@Jonathan ********

I know Makro, but only go there occasionally.

@Jonathan ********

Yes, the smoked salmon version was the most expensive option.

@Jonathan ********

Sure. There are lots of options at all price levels. I don't want to create the impression I'm implying it's all street food or expensive with nothing in between. As you stated, in America it's much more expensive.

The bagels i had were stuffed; a real proper meal, if they had been plain bagels the cost would have been , but that wouldn't have been a meal.

@John *********

That is surprising; I've heard many people on long term extensions get one. A Thai driver's license is indeed good enough in most circumstances.

@Jeremy ********

For a blue book, you need to be a permanent resident. Anyone not on a PR visa can't be listed in a blue book only a yellow one.

@John *********

You can get a yellow book in many circumstances. Long-term visa extension holders are generally eligible. Not sure about DTV holders. Might depend on your amphoe.

Anonymous participant Well, if you're actually eligible for free DTV visa processing, this should apply in Laos as in any other country. Why would Laos be different? It depends on your nationality.

@Colin ********

I think you'll find traveling and spending a little bit of time in each of these countries to be quite straightforward and will be perfectly fine. Malaysia is nice for families as is Vietnam.

@Marcus ******

I've noticed that with Malaysia, if you're coming and going as a foreigner, particularly if you're from a wealthy Asian nation such as Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan or any western country, you can seemingly come and go without being stopped as long as you don't overstay.

This is why a Canadian YouTuber called Doug has been able to spend most of the last 2.5 years hopping back and forth between Malaysia and Indonesia. He spent Covid times in Thailand, but left in September 2022 and hasn't returned since.

In some of his earlier videos it became apparent that he didn't find Thais to be very friendly and thus he's not in any rush to get back here.

However, if he had been bouncing back and forth between Thailand and other countries without a visa since late 2022 and now he would have long been stopped and asked to get a visa. Thailand doesn't tolerate visa runners as much as Malaysia does, even if long-term visas are easier to acquire for Thailand compared to Malaysia.

Another advantage of Malaysia if you're a foreigner seeking work is, Malaysia offers more employment opportunities.

Thailand is almost like a clown show for foreigners seeking work here (excluding migrant workers who are permitted to work in many menial jobs) - I say this because a lot of the jobs available are for "face". Foreigners are hired purely to teach English speaking but aren't allowed to teach grammar, which is taught by Thai teachers. Few companies want to hire foreigners for anything else and if they do, they won't because of the stringent requirements to become eligible to hire a foreigner.

Thailand is thus a popular place for tourists, retirees and remote workers, all of whom have no interaction with the Thai workplace, because working styles and Thai bureaucracy often conflict with that of westerners.

I know many a westerner who has many bad things to say about working in Thailand, but found working in Cambodia to be quite pleasant. Or Vietnam, or basically any country but Thailand. The general consensus is that Thai administrators and bureaucrats hate foreigners or are jealous in such a way as to make them do something bad so they can be fired or something to that effect.

@Marcus ******

Yes, I've noticed the same. Also, like I pointed out, this same resentment towards westerners can now be found in Thailand, especially among older Thais but even among some of the younger and middle aged folk, in particular your more conservative types who are also more pro China and/or take reporting on foreigners behaving badly a little too seriously.

It's also not a stretch to say that many of the more educated Thais have noticed that many westerners in Thailand have very strong left wing political tendencies and are often expressing viewpoints that conflict with Thai cultural norms and are thus incompatible with Thai society (not saying Thailand doesn't respect free speech as such, but I am saying that Thai values are different to western liberal ones).

The reason why some foreigners may make the mistake of presuming Thais love westerners in general (which is not true) is because you don't see Thais being assertive and criticizing foreigners in public too much (we saw it a little during Covid but overall, it's not a very common thing). Online though, it's very common but of course most of the discourse is conducted in Thai, which few westerners understand. Thus, most westerners don't understand how Thais really feel about them.