Gumballl

I'm a bit surprised at your post. Are you trying to say that you are dissapointed that they did not choose a beer-guzzling drunk... perhaps you?

Just walk away.

go have lasik surgery, and be done with the eye exams, glasses, contacts, etc.

My wife and baby daughter live in Korat. The journey from Korat to BKK, as you may well know, can be dangerous at times.

Soon I am hoping that my wife and daughter will join me in the US, and that Thai driving horrors will be a distant memory.

For now, during my visits to Thailand, should I have to take my daughter to BKK, I will stick to taking the train.

I have only been in taxis, private mini-buses, and pick-up trucks in Thailand. I've noticed that neither of these vehicles have seat belts in the rear passenger seats. Therefore, how is one supposed to attach a child (baby) car seat, unless in the front passenger seat?

Is the lack of seat belts typical of all vehicles in Thailand, or just the one's for hire and the "ever so safe" (not!) pickup truck.

I tried a Chang Lite at a bar. It costs the same (80 baht) as would a regular Chang beer. Did I order another?... nope! If I am going to get pissed, might as well do it with a stronger beer.

As for those of you who despise the taste (or lack thereof) of Chang, try pouring it into a glass, and adding a slice of lime. It takes away the bitterness, and sweetens the taste.

Stick it to the Thai business. Charge them double what you would charge a Farang company, and when the Thai asks for a discount, give it to them. Tell them "... you very special customer, I make good deal for you". It works in the rest of the world, why not in Thailand?

Can someone tell me if there is a gov't office in Korat (similar to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in BKK) where a Thai citizen may go to apply for a passport? If such a place exists, where is this office?

Also, does anyone know if Thailand has started to issue the new passports containing "biometric" information as will be required soon by the US for all incoming tourists and immigrants?

My wife's passport expires in the 3rd quarter of 2008, and I think it might be best for her to renew it before she gets her US immigration stamp in the passport to come to the US.

Geez, use your imagination! Just say she work in "Public Relations" at such and such business. Nobody will probably check up on this.

Simple advice... move on, and say goodbye to the woman. It may seem hard to do, but you only live once, and I cannot see why you would want to complicate your life because of her situation. Plus, if you have only spent 3 weeks with your girlfriend, how well do you really know her? Chatting on the phone every day does not qualify IMO as a means of getting to know someone.

If you plan to disregard this advice, move to Thailand, live with your GF and kid for about a year, and see if things work out. There is no sense in going thru the visa steps if in the end everything falls apart (and you are broke!).

Thanks for your post everyone. I will mention this to my wife so that she will not be fooled again. Our daughter is our first child.

My baby daughter was recently sick with a 40C fever, and my Thai wife took her to the hospital in Korat. After the doctor examined my daughter and prescribed the meds to relieve her symptoms, my wife was charged 2800 Baht for the visit.

Is this amount typical? Based on how "fragile" children are, do you recommend that I purchase health insurance? If so, what are the yearly costs for such?

P.S. The doctor concluded that my daughter was suffering from the flu.

Hi

What I mean is that for the vacancies we currently have we will not sponser work permits. Therefore you have to be able to legally work in thailand without a wp.

I only posted the salaries to give you a guide to what you could expect in the local market should you be able to find employment.

best regards

mn

You don't want to hire foreigners because the salary is too low for us and because of the unfair labour regulation that requires a company that hires a foreigner must employ 5 locals.

You could possibly be right about the salary issue. Many foreigners do not want to work for 60K baht per month when they could make 333K per month back in their home country.

As for your second comment, "unfair" to who... you or the locals (Thai)?

P.S. If your home country has lax employment laws that permit the hiring of foreign nationals over locals, then petition your gov't to change the laws such that they are fairer to you. I wish you good luck. But don't expect Thailand to change their laws so that they are fair to you.

What does "Nam Kao" mean? Does it mean "I smoke crack"?

Day-traders... should we shoot them... or just shoot them between the eyes. Oh, the decisions we all face.

Nine years ago...

I can remember going to a bar and being offered a cool-towel to wipe the sweat off my face.

