PeterRS

I can fully understand your reasoning. Yet sometimes it is too easy to place blame on a people rather than a regime. I abhor what Russia is doing - and has done in other places like Chechnya - and I loathe dictators like Putin and their regimes. But that does not mean I use a broad brush and also loathe Russians, Chinese, Iranians and others living under similar regimes. I have met very few Russians, but spent two weeks travelling in Iran in 2018 when I met many Iranians. I found all extremely friendly, many very cultured and all utterly loathed the regime they had to live under. I have lost count of the number of times I have been to China over 4 decades visiting and making friends with people from Harbin in the far north east to Zhuhai in the far south next to Macao. The older Chinese tell tales from their grandparents of the disasters of the 20th century and compare these with the relative wealth of life today. They tolerate the regime that has radically improved their lives, but few actually like it.

Odd argument. And what of America? How many different ethnicities? How about the UK which not only has ethnic Scots, Welsh, Irish and perhaps some English, although there is Viking and French blood throughout the UK.

You err. The Khmer Rouge taking over Phnom Penh were hardened soldiers of the Pol Pot regime. When I was in Russia in 2011 and 2013, the young men I saw were students - not soldiers.

Russia lost roughly haf the total. That represented more than half of all Soviet deaths. On the basis of per head of population, Armenia, Latvia and Ukraine lost a fraction more but Belarus suffered by far the most. The other 10 Soviet states suffered considerably less than Russia. I thought Belarus was an ally of Russia. Only Ukraine is presently terrorized by Russia. Armenia has banned Russian imports and would arrest Putin if he entered the country. Latvia is a member of the EU.

Thai Insurance policy that covers overseas. The overseas limits are smaller than required for most countries and so i top it up with simple one-trip travel policies. I used to have an annual travel policy but the premiums jumped to a level I felt unnecessary.

The same way that most of the Chinese leadership never acknowledged the atrocities Mao inflicted on China with 30 million or so Chinese dying as a result of his various campaigns - including Let A Hundred Flowers Bloom, The Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. Yet it is estimated that less than a milion died during Stalin's purges. Even adding those who died of hunger and the estimate is little more than 5 million. Granted, two blacks don't make a whilte. But it's not unreasonable to make comparisons. I have been to Russia six times - 3 during the Soviet era and 3 much more recently in 2011 and 2013. Moscow and St. Petersburg in the 1980s were basically drab with large numbers on the streets trying to sell their household goods to get some cash. One group of youths even offered to buy the jeans I was wearing. My last three visits were like chalk and cheese. Both cities were fascinating, lively and with some stunning guys. At a Conference in Moscow, along with three fellow delegates (all gay!) we went one evening to the bar at the top of the Swissotel with its stunning views of Moscow. Equally stunning were the waiters and the boys manning the bar. Our waiter told us that all his colleagues were Russians but the barmen were Czech. Every one would have been extremely beddable! In St. Petersburg in 2013 I was with a dear friend from London. One day we ventured to the gorgeous Catherine Palace. The subway passes a Technical College. Once again most of the young guys looked extremely attractive. I thought one was smiling at me (wishful thinking no doubt!) but my friend is a lady and so my smile back was little more than weak! But when we talk about Russia and atrocities, we should never forget that without Russia the outcome of WWII might have been very different. We should also never forget that 27 million Russians died in that war, compared to little more than 400,000 each Americans and British. We tend today to think only of the 6 million Jews massacred by Hitler. Russia's contribution was vital to the allies winning that war.

The fact that Pheu Thai has reneged on its election promise not to ally itself to any military party (there are 2 military backed parties in its coalition) is already causing anger around the country.

