RecklessRon

I'm from Canada and had the exact same problem. The ideal solution is NOT available but you can:

1). Open a bank account in Thailand and create a new PayPal (and eBay if you like) account.

2). Arrange with the shipper to ignore the PayPal address and ship it directly to you in Thailand.

I've done both and they both work. Most sellers just want the money and are willing to ship wherever you like (goggle4U did this for me) - sometimes for a small shipping fee that they can add into the eBay invoice BEFORE you pay with PayPal.

IMHO: Up until you actually pay sellers are willing to do almost anything for your business.

So that all works out to a good argument - IF you ignore the ownership of land issues. But adding in the fact that you might be killed by whomever owns the land, or just barred from using it, and that kind of tips the scales a tad against. Include the possibility that whichever dodge you've used to 'own' the land might be voided by law (much more likely than the law on condo ownership being severely altered) and you might wind up with nothing... well the downside of that, to my way of thinking, is so dramatic that I won't be taking those risks with my nest egg - thank you very much, eh!

BTW: If you can get 0.5% per month that is 6% per year, which is way more than any safe investment or term deposit.

FYI: I'm looking to spend a ballpark figure of around 750,000B and expecting to rent at around 7,500B/mth. That's based on the magical 1% which appears to be a very common figure when talking about rental income property.

It wasn't so much an argument for buying a house in some way instead of a condo, it was just to make the case that condominiums are relatively over-valued in Chiang Mai, as land prices in most places just aren't high enough. So it's more of an argument to not bother buying a condo as an investment in Chiang Mai. To live in is an entirely different matter of course. And like you rightly state, you can't legally own land so you don't even have the option of buying anything other than a condo. I'm just saying that Chiang Mai is a weird place for condominiums.

Then: if you're spending 750K then you're looking at the run down condominiums near the railway station. (Or older buildings along the Canal road) And then pretty much a studio. You can't rent those out at 7,500. You're actually lucky to rent those out at any price.

Okay to buy to live in but not okay to invest in? Seems weird since I stated the point was to buy a condo and use the rent to rent a house. This is not the same as requiring the income and is almost the same as living in it except for the rental hassle. The biggest difference is the risk of long term vacancy and I can get around that by moving in and living there during any extended periods - as I expect to live here for decades.

I also suspect the glut of available rental units has a lot more to do with the political unrest deterring tourists than an actual over-supply of units. And I believe that the local economy, renting included, will pick up significantly the next high season after the political crap has settled to the point of being ignored internationally.

Also I am looking at paying anywhere between 600,000 and 1.2M depending mainly on market rental demand and value based on its location. And for those that don't know it there are LOTS of available units in that price range (so many that a lot of people would see this as a bad 'investment', eh, but I'm here for the long run).

Lastly I am considering buying during the rainy season, which I believe will have the best deals - particularly this rainy season due to the dearth of tourists this last high season

Here is an example that might show why condominiums are such an iffy deal in Chiang Mai, versus regular houses. (Ownership issues aside, I'm just talking market value here)

Let's take one of the buildings I previously mentioned as being among the few that are actually in central Chiang Mai: Floral Condominium. From there you can walk to all the riverside pubs and restaurants, the Big Market, and Thapae Gate is 1.9 km / 25 min walk away. It's also desirable because the units are actually large: two bedrooms plus living area, 100 - 150 square meters. And it's the tallest building in town, with great views from most units.

This of course does not come cheap. I just looked up one of the 100 sq meter units and it goes for 6 million Baht. Going with 0.5% per month that's still 30,000 Baht per month in rent. Not many people in Chiang Mai want to allocate that kind of budget. (Unless you work at the US consulate; that's pretty much your target market: consular staff and top level Japanese/Korean management at factories in the larger area.) But it's doable.

