Anonymous participant 306 711 doesn't stock Somersby ciders! In fact, you can't find Somersby anywhere in Thailand, only one brand of OKish Thai cider. I prefer something imported myself, but there is very little on offer. There is a French cider sold in Vietnam that isn't sold in Thailand. Why not? Because it's difficult to import things here that's why.

Foodland and Villa - decent product ranges, enormous, no. I'm looking for imported produce, I don't like Thai made stuff unless it's organic, artisanal etc otherwise, it's loaded with toxic additives and incidentally, Thai made artisanal stuff is often priced higher than imported equivalents from western countries, which is odd.

Isarn females are definitely not moral, for the most part. They're the ones the vast majority of problems with farang occur. Your happy go lucky isarn type who comes from a rice farming family certainly isn't marrying a farang because "he's hansum" but because of his money. An educated ethnic Chinese-Thai on the other hand, is a good choice. It's almost like 2 parallel societies - you have your superstitious Isarn folk from the villages who believe that western countries are paved in gold (and every farang is super rich) and ridiculous promises that socialist/populist politicians like Thaksin make and then you have your well traveled, educated ethnic Chinese-Thais who come from Bangkok, Chiang Mai etc. who understand that the red shirts are secretly supported by western governments in order to create regime change.

Sorry, but you must be mistaken. In Thailand, social class and wealth determine your status. A doctor is always going to be considered much more respectable than a garbage collector (though I personally have no issues with garbage collectors as they perform an important job).

@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.