Gsxrnz

I tell them in Thai that I can't read it because I haven't got my glasses (which is true). Forces them to try and tell you in English, or if they can't and assume you understand Thai, they'll give it to you in Thai.

Only once has somebody written it down in huge numbers on a piece of paper. And once the person grabbed a bigger calculator with a bigger display.....ya gotta laugh!

It amazes me how they've taken the same script and made 12,000 odd soap operas out of it. Change a few names, add a few more Flintstone's sound effects and hey presto, a new soapie for the masses to consume. I'm sure they once showed a soap opera that was the same as another one using second cameras angles!!

Suggestion for the TV producers - try making a documentary or two. (not holding my breath.)

Took my wife back home and she was amazed that I could drive across the country without getting lost while relying solely on road signs or the odd question about direction from a local, which was invariably accurately answered. She lost sleep when she discovered we were going to areas that I had never been to before, or where there were no friends or relatives to call on for directions.

This topic amuses me because it is so true. It really surprised me when I showed a tuk-tuk driver a map written in Thai, and I knew exactly where I wanted to go, but didn't want to walk. The driver didn't have a clue how to read a simple map, even when written in Thai. Eventually I just had to tell him somewhere that I knew was close to where I wanted to go and I just walked from there.

I've drawn a simple map to show Thai friends where I live and they didn't understand. Obviously, rural Thais are not taught about maps in school and when they move to the city they still don't understand. That does not mean they are dumb. They just haven't learned the concept. It is like a farang raised in a city being put in the wilderness and expecting them to survive.

We can all read and write.

Many lower class Thais can't read and write.

Tuk tuk, m/c taxi, all the bottom of the pile, hardly any of them can read and write so that includes maps.

Not only the maps, but they can't read road names or shop names either.

That probably explains why I see a great number of taxi drivers reading newspapers while waiting for a fare.

My caddie loves to say "3 on, 3 putt, duppil bo-gee eek laaow!"

She gets plenty of practice

OP - without wanting to sound too critical, your questions imply a certain simplicity and lack of knowledge or foresight about Thailand. How many times have you been to Thailand and what do you know about the culture and ways of the country?

If you're going to live here then simple questions about hiring a scooter or insurance should be down the bottom of the list of things you want advice on.

Sorry if I'm making a wrong assumption.

My crystal ball is out of order

But I can guarantee that 50% of TV members opinions will be correct, and 50% will be wrong.

300 B per day is touted as the national minimum wage. However this really only applies to the rural provinces where the COL is considerably less than Pattaya.

You need to pay more and offer incentives to stay longer, with added bonuses for increased skills and longevity of service - and don't be thinking in terms of a bonus at six months. Six months is two eternities to a Thai.

Here's my suggestion:

300 B per day for the 1st month. A 2,000 B bonus if one month is completed, paid on the 15th of the following month, provided they stay. (incentive to stay 6 weeks, and if they leave when they get that bonus they forfeit 2 weeks pay for leaving mid-month). Average daily cost 366 B.

400 B per day for the 2nd month. A 2,000 B bonus for staying the two months, paid as above - gets the same retention incentive.

450 B per day fro the 3rd month. A 1,000 Bonus for staying the three months, paid as above.

500B per day from then on. And then for no particular reason, slip them the odd bonus, take them out for a BBQ, treat them well.....pays dividends!!

The chances are you will still have considerable staff rollover but a lot less than you would only paying 300 B per day. The incentives will possibly rarely be paid but at least you'll retain staff for longer periods. While the overall cost may look excessive I suggest you do yourself a little model that will show the average costs under various circumstances.

I'd suggest that your average cost will only be 400 B per day, plus you may get lucky and get one or two that may well stay the distance. If this happens you may need fewer overall staff because they are more efficient/productive....thus saving you money and having fewer staff headaches.

I have done something similar to the above and it worked very well.

Whilst for us the above stipulations are quite clear, I fear avarage Thais may find it a wee bit complicated.

