Beng

Where can I find good quality wood filler in CNX ? (to fill cracks in laminate flooring)

Great topic !

Condo's in Chiang Mai charge roughly between 10 and 50 Baht /sq m/month

Older condos seem to charge less, the new ones much more. Doesn't really make much sense since the older condos have higher maintenance costs - surely something just built doesn't require any repairs in the first couple of years? My suspicion is that they use the condo fee (and making you pay two years in advance) to enable the finishing touches to be done to the building and are, in effect, part of the cost of buying a unit.

But the newer condos also seem to have very high costs on their 'outside' - lovely lobbies and lots of uniformed staff that gives them a very good first impression as you walk in. Suppose that helps them sell the units.

Big condos should be cheaper to run per sq m than small condos - almost regardless of size all condos would need one security person on duty at all times, one office staff and 1 or 2 cleaners. A big condo would employ their own technician that is cheaper then bringing in contractors for every job.

There is also the 'hidden' costs - some condos have a separate sinking fund or insurance that can be a few Baht a month extra. These can be found in older condos since increasing the condo fee can be very hard work (or even impossible), but increasing the sinking fund or insurance is much easier.

Some good points here. Thanks for your input.

cobber,

presently your 30 baht fee,is about on the money

My condo management wants to take it up to 45 Baht/sqm. That's why I'm asking other condo owners about their costs.

700bht/year for 85m2 in the big pink condo between Tesco superhighway and the river.

Cheers mate. Very interesting. Hopefully, we can get some more inputs on this matter.

cobber,

presently your 30 baht fee,is about on the money

My condo management wants to take it up to 45 Baht/sqm. That's why I'm asking other condo owners about their costs.

Very good report.

^ Can't go wrong with 500K in Nimman.

Any more units there?

A lot !

Are those 20sqm studios ? How old are they ?

I am currently paying 30 Baht/sqm at the one-plus condo in CBP . How does that compare to other condos. ?

Update please.

Another one is on Kaeo Narawat road, next to the Honda shop. If you want to compare prices.

Well done. Now tackle all the hotels, as setting up dining facilities on beaches is a common practice on Samui and elsewhere.

....never checked in ! Great news.

Completed my border run on the weekend. Same old, same old. 500 baht, no pics, (I'm Non-o spouse) over and back in less that 20 minutes. Only difference was there was a sign on the Thai entry side saying how much money you needed to show you had for the different types of visa. I only thought about that after I had gone through (I wasn't asked to show any), so I can't remember how much the funds were. The sign may have been there before, but I failed to notice it. Easiest crossing in Thailand by a country miles. Cheer

They will take us$10 if the bill is like-new with no flaws. They sometimes also take $$'s for a VIP/day pass. It depends on who's running the tiny Imm. office on the Burmese side. BTW, they're usually in good cheer (more so than Thai Imm authorities on the other side of the bridge) and are fun to jive with. Try it.

The sign mentioning 'Tourists have to show 10,000 Baht' is ridiculous. For starters, it was only enforced the first week it was put up, and it's been there several years. Secondly, it would indicate to would-be thieves in Tachilek that each tourist walking around has at least Bt.10,000 cash in their pocket. Fortunately, Tachilek has no history of rip-offs that I know of. I feel as safe walking around there as anywhere I've ever strolled. Even then roughest-looking young dudes hanging out on street corners, will grin and get eye contact, when you acknowledge them.

The earlier sign, which said the same: "Please Show (next line) 10,000......" was taken down because people like myself drew graffiti on it.

When entering back in to Thailand, there's still the dumb-ass policy of requiring each tourist to stroll to the tiny desk with the 2 surly young men - who will pass you an entry form - without eye contact or any words. Just rude, if you ask me. Plus, they still can't figure out that putting a little sign at the fill-out-form desk would be helpful (better would be to simply have the blank forms at the fill-out desk). So what happens is: about half of all farang who go through there, spend at least several moments wondering what to do. Thai officialdom is great at causing confusion and inconvenience when it wants to.

That's why it's advisable to have a few spare arrival cards so you can prefill them out

and avoid the queues.

Having said that, the last 2 times I've been, it's been like a ghost town

with little or no waiting.

It's not just for tourists either, it's for all people on visas.

Yep, I always used to have spare cards. Might be worth going up there again.

Seems those oil spills are affecting more and more beaches in the gulf. Another blow for marine life and tourism. It's really getting worse over the past ten years.

If nobody would rent a jet-ski, the problem would long have gone.

Monks from the village temple are 500B a head,I drove them myself, on the way home we all stopped for a ciggie. Nice guys. Would have included table a chair rental and gazebos but we didn't need them.

Food we paid 5000B for about 50 people. Beer, whisky and soft drinks another 5000B or so.

After donations, we turned a profit, not the aim of course, but nice after the moving expenses.

Nice one !

Clicked on the topic, hoping for an invite.....

So did I.

They certainly had enough time now, to figure something out.

Makro has frozen cumberlands at 220 Baht/kilo.

It's not clear if he has a multi-entry O visa -- which would give him 90 days permission to stay with each entry, or a O-A visa, which would give him 12-month permission to stay with each entry.

He should take a look at the "admitted until" date stamped in his passport when he entered the country. That will tell him if he has to go to the border or not. If it's a multi-entry O visa, then he has to leave the country every 90 days. If it's an O-A visa, then he doesn't have to; he just has to let the local Immigration office know when he remains in the country for longer than 90 days.

He's got a multiple entry OA visa and is admitted to stay til 23rd Nov.

Looks like he will have to do the 'bounce'. He really needs a one year extension to stay in country and just do the 90 day reporting.

Thank you mate, that is exactly what I thought.

Maybe Ubonjoe or Lop Buri can give me an answer to this ?? Please.

It's not clear if he has a multi-entry O visa -- which would give him 90 days permission to stay with each entry, or a O-A visa, which would give him 12-month permission to stay with each entry.

He should take a look at the "admitted until" date stamped in his passport when he entered the country. That will tell him if he has to go to the border or not. If it's a multi-entry O visa, then he has to leave the country every 90 days. If it's an O-A visa, then he doesn't have to; he just has to let the local Immigration office know when he remains in the country for longer than 90 days.

He's got a multiple entry OA visa and is admitted to stay til 23rd Nov.

I believe the Amphurs have dog catchers. Contact the local offices I would guess.

The solution as to what is done with them is likely the final solution.

Confirmed.... I remember some 20 years ago on Samui, there were really lots of strays everywhere.

One day, some official looking geezers killed them with poisoned arrows, fired from air rifles. I saw a truck, full of dead dogs, taking them to...... god knows where they took them.

That was very cruel and so sad to see. Hope it will never happen again. They are just poor animals with no rights whatsoever.

A friend of mine is on a one year non imm. O visa (retirement) obtained in the US. His first 90 days are up next week. Can he report to CNX immigration or has he to leave the country (border bounce) ??

Maybe one of the mods can clarify this.Thanks !

Are those cameras attached to buildings ?

Hang Dong is a district south of Chiang Mai city. Nothing special in regards of the town. But The handicraft village of Ban Tawai is a well known tourist attraction. Also Hang Dong is close to the hills national parks in the west and south. The biggest mooban is Roon Arung, where quite a few westerners live. Rentals are cheaper than in town.