passedout

I was reading other posters in other threads and all the complications they had in Vientiane staying overnight, missing paperwork etc. Just thinking I need to go to Bangkok at some point so is there a place I could get the non-o visa in there during the next week or so? Thanks again.

Hi Ubonjoe,

Thanks a lot for your reply. Are there any forms to fill in that you know of to take to the Thai embassy in Vientiane along with the bank book and the letter from the bank? Also is there a particular template wanted by the embassy for the letter from the bank confirming the balance or any official scribble from them with a stamp and signature at the bottom will do? You never know I’ve read the embassy people can be pretty fussy and I wouldn’t like to waste a trip to Vientiane.

Thanks again.

Hi all,

I’ve just been through Suvarnabhumi airport and the lady officer said to me that since I have 6 visa exempt stamps in the last 12 months, next time I want to enter the country I need a visa. Since I’m over 50 I’ve been thinking about getting a retirement visa so I guess I need some advice on that if possible. I’m an offshore worker on a 28/28 rotation with 3 weeks left in Thailand.

I’ve read somewhere that the 800K needs to be in the account 2 months before applying and that some paperwork can’t be more than a few weeks old before it is presented to immigration which brings me to my question on what to do first and in which order. Finally the rent contract for the house we live in the Udon area might be in just my gf’s name so that could be a problem I believe. I could add my name at the bottom or just ask the landlord to rewrite the contract I suppose.

Thanks a lot in advance.

1. That would mean getting a OA visa. That requires getting a medical and police certificate along with proof of income and/or money in the bank.

Info here: http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/123/15385-Non-Immigrant-Visa-%22O-A%22-(Long-Stay).html

2. Is not as easy as it once was. The only immigration office that can do the conversion is Bangkok and it takes two trips 15 days apart to do it. Unless you will be living in or near Bangkok it is not a viable option now.

If you can get a single entry non-o visa in you home country that is the best option.

3.You can get an non-o visa at most nearby embassies and consulates if 2 is not viable and you cannot get one before traveling.

Hi ubonjoe,

Do you have a link showing which documents are needed in option 2?

Thanks for your patience on this done to death subject.

You would still do your 90 day reports in Udon.

Hi, I’m not familiar with the 90 day reporting at all. Can you elaborate a bit more on that please? If you go in and out of Thailand and stay less than 90 days in the country every time, do you still have to report? Or the clock restarts every time you arrive in Thailand?

Also can you report to any immigration office anywhere within the country and how long does the “reporting” operation likely to take in a normally busy immigration office? Is it just a matter of filling in a form, show your face and passport?

Thanks in advance.

Where are the banks going to get 30% of all the money owed (It's "owed", NOT "promised".) to all of the northern farmers? If I were a farmer I would be afraid of a "30% of money owed" settlement, as a possible "final word" payment. The older I get (and I'm pretty old now) the more I think this is how the whole world economy works. Nobles and serfs. Ever hear of "Noctus Primus"? An old English right of Nobles over serfs. Maybe it still goes on..

Make it up with the computer...just like all the other banks do.

I can recommed a Dentist in Pattaya ... trained in USA (for what its worth) speaks very good english; my son had wisdom tooth pulled in less than half and hour (waiting for anesthetic to kick) he said painless .... root canal about 4,000 Baht; my Missus had a tooth pulled as well ... very efficient ...

So if you're going to Pattaya (hour and 15 minutes from Bangkok), then let me know ....

I'll probably need a root canal....would you mind sharing the name and address of that dentist in Pattaya?

Meditation and discussion group....yeah why not!

I'll be in Pattaya at the beginning of the year

So far, Lumpini's projects in Bangkok all have a basement carpark to max their sales area given a restriction on building height.

That's what I thought this was going to be like but...no digging no basement car park right?

Very curious to see what's going to turn out.

Not necessary. Driven piles are piled to required resistance force and left exposed, unlike bored piles which can be cast to about a metre higher than the basement floor and not seen at ground level.

