wittleus

I live here in Pitlok part of the year and still come to LOS on a simple tourist visa (two months plus extension). Before I used to get the extension in BKK at soi suan plu, yesterday, I went to get the one-month extension at Phitsanulok. No one else there when I went. The first guy I spoke to was a little confused, I might have been the first tourist visa there as most of the locals I hsve spoken too who have used their services (within the limited timeframe that the office has been open) were here on variou "O" type visas. Anyway we got things sorted out, but they wanted copies of my entire passport. I asked them why they were interested in my goings-and-comings in 2004, but they just smiled and said the entire passport--so be aware.

Then they passed it from person to person to check. I have to to fill out a "new form" (I had filled out a form I had printed from the internet ahead of time, as I always did in BKK). The "new form" was the same form I had just done, but two-sided (printed on both sides of the pae) versus the form I had, two pages.

Anyway, took about an hour with no one else there. I did hear one of the officers make a phone call about me (I don't know to who) but it amounted to nothing. They were congenial and friendly, muc more so than BKK has ever been, but then again they don't service the multiude of people (sometimes very rude) and nationalities that the BKK office services, which I imagine is quite a headache. The office has no air (as it is an open storefron) and as least yesterday, no fan. Ok for the Thais, hot for me as it was 35 degrees here in Phitsanulok.

For those of you unfamiliar with Phitsanulok. Go to the Topland Hotel, it is one of the largest hotels in town and the taxis and tuk-tuks will know where it it. Then (you can actually walk from Topland Hotel) walk towards the river (about 2 blocks). When you reach the bridge, turn left (do not cross the bridge) and you are now on the road which runs along the river. Go about 200-300 yards/meters and you will see little houses on your right--the front of the houses are about 30 feet across. One of them has a sign in English on it saying immigration office. If you get to the second bridge, you have gone way too far, turn back about 200 yards/meters.

I went in to talk to the people in there on Wednesday of this week. They said they had been actually open for 3 days but had been setting up for a couple of weeks. The guy I spoke to was from Bangkok and he spoke decent English. Another friend of mine spoke to someone who was in the Nan office, so it is a mixture of people. Although I did not do anything active that day, the person there assured me that all the services I needed could be performed there.

I have come to Thailand many times on the normal Tourist visa. I normally stay somewhere between 60 to 90 days which means 60 days on the original entry, then going to Soi Suan Plu and getting a 30-day extension for 1,900 baht.

This time I got a 2 entry tourist visa because I had planned to leave the country sometime during my extended sojourn and then return for a period over 30 days (i.e., longer than the the normal allowance for entry into the country without a visa).

However, my trip outside the country has fallen through and my original (read first entry) is about to expire. I can go to Soi Suan Plu, pay the 1,900 baht and extend. But here is my question-- since I am not going to use the "second entry" and the visa will expire before my next trip to Thailand, is there any way I can envoke the "second entry" without actually leaving the country?

The actual time peiod does not matter as I will only be staying for another 3 weeks (normally on the 30-day extension). I am not trying to be cheap and just save the extension fee either, but I would like to know if there is any way I can invoke the second entry (since I already paid for it) without actually leaving.

Thanks for any responses.

I am American and I have been going to Thailand steadily for about 3 months at a time, twice a year, for the last 4 years, getting a single entry tourist visa through the Chicago Thai Consulate. One time, I applied for and sent them the money for a double entry tourist visa. They took the extra ($25 at the time), but I still received only a single entry visa. When I go to Thailand this time, I want to take off and go to the Maldives relatively early i the trip, but I need to enter Thailand first for at least a few days, and when I return, I will be there for over 2 months. As I see it, I have the following choices, although the 4th choice is new to me, and I found it in another similar question. I want to know if it is valid.

1. Apply and successfully get a 2-entry Visa from the Chicago Thai Consolate. Any feedback from anybody on their willingness to do this?

The following options are postulated on the fact that I do NOT receive a 2-entry tourist visa.

