MangoKorat

I think you should add a caveat to that dependent on age - god they go downhill fast! There used to be a saying that if you wanted to know what your wife will look like when she's older - look at her mother. I'd wager that a hell of a lot of those married to Isaan women (or Thai women in general for that matter) would run a mile if they used that measure ????. Whilst we of course - only get more handsome with time ????.

Without reading all of the posts here - due to lack of time, I would just like to point out to those who are panicking about possibly having to pay tax next year - there are currently some concessions depending on your circumstances. These rates may have changed (such allowances usually go up) but in 2022: Your personal allowance = 60,000 baht If married and your wife has no income (which of course most don't ????) another 60,000 If you support a child under 25 who is studying at a recognised institution or is a minor - another 30,000 for each child + an additional 30,000 each child tax deductible allowance for 2nd child onwards who born in/after 2018. You can also claim allowances if you are supporting your wife's (Thai) parents, disabled people and various other allowances - see here: https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/xx/pdf/2023/01/TIES-Thailand.pdf

I doubt that will give an accurate picture. Flight prices change daily, even hourly. I rarely book any earlier than 6 weeks in advance and that's always worked for me - however, you have to look regularly and have the funds available to pay immediately. I've found prices, driven 3 miles to pay money into my account and found the flight had gone by the time I got back!

400 baht per day won't raise tax revenue - people will still be outside the tax threshold.

Since Covid flight prices have been crazy with airlines telling us that prices were driven by demand. That may have been the case but recently I've seen signs that such demand is tailing off - it had to do some time. My Qatar flight from Doha to Bangkok on 17 September was around 50% full and returning on 2 October was around 30% full. I was able to sleep using 4 middle seats (Boeing 777 - 3-4-3 configuation) on both legs. The Manchester-Doha and Doha-Manchester legs however, were almost full but that has regularly been the case. No chance of getting 4 seats on those legs anyway as they use a 787 with a 3-3-3 configuration. Thailand may be experiencing unprecedented travel numbers from China and other Asian countries but the Doha-Bangkok route seems to be quietening. Will this lead to a drop in prices at last? I use to travel every 8 weeks but have had to cut that due to prices and talking to a few other regular travellers on the route, they've done the same. This is no doubt where some of the customers have gone. Prior to Covid it wasn't unusual to see empty seat from September to November but I rarely saw them so empty. There are also a few 'new' players on the UK/Thailand route now - their flight times are a little long for me but they seem to be getting shorter. If a major player enters the game with decent total flight times, that could stir things up a bit.

They get a manifest of everything bought at duty free during your trip before your flight arrives - all airports do. Whether they have time/bother to check every report is another matter.

He shouldn't need to. There is no place for racism anywhere, in any country.

The Senate will never allow anyone who is not a friend of the generals to be in power - that's why they were put in place. All this talk of The Senate being disbanded - I'll believe when I see it. Even if that was to happen, any new government that tries anything that upsets the piggies at their trough will result in a further coup.

I've brought in everything from a full house rewiring kit - sockets (UK), back boxes, plugs, cable....the lot, to a five burner gas hob and a kitchen extractor hood/fan. This trip I brought in a full suitcase of automatic irrigation equipment - timers, valves, pipe and joints/couplings. All of these packed in sturdy cardboard boxes and just sailed through customs. I think you'd have to be very unlucky to get pulled.

Over the years I've seen lots of new laws proposed on various subjects relating to foreigners/immigration - very few of them are ever heard of again and those that are, are usually a watered down version. I'm just gonna sit back and wait to see if this one ends up the same.

How might that happen?

Amusing that the 'commandos', in full armour are hiding behind the SUV, whilst all the unarmed/unprotected police are just hanging around casually. Perhaps they have divine protection?

I can't remember the exact details but the penalties for overstay became much more draconian a few years ago. Pretty sure a 5 month overstay will result in a ban. I'm sure someone here will know what the new (er) penalties are.

Not on a 5 month overstay I'm afraid.

