californiabeachboy

"Drinking then swimming" - to me that says it all. I like to drink and I love to swim, but what a horrible combination. In my city in California a law was passed after considerable, (and somewhat acrimonious) debate, banning the possession of alcohol on the sand (a law I opposed, as I like to watch the sunset with a drink in hand). But the flip side is that there are a significant number of people who for some reason (after a few drinks) think that the ocean is like a swimming pool.

Sad story, but great discussion here.

Which problems? Accidents, tons of them, by people (foreigners) who think that it is easy to ride a motorbike in Thailand. They may fix the bike, but they will not fix your body. Just be careful.

If you have the 800,000 baht in the bank retirement visa, you are $crewed if you hadn't reported it.

Nah. This is an Al Capone thingy. The Feds are looking for big-time money launderers -- and this would be the easiest hook to hang someone on who's brought attention to himself through various -- but not sufficiently evident -- slippery schemes.

As most, if not all, of your inputs to Thai banking was via SWIFT, you're covered from the laundering aspect. That these SWIFT deposits, totaling more than $10k per year, don't show up in a FBAR statement is not startling. Most probably you spent them right off, building your new house. Or whatever. But, again, that your money arrived via SWIFT encoding, means FBAR is a non-player towards any potential criminal investigation -- assuming you've not brought attention to the Feds otherwise, i.e., assuming you're not a money launderer.

Heck, the FBAR guys are even a separate branch of Treasury from the IRS, so the fact that you haven't declared $60 or so in interest from Bangkok Bank on your tax return, won't create any alarm bells -- anywhere (remember, no 1099's). Plus, like with the FBAR cops, the IRS has no way of knowing, should they become aware of money you sent abroad, whether that sat in an account earning taxable interest -- or immediately went to building a house.

But, yeah, should your Thai bank account go over $50k after Jan 1, 2013, best declare the interest on your 1040, since it will now be receiving 1099-equivalent treatment. But feel good by being a tax cheat no more...

I can see US citizenship taking a dive. Last one to leave turn out the lights.

Nope. Give up your US citizenship if you will. But if it's for the purpose of evading US income taxes, it won't work. You'll still be liable for US taxes. This is even written into the US-Thai tax treaty. Dual citizenship won't help either.

Every evening before bedtime I say a prayer to say thanks that i was not born a us citizen !

Amen. I'm glad you weren't either. And I thank you for not (presumably) applying for US immigration, as you would have hogged a spot better utilized by someone trying to get ahead in life. To his benefit -- and that of the US.

Great post. I particularly like the last part. I certainly understand the desire to minimize taxes, but as one who pays his fair share, I do not understand the glee some take in "beating the system" and not paying the taxes they owe, knowing that as a result someone (a working person, most likely) will have to make up the difference. To the extent this law insures people pay their fair share, no problems at all.

In my opinion, there is no way to get around Phuket cheaply. I visited there a few months ago, because I was looking for a place to spend a few weeks each year in Thailand. I quickly realized Phuket is not for me, primarily because of the difficulty in getting around. Everyone I talked to in Phuket said - you have to either get a car or a motorbike (which has its own problems). For me, walking long distances is out of the question because of the humidity. I stayed in Kata Beach, which is a nice beach, as long as you don't want to leave the area.

Save the child!

I think you already know this, but I just wanted to reinforce it. Sometimes in the heat of a parental conflict the child gets pushed to the side.

I am not qualified to comment on how to solve your marital problems. but just from reading your post it seems that the one thing you and your wife can agree on is that you want the best for your child. If you can manage to keep that thought first, you can survive this.

Is there some way that both of you can be good parents to the child, without bringing into the child's life the conflict between the two of you? Think about where you could live (apart but nearby?), how you could raise the child without providing negative influences, etc.

In my experience, if you put the kid first, the other stuff can be dealt with.

I am a retired professional and I would like to spend part of the year in Thailand. I have been to Thailand three times, but I have not found my "spot" (Southern Thailand is just too hot for me), so I am looking at Chiang Mai.

I have done some research, and I think the right area for me is West of Old Town, out to Chiang Mai University. I am looking for a place that rents by the week or month, until I get familiar with it, then maybe longer.

My requests are:

1. Must have a pool, kitchen, and a gym.

2. Location is very important. I love to cook and need to be close to markets. I don't like having to take a taxi to go grocery shopping.

3. I am alone, so size is not that important, but probably over 40 square meters.

4. My budget is around 5,000 baht per week or 20,000 baht on a month to month, give or take a few baht. Mostly during October to April.

If anyone has a few recommendations, I would love to hear them. Feel free to PM me.

I will be staying at a hotel until I find the right place.

Cheers.

I suspect the Americans are more nervous about whether The NFL strike will shorten the football (gridiron) season.