2. After receiving a single entry tourist visa, enter Thailand, not showing them the Visa page and simply get a 30 day stamp. Exit the country in another week or so, go to Maldives and reenter Thailand on my 60 day tourist visa and go through the 30 day extension if necessary.

3. Enter country on single entry visa, exit, come back and get 30 day stamp, leave country once or twice more for additional 30 day stamps. I will have been out of the country for more than 90 days when I get back and have not taken a 30 day stamp in over a year.

4. Enter country on a single entry tourist visa and do the following (found this on another thread in the Visa forum):

So on entry to Thailand you will be given either 60 days or 30 days depending on your nationality. If you wish to exit Thailand and re-enter again before your permission to stay has expired you can apply for a re-entry permit at an immigration office in Thailand which will allow you to leave and not cancel your visa. When you re-enter you will reactivate your permission to stay that you received on your original entry.

I am not familiar with a re-entry permit. Will it do what I am reading here, i.e., allow me to leave and enter and still maintain the original visa expiration date and/or give me give me option of the standard 30 day extension.? Where to you get this permit? Soi Suan Plu in BKK?

Been in Thailand over 5 years on part-time basis (stay about 6 months a year) because I still have home in USA as well and some business concerns. Except for my teenage girls, my family speaks only Thai (including relatives) so my spoken Thai has progressed greatly over 5 years, especially when I convinced my girls they could correct my Thai and I would not "lose face."

Last year I finally took a reading and writing course and realized (as I started to actually see the words I was saying) how badly I had been mispronouncing many of the words and how polite many of thais were, not correcting me at every turn. Over the years, the Thais in my immediate surroundings had grown familiar with my voice, cadence, and even mistakes in pronounciation and vocabulary to the point that they understood me quite well, even though I was making egregious errors.

Long term ignorance also manifests itself when you begin to read and write. Just one example--many Thais, (either because they are not well educated or sometimes they are but fall into casual, pronunciation) will pronouce word for car as "lawt", surprise is the word is really "rawt", using "raw reua", not "law ling" when written. So when you start reading and writing you encounter many words that you probably know as a speaker, but will probably not recognize (first time) as a reader or sound out as a writer.

Anyway, there are innumerable examples. And spelling, just like English spelling is sometimes a matter of memorization--how many words in Thai have a silent "haw heep" vs. how many words in English have silent "h's". With more practice it becomes easier and your mind makes notes and even sees patterns in words that seemingly don't fit the standard rules. When I go out of the country, I insist that my family and friends send me e-mails in Thai and I respond in Thai. Buy your own 200 Baht Thai keyboard at Big C before you leave because finding a inexpensive Thai keyboard in USA is difficult (unless you live in Los Angeles area).

Yes, can someone PLEASE explain why on the Foreign Exchange Market the Baht is trading at 31.7 to the US Dollar??

That is the rate that credit cards use. For instance, even though this article says the rate is 34, if I charge something on my US credit card, it is converted at 31.7 (then, there is an additional 3% conversion charge). I believe the same happens if I withdraw money from my US account at an ATM here.

It's freaking killing me!

I just got a Captial One card. They don't charge the 3% foreign currency conversion fee. Someone here once posted that Capital One still used Visa and Visa charges the 3%. Well, not sure how they get around it but Capital One deosn't charge the 3%.

You are partially correct my friend. I got a Capital One cause they "CLAIM" they don't have the 3% foreign currency conversion charge (like talmost every other CC). When I first used it in Thailand I could see how they collect their money. Using the Capital One will cause the charge to show up on the receipt from the vendor in USD. The rate that is used to calculate the currency conversion is NOT the fair bank rate that is given by other cards and banks. The rate they convert at is adjusted in their favor by several %. This keeps them from having to charge you a separate 3% fee. If you ask me, they are just being sneaky by saying they don't charge a currency conversion fee but they really do. It's just hidden in the original charge. Just FYI, if you use another CC the charge will show up on the vendors receipt in THB and the conversion will occur on your statement with the 3% conversion charge.

