Bangkok Barry

How does that work if I'm not eligible to pay tax in the UK?

Doesn't really apply to me. My income level in the UK means I pay no tax regardless of where I live, but you are saying the Thai government rules about my UK income take precedence over UK law. That's interesting.

If you didn't pay tax anywhere for it - yes. And what about if you are not eligible to pay tax in your home country due to a low income level? The UK keeps raising the minimum level required before you need to pay tax, for example. I for one will no longer transfer any money into Thailand and pay most of my bills with a foreign credit card, as I do if I book a hotel or flight.

I think you mean allow a full cavity search. Unless..... 😁

Fortunately, in my 27 years here, I've never needed to.

He said, she said. The police aren't going to get involved in that.

I came across this at the consulate in Melbourne some years ago. All used to be a piece of cake there until the Aussie consulate retired and a Thai came in. He wanted my wife to fax a letter to him, he gave me a Sydney phone number in error instead of his number in Melbourne, and when I questioned how he could be sure it actually came from my wife (step 2 thinking not available to him) he threatened to send me to Canberra to get my visa. He also ran a scam, rejecting everyone's photo and sending us across the road to a Thai-owned pharmacy to get new photos done.

Just more evidence of the violence that is everywhere in Thailand now. Tourists can't even get out of the airport without their first experience of the land of smiles 2024. Put it down to zero tolerance and low education, where the only way to deal with a conflict is with fists.

When people on this site ask why Thais just stand around gawping or filming instead of trying to help a victim, this is why. Never, ever get involved. Walk away.

And therefore completely pointless. Again. And again.

I did a transfer on Saturday morning from HSBC UK to Bangkok and it took 10 seconds. From the posts here it does seem to be very hit and miss. In the three or four years I've used Wise monthly there have only been perhaps three occasions the payment has been delayed by a few hours. Never days. I'm sure there are many, and an increasing number, of complexities we know nothing about. Still, better than in the old days. In the 60s I had to go to the Amex office in Stockholm to cash travellers cheques (remember them?), and there was only one office in NYC to change money, at what was then the Pan Am building at Grand Central. Imagine that.

I wonder how many other countries allow you into a country for 60 (?) days to 'visit' your wife, before having to go through the pantomime of then doing a repeat? Does anyone have any experience of such things elsewhere? Genuine question. Whenever I've mentioned to friends and family the hoops we have to go through and forms we have to complete and documents we have to provide every year for the one year extension, they don't believe me or tell me I should live somewhere else. So, how typical are the Thai restrictions?

You don’t need an Apple phone to have password protection. Most phones are password protected. Let me re=word that. Not everyone password protects their phone.

What about retrieving all the stuff on it? I don't know. I rarely use my phone, preferring to use a laptop most of the time instead of dealing with a tiny screen.

That's something I've often wondered about. Do the dramas reflect Thai society, or are Thais 'inspired' by what they see on tv? And I've also long wondered why the government doesn't insist that these dramas send a social message to people about not resorting to violence in every episode or bullying those lower down the social ladder, or not driving as if they are playing a video game, showing the possible consequences if they do with mangled bodies in the wreck.

Not everyone has an Apple phone. Not everyone is tech-savvy. not everyone has a password protected phone. So worth taking a chance that the phone he stole is worth many hundreds of dollars in 're-sale' value. That is why people steal phones.

He probably knew that, which is why he didn't try to flee. If he had, he'd have suffered a Thai five on one beating.

Relatives and friends have, over the years, asked me whether Thais drive on the left or the right. I've always answered, 'Yes'. Basically, Thais do whatever they want as there is rarely any law enforcement. It's total anarchy out there. No sense of responsibility in anything they do. Always the easy path taken.

Utter nonsense, My sister-in-law got divorced last month. She and the husband went to the local office, signed a few papers, done. Easier probably than opening a bank account here.

Yes. Same as your PIN, either remember it or keep in away from the card. Simples.

Do you have any figures to support your statement of fact?

I think you mean Thai Immigration needs to catch up and implement the rules they've announced, seemingly without informing immigration.

People have been killed in the name of religion for centuries. In the present day it's the turn of the Muslims to lead the way with their 'religion of peace'.

You probably need to go to Belgium for that. Affordable is relative to how much money you have and how much you're willing to spend. Any imported Belgian beer here would be priced at Belgium prices, same as any European beers. Got to protect the billionaire-owned monopolies. EDIT: the OP is not based in Bangkok or Chiang Mai so his choices will be limited anyway. Just so that people don't start recommending places there or Pattaya....

But you are not Thai, you have common sense, something I've never seen in a Thai during my 27 years here. We had a report on here several months ago that said Thais are a scammers dream, and the most easily fooled in the whole of Asia. Just another example of so many of them having the mind of a child. That goes all the way up to government level, where often things are not properly thought through. Compulsory SIM cards for all arriving foreigners so their whereabouts could be tracked was one example.