seancbk

22 hours ago, bigupandchill said:

From where I live to where I drive at night is a fast 4 lane road with many bikes with no rear lights. What is it about these riders that they want to endanger themselves and me for the cost of a rear bulb?

I just discussed this with one of my Thai friends, he said (jokingly) 'Thais like to go fast, its ok if they die as long as they die quick!'

7 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Sealed into the facility,.

Sounds to me like they have made it a prison compound.  Way to go Thailand in treating your workers with a total disregard to health and human services, and treating them like they are trash.  I can not understand the need to lock people into a location such as this without any true housing necessities, food, water, and basic everyday necessities.  This government can go ------themselves in my view.  They do not care to treat people with respect or dignity. 

 

Slave labor is what it reminds me of:

"This measure means the seven factories can continue to operate as normal, but their employees must remain within the factory compound at all times, said Dr. Kiatipoom."

 

 

 

These factories provide accommodation for the workers on-site.  The workers basically live there full time anyway.

On 1/29/2021 at 7:36 PM, Hamus Yaigh said:

On 1/29/2021 at 4:09 PM, seancbk said:

I've never had any issue booking online with virtual debit cards. 

Neither have I but when you get to the check in counter the hotel that is already paid for they will normally need a deposit guarantee of several hundred dollars perhaps and that can only easily be achieved with a credit card. Virtual or real debit cards won't work in that respect as already discussed on this thread.

If I had to stay in a hotel I would simply give them cash.   Although I haven't stayed in a hotel in years, like I said I only travel to visit family and friends and why would I pay for a hotel when I can stay with them?

11 minutes ago, Hamus Yaigh said:

How would you manage checking in a hotel overseas when they ask for a guarantee? Always found a ccard simpler than handing over a wad of extra funds?

I've never had any issue booking online with virtual debit cards. 

Although most of my overseas trips I am staying with family or friends and don't need to use hotels. 

 

On 1/28/2021 at 2:43 PM, patman30 said:

Seeing as this subject just took over another thread
i thought it may be better to create a new thread to discuss this
as it seems many people think its impossible to live without credit cards or some form of credit
Yet myself am completely debt free, i do not use credit cards and have not even had the option of credit for a long time
i own multiple vehicles and properties, yet no loans or mortages etc.
no debt, none

So i was quite surprised (well not really as this is TVF)
to see people adamant that you cannot live without credit in some form
refusing to even see it as possible

so
As an Expat, Do you live here WITHOUT any form of credit ?

is personal credit good or bad ?

I paid off all my credit cards in early 2000.  Since then I've been debt free. 

I have a couple of virtual debit cards linked to various online accounts around the world, but no credit at all. 

I find that using just cash or crypto works great for me.    

Most bars and restaurants will let you do a bank transfer from your phone, so even running out of physical cash isn't an issue these days.

 

On 1/25/2021 at 8:27 AM, jackdd said:

Since Windows 10 (OSX does this as well) you can just drag windows to the side of the screen to automatically adjust them to a part of the screen.

You can just drag one window to the left side, and one to the right, then both use 50% of the screen. You even get a bar in the middle with which you can adjust them both with one drag.

To have a window use just 25% of the screen you just drag it into a corner. There are also extra tools like this with which you can define custom areas: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/fancyzones

That's the same procedure as when having multiple screens.

You can do that in Linux too.  Or use preset window sizes and positions triggered by hotkeys. 

 

4 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

If you are working, own a business, are a student, are studying Buddhism, studying the Thai language, to name but a few.

 

Plenty of ways to stay legally without the Elite Visa.

Yes, but equally there are plenty of people who don't fit into those boxes but also want to be legal.  

Unfortunately owning a business means it has to be one based here and has to have 4 Thai staff etc etc etc 

Not everyone wants to waste their time studying something just to get a visa. 

Not sure why you think spending 500,000 THB for 5 years is a waste of money, the peace of mind alone is worth it, and maybe some of the people who start on that visa type will by the time their 5 years are up be in a position to either retire, have married a Thai or maybe even started a Thailand based business.

Or in the case of at least one person I know they are hoping that 5 more years will be enough for Thailand to wake up and start offering more sensible immigration options to entrepreneurs.  Something I also can see happening eventually.

 

On 1/26/2021 at 4:49 AM, aldriglikvid said:

Last time I was sick was the first week of february last year (almost exact 1 year ago). Got the worst flu I've ever encountered. 

I did the antibodies-test last week so I don't know when/where I got the infection, or if it was the above mentioned flu.  

Did you get tested for Covid in Feb, or are you just self diagnosing yourself as having had flu.

 

9 hours ago, pattjock said:

If they were allowed to brew in Thailand you would possibly be able to find a fine IPA for around 50 Baht.

And it would still taste like old socks. 

Craft beer suffers from two huge issues, one being the taste as most of it tastes foul, the other being availability.  

I know I can walk into just about any bar anywhere in the world and order a mass produced lager and it will taste great. 

But even if I find a craft beer that is palatable, I won't be able to buy it everywhere I go.  I won't even be able to get it in different craft beer bars.  I may even go to the craft beer bar I first tried it at, only to find they've decided to have 12 totally different beers on tap.  

