MangoKorat

They cannot legally ride a bike over 110cc until they reach 18 and pass a test. I'm not sure if the test for bikes under 110cc counts or whether they have to take a new test. Knowing Thailand, the previous test probably counts.

Read the get out clauses. If you get a bad tenant, its lose lose until you finally get them out. In the UK you even have to continue carrying out repairs for tenants who are not paying their rent!

What would you do smart**s? As it happens, I haven't done it but I would - most landlords I know do.

Nope, its 18.

At 15 he can ride a bike up to 110cc until he is 18 when he can ride unlimited cc's - all subject to passing a test. There was talk of a 'big bike' licence being introduced for over 400cc with, I think a 21 year old requirement but that seems to have been shelved.

As a landlord, I can tell you that is a complete waste of time. I'd be happy to provide a reference for a problem tenant if it helped me get them out of my property.

Agree with most of what you say - I think it may have been you that recommended me to Boonma. So, as someone who is going through exactly the same process as the OP at the moment but a little bit further down the line, I'll share my thoughts and experiences so far - for the OP: As you will have seen, many people here say sell your stuff and buy new in Thailand. That may be the right thing for some but its far from the best way for others. I'm making a permanent move to Thailand - as most of us have, I've collected various items over my lifetime that are in some ways, part of me. I have things ranging from tools that would cost a fortune to replace (with the same quality) in Thailand to personal items that have been handed down through generations of my family. What am I supposed to do with those things? Secondhand tools are very hard to sell and usually worth far more to the owner than any potential buyer and there's no way I'm throwing away items left to me by my grandmother - just two examples. So what to do? Well in my particular case, I had, repeat had, whittled my list of must have's down to the minimum and then set about getting prices to ship only those items. I spent quite a lot of time getting prices from so called specialist movers and was gobsmacked at the costs. However, what I did learn is that it is not much more expensive to ship a 20ft container full of items than it is to ship less in a container shared with others. Its also far safer and less likely that any of your items will actually be scutinised by customs on arrival. After being quoted between £3500 to £7000 by several specialist movers, I called a basic shipping agent (I'm in the UK by the way) who quoted me £1100 to ship a full 20ft container. This particular company does not have an agent in Thailand that deals with domestic items as most of their business is commercial so I had to find my own - which I have thanks to being recommended to Boonma. Using this method a 20ft container is delivered to my home and left with me for 3 hours whilst I pack it. Its then picked up and sent on its way to Thailand by the UK agents who notify their counterparts in Thailand. The packing and safety of the items inside is down to me. When I contacted Boonma I couldn't really understand what all the various charges that may or may not apply were so as I was due to visit Thailand, I called to see them in Bangkok - their guy spoke perfect English. The rules for importing personal items and furniture (as a foreigner) are basically that most things can be imported tax free provided that you have either a Non O or a Work Permit. However, from what Boonma told me, customs apply their own rules and they only allow the tax free status for those with a Work Permit. You can fight that and you may be successful but all the time that you are fighting, your container is incurring storage charges - in reality its better to just pay it. The OP's circumstances are different to mine in that I will have a Work Permit but I will have to pay duty on the non personal items (tools etc.) that I bring in. What I gleaned from my meeting with Boonma is that basically, in my circumstances, customs are looking for 20k baht per container to keep them happy - provide a list of the major items, pay the 20k and its unlikely that your container will even be opened. Refuse to pay any 'duty' because your items are all household and you risk your container being put in a queue and once again subject to storage charges. I can't advise you on the Thai agent's fees and import costs yet as I have to finalise my list and decide if I want Boonma to deliver them to my home or not. All I can say is that its currently looking like the total cost of shipping, agent's fees and duties is likely to be £2000 - £2500. To replace everything would be around £8000 - my compressor and MIG welder alone would cost around £1200 to replace. Yes, I'd have new items but I neither need or want those sort of costs at the moment. If I was going to use things like that commercially, there might be some benefit in having new items but I'm not. Its a 'no brainer' for me but I can well imagine that the opposite applies to some people. To simply say get rid of your stuff and buy new in Thailand is just plain wrong. Work out your own circumstances and check the costs - only you can decide. Boonma Shipping Bangkok: 106 Ramkhamhaeng Road, Soi 8, Hua-mak, Bangkapi, Bangkok 10240, Thailand Office hour: Monday to Friday 08:00 - 17:00, Saturday 08:00 - 12:00. Phone: +66 2 314 5021 Fax: +66 2 318 2447 E-mail: boonma(at)boonma.com

