Police state squeeze for Thailand’s expatriates

[Lone Star]

The Philippines... it's a fiscal, moral and cultural basket case compared to Thailand.

Unless one is planning only drinking beer and chasing pussy of course. Then it still takes the biscuit.... but only just.

Agree.

The Phils were where I looked first to retire. High poverty rate, high crime, cultural cuisine not so good at all, and everything else you mentioned, tamada.

Not to mention the tropical storms and no escape from them. I was tired of running from storms after living on the US Gulf Coast for so many years. Squatter shacks lined up as far as the eye can see along the airport runway in Manila hooking up to electricity.

I wouldn't go back even to visit.

[jackspratt]

I must say in my 12+ years of living here, apart from the plunging A$ and a lot more speed cameras on the roads, I have noticed only improvement.

The roads are (generally) better and safer; the roadside pop-up 2 man police scams have disappeared; the shopping is way better; far wider choice eating out; immigration is more professional, if a bit more tedious; airfares are down, down, down and choice much better; utilities such as electricity, water, internet, mobile phone have improved out of sight; medical services (that I require) are more readily accessible; etc, etc ..........

What hasn't changed much is the chaotic political situation - which I have learnt to pretty much ignore as I can't affect it in any way; and I have not noticed any change in the way I interact with the locals and vice versa.

parrot - I'll get the glasses back to you asap.

[Shado]

I fully concur. Have also been here for a dozen plus years and agree with your observations and assessments. We still have a home in the States and visit for a couple of months every so often but returning to Udon Thani always feels comfortable.

[fatbob]

The Philippines... it's a fiscal, moral and cultural basket case compared to Thailand.

Unless one is planning only drinking beer and chasing pussy of course. Then it still takes the biscuit.... but only just.

You quite clearly have not traveled to all the beautiful places in the Philippines, your comment is controlled by the bar scene and not the scenery on offer, easy to converse with people that have a good command of english, this allows humour and conversation, something Thailand lacks unless you are a fluent Thai speaker.

[saint]

I must say in my 12+ years of living here, apart from the plunging A$ and a lot more speed cameras on the roads, I have noticed only improvement.

The roads are (generally) better and safer; the roadside pop-up 2 man police scams have disappeared; the shopping is way better; far wider choice eating out; immigration is more professional, if a bit more tedious; airfares are down, down, down and choice much better; utilities such as electricity, water, internet, mobile phone have improved out of sight; medical services (that I require) are more readily accessible; etc, etc ..........

What hasn't changed much is the chaotic political situation - which I have learnt to pretty much ignore as I can't affect it in any way; and I have not noticed any change in the way I interact with the locals and vice versa.

parrot - I'll get the glasses back to you asap.

I totally agree with you Jack . Vast improvements in pretty much everything , and a lot easier to live here for westerners regarding getting falang foods . Everyman and his dog seems to stock something or the other .
I also agree about the locals , when i first moved into my house as the only farang in the village , a few were a little bit aloof , but i put that down to shyness and not being snubbed .
Now pretty much everyone says hello from the old biddies to the kids riding their bikes to school .
They all seem to know the word hello .

[mally]

"You quite clearly have not traveled to all the beautiful places in the Philippines, your comment is controlled by the bar scene and not the scenery on offer, easy to converse with people that have a good command of english, this allows humour and conversation, something Thailand lacks unless you are a fluent Thai speaker."

Agree completely, having been to the PI several times, I found the City life to be well below the standard of Thailand, and the presence of gun toting Mall security guards and Bank guards quite off putting. Also being warned off certain areas by my Hotel door staff, along with them vetting and recording details of any taxi driver I used from the hotel, is an indicator of how dangerous some areas can be.
But, travel out of the Cities, (I went to South of Cebu) and the coast was pristine, everyone was so welcoming and helpful (it helps that most people speak really good English) and I had the most relaxing time and enjoyable company (No, not P4P type), I really enjoyed this area more than anywhere I have been in Thailand.
The food was different, but I enjoy the variety, and it was certainly a lot less money to dine out than Thailand.
I didn't need medical care (thankfully) but my Aussie mate who relocated there from Udon Thani tells me that it is not up to Thai standards, and that it is the only thing he misses.

