NIrishGuy

So the lesson seems to be here that before entering into any dangerous or possibly even illegal shennanigans in our room with anyone before sure to tickle them first to illicit a strong "hehehe" reaction, resulting in you being able to check are there six burly policemen hiding behind your curtains or not ! Ok, got it, thanks lol

OR a 40 minute "moan" if you picked the wrong Soit 4 local Thai companion to bring back and you decided to walk it as you fancied a wee "dander" in the night air before bed and he cried all the way back with you about "OMG, why you no not get us a motobike, your hotel too far for walking, how much further o your hotel anyway - as I never been there yet so I dont know it !!" Yeah RIGHT SURE you haven't ! lol

To be fair to the Thai police that seems to be reasonable police work for a change in finding the the suspects and the body, albeit a little too late perhaps for the poor victim of course.

The receptionist did nothing wrong, assuming she handled things in a professional discrete way and didn't scream her question all over the lobby then she's both entitled to ask and also should be congratulated for bothering. in an way you should consider yourself lucky as it makes a change from the opposite where my BF gets asked in gay bars "so, where did you dig HIM up from!' 🙂

Although considering over the years that n some of the cases having been 'investigated" by the police where the jumpee's live in (Thia) lover or overnight companion had both been in the room, with the safe being left open and empty and the jumpee's wallet having being emptied too along with the smashed with clear signs of a struggle and STILL "no crime was suspected" it seems the bar, historically anyway, was usually set quite low for finding much evidence of anything other than suicide anyway!

A lazy insult and slur on all Irish people there of course as the wake ( as the name implies) is a centuries old traditional, designed to allow sufficient time for the family to ensure that deceased was actually dead, this being before the presence of medical professionals of course mainly - and a wake is and was applied to all people that died here, young and old, male and female alike, with all of those people dying of course from many various ailments that can kill people. So it certainly wasn't and isn't just to ensure 'the man wasn't just drunk" as you suggested.

Re the UK and possible overstays etc I douby the UK Government will have to worry too much as any Thai I know who has ever visited the UK generally cant wait to get home again after seeing what it is they've arrived to ! This relates to longer stays relating to visiting BF's etc perhaps more than a quick two week holiday perhaps - but even if I'm wrong some Thai's decide to overstay - personally I think that would be a positive net result not a negative one, especially based on what other nations are rocking up on our shores illegally these days perhaps.

They were stupid enough to get caught !

Re Frankie Vallie still touring - makes you wonder just HOW big that debt was that he took on when agreeing to pay of Mob's 'loan" back then if the poor guy is STILL having to tour at 89 ?! Oh well, at least he doesn't have to actually sing to much as it seems most of his tours have been lessons in lip syncing for several years now - and why not I say, poor man is entitled to a rest ! 😉

Yep and having had a family member die this very week from picking up a simple infection when in hospital which turned into sepsis - and this after they were flooded with just about every antibiotic humanly possible, I can confirm that antibiotics certainly aren't a get out of jail free card any longer 😞

Yeah they might - right after they've finished paying for the wall !!! Oh no wait.....funny how that all seemed to just quietly disappear eh and all you hear is Trump shouting about what a great deal he got for the plane, but strangely the wall is never mentioned anymore.

Yep, ok, I think you can safely assume that £ rather than a $ was a simple error on my part as we were talking about Air Force One of course.

As with all these things no doubt the final figures will be well and truly fudged to ensure that everyone both saves face AND ends up with a nice healthy profit into the bargain. No doubt a bill of £3.2 billion WILL be presented and paid so the Government can show how hard they had negotiated with their supplier - and then a month or two after that a few quiet bills for "the supply of napkins" or "supply of replacement carpet as ordered" or " repainting of edgings" or some other bullshit bills will be quietly presented and processed for another Billion or two here or there ! They must think we the public don't KNOW their crafty games.

Likewise same happened to me on one of very first trips to Bkk many moons ago, where the guy I was with had apparently recorded me / us at various times, both clothed and not and sure enough when done and he tried to do me over for WAY more money then would ever be acceptable to any of us. Then he then turned nasty of ocurse, telling me that he knew the hotel staff and could get my home address details and threatened to send all the pics plus details of "what we'd gotten up to" straight to my "wife" !! I think my howls of laughter and my firm "ha you go right ahead, this should be interesting considering I'm single and gay" threw him somewhat. But it was quite obvious that this was a game he'd played many times before, obviously factoring in that if even just 20% of his customers WERE straight men perhaps "experimenting or playing away from home" then they'd probably be more than happy to pay up whatever he asked just to avoid the risk. Pleased to say that this was after some great sex and after his vain attempts at blackmail he left ( almost) empty handed with the hotel staff throwing him onto the street after him throwing over a few light fittings and things in the room all o try and intimidate me. He then threatening to "find me" no matter where I was in Thailand ! ( although looking back now that probably wouldn't have been that difficult to achieve if he had of actually wanted to of course !) Interestingly, we bumped into each other in DJ Station a few years later and he actually apologised and admitted it had been a bad time in his life and he'd been on a lot of drugs etc and asked would I accept a beer along with his apology ( which I did) and we parted the best of friends and have actually bumped into each other a few times since and always stop to say hi and catch up. Ha I sometime wish I'd of asked him a copy of whatever pics he said he had so I could look back on them fondly in my dotage but alas that moment has passed 🙂

So me sitting here in the UK at 54 year of age and with no real plan to retire to Thailand but thinking "but maybe, some day that might happen and so why apply for an Elite NOW ( fast) and also immediately upgrade it to the 20 year option just to keep the option open". BUT on reading this thread then also realising that the Elite visa office / Thai Government could ( and probably will) move the goalposts again at ANY time and many times over that period, with as PeterRS has already pointed out zero regard for existing holders (as they seem to be doing already here) so now thinking "so what's the point in risking that money". and I'd just be better letting things roll and deal with things as they are a the time I'd ever think of moving there - or am I wrong ?