pktkid

Where is a good place to stay, if keeping the cost down is the priority?

Thank you! Must rush!

Can you be more specific, how long you wish to stay/spend ?

Maybe not the most moral of comments here, but my take on that would be that unless you have paid a deposit and received a receipt for that deposit, then you are free to walk away.

Maybe if they were dealing with me in a professional and courteous manner, then i would make a token payment to them which covered their costs incurred for administration and processing etc etc, but certainly no more than the equivalent of 1 months rent.

Im sure this may not be legally correct, but its just my two satangs.

No they are not being very professional about it. They can stick it up there <deleted> sideways as far as I am concerned. Im not worried about the legal implications in respect of them going legal on me, its just that I want to continue using there services so dont want to do this.

As they have tried to have my trousers down at 1st attempt they have blown any chance of getting anything now, not even a token offer !

Thanks for the comments, but no thanks for the "If it was me I would have checked 1st" comments.

Hoping someone out there might be able to help me on this one.

I have signed a contract with a company in Bangkok for office rental for which I want to cancel. I have informed them that I no longer need the office however, in order for me to cancel they say I have to pay the whole 12 months rental in order to cancel it. I have not used the office nor have I given them a deposit yet, even though the contract clearly states the deposit.

I have heard that in some countries unless a deposit is taken and a receipt is issued against that contract it is rendered null and void, does anyone know if this is the case in Thailand ?

Before anyone asks the contract is with a very big International company that provides serviced offices, its not with your average Thai Charlie.

Thanks.

You should have told them that if they didn't give you the promised 20,000 Bht, you would go to immigration and inform them that you suspected that none of these farang had work-permits.

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You know the location. Shop 'em!

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I went to this one as well , all i was promised was a t-shirt . i have 5 weeks of timeshare so they even said they couldnt sell anything. i did it because some nice girls helped me find a hotel and they worked for them . did you stay the full hour ?????????????????????

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5 weeks ! Jrincon, do you mind me asking where you own ?

Just come back from Patong & cannot believe the influx of Indians & other none Thai nationals from when i was there 5 weeks before the tsunami !!!

What a terrible place & prices have doubled ?

Please make sure your hotel is girl friendly & owned by Thais or your in for a terrible shock !!!

will never go again awful !!!

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So not very "girl friendly" eh ?

Im sure Phuket wont be too concerned about one less sex pest !

Hi Guys

Me & wife are residing in Bangkok and going on one of those TAT organised tours for the long weekend of 12 August to Phuket.

For the price range that we chose (the lowest) , we have been offered these 12 choices:

1) Patong Lodge

2) Patong Resort

3) Phuket Island Pavilion

4) Heyton Leelavadee

5) Aloha Villa

6) Phuket Golden

7) Karon Beach

8) Siam Phuket Resort

9) Ka Ta Garden

10) Karon Whale

11)  Sand Inn

12) Cs resort

We have never been to Phuket and have no idea about the hotels above.  BTW the names were translated by my thai friend who said that his translation may not be so accurate. 

Wife would like so place near the town for shopping and eating and for me as long as not too far from beach (5 minutes walk) is great. Hotel should be clean. nice view is a plus.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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Patong Resort, excellent facilities, 2 very large size swimming pools. Less than 5 minutes walk to the beach. On the door step for nightlife, shopping etc...

Safety fears after truck rams into jet

Jetliner to go into repairs for 20 days

Bangkok Airways chief executive Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth said the jet will be out of service for at least 20 days and result in 100 million baht in lost business for the privately owned carrier..........

He said a special committee has been appointed to investigate the incident and work closely with the insurance firm, Diphya Insurance..........

--Bangkok Post 2005-07-16

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I can see it now, "With immediate effect all BKK Air domestic flights will now be subject to an insurance surcharge" !

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Remember the stories in the various publications about the Timeshare business in Thailand? .... How many farangs took up jobs with these outfits and were promised commissions would be paid every 2 weeks and then after several sales and several months of trying to get paid, the salesmen just left in disgust, broke to the bone and forced to get on a plane and go back home to work? ...

Yeah, also another classic example of farang employees exploiting the farang employers, happening all over Thailand !

