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Excuse me, what is 'Pond'

Why on earth would you need a credit card in Thailand if you are transfering an inheritance? Even if you avoid all charges I wouldn't sign up for one.

Does anyone know when Etihad's next sale is ? They have been naughty by shortening the life

of the airmile accumulation period and you find it necessary to spend the miles on goods you don't really want rather than lose the credits. All you really want to do is to offset these against flights. Additionally they appear to have diluted the value of the portion of the airmiles accumulated which can be set against flights. Have I got this wrong ? Has anyone else noticed this.?

Further Etihad appear to becoming less competitve against Qatar and Emiratesfrom Manchester !

Could you tell me about the 3.5 % deal. Was this with that 'S' Bank ? What was the name of the account with them or was it a fixed term bond without access to your funds during the duration of the deal ?

Thanks

Etihad used to be best for value and they have now reduced the life and value of their Airmiles. They are at least £100 more expensive than Qatar, Jet , or EVA. I like to use Etihad but their prices are becoming prohibitive. For example Flights from Manchester with them are now £707 minimum whilst with Qatar you can easily get flights to BKK from £625. That's from September 2012 onwards. Coming back from Bangkok on round trip has become expensive as one commentator said 'just because they can' charge that is. Come on Etihad get your pricing back into cometition !!

A perfectly reasonable question as we are all interested in this wonderful lady. The paranoid comments about stalking and other silly replies are unnecessary and unreasonable. I knew it was the Shangri La Hotel anyway which is where the Conference is being held but it could have easily been as a guest of Miss Shinawatra or the Myanmar Ambassador if there is one.

There is no requirement for change of visa/issue of visa but at extension time (less than 30 days remaining) the money must be in account 2 months for a first retirement extension of stay.

As Jomtien resident during the UK winter months am I correct in assuming that if you have 800,000 baht in a Thai Bank Account seasoned and untouched there is no requirement to go to the British Consul on Soi 5 to pay them the 2300 baht or thereabouts for the British Embassy Letter and you may go straight to Immigration for your Annual Retirement Visa renewal ? Maybe you just need the Bank Letter confirmation of cash-at-bank ? Not sure about this. Thanks

another example of why the Thai economy is in better shape than most western economies. simply block all competition.

it help also to attend economic meetings and talk about the dangers of protectionism.

about time the west started to learn from the east.

Yes, if only. The UK and Europe should have done this years ago. Too late now.

Why on earth would that commentator say 'not later than September' ? Is it not the case that more than 50 % of Thai Visa members are back in their home countries (mostly Europe andScandanavia I would suggest) for the Summer or I am I wrong ? Is it not true that the majority of these members return when it starts to get cold in their countries, say October and November onwards, or again, am I wrong with this ? Why not hold the Party in early December then out-of-BKK members could combine the trip with shopping and other pre-Christmas ideas.

I have used Nakhonchai'air' from Pattaya to Chiang Mai and return by air Asia which is double the price on the return Air journey. If you can call any long haul bus journey acceptable then Nakhonchai'air' is the better tolerated. than most. However these buses are very cold and you need to wrap up before getting on them. Nakhonchaiair is also a bit more expensive than other bus services, If you will excuse me need to empty bowels fully before alighting as the loos on all of these buses are disgusting and fit only for a pee at best. I used an executive bus company (no name) from Udon to Pattaya leaving Udon at 6-00 pm and that was quite good.

I think you need a Tor Tor Sam (don't know exact spelling) which shows origination of funds. I have kept my original bank transfer copy 'invoices' when I sent my money from UK to buy my house in Jomtien Beach. Hope this helps.

If you have work in Bangkok fair enough otherwise I wouldn't bring kids to Bangkok. Why not live by the seaside for the better air quality. Good schools in Chonburi Province which has many seaside resorts and do not necessarily have to be in Pattaya which is unsuitable for kids. Also much cheaper living these areas than in the City. Just a view. Not ttally experienced. My kids are grown and gone.

What a terrible accident for the young couples and the thai guy. Very very sad indeed for 5 families

90-day notification of staying longer than 90 days and Re-entry permit

I think the Soi 5 Immigration Office at Jomtien Beach do a good job. They are always helpful and civil if not somewhat aloof but that is expected. I think however that the 90 day reporting requirements for Annual Visa Hiolders for Retirement Visa holders are unnecessary abd could be relaxed. Further the re-entry charges for single and multiple re-entry into Thailand are too expensive. Thank you for asking for comments.

A 9 year old is hardly in a position to be in a consensual sexual relationship. This would have been a coercive act of rape. Since the situation persisted over time, the girl would have developed a method of coping with it. Eventually this was a relationship--a sick one, but still a relationship.

I wonder how this situation managed to go undetected for such a long time.

The professionals involved were quite remiss in not doing a better assessment of the situation. Obviously, this is a family situation which could not provide the most basic protection for the young girl. There is no reason to believe that they suddenly developed the emotion support and strength to care for her during a particularly traumatic period of time. This is not an indictment on the family, per se, a great deal of factors can cause the breakdown in family relationships, but the professionals should be able to identify this and provide further support to the girl.

Very sad for all those involved.

Forgive me if i'm wrong but as a young kid of nine, wouldn't a fit parent or parents have spotted the difference in a kids behaviour ??? at nine I would certainly know--her manner--her movements over 6 years- where were the family during this 6 year stretch ?? Sorry again but parents were not very interested in the kid, and I would say negligent and should have to bear some guilt. Her friends didn't know or speak ??? Someone somewhere at the onset with her being 9 would have known, and to go 6 years sort of without being brought to task. Hey what about the other teachers in the school they also didn't know ?????...

Perhaps we should ask the question in her classroom, did her schoolmates know anything about this and did the teacher have relationships with other girls simultaneously that the girls would like to talk about at this juncture !!

Suwichan reportedly confessed to using stolen keys to the boxes to steal their contents in May.

Not sure about this one... If my safe deposit key is lost, it gets reported and the lock changed.

You cannot duplicate those keys, can you? Anyway, it says "stolen" not "duplicated " keys, so that's moot.

How many stolen keys did he have? Apart from a lucky strike, how would you steal these keys anyway? Did the employees leave them lying around and never noticed that they were gone? If the employees didn't even care about their safety deposit keys, what does that say about their mindset?

- No excuse for the thief, just wondering aloud how this could happen in the first place.

I'm thinking he took & duplicated keys for unused/unassigned safe deposit boxes, then waited until someone got that box. After all, the bank has to keep these unused keys somewhere; he probably had access to that storage area. Maybe he even had some say in who got assigned what box, so he got to cherry-pick his victims. Once someone started using that box, bingo! Any key can be duplicated; you just have to find a crooked locksmith.

Sherlock Holmes, you solved the mystery and this is your first post! Have you been in the "night time banking business" for a long time?

Yes, well done, Sherlock. That must be the way he did it. The security of unused/unallocated box keys would'nt be so high on the agenda, though of course, we know now that they should be. I am impressed young man.

Can you get a visa at the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangkok?

I certainly got visas without any hassle in the UK.

You can easily get a visa at the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangkok,it's in Wireless road,a short walk from the Sukhumvit Road(opposite way from the British Embassy) You go there,fill out a simple form,one photo needed,and collect it the next afternoon.Usually no queue,staff are helpful,I'm not sure of the current cost as I haven't got a visa from them for a while,(as i live in Vietnam now I don't need one).If you are able to get a proper visa this way,some people have reported it avoids possible lengthy queues when arriving at the airport in Vietnam with the pre-approval letter,which is what you get with the on-line application mentioned by the OP.

I was very interested that you live in Vietnam now. I think Thailand is a lot more expensive now. When I came here 5 years ago I bought my Condo for 71 thai Baht per £ Sterling. ! Now its 48 baht. ONE THIRD LESS. If you are on a fixed income ou can see easily it buys a lot less now. Can you tell me which area you would recommend for living in Vietnam as an expat, not seedy but with a little access if you get my drift.

and do you find it cheaper there than in Thailand ? Do you mind if I ask have you met a nice Vietnamese Lady to share life with there?

to be honest the whole of TAT needs a shack up, no one there seems to know anything about the visiting tourists

my suggestion would be for the TAT to have a panel of Forigners made up of each major country that visits thailand to assist with these dumb campaigns and to advise ' hey this is a load of <deleted> and that is what peope will think ' before speding 8 billion THB .... also to be able to address the real problems Tourist face when coming here

I think the ' Panel of Foreigners ' idea is a good one but there's no need to depreciate your views with unsavoury language. That spoilt your presentation for me. I liked it otherwise.

I want to contact Ariya Banomyong Aged 38 new Appointee as Pilot Head of Google Thailand new office. If he reads this could I possibly get your email address and/ or Thailand phone number. If any member knows how we may get in contact with him I would be obliged for details

for recruitment reasons.

( Name and email address supplied [email protected] 0843517811 after 25th September ie date of return to Thailand )

Go early to Immigration Soi 5 Jomtien.. Get there for 9-00am or before Leave your car well away from Immigration office, hard to park .Leave it down Soi 5 or on beach road and walk up to the Office.

So now there is a 'crack down' on ED visas. Why? Are any of these people doing anything wrong, harming anyone? No. I they were they would be arrested, fined, fined, and kicked out of the country. So what if they are using a loophole to stay in Thailand? On a list of one to infinity this 'problem' would be close to infinity. I know a lot of guys staying in Thailand. Many are looking after someone else's children—usually a Thai man who left his wife—support a family, support half a village. Support which the Thai government does not do. Just back off and let these people stay here.

They are not using a loophole. They don't meet the requirement of minimum study of 4 hours a week

There are legitimate ways that guys supporting a Thai girl and her family can stay I am sure without applying for an Ed Visa

All you people who are cheering this are absolute scum, you know that? At least people who use ED visa's are trying to do something to stay here legitimately.

Some of you lot forget that we are essentially all here for similar reasons, it's just that not all of us are lucky enough to have a job or be over a certain age so that we can get the visa we need...

You might laugh now while you have your comfortable retirement visa or whatever it is, but one day they'll clamp down on those as well - then perhaps you'll wish you weren't quite so gleeful about the struggles of the rest of us to stay here. Morons. Shameful

Well said. This site has more than it's fair share of muppets!

Sorry but what is the ' similar reason' we are all here for ? I ask legitimately. I am here for the female company, the good weather, the reasonable prices, fairly reasonably priced accommodation. Is the reason amoungst the items ive mentioned?

I have been using an ED visa for the past 5 years, but I will graduate this year.

I have a high GPA, and am on the Dean's List.

I used to work part-time as a teacher.

I think it is silly, not to allow real students to work at all.

Thank you your reply. Sorry to come back but I am genuinely interested in learning Thai language properly and not for Visa reasons.

Can you recommend a quality school within 15-30 minutes travelling distance from Pattaya?

I am prepared to make a payment of course. Thank you

All you people who are cheering this are absolute scum, you know that? At least people who use ED visa's are trying to do something to stay here legitimately.

Some of you lot forget that we are essentially all here for similar reasons, it's just that not all of us are lucky enough to have a job or be over a certain age so that we can get the visa we need...

You might laugh now while you have your comfortable retirement visa or whatever it is, but one day they'll clamp down on those as well - then perhaps you'll wish you weren't quite so gleeful about the struggles of the rest of us to stay here. Morons. Shameful

Well said. This site has more than it's fair share of muppets!

Sorry but what is the ' similar reason' we are all here for ? I ask legitimately. I am here for the female company, the good weather, the reasonable prices, fairly reasonably priced accommodation. Is the reason amoungst the items ive mentioned?

I have been using an ED visa for the past 5 years, but I will graduate this year.

I have a high GPA, and am on the Dean's List.

I used to work part-time as a teacher.

I think it is silly, not to allow real students to work at all.

Forgive the ignorance. What is a HIGH GPA ?

What will be your next move. Will you be applying for another Ed Visa after your graduation. I assume you are under 50years and not entitled to apply for a retirement visa