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lordofdelusion

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Posts posted by lordofdelusion

  1. OK, Allright. Thailand has foreign currency reserves. So what?

    I am 1) NOT an economist and 2) In that class of wishful thinkers as I convert my dollars to Thai Baht to live. But the U.S. Has a large foreign currency reserve. See here http://www.imf.org/external/np/sta/ir/usa/eng/curusa.htm#I

    They also have a large national debt. I hear Thailand will run an account defecit this year. So they have currency. And they have obligations. Someone tell me why that makes them financially sound. :o

  2. Folks this is the HIGH season. 99% of which was booked months ago by those who happen to be here now.

    I know of plenty of people who have decided to go elsewhere next year due to the troubles in the airports.

    Since when has a high season been measured over only a 3 week period because that is the length of this years high season.

    Expect a serious drop off mid to late January and a decline across the year.

    The Gospel Truth. Someone who knows of what he speaks! :o

    I have to 2nd. Around the southern end of Phuket I have been told by hotel and business people that the holiday bookings were made months earlier. Unfortunately they have few bookings beyond new years. Hotel staff have already been laid off. How could anyone expect anything else? The world economy sux and Thailand suffered some bad press with the airport thing.

    Baht is too darn strong too. :D

  3. Some people talk about living normally. Define normally. I live in an area where the nearest super store is 150 kilometers away. Driving 300 kilometers round trip for some farang items that I no longer even miss is NOT living normally for me. My home here in Thailand is as plush or as cheap as I want to make it. All our food is purchased from the local fresh market or grown right at home. My blood pressure has dropped back to normal and I too have lost more than 20 pounds. I choose to live out of the cities and enjoy my life style in the peace and quiet of the country.

    My condo in Jomtien is MUCH larger and nicer than the $1,200 per month shoebox sized apartment I had in the Los Angeles area. My car insurance for a Honda Civic cost $1,600 per year in Kalifornia. Political correctness alone would have eventually made me totally crazy.

    Once you acclimate to Thailand, you'll find that you can be perfectly happy doing without items that are only available imported from your home country.

    Yep, I gotta get behind this line of thinking too. My BP dropped 20 points, my weight down and steady. I attribute that to eating fresh foods from the local markets. The prices are way lower than the US. My friends and family are jealous. Boxed, canned or frozen food is more expensive. But why it it? Medical care is cheap. Car insurance is cheap. My rent is very reasonable for a western style place. In this global financial meltdown, I would prefer to stay here.

  4. I was curious in the members thoughts regarding the recent troubles here in addition to the global financial mess. As tourism takes a huge hit and I see some long term retirees thinking of leaving, is this a buying opportunity in a house or condo? The Baht is weakening as well. Good value time or is this finally the end of Thailand as a retirement and tourism destination? I hear from others every possible outcome. My sense is Thailand will recover at some point but not right away. They need something that looks like a stable government with law and order. Myself, I was always a happy renter as "ownership" of property here made me nervous. But if some great bargins pop up, I might be tempted. What do you think?

  5. Has anyone seen the government today? Have they made any statement?

    The PM was involved in a good game of golf this morning in Chang Mai

    The Police lost a few truckloads of riot gear, when a couple of grandmothers let the air out of the tires.

    It is a weekend, so a lot of new protesters come to join the party.

    Right now everything is on hold until the court hearing on Tuesday morning. Nobody is going to take a chance on not having a seat to set in when the music stops, and the PPP and other parties are desolved.

    For real?!?

    Has the feeling of a bad 70's sitcom about a bumbling but benign leader and his inept police chief. Cue the laugh track.

  6. Breakingnews -Tha Nation

    Urgent: Phatcharawat removed as police chief

    Published on November 28, 2008;November 28, 2008 : Last updated 06:01 pm

    Police Commissioner-General Pol Gen Phatcharawat Wongsuwan was Friday removed as the national police chief and seconded to an inactive post at the PM's Office.

    The government appointed police inspector-general Pol Gen Prateep Tanprasert as caretaker police commissioner-general.

    -The Nation

    LaoPo

    They may as well put inspector Cluseo in charge for all the good it'll do.

