MrWorldwide

To this day, the Turks still respect the men that fought at Gallipolli - I wonder how many battlefields in Afghanistan or Iraq will be treated in the same fashion a hundred or so years from now ? The less said about Churchill in the Middle East, the better, even if he was instrumental in putting enough planes in the air over the channel in WWII to send Goering back to Berlin with his tail between his legs. The Turks may chosen the wrong side, but I just dont see the country in the same light as the Arab nations to their north and east.

Don't sign the farewell card just yet. Stick is hinting at a last-minute twist in the tale.

Be amazed if there wasn't with perhaps a new man at the helm with same format.......hope so anyway. Guy was good to me over something and unlikely to forget it

I thought that was the plan - he would sell it and go back to NZ to live the quiet life ?

GT is totally opinion-based but I get ticked off when I see some of the misinformation posted in forums like Health, Visas and the Economy forums - each of which contains people who know their stuff but that doesnt stop the uninformed trying to turn a thread into their own soapbox. It's died down now, but at the height of the back-to-back visa exemption crackdown there were pitched battles being waged in threads that should have simply been about giving people options at a point where they were stuck at a land border trying to get back into Thailand. Many of the longterm retirees here clearly have an axe to grind with those they see as exploiting the apathy of Thai authorities over the years and that was a classic example. Very easy to become a sniper or an attack dog here, but I believe some of those who post complete nonsense for the sake of it bring a lot of that on themselves - sadly, in some cases, I believe they get off on it.

Forums designed for Thai expats have long been the subject of derision from the likes of Stickman, although its clear that he does scan these pages from time to time. All that will come to an end soon and Stick - like several before him - will leave Thailand to its own devices.

in Thailand you don't have to lay down on the ground when the Cops stop you. UK police shout "stand up, you are not in the USA"

you guys are funny, you see police and the first thing you do is kiss the ground. jeez, in America your own government is an insult to the tax payers. even Thailand don't insult their citizen like that.

A profound misunderstanding about America from some one who get's all his information about the place from TV

I never had to lay down on the ground when pulled over by the police nor do I personally know of anyone who had , any interaction I had with them was professional and courteous

You guys need to stop watching those Cop shows on TV, what you see there is taken out of millions of other interactions that went smoothly and with out drama, and are designed to entertain.

Looks like Chris Rock has been a victim of the same profound misunderstanding.

https://celebrity.yahoo.com/blogs/celeb-news/chris-rock-continues-to-document-police-harassment-161950648.html

I realise that its not due process but if she genuinely confessed to murdering the owner in what seems like cold blood, perhaps handing her over to the 'angry villagers' might have saved Thai taxpayers money. Interesting that she did have the guts to admit that she did it - most stories involving two men in a similar situation seem to have fingers pointed at one another. I'm assuming the death penalty is on the table for a crime of this nature ?

After Koh Tao, I'm still not sure I believe the Thai police when they tell us they've got their man/woman but her distress is clearly evident in that photo.

Shower van manned by tourist police with a smellimeter. Anyone going over limit must enter the van or be sent to jail.

Coming from most, I would see that as sarcasm - in your case, I'm not so sure.

its a small package, you don't even need an invoice you can just mark it as a gift with low value to help the buyer out. If customs do open the package and see that there is an invoice, they are more likely to charge the buyer tax on it if there taxes to be charged.

Only one of my buyers asked for me to understate the price he paid for the item and even then it was only by 100 AUD on a 1000 AUD order to ensure he didnt pay GST. The 'Gift' choice is there on the form but I'm guessing they aren't complete idiots at Customs - god knows Thai Customs make arbitrary calls on everything that comes into the country and I'd prefer to be straight up with them and avoid delays or the customs value being assessed in whatever manner the guy who picks the parcel off the conveyor belt decides is appropriate.

On the forms thing, the Thai Post staff do indeed have the forms you need - there is a consignment note for EMS Air and a slightly larger version of same for their priority service - I just want with the standard air delivery. Slipped the Proforma invoices that I stole from the DHL site into the boxes, had each of my packages double-boxed by the crack team across the road, filled out the consignment notes, and it was off to the counter. Just make sure you use a ballpoint pen and put sufficient pressure on the pen to ensure all the copies beneath the original contain the same info. The Customs form is the last of the copies - the counter staff will hand you a copy with the docket containing the EMS tracking ID.

For those who are interested in what it costs to send a package in April 2015, this is what I paid:

Pkg 1, .564 kg 750 baht Australia

Pkg 2, 1.056kg 1250 baht Italy

Pkg 3, 5.96kg 2500 baht Australia

Pkg 4, .868kg 793 baht USA

I know there are schedules for all of the above but thought it may be of interest to some to see examples : DHL conditioned me to accept that freight here would be expensive and even the 2500 baht package wasnt an 'OMG' moment. The real test is whether all of the above arrives in the condition it left my place this morning but fingers and toes are firmly crossed.

Thai Navy S.E.A.L.'s, you can't imagine.

I can't imagine.

Really?

Yeah, I can imagine - 4 years in the green machine in Oz and the last thing I wanted to do was be a 'Super Trooper', Dozens of ex-SF here in Pattaya - real or imagined - but they can keep it. One thing to be put through the wringer by the PTIs when you've had 6 hours sleep - something else to do it when that 6 hours has been spread over 72 hours.

Dunno - my initial lease was 6 months and I've been here almost 12 with no change to the rent but given that I'm leaving for PP in May it's a bit of a moot point for me. I wouldnt count on lower occupancy meaning prices go the way Western logic dictates they should - some of the Chinese-Thais that own these buildings have more money than they know what to do with. Still, I've had a hassle-free stay - hopefully something similar awaits me across the border.

