dddave

Thanks to all: It was a one time thing so WU it was.

Is there a better way than Western Union to transfer small amounts (B7000) from Thailand to the Philippines?

Western Union has such high fees and gives such lousy exchange rates, I really hate to use them.

Thanks

Using a spell checker helped me get through a few months with a bad keyboard which dropped "s" and "q". Once I finished a document, I'd just run it through the checker and it would auto correct 90% of the miss-typed words.

A number of years ago an acquaintance here in Bangkok suffered permanent eye damage due to a raging bacterial eye infection that he believes, and his Doctors concurred was caused by a douse of canal water in his face while in a Sang Sarb (sp?) canal boat days before. It took almost a year for him to recover.

Numerous squatter communities dump raw fecal sewage and offal into the canals making them vitural cauldrons of bacteria. On a windy day or when there is chop from passing boats, spray back is common and difficult to avoid.

Convenient: yes...worth the risk:.. absolutely not!

Also, that speed is usually for sites in Thailand, not international.

There is a great snooker/pool place that is farang friendly called FINO on Phattanarkhan soi 31, about a B70 taxi ride form lower Sukhumvit. Great pro shop, fluent in English.

They just moved a few months ago from Suk. 71.

There are several stringed instrument shops on Petchabury Rd past Pantip Plaza going towards Ratchathewi. I'm sure they can give you referrals.

There is a small leather shop off Sukhumvit 12. Go down 12 till you get to the large Population Development building on the right and a small restaurant on the corner of a subsoi on the left. Take that subsoi and the leather crafter is about 75 yds on the right. It looks like a one man operation so he may not be up for any production in quantity but I do know that he does very good work.

Hopefully in the next few years the hopeless password system will be replaced with something far more secure. It will take brains heavier than mine to come up with what it will be.

Candlelight Beach (Ao Thian), a 10 minute walk over the hill past the Malibu resort has nice, quiet cove beaches and reasonably priced bungalows; not too much night life.

There is a nice trail to "Sunset Point" on the opposite side of the island, quite spectacular.

First of all you need a company with min. 51% Thai ownership (in some case 64%). If you are not married Thai, you will need 2mill bath in the bank. Some of these money can be used to build up your company. If married, 1mill bath. When you have a company you can work, but no salary. Then you need a wp. If gouverment aprove your funiture for export its just go ahead

If you are a US citizen, there is an "AMITY" agreement between Thailand and the US that grants a number of privileges to US citizens operating businesses in Thailand that other nationalities do not get. I do not know the details but I believe they are posted on the US Embassy website.

Soi 22 is farang central and almost everything costs more in that area, especially skilled services.

Either follow the good advice given by others or wait till you return to Pattaya.

I would also ask if you are hurrying around more than you think. Are you frequently passing other pedestrians as you walk? Make a conscious effort to walk slowly and do things easily when it is hot and I think you will sweat less.

Several years ago, a friend who was active in AA was offered a high paying position as a Councillor at a rehab clinic, previously a bankrupt resort in Kanchanabury, also owned by a westerner.

They never asked for credentials nor did any kind of staff training. The main concentration was keeping disgruntled clients, mostly Europeans, there until their insurance ran out.

He quit in disgust after two months.

I take the BTS to Mo Chit, exit on the park side and wait at the bottom of the stairs. You will see vans stopping and picking up passengers.

When a van stops, just ask the driver "Tor Mor Chang Wattana?" Not grammatically correct but it will get the job done. "Tor Mor" is the govt, center. When one indicates "yes", hop in and you will be dropped next to the shuttle bus. About B20.

Going back, take the shuttle back and then cross the footbridge spanning the roadway. There is a bus stop at the base of the stairs where vans also stop. Some are marked "BTS", some not. Again, just ask "BTS mai?"

Phra Khanong is changing, not only along the BTS/Sukhumvit corridor but along Suk. 71 as well.

