KhaoNiaw

My wife got a mortgage without any work record or income based on me as guarantor. I was working here though.

My เข้าใจป่ะ post was from Google and correct. These days Google is much much better at translating Thai than in the past. The sheer amount of input that Google has means that it is constantly improving. I think you'll be surprised at how well it can do if you delve into it and play around.

You didn't include the ป่ะ that was the point of the OP

Update: No problem taking the bus last night. I'm not sure if this was a Covid regulation or even more ancient decree that they haven't removed from the website.

Just helping the GF's brother book a ticket on the bus back to Vientiane after a week's visit to Bangkok. There's a warning on the booking site that citizens of Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar are not tallowed to travel on the 999 บขส buses. He got a flight from Udon down so didn't run into this. He could just book with another company to Nong Khai but would like to get the international bus if he can. Does anyone know if this is a real thing?

I call BS on this. You can find people who've been there going back years who say that place is awful. Read through some of the other stories published on this over the last few days and you can see comments from people who are actually there. People like Edwin Wiek have never actually been to see for themselves?

There are official transcriptions set by the Royal Institute. However, they're used inconsistently even by government agencies. Also, English-speaking foreigners often object when they are used because they don't understand the system accounting for Thai sounds that aren't distinguished in English. For example, I think the official Royal Institute transcription for Pattaya would be Phatthaya, with the 'Ph' and 'th' showing the use of aspirated sounds. The aspirated-unaspirated distinction doesn't affect meaning in English but it does in Thai.

Here's a few links I've just googled up that should start to give you some idea of how things work: https://www.moneyguru.co.th/financial-tips/articles/เบี้ยวหนี้บัตรเครดิต https://www.bangkokbiznews.com/social/938753 https://www.moneyguru.co.th/credit-card/articles/หนี้บัตรเครดิตมีอายุความกี่ปี

So many young Thais do that when they get their first job, get all the cards they can and max them out. I think it's actually best to engage with the process rather than just ignore. If a court date is issued, then there's a chance for negotiations. There are limits on the period credit companies have to start the process of recovering the debt but they usually seem to start action just when the limit is up. I know a couple of people now in their 30s who ignored all documents that were sent to their home address in the provinces and it's caught up with them eventually. Though they'd missed out on the court-mediated negotiation, they've still had offers of deadlines to make fairly lowball final payments. One works in a bank, and she just couldn't even afford those payments, so the court eventually ordered salary deductions, which was dealt with through her company and she found out from her HR people. There are some protections. I think, for example, that total deductions are not allowed to leave her with less than 20,000 baht a month. So it becomes a queue, with the credit companies having to wait their turns. There's some very good information online in Thai, which I went through with my friend in the bank because she had no idea of what should happen. But it's gradually working out for her. Not quite as much as your wife has run up but not far off.

There certainly used to be a law. Do people have the option to opt-out nowadays?

I kept trying up to the last possible with my one before last report. Starting with the automatic fill from the previous report it took four attempts. I was making very minor tweaks but I think the accepted one was the same as the first one. My last report went without a hitch.

Thanks, good to know. Think it's getting misreported on some of the Lao social media. Edit: Possibly not though? Just found this: https://image.mfa.go.th/mfa/0/zE6021nSnu/เอกสาร/VOA.pdf

They don't have to pay anything at the border. They just leave and then make a new entry. 1000 baht for the van.

The Covid extensions seem to be done for Laos nationals like everyone else now. Most of those we know are now going back to the Cambodian border runs, which will at least give them 45 days now instead of 30. One friend is going on his first border run since Covid next week. He's managed 7 years without returning to Laos through border runs and then a couple of years on Covid extensions. It's annoying having to go every 30 days so 45 will be a little bit better but not many other options if employers won't follow the MOU rules and get them a work permit.

Just a direct translation from what the Laotians call it and from what the police said. RIP to those who lost their lives. And let's hope they look after the others and let them sort out their entry situations.

They go to the Cambodian border and come back over to get another 30 days. They can just keep doing it with no limits on number of entries.

Not her call and the invitation wasn't ignored by her.

They are investigating.

You could add "yuu" and say "chop yuu khon diao"

It changed a couple of years ago even on the old system. And on the new system, if you get a rejection it's worth trying again a few times up to the due date.

Yes, it looks like it's only in Thai.

You can also pay your tax online through eservice.dlt.go.th This has now been extended to vehicles over 7 years old. When you take the car for the MOT, the tester puts the information into the system and you don't need to upload anything from them. You can just pay and you get a tracking number when the DLT post the new tax disc out to you. Worked really well for me.

I didn't actually mean structured in that sense. Just that you can target particular areas that you miss completely in pure immersion, especially if you're struggling. You don't need to follow some kind of typical language book syllabus. Plenty of ways and methods to spend time with a teacher focusing on the areas that you want and need for your own use. A teacher can help you make sense of things going on around you - but if you need/want that might also depend on how knowledgeable and patient the people around you are when you want to ask questions. I'm self-taught, never had a formal Thai lesson, and got to a level where I can take on corporate translation work. I reckon I would have got a few short cuts from taking classes in my earlier days. It's probably quite a few years since I read up on language immersion research and projects so would appreciate some pointers about papers to catch up on. Results were very mixed from what I remember on much of the earlier research.

Research doesn't show immersion as necessarily being the easiest way to learn a language. It can actually be quite a long and painful process. Having lessons can help learners notice or develop in areas of language that they might otherwise take an age with naturally. Having some structured lessons while actually being in the natural language environment could be of great benefit, especially for someone who feels they're not making headway.

It's right at one of the entrance/exits for True Digital Park. Any problems with the shops in front there could be related to the construction that went into that building perhaps?