BuddhistDruid

I saw these a while back down on Thong Lor. Right before the huge flood came and drove the entire city to be refugees. After that I think the drivers who were using them left to go upcountry and fix their homes, and I'm not sure what finally happened.

Still, a great idea in my opinion. I personally have a strong aversion to being taken advantage of. Several years ago I used to take a motorcycle from President Park on Sukhumvit 24 down to the BTS at Phrom Pong. Normal fare was 10 baht. But at least 50% of the time I got hassled from the driver for 20 baht simply because I was a foreigner. Now, it isn't the 10 baht that bugged me so much, but the fact that I was being cheated. I became so angry over the injustice that I simply stopped using them for my morning commute. I'll happily pay more just to know I'm being treated fairly.

As for longer distances (sometimes the only option during heavy afternoon traffic), good luck negotiating if you don't already know the going rate and it doesn't happen to be one of the places that is posted on their boards. I got so sick of being over charged on these trips that I simply don't use them at all now for anything. Now I either walk or schedule my activities in such a way that I don't have to use them. Not a complete loss actually. Better for my waist line.

I suppose if they actually implement meters then I may start using motorcycle taxis again. I don't have a problem with the regular taxis because they have a meter, and although I get the odd guy who has a rigged meter or won't turn it on, I either don't take them or get out immediately once I realize the meter is flaky.

Don't really know what the drivers thought of the meters, but I can tell you that when I saw them in operation the motorcycle drivers that were there were showing them off, so I don't think they were unhappy with them.

I would say if you want the real answer to whether they will work though, you need to ask the Thais here in Bangkok. I think the foreigners here on this board make up a very small community, and are not really a good cross section of society. You'll probably get biased results if you just listen to the responses here. My guess is that if the meter manufacturer is willing to pay enough corruption, that it doesn't matter what the drivers or the public thinks. The drivers will be forced to buy them, the government ministers who approved the deal will get their cut, and nobody will really care what happens after that.

That is kind of the Thai way.

I am a short term cash flow problem and would like to know if there is any company that will do a loan against auto license for cash without requiring income? The car is in my name but my Thai wife would guarantee. I only need about 100,000 baht on a car worth about 350,000.

I need the loan for approximately 3 to 6 months, and I need to continue being able to operate the car during the loan period.

Does anyone know of a legitimate company that will do something like this? I understand that the interest rate will be stratospheric.

Thank you for any information.

Due to some unfortunate events I am in the position of needing to negotiate with creditors in Farangland. As part of that process, I need to supply a list of assets that my wife owns and their value, including any real estate. The property in question is in Pathumthani. For this purpose, I need to know the estimated value the property would sell at if it were sold at auction.

Since I am unfamiliar with the real estate market in Thailand, can anyone advise me on how to find an assessor who would know how to do this? Typically, assessors like to set the price to represent fair retail market value. That is not useful to me. What I need is someone who knows how to value something as if it were a distressed asset marked for quick sale, and can provide that opinion in writing.

Can anyone suggest how I might go about acquiring this data?

Thank you for any assistance.

I am looking for an individual or firm that can advise me on the most cost effective way to set up a holding company so that my Thai spouse can minimize taxes from overseas holdings and preserve as much anonymity as is allowed by law. I have been unable to locate anyone who is actually interested in speaking to us. Can anyone recommend a good, reasonably priced firm or independent legal advisor that has experience in these matters and can help us to determine the best option?

I need to get this resolved as quickly as possible. Thank you for any assistance or recommendations.

Now having said all this I have a question of what to do next with the US Embassy, I've read that an adoption needs to be registered with the embassy. there is no immediate requirement for an immigration visa and then there are these treaties that Thailand is not a member of and different forms for that (I-600, I-600A, and I-130). I feel that it is necessary to inform the Embassy for the child's welfare but where to go?

Since 2008, Thailand is a signatory to the Hague Convention, and therefore you can no longer use an I-600. You will need to fill out an I-800, and because you have already completed the adoption process that may be difficult. One way to proceed would be to get the adoption voided in Thailand (if possible) and start over again using the correct Hague Convention protocol.

As for the US, US citizenship is automatically conferred to an adopted child when the child enters the US on an approved adoption visa. If you have no desire for a visa to the US, then there is no need to do anything at the embassy. But without an adoption visa the child will not be officially recognized as your child by the US.