If you don't trust me on this, look for yourself. And for ANYONE that wants to see what the onshore (in country) baht rate is, including what you get if you transfer money from an off shore bank into SCB, look here http://www.scb.co.th/html/exchange/bk-txtexchange.htm

When I make a transfer from my Stateside bank to SCB I always get the rate listed in the "Bank Buying Rate T/T"

Hope that helps.

Regarding the currency exchange when you use "capital one" which I myself have and use extensively. First, the exchange to dollars only happens at certain vendors (e.g., most stores in the Emporium, Paragorn, etc), i.e., most places where farangs buy. I use it extensively at Big C, Lotus, MBK, etc., it always comes out in Thai Baht. Strangely enough, when I buy in Robinsons, Foodland, most restaurants in Bangkok (including high end restaurants like Baan Kanitha), even brunch at the Marriott, I get Thai baht. I live in Phitsanulok, and the only place that changes automatically to dollars is Homepro (and who shops at Homepro--farangs for the most part). So, it would seem the the process to "change to US Dollars" only happens at certain establishments, backed by certain banks. I have not looked at my receipts carefully to ascertain whether association with a particular Thai bank cause it to default to dollars vs. baht.

Second, you do NOT have to accept the exchange. When the clerk puts it in the machine, a screen comes up where the clerk can select "thai baht" or "native country currency", with the native country currency being the default. Most clerks (not knowing any better) will simply hit the process key and your bill is "US dollars". I have had transactions reversed and walked the clerk through the selection process and had the bill come out in Thai Baht. For instance, when buying at the Emporium department store, I told the clerk I wanted the bill in Thai Baht, and they knew what to do. At Bumrungrad, the lady actually asked me if I wanted the bill run in Thai baht or US dollars prior to finishing the transaction.

So, it is up to you to be proactive and not lose the few percent by having the transaction come out in dollars. Tourists don't mind, but the loss to an ex-pat can be significant buying large ticket items such as refrigerators, home furnishings, etc. As you can imagine, it does help if you speak Thai and explain the clerk what you want and don't want and how to do it.

COBOL, Assembler. Ahhhh, those were the days when we walked on water

Personally, I alway carry a pencil with me: you never know when you have to write a "move immediate" MVI.

Just to follow up on what another person said, many of the core applications of most large corporations are still in "older languages" such as COBOL, and they still run on mainframes, especially banking as another person said. Although they don't quite look like the mainframes of yesteryear and they are no longer water cooled. Ever see the IBM commercial where a roomfull of Windows and UNIX servers are replaced by a single 4'x4'x4' box? And the boss comes in and says where are my servers? You can break into Windows and Unix(and it happens quite often): but,to my knowledge no one has yet hacked a mainframe running ZOS (OS/370, MVS/SP, MVS, VS1, VM, DOSVS and DOS (for those who like to reminisce), OS/360, and then there was ASP and HASP for the really oldtimers). When you read about the theft of social security numbers and credit cards from various companies, you can pretty well guess which OS's are running. Also, many relational DB applicatons still run on these, although most of them are not written in COBOL (those are usually legacy applications still running under CICS and IMS). Try to serialize a relational DB update on an application base of 20,000 users using Windows or UNIX and you will see the meaning of either data corruption or DB lockout.

Thought I would just throw out a bunch of acronyms so us old farts can reminisce.

Anybody interested in having a drink??, I will be in phitsonoluk in a few days and wil be staying there for a few months with my thai family, although i rarely get bored i would sometimes like to meet up with other westerners for a drink, pool,chit chat etc. Also where are the best places to go for nightlife??. See you soon

Go to Lady Jane's Bar on Friday night, usually a decent representation of some of local farangs show up there to have a drink. Don't be shy, introduce yourself. Some teachers there, but also some other people with other jobs or retired. Mostly Brits, but a few Dutch and Americans. I will be there in October, staying through November. There might be some other hangouts as well, but I am not up to date with all of them.

