keestha

I vaguely remember now that an ex Phuket restaurant owner told me a few years ago there is (?used to be?) a place close to the market in downtown Phuket Town selling goods in bulk quantities. Does anybody know more?

Herbalife is a multi level marketing scheme. For those willing to give it a try making money with this, it might be interesting to note that Herbalife products can be purchased through Ebay at a lower price than you would have to pay to the person who has recruited you, your "sponsor". Obviously quite a few "distributors" get stuck with their stock.

A very good A4 sized road atlas is the Thailand Highway Map, updated yearly and not difficult to find in a good bookstore.

A good place to stop and spend one night would be Hua Hin. I can recommand the Subhamitra Hotel, has a secure parking lot and a swimming pool, aircon rooms around 800 Baht, tel. 032-511208.

A nice place to make a brief stop on the way would be Khao Yoi just before Petchaburi on the left hand side, explore the magnificent cave with its countless Buddha statues.

Have a nice trip,

Kees.

Quoting George: "According to an expert at the Phuket Marine Biological Centre (PMBC), the coral reef at Kong Hin E Tan is as beautiful as those at Mu Ko Similan National Park in the same province.

"In my opinion, the coral reef here is as nice as those in the Similan Islands because it covers a large area and you can dive here for all year round,” said Sakchai Padungrotvit, the coral reef discoverer from the Marine Biological Centre.

To make this sea area richer and more colourful, a number of clown fish, raised in captivity, were released by the centre."/unquote

I trust the Phuket Marine Biological Centre has carried out a thorough assessment of possible ecological impact before doing this.

Another thing: just a few years ago, it was big in the news that a another large coral reef was discovered off Thai Meuang district in Phang Nga, heard nothing about it since.

Set 300 Baht as an upper limit, and all over Thailand you'll be able to find places to stay.

Have a nice trip.

As a teacher I wouldn't be any good I am afraid, my English is horribly accented.

I run a tourism related business.

Oh well, if this is not a new rule, it could be simply a matter of a local office making up its own little rules.

My work permit was to expire on December 25, so yesterday I made my way to the Labour Office in Phangnga to get another 1 year extension.

At the Labour Office I was told that nowadays extensions should be given in 1 year periods from the date the work permit was initially issued. My present work permit was issued January 28, 2002, so I was given a provisional extension up to January 27, 2010. In January I have to go back to get a full one year extension which will be valid up to January 27, 2011.

Documents needed for the extension are:

1) copy of the work permit, all pages except for the extensions, only the last one.

2) passport copy

3) copies of forms and receipts for the last three months salary tax payments ( ภ.ง.ค. 1 ).

4)copy of form and receipt for the last yearly salary tax payment ( ภ.ง.ค. 91 ).

5)copies of forms and receipts for the last three months staff health insurance payments.

6) copies of licences the company might need to conduct its business.

7) copy of the company book

8) filled out work permit extension application form.

All copies need the company stamp plus the signature of the General Manager.

I should add the usual disclaimer: at other Labour Offices another list of needed documents might apply.

Kees.

But if you have at least passed through university you are grounded in your home culture and would/will readjust within days of a return.

Returning expats might run into one or more of the following problems:

1) Expat communities in Asia/Africa/Latin America are often small, and everybody is interested in a newcomer. Going back home, people are not automatically interested in you.

2) Being an expat and going on a holiday back home, you have an exotic status and people are eager to talk with you. But once back home permanently, you lose this special status. People you know there have been living in say the UK all those years you were away, and that is their reality. They are not so much interested in listening to your wild stories about bribing policemen and single handedly fighting off cannibal tribes. Also they invariably seem to have very little time.

Having lived abroad for 18 years, I think if I would go back to the Netherlands permanently I would have to build a completely new social life, maybe doing volunteer work or something. Old friends, sure, they would be more than willing to meet up with me for dinner or drinks, but in most cases this would be just a one off affair.

Kees.

tee nee mo-chit is the programme that this topic was discussed on thai tv....seemingly alot of farangs living outside towns in villages and in farm life etc

Sure, but aren't many of them only there for part of the year?

True it would be difficult to find an Isaan village with a population of say minimally 5000 which doesn't have any farang presence.

For my 2,5 years old daughter I use fisher-price.com, kneebouncers.com and mothergoose.com. They are all at least good for learning the alphabet.

Previous posters thanks for the other links, I'll definitely give them a try.

Kees.

I'm extreamly cautious of Africans ( from whichever country ) when I see them in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore ( and most other places ) ..Why are they here ?

In the Pratu Nam area at Sukhumwit, there are always a lot of African textile merchants, who are there for purchasing stock.

