Tropicalevo

Good luck with that one Phuket. Let's hope that there is a maintenance budget as well. Samui failed because of lack of one.

Rubbish. Everyone's circumstances are different. I only receive the basic state pension from 8 years ago. I do not pay tax on it. If you receive other payments then yes, you will pay tax.

There are more people in Thailand without a phone or internet than there are in the UK.

The hotel is a good guess. Not much money in hourly lets? Or a competitor.

Technically - but there is a difference. Software for back office banking systems and the web tends to be real programs. Usually tested well (we called it destruction testing back in the day). Apps is a 'dinky' term mostly used for the Mickey Mouse stuff on your phone. This is often written and sent out with minimal testing on the basis that the 'users will tell us when and where it does not work'. Apps is a recent abbreviation. (Application software.)

???

Or on his phone - as many are these days. The ones that worry me are delivery motorcyclists. Always looking at their phones whilst riding along.

Easy when the banks do not allow real on line banking - saying apps only. Some of the worst software ever written is on your phone in Thailand. Thirteen Thai staff here and only three use phone apps for payment. They all want their salaries in cash. Not many hi-so's in the cleaning business.

So now we know the price for the Pheu Thai party to stay at the top of the pile. Appease the military and all is good.

I also used to put 91 in my old Suzuki jeep (had it for over 20 year) as well as the wife's Mitsubishi Mirage. I ran that one for about 12 years. Only just sold it and it is still going strong. As an aside, I think that petrol prices on Koh Samui are higher than those posted there.

Or, collect more of the rain that we do get. Instead of the drains running the rainwater into the sea, run it into reservoirs. Mind you, no real rainy season for the last few years. Not like 'the good old days' when it would rain for weeks and weeks on end without respite. Six weeks non-stop one year that I remember. Lack of standing rainwater is why the wells are running dry. Levels in the aquifers are dropping.

We have similar problem here on Samui except that it is the Red Palm Weevil killing off the coconut palms. Started in about 2010. Now, large areas of the island do not have coconut palms - or they have just the trunk left standing like those in the bottom right corner of the photo. An entomologist was invited in from overseas, and he recommended NOT to bring in outside species as they can then become a pest when their food chain runs out. Here, it was wasps. The local golf course introduces wasps that fed on the weevil larvae. Then, the golfers were plagued by swarms of wasps. Not sure what happened next - I do not play golf.

The local scam here that I have often seen is when tying to fill up with 91 octane petrol. Mai mee says the attendant. 95 only.

Not a good year to be on these old ferries. There was also the overnight one that sank off Koh Tao. Was that the same company?

Well said.

One of the larger law firms (and most expensive) is Tilleke and Gibbons. https://www.tilleke.com/locations/thailand/ The company that I worked for in Bangkok used them and were happy. One of their lawyers moved to Samui as an independent and he is very good. (Manit and Asssociates) A smaller independent firm that I have used in Bangkok, albeit in a criminal case, was Singh, Kriangsak and Surachai law office in Bangkok. They were very good. We won the case in spite of the lawyer being threatened. He stayed and saw it through.

Both are 'policeman behaving badly'???

I think that the biggest danger is broken glass. When it is recently broken. After it has been in the sea for a while, the tides smooth it off. This is usually more of a problem on the quieter beaches. Touristy beaches are cleaned regularly by the hotels.

Thank you for the updates khunPer. I shall be staying at home but I will pass on to our guests.

My information is from late 2022 so probably of no use. Shortcuts were available then.

Sorry, I do not liv in Pattaya. Is this an option for you? lots on Lazada https://www.lazada.co.th/products/mini-treadmill-walking-tm200-i3882617545-s14879645253.html?c=&channelLpJumpArgs=&clickTrackInfo=query%3Atreadmill%2Bhome%3Bnid%3A3882617545%3Bsrc%3ALazadaMainSrp%3Brn%3A1ea966a40bd91430ab572c5770634842%3Bregion%3Ath%3Bsku%3A3882617545_TH%3Bprice%3A2890%3Bclient%3Adesktop%3Bsupplier_id%3A1000048617%3Bbiz_source%3Ah5_hp%3Bslot%3A3%3Butlog_bucket_id%3A470687%3Basc_category_id%3A6399%3Bitem_id%3A3882617545%3Bsku_id%3A14879645253%3Bshop_id%3A294448&fastshipping=0&freeshipping=1&fs_ab=2&fuse_fs=&lang=en&location=Bangkok&price=2.89E 3&priceCompare=skuId:14879645253;source:lazada-search-voucher;sn:1ea966a40bd91430ab572c5770634842;unionTrace:a3b5a69b17121617676867811e;originPrice:289000;voucherPrice:289000;displayPrice:289000;singlePromotionId:-1;singleToolCode:mockedSalePrice;voucherPricePlugin:1;buyerId:0;timestamp:1712161768158&ratingscore=4.8&request_id=1ea966a40bd91430ab572c5770634842&review=125&sale=428&search=1&source=search&spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.3&stock=1 Read the product reviews. Google translate is your friend.

There is the letter of Thai law and then there is the spirit of Thai law. I was on a course for foreigners given by one of the universities in Bangkok. This example is regarding property but it applies in most areas. It was to do with preference shares on a company for a foreigner to own land. Thais have 60% of the preference shares type A. Foreigners has 40% of preference shares - type B Type B shares are worth 2 type A shares. The lecturer said that technically, this follows the letter of the law. (60% Thai owned.) The lecturer said that if there was an ownership dispute over the land - the Thais would always win. The law cannot accept that a foreigner is worth two Thais. Second example - A friend of mine was killed by a hitman. It was a business dispute. The man who ordered the killing was a millionaire from the USA. They gaoled the hitman but the millionaire got off on a 'technicality'. He then sued the widow (Thai girl) for deformation from statements that she made at the trial. She had heard the American threaten to kill her husband. The closing argument from the widow's lawyer was 'how can we let a rich farang sue a poor Thai citizen who has lost her husband?' Case dismissed. Last example - I was involved in a nasty traffic accident where a rich Thai guy died. The police said that I was innocent (the Thais had been drinking and the driver was drunk). The judge said that I was innocent but.... I was a foreigner and the Thai family could not be seen to loose. I would have to be found guilty along with the Thai driver (50/50) I was fined (a very small amount) - so was the Thai driver. I had to pay compensation to the family and the Thai driver and I both received a suspended prison sentence. There is the letter of Thai law and then there is the spirit of Thai law.

Result. Well done those police.

I am surprised at his comment. He is standing by what he said years ago when he first proposed the change to decriminalise it ie it is for medical reasons, not for recreational use. I am amazed that he is still standing by what he said back then. https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/09/asia/thailand-cannabis-legal-minister-interview-intl-hnk/index.html

Sadly, nothing will change and Thailand will never reach its full potential. Unfair laws created by the rich elite written to ensure that the same rich elite are never at risk and can stay in power. Even if a forward thinking person talks about changing them - they end up in gaol without bail.