old wanderer

Unlimited but not exceeding. Erm, am I missing something?

Anyway, fanny pack, bum bag whatever you wanna call it that's the way to go.

Yes, that $20,000 was in effect about 5 years ago, check for current regulation...it is now unlimited no deceleration required.

Leaving out of Los Angeles a few years ago, when the banks still had the restriction in force about transferring more than $10,00 to Thai banks without a 6 month hold, I brought $150,000 in cash to Thailand.

Once in Thailand, things were easy...However, I notified my bank of wanting to make a cash withdrawal 2 weeks prior. Asked for new bill. Took a few hours to do the count, and then sign a US Treasury form for the money. At LAX it took about 15 minutes to locate the little closet type office to file my Treasury form for leaving the country with more than $10,000 in cash. Once I found the little office I handed him the form, he glanced at it put a red stamp on it, and I was off the the line for inspection. I had the money in my leather computer bag. No eyes were raised going through the bag check. I have used the same driver in Thailand for 10 years and arranged for him to meet me at the airport at midnight and take me to my hotel on Sumkumvit. Next morning he drove me to Super Rich, got a very good rate, declined the count, and kept it bundled in million baht packs.

I have 2 banks in Thailand. Neither blinked an eye when I went to deposit 1 million baht in my account in cash. Nor have they asked any questions when making large wit drawls.

If you decided to carry large amounts of cash into Thailand, the following should be done.

1. Plan well ahead.

a. Declare (if you country has those laws), to not do so will put you in danger of confiscation.

b. Choose a good hotel, that has a separate room for the lock box area.

c. Hire your transportation ahead of time and for the time you need to move your money around.

d. Be very aware of your surroundings. If you start to get any bad vibes, move to a more secure area. (Time is your friend)

e. If you do not have the personal capabilities of self defense, consider hiring a body guard. (Cheap insurance).

f. Never discuss with anyone how much money you have!!! Don't care how well you know/trust them...

g. Never allow the driver to come into the bank or money exchange when you are changing/depositing money..make him stay in the car!

h. Before you leave the bank/money exchange call the driver on the cell phone and have him drive to the door!

The above works for me. I do take my Thai wife with me, and instruct her on being a 2nd set of eyes.

Oh yeah Naam I forgot to congratulate you for sticking it to the tax man once again. Beifall

for the record: i didn't stick it to the (various €uropean) taxmen for me but for a fistful of friends who, for various valid and invalid reasons, insist to live in €urope where not only the tax drag net is woven tighter and tighter but the levy of direct and indirect taxes will become unbearable in the near future.

it goes without saying that they must, and are all willing, to pay their fair share of taxes in line with the expenses required for their individual life styles. what they are not willing is to pay unproportional and progressive high taxes to finance the whims of the politicians (especially the €U-politicians in Brussels or the military adventures in Afghanistan) and the lazy parasites who think other citizens have to pay for them and their families... not to forget the billions of taxpayers' euros and dollars which were shoved up the àsses of banksters.

I do not believe that anybody can ever "stick it to the tax man". It was never his money. In the USA those tax and politician guys found a new way to stick it to us that have decided no not take part in the devaluation of our currency. Some of us bought gold. Now for decades it has been standard practice to take your gold in, and take cash home, with no tail of bread crumbs leading back to your door.

Then the law changed, and they had to make a record of any cash transaction of greater than $10,000. Put now in a stroke of back room black genius tucked away in the American Health Care bill (the one that nobody read) was a new law that demands a tax reporting form for anybody that sells or buys more than $600/yr in gold/silver.

Either the politicians want wholesale criminality, from non-compliance, or a revolution.

Some 18 years ago, I had a home and GF outside of Sukothai. One day I was riding my motorcycle down a rural dirt road and came across a young girl running from an older Thai man with a stick. As I came up on them, he hit her across the back and the side of the head...I skidded to a stop asker her if this was her father, and kicked his butt pretty good.

Took the girl home. Found out in talking that her family had accepted 15,000 baht for her to work as a maid for this man for a year. He tried to rape her as soon as they arrived at his home, and this is what started the running that I came across.