Most everybody shows up around 8:00 to 8:30 -- it's not a late night party. Lady Jane's has decent food but they don't tend to serve on Friday.

Lady Jane's is down the one-way street from the Pailyn Hotel about 200-300 yards/meters on the right hand side. There is a parking lot in front of it but it is usually full as there is an illegale gambling hall close by. If you are driving, you can usually find parking either in the lot or on the street.

As for nightlife, what do you mean?? -- no real bar scene like BKK/Phuket/Pattaya. There are Thai bars that have good music (Thai Rock n roll, etc) and food. Some of the folks at Lady Jane's can probably suggest real party places, but remember, Phitsanulok is mostly Thai and does not have farang type night spots. There is a good tech, (music, lots of drinking, Thai girls and guys in their 20's/30's at Topland hotel), and a few other clubs.

As the one who started this thread -- my initial inquiry was prompted by the fact that I was dubious whether the Thai family I have been involved with will be able to handle "larger" sums of money than they were used to, invest it properly and insure the flow.

My family, initially came from the "poor side of town", the adults(extended family here) were not well educated, yet have proven, to this point, to manage their budgets carefully. Over the last 5 years, there have been no rash expenses. They have had credit cards (backed by me), and all expenses have been for normal requirements.

Over the last few years, I have slowly increased allowances for living and all expenses to the house and property have been handled responsibily, even in my absence. My thai step-children (who have wholly accepted me as their father, at this point), have recognized the educational opportunity they now have, and have performed exceptionally in school and are headed for the university. They have never asked for anything extraordinary, and the older ones, having realized their new situation, often chide the younger one with "you don't remember being poor, do you?" inuendos. The extended family (brothers, etc.), to this point, continues to be hard-working and family-oriented, as all the brothers have families and have been with their wives over 15 years. They come over to the house often to visit (the grandmother lives with us) and have never asked for a cent from the farang in the family. There has been no evidence of gambling whatsoever in the family to this point.

We have looked at a few business ventures and additional land acquisition very carefully and have passed on most. So I would say that the family is slowly learning asset management and the children who will be university-bound, could, of course, learn this on a more formal basis. At the same time, I don't know what might happen if "a whole bunch of cash" were to land on their lap suddenly -- so this is the basis for this thread.

This all being said, I was basically looking for a vehicle to maintain the monetary flow and increase it as the cost of living and family conditions warranted. As I was familiar with trusts, I was wondering how effective the vehicle might be if the assets flowed out of the country, and how that aspect might be managed? Could it be managed by non-US citizens, or even if I could assign those responsibilities to such a person? I guess I was hoping that someone on this board had either already investigated this approach or had a deceased friend who had tried this approach and they, in turn could comment on the effectiveness of this approach. And, of course, what might be other vehicles for management? Either in USA or in Thailand, Singapore,or wherever, as I am not yet familiar with any of the financial/management opportunities in any of those countries?

While my assets might be borderline for the "private bank" route, I am still dubious about whether my wishes would be carried out or whether the assets would be managed effectively. My experience with most "asset managers" in USA, is, given control, they tend to manage in a manner that (1) coincide with "success" in the eyes of the company they worked for, and (2) is most advantageous at building their own personal wealth.

Anyway, that being the gist of my situation, I am still looking for information as to how many of you ex-pats might handle your estate to ensure sound managment and continuous flow? The revocable trust vehicle happend to be one I was familiar with, at least as far as its ramifications in the USA proper.

Hi all,

I'm really into going to Ocean World but don't want to for fears it is in the same state as Siam Paragon - open, but barely finished. I forsee empty tanks.

Has anyone been, how is it? Worth seeing, or should I wait?

Thanks!

Neph.

Went their twice, once with kids (on a weekend, big mistake), and then once on a weekday to shoot about 45 minutes of video (I had forgot the video recorder on the first go round). Nice show, well arranged. They have a lot of sharks now and you can get good pictures and video of them. A couple of cautions--don't go on the weekend, and skip the boat ride, that is a waste of time (if there is a queue) and money.

