Ticketmaster

There is NO IMPORT TAX on Australian wine. Over much argument, it joined the Australian/Thai Free Trade Pact a year ago, or was supposed to. In any event, a check of the current tariff database shows he tarif at a measly 4%. I was excited about the prospect of inexpensive Australian wines here; I was also bitterly disappointed. So at least for Australian wine, don't talk about the tax. That's bullshit. The money is going into a Thai pocket.

TAU : FTA Thai-Australia : Detail

Heading Subheading Description Duty Rate Notification Start Date End Date Electronic Permit ad valorem rate % specific rate Unit Baht 22.04 2204.211100 - - - - Of an alcoholic strength by volume not exceeding 15% vol 4 - - Thai-Australia2012 01/01/2014 31/12/2014 Click for details

EDIT: Well, I see that the Thai Visa Forum does allow a cut and paste either. Sure could use a decent upgrade. In any event, see the pdf.

Australian Wine.pdf

The opportunity to create a viable wine industry in Thailand has always been here and I'm not talking about the "fruit" wines which are the 170 baht a bottle "Fresco" type.Having spoken to a few wine growers they seem very reluctant to use overseas expertise about how to get a wine industry off the ground. The climate here in the north would be ideal and its would be a huge user of labour.

I know that several Australian growers, who have the knowledge and motivation to make it happen,and have indicated they would like to float a joint venture have already approached several small wineries but it so far has come to naught.

In Australia, I think from memory the Government at the time, gave growers a tax break and the industry never looked back.

We, and more importantly, Thai people, with vision, live in hope.

A winery, maybe, but no vineyard. All agricultural operations by foreigners or joint venture with Thais are strictly prohibited by Thai law. That's exactly why you cannot get decent local beef. The Thai beef industry could support all of SE Asia were a joint venture allowed with a Western producer.

Try the north. Nan, Chiang Rai, Mae, Hong Son, etc. That's where the riding action is.

Make sure anything you put on the bike has a separate switch and separate fuse.

Don't have any of your extra electrical items come on with the ignition switch.

Turn your extra electrical items on only after you have started the bike, this also assists with the extra charging of the added electrics.

I have a TomTom Rider GPS own battery, a GoPro Camera with extra battery pack and 2X Scalia Headsets, 2X Fog lights and an all weather CB Radio, heated handlebar grips, all of which need charging while bike is running. You will probably notice that your headlight or headlights won't come on until the bike actually starts.

I own a Yamaha 1200cc Super Tenere.

Yamaha Big Bikes in Bangkok have all their electrical work done near them. They send the bikes to the same company that fit the Police radios and flashing lights to their Royal Thai Police Yamaha FJR's.

I try to be neat, but had added so many things piecemeal that I was getting a bit of a rat's nest under the seat. All the inline fuses, one for each product, was a particular mess. I solved the problem by putting in a couple of FuzeBlocks. I was a nice and neat solution. Also, for items you want to switch separately, PMR handlebar mounted switches are a nice solution.

You can find both of these things at Pashnit.com. http://www.pashnit.com/product/fuzeblocks/index_fuzeblocks.html; http://www.pashnit.com/product/pmr/bar_switches.html

Tim, at Pashnit, is happy to ship to Thailand.

Cut off the US regulator and buy a Thai regulator and bottle

That's what I did

In Thailand, they have two basic regulators. A smaller one for the regular stoves most poeple have in their kitchens and a high volume one for those big cookers.

Which one did you use with your Weber? Also can you say if it affected performance at all? Hotter? Cooler?

My Weber does not seem to get as hot here as it did in the States. Somebody told me that in the States they have propane in the bottles, while here the gas is a propane butane mix with a lower BTU rating. He said a higher volume regulator would improve my Weber, but I haven't gotten around to trying it yet.

My STRONG advice is to DO IT YOURSELF. Better to take a long time and learn from the Internet and get it right than to have it all <deleted> up. I have heard of nightmare after nightmare from letting a Thai work on electrical -- especially with a nice bike like yours.

Let me ask you some questions. Do you want all your wire ends with proper terminals for plugging into accessories and all splices soldered and shrink tubed -- water and vibration proofed? Or, do you want connections twisted together and taped with black tape? The latter can come loose with vibrations. Can also have the wire ends oxidize and corrode - to say nothing of the dissimilar metals problem of which Thais have never heard. And none of it waterproof.

