GottaGo

There may be in theory, in practice it probably isn't worth your while to pursue it unless you enjoy the process and have a lot of free time on your hands.

Just buy your own equipment and sign up month by month or per-MB until you get an idea of the quality of service.

Or sign up at the lowest-cost option, then ask if you can upgrade "temporarily" later on?

In any case the blacklist threat isn't that big a deal in reality, can always get the service one way or another later on.

In reality "good enough" has to be good enough, they aren't actually guaranteeing anything if you look at the fine print, too many variables and bottlenecks at the various connection points.

5am weekdays will always be best bandwidth times, after school and weekend days will always be slower, no provider can wave a magic wand and change those realities.

I've been happy with True myself, since they used to be Asia Infonet 14 years ago.

In my opinion they couldnt care less about what house you stick them in, I built a nice house but they would rather live in a bare concrete shell unpainted concrete floor, no insulation no windows.

Previosuly they had a 50m2 house brand new with aircon hot/cold water flushing toielt modern kitchen...........waste o time!!

Not sure how that's relevant to what I said, obviously a servant doesn't expect western-standard accommodation. I meant more like not being beaten and charged for broken dishes, being given a few days off each month, conditions like that.

Maybe they felt "kreng jai" and wanted to let you have your deluxe housing available for your more-deserving visitors, family houseguests?

Generally people are more comfortable with what they're used to.

Maybe interest rates are going to be dropping soon to help keep the baht low and they're trying to lock customers into the currently higher rates?

That would imply going long on bonds, assuming you're happy to stay in the baht.

I purchase my rice from the shops where they scoop it right from the big sacks in whatever amounts you like, easy enough to check it out before paying.

I also have had very good luck with the in-house Tesco-branded "hom mali", usually a good price and all the Thais in my household say aroi.

Thanks.

Good point about the shops and market stalls that have the big bulk bags. I've never bought it from this places because I have no idea how long it's been sitting or what's been crawling in/on it. I assumed buying it at a major retailer would assure a fresher and safer product, but....

I'm hoping that I just got a bag from a bad batch and when I replace it with Tesco's hom mali (which I agree is nice rice) things will be back to normal. It would be awful to completely lose faith in the safety of Thai rice when living here.

I've very sure that a small mom & pop vendor is monitoring quality control much more effectively than the big chains, and if providing poor quality would be out of business much more quickly.

*Average* annual health insurance costs for Americans these days is over USD $6,000 per person, $10,000 per family of four.

In theory these should be lower in Thailand due to lower treatment costs, but given the higher risk for travelers/expats it's probably a wash.

And that's average across the whole population, so obviously rates for a 69-year-old male should be much higher, likely double.

If you're willing and able to pay these realistic rates, you can probably find a carrier to cover you.

I would really like to know if anyone knows of a global insurer that offers a worldwide policy - even if it specifically excludes America - that is regulated by a good jurisdiction, to the point that they can't kick you out if you join in your 50's and continue to pay your rates throughout your lifetime.

Obviously willing to pay the kind of rates indicated above, people who think these are "too expensive" don't realize that's what it's costing them anyway, just factored into their taxes rather than seeing it directly in their insurance premiums.

This also illustrates the fact that most governments will not be able to make good on their promises and meet the expectations the politicians have set over the years, we need to be prepared to fund our own care, or be willing to accept lower standards in the future.

I purchase my rice from the shops where they scoop it right from the big sacks in whatever amounts you like, easy enough to check it out before paying.

I also have had very good luck with the in-house Tesco-branded "hom mali", usually a good price and all the Thais in my household say aroi.

GuestHouse, on 03 Jun 2013 - 12:32, said:

This is the kind of confession that under normal circumstances would be subject to the privilege of Doctor/Patient confidentiality.

No idea what you mean.

I'm talking about college age girls, looking for a life partner in a place and manner much more likely to give good results than the way most guys here do, looking for love in all the wrong places.

If you're not on that particular mission then yes Korat's a pretty dull place.

I haven't been happy with the longevity of my purchases from Index, maybe mattresses are an exception but personally I doubt it.

Yes, there are "Mail Box Etc" franchises as well as many other brands in every neighborhood I've lived in Bangkok as well as many major shopping centers, some BTS stations.

I'm very happy with the outfit on the ground floor of Amarin Plaza/Tower, you can use an address that looks like a condo or office, they pay your bills for you for 5 or 10 baht service charge, forward mail, packages, faxes, just keep a positive balance and they'll send you a report when you request it, something like 2000 a year or so for the basic service.

Depends on how long she's worked for you, between 1 and 3 years = 3 months.

You're only required to give a full month's notice based on her pay date, giving more doesn't give you any slack on the severance.

The bonus arrangement is also irrelevant, other than you probably want to add 9% in calculating her monthly wage to be safe.

And of course you've been paying her more than the minimum 300B per day right?

Tax and social security issues could be a factor if she wants to make trouble, but if she's been happy with you and/or isn't assertive about her legal rights you'll probably skate on those.

Are you actually sure about the above?

