scoooooby

Shoot it, simple

28 minutes ago, losername said:

I recognise that location.  It's a fine old heritage hotel in the Nana area!!

This was my first hotel experience in Sukhumvit 15 years ago!   ARRRGGGHHHHH   lol

ALL - Cheers for generally putting a big smile on my face. Many tales I can totally relate too and YES I know I cannot change things and guess its easier to move at a slower pace when you have no work stress to consider but I will try to slowly turn my stress into a smile and play the traffic light game, turn the music up and laugh out loud BUT all the time keep using my 10 eyes in my head to spot the next mad pick up driver, loopy lunatic on the bike or that usual truck that drifts all over the road with not a care in the world.....You just gotta love this place!  :-)

OK, so this morning I am, us usual, sat at a red light on my way to work and waiting for the usual frustration I get every time....... 'Red to Green' and everyone seems to have all the time in the world pulling away at a snails pace HOWEVER 50 meters down the road and they now flip style to high speed lane swapping, cutting up, forcing lane entry and generally adopt the normal process when traffic is flowing....THEN... another Red light and for those who do not jump the light, or just ignore it entirely, we all back up again in our rows infiltrated by the motorcycles who squeeze through with great accuracy and again I wait for the slow response when we 'go-green'..... I know it should not frustrate me as I see it every day but sometimes you have just got to vent   lol....   1,2,3,......10   arrggghhhhhh feel better now

 

Sorry for the light hearted note, but hope maybe you can relate to this yourselves....well for those poor sods like me that do not have there own driver!........ Oh to be a Japanese employee in Thailand !!!!!

 

Cheers all.......

I will have to fit another 3 belts in the back of my Pajero then for when my inlaws and extended family cram six across the back seat!

On ‎20‎/‎03‎/‎2017 at 7:00 PM, harleyclarkey said:

 

Parts of Spain are expensive but by no means all. Move away from the coastal hot spots and you will find great value. Can't speak for Greece but right now they are in meltdown.

 

Why not look outside the box and have a look at Montenegro? Poland? Croatia? Slovenia? Cheap as chips, beautiful cities, scenery, mountains, beaches and sun!

By the way some stunning women.

I left England due to the saturation of Eastern Europeans in the area (one reason) so personally would not waste my time and money visiting let alone living there (and yes, I have visited many places in E.EU in the past so I do have a valid opinion)

Been a frequent visitor here for 15 years and now living here, yes its changed, yes its filled with more idiots than ever but would I return to UK...NO...would I spend my holidays in Spain/Greece...NO... would I start to dip my toe into travel into other ASEAN areas...YES

 

PS - I was born in Cirencester and although its a lovely Roman Town in an idyllic part of the Cotswolds its still Blighty.......shit weather, expensive, a government that punishes me for hard work with a well paid job so then rapes me in tax and provides it to the eastern European spongers (sorry the rest of you eastern crew who go to UK to work under the system and support the tax) .....me bitter?....no, just happy to remain here in Thailand and mutter under my breath when I see the numpty tours, bad driving and the way Farang are all expected to be loaded in the eyes of the locals.....lol

 

Oh well, back to imported tea and guessing when we are going to get the rain judging by the cloud that's heading my way......

Bloody Hell its like being back in England with all this talking about the weather lol

5 hours ago, captspectre said:

what's a "red" book?

Its the book you gotta fill our whilst on red plates for the first 3 months, painful as you are not s'pose to drive a new car in the dark also....

Had 3BB installed 3 weeks ago and its been a nightmare, service is terrible, internet constantly jumps in and out, going to get it ripped out next week....was going to get True but this sounds a similar nightmare

Passed one exactly like this one a couple of months ago, load looked so unsteady and guess who got pulled by the local Police....ME...for passing on a double line when they freely let a totally unsafe load just cruised by.....hmmmmm   I travelled to Korat yesterday and saw 3 similar loads (if not bigger) all with hay bails so imagine the weight of these.....all 3 passed straight through a police stop check whilst the 'Farang' got pulled to check license and red book...... Deep Breath and a Smile.....

9 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I assume that is  Mabprachan Lake area in Pattaya.

The Ban Pakard crossing to Cambodia in Chanthaburi is the closest crossing to Pattaya.

Yes, sorry, just off Mabprachan Lake, Pattaya side

Hi All

 

Just moved into the Mabprachan area. I am on a Non-Imm B Visa and my 90 days stay is up this month. Any helpful suggestions on the best border crossing/service etc with pick-up in the area if possible?

