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I'm only here for chicken with cashew nuts

Such crazy requirements, the Top reason I didn't pick Thailand over Mexico. Someone here said, if you live in Thailand...you can't look forward to visiting Thailand, I agree with that sentiment, lol

that's commendable as it doesn't happens too often in politics, keep pre- election promise , that's something

put him in touch with @Olddaddy , he's always looking for anyone to suck him or fuck him....although he's bipolar and a bit of a hypochondriac .

We have known for weeks that the Thai Elite Visa programme is being revamped. Folllowing the company's embarrassing climbdown mid-month over its cancellation of certain longer term benefits for existing basic 5-year Elite card holders, the new rebranded programme has been been launched. The eight different types of visa have been reduced to four and allegedly the benefits are more simple and easy to understand. That may well be the case, but it all comes at a massive increase in cost. According to the blurb, the company has four main targets - frequent international visitors, Investors and Digital Nomads, Expats and Retirees. That is the first time I have noticed that retirees are a target market. The pricing of the new programmes is - 5 year GOLD visa: 900,000 baht - an increase from the existing 600,000 10 year PLATINUM VISA: 1,500,000 baht 15 year DIAMOND VISA: 2,000,000 baht 20 years or more RESERVE visa: 5,000,00 baht (by invitation only and reserved for 100 members per year) If anyone is thinking of applying for the existing Elite programmes, you should act now as you only have until September 15. The basic visa for 600,000 will give you the option of upgrading up to 15 more years at 400,000 baht provided you renew and pay prior to three months of expiry. Or you can immediately purchase 20 years for 1 million baht. There is presently no indication that any form of upgrading will be permitted under the new programmes. Wait till the 15th and you will only get 15 years for 2 million baht! I suppose the question all retirees and potential retirees have to ask is: am I better with the existing 65,000 monthly inward remittance/deposit of 800,000 reducing to 400,000 annually held untouched in a savings account route? Unquestionably the answer is yes. At least with the deposit route, you/your dependents get the money back on permanent departure from Thailand or death. On the other hand, for those with a bit of cash to splash, 20 years for 1 million baht cash out can seem worthwhile, if only because it is basically hassle free and is especially useful for those who travel regularly. The allied question, though, has to be: for how long will the annual limits for retirees continue at their present level? If Thailand Elite has raised its fees by between 50% and well over 100% and retirees are included in the target market, will be existing annual limits for retirees also be due for an increase - perhaps sooner rather than later? https://www.asiaone.com/business/thailand-privilege-card-marks-20th-anniversary-grand-revamp-unveils-new-brand-logo

I see that a request for a Royal pardon has already been submitted! What a surprise. I wonder what the agreed period is before it is granted!

For residency is an income or savings requirement, it's increased over the years and if you get temp residency it can be renewed for 3 yrs after your initial year then after 4 yrs convert to permanent. If you can qualify for permanent right away, that's the best option. Once you get residency the only requirement is to notify of change of address, that's it. Then after 5 yrs you can apply for citizenship, after age 60 is only an oral interview I think, no test. Temporary Residency Monthly income of at least c.US$3,275 over the last 6 months (some consulates request 12 months); OR Savings/investments account balance(s) of at least c.US$54,600 over the last 12 months; OR You can also apply for Temporary Residency based on the value of a house you own in Mexico, or if you make a capital investment in Mexico. See the section below for more details. Permanent Residency Monthly income of at least c.US$5,460 over the last 6 months (some consulates request 12 months); OR Savings/investments account balance(s) of at least c.US$218,000 over the last 12 months.

Gee why am I not surprised by that? I think quite a lot of people could see that coming from miles away.

