Tagaa

ATM is one way.

An alternative would be to prepay your Bangkok Bank credit card with say 500,000 to 1 million baht & then use that credit card for normal day to day expenses. Or prepay the credit card with the complete bank balance less 100 Bt or so. This assumes you have already set up on line banking.

Exchange fluctuation can hurt you (or help you), but that's just the cost of doing business.

Either way you are going to pay something.

Top Charoen stores carry Ray Bans. They are every where. They are very proud of new pairs of Aviators. I imagine they would have, or can get new lenses. If they are too pricey, I would look on Amazon.

You didn't say what you need...large lens or small, right or left, green, gray, brown, yellow, glass or plastic, polarized or not polarized.

I keep the lenses out of past pairs that I have had, if they are in pretty good condition, just for this eventuality.

No.

But if you plan on living here forever (I wouldn't advise that as times they are a changin) I would just bite the bullet & pay the duty. Depending on what you consider high end (even audiophiles can't agree on that) you probably won't be able to find what you consider to be high end components here, unless you are willing to pay 3 or 4 times what they cost in the West (or South, for you). And that assumes you can even find what you are looking for.

I'm sure there are some high end audiophile shops somewhere in BKK, but I have never found one. A number of years ago when I lived outside of Pattaya, I asked around and was pointed to a shop on Sukhumvit. When I finally found it, they had mostly Denon components and JBL speakers, IIRC. Decent consumer grade stuff, but hardly high end.

Before you ship your stuff, tool around Bangkok and see what you can find. You will most likely answer your own question.

Costa Rica was far to expensive when I was looking for a place to move to in 2006. Friends of mine had the same idea and they agreed with me. They looked at Panama & liked it and said it was cheap to live there, but that was 2006, so no idea what the situation is there today.

As far as Mexico goes, I agree with the above post ...much to much cartel violence. Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco, and other nice towns are besieged with cartels and the violence they bring. Plenty of stuff about it on youtube if you care to look. The country side is just as bad.

IMHO it won't be long until the general anti farang feeling here goes from feeling to actions. I'm already making plans to bug out of here. A friend I have been talking to about this for the last 6 to 8 months just told me yesterday that he has decided to leave as well.

So, back to the topic at hand. Anybody get their stimulus $ yet? I haven't. A page or 2 back somebody said they had a notice they would get theirs on May 6 which is why I looked here today.

Yesterday I drove about 20 minutes to a Tesco across the provincial line. Normal police road blocks were unmanned and nothing at the border line. I was out of gin and I haven't had a Martini in a month, so... essential travel.

What he said...regular mail ONLY.

NEVER, REPEAT NEVER, use Fed EX, UPS , DHL or similar carrier unless you want to be held up for a bribe payment.

It's never worked for me. Spoke with a friend yesterday & he was trying to get it to work. It didn't.

20 hours ago, Brunolem said:

An American politician, whom I won't name, said: "you never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before".

Why would you not want to mention that Rahm Emanuel, senior advisor of Bill Clinton, Obama's Chief of Staff, at the time the statement was made, and the previous Mayor of Chicago (D), made that statement?

Another little known fact is that he went to Sarah Lawrence College on a full "ballet scholarship."    You can do that?

1 minute ago, timendres said:

 

The actual reported statement was:

Quite different, both in terms of the words and the meaning, than your misquote above. 

 

Again, your paranoia is telling, and likely explains your experiences interacting with those around you.

 

 

You should note that I DID NOT QUOTE HIM. Please observe the absence of QUOTATION marks.

Again, not paranoid, just very realistic and observant. I believe what people say. I do not infer one thing when they say another.

Not that it means anything, but the G 4 is registered in the Isle of Man. Most likely the owner will be shown as a shell corporation no one has ever heard of. Maybe not. Actual owner is probably a Russian oligarch.

A few clicks more and it is revealed the owner is registered in the Cayman Islands.

