billd766

I once was interested in opening a bank account based in Thailand in found out that for just getting a new account you MUST have a start balance of $10.000 USD. I guess that most retirement people will not have that amount, so the survey is not realistic, if done only with people whom can afford a HSBC account.

Most of the bank accounts I have opened (and closed some) I deposited 1,000 baht which is about USD$ 9,970 less than you mentioned.

I guess I must be a hansum man.

In the city I tend to ride close to the line between the fast and slow lanes and my neck usually aches as it constantly swiveling between the road in front, the mirrors, the <deleted> in the Fortuner (usually a black one) you just know is going to pull out, cut in or stop without looking.

I ride a Yamaha 535 Virago and it is a bit wide to nip through some gaps and sometimes end up looking at the exhaust of a bus I am stuck behind.

Fortunately it doesn't happen that often as I live out in the countryside which presents different hazards.

Touch wood I have been lucky in the city and not had an accident yet.

I think you mean a TENS machine.

I Googled it + Thailand and came up with this.

I hope this helps though it was from 2006.

I havent read through this entire thread yet but I must say, I am jealous of the lifestyle you guys live. You guys seem to enjoy life in beautiful parts of Thailand. Cant beat that.

You guys have what im striving for. I'd love to just wake up, sit outside and have a coffee while reading a good book or newspaper while enjoying the nature surrounding me.

Yes, that's like saying, "I've arrived". No more rat race and stress of having to kowtow to clients etc.

Shame I can't afford to (or dare not) retire yet.

That's only because you don't have my dam_n chickens cackling around 3 or 4 in the morning demanding to be fed.

Stupid birds, don't they know it is half past dark and they do get fed around 6 am along with the ducks and the cats.

Other than that it's fine.

I usually get up around 5 am, go downstairs and have ss&s, get my sons school clothes ready, boil the kettle and generally wake my wife and son around 6am.

The speakers outside on the lamppost don't work but nobody complains, the food cars are rolling before dawn, each with it own music so you know whose is whose, the tractors and e-tans are out a bit later and my son gets his school bus at 6.30 to go to school 45 km away.

After he has gone I read my emails and the papers, give my mother in law her insulin injection, then eat breakfast of fresh melon and banana, homemade toasted bread with jam or marmelade and tea.

I usually spend a couple of hours 4 or 5 days a week with the brush cutter keeping the grass and scrub down then come back for a coffee and a shower then make my lunch mostly Thai food but very little spice.

Wash up then spend a couple of hours on the internet and have about a 20 or 30 minute power sleep and do any small jobs around the house.

My wife cooks dinner for us ready for when our son gets home.

He eats, does his homework, plays or watches videos etc and goes to bed around 8 pm

I have a couple of Sang Som and sodas during the evening and I am generally in bed not long after them and read for a while.

The same thing Sunday night to Friday night ans there is no school at the weekend.

We take the weekend as it comes.

Cities are definitely not for us.

Boy, do I envy you

Slight difference for me will be doing lots of bbq's.

I leave them to my wife and generally supervise with a glass of something cold near my hand

Just to clarify for those who have contributed so far, a guy from the UK passed yesterday, he lived in the same village, we were acquainted but not really good friends as only know for a few months he had no family back in the UK that I know of and his Thai wife is at a loss as to what to do about Pensions etc he used to receive, money, bank accounts etc. She has never been out of the village so travelling to the UK to sort anything out is not really an option. He passed away in Hospital within an hour of arriving there and they have taking care of some formalities apparently.

I have never dealt with a death here and was looking for some guidance and info.

I can understand what you are talking about.

My post was in relation to me.

I have a couple of farangs friends and though my wife has been out of the country and speaks English it is not to the level that bureaucrats in the UK would speak.

I have a folder in my computer about my death, who to contact and the numbers, pensions etc, where things are, passport, cards etc, family and friends in the UK.

I spent quite a while setting it and changing things but all any body needs to do is to switch on my pc, look up Bill's death and open the XL file for an idiots guide.

