Flyguy330

Where I am when I die is of little consequence to me.

Where I'm buried is however.

I don't much like the idea of burial in a foreign land.

I plan on being cremated, and if possible having my ashes returned to my homeland for burial.

I remember watching a documentary yonks ago about the psychedelic era in the US. Leary featured heavily in it.

Wasn't it he who coined the line that summed up the culture - 'Turn on, tune in, and drop out'?

But the one thing I remember most about the documentary - even after all these years - was Leary's final words to camera when intercepted on a New York street for a comment.

He was asked something about 'the end of the hippy culture'. His response was "I never liked hippies anyway" - fade to black....

From the South China Morning Post this week. 

“The statistics on “lonely deaths” were released by the Japanese National Police Agency on Tuesday. They showed that across Japan, 21,716 people died alone in the first three months of the year, with nearly 80 per cent, or 17,034 individuals, aged 65 or older.”

stunning and frightening statistic. 

I did a contract for 3 months in Santiago, Chile in 1988. Loved the place. Dead safe (still under Pinochet rule), friendly people, great food, amazing wine, and the female talent was amazing.

I considered a side trip to Brazil, but all the Chileans I mentioned it to were aghast and strongly advised against it. I took their advice and visited Valparaiso instead (which was great).

A mate of mine who did visit Rio was held up at gunpoint in the street.

The internet these days is full of videos from Brazil of the most cruel and horrible murders being regularly committed there. I'd love to have seen the Carnival, but no way will I go there now.

On 8/13/2024 at 12:09 PM, jaywalker2 said:

You people enjoy arguing semantics. Citibank Thailand was not a "branch" of Citibank New York except in the most narrow sense -- in the way that the BOT defines a branch, i.e., a foreign entity allowed only one office in Thailand.  Otherwise, it was an independent from Citibank NA under the juridisction of the Bank of Thailand and did not offer joint services with Citibank NA. It was for the purposes of regulation considered an internationla bank, not a Thai bank.

 

Mega banks are essentially holding companies so the results of their various international branches (whether called branches or subsidiaries or anything else) are consolidated  into their financial statements but the kind of relationship a foreign banking branch or subsidiary has with its parent bank is complex and subject to the rules and definitions of the host country. Simply saying a name, branch, subsidiary, affiliate, correspondent, whatever will not give a clear idea of how the bank is actually allowed to operate.

 

To sum up, Citibank NA was designated a branch by the BOT, it was allowed only one office in Thailand,  and it operated independently from  Citibank NA in terms of its banking operations but was included in its consolidated financial results and was subject to supervision from the head office.

 

If Citibank Thailand had gone bankrupt, depositers would only have been entitled to the compensation stipulated for Thai domestic banks unless the parent bank decided otherwise.

Good post.

I have an account with UOB in Malaysia, which I opened because I expected it to aid me in getting a UOB account in Singapore. UOB is HQ'd in Singapore. But after I had established a good 6 months with the Malaysian branch and I asked them to give me a reference or whatever to help open a UOB Singapore account they told me they couldn't, and being an account holder in Malaysia (even a Premier Customer) would in no way assist in getting a Singapore account.

Later, when I got a Thai LTR Visa I asked them to help me open a UOB Thai account I got the same answer. They have no links.

I also have HSBC accounts in multiple countries where I've lived or worked (not Thailand unfortunately - there is no HSBC retail banking in Thailand). HSBC  have a wonderful facility on their website/app called Global Banking which allows you to see your accounts in every country, and make instant cost free transfers between them.

That to me is fantastic.

BUT - try to get your 'relationship manager' in country A to talk to your RM in country B and you soon realise they may be CALLED HSBC, but they are different as chalk and cheese and have no formal contact system at Retail Banking level. If you are in country A and all hell is breaking loose in your country B HSBC account you will simply be told to contact your country B RM. Also - the websites/apps in the various HSBC countries are ALL different. No commonality, no standardisation.

The upshot of all this is I've learned that these 'global banks' are global in name only (at least at retail level) and only top Management have any commonality across their global networks. Country specific operations are like separate businesses.

