Pigman

When I was living in Thailand, I would use a currency broker to send money from my home country to my Thai bank account. Worked well, and cheaper than the bank's rip off charges.

I'm no longer in Thailand, but still have around 200k in a SCB account which I want to repatriate. If necessary, I will have to a) send the money to somebody still in Thailand and ask them to get their bank to send it abroad (farang family in BKK so no "issues" there; or draw the money from European ATMs and get stung by SCB each time for ATM charges.

I've not come across any currency brokers - as opposed to currency traders - and guess that I've only got these two options, but has anybody any other ideas that either cost less or avoid inconveniencing family?

I've injured my back, meaning that I have a temporary difficulty walking. I'm transiting swampy on Monday, but I cannot find how to book one of the golf buggies I see parked up around the airport. Bangkok Airways have offered a wheelchair, but I am not incapable of walking, so reluctant to go down this route.

Does anybody know how I can book one of these buggies, please?

• One owner from new, no finance

• 46,000 kms approx and regularly serviced (service book held)

• Taxed and first class insurance to April 2016

• Front fog lights, ABS, Air Con, remote locking, etc

• Two new front tyres

• No accidents

Available to view from early December, after car has been valeted, etc.

B295,000 or close offer

**Must sell - Leaving Thailand soon**

Please contact Simon on 062 941 8392 or mail [email protected]

My wife and I are here on O-A Retirement visas, which expire in late December. We are moving from Thailand in late January, thus need to extend our stay for about 4 weeks. Our options appear to be:

• Renew our O-A visa for another year
• Fly out of the country on the day our O-A expires and fly back next day
• Get a 30 day visa from the local IO, even though we've not left the country.

Is the third option feasible, or are we better off gritting our teeth and queueing all day at Immigration to extend the O-A for one last time?

Thanks.

Thanks guys - a couple of things to follow up.

Why isn't Hastings beach just down the road any more......??

I need about 0.25 cubic metre of pea shingle / pebbles / something else decorative to fill a feature in my garden. Buying sacks from Kamthieng Market will cost a fortune - not least in fuel. Will the roadside gravel merchants deliver such a small load? Any other suggestions than the overpriced DIY sheds please?

Thanks.

Thanks to everybody for the advice here - really helpful.

Although the devices are within reasonable distance of each other, the PC - running off an ethernet card - is in my office, and there are a number of doorways, windows etc which make going back to wired a problem - and that's before my wife gives me earache about mess, cables looking untidy, etc.......

@GBK - I took your advice and asked the guy at Invade IT, thanks. He suggested the ASUS DSL-N55U at around B5000 which is a heck of a lot more than the B500 I paid 3BB! (Okay, in a different league, I know.)

Can I ask all you experts, if I go with this am I buying a BMW 5 series, when I only need a Honda Accord, or is the sort of kit I need to upgrade to? (My old Dad always said "you get what you pay for"......)

Thanks all!

I've recently moved from 20th to 21st centuries, having just bought a new internet connected Sony Full HD TV (model 32W674) and a Sony Xperia Z Android tablet to join my aging Dell laptop and old, unbranded PC, (both running Windows - 7 & Vista respectively). All (including the PC) are wirelessly connected to my home network.

I'm using the new TV to stream video from the laptop - and in due course will stream from the tablet, but as a non techie, I'm still on an Android learning curve! The streaming is "patchy" and the signal tends to fall over every 5 minutes or so. I'm told that this suggests my router is not man enough for the job - I'm currently using a little single antenna job I bought from 3BB for about B500, so it's hardly "cutting edge"

Like the guys at the Chi Chang branches in Chiang Mai, I am wholly non technical (though actually I may know more than them given that I can actually recognise a computer........), so I'd welcome some suggestions from the experts out there please on upgrading my router. All the devices on my network are near enough in line of sight of the router. There are no thick walls for the signal to get through (modern 2 storey house) and even though we are on a moo baan, only about 4 other wireless networks that I can detect.. Main usage is internet browsing, e-mail, torrents, downloading a few TV programmes from Auntie Beeb in the UK, and the above mentioned streaming to the TV. The odd programme would ideally be streamed in HD, but much of it will be stuff I've "acquired" via torrent or ripped from my DVD collection. No gaming or other heavy duty usage.

I understand that 802.11ac is the latest "thing", but I don't like being an early adopter, thus would feel happier with 802.11n. Dual band is not important in that I don't believe I'm fighting others for bandwidth. To avoid exorbitant import duties, something I can buy off the shelf here is preferred please.

Any suggestions of suitable hardware would be much appreciated.

I am completely technically ignorant, thus please excuse lack of technical know how.

Having had my PC for several years and having paid out too much to have it repaired, I'm looking at moving to a tablet PC instead. My main connection with the virtual world is a Dell Inspiron 1750 laptop, which I'll be keeping. The PC is mainly used by Mrs Pigman to endlessly e-mail her sister in the UK and browse the web. As we are starting to travel around more, I'm looking to use a tablet PC:

a) to keep Mrs Pigman happy; and

b ) to be more easily portable than a fairly heft laptop.

Features I think I need are:

• WiFi
• 3G connectivity - unless I need to future-proof myself and get 4G??
• A 7 or 8 inch screen - a 10 inch is starting to get a bit bulky
• A HDMI connection, to link the tablet to both the PC monitor - Mrs P would not cope with just the tablet screen - and to watch the TV in hotels
• A USB port to connect a keyboard - Mrs P would never cope with an on screen keyboard
• Reasonable processing power
• Android OS rather than horrible Windows or "oh so trendy" Apple
• Reliability
• Resilience
• Ideally a price tag below B10,000, though I will go higher for the right thing

What we will not be doing includes:

• Taking pictures of ourselves every 5 minutes
• Tweeting
• Using Faceache
• Playing games
• 'Phoning from it
• Worrying whether it is suitably trendy

I've looked at the Google Nexus 7, Amazon Kindle, etc but these appear to fall down on lack of HDMI or other connectivity to an external screen.

Suggestions from those who understand these things would be really helpful.

Thanks everybody - really helpful info. I'm conscious that the Thais are not the tidiest of people, but are the beaches here any dirtier than the average? Is the sea clean enough to go swimming in? Our 15 month old granddaughter's mummy & daddy are typical ultra conscientious first time parents......

Any suggestions for a reasonable, mid-priced hotel or resort, suitable for the whole family?

Thank you both, this is really helpful. I'll have a look at both your suggestions.

We are planning to travel down from Chiang Mai to meet up with my family from Bangkok and Korat in early February and reckon somewhere on the coast in Rayong province would fit the bill. We've not been to that stretch of coast before, but have been told though that at certain times of year the currents bring rubbish onshore, and the beaches should be avoided - Hua Hin say may be more suitable. I'm also concerned that Rayong is noted more for its industry than being a tourist hot spot.

Any suggestions of good, family friendly beaches please? There will be three generations, including grandchildren of 10 years old and 15 months, and nobody is much interested in watersports, banana boats, etc, rather a "quiet" stretch of beach.

I got pulled over the other day because I do not have one of the yellow and red circular passes for cutting through from the airport to the top end of Suthep Road. These passes are as common as fleas on a Thai dog, but I've no idea what it is called or where I can get one.

Can anybody put me right please? Do the people who issue these things speak English? My Thai is minimal.

Thanks.

Hi

I'm looking to buy some patio furniture - sofa and a couple of armchairs say. I'm looking at PE coated rattan, water hyacinth or teak, but I'm not sure which is the most durable and best suited to be left out in all seasons. Can I ask people:

• Which material is best suited to what I need? Is PE coated rattan the berst choice? Somebody else is paying (retirement gift from my old firm) and I've a budget up to about B25k, so I'm looking for good quality; and

• Where is best to look? Are there any outlets others could recommend please? Am I going to pay tourist prices if I look to source it from Baan Tawai?

Thanks.

Its not new, and not hot, unless they have spiced it up. I havent used it in over 2 years since my first experience.

Can anyone else confirm if it has improved?

Cheers

Iain

If the OP is referring to The Curry Pot, then it most certainly hasn't improved.

I can only desribe it in one word "Yuk".

Went there last night. I can only say the most disgusting Indian I've ever eaten.

My wife and I are retiring to Thailand from the UK in the next few weeks. We'll open a Thai bank account when we arrive, but I do not know how long the 800k Baht must be in the account before we can apply for a O-A visa. Does anybody know please?

Also, I am in the process of getting police checks done, but these could be about a month out of date by the time we apply. Is this likely to cause a problem?

Thanks.

If you are over 50 , you can keep your money in your home country , Just show you have the income each month as the Thai goverment wants you to have not problem then for retirement visa

Does anybody know what the current rules are? Do the funds have to be in a Thai account or is evidence that they are in our home country good enough?

This may sound like a dumb question at this time, but my wife and I have been planning for several years to retire to Chiang Mai. We are aware that the political situation is bound to be "difficult" for some time to come, but we were planning to move to CM from Europe in September. Should we still continue with our plans or should we look to move somewhere in the south for now at least?

We're confused and are from this distance cannot work out how much ex-pat life in CM is impacted by this. Our family are in Bangkok so their experience is a little more unsettling.

We're confused and thus a bit worried!