I would go with 50 baht per hour and some perks after a month.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

You underestimate the "average Thai" I fear. If written in a Thai language employment contract it's perfectly understandable. Sometimes we foreigners are guilty of assuming that intelligence and ability to understand is race related - not so as proven in many studies.

I know a 24 year old waitress/cashier that explained to me how giving change is a science to maximise the tip potential. She judges the look of the customer, the dress, general demeanour, attitude, what they purchase, how they interact with the staff etc, whether they have a car or bike.... and that determines what format the change will be given in.

If the change is 100B, she will vary the denominations given to different customers to extract the highest possibility of increasing the tip potential. She explained the logic but some of the detail was way over my head. One example was that if she assumed the customer was a Baht Bus customer, she would not give any 10B coins if possible, only 20's. If she got good vibes from a customer she would make sure the change contained a 50 and a 10 - expecting a 30 or maybe a 50B tip. She had it all figured out and had her staff giving her feedback on the customer.

Ok, i thought it could be too good to be true.

Gsxrnz, if you don't mind me asking.

Which model did you buy and how much were they selling for?

Did you buy from one of the stalls in Tuk-com?

Got it from TukCom stalls. iphone 3 and from memory it was 8,000 baht. I've been told that I could take it to the Apple store and they could reinstall original software but have never bothered to find out if that's possible or what it would cost.

I got one a year ago, claimed to be factory unlocked. It's genuine but unlocked and with dodgy software. Means you can't update the software from the Apple site without rendering your phone useless.

If it can't be updated by the Apple site then why in the world do you insist that it is genuine

I didn't "insist", I merely stated. The hardware is genuine Apple hardware but it's been populated with dodgy software a la Thailand.

What happens when you plug it into iTunes?

You can use iTunes and download from the Apple store with no problem. Just don't update the software.

I got one a year ago, claimed to be factory unlocked. It's genuine but unlocked and with dodgy software. Means you can't update the software from the Apple site without rendering your phone useless.

If it can't be updated by the Apple site then why in the world do you insist that it is genuine

I didn't "insist", I merely stated. The hardware is genuine Apple hardware but it's been populated with dodgy software a la Thailand.

I got one a year ago, claimed to be factory unlocked. It's genuine but unlocked and with dodgy software. Means you can't update the software from the Apple site without rendering your phone useless.

When you give, they ask for more.

Best not to give in the first place, then you are the arsehol_e who kept ALL his money.

Try this - if they ask for 5,000, LEND them 1,000. When they ask for 5,000 the next time, tell them you'll GIVE them 1,000 but you'll apply it to the last loan they forgot to repay, so we're now square, and by the way ALL future loans will be repaid weekly. Chances are they won't ask again. Or if they DO ask again, they know that's their last chance because the next time you'll apply it to the previous loan, so no point in asking.

Net cost to you, 1,000 Baht, the look on their face when realisation hits home, priceless.

Gotta love Pavlov's theory.

Repossess the laptop, have family gather round, then wantonly piss all over it (the laptop) while screaming obscenities at them.

That sounds like a reasonable response.............. maybe I will try that.

That is a good idea and I've done comparative things to exert my authority in similar situations. Maybe actually pissing on it isn't such a flash idea, but sell it and keep the money.

Translation of "exerting my authority" does not mean I want any control over the extended family, but it means they can expect ZERO control over me or my grabout dtang.

EDIT: And if you have similar occurrences, reconsider your future.

I have only the best things to say about Thai medical care. I have always had insurance, and have had fantastic, quality service whether it was for medical, dental or pharmaceutical care.

I also once accompanied a foreign guy who had been involved in a car accident to the hospital (I just happened to be there when it happened); no questions were asked about insurance etc. (he was in a pretty bad way) and when I visited him later it turned out he had no insurance, yet the hospital continued to care for him until his eventual discharge and return home, "promising" to pay his bills.

