mrjohn

My house..... but not necessarily on a Sunday.

Thanks for your reply Johnxxx. I used to have Maxnet before I moved to Phuket and as I remember they could only provide the service if a telephone line was already installed. As I understand it, all lines are owned by TOT and so the first step is to get the TOT line in. New telephone installation here is, by all accounts, slow and expensive. Anybody shed any light on this?

I have no telephone at my house so I have been using Cat CDMA and more recently EVDO, with which I have been reasonably happy.

My neighbours are moving soon and have offered me their TOT telephone line which I understand is easy to transfer. If I take on the TOT line, what are my options for faster internet connections?

I live in Phuket

Anybody know where you can buy good quality, fresh goat meat in Phuket?

Does any one know of a place to take an ipod for repair in Phuket?

Can any body recommend any places to stay in Sri Racha pref under 1000 Bht?

I am currently freezing due to family commitments in the UK. Should be back home in LOS next week.

I am thinking of buying a netbook soon. Either the Acer 1series (£175 to £250) or better still the Samsung NC10. The Samsung is retailing at around £320 (about 16300Bht)

All my google searches have either drawn a blank or led me to believe that the prices are very similar in either country. Has anybody got any advice?

Just to add to this....I did my second extension of stay based on retirement here in Phuket today.

I needed a copy of my passport main page plus copies of past visa extensions i.e. going back to my original Non Imm O Visa from about 3yrs ago.

A copy of my Thai ATM card All easy to do at the photocopy shop in the compound.

They keep the original pension letter from embassy on file. The Brit Embassy had stated my income in Pounds Sterling and in Thai Baht which was just as well because the pound has since fallen by about 5Bht!!

Last year they had just stated my income in sterling alone which meant the Immigration checking the latest rate on the internet. Which would have made life difficult today!!

The best thing about the income letter if you qualify, is that it minimises the effort for all concerned (especially the immigration officials themselves) The whole thing was completed in less than half an hour and this in a very busy office in the midst of high season.

Thanks for the info this was not the way it was quoted in the PAI newspaper , but thats Pai for you.

Yes you need the Embassy letter for income from abroad and a bank letter for money in the bank.

Hold on there lite beer can you just clarify this?As I understand it, provided your income meets the 65000Bht minimum you only need to show the Embassy letter, but you would need proof of money in the bank if you are applying for the extension to stay on a part and part basis. Is that correct???

Definitely not the black headed ibis.

It was this

Sorry that didn't upload properly.

It was definitely not the Black Headed Ibis. For one thing it did not have a black head. It was one or other of the albatross pics.

Is it really not possible to see an albatross in Thailand??

Definitely not the black headed ibis.

It was this

White-bellied Sea Eagle. See the pic.

I am seriously impressed by your speed of response and thanks for your help but I don't think that was it.

From memory it did not have those "fingers" on the end of the wings. Which would have had me thinking"eagle" immediately.

Actually the wife doesn't think that was it either.......course we could both be wrong!

Any other possibilities?

Not sure where to post this.

Two days ago I saw a huge seabird in the sky off Rawai beach in Phuket. It had a white body and head with grey to black wings. The beak was large, yellow and hooked. It’s flight was stunning. it would flap its wings a few times and then soar with wings outstretched, its head crooked, looking for food in the shallows below. I would say it was bigger than the common Kites seen all over the island.

My immediate thought was of an albatross. I tried to check it on various websites but all the info seems to suggest that Thailand is way outside the usual areas for an albatross.

Any ideas? Do any bird experts have any idea what it might have been.

So I go into the CAT office in Patong to pay my wireless internet bill and I see a desk with several hand printed adverts selling second hand Sierra Wireless cards and the newer C-motech USB modems. They are going for about half the price of a new one and the service can be transferred to a new customer for 212Baht. You must do the transfer at the office to make sure the current owner is up to date on payments or the new owner is responsible. I forgot to ask about the requirements for the new owner(work permit/long term visa) if any. Just so info for anyone interested. Also, does anyone know the location of the CAT office in Phuket town?

P

Useful info....but where is the CAT office in Patong?

Since levity is the sole of wit:

Has anyone noticed the striking similarity between Khun Somchai and the late Charles Hawtrey?

Are they, in any way related?

I think we should be told.

For years now on other websites (particularly the backpacker oriented ones, if not this one) people have reported thefts on private buses.

Why on earth anyone seems to think it is necessary to book a "package" on Khao Saan Road of all places is beyond me.

Feel free to correct me if I am wrong, but I have never heard of this sort of thing happening on the scheduled Govt run transport system.

So to all those who are new to this country; Thailand is still very safe and relatively crime free but you increase the risk by dealing with some of the "agents" who prey on vulnerable tourists.