But they are not the ones hassling the OP on the street of course.

Could there be ski possibilities in Burma? The country certainly has mountains which are high enough.

Also a flight from Bangkok to Calcutta/India, and then a bus or train to Darjeeling would bring you to the snow quickly, but I don't know if you can ski there.

In a bookshop, tough luck I think. I have a small book for learning Burmese which is called "practical Myanmar", not so difficult to find, bought it in Phuket on two occasions, but it might be the only thing regular bookshops sometimes have. Yes and it is English to Burmese, and not the other way around what you are looking for.

There are foundations that are helping Burmese migrant labourers, they might be able to assist you.

Another thing: some of the Burmese migrant labourers are highly educated and speak English fluently, like the guy who worked at the gas station here in Khao Lak for a while, he is a university graduate. And recently at Supercheap I unsuccessfully tried to communicate in Thai with this Burmese employee, till I found out his English was about as good as mine. Somebody like that could maybe als give you a good tip, like suggesting a Rangoon bookstore that could send you the stuff you need.

Good luck with your project,

Kees.

Does anybody know if they would also be OK for exchanging Baht into Euros or whatever?

The bike rented by the Israeli certainly has the obligatory insurance, which covers your medical costs, and nothing more.

As others pointed out, it might be too late now to do something about it, but you can give it a try.

Prachuabkhirikhan is right at the coast, but doesn't have a beach which is suitable for swimming, besides Ao Manao which is 10 KM south of the town.

Alternatively, there is a string of small beach resorts in between Hua Hin and Chumporn, going from North to South: Sam Roi Yot, Thap Sakae, Ban Krut, Bang Saphan Yai, Bang Saphan Noi. Also close to Chumporn there are pretty beaches such as Hat Cabana.

Try the small beach resorts of Khanom and Srichon, which are close to Don Sak from where the car ferry to Koh Samui leaves.

You might be able to sell the empty company. If not, you need the help of an accounting office to liquidate the company, to prevent problems from arising if you would ever go back to Thailand. There have been threads before about liquidating a company and how much this should cost. Use the search function, "closing company" would probably be the most effective search term.

OP,

The guy you talked to in the bar was correct, unless they changed the law in the meantime.

Also in smaller places, and along the major roads, there are rooms for rent for travellers. Often it will not be indicated in English though. Watch out for signs saying ห้องพัก ( hong pak,room for sleeping) or โรงแรม (rong raem, hotel). Also, these signs often display the number 24, which claims that they are ready to rent out rooms 24 hours per day.

Happy cycling.

For some it might be interesting to know that a customer of mine was issued a triple entry tourist visa at the Royal Thai Consulate in Munich, Germany. No questions were asked, and the visa was free of charge.

Sure, there is a bit of racism in Thailand, directed towards South Asians, Burmese, people from the Middle East, and black people. But relax, everything will be OK once they have got to know you.

The cheaper option will be not to use a construction company, especially not one which is catering for (preying on) foreigners.

It is impossible to calculate exactly beforehand how much a large construction project will cost, and the construction company will calculate in such a way that they come out with a generous profit, also if costs turn out higher than they expected.

They will be cutting corners, using cheap materials and not doing certain things that should be done, and you might notice this only some time after the building project has been finished.

Go and look for somebody who can can put together a team of building labourers, preferably they will be people who are working for him regularly. Agree on a price for the work to be done, and purchase the building materials yourself. If the building foreman purchases for you, a percentage will be added.

Pay them in installments due when certain things are finished, but take care, often they will keep on asking for advance payments before the installment is due, and they will leave when not much money but a lot of work is still left.

If you agree on paying them by the day, they might work slowly.

During the construction you should always be there, to make sure that things are done properly, like bathroom floors being tiled in such a way that water is flowing off direction drainage pipe.

To give you a pointer about labour costs: a Thai construction worker is paid about 300 Baht per day.

- Pay the major Thai shareholder a salary each month such that their regular income qualifies them to borrow money from a Thai bank to purchase the Chanote land for the guesthouse (2 million baht).

Simon

It has become more difficult to borrow money from a bank to build a hotel for a person who already owns the land, I doubt if it would be possible to find a bank who would be willing to finance purchasing the land.

Maybe I am wrong, does anybody have experience with this?

Another thing: when establishing a company, it is highly essential who has the right to sign on behalf of the company, this will be written on the front page of the company book, it can be one or more persons.

Yes for 50,000 you can get a car, but one that is technically in a very bad condition - like not being able to go faster then 70 KM per hour. And second hand car dealers in Phuket are expensive.