9 hours ago, pattjock said:

If they were allowed to brew in Thailand you would possibly be able to find a fine IPA for around 50 Baht.

And it would still taste like old socks. 

Craft beer suffers from two huge issues, one being the taste as most of it tastes foul, the other being availability.  

I know I can walk into just about any bar anywhere in the world and order a mass produced lager and it will taste great. 

But even if I find a craft beer that is palatable, I won't be able to buy it everywhere I go.  I won't even be able to get it in different craft beer bars.  I may even go to the craft beer bar I first tried it at, only to find they've decided to have 12 totally different beers on tap.  

On 1/22/2021 at 12:38 PM, fdsa said:

No, it's not safe to leave electronics in the dark area, expect mold on rubber parts and rust on metal parts.

I'd suggest leaving the laptop on the table, so it would get a bit of sunlight.

In over 40 years of living in Asia I've never experienced this with any electronics that were left in drawers or cupboards. 

The only think I've seen is standard AA or AAA batteries that have leaked after a few years.

 

7 hours ago, CLW said:

Looks strange to me. Almost like a scam. No company address, no business registration number.

You could just call them up 

 

Barry Johnston, CEO

+66944433120
[email protected]

2 hours ago, Nout said:

My 106 sq metre condo on Cozy Beach was 15 k with gym, pool and good management.  As for needing a domestic slave, ie maid,..this is 2021 not 1821. People who spend lavishly can afford to lose money.

You won't find 106 sq/m next to a BTS on Sukhumvit in Bangkok for that cheap and I don't want to live anywhere else. 

 

On 1/3/2021 at 8:13 PM, moe666 said:

I guess what you would call old bars are all gone, Cheap Charlies, Check-In, And the old favorite Golden Beer Bar at Nana Hotel. Hilaries is still around but new and not improved. The string of Bars under the express way have been gone for a while and the Saxophone Bar Victory Monument. O well the beat goes on.

Cheap Charlies is in On Nut and in a much nicer spot.  

I've been in my current place for almost 8 years, no new lease after the first one ran out and I've not seen or heard from my landlady since I moved in. 

 

Bitcoin kept going up.

E-commerce businesses made more money. 

Next year should be even better for both of those too.

21 hours ago, userabcd said:

If you are resident in Thailand and remit earned income to Thailand in the year it was earned then you are tax liable in Thailand (if tax was paid else where that you could prove and then claim a rebate on the Thai tax owed) The income should be declared and tax return submitted.

 

If you are resident in your foreign country then you would have to see the  tax rules related to residence, declaring foreign earned income and earning income whilst living and resident in your country and if taxes are to be paid.

I've always wondered how they calculate this "year it was earned".  Let's say I earn 10,000 oranges a year, and then in year 10 I transfer 10,000 oranges to Thailand.  Who decides if those 10,000 oranges where the ones I earned this year or the ones I earned 5 years ago?  
 

17 hours ago, jasonsamui55 said:

Bitkub is fast and easy and has great rates if moving to a Thai bank.

Vote for Bitkub

I've lived on Sukhumvit road in Bangkok for 12 years and have never noticed the air being bad, I certainly can't smell it unless a particularly dirty truck goes past while I'm walking.  You must be extra sensitive I guess.   

They are not talking about getting rid of tourism, they are talking about incentives for foreign investment in things other that tourism so they can build another revenue stream, and in the process lower the percentage of GDP that tourism accounts for. 

It's a good idea and one I've been hoping to see for a long time.  Perhaps they'll allow foreign owned companies instead of the 49/51% nonsense, and even reduce the 4 Thais per expat requirement.  There are a very large number of foreign owned companies in Hong Kong (and elsewhere) that would love to move here, I know several people who'd move their operations here, along with most of their foreign and some of their Chinese staff.  The benefit to Thailand would be huge.  Do away with low quality tourists and instead replace them with companies paying tax, putting money into the housing market, schools and the economy at large for many many years, not just a few weeks.

They will eventually vaccinate enough people that flying between countries will become possible for the vaccinated without quarantine. 

Then in 3 to 5 years a new virus will appear, possibly one that is worse, high likely one that the vaccine doesn't protect against and we'll start this all over again. 

Things have changed in the natural world and viruses are getting stronger.  Don't forget also that the protection we've all come to expect from antibiotics for dealing with bacteria is also dwindling, so a bacterial based pandemic would be bad too.
 

19 hours ago, batata said:

who is stupid enough to book a 30 day vacation but has the right to enjoy only 15 days out of it  and having to spend the other 15 days in a supervised "jail" and paying for it

Book a 45 day holiday and enjoy the free 15 day visa extension after you leave quarantine.   Simple.

4 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

A lovely looking model. But something (relatively) new and 100% reliable is needed for the school run and periodic trips outside of the city. 

 

When someone has a car such as this, an ‘every day’ car is also needed. 

Like me he uses the BTS to get to his office.  If I had to drive to work I'd get a driver and sit in the back.   

This car is used for road trips out of Bangkok most weekends.  We've covered some serious miles this year driving to different provinces, basically anywhere within 4-5 hours driving we've covered so now we're looking at doing overnight trips.