Probably expensive for the locals. But it was crowded on weekends with Thais and Japanese as well as farangs.

Good luck...Isn't the US tax code's long arm bad enough already?

I considered a trust but when I found out that the list alone of different types of trusts (revocable, irrevocable, living, blah, blah blah) is longer than the instructions for filing personal tax in Hong Kong and Singapore, I gave up.

I have a feeling trust law may have been devised for lawyers in the same way the US tax code was designed to give accountants an annual bonus. I'm sure you're a wise trustee and may even know how to manage money. But if not, aren't you giving the asset managers a nice monthly income with the fees they skim off the trust income. Or is a banker giving you a discount to t-bill yields and capturing the spread. Throw in the tax and legal filing requirements and then the funds might be going more for the benefit of accountants, lawyers and asset managers than the beneficiaries.

Try opening a custodial bank or brokerage account in Thailand, Singapore or Hong Kong for a minor? I don't even give it a thought.

I have, however, read that some UK nationals have set up trusts in the UK for the benefit of overseas relations in the real estate forum.

You may have a point in the long run. Right now, I am the trustee of my parents trust, the asset manager, and I also file all the taxes, so there is no real payout to anyone outside the purview of the trust. The only real payout was the legal fees for establishment of the trust. I would expect to do the same in setting up my own trust as long as I were living and able.

However, If I were to set this up, with the idea of providing a continuous income after my demise, unless I gave very specific, immutable instructions on the asset management, I could see a lot of the misconduct (or, let's be real, legal theft) taking place after my death, as there would be no one I could trust to audit the management. Intructions in themselves may not be immutable because certain investment options may end and decisions would have to be made as where to go to next. At that point, control of the assets would be out of my already dead hands.

I guess I am looking for options for asset management after I am gone (which hopefully won't be for a long time). I will check out some of the options you mentioned. Do you know if there are any residency requirements for any of options you mentioned? I have been a part-time resident of Thailand (I come for 3 months, back to USA for 3 months, etc) for the last 4 years, but have been coming on a tourist visa.

(i am not from australlia, and i am not born in 1980)

My bank charges me 2 USD for every ATM withdrawal, and starting this month will charge another 5 USD International fee... so a total of $7 USD for each withdrawal....

I originally went to www.netbank.com and got what was supposed to be a no-fee international ATM card. When I tried to use it in LOS, it didnt work. When I called them, they said that I never attempted to use it.

What are some other alternatives? Opening a bank account in LOS sounds like a gignatic headache. The last thing in the world I feel like doing is making another trip to my embassy for paper work.

When you transfer money into Thailand to your thai bank account, what kind of fees/taxes are imposed on the transfer?

If you don't want to go the Thai Bank route, just change banks or use multiple bank/credit unions and maintain a balance in the one with lower/no ATM fees. As explained earlier by many, have multiple sources. My main source is credit union via ATM and I have a backup card incase one gets eaten or ruined. Have access to other accounts as well and final backup for cash is VISA/MC which I actually had to use last year when source US bank had problem with PIN/ATM. Suggest also you always have "outside" number (not 1-800's and 1-888 numbers, if US bank) for banks for contact, as I have yet to find a way to steadily connect using any of the "free" numbers. Mentioned above was 3 percent surcharge. Most US banks have some sort of surcharge (1, 2, 3 percent) for all charges made in non-US currency (not only Thai baht, but also Euro, Yen, Aus/Sing dollar, etc.). If you use your credit card often over here (probably not important if just short vacation, etc) that you find credit card which does not charge. Capital One at last glance did not charge.

Lots of smaller tricks to keep down expenses. True, they are more nuisances than big-time expenses, but no one likes being 'ripped off', even for small change.

I wonder if anyone has had any experience with setting up a revocable trust (rather than just a will and normal estate) and having the assets of the trust distributed on a regular basis to people/persons in another country (in this case Thailand).