We offered to take her home, but she told us her family would have to give back the money, and would beat her, and make her go back to work. She was 16. She stayed and worked for us for almost a year, then ended up with a Thai BF and left.

I truly feel so sorry for young girls that find themselves sold by friends or family into these situations. I feel a little vigilante justice is warranted. I have gelded lots of horses in my life, and would not hesitate to do so to someone I was sure that was in this business.

This is a situation I am very familiar with. I have been married for over 14 years to my Thai wife. After 5 years, I got pretty upset at the respect she was shown when we would check into a hotel, with different last name. I insisted that she change her Thai ID card (showing single) and passport showing her family name and single to my last name and show that were were married. (One of the rare fights we ever had). She was concerned about the Chanotes she had.

We have a substantial pile of Chanotes, all show in her married name (now). We used 2 different approaches. For those nearer to Surin, we found the land office difficult to deal with, and really slow, so land she acquires in this area is first run through her mother, then is gifted to her. The other area near Sara Buri, the land office there really went above and beyond to straighten out the older Chanotes, and make sure on the newer ones they were exactly correct, and I signed a document stating I had no financial interest in each property.

Once each Chanote is issued, a USUFRUCT is attached, which simply states the property is mine to use as I see fit until I die regardless of who owns it. (There were whole threads devoted to this a few years ago. Yes she can revoke it at any time, but once she should die, it is in effect until your death.)

For those that die without a will (in testate), the as was mentioned before, then land goes to the family in proportions, however with the USUFRUCT, they cannot cause you to move off, stop farming, running a store...etc, all the money comes to you. However, with a will the land is "WILLED" to you, but you are not Thai, you will have 6 months to sell the land (once the land office becomes aware of the death). (And like the USUFRUCT, she can change it at any time, so this is no protection against a divorce).

Finally (as we all know how fickle Thai law can be), an "On Demand" mortgage was placed against each property held by a Singapore trust I control. (This the wife has no control over, except in case of my death, they she become the executor of the trust).

So if something should happen to my wife, (we have no children), and the family were able to get some things waived, overcoming the mortgage is still the ace in the hole that protects the loving Thai family from dumping your old bones out in the street.

I would have never done any of this except for a sad story of a Falang married to a Thai for 18 years. She was hit riding her motorcycle after going to an ATM, robbed, and died. The 20 YO daughter inherited the house. He had raised her as his own for 18 years. 6 months after the death, his "daughter" announced she was selling the house and her and her Thai BF were going to take a vacation, so please move somewhere else..Who would have thought this would happen...poor guy was left without anything.

In short, have a WILL, file a USUFRUCT, do a mortgage from some legal entity you create.

My wife took a 5 rai plot of land and planted some vegetable to sell. We had hired some local people to weed and tend to and irrigate the plants. We drove to the village, and arranged for some trucks to take the vegetables to market the following day, after harvesting. Normally we live 500km away.

When we arrived to the field early, with the help, the field was BARE...somebody had taken 3 truckloads of vegetables during the night.

The family had the typical "som nah nah" attitude, but I was pissed. We talked to 2 police officers, and they pretty much had the same attitude...

I let it be know I would pay 30,000 baht to know every person that was involved steeling our vegetables. Within 2 days I knew every person that had been in the field that night, who drove the trucks, and where the stuff was sold and who got how much money. Wonder why the police could not do the same? (Strange..it was the relatives of the people involved, and even one woman that helped pick the vegetables that came for the reward.)

Funny how fate is....over the next year, every truck and motorcycle that was at the field that night, had a catastrophic engine failure. Every cow and buffalo that was owned by the families involved died. I understand there was even a house fire...funny thing about fate...maybe what my wife preaches is right.."Do good, get good, Do bad get bad".

When some of our good friends approached my wife about borrowing some money to make a down payment on a new motorcycle, or buy some cattle, she just told them, "we too poor too....somebody steal all our work last year with the vegetable. now we not have money to plant again either."

