Hanuman2547

1 hour ago, gk10002000 said:

are there any ice hockey teams or leagues in Thailand?  Where I grew up, in the hot summers we would go behind the one ice rink we had in town and we could have snowball fights or carry off in our bicycle baskets as much ice scrapings from the zamboni as we could peddle off with.  Damn that was like 1972, the Bobby Orr era

Yes!  There are ice hockey leagues in Bangkok.  There have been various groups playing for over 20 years.

On 1/15/2020 at 1:38 AM, bangkokfrog said:

Interesting. Thai students study English at school for 12 years and most can't hold a very basic conversation. How could they be expected to become fluent in Russian in just 10 months?

That was the first thought that crossed my mind.  

Originally I t orhought that I would retire in Bangkok and live there full time,  I previously worked in Bangkok for 12 years and have been involved with Thais and Thailand for almost 40 years.  Still visit on a regular basis.  However, over the past five or so years I kind of like living where I do.  I seem to be shortening the amount of time that I want to stay in Thailand.  Now I'm thinking maybe just stay in in Thailand from early November to late March which would be approximately five months and miss most of the northern winter.  Instead of going the retirement visa route I was thinking 90 day non-immigrant and then extending for 60 days/another 90 day non-immigrant whichever is easier to obtain.  I already have Thai banks accounts, housing sorted out, etc.  How easy is this to do?  

On 1/9/2020 at 6:18 PM, rkidlad said:

I worked for a Thai company for a short period of time. The owner would often bully the staff. Once in a blue moon she'd be nice to them, but mostly she'd just be mean and belittle them and bark inane orders. The staff would seemingly just take it on the chin as if it was just the way things worked. 'She's up there and we're down here' kinda mentality. 

 

You see the PM, police chief, army chief, etc, on TV sometimes looking down their noses at people and displaying sheer contempt. Barking orders and swatting away reporters, etc. People see this and it sets awful examples. Sadly, I think there are a lot of people who aspire to be in these positions acting in the same manner. 

So true!  It starts in the schools and continues through their working lives.  

It's surprising that with many western tourists on the beach that no one had any type of first responder training.  Not saying that they needed EMT type of training but even basic first aid and CPR. 

On 1/5/2020 at 12:33 AM, AmericanSafety said:

Mrs just sent me this of the exterior of Laguna Beach 1. 

Looks like that fire caused more damaged than previously thought.  The whole building is leaning to the left!

On 1/4/2020 at 6:22 PM, bwpage3 said:

Try traveling around the 3 provinces in the south and let us all know how that works out?

I actually did that.  I didn't drive my car though.  I rode my bicycle.  Started when I got off the train in Surat Thani.  Then I rode east to the ferry piers to Koh Samui and turned right and followed the coast south to Nahkorn Sri Thammarat.  Continued south passing Songkhla, Pattani, and Narathiwat.  I then rode back up north but veered NW to Yala.  Made my way up to Had Yai and then over to Trang.  From Trang I cycled up to Koh Lanta and then on to Krabi.  I then rode to Phuket but only as far as the airport and flew back to my home in Bangkok.  It was a fun trip and didn't rain that much even though it was late May early June.  Never had a problem and I didn't even have a flat the whole way!  Memorable moments:  Cycling early in the mornig in Pattani by a Muslim girls school.  About 20-30 8-10 year olds all ran out to the road and were waving at me with big smiles.  Getting the very last ferry on to Koh Lanta and riding down the island looking for a place to stay.  Being off season everything was closed.  A couple of Thai guys in a  pickup truck told me to follow them as there was a place I could stay.  Got there and met the owner who was building some Thai style wooden bungalows on the beach.  He spoke almost perfect English as he had studied for a PhD in the USA.  Wouldn't take any money for staying there or even for breakfast in the morning.  

On 1/6/2020 at 1:16 AM, Nyezhov said:

Hmm should I be a bold Yank then and go over there to chant USA, USA? Joking.

 

Nah, that's nothing.  Go over there and chant "Marg bar Iran"

I left Thailand in 2001 after 12 years of working there.  Best decision I ever made.  Times have changed so take this for what it's worth.  I turned my WP into the company and let the secretary who handles this figure out how to do it.  My visa still had about a month left on it as did the WP.  Yes, technically you only have 7 days on the visa after you turn in the WP but at the time the Labour dept and immigration were not in synch with each other.  The secretary wanted me to go with her to turn it in but I let her know it wasn't my problem.  Been back to Thailand many times since then but not to work.  Have never had an issue entering or exiting the Kingdom.  

