Guitar God

Some parts of the country are nice for cruising on a big bike, Chiang Mai area comes to mind. Bangkok sucks. A scooter, car, taxi or public transport is more enjoyable. I love riding my bike but I hate driving in Bangkok.

I only saw that it said his ex-girlfriend returned to Pattaya to work, I didn't see that it said she was a bargirl.

It's likely she may have been but I find it interesting that almost everyone automatically assumed she was. I know two women who live and work there, one in a clothing store, another at a restaurant.

I asked if Thailand had any seismic activity and they said "no". No fault lines, no subduction zones and that the country, especially in the Isaan area was the most stable and least likely to have any ground movement caused by earthquakes. They understood the question and I I understood their answer. Odd neither of them knew there was a fault line near Chiang Rai.

I suspect this was a rare occurrence.

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Just two weeks ago I had two different pool builders tell me Thailand didn't have any seismic activity so I didn't need to consider that when choosing between a pool with tile or a liner.

Wonder what they're saying now?

I didn't feel anything in Bangkok on the 4th floor and this place moves sometimes when heavy trucks speed past the building.

Everywhere can and does have earthquakes but Bangkok isn't a place prone to earthquakes, Northern Thailand is more so. Building codes are different depending on the likelihood of a significant quake .... NY doesn't build to LA standards even though NY gets earthquakes too.

I think you either misunderstood the pool builders or they were telling you something in very basic terms to not make things complicated.

Just two weeks ago I had two different pool builders tell me Thailand didn't have any seismic activity so I didn't need to consider that when choosing between a pool with tile or a liner.

Wonder what they're saying now?

I didn't feel anything in Bangkok on the 4th floor and this place moves sometimes when heavy trucks speed past the building.

Hugh- I watched your brother Mel in MN when he hosted Mel's Matinee Movies. Mel was the TV star but your name came up often too... ;-)

I've been riding big bikes in the US and Europe since the 70's, I rode every day unless it was snowy, icy, below 6C, pouring rain or I had something large to carry. Sometimes I even rode on those days. I wrote in Feb in Amsterdam when it got up to 10 one day but ended up riding back in the snow. I've rode in the Netherlands with the rain, Paris and London traffic the autobahn in Germany, Greek islands, Canary islands, Hawaii, Houston, California, Chicago and the midwest. 1000cc and up, never cared for scooters.

I bought a big bike here in Jan and just downgraded to a scooter. The big bike was like riding an oven, it was too wide to fit through spaces scooters could go when splitting lanes and in Bangkok since I couldn't use the expressways or a lot of elevated roads, I rarely went over 80 kph anyway. The definition of motorcycle here is what I'd call a "scooter" so motorcycle parking was too small, too tight and it was a huge hassle to park anywhere. In other cities you get a tiny bit of respect on a bigger bike, here I've been sideswiped once on the highway by a car passing me going 80-90 and had my footboard ran into by some dildo who was stopped in traffic and turned right into me trying to change lanes where there was no space to do so. I hope he did more damage to his front fender than he did to my footboard because I heard sheetmetal bending and scraping. I didn't bother to stick around, I got the hell away from that yaba-smoking idiot before he rolled over me.

After I move up country I'll probably get a Road King or Heritage Softail Classic where I can drive without baking in the sun sitting in traffic jams and have fewer idiots in cars to ruin my day.

Up in Chiang Mai area it's probably different but riding a big bike in Bangkok is not my cup of meat.

I'm surprised that nobody has said "western Nakhon Phanom"...

Can't help with Nakhon Phanom, haven't been there yet.

I'm not sure what links I can and cannot post here but if you're looking for other stuff to do, Google "Events and Festivals in Northeastern Region of Thailand" with the quotes and you'll get a calendar of Isaan events. The next one I saw that was interesting was the Nakhon Phanom rocket festival on May 10-12. They also have them in Khon Kaen and other cities.

If you're still here around 12 October you might be able to see the Naga fireballs shooting out of the Mekong river around Phon Phisai. If you're around 7 November there's Loi kraton in Chiang Mai, Ubon and other cites here.

It's not a battle.

It's a street market/street party with recycled speeches for background noise.

What do they expect this final, final push will accomplish ?

I doubt manufactures are putting amphetamines in OTC diet pills, especially when ephedra is legal and has a similar effect. High doses of ephedra can cause tachycardia and other cardiac problems and supplements containing it are no longer allowed in certain countries.

Even if there is a lable listing fat-blocking or natural appetite suppresents or stimulants there's still no guaranty that it also doesn't contain Phen-fen or ephedra.

My wife tried some she bought from a store in a mall and had trouble sleeping and discontinued their use. No stimulants that I recognized were listed on the label.

