChatGPT" 

Lazy journalism, or what passes for journalism. 

On 6/1/2025 at 12:24 PM, KannikaP said:

Not if you scan a QR code.

I often scan the QR code and have to enter the amount manually - last time being yesterday at an upmarket coffee shop on Sukhumvit, near Emsphere.

(Duc du Praslin, where they give you a free Belgian chocolate with every beverage - vault le detour) 

On 5/29/2025 at 1:29 PM, khunjeff said:

Whenever there's a news story about foreigners behaving badly, we immediately hear that authorities are "enhancing" or "intensifying" immigration inspections, and then we go through the airport and see that absolutely nothing has changed. 

 

 

There is no "pre-entry screening" - the TDAC is not an ETA. As soon as you hit "submit", you instantly get a QR code. No one is reviewing the information - all it does is record your responses and send a confirmation.

 

And no, foreign embassies are not giving Thai immigration access to databases regarding their citizens - this is the same absurd claim they made when they introduced APIS (Advance Passenger Information System) a number of years ago.

As I understand it, the TDAC is applied for before you enter Thailand. That allows plenty of time for a database search before arrival.

Have we not read recently of a few criminals being taken into custody on arrival? Other countries will be happy their criminals are in jail here, it saves them money. 

On 5/29/2025 at 1:01 AM, redwood1 said:

Farang Mule accounts?......A Mules azz......

 

The huge a vast majority of mule accounts involved in scams that make the news, are opened by Thais for Thai scammers or opened by Thais for the Chinese or some other foreigners scammers....

 

I cant recall the last time I heard of a farang opening a mule account in their own name for the purpose of running a scam.....Its so rare it almost does not happen..
 

Even though about 99% of the mule account scams involve Thais.......Lets crack down on the farangs.........lol

 

So in truth the purpose of all this has almost zero to do with finding or stopping the real mule account openers...

On 5/29/2025 at 1:01 AM, redwood1 said:

Farang Mule accounts?......A Mules azz......

 

The huge a vast majority of mule accounts involved in scams that make the news, are opened by Thais for Thai scammers or opened by Thais for the Chinese or some other foreigners scammers....

 

I cant recall the last time I heard of a farang opening a mule account in their own name for the purpose of running a scam.....Its so rare it almost does not happen..
 

Even though about 99% of the mule account scams involve Thais.......Lets crack down on the farangs.........lol

 

So in truth the purpose of all this has almost zero to do with finding or stopping the real mule account openers...

Unless you have access to Thai Police records, or a high-up contact inside the force, " the last time I heard of a farang opening a mule account in their own name .." doesn't carry a huge amount of weight. 

13 hours ago, baansgr said:

Another life ruined through this madness of legalising weed in Thailand..of course all you dumb ass potheads will say there is nothing wrong with it...how many is that just this month ..ban weed, bena sensible caring country again instead of being the Hub for dopeheads...Almost 40 million tourists last year, If this carries on a few years will be down to just a few million of the worlds dopeheads..get a grip Thailand...ban weed!!!

Prohibition never works. Alcohol was prohibited the the USA a hundred years ago and all that happened was the Mob got richer and a few people died from bathtub gin. 

Alcohol kills, so does tobacco, both are addictive - but both are legal in most countries. Cannabis doesn't kill but it's illegal in most countries and as with all illegal drugs, trade in it enriches criminals all over the world. 

Legalise, tax, control. 

PS Heroin/morpine used to be available in the UK on prescription; there were less than 2000 registered addicts who lived normal lives, like the author Enid Bagnold ( National Velvet) . Once it became illegal the number of addicts spiralled, many died from overdoses or infected injection sites and it became a major source of income for criminals. The IRA turned Dublin into the heroin capital of Europe to fund buying guns and explosives. 

Legalise:Tax: Control

26 minutes ago, JJ-Thailand said:

I took this trip 1979, looks like the same train.

Under the photo on the left hand side is the caption " File photo for reference only" 

19 hours ago, Zaphod Priest said:

I presume that Immigration still hasn't fixed their computer systems, so the first 90 day report after reentering the Kingdom can't be done online.  Does anyone have recent experience of making such a report by post to Chaengwattana? And if so, was it successful or unsuccessful? (I really don't want to have to waste several hours making the report in person.)

 

Thanks.