Free flight, free 1st month accommodation, paid trip to Penang for B Visa, work permit paid .... and guess what happens after the one month free accommodation is up and employer is down by 100,000 baht ? Yep, on to another company offering a month accommodation for free !!

Now advertising...

"Staff wanted ! Come and work in paradise ! No experience required, must be homeless and skint, looking for applicants without B visa, applicants with tourist visa overstays of 6 - 12 months preferred but not essential, desire to work also not essential. Please, ONLY applicants with the above skills need apply !".....

Is there any protection here against farang employers exploiting fellow farang employees?

It seems that there are sooo many stories I have heard lately about promises made of work permits that never materialise or payments owed to legitimate farang employees with work permits that never are paid.

Second class citizens from our own countrymen. Shameful!!!

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What about farangs employees exploiting fellow farang employers ? I can assure you that this is just as big an issue in this country !

With so many farangs desperate to stay here because the thought of being back in there home country is unbearable, feel for the employers who have to deal with these imbeciles who are only looking for a free holiday ! Is this ideal for the farang employer who is busting his balls to try & make it work and even help his fellow country men along the way ? Very often the employee can turn out to be the parasite, not the employer !

Heres a true story for you. I once attended a sales training/seminar in Bangkok which was for a farang owned company, the speaker asked everyone why they were interested in working for the company, starting with Mr. X who put his hand up and said "I want to stay in Thailand", the speaker replied "thats a fairly common reason I suppose", he then asked if anyone else shared the same desire to which about 90% put there hands up, "fair enough he said" ! He then asked for all the people to stand up leaving only a small ammount to remain in there seats, what did he say next ?..... he ordered that they all immediately left the building !!

He then repeated the question to which was now a very small and nervous group, "So anyone else care to answer ?" Amongst all the confused looks one hand popped up with the answer "Im here to make money", the speaker replied "Correct ! Now we have those layabouts out of the way lets proceed shall we" !

Yes very powerful but how very effective !! The speaker did this for a reason, he new that there had to be a core of people who needed to be disposed of quickly in order to prevent having to do it further down the line, how much did those layabouts cost the company ?.... NOTHING !!

I know who I would be using in my training seminars !!

.... the moment one or more brings up the subject of money, business or  something similar, that red light deep in your psyche will flash, ever so gently -- it is up to you to recognize that warning and ... depart gracefully!  Cut the chord there and then, politely of course!  Ignore it at your own peril!...

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What I dislike are the farangs you meet in a bar and start telling you how they are so rich, own lots of property and are upset because people don't believe them. I'm usually backing out the door at this point...

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.....One of the reasons why I like to visit the Cathouse on Soi 4 occasionally, its amazing how many “entrepreneurs” you see in there bragging how wealthy and successful they are, then watch them scarper out the door on the stroke of 8pm when cheap Charlie hour is finished !! .....

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Then they come onto TV and compalin when the happy hour finishes 15 minutes early !!!

Depends alot on the size of the company.If they are a small local outfit you might be lucky to push 50K a month. If they are a large multinational you'd get something more akin to a western salary/package, 500K + per month as well as the associated perks(apartment, car, travel expenses, schooling subsidy for kids, moving costs, insurance, visas/permits taken care of etc......). Sorry I cant be more exact, I dont know your skills/experience or the compnay you are targetting.

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Lets not build the boys hopes now. Although there is a difference between multinational companies and your more "local" outfits its nowhere near that much different !

Please help !

I am an Australian resident currently in negotiations with a software provider in Thailand for a Business Implementation Manager's role for accounting software solutions.

The contact was made through business associates and not a recruitment organization. It is difficult to access any comparable salaries through Google and the like, because they of late, do not place salary packages against these type of roles.

I know how sarcastic everyone can be, and am asking kindly. whether anyone may know of approximate salary ranges or where this type of information may be gleaned?

If you wish to go directly to my emal, please do

//edit send a Personal Message Not email please (OP a newbie)

Any assistance is graciously appreciated

Kindest Regards

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You may find it difficult to match a salary to an exact position however, if you check out the BOI website this may give some indication of what you may be looking at, on this list are various IT positions.

http://www.boi.go.th/english/how/labor_costs.asp

The question should be, how many changs can you drop in an hour? I reakon you should be able to do at least 8...if your on an empty tummy.

