simon43

I guess it depends on your view of our destiny, and your religion (or none). We all have to go some time and it's good that Eddie is in a hospice/care home where he can receive medication to alleviate any pain (if indeed he has pain). Much worse if you are in a place without palliative care 😞

I'm very happy to withdraw my post from a few weeks ago where I reported that Steady Eddie had recently died. Based on the most recent YT video, this was obviously not true! I'm happy to admit my mistake and wish Steady Eddie all the best 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMEalxyhiHc

Er right, I'll remember all that next time and tell this guy (who lives 5km from Sadao, to go to Penang... I have a Thai ham licence for more than 20 years, so nothing dodgy about this. What on earth has cross-border telecom scams go to do with hand-carrying 4 pieces of aluminium tubing???

Doesn't help, I had to use Sadao to meet my Malaysian radio ham friend who was selling me the antenna 🙂

I smuggled nothing - it was all declared and now in my car in Sadao 🙂

Well, early this morning, I drove down to Sadao. I asked a security guy where I should park my car, since I wasn't driving into Malaysia. He indicated a parking spot for me 🙂 Then I was able to get a re-entry permit from a nice female immigration officer, who told me that since I was on an O visa, and not doing a visa run, I could return the same day. I took a motorbike taxi down to Malaysia immigration, and had no problems to get stamped in. After toing and froing, I finally located my Malaysian friend Surprisingly, I had no Thai mobile network signal just 1km into Malaysia - that caused some problems to find each other. I collected the radio antenna and took a minivan service back towards Thai immigration. At Malaysian immigration, they inspected the box very carefully, presumably checking for contraband or drugs. However, I had shoved all of those up my backside, so no problem! (That is my British sense of humour...) I got stamped out of Malaysia and went the short distance to Thai immigration. Of course, I had forgotten about the new TDAC card! So I stood at the rather quiet immigration office, scanning the QR code and entering my personal details. Well, it wouldn't accept my O visa number. I tried different formats but it wouldn't have it. So I asked the female Thai immigration officer. She gruffly pointed me to a 'service guy' (ie tout), who was outside. "You pay me, I can get you into Thailand" he said. "No I don't pay you" I said "'cos I have a valid visa". Note that this wasn't about returning on the same day - that wasn't an issue. So I went back to the Thai immigration officer and politely told her in Thai that the TDAC website still wouldn't accept my visa number. At this she started shouting at me. Now, I am somewhat old-fashioned, and rather old, and IMHO there was no reason to shout at me. I also understand to keep cool in Thailand when talking with IOs, but this woman was a prize moron. So I shouted back at her that the TDAC website wasn't working. We went back and forth with shouting, much to the amusement of the other people standing around! Seeing that I would get nowhere with her, I looked in an office behind her and found 3 lovely young Thai ladies to whom I explained my problem. "We know" they said. "The TDAC system is offline today!!!" Well, go tell that idiot IO...... I thought. Anyway, a nice male IO in the office processed my entry into Thailand manually, but he scrutinised all of my Burmese and Lao visas. I guess he was checking if they were 'visa-run' stamps, but they were all business visas. The Thai customer didn't even look at my antenna - there was no customs officer at the desk... I'm staying tonight in Sadao in what seems to be some sort of cheap brothel 🙂 Back to home with a leisurely drive tomorrow morning.

I'm sorry. If I told you that then I would have to kill you... 🙂

Never heard of him....

I know.. I once ordered a small wire antenna from the USA, consisting of some fibreglass supports and the wire. The company had to use the correct customs tariff code for antennas on their declaration. To avoid problems, that company also offered a premium payment to prepay all import tax and customs 'hassles'. I paid that but the customs saw the 'red flag' word "antenna" on the customs declaration and confiscated to package because I didn't have a business import licence (for 1 wire antenna and some fibreglass supports). So I told Thai customs to send it back to the sender.... "No can do" was their reply. "You need an export licence for antennas" !!! Luckily, I persuaded the sending company to refund me anyway, on the basis that Thai Customs were being dickheads.... This is why I usually build all my antennas myself, but this guy in Malaysia lives near Sadao and it means that I get a professional antenna, as opposed to the tangles of wire that I usually build 🙂

Thanks. I just phoned Sadao immigration and they tell me that they issue re-entry permits for O visa holders 🙂 So I should be fine. I'll report back later as to the outcome.

A radio amateur friend in Malaysia has a used antenna that he is selling to me. Import of any kind of antenna is controlled by Thai customs and only allowed by businesses with an import permit. (I have encountered this problem several times and it has cost me, since they will not issue an import permit to an individual). However, hand-carrying a few pieces of aluminium antenna tubing though land or air borders has never been a problem 🙂 My plan is to drive to Sadao tomorrow from my home in south Thailand, get a re-entry permit for my O 'retirement' visa, enter Malaysia, meet my friend, collect the antenna and then return through Sadao crossing the same day. Will Sadao immigration allow this? I can stay one night in a hotel on the Malaysia side if this helps and return to Thailand the next day.

MalcolmB, why have you suddenly started posting in Thai language? You know that maybe 95% of posters on this forum can't read Thai, so what's the point?

I do have weak lungs, so I found living in CM unbearable - the smoky air resulted in acute bronchitis, but that's just me... What I would be concerned about is the effect on the young lungs of your children. Do you really want to expose them to a high level of air pollution? I can't think of anything positive about that.....

OP, I had you blocked from some time ago. I decided to read your post in this thread and now I understand why I blocked you 🙂

That's a tapeworm from your intestines. It crawls out your anus while you sleep. Have you tried a buttplug?? 🙂

That's a large black scorpion which are pretty harmless with little venom....

Indeed. I thought the staff would catch them alive. I didn't expect Buddhists to beat the living daylights out of the poor critters...

Wow! They removed the right side of the head of the first guy! Brutal!!!

Excellent news!

Not good - you will have nightmares in your next life/afterlife. You think they are scary now, but after killing them, they WILL return.....

No, I meant lions and tigers 🙂 They never see each other because they live on different continents!

That photo looks suspiciously like my condo building - full of Russians smoking weed. I'm at my home in south Thailand right now, so heard/saw nothing. Anyway RIP

I don't have an issue with people smoking inside their home or a private club. It's the same as inhaling second-hand cigarette smoke. Nasty smell...

Lol, the operating rules are so strict that it almost is.. 🙂

Since the content was not illegal, it follows that the decision by the Court of libel was incorrect....