sapson

I wonder if the PM actually has an advisor who he runs these statements with before putting them out to the press?

He should employ a westerner or get help from someone who actually has an insight into the views of the potential tourists they would like and that of the expat community.

Winning over your existing customer base and expanding it with a few token feel good policies in view of all the recent bad press.................instead of a stream of ludricous ideas would be a starting point!

They do fine him, but he says he makes more money than he pays in fines, so he just keeps doing it. He is not one to follow laws. They need to make his fines larger. As far as the comments that he is not hurting anyone, that is not the point. It is illegal.

He has a beautiful loyal bird on his arm who is making him money ......................... a rarity in Thailand.

As for him being fined quite astonishing!! .....................ok for the jet ski scam to thrive unabated for years and the whole town being built around the oldest profession technically illegal in Thailand, yet the BIB have the time or inclination to shake down a guy for Parrot Photo Pimping!

Have now checked three Honda dealers in town here in a large town in Issan and all have come back with the price 1200, but did just get one down to a quote

of 1000 baht for the YTZ6 V.

He actually showed me the batteries mine being taller in height than the cheaper 600 baht , so dont know what to make of it as ANA had seen the same batterry at 600 bht in his local shop..............wonder where that was?

Actually starts and runs ok but if left until after lunch time the next day for first start its a fifty fifty chance on the starter button, but if kicked over to start and stopped immediately it will happily re start on the starter switch.

Must have taken some nerve or pure desperation to do it, but to walk away with only 15k baht what a let down especially as it was raining!

Should have signed up with a jet ski outfit for a week or so and scammed some farangs, his share of the take would be more than 15k and absolutely no risk of prosecution!

Thanks for the info guys and especially the tip and photo re the panel, very helpful.

Will identify the battery tomorrow which should be the YTZ6V so 12v 5ah as in the book.

This main Honda dealer is where we bought the bike a little under two years ago, have serviced it and provided coupoms with

the monthly payment to get free oil changes etc.

Last service 16k just paid 120 baht for an air filter and a few months back 480 baht for a front tyre which seemed about right,even though when they changed the front tire the old one had an inter tube and I thought they were tubeless on this model........but another story maybe someone used it when in the village got a puncture and put a tube in who knows?

Anyway cant understand why they are quoting the battery at 12 amp and a whopping 1,250 baht? maybe an upgrade for the idle stop model not that I use it.

Having similar problems same year, same bike, Honda said battery is at 70%.It will lose charge sometimes overnight and needs a kick start and after just a minute or so if turned off it re-starts happily on the starter button.

Seems for this bike its a 12 amp battery and as luck has it a 1200 baht cost not the normal 600 baht job unless 12amp batteries are readily available cheaper than at the Honda dealer.?

It comes as standard with a 5AH 12V battery, cost new about 350bht.

The biggest you can fit is a 7AH 12V battery that costs around 500bht.

If you are paying more than 100bht more than the prices I quoted, they are ripping you off.

Interesting its a late 2012 Honda click 125i and bought new from the dealer I was at today nearly two years ago.

For sure said that the batteries for a 110 click or wave etc about 600 but was firm on a price of 1200 baht for the 12 amp battery I needed.

Anyway just looked in the book that came with the bike and It lists the battery as 12v 5ah just as you said but also lists the code as YTZ6V which looking on the net seems to be the high performance battery by company YUSA. which I guess would be expensive.

Tried to access the battery to identify myself but after undoing the the two screws on the panel it still wont budge which ever way I shove it!

So maybe back to the Honda dealer.

Having similar problems same year, same bike, Honda said battery is at 70%.It will lose charge sometimes overnight and needs a kick start and after just a minute or so if turned off it re-starts happily on the starter button.

Seems for this bike its a 12 amp battery and as luck has it a 1200 baht cost not the normal 600 baht job unless 12amp batteries are readily available cheaper than at the Honda dealer.?

According to a Cambodian news source, the men were followed from the border crossing after a tip-off. One of the men is stated to be a Thai border guard captain, no information on the other two, no mention of navy marines. It was said they hoped to pass off the fake $100 bills to naive country folk in rural Cambodia. Also stated this was the biggest ever counterfeiting bust in Cambodia. It said the expected prison term is 5 to 10 years.

Edit - sorry USA news source, not Cambodian. Am I allowed to say ABC?

It would probably take as long as the proposed 5 year prison term to somehow launder pass off $7.5 million dollars amongst naïve country folk between three of them.!

