Gsxrnz

I learnt the hard way that it's one sharp blow to stop, and two to carry on/proceed. Now have a very nice ding in the chrome bumper after reversing into a wall.

Mind you, I'm still fairly sure I felt the bang before I heard the whistle. The security guy didn't hang around to debate the issue.

before you stick your card in, grab that lump of plastic and give it a hard yank, if it comes off easy you are the proud owner of your own skimmer, maybe if lucky even a small camera

Yep, always do that but with a modicum of caution.

I've nearly been the proud owner of the front dashboard of the ATM - it must have been pulled at so often that the whole panel was about to let loose.

I can imagine trying to explain it to the BIB.

What about buying a condo within resort and rent to tourists? Or there is still too many places where people can stay?

Thanks

petr - I don't rent properties and never have done. I have a slightly warped view on both the risk and returns of residential type properties that is in the negative. I invest in commercial properties (not in Thailand), and that is done through companies that have a genuine reason to occupy and trade from the property. That's a different story.

If you're a novice buyer and don't have a network of potential occupants for your condo - I'd say you're possibly looking in the wrong direction from an investment perspective. If however you have lazy money and perhaps intend occupying the condo in the medium term, then you have different reasons for purchasing.

For me it's all about risk v return and comparative investments. My earlier reply implied you can get a 3% return (and better in some countries) from a rock solid bank. So if you buy a condo you can expect an additional 3-4%, maybe a little more. You have to decide if that profile fits your investment desires.

Do the math - if you unit is only occupied 30% of the time (and that is quite normal over here), then you're really losing investment opportunity on your money.

There is generally no wrong or right in making investments at the time of the investment. It's only TIME that proves the initial decision wrong/less wrong/right/more right etc. I've made investment decisions that on the face of it should have been wise......until the fan gets hit with the dung. Made other investments that were basically throw away money, and they've paid big dividends.

Spread your risk, don't put all the eggs in one basket.....old fashioned clichés but no less relevant today.

Didn't take long for this thread to go pear shaped did it!!

OP - he meant that your 90 day extension expiry date is 30 days longer than your annual renewal. "Come back 30 days early" means even though your 90 day expires in Feb, your annual renewal expires 30 days before that. Just do your annual renewal as normal, and then your 90 day reporting as usual at next expiry.

He was basically reminding you not to forget to do your annual renewal, even though the 90 day reporting date expiry is 30 days after that date.

Edit: I've heard of several cases where guys on a retirement permit have assumed that the 90 day reporting date somehow supersedes the annual renewal date and they've lost their retirement permit and had to reapply, plus pay overstay fines etc. He was trying to do you a favour by reminding you.

I'm skeptical, TA.

Me too - that's a Kiwi fridge full of my favourite brand and advertising my favourite music station. I suspect it's located in Dunedin or Christchurch.

Edit: Yep, googled it, and it's an old promo they ran back in 2010 to win a Smeg fridge full of beer. On a side note, Smeg is just not the right name for a line of kitchenware.

Bypassing the fuse - a very bad idea. If the fuse is hot and then blows then there may be a partial short circuit and that needs fault finding and repair. Maybe the fuse rating is not correct. Get a qualified electrician.

 Seems good advice thanks - can you recommend any please? Maybe someone with enough clout to check 500 units if I can convince the management committee there is a problem that is.....

I wouldn't bother. Virtually all electrical installations are faulty at the time of installation. Twenty years of alterations, repairs, re-jigs, fuse jumping, mickey mouse modifications means that essentially, the building is no more dangerous than it was from day one.

If you live up to the 20th floor, buy a quality mountaineering rope and a set of abseiling gear. If you live any higher, consider a parachute.

And while I'm slightly tongue-in-cheek with my reply, it's not too far from reality, and the evacuation advice is sound.

Chateau de Cardboard?

Missus just told me that the Red Shirts are holding a protest at the corner of Thepprasit and Sukhumvit, opposite Tesco today (Thurs14 Nov).

If today's the day you were going to buy your baked beans, you might want to reconsider.

She also tells me that the news on TV is advising people to have plenty of cash on them in case the banks have to suspend services due to all the current crap going down in BKK.

I was told the "compulsory" insurance stays with the bike through change of ownership. Anybody riding it is insured.

i think they are German Shepherds in disguise.

.....and doing a damned good job of it as well!

I confess to having ridden a Hardley once. The owner was an acquaintance in a Ulysses motorbike club, a club for over 40's. Most of the club rode sportsbikes (and knew what the throttle was for). This guy insisted that his Sportster was as good as a any superbike on tight twisties and begged me to swap with him for a 10klm section of gorge riding to see what I thought.

He went through first and waited for me. I rode his Sportster at full revs all the way and used the gears as you would on a sportsbike (not easy on a Harley). According to others waiting with him, when he heard me ringing the neck of his bike he said (and the guy had a bad stutter), "J J J J Jeez, there's n n n n no f f f f f f f urkin need to ride it like that!.