I found this link, which you should read very carefully. The most important part is as follows:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=0dc16c30c3fac110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

Adopting or obtaining custody of a child before provisional approval of a Form I-800 is not consistent with the principles of the Hague Adoption Convention, and may complicate the adjudication of the child’s Form I-800. A cardinal principle of the Hague Adoption Convention is that a child’s eligibility to immigrate to the prospective adoptive parent’s country should be resolved before completion of the proposed adoption. The purpose of this principle is to minimize the risk that a child will not be able to join his or her prospective adoptive family in their home country. As clearly stated in the instructions to Forms I-800A and Form I-800, and in 8 CFR 204.309((2), prospective adoptive parents are cautioned not to accept a proposed adoption placement, or complete an adoption that is subject to the Convention, until after USCIS has provisionally approved the Form I-800 and the Department of State has issued the article 5 notice under 22 CFR 42.24(i).

The prospective adoptive parent should make every effort, under the law of the sending country, to have the premature adoption or custody order voided, vacated, annulled, or otherwise terminated, before filing the Form I-800. If the prospective adoptive parent presents evidence from the Central Authority of the country of the child’s habitual residence establishing that the law of that country does not permit the adoption to be voided, vacated, annulled, or otherwise terminated, USCIS will notify the prospective adoptive parent of any additional evidence that may need to be presented in order to support provisional approval of the Form I-800. Prospective adoptive parents should keep in mind that, in at least some cases, adopting the child before provisional approval of the Form I-800 may require USCIS to determine that the adoption does not comply with the Convention and, consequently, cannot be the basis for approval of a Form I-800.

Again, if you have no intention of your child ever immigrating to the US, then the above is not relevant. But US citizenship is conveyed only when he does immigrate (or at least obtain the adoption visa and visit). So as long as you are content being the father of the child in Thailand but not in the US, there is no need to do anything at the embassy.

I just came across this official US government website on adoption and thought it would be relevant for some. You can actually check the rules for adoption by a US citizen for any country. The link below is the specific section that deals with Thailand. For any American thinking about adoption, please read this very carefully, as it explains the process in detail.

http://adoption.stat...select=thailand

One interesting thing I learned from this site is that Thailand *IS* a signatory to the Hague Convention on child adoptions since 2008, so for anyone from any country looking to adopt, you will need to follow the standard Hague Convention protocols.

http://www.thaivisa....l/page__st__100

Have you gone through the above link.. one post //109 is pertinent to Bangkok. I havent read through them all.

Good luck

Thanx, I've read through this topic but most reccomendations are for hospitals outside Bangkok. Anyone had a good experience with a public hospital IN BANGKOK?

cheers!

Mac

Stop by any one of the thousands of language schools you see in Bangkok. Contract with a translator who for 1000 baht per day will fall all over themselves to help you out, especially if they like children. Then go to Chulalongkorn or Siriraj. The doctors mostly speak English so your wife will be fine during the delivery. The nurses and administrative staff not so much. But that is why you bring your own translator. If the only reason you would pay for an expensive Western hospital is for English language support, well...it's significantly easier to outsource that one particular issue.

There is no law against surrogacy in Thailand. There is also no law allowing it. It is a grey area. The basic information you need to be aware of is that you can not legally pay a surrogate. You can not make a legally binding contract with a surrogate. And you can not get a prebirth order that allows your wife's name to be listed as the mother at birth. So you basically understand everything perfectly.

Having said that, surrogacy is a very safe and effective way of getting a child in Thailand as long as you choose a surrogate who you trust and who is unmarried. Relatives are always the best, because there are lines of responsibility that can be enforced and that exist outside of the legal system. If the surrogate is married, she must officially divorce at least 1 month before you transfer the embryos. This way, you are allowed to be listed on the birth certificate as the father. The surrogate will be listed on the birth certificate as the mother. Once the child is born, you will need to go to court to legalize your parental rights. Please note that in court you can not say that the baby was conceived through surrogacy. That doesn't mean that everyone involved, including the judges, doesn't know what is going on, but it just means that they don't want conflict. There is no law that says they can't legalize you as the father if you mention surrogacy, it is simply that nobody wants to go out on a limb and do it. So you will need to make up a story about how the child was conceived naturally with the surrogate. Your lawyer will help you. This is done all the time, and while it may sound fishy to someone who hasn't experienced it, it is just the way things are done here.