I can remember 50 baht beers (stupid me, I used to drink Singha and Carlsberg)... Chang is now my beer. Oh why did I waste my money on that vile beer back then?????

I can remember Tuk-Tuk drivers working for 20-40 Baht, and taking a passenger directly where they wanted to go. Not the stop-over at the jewelry shop as is done today.

I can remember taking the bus up/down Sukhumvit, only watching with impatience as the SkyTrain (err, BTS) was contructed.

I can remember my innocence... now I am corrupted with thoughts of "easy" Thai women.

Paradise gone?... perhaps. But Thailand will always be my "home".

For my money this is mostly to do with US debt and the Chinese stating they are no longer going to buy as much of it. The Chinese will diversify into other currencies and I guess other Asian countries will follow this lead.

We will see more angry comments from the US as this news hits home, after all if no one else if paying for US debt they may have to do it themselves

Sorry to be dumb, but, how does that work? Are the Chinese paying the US debt in exchange for the trade?

Here's what this is describing. The Chinese receive US dollars for much of their exported goods. They then take some of those dollars and buy US Treasury debt.

Why do they do this? Because they are trying to keep the Yuan in a tight trading range to the dollar. Otherwise there would be so much demand for the Yuan versus the dollar that the exchange rate would adjust to a very strong Yuan (bad for exports). The Chinese could buy other assets to accomplish this, but politically, US Treasuries make the most sense. They couldn't buy a lot of US real estate for example.

Until last summer it was a fixed exchange rate, but they've been "floating" it a bit since then, although they won't disclose what's in the currency basket they're floating against. But basically, they don't need to buy as much US Treasuries as they let the exchange rate float. Their growing middle class is also buying more US products (like Motorola phones, Starbucks, McDonald's) which takes some pressure off the government to fill that role.

I don't buy all the concern about them dumping treasuries since they'd be hurting themselves. If the US economy goes bad, all those exports dry up. Lots of unhappy citizens isn't good even in China. Plus they'd have to sell at a loss to have an effect. There's a whole lot of money here looking for even small yields, so I don't expect a lot of complaining if yields go up. Get's that inverted yield curve talk off the table too. Don't forget China has the 2008 Olympics so they're trying to be good world citizens.

This is great insight. You may or may not be correct in your assessment, but your arguments sound very rational. Either way, I am the middle class person, and I have no choice but to ride the wave. Surfs up!

P.S. Long term interest rates (in the US) have recently ventured downwards... maybe the curve will re-invert, thus as you suggest, placate many economists.

For my money this is mostly to do with US debt and the Chinese stating they are no longer going to buy as much of it. The Chinese will diversify into other currencies and I guess other Asian countries will follow this lead.

We will see more angry comments from the US as this news hits home, after all if no one else if paying for US debt they may have to do it themselves

Sorry to be dumb, but, how does that work? Are the Chinese paying the US debt in exchange for the trade?

The Chinese have been buying "leverage". The US spits out rhetoric each day towards the Chinese, saying that the Yuan is not at a "fair" trading value, that the Chinese are dumping too many goods in the US, etc, etc.

It's all talk. The US cannot do any rash to resolve the trade deficit with China because the powers-that-be in the US know that China "owns" a sizable portion of the US (i.e. the US debt).

How do you bring down a super-power? Cash in your chips in one day, or in a short period. That's the leverage the China has over the US. Soon the US will be bowing to the Chinese. Of course, the rhetoric will still be there, for the masses to consume.

I'm quite impressed with this Bank of the Internet senior account. Free ATM transactions and a good interest rate. I am a bit confused by the interest rate. 3.44% for amounts under $25,000 and 1.49% for over $25,000. Is this correct or is something wrong with the web site?

I visited the BofI website. It appears that the Senior Checking account your are referring to is a "tiered" account. Thus, for the first US$25,000 in the account, an APY of 3.5% is awarded. For any balance above the US$25,000 threshold, the APY drops to 1.5%.

I should also say that the interest is accumulated daily. Thus the interest rate you quoted will appear slightly less than the APY I quoted. Do the math and you can verify this.

so the pictures would be 2 of me and 2 of her?