Yes, foreigners don't get free medical care in Thailand (nor should they!), yet unlike other countries (e.g. Japan) nor are they denied emergency medical care when they need it. I once travelled in the back of an ambulance in Japan watching a close farang friend die; we were refused by 4 hospitals because she did not have her medical insurance card on her; by the time we got to the 5th, she was dead. I found out later she did have full Japanese government medical insurance.

I think you would be hard pressed to find anywhere in the world a more compassionate and empathetic group of doctors and nurses than in Thailand. They are actually a very dedicated bunch, and don't discriminate based on race, sexual preference or insurance status. I'm pretty sure some doctors and nurses back in NZ could do with reviewing their Hippocratic Oath standing next to a Thai doctor.

Credit where it's due guys.

And yes, compulsory medical insurance. Easy enough; purchase an approved policy when you buy the ticket. In all reality, there are actually only 3 or 4 full travel insurers in the world, everything else is just a rebranding/repackaging of someone else's product. Very easy to sort out, and we are all a lot better of for it (not to mention the long suffering Thai doctors and nurses!).

I can only hope insurers also offer a "Being a <deleted> while pissed" insurance policy as well, although given what I have seen lately, they may well end up losing money on that.

Berg - Whilst I agree with your comments regarding the general standard and ethics of the Thai medical fraternity, do you really believe that the integrity of some NZ medical practitioners can be questioned? I'd like some clarity because I would rate the NZ medical system as one of the best in the world.

Wow, so much negativity about a good idea. Any sensible traveller already has travel medical insurance. Many countries insist that you need travel medical insurance to enter their country. I don't see why anyone would thing this is a bad idea. As for the ones who have said if your over 60 with a pre-existing condition, I feel for you, but if something does happen while you are here why should the Thai health care system be responsible for you?

There are policies that you can get I assure you, they are just very expensive.

If you were to arrive at the airport and at the immigration check point you had to present your passport, arrival card and proof of medical insurance to the immigration officer and if you don't have it they direct you to the booth selling it, so what. Not like Thailand would be unique on that policy.

Thai hospitals are not free for foreigners...and they have to pay first to get treatment...That was my experience....an I believe is normal procedure around the country....In many other countries do you have to give a credit card before treatment..Only in America you will get hospital care for foreigners, and pay the bill later if you can...and I think that is wrong.

Try visiting New Zealand - all residents and non-residents/tourists get free public hospital care courtesy of the NZ taxpayer. if you tried to pay for anything they'd get extremely confused. There is no such thing as a cashier at a public hospital.

"thaivisa.com - where the facts never get in the way of a bigoted rant"

Does anyone know if these motorbike taxi riders are licensed by the city or some authority? Does committing a crime mean they lose their licence?

I think they just have to have a bike and pay the "boss" of the corner they operate on for the monthly privilege of wearing the jacket and permission to operate.

Not sure how it operates above that level, maybe there is some form of permit/license for the "boss" but to seriously expect that any form of checking is done on the honour or integrity (or even riding ability) of the actual driver would be seriously ludicrous conjecture.

Get the maximum value insurance you can and leave it parked unlocked with a spare key in the ignition near Nana.

Are you "legally" married in front of the Amphor?

Comparing smoking to drinking - As a lifelong heavily smoking teetotaller I can tell you that I find it extremely discomforting to sit in a gogo bar full of inebriated miscreants who under the influence of copious amounts of alcohol, act with the manners of animals and do things that would make a grown man cringe. And then there's the customers!!

Whilst these inebriated customers might disturb your peace and comfort, their drinking habits are not harmful to your health.

Don't think you read my post too well. I was (tongue in cheek) referring to the staff

I'm not a teetotaller anyway, but to take up your point I have to disagree. Other customers drinking to excess can be extremely hazardous to the health of other patrons if the excessive drinker decides to bottle you because you looked at the girl on his knee for 2 seconds too long, or mows you down on the way home riding his scooter.

There aren't too many smokers who are arrested for causing GBH or getting involved in a traffic accident while under the influence of nicotine.