BuckarooBanzai

If you could get your relative to notarize a promissory note in the UK you would likely have it made. Good luck.

From Wiki:

A promissory note, referred to as a note payable in accounting, or commonly as just a "note", is a negotiable instrument, wherein one party (the maker or issuer) makes an unconditional promise in writing to pay a sum of money to the other (the payee), either at a fixed or determinable future time or on demand of the payee, under specific terms. They differ from IOUs in that they contain a specific promise to pay, rather than simply acknowledging that a debt exists. In common speech, other terms, such as "loan," "loan agreement," and "loan contract" may be used interchangeably with "promissory note" but these terms do not have the same legal meaning. Whereas a promissory note is evidence of a loan, it is not the loan contract, which would contain all the terms and conditions of the loan agreement.

@ rgs2001uk

If you live in Khmer Issan than you are sadly missing the point. To mock the cultural practices of the Thai Khmer will not make you many friends.

If the family does not already have a grave site with a cement tomb to place the ashes in it will run another 5k to 10k baht.

Some ballpark information below for 3 day affair and not extravagant. These were actual charges for a recent funeral here in Prasat.

20k just covers the Wats charges for the funeral at the Wat and the cremation. Usually the Thai family receives enough "death insurance" to cover the full funeral cost although it seems a pity that they don't save this money for one of the kids education instead of "throwing" it away on a party. But that is just the way it is.

Itemized Funeral Costs

Ambulance Transportation to/from Hospital 1,000 Baht (for death certificate and injection of preservation chemicals)

Ceremonial Photo and Decorations 1,500 Baht

Cremation Urn for remains 1,800 Baht

Music (3 Day Funeral Music) 4,000 Baht

Funeral Tents/Seating/Tables 2,000 Baht

Refrigeration Unit (Body Preservation) 2,000 Baht

Photography - Still and Movie 3,000 Baht

Wat Services 20,000 Baht

Non-pork food and refreshments 23,000 Baht

Live Pigs and Pork 26,280 Baht

Flowers 2,500 Baht

Offerings to Monks 5,000 Baht

Casket 8,000 Baht

Security - Honor Guard 2,000 Baht

Parade and Transport Vehicle 3,000 Baht

Khmer Band 6,000 Baht

Total 111,080 Baht

A great deal depends on where you are going to the hospital (big city or out country) and the hospital itself. Over the years I have gone to the medium level private hospitals - not the deluxe tourist hospitals or the state run basic hospitals. We never had a problem with my wife, and even other relatives sleeping in my room - always a private - but I can assure you that I have never been in a hospital that would come close to what I would expect from a hotel. Although they try and keep them clean there are almost always ants - on all floors - and the bathrooms are pretty disgusting suffering from a good deal of disrepair. Staff are usually very nice and if you keep your expectations in check you can get by just fine. But if you go to one of these middle ground hospitals you will have to provide about everything for both your wife and your self - towels, tooth brush and tooth past, toilet paper etc. Most of this you can buy on site but it is much cheaper just to bring it along. By the way, usually a bench is the extra bed but it is generally not too bad for sleeping. Before one comments what hospital did I go to I have been to many with all pretty much the same conditions as described. If you are going 1st class then enjoy, if not then temper your expectations accordingly.

Thanks Boksida for your very thorough albeit somewhat disappointing information. As to the photos - is this the source of the Chao Phraya river - I have never seen such a flow from an artesian well before. Back in Michigan I had some really small ones 2 inch or so that only put out about a gallon a minute. I guess I will have to do some further research. I do remember it mentioned that there were some in Buri Ram as mentioned in previous post but maybe just rumor. Thanks again.

Kropotkin:

We just had an artesian well made for us.

Chanthaburi though.

Actually,.....2..... since the first one struck rock.

All done by hand (amazing!)

About 1,5 meter diameter.

Congratulations Kropotkin, I envy you. Again, a meter and a half well is greatly more than I was envisioning. What kind of flow do you get and how deep may I ask?

Dumball -

Thank you for your response but you seem to be referring more to a spring than an artesian well. Both are pretty beautiful and magical items but quite different in formation - a well by natural crevicing and an artesian well by a pipe. You can indeed just "put in an artesian well" given the will to sink a pipe some 100 plus meters in search of a sub-level water table under pressure. I had five wells on a property I resided on in Michigan. Water tables, unlike oil, are quite common and therefor the chances for success are much more likely than you seem to indicate in your post. Of course their is always the possibility of failure but a gamble of this type, depending on cost, is perhaps worth the try.

It does sound to me that you miss that pure water as much as I! Will keep trying anyhow. Thanx again for the post.

I have been thinking about putting in an artesian well on our property. The thought of a continuous supply of water for a pond sounds very attractive. We live south of Surin on the slope of the Korat plateau which I believe may be a good area for this type of well. I also understand that there are some artesian wells in Buri Ram which if true adds credence to the potential for success.