It should not matter.

What visa class is marked on your entry stamp? That is what's important.

Thanks Joe, the entry stamp is just marked NON.................... not B or O.

So just go ahead with the extension at immigration as planned I guess?

As you guys are the experts, I,ll run this by you a simply as I can.

I entered Thailand on a double entry tourist visa issued 19th June first entry 20th June permit to stay stamp until 18th August 2014.

My company then provided the paperwork for a non B as required ........so exited Thailand on the 11th August .

Re entered on the 12th August with a Non B single entry 3 months visa, at the border checked that I was correctly stamped in 90 days permit to stay 9th Nov 2014.

However have just noticed that my non B visa has not been stamped as used as it should be and in fact the border official has stamped the tourist visa as used 12th August mistakenly thinking I was using the second entry ,,,,,,,,,,but giving me 90 days entry stamp not 60 which I would have picked up.

So my B visa saying use by the 12th of Nov remains unstamped and my entry stamp until 9th of Nov is incorrect for the tourist visa but is stamped NON and also the departure card stamp is marked NON,

In a few weeks I was going to extend the B visa for the length of my contract at local immigration when I have my work permit in hand and accompanied by our Thai company visa rep, will this still be possible.?

Will I need to exit and come back before the 9th of November and get another 90 days on the unused B visa although a bit pointless and maybe not possible and the mistake may be picked up.

My previous non B before it was extended was marked used on my entry as is the norm for a single entry.

Is this a major issue or should I not be concerned?

Advice please ............ many thanks,

What great news..............now the hapless jetski renter can rest assured that with the push of a button the tourist police will come rushing to his aid! and provide full assistance in negotiating the requested 60k baht non existent damage fee down to a more reasonable 30k baht and even provide an escort to the nearest atm.

Three cheers for the tourist police!!!!

Maybe the PM simply needs to watch this.... to see how it works.... and then do something about it!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsPuoaktoAw

Edit: And this.. is hilarious : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEfiiVTE1Tw

Caring jet-ski operator... my anus.

Who is the guy covering the story.in the second video..................is he so well paid and under so much threat from who? that he narrates this absolute bullshit and is able not to choke on his own words?...............................let me think he works for the tourist police? and used to represent a European government in Pattaya?

To the moderators of this forum.....you contacted the immigration officers in Bkk and had a dialogue and clarification of visa rules, on behalf of your readers and well done to you a great service.

So since your website carries some considerable weight as a voice of expats and tourists a like, could you not contact the tourist police on behalf of your readers and ask for their official explanation why they have been forced to not help tourists for many years and what their new policy will be if any now the problem has the interest of the PM.

A good way of stopping this rort is actually to make it mandatory for all jetski operators to add an insurance fee onto all tourists agreed hire charges.This way with the amount of conflicts and disagreements taking place I'm pretty sure that the insurance company provider will be watching (and taking photo's)of 'before after' resolution conflicts!Just a thought but has anyone else come up with a better idea yet to stamp out this never ending scam?

Put the onus on the jetski operators to prove damages, with time-stamped photos of the machine lifted out of the water prior to the start of the hire.

Failure to take such photos cancels any legal right that the operator might have to pursue damages.

Have a special hotline with English-speaking operators that people can call to complain about jetski intimidation, and publicize the number at all the major beaches. Prosecute jetski operators (and any police in collusion) who continue to drag Thailand's reputation through the mud.

That hotline is the tourist police who will come rushing to the aid of the tourists and suggest they pay the scammers

So is their a thaivisa reader who actually is a tourist police volunteer in Pattaya? who can explain their old impotent policies on this matter and now they have the backing of the pm what their new stance is?

The tourist police should disband and withdraw their labour until they are allowed to actually protect tourists in these jetski scam circumstances

Tourist police... Protect tourists..... Jetski Scam.....

Oh lord.

The notion of the Tourist police actually helping ..............producing side splitting hilarity kind of sums it up!

I really wonder who the boss of the TP is and what his official stance is ? minor spats in bars or a bit of late night brawling ok we can help!! getting ripped off for thousands of baht by the jetski scammers ...............sorry but we,ll do nothing! but we do have a desk on walking street if you are lost and need to know the way to happyhookers a gogo!

Maybe some brave tv member and Pattaya resident should pop down to the beach camera in hand over the weekend and video a couple of scams playing out.

Send the evidence to tat and the Mayors facebook page and all importantly forwarded to the NCPO head honcho 56 star general whatever his name is and await a response and wait and wait and wait and wait.

I note that thaivisa had a lot of clout in being able to talk directly to immigration officials in BKK and get a response a fine achievement,perhaps as a representative of both tourists and expats alike they could email NCPO with any recent evidence that could be submitted, however would this risk the future existence of this site?

Please don't recommend others to do this. It is very dangerous and there are plenty of videos about this already up on YouTube.

Point taken, but the situation is outrageous and if the evidence albeit previous youtube videos or victim statements were presented to the NCPO by a relevant high profile organisation or person maybe they would act.??

The tourist police should disband and withdraw their labour until they are allowed to actually protect tourists in these jetski scam circumstances...................and communicate clearly to the NCPO why they are refusing to operate leaving the resorts without tourist police cover.

If the scammers are to be allowed to continue with impunity.................maybe they could be provided with on site credit card readers and the hapless victims can just sign and go and this will save the scammers the bother of escorting them to the atm machine!

Maybe some brave tv member and Pattaya resident should pop down to the beach camera in hand over the weekend and video a couple of scams playing out.

Send the evidence to tat and the Mayors facebook page and all importantly forwarded to the NCPO head honcho 56 star general whatever his name is and await a response and wait and wait and wait and wait.

I note that thaivisa had a lot of clout in being able to talk directly to immigration officials in BKK and get a response a fine achievement,perhaps as a representative of both tourists and expats alike they could email NCPO with any recent evidence that could be submitted, however would this risk the future existence of this site?

A friend of mine had some dental work done by a graduate of Khon Kaen University and thought the bill was a little high. He asked about it and she said that was the price the University said to charge Farangs, the Thai price was cheaper.

At the kku dental teaching hospital,it is the cheapest place to go without a doubt.............many moons ago a rotten tooth fell out completely with the help of a pizza..........the next day I was their and the following day had single tooth denture fitted, consulted a professor who wanted me to get my awful dental work rebuilt over the following year slowly and he would make it a project case study for his students who he would oversee! sadly I couldn't commit to being in the area..................a decision I am now deeply regretting and quite literally paying for.

My bill was minimal for my full mouth x rays and the tooth............but they clearly displayed the thai prices everywhere and clearly stated that the farang price was 20% higher no deception, you had a bill with the thai price clearly marked and they just added 20% as if it was vat!! or F-AT in this case when you went to the cashier,but still crazily cheap.

Anyway the dental students who trained their which is 80% of issan dentists have seen this policy used and some have retained it in their surgery.

Prices mentioned are certainly less than in BKK. If she's charging you more than she would a local it can't be by very much.

I'd be more concerned about whether she has the training to do a root canal as usually that is a specialist procedure.

Shes had twelve years in the job and this is her practice and she also shares a practice a few evenings a week in a major town which has the leading dental teaching hospital in Issan, in fact its the cheapest place for treatment but they take so long, fine if you are not working and can fit in with their once every month appointment system.

In this session she showed me an English video of root canal treatments and was pretty informative and I questioned why the need for the rct considering the tooth had previously not been the slightest problem, but I also looked online and confirmed its necessary when doing a crown and post replacement if the tooth had been very decayed or infected.

She did seem to know what she was doing and every time my mouth wasn't occupied.......I was posing questions which she happily responded to,so I hope in a few weeks it will be a happy ending rather than a dental horror story.

Price does not appear high to me so probably normal for upcountry. Higher gold might make a better seal as decay often starts in the area between cap and natural tooth but fallback would be implant if too much of tooth is lost for cap as doing now.

You can get a good idea of prices in most large dental offices in Bangkok or other large city by checking internet sites as many do provide a price list. One example below.

http://www.bangkoksmiledental.com/price/price-dental-crown.html

Thanks for the info, had a look around at prices on the net as suggested, comparatively the quoted prices are fair but considering the remote location cant help wondering what the Thai price would have been.............but its convenient and has temporarily filled an awful gap immediately and having just returned from the first root session which was plus a few extras at bill time I,ll just have to stick with it at least for this tooth.

Had a very prominent front tooth fracture and fall out last night to my horror leaving just a stub, but went to my local dentist in my

one horse town in Nakon no-where.

Pleasantly surprised to be seen immediately by the most delightful lady dentist but wanted to check the average rate for the

treatment needed.

Had a temporary space filling crown fitted and one x-ray today, total of 1650 baht.

Following prices quoted to do the job properly over the course of the next month.

2 visits for a root canal 3k

1 visit for a pin/post 2k

Crown between 7k to 12k depending on gold content.

So estimating about 12k total using the lower gold content crown to replace a single expired, decayed front tooth.

I need an enormous amount of other asthetic and remedial dental work done asap but want to keep the prices about right and not be too swayed by a wonderful bedside manner as she was very eager to get me back in the chair later today for visit one of the rootcanal treatment.

Do these prices seem average, low or upwardly farang adjusted would appreciate any opinions.

Thanks

Posted 2014-08-17 14:51:54

I wonder if it will ever be resolved? a couple of years back I dared to ask on a Pattaya farang forum,why the western volunteer force in too tight uniforms with their own telephone number and shiny cars were impotent in dealing with the problem? and didn't they feel totally inept cruising around the place as the saviour, mediators for westerners in distress.....................but walking away from such a blatant exploitation of the very people they volunteered to assist who are clearly in desperate need of honest help....................yes dial 1*** if in trouble but don't bother if its because you are being robbed or assaulted by thai nationals having rented a jet skis!

Of course after being banned from the forum for asking such a question...................further digging revealed they were under instruction not to get involved!! and maybe that is still the case? sad really because Im sure these guys generally do a sterling job.

Maybe in its heyday 4 jetski teams at it all month perhaps raking in 20k a day each team........over 2 mill baht a month

in the kitty means a lot of peoples rice bowls overflowing.

Just come back from Savannaket a few days ago.

Buses go from the bus station In Mukdahan to Savanaket bus station on the half hour for both the outbound and return starting at 7-30 am form Mukdahan, with the faffing about at the border it will take about an hour, don't forget dollars for visa on arrival, 35 dollars is cheaper than the 1500 baht they will ask for if you don't have dollars.

Their is secure parking at the bridge in Mukdahan it may be connected with the savan casino who have an office their in the same compound but sure its generally available for a small fee.

Tuk tuks available from the bus station in Savanaket to the consulate about 2kms generally 40 to 50 baht per person both ways obviously they will try for more, takes less than 10 minutes.

Same day service was offered and obtained but a later pick up time of 3-30pm not negotiable, I tried! but it was the busiest Ive ever seen the consulate, mainly with Laotians, however pick up actually only took about ten minutes and on quiet day they may let you pick up earlier.

Compared to VIentienne its a doddle and with the same day service you cant really ask for much more and I hope its popularity doesn't ruin it, but they are moving to a new swanky office complex which may change things.

I wonder if it will ever be resolved? a couple of years back I dared to ask on a Pattaya farang forum,why the western volunteer force in too tight uniforms with their own telephone number and shiny cars were impotent in dealing with the problem? and didn't they feel like frauds cruising around the place as the saviour, mediators for westerners in distress.....................but walking away from such a blatant exploitation of the very people they volunteered to help who are clearly in desperate need of honest help....................yes dial 1*** if in trouble but don't bother if its because you are being robbed or assaulted by thai nationals having rented a jet skis!

Of course after being banned from the forum for asking such a question...................further digging revealed they were under instruction not to get involved!! and maybe that is still the case? sad really because Im sure these guys generally do a sterling job.

Maybe the NCPO could be presented with all the evidence and asked for a response! or would the Mayor say he has dealt with it already......................

rant over! .................and since prostitution is illegal here maybe the NCPO could also address the shameful practice of girls offering happy endings when going for a massage, its so distressing

The Junta have very quickly stopped the crazy food prices on HuaHins  beaches, which was of course involving  Thais and their love of eating so of national importance.

However the jetski scam involving thousands of baht, violence, corrupt men wearing tight dark clothing etc and bad publicity worldwide .............albeit involving mainly non thais victims....................doesn't seem to have been given the same level of importance?

Just how powerful are the benificiaries that the scam can still continue?

The 11th was only added as holiday a month or so ago. Their calender only shows the 12th as a holiday.

http://www.thaisavannakhet.com/savannakhet/th/consulate/officehours/?PAGEN_1=2

Yes I saw the website also .............just have a feeling going tomorrow to submit Monday for a one day turn around, I may find the place deserted as they are taking the Monday holiday afterall even though the member had contacted them a only a couple of weeks ago confirming they would be open.

Should have called myself before the weekend..................tried phoning today hoping for a recorded message with their next opening day but no luck on that one.

Adopted the Thai style...................lack of forward planning!