spidermike007

1500 people reacting with an angry emoji must have the authorities really scared. 

If the people really cared enough, there should be a nationwide boycott of all Red Bull products. That would make a statement. The rest is simply business as usual. 

Some have enough to take short vacations. How anyone in this administration thinks they can predict the numbers based on a long weekend, is beyond comprehension. They simply make up a number and send out a bulletin. It means less than zero. 

Right now is a great time to travel around Thailand. Bargains galore. 

8 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

My annual extension (retirement) is due early November. 

When am supposed to do it? 

Prior to Sept 26? 

 

No. I do not think so. It appears to be a mistake. One of thousands. You have a valid visa. As do I and many others. Period. End of story. I do not want to deal with this fools any earlier than I need to. 

2 hours ago, jvs said:

Yes of course it will be very different.Everything will be live streamed and the moment one bullet flies the whole world will know.

I hope it will stay peaceful but i also know peaceful protests just do not have enough impact.

Good point. And if critical mass reaches a certain point, and it definitely will, if the army does not surrender power in the next few years, there will likely be some violence. But, in this age of social media, amd with the utter lack of moral leadership presently, I do not think the army will have the stomach to slaughter many of it's people, live and streaming. If the people make it clear how despised Prayuth and his band of incompetents are, they will go. Sooner or later. The army is a social force, that is beyond toxic. 

8 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Hmm, I'm hoping too.

However, going on previous occasions when this has been tried, those with the money don't give a sh!t about a few hundred students deaths, as long as they don't lose their positions or money.

It will be different this time. The army is nearly finished. And the moral authority is gone too. The youth are far more activist than before. They are passionate, and they really care about the future of the nation, unlike the army. They will rise up. And I predict it will be sooner, rather than later. It has to be. Thailand cannot afford more years of this toxicity. 

15 hours ago, MastroQuerado said:

Are you Italian spidermike007?

No American. The politicians in Italy look like JPL alumni compared to the Trump administration. 

Of course they are blaming all of this on Covid. However, tourism was declining in quality, and occupancy levels were down long before this. And rice is a huge export. Due partly to the bloated baht, it is the highest priced rice in SE Asia. Not competitive at all. Plus manufacturing is way down. Partly due to lack of demand. Partly due to a deliberate economic shutdown.

There is some local blame for this. However, most would prefer to continue the practice of deflection. 

6 hours ago, Tippaporn said:

Here's a perfect example of what I'm talking about.  Any judge chosen by Trump is always considered "hand picked" as if Trump was deliberately selecting "corrupt" judges.  Any judge ruling against any Trump related issue is considered "honest, above and against corruption."  I would bet a dollar to a donut that Paul Henry doesn't know diddley squat about this judge; who he is, past rulings, political persuasion or anything of his personal biases which play into any of his verdicts.  But he's damn sure he's a judge who is "honest, above and against corruption."  Who are we trying to kid here?  LOL

That really does not matter. Trump"s people are not selecting judges based on character. Quite the opposite. 

Before the Consulate issues the Certificate of Entry (COE), the applicant must upload

4.1 Travel plan (confirmed air ticket with proof of payment),

4.2 Fit to Fly health certificate (72 hours before departure date),

4.3 COVID-19 health certificate (test negative) (72 hours before departure date); and

4.4 Confirmation of ASQ. The applicant must arrange their own 14-day Alternative State Quarantine (ASQ) at their own expenses. More information, including list of permitted hotels (in Thai) can be found here at http://hsscovid.com

That eliminates alot of us. You cannot get the fit to fly letter in the US. Perhaps several other countries too? 

Set up CCTV around the house or move. Do not let her know where you moved to. Either option works. 

Don't be a pawn to a fool. And get divorced if you have not done so already. 

20 hours ago, Jumbo1968 said:

I emailed the Thai Embassy in London a couple of weeks ago regarding myself, partner and son travelling back together but I never received a reply.

Worth under 200 million baht? No connections? Not worthy of a reply. 

Another boil in the face of the nation. Law and order? What is that? Only applies to us plebs. 

Anyone with at least 200 million baht here is above the law. If you have billions, you are above any and all laws. Especially the weak, morally bankrupt, and anemic army. 

At least this way things are more transparent. From what I understand, Interpol never received any request for extradition and the entire ruse was a total scam. Nobody ever looked for this murderous maggot. 

