aletta

Have you thought about putting your money in Thai government bonds?

The only bods who put money in Thai govies are the Thai institutions who are not allowed to invest internationally.Hence you have huge pools of domestic Baht hunting a home and this enormous liquidity mullers rates.Take a look at the rates:

Thai Govt Bond Rates

Two year at 3.15 and five at 3.53,thats a joke.That's 100 and 70 basis points under UK gilts on emerging market debt with the government about to borrow a trillion baht for mega projects.If you lock in out on the curve, you're going to get rodgered when the liquidity is dried up and rates spike up.Where's the risk premium for third world paper and a government about to go nuts with the cheque book.

Get special attention as all the female cashiers want me to find them a handsome farang husband.No queue is too long to jump.

Was charged twenty quid for a 600,000 Baht transfer.

A Thai passport is very simple to get and will have within the week.

Last night mentioned Mexican cuisine to a few semi-rural Thais and they all had knowledge of it for some reason and were keen to try the hot stuff so someone with a bit of get up and go would be laughing.

Noticed the guy up the road has a few goats so may pop along and get myself one or two to keep the garden in some sort of order.

Just brought out a chunk of Baht with priority payment from HSBC and they gave me a rate of 72.4

From account in the UK to arriving in the village bank takes three or four working days.

I think i may have swallows nesting in the sugar palms in my garden

I would say they were asian palm swifts rather than swallows.Build their nests made of saliva on the under side of palm leaves.Swallows nest in Europe and migrate to Africa in the winter.You can tell by the length of tail,swallows long and swifts short.

Beginning to sound like work again

Work,what's that?

Sourcing the ingredients would be hassle but Nong Khai Provice is overflowing with cheap Laos labour,something you might want to consider for your cattle business idea if that is labour intensive.

Talk about a flat yield curve.If you knock off sub one year paper you've got roughly 4.25 all the way up to thirty years.Be mad to lock in too far out on the curve and one year rates are crap.Think i will come out of gilts and into a internet tracker,with bonus you can get around 5.4%.Got to pay tax but still gives 4.4%.Plus you're in on any further rise if recent data is just a blip and not a change of trend.I don't fear the downside potential as a cut in rates would only send the UK housing market flying again.

I have found that which Thai bank you use is less important than the branch you use

Good point and maybe best idea to go for a smaller rather than a large branch for a more personal service.

Non residents can open accounts but get much lower rates than Thais.Now if you get on well with the bank they may tick the box that gives you the higher rate. Thai Military are an excellent small bank with good personal attention and bend the rules once you get to know them.

Ray.there's got to be enough Farang ex-pats in Nong Khai and visitors and those on visa runs to Laos to make a mexican in Nong Khai a good proposition.No real choice at the moment.I also think Thais might like a hot mexican.

Oh well some of the best bacon in Thialand can be bought in Nong Kia

Where's that Ray?

I wish i had kept the advert safe but the wife's mother used it to clean the windows. Maybe someone has a copy lying around.It was in the classified paper under the tenders and contracts section.

Yes,the embassy will still be doing the actual interview,BUT it said the agency will be in charge of arranging interview dates.Way too much room for a cosy chat and a little tea money to jump up the queue.

Loads of time though to get in first and that's if they hand over on time.Hopefully delayed for ages and everyone can get away.

The_doctor

HSBC in the UK have a fax indemnity form that you can fill in to be able to wire money while in Thailand.Very good service and good rates of exchange land.

ATM withdrawals usually knock off a couple of Baht from the wired rate.

Used to be with Bangkok Bank but not impressed and very inflexible.Moved to Thai Military and could not be happier,a friendly more relaxed bunch and no trouble getting a loan (Not working).

Thaicoon

Got a policy running with Norwich Union in the UK and no problem with moving here as long as you set it up before you leave.I can get you a phone number or e-mail address if you wish.

It works out to the equivalent of 600 odd baht per month for 7,000,000 of life cover.I don't think you will geta better payout ratio in Thailand, though i stand to be corrected.

The DMO has handed over gilt management to Computershare,but can they do gilt reinvestment at maturity with me sitting in a rice field in Thailand.

The reason i stuck the thread up was that the handover is scheduled for the end of the year and so those taking a wife or girlfriend to the UK might want to amend plans and get in early while the embassy is still running the show.

I just hope it brings more business and prosperity than the bridge in Nong Khai.The Laos authorities need to chill out a little.

There are quite a few dodgy Thai masseurs about so let them have a go on an extremity first before letting them loose on your neck or back.

In the classified section of the Bangkok Post about three days ago was an advert by the British embassy asking for tenders to run the visa service.

Not sure i would fancy some Thai outfit running the show for 48000 applications per annum.

Nice little earner though as the outsource firm keeps the visa fee.

With the emergence of the budget airlines,when you do have to eventually leave the country,you could probably fly down to Singapore and back direct from Samui for two thousand baht or so.

I flew down once and caught the train back through Malaysia but would not recommend the train as the view is Palm oil plantations for hundreds of kilometers.

Bad news for the queing at Nong Khai,but they have renovated the building at Nong Khai and stuck in air conditioning.It's a lovely shade of orange now.

Don't know what the new inspector is like yet though.Always been very efficient and helpful to me.The one thing they don't like is farangs who shout and order them about.