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Daryle

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Posts posted by Daryle

    This is why you have to avoid travelling by bus in Thailand!

    in Pattaya

    Posted

    Looking at the pictures I suspect that the driver just took that corner too sharply and didnt go wide enough to clear the concrete bollards on his right. Easy to do if you are distracted by something else or cant see the bollards too clearly.

    It's unlikely to be brake failure.

    The bus is not allowed to enter from the direction he came. Only cars coming from the opposite direction can take that entrance.

    Are you sure ? I have never seen a no right turn at that junction, and that's assuming he was turning right and not coming straight across from Bali Hai.

    And there are loads of cars that do turn right there coming down the hill.

    Many years ago there used to be a "no right turn" sign on that corner which everyone ignored (except enthusiastic police looking for Farang "tips"), but the whole intersection has changed since they changed the Thappraya Road direction to one-way at its 3rd Road intersection, so this intersection had a huge increase in traffic volume. They'll probably now cut away the damaged barrier that should have been cut out years ago, to give the corner a 90 degree angle.

    All is ok now, as witches hats have been erected.

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    police crackdown

    in Chiang Mai

    Posted

    "Dont listen to the girl who sold you your policy. You need to be a legal driver.:

    I have a drivers license. It has always been legal to drive here on my US license. No police have ever said in the 15 years that I have been here that I need an international license. I have insurance on the bike so please stick to the facts.

    When did they change and crack down on only Thai license or International license?

    Insurance policies require you to have an IDP. Its just that thai rental companies don't ask. If you check your insurance wording, you will find you are not covered in the event of an accident as you don't hold a valid IDP.

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    Export prices of Thai rice the lowest in ten years

    in Thailand News Headlines

    Posted

    Thai rice is very over rated, in my humble opinion its very poor.

    Time for the powers that be to improve agricultural education and invest in machinery....

    Agreed, productivity improvements are needed across the board. Meanwhile the current Government will need to come up with a creative supplementary income scheme to undermine social unrest, if the economy continues to decline.

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    Dual pricing - Anti Rant

    in General Topics

    Posted · Edited by Daryle

    They will charge what they think they can get away with! Living here, you get to know prices and when they try it on, I just move onto another vendor. I don't waste my time any more, I take my business elsewhere.

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    Comfortable on 65k baht?

    in Chiang Mai

    Posted

    I have many friends there now...

    the complain about:

    1. people

    2. traffic

    3. weather

    4. sex tourists

    *NOTE: None of these answers are , "lack of funds"

    While the sex tourist complains about people, traffic and weather all with a smile on there face.

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    Thai court rules British activist Andy Hall to face criminal defamation charges

    in Thailand News Headlines

    Posted · Edited by Daryle

    Are Thai authorities legally able to confiscate a British passport? Surely if someone breaks a law the document can be taken. Difference here is a private company are leveling charges but is there a real basis for it even in Thai law? This seems key and I think little can be done now by the UK government other than plead for mercy.

    Another poster suggested Andy Hall may be going through this with a specific strategy in mind, and that does seem like another possibility.

    As to doing a runner, if they took his passport and he doesn't want to stay he could just sneak across the border to Cambodia, there are many places to do it apparently. Then he could go to the British embassy and get an emergency travel document back to the UK.

    a free media no longer exists by direction of the good General.

    What good general?

    If you support him, fair enough, but otherwise you are taking the wrong approach by casting him as a good guy on the surface, because surface is all that's important to them, thus to them you have said he is a good guy and all your extra layers of meaning will be lost on anyone but your own choir.

    Your reading to much into the use of the word 'good'. It was used in a truly sarcastic way. Try reading posts a second time before you try to put the booth in, my good man!

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    Comfortable on 65k baht?

    in Chiang Mai

    Posted

    Money won't be a problem, but I think you will get bored with street food. Personally, I had 3 years of eating South East Asian street food 3 times a day every day and one morning I woke up and swore never to eat it again. That was 5 years ago, and I honestly haven't had Thai food since - I'm able to do that because I cook every day, but not everyone shares my love of cooking.

    My only unique advise to you is don't burn your bridges back home. Not straight away, anyway. I've lived in a lot of different countries so know a bit about it; once the novelty wears off, and it will, you may find that you don't like it that much after all. 'Back home' has a lot of pull for some people, even people who don't expect it to. You aren't talking about a holiday, you're talking about for good. What if you don't like it or develop a serious illness which needs intensive care? Short time, 24 hour care is cheap here compared to back home, particularly if you're from US, but a stroke or Parkison's or MS? Could be years of assisted living, could be for the rest of your life, could be not as good as in US, could be just as expensive without the things you're used to around you. Hopefully that will never happen, but if it does and you want or need to go back, you will be a lot better off ifE you have something to go back to.

    I strongly recommend that If you own your own place now, rent it out if possible or if you need to sell, buy a small apartment as an investment so that you aren't locked out of the property market should you decide to go back at some stage in the future. Once you're out you will likely never get back in at your age. Living in a developing country isn't for everyone, just like living in a city or living in the countryside isn't for everyone. Until you try it, you don't know so it's a good idea to keep your options open. Even if you don't go back, it should be a good inflation-proof investment as long as you're not in a bad area.