Naturally I had nothing to do with any of this, but just a casual observer to it all. We have left all the fields just lie fallow for the past few years, so these good friends and relatives that we had paid to do our farming are missing out on this income.

Next year, when I plant again in this area, it will be interesting to see if we will again be the subject of thieves, or will our good friends and relatives step out to protect us from happening again.

While we have all focused on Thaskin and others, does anybody remember some post 3 weeks ago, just as thing were really heating up, where her nibs....Pojaman, and her spawn, cleaned out the bank accounts of some 800,000,000b and left the country.

Now she was always the deal maker in the background when Thanskin was in power, and in court filing opposing the confiscation of the money from him made claims it was 80% her money....

Where is that group now? Was she named with the 100 or so people for financial transactions befitting the red shirts?

She should not be ignored, nor her children. None of them are especially nice people.

I get the impression that if Mr. Purcell in Australia were arrested by police there for any reason, he'd still be hollering that this country (Australia) has no laws over him or some such same or similar statement. After all, what else would an 'international citizen' say in any country whether it's in his passport issuing country or his passport receiving country?

Mr. Purcell is indeed fortunate that he had a very lenient Judge at that hearing. I personally know or have known over a dozen Judges in my lifetime, and without exception all of them would have immediately declared him to be in "Contempt of Court" and sent him away for 6 months. No appeal is possible, no early release, just serve every day....Remember what happened to Pojiman's attorney group when they tried to bribe the judge...they all went to jail for 6 months within the hour.

The bottom line is, he indeed needs an attitude adjustment, and there are some Thai jails that can do a pretty good job of that.

Mostly Japan and here's one way that it works. Thai and Japanese organized crime scour the countryside for families with young attractive daughters and heavy debt burden. An agreement is made to pay off whatever debt exists and one way airfare and in return, the daughter goes to Japan to work and has to pay back the principal and typically 1x-2x the principle in interest over some period of time, typically 5-10 years.

While a lot of people here on TV have little or no empathy for these girls, I was accidentally involved in a similar case about 18 years ago. I was riding my motorcycle in the back country when I rode up on a young teen age girl running down the road, and a 50 something Thai man chasing her with a long piece of bamboo and hitting her.

Jumped off my bike, kicked his butt, and loaded the girl on my bike. (She was crying and really scared). Took her home to my Thai GF. Found out her parents had sold her to work as a "house maid" for a year. 1st morning there the guy tried to rape her. (I think she was 16 or 17). I wanted to just take her home, but she claimed her parents would beat her, as make her go back as they did not want to return the money.

She ended up working for us for almost a year. Used to be very common in Thailand, but now less and less. I guarantee this girl did not have a clew what her parents were setting her up for.

Thankyou Skywalker69, that is one of the more useful poast I have seen on this board.

Since the entire Shiniwatra clan is under the finacial freeze orders, I really wish this government would play just a little, and issue a search warrent for Pojaman's home, and staff the search crew with unemployed workers from World Trade and other buisness that are no more. (They do need the work).

I sure the could do a intense and detailed job of looking for any evidence.

Who know what they might turn up with??

What do you think the long term outcome is going to be, when a lot of people that had their ID Cards taken, and were expecting to get paid for there time in BKK, find that money is either gone, or frozen by the Government??

While the insinuation here is if a person died and was not military, they were therefore killed by the military.

If you look back a few pages, you will see that the Red Shirts had a vendetta against the press. All the press was notified to take of thier green arm bands once Rapisong fell.

Also a lot of video I see is the military shooting shotguns, not M16's. A lot shorter range, and not too leathal past 50 meters.

I do believe it will be a long time before peace returns to Thailand, and if I was a politician running for office, this non-payment of the Red Shirts will be a pretty big deal come election time.

Some of the farang protesters that are USA citizens, if in the end they get scooped up and arrested while armed, could find problems about retaining their citizenship.

The USA is a bit flaky when it comes to enforcing laws, (just look at our borders), but sometimes right out of the blue the do act.