I cannot imagine living in a 'new' country and ending up lonely and bored, no matter how attractive some of its other benefits. Earlier in the thread, @omega mentioned the effect of AIDS on the psyche of those who lived through that pandemic at a time when friends, acquaintances and sometimes lovers died horrible deaths while those of us sexually active at that time managed to escape. My guess is that almost all have managed to move on despite the losses and the feelings of survivor guilt. I know of two, though, who were never able to shake off the tragedy of those years, such was the effect on their personal lives. One could never form another close relationship, and he himself lived for another 27 years. Thankfuly I have quite a full life. When on my own, as is probably obvious from the length of my posts 😵 (!) I spend quite a lot of time writing. This has resulted in three books so far with a fourth hopefully about to find a publisher. They don't make more than beer money, but it's a hobby that I have found surprisingly interesting and absorbing. I suggest one problem for retirees in Thailand (and I mean in general rather than specifically in Pattaya) is that our visas not only prohibit any form of paid work, they prohibit all types of unpaid work - e.g. for charities. I would love to donate some of the skills I have learned in life to help a charity. That seems to me not just a productive use of time but a way of getting to know more people, some of whom might become friends. As for healthcare, that is a real problem for anyone who did not take out a policy prior to age 65. Even then, though, apart from small annual increases, the major jump every five years do raise premiums very substantially. I did have to downgrade and pay less for leser benefits. I have started using the public King Chulalongkorn Hospital where costs are a fraction of the private hospitals. That by no means reduces the quality of care. A doctor I occasionally see spends three days a week at KCH and the rest of the week at Bumrungrad. I recently required a retina check. The consultant I saw was a Professor of Retinology who works at KCH just two evenings every fortnight. Both doctors were excellent. But anyone who is living here without some form of health policy is playing a dangerous form of roulette IMHO.

I totally agree about John McCain. That man was a hero and it is sad that he seems almost forgotten now. Or is that merely the view of one who does not live in the USA? I think I should clarify one point in my earlier post. The reason the USA did not put pressure on France to stay out of Indo-China after WWII was partly a due to the French leader, General de Gaulle. He leaned heavily on Truman by suggesting that if France was not permitted back to its Asian colonies it would allow Soviet troops to enter France and extend Soviet influence to the Atlantic. That would have been anathema to the Washington establishment and so it bent to the lesser of two evils, even though de Gaulle was a master bluffer. Much as I love the mix of French and Vietnamese cuisine and some of the architecture, we should be in no doubt about the atrocities committed by the French. @Moses mentiones the Museum in HCM. Everyone visiting Hanoi should spend some time at the Museum there. Chilling!

It would be great fun. But a closed frontage is not going to stop the BIB. Some other owner will get pissed off at the custom that bar is attracting and submit an anonymous tip. And that will lead to an anonymous raid. Hope I'm wrong, though.

I bought a 2 bed 2 bath unit in Bangkok in 1999. I had no other property and so it was primarily for longer term retirement while being rented in the meantime. Fortunately the market was low following the Asian Economic Crisis and I got a top floor 82 sq.m. apartment in a new condo in a very quiet residential district very close to the centre of the city for 2.8 million. It has a pool, sauna, gym and excellent mangement team. Having rented - usually, thankfully, with employers paying the rent - during the previous 20 or so years I wanted a place of my own with my own furniture and fittings. Being the top floor, I had the roof insulated which keeps the temperature no warmer than in floors below. As we sit on the balcony having drinks, we have a great mostly green view with almost no traffic noise. I'm told it's now worth about 175% more than I paid. Not a great return but you have to factor in the dot.com bubble, the SARS downturn and the 2008 financial crisis. Plus I ended up living here far earlier in 2002. So I have not had to pay rent which for this area would have been at least 7 million over 20 years. Total management fees have totalled around 850,000. The flat took a long time to find, but I've been extremely happy living in this area and having my own property.

I wonder why you think that. Chinese are not going to travel in anything like their pre-covid numbers for several years. Too many Chinese are still trying to make up income lost during covid. On top of that the Chinese economy is in serious trouble. In turbulent times Chinese save rather than spend. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/21/economy/china-economy-troubles-intl-hnk/index.html

I have never been on a mega- or mini-mega cruise and cannot imagine going near one of these behemoths, even with a bunch of friends. The Silver Wind had 300 passengers and the other two ships I was on had less than 600. Best was I did not pay a cent since my friend was a lecturer and had free accommodation. I merely used air miles to get to the ports of departure. Although lecturers were classed as "entertainers" and should have been consigned to the bottom level of cabins, my friend knew the hotel managers and we were upgraded twice to suites with balconies. But I would still not take another cruise.