Travel on scheduled Thai transport like Thais and I am sure you will have no problems.

Have you looked into what happens if you don't get enough iodine?

If you relied on refined salt (or any salt) as your sole source of iodine intake you would have real problems

"Refined salt is a lifeless product that has had all of its minerals removed and has been exposed to toxic chemicals to make it white. Our bodies need unrefined traditionally harvest salt, such as Celtic sea salt or unrefined Himalayan crystal salt.

In addition vitamin C and unrefined (Celtic) sea salt is needed to repair the iodine transport mechanism, together with the support of a complete nutritional programme."

From this site:

http://www.anticancerinfo.co.uk/Iodine.htm

Sea food, sea fish and sea vegetables are all good sources of iodine.

http://www.naturalbodyhealing.com/iodine_a...vegetables.html

But the real reason to use sea salt is that your food tastes better and it seems that you need to use less of it.

The PTA and the government will launch a road show to China in mid-December in a bid to lure in more tourists from that country, he said.

<deleted>, why do it in China, Chinese dont spend any money, they just walk up and down Bang La Road and walking street in Pattaya.

That's a general misconception. Chinese spend more than the average European tourist and their expenditure is higher than the Grand total average spending in Thailand by foreign tourists:

LaoPo

I may be wrong but it seems nearly all Chinese/Other Asian tourists come on packages. This limits where they spend their cash. Here in Phuket they are ferried around like cattle and their money goes to a select few restaurants and other businesses.

More importantly, I would hazard a guess that very few Asian travellers spend very long here.

European tourists may spend less on a daily basis (how on earth do they come up with these figures?) but stay longer and thus spend much more in the long run.

I seem to remember that when the Pad Thai demo started the Chinese and Koreans were the first to back off.

In the new market in Patong (Banzan?) in amongst the dry goods (dry Shrimps etc) at the north end.

It should be easily available in the main market in Phuket town but I have always bought it in Patong.

It's called gleua sin tao in Thai although gleua thale will probably be understood.

It is sold in fairly big bags but obviously very cheap.

It absorbs a lot of moisture in Phuket"s humidity so its best to dry roast and grind it before use.

I usually dry roast a small amount and then put it in an air tight jar with a few dry beans. It will keep dry like this for a few weeks. If you use it in the original crystalline form it is all to easy to use too much and end up with very salty food.

There is a royal funeral in case you have come from mars and not heard.

Buy your booze early if it means that much.

A couple of days aint going to kill you, just the opposite.

Respect the country you are in mate, it is a funeral of the most revered institution in Thailand.

Since, thus far there has only been one other contribution to this topic I can only assume that this remark was addressed to me.

I started the topic partly because I genuinely wanted to know the answer, but also as point of information for those who have either just arrived or will be coming this weekend, whether they be from from Mars, or even Europe where surprisingly enough a Thai Royal funeral is hardly likely to be front page news.

You could show respect for this country by being less judgemental and adopting a less aggressive tone.

As a further point I should add that I don't actually drink........ but I do like to go to a bar for a chat.

It has a vanilla-like taste and imparts a green colour.

So it is also used in many Thai desserts.

One simple dish is the chopped leaf boiled up with some coconut milk thickened with ground rice and left to cool.

There is an ugly rumour that all bars will be closed this weekend for three days.

Can anyone confirm this?

In my garden! It grows pretty quickly too even in pots so buy a plant if you can....you won't have to wait long.

Hope there is not retaliation visa wise against British nationals staying here because of this.

Don't really see why there should be. The courts and Pad Thai will be happy to see Toxin one step nearer to a return to face the consequences in Thailand , whilst the poor Isaan farmers will be expecting the saviour to appear over the horizon at any moment. Everybody's happy.....or am I being too simplistic?

There is a very good piece from BBC's Jonathan Head on the complexities of the current political turmoil:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7716033.stm

I am no expert but it seems to me that the UK and European economies rapidly caught the cold from the US because their financial and lending institutions were interdependent and overstretched.

If Thailand, as we are so often told, is an export driven economy it stands to reason that the effects of what looks like being a deeper than average recession will only start to bite when the markets for those exports dry up. This will inevitably take a little longer to filter through. In this context the statement:

“in the fourth quarter of this year found that the US economic crisis had not adversely affected the Thai economy.”

is utterly ridiculous

To lamely chase the US dollar and thus make exports uncompetitive seems fairly typical of the “stick our heads in the sand” mentality of many members of the Thai establishment.

Quite simply Thai products including tourism will be too expensive to customers in the outside world whose spending power is threatened by unemployment and falling property prices.

Something has got to change here.