PLATINUM JETS CO., LTD., 27 Hospital Road George Town Grand Cayman Cayman Islands KY1 9008

Another quick search shows that a 34 meter motor yacht, named My Way, owned by Malcolm McLean, was sold in July 2017. Asking price $5,695,000. He was a VP for Husky energy, that has signed a multi billion (billion with a B) dollar oil project contract with Canada. He was sacked January of 2018. He probably moved on to greener pastures, as that's usually how things go in the super rich circle.

The Gulfstream ownership was last transferred on 19 Nov, 2018.

My Way yacht & Gulfstream M-YWAY connected. Maybe...maybe not.

Biggest question is how will they repair the Gulfstream. It certainly can not be flown to a maintenance hub and, I am not sure, but I doubt seriously if there are any heavy maintenance facilities at Vientiane.

Probably a total loss after factoring in the expense of sending parts, personnel and necessary equipment to the site, add in salvage value (complete fuselage, engines, wings, landing gear, electronics, etc.) and it's a write off.

On 10/10/2019 at 11:55 AM, ubonjoe said:

The new rules are not for extensions of stay.

Only if a person applies for a OA long stay visa at a embassy or consulate in their home country is the insurance required.

You certainly have nothing to worry about at this time.

You'll need to convince the folks at my immigration office that it is not necessary for extensions. I have had a foreign policy for 7 years and they insist, if I want an extension (this would be # 14) that I need to have a Thai health insurance policy.

Please be so kind as to call them and correct them in their incorrect interpretation of their own rule.

32 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

 

IMO they should scrap it for people who are on retirement visas, it's not like we are gadding about the country or are master criminals.

We are also the most vulnerable to coronavirus, which means we would also be burdening the Thai hospital system.

Having said that, I doubt logic will prevail.

A well worn subject, but there is no such thing here as a retirement visa. A retirement visa would be something you obtained one time which granted you permission to live in the country for the rest of your life, if you so choose. You get nothing from the government, except the right to be left alone and not molested on a regular basis by said government.

You would also not be entitled to medical services unless 1) you can pay cash, or 2) you have health insurance.

11 hours ago, CGW said:

We had a visit from the local "municipality" not long ago, they were not cops, there office had been told they had to get a list of all "Farang" living in their area and forward it too? Maybe connected?

These guys had badges on a leather pad hanging around their neck. I've seen this before, but not around here. I was told later that we have a new head police honcho & he said to make a list. Why he can't get with Immigration or look at the old list, I have no idea.

Just one more straw on the back of the camel.

No, that description does not fit me.

I do think that the OP would fit that description as he has made his friendship with another American conditional on a very narrow political view. I'm more like Tip O'Neil and Ronald Reagan. They were diametrically opposed during the business day, but after business of the day was completed, Tip would leave the Hill, go to the White house and have a drink with Regan in the Oval Office. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I think they may have even enjoyed a few innings together while having the aforementioned adult beverage. It's sad, but I can't imagine Pelosi or Schumer doing that today, and if they did, they would be excoriated by the MSM.

I do think I fit in the Regan/O'neil model.

55 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Personally speaking, I'd never shy away from an intelligent conversation with someone of different views

That's pretty much what I said when I wrote " because I have friends with different and widely varied views - political, religious & otherwise."

Not only do I have friends with diametrically opposing view points, I actually do have discussions with these friends that have opposing view points. And we are still friends. Imagine that.

You are using the time old tactic of picking out a few words spoken by someone you don't 100% agree with & then attempting to use those few words to completely change the intended thought of the person you disagree with.

I'm gonna guess you are a Hillary supporter and are still <deleted> off that she is not President. My suggestion is you support Little Mikey, and if he gets the nod, he'll choose Hillary for his VP...then she'll have HIM killed (sorry, I meant he'll commit suicide) and then she will ascend to the throne that she thinks is rightfully hers.

It may be a good time for some introspection.