OK - as much as I normally enjoy Naam's postings, the last 6 or so posts here have had little to do with the topic - perhaps this thread has run its course ? Just a thought.

"Islam is the largest religion of Turkey with 99.8% of the population being registered as Muslim, while other sources give a little lower estimate of 96.4%. Most Muslims in Turkey are Sunnis forming about 72%, and Alevis belonging to Shia denomination form about 25% of the Muslim population."

Right, so it's different to other secular states like Malaysia and Indonesia where infidels like you and I can pretty much go where we like as long as we dont offend Muslim sensibilities ? Interestingly, you neglected to quote the Wikipedia paragraph above that one:

Turkey is a secular state with no official state religion; the Turkish Constitution provides for freedom of religion and conscience.^[237][238] The role of religion has been a controversial debate over the years since the formation of Islamist parties.^[239] For many decades, the wearing of the hijab was banned in schools and government buildings because it was viewed as a symbol of political Islam. However, the ban was lifted from universities in 2011, from government buildings in 2013,^[240] and from schools in 2014.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey#Religion

if you can not live like a monk, you are a poor soul and in your next life you will find yourself in the body of a bum. you have no excuse.

Buddha is watching you . be careful what you wish for.

I wish you'd hop it.

I personally think KSR is worse than Walking St - neither is a shining beacon for tourism in Thailand but I'm not aware of any scam here in Bizarro Disneyland where a Farang is an active participant : that's a new low for mine and I think its safe to assume that meth is involved. A modern day Bonnie and Chlamydia couple. this one.

For Songkran haters, there's always the option of locking yourself in the home until it passes. If that's not enough, leave the country. May be a good time to visit friends and family abroad. Those who slam it must realize, it's endemic and isn't going to stop because you don't like it. Stay in..., leave the country...., or join in. If you choose the latter, get out, chant a few verses of [sawatdee pi mai kahp] with baby powder smears, and cool down with some water. Then go home and be happy.

For those who participate, yes, some will be shameless fools. I find the largest percentage of them to be farang. ENTIRELY too many will die on the highways. That's due to a number of factors better debated on a separate topic and forum.

I'll go out for a day (maybe 2) because I enjoy it.

Yeah, I get that, and I can live with a drenching, but 9 days of having drunken Farang halfwits throwing buckets of filthy water filled with ice at people on motorbikes and in baht buses (ie defenceless) will undoubtedly fire me up : I'm afraid home detention may be my only option as I've postponed my trip to PP in favor of a permanent move. C'est la vie.

Thank god, I use the KK immigration office.

It have to be nice to live in Pattaya. The problems you have to deal with.

As he said, its not normally an issue outside such a crowded environment, and no-one is in there because they want to be. My biggest complaints in Pattaya arent around individual BO :

1. the traffic is a joke when you combine it with the crazy bike riders and bus drivers we have here

2. the footpaths are a complete joke particularly where someone has decided that their shop frontage is more important than the few centimetres allocated to the people who might actually want to patronise said shop

3. smokers - particularly Europeans with a few beers in them - must be the most inconsiderate people on earth

Thats pretty much it and all of the above have applied every single time I've been to BKK - you just have to take the good with the bad. Some here want the Russians / Indians / Arabs etc to magically disappear but its not going to happen - I guess we'll just have to endure one another, particularly with the Songkran madness only a week or so away.

Go the post office their rates are good they will give you the form to fill in no big deal.

OK - they didnt give me a form last time but I'll go with that. Thanks.

Weight will be less than 1kg and it should all fit in a shoebox:

Item 1 - 158(l)x68(w)x28(h)mm Weight 195gm

Item 2 - 87(l)x68(w)x28(h)mm Weight 162gm

Item 3 - .7m cable - folds to fit Weight 300gm

Thanks.

I'm shipping a fellow Head-Fier some portable electronics he's agreed to buy from me - total of 300 USD (I dont want to accept Euros) - and I have no idea what kind of paperwork I need to include in the package in the event that EU customs want to levy VAT or whatever on it. It's all used gear and will be packaged in nothing more exotic than bubblewrap - not sure that makes a difference. Appreciate any advice I can get on this - I get the impression that many here simply send clothes or whatever home without filling in any doco ?

Thanks,

MrWW

Was this an April Fool's Day joke ? Tried to follow the link but got 'server error'.

Cmon Costas - we're being wound up by someone with an axe to grind, but I still want that Turkish coffee. Souvlaki and baklava ? Not so much

Slow day up there in Nong Khai ? Oh silly me.

Greeks joining TV ? I know precisely one, although I admit that the frequency of his posting may have led you to believe that there is more than one.

Turkish restaurants 'everywhere' ? Man what I wouldnt give for one of their coffees right now, and that bread is to die for. As far as nightlife is concerned, Pattaya needs to change or see bar after bar - in some cases, entire complexes - closed and derelict. Many Westerners have no issue being seen in well-lit open bars drinking with working girls : the assumption that the rest of the world is equally happy to do the same is deeply flawed IMO, particularly at the prices currently being charged in many of the bars here. Landlords got greedy, the cops got greedier and the list goes on - they wont realise what they've done until it's too late.

The whole 'prostitutes cant be raped because they're whores' argument is straight out of the dark ages but then that's where the majority of this board lives. If this was a 'contract dispute', fine, but how many girls do you know who carry a rock in the event of such a dispute ? I was punched in the mouth by a crazy bitch on Yaba in a bar one night after telling her I didnt want her skanky tongue anywhere near my face - even that fruitcake didn't try to cave my head in with a blunt object. Of the thousands of men who pay for sex in Pattaya every week, why would this guy be that unlucky ? Whether her story is even remotely close to the truth, at some stage Boris got phyeical and found out he wasnt dealing with his 13-year old niece back in the Urals. I call that natural justice.