Now, let's say there is also a very small plot of land, 17 square wa, in a location that's very similar to Floral: Same *walking* distance to the Big Market, Thapae Gate, etc. Asking price is 870,000 Baht. You now need to spend 1.5 million to build something with just a car park at the bottom level (and because it floods for a couple days every 5-6 years) and two floors of living space above that. Let's use every square inch of that area for the building, so you now have 17 square wa = 68 square meters, times two levels equals 136 square meters living space.. Let's round that down to 125 square meters because you lose some for stairs and what not.

Wait.. what?! I now have MORE space than the condominium in the same general location, and I've spent.. 870K + 1.5MB = 2.37 million Baht.. That's.. way cheaper.. for more space. At this point condo fans vs house fans will make the case that a condominium comes with a view, that there is a swimming pool, and security. The other side will mention that those things don't come free, and there is a monthly fee for that of several thousand Baht, AND that for many things you're dependent on the building being managed properly.. will they do the maintenance to the elevators.. will they paint the building when needed.. if not then that's potentially disastrous to your investment.

Let's say those arguments balance out. But the massive price difference remains. This rather nice, very new little town unit with private parking will -at 0.5%- rent for 11,870 Baht per month. and will accommodate a family of the same size as is living in the 30K condominium. I'd say that's an easier 'sell'.

So that all works out to a good argument - IF you ignore the ownership of land issues. But adding in the fact that you might be killed by whomever owns the land, or just barred from using it, and that kind of tips the scales a tad against. Include the possibility that whichever dodge you've used to 'own' the land might be voided by law (much more likely than the law on condo ownership being severely altered) and you might wind up with nothing... well the downside of that, to my way of thinking, is so dramatic that I won't be taking those risks with my nest egg - thank you very much, eh!

BTW: If you can get 0.5% per month that is 6% per year, which is way more than any safe investment or term deposit.

FYI: I'm looking to spend a ballpark figure of around 750,000B and expecting to rent at around 7,500B/mth. That's based on the magical 1% which appears to be a very common figure when talking about rental income property.

FYI2: Also I intend to live here the rest of my life, which may be 40-ish years, so in times of no renters I will live in the unit myself. That means I want it located in CM, not Bangkok or Pattaya or...

I'm retired and expecting to live in the CM area for a long time. To get around the rules about foreign ownership of land I'm looking to buy a condo that I can rent by the year to offset my rent payments on a house in the CM area

I want to pick a location that most people would like to live (rather than a place that I would like to live)

So... 2 questions:

Where in CM would you want to live?

Where in CM do you think newbies would?

All pertinent comments welcomed, eh!

Okay... I know dogs love a yard. If I could I would buy one but as a foreigner the law forbids me owning land. I do not wish to build, or buy a building, on someone else's land regardless of the 'safety' precautions/loopholes and I especially don't want to make myself worth more dead than alive. I am retiring and cannot afford to rent a house for the rest of my life. I have just enough financially, many would say too little, for me to live a small, peaceful life if I live as long a life as my parents and grandparents did. Due to my job requiring extensive travel I have been unable to care for (own) a pet since I left home for university in 1978. Prior to that I had several dogs but since then nada. So I want a dog and I can't buy or rent a house, which leaves dog friendly condos!

Call that what you will but that is my choice.

FYI: I have talked with several real-estate agents and there are several dog friendly buildings in CM. I am surprised at the lack of response from people living there. Perhaps they are too busy to frequent TV?

Bug zappers that are cheap don't work - see some of the comments - but high quality ones work fine. Mine cost $US40 on sale, which I consider to be the low end of the working models. At our cottage we had a $120 model that was so effective it needed to be cleaned daily to avoid it becoming cocooned in dead bugs.

Anyone know of any condos that allow dogs?

Please include address info such as the closest intersection or landmark, if you know it, the guestimated price ranges (rent or purchase) and any personal recommendations or warnings.

Also: If anyone knows of a dog-friendly place that is under 1M Baht and has, or has the space for, a bathtub and kitchen with full fridge and 2 stove tops please have them contact me

The red stamps are real. There have been many reports of them. Perhaps the people that got them have not read this topic.