NO YOU NEED 2 OF EACH OF YOU !

what are they used for?

I just recently married in BKK. As others have said, you need to sign (and have notarized) an affidavit at the US Embassy (ACS Unit). From there, if you want, step into any translation shop, and they will take care of translating the affidavit to Thai, running it over to to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and then escort you and your fiance to the Amphur, where you get married. The translation shop should charge you a fixed fee to have everything done.

After you are married, you are not required to register your marriage at the US Embassy, nor back in the States. Your marriage is automatically recognized by the US. Nevertheless, it is in your interest to have a translated version of your Thai marriage certificate. You will need to submit a copy of this to the USCIS when you eventually file the I-130 for your wife's visa.

Also, do not forget to apply for the IRS's ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) for your spouse. This serves in lieu of a Social Security Number for tax filing purposes.

When/if your wife gets a visa to come to the US, she will automatically be eligible to apply for a bonafide Social Security Number, and you can stop using the ITIN.

Thank you. i heard bout that form before too. i guess ill have to contact the irs before i leave so i can get her to sign that while im there. so when you got married the translation place did all that for you? that sounds nice. how much did they charge you for all that? ill prob just do it all myself since im going to wait a couple days after i get the papers back from the MFA to go to the amphur. but good explaination tho. at first i was just worried maybe i could get turned down for it or something cuz they are asking me for my salary and job. just cuz ill be in the middle of changing jobs at the time. but now after all this i think ill be ok. thanks for all the help guys.

I cannot remember exactly what I paid at the translation shop, but I think it was around 7,000 Baht. The owner of the shop kept "feeding" me Chang beer, so I great time, and didn't think much of the money spent. At the ACS (US Embassy), I think that it cost 800 Baht to have the affidavit notarized.

As for the US Embassy, they have no way to verify your income, nor will they ask for any proof of such. Save yourself the trouble, and merely list the last company/income you received. IMO, it is uncommon for folks to take a new job (in the US), and make less than their previous job.

And as for the IRS W-7 form is available online, and can be filled out electronically. However you will need to print it out on paper, and have your spouse sign/date it by hand. When you mail it to the IRS, you will be required to submit a form of legal ID from your spouse. In the case for my spouse, I submitted her passport (which was later returned to me). If you decide to use your spouse's Thai ID card, you must also provide an English translation. It is perhaps best that you submit the Passport, because while the W-7 is being processed, your wife could very well need her Thai ID card for other purposes.

As Lopburi mentioned, since you are getting married this year (2006), you really do not have to worry about the ITIN (W-7) till next year (2007) when you file your 2006 taxes. In theory you are supposed to include your completed tax forms when you submit the W-7; however I did not during late 2005 period (the year I got married), and nevertheless my spouse was granted an ITIN.

Good luck, and remember to keep all ducks in a row. Keep copies of all relevant documents (marriage cert, emails and phone records of communication between you and spouse, photos, etc). You will need these for the I-130, and later when your spouse has an interview at the US Embassy in BKK.

Phew... what a long answer... get married is a pain.

ok i will go to bangkok in march to get married to my long term gf. im just not sure about what documents im going to need to bring with me when i go. im from USA. now the one thing im havin a prob with is on the US embassy site for bangkok they say nothing about bring bank statements or anything. but i read other places that i need to show that stuff. anyone know for sure? as far as i know from the website is i just need my passport and fill out somepapers at the embassy and they will sign it. then i go to get the papers translated and then bring those to a place to get the signature verified. then i go to the government office and register with them that we are married. then back to the us embassy to register my marriage in the US. no place does it say what "supporting documents" are needed....but it says that. im not sure if i forgot any important information but feel free to ask me for anything that will help anwser my question. oh and i will not be filing for her to come to the US until may when i join the army and can show the embassy i can support my new wife. since my income is pretty bad right now spending so much time with her in bkk not working. any help will be great. thanks!!

jason

I just recently married in BKK. As others have said, you need to sign (and have notarized) an affidavit at the US Embassy (ACS Unit). From there, if you want, step into any translation shop, and they will take care of translating the affidavit to Thai, running it over to to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and then escort you and your fiance to the Amphur, where you get married. The translation shop should charge you a fixed fee to have everything done.

