Felton Jarvis

Definitely a member of the anti-farang contingent.

ONE 2000 baht fine about five years ago taught me a lesson. I have not missed a deadline since. I do not have money to throw away. The 90 day reports are nothing more than a way to collect extra revenue, since they know that a certain number of us will forget to report. It serves no other real purpose.

I don’t look for anything “good”. That is not the function of Thai government. “Control” is the goal.

The new government will kill legal cannabis if they can. The new PM is no friend of legal pot.

Bravo, Joe. Aid to Ukraine is critical.

Very common here in Pattaya. I had a girlfriend who worked at a local restaurant and she told me that the cook was from Cambodia and another employee was Laotian. Both were being paid below the minimum wage.

You are correct in your observations. The world is a cruel place. Many of the people in charge of public welfare should be in prison. The sadness is too much to process. God help us all.

Cambodia or the Philippines in that order.

Hope he gets the death penalty and it is carried out quickly.

Thai government never thinks about consequences. The mindset is almost god-like. Only the people will suffer and they don’t count.

Many of us will be saying “Hello” to Hun Manet. Cambodia has looked good for quite a while. Easy terms, minimal paperwork.

I’ve been using the same agent for three years and the IO photo was not part of the process the previous year. Usually, there are small changes in the procedure every year. I think IO just likes to play “cat and mouse” games with farang.

A woman I once planned to marry tried to rip me for sinsod, even though she was divorced and had two daughters. She thought I was stupid enough or rich enough to fall for that. Obviously we didn’t get married. She ended up skipping out of the country and now lives in Germany with her intended husband. Her daughters live with the sister of her former husband. Definitely a screwed-up affair.

Yes, and it could ALSO be argued that you should mind your own damn business. Cheeky bugger.

I have no interest in jewelry of ANY kind. Silver and gold have I none.

Simple…I do not have 800 thousand baht. The agent deposits that amount and then withdraws it. It's not an “easy” task if you lack the required funds.

I am 73 and my “live-in” girlfriend is 46. she is attractive but no raving beauty. I took her in when she lost her job at a traditional massage parlor in Sriracha. We have lived together for three years now and she is very helpful. She has become friends with my landlady, who has given her occasional massage work. She doesn’t speak much English but just enough to be helpful. She seems honest to a fault and I have tested her many times. She spends a bit too much on vitamins and food supplements but she doesn’t drink any kind of alcohol and always passes my “honesty tests”. It ain’t love but it ain’t bad.

Either way, you pay. If the employer pays them more, they have to increase the price to stay competitive. Tipping is just a tax-free way of subsidizing their wages. I have noticed a lot of contempt for our American practice of tipping. In the states, I always tipped 15 percent.

I tip 40 baht. That seems to keep waitresses and food delivery drivers happy.

That’s bizarre. We didn’t talk to a single soul at IO. Just took a photo and left. All the other paperwork was done at the bank branch. Just another layer of useless bureaucracy.

Nope, my landlady is my agent and this was her son that was doing the legwork. I think she trusts him.

Yes, we are ALL losers according to the many female experts in Western countries. Next question.

Only the insane will agree to such terms. Kick her to the curb along with her greedy family.

Did my extension of stay today in Jomtien. After a trip to the bank, my agent took me to Jomtien IO where he photographed me standing in front of the sign at the building entrance. Is this another manifestation of the Big Joke era at RTP?? What possible function could this serve?

I file FBAR every year regardless. Better to be safe than go to prison. The FATCA rules are insane but Americans have allowed this to happen. IRS MUST collect enough funds to support the government. Apparently, they decided that the best way to do this was to make sure no money is being “hidden” in bank accounts anywhere on earth. A stunning example of government overreach.