MangoKorat

555 So now they're moving their entire operations to Thailand. Breaking News! Putin annexes Phuket.

I won't rattle on about that too much as we're way off topic but I've seen clear evidence of Thai's hiding their actual income. A few years ago I bought some jewellery at a gold shop and when I attempted to pay with my Thai debit card, I was told they'd have to charge me an extra 3% (I think 3) for using my card. I questioned this because that usually only applies to credit cards. I ended up paying cash. A few days later whilst at my local Kasikorn branch, I asked the assistant manager if they charged businesses for debit card transactions. I was told that they don't. I raised the matter of what happened at the jewellery shop, he told me that's normal - "they do under the table sir". As it happens, the jewellery shop also banked with Kasikorn and he told me that the man in question regularly comes in to the branch and deposits large amounts of cash into his personal account. So he actually records his potentially (almost certainly) tax evading income but thinks its safe in his personal account...........bah mak! They clearly aren't checked (yet) like we are in the UK - black money is black money and must stay that way. If the RD gets serious, and I suspect they will - as I say, I suspect cash will start to become more popular again.

If you were sending officers to arrest someone under suspicion of gun running, who would you send?

Yes, I wonder if 'ordinary' Russian people ever questioned just how many millionaires were created, almost overnight when the supposedly almost bankrupt communist system collapsed. They were most likely gangsters before that event and it seems a relatively small number of them carved up previously national assets. I doubt many Oligarchs have decided to move their 'Superyachts' to Thailand but as with all gangsters, they have their lieutenants who carry out their dirty work. I think its a fair bet that its those lieutenants that are flocking to Thailand - the outcome is predictable. Great move from the inept, cash is king Thai government - give Russians longer visas, lay on special flights for them, etc. etc. They complain about the number of Western criminals that make Thailand their home - they ain't seen nothing yet!

When I'm in Thailand, between Pak Chong and Khao Yai - currently on and off but I'll be making the move later this year. Currently far enough away from Mitraphap not to smell the petrol and diesel fumes but near enough for Lotus and Makro to be 10 minutes away. However, I'm within 500m of the new M6 motorway and I will reconsider things when that opens - I have a potential move under consideration. When I bought my current home, a major consideration was that its well South West of Pak Chong and the prevailing wind is also South West. I'm rarely exposed to any air pollution from the city area. Its also not a big Sugar Cane/Cassava area, I've never seen any crop waste burning locally. The downside of that its that Bangkok is also South West and I have on occasion noted a slight yellow haze. As I say, its a compromise, if I wanted the cleanest air possible, I probably wouldn't choose Thailand at all. As with many things, the Thai government does a lot of talking about air quality but in reality, does very little.

The value of my phone is very little, I believe I paid 5500 baht for mine and it does all I want it to. A friend always buys the latest iphone and pays a gazillion baht for them. I'm yet to see him do something with his phone that I can't do with my cheapie. We all, to a greater or lesser extent, rely on our phones for so many things these days. I choose to keep that to a minimum but even then, losing the content on my phone would be a major inconvenience. I periodically transfer photos and documents from my phone to my laptop but it would still give me major hassle if I lost it or it was stolen. For now, I think I can live without things like Google wallet although I'm aware things are changing fast. I doubt that cash will become obsolete in Thailand in my lifetime. The Revenue Department is currently looking for additional income and if/when they start looking closely at the financial activities of the millions of Thai's that claim to earn less than the tax threshold, I think cash will see a resurgence.

Thought so.

Air quality comes close to the top of the list when choosing where I live. However, as with many things, it can be wise to compromise. For me, the compromise is between pollution and convenience. I don't want to be miles away from shops and facilities etc. but I certainly would want to breathe the air in Bangkok for example. I'm not keen on carbon monoxide.

Almost certainly sarcasm but on the off chance that you are serious, just Google it.

Agreed, I also use cash as much as possible in the UK. Any form of payment where you don't see the money actually leaving you risks you losing track of what you spend. I do like the Kasikorn notifications system though - each time I use my card or a Direct Debit/Transfer goes out (or in), I get a notification of that transaction and an up to date balance.

You naturally assume that we all live in cities? Some of us think more of our health than living in those filthy, polluted, congested places.

So that's a big no from me then. Having witnessed a 'Moped Theif' snatch a young girl's phone out of her hand just a few days ago, I'm even more convinced that I don't any things to do with banking on my phone.

Fair enough, so there's a security benefit - although the hackers seem to be able to get around anything, given time which is another reason why I'm not too keen on many things 'digital'.

Is it really? Do you have any idea how much electricity cloud storage uses?

I don't find it difficult to carry a card but a card can be used for online purchases without physically having it with you. I have come across a couple of places in Thailand that didn't accept either of my visa cards and on those occasions I had to use the K Bank scan feature. That has only happened in Thailand though, in the UK just about everywhere accepts a visa card. I'm guessing here but the places in Thailand that wouldn't accept my cards probably didn't have card machines due to transaction fees. I'd actually rather not have K Bank, or any other banking application on my phone as I don't consider a mobile phone as secure but I was having problems getting One Time Passwords from Kasikorn when I'm in the UK. Kasikorn suggested that I use the K Bank App and that did indeed solve the problem. I just don't see the point of all these electronic wallets etc. Surely all it does is complicate things and make it more difficult to keep track of things? Surely you have to have a bank account in order to load money on to those wallets? I'm struggling to see the benefits. When in Thailand though, I mostly use cash.

Can anyone tell me why or how using Google Wallet is any better/easier than simply tapping your debit card?

Again, down to the police and their total lack of enforcement. Repeating myself but anyone familiar with the crossing at Nana? The intersection between Sukhumvit Road and Soi's 3 & 4? I was hit there a few years back, a foreign couple were killed there, there is a 'green man' light and the traffic, mainly taxis, ignore it all day long, right in front of a manned police box. What really got to me was that in my case, the copper did actually come out of his box, not to assist me - he wanted to arrest me for dragging the taxi driver out of his car!! Not a word said to the taxi driver. One could ask why there is a 'public outcry' about this incident when the same probably happens scores of times every day in Bangkok - its par for the course.

I'm just going by the information on the UK government's website about which countries want which licence and that information says 1968. https://www.gov.uk/driving-abroad/international-driving-permit To be honest, it would be a fair bet that 99% of Thai police have no idea which licence they are looking at. You could probably print your own 😁

Couldn't agree more. However, as I've posted many times - In my opinion, the Thai police are the route of all evil as far as road safety is concerned. The government keep banging on, year after year about this new road safety measure, that new rule. None of that will do an damned thing until the police start enforcing the existing laws. Once they do that (never going to happen by the way), people will begin driving to a better standard and road safety will improve. We are not in the last century, Thailand now has better roads (even if they don't mark them correctly) and cars/bikes are capable of high speeds - you can't mix that with lawlessness. There are a few inbuilt problems like the traffic lights that flash at night for example. I'm yet to meet a Thai, and many foreigners for that matter, that understand how they are supposed to work. They are a complete recipe for disaster! Most of the problems however, are down to poor driver behaviour. Its way beyond time to stop talking and start doing. There are bad drivers and poor driving in most countries but enforcement controls them. On the whole, drivers in most countries stick to the rules because of the fear of punishment. In severe cases you can lose your licence but that's not a problem in Thailand where the chances are that a driver doesn't have a licence in the first place. And why would they need a licence? All a Thai driver has to do if they are stopped and asked to show their licence, is say they left it at home - naughty boy, 200 baht and on your way. No check at all as to whether they actually have a licence or not. We all know where the 200 baht ends up and therein lies the inherent nature of the problem. The police don't want to see improvements because they would lose revenue if systems were put in place to ensure drivers had licences and drive properly when they do. Imagine being able to know from a computer based in your car, that the driver you have just pulled over, doesn't actually have a licence? Or from the ANPR camera on your dashboard, their car is out of tax, doesn't have a current safety certificate or insurance? Granted, that's pretty state of the art but before ANPR, UK police officers used to be able to radio in a reg number/name and get those details in a couple of minutes - that's old tech but effective and fairly easy to apply in Thailand. I bet they hate the fixed speed cameras that are slowly appearing on Thai roads - no opportunities there! I've even heard it suggested that the police are behind the fact that many fixed cameras don't work - sounds a but far fetched but it would fit. There are three main factors that improved road safety in Thailand depends on: Enforcement, Enforcement and Enforcement. Most of the time it just doesn't happen and when it does, well its a waste of time - all drivers worry about is how much an offence is going to cost them and on most occasions, that is very little.

Overall, I think that we often and I include myself in this, fail to appreciate that new measures are not always brought in as a response to anything Westerners do. There are other large foreign communities in Thailand and one of them is well known for its 'dodginess' in visa matters in the UK. They are probably an even bigger headache for Thai Immigration. That same group were responsible for fake documents being used to allow marriages a few years back that resulted in a lot of Amphurs refusing to marry foreigners for quite a long time and at least one Amphur manager being fired - scapegoated for accepting documents he had no idea were fake. Immigration have far more groups of foreigners to deal with than us. Their responsies don't always seem logical though.

We were previously discussing the fact that it is not always possible for someone with leaves of shorter than 75 days to obtain a 12 month extension of stay. I thought you were adding the 4 weeks rotations in regarding that.

Yes, I can understand that as well. I've seen plenty of reports of craziness over 12 month extensions........photos on the bed, maps etc.

Yes, but 4 weeks is 28 days. Not even close to 75.

I am not actually and never was. I still could never have left my business for 75 days and I can't think of anyone who could. Although self employed, I was mostly under contract to provide advice and services 24 hours per day, 7 days per week if necessary. 75 Days is a hell of a holiday - although I did once stay 6 months.

Clearly you have used a multi to 'live in Thailand'. I'm not criticising you personally but it is a fact that the correct method for someone living with their wife full time in Thailand is a 12 month extension of stay. The 12 month Multi Entry Non Immigrant Visa (MENO) based on marriage is intended for those who do not live with their wife in Thailand but visit regularly. I'm pretty sure in my mind that the new(ish) 400k requirement has been brought about by people using a MENO to avoid having the same amount for an extension of stay. I can't see any other reason for the change. There are many reasons why someone wouldn't want to put 400k in a Thai bank account. I'm not looking forward to having anything more than 20k in mine. Its so easy to keep your cash where its safe and transfer it in within seconds.