So, Pro's and Con's, you pays your money and make your choice, for most of you I believe a Thai family will be the biggest factor in making any decision.

[the-monk]

<< tamada wrote: ↑August 28, 2019, 12:25 am
The Philippines... it's a fiscal, moral and cultural basket case compared to Thailand.>>
I do NOT promote the PH and i do NOT put down Thailand.. Just for comparison sake...
From my own experience in the Pangasinan, Lingayen Dagupan area.. Not Manila or the beach country.
PH fiscal basket case...... In the PH..all transactions provided with written receipts, from tax dept to land dept etc... How many million Thai pay proper income tax? Where is the land tax ?
PH a moral basket case.... i would say not worse not better than Thailand.
Please see graph below.
PH cultural basket case ...... How can anyone say that ? What CULTURAL events would falang attend in Thailand or in the PH ? How do you define the Thai or PH culture ? IMHO the PH has longer and better culture than most of new world, North America, Australia, NZ. How many people would move to Nebraska ( just an example ), for its cultural life ?
Nation Thailand Feb 04 2017.
[attachment=0]CORR.jpeg[/attachment]

[fatbob]

My views, observations and opinions are based on working here in construction for eighteen years and the past four years travelling around this country every six weeks for a week or more a time, not sitting in my village of Phen, I am now in my mid fifties.

The infrastructure has improved ten fold, the roads are in good condition with the exception of Udon to Khon Kaen. The roads are heaps better however the attitude of the drivers has not improved, it is ten times worse, with better roads speed has increased and a dangerous attitude with it regarding road rage and sitting 2 inches from your back wheel running you off the road, a recent survey was carried out with Thai drivers, 1 in 3 believe in fate, meaning the accident they had wasn't because they were speeding in the wet, looking at there phone sending messengers, from the day they were born that accident was going to happen then and there due to fate.... If you want to argue with a Thai driver be well aware a hell of a lot now carry guns, not just in the Philippines...

Electricity is much better now, but a few months ago it went up 30%, ours still go's off in storms and randomly. Water for me no change. Medical is ok if insured and in the private system, god help you if your in the public system and low on funds. Eighteen years ago getting a work permit was a pain and the last time I did four years ago it was still a pain and exactly the same procedure. With a work permit and paying high income tax, 48%, you receive nothing, a farang alien. Now with the visa situation, TM30, possible compulsory medical insurance, outpatient and inpatient, and the general tightening of laws, fancy having to report when you travel within the country... an ankle bracelet will be next. I have inpatient insurance but do not want the expense of outpatient how ever that will all change, on the rare occasion I see a Doc I would prefer to pay, that choice will be taken away.

In the local village where your known and accepted, due to the fact it's where your wife is from things are ok, however I would ask some how many good conversations have they had with locals in the village, apart from "buy me whiskey". get off the beaten path now and out of familiar territory there is genuine animosity towards westerners, I would say 15%, especially now in the 15 to 30 age bracket probably higher, before it was very rare to encounter, the Gov definitely has an anti farang attitude that is rubbing off onto the locals, as I'm sure also due to there dissatisfaction with the present system here.

Any way I'm here and will continue my road trips and enjoy it but it's not the same place, and if I was without family commitments I wouldn't be here.

[RLTrader]

Everyone sees the world around them differently, one would guess, think this has gone way off topic and is past time to close it for me.

[jackspratt]

For the past 7 years (and 20,000+ kms) I have been cycling around the Ban Dung amphur (and often further afield), with its 52 something villages. I ride with an English guy who has been doing the same for 12 years.

I have had the discussion with him, and he agrees - neither of us has ever encountered any hostility or overt negativity in that time when trundling through those villages, and along the dirt tracks past the fields and farms.