5 hours ago, impulse said:

I recently spitballed the idea of a few guys getting together and renting properties in various SEA countries and rotating between them.  If you had 3 guys, they could rent (or buy) a place in Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia and each of them could live part of the year in all 3 countries.  Of course, it would have to be a group you get along with, and trust to keep up the shared properties while they're living there. 

 

And to be clear, I wouldn't advocate a room-mate situation.  More of a rotation where the guys never even have to see each other.  And they'd hire a cleaning crew to come in between each rotation.

Nice idea, but if you never establish Tax Residence in one of those countries (and maintain it) you will probably be declared Tax Resident in your home country and taxed there instead. They've got us every way guys - you cannot become a global tax exile on planet earth. All you can do is find the cheapest legal option.

For me - I established Tax Residency in Malaysia, and only need do 90 days per year there to maintain it. The rest of the time I can be nomadic and untaxed.

Good plan for yachties too.

7 hours ago, tomacht8 said:

I know a few people who have stopped or are at least reconsidering their plans to retire in Thailand. Almost everyone has planned to sell their fully paid-up home and transfer the money to Thailand in order to live comfortably along with their regular pension. A single-family home in a big city, in a good location, can be sold for 500K Euros or around 20 million Thai baht. Anyone who then transfers these 20 million THB to Thailand in the hope of enjoying a peaceful retirement runs the risk of having to pay up to 35% in taxes. That would be around 7 million Thai baht or 185K Euros. Nobody who can do math will do that. Therefore, Thailand will lose a large piece of the pie of well-off pensioners in the future.

Are you sure about this?

In Malaysia (which has now got a Remittance Tax) you can REMIT the proceeds of the sale of a foreign property and it is EXEMPT from the Remittance Tax.

The Remittance Tax ONLY applies to INCOME earned overseas. Remitted proceeds from a property sale is CAPITAL (not Income), and is specifically exempted.

Maybe it's the same in Thailand?

This was an interesting discussion but faded away. Does anyone know what happened to the guy in this story? Did he survive?

The debate between Kwilco and Mike Lister was also very useful. You both sound like you have insider knowledge of Thai medicine, but yet opposing views. Very confusing and a bit worrying. I'd like to have seen this one resolved for all our sakes. Please comment again.

4 hours ago, Ben Zioner said:

Two countries, I know of, tried to remove tax benefits for foreign retirees: Portugal and Malaysia, both backpedaled on their initial urge to extort, watering down and or grandfathering their "innovative" schemes.

Your info is out of date. Malaysia proposed a Remittance Tax in October 2022 and it was to start on Jan 1st 2023. There was an outcry from locals (yes, many locals work overseas and remit money) and the Government backed down, said they would defer the change for 5 years. That's where you probably stopped paying attention. As did many.

However in June 2023 the Government announced that they had 'gazetted' the Remittance Tax law (meaning they put it on the statute books, contrary to their earlier promise) and FURTHERMORE they BACKDATED it to Jan 1st (the original planned inception date).

So Malaysia now taxes remittances (with certain exceptions).

To be fair to them, and indeed Thailand, this Remittance Tax is something forced on them by the OECD, whose policies seem to be driven by the GOOD OLE U S of A!

Thanks Buddy!!

[media]

Worth a watch......

7 hours ago, rudi49jr said:

Of course it is.

So why did you quote it? Do you always rest your arguments on fluff? 
And don’t get so angry bud, it’s not about you.

On 8/7/2024 at 1:06 PM, rudi49jr said:

Presidential historians, across the board from Democrats to Republicans, disagree strongly with you:

 

https://www.axios.com/2024/02/19/presidents-survey-trump-ranks-last-biden-14th

 

 

That was fun reading, but pretty lightweight as a serious study. It was an opinion poll, nothing more. They put Harrison 15 places above Trump - a man who served for only one month! That in itself discredits the whole method. It’s a fluff piece.

It would be interesting to have a thread where that claim that Biden is the worst US President ever was debated.

No matter what you think of Trump, or even Biden, he wasn't the worst President ever in my opinion.

I believe that was Woodrow Wilson - the US President who agreed to the setting up of the Fed, and handed US monetary policy over to a cabal of crooked bankers.

