Surasak

3 hours ago, BigBadGeordie said:

No chicken, but there appears to be a lot of bovine by-product.

With equal amounts of equi by-product.

15 hours ago, samsensam said:

 

this gets more bizarre by the day and would be funny if the consequences weren't so tragic. the government, police and it seems nation as a whole cant seem to get round the fact that the carnage on the roads causing death, injury and misery for hundreds of thousands of the population - their own people - is unnecessary. and yet no one is prepared to stand up, take responsibility and do something constructive about it. truly bizarre.

Its called population control. Anyway, they have no idea of what to do or even how to do it. God forbid they would ask for outside help.

555555. I have an electric fan heater, it does a great job when the temps get  little low.?

4 hours ago, AhFarangJa said:

No different to any other religion. Look at the Church of England, assets valued in the Billions yet still take money from pensioners every Sunday. 

The Greek Orthodox Church has assets worth over 700 Billion Euros......Twice the Greek National debt.....

Not to mention the catholics or the mormons.

All the above statements, we are all well aware of. Will it change? I very much doubt it. However, I will add my three pennies worth. In the last month, five motorbikes ridden in quite a reasonable way, have come a cropper just outside my house. Very fortunately it only amounted to cuts and scrapes, with no other vehicle involved. The reason for these mishaps? The disgusting state of the road. There are sections of about a meter or two, where the level of the road has sunk by 4 or 5 centimeters alongside its adjoining section. The drain covers have sunk and are very unstable thus making it a danger to all wheeled vehicles. Because M/bs will not go over them, they vere out and could very easily run into a passing car. There are countless other roads which are in equaly bad states of repair throughout the country, which contribute to the daily accidents and deaths. Most of the problems are avoidable if the money was spent on proper road laying, instead of crap materials being used and the remainder trousered by the local municipal entity. All these problems can be fixed, but it must start at the top. Unfortunately those at the top have no idea of where to start. As has been said, words are cheap.  

14 hours ago, DrTuner said:

And I suppose getting the certificate is the same, popping into any clinic and if you're still breathing, 150 baht, done & dusted.

You were ripped off. It only cost me 50 baht and didnt even see a doctor.

4 hours ago, Time Traveller said:

Sorry but I have a feeling you're wrong and the Thai is right.

Tax treaties normally work that you pay tax where you are a tax resident. If tax was withheld from income sourced in another country, then you can use that as tax credit in your tax domiciled country. (avoiding double taxation) Sometimes the tax rates may be lowered by treaties.

Also, importantly, it does not rule out that you may need to file tax returns in more than one country. Thai law is clear, if you  are in thailand over 180 days, you're tax resident, and liable to file and pay any income taxes. 

The only country I know of that has a citizenship based taxation system is the United States, meaning you may need to pay tax to USA even though you don't live there. Every other country tax liability is based on residence. Where you live is where you pay, no matter where the income came from. 

I think you have miss interpreted something here. I earn my pensions in the UK and I am duty bound to pay tax on that income. I am not and have not been resident in the UK for the past 11years. The UK has a treaty with Thailand whereby I am only liable for tax to HMRC on income earned in the UK. Thailand has no claim to tax that money again.   

1 hour ago, jimn said:

Proves how out of touch you are. Many people now call on video calling via apps like Messenger, Line, WhatsApp etc. This requires the caller to hold the phone so you can be seen and have on loud speaker. But being one of the old school you wouldnt know that would you.

Like you, I used to be perfect, but I'm improving as the days pass, thank you.

37 minutes ago, Nurseynutcase said:

Hi MrPatrickthai - go on then, please give me a clue - how do you avoid paying UK tax?  I have to pay it as I was told that as all of my income was generated in the uk - pensions and house rental then I have to pay tax.  Did speak to my accountant about this and she could not see a way round it.

 

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

Cheers

I assume you icome is generated in the UK? If that income is more than 11500 gbp then you pay tax on it in the UK, NOT Thailand.

This demonstrates the whole problem with the Thai education system. From a very early age, children are beaten into submission, mentally and physically. This in turn makes them hostile to authority. I know from experience of my own children, they can be very trying at times, they push the boundaries to see how far they can go and what they can get away with. A short tempered teacher or parent can do untold damage to a child, both physically and mentally. I feel sure most of us have been pushed close to the brink on more than one occasion. The problem with the Thai culture, is the repressive upbringing of children, so that when something goes wrong, they blow the fuse and all that repression is let loose, generally uncontrolled.

4 hours ago, jonclark said:

1.5 baht per kilometer - isn't that the rate you get charged in a taxi after the 37 baht fee?  So your car becomes a personal taxi meter once you enter Thailand?? Wonder if it charges at 2 baht a minute when stuck in traffic like a taxi also? 

