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Bicko
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Posts posted by Bicko
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cheers george ,
you know ya can't get away with nothin round here .....................
No problems here in Indonesia but we don't have any 7/11's so i was unable to get a dongle. i suspect you guys picked up a dud dongle and it has run it's life expectancy.
Cheers,
Bicko
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Even in the West, where we tend to get into confrontations at a drop of the hat, wise officials and vendors know that they can have a much more pleasant job by trying to be nice. When that witch in Mexico was harrassing me so badly in public, shouting at me while illegal aliens watched in horror, I just held my cool, showed her more respect than she deserved, and I didn't argue back. Finally she gave in and filled out the document for me. Her coworkers, who are far more kindly, tried to make up for her tirade. And rather than get deported, I got a nice interview with the assistant regional commissioner, and a one year visa extension (thanks in good measure to the new president and his fiance).
Back in Chiang Mai, the last time I got a one year extension, they couldn't have been nicer. She even thought my Lanna shirt was smart.
I have recently been through the whole gamut - legalisation of documents at the Government office on Chang Wattana, Laksi, marriage certificate at a different Government office in Laksi, driving license in Buri Ram and 12 month spouse visa in Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat). Prior to that i often drove to the Immigration office in Kap Choeng and was on a nonImmigrant "O" visa.
I can honestly say that i have never had a problem. I have found these government officials to be courteous and efficient. A couple of times I have not paid enough attention to the detail and had to go back a second time but my wife and I have always been treated with respect and courtesy.
I suspect it's all in the (my) attitude.
Cheers,
Bicko
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Can anyone recommend reliable mail order bookshops that can provide new and / or secondhand books in English to a PO Box address in upcountry Thailand and with a secure online payment system.
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Up until recently i have been a salaried employee of an American company working in Indonesia (Sumatra). My Thai wife accompanied me. We live in Buri Ram.
My previous employer has asked me to come back to work as a contract consultant which I am quite happy to do.
However I will now have to insure myself.
Has anyone had any experience with a good company (or companies) that can provide me with Professional indemnity insurance, working as an engineering consultant and a good medical cover which MAY include a medivac provision.
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I would have thought in today's climate (bird flu...etc) that unless you were very careful and meticulous about biosecurity (i.e. expensive to set up) then the risk is very high. Even then, if someone in your Moo Baan with 10 chickens, contracts bird flu in his stock, the authorities will more than likely slaughter all your birds too.
Regards
Thanks mate. I am very aware of this matter and will make due allowance for it if and when i proceed with the project. Does anyone have any info on relative costs, sources of supply of young chickens, source, formula and cost of chicken feed, cost of building evaporative cooled sheds, recommended size and construction type for sheds and any other relevant onformation.
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Does anyone have any experience with growing on chickens? A number of farmers in my area (Lam Plai mat/Buri ram) buy week old chicks and grow them on for 30 to 35 days then sell back to the supplier of the young chicks.
Anyone got any ideas or suggestions on this one?
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Hey pluggen there is a golf course on Hwy 219 just a few hundred metres after you cross the main Hwy (226) travelling south from Buri Ram to Prakhon Chai.
I haven't used it and it looks like it might be private but worth checking out. Looks like a pretty good course
From Nan Rong you would drive to Prakhon Chai and then north and see the GC on your right just before 226.
Cheers,
Bicko
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Thanks a million George and all mods. Thai visa is without question an extremely valuable and informative website for us Farangs living in this wonderful country.
Have a great Christmas and seasons greetings to you and yours and we look forward to participating in 2007.
Bicko and Sawai
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Hi
Everybody keeps refering to the Baht 800,000 deposit however if you are married to a Thai spouse it is in fact Baht 400,000 as per OP.
IMHO I think that the majority of farangs who are genuinely committed to Thailand fall into this category.
See extract...
The so called married man’s visa.
This allows the foreign, legal spouse of a Thai national to extend a non-immigrant visa for up to 12 months from the date of the last entry into Thailand. The minimum cash in a Thai bank is 400,000 baht. As with the retirement variant, checks will be made in future to ensure that the cash is not simply put in a bank and then removed. This visa is issued in Bangkok only and, during the waiting period, checks can be made by immigration police at your bank to see if there has been a big cash withdrawal! If the funds have disappeared, you may be ordered to leave Thailand in 7 days. Local immigration officers will also visit your home to verify that you really do live together as man and wife.
So in fact reduction in deposit. Apologies if this has been covered already but I have lost the will to read all the postings
TBWG
I am not married anymore so have no thai wife. I do have a my half thai daughter in school here and I live here so... I can apply for the extension based supporting a thai national on that as well but it is ONLY done in Bangkok ( as is the marriage one).