I am somewhat familiar with trusts and how they work (being the trustee of my parents trust). However, my question here would be setting up a trust for my GF and kids (in Thailand) and having the designated amounts distributed to their bank in Thailand on a monthly basis upon my demise.

Assuming no shrinkage, my estate, while not huge, will be quite considerable for a Thai, and rather than pass all the money, I thought it might be better to keep the money invested and dole out manageable monthly amounts. Again, if managed correctly, money could flow to the thai family in perpetuity.

Their are, of course US tax implications, because monies in the trust would be invested earning interest/dividends/income and of course the recipients would be neither US citizens nor residents. I am not sure how they might be handled but I expect I could hire an accountant/lawyer/etc or designate a trustee to take care of those aspects.

I expect most reponses will say, go see a lawyer--and I will, but, I am just wondering if anyboday has used trusts before to distribute assets overseas and could comment on how well they work. Of course, you might not know until you are dead, but maybe you have had a friend who has passed away but took care of his family abroad in such a way.

Also, does anyone know if Thai Law has anything similar available for farangs and can they be trusted. If not, how about other banking venues like Singapore. Any reponse or information or lead would be appreciated.

Got 4019 using NY server but i was in Belgium hehe

I guess Los is much slower.....

Maybe using satellite internet in Los would be quicker but dont know if you can get it there ??

Wow, retested on NY server got 6338. Same home network, different PC, ran with 1 Gb card, but transfer is transfer.

thanks tywais - i got 462 kbps.

That was choosing the San fran server

Got 3108 kb, but I am back in USA. Return to my home in Phitsanulok in 2 weeks, wonder what the broadband will get there?

"I'm going to be a happy idiot and struggle for the legal tender"

Which beer is your favourite (in Thailand)?

I voted other: the Lager Beer at the Tawandaeng Brewery in Bangkok on Rama III. Great Stuff.

I find most of the bottled beer sour, burns the hel_l out of my stomach. Generally drink them with ice. If I drink the bottled beer, choice one is Leo, choice two is Heiniken, but even Heiniken Thailand is a unique flavor (not necessarily a good flavor) as compared to European or American version.

Already mentioned Section:

Field of Dreams

The Seven Samurai

Amelie

Leon

The Usual Suspects

Groundhog Day

Maybe it's just me then, Section:

Kagemusha

Mystery Men

Strictly Ballroom

Grosse Point Blank

10 Things I Hate About You

The Longest Day

They all get a viewing at least twice a year.

Agree on Grosse Pointe Blank

in addition:

Dr. Strangelove (get more out of movie each time I watch it)

Heathers (Winona Ryder and Christian Slater)

New Jack City (this made Wesley Snipes and you can see Chris Rock in dramatic role)

Hard Times (Charles Bronson as bare knuckle boxer)

Lost Boys (already mentioned)

Tampopo (Japanese Noodle movie)

Virtuosity (Denzel and early Russell Crowe)

Quigley Down Under (not a great movie, but I like it)

Silverado (Great Cast)

Lethal Weapon (Only number 1, when Riggs was crazy)

Love Actually (How about that for sentimentality, Bill Nighy hilarious and I'm not British)

Near Dark (vampire movie made by supporting cast of Aliens, right after Aliens)

I'm Gonna Get You Sucka (Keenan Ivory Wayans satire of Blacksploitation movies--wild cast)

The Crow (lask Flick of Brandon Lee, now you know where all the Thai 'pii' get their whiteface)

Any movie with Michelle Yeoh, especially like the Heroic Trio and the Executioners.

Enough for now.

Thanks for our replies.

Would it be safer to leave it in a hotel parking in town and take a taxi from there and back ?

Any suggestions ?

Could leave it at Topland Hotel (parking ramp) or the Amarin (open parking lot but covers over the car). Then simply take their respective shuttles. Both shuttles also pick you up at airport and are always there when the flights come in. Topland parking lot gets a lot of traffic in and out because of the shopping mall and lots of traffic at night because of night club/karaoke in the hotel. Lots of local "wailun" and students. Could be a problem. Amarin traffic is relegated to guests and people going to pool or workout. You can just pull in there during the day, usually not too many people unless they are having a conference. Those are the two places I know best.