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8 an hour, this means you would have to drink 1 bottle every 7.5 minutes, which makes 32 bottles if you do the whole 4-8 stretch, that would make the price at 3 baht and 12 satang per bottle ! (not taking into account the last 15 minutes which is still questionable).

But I wouldnt drink one single bottle of Chang, that stuff will kill yer !!

I hear happy hours are soon to be band in the UK...... while things just get better & better over in the Land of Smiles !!

I don't see the problem Thomas, he made a valid complaint about a happy hour in a bar, its not the money but the principle involved, I agree with him, it is a con, it stated happy hour until 8 pm and this wasn't given to him.  The price of the beer doesn't matter.

To the original poster, you've gotta give me a breakdown on how you spend 15-20 k a night in bkk especially in these bars, that sounds so pricey.  5-6-7 k I follow but 20k thats a lot.  Not having a go at you for it, its your dosh, just wondered HOW?

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bkkmadness thank you, you see the light, shame the majority here cant...

I normally leave big tips wherever I go and ring bells quite often and help me mates out quite a bit who sometimes are skint, but hey when I go out I like to have a gig...

The_Moog, Yeah I know a few movie extras who work on Channel 3

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Eddiee, can I be your friend ? You sound like a great friend to have !

OK, maybe im pushing it but could I come on your next pub crawl ? This way you can let me know if I qualify as one of your mates ! I can assure you im very ugly so I wont be stealing the attention from the girls

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You are welcome along pktkid, as long as you r not lying about the ugly bit

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OK, im not exactly telling the truth, I am indeed a handsome man !

Not that I am vane or anything like that as I actually consider myself as average however, everytime I walk down Soi 4, Cowboy, Patpong etc, etc im forever hearing the words "Hello handsome man" !

Now, as far as things go this is how I see it. Is it possible for all these girls to be wrong ? Surely they cant all be telling me lies ?

Because of this I have decided that "statistically" there has to be some element of truth in it, so yes, I am a handsome man ! (well thats my theory and im sticking with it)

However this should not matter as you will be the one with the money right ? Someone tells me that the girls want only money and not a handsome man which I find very hard to believe...... shall we have a challenge ? Happy hour Cheap Charlie house ?

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LOL pktkid, are you referring to Cheap Charlies on Soi 11 or just a cheap charlie house (how about Cathouse:-)

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Im referring to the one on Soi 4 (Nana), it might not be in name but Cheap Charlie House in nature it certainly is !!

Before anyone comments yes I go in there, I think it can be quite amusing, especially when you bump into a mate or someone you havent seen for a while and he says "havent been in here for months" and you reply "Yeah, me too", but really its yours (and your mates) 5th visit in so many weeks !

I don't see the problem Thomas, he made a valid complaint about a happy hour in a bar, its not the money but the principle involved, I agree with him, it is a con, it stated happy hour until 8 pm and this wasn't given to him.  The price of the beer doesn't matter.

To the original poster, you've gotta give me a breakdown on how you spend 15-20 k a night in bkk especially in these bars, that sounds so pricey.  5-6-7 k I follow but 20k thats a lot.  Not having a go at you for it, its your dosh, just wondered HOW?

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bkkmadness thank you, you see the light, shame the majority here cant...

I normally leave big tips wherever I go and ring bells quite often and help me mates out quite a bit who sometimes are skint, but hey when I go out I like to have a gig...

The_Moog, Yeah I know a few movie extras who work on Channel 3

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Eddiee, can I be your friend ? You sound like a great friend to have !

OK, maybe im pushing it but could I come on your next pub crawl ? This way you can let me know if I qualify as one of your mates ! I can assure you im very ugly so I wont be stealing the attention from the girls

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You are welcome along pktkid, as long as you r not lying about the ugly bit

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OK, im not exactly telling the truth, I am indeed a handsome man !

Not that I am vane or anything like that as I actually consider myself as average however, everytime I walk down Soi 4, Cowboy, Patpong etc, etc im forever hearing the words "Hello handsome man" !