Once you have legally become the father with sole custody, your wife can then go with you to the DSDW and apply to legally adopt the children. As the child is legally yours at that point, the adoption proceeds very quickly. Technically, the surrogate mother doesn't actually need to approve the adoption at this stage if your lawyer properly asked the judge to have her relinquish all parental rights when you legalized yourself as the father. Practically it makes no difference though. You are correct that up until that moment when the surrogate signs the papers, she can hold your child hostage. Make sure you choose a surrogate who won't do this.

If you have any questions that you don't want to ask through a public forum, send me a PM. I'll try and help anyway I can. If you want children, then this is definitely a viable option. It is not without annoyances, but it is far from impossible. Do remember that thousands of people in Thailand do exactly this every single year.

If you are independently wealthy, I would admit that no country in the world approaches the level of contractual opportunities available to you in the states in the USA that allow prebirth orders. But if you don't happen to have several million to drop on this and the ability to remain in the states for an extended period of time, Thailand is not a bad choice of a country to do it in.

However, I would like to suggest to the OP that if you truly want a child with these characteristics, you might be better off trying to contract a surrogacy. An adoption from a relative is so much easier to arrange in Thailand vs. trying to find one at an orphanage, and if you are truly concerned about the genetic heritage of your child, this would be the most likely way to achieve your goals.

By all means keep looking for that perfect child to adopt, but I have rarely seen luk kreung children available. I think surrogacy is likely to yield better results. I would approach your wife's sisters, cousins and nieces (delicately) to find if any of them are willing to help.

Some may find gestational surrogacy unpalatable, but the simple fact is we all at one time or another have allowed someone else to care for our children once they are outside of the womb. Gestational surrogacy is nothing more than extending this concept to care during the time when they are not yet able to feed or breathe for themselves.

Luk kreung children are very much wanted by Thais, I've had major offers for my kids from neighbors and every couple in my ex's family, wouldn't need to do any paperwork, you know how flexible the concept of family is here. . .

And surrogacy isn't legal in Thailand although I'm sure it's doable through private connections there would be risks. I know a Taiwanese businessman got done for trying to rn an agency here using VN mothers got run out of dodge. India does it though.

There is neither a law against surrogacy nor a law supporting it in Thailand. It is a grey area. The Taiwanese businessman was sent home because he was soliciting services and accepting money for it. There are laws against that. That is why I encourage the OP to seek the help of a relative. The way the Thai law works is that the surrogate is considered the legitimate mother of the child without basis to the child's genetic heritage. The OP can even be listed as the father on the birth certificate, but at the court hearing he will need to make up a story that the child was conceived in the traditional fashion. Thai law technically does not disallow you petitioning for parental rights even through surrogacy, but when it comes to your child, nobody will ever take that chance, and no lawyer worth the money you are paying him would counsel you to try it. At the end of the day, the judges simply want a pay check without controversy. It is the Thai way.

Do speak with a doctor if this is what you are considering. There is no law that prohibits them from implanting any fertilized egg in any willing female. They are all willing to help. And there are well known procedures for how the adoption proceeds after that.

I was wondering the same thing just didnt want to ask. I was also curious as to why it had to be the father not a mother ! Wouldn't a Canadian be close enough to European ? lol jk

I seriously doubt there are very many children available for adoption in Thailand with a Western mother, so I don't think that is really a consideration. And the OP did say European origin. Unless the Canadian is native American Indian, his genes would by definition be of European origin.

However, I would like to suggest to the OP that if you truly want a child with these characteristics, you might be better off trying to contract a surrogacy. An adoption from a relative is so much easier to arrange in Thailand vs. trying to find one at an orphanage, and if you are truly concerned about the genetic heritage of your child, this would be the most likely way to achieve your goals.

By all means keep looking for that perfect child to adopt, but I have rarely seen luk kreung children available. I think surrogacy is likely to yield better results. I would approach your wife's sisters, cousins and nieces (delicately) to find if any of them are willing to help.

