silver sea

Hi finy

It should be 60 baht. I did it last year. It was raining heavily that morning. He said it was 100 baht. I refused. Eventually, after a lot of huffing and puffing we agreed on 60 baht. That was my first trip to the Immigration office, so I didn't know where it was. From memory, you've been on Samui before so you could just get on and then press the buzzer/bang on the back window when you want to get off, hand him the money and walk off.

These days I go by scooter, but I am not aware of any price increases.

Have you seen these recent postings? Click HERE (documents to take to Samui Immigration)

and HERE (Samui songthaew Farang prices)

Out of interest, after your previous posts on earlier threads, how much are you paying in rent and for scooter?

(I replied to your posts as jukebox; name change to fit in with new avatar)

Edited to add 2nd link, and to tidy up layout of post.

After the robbery Mr. Wutthipong fled the popular resort island and hid in his hometown in Loei province, where police eventually arrested him.

and

Police say Mr. Wutthipong was identified by CCTV footage obtained from the hotel where the burglary took place.

So he had already left the island, and was hiding in the far north east of Thailand; he wasn't spotted wandering the streets here on the island. Presumably, he had helped the police with their enquiries on previous occasions and that's why they recognised him.

Well done the police for banging him to rights.

for late 20s Thai woman this will do the job...

I have been invited to a Thai lady's post-wedding dinner in October, here on Koh Samui. She works in an Irish themed pub. She's about 30 years old and is from E-saan. She's not a bar girl; none of the girls who work there is one either. It's not that kind of place; it's a pub not a bar.

I have known her for about a year. I go there once or twice a week for lunch and she often serves me. She's a lovely, natural young woman. Sadly, she does not have an identical twin sister ?

I note what someone else has said about Thai women liking money, especially at a Thai wedding. I am not going to the wedding, which will be in E-saan anyway, just to the dinner here on Samui two days later.

Rather than money, and worrying about whether I'm giving her too much or too little, I quite like the idea of the Teletubbies bag. I was also thinking of getting her THESE. Thai women seem to have a thing about toes and toenails although I have never seen them using scissors like the ones from amazon. I am going back to England in August and can get them then. I shall be back in Samui in October, just in time for the dinner.

Her fiancé is Irish and of a similar age to her. I've never met him, but I've seen him once from a distance. Normally, he works in Bangkok. He looks a kind gentle man. I will give the present to her at the dinner. She will obviously open it in front of him. I don't want him to get the wrong idea about me, which he may well do if it looks as though I have spent too much.

I kind of feel the Teletubbies bag, with the scissors inside, shows that I have made an effort to use my imagination without being extravagant.

What do people think please?

I would add that after they're married in October, they want to move to Ireland to live. Once she's got her visa they'll be off, and I shall probably never see her again. Sad, but that's ok ☺️ I am very happy for them.

Blimey! His birthday is 26th July. That's the same as Mick Jagger's. See HERE.

I'm sure whenever Thaksin thinks of his sister, he starts humming this

Its hard to explain puns to kleptomaniacs, because they always take things literally.

Sorry, I've never been to Thailand, and I rarely travel out of country, so this is all new for me.

So when one is actually at the border, what do you say to get the 60 days? Are you actually applying for another Tourist Visa or is 60 day automatic when you cross?

Hello bnzgrl

Some good clear answers have already been given by the more experienced members on this Forum. I am not so knowledgeable. I thought though that if I were to set out my personal experience it will help you to see more clearly what the procedure is. Hope it helps anyway :)

I'm on a triple entry visa, which I got from the UK. A triple entry visa does not mean that you have three separate visas. Instead, it means that you have one visa, which you can use three times to enter Thailand.

Mine was issued by the Thai Consulate in Hull on 11th November 2013.

A triple entry visa lasts a maximum of 270 days, which is 9 months. For this calculation, each month lasts 30 days, and so 9 months x 30 days = 270 days.

The clock relating to the 270 days starts ticking from the date of issue, in my case, 11th November, and not from the first day that you arrive in Thailand. For me, that was 21st November - so I had already lost 10 days. I could now only stay in Thailand for a maximum of 260 days, but that was ok, this time, for me.

One very, very important thing to note on the triple entry visa sticker that was put in the passport by the Consulate in the UK is the "Enter Before" date. Mine says: 10th May 2014. This means that I have to activate the third and final entry on my visa by 9th May 2014 at the latest.

