bouph12

In so far as receipts, one only has to ask and you shall receive.

I can state from personal experience that this is just wrong.

I took my new passport there last year to have the visa information transferred over. The officer told me it would cost me 500 baht to do this. When I asked, politely, if I would be getting a receipt, he just shook his head. I declined to pay, he refused to do the work. No big deal, but I have to carry both passports when I travel.

Prior to this, I had a request for a receipt refused after I had handed over 500 baht for a residence letter on my first visit there - I didn't know any better at the time.

I make an effort to be presentable and courteous when I go there and I don't get het up if things don't go as planned.

I accept that you and others have never had a problem there - I hope you continue to be fortunate.

Previous extensions here have been completed in under an hour. There is no "New Regulation" - if it can be done within an hour on payment of a bribe, it is plainly corrupt.

It has been reported that the bribe increases the further away you live, so I suspect they're preying on the frail elderly men out in the sticks who don't want to make two visits.

I was in the Unctuous Thieves Immigration Office this week where the three customers ahead of me were peremptorily told "2,000 Baht" at payment time, which they all handed over.

After I paid the actual amount required and refused to pay 100 baht extra for 2 photocopies, there was a last, sad, pathetic attempt to get something extra by asking my Wife to pay 20 Baht for the official

receipt!

The soi dog foundation might have some relevant information - they relocate adopted cats to the Uk for 755 GBP cargo fee.

Udom Clinic on the Srisuk road near the prison, 'phone number 042 221120. The lady there graduated from a U.S. dental college and has given me good service over the last couple of years.

This is likely to be available soon at any Thai restaurant on the flightpath.....

Makro in Udon Thani usually stocks it. My wife bought a six-pack of Schweppes Dry Ginger Ale there on Thursday.

In Macro they sell "Boncofe", espresso whole beans. Fresh grinded every morning it does the job for me....

Fatfather

Boncafe has one variety called 'Espresso Dubai' I buy at Makro which is a decent everyday coffee for me at a reasonable ฿240 for 500 grams. Some of their other varieties I find lacking.

If you've got a Tops Market nearby, they sell a Duang Dee Hilltribe coffee that is a very tasty roast and a deal at ฿109 for 250 grams. Unfortunately they never have the whole bean, and their ground is very fine so can be a problem depending on what coffeemaker you're using. I also find the straight Arabica coffees mostly better than a Robusta or an Arabica/Robusta blend.

Cheers.

Duang Dee Hill Tribe Classic blend from Chiang Mai is the best value coffee I've found so far. Can order by phone for 350 baht/kg for delivery to your door, ground or whole bean.

Not quite such a good deal for UK based members - it's £38 per kg from Amazon UK ....

In your situation I would consider a six month rental of a house in or near Udon town, defraying the cost if necessary by renting out your Jomtien condo.

Your wife should be happy to be nearer her family.

You will be closer to the local amenities.

You're not making an irreversible financial commitment until you're sure you will enjoy life up here.

Some local info:

3 cinemas in Udon, only the one in Central shows undubbed movies. Not very often, though.

Golf, chess and bridge are played regularly.There is a local pool league with quite a few players in their 70's (or maybe they've just led hard lives).

Several decent places to eat around town.

2 local internet forums where you can practise your keyboard warrior skills.

It's a nice place to live but I wouldn't want to visit there.

I get mine thro Squires (Agent) she speaks good english, and is in Udon. Have had mine with MSIG which includes contents. Give her a call 0818729791 no harm in asking.

I got mine from the MSIG office in Udon on the west side of the ring road near the junction for Kut Chap.

They employ a helpful English guy in their Bangkok office who clarified a couples of queries I had and then e-mailed me copies of all the policy paperwork in English.

If sending money from the UK to a Thai branch of Bangkok Bank then you may find that doing it via Bangkok Bank London is the simplest and best way of doing it:

http://www.bangkokbank.com/bangkokbank/personalbanking/dailybanking/transferingfunds/transferringintothailand/receivingfundsfromuk/Pages/ReceivingFundsfromUK.aspx

That doesn't help if you have a Nationwide account and live in Thailand. Also would be a hassle and costly to go to London to do a transfer even if you live in UK.

Maybe you didnt study the procedure.

It is very suitable for anyone who lives in Thailand and has UK internet banking. You dont have to go to London to do the transfer: you do it as an internal UK FPS/BACS payment from your UK account to Bangkok Bank London, and Bangkok Bank London send it to your Thai Bangkok Bank account.

I have been using this method to transfer money from my UK Nationwide account to my Bangkok Bank account here for the last 3 years. Very straightforward once you set it up, and the rate if converted to baht at this end has been favourable.

It took 2 days to get my retirement extension at the Udon office last month.

It was going smoothly until I refused to pay 500 baht to have the stamps transferred to my new passport. After this, our previously acceptable copies of the chanote to the house were deemed inadequate and we were told to return the next day with a completed Tm 30 and a map to the house.