You can make an appointment at CW online to file your 90 day report (or to extend your visa, apply for re entry permit, etc) via the immigration website.  Then it doesn't take hours. 

Or, as Dr Jack says, just send all the documents, including a stamped self addressed envelope, by registered post, before the 15 day deadline.  

I prefer going in person, just to know straight away that it's done and dusted..

If you can possibly stop making sarky comments for a moment....consider whether this is a sign that the Thai Police have really got the hang of using their immigration database now, and may be linking it to other countries'  police databases also. 

13 hours ago, Moonlover said:

And the latter is probably the most appropriate advice.

Aspirin is better for COVID as it dissolves blood clots. But it's out of patent so nobody is pushing doctors to prescribe it. 

In a situation where I and/or someone else will be signing lots of pieces of paper ( immigration, bank, phone company, hospital), I take the actual passport. For everything else, photos on my phone seem to be enough. 

14 hours ago, connda said:

Nope.  Nor are there any hospices. They don't exist here. And palliative care in hospitals is in the stone-ages, or non-existent. They'll hand you a bottle of Tylenol and wish you good luck. And the palliative care you can obtain will probably be inadequate if you can get it as Thai doctors have two problems.  1) They feel that the pain you experience is your karma and your own fault, and 2) they feel that if they give you adequate amounts of painkillers you'll become an "addict" (heaven forbid).  And they aren't going to give you morphine to take home. It's extremely difficult to obtain except in hospitals and then only under certain conditions. And don't plan to be put on a machine to self-administer morphine based on your pain levels.  They'll ration morphine and they won't care how much pain you are experiencing.   They use to have fentanyl patches, but I'm pretty sure those were discontinued.  See reasons 1 and 2 above.

You're better off staying in your home country.  This is no place to die if you're in pain.  Where do you think wealthy Thais go to die if they have cancer?  They don't stay here.  Check Soapy Massage tycoon and politician Chuwit Kamolvisit.  He left to go die in the UK.  You can't get adequate palliative care here, and you won't get it at all for home use. 

Wishing you the best.  🙏

No hospices? Not true. Here's one :-  https://qscbc.org/en/qscbc-foundation/

What arrant and arrogant nonsense. I travel around the centre of Bangkok by BTS and on foot: almost all drivers will slow down and wait for me to cross the road - and I gesture a thank you, and we both feel pleased by that exchange  I have only ever experienced rude or inconsiderate behaviour from other foreigners. 

I am guessing the OP may be one of them. 

When I had this problem with the Bangkok Bank statement showing both FTT and TPP, I requested a statement through the banking app, printed it, highlighted all the transactions,  went to the branch and asked them to confirm that all the transactions were from abroad. 

An hour or so later, I was given letters confirming each transaction was a FTT.  I submitted those with the printed out 12 month bank statement, and a printout of my bank book. Chaeng Wattana accepted that and since I leave the 800k untouched, building up a small surplus with the interest, have had no problems since. 

On 5/9/2025 at 7:42 AM, notrub said:

Thank you Tpot and Treetop,  here is an email from krungthai bank.  I have not responded to this.  I am here on a UK passport and have zero to do with the us. Is this safe to ignore?

 

URGENT: Please contact your nearest or most convenient Krungthai Bank Branch as soon as possible to update your accounts maintained with us. As required by the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and the Foreign Account Exchange Compliance Act (FATCA), after review of your account information, you may be a tax resident of a CRS participating and/or reportable jurisdiction or a United States person under FATCA or the information submitted by you to the Bank contains incorrect and/or incomplete information in accordance with CRS and/or FATCA requirements. For more information, please contact the Krungthai Contact Center at +662-111-1111

 

Also, I am over 65 and married.  All other considerations aside it seems that I have a 310,000 basic plus another 150,000 on the bottom line.  Is this correct(ish)?

 

Thanks very much for your comments🙏

The UK signed up to the Common Reporting Standard in 2017 so you should probably set aside a day and take your documents to the bank. In my case at least,  the Thai tax regime gives more generous allowances than HMRC and I have chosen to pay tax here rather than there. 

On 5/1/2025 at 8:31 AM, newbee2022 said:

Interesting that this warning was going to Brits!

Other nationalities seems to be more resilient?

Do Brits need this stuff to escape the reality or misery in their lives or country?

Maybe someone got an explaination?

Please no Brit bashing please.

The reason the warning was given to Brits is that it was given by the *British* Ambassador.