I really wonder how true this now is. Until about 4 years ago, the 800,000 minimum had to be in the bank account for 3 months. Immigration demanded a copy of the bankbook updated on the date of application to check this. (All major banks have ATM machines in the basement at the immigration Department for this purpose). I can't imagine visa agents would be prepared to cough up 800,000 for 3 whole months. If I am correct, then it must have been crook Immigration officers who turned a blind eye to this mandatory requirement in return for a substantial brown envelope. But the situation now is even more of a problem for those taking the 800,000 route. I made a slight error in an earlier post. I believe now the requirement is that 800,000 must be in the bankbook for 2 complete months prior to the date of appication PLUS 3 months following that date. Thereafter the amount goes down to a mandatory 400,000 for 7 months. In the first year, a retiree can obviously get away without those 3 additional months. But if another year is required, the total of 5 months is essential. Again I cannot see agents lending retirees that amount of cash for such a long period, but perhaps I am wrong. I think the big concern for all existing retirees is that the amounts of 65,000 monthly/ 800,000 annually have been in place for many years. Given that Thailand Elite is raising its fees by at least 50% and some senior Immigration officers have been calliing for higher payments from retirees, how likely is it that these amounts will continue to remain at these levels? The outrage and anger shown by existing Elite members when told existing benefits would be unilaterally withdrawn did result in the Elite organisation facing an embarrassing climb down. As one who took the 800,000 route prior to becoming an Elite basic member 3 years ago, I think I might now be concerned. No amount of retiree outrage will change a future government decision if that raises annual retiree payments, of that I am 99% sure.

I think perhaps we have a tendency to forget that some will have retired here in the late 1990s/early 2000s - maybe with a nest egg pre-full retirement and the start of a pension. And the Thailand they then knew and loved has changed dramatically during the intervening years. It's not just the bars - although the changes there have been radical. The country has been through major political and inflationary changes. For what I expect is a good few, it is no longer the same country. I have written some time ago about two English expats who moved in to the apartment next to me around 2002. Neither had more than a small state pension but one had been left a considerable amount of money in his mother's will. So they decided to retire to Asia, a continent they hardly knew. At first they fancied Singapore as they had been there before. Once their one year rental was up, they knew the city state was far too expensive for them. So they moved into a studio flat off Saladaeng in the hope of finding somewhere suitable in Bangkok. Eventually they did. My building has several apartment sizes. For whatever reason, they purchased by far the largest at over 200 sq. meters with 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, kitchen and huge living room - for what I believe was then around 7 million baht. They lived quite frugally, hardly ever travelled, cooked their own meals. One really enjoyed nightly visits to Telephone Bar, but only for a drink and to chat to expat friends. The other would troll around Silom Complex hoping to meet up with guys from time to time. But like many, after the financial crisis of 2008, their nest egg had reduced more than expected. At that time they should have seen the writing on the wall. If they did, they just decided to do nothing about it. By around 2012, though, they realised they had to sell the apartment. But such a big space in a quiet residential district quite far from public transport is too large for most Thais. Even with a number of Embassies and Consulates nearby, it is also too big for their staff. Thus the apartment remained unsold for 3 years. When they did manage to sell it, instead of the 13 million they wanted, they let it go for 9.3 million. It went to a middle-aged expat. After a year he decided he did not like it much and put it on the market. Unlike the two previous owners, he gave it to Thai rather than expat agents to sell. Pretty soon he got 16 million for it! Those property woes aside, the two expats idiotically moved into another large rented flat, still not far from Telephone. Soon they were in serious financial trouble. By 2019 I expect they bribed agents to come up with the 1.6 million they needed for annual visa renewals. Then something went seriously wrong. Exactly what, I never found out. But within 3 months of getting those renewals, they were unable to pay their rent. Soon they were borrowing money from anyone who would lend them anything. Next it was begging for money for food. Over the next 6 months from roughly November until the next visa renewal in May, the landlord cut off all water and electricity. When the visas could not be renewed, it took Immigration just a few days to locate them, put them into custody and then deport them. Since neither had any form of accommodation in the UK, I hate to think what happened to them. Both were in their mid-80s. A cautionary tale, to be sure. But it illustrates how some visa dodgers can now be quickly located.

