realfunster

We may well find out, now that she has chosen to pursue the matter further. I hope she has all her affairs in order or she may find herself in a tricky spot. Fairly sure the Thais will not be appreciating her stance on this, which goes against the typical local culture on such matters with the richer party often showing leniency. They will be sniffing around for any hint of impropriety to use against her…

There may well be a longer game being played here, I wouldn't condemn them just yet....time will tell !

That's nice isn't it ? What about the foreign exchange rate your CCs offer on these transactions.. I cannot disagree with your overall sentiments, however, "if" someone is capable of responsibly handling a credit card then there are benefits to be had. I've accumulated a nice pile of air miles on mine via both personal and work related use. There has also been times where it's been very helpful to see me through a cashflow squeeze. I've never bothered with the Thai bank CC route, although, as others mentioned, it is available. Early doors I used AMEX but the credit limit was poor and acceptance was an issue in many places with the higher AMEX charges. Eventually I ended up with Citibank who have always been good to deal with : - Generous limit. - Good customer support in English language. - Full no quibbles refund when my card was skimmed and used illegally. Can't remember the Citibank application process in detail, which is probably a sign it was reasonably straightforward if you are with a WP & visa.

Neither are anywhere near being the “most densely populated nation”… Anyway, another unoriginal, knee-jerk and short-term fix idea from the Tourism association. I assume COVID has seen some “restructuring” in the tourism industry, let’s hope they rebuild in a more sustainable and targeted manner. Apart from the above, any proposed visa fee savings would soon be eaten up by the increased National Park fees for foreign tourists anyway. Perhaps a better strategy would see a consistent approach on fees across ministries…..

Go on then, please regale us with the extensive list of countries that has put a blanket ban on russian nationals entering for tourism.

OK - just saw this but it's what I had alluded to in my previous post about the Company going a bit more hard-ball. The stories I hear from Thai HR departments never cease to amaze... Anyway, think my comments on strategy are still applicable. Both sides would probably prefer a quicker negotiated settlement reasonably fair for all parties but the Company will also know a Labour Law case is potentially damaging for their image, costs them time & money and would be one they have a high probability of losing. Damages above severance due can also be given to a claimant by the judge.

No, no & thrice no. What they are doing is illegal under Labour Law and I would refuse the offer and look negotiate a settlement based around aforementioned Labour Law, which would be an entitlement of 8 months (240 days) severance pay due after 6+ years of service. So, as a starting point - THB 880k - not to be sniffed at. Now, despite the law, both sides have cards they can play in this situation (the Company can go the hard ball route if so minded...i.e keep her on current salary of THB 110k but make her life very 'difficult' - no constructive dismissal in Thailand I am aware of) so this will likely become a negotiation and for reasons of expediency your wife may prefer to avoid the full blown Labour Law/Labour Court route (assuming the Company will not readily want to offer an 8 months' severance) so you want to have a realistic negotiation target in mind, let's say accepting 3-6 months as a 'goodwill' payment upon departure. Of course, the Labour Court option is always there but it will be stressful and take some time. Then, with either her wad of negotiated cash or Labour Court case under way, she can look for her new job...

Hold your horses now, I'm not having this Chinese cuisine is the best in the world nonsense... Have you ever been to a Chinese restaurant in Thailand serving vaguely authentic Chinese food ? Average at best and at times bizarre in terms of ingredients. Westernised cantonese style food is more palatable. I do like that. Any cuisine (looking at you Asia) whose main culinary repertoire is chucking something into a wok with a ton of oil for a flash fry (even if it tastes good) is struggling to be taken seriously in a gastronomical sense.

For those not familiar with these type of announcements, it is not legally applicable to the vast majority of the private sector, who therefore will simply ignore them for obvious reasons. Those in the public sector will have a greater chance of enjoying yet another day off...

Nice touch on using flour, a clear nod in someone's direction. Now, if the protestors were to mercilessly and constantly 'flour' the 'chief purveyor of flour' upon every single public appearance, that's a protest I'm sure we could all get fully behind !

Yes, I have also noticed an unusual scarcity of milk in my local 7-11s in the past couple of weeks. I'm in central Bangkok. Thank God it's only milk and not something truly "important" like rice or beer - people would be rioting !

I’ve said it before, trading in flour and related products is very profitable. Now excuse me, must pop to the bathroom, I’m feeling a bit nauseous for some reason.

Yes, it will be a fine day indeed when Thai politicians, government officers, the army, the police et al recognize this. It seems to me many of these groups view it the other way around and that the public is there to serve them and enable their own status and enrichment.

OK - ignore my post above. Permission to panic granted.

Before everyone gets their knickers in a twist, this was just the first vote and Pita was not far off. I am sure some back room discussions and in particular, resolving one particular concern might see him through in the next round. Time to panic is if the 2nd vote fails, as I think he would have no choice but to step aside for another candidate.

Guessing it would be related to the M-Pass system used on some highways/motorways which has no barrier and uses license plate recognition.

If, as you mention, she is mature and responsible, I think she would surely accept the logic of some bike training and getting a license before obtaining or being freely able to use the bike on her own ? For your last question, I don't know figures in detail but it is clear that riding motorbikes has its dangers and motorbike fatalities make up the vast majority of the high number of road deaths in Thailand. You know, it could all just be a cunning ploy from her to get you to buy her a car ????

That’s a reasonable suggestion. Not that the private sector is necessarily the fountain of all knowledge and wisdom but I reckon you’d be hard pressed to find many FTSE or SPX CEOs over the age of 70, aside from purely age related factors, the world does move on and at an ever increasing pace.

Ah, the "Pride of Thailand" showing their unpleasant underbelly again.

I'm not really sure why politics is not widely subject to old age restrictions or mandatory retirement like many other aspects of private or public sector life. Aside from "refreshing" the political talent pool, it's hardly controversial to suggest that as we get older our physical and potentially mental capacities start to wane. Hardly suitable for an important role and especially the very top jobs which even those in their 40s/50s would find exhausting. I'm sure there are many 'consulting/advisor' roles available within the wider political machinery should the experience be wanted or needed.

Is she not allowed to take some of her 98 days maternity leave under Thai Labour Law pre-natal if she chooses ?

Could well be, or could just be Thailand's indifference to and lack of budget for mental health treatment rearing it's head again. Without wanting to be too unkind to the gentleman, one day the pitbulls will fight back which might encourage a change in behaviour.....

True. However, also very effective at catching tree shrews, squirrels, tokays, geckos and birds. I should clarify, I can’t put traps deep into my roof space, so my traps are ‘outside’ to an extent, around the suspected roof space entry points. I catch quite a few of the first two critters mentioned in my cage traps but I can release them unharmed. Belying their cutesy appearance, tree shrews are evil little sods, quite vicious when caught, they hiss and spit like an angry tom cat. Squirrels are normally pretty chill about it all.

We always get rats this time of year in our roof space, I think the rainy season tends to bring them inside. We have the annual cat & mouse (or maybe rat..) games every year and manage to catch quite a few with the trap-door cage traps and the dogs pick off a few stragglers around the garden. Do not use glue traps if you are tempted... Eventually, they <deleted> off and we look forward to starting the cycle again next year... Aside from self-catching action, good advice above on keeping your house/yard clean. Of course, you can talk to your landlord who may want to help. I understand its frustrating but I think rats are a common and solvable issue here so it seems rash to talk of changing house for this reason alone.

Oh shut up, you idiots.