BangkokHank

Yes. I already renewed my visa, and it was as people here said - that I would get a full year from the previous date of expiration (rather than a year from the date that I went to renew it.) Everything went well, by the way, as I had all the documents/copies that they wanted. It's always a great relief to get this taken care of - and to gain another year of residence here.

It is obvious that the virus came from a lab. Whether it escaped by accident or was deliberately leaked is the only question. (I think it was deliberately "leaked", as explained below.) The way that we can know that the virus did not occur in nature is that Klaus Schwab from the World Economic Forum published a book about taking advantage of the virus to implement his "Great Reset". This book was published in mid-2020, just a few of months after the virus was unleashed on the world. There's no way he could have come up with a well-though-out plan to reset the world and have written and published a book about this plan just a few months after the virus started spreading. His plan came first, then the virus was released to put his plan into action.

He must have signed up for the "never pay" insurance policy, as described in this skit from Monty Python: It's about this letter you sent me regarding my insurance claim. Oh, yeah, yeah - well, you see, it's just that we're not...as yet...totally satisfied with the grounds of your claim. But it says something about filling my mouth in with cement. Oh well, that's just insurance jargon, you know. But my car was hit by a lorry while standing in the garage and you refuse to pay my claim. (rising and crossing to a filing cabinet) Oh well, reverend Morrison...in your policy...in your policy...(he open the drawer of the filing cabinet and takes out a shabby old sports jacket; he feels in the pocket and pulls out a crumbled dog-eared piece of paper then puts the coat back and shuts the filing cabinet)...here we are. It states quite clearly that no claim you make will be paid. Oh dear. You see, you unfortunately plumped for our 'Neverpay' policy, which, you know, if you never claim is very worthwhile...but you had to claim, and, well, there it is. Oh dear, oh dear.

A Norwegian was fined 5,000 baht for doing the same thing near the end of last year, ten times as much as the Thais were fined.

My annual (non-O visa for retirement) expires on 8 April 2023. I understand that I can renew it within 45 days of that date. I plan to renew it on 1 March. My question is, until what date would the renewed visa be valid? For one year from the date that I renew it (on 1 March)? Or one year from 8 April? Thanks very much.

It wasn't until I came to Thailand that I realized that I am buy-sexual.

Are we living in the same world?

Feel free to send me your logical response in a PM.

So you would rather believe that your people actually VOTED for him? You should be embarrassed.

Well, he didn't really get elected.

The financial hardships were indeed a result of the lockdowns - but not due to the virus. The decision to lock down the healthy (for the first time in the history of the world) was both unnecessary - and wrong. The financial hardships (on the less wealthy) were the desired outcome. Meanwhile the rich got richer.

You're still not ignoring me.

But you didn't ignore me. Ignoring me would be not saying anything.

Do you think that everyone should have the same opinion as you do about everything?

In the mall right across the street from my home.

So this problem could have been averted by simply putting the immigration center in the center of the city. Another confirmation that Thais don't think the same way that we do.

This is the place that I always used during my recent seven-year stay in Vietnam. Cheap and good, although I only ever went there for having my teeth cleaned: https://elitedental.com.vn/en/

Nha Trang is a very nice, fairly large beach town - with tons of nice but cheap hotels and plenty of restaurants catering to tourists. Da Nang has equally nice beaches but is a much larger city, which means more places to visit in the area - in addition to the beaches. You can't go wrong with either place.

As I said, taxation should be completely separated from income - and be completely tied to consumption, regardless of the source of the income. If high earners want to just earn a lot of money without spending it, then it's true that they wouldn't pay any taxes. But does anybody earn money to just sit on it? I don't think so. It would be easy enough to set up a system whereby things used by everybody, especially the low earners, such as food, would be taxed at lower rates, and luxury goods could be taxed at higher rates.

They wouldn't be paying the same amount. The "elites who earn millions a year" also spend more than those on a small monthly salary, so they would automatically pay more taxes. The only way they would not pay more taxes is if they didn't spend their money. Do you know any rich people who just pile up their money without spending any of it? Use your head a bit.

Exactly. Income should not be taxed. It would be enough to just tax consumption. Then there would be no need for people to try to hide their incomes; there would be no need for all those employees in the tax department; etc.

That's the main reason why I have only been to Phuket once in my 21 years in Thailand, and why I will not set foot in that place again. They think it's clever to cheat tourists. But they can't cheat me if I don't go there.

I wanted to laugh at your comment because it's funny. But the right to laugh at funny comments has been taken away from us just because one overly-sensitive forum member considers it to be trolling.

So that's where I went wrong. I am retiring next month at the age of 63, and now I find out that it took me so long because I never smoked weed. I wish I had known this 20 years ago.

Or a woman with a "brother" from a previous marriage.