I have been looking through the forums for a while for different threads that might answer my questions, and to date have not found anything really specific. So at the risk of getting the UTFSE response, I will pose my question(s).

I am currently retired (retired early) and would meet all the Thai age and financial requirements for a retirement Vise.

Since my retirement, bought a house in North Central Thailand under GF's name, moved her three girls and mother in as well. Family life is good. Have been taking care of the girls for almost 4 years (even before the house), and I am functionally their father and they treat me as such. All in all, really good family relationship. Know the issues of what would happen should the relationship go sour, I would be upset, but could weather the financial loss. However, have had great relationship with GF and girls for long time now, and I am also on good terms with the rest of family--brothers, sisters, and extended family. And luckily for me, none of them have ever viewed me as the walking farang ATM and in 5 years, not one request for money or help. Anyway, back to topic at hand, which is visa, not relationships.

I have been coming to Thailand for the last 4 years on Tourist Visa, 2 months, plus the 1 month extension. I come twice a year, staying close to 3 month each time and living with my GF and girls.

What I am trying to understand is which visa might be best for me: continue with what I am doing (tourist+extension), non-immigrant, or retirement. I know there are some drawbacks on tourist visa. Right now, for instance, I don't believe I can get a Thai drivers license on a tourist visa. I can of course drive on my US or International license but when I look at driving our family car, I fear their might be a insurance exposure should we ever have an accident.

On the other hand, I still have a house in USA, and for various reasons, I do want to return there, as least for the time being, on the 3 month intervals that I have specified above. Once you get either a non-immigrant visa or retirement visa, what are the restrictions on leaving Thailand (in my case twice a year to go back to your own country)? In the case of a non-immigrant visa, would I just get another one (in that case I see no advantage over tourist except for the drivers license).

Right now, I have no need to work (except for possible boredom issues) and I am still doing occasional consulting for a US company which I can do in Thailand or USA, as long as I have a telephone or internet connection. This is additional cash flow besides retirement pension and investment income. Any real business venture would be associated with immediate or extended family and I would be in the background anyway, and should that come about, I can tackle that visa issue at that time.

So, any suggestions? Do I just keep operating the way I am doing now? Maybe I haven't asked myself all the right questions as yet, or maybe I am not aware of all the restrictions of my current status? Any advice or further questioning or probing would be appreciated.

Hi,

I need to go to Bangkok for 2-3 days and am considering leaving my new Civic at the aiprort parking (unatended I am sure).

Would you do it ?

Any other idea to leave the car in a more safe place ?

Thanks

Why not just pay the 200 baht each way taxi fare from anywhere in Phitlok and leave the car safely at home. That's pretty ###### cheap for piece of mind. I can PM you a trustworthy taxi contact if you wish (a few of them).

Hi,

I need to go to Bangkok for 2-3 days and am considering leaving my new Civic at the aiprort parking (unatended I am sure).

Would you do it ?

Any other idea to leave the car in a more safe place ?

Thanks

Whoops, just saw your vitals on side of page, seems you might be from Uttradit, now I understand.

Just to elaborate on the other answer, there are usually 3 flights on Thursday, Friday, Sunday (and maybe Monday, not sure), otherwise only two flights.

As for the taxis, most will take you anywhere in Phitlok for 200 baht flat rate (not overtly expensive). Your own pickup is preferable and parking at the airport is free and plentiful.

So let's return to the original topic and see if anyone has anything new to add:

What DVD writer (preferably external, because it will be connected by USB2 to a notebook (ASUS L5 Series)) is a good buy these days?

Thanks for your input.

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Been using an LG4160 for about a year and a half connected to HP laptop. Have burned over 500 movies, and copies for other people in that time. It is external and connect either firewire or USB2, I happen to use the USB2 as I use the firewire to connect video input.

