MangoKorat

35 minutes ago, BayArea said:

He won't be doing any more interviews anytime soon.

In that video he says he's 35 - I'd have put him at 47 ish. Clearly the gym life, taken to the extreme, doesn't do you a lot of good.

Did anyone watch the palava regarding the release? I'm surprised that anyone got out alive - Hamas had little control of the crowds and they were messing around for hours.  It must have been an extremely worrying time for the hostages.

1 hour ago, Maestro said:

There is no quota on non-immigrant visas.

Right, so have you any idea what Customs mean then?

11 hours ago, Rampant Rabbit said:

except if you leave the country a  few times  a year you cant............which is a  fairly recent change

Would I be correct in saying that if you leave and re-enter, the first 90 day report must be done in person every time?

The only Western food I can't do without is my English breakfast. The rest of the time I eat 99% Thai food.

Getting decent bacon used to be difficult but its readily available now - depending on where you live. Mine comes from Korat Chef in Korat. They sell quite a lot of Western branded food - at a price.

I bring Yorkshire Tea, Aldi brown sauce (identical to HP at 1/3 of the price) and a few tins of baked beans in with me when I come back from the UK - the beans run out pretty quickly though. I used to pay ridiculous prices for the local Ayams brand but they seem to have changed recently and are 'mai arroy' - I'd rather go without.

On 1/29/2025 at 9:38 AM, sandyf said:

I would suggest that you are right in thinking it means PR as that is subject to a quota each year.

Quite the oppostite, I don't see how it can mean PR.  Other rules on bringing in your furniture and personal effects state it must be done either 1 month before entry or a maximum of 6 months after.  Obtaining PR takes years therefore an applicant with PR would be well past the 6 month limit.

8 hours ago, Terry Scoble said:

Not any more!

Do you still have your UK driving licence?  If so, give your UK address as shown on the licence and provide the licence as proof.

On 1/25/2025 at 6:44 AM, Liverpool Lou said:

I know enough of the law to know that "justice for the widow" by the uninvolved family being penalised is complete nonsense, unless the family were sued but, in this case, there is nothing for his parents/siblings to be sued for.

Hmmm, then how does this work?

In 2011 I was on the back of a motorbike taxi in Bangkok when we were hit by a taxi that pulled out of a side road. The taxi driver (apparently legally) only had 3rd class insurance so the payout I received for my injuries/hospital treatment was way short of the total cost. The lawyer I employed to deal with my claim said we would firstly sue the taxi driver for the shortfall and if it turns out he has no money or land, the claim would move on to his immediate family - someone would most likely own land. I was astounded that it was possible to claim against family assets.

The taxi driver was totally in the wrong and a bloody idiot - however, he was just an ordinary poor guy who shared the taxi with 2 others - each working 8 hour shifts. I had lost quite a lot of money but I had no desire to make this guy's life any harder than it already was.  Once checks into the driver's assets revealed he had nothing and I declined to take action against the family. My lawyer however, told me that it was quite normal for direct family assets to be seized to settle claims.

9 hours ago, Kerryd said:

Always a laugh when you hear about different Immigration offices having their own sets of rules and procedures, different from every other office.

That is the one thing that has always baffled me about Thailand - and it applies in other matters.  How can you have a set of rules that can be varied at will?  The same goes for embassies - they each have different requirements for visa applications.

23 minutes ago, steve0101 said:

I will for sure write an update when I go and hopefully add some clarification. It seems that some people have been getting hassled just trying the border bounce twice in a row, where as when I did my second bounce at NK in early DEC 2024, there was no issue at all. Didn't ask me any questions, just stamped back in and back on the bus across the bridge. I think the whole thing took 20 minutes. 

I don't think anyone can rely on what happens when you attempt entry.  Its all down to the I.O. on the day.  You will often read reports (usually replies) on here where people claim to have been 'border bouncing' for years without a problem. Others have been denied after just a few entries. Thankfully, its been my experience that a warning has been issued (in different circumstances) rather than a denial.

I think the only certain thing is, if you have a history of multiple entries in your passport, you will always be at risk and should have a plan b.

7 minutes ago, flyingtlger said:

A likely story.....

Come on, she was in the right turning lane but was going straight on.

5 hours ago, Jabberwocky said:

Just go to a movie before it starts and watch what's happening.

 

"Family is everything" as long as you pay your share. Family loses interest often enough when s.o. who is supposed to support (e.g. their parents) doesn't do it. 

I don't know what type of Thai people you know but the ones I know are very tight and family is the most important thing to them.

1 hour ago, MicroB said:

 

 

I don't think they even had a phone. She called a neighbour who had one.

 

They raised a lot of money, for them, to pay someone to find their daughter, but that person promptly stole the lot. I feel very sorry for them.

Thank you for that, ther are people here that don't think they cared what happened to their daughter.

44 minutes ago, MicroB said:

 

Under Thai law, if the victim is a Thai national, they can charge. Similarly, English Law allows for the British authorities charge miscreants for crimes against British nationals outside of the UK.

OK but currently he has not been charged by either the Thai or English police.

I've only been once - a trip to Ho Chi Minh for a visa and stayed a few days. I saw enough  to want me to return which I will probably do later this year.  In particular I want to see some of the spectacular islands around the Cat Ba National Park and the rice terraces of Mu Cang Chai below.

