taiwangirl

I agree with above.  I had a watch that needed repair, so just looked up the service center for the brand.

Although I am not the typical "Stickman" reader, I did enjoy his column and am glad to see that he has returned to writing.

He writes a column.  If you don't like it, then I think you do not have to read it, just like any other column writer. 

I am not sure why there are so many people that are talking down about him?  I have admit that I have never met him in person, but have corresponded with him a couple of times with questions, and he has always been very kind and quick with his responses.

9 hours ago, balo said:

10 hours ago, Henryford said:

Good hotels are so cheap in Thailand, why do you cheap charlies want to use AirBnB?

What kind of lame reply is that ? We choose AirBNB to live in an apartment , with kitchen, maybe cook our own food. And it can be more expensive than hotels. A nice condo with swimming pool and gym , cheaper than a 3 star hotel. Got nothing to do with being a CC.

Agree with this.  I have made AirBnB reservations in BKK a couple of times for friends and they have always enjoyed the stay.  Read the listing carefully, look at reviews, etc.  Always nice to have a bit of room to spread out, cook inside, etc.

Also one time rented a short stay house south of Hua His (though on Homeaway, and not AirBnB).  If you do your homework (and it helps if you are familiar with the general location of the rental), most of the time it will turn out okay.

I know this doesnt really solve your problem, but I used to stay in Indonesia and my housing was right next to a mosque.  For the first week, I would jump out of bed when the call to prayer came early early morning.  Second week or so, I would wake up, notice that there was noise and fall back asleep.  By the end of the first month, my body slept through it.  I guess it was at the same time every morning and my body/mind knew it was coming and learned to ignore it.  Hopefully, you will have something like that happen to you.

6 minutes ago, wilkie111 said:

i think the airport is at blame here as she has missed her flight now and had to purchase one tomorrow but an international airport is no mans land until you step out off the airport so showing you have a visa for the uk is prominent enough to board the flight if your destination visa is valid?

Not always the case.  Even though in an international airport before you enter customs, you are still under the "jurisdiction" of that country.  That is why some countries require a transit visa. 

I am only familiar with mainland China requiring it, but it appears that Ireland does to for certain countries.

I think it depends on the country.  I believe that mainland China used to require a transit visa, even if you were only going to stay in the airport. 

However, looking at the Dept of Foreign Affairs for Ireland, Thailand is not listed as a country where the citizen requires a transit visa.

Schedule 5 - Transit Visas

If you are a citizen of one of these countries, you will need to apply for a transit visa

I would also check some something like HomeAway or Air BnB.  Maybe there are people going to be gone for a long time who are advertizing for renters, but maybe would accept a nominal (or free) fee for someone to stay for a long time.  Just a thought.

I guess the problem with this idea is there are many many listing that you would have to look through.

I actually like Starbuck's (Please dont throw things at me! ).

I like the atmosphere of the one on Soi Luang Suan. Good place to relax.

Anyone here knows more about Taiwan?

I am from the south part of Taiwan, and as other poster CNXBKKMAN said, the south is pretty hot. It is on the same latitude as Havana, Cuba so the summers are hot and humid. The winters are actually pretty nice, and it occasionally get somewhat cool. They north (Taipei) can be cool and damp in the winter. Kind of dreary for me. This past winter had the coldest temperatures in 44 years, and there was even some snowflakes in Taipei.

There is a lot of natural beauty in Taiwan - the eastern 2/3 of the island are very mountainous. Driving along the island along the eastern shore is very nice.

Taiwan is not very big, so you can get from Kaohsiung (south city) to Taipei (north city) is about 5 hours (or quicker by bullet train).

I am too risk adverse to not have insurance. I am not willing to take the consequences if something really bad happens.

But, everybody has their own level of risk tolerance.

G1W is the best cheapest dashcam available anywhere in the world.

1500 0n lazada.

