simon43

Another personal example of corruption in the Land Office. Many years ago my ex #2 wanted to borrow some money with the land plot as security. She borrowed privately but a charge was placed on the chanote by the lender and therefore this charge and the loan contract were registered at the Land Office in Phuket. I went along to the office with her. The loan contract stipulated that the loan had to be repaid in full after 12 months, or the land was forfeit. We both checked the loan contract and then the lender went into an office with the Land Office official, emerging 10 minutes later with the contract to sign. I spotted that the period '12 months' now read '2 months'!! Rather than accusing them of attempted fraud, I politely suggested that their printer had a problem.... They forced a smile and reprinted the contract with the correct term. Anyway, it actually made no difference, because dopey ex failed to make the payment after 12 months and the land was forfeited! 🙂

Well, in a similar vein, the AI chat-bot (Natachata) that I wrote almost 20 years ago did just that! I programmed it so that if an end-user was abusive to the chat-bot (believing it to be a real person) then the program would reply back with the most abusive 'put-down'. The end-user felt compelled to reply and argue with the chat-bot, and then be on the receiving end of yet more abuse and withering comments about his virility, manhood etc. And so the argument would continue... with the end-user willingly paying out 1.50 quid each time to receive the abusive text message!! Believe me - I made a lot of money from AI all those years ago 🙂 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3503465.stm

A usufruct simply allows you to 'use' the land, not own it. If he gets divorced, he still doesn't own the land. I just watched the video. Nothing new at all - he has a usufruct to use the land. But that means nothing if her brother and friends come along with knifes and 'ask' him to leave the land.

I don't think he is doing anything new, and AFAIK pre-nups are not legal in Thailand. Look, you can create any type of usufruct or contract if it makes you feel better. But the bottom line is that if he falls out with his wife (or vice-versa), no amount of legal paperwork will protect your body if the 'ban nork' in-laws want to make things difficult for you... Not related to a Thai wife etc, but years ago, I was forced off my land/guesthouse in Phuket by the local police who were working with the local yaba dealers. Life got 'dangerous' for me and I had no choice but to make a speedy exit 🙂 Sometimes, it simply ain't worth the trouble and I like my kneecaps.... I hope this Finnish guy doesn't assume that he's legally OK if his relationship goes south...

From this morning I see that a pop-up on my laptop reminds me to remove my ad-blocker when viewing AseanNow. As one of the oldest forum members (in terms of membership length), and an internet 'guru' to boot, I can say that it is better to use a 'carrot' rather than a 'stick'. More pop-ups and more intrusive ads that slow down and spoil the user experience will not end well for the new owners......

Yes, I am a scientist and have a fairly good understanding of Immunology, the Immune system and Genome modifications - I teach these subjects to students on a regular basis.

As others have said, we are free to use whatever pronouns we want to use. If you speak Thai you'll maybe know that many Thai women disrespectfully refer to their male partner/customer as 'มัน', which literally means 'it'. Goose for the gander etc...

Wow, so many anti-vax posters. Did you never have vacs as a kid to protect you from Polio, Tetanus, Whooping Cough etc?

Everyone else.... I tip barbers because it's ingrained into my brain - my mum always gave me an extra sixpence to give to the local barber back in the UK. I tip motodop riders because their charge is so low anyway. Oh, when in Pattaya I always pay 20 baht for the baht bus because the 10 baht charge is just ridiculously small.

RIP Somewhat off-topic, (the only related part is to do with Burma...), years ago when I worked in Yangon, I rented an apartment in a very old tenement building. The shower consisted of a water pipe coming out of the wall and supplying dirty brown, smelly cold water. I hated taking showers! One day I decided to see why the water was so dirty. I asked my neighbour who told me that the water was pumped from the river at the end of the road. What a filthy river. Then I had a worrying thought. "Where do our toilets empty into?" I asked my neighbour. "Why, into that river" was his reply......

Here in Luang Prabang the motorcycle hire shops are only allowed to rent smaller motorbikes or electric bikes to tourists. The Snoopy bikes with sidecars are very popular with Chinese tourists who seem unable to balance on 2 wheels... 🙂

When I lived in north Phuket, I lived a few hundred meters away from Thai ex #3 and also a few hundred meters in the other direction from Thai ex #2. Both had small hotels (10 rooms) that I built for them and I lived in my own little guesthouse in the middle. This worked out fine (for me), because I was able to pop over to see each ex, do any repairs etc that were needed and so on. The fly in the ointment was that these 2 exes hated each other!! - a lot of jealousy between them. I ended up as 'piggy in the middle' 🙂

I went 'on holiday' to Blackpool early last year, but it didn't seem to be full of British tourists. All I saw were Turkish barber shops.....

Tipping was never a thing in the UK, except for a small tip for the barber and taxi driver. So no, I haven't changed my habits since leaving the UK 22 years ago. I tip the barber and I tip the taxi/motodip driver - that's it 🙂

Yes, but 'he wanted nothing to do with it.." is simply untrue. He wants everything that a Royal title can provide. If he wants rid of the Royal Family, then he should renounce all his titles and simply be known as Mr Harry Doormat, (US resident).

Please delete your photos of Lat Krabang beach! Otherwise, you may alert the authorities who will come and cut down all those nice trees... 🙂

I teach (online) a number of different Russian, Ukrainian and Belarus young students, whose families have fled their respective countries because of the war. Some live now in the UK and various mainland countries, and their families have no intention of returning back to their home country.

No one should write using that Modern style. That is simply a simplified font that is often used for advert signs.... good to know how to read, but not to be written!

Of course they pour chemicals into it. The pH value must be kept at the correct value to inhibit the growth of algae and chemicals (eg chlorine) must be used to inhibit the growth of bacteria. Leave the pool without chemicals and it will turn green.....

I guess that small islands in the Maldives also have no electricity supply, other than solar or diesel generators. If they can manage to install/operate desalination plants, then why not Thailand?

I think the new owners should issue shares in the business to any loyal forum members of more than 20 years standing... 🙂

I would day that most people's claimed IQ has jumped by 100 points! According to Dr Google, Albert Einstein had an IQ of about 160, Isaac Newton had an IQ of between 170-190. So it seems that some of our forum members are very, very clever indeed.....

Jeez, I used to get all those symptoms after a romantic night with my ex... 🙂

I'm happy to see him looking well and enjoying Songkran 🙂

Perhaps he sleeps standing on his head?