Hi All, Just after your thoughts and comments as to where the best location would be for a 1st Tier Automotive manufacturer to be based. Needs to be in an IEAT approved site as it will be 100% foreign owned. Initially looking for a 3 yr rental in a ready made building (c2000sqm). There are hundreds of options in the Eastern Seaboard region I know however the one important factor is staffing (approx. 50 workers), getting staff seems to be straight forward (if you offer the correct $$$ pack) however retaining them seems to be the challenge! The issue being such low unemployment and the Eastern Seaboard has so many similar companies so that the direct staff seem to move for a 1000+ baht salary increase and the completion for staff is high. Not want to be too remote from the Automotive OEMs but need to consider the best positioning. Do we remain in the Chonburi/Rayong border area, consider moving closer to BKK, move more south to Rayong coast or even look at a more NE option towards Korat (Nakhon Ratchasima)...... helpful comments please..... 

Hi All,

I have been trying to search the Customs site (http://igtf.customs.go.th/igtf/en/main_frame.jsp) for import tariff data for automotive coolant hose (vulcanised rubber hose with textile reinforcement)

It is not 100% clear that there is a duty exemption for China as per below:

ACN : ASEAN - China Free Trade Agreement

Heading

Subheading

Description

Duty Rate

Notification

Start Date

End Date

Electronic Permit

ad valorem rate %

specific rate

Unit

Baht

40.09

4009.319100

- - - - Fuel hoses, heater hoses and water hoses, of a kind used on motor vehicles of heading 87.02, 87.03, 87.04 or 87.11

** Exempted

ASEAN-CHAINA (2555)

01/01/2015

31/12/2017

-

** Please Check Counties granted preferential tariff concession from Tariff Schedule annexed to the Notification of the Ministry of finance.

I say HERE HERE as fed up with the bus, especially as it used to take 3.5 hrs and now an hour longer due to them controlling the speed......well I know you take a gamble on a bus ride, but there again you take a gamble every time you use the road !

Uh-oh. Deja vu again.

I am not shocked at all that I am one of many to ask....just wanted the thoughts of others who experienced the same.....please have some patience haha

OK, I have been travelling to Thailand over 12 years now and the first 6 being pure holidays anywhere south of BKK. The latter years with my Thai wife and where we return annually to family and friends at our Thai property in the North East just outside Korat.

The main obstacle to develop my language skills (very basis at the moment) is that fact that I have a Thai wife so she will tackle any non English speaking situations we have.... With that said I do find myself all too often sat around the table with the local men enjoying the whisky with a very limited conversation....I can name some objects etc and make the rest up in body language. I do however learn more in this environment then all the other material I have downloaded from the net, watched on You Tube or bought through eBay!!!!

I know it’s the lazy Englishman inside me that has not motivated me into learning more, but I really do find it hard to learn from a document and admit the 5 tones just blow me away. I am ok whereby I can relate a Thai word to an English one but the new words to my ear are hard to remember.....maybe my old brain haha

Yes you could say I have access to a free teacher!...BUT trying to learn from my wife is a non starter and will always end in a mess....lol

So...... here I am seeking some guidance and advice from others that have had a similar experience and understand how they have moved forward......I want to relocate to Thailand but know the language is not essential but will be so much easier and enjoyable to speak Thai in one form or another.

OK, I have been travelling to Thailand over 12 years now and the first 6 being pure holidays anywhere south of BKK. The latter years with my Thai wife and where we return annually to family and friends at our Thai property in the North East just outside Korat.

The main obstacle to develop my language skills (very basis at the moment) is that fact that I have a Thai wife so she will tackle any non English speaking situations we have.... With that said I do find myself all too often sat around the table with the local men enjoying the whisky with a very limited conversation....I can name some objects etc and make the rest up in body language. I do however learn more in this environment then all the other material I have downloaded from the net, watched on You Tube or bought through eBay!!!!

I know it’s the lazy Englishman inside me that has not motivated me into learning more, but I really do find it hard to learn from a document and admit the 5 tones just blow me away. I am ok whereby I can relate a Thai word to an English one but the new words to my ear are hard to remember.....maybe my old brain haha

Yes you could say I have access to a free teacher!...BUT trying to learn from my wife is a non starter and will always end in a mess....lol

So...... here I am seeking some guidance and advice from others that have had a similar experience and understand how they have moved forward......I want to relocate to Thailand but know the language is not essential but will be so much easier and enjoyable to speak Thai in one form or another.

Cheers

I really do welcome all the feedback and there seems to be a big divide on those who seem to need 80K min per month and those who can seem to have a reasonable existence at 35-40K per month...... The key factor throughout is healthcare and its right that I factor this in so will check up on some reasonable cover..... my earlier post also mentioned the need to NOT rely on a state pension, and how true that seems to be with the latest media reports today that the UK government are looking to move the male retirement age from 67 to mid seventies for the guys who are now starting there working career..... !!!!!!