From Pattaya Mail British consul reassures Pattaya expats His Majesty’s British embassy consul, Joanne Finnamore-Crorkin who is in charge of welfare work with Brits across Thailand, gave a well-received talk about her work to over 100 members and guests of the Pattaya City Expats Club. She pulled no punches and said she would not offer dishonestly to look into matters that were not the embassy’s concern. For example, the hot topic of British state pensions being frozen in many countries, including Thailand, was a political issue that could be settled only in the British parliament. The consul explained that all initial enquiries to the embassy are now transferred automatically – at local rates – to the London call center whose staff decide which to refer to consular staff in Bangkok. This is a worldwide system and is meant to ensure that all callers, no matter which country they are in, receive the same advice. She gave last June as a typical month: the London center received 823 calls about Thailand and referred many of them to the Bangkok British embassy’s consular section. Joanne emphasized that consular responsibilities have evolved over the last 15 years or so. For example, there are now many more British deaths here as the expat community ages and more cases concerning child welfare than in the past. The other main areas of welfare are hospitalizations, victims of crime including rape, missing and trafficked persons, sentenced prisoners and those awaiting deportation. She said that dealing with these cases was now the priority in consular work. Conversely, there was now less emphasis on notarial and documentary services, although the embassy did issue emergency passports, certification of passports for visa or other purposes and counter-signed affidavits for Brits wishing to marry in Thailand. She noted that applications for British passports and visas are no longer the responsibility of the embassy but are handled by VFS Global. In a busy question and answer session, Joanne confirmed that the embassy was very concerned about Brits with unpaid medical bills and there was a general discussion about the pros and cons of compulsory medical insurance. She also confirmed that consular staff were now in regular contact with city, tourist and immigration police as well as hospitals. A visit to a mortuary was now part of the training. In the afternoon, the consul visited the international law offices adjoining the Jomtien headquarters of Chonburi immigration bureau, led by Dr Jessataporn Bunnag. She met staff responsible for visa advice, training for driving licences and heard about the wide variety of civil and criminal cases being handled by attorneys. She was also introduced to the Foreign Workers Registration Center, housed in the law offices, which is responsible for the paperwork of thousands of guest workers from neighboring countries in Chonburi province. Appointed to her current post almost a year ago, Joanne expects to be Bangkok consul for the next few years. The appointment of a new honorary consul in Pattaya, to replace Bert Elson who has retired, is currently awaiting confirmation from London.

Some may find it scary when it becomes difficult to discern satire from politics. For those currently following US politics, if it sounds too ridiculous to be true it's probably politics, not satire.

I'll worry about that if and when it happens - and if those already retired in Thailand for x number of years would have to face increases too. From among all the advice I've ever received, the one I like best is "Don't worry until you have something to worry about." So far nothing to worry about.

What are they?? Am I missing something?

unexpected? really ? Millions taking vacations and travelling every year were itching for first sign of relaxation of restrictions to jump and book their trip. So called revenge travel was long in the making and media, at least here, were warning that travel public will be back with vengeance criticizing airlines and airports for laying off too much staff and being unprepared for returns of travelling public.

Must be @vinapu's cousin!

There is a short-termism that has affected THAI ever since it broke free of its founding partner SAS decades ago. This seems in large part due to political interference through its constantly changing Boards and Presidents - and a heavy dose of corruption. First, it had way too many varieties of aircraft, ready to purchase every new type that the manufacturers produced. The annual maintenance bill must have been huge. It's biggest mistake, though, was ploughing money into its US routes with an aircraft type that did not really make sense. To be fair, other airlines thought the A340 would be ideal for certain long-haul non-stop routes. Singapore Airlines bought them for many European routes. But once it was in production and orders placed, the international airline regulators increased the amount of time a twin-engine aircraft could be in the air without having an alternate airport nearby. Thanks to significant improvement in engine performance, ETOPS (extended-range twin-engine operations performance standard) was increased from 120 to 180 minutes. Thus, in comparison to the upcoming Boeing 777, the 4-engine A340 became significantly more expensive to operate. New York using A340s was always going to be a stretch for THAI. Even with an enlarged business class, it could not fly the route with a full load of passengers and cargo. It was a gas guzzler that rarely, if ever, made THAI any money. To service New York and LAX, TG purchased ten A340s between 2002 and 2004. Several politicians including Thaksin Shinawatra were charged by the Anti-Corruption Commission in connection with the purchase but then - not surprisingly - cleared of all charges. Even so, the A340 worked for SIA's US routes for about a decade because the aircraft layout initially only had business class seating (later changed to a large business class and smaller premium economy). It therefore charged much higher ticket prices than THAI. When SIA stopped using them, it did a deal with Boeing to resell them back to the manufacturer as part of a larger deal to purchase 777s. THAI, on the other hand, tried to sell them on the open market. No one wanted them. With clearly no sense of urgency, the aircraft sat taking up airport space for 13 years and no doubt deteriorating badly before the airline managed to sell five of them last year for the paltry sum of 350 million baht. Yet four A340s still remain unsold! In the years immediately beforehand, THAI had sold 11 smaller 737-400s for 2 billion baht. Now comes the A380 saga with more 'rotting' aircraft being put onto the market. Interestingly, while most airlines apart from Emirates had retired their A380 fleet, many of the aircraft have now been brought back into operation to meet the unexpected high demand for travel following covid. Most of these aircraft were stored away from their home base in very low humidity places like Arizona or, in the case of Cathay Pacific, in Alice Springs in Australia, and routine maintenance was undertaken. Did no one in the THAI Board or management realise the huge amount of cash they were throwing down the drain by storing their A380s without regular maintenance in the heat and humidity at BKK? Indeed, why did TG spend so much on the aircraft in the first place apart from as a vanity offering? But that's another question! I wonder what percentage of each THAI air ticket goes towards paying for THAI's mega errors?

