Guderian

Blimey, Chiang Mai has clean air at this time of the year! 😮 Has the PM2.5 meter broken down? lol

So get a membership card, I seem to recall that it took about 5 minutes in the same shop you mention back in 2020.

At least he's trying, it makes a change from China launching yet another infrastructure investment and promising 10 million more tourists next year. I wonder if the LSO will make it to Pattaya? Nah, don't be daft!

This topic is less than a week old and will probably answer any questions you may have.

It's a question that has been asked many times over the years, have a look at this topic from a few years ago: In my experience, what the Thais call a 'chang fai' is usually just a handyman who feels able to turn his hand to electrical work. All of them, in other words. I've already got one of those, and he's downright dangerous, nowadays I won't let him touch anything electrical unless I'm watching closely. The idea in that topic of asking at a PEA office sounds sensible, it might be worth a try. Another possibility is to find a farang-run building or building services company and see if they have a semi-competent sparky. A decade ago, there were a number of these companies around but I must admit I can't name one now, which is why I haven't gone this route.

I already have a house in South Pattaya worth around 8 million Baht. My plan, developed during the pandemic, was to sell it, bring in another 6 million Baht or so from my offshore savings, and buy a bigger house, still in Pattaya but away from the mass tourism which has got out of control now. In theory, as the savings were in my account prior to 1/1/24, that would be tax-free, but even this snake oil salesman, Carden, admits that its still a grey area where nobody knows how it will be treated. So now, if the TRD gets aggressive with its tax plans, I'll just go the non-resident route, stay in Thailand for 170 or so days a year in future, and use the 6 million Baht to buy another house, probably in the Philippines, and stay there for around 130 days a year, so also not tax resident. The remaining 60 or so days a year I already spend in my property back in the UK, so buying one more in the PI isn't a hardship. Governments need to get realistic about this, the idiots in the OECD may rant on about tax justice but to be fair it needs to be a double-edged sword. If a country wants someone to pay tax like a local then they should also offer them similar benefits to a local; the right to own land, for example, and a fast-track route to permanent residency, then maybe people like myself would be more willing to pay tax. As things stand, if global income is really to be taxed wherever you are living on the planet, then I might as well become tax resident in the UK again, at least I'd qualify for NHS treatment and prescriptions, and my state pension would be indexed.

You could try one of the custom tee-shirt printing services on Lazada (Shopee probably has the same if you prefer that). I used this from Amazon in the UK a while back and the result wasn't bad at all, though much more expensive than what the shops on Lazada are asking, about £15 or £20 (say 600 - 900 Baht). I've never tried it in Thailand, but it's not expensive so maybe just get one done to see the quality, and then order the rest if it's OK. Here's an example chosen at random, but there are lots of other options: https://www.lazada.co.th/products/men-and-womens-customized-logo-printed-t-shirt-cotton-top-diy-your-own-design-logo-souvenir-team-i5524120342.html If you go this route, please let us know what you think of the result as I wouldn't mind getting a few printed for myself.

People rushing to the Thai tax office to file a return and offer to pay tax remind me of the famous Gary Larson far Side cartoon... lol

Good news for Phuket! So now the Swissies kicking female Thai doctors sitting on public steps will be "premium" tourists and not the old riff-raff variety. And only Russian Gangsters who can trace their ancestry back to Catherine the Great will be allowed to operate. Meanwhile, the Anglophone hoodlums assaulting Thai police will only speak with an Etonian accent. That will be much better!

Back in the early to mid-1980's I worked on the Strand in London and there was a big Wendy's there. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Wendy burgers were better than any other fast food chain, though still way behind the likes of Strikes and Hard Rock. I haven't seen a Wendy's in decades but, like many things, it probably won't taste as good as it used to in the old days to us fossils.

With all the foreigners dying in Thailand lately, often violently, it seems, is it just due to larger visitor numbers or is the place becoming even more dangerous than it was?