Some may find gestational surrogacy unpalatable, but the simple fact is we all at one time or another have allowed someone else to care for our children once they are outside of the womb. Gestational surrogacy is nothing more than extending this concept to care during the time when they are not yet able to feed or breathe for themselves.

Yes so everyone will have to suffer so the politicians will learn.. hmmm Just like everyone in the US thought all those wars were good... Your logic... hmmm

Would be better if some politician houses were flooded not the ordinary people who have no power to change it.

Yes, it would be good if the only people who get flooded are people who are allowed to vote here. That is one way to look at it.

EDIT

I am not one to blame the politicians for everything as I think they are a mirror reflection of Thais and their society. So, I blame all of them. They are a (pseud.) Democracy after all.

Politicians and the wealthy seemed to have their properties well protected. We got about 25 cm in our house and caused quite a bit of damage. Luckily most was covered by insurance and the fact I did a lot of repairs myself.

The 25-120M baht vilalge up the road had massive pumps working full steam everyday to keep their houses dry.

I'm not surprised the PT party lost the by-election in Patum Thani (?) I imagine there were a lot of disgruntled voters nauseated by Yingluck's keep BKK (meaning central BKK) at all costs. Another major flood will be bad news politically for them.

Actually, i think you'll find it was the BKK Governor not the PM, but never mind.

Actually, I think you'll find neither one of them were very interested in getting the big bag barrier torn down. That illegal and unconscionable dam turned my village into a lake for 2 months under 2+ meters of water so that those in inner Bangkok could stay dry. On the other side of that structure, waters were only about 50 cm. Doesn't matter which one of them paid for the construction vs. the other one allowing the construction to happen. They are both guilty and are both scum. Both the BMA and the central government need to pay compensation to those of us who were forced to suffer for the "greater good."

We were promised a minuscule 20,000 baht, and to date not a single baht of even that piddling amount has been paid.

But never mind...

I don't have any pictures of my house, as I never could get a boat to check on it. My neighbor however took some of these pictures which are right next door. This was near Rangsit in a northern suburb of Bangkok. Pretty dismal.

The water at its highest point was 2.7 meters, and it stayed flooded above 2 meters for nearly 2 months. We were finally able to move back into our house just the beginning of this month. All damages due to the flood total up to about 720,000 baht.

I wouldn't worry too much about the people saying it's going to cost you millions...

Our youngest was born at Bangkok Hospital in Hua Hin (nice private hospital). They said she had jaundice and had to be put into a special UV light box thing for 3 additional days (which was not covered by the basic package)....but it only added about 10K total to the bill (not sure how the heck you'd manage to get to 60K per day!)

Jaundice is quite common, and only requires a simply UV treatment done in the general ward. The thing that will drive up your bill into the millions of baht range is requiring an NICU bed, which at a good private hospital is on the order of 40k per day. Plus whatever treatments are required. An NICU is common when a baby is born premature, as my twins were.

Ok thanks. It's really just to get an idea. Problem is I'm in UK and probably won't be over there much, if at all, before she has the baby so I'm wondering how much she's gonna start asking me for.

60k to have the baby sounds a lot to be honest but if that's the price then sobeit.

Do keep in mind that 60k is a for a basic, everything normal pregnancy. It is actually fairly inexpensive. If anything goes wrong and you require an NICU, you can anticipate spending more than that every day in a private hospital. My twins were premature and in the NICU for about 2 weeks, and then in the general ward for another 2. At a private hospital my bill would have been close to 4 million baht. And most Thai insurance plans do not cover maternity, except for the most expensive ones and then it is usually a rider.

It is unlikely you will have a problem, but do think through what you are going to do if it happens. Letting the child die isn't an option. The hospital will save the child and they will bill your girlfriend for it. And then they will hound her for years to get payment. She will never be able to own a house or assets in her name, because they will be in danger of being seized by the courts.

Again, low probability, but not zero probability. She could ask you for your life savings and more. As it gets closer to the delivery date, if it looks like it will be a high risk pregnancy and you don't have a spare million or two handy, you may want to consider a government hospital where she can use her universal coverage and get it for free. Choosing Chulalongkorn over a more prestigious hospital saved me from bankruptcy.

These were all the things i was worried about as well,i was quite prepared to pay the higher costs for private,but the doctor from the clinic we used which was recommended via word of mouth,told us that the local govt hospitals use the same doctors as private,plus most babies will be delivered by a nurse and midwife and a doctor only used for emergency situations

.