There have been a few posts about this and I urge all farangs to get their death plan sorted out asap.

It is never wasted and can save your Thai family lots of time, money and grief.

If you pensions are paid into an account in the UK that your wife has no access to she CANNOT get any money.

If you have children under 18 and you are a pensioner the UK government will pay towards their education

When your death is registered in the UK your widow gets a GBP 2,000 death benefit grant.

What happens to us when we are dead doesn't matter to us.

It is what we have done for our families in preparation for the event which will count for them the most.

I am not trying to be morbid but if you and I don't do something NOW then who will help our families when they need the help the most.

I have to now since I got rid of the dogs.

They weren't fussy eaters and ate most things including a couple of ducks that my wife had bought 3 days before. At least one of them killed the duck first but was stupid enough to eat it just outside the window where I was working on my computer.

I looked into this from my own point of view as I am 67 and trying to plan ahead and I have come up with this.

a) Call the police and get them to check my body and see if it was a natural death.

B ) Get them to take a photograph and write a report.

c) Get a copy of the report then scan it into the computer.

d) Check with them if I should be taken to a hospital and be formally declared dead by a doctor.

e) Check if an autopsy is required (I don't need one done)

f) Get a death certificate. The hospital will tell you where but it is probably the amphur. The forms are in Thai. Scan them into your computer. Somebody else will be bound to want a copy.

g) The police need to tell the UK Embassy but your family should do it as well.

h) You will need a change of clothes put on the body. However, if you bring a change of clothing be sure that the items have buttons or closings that allow it to be put on a stiffening body, Sliding clothing over the head or feet may not work.

i) You will need originals of passport and birth certificate and maybe the marriage certificate to prove you are the next of kin.

j) Arrange with the wat you choose for the cremation.

k) Get the party sorted out with lots of beer and whisky and remember me. Enjoy yourselves.

Remember I will be watching you with love.

l) You will need a translation service in Bangkok to get the Thai paperwork done for the Embassy.

m) Each pension provider will need a translated copy of the death certificate and probably an English copy of the marriage certificate.

n) Probably get them certified.

o) Scan the translations into the computer and make lots of copies.

I do have a bit more information.

Should you need more please PM me.

I havent read through this entire thread yet but I must say, I am jealous of the lifestyle you guys live. You guys seem to enjoy life in beautiful parts of Thailand. Cant beat that.

You guys have what im striving for. I'd love to just wake up, sit outside and have a coffee while reading a good book or newspaper while enjoying the nature surrounding me.

Yes, that's like saying, "I've arrived". No more rat race and stress of having to kowtow to clients etc.

Shame I can't afford to (or dare not) retire yet.

That's only because you don't have my dam_n chickens cackling around 3 or 4 in the morning demanding to be fed.

Stupid birds, don't they know it is half past dark and they do get fed around 6 am along with the ducks and the cats.

Other than that it's fine.

I usually get up around 5 am, go downstairs and have ss&s, get my sons school clothes ready, boil the kettle and generally wake my wife and son around 6am.

The speakers outside on the lamppost don't work but nobody complains, the food cars are rolling before dawn, each with it own music so you know whose is whose, the tractors and e-tans are out a bit later and my son gets his school bus at 6.30 to go to school 45 km away.

After he has gone I read my emails and the papers, give my mother in law her insulin injection, then eat breakfast of fresh melon and banana, homemade toasted bread with jam or marmelade and tea.

I usually spend a couple of hours 4 or 5 days a week with the brush cutter keeping the grass and scrub down then come back for a coffee and a shower then make my lunch mostly Thai food but very little spice.

Wash up then spend a couple of hours on the internet and have about a 20 or 30 minute power sleep and do any small jobs around the house.

My wife cooks dinner for us ready for when our son gets home.

He eats, does his homework, plays or watches videos etc and goes to bed around 8 pm

I have a couple of Sang Som and sodas during the evening and I am generally in bed not long after them and read for a while.

The same thing Sunday night to Friday night ans there is no school at the weekend.