By accident I just discovered a very nice, new Italian coffee cafe off Pridi (soi) 13:

CAVALLO CAFFE;

A lot of work went into this place. A brick Italianate exterior and an interior with terra cotta colored walls and brick accents. Many coffee styles along with a small selection of sweets. Beer is also on offer. Prices for coffees are B30 up to B60.

The location is really obscure and you would never find it if you didn't know it was there, or by accident as I did. Take Pridi 13 (7-11 on corner next to footbridge) in about 100M to a small roundabout and take the soi on the left. Cavallo is 20M on the right.

Worth mentioning: opposite Pridi 13, just pass Pridi16, a new shop selling high end coffee making equipment has opened in the space formerly occupied by Phantom Motorcycles. A very upscale looking place in a decidedly downscale neighborhood. Go figure.

The older Kindle 3G models with the physical keyboard could browse the net but the newer models access only the kindle store and are locked out of the net.

I've been doing occasional TV commercial work over the past two years and have never been asked for a work permit. Most jobs pay in cash.

Extra work pays about B2000 a day and it is usually a very long day starting at a 4 or 5 am pick-up point and often lasting past 6pm.

Rolls where you are featured in some way usually pay B6000-10,000 net. Any role where you are the principal can be B15,000-30,000+, sometimes much more depending on the customer and distribution.

Thailand production costs are very low, thus TV commercials for clients all over the world are made here. I have done ads for products in France, Poland, India, Afganistan, and Germany as well as Thailand to name a few.

Be prepared to go to many castings and costume fittings at your own expense. Sets are often way out in outlying areas with few comfort facilities. Very basic food is usually provided but nothing like western standards; days can be very hot and long.

There is a lot of competition, especially Eastern Europeans and Middle Eastern. They are usually willing to work for less and now dominate the "extra" biz.

There are many talent and modeling agencies and individual agents around Bangkok, some better than others and some who are total crooks.

If your friend PM's me, I will supply the names of a few agents that I have had good experiences with. She should have good photos. They don't care a lot about experience, just cost. With TV commercials, it really has little to do with acting ability; rather, it's whether or not you fit a certain "look" that the director has in mind.

Try Fortune Town (IT mall), much more quiet and friendlier than Pantip Plaza.

Easy to get there by MRT (Phra Ram 9)

http://www.bangkokme...emap-110510.jpg

Good luck.

Totally agree. Pantip is neither a productive or an enjoyable visit. Fortune (3rd and 4th floor) is a much better option. English is reasonable from most repair shops in Fortune and you can access it either from taxi or MRT station.

PRO CORNER (Fortune Tower) near the rear of the 3rd floor is a very dependable shop. Nick, the Thai manager speaks fluent English and is a straight shooter. When I brought my Gateway in with HD problems he diagnosed the problem but suggested I first check at Acer service to see if it was still under warranty. It was and it saved me a bundle. He didn't have to do that.

IKEA, Bang Na has them in the housewares section.

I have just purchased a TF300 in Chiang Mai and first impression is great. Contrary to all reviews and specs. that I have viewed it does have 3G capability with a sim card slot and with 32GB costs Baht 19,900. Only minor irritation is that the limited documentation supplied with it is only in Thai.

You can probably pull a full documentation PDF in English off the Asus website.

I'd suggest waiting a bit. Barnes and Noble have just announced a new "Nook" reader with a built in screen light and Amazon is sure to follow soon.

Difficulty reading in dim light is my only complaint with my Kindle Touch. I don't feel like shelling out $50 for a case with a built in light nor do I like fussing with battery powered clip-on lights. If the price is right, I'll buy a lit one my next trip to the USA.

One solution for dim light I do use is increasing the font size which is very easy to do. It just requires more frequent page turns.

I had a friend pick mine up for me in the US last year. Easy to buy in many retail shops.

If you like Indian food, the Rembrandt Hotel on Suk. 22 has a excellent Indian buffet on Sundays. Some western selections on offer as well.