TroubleandGrumpy

We do the same. I get a table and the cutlery and sit there, while the wife gets the food. If there is no table to get, we walk away. We used to arrive in the busy time and walk away sometimes, but now we arrive at the end of the lunch 'hour' and there is always tables available. And as the wife said - it is best to arrive late not early, because if they do keep any food leftover from yesterday, it will be the first they sell on the next day - win/win. And I still am amazed at how cheap and good the food is in food courts - just as good as in most restaurants and way less cost.

Go into the nearest Big Mall with an Apple Store and ask them.

As I said - Many people take them off and lay down across other seats - that should be banned too. If you can do that while keeping the seatbelt on, then OK by me - but most I see take them off and leave them off - including the wife who I make put it back on. I wont have that problem now 🙂

Smart thinking that - good idea.

Yep - a lot goes into planning and packing for a 1 month trip to Japan or whatever, when you have a wife, and when you know you will need all those 'little things' they dont have in most places - including in remote Thailand. Not a full-time job - but we start packing 2 days before - having learned the hard way that doing it the morning of the day you are leaving leads to mistakes - including weighing each bag to make sure not over 20kgs. But if it is you alone and you only need 1 bag for everything, then no worries - you can start when you call the cab/bike 🙂

I would not be surprised to see that there are some sort of rules regarding where such a business can operate - but as we all know it is the 'policing' of the rules that is lacking in Thailand. Apparently the place was not registered or the opewrator licenced - probably because it and he would not have been approved.

Thanks for that explanation - I did know a little bit about it, but that gives me all the details. I woud bet 90+% of 'tradesmen' in Thailand using welding tanks with acetalyne in them have no idea what you just explained.

As they say - those with an 'issue' are often the last to recognise it in themselve - without professional help. You introduced the 'Trump Factor' into a discussion about Big Joke in Thailand. PS - All politicians deceive their supporters - some way more than others - but they all play the game.

Only one guard on the gate - that is how mate. And yes maybe 'decent' was not the right word to use from your word library - but from where I come from it means 'very very good'. We often say 'that was half decent' - meaning good. So what I meant was a decent gated community with 2+ guards on the gate - guards that patrol the community - no one enters without permission - residents have a auto pass card - and non-residents have to sign in and get stamped out - etc etc etc.

TDS much? That bloke is living free of charge in your head mate - you should let it go because he will be POTUS again. After all it is not as if you live in the USA.

Seems to me that Big Joke has been attacked a lot in the past (even shot at) and that 'they' are desperate to keep him from getting the top job and cleaning 'them' all out. If he was as corrupt as they are saying, then why are they trying to stop him getting the top job? Surely if he was as corrupt as the others, they would just let him have his turn at the big cheese, and wait for their own turn. No - me thinks he is clean(er) and that he will take them all down if he is in the top job, and that is why they are desperate to stop him being promoted. It is not only the corrupt Junta in this country that knows how to manipulate the system in order to remove their opponents.

Sadly yet another Thai business operating without due care and following 'proper' procedures - and apparently with no authorised registraton and no staff training. I see it so often - some Thai operating a 'workshop' in a little townhouse in the middle of a residential area. As we leave the village I often see across the road a Thai 'tradesman' working on metal stuff outside on the concrete floor - cutting, welding and hammering etc etc. - unbelievable, but I see it everywhere in Thailand.

10 years of a Junta has decimated economic growth and the Thai economy is totally screwed - and they are hiding this from everyone. The high season Tourism failed to get it going, and all the PM does is talk about new deals that will probably never happen - and the handouts are a massive risk to the long term economy. What that economic disaster has caused, is that people dont have the money to keep their kids in school - they are coming back home/farm to help the family through this tough period of time and the upcoming planting season.

What might happen as an outcome of this event, is that all passengers will be forced to keep their seatbelts on at all times - unless using the toilet. I always wondered why they allow people to undo their belts - at the very least it should be on - maybe not so tight as takeoff/landing - and thus stop you hitting the baggage racks above you and from being flung across the ailse if the plane hits turbulance. Many people take them off and lay down across other seats - that should be banned too.

I doubt she will ever be in a senior role in Govt again for the reasons you said. Back then when it all broke she was clearly 'lost' and it seemed to me that she had been taken advantage of by other Thais who always seem to get away with those sort of things.

Because you have a house to come back to and somewhere to keep all your things and somewhere to live when you decide to settle down and stop travelling. Single blokes with all their gear that can fit in a bag or two and living in a 30m2 room just dont have the need. That was me when a lot younger - now we take aseveral days to pack bags for a trip away somewhere.

Ditto - we have lived in two gated communities built and run by a well know Thai developer (no names), and recently bought a house in a new estate of theirs. Meanwhile, in this cheaper place we are renting in a very basic 'gated community' has had several break ins - luckily not us (yet?). I heard through wife from other Thais that it is often teenagers - they can squeeze in though open bathroom windows etc. If someone is home they will grab what they can quietly, if no one is home they open the door and let in their mates. Place next door has a dog - and he barks when someone in the soi pharts - best protection is a dog that barks IMO.

Sad story. But obviously the house was not in a 'decent' gated community with real security - perhaps I should have added that.

This is why is is a wise move to buya house in a gated community if you are going to be away for extended periods of time.

Bring back Yingluck I say - she was charged under the Junta aligned Courts for being corrupt, when all she did was to be stupid. I saw absolutely no evidence that she personally gained from the rice deal, or any member of her family. What I saw was a politcal vendetta abusing the system thaty the Junta created in an attempt to jail a political opponent. Just like they did in Myanmar. But Ying luck was told to 'get out' and she did the wise thing and has lived in exile ever since. Bring her back and let the cards fall where they may.

IMDB

ROFLOL 🤣 As soon as I read the 'Security' section I stopped reading. Thailand is the number one scammed country in SEAsia - anyone using a phone to pay for things is a potential target. Likewise, anyone using a card at either a 'safe' ATM (Branch, Mall, Makro, etc) or with any small retailer, is a potential target. Cash is King and it is safe - all they can steal is what you are carrying so dont carry too much in one location. Been here on/off (now full time) since 2010 and never been threatended in any way - not so in Australia - robbed twice. I used to carry a throw down wallet - a few hundred baht and some old dead cards - but I never have needed it. But also - dont pull out a huge roll and let people see how much you are carrying - just in case.

I agree - and in the future the Thai Govt will address the issue. But I think they will not remove the gifting rule, but they will probably reduce it. After all, 20 million baht is a ridiculous amount that onyl the wealthy would utilise - which is of course why it was introduced in the first place.

Not impossible - but extremely unlikely. There must be millions of ATM transactions in Thailand every day - IMO there is currently no system to differentiate and report to the TRD those made by each and every Expat. They can report all the transactions made using an ATM from a Thai bank of course, but not for every ATM transaction from overseas banks - other than it total amounts - certainly not for each and every person. And even if they could, TRD would then have to sift through all those records to find those transactions just for Expats who are tax residents and those for tourists and those for Thais who have an overseas bank account.

I see now why some people have got somewhat angry about people discussing gifting - they see that as a way of evading taxes. But if the gift is from 'savings' or any other form of non assesable income, then the reason to do it is to evade dealing with the TRD bureacracy - legally.