Don't be silly, don't you remember a few years ago the Bangkok and Pattaya police chiefs spent an evening walking around Pattaya and publicly declared, they found no sex for sale. So its official, what you think might happen in those bars is just a sharade, its not real and everyone goes home alone. I have a feeling that one or two bars might have been 'invoiced' that night though. But seriously, given that there are any number of Thai websites providing 'services' at all times and that some of those websites go into quite graphic detail about what's available, for how much - that only reason I can see for them 'clamping down' on these particular sites is that they are operating outside the tea money zone. We can't be having these online bandits doing business and not paying their dues can we? Not when the literally hundreds of thousands of massages, karaoke's and in some cases (Ratchada) entire hotels facilitating 'escorts' and operating via Thai websites, pay their 'monthly subscriptions' like clockwork. It wouldn't be fair.

Do you see it changing anytime soon? I don't, not without a civil war to rid the country of the current military and I really don't think the downtrodden Thai people have the stomach for that. Jeez I'd absolutely love to be wrong. Not that I want to see war but I really think Thailand deserves a real democracy where all have the chance to develop and progress. I just don't see it happening without one. One thing I find slightly different now - since a certain person died, is that more people are prepared to come out and say they are being used, being denied real self governance and all that goes with it.

I'll bet a pound to a penny the woman had money.

I've had enough 'morning' shocks thank you. I now demand to see them without make up before agreeing to a date. ????

Never.........really? We can all feel so much safer knowing the BIB can 'discover' such things.

???? How do do work that out? Some parents will have sufficient but many parents, I'd say the vast majority, will only have enough money to last a matter of weeks. Have you any idea how much the Thai state pension is for someone who has earned below the tax threshold all their lives? I know one woman who receives 900 baht per month - how could anyone live on that? Many have never paid Social Security. Its easy to say they should have - we are not in their position.

I was asked to pay what I considered a large amount to marry my 21 year old uni graduate girlfriend. I spoke to her mother who said Sin Sod was part of Thai culture and asked me if I respected that. I told her I did, but would she in return, show respect for my culture where Sin Sod doesn't exist and agree to 50/50? She would not so I told her that she could not say she respected my culture However, this woman, the mother, was a genuinely good person and not at all the sort that was out to rip me off. I am still in touch with with my ex MIL to this day - 15 years and a divorce later. For some odd reason the matter of Sin Sod was never mentioned again, I was never asked for it so obviously never paid it. Just as well really as the marriage didn't last long. Knowing what I know now and the strange fact that Sin Sod was never mentioned again, I suspect my now ex wife had a lot to do with the amount asked. Amongst Thai's, some see it as part of the culture but many these days, seem to regard it as an old fashioned tradition. Most of the couples I know that have married in the last 10 years or so, have had had the Sin Sod handed back after the marriage - it was purely for show. I know of one foreigner who was living in Thailand and refused to pay Sin Sod for his girlfriend so they were not allowed to get married - at least not with the parents blessing. The couple decided to just live together and are still together to this day. Its an emotive subject and whilst Sid Sod is a part of Thai culture (a dying part IMHO) - the motives for it are often part of an entirely different tradition - the tradition of 'Farang Milking'. In this case the guy should simply say, I love your daughter, I want to be with her, I will take care of her and raise a family with her but I am not paying Sid Sod. The reaction will speak volumes. One thing we all should remember though - there is no effective 'safety net' in Thailand so to speak, pensions are usually painfully low etc. etc. The daughter will be expected to 'take care' of her parents in their retirement - if you marry a Thai, you become part of that commitment too.

No 'might' about it.

It doesn't really matter what contributes to PC. Again, I would remind you, I am now and have throughout this thread, referred to people who already have PC or have not been checked. If they have it, testosterone can be dangerous. Therefore, I believe it would be sensible for anyone who is considering taking any form of testosterone, to be checked for PC before doing so.

Thank you.

Again you are promoting views that claim its OK for Prostate Cancer patients to take testosterone. For every website that makes such claims, there are a hundred oncologists that would strongly disagree.