My neighbor, despite my extensive attempts at education, still does not know the difference between Taiwan and Thailand.

No one should believe statements about someone's "expectations". Newspapers bloggers, financial advisers, etc. and other sources of information love to talk about what someone expects to happen in the future, because there is no way to verify the accuracy of that information.

I expect to win the lottery next year.

I can't help wonder what the responses of those saying "Don't tell her" would be if this topic was "I'm a post op ladyboy and so can't have children; should I tell him?"

As my friends down under say, "spot on"

Tell her!! Why would you wait? - that information is going to come out anyway (sorry, bad choice of words). Why not be honest with her? - she needs to know, and you need to know depth of your relationship.

I don't think education is the answer - most know how to drive safely, they just don't do it. The reason is that 99 percent of the time, there are no consequences to dangerous driving. I believe the only solution to this terrible tragedy is to make people who are speeding, passing when they shouldn't etc., suffer some consequences for their behavior BEFORE they kill someone - that is a big fine by the police who are out there watching them. It just seems that there are no consequences until after they kill someone.

I agree with the above post. If you want an answer that is worth anything, you will need to specify the subject of the legal advice.

My parents were married for 40 years before my mother died and they never sat around and said nothing to each other.

Yes, I understand. But my parents were also married for 40 years, and there was no joy in their life together. Don't get me wrong, they were wonderful parents - I could not have asked for better. But together? not so much. And in my opinion our relationships with the opposite sex are defined by watching your parents (but that is probably for another thread).

I did not intend to imply that my girlfriend has to be Thai, but I intend to spend much of my retirement years in Thailand, so the statistical odds lead to that. But I agree with SM about finding someone who has their own life - friends jobs etc. I guess my problem is that, after three visits to Thailand I am having trouble meeting women in that category (dangerous comment on TV - I can see the question about where I am meeting them).

Cheers.

Thanks for the responses. I sent emails to CMU and AUA about using their library and any fees. They gave me a quick response. For CMU, the email said visitors can use the library as long as they show their passport. In order to borrow materials or use the Internet, you have to pay the fees (the email didn't say what the fees were).

As for AUA the email said that a visitor can use the library for a fee of 400 baht per year. As far as international papers and magazines, it is mainly the International Herald Tribune, and the Thai papers in English, as well as the main English nmagazines (New Yorker, Time, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, etc.) Just passing this on in case anyone else is interested.

I will look at the academic publications of the CMU library when I get there. My particular interest is conflict resolution in different cultures (in a prior life I did a lot of mediations), which, ironically, I thought could possibly be useful on this thread, but things seemed to have calmed down.

Cheers.

Thanks for the responses and the suggestion about the AUA library. I have sent an email off to both CMU and AUA regarding visitor use and fees, and will report back with any info.

Cheers.

I will be visiting CM for a couple of months and staying somewhere West of Old Town. I will not be attending the University, but I would like to use their library for both academic articles, and also occasionally light reading (magazines, international newspapers, etc.) in English. I checked their website but the info on using the facilities was in Thai. Does anyone know if a visitor to CM can use the CMU libraries, and how much of a collection they have in English? I know I can get many of the material online, but sometimes I like to read something the old fashioned way.

Thanks.

At first I also wondered why they don't allow us farangs to simply come to Thailand and spend money, without any time restrictions. But I think the reason is that the Thai government does not want people living in Thailand who are not "productive" in their minds - that is earning money, employing other people (Thai) and therefor paying taxes. When you look at it from their standpoint, not so crazy. For many farangs, we think that because we are purchasing things in Thailand, that is enough to make us valued immigrants, but that is not the case. For them (as for most countries) it is a simple economic decision - how do we get people here who will pay more in than they cost us.

Just to get back to the story, I am curious as to what is going on with the bar that I understand Kevin Attew managed or owned? Is it still open and and in business? I have no idea who is responsible for this, but often times if you follow the money trail it will lead you to useful information.

I have worked over 20 years in tourism, not just in Thailand but internationally as well. With the possible exception of "dirty beaches" mentioned above, none of the other items has any significant effect on tourism. Many European cities, especially London and Paris are much worse in terms of gross overpricing, street touts and con artists, not to mention actual physical threat to life in terms of robberies and snatch thievery.

IMO, Thailand is the best country to visit and/or to stay, when both good and bad are considered. The hotels offer the best value for money anywhere in the world. Drink prices at upmarket hotels will always be high, this is just a simple fact of life. I pay Euro 25 for a glass of beer in the rooftop bar of Concorde la Fayette - are there any hotels in Bkk that would charge this?

In the bars in any of the nightlife entertainment districts, I consider THB 100 for a Singha beer very good value considering that you can have the company of the bar girls if you so wish (of course, it is understood that you should also buy them a drink, which costs THB 40-60 more than yours), but still extremely cheap. (I'm talking here about Bangkok but it is considerably cheaper in some other provinces).