Chaturon denies he had fled abroad

Chaturon Chaisaeng, former Thai Rak Thai Party acting leader, denied that he had fled abroad.

In a statement sent to newsrooms, Chaturon said he left the country to see his doctor abroad on Saturday and will return to Thailand Sunday afternoon.

I do believe there is a warrant for his arrest. Lets see if he is taken into custody when he arrives tomorrow?

Also if you will recall he is band from politics for a few more years.

...Now we have a case of a high up policeman murdering a 17 yr old and all caught on camera, lets wait and see what happens to him.

I was reading about that on the 76Nationchannel's website. Apparently the killer was a high ranking police colonel who shot dead his 17 year old stepson.

The dispute happened when the boy's mother finally decided to leave the abusive 6 year relationship with the policeman, during which he apparently took money from her and beat her on a regular basis in front of the children. He threatened to kill her if she left and she went into hiding.

He went round to her workplace (she was the owner of a company called Siam Stainless Steel) looking for her, got into some kind of altercation with the son in the company office, pulled out a gun and shot him dead in front of the boy's 13 year old sister. The shooting was captured on closed-circuit tv and and the case has been taken on by the Paweena Hongsakul Foundation for abused women and children, who are providing a safe place for the family.

Wonder if he'll be bought to justice...

Since he is a ranking police man, and considering what little happened when an ordinary policeman a few years ago took a machete and whacked off the arm of a girl that spurned his advances in a sidewalk cafe, while she was try to ride away on her motorcycle. (Wish I had to old link, but I do not. It is here however).

The courts can do nothing until the prosecutor brings charges, and presents evidence. If he does a poor job, or just does not file them, you are SOL>

He was charged for this already and got acquitted due to lack of evidence. As the war on drugs was quite effective in reducing drug consumption, it was approved by Thais in general, and it was mainly a big issue in the international community.

It was probably also a big issue by farangs on this forum that were/are doing drugs, no wonder why they keep bringing it up.

Ok birdbrain, if you think that farangs keep bringing this up because we are on drugs, I think you must be on drugs if you think the murder of 1400 innocent people can or should be swept under the carpet.

"Of 2,500 deaths in the government's war on drugs in 2003, a fact-finding panel has found that more than half was not involved in drug at all. At a brainstorming session, a representative from the Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) Tuesday disclosed that as many as 1,400 people were killed and labeled as drug suspects despite the fact that they had no link to drugs. ... Senior public prosecutor Kunlapon Ponlawan said it was not difficult to investigate extra-judicial killings carried out by police officers as the trigger-pullers usually confessed."[

It is an interesting case like the lotto and sapling etc etc etc. Why is he not facing 1400 counts yet?. Where is the investigation?. Whom is stopping it.????? This would result in an extradition of Thaksin and solve everything. Please press these charges ASAP. If I recall not long ago it was the PM himself making excuses not to move or was it an empty promise to bring it back up and never has, but you seem to know the whole story so explain it to us so even we can understand.

Maybe I can SPLAIN it to you in real simple words.

Thaskins wife, Pojaman, was tried and convicted of tax evasion, after the judge got really pushed out of shape, that her cousin (who was part of her legal team) and 4 other people tried to bribe his staff with a candy box containing b2,000,000. She was sentenced to 3 years in jail, (This was in 2007), The he was present in Thailand at that time, and he came to trial and was found guilty and fled the country prior to his sentenced of 2 years in jail being handed down.

Why is he not convicted of more? Well under Thai law you must be present at the reading of the indictment. He has more that 16 cases pending that cannot proceed because he cannot stand before the court for the reading of the charges.

This is the motivation to seize control of the government, amend the laws and get a grant of amnesty.

As to why he was not convicted of the charges when he was PM, well being an X-policeman, a number of witness just disappeared, including a prominent attorney that no trace has ever been found of. And as evidenced by the actions with the candy box (who all 5 of the legal team got to do 6 months for contempt of court (non-appeal-able, non-bailable) and the attorney lost his license.

In short, the entire family should be in jail, and I feel sorry for the red shirts that so believe this crook.

Very sad pictures

Forgot to add some information to the picture

7 killed and 101 injured Nine people are in critical conditions including a 10 year old boy.

With many families on the protest site and the indiscriminating shooting by the Thai military it's a wonder that no child has been shot.

However last night a 10 year old boy was seriously shot in the abdomen when the van he was traveling in failed to slow down at a check-point.

Source: Daily News Thailand

Standard Geneva convention rules of war

The soldiers had no idea who was inside or the vehicles purpose

Normal logic when a soldier holding a gun says stop. you stop

Sorry, my Merc 600 is double glazed. No hear the army boy say STOP.

I cannot believe the way some try ans SPIN an incident.

As properly reported elsewhere here on TV, The Van "rapidly accelerated" toward the soldiers manning the check point. The tried to shoot the tires 1st then the van...

The Van was carrying supplies for the red shirts.

This is like having your family visit Iraq, and inviting your 10 year old son to come with you an a combat mission......

STUPID< STUPID<STUPID

The army has no moral debt in the wounding of the child....

didn't see thaksin gov assasinating PAD leaders did we? more of double standard for PAD lovers.

You must be both Deaf, DUMB and Blind to believe Thaskin never killed anybody....The actual number is in the thousands....there are numerous threads that talk and document some of this.

He was not discriminatory in his killings, it went from his critics to the south, to attorneys, and the new media that opposed and tried to expose his corruption.

Just 18 months ago a military officer that blew the whistle, was blown up in his car.

This is the kind of crime that call out for some vigilante justice. I know a few women that are truly tough. They would have gelded this stud and left his privates stapled on a telephone pole.

Sometimes this is the best kind of justice.

However it is universally hated by law enforcement .

Enough with this 'unarmed & innocent civilian stuff' If there was one person in this imbroglio who fits that description, it was the woman who was killed on April 22 by a grenade launched from the Red camp. She was over a hundred meters away on a railroad ramp.

I will refresh you red supports of the facts on the women that was killed.

According to the statement of her daughter, she just felt sorry for the soldiers and took them some cold water and a flower to cheer them up.

When it was announced on the stage that one person was killed and a number wounded, these "poor Red Shirts" cheered and turned the music up.

I do not believe you will see a massive armed assault on the Red Shirt fort. Instead, (if they are smart), the will simply quarantine the area, TOTALLY.

No food, no water, electricity, no cars, no nothing. If some of the protesters wish to go home, arrest them 1st, book them and let them out on bail, until it is decided what penalties must be paid for this lawlessness.

For the residents, relocate them for a few days, until this work is finished.

Confiscate all vehicles withing the fort.

Give rewards to the soldiers or police that find weapons, (large enough that they are unlikely to be bribed).

There will be a core group that will not give up, (maybe 200) and will fight. Then is the time for the military to do what they are trained to do. When the fight is over, load up the remains and dump them at sea, and deny anyone died. This is a core group that need to be gone, or Thailand will suffer guerrilla warfare for some years to come.

I know some of you bleeding hearts will take issue with this, but sometime hard things are really necessary. Fortunately (for you and some of the militant protesters) I am not in a position to implement any of this, so it is just another "what if" thread here on TV.

/M.

BACK ON TOPIC:

I still find it strange that the reds are never targeted as victims in any violence; the multiz, the yellowz, the police, the soldiers, the regular rank and file people pissed at the protests yes, but never ever the redz. Hmmm. My vote is on Khattiya or another wing-nut like him.

It does not take much of a memory to remember the number of M79 attacks against the yellow shirts. The grenades would land on metal roofs, covering sleeping people, blow through, and kill a few yellow shirts.

NOBODY WAS EVER FOUND RESPONSIBLE>

The Red Shirts have never been the victim of a M79 attack. But universally everybody that has any opposition to them has been a victim.

Wonder why that is,,,,,,,,must just be coincidence.........