While I agree that the majority of respondents here slag off Thai women and paint them all with the same brush, if you can manage to navigate around the effluvia you'll also find many examples of farang men in various, happy and successful relationships with Thai women.

You just have to seperate the wheat from the chaff here, and there's a lot of chaff here...

I'm not saying to ignore warnings or disregard advice but you have to consider the source, motivation and backstory of each post.

OP - Given its enshrined on thaivisa that Thai girls are the scum of the earth and anyone is given free passage to say so on here over and over and over and over again, you are coming to the wrong place to ask your question!!

Kamslabob2- Great info in both of those last two posts, thanks.

But unfortunately, I see it also means I'm going to need to pay ฿150 to get our house inspected.

Where am I goiing to come up with that kind of money ? 555

I can handle the Ubon part:

N-Joy bar and resturant N 15^. 14.045' E 104^. 50.247' (gps) Sapphasit road just west of Soi Phalochai 9 on the north side of Sapphasit. Great farang food.

T&C bar and resturant N 15^. 14.025' E 104^. 52.050' Phichitrangsan road just east of Phonphaen road on the north side of Phichitrangsan. Sign says "Good food, Cold beer". Good food, bigger than N-Joy

Wrong Way Cafe Phadaeng road just south of Sapphasit on the west side of Phadaeng road, doesn't open until 6 or so, haven't been there yet.

None of these are very big but you'll usually find a couple ex-pats there, the proprietors speak English.

I see loads of Thai women at Fitness First working out. Whether they're single or there staying in shape for fear their farang bf/husband will leave them is anyone's guess but they are there. I think the membership is around 9-10k a month but it is a nice club with good facilities and many locations.

Shorts on a date. No problem, especially if it's a badminton date. I'm sure they'd rather see knobby knees than pit stains if you're still a heavy sweater by then.

You do adjust to the heat. When I first got here I often felt too hot. After a few weeks I noticed that people younger and in better shape than me were sweating like pigs and I was dry and comfortable.

At your age, bars near universities is also a good option but just remember, not 100% of the college women there are there just to make friends. Some may be paying their way through school.

I'm building a house there too, and I have to admit, my people, and I, often cook on open fires too.

It's most common during the hot months in our country. Usually the Alpha male of the group will build a fire and put on a ceremonial apron and act as the "grill master" for the day. Ocassionaly the entire village shows up.

Sometimes we eat bovine, porcine or cervine flesh, or the ground up muscle of ruminants made into "patty's" and eaten between kanom pan.

Another traditional food cooked on open fires is the grilled intestinal casings of pigs filled with ground up snouts, lips and *ssholes.

The food is usually eaten either on the ground while sitting on blankets or on rustic wooden furniture and washed down with fermented alcoholic beverages that contain yeast poop.

...A cry for help please guys, why am I being told what to do by people who still cook on open fires, when Thailand has the highest incidence of Lung Complaints, in the world ! I have shown them all of the 7 Homes I have Built in Australia, including in Port Douglas which has survived Cyclones, I have told them that if Thailand ever had a Cyclone, they would be wiped off the Map, I may as well talk to the hand.

I think you're referring to "Strain Hunters". That's Arjan Roskam from the Greenhouse, along with breeder Franco who travel around collecting landrace strains (and creatively writing off his vacations as a business expense).

Where does Holland buy it's legal weed from?

In Holland, legal weed is bought legally from guys who grow it illegally.

That is one of the anomalies of the Dutch system, i.e. that it encourages illegal smuggling into Holland from countries where it is illegal. Morocco is the largest supplier to Europe in general. Most of it is smuggled in boats to Spain and then overland.

There is a series on youtube called "the seed hunters",Three Dutch guys travelling the world to find the purest and most potent strains of pot.They trek to the most remote places to find their pot of gold and simply mail the seeds back home and grow it hydroponically to maintain the different strains in its purest forms.Thailand is in one of the series.

It sounds like The Usual Suspect and I might be neighbors. I too am building a house in Isaan that's 1/2 meter above ground with a block foundation and concrete slab floor. The developer lives across the street in the same little gated community, I've been in a few houses there that are a couple years old, they seem to be well-constructed and our house is progressing nicely. There was a push to get the roof on before the rainy season so they could work protected from the sun and rain and could complete it on time but they managed to meet the deadline.

I wanted a higher foundation like they have on the single story houses and at first they said they couldn't but they did it anyway.

My advice would be: Bulid it the way you want it and tell the inlaws to wait until it's finished before they form an opinion, and bring the workers cold drinks.

I think it's different for different citizenships. For U.S. passport holders I thought the VOA was only 30 days, that's what I've always been given. A friend with a Dutch and Canadian passport came here and got a 60 day visa. Not sure which passport she used though.