    Not burning your bridges is particularly important for you as you are relatively young. We were 43 and 44 when we retired 8 years ago, and while I'm happy to potter around in the kitchen, and read all day long, Mr K occasionally gets bored and more particularly, misses the social interactions of being in a workplace 5 days a week. He's just left for a 3 day trip, hired a big bike and away he goes (hiring one once a month for a couple of days is better than buying one in a lot of ways; it isn't sitting in the garage most of the time because riding around town on anything but a scooter is not practical, no maintenance costs, no up front costs, a different new or newish bike every time you go, no depreciation or trouble selling it, being a regular customer he is able to tag along on any arranged tours the bike shop has (despite the comment in an earlier post, he loved the ride to Laos with half a dozen others last year), the list of reasons for not buying goes on). Every now and again though, he gets a dreamy look in his eyes and talks about going back to Melbourne or maybe to the mines in Western Australia and is quite serious about it until I talk him down. We've been together for 36 years so can bounce off each other which stops us being truly lonely; many of the people we know enjoy their lives here but despite having many friends are very lonely and very bored, although very few people will admit it. I have no doubt some would go back home tomorrow but it isn't financially viable for them, even though they don't have any possessions to dispose of or any other material reasons to stop them or hold them up.

    I've always said to people don't look at it as moving to a new country, look at it like it's a long holiday. Almost 30 years ago we left England and went for a long working holiday in New Zealand and a couple of years later when we decided it wasn't for us we went for a long working holiday in Australia and since then we've had long holidays in Malaysia then Thailand - we're still on one in Thailand, 6 years and counting. If it's a holiday, you have something to go back to and there's no embarrassment of those people - you know the ones I mean - saying 'I knew you couldn't hack living there'. Have a long holiday here then a long holiday in Cambodia then a long holiday in Vietnam and before you know it you'll be older and wiser and can either choose which country you like best or continue to have long holidays in different countries or different parts of those countries. It keeps things fresh, you'll make friends in each of the places you go to and going back to see friends is always good. We're based in Chiang Mai but spend a lot of our time going for (short) holidays to visit some of the friends we've made along the way.

    It's already been mentioned, but please make sure you have an insurance policy, and make sure that includes medivac. It probably won't be cheap, but insurance is always a waste of money until you have to make a claim.

    Most importantly though, enjoy your life. I'm sure you'll enjoy being in Chiang Mai, and maybe you'll enjoy being in Saigon or Penang or the islands down south or those in the Philipines. Pack a bag of clothes, a good pair of walking shoes and a full Kindle (you can buy everything else when you get here) and go for it.

    You sound like a lovely person. Your husband is fortunate. But he is probably a good guy.

    Agree, please euthanasia if life ever gets that boring.

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    Comfortable on 65k baht?

    in Chiang Mai

    Posted

    Everyone has a different idea of what constitutes 'a comfortable life-style.' For some, they need 250,000 a month. Others, 45,000.

    Drink a lot of alcohol, pay a lot of bar fines, party 6 nights a week, eat Western foods for most meals... You'll need a lot of money.

    Western foods and a party lifestyle raise the budgetary requirements tremendously.

    Live 'Thai style' and you'll spend next to nothing once you've established yourself.

    My wife and I prefer to spend our evenings at home. We usually cook dinner ourselves, but eat breakfast and lunches out. We live in a comfortable 5-room apartment in a building with a nice pool, restaurants, good security, close enough to walk into the Old City when we wish to, yet not in such a busy area that we can't be on the road and out of town in less than 10 minutes. We take 4-5 day trips away from Chiang Mai every few months when we feel the urge, and don't seem to feel as if we are denying ourselves anything.

    We do this living comfortably on the budget you've mentioned.

    There is an important point in the above post..."...once you've established yourself".

    I have been involved here long enough that I have a lot of things already established and paid for. House, farmland, rental apartments, truck are all free and clear.

    I have one small vehicle payment here (2nd truck for the daughter to "sell something in the market") which will be cleared in a year, one vehicle payment in USA that will be paid off after 2015 Federal taxes are done (February or March), and a mortgage on a rental property in USA that I will be selling to my tenants within the next few years.

    When I am done working for a salary and we are living on my retirement funds + US Social Security + the wife's income here from rentals and farms, there will be no payments to be made. Any expenditures in general will be small enough to pay cash.

    Being on a pension and making vehicle and/or mortgage payment would strain things greatly.

    With the utmost respect your balance sheet comes across as to much maybe for me.! But whatever works for you.

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    Thailand's ousted Shinawatra clan defies govt with publicity drive

    in Thailand News Headlines

    Posted

    haven't these people realised that Thailand will not put up with their thieving abuse and violence any longer

    Didnt know that to be true??????

    So you are saying, an illegal military junta is not "thieving abuse" which stole the country from an elected government? How about violence against their own countrymen in the form of "detention camps and reeducation centers"

    I hope you are being sarcastic

    Adding to you good post, is that corruption is endemic and without a reduction NO sane person would want to invest or buy a property in Thailand.

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    I tend to disagree. Business people care only about the opportunity to make money. See how much FDI flowed into China since the late 80s.

    Did corruption and political system matter?

    The number of businesses closing would indicate to me that Thailand is not a good ROI. Up to you, where you invest your money!

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    Comfortable on 65k baht?

    in Chiang Mai

    Posted

    You will find a GF and you will get sick! Get the health insurance for the latter. As for living on 65k, easy done. Enjoy the journey, just don't loose your mind over the GF, they are easily replaced. First sign of trouble from her, replace her quick smart! Works for me.

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