Anon999

I wonder who owns the Chotima Driving School......

If you are suspicious, I would suggest that you investigate and give us an answer, rather than an off the cuff accusation. If you don't investigate, then you really don't care. I think you would agree with this?

A statement ("I wonder who owns the Chotima Driving School ...") is not an accusation of any sort.

"I think you would agree with this" is not a question, either. It's a statement. You either think so or not. No question mark required.

It's an insinuation.

Doing some research by looking at the Thai 'Red Book' will give a good idea of the 3 prices for your favoured choice of vehicle. Just google it. The fee is 100 baht.

According to the OP the fatalities/100,000 population is 44. Excluding motorbikes that's is in the order of 7/100,000, 16%. It therefore makes Thailand very safe for road transport unless you ride a motorbike.

Blan is a good product to get whites white again. I add it once in a while to a load. Another thing is, don't wait till your stuff is dirty before you wash it. I do my bed sheets once a week, towels after one day (I bought small ones so it's not too wasteful), shirts after one day, etc. If you wait till it smells or is stained, good luck getting it out. I agree those cold water machines are crap compared to frontloaders and sometimes you really want to wash at 60 or 90, but that's what most condos come with.

Front loaders in Thailand, including Siemens, only have a cold water inlet but heat the cold water for the wash cycle. The more expensive top loaders do the same I think.

I cant see any advantage whatsoever having this yellow book. I have been here for 15 years on a retirement visa, I have several Thai Bank accounts, on line banking and on line trading and a driving licence etc. Never needed any such document. Anyone can get one so there is nothing special about it.

To get the 2 DL's I had to have certificate of residence (2). Immigration is 100km away. Also had to get another 2 for registering my 2 bikes.

The first 2 immigration Udon ripped me for 600 baht. The second trip I got them for free. They are supposed to be free but the fist bunch wanted a tip I suppose.

It is the 200 km that bothers me most.

Try the local police station they will do it for free usually. Remember the letter is only valid for 28 days.

My assumption is that she had a round in the chamber and the safety off - exactly how much training anyone prepared to walk the streets with a live grenade in their purse can possibly have had is one I'll leave to our very own gun lobby.

Do you think that the police walk around without a round in the chamber? Do you think that all handguns have a safety per se? You know what they say about "assume."

The lone mistake which was deadly was leaving the gun within reach of the child.

The crass mistake was to have a gun ready to discharge a round. The second idiotic mistake was to have it easily accessible to anyone including her toddler. It's about time the US gun lobby was overruled and making the carrying of them in public places a crime.

The Thai wife is in the US right now and will not be returning before I need to get my new visa. So there is no long-stay option available to me without returning to the US for another O-A visa?

Has anyone utilized the services of one of the "help you get your visa" companies? If so, were they able to help? I have everything to meet the requirements of a retirement extension, except at the Bueng Kan office, where they are wanting me to show transfers of at least 65K per month into Thailand. Previous to my recent experience, I did not know that 65K monthly transfers had become a requirement, at least in Bueng Kan.

It isn't. I do a transfer of £10k to my BKK FCD account when I need it not otherwise. However, Amnat Charoen do not generally make up the rules as they go along. I do show the Embassy the receipts from my house Letting agent in the UK and also bank statements covering the relevant period so there is no question about the validity. Have never been ask at 4 different Imm offices, Pattaya, Korat, Mukdahan an currently Amnat, for a Retirement extension for a marriage cert, bank book, etc., etc. As others have said move looks in order and Mukdahan is on the river too.

Best of luck.

Recommend that you check out the RUTNIN EYE HOSPITAL on Sukumvit Soi 21 (Soi Asoke).

Mac

thanks too bad there English version of their website seems to be not working

It appears to be the Home Page that is 'on holiday'. Try the link on the Google page to List of Subspeciality Clinics. Yo can navigate from there,

What about the rest of the population, as mentioned above? What about the vast number of Thais who cannot afford to retire? It is just looking after number 1 when the PM is asking people to consider others, how did this slip through the net? Is this an example of Thainess to be held up to the country the Asean and the world?

What is the current pension and what will it be anyone know?

Is it any different in the UK? Not to my knowledge.

Society has pretty clearly demarked the definition of success

In your 'society' does the success of a orphaned, developing-world child reaching maturity safely and in good health, then going on to live a healthy and personally rewarding life equal the success of privileged child graduating from schools then going on to lead a life of monetary and material growth?

Are you trying to tell me that the majority of **** ups in this part of the world are Western orphans escaping care homes? I think you might want to recalibrate the advantages of growing up in the West and compare them to the disadvantages of growing up for most people in the 3rd World. Nearly every expat has had the benefit of a free education, free/subsidized healthcare, a decent diet, etc. the fact that they took all these advantages and turned them to living in a shack eating rubbish and drinking 20 lagers a day is not something to be proud of.

Suggest you speak for yourself about "living in a shack, eating rubbish and drinking 20 lagers a day". There are always exceptions, however, there are none that I know of living in this vicinity of Isaan, a city of over 40,000, although we do have the odd recluse.