Now, as far as things go this is how I see it. Is it possible for all these girls to be wrong ? Surely they cant all be telling me lies ?

Because of this I have decided that "statistically" there has to be some element of truth in it, so yes, I am a handsome man ! (well thats my theory and im sticking with it)

However this should not matter as you will be the one with the money right ? Someone tells me that the girls want only money and not a handsome man which I find very hard to believe...... shall we have a challenge ? Happy hour Cheap Charlie house ?

I don't see the problem Thomas, he made a valid complaint about a happy hour in a bar, its not the money but the principle involved, I agree with him, it is a con, it stated happy hour until 8 pm and this wasn't given to him.  The price of the beer doesn't matter.

To the original poster, you've gotta give me a breakdown on how you spend 15-20 k a night in bkk especially in these bars, that sounds so pricey.  5-6-7 k I follow but 20k thats a lot.  Not having a go at you for it, its your dosh, just wondered HOW?

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bkkmadness thank you, you see the light, shame the majority here cant...

I normally leave big tips wherever I go and ring bells quite often and help me mates out quite a bit who sometimes are skint, but hey when I go out I like to have a gig...

The_Moog, Yeah I know a few movie extras who work on Channel 3

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Eddiee, can I be your friend ? You sound like a great friend to have !

OK, maybe im pushing it but could I come on your next pub crawl ? This way you can let me know if I qualify as one of your mates ! I can assure you im very ugly so I wont be stealing the attention from the girls

So......................did the happy HOUR go on for just an hour or longer. Longer I would imagine. Personally I would call it 'Cheap Charlie Hour' I do beleive that the 'Happy Hour' at the Cathouse house lets you drink as much Chang as you can for ฿100. Maybe I should have a word with Doug see if he can stretch it to 'As much Chang as you can drink for one month, only ฿50' Still, probably still get complaints that the month finished 15 mins early.

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To all you guys moaning away on here, particularly you long term expats who have forgotten life in the real world !

How many guys in your home country would give there left leg to be able to get sh*t faced for less than the price of 1 single beer ? Then be able to grab a stunning 21 year old bird on the way home for less than the price of a good curry ?

How good do you want your life to be before you stop complaining ??

I have to say this gives a whole new meaning to the word "ungrateful" !

has anyone ever stayed at toy residence, patong ?? and if so can you please give us any info on the place at all?? thanks

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I stayed in the Blue Sky which is right behind it (well in front really as there was less a hill to climb). I found Toy to be overpriced at 16,000 baht a month. Got one for 10,000 in the Blue Sky and was a better room. You will need a bike.

Can anybody recommend a hotel near

to the British Embassy.?

Price upto 1500 a night.

We will be applying for visitor visas and need

to be at the Embassy early on.

We want to stay nearby because we will have

two young children with us.

Thanks in advance,

Derek

Khon Kaen

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As Lopburi guys says, Golden palace is highly recommended, cheap (85/900 baht) and nearby. I stay there whenever I have a job on at the Embassy, its walking distance.

I remember from my one visit to Langkawi a can of Heineken was 5bt. Tax free island.

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5 baht?! JD, pls investigate this for your trip report as well

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I think you will find this is 5 Ringgit, not baht (although we can dream).

What paully reports is not generally true.  ONLY an EXTENDED entry permit that was based on employment is subject to cancellation, if employment ends.

A 90 day entry permit issued against a Class B visa is not affected by employment status.  It authorizes you 90 day entry - no matter what.  You can have a work permit, or not - no impact on Immigtaions Status.

A 90 day Class B entry permit can normally be extended - once for 14 days, and a second time for 7 days - the Immigration fee for each extension is 1,900 baht - and you do not need to be employed.

Concerning the VISA - a single entry visa is cancelled and dead, the moment you enter Thailand.  Nothing can extend a visa - it is only ENTRY PERMITS that can be extended.

If you want assistance preparing and processing an entry permit extension application, my staff can help you.

Good luck!

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

Bangkok

[email protected]

www.thaistartup.com

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Can I just say this, it has now become a natural habit of mine to simply scroll down to Siam Steves reply as its only ever his comments that are factual (oh and Lopburi3 of course) ! Guys please, if you dont know the answer then dont comment, you are only confusing the matter for the original poster ! Its all when & good offering the helping hand but please leave it to the guys who know what they are talking about.

