[Proven way to get rid of Geko's]

3 minutes ago, Briggsy said:

Yes. Ask any Thai they are the arbiter. Ensure you specify jingjok.

 

OP

 

Get a car cover or an old piece of plastic or cloth.

Yes. I have 2 that have been living inside my air con unit for years, fed up with seeing them really.

[What good came from Western Civilization?]

Don't you have a facebook account to show the world what you're having for dinner?

[Proven way to get rid of Geko's]

Would it be cruel to kill a gecko? Genuine question.

[Understanding Thai Ladies]

1 minute ago, Igetby said:

Well aware of the comment you made, but you have failed to comprehend the purpose of my input, in that I am questioning my thinking that I feel that I should move on.    I also must disagree with you in that in my circles females are always referred to a 'ladies'.    but thanks anyway

Oh dear.

[Stopped 2hrs at bkk airport immigration + wrong stamp / feedback]

Sounds like an utter nightmare mate, the bottom line is you feel like a criminal even if you are not one. Don't worry about your 1st Aug stamp that will get sorted.

 

A few of these threads coming up now made me think a bit next time I come back in, thinking of taking marriage cert, bank book etc just as a back up. I've got 6 years stamps going back, although I do and will continue to have a non 'o'

[Non-O marriage extension...the lunacy continues]

Why don't you just go to Savannakhet and get a non 'o' based on marriage? I choose to do this as what you have to do is an utter nightmare...non 'o' in Laos is the way to go..at least until one is 50 anyhow..

[Expats who want to leave, if they could]

One could hang himself reading this thread. What a cluste*ck.

[Is Thailand a bad idea?]

4 minutes ago, smotherb said:

Jesus, are you dense. Jealous of anyone making $100k or more. So since I did, yes; or would just envious be the word? No, I finished breakfast, I had English muffins, cream cheese, back bacon and eggs; with tomato juice and coffee, black of course. Or, is that bragging too?

Wow! Well now I am really am jealous, living the dream eh. Don't go spending all that money at once..hahahahaha!

[Is Thailand a bad idea?]

4 minutes ago, smotherb said:

You have what? How is it you exposed me as fraud? You have no idea what I did or what I made. You are once again running your mouth without knowledge. I was not bragging, I was stating a fact that showed your comment to be uninformed and what, jealous? 

Yea really jealous of a no mark on thai visa...the fact that you think someone would be jealous of you really says it all about you. Deluded doesn't even come close.

 

Now haven't you got some sticky rice and somtan to be eating?

[Is Thailand a bad idea?]

1 minute ago, Time Traveller said:

I have to laugh whenever anyone says they are bored in America, and need to justify a way to come to Thailand.

Because there's like a 10,000 things you can do in America, that you can't in Thailand.  

Exactly right, even if you are being sarcastic. It's absolutely bonkers, bored in America so emigrate to Thailand to walk around shopping malls and sweat every day.

[Is Thailand a bad idea?]

1 hour ago, smotherb said:

Yeah, I did. And, I pity people like you who just cannot imagine someone can actually earn good money

Hahahaha..so because I've exposed you as a fraud, I need pity?? Hahahahaha. I know plenty of people who make a lot of money, but guess what, they don't brag about it on an internet forum to strangers. It's called having some class.

[Is Thailand a bad idea?]

12 minutes ago, smotherb said:

I worked online in the 90's I made over $100k. I am sure it is not impossible to do so now. So, why be so negative?

Yea, course you did.

 

All millionaire's on here with lawyer wife's. LOL.

[Is Thailand a bad idea?]

2 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

Thai people have a wide range of skin colors. While most tend to have a nut brown complexion, they also range from very light complected (often augmented by skin whiteners) to very dark brown (darker than many African-American complexions). While darker skin tones are associated with farming and being out in the sun (and consequently a less desirable occupational class), what you will not find here are Thais who automatically associate dark skin (whether Thai or foreigner) with criminality such as being a shoplifter, car jacker, purse snatcher or rapist, or of automatically being of low intelligence, as is frequently the case in the West. Another interesting thing about Thailand is that in many families children from the same parents have different skin hues. That is, a brother can be lighter skinned than his sister. In Thailand you can also find countless examples of couples where there is a big difference in the darkness of one partner's complexion compared to their partner. So this "How can I discriminate against dark complected people when I have a dark complected brother or cousin or spouse really inhibits mindlessly racist attitudes from taking root here. Also, please ignore the racist comment from an earlier poster about most Africans in Thailand being drug dealers or pimps. Many Africans here are gem dealers who come to Thailand to buy/sell/trade gems. (Thailand is a major market for sapphires, and many African countries export precious stones to Thailand as well.) There are also Africans teaching school, restaurant and small business owners, playing soccer for Thai teams, not to mention garden variety tourists and immigrants.