I petty much agree with the OP. I have been married almost 15 years to my Thai Issan wife...Dirt poor family to be sure, but she had a spirit of an elephant. Left home at 15, worked as a maid, finally borrowed a bunch of money and started a sewing factory. She was 29 when we married, and I knew her for 2 years before, more as a friend, as there were lots of women available. I finally recognized what she a gem really was.

We had the big wedding, with 50 drummers, truck loads of bear, music for 3 days, and set a record for sin-sod in her village.

Since then we work on what is important to our life. She is not soft about her family and relatives. He words..."buffalo brain stupid people". "You want to work" she tell them, "I give you work, and pay you well, you want to stick your hand out, I'll fill it with kee. You want to drink drunk, go away, you not welcome in my home".

Most importantly we are best friends.

How can be convicted murderers out on bail?

Sorry, I might be not so clever, but I don't get that.

Well look at her nibs....Pochiman, sentenced to 3 years in jail for tax evasion, and managed to stay gone until the very last day for appeals, then filed an appeal and was granted bail and still left to travel internationally.

well said, You prove my point.the gap is iIS getting smaller, but it takes time, but there are more rreforrms that need to come, more like a Social reforms to benefits the lower classes and the remote people in Thailand.

Just and advise for any goverment to come- Thailand should start turning to the provinces for the gowth engine and not base its economy on Bangkok,Eastern seaboward industries and south tourism that are based on cheap labour from the poor population and benefits the owners, but real education and sustainble growth upcountry that can benefit everybody.

I wish i was such a polyanna. I remember only too well just over a year ago, when there was a radio station in Chang Mai, and it was against the Thaskin supporting government. The Red Shirts, attacked the announcer and pulled his father out of a car and killed his father. Hundreds of witnesses, yet noboey was brought to justice for this execution.

Can party exercise free speach in Issan and live? Without being able to campain, put forth ideas, and programs, there is no hope for a healing of the classes. At the present time until the government really comes down with a heavy hand on this kind of extra-judicial killings becasue of a persons party of belief, I see little hope of anything but more of the turmoil, rampant corruption, and lawlessness that has permiated the region for years.

i am very happy to contradict you on this one:

on the 8th April 2010 a court in Chang Mai sentenced five men to 20 years in jail for the murder of the father of a key member of the yellow shirt People's Alliance for Democracy.

One of the convicted men is the chief security guard of the red shirt Rak Chiang Mai 51 group.

he is Niyom Lueangcharoen, he has jumped bail and remains at large.

Niyom, aka DJ Lae, has been seen on stage at the red rally on 7th April 2010 at Ratchaprasong intersection.

he has been reported as seen to be socialising with Jataporn at the red rally in Bangkok

there is a warrant out for his arrest

red leaders engaged in social intercourse with convicted murderers at peaceful rallies for democracy, whatever next..........?

Well with all this going on in BKK, that fact did slip by me...I am pleasantly surprised.

However, as you can see this Red party certainly does not have much of a moral basis. Here is a convicted murder, socializing with the leadership. But then if you look at Thaskin and how much blood he had on his hands, it is no surprise.

well said, You prove my point.the gap is iIS getting smaller, but it takes time, but there are more rreforrms that need to come, more like a Social reforms to benefits the lower classes and the remote people in Thailand.

Just and advise for any goverment to come- Thailand should start turning to the provinces for the gowth engine and not base its economy on Bangkok,Eastern seaboward industries and south tourism that are based on cheap labour from the poor population and benefits the owners, but real education and sustainble growth upcountry that can benefit everybody.

I wish i was such a polyanna. I remember only too well just over a year ago, when there was a radio station in Chang Mai, and it was against the Thaskin supporting government. The Red Shirts, attacked the announcer and pulled his father out of a car and killed his father. Hundreds of witnesses, yet noboey was brought to justice for this execution.

Can party exercise free speach in Issan and live? Without being able to campain, put forth ideas, and programs, there is no hope for a healing of the classes. At the present time until the government really comes down with a heavy hand on this kind of extra-judicial killings becasue of a persons party of belief, I see little hope of anything but more of the turmoil, rampant corruption, and lawlessness that has permiated the region for years.