I flew KLM from AMS to BKK on a tourist visa with a return flight booked past 30 days from departure and I had to tell the check in agent that I was leaving and reentering Thailand before the 30 day visa was up.

I'm not sure if they would have refused me if I didn't but they were definitely interested in if I was going to be staying more than 30 daytha in a row. I usually get preferential treatment when I fly so they may have cut me some slack. I'd reccomend having something with you to show you are leaving within the 30 days, flight reservations, hotel booking in another country etc.

Leaving Narita on KLM to BKK on a return leg I had to show my visa during check-in. Again, I'm not sure what they would have done if I didn't have one but why would they ask if they didn't care?

Confusing. Tourist Visas are good for 60d, not 30d. (And there's an option for a 30d extension to the 60d for a total of a possible 90d on a single entry.)

Anyway, wrt the original question, it's really down to the airline and perhaps even the employee checking you in. An oversight on my part, but I showed up with a RT eticket with a return more than 30d out (and no visa). The girl caught it and politely questioned me about it. I told her I was planning a side-trip to Laos by land before the 30d limit, and then re-entering Thailand for my return. She was ok with that. No fuss, no muss. Being one of their frequent flyers might've helped.

I certainly can't guarantee that'll always work though.

I've noticed that the ganja related stories here are well-received... Just sayin'...

Anyway, most all of the coffeeshops also carry some imported brickweed from Thailand, Jamaica, Mexico etc. It's not the most popular of strains but sometimes people like a change. No matter how good the indoor-grown Dutch sensimilla is, you can get used to it and switching to brickweed, even if it's inferior in quality, can give you a more desirable effect. Or so I've heard.

Why would Holland import crap Thai weed? Seriously its like importing piss water when you have a lake full of Glenfiddich.

Not to be contrary but for example, U.S. immigration doesn't specify what to bring and with them, more was better. The first time my wife went there with a few papers she was declined, the second time she was approved and that was only after she kept presenting more and more evidence that she wasn't planning on overstaying her visa until they were finally convinced.

My lawyer included an annual statement in addition to the (imho, fairly worthless) embassy affidavit with my application. I'd rather give them one paper they might not want than have to go back.

I flew KLM from AMS to BKK on a tourist visa with a return flight booked past 30 days from departure and I had to tell the check in agent that I was leaving and reentering Thailand before the 30 day visa was up.

I'm not sure if they would have refused me if I didn't but they were definitely interested in if I was going to be staying more than 30 days in a row. I usually get preferential treatment when I fly so they may have cut me some slack. I'd reccomend having something with you to show you are leaving within the 30 days, flight reservations, hotel booking in another country etc.

Leaving Narita on KLM to BKK on a return leg I had to show my visa during check-in. Again, I'm not sure what they would have done if I didn't have one but why would they ask if they didn't care?

All I said is don't waste your time or paper printing out proof for the embassy because they're not interested in seeing it. This document is colloquially referred to as "proof of income". I didn't dig through the embassy site to find more than what I needed to make an appointment but I was surprised that they weren't interested in any proof I brough.

Ubonjoe explained why but I'm used to the government requiring supporting documents. When I file a tax return it requires a W-2 and loads of other paperwork, not just a notarized statement saying how much I made.

I've supplied supporting documents for every application I've made, whether they asked for it here or not. I've assumed that if I didn't supply it, they'd ask for it anyway, especially since I'm sure they're well aware of the fact that embassies don't verify anything except the signature.

It seems like you're blaming me for the Thai government asking for supporting documents. I'm sure they've done it long before people mentioned it on internet forums and I'm sure they know that the affidavits are not verified by the embassies.

My advice to people going to the embassy for this service is to bring your passport and 50 bucks or 1500 THB and a pen. When you file your application, include supporting documents so the process isn't delayed.

It's posts like the OP that has Thai Immi officers now asking for corroborating evidence to your affadivit - the sworn statement is your testimony and if required to be proven needs to be done by you - not the Embassy/Consulate witness.

Be aware that an Embassy or a Consulate, once inside, you are legally liable to that country's laws.

Swearing a false affadivit before a Federal official under U.S. law is liable for a penalty up to 10 years imprisonment.

The last two annual extensions I have been asked for corroborating bank and pension statements at Phuket Immigration.

I'm not a nuclear physicist, though I did play one on TV, I can't think of any way they would use a nuclear reactor to search for a downed plane. Any ideas?

I thought they were already ฿6 a pack, how can they go up if that's the highest allowed price?

The writing in some of these articles leaves a lot to be desired.

You don't see that on countries that have enough public toilets. It's commonplace in the Netherlands where public toilets are few and far between. I've seen mothers there teaching their kids to piss on trees next to canals. I've only seen drunks and hunters out in the woods do in the U.S.