iluvbeaches

Anybody know if either SCB or BB offer OTP via SMS for ATM withdrawals? That would be a great service if so.

There is a patio style restaurant

and bar in the huai kwang shopping complex a bit down from the mrt station. It's not very high up but good seafood, towers and pitchers, live music and very Thai. Good fun if you bring a group of friends.

A phone is just a tool. If it works for you great. If not, switch.

Don't get caught up "disliking" a machine or a brand. That's just silly.

I always recommend my friends to play silly and just ignore if it is a Thai man as a face saving measure and also some take rejection strangely/aggressively. If it is foreigners just feel free to put your foot down and remove yourself from the situation if need be.

That was hilarious.

Great vid doc and reminds me of my first year in LOS minus the cameras with my girl both of us Europeans. Totally doable and people like this prove it. Congrats!

It's not a fun drive honestly to save a few baht. Plus you would likely have to drive back at the end. Not exactly the best way to end a vacation. Around 500 baht is a good deal for insured car with big company.

It's a shophouse shouldn't be too many around there. I would bring the car seat renting one will be expensive. Or you could buy one from tesco or something but I would be worried about the quality of the car seats.

I rented once from a lady near the Bangkok hospital. Sorry I don't know the name or contact information as it was two years back. I was referred there by a friend who rented long term. Think I rented a yaris for like 15k three weeks. Not super cheap but much cheaper than other places.

It's like across from the hospital and 300 - 400 m from the gas station. You can try them. She was very nice and rents out several cars.

This time I'm going with sixt because I want a better car. Those 1.5L cars kind of suck if you drive up hills with several people in them.

Sixt in Samui gave me the best quote with insurance for the car. But to be honest the major companies will all be more expensive than the local mom and dad rental shops. Though you don't know if they have insurance and I've heard of some scams where they "steal" the car back and force you to pay steep deductibles.

Maybe try finding a private person and have him lend you his car for a fee.

Had the same problem with selling my car. Only got Thai scammers or farangs who want to kick tires and give low ball offers. Finally got it sold to a normal foreigner but took some time. Seems to be easier in foreign tourist areas.

Bangkok any day of the week. Fly down to samui or head to koh Chang on your down time.

For young children I would recommend Samui but older they need a good school Bangkok is the way to go.

The diversity lottery is a smart and establish process. I know one person who won it from a European country.

The point of it is for people who WANT to immigrate to the us. If you don't plan on living and working there then it makes no sense as us RESIDENTS have to declare all taxes in the us regardless of source (and they actually check) along with FBAR and other issues. I could have gotten a green card a while back through my parent but didn't for this exact reason. I'm European and don't want to live there anymore. Give someone else the chance to use the quota and don't suffer the issues yourself.

If your not gonna use it give it up.

Seems like a pattaya problem. In Bangkok I have never seen this after probably three dozen movies in the last few years.

Great idea. Looking forward to trying out your classes this coming winter.

If you are not divorced I think all contracts made during the course of a marriage are able to be dissolved at will by either party. Better to get divorced and the make the contract.

Not positive as I'm not married to a Thai but from my experience with friends this is the case.

Glad your sleeping well.

My point was that there are are many people without Thai wives who make a bunch of money and maybe don't care about leaving things for people back home. To believe otherwise is ignoring the truth. A lot of foreign owners running businesses with a house and non forged land titles are doing fine. But you need to have the infrastructure to make it work.

Anyways I'm done with this topic I just think people get caught up with nuances and Thailand has a lot of gray area that is ingrained in the culture. Might not be for me but to say the people who are successful doing it are idiots is just plain silly.

Don't get me wrong I agree with you. I don't own or will ever buy a house and land in Thailand. But I say it now and say it again some people have the infrastructure of doing this and making a lot of money doing it. There is no benefit to Thais or the Thai government getting in the way of this in places like Phuket because it makes everybody rich. As long as you pay your taxes and run it like a business as he does it is a legitimate business.

It's no more than the extra interest you get on high yield company bonds. You are compensated for the extra risk. Some people are not as risk averse as you or I. Same in any investment form.

Nobody buys 30 year leases on houses in Phuket. Don't be naive. I know a guy who has three places in Patong and he owns them the company route since 1999-2000.

A 30 year lease is like prepaying a hotel room. Only for people who think things like time shares are worth something.

That's one thing I don't understand. Why do so many people put everything they have into one property then have to fire sale it once they run out of funds.

Real estate is pretty illiquid of an asset it should be obvious that if you buy property you should be able to afford holding on to it for 7-15 years until market conditions present themselves. If you hold on to pretty much any piece of real estate and either rent it out or straight up sell it after 10 years I think you are pretty much guaranteed a decent return. Well unless you overpaid or bought a crap place to begin with.

Just my opinion.

If it is not a town house but a freestanding house in Patong that is pretty unique. Millions of condos, guesthouses and townhouses it seems there but relatively few free houses. Should be relatively easy to rent out long term if it is in good shape.

Either contact someone like Wellta who does strictly long term rentals or rent it out to groups making it cheaper than a hotel short term. Maybe to to hotels in the area and give them the link and commissions for booking.

Take some high quality pictures on a sunny day then rent it out and try to sell it with a tenant.

Once you have proof you rented it two three years could be a potential business opportunity for some... Makes more sense than buying a bar or massage shop at least.

I love the street khao man gai at the intersection of ratchadaphisek and sutthisan. Mrt stop sutthisan. Haven't been there for a year though so things change.

Hmm well I feel horrible for recommending them if that is the case for serious procedures.

I've only done cleanings and a few cavities filled and they were very good all three times but I guess Thai places can be touch and go. I guess I only recommend their simple procedures then.

If you have more serious procedures perhaps better to use a hospital like Bangkok hospital dental or something then

Best and most professional with reasonable price in my opinion is Bangkok international dental center (BIDC) next to the emerald hotel on ratchada (din daeng/huai kwang area).

Google them. Very modern and clean facility, English speaking staff.

You can find cheaper clinics but I think this place is worth it.

Great job, you got really chiseled in such a short time frame. Glad you pointed out the most important part - diet. If you eat crap then it does not matter what you do with your exercise.

Looking forward to shedding some fat kilos now and getting back to 12-15% body fat over the summer.

Very motivational, thanks for sharing your experience.