It would appear to me that the expat failures that the OP mentions and their reasons/excuses are more relevant to Bangkok in particular than in the less frenetic parts of LoS. There is a local newsletter here, I'm in Isaan and excluding the part-timers the biggest loss to the community are those who have departed on their Last Posting. Very few have left permanently and none that I know personally.

The danger for the aircraft is not "Lightening" it is "Hail". If enough hail gets sucked into the engines it stalls. In engine testing you can shoot water directly from a fire hose into a jet engine and it will keep running but inject ice...bad things happen. Also a A320 also has a "ditch switch" for water landings . The pilot if he able too can ditch in water and the plane floats. But now I'm hearing they found wreckage but that's unconfirmed.

Would you indulge me by taking the time to explain this in a way that untechnical types can understand please; it sounds very interesting.

Because planes fly over water Boeing decided to add this feature to planes they produce. It's called the "Ditch Switch". In layman's terms it prevents all the doors from being opened or any "sealed door" on the plane thereby allowing the plane to float. It can be deactivated if need be. It's not perfect but if the pilot is able to ditch without causing major damage the plane it stays afloat for a considerable amount of time. Once people are calm, the doors can be opened and rescue slides become "Rafts" and will hold a lot people in each one. The plane that Capt Scully flew into the New York river had it but it was not activated and if it was he didn't remember it. Still the plane stayed afloat and was actually towed to a pier.

I've read the same news, wreckage seen on or near a small (uninhabited?) Indonesian island and rescue teams sent to investigate.

So par usual eyewitness testimony turned out to be wrong. Thank god there are only 1000 combinations of a three digit number.

It is normal in the UK, when someone quotes a vehicle number, for the police to look at the common mistakes that are made if the number quoted does not prove correct. That was exactly same.

Asking for an unusual route a great deal of consternation and raises the inevitable question WHY?

Weather ahead would be the most common.

They only mentioned cloud, nothing else, so it's a case of what was not said.

Asking for an unusual route causes a great deal of consternation and raises the inevitable question WHY?

1. Type up a complete list of everything you want.

2. Negotiate the biggest discount you can get on the list price and see what extras they offer.

3. Tell them the items that you do not want and insist they're not included.

4. Now present them with a copy of your LIST with all the things that they have offered ticked off.

5. Do not pay for any insurance have it included.

6. Tell them you do not want red plates. I eventually got mine for free.

7. Make sure when you inspect the car you do it thoroughly. Better to take someone who knows about cars with you as a double check is worthwhile.

8. Repeat everything with 3 dealers including one in Bangkok, preferably the Main Dealer if you're talking to a branch.

9. Be prepared to start negotiations immediately after lunch and do not leave until they are locking up the showroom, unless you have everything you wanted. The pressure is on them!

10. The deposit is more likely to be 50,000 baht.

11. Make the payment of the balance by direct transfer to their bank, do it on-line and then email the receipt to them. If the dealer is in BKK then ask them, if they do not offer, to ship it your local dealer?

12. Deal with the Sales Manager.

13. Ask for the impossible!

If you really want this to be super accurate, add this to #1:

Dealer lies about when the car will arrive

Yes my Mitsu arrived a week early.

Went to Jomtien 22nd December for 90 day report, passport only.

The guy checked the computer, printed off the tearoff and I was out again in 2 minutes.

Same for me: in and out in 2 minutes.

BUT: I live half way between Khonkaen and Udon Thai ( I can see the highway from my balcony), but just inside the border of Kalasin province. That means I have to go Sakon Nakon and that means a 180 km drive...and a 180 km drive back. I asked if it was possible to do it by mail and the answer was: "no, you have to come in person". Maybe they like me.....

Suggest you send it by EMS and then wait to find out what the response is, apart from the receipt.

Looks like there will always be some sort of 90 day or longer accountability, but maybe not in person.

It's not a requirement to do a 90 day in person. I've always done mine by post for for over 8 years.

The prices you have been quoted sound like they include labour costs as well.

i havent read ANYTHING yet about the English bobbies "research"

Were they here on a Holiday or what ???

Read an earlier post!

It's a pleasure to have seen what's going on, but this is not even scratching the surface. You want a promotion at a school? Pay. Promotion at a bank? Pay. Promotion at the local council? Pay. Promotion anywhere? Pay. Dirty money has taken over the country and, unfortunately, there is no way out.

Millions and millions are involved in some kind of bribery.

" Promotion anywhere? Pay." Don't generalise, not everyone is open to corruption. There are many honest Thais doing a good job without resorting to financial inducements either paying or receiving.

Then go after all of those irrespective of political hue or family connections etc who have conspired to steal as much as they could from Thailand and its peoples.

Quite difficult when the coup makers are the main culprits for this. Will they arrest themselves?

ps why are all coup supporters older British guys in Issan. Must be an old colonial thing

Well you have never ask me or anyone I know!