This is very true and I have seen it more times than I care to remember. But then I have lived here more than 2 decades. As I have posted elsewhere, i never intended to move to Bangkok until retirement, even though I had purchased a condominium in 1999. With the finances of my small business in Hong Kong crashing through the floor when the effects of the Asian Economic Crisis hit Hong Kong last, I virtually had no option but to move to Bangkok and run the business from here. That actually worked far better than I expected even with almost monthly commuting and I kept busy with that till around 2017 when I finally closed it. For much of the time since then I have had a partner which means life is never boring. I also do some freelance work overseas. We have a small circle of close friends, two of whom I knew for decades in Hong Kong. So what with a bit of work, socialising and reasonably regular travel, I keep myself quite busy. If I had to live here on a minimum income and depend on money boys for company, I certainly would suffer from crashing boredom and loneliness. All I can add is that i knew Bangkok and Thailand extremely well before I decided to move here. I would always suggest that anyone even remotely thinking about moving here first come here for at least two extended visits of several months each. Get rid of the illusionary glitz and glamour of the country before considering moving to settle down here.

Agreed. Please spare a thought, though, for pensioners of the UK government. When I left the UK decades ago, I was promised a full government pension if I continued my contributions to what was then called the National Insurance Fund whilst overseas. I did so. I completed the full payment over the 30 or so years I spent abroad. And what do i discover has happened without any government department informing me? If you live overseas for 6 years or more, your pension is frozen from the time you start taking it! Anyone with a UK pension taken out since around 2009 will probably not have suffered much with inflation so low. But they will certainly be hit hard now. I believe this is less true now. As I understand the law, agents cannot certify a pension. Only the relevant Consulate can do that. So agents usually opted for the 800,000 annual route. But with those funds having to be held in an account for a minimum of 2 months prior to application and to remain there for a minimum of 3 months thereafter, I suspect it is now more crook Immigration officials who are bribed to look the other way.

Vietnam remains very much in the present in most of our memories. Much of the rest is history, a tiny part of which is slowly being rectified through formal apologies and, in the UK at least, the tearing down of statues devoted to those who made fortunes from the slave trade. As for Vietnam, it is fact that both Roosevelt and Truman did not respond to Ho Chi Minh's urgent requests by letter to ensure the French did not return to continue its brutal regime in post-war Vietnam. After all, the USA was staunchly anti-colonial and Ho was a nationalist. Yet the USA did not put pressure on France as it did on other colonial countries. Considering the Vietnamese had been fighting on the sie of the Allies in WWII, this was essentially a major slap in the face. The war which folowed was essentially between the North Vietnamese and the French, one which the French lost miserably. After the Geneva Accords splitting country in the middle, the USA retained its influence over South Vietnam whilst Ho was further thrown into the Chinese and Russian camps. The US disaster in Vietnam was the result of failures in the Sate Department, a failed foreign policy, incompetence at a military level and a resultant war which was the result of a lie to Congress. Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos may now be at peace. But many of the older generations remember the horrors of those years. All based on a false premise - the domino theory. Should Iraq be added to the list? Another country first supported by the US who then turned against it on grounds which were at best spurious, resulting in a country which remains a disaster and gave rise to one of the most evil sects in ISIS.

And that has precisely what to do with Vietnam now? Nothing!

It's the law! When Interior Minister Purachai launched his Social Order campaign in the early 2000s, he introduced nightllife zoning and restricted certain areas for 'fun' activites. I believe Jomtien Complex is not one of the areas. In this respect, one would assume that monthly fat brown envelopes would satisfy the BIB. But with so many bars clustered in one area, if one is allowed to get away with go-go type activity, others will either complain and have it shut down or will also want to get in on the act. The latter, I expect, would draw the attention of the athorities and almost immediate closures.