We take the weekend as it comes.

Cities are definitely not for us.

I have 3 pensions and I get a letter from the British Consulate in Chiang Mai every year.

What I do is get my pension provider to give me a letter stating the gross amount of my pensions (ie before tax) which takes me reasonably into a comfort zone for immigration and they are happy with that.

I took that to CM and the young Thai lady there is very helpful and this year offered a photocopy of the Consulate letter. The original letter was embossed with the embassy seal which the Immigration at Nakhon Sawan kept but I scanned it anyway for my records.

I hope this helps you.

Thank you very much for that.

I have a friend or two that would enjoy it.

For the OP's information here is a spreadsheet that I keep for the exchange rate at KBank from the beginning of this year up to 1pm today.

I have them going back to 2000 but it makes me sad to look at them but if anybody wants them I will post the short version.

Forex 2011 v1.xls

You know how to play Bok Deng AND how to score plus you can sit on the ground Thai style for hours.

How about the fact they cooperated with the Japanese during WW2? I am sure that if the US did not step in to stop France(Cambodian land grab) and Britain(Invasion of Singapore) from exacting revenge for their duplicity during WW2 Thailand would not be what it is today. It was a choice of survival because Japan was not exactly know for being kind to countries they conquered but it is a dark chapter in Thai history that has been glossed over many many times. Kind of ironic how they love the Japanese so much but seem to not show the same level of friendliness to other nationals.

You say cooperated?

"On December 8, 1941 in the immediate aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces invaded Thailand's territory. Only hours after the invasion, the then prime minister Field Marshal Phibunsongkhram, ordered the cessation of resistance against the Japanese.

On December 21, 1941, a military alliance with Japan was signed and Sang Phathanothai read over the radio Thailand's declaration of war on the United Kingdom and the United States." (from Wikipedia and other sources)

I have a friend who is a Thai teacher (he is 26 years old) and he was in disbelief when I mentioned this not long ago.

What he learned in high school and the university in Bangkok was that Phibunsongkhram was a general in the Thai army. Nothing more.

He was surprised to know about the declaration of war to the UK and USA.

When I asked him about the origin of Kanchanaburi, he only knew it as a tourist attraction with a temple dedicated to tigers. Not a word is the texts he read about the Death Railway to Burma or the bridge over the river Kwai built by the prisoners (mostly USA and British soldiers) half of whom died from disease, abuse or malnutrition.

He went home and to the library after our conversations and could not find concrete reference in Thai texts relevant to those facts. Therefore, what I pointed out to him could not be true.

Thais are given to rewriting history or deleting what is not convenient for them to remember. Saving face is first and foremost.

Funny thing, this Thai friend is going to Japan to study there for 4 years.

Actually for every POW there were 3 slave labourers who had a far worse time than the POWs who at least had each other and the discipline and some limited medical assets.

For every POW who died 5 slave labourers died also.

This from Wikipedia

The Burma Railway, also known as the Death Railway, the Thailand–Burma Railway and similar names, is a 415 kilometres (258 mi) railway between Bangkok, Thailand, and Rangoon, Burma (now Yangon, Myanmar), built by the Empire of Japan during World War II, to support its forces in the Burma campaign.

Forced labour was used in its construction. About 180,000 Asian labourers and 60,000 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) worked on the railway. Of these, around 90,000 Asian labourers (mainly romusha) and 16,000 Allied POWs died as a direct result of the project. The dead POWs included 6,318 British personnel, 2,815 Australians, 2,490 Dutch, about 356 Americans and a smaller number of Canadians and New Zealanders.[1]

I believe one opened at Phitsanulok this year, how far away is that?

http://thailand-busi...our-new-outlets

That's closer, now down to about 200 km each way.

Even closer Bill they have them in Makro's K.P.Phet that's only 60k away from you. If you look they have fan powered one's as well and their bigger. But the grill is still crap.

Thanks Fredob

I will be up doing a bulk shop in a couple of weeks and I will see what they have got.

I bought a leg of lamb a couple of years ago and never got around to buying a cooker to go with it.