My wife says that it's not applicable to a live in maid.

Our maid, who we have had for nearly three years now, gets less than 300Baht a day for starters, but she gets all her food provided and her husband comes to stay occasionally when he is working nearby...she might buy his food ... I don't know. She has at least 14Days off once a year when she goes 'back home' and we pay her the full month plus give her some money. In addition, every two weeks she leaves on the Friday around lunchtime and come back the following Monday morning.

If she wants any other days off then that is OK as well, but she doesn't ask often. Sometimes her young daughter comes to stay in the holidays. She will do any jobs around the house and garden that we ask her to. She seems quite happy with us.

So there are hard and fast rules for maids who live in and get everything provided?

If by "the above" you're specifically talking about the minimum wage, I suppose it is possible that they'd take food expense into account for live-in staff.

However holidays etc don't count, up to you what you give her above and beyond what's legally required.

Only way to work that (for a new employee) would be to have everything be officially at the minimum required, and then allow them to "buy" the extra benefits at very-attractive-to-them rates.

However if you're being that generous in other areas, why not just pay the minimum wage and not have to worry about complications? Especially if they speak English you're paying well below what she'd be able to get very easily out in the market these days, most foreigners I know are paying ridiculous rates for English-speaking staff.

Anyway the severance and notice requirements are indeed cast in stone for all employees, no getting out of that if the staff know their rights and are willing to go to the trouble of going to court. On the other stuff I was specifically erring on the side of being conservative, as noted above if there's any leeway the Labor Court will usually rule in favor of the employee - but fairly, a few thousand baht penalty is considered harsh even if it's a multi-billion dollar company 8-)

Sorry I can't help with your specific query but curious, if you're not looking to save any money why do you want to employ Burmese servants specifically?

I've got several agencies I've used in the past, but all their people are smuggled in, with the cooperation with the Thai police of course, fare last I heard was all up 12K THB from Rangoon to your door in Bangkok. Apparently it can be quite difficult/expensive for ordinary (dirt-poor) Burmese to get passports and permission to leave the country

But it's not like it's that hard to find good Thais to do that sort of work, especially since you're likely paying more than they'd expect for that kind of work, and definitely giving better working conditions than a Thai boss usually would.

Lots of silly stuff keeps coming up here.

Yes in theory required. In practice go ahead and show your work and you most likely won't have a problem, worst case you get deported so what?

Convincing a gallery to go to the trouble and expense of getting you a WP is unrealistically hard even if you're an internationally famous artist ain't gonna happen unless the owner is a close personal friend or you make it worth their while with megabucks.

Anyone who already has a work permit can volunteer or freelance whatever without concern, subject to the caveats I posted earlier.

In practice genuine volunteering on an informal basis won't be a problem either except for tourist-infested areas where the cops look for backhanders upcountry not an issue at all.

And all the comparisons with "back home", getting married and having that-country-citizen children always guarantees the right to work and operate a business, just takes a while to get the paperwork done. Not the case here, so yes much more restrictive.

Thailand just isn't willing to open its doors to foreigners, and to that extent it's fair to call it a xenophobic culture.

I personally agree with you but I think the western ideal of "'til death us do part' is still very strong. I also don't think that Thais typically 'willingly accept' multiple relationships - it seems to be a take it or leave it system.

I think think the general attitude to sex (as a function) is one of the reasons that it is so easy have multiple relationships. I accept your view that in some cases this can the longevity of some relationships.

My experience is different. While it may be true that increasing number of adulterous couples here are as dishonest about their extramarital relationships as those back home, especially in the early stages, it is still very much the norm for Thais to accept it as normal once they do find out about it, as long as the core relationship "contracts" aren't threatened. And most will want to make sure that no one outside the family knows, or at least keep hidden the fact that they know, saving face is paramount of course.

If you simply make it clear to any prospective partner that you require such an open attitude before entering into a committed relationship, it is true that eliminates a certain number that aren't willing to compromise that way from the beginning. However I find it isn't as serious a barrier here as it would be back home, you just have to get the timing right and approach the topic in the right way, having built up a relationship based on absolute trust beforehand.

I know many many families where the mia noi(s) all get along fine with the mia luang and everyone in the family is open about what's going on, even if it isn't acknowledged in the wider social circles.

Such arrangements are not yet as common back home, although recent trends have been encouraging.

My response to you would be that Thai women who, as you say, have "options" will mostly likely choose someone that she's most compatible with, can communicate easily, cultural understanding, no stigma, etc., or her soulmate. In other words, a Thai guy of similar age.

But once a Thai women has "gone-farang," then she's already rejecting many of the above. What would she be looking for once she does that? Financial security? A passport to a western country? In that sense, an older or younger farang doesn't make that much difference. Obviously, an older guy will be more financially well-off, the younger guy more physically-fit. But my feeling is that a Thai woman who will date farangs won't care as much about age as a Thai woman who dates exclusively Thai.

It's complicated.