  7. Quite amazing 50/50 split on a coup in Thai Visa land...

    Can we wonder any longer why the Thais themselves are having a problem with all this?

    If you look at the poll on Thaivisa "Do you support PAD" the PAD have a lower approval rating than George Bush. That should tell you something.

    Don't you think that might change now with the report of the government seeking Thaksin's help? I mean, geez, just when public sentiment swings your way, you announce help from the epicenter of all this, a convicted fugitive in another country. Neither side deserves to win. I gotta vote coup.

  8. So what do you guys think is PAD next move? Is it just going to be a long stand of or will they hijack another place as well? I wouldn´t be surprised if some PAD held their "meeting" at Siam BTS station forcing both BTS lines to shut down.

    Maybe they should shut down Nana, Cowboy, and Patpong. :o

    OK, that's definetly the end of tourism!!

  9. Channel 3 reporting Army spokesman saying tanks in Bangkok are nothing to do with a coup attempt, but are vehicles on their way back from a 'training exercise.'

    yeah, training for a coup :o

    Exactly!! I wonder how many times a year the army does train for a coup given the history here.

    maybe this will be an opportunity for Cambodia to sneak in and take over!

    I would prefer Singapore however. we would get cleaner sidewalks.

    I am in agreement with the Phillipines in their travel advisory today. This is an immature government. And all kidding aside, I am saddened for the Thai people. This could be such a great place.

  10. The source was a Sanyo HD video recorder onto an SD card. The content was loaded on to my computer and transferred to CD. The disc was mailed not taken through the airport.

    A second disc I sent to another family member had content but after viewing a short while, she got a message saying her computer was shutting down? I hope I didn't send some virus.

  11. Because the upload speed here is so painfully slow, I sent a disc back to the US with videos of my daughter. It arrived blank. ?? I am sure it wasn't when I sent it as I checked out the discs before mailing. Does customs screen this with something that could have erased the disc? Anybody else have this happen? If that is the case, what to do about it??

  12. It's a well written post and good luck to you. But if I wanted to work that many hours and sweat bullets, I would have stayed at home and made a ton of money. I think most come here for some relax time and to enjoy the cost of living. My limited experience with Thai business through friends and family tells me that this is a nice place to visit but very difficult business environment. I'm off to the park with my daughter. :o

  13. Some Global Correction comparisons of note:

    post-25601-1227188305_thumb.png

    I am completely lost in charts but enjoy all the posts with them as I try to figure them out. :D:o

    In this one it shows that the current downturn is much sharper than the last 2. Taking only about 300 days to lose 45% as opposed to 450 or 600. Does this mean sharp down, sharp up, or more like 1929 when it just kept going? Does anyone really know?

    Not hard to count your blessings here as outside the window are people far worse off than me. :D

  14. If some of you expats are living in TL based on 401k's & IRA's maybe another method may be best???

    http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread409464/pg1

    A bit over the top isn't it? "Above top secret . com"?? A bunch of concocted rumors and the predictable string of ranting comments from the loonies. Argentina did this recently. I think they got confused.

    Those talking about Obama and how he is ruining the country already, need to take a step back. He hasn't taken office yet. When he does he will inherit the economic nightmare of a lifetime. Let's see how he does before going bah mak!

    Incidently, recently on Fox news, the bastion of liberal politics, I heard 2 surprising comments. The first from Karl Pove saying that Obama is our president and we should wish him well. If he succeeds we all succeed. The other was from Donald Trump. When some anchor asked him how he thought Obama and the Democrats would do with the economy he replied that they couldn't possible do worse than the Republicans. He went on about how the Republicans had been rightfully run out of town until they changed the subject. I think smart people know what is at stake and they know the enormity of the problem. It will take a global effort and not a lot of lunacy coming from the right or the left.

  15. My last post on this thread which I actually started elsewhere.

    I must say that this thread was started as a congratulation to the *winner* & also a note of hope for our troubled country.

    I leave it & come back every other day to read pages of Hate & crystal ball gazing.

    I must say it is amazing that so many *KNOW* exactly how terrible this new President will be before he is even sworn in & yet are blind to how terrible the last President *WAS* not just for us but terrible for the whole world ..... his record is there to see.

