Guderian

Is that the only property in her name? My Thai builder has three houses, one in his own name and two in his wife's. He says that Thais are allowed to own one property in their own name tax-free, but more than one and they have to stump up the tax, so his wife pays it on the second property she owns.

They should've left their pickup truck at home in Thailand! lol

I had two Daikin AC units some years ago, 12 KBTU and 18 KBTU, like the OP. From what I recall, the power rating on the compressor plates were around 1 KW for the 12 KBTU unit and 1.5 KW for the 18 KBTU one, a total of 2.5 KW. So with a 220V supply you'd need about 12 A, though that may be the average load and the peak might be higher, but your 30A breaker is more than enough unless I'm missing something.

He certainly looks like he's just been at Death's Door, poor dab. I wonder if he found some 18-year old cutie to take back to his hotel for a game of hide the 74-year old sausage?

Back in the days before Swampy, I always used to wonder how safe it was at Don Muang with that golf course stuck in the middle of the runways. Although I'm not aware of it ever having caused an incident, like a flying golf ball getting sucked into a 747's engine, the above comment seems to suggest that it never was 100% safe, which an airport really should be.

So 30 million parcels per year, even if you assume they're all worth the maximum of 1,500 Baht, which they won't be, would raise 3.15 billion Baht in VAT at most. They're going to have to get a lot more creative to find the 400 billion Baht needed to pay for Thaksin's digital wallet scheme. :rolleyes:

The first time I went to Brunei was in 1983, with an English mate off the rigs. Having been to Bangkok, Singapore and Sumatra, we were going to visit some friends who were working for Shell in Seria. While queuing at Immigration in the then non-air conditioned airport, we were chatting about our plans, when a much older and fatter American guy started speaking to us: "Did I hear you guys right? Have you come here on holiday? Are you crazy?" We confirmed that we were indeed there to stay with friends for a week. The American replied: "I first came to this craphole 20 years ago, and it's still a craphole, I hate the place!" I guess he must have had some business there if he felt so strongly about the country yet was still queuing to get in at Bandar Immigration, lol. Anyway, we had a great time, alcohol was only forbidden for Muslims back then, though most places didn't serve it as there was simply no demand. Employees could buy as much booze as they wanted at the company store in the Panaga Club, and I found a shop run by a friendly fat Chinaman down in Kuala Belait who sold cheap beer. Over the next three years, I returned twice to visit my friends, and enjoyed every minute of it. Brunei is a bit limited in what you can do, but Miri in Sarawak isn't far away and is much more fun. We visited the Niah Caves and stayed with friends working for Sarawak Shell Berhad. Brunei was also a good location for seeing Sabah, probably the most interesting part of Borneo. Spend a few days on Labuan island, visit Kota Kinabalu, go to the national park and climb Mt. Kinabalu which is well over 13,000 ft high and has its own microclimate. Then on to the orang utan sanctuary at Sandakan. Brunei's much stricter nowadays about drinking, and I certainly wouldn't enjoy it very much, but 40-odd years ago it was a pleasant, quiet, off-the-track place to spend a few relaxing weeks. I'm not sure Thais will enjoy it though, unless they're devout Muslims, Sarawak and Sabah would be much more fun and interesting.

With the way half of them drive, he must have been doing some crazy stuff! lol

Sounds like a good idea given the clouds of black smoke most of those old diesel trucks belch out. I had a Grab or Bolt taxi a while back which was an MG EV, and the driver was very happy with it. Driving around a crowded city, the limited range wasn't such an issue as it is if you want to travel cross-country. If these EV songtaews will reduce air pollution, then I'm in favour. Of course, you'll still have the same psychos driving them, but sorting that out is another mission altogether, lol.

Anybody want to crowdfund the security guard to take the woman to court?

Anybody who was mistakenly thinking that Thailand is still a democracy hopefully realises now that it's just an unelected dictatorship in reality.

Today's news: Oh my Buddha! It's low season and there are no tourists here, what will we do? Yesterday's news: Thai tourism sector proposes 300-baht tax to counter over-tourism Well all I can say is, that worked fast! 😃

I used Bolt to go to Marco's last night at 19:00, the price was around 80 Baht, the same as usual give or take 5 Baht. I always give these underpaid drivers a nice tip, so made it 120 Baht each way.

That's certainly true in Pattaya, which is becoming unlivable during the high season. BUT it's hardly likely to be due to foreign tourists, most of whom don't own or rent a car here. If the ever-increasing volume of traffic on the roads is caused by tourists, then they're of the Thai domestic variety, and this dubious tax will be pointless.

Foodmart is fine for basics, but the choice is very limited and you need to head out to Lotus, Big C, Makro, Friendship and even Siamburi's. If you don't want to invest in your own wheels, the ride-hailing apps like Grab and Bolt provide very reasonably-priced taxis. Don't forget that you also have the expat food shop by the Machanu statue, and I believe there's another one in Jomtien Beach Condo, though I've never been to it myself. Depending on where in Jomtien you are, the market on Soi Wat Bun might also be handy for you.