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55Jay

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Everything posted by 55Jay

  1. I do same as OP. A few ATM pulls each month, deposit into Thai bank account for local use. Suppose it's less about the means of access than the category and tax profile of the funds, and if your country has a tax treaty with Thailand. FWIW, I got a Tax ID number here in 2013 so I could file returns to recoup tax withheld on Thai bank account interest. Revenue Bandits called me to their main office for some questions. Figured it was the first time I was on their radar, so not a big deal. I got grilled by 3 different people about my income used to live in Thailand, not one question about the bank interest tax return. Felt like they were trying to catch me at something dodgy. I told them the source of my post tax income used for Thailand, and let them know I was aware of the US/Thailand Tax Treaty, and the specific paragraph that covered my income situation. They seemed to back off a bit after that, but still had me wait while they went away to research it. 20 minutes later, Boss Lady in uniform came back all smiles and said I was in the clear. The Tax Clerk at the desk then resumed processing my tax return for the bank interest. Not sure how this latest thing is going to play out. We'll see.
  2. Indeed. Man purses and the laughable Man Bun hairdoo. I don't give a s**t, up to them, but it is amusing to watch from the sidelines as sheeple follow the trends. Case in point with evolving lexicon is this thread's title, using the "old timey" term "Bananas". My Grandmother (1912-1998) used to say the world was going to hell in a hand basket, or "topsy turvey", and the polite term that people were going "nutsy cookie". My Dad, growing up in the late 40s through the 50s, bit of a "Square" as an adult, would wince in pain listening to me talk as a teenager, using the 1980s surfer/stoner lexicon inspired by Jeff Spicoli in the film Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Wonder what my Dad would have been like had he participated in the '60s Hippie movement? Old military guys complained endlessly about the new generation being a bunch of pansies unprepared to fight the Commies in a war, and thus, the entire country was going to hell. Ruined forever! Well, those pansies grew up and now we're thanking them for their service for getting shot up and blown up the past 20-odd years. So now it's their turn to moan in their beer glasses about the video game playing pu**ies and Nancy Boys who wouldn't last 1 minute in combat much less make it through boot camp training - which, of course, is never as tough as it was back in the day when the old guys went through. It never is. Won't be long before I'm the one yelling at clouds, and telling young whipper snappers to turn their gawd damned music down!
  3. The world's going to hell in a hand basket. Said every aging generation in human history. Not a new revelation, but we have access to millions of peoples' thoughts, actions, ideas, delusions, and straight up nonsense trolling for fun. The internet is both a blessing and a curse.
  4. Big bump. Wife just got DCC'ed yesterday at Krungsi ATM. She knows about it after many years using our US credit cards here, but when she did a 30,000 Baht pull with US ATM card yesterday, at the same Krungsi branch ATM we've been using for years without ever seeing a DCC screen, she got it, didn't understand it, and accepted the rate. $890.58 for 30,220 = 33.9 Baht to Dollar instead of 36.3 quoted by Visa card FOREX calculator which would be about $832.50. Krungsi pocketed about 2,000 Baht. 🤬
  5. Yep, double that to 500/day, and that's only if you don't do a whole lot. 1,000/day provides more leeway but still a very limited way of life. Never mind having a wife to support. Kids? ????
  6. Been contemplating this for the past month. Anxiety and depression constant with surges in waves at times. Never experienced it, certainly not this level of severity, so it's terrible yet intriguing to examine and journal how I got here from there. Those times in youth chortling, "Ah hell, I probably won't make it past 50 anyway!" <thump chest, hoist another beer> play in my head. Certainly opened doors to better understanding of others who land, for whatever reason, in tough situations here, often in dire financial straits as time goes on, made worse if there's no safety net "back home". How votes of confidence that, "it'll all work out, don't worry" ring hollow in their ears, because they know it's not likely to. Sun comes up next morning, soi dogs mill about, birds chirp, Monks seek alms, the ladies at the morning market yell back and forth and laugh, delivery truck blocks the road in front of 7-11. Same as yesterday. The world carries on, with or without us.
  7. Yes, of course! That's not the point. Specifically, the point of an App. You'll recall before Apps, lost/stolen/hacked bank account login data was the flavor of the month. It's still on the menu, and yet, they haven't done away with internet banking, or limited computers to 1 per person. There's a sensible middle ground here. Existing protocol to regulate Apps, IMIE, trusted devices/browsers. As far as I know, there was no ceiling on the App before, at least not above 2 installs in our case, so clearly Bangkok Bank, et al, have the capability and discretion to register and manage it; BoT directives not withstanding. Wouldn't be the first time here, or elsewhere, that policy without a sanity check got dumped on the public, only to roll back and possibly vanish once a bunch of Thais complained on TikTok. Feel like this isn't a big ask. If a decision maker sees the middle ground and tells the App geeks down in the basement to make it happen, it will. Quickly. The guy who came up with the 1 and yer done App policy could wind up transferred to a satellite office in rural Bully-Lam. ????
  8. @carlyai @Everyman @Moonlover and for anyone else who sees/agrees with the point here, FWIW, I sent an email to BKK Bank mobile banking division yesterday - same group that weighs in on customer App complaints/comments on Google Play Store. Not a bitchy moaning email, rather, asked them directly and succinctly what their suggestion is for married people, families, joint accounts, etc, who, until April this year, were able to operate independently of each other day to day pulling from the same source bank account(s) via the App - transfers, top ups, QR payments, etc. After being conditioned to that convenience and independence, this latest security move is a significant, and seemingly careless, insular step backward. Moreover, when a reasonable alternative that preserves the underlying intent of the security directive, appears to be quite feasible - register and manage authorized devices, like Netflix, cell phone service providers, and a host of other subscription and/or controlled access Apps and websites do. Again, there's already a sub-section on BKK Bank's App for it. After this kicked off, I used it to clean up stray devices on my account - old phones, tablets, etc. I'm not a computer nerd by any means, so I'm happy to be corrected by anyone who is. However this feels completely doable, but likely requires a dull uproar from the customer base to get attention, and potential action. Wife is drafting a summary and will chuck it at Bangkok Bank/BoT, et al, on Thai language social media to (possibly) get some traction among others who've been handicapped by this move, but feel they're in a minority without recourse. Will update here if anything comes of it. If anyone here agrees and would like to weigh in themselves and/or their Thai spouse/partner, on whatever social media platform(s) the wife leverages, let me know and I'll post a link here or via PM.
  9. I certainly don't argue with (sensible) security measures, and this isn't specific to Bangkok Bank. BoT has rolled out a few security mandates for Thai banks to comply with, so voting with your feet and wallet may not get the desired reaction from the bank. Facial recognition is another measure rolling out (for transfers over 50k), there's a thread on that running here as well. I don't like that either but I see the value in it, so OK, Roger Wilco. Therein lies the point, though. Thai banks can implement facial recognition requirements and update Apps accordingly, so SURELY the same bright sparks can work out how to 2F Authorize and register more than one device for a bank account - especially joint accounts, husbands/wives, etc. Never mind that it was already the case before April/May this year, and suddenly it's not? There's a section for it on Bangkok Bank's App - Manage Devices. So use it. My US banks and brokerage manage it with different computers/browsers. Google, Skype, Microsoft..... this isn't unknown, mysterious territory. Feels like shutting it down the way they have is the dumb, lazy way out. Won't change unless Thais complain a lot on Facebook, but apparently nobody's bothered. For us, it's a real PITA and alters how we do things day to day for not a very good reason.
  10. Caught me and Mrs. out too. Cant get over some of the cavalier answers here. And no, this isn't for "our" security. This is for the banks, and their bottom line liability. Nothing to do with 'us'. If it was, banks would have instituted trusted device protocols so households using one account (married, families, etc) could register and carry on. Shutting Apps down to one device so arbitrarily, and then seemingly ignoring the obvious fall out for customers under the "it's for your own good" mantra, is utter BS.
  11. After 12-18 months of COVID, cashiers wearing gloves or, at a minimum, using hand gel after a transaction, doesn't even move the needle any more. I do the squirt as well, rub-a-dub on the way out the door. ???? Here's a good one though. I've been using a large, open area near my house for daily exercise for a long time and am typically the only farang out there among the Thai regulars, so they are used to me, and we often exchange casual greetings. After that one Thai politician/gov official railed on social media a while back about smelly, unwashed farangs in Thailand being prime COVID carriers, a middle-aged Thai lady I hadn't seen before, turned up in the exercise area. First time this lady and I were approaching head to head, maybe 40 to 50' apart, she looked right at me and pulled her mask up rather quickly. I noticed the overt move, figured she was sensitive about COVID, so I politely veered left to increase our sideways distance before CPA. A few seconds after we passed, I glanced back around and saw her arm move up to pull her mask back down. LOL, ok, no problem. Out of curiosity, I watched her pass Thais on the track without pulling her mask up, so clearly it was just me. ????
  12. https://www.enthealth.org/conditions/aging-and-swallowing/ I don't have first hand knowledge, but thought above link might be interesting reading until Sheryl and others weigh in . Anecdotally, my sister began experiencing this in her late 40s/early 50s. Closer to home is a guy I know here in Thailand. He was late 60s when he first told me about it, now early to mid-70s. Several times during group social gatherings, sat across from him at the table, he would suddenly stop chewing and his facial expression would go blank, like the onset of choking. He'd trained himself over the years to recognize it, relax, sip some liquid slowly and work through it. Sure was a tense few moments for him, and those around him. Once it passed + a few moments to relax, he carried on as normal.
  13. Cops can't ignore orders when they roll downhill from the District Chief. I'd wager this RTP squad wasn't wearing masks before this photo, as they humped 1km on foot, up and over the rocks, probably muttering expletives to themselves the whole way.
  14. Partner sounds like an authorized user for access to the 800k account, not the legal owner. No more transactions because the book is full....and bank won't issue a new one to her alone. He's stuck outside Thailand. Perfect storm of unfortunate timing and circumstances. ????
  15. Some guys are in miserable situations or been burned badly already, whether here or in farang land somewhere. Never mind that. Transition to a retirement extension is simple, and you'll never look back. Same you though, never thought the Marriage Extension process was that taxing. Did it for 4 or 5 years. Used to wonder about the basic administrative and organization acumen of the people complaining the loudest about it. Wasn't that difficult. ????
  16. The unwarranted fear and debilitating anxiety I had about the vaccine has been washed away. Thanks. ????
  17. Interesting comments above. I'm not anti-vax. Being ex-mil, I've been stabbed and jabbed more times than I can remember, up to and including 1/2 way through the controversial Anthrax vaccine series. My reservations about this particular vaccine program began with the unprofessional behavior of my home country's elected leader (at the time) boasting about project "Warp Speed", arm-twisting industry to speed up the normally deliberate, methodical process. I get the sense of urgency, no issue there obviously, and stress can be a positive motivator. It can also lead to higher risk of errors in judgement and performance. That whole scene was a s**t show IMO and didn't inspire confidence, so I made a note to self that I wouldn't be the first guy in line for whatever vaccine resulted from the expedited process. Turns out I'm not eligible for a vaccine here in Thailand anyway due to age and no qualifying medical conditions. Fortuitous upside is knowing data continues to be collected and analyzed around the world. By the time I get the vaccine, it could be an improved 2.0 version.
  18. Wife got a call from one of her nurse or Dr. buddies at the big government hospital in our city in Nakhon Ratchasima, reporting that some Pfizer doses were being sent up to them 'soon'. I presume that would be a portion of US donated Pfizer linked to the ExpatVac registration site. Sounds like gears might indeed be moving somewhere, we'll see how this develops.
  19. I would travel to the US for vaccine, but don't want to run the gauntlet getting back into Thailand. Pop positive for COVID, seems like you're just along for the ride at that point. No thanks.
  20. Some grumpy old farts on ex-TVF cheered Big Joke on as he flew around the country in his leotards and flowing cape, kicking down doors arresting sex toy and E-cig dealers at the market. Law and Order! It was all good, until he came for us too.
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