I now have to take both passports with me when I leave the country.

bloody hell and heres me hoping ide get a game of 5 and 3s or at leats a game of doubles,

jake

Funny, that's exactly what I was thinking, not actually seen a set here

I too was disappointed to see the OP was only after pizzas.

The Thai domino sets have numbers up to 9 rather than 6. I've no idea what games they play with them. I have however bought a "UK" set locally.

We have a 5s and 3s school every Monday evening - 3 sad old Brits trying to recapture their youth mis-spent in local tap rooms and a Swedish chap who's caught on very quickly.

5s and 3s with a Thai set is quite interesting, but you need at least 2 laps of the crib board for a game - double 8 + double 7 and double 9 + double 6 both score 16 points!

I'm still hoping to someday find enough players for a decent game of Maltese Cross ( very mis-spent youth!)

It was reported on the local news in Pattaya last week that some ladies were arrested and hauled down the station for playing straight dominoes for money.

The stake was 1 baht a game.

If you could find room on the pallet for a few Killie Pies......

This is what I use at my local office, some items are not applicable to you, such as a yellow book, and maybe the income letter from the Embassy, but you might need one from the Bank if you already have the cash in your own account.

TM7 Application x 2

Passport + copies

TM6 + copies

Yellow Book + copies

Embassy Income letter + copies

Bank Books + copies

Marriage Certificate + copies

Registration in Amphur + copies

Affirmation to Marry + copies

Map to Condo + copies

Pictures + copies

Wife's ID Card + copies

Wife's Blue book + copies

Wife (original only)

TM7/TM6? How do we get yellow book?Everything else I understand,thank you very much.(are you double sure about only original)

TM6 is the departure card stapled in your passport

TM7 is the Application for Extension of temporary stay in the Kingdom form. Obtainable from the Immigration office (or can be downloaded on-line).

Yellow book is the tabien bahn book for your house - see the pinned thread in the real estate section on Thaivisa.

It is a little-known fact I’ve just made up that several years ago the sound engineers’ union, whose name translates as Thais Who Add The Sounds, negotiated/bribed their way to a piecework deal known as the 2 Baht-per-Boing system.

Once it’s understood that 85% of the programme budget goes to the T.W.A.T.S., other aspects of Thai tv become clearer.

The studios can’t afford scriptwriters, but fortunately one of the studio bosses is married to a teacher. The scripts are written by Mrs Somchai’s Creative Writing class of 12 year olds.

The studios can only afford to pay for the first 2 lessons from the Actors’ Coaching Manual for their Models-turned-Actresses.

Lesson 1. The “Rich girl not getting her own way” Pout.

Lesson 2. The “I’m the Bad Girl in this show” Sneer.

The impressive mansions used as sets? Owned by T.W.A.T.S.

The lush tropical resorts where the actors go for a Lomantic getaway? Owned by T.W.A.T.S.

The private hospital where the male head of the household invariably ends up sick/dying? Owned by T.W.A.T.S.

I’m sure there are other examples…….

I picked up several interesting brands at the Coffee Fair in Pattaya last May, my favourite being from Vittorio.Hopefully there will be another fair this year.

Currently using Sala daeng beans from Chiang Rai in the De Longhi Cafe Treviso machine I brought over from home.

It is currrently undergoing a major refit of the ground floor, 7 days a week for the next 3 months.The adjacent building is also having work done.

Bring your ear plugs!

So they would be the body to visit to report non compliance with the registered rules and regulations.

You are confusing the significance of registration with ensuring compliance here.

I agree that land registry will do nothing about infringements of regulations etc as it is not their job, it is the job of the courts.

But who brings the case?

If the owners bring a case against the management - who is the representative of the owners - are the owners bringing a case against themselves?

I am aware of one case where an owner wanted to take action against the committee for refusing his application. But since he was part of those that elected the committee surely his only real option is to get rid of the committee otherwise he is suing himself?

In other words if the condo is not managed properly it is the owners who should/must take action. Vote the people out who are mismanaging the condo and install a new, reliable committee or juristic person.

"Section 60/1 In performing in accordance with this Act, the competent official shall have the power as follows:

1) Conveying a letter to any person calling for such person to make a statement, give explanation on the facts or else make a written explanation or submit documents, accounts, registers or any evidences to support a consideration or a check on the performance in compliance with this Act.

(2) Entering the land and building requested for registration as a condominium or the land, building or premises being the common property of the condominium in order to make inquiries on the facts, verify documents or evidences to support the consideration or check the performance in compliance with this Act.

(3) Attaching documents, accounts, registers or evidences for the benefit of verifications and preceding the case under this Act."

This section of the Act suggests that It is their job to ensure compliance - or am I missing something here? There is no mention of an investigation requiring a court order prior to taking action.

Two useful posts - thank you both.

I am still unsure which section is relevant to a resolution proposing an increase in annual maintenance fees. Section 44 - "a majority of voters attending" or Section 48 - "a resolution on the following

matters must have the votes of not less than a half of the total votes of the joint owners"

To further complicate things, some translations I've seen for Section 48 state "........not less than a half of the total votes of the joint owners attending ".

Does anyone have definitve experience of which section applies?