It is a good camera. I had one on my car

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KZ0J452?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

Good picture, wide range of vision. Okay at night, but most cameras have difficulty at night. This does not have a GPS, though there is a model with GPS. If you want to have a memory of your trip, the GPS would be nice, but I heard somewhere that if there is an accident, the insurance company could use GPS info to check your speed and could be used against you.

Interesting topic. I have enjoyed reading this thread. I know there is a lot of talk on this thread about people living on X baht/month and happy doing so. However, I would guess that the majority of people living on 10000 ( or 20000) baht/month would like it if they had more.

Yes, I grew up without much (had an outdoor bathroom until I was 10, and I am not that old now! LOL). I am sure that the cost of living was very cheap for my parents. I am also sure that they would have liked to have more money to live a bit more comfortable life.

It is not the fact that you HAVE to spend money. It is the fact that you have money if needed. Living on a minimum income means no money for anything out of the ordinary.

There was another similar thread where a poster made a very good observation. He said that he spends X amount of rent, food, etc, but makes his monthly budget double that to account for unexpected things (visa runs, car repairs, health emergencies, etc.). For me, having access to proper health care (via insurance or having the money) is super important. I know people talk about how one can get care at a government hospital, etc., but I have seen first hand enough not to agree with this.

I had a friend who was in a car accident and got glass in his eye. The ambulance took him to a government hospital where he sat unattended for 2 hours because they were too busy. He was finally taken to a private hospital where he got good care. However, he will lose his eye. Was it due to the 2 hours sitting unattended at the government hospital? maybe yes and maybe no. However, it is not a risk I am willing to take.

Anyway, I applaud those like Grinder4All who are able to do it and are happy. But even so, I am sure he would be happy if he had a bit more money.

For me, it is interesting to read this thread. I enjoy reading about the different lifestyles of people here in Thailand.

Everybody has different levels of comforableness, but I dont think anyone wants to be poor. If someone spends 10000 baht/month because they want to, great. Give the excess to charity or save for the future. It is those that spend 10000 baht/month because they have to, that is a problem.

I go out for a real farang drink maybe 2-3 times a month and meet farangs in farang area's (not tourist area's, but longterm farang area's), always the same people. Since I might be there only 3 times a month, but I always see them, it is fair to say they are daily there and most always pissed or going out to girly bars and get more pissed (and viagra).

Dear Ronthai - I know what you are saying but a funny thought crossed my mind. There is probably the person on the other side of the bar saying - "I only go out 2-3 times a month, and every time I am in here, I see Mr. RonThai. He must be in here all the time!!" (Just teasing you)

I commend you on your simple living lifestyle.

I have kept close track of my expenses all my adult life.

One interesting thing I've observed is that over time, for every dollar of regular/expected living expense, there is at least another dollar of irregular/ unexpected living costs. Oftentimes, irregular/unexpected living costs can have a much higher than a 1:1 ratio to regular/expected costs. Your visa run to Laos is a good example of an expense which may not show up in a given month's budget, but is nevertheless unavoidable.

Vacations, travel, insurance, dental, medical, eyewear, clothes, shoes, child care, home improvements, appliances, appliance repair, furniture, casualty losses, vehicle repair and maintenance, vehicle registration and licensing, kitchenware, pet care, educational expenses, reading materials, entertainment, gifts, membership fees, charitable donations, computers, cable, personal grooming expenses, language study, postage, etc. are additional examples of expenses which need to be considered when calculating the true cost of living anywhere over a long period of time.

I agree with this. It is good to budget, but there always seems to be unexpected things that pop up to ruin the budget if you have not built in a surplus. For example, I was riding with a friend down to Sri Racha when the front driver tire blew on his car. We put on the spare, and took it to the mechanic's shop. The tires had only < 10000 Km on them, but it turned out that they were previously mis aligned, so both front tires were seriously worn down. He had to replace both. I think the cost for the two tires and realignment was maybe around 5000 baht (not completely sure). This was something he did not plan on, but had to do.

