keestha

Maybe light at the end of the tunnel? Quoted from the BBC, April 18.

Dutch airline KLM and German airline Lufthansa have carried out test flights to see if it is safe for planes to fly. KLM said its plane, a Boeing 737, had reached its maximum operating altitude of about 13km in the skies over the Netherlands, and there had been no problems during the flight.

The aircraft and its engines were being inspected for possible damage. After the results of that technical inspection the airline hopes to get permission from the aviation authorities to start up operations again.

Germany's Lufthansa said it flew several planes to Frankfurt from Munich.

A spokesman said: "All airplanes have been inspected on arrival in Frankfurt but there was no damage to the cockpit windows or fuselage and no impact on the engines."

Same here, Microwave. I am getting a lot of spam in German, French and Spanish, still waiting for the first spam in my native language Dutch, but maybe they speculate on us speaking English anyway.

I experienced second hand (German speakers that I know becoming victims) that spam in say German has a higher rate of success then spam in English, because many German speakers are outside the main flow of information because of a lack of knowledge of English language.

Are you also getting this lovely Thai language spam?

Is the VFW cafetaria in Khorat/Nakhon Rachasima still there? I remember eating lovely greasy spoon food there back in 1999, and I met an American who could have been a VFW, I went on an interesting massage parlour crawl with him.

How the rules are applied concerning qualifications a foreigner has to meet to open an account, varies from one bank/ branch office to another. Also when you hold just a tourist visa definitely try to open a bank account if you need one, just keep going from bank to bank till one accepts you. It is possible they will require that a Thai person guarantees for you, which is a matter of just signing on the dotted line.

Sometimes banks close accounts if they have been inactive for too long, so when out of Thailand withdraw a small amount using an ATM say every almost 3 months, so that the account stays in the books as being active.

For a few years now I am getting this type of scam mail continuously, often claiming to come from banks I have never heard of. My e-mail address is mentioned on quite a few websites, so I am in the privilleged position of receiving all types of scam mail continuously, also the latest varieties.

Back in my hippy days, in the seventies, whilst travelling in India I used to chew on something called "pan", it is a mixture of crushed betel nut, different seeds and some kind of white paste, all of it wrapped in a leave. It gave you a feeling like you had consumed about half a glass of wine, and you were a bit less affected by the heat.

There are a lot of Burmese people in the area in Thailand where I live, and shops which are primarely catering to them are sometimes selling "pan".

Very well possible betel nut is the main active ingredient in "pan", so if you feel worn down by the heat you could always ask some old Thai lady with red juice dripping out of her mouth if she can give you some betel.

It has become very common among tourists to buy a cheap Thai Sim card that they put in their homecountry mobile phone. After being refilled for the last time, usually they stay valid for just 3 months, so sometimes tourists who have come back home give the card to someone else who is going to Thailand soon.

Of course it is much cheaper to use a Thai Sim card for calling inside Thailand then using a foreign Sim card, and also calling home can be done cheaply using a low cost international access code, to my experience 009 always works. Also they can be called from back home without any problems.

Sometimes cards bought in the 7/11 don't do the trick, better buy a card in a phoneshop where they should know the score.

Just an example: the website of the German ministry of foreign affairs last updated its advice about Thailand on April 7, it just says to avoid crowds and demonstrations, and that it is still unconditionally possible to travel to and inside Thailand.

Been wondering why so many real estate selling ads in the Phuket Gazette end with "no agents please".

Not being a native speaker, my first thought reading the term "shout-out" was that it referred to something like a huge bar fight. Relieved this doesn't seem to be the case

Phuket Wan: TSUNAMI ALERT: Phuket Beaches Being Evacuated

PHUKET beaches were being evacuated today amid a tsunami alert, the local director of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Sam Jantawong, told Phuketwan at 6.30am this morning. All the Andaman provinces were in the process of evacuation, Thai news reports said.

Really? Here in the Khao Lak beach area I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has stated from the beginning on anyway that there was only a chance of a local tsunami not more than 100 KM from the epicenter.

I am just seeing on Thai Channel 3 that Thai authorities have officially lifted the previously issued warning.

Of course searching for information I also look beyond Thaivisa. But all too often, googling only leads to clicking on a link leading to another thaivisa thread. No way to get around it, seemingly.

Oh well, the forum is OK for me, I don't mind quickly scrolling down the trash looking for usable info.

In case you are looking for a nanny who speaks English perfectly but who has Thai nationality, a Thai of Indian descendence might be the perfect solution.

Interesting subject. It could have some negative repercussions for a Thai citizen living in Thailand to have a foreign family name. Once I was told at a Katsikorn Bank branch office that a lower interest rate was given to non Thais, and what they where looking at was the family name. This was an upcountry branch office, don't know if this constitutes official Katsikorn policy.

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Manarak,

Am I right in assuming you are a foreigner who wants to apply for a work permit in order to start a business predicting people's futures?

Use the search function, and soon enough you will stumble across a list of professions forbidden for non Thais, don't know if fortune telling is on this list.

As far as Thai people are concerned who make money telling people's fortunes, I doubt if any of them has legally registered his/her business.

In case the business is indeed a hotel as a previous poster suggested, the bank will want to see a business plan, and they would be much more likely to consider a loan if construction has already started.

I wouldn't fully trust upcountry immigration offices to actually know that the 90 days clock is reset after leaving and re-entering the Kingdom. Just to make sure, I would enquire at the local immigration office, or maybe ask a question in the relevant local forum.

Sure people are right feeling harassed when Jehova's witnesses ring their doorbell. But apart from that, Jehova's witnesses are doing normal jobs, go shopping, have neighbours and so on, and they don't bother people they get in touch with in their normal day to day life.

My father used to have a very decent colleague who was also a Jehova's witness, and who never talked about his belief whilst working. But nevertheless, when Jehova's witnesses rang our doorbell, my father always informed them: I am already doing business with Mr. XXX. A little lie, but it always did the trick.

Seem to remember the border pass for Thai people can easily be extended to 14 days (?). Hopefully someone living close to the Lao border who is up to date with this will chip in.

Yes sometimes Thai consulates abroad are not so well informed about rules that have changed. An American customer of mine was told by the consulate in New York that without a visa, he would get a 30 days entry stamp when entering through a land border crossing, whilst in fact it is only 15 days, has been like that for I think 15 months.

Big hotels tend to (over)charge for wifi, but often in small hotels/guesthouses it is free. If you don't stay there, they are likely to let you use it for a small charge, or possibly for free if you order something in the restaurant.

Yesterday at 11hours 54 minutes ICT there was a 6,6 earthquake close to the Andaman Islands (India) at 13.60N 92.88E, at a depth of 26 miles (!), an event as unlikely to cause a tsunami as somebody falling off his barstool somewhere at Bangla Road.

Seem to remember that when you have paid in for at least 15 years, you are entitled to retirement benefits of 7,5% of the salary.

There could be an upper limit though, I will ask when I go to the social security office next month.