After gorging on Fox News and Rush Limbaugh for nine hours, rather than governing the nation, Trump likely watched the movie Bushwick, and came up with this plan to invade US cities with unidentified soldiers of some sort. 

Many of us know who the best person to lock up is, at this point. Certainly not the soccer moms. 

At 40,000 a month, you are going to be counting baht, 24/7 for the rest of your life. Not much fun in that.

And you also need to take into account inflation. Though the official numbers here are low, we all see prices going up constantly. 

4 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Bad news for those stuck outside trying to get in, especially those who will not be allowed back as they don't have a valid reason to be here or the funds to secure a seat on the few flights remaining.

 

Still, going to be a great high season. Beautiful weather, pick of the beaches, hotel bargains everywhere... Enjoy it while it lasts.

 

Every cloud and all that. 

I tend to agree. It is what it is. Had an utterly delightful time in Bangkok a week ago. Amazing. Hardly anyone there. A few places were busy. The malls were busy with locals. But alot of people in need. Alot of great hotel bargains! And seemed like less traffic than usual. 

16 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I hope he did a proper job. I sometimes paid an "electrician" to do some work in the house as it wasn't my house and I needed someone to blame if it went wrong. I almost always had to redo their work as I didn't want to die of electrocution. Were not even able to join two pieces of wire properly.

My wife paid someone to do some welding on a gate. Gate fell off after they left- had to borrow welder and do it myself.

Outstanding work. As good as in the US. It is all about vetting contractors here. He came highly recommended. 

13 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

Mike are you broke?

 

Food is probably cheaper here than at Tesco Lotus on many things.

 

Gas is cheaper.

 

Cars are cheaper.

 

Over inflated housing? You are really reaching.

 

Somehow Mike, there are millions of Americans making minimum wage that are able to find a place to live. It is not all doom and gloom.

 

Do expect to live Oceanfront for 10,000 baht a month?

 

Not sure what standard of living you think you deserve, however, we all work and can afford what our career's and life worked has afforded us.

 

If you cannot afford anything, either you are looking in Beverly Hills where you don't belong, or you never did any meaningful work for an income that lets you afford to live the way you want.

 

It's not the USA's fault.

 

I moved back to go back to work so I wouldn't be living a meager existence in Thailand. 

 

Have a beautiful home, cars, travel, go out to eat a lot and no I don't make anywhere near $1 million. Just a Joe Blow like everyone else.

 

You would be surprised how many uneducated Thai's I have run across in the USA with nice houses, driving a Benz.

 

 

That has not been my experience. I know alot of Americans working two jobs, trying to survive. They do not have a high quality of life. 

Thailand is still reasonable. It used to be cheap. Has not been cheap for a long time. But, it is still reasonable. I know people who pay 10,000 baht a month for newer 3 bedroom houses in nice towns. In major cities in the US? $2000-3800 a month. That is 120,000 baht!

I had my motorbike seat recently redone on my scooter. 400 baht. A friend of mine had similar work done in the US. $275.

I recently had a guy come over and insulate my ceiling. I bought the insulation and paid him 2000 baht for labor. In the US? $500 and up.

I recently had an electrician do some work on the house. Nearly a full day of work. Paid him 1000 baht. In the US? $800 and up.

An oil change for my scooter costs me 200 baht, with Castrol oil. In the US? 

When I travel here I stay in nice four star hotels in Bangkok. 1800-2000 baht. In the US? $130 for a crappy motel. $200 and up for a nice room.

I eat well here. In a smaller town you can get a three course meal for 200-250 baht. In the US? 2000 baht and up, plus tax and a nearly mandatory 15% tip.

I visit the emergency room here to see a specialist, and with x-rays I am out the door for 2000 baht, at a private hospital. In the US? $300-2000.

Friends of mine, who are single, enjoy the company of a young, beautiful woman for a couple of hours, for 2500 baht. In the US? $800 an hour now for a decent look gal, with alot of attitude. 

I could go on and on, all day long. I live at a level here, that I would never be able to live at, in the US, in most of Europe, in Oz, or Canada.

Yes, the higher baht is an annoyance. And yes things are more expensive than they used to be. But, it is very relative.

1 hour ago, robertson468 said:

Yet again, the Government has not thought this through.  It would be well worth checking the Educational Qualifications of all the MPs.............oh wait, we are in Thailand, sorry forgot!

Thailand is, and always has been the polar opposite of a meritocracy. They choose ministers and advisors from the bottom of the barrel.