2 hours ago, cjinchiangrai said:

An interesting story. The acceptance rates for gender affirming care are well into the 90s. It is unusual for patients to change their minds and reverse therapy.

I am not talking about acceptance rates, I am speaking from personal experience - increased rates of female hormones in a male body are unlikely solve any mental problems a person wishing to change gender may have that such as confusion - my experience is that it completey screws you up.

I also didn't mention people wishing to reverse any therapy they might have had. However, many ladyboys have been taking forms of male hormone for years - have you seen the way they behave?

I can't speak for the opposite where female genders may be given increased rates of male hormones - I have no knowledge of that.  What I experienced is very common but with some people, to a lesser degree. For me it was bad enough to cause me to refuse further hormone therapy and face the risks associated - fortunately that does not appear to have had any detrimental affect on the outcome - 10 years on I'm still here and touch wood - cancer free.

Just now, cjinchiangrai said:

But they do have health care and that is what is being provided. Who else would you like to deny health care to?

I didn't say they don't get healthcare. I said 'Many are in poor health and need additional money for associated expenses.' They get healthcare but they don't get help with travelling to hospital and various other additional expenses created by ill health.

How about giving these people hormones that match their actual gender? Would that not be a better fix?

I can state this much, giving people hormones of the opposite sex stands a high likelyhood of messing with their head and causing them further mental problems.  I was given female hormones as part of a cancer treatment and I can tell you it is very unpleasant. Yes, I've heard all the jokes about wanting to wear a skirt etc. but its a serious matter. You don't start feeling like a member of the opposite sex as per the jokes.

As another patient stated in a pamphlet I was given before starting the treatment - 'the only way I can describe it is that you lose your identity' - you wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and don't know who you are' - its an extremely weird feeling. So much so that I was prepared to take the risk of ending the treatment a year before I should have.

If the Thai government think this treatment will help stabilise transgender people mentally, all I can say is that my experience was the opposite.

30 minutes ago, cjinchiangrai said:

Sad but irrelevant.

I fail to see how its irrelevant that a government can spend 145 million baht on people who are not ill but decide they wish to be a different gender to that of their birth when they pay just 600 baht pension to some of the poorest people in the country. They are spending tax payers money on something that is a matter of choice.

Yes, these people haven't paid social security - many because their earnings have been too low to be able to afford to pay it. Some have worked all their lives in scorching heat to produce the country's staple food for which they are paid a pittance. Many are in poor health and need additional money for associated expenses.

I wonder how many of us could live on 600 baht per month? Thank god for the Thai family system that many elderley people rely on.

Meanwhile the Thai government can only afford to give some pensioners 600 baht per month.

On 1/26/2025 at 12:08 AM, american_boy said:

You guys are funny 🤪 I met her at Soi 6. She did quit work right after she met me which costed me a lot of money. I’m back in the US now. I’m sending her a bunch of money every month.  She will disappear once a while for 1-2 days with various nonsense excuses like she dropped her phone or she had a very sick relative that she needed to visit in her village and there was no cell reception. I’m very certain that she has other ‘boyfriends’. I just need the proof for my peace of mind.

Second thoughts, you don't need a P.I. or Flexispy.

She's at it, your's is a very old story that's been told thousands of times.

Firstly she works in Pattaya.

Secondly she works on Soi 6.

Thirdly she's a Thai prostitute.

Like many, you want to believe 'this girl is different' - they all are mate! Only they're not. They are very good actresses bud, that's why they are usually a much better bang than a Western hooker.

Many years ago I tried to help a young English guy who was besotted by a girl he'd met in a Pattaya bar. As with you (and so many others) he wouldn't listen.

6 months later after he'd sent her a s**t load of money he became suspicious and called me for help - he, like you, needed proof. This girl had gone home to the village, waiting for him to return - of course she had.  It was quite easy with her actually.......

This is a long time ago, there was no LINE, no Whatsapp or anything like that. The only way to talk to your 'girlfriend' in Thailand was by using one of the cheap access numbers from the UK. Access numbers can call Thai landlines or mobiles - land lines are usually cheaper.

I told this guy that most, even tiny, Thai villages have a village phone box (at least they did then).  I said he should tell his GF that the access numbers would no longer work with Thai mobiles so they needed to arrange a time to talk and he would call her at the village phone box.  He of course, would need the phone number to do that.  I told him to call me once he had the number.

A few days later he called - the number was 0066 38 ******. 0066 or +66 is the Thai code - 38 or 038 is the Chonburi area code - he had his answer, his girl was still in Pattaya. The area code for Korat, where she claimed to be is  44 or 044.

On 1/25/2025 at 9:02 AM, american_boy said:

Any recommendations for a private investigator that is based in Pattaya? Thank you.

IAre you trying to check on a Thai female? Do you have access to her phone?

If yes to both - this will work out much less expensive than a P.I. - the evidence is damning!

https://www.flexispy.com/

6 minutes ago, Jabberwocky said:

That isn't valid anymore. Look at last election results. 

And where did those results get them?  Are the party that won the election in power?

According to a girlfriend, since that election, Thai people are even more resigned to their 'lot' - that there's nothing they can do, than they ever were.

They have no power and they have no democracy - they know that. It would take a Civil War to bring about real change in Thailand and there is no credible group that has the money and following for that.

I also do not agree at all that they don't value life.  Family is everything in Thailand - at least it is amongst those I know.