 

With that said, Thailand has sadly become more race conscious over the past thirty years. There are even some Thais who have jumped on the racial band wagon, sometimes rather idiotically, clueless that the same people spreading anti-black doctrine are just as likely to promulgate anti-Thai views. (Thais can't be trusted, are lazy, are stupid, etcetera, etcetera. Sound familiar?) Thirty or forty years ago, most Thais saw the world through a 'Thai and then there's everybody else' prism. But over time with the spread of cable TV, internet, and social media, Thais have become more worldly and sophisticated about differences between people, and as I said earlier, a small number have foolishly concluded that it is somehow a mark of sophistication to discriminate between people based on the color of their skin.

 

I should also like to add that in my opinion Thailand's sex industry and low cost of living attracts a considerable number of mostly white socio-economic refugees from the West who feel that their sense of white privilege back home is under attack by immigrants, Muslims, non-whites, and globalization and I am certain that just as they are not shy about voicing their views on internet forums such as this, they are also not shy about indoctrinating their Thai girlfriends and wives and other Thais they come in contact with their views. So this is another major conduit of how Western style racism has bled into the Thai psyche.

 

But even today I don't think you will find very much overt racism among Thais here, maybe occasional rudeness at a bar or a guesthouse, but that's about it. While I am sure you will be able to find tourists and other short time visitors to Thailand to be friendly enough, you should be aware that there are strong elements of anti-American sentiment running through the expat community here, and as mentioned above, some rather pronounced racial attitudes amongst the expat community here as well. In my opinion, the vast majority of people who seem determined to insist to their dying breath that Thais are racist are only attempting to legitimize their own racist behavior by projecting racism onto another group. For many white people, this is the first time they have been in a minority status and consequently they see discrimination everywhere they look.

 

In closing, you sound well-mannered, well-spoken, easy going, educated. I'm sure you'll do fine here.

Perfect grammar...I'll give you a round of applause...

[Is Thailand a bad idea?]

'I make $100k USD working online,''

 

 

Course you do.

[Leaving Thailand after 13 Years..]

10 minutes ago, The manic said:

555. Survived? You are joking. Thrived and lead a life of adventure, hedonism and pleasure wwould be my boast.

Erh...I was quoting you???

 

As I said, no one will give 2 hoots.

[Leaving Thailand after 13 Years..]

12 hours ago, The manic said:

I have no plans to stay here permanently or die here. When I have lost the will to live, have lost the capacity to have fun, have been defeated, I will return to the UK to rot.

Yep, my thoughts too. I will not live in this country as an old man. Then again, who knows what the future may hold.

[Leaving Thailand after 13 Years..]

15 hours ago, markusss said:

Baker's Delight certainly sounds good mate! I am looking forward to all the creature comforts of life in Australia. But I know the novelty will wear off fast. But I'm in my early 40s now. Not the young man I was when I first left and arrived here without a care in the world other than doing what I wanted. The best time for me here was between 2005 & 2008 I think. I had a great bunch of mates & had loads of great times especially with gfs here. While the political dramas were certainly well into play back then, it was still fun and Thais in general were good value and always up for a good laugh. But I seldom have those moments here these days. Life here seems to be consumed by how much the military grip has tightened & and not to mention the hypocrisy of this place which has reached a point where I can no longer follow the news here anymore. But I'm leaving on my own terms & I intend to get a T-shirt printed that reads "I lived in Thailand for 13 years & survived" ? 

If you really believe you are going back to Oz as some returning mystical hero who 'conquered and survived' SE Asia then you are in for a big wake up call, as no-one will give a hoot at what you have been doing. Now put the violin away and depart quietly, and don't let the door hit you on the way out.

[Expats who want to leave, if they could]

1 minute ago, 4MyEgo said:

I wasn't earning $170k for most of my life, more around the $100k, but the last few years during the housing boom did help as there were less qualified people in the work I was doing, so the bucks went up, now that the housing market has gone down, 2 years after I retired, the bucks have gone down, so the timing was perfect.