Handed it over to him, footpegs on both sides were a little short, exhaust stunk like it had a dead fish strapped to it, and the engine had that "overheated" smell. Not quite cooked, but reasonably well done.

We swapped back to our own bikes and carried on. Three klm's later his bike died - seized. I felt slight remorse, but then I thought nuh, it's the designers fault, not mine. I found out later that the cheapskate was using 30 weight oil because the bike had a tendency to burn oil and he thought the heavier the oil the better. Numnuts!

That's the first and only time I've ridden one, and don't really feel the need to repeat it. It was a scary ride and everything about them is wrong - brakes (lack of), handling - absolutely none, acceleration - you nearly fall of backwards from lack of it, transmission - well, it has a transmission box but it's really just for show.

I'm off for a round shortly and just weighed my bag. Fourteen clubs (metal irons), shoes, gloves, tees, 6 balls, in a Taylormade full size bag. 18 kilograms.

Mind you, the caddie is always saying "grabout nag muk muk leuue".

To avoid detection by sniffer dogs. You vacuum seal the food, then you wash the sealed bags with a weak water and bleach solution. When drying the bags be careful not to use a cloth with any odours on it and handle with clean hands. Brought in dried meat (jerky) etc etc over the years with no problem. Illegal but tasty.

Um....I suspect you're getting away with it (like the rest of us), is because Thai immigration don't care, don't look, don't have dogs trained to look, and if they do catch you they don't do anything anyway.

If you want to check out the validity of your theory, try that process with some tasty chicken morsels and take them home to your country and see if you avoid detection.

Good luck.

I don't think you can have a profound, meaningful relationship with someone you don't really know, and to know someone you need to be able to communicate.

All this tosh about love, soul mates, life partners, meaningful relationships.

Silly western nonsense! Meaningless rubbish to the other 85% of the world population.

My wife entered into a legal contract to produce babies and sleep with me.

Not really much need for communication there.

It's all about reproduction, nothing else is important.

Hmmmm..........Freud would have a field day with that perspective on life.

Check in online means you technically can check in 30 minutes later. But the main advantage is that bugger-all people do that so the "checked in online" queue is always empty, meaning you can get your baggage checked and seat allocated without queuing. I'd recommend you definitely do this as you have a tight timeframe.

Edit: But at that time of the morning, I'd say you'll be lucky to clear baggage, re-check the baggage, get through passport control, and meet the required boarding time. Try as I said above, but just take hand luggage. You can also print your boarding pass and select a seat before you leave home and skip checking in at all, just go straight to passport control and then the gate.

Wear jogging shoes and jai yen-yen

I heard about a chap that couldn't insure his Aprilia and was dead scared of theft. As well as expensive alarms and disc locks, he retro fitted multi adjustable clip-ons and had them modified with quick releases where the control bars joined the forks. In 20 seconds he could undo them and remove the joining blocks and take them with him, leaving the clip-ons (complete with levers etc.) dangling beside the bike.

He figured it was hard to push a bike with no front wheel control, let alone ride it.

I've come through Swampy two dozen times and to this day I have not seen a customs official. I always arrive at 1am, which probably has something to do with it.

Meat pies are my nemesis and I bring more each time I come. Case was 20% meat product last time I arrived.

How do you do the pies?

My Lassie got the taste for a chunky beef one in Australia (that and a French Vanilla Slice) ... what's the process for freezing, wrapping for flight, keeping it cool so it doesn't spoil etc ... how do you do it?

hi dai i always fridge it first, then wrap in foil,then in between eg.towells in the front of the case where it will get the best support.

from home in the uk.to phuket 25hrs plus, with butter and still good on arrival.sausages and bacon freeze first wrap in a towel then put them in a plastic container.

I use three small insulated chilli-bags, the kind that you take to the rugby to put your beer in. But I add 2 of those frozen freezer thingies, I just call them cool-packs. They're frozen plastic liquid things that you add to a chilli-bag to keep things cooler.

Refrig before you pack. They're in my suitcase for about 18 hours and come out at refrigerator temperature. Throw in a towel to soak up the minimal moisture the cool-pack will release - no problem.

I've come through Swampy two dozen times and to this day I have not seen a customs official. I always arrive at 1am, which probably has something to do with it.

Meat pies are my nemesis and I bring more each time I come. Case was 20% meat product last time I arrived.

Mixed - Youngest son (18 at the time) thought I was doing the right thing and enjoying my golden years - Jeez I was only 49. He's since spent a year here with me and was/is supportive of me and my lifestyle. I had to lever him into the taxi to Swampy.

Oldest boy, then 25, was a bit confused. He's been here for a 3 week holiday and I was surprised at what a prude he'd become. He's not exactly over the moon about me being here but it's up to him. No rift or anything, he just couldn't adapt and comprehend many things, probably because he didn't try or want to try.

Daughter, then 23, was supportive and is still that way. She's coming here at Christmas so will see what happens.

As to the rest of my friends and colleagues, don't really care what they think. Anybody who gets vocal gets ignored and crossed of my Christmas card list, most vary between envious and confused.......most being envious.

What about you OP, you've asked the question but haven't given any detail.