Shah Jahan

I don't know about getting to Pitsburg, but i just booked today a China airlines Chaing Mai - SFO and back again for about 33k. and really I have flown most of the airlines and China Airlines wins hands down for nicest white skin and long legs on an air hostess contest

Happening too in Pai up here in the North - White Van targeting people on motorbikes in desolate areas or stopping along the highway and snatching a stray kid or adult. Not sure what is being done.

bit fishy considering that there are only two ways in and out of Pai. You would think that they would be able to spot the vans leaving the area. at the army checkpoints. unless of course they have been instructed 'not' to spot the vans.

Well while the the local powers have been investigating 'other problems' there have been unconfirmed reports of a gang of kidnappers driving area the Pai area in white minivan. They have apparently snatched a 17 year old girl as she rode on her motorbike to the market with her mother. They have also apparently kidnapped 5 people from the ages of 5-17 in the surrounding villages. One child was found with its legs, hands and eyes deformed, apparently they were prepping him for a career in begging

In Soopong local Lisu people killed two men from Mynamar who attempted to kidnap one of their children. Apparently there is a bounty on young people in the north and the kidnappers are out in force.

I am not sure what the local police are doing about this...

it is a cloudy situation and perhaps outside assistance is needed.

As my Thai firends explian you do not wai children or soeone serving you.

I have heard that if you wai a child first, then you are giving the child bad luck - also if somebody wais you first you can always wai them back.

Pai has been my home for the last 5 years. Over this time we have about the same amount of Falangs living in Pai and coming though as backpackers or visitors. (maybe a small increase)

When I first came here there we almost ZERO Thai tourists. Unfortunately over the last 1 1/2 years on holidays and weekends the place gets invaded by hoardes of Bangkok aliens. Thai tourists that come in minibusses, stay in the designated resort and eat at the designated restaurants. They really haven't done much to help the ambiance and they actually hurt many of the businesses geared towards falangs especially internet shops and because they dont use the internet and drive falang tourists out of town.

Around chrismas time it was like the sunday market in Chaing Mai, shoulder to shoulder not even being able to move on the street. And in terms of helping the economy, they are helping the other bangkok people who came here to open businesses to cater to them. In terms of the local people...well.......they can do the laundry.....

and dont even get me started on the hot springs. for the past 5 years, the Natural hotsprings has been the staple and meeting ground of many locals who live in Pai. A short drive from town many people go there every day in the winter to bathe and meet.

well this year, due to bangkok politics, the hot springs got rezoned and suddenly instead of being free it is now 400 baht for a falang to enter and 20 baht for a thai person. well that ensured mass protest among the locals who began to sneak in, blantently ignore the guard and get in direct verbal and physically confrontations. this situation proved quite embarrassing for the guards as they are local people too....and so on...

anyways. pai still is great, but unfortunately if it continues to grow at this rate and the BKK keeps coming it will be like Ko Samui in a few years. pray they go home.

You guys are great thank you for the fast replies

I make frequent business calls and that is why i am wary about VOIP...when i used a service in the US it would sometimes take up to a minute to connect and then it was a crapshoot on the quality...which is fine if you are talking to family, but not for customers.

what are your experiences with VOIP services here in LOS?

Unlike you, sober as a judge. As the baht is also strenghtening againt the euro and yen, your comment is as humerous as it is uninformed.

i do agree with you backflip in some regards, however we must know that

time time time is the only judge that can be considered truly informed (time is usally more humerous than most humans can hope to achieve)

Hello

Can someone recommend or point me to a list of rates for Int phone calls from Thailand

Maybe a list of the rates for AIS or other providers?

I will be talking quite a bit and need to know my options.

I need real lines not IP Phones

Thank you in Advance

Interesting, bout %70 voted that it will come down in the next month or 6 months...

Thailand had a trade surplus of 2 Billion Baht per end of last week. This surplus will shrink in the future and the Baht will drop. In one year the currency will be approx. 38 - 39 to the US-$

WCA

This seems to be a realistic poisition for the baht. where it is now is unatural for the economy. I spent time in Argentina both before and after the crash of the Peso...the peso crashed because it was pegged againt the dollar (ie...unaturally inflated high) - soon natural market forces cause it to deflate

I don't think it will "crash" as such, or certainly not to the extent it did in '97. Not unless there is some major political unrest leading to a counter coup or such but it's unlikely. We hope.

I think the rise in the value is more a sign of a weakening dollar and as oil is priced in dollars that can be seen as a good thing although it will hit exports.

Yes the dollar is very weak right now and we can expect it to be so as long as Mrs. Bush is still in office. Around November 2008 we can expect the dollar to signiifacntly strengthen, and consequently the Baht will weaken

all in all, even though the baht may strength more in the short run, i would predict that by November 2007 we can see more realistic exchange rates

just my 2 cents.

angry drunks may now flame

I would really like to believe you have

some expertise in this area and that

my Euro might be getting a better rate

in the near future but the sad fact that

you cannot even spell the word "currency"

makes me doubt all this.

liten homer i now how 2 spel currnetsy

bt lets not mak tis a fllam wer

and focuus on the matr at han

you must motivate and keep them on their toes via surprise bribes

hand out 500bht discretley once in a while for a job well done

give out free phone cards

then they will keep on their toes in hope for papa to slip them a k

it sounds so stupid but it works.

We all know that the high value of the baht is fueled by outside investors/manipulators playing the currentcy in order to dump and make large profit. the question i have for you is when do you beleive the baht will crash

crash meaning 40+ or perhaps 50+ to the dollar.

Hello there

I am trying to help a friend out with a situation and perhaps some of you can help

he is an Amercain citizen who has resided in LOS for some time now

he will be reciveing via wire transfer monthly transfers of 100k baht or so from amercia

in addition every 3 months or so he will be reciveing a larger sum via wire transfer

as he IS NOT working or anything like that he wants to make sure that this money can be recived without objection or scruntiy/tax by either thai or US goverment.

would these amounts be acceptable to wire in on a regualr basis?

or would it be better to set up a bank account in say singapore or HK (recommendations please)

Thank you

Hello

I am looking for an affordable guest house in chiang mai that has wireless access in the rooms.

know of any?

thank you

Hello There

I am looking for a reasonable priced guest house in chaing mai that has wireless access in the rooms - preferably at a decent rate (ie...not charged by the hour - or they dont know the difference)

let me know

i live in pai and everybody was very shaky last last with the big rain - it felt like the mountain was going to come down on us again

half the village is already destroyed -- much more causalties than reported -

but somehow we are pulling together

Any skate shops in Chaing Mai?

Hello

We are in Pai, Mae Hon Song

and need somebody to build a simple web based application dbase for our website

it is going to be commercial Network Marketing Website and dbase is bascilly going to have to take in information and calculate commissions for our sales execs based on our rate structure

we want somebody who wants to be living in pai or at least chaing mai as this project is going to be evolving and we are going to need a resident techie.

If you are good, then this is a chance for someone to live and work in thailand and make a VERY GOOD income

email

[email protected]

with your story

Sun hut is a good place

the owners value their quiet and will throw out (literally)

anybody who causes much of a ruckus

the accomodation there is simple but good

nice wooden bugalows some with attached bath

though personally i would recommend Eden guest house which is right next door to Sun hut and has a good feeling

keep in mind these are 'guest house' not a hotel

if you want 'hotel' i would recommmend 'pai mountain lodge' which is up by the waterfall bout 8 km out of town

nice quiet space

or somebody just opened what looks like a motel 6 plucked out of southern california complete with swimming pool and all. its a good place to stay if you want to pretend that you are not in thailand. it is called the 'blue lagoon'

and of course you get around by renting a motorbike

bout 100 bht a day, more for a big one - goto 'see yon' next to the bus station for a good bike

any other questions bout pai write me

i visited an upcountry forest wat a while back and the temple was inhabited by a single heavyily tatooed monk who amoung other things (food, incenses, smokes, water) on the floor around him was a large jar filled with liquid and what looked like an aborted or stillborn pitbull fetus

any ideas?????

Has anybody had experience getting a Mongolian visa for somebody with a Thai passport?

i also heard somewhere that Thais believe they are decended from Mongolia.....

I am in amercia now, needing to get a new 1 year visa,

is the process at houston still fast and easy?

These are obviously going to be merchandice - a lot of 30 or so tribal belts - all same same but different and also 30 or so tribal handmade bags

somebody also told me that we have to mark them 'made in thailand'

- So if sent by UPS/EMS - the reciever pays UPS COD (cash on delivery) when they recieve it?

also what is approx customs duty on declared vaule of $400 say?

I am in North Thailand ,and need information on shipping to the USA

If I have approx 10 kilos of textiles and handicrafts, what is the best way to get these to the USA, and how much would the shipping run me/ time to destination.

what about customs duties in the USA - Does the reciever pay these at the post office, or do i have to investigate customs brokers.

any specific phone numbers or points of contact would be excellent

Thank you

I have two questions about shipping Buddha Images overseas, perhaps someone can clarify the policies.

1) I came from India into Thailand with a collection of Thangkas...these are Buddha Paintings from Tibet (some old) ...... and I am selling these retail over the internet. shipping them one by one. Is the prohibition of Buddha Images just for Thai Buddha or for all Buddha? (note: Any Thai Buddhist would be able to figure out that these paintings did not originate in Thailand)

2) Am I allowed to Ship individually NEW Buddha Statues and Buddha Heads. (I have had ten different people tell me ten different things on this.) If the answer is yes, then am I allowed to ship NEW Teak Buddha Statues etc..

Thank you in Advance

S. Jahan

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