DavidMavec

I got there 7:45 and was about no. 30... didn't have to wait long. I would recommend getting there by 7:45 or earlier because the crowds really came by 8:00.

I have sygic Thailand, the only app I ever paid for, it takes time till my iphone gets gps signal though, you have to drive around a bit or walk for few minutes

Like you, I also thought the delay in obtaining lock was due to Sygic but after a lot of investigation this appears to not be the case. My findings are as follows:-

i) A mobile phone with GPS is always likely to be somewhat worse than a dedicated GPS unit and the reason is very simple; battery life. The dedicated GPS receivers are designed with only one function in mind, that of GPS! Mobile phones have to compromise on power consumption and therefore the GPS works but can be problematic.

You may be correct that a dedicated GPS is better than a mobile phone but battery life is not really an issue. I use an external battery pack, Sanyo Eneloop KBC-L2B, 5000m-AH. A couple months ago I made it from Bangkok to Pakse Laos in 14 hours straight with Google Maps open and the GPS running almost the entire time.

Here's what I found out- the hard way. You're going to have to commit ant genocide.

You can wait until AFTER they bite your nutsack and feel good about killing the bastards, or you can do it now and save yourself a lot of pain. I chose the first option and regretted it. A lot.

LOL, they have already bitten my nutsack on numerous occasions, seems like they have a special preference for it to be honest....f'ing hurts!!!

Yeah I might have to get the spray but I am considering options beforehand....

Anyone try the ant chalk? Any success with that?

Hello...

Red biting ants have invaded my apartment, especially the bathroom. They hurt like hell when they bite and love getting in the towels. Can anyone make suggestions for the best way to get rid of them.

Any way I can just get them to go away without killing all of them? Much as I don't like them I would prefer not to murder them if possible.

The normal fee is 500 baht. The other 200 baht is a service charge for getting the stamps done for you.

At Mae Sai it is 500 baht for a one day visa but at this crossing you are not actually allowed into the country.

I did this just yesterday and got the 30 days, no problem. You don't actually cross the border, they won't let you, and I was told that there is just a country road on the other side. They take your money and go across for you; it took about 20 minutes in my case. I had a discussion (disagreement?) with the immigration officials and the business doing this, which by the way is not clearly marked as a business, it's in a hut next to immigration but one would believe it is part of the immigration checkpoint. I was told by immigration (and shown to the big sign on the building which does not make sense in English but is clear in Thai) stating that Foreigners need to get a visa at their embassy to cross the border.

The best I could gather is that the 700 baht you pay is basically just some scheme cooked up between the Thai/Burmese immigration officials with the private company in order for all sides to make a bit of money and the farang to get a visa run. Business as usual.

I found it quicker and nicer to go this way than to Poipet or somewhere else so I am certainly not complaining. I rode my motorbike from BKK and it is a really beautiful area near the border.

The newsletter links to this from "Should I visit Bali or Phuket?"

I mount my iPhone on my motorbike and use Google Maps... I'm not sure what advantages buying a standalone GPS would give you but I can tell you I have been very happy with this method, very simple and it has taken me all the way through Thailand and Laos with it. If you are curious, I can take a picture and explain how I mounted it.

but you need to be connected all the time right? For google maps, I have iphone app too but is ofline

I am connected all the time, yes. However, it is possible to save a section of Google Maps for offline use. I've never done this before so I don't know how well it works, but it is worth giving it a try. The following article explains how to do it: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/software/3459515/how-save-google-maps-offline/

A tourist visa will be fine.

What time does it close at night? Later than the shopping malls?

I wish you the best with this endeavor. I also would go for Thailand. If you live near the Thai-Burmese border, you can just hop it every 30 days and this will be cheaper than getting a new visa in either country (although some fees apply, Mae Sai is 500 baht + transport). Good luck and send me a PM if I can help with any details.

Thaksin is more pro big business/ interests of the U.S. elite as is the mainstream media, that's why

Hello...

I am wondering if I hope the Poipet Cambodia border and come right back in order to get a 30 day non-visa stamp in my passport, is there currently a charge on either the Cambodia or Thai side?

Thanks.

I am told it is closed on both the 30th and 31st. I understand tomorrow (the 30th) was given to government employees for a long weekend since the 31st is a holiday.

