TroubleandGrumpy

Unfortunately that is a common thing in some nationalities - but there are much worse than Germans. I note that Japanese are at the other end of the spectrum.

Exactly - but they probably paid up front and demanded their money back. Like most younger people - totally unaware that the laws and rules in Thailand are not the same as back in their home country. I recall vividly that video where a US woman was filming some blokes doing something and one of them said to stop recording them. She said she was exercising her Constitutional rights - and he said this is not America. She kept filming - so he walked over and knocked her out - the camera kept rolling as he walked away. Funny - but I do hope she recovered OK.

Yes - unless he is assassinated by one of the violent woke liberal nutters.

Mate - all they want is to bring in more voters to make up for those that wake up and realise they are the scam party of division and hate. Their BS about human rights is just that - total BS - if they all voted GOP the Dems would deport them and stop them coming in too.

When President Nayib Bukele was elected in mid/late 2019 he started cracking down on the criminals and the drug gangs who he claimed were the cause of most crime in El Salvador. After a few years of slow progress he went 'full monty' and in 2022 and implemented the policy of sentencing all members of criminal gangs to 100 years in prison - no appeals no parole. To full facilitate this new way, he built the world's largest prison in early 2023. El Salvador now has the highest rate of people in prison in the world 2% of the population - 6 million. Many humand rights and woke liberals have complained bla bla bla - but the vast majority of El Salvadorans agree - and below is the result in regards to murders (same applies to all other major crime categories). IT WORKS !! May all the ICE members in USA have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and may all the illegals sleep poorly in fear of being arrested and deported. The smart ones will know it is a matter of time, and they will take up the offer to voluntarily leave - $3000 USD - to help with their resettlement in their own country - now that is a great XMas present !!

Enoch Powell said what was going to happen and he was right. When his full prophecy comes to pass and there is 'blood in the streets' as he said there would be - then maybe he will be rightly remembered for speaking the truth - politically incorrect - but none the less, the truth.

Unlike in 1st world countries, the BOT does not have to publish any activities it undertakes with regards to the Baht. They can buy or sell any amount on the market, and not have to report it at all. The BOT Overlords want it up, they buy - they want it down they sell. The BOT needs to be reined in and brought under the control of the Thai Govt - the BS from some Expats about the Thai Central Bank being 'independent' is just that - total BS. In Thailand they are all corrupt and bent and we all know that - I fail to understand how some Expats can think that the BOT is not corrupted or bent. IMO the world would be better off if all Central Banks were reined in and placed under the control of the elected Government. That way if they screw up the Govt can be removed by the people - the unaccountable Central Banks (and EU and UN) should all be reined in. Remember when they all raised interest rates after Covid finished? That was a mistake, because the inflation was caused by supply side problems, not too much demand causing prices to increase. But the bigger mistake was taking far too long to lower them again when it was clear they had crashed the global economy almost as bad as Covid. There are many things that most women and public service bureaucrats have in common, but the biggest one is a total lack of any sense of accountability.

Happy New Year too

Exactly correct - glad someone else here can see that fact. There is a lot of 'real' trade in gold going on - it has been climbing in value for years. But the big issue is that the BOT allows all gold trade to be in Baht, when other countries (like Singapore) enforce heavy taxation on gold traded in their currency over a certain amount - thereby forcing the trade to be mainly in USD and thus not increasing the SGD too high and thereby making their exports and tourism more expensive - both critical parts of the Singapore economy. Are the Thai elite very smart and are taking advantage - YES. But the issue is that they are also pushing their minions in Govt not to make any changes to the rules. When this all finally comes crashing down - and it will - I think it will be worse than in the late 90s crash of the Baht - which was also caused by unending greed and corruption. Until then I am not bringing in to Thailand any serious money - I got some money in last year at 25 per $AUS but now it is just above 20 per $AUD and looking likely to go lower. There is an inevitable crash coming IMO.

Just had another thought - perhaps they are putting them all together - so that they can take them all down at once on the same day. That would stop any Dem voting woke liberal Judge putting an injunction on them and stopping them detaining many others - pending an appeal - giving them time to hide/destroy evidence and otherwise avoid criminal charges (as Clinton did).

Good one - a perfect Christmas present for the People of America. Lets hope there are many more bad Dem voters like this one detained and deported over the New Year break. After you have listed so many bad criminals being detained and deported, it sort of amazes me how the woke liberal nutters still think ICE and Trump are doing something wrong. But then again - 'woke liberal nutters' says it all and why. Have a great day Ric - keep up the good work mate.

If you are visiting Australia for less than 3 months, all you need is the valid Thai licence, and a valid International Driving Permit (IDP). You can get an IDP at your local Thai Province Land Transport Office - https://www.dlt.go.th/en/international-driving-licence Best to call and ask them first what is required - Thai wife/GF/friend? If you are moving back to Australia, then it is OK to use the Thai licence and IDP as above, but before the 3 months is up, you need to get a new Licence - Tests, Eyesight, Q&A etc etc (no renewal is available in any State after 5 years). Because your licence is Thailand you may be exempted from some tests (both drive on same side of the road etc.). You will need to prove 'residency' in whatever State you apply for the new licence - that means a valid address in your name - not a hotel (a rental contract will suffice usually) - best to call the State's Road and Transport Office and ask in advance what is needed to get a new one.

I have a feeling that Trump and his Admin are building up to something big - very big. They seem to be holding back preparing for something big - things like this are not immediately being actioned - I think they have something else far more important being planned. Perhaps after the New Year whatever it is will happen.