Just last night, we concluded an Awards Presentation Dinner at a 5 star hotel near the riverside. We had police escorts from one hotel to the venue. We had cultural dances, hot dances. We had fireworks, great food and drink. The speed and efficiency of the hotel staff in setting up the venue (including a standby venue indoors in case of rain) was beyond anything that I have seen anywhere in Europe (I have organised such events and still do, in the UK, France, Switzerland, Spain, Russia, Italy etc). Comments from the delegates (who are from overseas)? They just love Thailand. Prices for a meal can range from THB 30 to THB 3,000. The main thing is that the choice is there, unlike many other countries.

The problem that Thai Tourism face is mainly due to the political instability and turmoil that this country has gone through in the last 18 years. This has created a negative image in many people's minds and this is the reason that a lot of them stay away. More marketing has to be done globally to promote Thailand, something that Malaysia surprisingly managed to get right. The second major problem is course the language - not enough service people speak English, which is the universal travel language. Finally, there aren't many man made attractions, instead, Thailand is still very reliant on shopping, beaches and culture.

Excellent points. I've traveled extensively and IMHO, Thailand ain't bad. We were in Europe for a few months during the fall of 2009. I was amazed at the scams I saw. Mainly from gypsies. Paris, Madrid, Lisbon. We had an attempted pickpocket in Paris and Madrid. Purse stolen in Lisbon. Scams tried on us in every city (did you drop that gold ring? Oh, this hotel is closed, can I show you another? I'm only looking for donations...can you hold this for me? And then you get followed while they say you need to buy it as you are holding it and they won't take it back., etc, etc, etc).

We had dinner 2 nights ago right on the beach here in Thailand. Sure, not as nice as Grand Cayman or Gold Coast...but it's OK. Beers, plenty of seafood and tip for 4 was 740B. Fantastic. Where else can you do that?

Sure...Thailand has it's issues. But so does everywhere else. I think we are so picky here because we see the potential?????

I agree. I have traveled quite a bit and I don't think the scams are any worse in Thailand than other places.

But I do think the biggest problem for tourism in Thailand at the moment is the political instability. I was in Bkk last year when the protests broke out, but left before the buildings were set of fire. Rarely does anything going on in Thailand make the news here in the US, but that did - images of buildings on fire in Bangkok were all over the evening news. Once those images get into peoples minds, they are hard to get rid of, and the images come back when people are selecting travel destinations. While marketing may help a little bit, as long as the instability is there, the bad images will be there, and the best marketing in the world won't bring them back.

Most tourists will put up with a scam now and then, they realize it is a part of travel. But threats to their personal safety (and the safety of their kids) will keep them away in droves, and that applies to all nationalities.

I got a "1-2 call" top up at Suv airport in April. When I first went to Thailand a year or so ago I got the SIM card at a 7-11. The last time I was there I was at Suv Airport, and I was able to top up the card (but it was not free). I think it was at the DTAC counter, but I cannot remember for sure. But I do know that there is a 1-2 counter at Suv airport. Just check with all the mobile phone counters at the arrival hall.

Bored?

Yes, I agree.

The most dangerous part of living in Chiang Mai is becoming bored to death or just turning weird.

Actually, that was a photo of him when he was in California. Here is a photo of him after he had gone for a walk in the Thailand humidity (maybe not the most dangerous thing in Thailand/CM, but up there near the top)

I have friend who is a Thai nurse in a hospital in Bangkok. I asked her about the different prices for farangs vs. locals. She said about 30% higher for farangs. She also said that her hospital was trying to increase the number of farang patients because of the 30% "farang profit". Nothing sinister about it, just economics.

About 15 years ago, I had a good job and I was living in a great city (San Francisco). I was, as they say, fat and happy. But for some reason I decided I wanted to be a bohemian, so I quit my job and moved to Paris with very little except my CD player and about 5 of my favorite CD's. My sister accused me of having a mid-life crisis, but to this day I deny that.

What got me through those 8 months (apparently I am not a bohemian) was my music.

So to answer the question, I would bring my music player (I have now graduated to the MP3). Music can get one through anything.

Thanks for the responses. I guess the biggest concern for me is not the quality of dentists, as there are good ones and bad ones everywhere. But I do worry a bit about the recourse that a patient may have in the event of a serious problem. That tends to keep the dentists in line a bit more.

I have a couple of friends in Thailand so I will get recommendations from them and try to develop a relationship with a dentist I trust.

Cheers.

As I was watching this video, particularly the live shots, I am thinking - the people in this bar who are paying for the drinks are really really old (and I am really really old myself), so there is a real marketing problem here.

But I enjoyed the video, and it is always sad to see places we know close down.

Cheers