After you are married, you are not required to register your marriage at the US Embassy, nor back in the States. Your marriage is automatically recognized by the US. Nevertheless, it is in your interest to have a translated version of your Thai marriage certificate. You will need to submit a copy of this to the USCIS when you eventually file the I-130 for your wife's visa.

Also, do not forget to apply for the IRS's ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) for your spouse. This serves in lieu of a Social Security Number for tax filing purposes.

When/if your wife gets a visa to come to the US, she will automatically be eligible to apply for a bonafide Social Security Number, and you can stop using the ITIN.

Harpman read it and weep

Nasdaq -0.6%

man am i good

This is nonsense. The Nasdaq has risen every day for the last 6 days. Only today it is slightly off as investors cash out their stocks to lock in their gains of the past week. This is typical behavior. In the long term, if the selling continues, then you can say you were "right"... but for now, your prediction is only that... a prediction.

Along the Sukhumvit corridor, I have had no trouble getting 20K from any of the ATMs. However, when I am in Korat (say at The Mall), I am limited to 10K.

As I have mentioned once before in another post, if you attempt to withdraw more than is in your account, or that the ATM permits, you may still be charged a transaction fee by your bank.

I'm confused... your are talking about web hosting (HTML), and then FTP.

Are you implying that your "coder" (btw, software developer), will need to FTP to your site to make improvements to the web site over the life-cycle of the project?

If so, avoid FTP, because it is not very secure. Ditto for telnet. Consider using SSH (secure shell).

As for you, consider picking up a System Administrator book at your local bookstore. I'm assuming your using Linux, right? A book like this should provide you with clear instructions on how to setup accounts, change passwords, and even delete accounts. I should also discuss how to modify access permissions for files and directories.

What you could do is set up a user account for your "coder", and then let him do his thing, but isolated from the rest of the system. Then, when convenient for you, perform the necessary steps to move your "coder's" modified web pages and scripts into their appropriate locations within the directory structure of your system (this step would require super-user priveleges, which only you should have).

Don't know how to do this... well, then you have three choices... 1) learn how to do it, or 2) trust your coder to do it, or 3) put trust in yet another person.

BTW, if you cannot trust your employee, I suggest you find another one. And also, I recommend that you stop watching movies about computer hackers... most are completely bogus. If you are worried about backdoors, setup your router/firewall correctly and administer the accounts on your system; then your system will be just fine, and impervious to the average hacker.

I personaly don't wear one - I see no reason to wear one. I am not Buddhist and I cannot see it helping me get accepted into Thai society for wearing one.

I agree... if you are not Buddhist, then you should not feel obligated to wear a Buddha around your neck.

Not all Thais are Buddhists... some are Muslims, others Christians, and others... ???. Personally, I think it is somewhat hypocritical to adorn oneself with a religious icon if not participating in the faith to which the icon pertains. But that's just me. Others are free to do whatever they wish, and to follow their ideals.

BTW, I do not wear a Buddha. I used to hang one from the rear-view mirror of my car, for good luck. I can't say if it worked or not... I never had an accident, but that could be attributed to my driving ability, not the Buddha.

Fortunately, I believe that one will still be able to drink at any hour from the comfort of their home. If someone is a tourist at a hotel, then they can always open the mini-bar in their room; or perhaps go to the bar within the hotel (if available). I have heard that hotels are exempt from certain restrictions that are imposed on regular bars.

If drinking is to stop at 12am at bars, then it is probably certain that the bars will also close at that hour. IMO, it would not be cost effective to remain open.

It would be interesting to read the actual words of this new law. If it bans the "sale" of alcohol, then that is one thing.... but the "serving". They have to be careful with their choice of words, so as not to leave a loop-hole.

It seems that a bar could allow a person to bring in their own bottle (BYOB), and earn revenue by selling the mixers and ice. Or charge a 1000 baht cover charge, and then provide drinks for free (with the cheapest and nastiest tasting alcohol known to man).