Debothai

All of this used to be happening in Cyprus and now since the EU has imposed on Cyprus to be 'against' Russia, most of these Russians have now flocked to greener pastures, such as Phuket.

Thanks guys...I will try dddave's suggestion...

I just asked today at SCB and they said, work permit and passport is needed. I lied to them that I would be depositing 1 million baht, and that got their attention. The pretty girls were all sweet smiles and the manager was also smiling. One of the ladies took my mobile number also. They will call me next week to fix a preferential interest rate.

I tried to buy some Jordanian Dinars (200 JOD) in Pattaya, but couldn't find any exchange booth that had them. I was near the beach road area. Maybe they have them in Soi Arab in South Pattaya? Alternatively would I be able to get them near the Grace Hotel area in Bangkok?

I wanted to have some local currency for my transit in Amman. I know I can always use euros but I like to travel prepared with the local currency.

Any ideas?

These ruffians give the rest of the law abiding farangs a bad name. The damage they do is irrecovable...I hope they get punished to the maximum extent of the law.

I think this is better, when Phuket starts swarming with policemen it may discourage the criminals, however the damage to the reputation of Phuket has been done already. It may take a long time before Phuket returns to normal. Quite a lot of negative things about Phuket must change if the tourists are to be re-attracted. Especially the cost of things. Last month I had a frined of mine visit Thailand and he vaccationed in Phuket and Pattaya, he was impressed that Pattaya was so much cheaper than Phuket. He told me that next time he will select Pattaya instead. Not that it is an innocent city, there is crime in Pattaya too, but at the moment it seems a much better destiantion than Phuket...

Samut Sakhon is adjacent to South Western Bangkok...

Abhisit and the Democrats appeal to the middle class and educated Thais who are keen to see a true democracy and a blanced society. Unfortunately the masses of voters especially from the North and Isan are still not ready to appreciate these values and are narrow minded and focused on short term economic promises such as vote buying. The middle classes and democrats have a hard task ahead of them and that is to educate their fellow Thais to appreciate the meaning of true democracy and balanced society and where each has to work hard to gain his social standing. Unfortunately, the vote buying affects such desperate voters and polarises them to the red camp (Thaksin camp) In any case as a foreigner I can only watch. But if I could cast a vote, it would be for the Democrats.

I welcome this change and I will book a flight with them out of Don Muang in October. Well done Air Asia!!

Air Asia is the principal contributor for the congestion at Suvarnabhumi. They must be removed along with the other low cost airlines to Don Muang. For those who need connecting flights Thai can do that to most important destinations. In fact some international airlines should also consider adding Don Muang to their list of destinations. It is no good having an airport under-utilized when the new airport is filled to the brink by the low cost passengers. In Dubai, all low cost airlines use a dedicated terminal and are soon to be moved to the new Jebel Ali Airport which is much further away than Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi.

I am under the impression that most negative comments in this forum regarding this subject come from passengers who are used to using Air Asia due to the convenient prices and connections with international destinations. However in the interest of the success of air travel in Thailand and the proper use of the resources available, low cost airlines should not be at Suvarnabhumi, but at Don Muang. I predict that Air Asia will try to resist this and it will be seen soon.

Dedicated Shuttle buses and a future rail link between the two airports will be a solution to this problem. Also automatic baggage transfers. This can be done, and Suvarnabhumi can be relieved of the additional traffic.

Venues like tamnan chon on 3d road close at 4 am -- -don't ask my how i know this...

But quite a few bars are open 24 hours with girls operating on shifts...How can they stop a bar from being open at say 8 am. That isn't an innapropriate time...Some folks even like to go there and have some morning coffee and maybe a barfine or two....

My opinion is that Thailand has had an unstable political situation for some years now and to solve this type of problem political stability is a must. Otherwise, the relations can never be restored. The impact to the economy of Thailand by not having relations with KSA must be assessed. This issue must be a policy of the governement and it must be handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Additionally, if such relations are restored it may benefit the situation in South Thailand, where tensions are high.

Personally I believe that it is well and good that there are no realtions with KSA, nobody should need the Saudis, however I leave this to the Thai Govenment to decide.

Suvarnabhumi Airport has capacity problems and these are not entirely related to the runway repairs. Runway repairs are but a small contributor to the congestion. The congestion is mainly due to the low capacity of the airport combined with the rapid expansion of low cost carriers that are unable or unwilling to be relocated to Don Muang.

I am not against fake rolexes, in fact I had one some years agao, bought in Pratunam, beautiful thing, a fake submariner, but the problem was that it worked too fast it gained 9 minutes a day....I never bought another one since...The rule is they say that a fake rolex will work until the airport then fail...Well I noticed the bad time keeping from the first day...Still, fake goods are becoming less and less available now in Bangkok, unless you know those who go and buy stuff from POIPET. My wife has just received a new PRADA bag from her Thonnburi friend who goes to POIPET regularly to buy stuff like this...I don't think that GAGA should be critisized for her comment, after all she is nothing but a pop-singer she has no political significance. Although I do like her music, I would also buy a fake cd of her. No problem.

In fact may I go one step ahead to say that all these fake goods do not really make a dent on the originals, because the people who do buy the fake goods are not going to ever have the money to buy a real rolex anyway. So all these fake PRADAS and ROLEXES are a form of advertising for the real thing. I don't see what's the fuss about all this. A fake GAGA cd or two isn't going to make GAGA any less rich.

Thai people know that there are fake good around, they just wanted GAGA to be more tactful, but then again GAGA is insignificant, she is just a pop singer, and I even like some of her music...

I think you are missing the point here. The reason that the Chinese are interested is that they eventually want to link up Chiang Mai with their Kunming Province and open a rail route for exporting their products through Indochina. A similar project is being thought out along the Ho Chi Minh Trail through Cambodia, also pioneered by China. So, as long as China is involved, this rail project is quite feasible provided China is heavily involved. And if it does go ahead it would be the catalyst to finally modernise the Thai Rail Network that has been held back due to the use of the metre gauge...Let us hope that it doesn't end up as being a politically motivated project that ends up nowhere.

I am a bit unconfortable with the idea that the OP condones the acitivity of his wife. I wouldn't allow my thai wife to do the same thing, it would be against my pride and priniciples...However, each of us don't see things in the same way...

It is probably above the real figure but it is reasonable to assume that ladyboys have a higher risk of contracting HIV...However if condoms are used then those individuals who prefer to engage in sex activites with ladyboys may reduce the risk. Personally, I don't understand why there is such a demand for ladyboys, they do seem to do a brisk business much more than normal prostitutes....Ask any ladyboy they will probably tell you that they have quite good sources of income. In common language: they sell quite well...It is also a little known fact that men who engage in sex with ladyboys, also are sometimes both the doer and the done by types...Whatever, ladyboys seem to be doing well...and are bound to increase in the future....

The headline is correct as foreigner in Thailand means not-thai .

My original visa was also like that, however my company after securing the work permit for me changed the visa to type B. What this means is that even if they stamped employment prohibited you can once you get your WP. Also by that time you need to make an extension of stay then the visa must be converted to B, by your sponsoring company....

whatever- the guy looks like a badass - from the picture.

Thanks for the replies, I will try it...Bungalows sounds good....If it rains...well, it it is the rainy season anyway...

Why don't you do the hep a+B vaccination in Thailand? It is much cheaper here. For B it is hard to contract if you vae protected sex always...Dunno about A though...

Malaria is also not very common in Thailand unless you spend much time upcountry and don't take precautions against mosquitoes...Malaria is really an African disease, not so common in Asia.