He also introduced the Income Tax in the US, and was a renowned racist. His efforts in WW1 are not universally appreciated either.

Overall I'd say he is higher on any 'Worst' list than Biden - or even Trump for that matter.

I used to occasionally hang out in Wanchai when I worked in HK, and got to know a few of the regulars well - the girls I mean. Mostly they were part timers on the scene, who were otherwise employed as maids during the week, but just making some cash on the side and having some fun with the buleh to brighten up their otherwise harsh and boring lives.

I once had a discussion with one about the number of these young girls who seemed interested more in the 'old guys' than in the many younger guys. Her answer was, yes of course the older guys usually have more money, but they were also generally nicer to be with, less demanding of weird sex and constant shagging, more inclined to stay with one girl, and less nasty or violent toward them than the younger guys. These were not professioinal hookers, they were (are) part timers who are in real need of some affection in their lives, and they appreciated it. You could have a proper GFE with them.

That's why I'd far rather go 'mongering' in Wanchai on a Sunday (the Maids sole day off) than be harassed by nasty pro's on the make in BKK or Pattaya.

Hong Kong is the real underrated sexy city of Asia. Thailand is just cynical - and even more so now than it ever was before.

My final tip - look for the Indo maids. They are the hottest to trot. 

Yer only as old as the woman you feel.

Or should that be....WOMEN. Plural.

I was having a few beers in the Cafe De Paris in Monaco on the Friday before the GP. The waiter was a rather surly frenchman, and the beers were exorbitantly priced. When I asked for the bill he got the number I'd had wrong and I didn't feel inclined to correct him since for once the mistake was in my favour.

One free beer. Big deal.

But it felt good.

None of those are iambic pentameter. Limericks are anapestic trimeter.

What is Iambic Pentameter

On 7/21/2024 at 7:24 PM, Evil Penevil said:

 

On a different  Thailand-related board I started a thread rebutting St. Anselm's ontological argument for the existence of God, but it didnt get any replies.  Another thread on the introduction of iambic pentameter into English poetry by Chaucer wasn't popular either, even though I revealed that nothing turns me on more than a bar girl with whom I can have intellectual discussions.

Forsooth I know not why I am so sad

It wearies me, you say it wearies you

So wrote Shakespeare, some of the few lines I still recall by heart. What an incredible talent he was.

Yes, the old Iambic Pentameter, a rhythmic form in poetry that dates back to ancient Greek plays. I studied ancient Greek in school, and Latin too - what they now call 'A Classical Education'. My Greek textbook was Thrasymachus, and we were required to learn passages and decline the text using standardised iambic pentameter symbols. Pretty challenging for a 13 year old.

It was only in my later years I began to truly appreciate the value of my Greek and Latin studies - they are the root languages of so many European tongues, and they are embedded in the English language. It's always fascinating to know the etymology of common words in everyday use, I get a kick out of that. 

I recently read a piece by a Guardian journo who was commenting on the dissapearance of the Classics from modern education, and she actually wrote 'what use are those languages anyway in modern times'. The silly bitch hadn't the wit to realise the tool of her trade (the English language) is built on their foundations.

I'm really starting to notice that this forum is becoming nothing but one big Personality Survey, where intimate questions are asked, and personal answers sought on matters that I (mostly) don't care to share with complete strangers.

Aside from it being boring (I really dopn't care how much you <deleted> for instance) I think it is also unwise to reveal so much of yourself on a public forum. It always comes back to bite later.

Try coming up with thread topics that are a bit more cerebral, eh?

PS. I don't do Facebook either.

Bowie

We can say NO!

I bet Farage would pursue this as policy.

Reciprocate, or Extricate!

Is it MANDATORY for every 'sheila' in 'Oz' to be tattoed? In my experience (Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Gold Coast) it appears to be.

YUCK.

I haven't waded through all of this - I only read the 1st page, and I'm wondering - you really keep your PASSPORT in a 'grab bag' that you can leg it with?

I hope you have it well chained down, wherever you keep it.

My passport is in a safe!

Not a single vote for Malaysia, even though it's only across the border!

But Pakistan is good?

🤪