Thats what you get for sending your kid to a sub-par (probably) Thai school.

The Int. schools have web portals, weekly newsletters, and 7 year olds are certainly not allowed to leave the school grounds with out their parents or approved guardian (who must present a valid ID at the gate). If a child was not picked up, the school should have kept her in the office until a parent was contacted.

Send your kid to a proper school or stop complaining.

What about if the parents can't afford to send their kids to a proper (probably) Farang school? Can they continue to complain?

Should I uproot my family and move 400 km to Bangkok or Chiang Mai where there is a farang school?

I believe one opened at Phitsanulok this year, how far away is that?

http://thailand-business-news.com/news/featured/10944-robinson-department-store-to-expand-with-four-new-outlets

That's closer, now down to about 200 km each way.

Is this a mountable model or one of the free standing ones? I have been looking for an over as well. I even roughed out an opening in our outside kitchen for one, but haven't gotten one yet. Will it bake a turkey? If it can do that, it can do anything else I would throw its way. ett

It is free standing and can bake a baby turkey, go look and you will see.

Can you advise me, PM or open, of the brand and which place to buy.

I live out in the sticks but not toooo far.

Thanks

It's in the OP - the brand is 'House Worth" (Chinese make) bought at Robinsons.

Sorry I missed that bit, (I am getting old and need new glasses).

For me to go to Robinsons would be about an 800 km round trip as I live in the central region not far from Khampaeng Phet.

It would cost me over 2,500 baht for the diesel plus an overnight stay. With my luck this month I would probably get told, mai mee, we sell last one this morning and no idea of the next delivery or price.

Just a thought.

I have 2 UK passports, both legally obtained, one for Muslim and the other for non-Muslim countries.

The Muslim one has expired and my Thai visa is in the other one.

Though I live in Thailand could I post the expired one to a trusted friend in the UK and get her to send it to the passport office for renewal and then return the new one to me?

Yes.

Thank you for that information.

Is this a mountable model or one of the free standing ones? I have been looking for an over as well. I even roughed out an opening in our outside kitchen for one, but haven't gotten one yet. Will it bake a turkey? If it can do that, it can do anything else I would throw its way. ett

It is free standing and can bake a baby turkey, go look and you will see.

Can you advise me, PM or open, of the brand and which place to buy.

I live out in the sticks but not toooo far.

Thanks

Just a thought.

I have 2 UK passports, both legally obtained, one for Muslim and the other for non-Muslim countries.

The Muslim one has expired and my Thai visa is in the other one.

Though I live in Thailand could I post the expired one to a trusted friend in the UK and get her to send it to the passport office for renewal and then return the new one to me?

You think riding a motorbike with an umbrella up is normal.

You mean it isn't?

Some pictures of my bike .Got the panniers yesterday .Cost B4,500 .They are supported on a chrome frame .The screen was B450 .I have been busy renovating my house ,but hope to start getting some mileage on the bike soon .

Your bike looks very smart.

I was seriously close to buying one when I found a Yamaha Virago 535 with a green book and supposedly one owner.

I feel I need the extra power to lug the extra weight of me around.

I dropped my Yamaha Virago a couple of months ago on the twisty uphill bit of the 106 off the route 1 to Li and Chiang Mai.

I was raining on and off and it is mostly 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear up there.

I went around a very tight left hand bend in 1st, cranked over a bit then as I went round I whanged the throttle open too far and the back end tried to overtake the front even as I turned hard right too late.

I was only doing about 10 to 15 kph and I just lost it.

Fortunately I had a jacket on but I ended up sliding uphill backwards resting comfortable on my backpack. I stopped with the handlebar and clutch lever through my waterproof trousers and 2 big bruises, 1 on my thigh and the other above my wedding tackle.

I was very lucky that nothing was coming close after me up the hill and a couple of Thais coming down stopped to help me.

I was very lucky and drove on up to CM with more caution than before.

There are many bold bikers and quite a few old bikers but very few old bold bikers. I am 67 and count myself lucky that day.

