Tropicalevo

It has been very busy up to May but things are quietening down this month. As you say, it should be low season and that is reflected in the villa bookings that we see. Even though many owners are dropping prices, uptake is slow. I cannot speak for hotel rates. Less traffic on the roads (at last) and the quieter beaches are even more quiet.

Great. A doll. That'll get them rushing to Thailand. Sorry TAT, your roadshows may be too late for this year. Chinese guests usually come in low season ie October/November. Lower room rates and air fares. Also Golden week (01/10 to 07/10).

Who will all be taxed on overseas earning/income/investments?

Seeing as the last update that I read said that this bribe is available to all Thais (above a certain age) with less than 500,000 baht in their bank account. I respectfully suggest that if one has 499,999 baht in their account, then they are not 'fragile people'. (What if they have multiple accounts???)

And the dinosaurs still clinging to power by means fair or foul. More often or not - foul.

The rules vary slightly by location. Here on Koh Samui, hotels complained about unfair competition from private villa rentals and so we were all told that we must have villa licences plus separate pool licences. My accountant told me that there is no such thing as a 'Villa Licence'. When we received the licences, the word Hotel was crossed out and Villa was stamped on it. You need a list of things eg, fire alarms, fire extinguishers, pool sign of rules, depths, a safety ring for the pool and so on. Most owners ask their accountants to do the grunt work.

In 1995 it was the only way. On Koh Samui, we could not even do inter branch or inter bank transfers. It was manual withdrawal and deposit. How else can one take out a large sum of money these days, or do an overseas transfer to a French bank account in USD? (Twice a year in my case.)

I have had an account with Krungsri ever since they opened on the island. Always been asked for a copy of my passport. My original branch knew me so well that when I forgot the passport they copied and old photocopy of it. Since Choengmon closed, Central branch - not a chance. 3 trips to process some transactions (overseas payment) and always - passport. No exceptions. I do not use phone apps.

From memory, that is not quite what happened. He escaped from hospital (surprise, surprise). The police found him in a hut out in the wilds and that was where the shoot-out happened. This was some time after his escape. Mind you, a shoot-out at the hospital does sound more dramatic.

And the poor refugees will be sent back to the meat grinder.

Not all tourists fly via Heathrow. In fact I suspect that most do not. Too many cheaper, easier, more comfortable options. I have flown to Thailand many, many times since the early 90's. Never once through Heathrow. I avoid it like the plague.

Very brave man. The court actions will follow fast and furious as the dinosaurs try to remove him.

We did check in a lot more groups from India in the first four months of the year, but none since the visa change. It's low season here. The only issue with most of them is that they are spaced out and belligerent after smoking too much weed. Some even become aggressive.

That would be a major step forward. It could give the workers some protection as well as social security for health.

"there are three kinds of falsehoods, lies, damned lies and statistics"

Threatened a few times in the UK. Once by someone with a knife. (I just walked away). Wife was mugged twice in the UK. Here in Thailand - nothing. Wife felt more safe in both Bangkok and Samui.

Welcome to Thailand. Just remember that only bad news sells. 100s of thousands (millions) of Brits live and visit here and nothing happens. Even when we do good things. That does not appear in the blogs or papers. There are racists everywhere, of all colours. To quote Brian - 'Always look on the bright side of life'.

Correct. As she was named in the contract. She will not be able to pass it on. Only those that were named on the contact.

A 30 year lease is legal. A second 30 years as an option is also legal (or it was back in 2001). This gives 60 years. Some developers have been known to offer 90 year leases. Not legal. 60 was the maximum. The thing to remember with a lease that it is ONLY for the people included in the contact. The lease dies when they do.

One would hope so. The newspaper in question was supposedly the top newspaper in the UK. The bottom line with a direct debit is that the payer cannot cancel it. Only the payee can.

I think that most direct debits are difficult to cancel if the payee does not want to stop them. I am very wary of paying by this method after a newspaper that I subscribed to this way refused to cancel the transaction. After 15 months of arguing with the newspaper, I had to resort to tell the bank that my debit card had been stolen.

Just to say that I am sorry to hear about your daughter's problems. You seem to be level headed and in control. Good luck to you and especially good luck to your daughter.

We look after a number of villas where the developers pay one PEA bill for the development and then charge the individual owners separately. Individual costs range from 7 baht to 10 baht per unit depending on the developer. About 15 years ago, a new development near me was charging 25 baht per unit, but that did lead to a gunfight and the developer ended up in gaol.

To answer the original question - (From another article on AN today)

AKA a paid flunky who is told what to do by a rich moron pulling strings behind the scenes.