 

Yes, for those going back to get the pension, they have to live well away from any City, a one bedroom modern apartment about 10 kilometres south of Sydney for example, at a place called Wolli Creek would set you back $500 a week minimum, that said, its more than the pension pays.

Do they have butterfly's and coffee?

[Expats who want to leave, if they could]

30 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

You might find it hard to believe, but there are those of us out there who had it all, all meaning what, possessions, but no quality of life, and one day we woke up and sold it all for a better quality of life here in Thailand Vs working 5/7th of your life for that a big salary of $170k plus a year, for no quality of life, paying high taxes to support others, Medicare levies and the cost of living to just reducing that figure even more, and if you had a mortgage, you were left with even less.

 

Early retirement by 10 years has allowed me to enjoy taking in the fresh country air, has eliminated stresses that I used to have in my life, (non existent) since I moved here, paying no taxes on investments to support others which literally gives me what I was on after taxes, Medicare levies, etc etc.

 

I do how I want, when I want, and to know that I have enough money on a comfortable monthly budget that will last me till I am 101 adds to my quality of life here.

 

I return every 18 months where I was born in Sydney for a week, that is enough, I visit mum, my adult daughter and some close friends, none of them are happy, mum who is 83 is constantly complaining that she cannot survive on the pension, my daughter is stressed out seeing what is coming for her future, my friends complain of the cost of living and taxes they pay.

 

Here I sit in the morning drinking my coffee with Mrs happy of 11 years, smelling the fresh air, listening to no cars or bikes going by, just watching the beautiful butterflies as they make their way past us.

 

I am in no rush to go anywhere, why would I ?

 

The problem with most Xpats, and excuse the truth because it hurts, is the majority of xpats didn't plan for their retirement, they drank their wages, now drinking the pension and have nothing to fall back on, personally if I had to depend on the pension to survive, I too would be depressed too, so saying "who are we trying to kid fella", is disingenuine, we are content, and will remain here as long as we are allowed to remain, that said, we can also up and leave at anytime to a new destination, why, because we have the funds to do it, "it does actually makes sense", if you can see past your disbelief and jealousy. 

 

For those thinking going back is going to make them happy, well happiness is within, and with full pockets 555

 

 

Good rant. As for 'fresh air' ha ha..you live in an oven. Anyhow, enjoy the butterflies, lol.

[non o multiple entry visa from london]

 

46 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

At the embassy in London you pick up your passport the next morning between 11 and 12.

Ok, Any time for applying?

[non o multiple entry visa from london]

Is it still drop off in the morning and pick up the following afternoon?

[Expats who want to leave, if they could]

53 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

Love Thailand. Dirt cheap here. Never going back to USA.  And I had everything you could ask for there. Sold it all.

 

I live 100 meters from the beach in a rented three bedroom compound in a Thai neighborhood.

 

I don't live around Farangs. that makes me happy.

 

Maybe the op should visit Hua Hin. Not so many sexpats here. Sort of boring in a good way.

 

Many married Farang/Thai couples here to socialize with. And many positive activities.

 

Don't forget to exercise so you don't get too depressed. and don't get played by you know who.

 

you are the boss of you.

 

 

''Never going back to USA.  And I had everything you could ask for there. Sold it all.''

 

 

Yea, course you did. If you had everything in the US, was happy and successful, loving family and friends, there's not a chance in hell you would have decided to emigrate to Thailand. Makes ZERO sense. Not sure who you're trying to kid fella.

[Expats who want to leave, if they could]

4 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

You believed wrong then.

Haha. That actually took a bit longer than expected. Nobody up's sticks gives up everything at home if they are happy with everything and absconds to Thailand. End of chat.

[Expats who want to leave, if they could]

I have always believed that all of us given the choice would rather have a great life back in one's own land, if money was no object and had family etc.

 

What person in their own country who had everything a man needed and was happy with his lot woke up one morning and thought 'I think I'll move to Thailand'?

[Changing from Non-immigrant B visa to O visa without leaving Thailand]

Just now, ubonjoe said:

Thirty day extensions can only be obtained for tourist visa and visa exempt entries.

You could apply for a 60 day extension to visit your Thai wife or child. They would have to be with you when you apply.

The visa being expired makes no difference since you are extending you permit to stay not the visa.

Yes as I thought. It's the same price anyway. I only need 30 days as leaving the kingdom on 29th Sept, so thought I would apply for 30 days so I wouldn't have to drag the wife along. Alas..