I have been here for over 22 years. part of the time on a work permit, part on marriage visa, part on tourists visas, now for 6 years on a retirement extension. You call that committed or ....
Hi Phuketrichard
I would certainly call you ultra committed, however unfortunatley no legislation can cover every scenario and this is where local decision making on individual circumstances should come into effect, however, we all know this is not a Thai strong point.
I do sympathise and wish you all the best.
TBWG
Thanks TBWG. Your information is appreciated. Do you know if the married man's visa requirement of Bt400,000 can be a combination of pension and cash in the bank.
I met with the senior immigration officer at Kap Cheong yesterday and he left me in no doubt whatsoever that the BT 800,000 for a retirement visa MUST be in a Thai bank for 3 months prior to applying for or renewing the visa. If the amount of Bt800,000 is a combination of pension and cash then not only must the cash portion have been in the bank for 3 months but a notarised letter from my Embassy must be presented guaranteeing that the pension is valid.
Cheers,
Bicko
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Dear members,
We are happy to announce that our members have contributed to a total of 1,000,000 posts since our launch in November 2002.
The millionth post was submitted this morning by member "taxexile".
Today we have launched Thaivisa Store with a few selected member products available on-line.
Have a look at our Thaivisa.com Polo Shirts and T-Shirts at http://store.thaivisa.com
Free delivery with EMS within Thailand; International delivery as well.
Bit late picking up this topic as i have been travelling. Congrats George and all of the Thai visa members and moderators.
As a farang living in Thailand this is without doubt the best source of information on any and every possible topic and it certainly provides a high degree of entertainment and interest. The site is continually improving and the moderation to maintain a degree of respectability by George and Co. is much appreciated.
By the way can T shirts be delivered free of charge to a PO Box in Buri Ram province or does it need to be a street address?
Bicko
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I was recently told about a good GPS navigation system that sits on the dash board of the car and plugs into to cigarette lighter. This unit apparently covers the whole of Thailand in a very detailed way and it is programmed in English. it is supposedly available for purchase in Bangkok.
We live in Buri Ram and my wife and I travel in Thailand a lot. Can anyone tell me where to enquire for such a unit and offer some technical data to help in selection, indicative cost etc.
Thanks.
Bicko
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Actually the OP headlined it as "Closed 1 Week". In any case it is normally a very bad time to find hotel rooms in Georgetown at end of Ramadan so it is good to get the word out.
Yes this is not a good time to try to do business or travel in Malaysia and Indonesia.
I reside in Thailand and work in Aceh, Indonesia. This time of Eid-al-Fitr is a time when many businesses close down for a week or so and many people take their annual holidays.
Although the recognised holidays are next Monday through Wednesday all 3 of our offices in Sumatra/Aceh have closed for the week from yesterday (Friday) afternoon until Monday week and our local staff have gone home to their families in other parts of the country.
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Do you expats living in Isaan ever have any regrets.
I mean the people that have uprooted from thier native country and decided to live there permanently.
Do you ever feel homesick in a big way?
What about the food? How much do you miss the food from back home?
The language?
The Thai way?
If you have a Thai wife, has she forgotten any of the english ( or other ) that she used to be good at? Do you crave a chance to talk in your native tongue?
If you live in the sticks and miles away from other people or even a small village, what do you do?
I am only asking because I may be one of you in the future and probably a lot of others will have the same option.
Well Veg these are pretty basic but important questions. It is a good idea to check it out. I have lived in upcountry Isaan for some years and love every bit of it. There is no doubt that it may be necessary to make a few sacrifices and most certainly you need to be prepared to accept some changes in your life style if you plan to make a long term comittment but if you have a good woman and you are prepared to accept most of what comes along it is, for me anyway, the best situation I could have have ever imagined.
I am in my mid 60's and pretty fit and my Thai wife is in her mid 40's. I lost my first wife with cancer in Oz several years ago and I do go home occasionally to see my kids and grandchildren but for me this is home.
We built a very nice home in our village and this is paradise for me. Have a great garden and lots of farming land so there is always plenty of interesting things to keep me occupied. Today was a trip to town (Lam Plai mat) to buy fertiliser for the rice.
My wife speaks good English and is very keen to expand her knowledge. I must admit that i am a bit slow at learning Thai.
Her family are great and respect our situation. It is VERY important to establish ground rules on that issue and make them aware that if they want money then they have to work for it- laundry, gardening, planting rice etc. There are no handouts except a few beers now and again. A couple of my mates are with younger Thai girls who seem to think their old man is a walking ATM!!
The effects of this damned Thai whisky are pretty obvious in our village so I will not buy that for them. We have a good set up on the back verandah where we socialise and only 3 or 4 immediate family come in to the house.
I have ipstar satellite internet and satellite TV. It's a bit expensive but worth it to have the communication. There are no other farangs in our area that I am aware of so that compensates.
I am still working as a humanitarian aid worker and spend a lot of time in other countries. My wife always accompanies me so we spend a lot of time together and we are a damned good team.
Of course all of this is OK if you can settle for the quiet life. If you are a party animal then forget it. Now and again we drive to Surin and spend a couple of days and enjoy the hospitality at the Farang Connection or to Khorat and stay at a decent hotel.
Life is what you make it mate.
Good luck. If you are in the Lam Plai mat area let us know. We can have a beer or two.
Cheers, Bicko
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That's interesting. I wondered what was happening when a friend of mine brought me a case of big bottles of Archa. I tried to pay him for it but he said it was only 250 baht so to forget about it. Less than 21 baht per bottle.
21 Baht per bottle!?!?! I might have to start lowering my standards.
Cheers,
-oevna
I am currently working in Aceh in Indonesia and can get 12 big bottles of Leo (Thailand) beer here for the equivalent of 18 baht a bottle.
Heading home to Buri Ram (LOS) on home leave this weekend and will pay about 23 baht a bottle from the local Chinese wholesalers.
Love the stuff and will give it a good nudge.
Still a hel_l of a lot cheaper than in UK or Oz or US and a damned good drop!!!!.
Cheers Bicko
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Well this is really good news. Goodbye to trying to lose a few kilos though
Good onya John but this should cheer you up a bit mate. My Doctor back in Oz reckons it's not the beer that puts on the weight it's what we have with the beer like BBQ spare ribs, peanuts, chips etc.
Cheers mate. Now you can a couple without a worry!!!!
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Cheers blokes. I just posted a note on UDON's last year message on the same topic and then found this.
My regiment only fought in the Pacific and is one of only two Australian units that were awarded a US Presidential citation which we still wear with pride on ANZAC day.
The New Guinea Volunteer Rifles militia unit assisted the yanks to win the battle of Los Negros, a chain of islands north of New Guinea. Our soldiers were experts in surviving iindependently in the jungle and operated in small groups of 2 or 3 with the assistance of the local natives (Gutpela more!!!) carrying out reconnaisance work and reporting the activities of the Japanese back to HQ. They were always in great danger. I joined the unit in the early 60's and there still some of the old Diggers in the unit. They earnt their Regimental and Queens colours the hard way and we younger members of the unit were formally presented with the colours on the 17th May 1969 at Igam Barracks in Lae, New Guinea.
The ANZAC spirit is in our blood and we carry the tradition of the original ANZACS with immense pride.
God bless the ANZACS
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Any ANZACS about? I am an old Digger from way back living in Isaan. Any services planned anywhere for ANZAC day.
Would love to be marching with my old unit in Brisbane. (NGVR/PNGVR ex members Association) but can not get down there this year.
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must be the left over stump of the index finger that likes to poke at the HHHHH
Lost that one in Bosnia
Plachon makes his point very strongly and he is absolutely right. I am a horticulturist and specialised in Australian native flora. Eucs will give you problems. Anyone that has been to California and seen what has happened there-thousands of hectares rendered useless by eucs introduced from Australia many years ago. It is almost impossible to eradicate them.
Growing any form of monoculture (eucs, rubber, mangoes etc) needs consideration and investigation. Your income is limited to what the market will pay for that commodity at the time of harvesting and if there is a glut then your income may not cover costs for that year. You can not grow any other crop in association with your trees and as Plachon stated that is particularly true for Euclayptus species.
My wife and i have a lot of farm land here in Buri Ram but I would never consider growing euclayptus, rubber etc.
Put your money and energy into growing annual crops, do some investigation and grow BETTER. Work towards higher yield and better quality. If it does not work then try something else. With monoculture crops if it doesn't work you are up the proverbial eucalyptus tree and either have to destroy your crop and waste all that money and time or just walk away.
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After some investigation I purchased the Mazuma (made in Thailand) filter. Provides up to 1800 litres of filtered water a day at 30 PSI (7 BAR) and it is working well. Our water is much "softer" and the foul odour has gone. One word of warning if you are considering buying a big filter-the unit for filtering bore or water from underground is more expensive and the filtering material is very different from that used for cleaning up dam, river or rainwater.
Undergound water contains minerals which need to be removed or changed. The filter material to do this needs to be changed every 2 to 3 years and will cost about Bt5,000.
Thanks for all your comments.
Bicko
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Thanks for your comments. I have followed up on both suggestions.
Going to drive over to Nakhon Ratchasima today and see if there are any shops there to get some brochures and cost.
cheers,
Bicko
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I have recently installed a deep bore and submersible pump which is supplying plenty of water for our garden and house. Unfortunately the water has a very high iron content and my wife has a severe allergic reaction to this.
Can anyone recommend a reliable large capacity water filter supplier/installer and servicing agent in the Korat, Buri Ram area.
I understand that I may be looking at about Bt15,000 for a good quality large volume unit suitable for showers, laundry, washing up etc in the house. Any comments on price and recommendations on capacity would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Bicko
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Our village water supply is only available for a couple of hours a day so I have installed a deep bore and submersible pump. This works well and gives us plenty of water for the garden and the house. Unfortunately the water has a very high iron content and this causes an allergy problem for my wife.
Can any one recommend a good filter supplier/servicing agent for a large commercial type filter suitable for filtering sufficient water for showers, laundry, washing up etc in the Korat, Buri Ram area.
I believe I may be looking at about Bt15,000. Can anyone comment on cost and recommended capacity for the above use.
Thanks,
Bicko
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1. You only require a police report if you apply in your home country of the O-A type.
2. Some Consulates may issue a multi entry but not many in this area are likely to do so.
3. The money should be in a passbook savings account. You are expected to use it to support yourself.
I am still working in Indonesia and come home to our house in Buri Ram every 6 to 8 weeks so have managed on an entry stamp for some years. However i plan to retire in about 3 months and will go home to Australia for home leave and then get my 3 month visa at the Thai consulate in Brisbane.
As explained above I will apply for my O-A visa before the 3 months is up. Do I have to do that in Bangkok? We have a house in Buri ram and also in Chiang Rai. What are the alternative Immigration office locations that can issue a retirement visa please?
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I work in Indonesia and am home in Buri Ram for Xmas / New Year. I am on a 30 day stamp on arrival. I had planned to leave this coming Friday but unexpectedly need some urgent medical attention so I need a 30 day extension.
I guess most people who live up this way would be aware of the facility that exists for visa renewal but just in case you don't here is my experience today. I have my own car but there are mini buses from Surin and Buri Ram.
Drive south from Surin through Prasat on highway 214. 10kms before the Cambodian border at Kap Choeng there is an immigration office where visas can normally be issued or extended. As today is a public holiday the office was closed but the resident immigration officer there was very helpful and explained the process at the border at Chong Chom. It is very simple. Fill out the form at the tent on the left hand side at the border gate and then go to the left hand queue where the guy will stamp you out. Then walk about 100 metres across the border to the Cambodian office on the left hand side again. Fill out the form and pay Bt1,000 (MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ONE PASSPORT PHOTO WITH YOU) then if you intend to leave straight away (The option is to take a tuk tuk into the town market about 1 km away) walk across the road and pay Bt300 and get stamped out of Cambodia, then back to the Thailand side and get stamped in and it's done. All in all it took less than 30 minutes and there was virtually no one there. I saw one other Farang.
I took my wife with me to translate and they did not charge her the Bt30 when she explained that she was just helping me out.
Altogether a pleasant experience - a good days driving and we used back roads as the traffic on the main road was crazy and no hassles whatsoever.
Hope this helps someone. Cheers and happy New year.
These Things I Like
in General Topics
Posted
Yep how could you not love the place. I made my decision to spend the rest of my days in Thailand a long time ago and I have no regrets. I love the place and everything that goes with it. I made a total committment some years ago - married my wonderful lady, long term visa, driving license, built a decent house, adopted my wifes daughter, manage the family farm, bought a decent car and so on and so on. My wife and I regularly drive from Buri Ram to Chiang Rai and I enjoy driving in this country very much - take it easy, enjoy the incredible scenery, experience the little out of the way country hotels and local food, courteous, decent people, cold beer and all the other good things that make up this wonderful country. I wouldn't give it up for all the tea in China as they say.
A string like this in the forum tops it all off and makes it all worthwhile knowing that there really are others out there who share similar values -particularly after reading some of the garbage that goes on on the forum.
I am currently working in Sumatra and let me say that there is no comparison between Thailand and indonesia. Thailand is paradise.
Cheers,
Bicko