Well then, you are mistaken. I do regularly watch BBC News and I am aware that most conspiracy theory types like to slag off the BBC because they don't like the fact that BBC news stories are verified. However, I have no access to CNN and neither would I want any - there is far too much USA related news in the UK already. Believe it or not, I actually have a brain that has earned me 2 degrees, a first and a 2.1. I am also able to discern the facts that a lad in my class at school had calipers on his legs because he had contracted Polio early in his life - he was unvaccinated because his parents were living abroad when he was born.very young. I am also able to discern that my kids and my grandchildren have not witnessed anyone at their schools who contracted Polio ans that 'Sir' is 100% down to the fact that almost all school age children in their age group were vaccinated against Polio. Much the same goes for Measles. I would also point you in the direction of recent measles outbreaks in the USA but you'd probably say that I heard those on the BBC and they simply 'picked on' those stories. Doctors in the UK are highly educated people - usually taking 10 years to become a GP. I trust in what they tell me just as I would expect them to trust my judgement in matters where I have expertise I am not an 'amchair expert'. You didn't think I would reply because I told you I wouldn't. Anti vaxxers are quite often also conspiracy theorists. Be honest with yourself - I and other members here could spend hours providing with you with evidence as to the efficacy of vaccines and you would still say we are wrong. I have a friend who is an anti vaxxer and interestingly, he also slags off the BBC although he's never provided any evidence as to any bias or false stories that the BBC are guilty of. As a parallel - Trump made claims that the 2020 election was 'stolen' - millions believed him it seems yet to date, he has failed to provide any evidence to support his claims. I can tell you one thing though, should he provide any, the BBC would be one of the first to report it. So I've given you my reasons and just as you are, I am entilted to form my own opinions but I do so based on evidence from experts - each to his own. I object to what I believe are ridiculous sories that claim all vaccines are dangerous when its such stories themselves that are actually dangerous. I would suggest though, that you do a little research into life expectancy rates levels over the last 200 years and ask that you consider what part vaccines might have played in those levels more than doubling in developed countries, particularly in the UK. What I'm not about to do is debate the matter further with you or anyone else - I've aleady explained why - I would quite simply be wasting my time because no amount of evidence will change your mind. There will be no further posts from me on this matter.

Nothing tough about it, I'm proud of my roots and who I am.

I wonder where most, if not all his comments come from. Just about every time he talks he makes claims about one thing or another - often outlandish and never substantiates anything. Cases in point - the eating cats and dogs statement, the foreign criminals and mentally ill illegal immigrants pouring over the border and more recently at a meeting with coal miners he stated that his tariffs were netting $2 billion per day - he'd only just introduced them (and most likely paused them the next day) so I very much doubt he actually had that information. Then there is the biggy, that is still oft repeated by his MAGA fans - that the 2020 election was 'stolen'. I listen to all his claims with a large dose of scepticism - especially those regarding stopping the Russian war in Ukraine in his first day in office. I think we should all consider that this lunatic is in charge of the world's largest economy, considerable military power and has varying degrees of political influence worldwide. In addition, it beggars belief that the man in charge of the world's secong biggest polluter took the USA out of the Paris Accord. In much the same way, everyday folk seem to think they are also empowered to exagerate matters regading illegal immigrants committing crimes. I'm in no way saying they don't commit crime but I'd suggest the 'Trump' unsubstantiation factor is applied to many of these claims.

Yes well, I'm both.

Quick, lock up your cats & dogs.

Damn! I thought I hid it so well.

Careful!

Yes, as your great leader says - 'there's muderers and mental patients pouring over the borders' and apparently Congo has emptied all its prisons and sent them to the UISA. Jeez, the USA must be a very dangerous place to live these days. It must be awful for the population who used to enjoy such a peaceful life because as we all know - US citzens are totally law abiding, well, those that are not already in the country's prisons. All these illegals running around committing crime and eating people's pets, it really must be awful over there at the moment. I bet its the illegal immigrants that are also responsible for carrying out all the school shootings if the truth be known? Get that wall built - Mexico will pay! Make America Peaceful Again.

Nice try but a failure I'm afraid. To rational people the answer is obvious, if you think I'm getting drawn into this ridiculous thread, you're very wrong.

They could cut through all this if they simply introduced a licence up to 70 years old followed by 3 yearly renewals subject to a health declaration - as per the UK system.