The main contractor can still come on site and sink in a row of sheetpiles to excavate and construct a basement when piling works is completed.

How's the main contractor going to excavate and construct a basement with all those driven piles in the way? It's not going to dig around them surely! I'm missing something here...

So far, Lumpini's projects in Bangkok all have a basement carpark to max their sales area given a restriction on building height.

That's what I thought this was going to be like but...no digging no basement car park right?

Very curious to see what's going to turn out.

Hi LennyW thanks a lot for your comment. Some of the spare concrete piles lying around were around 2 mts and some around 5 mts in length. The shorter ones could have well been chopped off bits as you said but the longer ones I don't know then. Strange though they haven't cut off the driven in piles roughly at the same level. How far up from the ground do you think they'll go with the poured concrete beams to connect the piles?

Just came across this recently and since I was thinking of investing in that place I was wondering if anyone had any relevant comment to make.

The photo below has been taken in Posri road Udon Thani where the new Lumpini Place’s project has just commenced the building work.

A 14-story building with about 200 apartments it’s in the process of been built right on where those concrete columns are. There will be another 5 buildings knocked together further afield but I assume they will all be built with the same criteria. Judging by the length of the spare concrete poles that are still lying around the place I would assume that the ones in the ground have been buried from around one to two metres max.

I can’t see no deep digging going on nor concrete footings been made anywhere.

Is it maybe too early in the construction work to see that? I would have thought that concrete columns should seat on a concrete bed and the concrete bed should be around 5 or 6 feet below ground level but then again this is not my line of work.

Is anyone with some experience in building foundation willing to make a comment?

Thanks

summary: forget about it except if buying bonds denominated in Indian Rupees or Brazilian Reais, hold them offshore and get the interest automatically exchanged into hard currency (either USD or EUR).

Would you happen to know one or two of these banks/brokers you could open an offshore account with?

I would be grateful to know.

Thanks

you don't need an "offshore" account to invest in foreign currency bonds. any account in a proper bank (except a bank in Thailand or a British Credit Union) will suffice.

As far as I know Thai banks will charge you 7% tax at source on dividends coming from gov and corporate bonds and UK banks will charge you 20% tax on dividends. Offshore banks won't charge you anything.

Or maybe I missed something....if so do you happen to have a link to a tax free non offshore bank or broker?

Cheers

summary: forget about it except if buying bonds denominated in Indian Rupees or Brazilian Reais, hold them offshore and get the interest automatically exchanged into hard currency (either USD or EUR).

Would you happen to know one or two of these banks/brokers you could open an offshore account with?

I would be grateful to know.

Thanks

"Yes it was you doing the research. It was you who said "don't leave your plastic water bottle in the sun ". The total opposite of the WHO advice."

Interesting article the one in the WHO site. Leaving plastic water bottles in the sun or heat may well kill extra bacteria contained in the water but I thought the point that harry was making was about chemical like BPA leeching from the plastic bottle into the water. BPA is a known hormone disruptor and it’s also contained in most can lining and Teflon pans.

http://www.naturalnews.com/041912_bpa_fetal_exposure_contamination.html

Not quite on Topic, but where did you get the buffalo excrement?

I buy Buffalo and cow manure,from a local farmer.

Believe it or not there is now a waiting list.

I can't get my next lot until next month,as it is dried before it is sold.

The locals are catching on fast,about the benefits of good manure.

May I ask you how much you're paying for buffalo manure?

Hi everyone. Just a quick question about importing supplements into Thailand. The import duty and various fees payable to the custom excise on vitamin supplement imported from USA seem to be getting out of proportion. For the last shipment I had to pay around 50% of the value of the goods in fees and duty! Any advice on how to get around these hefty import duties? I’ve read somewhere that the FDA license can take ages to be granted and maybe very costly, so perhaps using a third party company that have the FDA license already it would be an alternative way to go. Anyone knows a reputable import/export company that doesn’t charge an arm and a leg and deals with small volume packages? Otherwise has anyone any advice on other possible methods?

Thanks a lot in advance.