4 hours ago, Damrongsak said:

Ah, I remember the days when it was 20 Baht to a US $.  But I could rent a house up country and survive on 3,000 Baht a month. 

That is way back in the day.  I remember in 1983 when it was 23 baht to a US $.

On 12/28/2019 at 5:11 PM, Leaver said:

I was told the penalty for a Vietnamese committing a crime against a foreigner attracts double the sentence than if the same crime was committed against a fellow Vietnamese.  That's a big deterrent. 

 

It's Vietnam's way of protecting tourism, and tourists. 

 

Here, you can commit a crime against a foreigner, such as assault, and it's a 500 baht fine. 

 

 

Of course if it is a really bad crime against a foreigner, the Thai might have to pay 500 baht and give a wai!

Sporting a Liverpool Shirt?  Nah, must be English.

It was pretty easy actually by Thai standards.  My Thai wife passed away when the kids were 19 & 17.  We had three houses that we (she legally) owned.  When the oldest turned 20 we put all the property into his name as he has Thai citizenship.  You just need to make sure to bring all the documents to make the transfer go smoothly.  This was about 14 years ago.  I know that some things have changed which is why I won't go into detail as my experience was 14 years ago and Thai law and procedures have changed a little bit.  We did not need to use a lawyer to any of the work.  Although both kids grew up in Thailand and are citizens, neither has much interest in living in Thailand.  They do visit but only about once every 5-7 years.  

Very interesting topic so far!  My two luk krung boys were born in the USA.  We moved to Bangkok when they were 4 & 2 so they could meet and get to know their Thai family.  Originally only planned to stay for 2 years but ended up staying for almost 12 years.  Wife is a Thammasat grad and then went to the USA for grad school like all of her brothers and sisters did.  Kids went to very good Thai schools both public and private.  Moved back to the USA when they were 16 & 14 so they could attend high school and then university.  Both of them speak, read, and write Thai and English at native fluency.  They are university graduates and are very successful in the business world in their chosen fields.  One of my son handles the SE Asia accounts of his corporate employer which includes Thailand.  Now at the age of 34 & 32 I don't see either of them moving back to Thailand to live.  Each of them have worked as servers in Thai restaurants in the USA while going to school.  They could actually earn quite a bit of money doing that due to the tips they received.  

On 12/22/2019 at 6:53 PM, Momofarang said:

But he developed his "Go fund me" to the extent where he employs about 10 people to take care of hundreds of dogs. There will be some nice work for the authorities who let the situation develop...

I wonder if he has a work permit and appropriate visa?

The beach at the Army base is called Suan Son.  I used to stay there all the time back in the 90's,  It's usually not very crowded and there is a small Thai restaurant there as well.  

120kph is fine on the expressway and the Chon Buri motorway and other similar roads that have limited access.  It's not a good idea to have it on other highways where you have roads intersecting.  Before you know it, Somchai, who is going 140kph in the right lane, decides to suddenly swerve over and pull off the road because he decides to stop at a roadside somtum seller/pineapple seller/or other attraction that is along the shoulder of the highway.  

Arsenal trying to protect their current financial interests and future financial interests in China.  Perhaps Arsenal will sell Ozil to appease the Chinese market.

1 hour ago, Expat Brad said:

Yes! Compression to breath ratio has changed. Last time l did my CPR Cert it was 30:1

That is correct, 30:1.  Awhile back it was 15:2.  Even further back, 40+ years ago it was 5:2 for two person CPR.

Raising the speed limit from 90 to 120?  Are they crazy?  Just watch the deaths/injuries/accidents rise accordingly.  

8 hours ago, doontp said:

UT

Trapped behind the Zion Curtain? 555!

In Pattaya it is easy to find apts and condos for 1, 2, or 3 month leases.  This is partly due to Pattaya having an oversupply of available units, and the tourist industry where you have many people there on shorter holidays, and "snowbirds" escaping the winter in their home country.  Bangkok is a little different in this regard but it can still be done.

Any recent updates on the missing kayakers?  Hoping they are safe and just overdue.  

10 hours ago, RickBradford said:

* We have eliminated smallpox and rinderpest, almost eliminated polio, confined malaria to parts of Asia, Africa and South America. Measles was eliminated from the US population in 2000.

Are you sure about eliminating Measles from the US?  There has been a resurgence in Measles over the past year in particular areas of the US.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measles_resurgence_in_the_United_States

As always, there are two sides to the story.  Somewhere in between the truth is actually to be found.  Probably a lot of fault to be found by both parties.