Do you want somebody cutting into your factory wiring harness to splice wires, or do you want your accessories properly connected with terminals. Do you want trouble free riding, or do you want to break down somewhere with an electrical problem when you are caught out in the rain, only to spend 14 hours troubleshooting it?

It's all up to you. But if you do not do it yourself, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO COMPLAIN. You've been warned.

True Value locations in Thailand can be found here:

http://www.truevalue.co.th/location.php

Too bad it's all in Thai and no GPS coordinates. Are any in Chiangmai? I only know about Pattaya and BKK.

Too bad you didn't notice the English option on the top of the web page

True Value.png

Thanks!

Jesus, 15 pages on this. I'm getting the hell off the "following" thing!

True Value locations in Thailand can be found here:

http://www.truevalue.co.th/location.php

Too bad it's all in Thai and no GPS coordinates. Are any in Chiangmai? I only know about Pattaya and BKK.

Decaf coffee is like near beer. what's the point?

I bought a Weber at True Value Hardware in Pattaya. It had the new style American connector -- not compatible with Thai LP bottles. True Value sells and adapter. So I use my weber with the adapter and Thai gas bottles. there is a True Value Hardware in BKK as well. I attached a list of BKK GPS coordinates. You can find the location of the BKK TV there.

Don't ask for more as to location. I live and breathe by the GPS and have no idea as to any other way to locate anything.

Another option would be to chop off the Weber regulator and replace it with a Thai regulator. Just be sure that the Thai regulator comes somewhere close to Weber in terms of output pressure. I tried and tried to get that spec from Weber, but they steadfastly refused to give it to me, insisting that I use their regulator and that was all I needed to know. Obviously, they feared that giving me such information would create liability for Weber.

Edit: By the way, although that Weber Grill cost me double what they cost in the US, it is one of the single best purchases I have ever made. I love that thing and use it all the time. Nobody makes a gas grill like Weber.

BANGKOK GPS WAYPOINTS.doc

I'll go visit Lady AEON ATM today, slide my PenFed credit card in and see if she wants to charge me 150 baht....

To paraphrase the famous anthropologist Margaret Mead:

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can find every possible means of avoiding having to pay 150b to Thai banks every time they need to withdraw funds from their home bank accounts.

No shit!!! I've never seen a topic so beaten to death.

when I was going to be away on a trip and miss making the monthly Credit Card payment- I would overpay the previous payment by a sum that would cover the future payment that I was going to miss, thus avoiding the charges for not paying as agreed.

Hard to front load your credit card balances these days, at least with many credit card companies. This used to be a nice trick to skirt cash advance fees, since there, effectively, was no cash advance when you carried a credit balance. Here's a snippet from Capitol One:

You have posted or pending payments greater than 110% of your current balance. You can only pay when you have a positive balance.

This a rejoinder on limits to pre-payment.

Some U.S. Expat friends here tout the Capitol One MasterCard as being one of the best for Expats - I haven't looked into it personally.

Yes, indeed. Although their current best deal (Quicksilver, 1.5% cash back, no foreign transaction fee) comes in two flavors: Visa, for excellent credit rating; MasterCard for less than excellent.

You tried to front load your card using an online payment and were solidly blocked by a computer algorithm that forced you to go back and "get it right." But suppose you had a payment due and you mailed them an old fashioned check for 110% of the balance. They could not refuse the check, and cause a late payment fee. They also can't bifurcate the check. I think they would have to take it, much to their chagrin.

I'd try it, but have sworn off credit cards completely. I no longer own one. I have a bill payment service with Schwab, which I access by computer and they actually send out a paper check.

I think I'll wait until the baht gets back near 33:$1, if it does, then take my TMB and BKK bank books and go to TMB first. Tell them I want a US Schwab VISA debit card counter transaction with no fees for one million baht to be deposited into my account, or, showing them my BKK book, would they rather I go over there. I can call Schwab (toll free) and get a temporary daily limit increase on the card to any amount I specify.

And, of course, trying to sending me to the ATM for a million baht at 20K per pull (50 pulls!) would be ludicrous and not an option for them.

If they do it once, I'll save the papers and use them for precedent for all future attempts for lesser amounts.

Don't know if it will do any good, but can't hurt; I took advice above and sent the following e-mail to Aeon:

Dear AEON,

I am not happy about the new 150 baht ATM fee. I was not happy when AEON instituted a 20,000 baht per transaction limit. As long as these policies are in place, I will no longer use AEON. If AEON either: (1) cuts the fee to 50 baht; or; (2) raises its per transaction limit to 50,000 baht, I would continue using its services.

A formerly happy customer,

My Name

that will make them sit up!

Or, maybe throw up!

I was listed as contact person in the US and name of person paying for the trip.

I have an address there but don't reside there, I'm inclined to have her leave the contact person blank on the next application.

I think that is what did you in. You should have been completely out of the picture. But if she applies again, the cat's already out of the bag, she has an American boyfriend.

I was in the US Peace Corps for a two year commitment when I came here. I married my wife during that time. At the end of the two years, I had to return to the US for one month to dispose of personal property, with the plan to come back here immediately and permanently. I wanted to take my wife. She owns lands. She has a lot of money in the bank. She owns a car. She has been a government school teacher for 25 years and would lose all her retirement benefits is she quit. I thought having an American husband would help the process. I am a lawyer.

I prepared her tourist visa application. It was scorched earth, indexed and tabbed. It had documents to substantiate everything mentioned above. Instead of a letter from me, I provided a sworn affidavit stating our intentions, and mentioning that I was a lawyer and an officer of the court. She had several letters of reference, as well as a letter from the government giving her permission to travel (teacher's need this). She had pictures of her family and a statement that she was the primary caregiver for her aging parents. She included a copy of her brother's passport, showing that he had traveled to the US several times -- and returned to Thailand.

As you know, she must go into the US Consulate interview alone, which is conducted in English. My wife speaks fluent English. EVERYTHING was thoroughly covered. I was 100% confident. I waited outside. I was surprised when she came out about two minutes later with tears in her eyes. The ICE officer took one look at the application and asked for MY passport, which she did not have, so he looked it up on the Consulate computer, and immediately denied her application and told her she needed to apply for a K-1 visa (immigrant based on marriage). He did not take one look at the documents she had; he did not "interview her." This was Chiangmai, and I was not allowed inside that day.

I got the guy's description and went back the next day, taking the application and documents with me. I went up to the window and spotted the guy, summoning him over. I asked him what the deal was. He said he wasn't supposed to discuss it with me, but would as a courtesy. He said it was purely his judgment. His duty was to determine if sufficient proof was offered that the applicant would leave the US at the time required, and he said he felt the burden had not been met. That was why he recommended the K-1. I said, "But hey, you did not even look at these documents. How could you form such a judgment?" I also told him a K-1 application would be fraudulent as it states an intention to immigrate to the US and my wife has neither the desire nor the intention to immigrate to the US. She wants to live with her family in Thailand. He said it was simple. She was married to me. I had just finished the Peace Corps and my visa was expiring soon. I had no replacement visa. I had no evidence of permanent establishment in Thailand other than being married. He told me that if I came back and established myself in Thailand and she reapplied a year after that, she might get it. "But," he said, "right now there is no evidence that you will return to Thailand, and if you don't, she may not either."

So you see, it was all about me -- not her. Had she been single, I think she would have been granted the visa. Had she kept her maiden name and never told them she was married to an American, I think she would have gotten it (but that would be fraudulent).

The OP did not state his situation here. What visa? Are you here permanently? Are you on a retirement extension, or do you only have a work visa, which would be insufficient to establish permanence? The OP, having an address in the US, puts his girlfriend's application on shaky ground.

I have now cut off every connection I previously had with the US other than being a citizen. I am well established here in Thailand. I am quite sure my wife could now get the tourist visa with no problem. The only thing is, I never want to set foot on US soil again. It's not the place in which I grew up. Freedom there is now nil. TSA and the police are out of control. I have ten times as much freedom here in Thailand as has anyone in the US. Go back to the US?? No thanks!!

I might add that the single worst place I have ever been in Thailand is the US Embassy in Bangkok. It was like going into a prison. And the asshol_e officers treated me like I was a criminal. I don't need that kind of shit from anyone. And the rude way they in which they were treating the Thais made me ashamed to be an American. I'll take this opportunity to wish all the ICE agents down at the embassy a happy Macha Bucha and a Fukah Yukha.

Was in a 5-star hotel last night and the staff were heavily promoting their St V's package inc a bottle of white fizz. When I asked about the alcohol ban they said it was impossible for them to comply on St V Day.

This should be a great little earner for the cops all over the country.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

One of the Big Boys who wants to make Big Money, finds it "impossible to comply." That's rich! "Macha Bucha Fukka Yukka," he said to the police.

Don't know if it will do any good, but can't hurt; I took advice above and sent the following e-mail to Aeon:

Bummed. With the 20,000 per transactions limit, I won't be using Aeon anymore.

I have no limits on my US Schwab Debit Card. Does anybody know BKK bank's per transaction limit is? If I have to pay a per transaction fee, I need to find a bank that has a high number.

Same here on Samui.

Plenty of white but no red.

Same in Pattaya. Just came back from Makro and there also no Red but a lot of white.

Maybe they don't stock "red" in current political turmoil.

That can't be it, the OP is in Chiangmai.

Some of the sealants are pretty nasty when you have to take off the tire. I remember the Green Slime they had in the US. It worked; very effective. However, it was nasty. A lot of shops posted signs that said, "We will not change tires that have been treated with Green Slime." Ride-On is water soluble and environmentally friendly. Easy clean-up. The one they have a Tesco maybe , too.

Wow, what a hard way to go.

By the way, if somebody feels enterprising, they could become a dealer for Ride-On in Thailand. I have other fish to fry, but sure would love it if we had a local dealer. I think there is a link to contact on the Ride-On website.

http://www.ride-on.com/motorcycle-formula-mot.html

This ride-on looks great! even better then the beads! I will see if my dealer will import that for me (and others). If not i will ask some friend in the US to bring it for me.

I had a friend mail it to me. Be careful about having somebody bring it -- if from the US. It is non-flammable, and should be no problem. But that goddamned TSA just confiscates things without thinking much -- they just grab. I have lost a lot of stuff to them. Once they took a brand new one liter aluminum fuel can. It had all the labels and tags on it, receipt taped to the side and cap off -- no odors, never used. They took it anyway.

I have some friends who go to the USA soon so i will let them bring it. I had packages opened by the Thai postal service but nothing has been missing so far.

Maybe they liked that fuel can that you ordered, Somchai could use it for his motorbike i guess. Or maybe it was damaged and they trhew it away?

If anybody know where to buy this in Thailand then let me know please by pm, i really want to have this. Punctures is something i want to stop forever that's why i bought the SH after all. If i feel something strange on the bike i always check my tires but most of the time it is caused by the crappy roads.

I apparently did not express myself very well.

I have NEVER had ANY problem with the Thai Postal Service. They are golden. The problem was with people carrying things for me in their luggage FROM the US. When TSA (Transportation Security Administration, part of the Department of Homeland Security) inspects the luggage before it leaves the US airport, they indiscriminately confiscate anything they do not recognize or understand. In other words, a bottle of shampoo will get through -- they recognize it; a bottle of Ride-On may not -- they don't know what it is and will NOT take time to read the label or research it in any way. It was TSA the took my fuel can -- not Thai Post. TSA took it out of my luggage at the US airport. They left a note that said something about hydrocarbons not being allowed (though the can was brand new and clean). They also confiscated "mosquito biscuits," which are non-toxic and non-flammable. They look like compacted sawdust in a donut shape. I included the EPA data sheet, but it did not help. If they don't recognize it; they take it.

When I have friends MAIL Ride-On to me, I ALWAYS get it, no problem. I have never lost ANYTHING to Thai Post, and have brought in tens of thousands of dollars worth of stuff over the years.

By the way, Ride-On works very well, but it will not prevent EVERY puncture. There is no way to know how many punctures it prevented for me, because when a puncture is prevented nothing happens. But I have had an occasional flat. I have found that it is better to use just a little more than what is recommended on the label.

I got one flat riding south on the highway out of Chiangmai, approaching Lampang. Unfortunately it was raining hard. I saw nothing in the road and felt nothing, but had a big hole in my tire, as if I had hit a board with a nail sticking out that ripped the rubber a little. I was able to repair it on the side of the road well enoungh to get home (good thing I had a pump and repair kit on board). But given the slight tear in the rubber, I had to replace the tire.