This is exactly what happened for us a doctor went around to all the women giving birth too make sure there were no complications,and then the ones that had no forseeable problems were monitored by a nurse.

This was my first child and its a scary event,all the scaremongers frightened the hell out of me with all the things that can go wrong,but no matter where you have the birth the care will be top notch as its probably the most common medical procedure.

If your wife is thai there are no costs for giving birth apart from the standard 30bht no matter what goes wrong,tell your partner you will pay for the VIP PRIVATE ROOM for post birth recovery this will keep her happy and will only set you back a few thousand baht.

Make sure she finds a good local clinic for the monthly ultrasounds and checkups as well, shouldn't be more than 500bht a visit

I would like to add one more piece of information to this good advice. This may only be valuable for those who expect a high risk pregnancy. The universal healthcare system, or gold card, only allows you to have the birth at your registered government hospital. For most births this will make absolutely no difference to you, as is pointed out above the care is quite sufficient everywhere. However, when you move into the high risk area, all government hospitals are not created equal. In particular, government hospitals associated with a university are almost always of a much higher caliber than a general provincial hospital. Chulalongkorn and Siriraj in Bangkok in particular stand out as 2 of the highest quality government hospitals in Thailand. The problem you may face though, is that if these are not your registered hospitals for the universal care system, you can't go there for the birth.

If you are truly concerned however and don't mind spending a little bit of money, you can still go to one of the best government hospitals for the delivery. You will, of course, have to pay cash for the actual birth, but the rates at government hospitals, even top notch government hospitals, are not horrific. When your child is born and if he/she needs an NICU, you will still be on a cash basis. While your wife is in the hospital, the child is also under your wife's account, so you will pay his/her bills as well. However, as soon as your wife checks out, the baby becomes a patient in his/her own right. At that point, the baby is covered under the universal healthcare system, and you can switch the terms so that all future costs are free. In an emergency, which an infant in the NICU clearly qualifies for, the universal care scheme covers you at any participating hospital. Thus, you may have a day or 2 where you have to pay cash, but as soon as the mother is well enough to leave, your baby can stay without incurring additional fees.

For those who are truly can't cover the costs if something goes wrong, but are concerned about the care they would get at their local provincial hospital, this is a way to get better quality without the bills getting out of hand.

Ok thanks. It's really just to get an idea. Problem is I'm in UK and probably won't be over there much, if at all, before she has the baby so I'm wondering how much she's gonna start asking me for.

60k to have the baby sounds a lot to be honest but if that's the price then sobeit.

Do keep in mind that 60k is a for a basic, everything normal pregnancy. It is actually fairly inexpensive. If anything goes wrong and you require an NICU, you can anticipate spending more than that every day in a private hospital. My twins were premature and in the NICU for about 2 weeks, and then in the general ward for another 2. At a private hospital my bill would have been close to 4 million baht. And most Thai insurance plans do not cover maternity, except for the most expensive ones and then it is usually a rider.

It is unlikely you will have a problem, but do think through what you are going to do if it happens. Letting the child die isn't an option. The hospital will save the child and they will bill your girlfriend for it. And then they will hound her for years to get payment. She will never be able to own a house or assets in her name, because they will be in danger of being seized by the courts.

Again, low probability, but not zero probability. She could ask you for your life savings and more. As it gets closer to the delivery date, if it looks like it will be a high risk pregnancy and you don't have a spare million or two handy, you may want to consider a government hospital where she can use her universal coverage and get it for free. Choosing Chulalongkorn over a more prestigious hospital saved me from bankruptcy.

Hi everyone. I am looking into the possibility of designing some custom electronics for a friend who wants to do some monitoring on drivers for a delivery service he runs. One of the pieces of information I need to get is speed, and I'm trying to figure out how to get at that without substantial modifications to the bike.

He tells me 70% of his drivers use Hondas, most of them Waves and Clicks. Does anyone know if these models are completely mechanical, or if the instrument panel is electronic? If they are mechanical, does anyone know the specs on the speedometer cable so that I could find an inline vehicle speed sensor that would fit?

Any advice is appreciated.