Most were able to get one from another one from another embassy or consulate because the stamp is specific for just one place.

Yes. I have read these many reports...and selected my visa run destinations accordingly. But if the red stamp is so commonplace, why is there only one poster to tell us his story. Seems a bit odd.

I thought this thread had a good deal of worth. That is, there are lots of threads telling where to go to avoid getting a stamp, but there was no thread on TV offering advice or information on what to do if you happened to get one in your passport.

So please, if any one has any personal experience of life after a visa refusal, or a red stamp, please post here to let us know how you got on.

Cheers

FD&S

Perhaps there are no replies from people who received red stamps because none of them have ever returned and, therefore, don't bother reading the TV forum?

Okay, so by now you should know you are in deep shit.

Know that if you don't pay you WILL leave. The odds of you remaining healthy decrease significantly the longer you don't pay and the more you owe. You could be physically harmed, your stuff could be physically harmed, your visitors, friends and their families may suffer or you could just be deported and banned from returning forever.

So what if you CAN'T pay?

If you can't pay your rent you will not see 1 penny of that deposit, which I'll assume you NEEDED to get home, or eat, etc.

So... here's some advice that might help:

Talk to your landlord ASAP - see if you can work with him/her to get another tenant to replace you.

Time it so you move out and they immediately move in. Be flexible and willing to bend to the new tenants schedule.

You may be able to negotiate a return of part, or even all, of your deposit and walk away in one piece.

Copper does not rust only gets a greenish oxidized film on its surface.

But being where you are (TIT) your wires are possibly not copper, only copper plated. Could be steel or aluminium.

Than they corrode, much faster at the seaside where you have moisture, salt and iodine in the air.

Check your wires. If 'springy' - it's steel. If soft but break easily after a few bends - it's aluminium. Sorry, mate, TIT.

And forget the 'farang' song, the bloody bastards do this equally to locals.

If the condo is yours - you will have to cough it up. If not - you don't have to pay, just live without internet.

Rust IS oxidation. You may be confused and believe that iron oxidation is the only 'rusting'.

To the OP: Yes it is quite possible that the building's cabling is the cause - especially if your internet is jittery.

Chiangmai Riverside Condo has that exact problem. Who knows when they will fix it as everyone seems to be in denial. I'm a retired international computer consultant and have enough direct experience to know how to run the test for this and did get my ISP to come out with the proper equipment. As they expected their feed to the building is fine but the feed in my apt is not. When the building (its a condo) accepts that and when they will fix it are anyone's guess.

FYI: Water + salt + copper = oxidation at a very rapid rate. Removing the salt from the equation and copper holds up much better to water exposure than iron, steel or aluminum. If you live near an ocean they may have used salt water to mix the concrete. If so you need to have a plastic sheath around the copper or rain will destroy the cable quite quickly!

You ask me why Thais are afraid to go to doctor? Why they don't tell doctor the truth? I have no idea.

I do have a friend who has high blood pressure and takes medication for it daily. She drinks lots of coffee in the day and far too much alcohol every night. She doesn't tell her doctor about either. Why? Ignorance and fear is my best guess. I tell her that her doctor might change the medicine if he knows she is drinking (and smoking). Maybe her blood pressure medicine and caffeine or alcohol are contra-indicated but we'll never know as she cannot be convinced to tell him.

Same friend tells my girlfriend it is okay for her to take antacid to fix problem. I tell them a doctor can test and if she has an ulcer they might be able to fix with two antibiotics so there is no need for her to be afraid. She says antacid works fine (but she takes it several times a week now and in larger quantities...)

No doctor is going to work with you in the manner you describe except to the extent that your gf asks him to. Patient confidentiality, among other factors.

The symptoms you describe are indeed suggestive of gastritis, not necessarily ulcer (but possible). She needs to be tested for h. pylori and, possibly, to have a gastroscopy.

But how likely is she to consent to this?