    Many times I have said in recent years I was ashamed of the actions of my country. Now I realize I was not ashamed of my country just select humans speaking & acting poorly on our behalf. After this election I see that the majority of more than 2 to 1 feel the same way. I realize now in reality this majority makes up our country & they are all hoping for a better Human to act on our behalf. I am hopeful that President Obama is such a Human.

    If & that is all we can say IF he is not then we will dust ourselves off yet again & vote.

    Well said. I wish our new president luck in the very trying time ahead. There will always be detractors, (even before he takes office), :o but this new direction is welcome at home and abroad.

  16. Thaksin, believed to be making the call from Hong Kong, said he was suffering from karma not of his making.

    Chamlong Warns Thaksin Not to Distort Karma Teaching

    PAD Leader Chamlong Srimuang is warning ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra not to distort Buddhist teachings by referring his downfall to the karma that he did not deserve.

    He said that Thaksin’s claim during his telephone address on Saturday, which suggested that he is facing the karma of a sin he did not commit, was a distortion of Buddhist teachings.

    As a prominent Buddhist practitioner, Chamlong said the most certain things in life are aging, sickness, death, farewell, and karma.

    He then stated that people have to pay for the karma they owe, therefore, it is undeniable that Thaksin is facing his own due.

    Chamlong also said that Thaksin’s karma has caught up with him sooner than he believed, as the Thai court just sentenced him behind bars for two years for conflict of interest, while his brother-in-law is now implicated in adultery rumors.

    He advises PM Somchai Wongsawat to come clean or deny the rumors as soon as possible because staying mum could be interpreted as guilt.

    - TOC / 2008-11-03

    That's the most intelligent thing I've heard come out of anyone's mouth in this long affair. And no, Karma can ripen at any time. Not just after death. Cause and effect. Thaksin is in this pickle because of his actions. Same as the rest of us commoners.

  17. Why the vitriol?

    Sorry, election time over excitement.

    Politically, the expats have no voting clout, as Jingthing says. And being out of the country nearly puts us in the same category as the illegal aliens in the US - we are not exactly pure Americans any more, in some folks' eyes.

    Yes and no. Obama is the first potentially American expat friendly president that I am aware of in modern history. His father was a foreign national. He did farm work in Kenya. He lived in and went to school in Indonesia as a boy. His mother spent alot of time in Indonesia. He grew up in Hawaii, a true melting pot with a huge Japanese influence. He is so very cosmopolitan.

    That said, I think the main but still small chance for medicare reimbursements for expat Americans is if it can be proven as a way of SAVING the government money. And it potentially may. If medicare reimbursements at a lower rate than would be needed in the US could persuade say 10 million extra Americans to retire in lower cost nations, mostly in Latin America of course, that would be 10 million people not making claims at full US rates. I expect if we get to a second Obama term, these arguments have a chance of at least being heard. But I wouldn't bet on it at all. Oh well.

    sorry jingthing, wishful thinking. if obama makes medical care for everyone [with or without expats] the system will go bankrupt the first year they already tax our SS and Obama wants to give it to everyone, not just those who paid in so how long do you think it will last then. Not a political post just a reality post since i think he will win and he has lots of programs and no way to pay for them. there goes our increases. it would be nice if they would give us a bit of an allowance for medicare but doubt that will ever happen since we have no power

    " W " found the money to waste on Iraq. I hope we can prioritize differently in our future and help our own people. I worked in healthcare. It aint pretty.

  18. Wow, haven't seen one of these threads in a long time. The world economic picture has left many staying at home to work for another 10 years.

    For my 2 cents.....it will cost more than you think. Your currency may devalue 20% and your investments stop producing any income. That's just my personal experience over the last year or so. As was posted earlier, if you just knew how long you were going to live, the rate of inflation, the markets,etc; it would be a snap. Knowing what I know now, would I have left work 2 years ago? Yes. There is more to life than work and money.

    Asking yourself "why Thailand?" would help you to choose a location to live. If expense is a consideration, then I'd pass on Phuket. Have a look around before settling.

    BTW, I worked with people with MS and they managed quite well for many years. Best of luck with your medication choices. They can make a great difference.

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