Just the opposite - the number of "bie nie", "sawadee khap", "good morning", "hello", "gin khao" (and the occasional "gin lao khao") from all ages has been overwhelming.

Perhaps some of you need to get out a bit more.

[tamada]

<< tamada wrote: ↑August 28, 2019, 12:25 am
The Philippines... it's a fiscal, moral and cultural basket case compared to Thailand.>>
I do NOT promote the PH and i do NOT put down Thailand.. Just for comparison sake...
From my own experience in the Pangasinan, Lingayen Dagupan area.. Not Manila or the beach country.
PH fiscal basket case...... In the PH..all transactions provided with written receipts, from tax dept to land dept etc... How many million Thai pay proper income tax? Where is the land tax ?
PH a moral basket case.... i would say not worse not better than Thailand.
Please see graph below.
PH cultural basket case ...... How can anyone say that ? What CULTURAL events would falang attend in Thailand or in the PH ? How do you define the Thai or PH culture ? IMHO the PH has longer and better culture than most of new world, North America, Australia, NZ. How many people would move to Nebraska ( just an example ), for its cultural life ?
Nation Thailand Feb 04 2017.
CORR.jpeg

You're not fooling anyone here. The PI ra-ra boys here are all into the single-mans, last-chance mongering with cheap beer and totty like they used to get 20 or 30 years ago. If the Filipino's are such good, honest tax payers, why is their infrastructure worse than Thailand's was 40 years ago? Yes, the Philippines is more than beer, blowjobs, rubbish roads and dismal food... but not much. I have worked there 4 times and agree with a previous poster on Cebu's peace and tranquility. Palawan was even better IMHO. However, to get anywhere, one still has to pass through the sphincters in Manila, Davao City, Cebu City and Puerto Princesa. I had one tour of duty in Mindanao and the security was akin to an earlier tour in Pakistan. If I want those kind of thrills, I can always fly down to Haadyai and spend a week or two looking for a nice beach in Pattani or a safe guesthouse in Yala.

[tamada]

Now it's being reported on the BBC.

TM30: The form getting expats in Thailand into a bureaucratic tangle

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-49470726

[GT93]

Here's a recently posted youtube vid about the Aussie exodus from Thailand:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVy8BOKJP6Y

The comments below the video are from heaps of chaps who've had enough of Thailand.

[jackspratt]

Scary video -in the sense of its ignorance and scaremongering.

And the comments are even worse. Its like a kindergarten level of Thai Visa.

[saint]

Ah , the joys of the digital highway .
Ive gotta go get a re entry permit next week , i will ask the if i have to report on my return back to Udon , or will the arrival card be good enough to let them know im back in the country , and report when my 90 day pulse check is due .

[tamada]

Here's a recently posted youtube vid about the Aussie exodus from Thailand:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVy8BOKJP6Y

The comments below the video are from heaps of chaps who've had enough of Thailand.

The most salient point is made within the first 4 seconds. No need to view the rest or read the comments IMHO.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie...

[GT93]

I agree on the impact of exchange rate movements. I thought the comments were entertaining. Quite a few ex-pats in Thailand are getting their knickers in a twist about this kerfuffle. I think if someone has previously had a run in with Immigration, that can really colour their views.

[parrot]

I agree on the impact of exchange rate movements. I thought the comments were entertaining. Quite a few ex-pats in Thailand are getting their knickers in a twist about this kerfuffle. I think if someone has previously had a run in with Immigration, that can really colour their views.

I'd tend to say, if someone read or heard about someone having a run in. The reality is most people don't.

[tamada]

I agree on the impact of exchange rate movements. I thought the comments were entertaining. Quite a few ex-pats in Thailand are getting their knickers in a twist about this kerfuffle. I think if someone has previously had a run in with Immigration, that can really colour their views.

What do you reckon qualifies as a "run in"? Getting the 'not enough photocopies' runaround? Being openly solicited for a bribe? Not getting one's change back? Or the current, totally unreasonable and arbitrary TM28/30 crime and punishment?