If she comes round to seeing a doctor, I suggest either:

Dr. Jaruwat Yossombat at Chiang Mai Ram Hospital

Professor Kannika at Rajavej Hospital

or

Assoc. Prof. Chaiwat at Sripat (CMU Univ - Special Medical Services)

the last would be the less expensive of the 3.

Thanks for the reply - I appreciate it.

As for your questions and concerns:

- Patient confidentiality refers to not disclosing information about the patient to others. I do not believe it has anything to do with not finding out information about your patients from others, especially their friends or relatives. Any doctor who would treat her but would not be interested in hearing from me what her true symptoms and self-treatment are is one I wouldn't want. I get that he couldn't tell me any details about her but if he isn't interested in hearing from me about her then I'd suggest he wasn't a 'good' doctor.

- I didn't list all her symptoms I only mentioned a few. If you google ulcers and go to a reliable site you will find a long list of symptoms for both peptic and duodenal ulcers. She has ALL the symptoms of a duodenal ulcer and has had for years but lately it has been getting worse - much worse.

- I can get her to go to a doctor if I have seen him myself. I could use a checkup and I currently don't have a doctor in CM so it would be useful for me to get to know one. After I've seen him I can set up an appointment for her and get her to go to it. Then it would be up to the doctor to ensure that she gets proper tests and advice. I will go out of my way to ensure she takes any tests and follows any advice that I am aware of. I'm unclear whether it is a breach of confidentiality to disclose if she has a appointment to attend or a test to take - I guess that'll be up to the doctor. I'm from Canada and in Canada I know doctors routinely tell family members, including boyfriends that they live with, to ensure their patients follow their instructions and to make them aware of any future appointments. I suspect she will tell me everything the doctor says as she doesn't like me to be worried and knows that I am very worried about her health, specifically this matter. Plus she is not stupid or a fool, just ignorant and scared. If a doctor tells her she needs to do something, and she trusts that doctor, she will do it.

- Lastly, money isn't anywhere near as important as her receiving proper care and treatment. Would you recommend one of those doctors as better than the others?

Can anyone recommend a GOOD doctor who can treat a duodenal ulcer in Chiang Mai?

I need a doctor who will work with ME and my girlfriend. She has all the classic symptoms of a duodenal ulcer and is self-treating with Thai medicine and by avoiding drinking her morning coffee and all coke. Plus she's drinking milk and eating to stop stomach pain (classic). She's also a 'classic' Thai who has little knowledge of science and medicine and so thinks that this is a small problem that she can pretty much ignore and work around. She also has the built in aversion to seeing a doctor for anything and seems to think that if you ignore a problem for long enough it will just go away! Since she's had this problem for years and years it is clear to anyone with a working knowledge of medicine and health that it is well past time for her to see a doctor. I've checked and this can be treated with a combination of antibiotics which may cure her but if they don't she should have surgery to fix it - the sooner the better.

So.... can anyone recommend a doctor who I can work with and will work with BOTH of us to ensure she gets better? (I need to talk to the doctor to tell him all her symptoms and her treatments so he knows - as I'm certain she won't tell him the entire story).

Thanks, eh!

Unfortunately, the sad reality appears to be that the darker skin one has, the less is one's worth in the average person's eyes. This is the case not only in Thailand, but in most of Asia - including India (!). Did you ever see those marriage ads in the Indian papers where parents are trying to marry their sons and daughters off? The first characteristic they always try to mention is how fair their offspring's skin is.

If you're feeling particularly cynical, you might even say that this is true everywhere in the world, except in sub-saharan Africa. Of course there are always exceptions where people have learnt to not judge people by darkness of their skin, but it seems like they are unfortunately still in the minority.

Remember it's only recently and only in certain segements like sports, music, moves basically entertainment that dark skinned ppl are making headway.

You're living in "The World according to the BNP" aren't you?