And?

This post illustrates exactly why a degree of censorship will always be necessary even if it isn't being applied here. The arguments against that include freedom of speech and rights to opinions etc. The problem is that the internet has provided a platform where those who peddle this kind of crap can access gullible people. Whilst the vast majority of people will see the OP for what it is - total rubbish, there will always be people who believe stuff like this and are influenced by it. When such influence can and has lead to deaths, my opinion is that such posts should be taken down. Would it be OK to post instructions on how to make a bomb or home made gun? Clearly the answer is no, because its dangerous and can lead to deaths. This post isn't? During Covid, a friend of mine who is by no means stupid, shared a link to a 'supposed' news website where a report stated that the first woman in the UK to receive the covid vaccine had died. I hadn't heard anything on the TV news so I Googled it - the post was a fake and the woman in question had posted a video proving she was very much alive. Many people no longer watch mainstream news anymore, sources that would out such rubbish - they rely on what they read on their phones and may well be influenced by it.

Following the news from the lovely 'Family Friendly' resort of Pattaya each week has convinced me - Pattaya is a great place to live..............NOT!

Yes, as someone else already pointed out. I wasn't aware of that. However, the Thai provisional licence is not the same as a provisonal licence issued in many other countries - to learners. I guess one similarity is that drivers (I think also based on age) in the UK that have just passed their test are subject to certain restrictions for a couple of years.

Part of the weekly routine but to be honest, my bike 'tells' me if the pressures are wrong. I've never known a bike that is so sensitive to just 1 or 2 PSI.

I 'get it' completely - I get that now, instead of admitting that you are wrong, you are now going 50/50 by saying 'there becomes a point' bla bla bla. The actual fact is that you have a choice, you can pay your way out of a situation or you can refuse (if you know you are right). You cannot say I'm wrong, because I know it to be true. I refuse, others pay. At the start of your argument you were stating that its reality and claiming its what you have to do if you live in Thailand. Now you say that you do 'stand up' but only to a point. Which is it? You then move on to calling me naive - how can that be correct when I have proved time and time again that you don't have to pay the police - and that's the nub of it - you don't have to if you are sure you've done nothing wrong, That is plain and simple corruption and although you may not think so, you do have a choice. Yes, choosing not to pay may well cost you time, even money but for someone like me who is totally anti corruption, paying the police is out of the question. I'd rather go to court and end up with a bigger fine if I lost.

Really? Well its worked for 22 years, what makes you think it won't carry on? Listen, I (with the help of my Thai lawyer) took a major Thai hospital to court and they backed down and settled just before the court date. Ditto, with the same lawyer I took my ex Thai wife to court, she went to see a lawyer herself and settled before court. On both occasions I was told I was wasting my time - the old 'farang always loses' rubbish. Its nothing but bar stool rubbish - those who do get prosecuted have probably broken the law and those who have lost money to a Thai wife, either weren't entitled to it or haven't tried the Thai courts. They simply go on perpetuating the 'farang always loses' crap. Having said that, there will always be times where even the courts get it wrong but that applies to Thai's as equally as it does to foreigners. The 'farang' does not always lose - I have first hand evidence of that, where does your evidence come from?

Naive? I think I've explained fairly comprehensively why I'm not and others have also commented that their experiences have been the same. I would not be stupid enough to state that the police never take a cut - simply because I don't know that. What I do know is my experiences and those are that you do not have to pay the police. How can my experiences be naive? No, the police are not doing it for the love of their job but by both sides coming to an agreement, their job can often be made much easier - they don't seem to like working or filling in forms very much. Yes, I know very well that people do pay the police, its common knowledge but that's usually because they have been breaking the law - sometimes by drink driving. All I'm saying is that if you are certain you have done nothing wrong, you don't have to pay them. Get your phone out and start recording - see what they do. Its barstool rubbish and very much like those who claim they've been 'fined' for doing DIY on their home. They mistake police corruption for the truth, the stories perpetuate and become the truth in many people's eyes.. A member once posted on here that he had been fined by the police for working when all he had done was to drill a hole in the wall of his home. If that story was true, what he should have done was refuse to pay anything and ask for his day in court. I discussed that story with my Thai lawyer who stated that it was rubbish - there wasn't a court in the land that would have fined him for doing that and he should have refused. The police have learned that they can squeeze cash out of some foreigners so they try - next time you have a problem and you know they are wrong - grow a pair and refuse.