Steve, I have a question for you if you would be so kind to help in clearing up. I am about to apply for a WP for which I already have a 12 month multiple entry Non B visa, only thing is the Visa was applied with the paperwork from a previous company. In one ear im being told that I need to obtain another B visa, in the other ear im being told I can still apply for a work permit with a different company, could you clarify this for me ?

Thanks for your help and please everyone, only a reply from Steve (Lopburi3 permitting) !

PS - Do you have an office in Phuket ?

You don't say where you're from, but the UK requires you to get another passport - 36 or 48 pages.

I was at the consular section of the British Embassy yesterday and overheard someone say that it's currently taking 7 days to issue a new passport.

If you are a Brit, look at the Embassy's website. They've got the proceedures and up to date prices. Consular fees changed a short while ago.

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Yes, UK Embassy are turning them around in 7 days, 3 days if its lost. Mate of mine just done it in BKK, as he doesnt live in Bangkok and had to wait 7 days hes now kicking himself for not telling them he lost it !

Just come back from Phuket, and there is definatley a huge inprovement since my last visit a few weeks back.  Theree were people in the restaurants, and people in the bars, whilst not as busy as this time last year obviously, it is a marked improvement on last month. 

There was a distinct lack of Asian tourists tho, most of the tourists seemed to be farang couples, at least most of those I saw in the restaurants in Patong were.  I didn't walk up Bangla, but driving past the bottom along beach road at about 8pm I looked up the street, and it seemed like there was a fair few people walking up and down, unlike last month when hardly a soul could be seen all the way up.

This is great news for Phuket, and very encouraging, the lack of Asian tourists is a bit worrying, although totally expected due to their belief in ghosts etc.  Phuket must start targeting the farangs, who are not put off by ghosts etc.

I didn't get a chance to see other areas, but Patong looked like a different town from my last visit.  The depressing feeling I felt last time has changed into one of optimism.

The only downside is the building, and damage on  the quieter areas of beach road, it seems only the area between Bangla and Mc donalds is being repaired properly.

If the Government had any sense they would realise that they should spend Govnernment $ on rebuilding, as a more attractive seafront will attract more tourists.  It seems the TRT government have done F$%^ ALL to help the people of Phuket and Khao Lak.

Shame on you!!!

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Thank you Womble, you have certainly redeemed yourself !

The fact is Patong is getting better week by week, as you have seen yourself from your last visit. I have also noticed this myself having just returned from a week in Bangkok, a positive improvement all round ! Lots of couples & families. Even sex pest corner was busy !

As for lack of bookings for the high season this is again another poor indication, just because the resorts are not yet seeing the bookings for high season this doesnt mean the hotels will not be upto full occupancy, at least not in Patong anyway.

It is a well known fact that rooms are hard to come buy in Patong in the high season unless you book early, these rooms will be at full occupancy in the high season, they will simply be a little late in taking the bookings.

Asian tourists are unfortunately down however, the Europeans and most importantly the Aussies will make up for this, last night I was sat next to a table with a family of 18 Aussies, yes I counted 18 which included 4 or 5 children, all of them were having a ball which was great to see !

Heres to Phuket and a full recovery being just around the corner !

Well. That was a complete non-event.

Just me and Patong Bob.

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Hey Sir, well at least you can say you have at least one friend in Phuket !! Ha ha ha ! (sorry mate but that was just too irresistible for me to not comment).

I have been to Phuket 4 times in the last 2 months on business, and anyone who says it's back to normal is deluded.......

I'm sorry, but there is no way 9/10 businesses are back up and running.  I don't know the statistsic, but it certainly isn't 90%.  There's still lots of buildings that should be pulled down, pleanty more that still need repairing, then there's, many of the shops on the beach road havn't been repaired, the owners obviously were not insured......

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Well the Patong Beach Road I walked down just the other day was 90% up & running.

Womble you say you have been here 4 times in the last 2 months, when exactly was your last visit ? The reason I ask is that there has recently been a lot of business's open literally in the last couple of weeks, this was a surprise for me too, hence the reason for my update on here.