Denim

I've not left in years. A trip to the mall is about as far as I go these days.

Years ago there was a 500 baht departure tax so nothing really new. I can't imagine it will make a shade of difference to anybodies travel plans since 300 baht is hardly a make or break amount.

Wackermole on a grand scale. Temporary fix for Israel , that's all.

Just a dog and poney show. If the authorities were serious about finally bringing these people to justice they would trace and seize all their assets in Thailand. Land, homes ,cars etc. As it is they will just return after the statute of limitations and get on with their lives.

Avoid solicitors. They all want your money .

Sort of moron who would want to go to a public execution and then watch while eating an ice cream. Totally mindless behavior.

Absolutely correct IMO. Automatic cars in the hands of novice drivers are just accidents waiting to happen. It should be compulsary to learn manual transmission then when a driving test is passed they can buy an automatic. There is a mindset here that in some way automatics are superior in every way to manual transmissions. One less thing to have to learn and better for shorter legs.

Identifying with and actually being are poles apart. Excessive pandering to small minorities is just plain daft.

Le plonkeur.

Well, let's see how that strategy works out for Putin and the slaves he just bought from North Korea.

I'm 67 but still do everything myself. I can still get in tight spaces but it can get hot so only wear my boxers and have a fan behind me cooling me down. Fitted a new lavatory for the first time a few months ago. Pretty easy and was glad I saved the money on a ' plumber '

True indeed. But their is thing called training these days. 6 weeks drilling , first aid,weapons and tactics. All armies have this. Even Ukrainian troops were sent to the UK for combat training.

Given that in 2023 the UK spent 4.3 billion pounds on asylum seekers and that the Ukrainian armed forces are short of manpower it would be useful to both the UK and Ukraine if all the asylum seekers were sent to fight for Kiev. Talk about kill two birds with one stone ! For those that serve an insentive could be given. Full pay ( they want to work don't they ) plus a bonus that they can take back home with them when the war is over. Win win . My point is that in the event of a cut in funding from the USA Ukraine should not be abandoned to its fate for want of cash. Billions are being spent all over Europe dealing with asylum claimants. Why should'nt they fight for the right to remain in Europe. ?

No need to be modest , say what you feel

Actually , its not only a question of proximity to temple but more importantly how near are the village loudspeakers. They don't call them loudspeakers for nothing. You really DO want to be as far away from these bad boys as possible since as you say you get both the temple racket plus all the village annoucements. The name and shame ones go on a long time. This is when the village headman reads out a long list of village dwellers and how much they each donated for the repair of the temple roof or toilets etc. ' Mr Lek , 500 baht , Granny Noy , 50 baht, Auntie Porn 120 baht ad nauseum. There was a thread a long time ago about how a member hated these speakers so much that one dark moonless night he drssed up Ninja style and went and cut the speaker wires with a pair of pliers. Fail.....because the village headman just followed the wire to the break and spliced it together. Apparently , the best way to deal with annoying speakers ( as Bricktop might have put it ) is to get an ordinary pin and push it through the wire to create a short circuit. Then close cut both ends and blacken them with a felt pen rendering them invisible. No break and it will take the villagers a lot longer to fix. Now you know

One thing is for sure and that is many of the Russian regions are sick of spilling their blood for Putin and Russia.

Depends. Not all are noisy but some are. I lived with my first wife in our house right opposite the temple. Most of the time it only had one monk except following Kow Pansar. However , that monk wa a real pain. He often woke up at around 3 .00 a.m. and would proceed to turn on the village tannoy. He would then clear his throat, cough and splutter for a minute before uttering a few platitudes then turning on a tape recording of a sermon. Drove me crazy but luckily the village got rid of him after a month as others also disliked him and when he got caught kiddy diddling he was out on his ear. After that peace reighned supreme for a year before his replacement got caught in a compromising position with a woman. Pity that as he was otherwise ok and very quiet. Best thing is to ask around before you rent although 1 kilometer should be plenty far enough away.

Ukraine has the capability to make its own ' dirty bomb ' Not quite the same but nasty anyway. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-63373637

Likely that any without a wife or kids will try to surrender / defect at the first opportunity. Only those with loved ones left behind would want to go back.

Nothing to worry about. Just the new SST on trial. ( Smurf Screening Test if you missed the thread on it )

Interesting video on why Siberians are not happy fighting Putins war.

I actually believe they don't think at all , ever. They just do things and it catches up with them.

Definately not. Tried with a cheap 100 baht pointer right in their eyes.....nothing. In the end we just killed them all.....sorted.....until a new lot turn up.

In a perfect world yes. I was speaking to an old guy in the village and he asked me who had built the house. I told and he appeared to approve. He then told me his own experience with another builder who is , I believe ' now the village headman. He said that this builder did not supervise the construction enough with the result that his minions did not put enough rebar in one of the kangs ( wall supporting foundations ) with the result that once the wall was on it it cracked and the wall on it cracked with it. Builder said it was not his fault just stupid employee. Most of the village workers are not trained builders. They are just day laborours. The builder you hire has the job of assembling a team of workers. He is supposed to be the one with the knowledge and should be the site foreman but they are often not upto the mark. I think most people having a house built these days can swat up on the internet and learn from the experience of others how things should be done. There are dedicated Thai websites where you can go for advice on everything these days plus a zillion youtube videos on the subject. The advantage of having a home built is that you can have it where you want. Away from things you don't like. If you buy something on a modern estate the house might be fine but it is a real lottery as to who you will get as neighbors. If you are single with no intention of ever getting in a permanent relationship then renting is the simple option. If on the other hand you are married and your wife has a nice bit of land then at least she will have a home if you should die first. Golden rule is don't do anything if you can't afford to walk away from it. That is , don't put your life savings into it or burn your bridges .

Not at all. You don't need to know anything to make sure a window is in the right place or the right tiles go to the right room or that a wall is built to the correct height.