It's likely a lot less than 1 GB FUP if it's a one day package so you probably blew the FUP.

Yes, about 100 meters from the Honda shop under the Sapaan Kwai overpass. They have a lot of accessories such as rims, etc.

Go to any temple, you can stay free and eat.good luck!

I'm going to the Temple now. lit right now...hopefully I'll pwn them w/ my auspicious Damma, and can be a monk for a week.

You can go to a temple and request a temporary stay, which more than likely will come at their request of your following the 5 precepts - doesn't necessarily mean they will grant it though, especially if you are in Bangkok. Other than that, I wouldn't expect too much.

You can't speak thai and will probably be perceived s some foreigner trying to get a free ride, the monk for a week is already out of the question, it involves preparation of chant procedure as well as knowledge about one is getting oneself into (but I assume you were joking about that).

'Pwn them' with your 'auspicious damma'?? Really? A tasteless joke like that may fly wth your English speaking friends but definitely not in a temple.

Good luck though and whenever your deposit comes in you should be able to relax.

I think going to a temple to practice Dhamma is a good idea. But get a bus out of Bangkok and find one in a smaller city close by. Maybe Ayutaya.

It is spelled มายา, more like maa-yaa than what the other poster said, and both syllables have a mid-tone.

No, just tea and crumpets I'm afraid, dear Wilson.

I'd like to see Comcast offered but understand there may not be a huge demand from others.

comcast is not free and may not be so much demand from user. However, I'll consider it again.

I was wondering if I wanted to use your service to access Netflix on my iPhone would I need to have a jailbroken phone? Netflix is not available for download on the Thailand Apple App Store.

Thanks in advance for your response. I am considering subscribing to your service so I want to know this information before hand.

You can do that by signing up new apple id with US or Uk region. You have to use another email address to sign up.

This is a quick step.

1. open itune on your pc and sign out from any apple account you may have.

2. change country to us or uk by go to store--> home and schroll down to the bottom, you will see a flag. Click on it.

3. Sign up for new apple id as you normally do. No credit card required.

4. Go to your apple device and sign out.

5. Sign in with your new us/uk id.

6. tab on app store. You should now be able to find Netflix and Hulu.

7. After you have installed any preferred app. You can sign out and go back to your actual account. All netflix, hulu app will stay with you.

We have 7 Netflix regions for you. USA, UK, Ireland, Brazil, Canada, Sweden and Mexico

Norway and Denmark are coming soon.

Thank you for trying Trickbyte

I cannot do this as iTunes requires me to enter a credit card. Could you confirm this is true?

They do Christmas Eve dinner cruises along the river.

http://www.loynava.com/christmas-bangkok.html

I don't know, maybe be more specific about what sort of things you like to do... there are many things to do and many nice restaurants. You could go to Central World and look at the big Christmas tree and lights and then have an outdoor dinner at Zen or Red Sky there. Might be nice. Or I guess if you wanted food and show but cheaper than that you could go to Tawangdang...

http://www.tawandang.com/eng/home.html

Have you been to Tawangdang personally? Anyone? Is the show interesting? Cool experience?

Whenever I hear a Thai woman speaking pigeon English, especially in the company of a farang male, the thought goes through my head that she is a current or former bar girl.

I know this is a really n00b question but I was wondering if it is possible to buy U.S. stocks from Thailand using the THB and going through a Thai bank? What is necessary to do this?

Thanks for tips.

Just found a good video about learning a tonal language.

It's a good one, but doesn't help if you're tone deaf like me. What worked was having a real-time spectrum analyzer connected to my headset and learning to produce and distinguish the tones visually with the aid of the screen. Can't find the website for the life of me .. but googling will eventually bring it up.

EDIT: got it, http://slice-of-thai.com/tones/ . I used another analyzer, but same same.

I could classify myself as tone deaf too but I practiced reading an hour a day aloud for six months, having a Thai person correct me. Just learn to read, this will help immensely.

Mastering tones in Thai are not really about being tone deaf or not, it's more about finding the learning style that works for you... at first when my Thai teacher would pronounce words, I would repeat them back incorrectly... but once I learned to read Thai properly and could see the tones/vowels/consonants on paper exactly as they are pronounced, my pronunciation shot up fast and Thai people suddenly had no problem understanding me.