The recent permutations of the thread have posited a target profile that includes:

> intelligence, class, sophistication, dress, wealth, education, independence

so by definition this fantasy girl isn't likely to be marrying for money, and probably not to escape Thailand either (I find even poor girls would rather stay here if they can anyway)

Obviously (to me) such parameters increase the likelihood that she'd go for young&hansum, or rather, increase the requirement for an extreme wealth differential to make up for one of age, and probably narrow the acceptable difference to say 20? years. . .

For me I can only use a hard mattress, and looking to save money have found the dense foam style used by massage shops perfect, have four, and the oldest is twelve years old now and still perfectly fine, just need to purchase a new cotton pad for over the vinyl against sweating every couple of years.

I used to buy western-style brand mattresses and found all but the very expensive - much more so than back home - top-end brands to be terrible. I'm a heavy guy and my bed's used for a lot of horizontal aerobics not just sleeping.

Robinson and Central would be the minimum, probably much better to go to places like Emporium and Paragon.

Do NOT even consider the small mom-and-pops or places like Makro.

Yes of course you're subject to being sued if you help out and things go bad.

But IMO that shouldn't stop anyone from doing their best to do the right thing.

I think he's just being knee-jerk judgmental about people with different sleep patterns, and the fact that they're Thai makes theirs inferior.

Just like you're doing with the elderly.

Nothing wrong with waking up and/or sleeping whenever you feel like it, whatever fits your personal metabolism and preferences, much healthier than trying to fit in with "one size fits all" imposed by what your culture brainwashes is the only way to do it.

Many studies have shows that catnaps during the day results in higher productivity, and enlightened high-tech firms employing young staff provide nap rooms for their highly-paid engineers and executives.

It think if you refined 'divorce rates' to include 'relationship failures' (i.e. where there may have been a village wedding but no 'legality' or an amphur registered marriage where the parties have not bothered to divorce) the picture would be somewhat difference.

The Thai males' reputation for monogomy is not great. Most Thai women who take a fan/gik/new husband usually seem to do so anly after a partner has transgressed.

I would reverse the above statement (which may be way many Falang/Thai relationships do actually work) and say that it is mainly the young bucks who come for fun and P2P. The older guys may also arrive with the same concept in mind but often find the level of companionship to be far better than in the west and seek to develop longer term relationship. Both parties finish up with their own version of security.

A relationship coming to an end is rarely a "failure" unless the couple were kidding themselves into thinking it would be lifelong.

And expecting monogamy is in my opinion one of the biggest causes of such failures.

The Thai way of accepting multiple relationships and realizing that moving on from one to another is just part of life is to me much healthier than the usual western model.

And I agree that the older guys are usually the ones more likely to want to settle down, or at least more susceptible to being persuaded to do so by those lovely feminine wiles. If only more were smarter about the fine-print details of how they went about it so as to ensure their independence and financial sustainability against the likelihood of things going south at some point. To many end up being an appendage to the SO's family and in a position where it's difficult to extract themselves once the honeymoon's over.

My son is up most nights either on his computer, on his BB, with his girlfriend, or just getting into trouble with his motor bike then from 5 am he sleeps all day!

Sounds like something I wouldn't be bragging about in public, why aren't you being a more responsible father? How old is he? Are you actually subsidizing this behavior or is he supporting himself and living apart from you?

If he's your stepson and his mother isn't willing to back up your taking a strong hand then that's par for the course, but if you're treating him as your own and taking (what I see as) a proper husband/father's role in the household, then you're complicit in letting him grow up to be a loser.

Depends on how long she's worked for you, between 1 and 3 years = 3 months.

You're only required to give a full month's notice based on her pay date, giving more doesn't give you any slack on the severance.

The bonus arrangement is also irrelevant, other than you probably want to add 9% in calculating her monthly wage to be safe.

And of course you've been paying her more than the minimum 300B per day right?

Tax and social security issues could be a factor if she wants to make trouble, but if she's been happy with you and/or isn't assertive about her legal rights you'll probably skate on those.

The law in theory and enforcement in practice are very different things.

If you are employed by the organization that is supposed to enforce the law you will presumably be OK as long as you stay on their good side, or until the right hand finds out what the left is doing.

Worst case is just deportation anyway, unless they use it as an excuse to get at you for something else you've done.

We're all subject to their whim anyway.

The Amity treaty is only worth doing for a large business, never heard of it being used for a small sole-proprietorship/freelance operation, requires expensive lawyers that know what they're doing.

Yes any large retail chain, especially those with international affiliations will refrain from stocking knock-offs of such prominent brands, especially where the actual quality difference is so noticeable once the customer actually consumes the product.

I'm sure if you contact the hospital they'll be able to find someone with enough English to convey a message for your Dad to call you back. You may need to try again after a few hours if the first time's no go.

Apparently, there's a good market for nuts who do paint swimming pools...

And I've never seen a swimming pool left as raw unfinished concrete, wouldn't that be liable to flay the kiddie's skin?

Not to mention ugly.

Then again, paint doesn't guarantee beauty, I prefer blue-green myself, but apparently this is a prize-winning design: