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On 10/16/2020 at 1:33 PM, JimGant said:

Yeah, I'm 75 and because of this forum and Peter Denis, I was made cognizant of LMG insurance, applicable to my age, for 11,400 bt (not 10,500?). Next year, the advertised minimum premium rate will be 16,900, assuming I made no claims the previous year (which I won't). Thus, I'm now getting into the "is an agent cheaper than insurance renewal" situation.

 

For Peter: Can agents handle the insurance requirement for OA visa extenders? I haven't seen anything plus or negative on this here on the forum -- maybe for sensitivity reasons. Anyway, your observation, by PM if more appropriate, would be appreciated. Thanx.

Yes  they can do anything , no 'special ' Insurance , no 800k , no 400k.

Ive been quoted from 18k to 30k from 2  Agents for the above  , one includes all 90 day reports as well  , the cheaper one needs a reminder and a 100 baht fee and will do the 90 days.

The openness with which these ladies operate indicate to me that they work with  approval.

An O-A recipient of an Agents services that I know , moved house , and when he deided to change address by  himself  ,  was detected in Phuket I O ,  and was told he wasnt 'wrong'   but his Extension paperwork was ,  and  was then  immediately  offered  help to 'fix ' the  Extension paperwork ...for 2k baht - which he obviously paid. 

All good now...

I appreciate Peters advice and have learnt a lot from him  , and agree everything has some risk , but I am personally convinced that they would prefer us all to use agents on  Extensions ...

Im at Phuket.

Most  O-A Victims I know have gone over to Agents ( including me  at the start of this year )

It wasnt just about the  cost of extra Insurance ( a quote I had  for that was around 50k bt  per year btw  )  , it was also the lost interest on 800k bt  for 5 months , and 400k bt per year  for ever. 

Much more expensive than an agent fee.

And the possibility that doing it myself  as I had for 12 years previous  would still result  in  a 'problem' , of course.

Funny how agents can do dozens at a time and they dont have a single problem , isnt it ?

Even if you paint it that 20% of GDP is generated by Foreign Tourists , theres still 80% of the Thai economy that has nothing much to do with it.

80% is a substantial whack.

Its misguided to walk down Bangla , or Beach rd Chaweng , and conclude  ALL Thailand is  the same and on in great difficulty .

When I visit Krabi Town , Trang , or Nakhon Sri Tammerat ,  its business as usual .

Some  big towns  like NST and Haad Yai  , are even busier with the many returnees (  relocating from the troubled South and  the Tourist islands )  and rubber  is up in demand and price as well. 

On 10/14/2020 at 12:25 PM, Tchooptip said:

"Annual health insurance arranged via a Thai broker is with Pacific Cross (cost a fortune!!)

Tenancy contract runs to end June 2021"

Could I ask you Sir what do you mean by a fortune, I am 75 and I paid ten thousand five hundred Bahts for this mandatory insurance! I guess it is not "a good insurance" for that price but it was mainly for the new rule and it was accepted by the immigration.

May I ask what Company you went with , and what your Policy covers for 10,500 please ? Any exclusions, issues  etc ?

It should also be noted that some Insurance Companies will no longer insure Chev.

I have a Colorado ( very reliable unlike the Cruze ) that has been insured 8 years with AXA , but this year they declined to offer me 1st Class Insurance siting the possibility that parts would become hard to acquire .

16 hours ago, Ireland32 said:

Who cares Thai locals don’t make one baht from Chinese Tours 

Yes , the tour bus drivers , tour bus cleaners and mechanics , the guides , the ticket sellers , the receptionists at every tourist site , the fruit sellers , the 7/11 staff and delivery men to them , the waiters and waitresses of restaurants mentioned in the OP , the house keepers ,  the maids , pool attendants and security men  etc , etc .... none of them get paid and they therefore get not ONE baht from Chinese Tourism .... jesus.

Ive written this before ...

According to my recently retired I.O. neighbour  , there is a war going on between the IO off shore ( the children of the Elites ) , and regular Thai I.O's based in Thailand.

The off shore IO's approve everybody , collect the fees and DO NOT check the credentials/records , then   do NOT  send the full  application  fee amount to Thailand ( and thus the big  boss here in Thailand who cant control them ... doesnt ...ahhmmm , do  as well as he 'should'  ! 555)

We falang  are all the meat in the sandwich according to him.

He says they have been trying to steer falang to only "O'' visas issued IN Thailand  for 2 years now ... the last 'stick 'wass to make falang on O-As  buy compulsory Insurance , and that was planned  to  drive them over to "O'' visas.

Dunno. Ive been here long enough to be cynical about anything I hear here ...

What works in many tropical areas is having the house on stilts. 

The underneath is fully shaded by the house itself , and stays a lot cooler.

Grow some tall shrubbery on the edges of the slab  and hose the plants   occasionally  and briefly on very hot days.... on the hottest , sleep down there as well , with a fan on you.

You also double your floor space with a house on stilts  , have a great place to dry laundry in the Wet , and  a spot to tinker with things that need fixing. Tall trees on the  blocks boundary ( say 10 metres from the house ) in line with the rising and setting sun also help.

We added a stainless kitchen ( all portable stuff )  and fridge , and I pretty much now live 'downstairs'.

The only a/c upstairs is in the bedroom , which is used to pre-cool the room if needed and we have to use it.

One of their only 'friends' left in S.E. Asia , the rest having been bought by China  , and ....

Where I come from , a Hotel would run a mile to avoid all this negative publicity.

1 hour ago, Don Chance said:

You need to look again. Football players have now been diagnosed with heart damage because they were asymptomatic and continued to exercise. Long term heart, lung, kidney, brain damage etc is a real possibility for people of all ages. They also think that covid may lead to parkinsons disease.

You do not want to get this disease.

People aren't dying because hospitals aren't overwhelmed right now. But that could change. e

Can lead to Parkinsons Disease but many manage to shake it off ....

Huge offenders in my beachside community on Phuket are the big Hotel developers who arrive claiming to be the villiages new best friend... dozens have done so this past 4 years.

None of them appear to have heard of erosion control or a 'run-off trap' , and they basically clear all the land and happily allow the soil to rush off down to the sea without a second thought. ( The new Himalai build is a huge offender ) . Its now September , the rainiest month , and the torquoise waters they promote so much are blood red , choking the reefs and any sort of sea life that is trying to exist on them.

Some sediment  pits and bales of hay would cost so little , and they well  know they have had to provide such in other countries , but here nobody forces them to do the right thing - so they dont. Klongs and sea all red and brown.

They also tout 'local employment' , but they pay  so low the locals wont participate , so they employ builders and support them to  import hundreds of Burmese labourers , then 'house' them in tin shanties on the hillside back blocks that never have any sewage or garbage services , and  those labourers are now , with the lack of work due to the downturn , wandering around penniless. They are the main participants in the food queues , provided NOT by the hotels that promise investors of so much profit  , but sympathetic locals and "Foreign"  owned/partnered restaurants ... Even our villiages Number One attraction ( possibly Phukets No 1 )  , that puts on buffets catering to thousands nightly and is building extensively , has never provided a free food queue here .

Further , these Burmese , living so close to poverty , are denuding nearby forests of small game and natural growth  in order to subsist !

And their waste certainly ends up in the klongs , evidenced by tiny packages of laundry soaps , bottles , styrofome noodle containers   and 'kanom' packaging ....and BROWN stinking water , draining to the Andaman.

There are Hotels out there , telling the world that they are taking care of the environment , 'from  inception , to 5 star delivery !'

Nothing could be further from the truth .

If it was , they would spend at least some lines  in their glossy promotions on the fact that they have water reticulation systems and a sewage treatment system , and NONE of them have because its simply not a Required Condition , so they will not spend a single baht on what they dont have to.

Once completed , they will aim to attract another 500 Thais from the poorer neighbouring provinces to this villiage  as service staff  , a villiage that has no sewerage system , a barely adequate garbage ( or electric !)  system , and if another crisis like Covid comes along ,  they will again sack them all and leave them to their own devices as they did this year.

On 9/25/2020 at 7:08 PM, holy cow cm said:

This guy just actually may be one of the good ones. I hope I am right, his dad was a powerhouse for sure.

A proactive Dive Company should be leading the way and offering all like minded politicians FREE dive trips !

Jesus , with all the available  p**** on this island ,  you gotta wonder at his IQ...

I ask again , what is wrong with 800,00 baht a year ?

How many tourist drop 800,000 baht while they are here ?

How many Thais spend 800,000 a year ?

Forget all the ins and outs of who in Thailand gets the money, you will never control that  , just be satisfied 800k arrives and is spent , and next year  yet another 800,000 is SPENT !

Take the money !

Encourage the expats to stay on , and stop making they feel victimized ,  so they leave .

Once they leave , I doubt even a few  ever want to come back.

Its simple , the expats  are already here.

By all means , check their expenditures , you do that already.

So there's two 'alreadys'.

Take care of your existing 'customers' , and they will once again promote Thailand to their countrymen  as they once did , and all these ''schemes"  and expenditures  promoting them will not be necessary.

2 hours ago, Jeffrey346 said:

What can I get for a 2008 Yamaha Spark 135 with 8,721 km

Very low kms , but unfortunately not much resale  as the Spark is like the Wave , a utilitarian  geared bike  ... but  the common Thai that use a Wave  hate Suzuki for some odd reason. My buddy swears by his Spark , its brown and ugly , but very reliable. His Thai ladies ( gf , daughter , female staff ) all avoid riding it  or moan if there is no option ...555

If its  also very tidy ,  I'd expect to see it listed at 12k and sell at around 10k

Dont buy the NMax. 

We bought two , and within a year anything painted black was getting white spots , and anything chrome was getting orange spots ( we live near the beach.)

Definitely dont buy the Aerox.

In fact avoid  these 2new Yammie models , the front shocks go within the year , and guess what ?

They are a part ''not hab warantee on it "

Go with the 150 PCX.

We have some ( Mrs has a rental Co. )  and they are very tough and reliable.

You can pick up a 1 to 2 year old PCX for around 70k.

This is news ??

13 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Believe frequent review of account balance is the most important security consideration myself so would keep internet access even if not having ATM card.  The reports of persons making withdrawals are, I suspect, almost all because they had no understanding of the recent rule change, even if they received the printout - although suspect some may have just had senior moments.

Dont agree with this . I had a serious medical event at 53 and the hospital took my atm card , and billed it 100k. 

I do recall them yelling at me if it was ok to take my card  and I said 'ok' ( ie  ,  I thought they were holding it ) I just dont recall the part that they said they were taking 100k out immediately.  ... I was barely concious  , but I  had said I had good insurance , also..

So on day 3 and 4 in hospital the Insurance Company  reps are calling ( World Nomads Insurance  - highly recommended btw ) promising both me and then the  Hospital Accounts Department they will pay , yet the next day Im going home and visit Accounts , and they ask if Im ready to pay the 'outstanding remainer of 119,000 baht ' and that  my card has already paid 100, 000  baht !

No signature , or even over the phone  verbal approval from me , they had withdrawn 100k from my account.

And now the 880k  in my account , showed  780k on my bank account statement.

UNDER 800k and a plobrem !

Your idea is good , because it probably neccesitates keeping your  'daily working  account ' separate.

I now pay my bank 500 bt a year extra  so that my phone  receives sms notification of any withdrawals  btw.

Phuket has the reputation of being super expensive amongst the Thais , and corrupt Mayors that directed and then protected the transport system were instrumental in making that happen.

Thais are in awe when they hear a 15 minute taxi ride can cost the equivalent of 3 days basic pay  , and they want no part of the aggression they fear to encounter if they refuse to pay it !

Imagine being a Thai in Bkk , and buying a bargain  600 baht each way ticket to Phuket , then paying 900 baht ( sometimes with threat s)  to get to your Kata Beach Hotel?

None of this could have happened without the protection offered by corrupt Or Bor Tors and other officials who we all know  force up the price by taking  their  %.

The army was supposed to clean this up years ago  , so they 'arrested'  the ringleaders , then pretty much left the system the same.

And what ever happened to the cases against the Mayors of Karon and Patong  accused of running a Cartel btw ? No news ...

When you have taxis charging 3 times the rate of fare that it costs in the big apple , Bangkok , then you cant expect Thais to come here. They see it as a sign that this island must be a complete rip off..

I know the rule is 'i' before 'e' except after 'c' LiL , but their  is one of those stupid exceptions that somehow is  supposed to 'prove' the rule ... ( I never 'got' that idea btw ) 

However , I totally agree that Thais living in untourized areas , even  Nakhon Nowhere  cities , have little interest in seeing tourism return. To them , nothing affecting their incomes has to do with the farang , even though some of it may, international markets and all that.

Much is made by farang on this board of how very IMPORTANT their money  and  , farang tourism,  is to the Thai economy .

And ,  if it truly IS 15% as bandied about on here   , then 85% is NOT. 

85% is a screaming majority in anybodies books.

I recently took to the road  both out of boredom , and because I expected they'd be empty , and they were , all the way to Ao Nang  ( a toursit hotspot )   , but at the  Krabi Town crossroads  , where Thais all live , there was a traffic jam. Every shop was open , and the market  and mall packed.

At another major town , much further South and rarely tourised ,  Thais stood back from me , and my Thai partner was asked if I had been made to have a Covid test before entering their muang  !

Judging the impacts of the loss of tourism , from a foreigners perspective and  while standing in the streets of the very desolate beach roads of Patong , Chaweng or Patts , may have an impact , but the conclusions drawn are not anything like the perspective of the  85% of Thais in Thailand that are living  pretty much as they always have.

My Thai lady owns 22 rental  scooters , and both her and I do not rate the Yammies.

They are rougher starters and the springs start rusting within 6 months due to thin powder coating.

( We live near a beach ) 

5 hours ago, Geordie59 said:

Yes. Who would have thought the Aussiegovernment would be as crazy as the Thai one.

As for a 71% drop in tourists. That is nothing. Wait until you see the figures for April to September. 

Hows Aussie inbound tourist stats going pray tell ??

On 8/25/2020 at 9:26 AM, dallen52 said:

Sums it up pretty much. 

 

But these clowns still don't get it. 

Thousands of people like myself and just want to get back to Thailand, and like you support the Thai family and community. 

 

It's a no brainer. 

Throw in self quarantine and there's another 50,000 baht to be spent by the returnees.

 

Yes , but YOUR clowns get it ... 5555

The Aussie Government doesnt trust their own to do the right thing between STATES , and wont let you out  of Aus even  , but Thailand is full of clowns who should let  you in ,  hey ?

Get Real !

"It has extended a state of emergency until the end of September, despite having among Asia's lowest coronavirus case numbers and no domestic transmission for three months."

Is it deliberate that TV articles are written to draw contention??

Replace "despite"  with "resulting in it " .... geez....