iang

Lazada's still delivering.

i recently bought what I'm assuming are non-original filters via Lazada. Green antibacterial ones. Seller claimed they come from the same factory as the genuine article, but I can't substantiate that. Side by side, the replacements appear absolutely identical, minus some Chinese writing in the plastic top edge. Quality appears to be identical too & are very well made. THB549 each + a nominal amount for freight & they perform perfectly.

After much wasted time, managed to get the WiFi phone app to work. The trick is to NOT nominate your country as Thailand in the app. Do so & your phone will never find the units. Nominate your country as Mainland China and the purifiers are recognised & added immediately! Go figure......

Helps protect others against the wearers bad breath! 

12 hours ago, Laza 45 said:

The whole exercise is a bit pointless if they add the fruit juice to the batch and ferment it.. this get weirder and weider.. 

I guess it's not entirely pointless, as it qualifies the 'wine' for a lower tax rate, therefore a lower selling price. A loophole really. It's pointless though from the perspective of lowering alcoholic content, as it doesn't. 

I've also noted that on box wine or on the reverse labels of some bottles, they purposefully do not refer to the contents as "wine". They'll say things like "bold red" or "easy drinking red", but never actually call it "Red wine"!!!

7 minutes ago, iang said:

I believe it's fermented pineapple juice, just like the other non-grape fruit juices are fermented, hence there fruit wine like OTOP fruit wines. As the fermented juice is not grape juice, it still qualifies for the lower tax rate.

Check out 

42 minutes ago, Laza 45 said:

My thought too..  if 12.5 %..  I'm no connoisseur but 20% pineapple juice wouldn't fool me or anyone who drinks a bit of wine..  

I believe it's fermented pineapple juice, just like the other non-grape fruit juices are fermented, hence there fruit wine like OTOP fruit wines. As the fermented juice is not grape juice, it still qualifies for the lower tax rate.

56 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Below is a fruit wine with with the blue tax label. It is mixed in Australia, hence the blue label.

My understanding is that this specific pictured 'wine' is actually bottled in Vietnam, using a fruit wine cocktail of Australian wine + pineapple juice. Yet is still labeled as being Australian!

Came through Singapore - Chiang Mai just yesterday. Definitely no ATM's in either the immigration or customs area. Plenty in the general arrivals area, but AFTER immigration & customs. As long as you're reasonably well presented & have an outgoing flight ticket & a hotel booking, I agree it's very unlikely you'll be requested to present THB20k in cash.

From the looks of it, I think it's simply designed to be a fortress! Not a bad thing is these days of terrorism, shootings & bombings!

Our experience has been that the first Australian tourist visa issued was a3 month single entry visa. Subsequent visa applications resulted in 12 month multiple entry visas being granted - without asking. It's like you prove you'll return to Thailand after the first visa, then you're then OK for 12 month multiple entry. They still want / need the same huge wad of information each time you reapply though!

I was just reading an archived topic on this subject - www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/380398-thai-rice-to-make-risotto which is no longer available for posting.

I've tried to buy arborio lice locally in the north, without success, so have been trying alternatives. Normal Thai white rice doesn't really do the job at all, however risotto lovers like me, may be interested to learn that a cheap and readily available short grain Thai sticky rice makes a pretty acceptable alternative. Provided you keep stiring hard & fast, you can make a very decent risotto. The rice is dirt cheap too, which I know if not really the point, but it's certainly an added bonus.

So get yourself a small bag of sticky rice and give it a go - you'll be pleasantly surprised.

So you're concerned that your kids may touch the dog feces and get it in their eyes, but clearly you're not concerned that your kids (on your land) will touch the dog poison & get they in their eyes or in their mouth!!!!!

Poisoning is a cruel & painful way to inflict death on a dog & I can only imagine it would be even more painful still, if it happened to be one of your children instead of a stray dog!

Do what others do. Pay for a boundary wall or even a chain link fence & a gate to keep the dogs out!

"the democratic process " please don't use rude words you don't know the signification.

But the democratic process is clearly broken in Thailand! Democracy and anarchy can not coexist simultaneously! So what other path is there, aside than further breakdown of the rule of law. The alternatives are far far worse than what's happening now!

The tank floatation switch (to stop flow of water into tank at prescribed level) in Thai is called 'look-loy' .

They come in various forms ranging from cheap float - ball cock switch (like in a toilet cistern) to quite sophisticated & more expensive electronic float switches. All just a case of budget & application, but all types are still called 'look-loy'.

TAT should be counting as domestic tourists all the provincial and 'up-country' Thai folk who're currently occupying Lumpini Park & previously occupied other Bangkok landmark sites!

Do this & they'll soon be revising the figures UPWARDS! You can prove just about anything with statistics!