From Thai PBS World Pheu Thai party leader quits Cholnan Srikaew quit as leader of the Pheu Thai party today (Wednesday), with immediate effect, to keep his pre-election promise to resign if Pheu Thai were to partner with Palang Pracharath, United Thai Nation or both in the formation of the government. Chousak Sirinil, one of the deputy leaders, is now acting party leader, until a general meeting is held in the next 60 days to choose a new leader and executive committee. Speaking at a press conference today, Cholnan said that, since the party has achieved its goal of forming a coalition government of 11 parties, it was the right time for him to quit, as he had pledged to do during a debate on April 28th. He said that he has no regrets, nor does he harbour any grudges for having to quit, claiming that he had done his job to the best of his ability since he was appointed the party leader on October 18th, 2011. Cholnan said that his resignation had nothing to do with his cabinet post or his status as a party-list MP. He was tipped to become public health minister, to succeed Anutin Charnvirakul of the Bhumjaithai party.

while people in our age bracket may be there mainly for young locals, some people might be flattered to be approached by a handsome man even if he's not the sort of guy they are usually looking for. Surely some are there to discuss their stamp collections and world events

Saudia Airlines is looking to emulate it Mideast neighbors and get into the international hub business so they might be a potential buyer. But if the equipment is deteriorating, its main value to a prospective buyer like Emirates may be the value of its parts since Airbus has stopped making them. The ideal time to sell them was when Thai realized they didn't want them in their inventory which was years before covid hit. The carrier has always waited way too long to unload unloved equipment, deferring offers that didn't meet their elevated expectations. When they did sell, it was always at a price well below previous bids.

Honestly sad and depressing that guys do this kind of shit. I guess its about getting the thrill, the power trip, from doing something to someone without their consent. But it's actually pathetic, and makes one exactly like the other digusting individuals who violate consent.

To be fair, depending on your definition of what justifies "danger", this place could lead you down some dangerous rabbit holes. Financial holes also.

Only four of the scheduled airlines which were flying A380s pre-covid have not so far brought them back into service - Air France, China Southern, Malaysia and THAI. Not all the delivered aircraft are flying, but a good many more than anyone expected even a couple of years ago. THAI should never have bought them in the first place! It already had more than enough capacity on its 747-400 fleet which it continued operating until 2020, considerably longer than almost all other scheduled airlines. JAL retired its 747-400 fleet in 2011, Singapore Airlines in 2012, ANA in 2014, and Cathay Pacific its entire fleet in 2016. So TG did not need the additional roughly 100 seat capacity that it offered on its individual A380s, the more so when these extra seats were almost all in the cheaper economy cabins. When purchased, the airline only increased the number of high revenue-generating seats in first and business class by a mere 8 more than on its 747-400s. They had no premium economy cabin. Re THAI's plan to sell their six aircraft, in January this year Emirates purchased a second hand 14-year old A380 from a leasing company for US$30.5 million. It was actually an aircraft Emirates was already flying and so it was aware it was in perfect condition. That's roughly the amount it would cost THAI to get each of its A380s properly maintained and ready to fly again. Effectively, therefore, the value of each THAI A380 is now pretty close to US$0!

I have probably 20+ years to live, but it's still not worth it. I'd rather being a tourist.

that was not nice

isn't it a case anyways? of course, it's as surprising that tomorrow is Saturday if only because toady is Friday. Otherwise why he would bother with returning ? If he indeed misses his grandchildren they could visit him in say Phnom Penh or Poipet of all places

Lufthansa is reactivating all 8 of their A380s and will base them at Munich. BKK is among the destination they'll be using the aircraft for. In a search of flights last night I did note an A380 LH flight to BKK in December. Their reasoning is the travel recovery and the further delays to the B777X program https://onemileatatime.com/news/lufthansa-airbus-a380/

No doubt that the new PM got the idea for the 90-day visa from Vietnam which began offering it as an option Aug. 15. Since then, applications for e-visas have risen 70% with most coming from South Korea, Japan and the UK. https://e.vnexpress.net/news/travel/new-visa-policy-helping-facilitate-tourism-development-authority-4647925.html