I was embarrassed, bruised but my ego took a big battering.

I thought I was better than that.

I relearned that lesson the hard way.

Yet you are still riding on the same tires that are so old you can't even make out the manufacture date, right?

I hear you've since replaced the front but have kept the rear. That makes no sense at all...

Glad you escaped undamaged but please get yourself some proper tires!

Front tyre replaced a while ago but with the rain we have had up here I have only clocked about 200km in a month.

The rear is still OK but I think I need new glasses to read balack on black.

But I thought you said (on this forum or another) that you crashed because the rear the lost traction, not the front?

I did and the rear tried to overtake the front.

I was leaning over to the left going around a sharp left hand bend with the handlebars turned left.

I opened the throttle too far and started to go into the kerb, so I turned the bars to the right to straighten up, but too late as I was still leaning to the left as the bike was not upright and it just pushed me down onto the road before I could do anything else.

Game over and luckily my body was far enough away from the bike for my leg not to be trapped under the bike and I stopped with my left foot down near the gear lever and the handlebar through my waterproof trousers. I then hit the engine kill switch to stop the motor running and I suppose the rear wheel from turning.

I sat up and lifted the handlebar off my trousers and was able to scoot backwards to get free of the bike and stand up. It is a heavy old bike but as I had overtaken a truck and trailer several moments before. being on the wrong side gives you a little more strength with the thought of being crunched.

Anyway I had a couple of colourful bruises and a very flattened ego but fortunately no damage to my bike.

And there you have it.

Stupidity and press-on-itis can lead you into trouble.

I dropped my Yamaha Virago a couple of months ago on the twisty uphill bit of the 106 off the route 1 to Li and Chiang Mai.

I was raining on and off and it is mostly 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear up there.

I went around a very tight left hand bend in 1st, cranked over a bit then as I went round I whanged the throttle open too far and the back end tried to overtake the front even as I turned hard right too late.

I was only doing about 10 to 15 kph and I just lost it.

Fortunately I had a jacket on but I ended up sliding uphill backwards resting comfortable on my backpack. I stopped with the handlebar and clutch lever through my waterproof trousers and 2 big bruises, 1 on my thigh and the other above my wedding tackle.

I was very lucky that nothing was coming close after me up the hill and a couple of Thais coming down stopped to help me.

I was very lucky and drove on up to CM with more caution than before.

There are many bold bikers and quite a few old bikers but very few old bold bikers. I am 67 and count myself lucky that day.

I was embarrassed, bruised but my ego took a big battering.

I thought I was better than that.

I relearned that lesson the hard way.

Yet you are still riding on the same tires that are so old you can't even make out the manufacture date, right?

I hear you've since replaced the front but have kept the rear. That makes no sense at all...

Glad you escaped undamaged but please get yourself some proper tires!

Front tyre replaced a while ago but with the rain we have had up here I have only clocked about 200km in a month.

The rear is still OK but I think I need new glasses to read balack on black.

I dropped my Yamaha Virago a couple of months ago on the twisty uphill bit of the 106 off the route 1 to Li and Chiang Mai.

I was raining on and off and it is mostly 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear up there.

I went around a very tight left hand bend in 1st, cranked over a bit then as I went round I whanged the throttle open too far and the back end tried to overtake the front even as I turned hard right too late.

I was only doing about 10 to 15 kph and I just lost it.

Fortunately I had a jacket on but I ended up sliding uphill backwards resting comfortable on my backpack. I stopped with the handlebar and clutch lever through my waterproof trousers and 2 big bruises, 1 on my thigh and the other above my wedding tackle.

I was very lucky that nothing was coming close after me up the hill and a couple of Thais coming down stopped to help me.

I was very lucky and drove on up to CM with more caution than before.

There are many bold bikers and quite a few old bikers but very few old bold bikers. I am 67 and count myself lucky that day.

I was embarrassed, bruised but my ego took a big battering.

I thought I was better than that.

I relearned that lesson the hard way.