I've been told by Thais that the fatalities recorded & reported on are based on fatalities that occur at the site of the accident. People that subsequently die as a result of their injuries later on in hospital or even on the way to th hospital are EXCLUDED from the road fatalities figures / statistics! I have no way of substantiating this, but would certainly not be surprised should this be the case, in an effort to manipulate the figures!

A couple of giant German Shepherds roaming around seems to keep the rif-raf away & at bay! Gentle souls that they are, their bark's enough to persuade anyone to try somewhere else that's easier!

If anybody really wants to break into your property, dogs won't stop them, they will just throw poisoned meat at them.

That of course is perfectly possible & feasible. Nothing is going to keep out a determined thief. The fact is however that thieves are likely to simply find a softer target.

What happens then if you're on a retirement visa - not a work permit? Are you permitted to bring in used household effects duty free at all?

A couple of giant German Shepherds roaming around seems to keep the rif-raf away & at bay! Gentle souls that they are, their bark's enough to persuade anyone to try somewhere else that's easier!

It could well be that there are conditions to the airfare you purchased, insofar as you may not be able to change reservations at all, or there are fees & penalties applicable to any changes, depending what the change may be. These conditions & penalties would have been available for you to see at time of booking online, but in fairness, most people just skip over them and don't look until something happens - by which time it may be too late!

So just pick up the phone & call TG. My experience has been that they speak good to sufficient English and I've always found them to be very helpful. Give it a try!

Just create a virtual credit card in online banking (like k-web card) and use it on websites which don't accept your debit card.

I bought Air Asia and Nok Air tickets using virtual credit card from kasikorn several times (for me and for others), never got a problem.

This sounds like a good solution. But when I book an online ticket with Thai Airways (TG), when I check in, they ask to see the card I used to make the booking and then enter some of the card's numbers into their computer system & hand me the card back. I think Bangkok Airways may be similar.

So how would / could this work with a virtual credit card? Is there anything physical that could be produced under such circumstances?

Just this week, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission announced they are going to target online travel agencies / low cost carriers and the like, who are using 'drip feed' pricing tactics, where the advertised airfare or hotel product can not actually be purchased for the advertised price. i.e. quoted prices are not inclusive of fees, taxes, booking fees & have included additional costs which must be opted out of etc etc. You know the sort of thing - you start of with a Baht 999 cost & by the time you've finished, the cost can be considerably higher.

When the ACCC prosecutes, fines can be in the millions - and I'm not talking about Baht, so must be viewed very seriously.

It'd be nice if there was a givernment body (seriously) looking after consumers interests in Thailand!

See www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-21/accc-to-crack-down-on-online-sellers-who-add-fees/5274368?section=business

The solution is simple - it just takes a few minutes longer. Just go into the bank with your passport & foreign credit/debit card & ask for a cash advance on your credit card. The trick is that the sum being requested must be higher than the ATM's usual maximum advance (THB 20,000?).

The bank does the paperwork, gets the authorisation, copies your passport (which you also sign) and the bank give you the cash. Best thing is that there's no fees! Not a single Baht & you get personalised service as part if the deal!

Have a look at www.bangkokair.com/promotions/chinese_new_year_2014 - Bangkok - Chiang Mai B1,190 + 100 tax & includes 20kg baggage + a bonus 10kg per flight if you sign up to their frequent flyer programme.

Valid for travel 01 Mar - 30 Apr 14 & bookings must be made/paid by 03 Feb 14.

I had exactly this same problem. 3BB told me the house was too far away from their closest box. I then had a look at the phsical box & saw TOT also had one, just a bit closer to the house, but still several hundred metres away. Headed in to the local TOT office who were wonderful. They advised they could extend the line & even offered me a land line as well, with a range of phone numbers to choose from & told me the fee would be B3,000 odd to run the line, which I was happy to pay.

Then when actual payment time came, I didn't actually have to pay the B3,000 odd fee, but had to sign a document advising that if I cancelled the service within 12 months, then I would need to reimburse this to TOT!

A week later, there's a TOT pickup in my soi with a couple of guys with long bamboo poles, stringing up the line & the next day it was all connected up & working. Has since proved to be quite reliable too. And all at their B699 per month plan. Can't complain at all.

So my advice would be to go in to see TOT and inquire about the cost of running the line out to where you are.

Good luck!

Hello, i have the same problem, my house is at 200 meters from the TOT network. Could you tell how to call this telephone pole in english or in thai ? I will ask to TOT but i want to be sure they will understand me

A pole like this in Thai is called a 'sao', so an electricity pole is called a 'sao fie far', 'fai far' being electricity. So a telephone pole is called a 'sao torasap', but often the poles - here at least, will carry both electricy & telephone.

Hope that helps?