You WISH dark-skinned people were confined to entertainment as a means to prosperity

There are telecoms titans in Mexico, industrialists in SE Asia and oil/metals magnates in Africa and Latin America building veritable empires on demand for raw materials.

Ignore all the noise and waffle in the financial press about emerging and frontier markets being in some kind of death spiral - that's the pro-Western financial tinkering cheerleaders talking up their rapidly dwindling book.

Make no mistake, the middle classes in those countries are growing at a serious clip and, within the next, 30-50 years, they could very well be living better than many of us while the lowest scum of their populations could potentially be flying to your country on a sexpat holiday to blast your grand daughter in the "Gary Glitter" for a handful of crumpled notes

I'm not a farang aka white skinned person because that still accords many privileges even today. Speaking of sexpats care to tell me which places do they have white females taking the place of darker skinned females because i would like to take such a sexpat holiday.

Try going to Macau, or Pattaya. Russian women have white skin and are being imported anywhere prostitution is rampant!

"As a Christian" I'm not sure you should have a right to voice your displeasure with anyone discriminating against anyone else, eh!

Isn't that a lot like the pot calling the kettle black?

. I do however take offence when I get served second or service sucks based strictly on my race.

Maybe they recognised your voice from a telemarketing call they got while having dinner

Laughing at your own (supposed) joke just makes it more lame. Is it just me, or does anyone else find this emoticon annoying?

It is also an indicator that the poster is NOT being serious. Sadly that seems to be necessary far too often on TV.

Since racism is the topic... just to clarify: You say "I'm Canadian of Indian nationality". I assume that's 'tech support' Indian not 'tomahawk and teepee' native Canadian, eh !

Form two orderly queues, preppers, doomers and conspiracy theorists on the left and thinking people on the right, no pushing and shoving please - my, isn't that left line long!

"Ah, how the seeds of cockiness blossom when soiled in ignorance." STEVE ALTEN, The Loch

Open you eyes bro. But you have to be a thinker and one who is aware and can see.... Oh, I forgot, you're in the right line.

Think that you haven't already been robbed? Try this: You were robbed if you were in Thailand in 2009. Here, let me prove it to you--it's easy.

Find a one baht coin dated 2008 or earlier. Then find another dated 2010 or later. Hold each up to a magnet--the one on your fridge will work just fine.

The 2008 coin will stick. The 2010 coin will fall.

"On February 2, 2009, the Treasury Department announced changes to several circulating coins. The composition of the one-baht coin will change from cupronickel to nickel-clad iron, reducing the mass from 3.4 grams to 3.0 grams. The obverse image has also been updated to a more recent portrait of the king."

Consider this: The 2008 1 baht coin's value if melted is exactly $0.0297. There are 32.75 baht to the US$ today, so 32.75 x $0.0297 = $0.97. Therefore one US$ turned into pre 2009 1 baht coins has a true metal value at today's nickel and copper market value of $0.97.

But 33 1 baht coins issued after 2009 is worth exactly: $0.0077, that's at $210/ton for steel. Let's round that $0.0077 to $0.01. Therefore the old coins have a true melt value of 97 times the true melt value of the new coins.

Inversely, just recently, the Thai 1 baht coin just got devalued by 99%.

Think about that. Think about the fact that the entire world has systematically debased its currency to valueless (though the US nickel (5 cent piece) is still valuable--but Canada went the same route--their nickel, recently 80% Copper and 20% Nickel is now mere nickel plated steel.

Since 1964 America has devalued its currency over 95%.

C'mon--you're a self-admitted "thinking person." Think about it. So Mr Thinker--tell us please-----What's next?

That is complete nonsense. What metal the coins are made of is irrelevant. They could be made of paper - all the large amounts of money in every currency are! What matters is how much the coin is worth to spend, not to melt down and sell.

IMHO: I will pay any amount of sin sod that is asked so long as it is the exact same amount as her dowry! They give me the dowry and I return it as sin sod. Problem solved!

I would have preferred that the OP had not warned the kiddy-fiddlers.