 

I will be very surprised if this ever works - installing GPS on cars entering the country - I mean most of the CCTV cameras don't work and that is pretty basic tech in a stationary object a, so i cannot see something more complex and highly mobile getting very far. 

 

500 baht for bring a car in job done - why make it needlessly complex and expensive to set up. A one off fee requires minimal investment in administration and paperwork and is much more efficient. 

 

One problem with your suggestion. It requires brains to operate.

Just another excuse for a party. We all know nothing will change.

I used a lawyer in Khon Kaen about four months ago. It covers my bank assets and personal belongings in Thailand only. I basically wrote what I wanted, he wrote it in Thai and English took almost two weeks, but he claimed he was busy. Cost ฿3000

6 hours ago, Pib said:

To a "foreign bank such as in Thailand I assume?"  If so, what was the Western Union exchange rate given on that day in comparison to the FX market rate or Thai bank TT Buying Rate on that day? 

 

Western Union and PayPal "direct/upfront fees" for sending money to another country is cheap but it's their low exchange rate (an indirect fee) where they make their killing/rob you.

Sorry for the late reply. The exchange rate was the same as the Thai KTB bank were offering on the day the request for transfer was made. Cant remember the rate at the time now, but the amount stated was in my bank two days later.

How can you say Western Union are expensive. I send £4000 three time per year at a cost of £2.90 per transfer, TO A BANK. If you send to be collected over the counter, yes, I agree, it is expansive.

61 per is only the ones who die at the scene. Add to that the number who later die in hospital and the number can quite easily reach 100 per day. Its a disgusting state of affairs and we all know it. We have our rant, which we are all entitled too, but will anything get done? The cure is there for all to see, and starts at the top, whoever the top people are at any one time. If they have no interest in solving the problem, there really is no hope.

30 minutes ago, greatwhitenorth said:

What  passes for corporal punishment at Thai schools is child abuse

In most cases I would agree. There are degrees of corporal punishment, but we only get to hear about the worst. A smack on the back of the hand or leg, I would accept, but caning is nothing less than abuse. Caning can lead to hate of the 'teacher', which can then, as has been said, lead to those hit, becoming hitters.

21 minutes ago, Oligabba said:

I have similar thoughts. Without wanting to be too condescending or negative I'd recommend Japanese control of operations and maintenance for a few years.  

Nothing like a little optimism!

Japanese ambassador Shiro Sadoshima said that the Japanese have worldwide renown in train technology and reliability and would train the Thai staff to a high standard. 

I wish you the very best of luck with that, Mr Shiro Sadoshima!

All pigs fed and ready to fly.

Reminds me of the Goon show from the 50s. That was seriously funny. This is serious and not in the least bit funny. 

I tried to open a bank A/C last week at Kasikorn KK. Told I had to have a work permit. Tried Bkk bank, told the same thing. I now have a new A/C at KTB bank and only needed my passport and yellow book. 

5 hours ago, toybits said:

I wonder why take such drastic action. Has the national treasury been exhausted already? Last time I heard, there was an 85% drop in the Thai Treasury Reserve from 420 Billion Bt to around 75 billion Baht in February 2017 (From a Source that cannot be named).

 

With trains and boats and possibly planes to pay for,  we shouldnt be surprised.

3 hours ago, Airbagwill said:

For most Thaivisa members this is an opportunity to vent their erroneous beliefs that Thai people are inherently stupid.

Just because a TV member drives.. or drove.....everyone is suddenly an expert on road safety..... or what they erroneously consider to be “road safety”

The drink drive lobby puts it all down to alcohol the speeding lobby claims speed, yet they all overlook the elephant in the room which is the entire driving environment.

 

If this was introduced into the UK the death rates and figures would immediately rise to be the same........

 

 Passing a test does not make you a great driver, driving for 20 years without an accident doesn’t either. Driving a truck doesn’t either - it is studying road safety that makes the difference and as most people don’t even recognize it as a “thing” how can they be expected to comment.

Just look a the comments on this this they are almost all about a driving, mostly cars or motorbikes with no reference whatsoever to the road environment or other road users or government policies - just glib sound-bites about drivers who are drunk...... it doesn’t even approach the problem.

 

What makes roads safe is government regulation.

Build safe roads design them in a way that prevents idiot driving.

Build and use safer vehicles (805 in Thailand are vulnerable road users)

Enforce laws - to do this you need to train the police and BUILD PROPER ROADS

Train drivers and OTHER ROAD USERS - not just for a test - learning road safety is a life long process - learning how to drive is not learning road safety.

Provide a proper emergency service - lord knows how many people die from insufficient medical attention in Thailand.

...and finally set up and train a body to examine measure categorize and analyze every single accident fatal or otherwise so that we can learn how these things really happen.

 

If the Thai authorities embrace ALL those points then they will make progress - otherwise they are just rearranging the deckchairs on the titanic

 

 

All valid points, but, as I remember, the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage