dddave

There were three lumber yards in Phra Khanong for the eight years I have lived here. Now that I finally want to buy some lumber to make some special shelves, I find them all disappeared, condos arising in their locations...every one of them.

Where in central Bangkok can I buy decent lumber?

That first touch and go would have had me filling a barf bag.

Thanks for the quick answers on first use of LINUX...I'll do a bit of reading and give it a shot.

Not to hi-jack this thread but a related question:

I have an older laptop with XP that I don't often use. Though curious, I have never used LINUX. Since XP is about to be abandoned by MS, I thought installing it on this older machine might be a good way for me to try it.

What is the simplest version of LINUX to install and use for a total LINUX beginner?

Any hints and warnings of possible pitfalls appreciated.

One of my great conflicts here in Bangkok. Yes, I know it is all controlled by a "Mafia" and that these beggars are trucked in daily from Cambodia and Myanmar...a Thai TV station several years go even followed one of the trucks transporting them all the way to Aranya Pratet.

Babies are indeed rented; the lady who has begged with nursing babies at the base of the Suk. Soi 15 footbridge the last 6 years has a seemingly endless supply of infants.

And yet, sometimes I still give, knowing that most of what I give will go into the hands of the "Mafia" and the Police enablers.

Why? Because regardless of all the moralities, these people ARE desperate and if this is the only way they can sustain themselves, corrupt though it is, then so be it. Until the authorities have the will to actually do something about it that just doesn't sweep the problem under the rug, that actually gives these desperate people a legitimate means to support themselves, these people will be there...and their need is real.

Where do you start?

Nok Air has a DMK-Surat Thani Plane-van-ferry package deal to Koh Samui. It's hard to find on their website, tucked at the end of a pull down menu. Takes about 7 hours.

Be aware also that when you apply, you will need a certain number of remaining days (I forget how many but somebody here will know) on your original 30 day entry, be it a visa or entry permit so do not delay starting the process.

A friend who is an FA for United told me they are not covered if they hurt themselves helping a person load a bag into an overhear compartment if it is before doors are closed.

Being an FA used to be prestigious but now it's sunk to a level not that far beyond flipping burgers. I watch the FA's on 100% full transpacific flights working their asses off...it must get pretty boring pretty quickly.

Actually, most of the countries in the world require some form of employment documentation for volunteer or unpaid labor. As someone else pointed out, opportunists will use any loophole they can find to cover illegal work and quite honestly, sometimes hordes of eager volunteers are far more trouble than they are worth.

It became a contentious issue in Thailand during the crisis immediately following the Tsunami in 2004.

My Bangkok Bank Debit card attached to a passbook savings account does not have my name on it but there is a security code on the back. Although it is always accepted locally for point of sale purchases, I have always been refused when have tried to use it for an online or phone order purchase. Even locally based "LAZADA" required C.O.D.

Niron is an jungle

mataleo

Your opinion; but I know a number of people who have stayed there and liked it. Main complaint was always inconvenient location. Hardly a jungle...very mixed Farang-Thai population.

Have to pay by the month but NIRIN CONDO's in Central Pattaya have small single rooms in that range. Not a particularly convenient location but has a swimming pool.

You do not say what your nationality is. i am from the USA and all I needed was an income statement notarized by the US Embassy.

Lad Phrow is very poorly marked and confusing when you go in...extremely crowded and busy. They process guest workers from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia there and there are queue's everywhere.

Just before the glassed in main office entrance (5th floor), go to the right and there will be a long table at the end with small signs on the wall. Look for the one that says "Visa Extensions". They will check your documents and give you a queue number. If you need more copies there is a copy station just behind in the same room. They do not have an electronic display so you will have to watch for them to wave your number in the air...impossible to hear your number called because of loud chatter and multiple crying babies. When your number is called, they will process your documents, collect B1900 and give you another queue number and direct you to window A-5 in the glassed in area. You will be initially be called there pretty quickly to turn your documents in...then comes what for me was a 25 minute wait...then called to the window for my completed visa.

I also had to do a multiple entry permit which then entailed going back to the long table and looking for the "Re-Entry" sign on the wall. She gave me the application which I filled in and returned to her. She checked it then gave me a new queue number and sent me to window "D". Called within 10 minutes to turn documents, (TM-8 with picture and passport copy)pay B3800 then a 2 hour wait for the permit. The multiple entry permit actually took longer than the Visa extension.

Reminder to carefully check your documents BEFORE you leave just to be careful.

I just want to add that the staff there are working really hard to accommodate everybody and they deserve our gratitude. I personally observed two westerners who became agitated and abusive, raising their voices and insulting the staff and the staff handled it remarkably calmly. I'd have cuffed the bastards and tossed them in the hole.

found another flight from bkk-YYJ (victoria BC) depart bkk 11:10 with Cathay pacific then on to air Canada, that leaves 3 hours earlier that thai air ways, which connects to the same AC flight in HK. about 38k.

How is Cathay Pacific compared to TG? I might still go with TG to cut 3 hours off that flight.

I flew Cathay Pacific JFK-HKG-BKK a few weeks ago. Nice flight. Only an hour connection time at HKG but they had an agent at the arrival gate who ran (literally) us through security, the train to the next terminal and to the gate of the connecting flight....huff-puff! I really appreciated the short 2 1/2 hour flight to BKK after the 14 hour flight from JFK. Much nicer than still having 7 hours from Narita, Inchon or Taipei. No problem with baggage...it all arrived with us in BKK despite the short connection.

Food was decent for economy, nothing special. good IFE and decent seating room. By current economy standards; 4 star.

For the love of god, please put the pornos on the ground floor. (And get rid of the A&W)

Now just a gol durn minute fella!!! You can pick on the porno guys all you want but leave A&W alone!!!...Take the only decent root-beer float in Bangkok away???

How could you ever suggest such a thing?

Sacrilege!

Is there a chance that your parents were classified as Lao refugees and entered the US with refugee status? During the Vietnam war era and especially in the years immediately following the war there were many NGO's and other agency's scrambling to empty the refugee camps around Thailand and many regulations and paperwork requirements were bypassed...that might explain your lack of a passport and other pertinent documents.

Bangkok has a surfeit of glossy, cookie cutter malls that all sell the same goods. What makes Pantip; Pantip are the individual little shops on the upper floors who sell unique lines of products and yes...a lot of older stock that can not be found anywhere else...the kind of stuff you don't ever think about until you need it. How many times on this forum have people asked where they can find a memory stick or power supply or mother board for a five year old computer? You won't find such things in Power Buy or IT City.

These shops survive because the rents are low and because there are so many under one roof, customers come to Pantip because they know they have a decent chance of finding what they need. Renovation means higher rents and many of those small shops will not be able to remain...that will be our loss.

"Creepy"?? A "slum"?? What are you on? If you only want to walk on polished marble floors then stick with Paragon, Gaysorn, Emporium and all the other temples to homogenized retail excess.

Pantip is like an old style market bazaar and of one thing we all can be sure...after it is gone, the lamentations for its loss will flow more loudly than the protest of it's imminent change.

One of the big IT websites; maybe C-NET or Computer World had a list of the 5 best and 5 worst phones of the past year. Two or three of the 5 worst were ALCATEL's.

GOOGLE "5 Worst Phones" and you'll probably find it.

I just wrote a post about my LENOVO P-780 on another topic (I-Mobile question) in this forum. If you are in need of a phone with exceptional battery life, you should read it.

If battery life is an important issue for you or anybody else reading this, I suggest checking out the LENOVO P-780. It's standout feature is a massive 4000 mAh battery that can last for three+ days of normal usage; no desperately looking for outlets in coffee shops or airports with this baby. It's sturdy rather than lightweight...the back is steel, not plastic. Specs are ordinary...nothing special. Has a 5" screen and runs Android 4.2.

One con is only 4 GB internal memory but it really is not an issue if one is careful to load apps onto the external (up to 32GB)memory.

The camera is decent, not spectacular and all applications run smoothly. I am not a heavy gamer so I can't address it's gaming capabilities but video playback works smoothly. This phone can be bought locally in Bangkok at JMart and other large shops for about B7500.

I've had mine 3 months now and am very happy with it.

I tried selling "Pet Portraits" and some copied art produced in Thailand online (Poor overall quality killed it) 6-7 years ago. I and my US partner researched the issue of Govt. restrictions on importing art into the USA.

There are no blanket US Govt. regulations regarding copied art per se but the heirs of many artists have been able to copyright individual iconic images

so they would be able to prevent you from importing them if they should become aware.

Many states have passed "Intellectual Property" laws that cover original art and imported copy art. Many of these laws are targeted at the mass importation and "Tent Sales" of mass produced "Art" done on an assembly line basis in Vietnam and China.

If you do it on a small scale, you can probably slide through. I would ship 10 to 20 rolled canvasses in a tube at a time to my US partner. He would frame them and ship them on to the buyer. We never had a customs problem.

Getting consistent quality from Thai "Artists", especially the large shops is impossible. They farm the work out all over the place, even though you may specify a particular artist who's work you trust, they'll still give it to a cheaper crap painter......they lie, lie, lie!!!

Some Airport Exchange kiosks are worse than others...specifically, the ones located just past Immigration in the Baggage Claim Hall: terrible rates!!

EVA has a very nice lounge in Taipei but it gets really crowded, especially in the 7am to 10am slot.