Been in KK for a while - the 90 days never worked online since I got here. Rang Bangkok and asked - told to call KK. Called KK and they did not know. Last time I applied online and was again rejected (data error) so I printed out the document that I applied with on line (they give a pdf of your application) - I signed the printed copy (changed nothing) took it to the Office and it was approved - go figure. Will continue to do the same from now on - apply online and if rejected yet again, print and sign online application and go to Office. Good thing about KK it only takes 5-10 mins - plus the drive there and back.

Very telling mate - very telling indeed. With regards to Biden the question would be answered by both sides No IMO. He was totally incompetent and mentally unstable and lead around by his nose - but not evil.

Keep your delusions mate - because if one day you realise how wrong you are about so many things, your world will come crashing down. I have seen it happen again and again here - and it often ends badly. Lets agree to disagree and move on - good luck mate.

I do not understand how in USA the State Authorities can ignore a Federal Law and get away with it. In Australia the Federal Laws over-ride the State Laws where the issue is a Federal Issue (such as Immigration) as defined in the Constitution and any 'breach' by any State Official is severely punished - including having local officials arrested and charged. My understanding is that the Federal Authorities in USA cannot compel the States to assist with the enforcement of Immigration Laws, but when a person is detained by the State and has a lawful ICE apprehension order placed against them, then is not refusing to hand that person over to ICE an illegal act - aiding and abetting a person evade a Federal Law. Did not a Judge just get arrested and convicted of doing just that, when she let him sneak out the back through her chambers and escape from ICE Officers??

We dont agree on many things, but what you said is correct - you were referring to 'Australian Products'. I have seen the same myself over the years - what I do is check prices now and then and when they cut prices I then buy - then next week they will be back up again.

Stop digging mate - just admit you might have got it wrong and move on - be a man. Clearly you are wrong and are trying to justify what you have said - and judging by the responses, most agree with me that you are 'out of order'.

If you are living in Thailand I strongly advise you to leave - living in a place while having such a strong hatred of the country and the people is unhealthy. You are extremely uninformed - I suggest you stop reading the headlines and start reading the articles and gaining an in depth understanding of what has been going on since the British and French colonised SEAsia between them. Recognise the 1907 borders?? Thailand was forced to accept the French created Treaty Borders because it suited the French and Siam wanted to remain independent of both the French and British Empires - which they did. Why not use the border in 1800?

What a load of absolute rubbish - you either rarely visit Thailand, or are stuck somewhere between your room and bars? Anutin has no control over the Army - he cannot tell them to stop even if he wanted to - this is not Kansas mate - it dont work that way here. Thailand has been dealing with the Cambodian hit and runs for months and the Army has finally had enough and said so - they are going to take out any Cambodian military resources near the borders to stop them firing randomly into Thailand. IMO Thailand should just invade and wipe out the Cambodian military that opposes them (most wont) and capture the Capital City - and then leave and let the Cambodian People decide who runs the place. Whoever takes control of Cambodia after the Hun Sen dictatorship is removed/killed by the People, can then work with Thailand to restore democracy (a version), and eventually ratify an Agreement on the borders. Or Hun Sen can stop ordering his troops to attack and run, both in retaliation for Thailand closing down his gambling and call centres that brought him $billions, and also to distract from all the protests and complaints against himself for years, and very much growing since he made his Son 'Dictator' in late 2023. Cambodia is a totalitarian State and the ruling class hates Thailand - they are not the good guys in this situation. The Cambodian people are OK overall, but they are being lied to about what is happening and who started it.

It is a pity that he was actually - unlike his Brother who was born in Kenya. I note that the false story claiming Obama was not born in USA, has been traced back to Clinton operatives during the Democrat selections of their nominee for the 2008 POTUS election. The Dem machine knew they were on a winner with the race card, so they selected Obama and promised Clinton she would be next. I also note that the false story/reports claiming Trump was linked with Russian assets etc. was also traced back to Clinton operatives - and it is so funny that Clinton and her crew were able to get away with destroying all that evidence due to the Obama appointed FBI Director (Comey) who has escaped justice because of the Statute of Limitations. IMO Obama was not a good POTUS and created a lot of the racial division in the USA right now - but Clinton would have been absolutely atrocious.

Absolutely agree. He and the Dems focused on the race card and white guilt, and it was extremely successful and it got him elected. But the promises of 'Yes We Can' etc etc were all lies as he and his 'partner' doubled down on the race rhetoric - and all the other minority victim-hoods jumped onboard, like trans etc. The backlash was extreme once everyone realised the damage being done - bingo - Trump was elected in an even bigger landslide than Obama. The 'victims' and Dems have never forgiven Trump for disrupting their planned utopian empire - and they never will - hence the hatred.

Could I ask for some advice - we are going to Chiang Mai for a holiday and will be playing lots of golf there (I hope). Is there any golf clubs/resorts that you would recommend on the way from Khon Kaen to Chiang Mai. We would like to play golf on the wat back especially, but we have never played in that area between CM and KK.

Ditto in Khon Kaen. Now I have 'switched' to the monthly income method, whereby over 65K is transferred from overseas into my Krungsri Account. I plan to visit the local Immigration Office in 4 months and check that this will be OK for my next annual renewal. Assuming it is, then I will be transferring all my money from Bangkok Bank to Krungsri bank. I think that Bangkok Bank are going to have a lot of money transferred out of their bank to other banks over the next 3-6 months as Expats all migrate to other banks. Perhaps they care about that exit of money, and perhaps they dont care - either way they do not care about Expats living in Thailand. All Expats should take their 'hint' - take your money out of Bangkok Bank (when you can) and transfer to another bank. Hopefully the others will not also do what Bangkok Bank have done. If they do, then yet another reason for Expats to leave Thailand and live elsewhere.