However, no Thai I have asked about this has any idea of what an artesian well is - much less who can drill one and about how much "approximately" they cost perhaps using wells in Buri Ram as a benchmark. Does any one here on TV have experience with these types of wells in Thailand and can take the time to enlighten me. I would be grateful.

wolf5370 - Do you mean a lawyer? and could you clarify. Thanx

Perhaps using kid/dog proof perforated containers to hold the mothballs would be a safer solution?

Copied off another site:

DO NOT USE MOTHBALLS FOR THIS PURPOSE! It is illegal and dangerous. The use of anything of this manner for anything other that the proper uses stated on the packaging is a violation of FEDERAL LAW, as well as many STATE laws. Naphthalene, the active ingredient in mothballs, is dangerous and extremely toxic. Children often mistake them for candy or toys, and typically end up in the hospital, and many have died. Your pets are also vulnerable to naphthalene toxicity, and may eat the mothballs because they taste sweet. I am not some animal nut. I am an Animal Control Officer and an Animal Cruelty Investigator with my local police department. I have done the research and spoken to the Federal Agencies who govern these issues due to a case that I investigated. It is a violation of federal law and many state laws under the improper use pesticides and repellents.

I realize this is not a post from Thailand but it certainly raises some concerns about kids and pets.

Phutoie2, if it was I who motivated your words of wisdom please forgive me. I should have said "Because you can apply for a visa extension one month in advance" but I thought it was pretty self evident to what I was referring to. I can assure you the advice I supplied was accurate and an attempt to help the OP and not spout rhetoric like some others.

Because you can apply for a visa one month in advance you might try presenting your story to immigration. They may issue you an exception since you have both a wife and child.

If they can give you an exception great, if not, try the other methods with the time you have left. I base this suggestion on the following:

Notice: This is a translation of the Police order 777/2551 done by Isaan Lawyers (www.isaanlawyers.com). This is not an official translation and it should be used only for information purposes. In case of discrepancy with the Thai version, you should know that the Thai document is the only official one. Red sections are new modifications.

(5) In the case of a parent, one of parents must have an average annual income of not less than 40,000 baht per month or a money deposit of not less than 400,000 baht for expenses within a year.

In other necessary circumstances, The Immigration Commissioner or Deputy of Immigration Commissioner may approve on case to case basis.

(6) In case of marriage with a Thai lady, the husband who is an alien must have an average annual income of not less than 40,000 baht per month or a money deposit in a local Thai bank of not less than 400,000 baht for the past 2 months for expenses within a year."

The comment in the center may provide you with some leeway such as combining savings and income.

Best of luck - the exchange rate is tough on us all so I am sure most sympathize with your situation.

This looked like it might work for you. If you read the reviews people had similar problems and it apparently worked for them.

Can get on Download.com

SyncBack Freeware 3.2.26

Good Luck

Edit - It is free

Good idea and so I tried. Turns out that this is one of those huge companies that don't want you to have any contact with them other than sales. When I went to their e-mail link the only purpose of the link was to put in your friends e-mail address and send them a link to this companies web site to drum up some sales I guess. So we can only hope that their sales department can take care of the issue as I sent them the details and the ball is in their court now. Personally I do not like companies who only care about sales but that is another subject. Perhaps this is just international Junk Mail. --------- Thanks for the suggestion.

I received some mail from the US for Jason Buck Stewart. Apparently Jason is not too familiar with Thailand address methodology and since the address he supplied the sender was pretty much useless the PO sent it to me. Let the farangs figure it out! Well, if you know Jason whose partial address is

<address details deleted> 32140 Prasat Thailand

please leave some contact info and I will forward his mail. The mail I received is from his Account Management provider.

Happy New Year! Sawadi pee mi krup! :jap:

Sorry full post did not post properly!

http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/070810_announcement.html

Change in Fees - American Citizen Services and Immigrant Visas - Effective July 13, 2010

New consular fees will take effect July 13, 2010 at all U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide, including the US Embassy in Bangkok and the Consulate in Chiang Mai. The fee changes include higher fees for U.S. passports, Consular Reports of Birth Abroad, and notarial services, as well as a new fee for adding additional pages to a U.S. passport. More information can be found at http://travel.state.gov/news/news_5078.html and on the Embassy website at http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/071310_new_consular_fees.html.

The following is a partial list of services and the fee changes:

*

The application processing fee for adult passport applications will change from $55 to $70.

*

The passport book security surcharge will change from $20 to $40.

*

The application fee for passport cards will increase, from $20 to $30 for adults, and from $10 to $15 for minors.

*

A new fee of $82 for additional passport pages will be imposed.

*

The fee for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad will change from $65 to $100.

*

Notarial and authentication services, which now range from $20 to $30, will all be $50.

The American Citizen Services section of the U.S. Embassy Bangkok is located at 95 Wireless Road, Bangkok 10330, Thailand. The American Citizen Services Unit of the U.S. Embassy can be reached by calling 66-2-205-4049 and by e-mail at [email protected]. The emergency after-hours telephone number is 66-2-205-4000.