Anyone been to Aruba?

I have not lived there, but visited there a couple of times. It is a relatively small island, and the first time I went, i was surprised that it does not have a tropical landscape but is almost more desert-like. Pretty barren. It is outside the hurricane paths, so there are no worries about that, though it is close to the equator so hot all the time. Very little rain there.

Casinos are a big business there. There used to be a big refinery on the north west side of the island, but it has since closed down (I believe).

I think there is good diving nearby and it is part of the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao), which are all Dutch territories.

It is a tough situation to be in. I think it is probalby a legitimate situation. I know some people are question how a person can have no family or friends back home to rely on. It is very possible - maybe an only child, separated from parents, maybe did some things previously which broke you up with your friends, etc. He has been out of his home country for a number of years and that can decrease friendships also.

I hope he is able to recover from his situation. I feel very bad for him.

I agree. If you have retired here as I have, you pretty much lead a life of luxury compared to the average Thai. I live in a very comfortable home, more than enough regular income, have a brand new pickup, buy what I want in terms of food etc, and have a lazy, stress-free life. When I see some poor individual living in some Thai or Philippine slum, sorting through garbage for a living, I realise how blessed is my life.

I was talking with my girlfriend about this yesterday. We are very lucky, and I am sure that that applies to pretty much every one here on this Thai Visa forum. There are so many people that have so much less. I know people have talked about how the beggars are just a scam - they are run by a gang, the little babies are not theirs, etc. However, even if this were the case, I dont think that any of us would want to trade places with them.

I don't think it would occur to the OP that he was "showing off." He's got a used, restored, jeep! Not a Gelandewagen. Also, it may all be a troll post. But I image searched his wife, on Google, cause you guys got me nervous, and nothing. Doesn't prove much. But I think these are shots of a normal life back in Florida. He's far from just scraping by, but he's not showing off. His post to me says, well above average, but normal life.

I'm a bit of a novice here, but I just thought he was sharing one scenario for marrying a Thai girl. Not "I did it right, you guys suck who stay in the land of Thais."

+1 If my parents are like most people here, their wish was for when I was grow up was that I would be happy and successful. I do not think that anyone told their kids, "I hope you grow up to be poor and struggling". The OP seems to be happy and successful. Good for him!!!

As Phaeton says, the OP is just showing a normal life in Florida - it is not "lifestyles of the rich and famous". I have some trouble in my mind understanding why some people seem to be reading too much into his post. He did not say Thailand is bad, he was not putting down people of us who live here - he is one person showing one person's life.

Anyway, just my two baht worth.

I think it was a nice post by the OP. I did not see anything boastful about it. He has a nice family, a nice job - he should be proud of where he is at in his life.

All the best for to him.

I think it will be Friday afternoon through Sat afternoon. A lot of people will be leaving work around lunch on Friday to get a head start. Unfortunately, if everybody does it, nobody gets a head start. 5555

Arnold Schwarzenegger's 6's rules of success #2: Break the rules, not the law.

Airline company's may not like what we do but in no way are we breaking any laws. We may me bending the rules here but let me lay down some facts. The mileage brokerage industry has been around for decades and if a client wants to play it safe and buy from the carrier - by all means do so. If you run a quick Google search you will see there is a healthy industry that has been built on mileage brokering which should be a clear indicator of its robustness over the years. Cancellations are extremely rare and if saving money isn't your forte then by all means pay the retail price.

What you note above is true, and for some people, it may be worth the value. I think that the risk is more for the people FROM whom you obtain the miles. United Airlines (among others) has suspended/cancelled accounts of people who resold miles, etc. A friend of a friend (I know, I know, the ol' friend of a friend story ) had a million + miles in his account - did not see himself using them, so sold some. He got caught, his account was cancelled, he lost his status and all his miles.

It is all up to someones risk/reward stomach.

Do you have any status with any of the hotel chain?

Which mall are you talkiing about?