The government has to shoulder the blame for inept management. It appointed a succession of CEO's as political rewards. It wasn't that those leaders didn't realize the bad judgements they were making because they were all were also aware that they'd face no consequences for their actions. From CH-Aviation NACC ends Thai Airways A340 corruption case, drops charges 18.07.2023 - 02:00 UTC Thailand's National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has cleared three former politicians of graft over the procurement of ten A340s for Thai Airways International (TG, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi) during 2003-2004. Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, former deputy transport minister Pichet Sathitchawan, former chairman of the Thai Airways board Thanong Pittaya, and former Thai Airways president Kanok Apiradee all faced dereliction of duty charges relating to the aircraft's acquisition process, which was found to be corrupt and to have substantially contributed to the state-owned carrier's ongoing financial woes. Between 2002 and 2004, the then Thaksin-led Thai cabinet approved a plan by Thai Airways to buy four A340-500s and six A340-600 for THB53.5 billion baht (USD1.54 billion). The ten aircraft arrived between 2005 and 2008 and exited between 2012 and 2015. However, the quadjets accumulated losses of THB7 billion (USD202.1 million) in the first three years of operations on just two routes. However, in a July 12 media interview, Pichet said the NACC had told him it would discontinue the charges against all four men. Notably, the NACC's decision comes ahead of Thaksin's planned return to Thailand later this month after several years in exile abroad. Despite Thai Airways retiring the A340s between eight and 11 years ago, it has only managed to shift one of the planes - an A340-500 (HS-TYV (msn 698)) that went to the Royal Thai Air Force (Bangkok Don Mueang) in 2016 to serve as a VIP aircraft. Thai Airways has parked the three remaining A340-500s at Bangkok Don Mueang and the six A340-600s are at UATA!UTP. However, Thailand-based news outlet The Nation reported last year that the airline managed to sell an additional A340-500 and four A340-600s to an undisclosed buyer for THB350 million (USD10.01 million). Citing Thai Airways chief technical officer Cherdphan Chotikhun, the outlet said the price was above the aircraft's assessed value, the contract had been signed, and the parties were now awaiting Thai Ministry of Transport approval to transfer ownership. Cherdphan added that talks were underway with prospective buyers concerning the remaining four A340s. https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/129786-nacc-ends-thai-airways-a340-corruption-case-drops-charges

So let's just continue on this riff. Because you really can't make this shit up. Politics is now parody. Trump: 'No Choice' But to Jail Political Opponents That alone gets a laugh. Exactly. Only a genius like Trump could deduce that Biden is both gone, mentally. And the mastermind who engineered four different indictments. Why be such a senile asshole? Just because Trump tells the truth and defends the Constitution. And stuff like that. Thing is, these evil fuckers like Biden have no compassion. Whereas DJT, despite the persecution, is a nice guy. Reasonable people wanted to hang Mike Pence, for him fucking with the Constitution. And other really bad things. But Trump is better that. He understands the problem. Mike Pence is too damn honest. Which is worse than fucking with the Constitution, when you think about it. Hell yeah! Lock Pence up for being too honest! But what really bothers me isn't Pence. It is the whole damn cult of vengeful, irrational wackos who have nothing but hatred for their country. And want to to destroy Trump for being a patriot who defends the Constitution. So we HAVE TO JAIL ALL TRUMP'S POLITICAL OPPONENTS. Throw these America-hating radical whackos in jail! Lock em up! Now! Bill Barr, Republican Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, Republican Acting Attorney General Richard Donoghue, Republican Acting Deputy Attorney General; John Ratcliffe, Republican Director Of National Intelligence Chris Krebs, Republican CISA Director Pat Cipollone, Republican White House Counsel Mike Shirkey, Republican Michigan Senate Majority Leader Lee Chatfield, Republican Michigan House Speaker Rusty Bowers, Republican Arizona House Speaker Brad Raffensperger, Repulican Georgia Sec. of State. Every one of these America hating whacko dick heads told Trump he lost the 2020 election. Just like that disgustingly honest Mike Pence! These people treated the Constitution like toilet paper. Of course we need to LOCK THEM UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can i join the private member boards? Lol

There's a betting pool going on about when it's going to be your turn, on one of the private member boards. I'm not as optimistic as others, since I know you.... But I've picked "accident" while drunk within 2 years. Some of the other ones are quite creative.....

