I have been deregistered from the Netherlands for a few years now, but I still have an apartment there. I spend at least three months there every year and use my (old) car. However, it recently crashed through no fault of my own. Now I am not allowed to buy a new car because I am not registered in the Netherlands. Do other readers have experience with this?
Converting insured capital into an annuity with monthly payments causes difficulties. This blog in March contained the agreement of the Dutch Association of Insurers, DNB, the Ministry of Finance and the Tax and Customs Administration to make this possible. In practice, however, it does not work. My insurance office in the Netherlands and I have tried this ourselves, but no bank/insurer wants to accept the capital.
Thai is not a difficult language to learn. A talent for languages is not necessary and your age does not matter. Nevertheless, there are some bottlenecks. One of them is the pronunciation.
It is a well-known scam at the Grand Palace in Bangkok and the police are now cracking down on it. Someone comes to you and tells you that the palace is closed for some reason. The Tuk-Tuk driver proposes to take you to another place of interest. You will then be driven to seedy tailors and jewelery shops.
In the first half of this year, the number of tourists visiting Thailand increased by more than 30%. The immigration office (passport control) has therefore trained and deployed 254 new agents to handle the ever-increasing number of travelers.
Emirates no longer wants real windows on planes
If you already suffer from claustrophobia, it is better not to read this message because the airline Emirates (Dubai) wants to equip new futures only with projected windows. As part of a test, these virtual windows, actually a kind of computer screen, are already being used in an aircraft to gain experience with them.
Welcome to the Chiang Mai Dolls Making Museum
Youthana Boonprakong collects, exhibits and produces dolls. His Puppet Museum in Chiang Mai houses 50.000 dolls from all over the world.
Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok
Sukhumvit Road is the most famous street in Bangkok and perhaps all of Thailand. The road is no less than about 400 kilometers long and runs from Thailand's capital as a National Highway via Samut Prakan, Chonburi, Rayong and Chanthaburi to Trat.
Reader question: To go to the Full Moon Party or not?
On June 25, I will start my journey in Bangkok, Thailand. Now my eye falls on the Full Moon Party on Kho Pa Nghan. I was told that this is thé party in Thailand with about 10.000-30.000 visitors. Now it is of course short notice to travel there, but it seems great to me. Would you recommend this or strongly advise against it? To get used to the climate etc.
Prevent identity fraud during a trip or holiday
More and more Dutch people are confronted with identity fraud. Even 13,3% of the Dutch have had to deal with this in the past five years.
I have been coming to Jomtien for years and always rent a scooter for convenience. Am 60 and unfortunately do not have a motorcycle license. Is it still possible to rent a scooter or is this no longer possible due to stricter police checks? Hear stories that renting is no longer possible and if you are arrested you will not only receive a ticket for not having the correct driver's license, but also a scooter seizure. I think the landlord will make a good cost of that.
Last Friday, Lung Addie learned that a massive fish kill was reported at Cabana Beach, Thung Wualean. So, as a 'flying reporter' for Thailandblog, Lung addie on the motorcycle, armed with his camera, to personally determine this.
A Siberian hamster in Hua Hin
Peter was quietly working in his Townhouse when suddenly a Siberian hamster landed on his desk. Then it looked like an episode of Fawlty Towers in Hua Hin.
A killed snake can still be life-threatening
People react very differently to snakes. In areas where they are common, it is an accepted phenomenon that belongs in that environment. Where people are less confronted with snakes, they often react with a certain defense or fear, depending on the size.
A will has been drawn up at a civil-law notary in the Netherlands and has been included in the will register and has given me a copy of the will. I gave a copy of this statement to my Thai partner. However, if I die, this will is in Dutch, so it cannot be read by a Thai. Now the case arises that I have a child with a former partner in Thailand. Both my child and my current partner are beneficiaries. Now I'm afraid that the mother of my child will want to take everything when I die and my current partner will be left empty-handed.
I am looking into a holiday to Thailand. Now I'm looking at different booking sites for prices of hotels, mainly at booking.com and agoda. Now I wonder what about the reliability of these sites? Especially those from agoda. I read a lot of negative reviews about this. Is this an unreliable booking site, or are these more exceptional cases?
Reader Submission: From Udonthani to Pattaya
Charly writes about how he ended up in Udonthani, today his story is about a visit to Pattaya.