Day 1 = 11th November 2013 (date visa issued by Consulate in Hull)
Day 180 = 9th May 2014 (last day left to activate third and final entry to the visa)
Day 270 = 7th August 2014 (triple entry visa expires; I cannot overstay this date; there will be serious consequences if I do).

Although I had already lost 10 days, the first entry on my visa was not activated until I arrived at Bangkok Airport. The stamp is dated 21st November and says; "Admitted until 19th January 2014". If you take 21st November as the first day of the first entry on my visa, and count up to and including 19th January, I have got 60 days.

I do not know where you are thinking of staying if you decide to travel toThailand. I live on Koh Samui. Although it is a small island, being a tourist hot spot, it has a local Immigration Office.

On 15th January, I went to the Immigration Office, filled in their TM7 form, provided a passport size photo, and paid them a fee of 1900 THB plus another 20 baht, which they charge for photocopying the documents for their records, so it's 1920 baht in total. They then gave me a 30 day extension to the first entry on my visa, making 90 days in total.

Do not leave your visit to the Immigration Office until day 60 to apply for the 30 day extension. If you do, Sod's Law will operate, and you will find that day 60 falls on the weekend or on a Public Holiday, when the Immigration Office will be shut.

Always remember to check your passport to ensure that they have given you what you have asked for. In my case, day 60 was 19th January, so day 1, of my next 30 days, started on 20th January, and not from January 15th, when I went to the Immigration Office. Day 30 was, therefore,18th February, which is the date that they stamped in my passport.

On the day I got the 30 day extension, I went to a visa run company to book a trip to the Malaysian border to activate the second entry on my visa. This trip was booked for 18th February.

Strictly speaking, a "visa run" means going to a Thai embassy or Consulate in another country to apply for a visa. That did not apply in my case, because I had my visa already. Strictly speaking, therefore, a trip to the border to activate the next entry on your visa is called a "border bounce" or "border run"; it should not be called a visa run, although you will often hear people refer to it incorrectly as such.

You say that you have never been to Thailand and that you are new to foreign travel generally. I would therefore strongly suggest that if you do come here that you pay a Visa Run company to take you on a "border bounce" to activate the second and third entries on your visa. Don't try to do it yourself; others on this Forum may disagree, but you will, at least, have peace of mind. You'll also be with a group of people. Some of them will have done the trip before and can show you what to do at the border crossing.

For me, I pay 1900 THB for a one day trip from Koh Samui to Khuan Don, which is the Thai immigration post on the Malaysian border. The fee covers the cost of being picked up at 3,30 am, the ferry tickets to and from the mainland, food and drink, and a comfortable trip in a mini van to Khuan Don. We are back in Samui by about 6 pm. The firm also provides the TM6 Departure Card.

At Khuan Don, you are stamped out of Thailand by the Thai border official. You walk about 200 yards to the immigration post on the Malaysian side. At the first window, they stamp you in as having entered Malaysia. You then hand your passport to the official at the window next door. They will then stamp you out to show that you have left Malaysia. You then walk the same 200 yards back to the immigration post on the Thai side. You give them your passport and the completed TM6 Departure Card. The official will staple the Card into your passport. He will then stamp your passport to activate the second entry on your visa..

In my case, the stamp is dated 18th February and says: "Admitted until 18th April." Counting 18th February as day 1, then April 18th is day 60.

To get my extension of 30 days to the second entry on my visa, I go to my local Immigration Office on Samui on 8th April i.e. well before 60th day of 18th April. I fill in their TM7 form, give them another passport photo, and pay their fee of 1920 THB.

I check my passport afterwards. The stamp is dated 8th April, but day 1 of the 30 day extension will start on 19th April. Day 30 would be 18th May 2014, which is the date shown on the stamp.

But ... and this is a big, big BUT! The triple entry visa sticker placed in my passport by the Thai Consulate back in the UK says that I must "Enter Before" 10th May. This means that this time I will not get the full 30 days. Instead, I must activate the third and final entry to my visa by 9th May 2014 at the latest; I would be too late if I tried to do it on 18th May. Although I arrived at Bangkok Airport on 21st November 2013, I had already lost 10 days, because the 270 day clock had started ticking on the day the visa was issued by the Consulate, which was 11th November 2013.

Having got my extension, I went back to the visa run company and booked my next "border bounce". They noted the "enter before" date on my visa was 10th May and so I travelled on 8th May to Khuan Don. Same procedure and so the final entry on my visa was activated.

I checked the passport. Day 1 of the third entry to my visa is 8th May and so day 60 would be 6th July, which is the date stamped in my passport.

To get my 30 day extension on the third entry to my visa, I went to my local Immigration Office on 24th June. Again, same procedure and fee.

Again, I check my passport. If day 60 is 6th July, then day 1 of the 30 day extension will be 7th July, and so day 30 will be 5th August. This is the date stamped in my passport. In fact, my flight back to the UK is booked for 1st August. I have lost a few more days from the original total of 270, but that's ok this time around.

As I say, I feel that it would be best to do your "border bounces" with a recognised company. You will make friends whilst you're in Thailand, and you will soon hear the name of a good company to go with.

You may find this link of interest. It is specific to Samui but it gives you an idea of what happens. I use the company referred to. The owner also owns a massage parlour. So, I guess with him, a safe return to Samui after a successful border bounce is not the only "happy ending" that he has on offer.

Anyway, here is the link:

http://www.travelfish.org/blogs/thailand/2012/03/06/visa-runs-from-samui/

Surely the noise was manageable prior to the arrival of elec-trickery, which I assume was post 1945?

Well it wasn't manageable in Victorian England. The problem of street noise taxed some of the finest minds of the day, including the mathematician Charles Babbage, who had invented the mechanical computer.

Here is an interesting article on his campaign against noise. It also serves as warning to us here on Samui. Beware of upsetting too many locals with your complaints. In Babbage's case, they would not even let him die in peace: an organ grinder stood under his window making as much noise as possible, just to annoy him in his final hours.

Anyway, here is the link to the article:

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/11/28/discord-babbage-noise/

BTW, and off topic I know ... but I've started, so I'll finish: although Babbage had a brilliant mathematical mind, and enjoyed reading literature, he had no feel for poetry. For instance, Tennyson once wrote:

"Every moment dies a man,

Every moment one his born."

Babbage on reading this could not resist writing to Tennyson:

" ... If this were true, the population of the world would be at a standstill. In truth, the rate of birth is slightly in excess of that of death. I would suggest [that the next edition of your poem should read]:"

Every moment dies a man,

Every moment 1 1/16 is born.

"Strictly speaking," Babbage added, "the actual figure is so long I cannot get it into a line, but I believe the figure 1 1/16 will be sufficiently accurate for poetry."

Edited for typos

In India after they past the death sentence to the people who gang raped a schoolgirl, the rape cases dropped by almost 40%. How can you say that the death penalty is not the solution? Its the ONLY solution.

But what if they arrest and convict the wrong person(s)? What if the police fabricate the evidence to obtain a conviction?

In my home country there have been, sadly, several such cases. One of the most notorious is:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerry_Conlon

The judge said at the trial: "If hanging were still an option, you would have been executed."

You will see from that article, that there were similar miscarriages of justice, caused by the fabrication of evidence, in the related cases of the "Maguire Seven" and the "Birmingham Six".

Can you place your hand on heart and say that such things cannot happen in India, or indeed in Thailand?

Life imprisonment should, however, mean just that: for the rest of your natural life. It's a life sentence for the victims of these horrific rapes and for the families of murder victims after all.

Edited for typos.

quote ' I can take the loss but it is more about the betrayal of trust now. ' unquote.

If you can take the lost then forget it, his skint anyhow.

As for you trusting !! lesson learnt err !

A good saying comes to mind from a old trusted friend from Yorkshire UK, " niether either be lender or borrower be." or somewhere along those lines.

The quote, which is part of a father's advice to his son, is:

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be,

For loan oft loses both itself and friend,

And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry."

Your friend from Yorkshire got it off a bloke from Warwickshire. Indeed, in two years' time, we'll be celebrating, if that's the right word, on St George's Day, the 400th anniversary of his death.

To the OP, I'm very sorry to read what's happened to you. As you say, it's the betrayal of trust by someone you considered a friend that hurts.

Today, I have lent someone 20,000 THB to start up her own business. She got the other 80,000 THB from her mum. She is not a bar girl, and I am not romantically involved with her. Like most Thais, she works very hard, but aspires to start and run her own business. I shall shortly be returning to the UK, and she has promised to repay me when I return in October.

By coincidence, I thought of the quote above, when she asked me for the loan. On balance, though, I decided that it is a risk I can afford to take. It would be good to help someone else.

In an earlier post, you say that there is some admission by him of the debt and that he has made a few token payments to you. Was it just a verbal admission or was it by email?

Secondly, you know exactly where he is in Sydney. Has he returned to a house that he owns, or is he occupying a room in someone else's house?

You say that he has rejoined the rat race there. Does that mean he's working or is he claiming benefits?

How old is he?

Hope that this additional information can help others who are advising you on your next steps. On what you have said so far though, I'm not sure he would be worth pursuing. Would a debt collector be willing to buy the debt off you? I don't know how these things work. Presumably, he just pays you a nominal sum e.g. 500 THB, to take the debt off you, with a promise that he will then pay you 50% of whatever he subsequently recovers. Is he entitled to deduct any reasonable costs first, like enquiry agents and legal fees, before paying you 50% of what's left?

Q: What's the best part about living in Switzerland?

A: Not sure, but the flag is a big plus.

Similar thing happened to him in Phuket not so long back. Must just be unlucky.

No that was nothing similar. She was a lovely girl!

Hello fitfalang,

So you call yourself "fitfalang", you're in your 20s and you were recently in Phuket. You didn't by any chance bump into "Hot Blonde" whilst you were there did you?

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/726578-tourist-visa-admitted-until-what-does-that-mean/

?

I cant seem to find this airline mentioned "flag".I fly  Emirates but to be honest I find  them pretty crap
Surely  we  need a "planet Earth Flag" which can outrank all others in this stupid game of nationalistic BS.

You want to "fly the flag"? Well here you go:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=kp&v=2nkbcqA1_mY

😜


... but I understand your sentiments 😊

Today, USA, celebrates their independence from the English.
They fought and died to gain their independence and the only way they succeeded was because of their bravery and patriotism.
Many, other countries also fought for their freedom and independence, and patriotism led them to their victories.
Israel being another example.
So, according to Samuel Johnson, that you quoted, all these people were scoundrels?
I still believe, that there is something wrong in your thinking and understanding of the ideal, called patriotism.
Even, Boswell assures us that Johnson was not indicting patriotism in general, only false patriotism.
Karen, people that have no sense of patriotism are the ones without any ideals or aspirations and not only the ones that don't fly their flags, that is only an extension to patriotism.

Hello Costas

Thank you for your comments.

Who are the scoundrels? Well, it depends on who is writing the history books. Someone once said: "History is written by the victors". You referred to the American War of Independence (Happy Birthday USA by the way!). There were colonists during that war who remained loyal to Britain. They were brave and patriotic too, but they were on the losing side. Today, they are remembered not as patriots, but as traitors.

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, I can remember extreme right wing groups like the National Front (NF) and the British National Party (BNP) trying to identify themselves and their politics with the Union Jack. They wanted a "Whites Only" Britain. They wrapped themselves in the flag; they thought that they were being patriotic too.

Thankfully, they are history now. Since then, though, I have always felt uncomfortable when someone starts identifying themselves with their national flag. It's too "in your face". It kind of suggests that those who are not like them are, at best, unlucky, or, at worst, lesser mortals. We are what we are by an accident of birth.

I don't doubt that both you and Jinjo14 sincerely love your respective countries and are proud of your roots. If flying your flag helps you to feel that love and pride then good for you, but you cannot assume that others who, for cultural and historical reasons, choose not to fly the flag, must, automatically, be unpatriotic.


Edited for typos.

Probably a typo, but that should read "Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel."
The other danger is that those that fly flags will consider themselves as patriots and those that do not will be considered as unpatriotic by the self-appointed "patriot". A division into Us and Them.
Indeed, Costas2008 has implicitly implied that people who are not willing to fly their flag have no "ideals or aspirations" (see post #162) which proves this point very nicely.

Yes it was a typo. Thanks for the correction ... or as Captain Mainwaring used to say in Dad's Army, whenever he was caught out: "I was wondering who'd be the first to spot that." :)

Actually, "last refute" is not such a bad alternative to "last refuge". On television, scoundrels, when on the defensive, will often say: "I refute that". The word means that you can show that an accusation is false by backing up your denial with proof. They never can or do; what they say is in fact no more than a bare denial, and is, therefore, suspect.

... My original question was, are you proud of your own country as to display your national flag or you have just forgotten everything living the good life in Thailand?

Raybal5, quite agree with you, and many thanks for the links provided.
But you have to understand, Greece is my country, the country I was born, the country I grew up.
And I'm very proud and love my country, whatever the situation is there.
At the moment, the only physical connection I have with Greece is that flag, flying on my front gate.
Please, allow me to retain the good memories, I don't hurt anybody.
I really hope, for the good of Greece and the good of the EU, as a whole, better days will come.

... and I also liked Jinjo14's earlier post (top of page 6 on this thread):

it must be the mediterrenean spirit ... i proudly fly my maltese flag in the front of the wife's house (never meant to disrispect thais)... we live in a small villiage ... the house has three thai flags and maltese one ... wife's father put it up himself for me.  i had asked my wife if it poses any problems before and she said no problem.
 
i cant understand all the negative posts in this thread.  live and let live ... if the thai people have no problem with me flying my flag, i certainly wouldn't listen to posters on here.
 
there's nothing wrong in being proud of your roots

Nicely put by both of you. I am almost persuaded ... but not quite :)

Nothing wrong, as individuals, in taking pride in your country's history or cultural heritage, or in being proud of your roots. I am not sure, though, that I would want to go as far as raising the flag, but, as I have said in an earlier post, we come from different cultures.

The problem for most of us, perhaps, who do not come from a Mediterranean culture, is that we have seen what happens when groups of people, particularly during difficult economic and political times, start waving the national flag. Prejudice, based on skin colour and/or religion, appears; a sense of "them and us"; and violence quickly follows.

In British English, someone once said "Patriotism is the last refute of the scoundrel." There have been plenty of scoundrels in British history: Tony Blair, and his spin doctor, Alistair Campbell, in the run up to the Second Gulf War, are but the most recent.

Anyway, Costas, having read a number of your posts on various threads recently I know that you mean well.

A: How do you kill a vegetarian vampire?

A: Put a steak through its heart.

>3. I'm curious if anyone knows why over 50 year olds with a pension are welcomed with a special visa, while under 50 year olds with cash are now being asked to leave. What is the rationale? Why is over 50 and foreign desirable for the country?

I cannot see that anybody is being asked to leave. They just want people to use visas instead of doing border runs for exempt entries. I think a lot people are making a lot more out of the tightening up of the rules than there really is.

It is still going to be possible to get tourist visas.

But from 12th August even visas are not going to be guaranteed entry. It's getting mad !

Sorry, tingtongseetood, but you are wrong - see my post #49 on the previous page of this thread.

>3. I'm curious if anyone knows why over 50 year olds with a pension are welcomed with a special visa, while under 50 year olds with cash are now being asked to leave. What is the rationale? Why is over 50 and foreign desirable for the country?

I cannot see that anybody is being asked to leave. They just want people to use visas instead of doing border runs for exempt entries. I think a lot people are making a lot more out of the tightening up of the rules than there really is.

It is still going to be possible to get tourist visas.

I agree with you ubonjoe.

I live on Koh Samui. I first came to Samui, and indeed Thailand, in January 2012 for three weeks. I was given the standard 30 day "visa exempt" stamp in my passport at Bangkok Airport.

I came back in late August 2012, for three months until late November 2012. I had a single entry tourist visa i.e. 60 days + 30 days.

I returned in January 2013 and stayed 9 months, until September 2013, on a triple entry tourist visa i.e. 60 days + 30 days x 3. To activate my 2nd and 3rd visas I went on a "border bounce" i.e. I went to the Malaysian border, did the usual "out, in; out in" at the border posts and was back on Samui the same day.

I returned in November 2013 i.e. 10 weeks after I had left. Again I had a triple entry tourist visa. Again I activated my second and third visas in exactly the same way.

I am still on Samui. I fly back to the UK on 1st August 2014. It is my intention to return to Samui on 1st October 2014 i.e. 8 weeks after leaving. I shall seek another triple entry visa (my third) from the Thai Embassy in London, just before I fly back to Samui.

In May this year, I wrote to the Thai Consulate in Hull. They had been granting my previous visas. I referred them to their computer records and asked them whether it was likely that I would be granted a third triple visa so soon after my earlier ones.

Their reply on 12th May 2014 was:

"You will be granted a further triple entry visa. There is no

current restriction on this being granted on multiple occasions.

Regards

Royal Thai Consulate (Hull)"

This seemed clear enough to me. There has however been a lot of argument on TV about the new rules that come into effect next month and about what they actually relate to.

In order to avoid any unpleasant surprises I wrote again last Friday to the Hull Consulate to see whether I would still get my third triple entry visa. They replied the same day, although I never received it; it is floating in cyberspace somewhere I guess. They sent me a copy today:

"The changes coming in are aimed at people who do not have tourist visas

in place but try to extend their stay by "border hopping". If you have

the triple entry tourist visa in place, this is not relevant to you now

and will not be in August.

The Consulate in Hull can only supply you with a visa if you apply in

person. If you wish to apply by post you can only do this now by

sending your application to the Royal Thai Embassy in London and you

must use the Embassy's form.

We here in Hull are open Monday to Friday, from 9.30 to 4pm. We will be

closed on August Bank Holiday Monday."

I did not ask, but I assume that this advice applies irrespective of your age i.e. whether you are over or under 50.

In my case, I no longer work. As far as I am concerned I am a tourist. I do all the things that tourists do, stretched over 9 months rather than squeezed into 30 days of frantic hedonism.

I then return to UK to deal with personal matters, and to enjoy my home country, for 2 or 3 months before getting another triple entry visa and returning to Samui.

Here is the OED definition of tourist:

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/tourist

"A person who is travelling or visiting a place for pleasure." There is no limit on time i.e. 2 weeks, 30 days 90 days or whatever; you can be a tourist for as long as you want.

The Thai authorities are well aware of my travelling history to their country. They are happy for me to return as a long term tourist.

I appreciate that my story does not conform to some TV members' definition of what a "tourist" should be, but there you go. The Thais are happy and therefore so am I.

Finally, it's worth repeating ubonjoe:

I cannot see that anybody is being asked to leave. They just want people to use visas instead of doing border runs for exempt entries. I think a lot people are making a lot more out of the tightening up of the rules than there really is. It is still going to be possible to get tourist visas.

.

Edited for typos.

Asked for his reaction to the furore, Robben told reporters: "It's a shame because I was very honest. Sometimes honesty is punished. I prefer honesty."

It's a shame that there's not a rule whereby the referee can ask the player there and then: "Did you dive?" This would have saved Robben having to wait until after the match was over to be honest.

Q: Why do ghosts like to go up in the elevator?

A: Because it gives their spirits a lift.

I note that deknoiJT is 6' 3" and weighs 120 kgs. I am 5' 10" and up to about 3 years ago also weighed 120 kgs. So compared with how I was then, I am sure that deknoiJT looks a real "slim Jim".

I had serious food issues. Some people drink too much, or go with lots of girls or drive fast cars; some are even like the footballer George Best, who once said: "I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered." In my case, sadly, my only interest was food.

These days, I weigh about 78 kgs but I still have to be careful around food. So, thinking about how I once was, I can see why deknoiJT would enjoy "all you can eat" buffets.

I would agree with Jingthing's comment that if there no signage about limits then one can assume that you really can eat as much as you want.

My only comment on deknoiJT's OP would be that his response to the waiter's "three plates only" rule seemed a bit OTT. Probably, I would have quietly checked the rule either with another waiter or with the supervisor first. After all, they earn only a pittance. A day's pay for them is probably less than the cost of the buffet. They deserve some compassion, even when they are wrong. I appreciate though that being 6' 3" and 120 kgs, deknoiJT doesn't do things by halves and that my comment will just wash over him.

I doubt that he will suffer this poor fellow's fate:

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/82532279/

Have enjoyed reading the thread and deknoiJT's responses to his various critics.

Why did your Thai Chinese friend refer to the man as "my electrician"? Was he his employee? If so, did your friend offer to contribute to your expense of fitting a new box and meters for your neighbours? Is he still your friend?

Yes.

No.

Yes.

He expected no payment for his workers assistance.T.I.T

Thank you for reply. Still not sure I understand though, but then I'm still fairly new to Thailand and its ways

If the "electrician" was your friend's employee, then why didn't you ask your friend to reimburse your bill? Or are you saying that because "he expected no payment for his worker's assistance" he was not liable for your losses?

Did he not feel embarrassed, as your friend, that he had caused you considerable trouble and expense, and so felt obliged to make some sort of contribution towards your bills? Or is that just another example of "Thainess"?

'T.I.T.' meaning what? Two Idiots Talking i.e. your friend to his employee?

I considered as I was using his staff without any expected payment I was liable.

I think it could be any example of Thainess in most cases.

In this case we are very close and that's how we left it without speaking about it again, except the spectacle of his worker running around patting his hair which was smoking.

T.I.T This Is Thailand.

You are going to come across this a lot, that's for sure.

'Ave a great weekend.

Thanks for your explanation. Much appreciated. I understand now.

Apologies for making you deconstruct your anecdote. I have found that if you have to pull a joke to pieces to explain it to other people, it loses its humour.

I hope that you have a great weekend too.