Just as I don't think it decent for others to advise ways around it.

Except many, many people have stuff on their computer that can get them in serious trouble without even knowing it.

Anyone who has a movie, TV, documentary, cartoon, etc. picture or music collection can have images that the US consider child porn. Unless you have viewed every single thing you've ever downloaded and deleted anything that MIGHT be considered controversial you can be in trouble.

Just one example: You can download the movie Pretty Baby online, from netflix or get it from Blockbuster. That's okay with the US. No problem. Until you try crossing a border and it can get you jailed because it contains images the US considers child porn.

Another: Take a picture of your kid or have some that friends have sent you or theirs. If they are topless or bottomless (from the front or back) you can be charged with possession of child porn. Pictures that where common 20 years ago - your 2 year old naked on a bearskin rug or in the bath - can now get you jail time.

Remember pornography is in the eye of the beholder and the US government's representatives are the biggest letches on the planet!

Easy. If you do not want some federal employee rummaging through every photo your took on your Asian trip, just use the program TrueCrypt....It has two password

levels, and is in essence uncrackable....

http://www.truecrypt.org/downloads

This is the ABSOLUTELY WORST thing you can do. The more you attempt to hide data the more they want to see it. Anyone with encrypted data will find themselves assumed to be guilty and subject to much more scrutiny - plus there is no way you'll be able to get it past them. Most encryption can be cracked by the NSA and anything that is uncrackable will result in your being compelled to decrypt it for them or face charges of terrorism or espionage. At the very least your device will be confiscated and your entire life will be investigated.

Far better to upload the encrypted data somewhere, wipe your drive, reload the operating system and download it once you are inside the country.

The last time I was in Mae Sai (a few weeks ago) there was a very confused tourist (perhaps a Russian lady) who was obviously doing the visa run for the first time. She exited Thailand and tried to re-enter without going to Myanmar. Thai Immigration told her she had to enter Myanmar first, then come back.

I have seen the same thing happen. I too wondered about doing that but Thai Immigration said that if you do not have an entry and exit stamp from another country, then theoretically you have not left Thailand.

In hindsight I can understand that logic even tho you have an exit stamp from Thailand.

As has been said....the Immigration authorities are the last people that I would want to upset. Trying to save a few baht (Or being a cheap charlie) could trigger them to check on your financial standing, which by the sounds of it would not be in the OPs best interest

Sounds can be deceiving. I am retired and may live another 40 years. If so I don't have any money to waste. On the other hand if I only live 20 more years I have plenty of money, so any check of my finances today is fine.

Thanks. I'll go to Mae Sot by bike this trip. I printed out an online route map and it turns out it is about 433 km via the roads (not straight line). Theoretically I could do this in 1 day but I suspect I'll stop overnight somewhere.

Does anyone know if there are currently any problems with doing a border run to Mae Sot to get a 30 day visa?

Seems like I can repeatedly do 3 Mae Sai runs and then 1 Mae Sot run... (I've heard that would cancel the 4th consecutive border run problem)?

Also... just for arguments sake: Once you are stamped out of Thailand and set foot into Myanmar it is not Thailand's business where or what you do. Turning around and entering again may be frowned upon but I can't see how it would be illegal in Thailand due to jurisdiction regulations. The fact you are in Myanmar without getting a visa stamp and then leave without getting a visa stamp should be something that only Myanmar would be concerned with and have jurisdiction over - and they won't even know... just saying, eh!

Okay so my wallet is telling me I'll have to suck it up and forget flying.

Can anyone tell me:

1). How to close a topic?

2). Alternatives to Mae Sai for a visa run from CM? (I've done the Mae Sai run by motorbike 3 times in a row).

added:

3). When leaving Mae Sai and walking across the border: Instead of entering Myanmar what would happen if you just cross the road and come straight back into Thailand? You'll already have the exit stamp from Thailand so... it would save the 500 B fee to enter Myanmar when you're just going to immediately turn around and leave, eh!