I am looking for a place to purchase around 1000 clear plastic, resealable packing list envelope bags with self adhesive. These are the bags you stick to the outside of packages when you mail them that contain the packing list and customs forms.

The Thai post office does not have these bags for the general public. I have already spoken with the main post office in Bangrak and they can not provide them.

Does anyone know of a packaging supplier in Thailand who will deal in retail quantities? There are several factories who can make them to order, but they have minimum orders of 200,000 baht.

The ones I need are clear, resealable, preferably 5" x 7" but A5 will work as well, and have a peelable self adhesive for attaching to the package.

Thank you for any ideas.

Thank you for all the help so far. I've found a Thai chang who is going to come over here and do the live stuff for me so I don't have to risk injury and death. I appreciate the appeal to good sense.

Another question though for those of you who have done this before.

Because I am not at all convinced that this will be the last time my house floods, and I am not prepared at this point to move the location of the consumer unit due to the difficulty involved, I want to build this without using any special components. Which basically means, if it isn't available at Home Pro, I don't want to include it in the design. That way, if and when the floods come again, I will be able to quickly source the required components and get back in business without undue delay.

So I am left with trying to understand how to actually add a secondary CU to the primary unit. In the states, the circuit breaker panel had a special connector for this which was trivial to wire into. On these cheap Square-D units, I can't find any way to jump the hot lead to the secondary CU after passing through the main breaker.

So I thought I would simply use a 60 amp circuit breaker off the primary CU, run that through the Safe-T-Cut and then into a 60 amp main breaker on the secondary. OK, this would be 2 circuit breakers for a single circuit, but at least it would work.

Unfortunately, I can't find a 60 amp circuit breaker anywhere for the primary CU. 60 amp main breakers are everywhere, but not a single slot 60 amp breaker for the primary.

So, I'm stumped. How do I actually get the hot wire off of the primary CU on the protected side of the main breaker?

Anyone ever done this before? Again, no specialty parts. Whatever the solution is it has to be very common so that after the next flood the Thai contractors can easily replace it.

Advice?

The recent floods were 2.7 meters in my housing estate, and left my circuit distribution panel completely submerged for 2 months. I want to completely replace them. I attempted to get the only Thai electrician I trust to do the work, but unfortunately he has a queue of work approximately 3 months long. So I am left to do this myself.

First, I am from the US, so forgive my terminology if it differs from what is in common usage here. I would also feel much more comfortable doing this in the US where I have a much clearer understanding of how to proceed, but I don't think the basics can be substantially different.

I am also going to refrain from offering my opinion of what I should do to avoid causing confusion. I would like to present the problem, and then get a list of everything I will need to complete the task. I essentially have nothing right now except a screwdriver and multimeter. All of my tools were destroyed in the flood, so I will need to buy or borrow everything.

I would like to make a list and then make a single trip to Home Pro to purchase everything, as I am going to be left at my house without power and without a car for the day. I need to complete the install before the sun sets, so I need a good plan.

What I have is the following: 12 circuits in the house are already wired to a central location, but it will be necessary to trim the wires for the new panel. The newer circuits that were installed when we remodelled are grounded. The older ones are not. 2 of the circuits go to compressors with a large inductive load and therefore should not pass through the RCD. The other 10 are conventional domestic circuits that need to be protected. (I will additionally be replacing all the outlets that were submerged, but that need not be considered now.)

The circuit from the meter is rated for 100 Amp single phase. What I'd like is a main breaker at 100 Amp, with the 2 inductive loads fed from this on independent circuits. Then I would like to go through a Safety Cut, and finally from there feed the remaining 10 circuits. If it makes a difference assume all circuits are 15 amps.

I am asking for help upfront so I don't overlook something. I know these projects always have a way of becoming more involved than they seem at first, so I am attempting to go in prepared.

If you were me, what would you buy to complete this job? Does anyone make a split distribution panel for example, with one side protected and the other side not? (In the previous incarnation, a sub panel was used.) I very interested in any tips that those who have done this before might be willing to share on how to complete this with a minimum of fuss.

Thank you for any assistance.

My mother is visiting for several weeks and is looking for a shop that sells fabrics and cloth. I have only been living down here for 2 months so I don't really know where one would go for something like this. Has anyone seen a shop like this in the area?

Thank you for any assistance.

