MangoKorat

There most definitely is not - especially not in Pattaya. I know this because a few years ago the Bangkok and Pattaya police chiefs had a walkabout in Pattaya and declared they found no sex for sale. I believe them - they are Thai police officers.

I'm no expert and can't say its the best but I use an Android box (HK1 Series) with Worldstreams Pro installed (pay annually). Has a few problems on the odd occasion but works well in general. Massive amount of channels and pretty good with up to date movies and series.

It appears so.

Yeah right! Is AN/Thaiger getting hassle from their advertisers by any chance?

Funny isn't it, just about every Thai I know also wants kids off bikes. Barking dogs drive my girlfriend crazy and the Pooyai baan in her village just issued the villagers with an order to take their dogs in at night. Its actually only a small % of parents that let their kids ride underage - next time you're at the school, count the number of bikes and measure that against the number of pupils. There are responsible Thai parents and there are irresponsible Thai parents. I wonder how the parents of the deceased in this case feel about their decision now? On the whole, I find that Thai's complain about exactly the same things as we do - its just that they've had a whole lifetime's experience of nothing changing. Whether its common for kids to ride bikes at 13 is not the issue. They are kids, they think like kids and kids do stupid things. There's a very good reason why 13 year olds cannot legally ride a motorbike on the road in most countries. Nothing to do with being a 'local' or a foreigner.

I think Trans would be up in arms if that was suggested. From what I see, they want to be treated according to how they identify. I saw one man interviewed on TV and he said he was a woman, had always 'known' he was woman but he was trapped in a man's body and wanted everyone to accept that he was actually a woman. Then these pigs flew past my window....................................... Next thing we know - they'll be demanding their birth certificates are changed!

A lot depends on excactly what you mean by 'meeting some local women'. If you are being polite and what you actually mean is that you intend visiting one of the 'entertainment areas' - then you almost certainly won't have a problem. Ladyboys working in those areas are pretty easy to spot and you'll quicky see what I mean. There are various physical features and mannerisms, most have been described here but the one big giveaway is the constant flicking of their hair and looking in the mirror. They also quite often have a 'cackling' voice and its fairly obvious that they are trying to sound like a female. However, quite a lot of real Thai girls can often have deeper voices than their Western countreparts. They generally hang around in groups and are a lot more pushy than the working girls. A word of caution, Ladyboys will often grab you as you walk past - don't react, just keep on walking. As has been said - most will tell you what they are but if you end up with a Ladyboy in your room that knows you haven't realised, they have been known to claim they are on their period so can only relieve you in another way. If you are talking about dating, that is where you might have a problem. Again many are upfront about it and most are obvious - others will tell you when you contact them. There are one or two though that would fool any of us and some seem to think that because they've had the full 'change' - they don't have to tell you. An ex of mine had a friend who was a ladyboy - living and working openly in Thai society as many do. However this one was small, had normal looking feminine features, didn't behave more girly than a real girl and had a normal female voice. I was with my ex for around 6 months before she told me this friend was not a girl - I couldn't believe it. I don't know if it still exists but there used to be a sort of 'quiz website' with lots of photos of ladyboys on it mixed in with real girls. You had to tick the ones you thought were ladyboys - I never saw anyone get it 100% right. No way is this a definite but if you are looking at dating sites and a 'girl's' height is listed, start looking more closely if the 'girl' is over 173cm.

Oh good, I'm glad they weren't questioned of the first floor. That wouldn't be right, would it? Is the reporting on here done by AI or is it simply poor standards? Much of what's reported here lately (in general) is either confusing, uses incorrect English grammar or as in this case, contains details that have no bearing on the matter.

I have no probems calling them Trans or Transgender and I believe they should, in general, be allowed to live as they so wish. But as it it not possible to completely change gender, in my opinion, they remain a man or a woman - according to birth. They can 'identify' as whatever they want but that should not mean that the rest of us have to accept that identity. I refuse to call a Transgender person who was born a man, she or one that was born a woman, he. As for them competing in a sport as a gender other than they were born as, no way. Whilst the outcome of this case is 100% correct, the matter of Transgender people competing in sport is far from settled as this case was actually settled on a technicality. 'her case was thrown out on a technicality because Thomas was "simply not entitled to engage with eligibility to compete in WA competitions such as the Olympics or world championships" as she was no longer a member of US swimming.' https://news.sky.com/story/transgender-swimmer-lia-thomas-cant-compete-in-olympics-after-losing-legal-fight-against-sports-governing-body-13152276 Clearly in a great many cases, a Transgender person can have a physical advantage over other athletes/sportsmen/sportswomen. They are currently allowed to compete in some sports depending on their testoterone level. I believe that is unfair as all transgenders should be treated equally. It also opens up a 'can of worms', and it quite often creates legal challenges. In my opinion they should just accept that they cannot compete in any sport as a gender other than that which corresponds to their birth - just as they should accept that they can never fully change gender. They don't need to be banned from sport, they could be allowed to compete according to their actual gender.

And never will be!

Not had any problems - mine came in rolls wrapped in plastic foil - not thick but highly efficient. I fitted it tight back to the outer skin and left a 50mm air gap. The house was built single skin - the inner walls were retro fit.

Nice place - the 2.5 mil was 12 years ago?

How long is a piece of string? I could say 1.5 - 2 mil for a basic house and 3 - 4 mill for something better quality. However, a lot depends on the fittings you're going to put in it. Depending on what you want, the fittings can cost as much as the shell. I fitted a western kitchen and decent quality uPVC windows and doors - not much change from 600,000 for those alone and mine ain't a big house. Don't fit those c r a p chinese plastic windows. Whatever you go for I recommend double skin walls with insulation between and don't forget the loft insulation - your house will be much cooler. If you want a western kitchen, I can thoroughly recommend Kvik Kitchens, Bangkok - nice stuff and their fitters were very professional. They had no problems coming to my place which is 2.5 hours from Bangkok.

He says its new, I wouldn't accept repaired parts on a virtually new bike.

Which countries? Certainly not the UK - one parent must be a British citizen. There was a time when people would come to the UK to have their baby which was, back then British by birth. They would then go on to claim citizenship themselves as the kid depended on them. That all stopped in 1983. 'Historically every child born in the UK was automatically British. Then the British Nationality Act 1981 came into force on 1 January 1983 which said that a child born after that date would only be born British if at least one of their parents was British or was settled at the time of the birth.' https://freemovement.org.uk/new-law-confirms-british-citizenship-for-children-of-eu-citizens-born-in-uk-before-2-october-2000/

If you damaged my bike p i s s e d up, paying for the damage to the bike would be the least of your worries. Are you writing this from hospital? Bikers normally get very, very upset when people damage their bikes.

Yes, I believe we were in agreement at the time - but the other member was demanding I post links to airlines paying out and was adamant that Singapore wouldn't be paying on this occasion. Those posts have been removed I believe - it became a bit of a slanging match. I fully expected Singapore to payout and I also suspect that if anyone's hospital bill proves to be bigger than the alloted amount, they will pay. They have a top rate reputation and they know the rules - they are not going to risk that.

Not at the lights I mentioned in Pak Chong. I didn't and never would, suggest that anybody goes against a red light. To re-iterate. The lights I mentioned in Pak Chong (and I don't think they are disimilar to many others), are on a 3 lane system. 2 lanes for going straight on and the right lane for turning right only. When the main lights go to green, the red light on the right turning lane goes out - it does not at that stage however, go green until a minute or so later. If I'm at those lights, turning right and there's no oncoming traffic, I go as soon as the red light goes out. Thai drivers don't move until the light goes green - which is a bit odd as they regularly run red lights, sometimes 10 seconds or so after they've changed.

I would agree that its poorly written but......... 'Aui expressed this necessity due to her challenging circumstances: she lives with 13 family members, including elderly individuals, children under 16, and disabled persons, all relying on her for support.' Note the colon.

Skim readers as usual.

In light of the news yesterday, that Singapore Airlines will be paying compensation, I wonder if the member who berated me for saying that Singapore would payout rather then risk their excellent reputation would care to comment?

As I'm pretty sure there is no difference. If you know otherwise, I'd gladly stand corrected.

Well if I couldn't make a business work, I wouldn't have much choice would I. I would keep myself busy though. I don't. Doing your homework before you start a business is just good practice. There is no tax. I also contacted a friend who works as a taxation specialist with Deloitte in Bangkok. She advised me that no changes will be made to the tax system retrospectively - its never been done. So once my money is in, tax free - it remains tax free. They may screw over the general population but I very much doubt they'd dare to screw over the 'high rollers' in Thailand (and probably themselves) who'd be seriously affected by any retrospective changes. In looking for comparisons, the Thai government have often 'grandfathered' new rules for existing residents - such as the income requirements for extensions of stay. With the greatest of respect, there is a general presumption worldwide against introducing any new rules on anything retrospectively unless there is compelling justification. Any attempt to do so regarding tax rules would almost certainly be challenged in the courts. I don't think I need to 'wake up' - I'm very aware of how Thailand works. I've used the courts in Thailand and contrary to popular belief, I found I was treated very fairly. There's often a 'back story' to those who claim otherwise.

Yes, I find it incredible that he continues his line after I posted several links, some to specific cases and convictions. I don't invent knowledge of tax evasion, it comes from years of seeing TV news reports and like many of us, its common knowledge. I do though, know of one person personally and referred to that as an addition to a post. That person never got caught for what he did so there is no documented evidence but one only has to search google to find many examples of people that have been prosecuted, jailed or remain under investigation. There are perhaps 5 or 6 other posters on here who seem to look for people posting something and then pouncing on it and demanding evidence. When you provide evidence, they argue with it. In future I will refuse to do so, I have more to do than waste me time on pedants. One guy recently asked me to provide evidence that airlines have to pay compensation in the event of accidents. In that case we were discussing the Singapore Airlines emergency landing at Bangkok. Given today's news the Singapore Airlines have indeed announced a compensation package, he's ended up with egg on his face.

No I can't but they can't change rules retrospectively or the Thai population would be up in arms. Changes normally take place from the beginning of a tax year. Hence I will bring my cash in whilst it can be done tax free. I'm not going to risk things changing and possibly having to pay tax on money I bring in. Having been involved with the country for a long time, I know several people who run businesses in Thailand so I'm aware of what's involved. There are hoops to jump through but only one of the people I know has problems and when you get to the bottom of them, they are all his own doing because he spends all his time trying to get around the rules. He complains about having to pay social security for his Thai staff - all Thai companies have to do that. He tries to get out of paying income tax by underdeclaring his income then wonders why it isn't sufficient to support his visa etc. etc. If I couldn't make a business work, then I would retire and find some other way of keeping myself busy. Fortunately the main expenses for the business I have planned are in in assets that I can readily sell on. Losses will be minimal. I'm not, I'm simply answering your suggestions.