The U.S. Consulate General in Chiang Mai is located at 387 Wichayanond Road in Chiang Mai. The American Citizen Services Unit of the Consulate General can be reached by calling 66-53-107-777 The after-hours emergency telephone number is 66-81-881-1878.

If I remember correctly you can pay in US$ Thai Baht or credit card.

Exceptions To The Fourth Amendment from wiki

The border search exception is a doctrine of United States criminal law that exempts searches of travelers and their property from the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement.

The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), ICE-HSI Special Agents, and Coast Guard officers (E4 grade and above) whom are all customs officers (those tasked with enforcing Title 19 of the United States Code) with the United States Department of Homeland Security, are permitted to search travelers and their belongings at the American border without probable cause or a warrant. These searches are therefore exempted from the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement. Pursuant to this authority, customs officers may generally stop and search the property of any traveler entering or exiting the United States at random, or even based largely on ethnic profiles. However, customs may only conduct searches of the traveler's body --- including strip, body cavity, involuntary x-ray, and in some jurisdictions, pat-down searches --- if the Customs officer has reasonable suspicion to believe the traveler is concealing contraband.

The key here is that only customs officers are given this exclusionary right when the traveler is entering or exiting the US. If those conducting a search do not meet these base requirement than it is in violation of the 4th amendment. (Unless the amendment was further diluted with the patriot act or some other new legislation.)

Has anyone noticed an increase in deforestation the last couple of years? I live in rural Surin and have watched the "woods", many hundreds of rai, behind our farm being cut down to be used for various other agricultural purposes. Having lived here for ten years the rate of deforestation recently is very apparent. Although this is private land with many owners the conversion of natural woodland to cultivated land appears to be accelerating.

It is my understanding that the new tax code will penalizes owners of undeveloped property which should intensify deforestation.

"The Draft Act contains a new tax of 0.5% of the appraised value for undeveloped land held for future commercial purposes or otherwise, doubling every three years, and increasing to as high as 2.0% if the land is not used over a period of years. This will be phased in. Unlike the taxes now on the books, mentioned below, it is anticipated that the new tax, starting at 0.5%, will be enforced, and may encourage holders of large blocks of land to subdivide and sell off."

"The yearly ceiling or maximum rates multiplied by the appraised value that will be phased in over five years under the Draft Act will be as follows:

0.5% of land and buildings used for commercial purposes.

0.1% of land and buildings used for residential purposes.

0.05% of land used for agricultural purposes."

"As mentioned above, for undeveloped land the Draft Act contains an additional ceiling rate of 0.5% of the appraised value, but this rate will double every three years as long as the property is not used until it reaches 2.0% of the appraised value."

If this is the case is this really what is in the best interest of Thailand? Personally, I think people who have natural woodland should be encouraged to keep it in its natural state. Obviously it is up to the land owner but penalizing woodland ownership is counterproductive to a tree hugger like me as well as to a country that is trying to preserve what little remains of its timber.

Perhaps the law should exclude the rural Thai farmer with a proportionately small tract of undeveloped land. As they use this land for selective cuttings to build their houses and such the land does play an important role to the rural folks. This land is arguably agricultural as it is used to provide a timber crop.

The bigwigs that own thousands of undeveloped investment rai are another matter and perhaps this is the actual intent for this tax but I do not see any exclusion for the relatively poor rural land owner. It does not appear that this legislation has been well thought out and bodes ill for Thailand's woodlands and the rural poor land owner.

Very good quality, up to date, pdf maps pertaining to the rescent flooding can be found here.

http://unosat.web.cern.ch/unosat/asp/prod_free.asp?id=57

UNOSAT is the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Operational Satellite Applications Programme,

implemented in co-operation with the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).

Maps

Latest Map RSS

The areas of interest below group the map produced or facilitated by UNOSAT for the humanitarian community. Please credit UNOSAT and/or the original source if this information is used in a report, project etc.

International Charter Space and Major Disasters

Product ID: 1519 - English

Published: 1 Nov, 2010

Overview of Flood Waters in Buriram, Nakhon Ratchasima & Surin Province, Thailand

UNOSAT_THA_FF2010_NAKHON_RATCHASIMA_MODIS_1Nov2010_LR.pdf (1.3MB),

UNOSAT_THA_FF2010_NAKHON_RATCHASIMA_MODIS_1Nov2010_HR.pdf (3.7MB)

Product ID: 1517 - English

Published: 29 Oct, 2010 (Updated: 29 Oct, 2010)

Overview of Flood Waters in and around Ayutthaya Province, Thailand

UNOSAT_THA_FF2010_Ayutthaya_MODIS_29Oct2010_v2_LR.pdf (1.1MB),

UNOSAT_THA_FF2010_Ayutthaya_MODIS_29Oct2010_v2_HR.pdf (3.4MB)