I always wonder how these guys get their retirement visas because the minimum monthly inward remittance from a recognised pension scheme or social security by law has to be 65,000. About 4 years ago there was a big fuss among many of the retirees when the immigration Department decided too many retirees were getting visas illegally when going the lump sum annual 800,000 route. Although this was supposed to be in the bank account for a minimum of 2 or 3 months prior to applying for the next year's visa, we were informed that in future the 800.000 had to be locked untouched in a bank account for 7 months with a reduction to 400,000 permitted for the remaining 5. Have one satang less - bye bye visa. The rationale for this move was that there were too many crook agents and Immigration officers. So rather than clean out the mess in the Augean Stables, the Director of Immigration put the onus on to retirees. Unless those living on 43,000 have been saving part of their 65,000 monthly remittances, I can only assume that they took advantage of the crooks to obtain their annual visa renewals. The idiocy of the Immigration Department has recently again been seen with the scandal of the withdrawal of certain key benefits from the Thailand Elite 5-year Easy Access membership. Given 3 weeks to make key decisions involving a considerable cash outlay or find oneself without the possibility of renewing for 15 extra years, there was a huge outcry with on one day a near riot at the office of Thailand Elite on Sathorn. The end result of that idiotic decision was that less than 24 hours before the self-imposed deadline, Thailand Elite withdrew the decision. We are told that the upcoming reorganistion of the Elite programme is also partly to get rid of crook agents and Immigration officers! So what have those clowns been doing over the last 4 years? Look more closely and we note that as early as February 1 questions were raised in parliament that there are already too many of the Chinese triads who have inflitrated the country by purchasing the Elite visas. This time it may not be the Immigration officials at fault since they have no jurisdiction overseas. But why have international criminal records not been checked? When I first applied overseas for the O-A visa prior to obtaining a retirement visa, I had to go to the police for a certificate confirming I had no police record. Why one rule for not very wealthy retirees and another for mega-rich Chinese criminals?

Yesterday Qatar's limited time offer of 10% off fares from Thailand ended. This morning i had an email from the airline offering up to 12% off for premium fares. Checking flights I want for next year, the discount was just over 11%. I expect further discounts in the months to come (but only judging by previous years).

Would it not be more likely that it is dependent on Pheu Thai having the upper hand in the new parliament - should that ever actually be sworn in?

Royal Caribbean has revealed artist's renderings of its latest mega-ship/restort, the Icon of the Seas. When its stern section was unveiled - - it instantly became viral with many expressing the same thoughts that I have - ghastly in the extreme. A "monstrosity", a "pile of decadence", "intrically tacky and vulgar." Some compared it to a vision of hell. When it sets sail on its maiden voyage in January it will be the largest passenger ship afloat with almost 10,000 passengers and crew. The image of the ship has not been helped by being described as "5 times bigger than the Titanic." Not only did that mega-ship end up at the bottom of the ocean on its maiden voyage, the recent implosion of the underwater vessel taking paying passengers to see the wreck can not have helped. The candy colours make the ship seem like Barbie's home from home while others suggest that so many crammed into one space will feel very claustrophobic. I guess if it was for occasional gay cruises, it might be a huge best seller. And for families it will no doubt be a success. But you won't get me anywhere close to it. I have been fortunate to be a non-paying passeenger on three cruises, thanks to invitations from my long-time best friend. In the summers he lectured aboard vessels, but only the small top of the line ones like Silver Sea and Seabourn. When his wife could not accompany him, he would always invite me to join him for part of a cruise. With a bottle of champagne put in the cabin fridge every morning and free booze in the bars, they were mostly very enjoyable if for a week or so. But I found a 17 day cruise around the Caribbean and then 1,600 kms up the Amazon to Manaus way too long, even though a highight was visiting the Opera House built in Manaus by the rubber barons at the end of the 19th century and featured in the movie Fitzcarraldo. But as a Royal Caribbean spokesman said of Icon of the Seas, "“That ship’s gonna take in $10 million a week.” https://edition.cnn.com/travel/viral-icon-of-the-seas-cruise-ship-photo/index.html

If not, at age 39 he seriously has problems! I'd imagine he's as proud and erect as 20 years ago.