Looking for a hotel near the US embassy (maybe Silom/Sathorn/Surawong area) that is suitable for myself, my wife and two small toddlers. Have an appointment at the US embassy at 7:30 am and can't get the children up early enough otherwise.

Must have parking and be relatively well sound proofed.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Unfortunately most of the hotel websites do not say whether they have adequate guest parking or not.

Thank you for any assistance.

Read the US embassy website: http://bangkok.usemb...n-thailand.html

There is a link to a pdf with a lis of translation agencies you can contact.

Thank you for that. But as I told the US Embassy via email correspondence I am not in Bangkok. What I need is a description of how to find an appropriate translation service in my area. They must follow some requirements or have some approved methodology they use to qualify translators. While I believe that anyone on that list would work, I will need to find someone local who is not on that list.

Can anyone explain what the embassy actually needs in the way of a certified translation?

I have been putting this off forever, but am finally trying to do the Certification of Birth Abroad with the US embassy. There have been some issues that needed to be resolved with the Thai courts, so I have more documents that need to be translated into English than just the standard birth certificate.

I have been going around and around in emails with ACS at the US embassy on what is required to translate my Thai paperwork into English. The person answering my emails is obviously not very well informed, and tells me I need to find a "translation centre". (Notice the British spelling here...I'm obviously not dealing with an American.)

Since I am not in Bangkok and none of the information on the website helps me, I have no idea what a "translation centre" is, and they have specifically told me I can not translate the documents myself, can anyone else who has gone through the process explain exactly what they want? I fear I could continue emailing them without ever getting a resolution to this problem.

They offered that I could have any Thai agency translate it and then appear in person at the GPF tower next to the Embassy, which is clearly ridiculous. Nobody is going to go all the way to Bangkok to do this...not at a reasonable price anyway.

What are the US Embassy requirements for official translations of documents from Thai to English? I am currently staying near Pattaya as my home in Pathumthani is still under 50 centimeters of water. Can anyone suggest some Thai->English translators in the area they may have used which are known to be acceptable to the US Embassy? Some of the documents are official Thai court documents, and may require a reasonable level of skill.

I am O-. Currently living near Pattaya waiting for the flood to recede in my house in Pathumthani. I normally donate at the Red Cross in Bangkok. I received an SMS on my phone last month saying it was time to donate again. I posted asking if anyone knew of a Red Cross center in Pattaya where I could donate several weeks back, but received no responses.

Does Pattaya have a blood bank where I could donate?

I am very aware of the shortage of O- blood. It represents almost 6% of the population in Caucasians, but well under 1% in Asians. In fact, any type of Rhesus negative blood is almost non existent in Asian populations. It is not unusual to have these kinds of crisis in Thailand, which is why I try to do my best to give on schedule. Everyone who is O- and living in Thailand should be doing this regularly and keeping the stocks high. One day, those of us who are O- will likely have a need for it. The life you save by giving blood may eventually turn out to be your own.

What is the IP you type in your browser?

Irrelevant as he gets the login page for the router so must have connected to it.

I asked the question because I have both a modem and a router on my network, and when you login it's just a standard pop up window from the browser that opens, so you don't know if it's for the modem or for the router. I remember I once used the modem's IP and the router's login/pass, of course it didn't work but my first thought was that I had the wrong password. But OP would have probably specified if he used both a modem and a router.

It's 192.168.1.1 and I am 120% certain that this is the DSL router, not the least of which because the password box comes up saying "DSL Router". There definitely appears to be a non standard password on this box. I have heard someone else tell me they use a custom firmware version which works much like VoIP boxes, and the configuration is automatically downloaded from a central server somewhere when it is first connected, including a random password for every customer's router. The idea being they want to lock users into their service and not be able to move the router to a different service since they also lease their lines to other ISPs.

If this is true it means I have no choice but to buy a new router if I want to do port forwarding. I haven't actually called TOT as I need the owner of the DSL line to do it, but if what I heard is correct then they will be unwilling to supply me with the admin password to the box.

Are you saying that the floods are responsible for the lack of supply of Zero and Light, I'm shocked.

Actually everyone already knew the floods were responsible. What was unclear and what I have been trying to uncover is when we can expect production to resume. My research suggests it is not going to happen any time soon.