Oscar2

O.K. mistake made. do the DNA. if the bay is yours man up and assume responsibility. give the kid love and a chance in life.

if the bay is not yours then move on. lesson learned but don't be hoping in the sack without using a condom.

stay away from meeting girls over the Internet. they are scammers.

avoid women from Isaan.

best of luck.

i can confirm that last night at Tesco Lotus in San Kamphaeng, there was not a single bottle or box of red wine in the entire market. Plenty of white (including boxes) but not a drop of red.

Grandview Hotel adds 7% VAT to the bill as do many others. i only mentioned that one cuz i was there a few days ago and remember seeing it.

i was also at Sizzler recently. 7% VAT.

50+ meals at Dukes and never disappointed. If they do indeed open at Maya I will be eating there weekly as the location is excellent for me.

i've had a least 70 meals at Dukes and never been disappointed either. everyone in my family loves going to eat at the Dukes. haven't been to the Promenada location but all the restaurants have the same high standard.

sounds to me the man is more than just "a great reference source."

be careful some are made from recycled petroleum containers (i think identifiable by color - in this case grey i believe) and have a stench that never goes away. years ago the wife bought some large containers, very strong and not cheap by any means. she needed to store some of her baby clothing merchandise for about a month or two. when she opened the storage bins, the clothing had the stench of petroleum. she tried washing a couple of pieces and even after washing, the foul stench remained. since they were clothing for babies, she had to throw out the entire lot. it was a complete loss. i think between the clothing and the bins she was out close to 25,000 Bath.

thanks for that. your recommendations have all been spot on!

cheers,

yes, get a Thai person to buy for you as it will be much cheaper

the Thais just love to over charge the farang!

what a load of BS.

does anyone know where to go to have some cushion covers made? we have the cushions and the material but have not been able to find anyone who knows how to properly make them. we've tried 2 ladies but the first one who does our clothes for us for years and does a great job, seems like she doesn't know how to make cushion covers. we gave her one to do and it was terrible, very loose fitting. we want them nice and tight. another lady we tried actually stitched them on the outside and not on the inside. it looked very amateur. seems like cushion covers are not something routinely done by the ladies who repair clothes. we need to have 15 done right. thanks.

haven't had any problem finding red wine at all. i don't buy boxes so can't comment on that. but plenty of decent bottles at Tesco in Sansai, Big C (plenty there last night).

i too have given up on Rimping. like the others said, they used to have decent bottles for 333 Baht. since they raised the price to 399, the quality has gone downhill. the last bottle i bought was not drinkable and i had to pour it down the drain which was a real disappointment.

likewise for Wine Connection.their 399 bottles suck too. about 2 years ago i used to be able to find some decent Merlot or Cabernet for 399 but not anymore.

i'd like to know how to watch CNN live.

the traffic is killing me....i used to be so relaxed here. now i find myself getting stressed out often as i do a lot of driving.

thank you so much everyone for all the excellent advice given here. i will take a look at Schwab and State Farm. the USAA sounds good too. someone suggested a military connection? don't know about that... the address issue could of course be a problem...

i had etrade years ago (during the tech stock boom) and i didn't like them. won't be doing biz with them again.

JimGant, no there is no charge for the savings account but i believe as mentioned, it is limited to 5 transactions per month. i probably do 10.

and no i don't send THB to USA. i hold THB, CHF and EUR in Thailand and transfer using Paypal. Paypal takes a commission of course but it is easier and cheaper than making a wire transfer from here which costs 1400 THB (at Kasikorn Bank).

thanks again for all the replies. does anyone have any names of U.S. banks that charge less than USD $14/month and can be opened on-line? i see Schwab mentioned a few times but am not interested in ever buying U.S. stocks or bonds again. i also see Capital One mentioned. i have both Visa and Master Card with them (very high interest rates). are you saying that they have savings/checking accounts too? sorry i just got up and only had one coffee...still a little lazy to look... i don't send U.S. dollars to myself in Thailand. in fact i don't own any dollars. and i send Baht as necessary to pay bills via a couple of paypal accounts. i only need a vehicle in which i can use to pay a couple of bills each month in USD. and usd 14/month seems silly.

thanks for all the detailed info on Bangkok Bank USA. if someone ever needs to send me USD now i know to use my Bangkok Bank account and not my Kasikorn account.

State Farm? are they in the banking biz? i used to use them to insure my automobiles when i lived in USA which seems like a gazillion years ago.

sounds like a wonderful place to live NOT. horrible crowded area with songthaews blowing black smoke everywhere. why would anyone choose to live around there? oh never mind.

thanks for the replies. looks like i'm stuck with Citibank at USD $14/month.

saw it on the National news last night. happened at Spicy. couldn't believe it was Lanna Commins. she has to have put on ???20 kg. since i saw her last.

usually in June.

i'm a U.S. citizen and have a checking account and a savings account at Citibank, U.S.A (have had for 30 years). i haven't written a check in 10 years now and probably never will again but i use my checking account to pay my American Express bill each month, my storage, U.S. Master Card, etc. via Citibank on-line banking on the internet. for many years this was free to me but now i am being charged US $14.00 per month to maintain this account. my savings account which only has a little cash in it has many restrictions and it is useless to me at this point.

i've read a lot of positive things about Bangkok Bank USA on this forum. i've perused their website and don't see anything about the possibility of opening an account on-line, if there are any monthly fees involved, how much, etc. only a contact for a Khun Prasertsilp in N.Y.

does anybody know if it is possible to open an account there on-line from Thailand, how much it costs, etc.? i can't imagine so many people have traveled all the way to N.Y., USA just to open an account there.

i do have an account here in Thailand with Bangkok Bank, including internet banking.

thanks in advance for any info or web links any members may have.

16:00...yesterday 07-02-2557 according to the official document.

at one point in time farangs could not get the line installed in their name. it had to be in the Thai owner's name. has this changed? i am talking about individuals. i know farang owned companies can get an account with TOT oncew they provide the required paperwork. the same as in most European countries.

if you rely on songthaews to get around then Sansai may not be your best choice. it's a very large Amphur and there are many villages tucked away all over the place. i've lived here 10 years but could not imagine living without an automobile. there are green buses going from Faham up the Phrao Road in both directions but they are usually packed with students going to or coming from Mae Jo. i see them often and usually they are so packed that there are 4 students standing on the back bumper. where i am there are a few red buses in the morning but they have all been commissioned by missionaries to pick them up in the mornings to take them to work or take their children to schools. sometimes i see some other songthaews packed with villagers, hill tribes and the tops loaded with baskets of produce. again - probably commissioned.

on the road from Nong Chom to Tesco Lotus mini and beyond I have never seen a songthaew and it would be a dangerous place to try and catch a lift as people drive so fast on that road. the only songthaews i have seen going from the main market to Mae Kaet again appear to be commissioned as they are packed with villagers and goods, produce, etc.

just something to keep in mind.

i couldn't imagine living there even if only for a few days.