You can use the Rabbit card at some stores. I believe including 7/11. And if you started eating KFC you could use it there as well. And yes, many Asian cities allow you to use their IC cards in convenience stores and restaurants. MRT's implementation of contactless payment should also be possible to implement on the others. That is spreading to systems all over the world.

Bangkok could have kept its status as a hub connecting incoming travellers from Europe, Japan, Korea, China, India and Australia to various destinations in southeast Asia and to each other of these further regions. If it had, Thai would have had good use of the A380s. Basically, Thai failed to keep up with its regional competitors such as Singapore Airlines. The latter flies 14 A380s according to a quick websearch I did. It just shows how bad the management of Thai has been.

one doesn't try, one doesn't know

You mean not all are to visit Grand Palace , Wat Arun and Reclining Buddha at Wat Po? I'm shocked.

I notice, when you drive in to Suvarnabhumi, there are rows of Thai planes just lined up, including A380s and 747s. There have been there so long, without any maintenance, that the fuselage colours have faded! Let alone the fact that Bangkok is one of the worst places to store aircraft, humidity, rain, etc. Just shows incompetence of the airline.

From Thai Enquirer Thai Airways International Plc (THAI) has announced that it was selling its fleet of A380 as it would cost more than a billion Baht each to fix the aircraft that has been lying idle for more than 2-years. The fleet of A380 were grounded after the outbreak of Covid-19 and THAI has a fleet of 8 aircraft. Globally A380 are being retired as A350 and Boeing’s 787 are starting to replace the 4 engine A380 that consumes a lot more fuel than the A350 and 787 that can fly the same distance but just on 2 engines.

As I said, I'm sure it's all been carefully planned in advance. Interesting though that the the generals agree with a pardon. I am assuming they do, as otherwise it would not be possible to go through with it. Mind you Thaksin is a very wealthy man!

+1 Don't know how I missed that first time around.

mine is Jupiter but not for reasons OP stated

From Thai PBS World Thaksin submits application for royal clemency Convicted former prime minister Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who recently began serving an 8-year prison term and is currently receiving medical treatment in the Police General Hospital in Bangkok, has already submitted a petition for royal clemency. Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said today (Thursday) that he has already received the request and will examine the details before forwarding it to the prime minister. Wissanu added that he does not know if it will be handled by this administration or the next. Procedurally, a prime minister will forward such petitions to the King. On August 28, however, the Thai Pakdee party submitted a petition to Corrections Department’s director general, opposing any attempt by Thaksin to seek a royal pardon. Anand Sakorncharoen, treasurer of Thai Pakdee, said that, the petition is based on the fact that Thaksin has four convictions for corruption, which gravely damaged the country’s governance and reputation. “Thaksin also evaded punishment for long time by fleeing abroad, clearly showing that he does not respect the country’s justice system. “Therefore, Thaksin’s petition for a royal pardon would “bother” the King,” Anand said. Thaksin’s petition, if granted, would be unjust and emphasise legal and social inequality in the country, he said. It would also confirm the axiom that, in Thailand, prison is just for the poor. Furthermore, the party noted that there are two pending charges against Thaksin in court, so Thaksin should be tried on those charges before being able to seek Royal clemency.

Unheard of, indeed.

Excellent summary. Corruption was a big issue years ago, as you say. Thai bought significant numbers of every possible type of plane from different manufacturers. All competing against each other. Not just maintenance issues but training and personnel. One further general point. Thai business class lagged behind other airlines for years. Fairly recently I was in a Thai 747, Sydney to Bangkok, business, seats from 20 years before, limited recline, only. I vowed never to use them again.

Is it much easier in Mexico? What is the requirements there for long stay ?

Omg! Honey, pls don't mention Carnaval in this thread. I think everyone should experience that event at least once. Yassssss! The airbnbs are triple the price. The wait times at the saunas are long, but baby the sexy hunks with big dicks who who travel from all over brazil and converge in Rio Is sooooo worth it. In my slutty opinion. But I'm a whore and the only crime that I've experienced in Brazil, especially during Carnaval is PRE-MEDITATED MUREDER on my hole. Countdown to BRAZIL #88 DAYS!

However despite our hopes, I have been formally notified, by Bangkok Airways, that my flights will be to/from new airport.

about time

It was 2007 Thks for the link. It was indeed 16 years ago and at that time : "O programa custava de R$ 30 a R$ 50"

Boston has January listed also....

Wow, that was some detective work, and make me feels much older, can't believe it was that long ago, lol

At your age, you should've picked up a 2nd language by now, something other than snobbish 🙄