As far as burning speed, I use Nero for most of the burns (DVDshrink calls Nero to write) and Nero is speed sensitive to the DVD-R speed, so I let it set its max speed. When I purchased 4x, it burned at 4X, when I purchased 8X, it burned at 8X. Also, when burning DVD's from personal videos taken through an editor such as Vegas, I have had some problem with SW like DVD Architect burning the DVD's, they only seem to play on Sony DVD players. So, I now just prepare the burns and then actually burn them with Nero and have no compatibility problems even with 4 and 5 year old DVD players.

My mate has just arrived in Siam with his 1999 Compaq Presario and an Ipod Mini. He has a USB cable and Win 98, more PC details than that I don't know.

To play his iPod on his laptop is the idea. He hasn't been able to do this so far.

I've connected his iPod to my PC running XP at work, and it is recognised and doesn't need to be reformatted - a good thing as he has about 1,000 tunes on it!

I'm downloading various drivers for his Win 98 laptop, as I don't know which edition he has, so hopefully one of them should work. I have seen, however, recomendations that folks like him should upgrade to Win 2000. His harddrive is only 4 GB, so XP's out of the question, as I'm guessing his CPU is a wee bit slow by today's standards. I see that Win 2000 uses less resources than XP.

What do you guys think? Should he stick with Win 98 and try and get by on that, or try the upgrade to Win 2000, which seems to be much more compatible with the iPod. All he's going to use his laptop for is the iPod, and maybe watching VCDs (CD-ROM player only).

Any ideas? Cheers...

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Yes, upgrade. No problem on install on 4gb. Also agree on RAM as others have said. If you intend to keep computer, upgrade disk is easy and cheap. 20, 30, 40 gb disks are usually easy to install, and you can also take them out and salvage them to use on another PC when the time comes to get rid of it (if you are into using used equipment). I keep an old laptop like that around for travelling. If someone steals it, I won't cry too much. Probelm with old laptops over time are the batteries (if you use it without plugging in), you have a hard time finding batteries that work and buying new ones (if you can find them) costs ###### near as the value of the old piece of sh*t.

What are the internet connections like in P-lok??

  Are they reliable?  any ADSL speed?

  Thanks for any help!

  nam

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I am using Maxnet ADSL. 590 baht/month for 256K, 790/month for 512K. Connections are usually at 192 or 256 depending on TOD. I don't know my distance from drop. Dialup 56K really sucks, lines drop often, (I used to use KSCNET), slow, and lots of problems when it rains.

Only problem so far with ADSL was the following: kids set up ADSL when I was out of the country. They got a USB only modem. I came back and wanted to set up home network using Linksys/Cisco 4-port cable and wireless router I brought back from USA. Two choices:

1. Buy modem with dual port or ethernet port. PROBLEM: More expenditure and ADSL is sometimes flaky with different modems, so unless sanctioned by ISP, some risk to it.

2. Set up network, one step inbound, i.e., using the USB-to-modem computer as host, setting up Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) on the host computer, and connecting the router downstream to the LAN port. PROBLEM: Host computer must be on when you want to use any other computer in network.

Decided on the second option, because very little risk and I can always opt for the first if #2 doesn't work. Took me about 3-4 hours to set up with a few chinks along the way. Since XP is on all computers did not not bother installing NETBeui but just used standard TCPIP stack. Besides didn't have all the XP Disks(NETBeui does not install as standard XP install is Microsoft no longer supports it) Final issue were the client computers (a couple of laptops). I could connect to Internet through wireless, but only using specific URL's. I got DNS errors if I typed in domain name (www.google.com). Solution was to put in specific DNS server names that ISP uses (can get info from ipconfig /all) and NOT acquire DNS server dynamically (however leave DHCP alone, do not assign static IP's for the clients). Speed on network PC's is fine, only affected if kids are playing games (lots of cycles) on host computer. Got a fealing that the network interrupt runs at a lower priority. Signed up for higher speed starting Nov. 1.