Yeah, I wasn't far behind you as a Polish friend took me to the one near St. James Park in 1977, I think it was. I was impressed, tasty, cheap fast food, what more could a student want? When I fancy a triple cheeseburger in Pattaya these days, I usually head for the branch of McD's in TukCom as it's the closest to my house. I usually buy four at a time, eat one and freeze the other three. They microwave fine and make a decent quick meal when I fancy it. Since they opened the new Burger King on Jomtien Beach Road, though, I've been getting my burger fix there as I find the Whopper is more satisfying and tastier, being char grilled on an open flame. The Whopper cheese also freezes fine, though I remove the lettuce, tomato and mayo first as they probably won't freeze very well.

The Thai snake oil salesman is at it again, yawn.

What is this, Pravda? A big story about 27 slightly-injured Russkies but not a word about whoever was unfortunate enough to have been in the SUV!

Was that the most pathetic fireworks display in the history of Pattaya last night? I woke the GF up just before midnight and we went into the garden to watch, but the display lasted less than 2 minutes. I should think anyone who'd braved the crowds on Beach Road would have been more than a bit disappointed by that effort.

I inherited a beautiful green marble kitchen counter when I bought my house. All I can say is, it looked nice when it was new but it's about the least practical stone you could use in a kitchen. Marble is metamorphic carbonate rock, and acid marks it badly even when it's been polished, so any lime or lemon juice or vinegar will leave permanent marks. Marble may work fine in a bathroom, but definitely not in a kitchen.

Good to see that this suspected violent murderer is being transported under high-security conditions. I mean, when the cops stop off at an Amazon cafe for a quick shot of caffeine on the way to the station, there's no chance he might have hopped over the side of the truck and fled, even if he is handcuffed. lol

I live near Thepprasit, and when I went for my pre-bedtime walk last night the music was still blaring away in the distance, but loud enough even out here. At the time, I thought to myself, "My gosh, if it's that loud here what on earth must it be like in, say VT6, right by the racket?" We know now, thanks.

I did it a year ago, they also need to transfer your original visa that the extension of stay is based on into your new passport (a Non-Imm O from 2007 in my case). There's a specific form to be filled in you should be able to get that from the Information desk that hands out the ticket numbers. I originally got it from the guy in charge of desk 8. After I'd done the paperwork, I took it back to him, he gave me a number and said to come back the next day when it was ready and waiting. Yes, it's a free service. There may be a copy of the form available online but I've never seen it. To try and avoid long queues, I'd suggest going to the Information desk around 11:15 as it closes at 11:30. Or if you're feeling lucky and want to just try the guy on desk 8, I'd go there in the late afternoon, maybe around 4:00 when he should be getting close to wrapping up for the day. Good luck.

Bank Gold on Soi Rungland.

Same same, I was expecting it to be an advertorial for weekend breaks out at Lake Mabprachan! lol

If the Pattaya burghers think that's a crowded beach, they're lucky they don't live in Spain or Italy...

Many years ago, you could apply for an IDP in the UK online, I think it was handled by the AA. The last time I got one, though, back in 2019, the online process had been abandoned and you had no choice but to go to one of the few main post offices issuing them. I hope the Thais can make a success of this, it will show yet again how far Britain is lagging in digital delivery of services.

I did it for the first time a year ago. The trick, as far as I could tell, was to have some other interaction with Immigration after you returned to Thailand but before your 90-day is due so that your current situation is updated in the system. In my case, I come back from a trip to the UK in October so the 90-day is due in January. However, my permission to stay on the retirement extension expires on January 1, so I have to apply for a new annual retirement extension in December. Last January, I then tried doing the 90-day online and it worked. I got my latest annual retirement extension earlier this week, and the next (first since I got back) 90-day is due in the first week of January. Whether it will work again or not I will only find out when I apply this time. Maybe the 90-day last January was just a fluke, we shall see.

Thailand seems to want to adopt all sorts of Western habits and ideas and become a similar cultural and economic basket case. A lot of us moved here a long time ago specifically because it was so different from the West. Nowadays, with the banking rules and new global income tax proposals, the differences are becoming confined to the weather and the temples.