Will now spend some serious thinking time but will try to be patient here to stomach the working cycle and bank more savings and increase the pension pot BUT if this becomes too much then that bag will be packed for sure hahaha.......

Loving the forum and the array of different topics that cheer me up every day cheers

If your ok living thrifty having to budget your money go ahead and retire now.If you would rather not count your coins with every

Purchase you make then you should wait A few more years.It also depends on how well you like your job.

Like my job?.... a big fat NO.... yet another reason for my head spinning with the early retirement dream...... I guess I know I need to stay till 55 and start drawing my pension to top up the fund....I hear what you guys are saying...if I was single I know I could cope but with the family and running costs of life then 35/40K monthly will be tight and I do not want to spend my chill time in Thai stressing about money.....that's the main reason I am looking for a move there...to get away from the stressful Western life.....(and the UK weather ha ha ha )

Thanks for all the input so far.....please keep it flooding in....just popping out to get a lotto ticket....haha

I would suggest wait the 4 /5 years. Can never have to much. Never know what the future has to hold.Costs go up things happen that cost more than you think. etc.I left early giving up quite a bit of money every year.That money could come in handy now. Costs have gone up,and exchange has gone down.

I still donot spend what I gave myself to spend yearly,but the savings part is definitely not as much annually. It seems to me the longer a person lives her the more he wants out of retirement. So a frugal start can end in lavish splendor of spending.

So bring way more than you need and watch it unfold.

I know you are right and in my mind I know I have to bank as much as possible.....its just torture living here, never ever thought I would feel about my own country like this but it seems the old England is just a distant memory and the new England is not a good place, well for us English folk anyway! Everyone I talk too wants to retire outside of the UK whether it be Spain, Greece, France of the far East...... our doors have been too free for EU traffic and our Social Benefit system is not only a joke but has crippled the country......such a bloody shame.....and they think the Europe referendum will change things.....hahaha politicians eh! and we think Thailand has issues.....!

Comes under "Expat life' which is the Pub forum.

MOVED

Mr Mod.... thanks

Firstly I do apologise if I have started this topic in the wrong forum, but surprisingly I could not find a dedicated Retirement room and thought with many of us Farangs wanting to begin our retirement outside of the cold and expensive western world there would be a chat dedicated area.....please move this thread if it needs to be placed elsewhere...thanks

So..... Recently I turned 50 and with 12+ years of travel to LOS, and a dream to retire as soon as I could, I have reached the threshold for a retirement visa, however unsure I have enough income as yet to make the bold move to Thailand on a permanent basis....yes I have the visa requirements for ££££ in the bank and I would not be severing my ties with the UK (I think this would be crazy at this time) so will have a house in the UK and will look to get £800/£1000 per month return from this as living money......but to be honest I am trying to understand how realistic this is for living (without eroding my savings pot) ....

Well the question I know from you all will be 'that depends on how you want to live' and this is a good question..... I will not be living the butterfly Pattaya life.... I am happily married (to a Thai lady) and we have a fully paid up Thai house in a village outside Korat so no rental to pay..... Obviously the village is cheap living but I have read many threads and know all too well that boredom will eventually set in (Its ok for a few weeks there chilling by my pool with a cool Leo in hand but that's just an escape at the moment from work). So I will need to get out and about (yes we have the essential Hilux also for travel) but of course those 4/6 hour trips to Rayong are never cheap and I am sure I will want to visit so many more places when I have this spare time on my hands.....Also there will be the return trips to the UK to factor in for the family and a list of items such as medical cover, school fees, bills, food etc. that I need to cater for....

Blimey, when I think of all this its scary to understand when I will be able to afford it ha ha..... I do have a private pension and can start to draw on this from 55.....to be honest the state pension will be worth jack <deleted> when I am old enough, so anyone in the UK relying on a state pension will be on the breadline later in life....

So the Dilemma is...do I bite the bullet, move now, and try to survive with the risk of not being happy on a budget, or do I wait another 4/5 years and try to secure a larger savings pot and have the ability to start drawing a pension also ?......but of course remaining in the UK for this time, and not being happy at all !!!

I am so sure so many others have been at this junction in life and would really be interesting to read their thoughts and experiences, and how retiree's enjoy a frugal yet happy life in Thailand....... Please share your comments...... not sure it will clear my thoughts but always good to understand how others have tackled such major directional changes in life.

Cheers to you all from a cold miserable and expensive UK !

Hi there..... We are thinking of taking family and friends to Hua Hin in Dec and wondered if there were any suggestions on where to stay....Ideally it would be a villa close to beach that could sleep up to 10 so does anyone have any recommendations? Have a friend with a similar need this April also so I could also pass detail to him

Cheers