Hugh Jarse

Is there any advantage in having a Non I. O visa based on Marriage over the retirement option? Apart from needing less money in the bank or 40k. baht per month the Marriage option is such a hassle and requires a forest of paperwork, photographs of family and more recently statements from both parties that the marriage is subsisting/ genuine.

A truly sickening and wicked act. How are the Thai mass media reporting this?

Hope Nok can get a few slots to do the Hua Hin to Chiang Mai direct. Would be very popular.

I checked at vietjetair, departure on 1th October and return on 15th October, the price is 1550 baht per trip. http://www.vietjetair.com/Sites/Web/en-US/Home

Any idea how old are the planes this co. uses and how long they have been in business?

While I have never had any problems with my A/C units that needed repair, I assume my landlord would take care of any repair cost if needed. She does have them cleaned and serviced twice a year......

Fairly normal for landlords to pay for these, in my experience. It should be stated in the tenancy agreement which party is responsible for this and other equipment .

That really bites! I hope you get the pricks. At least Pattaya will yank you over if the plates are removed....... But if they are Thai's they don't seem to have to ever have plated bikes & everyone has a cousin in the force to get them to look the other way. A little late for this bike but if you do get it back you can get a GPS chip & put it in the frame that will track the bike for over a year or till the battery gets to weak to send out the beacon.

Sorry to hear that, hope you had it insured. Always good to have some markings on the bike, your initials in yellow paint under the seat or elsewhere. Hope you get it back and keep us posted on how the local constabulary deal with this theft.

How has the introduction of tablet computers helped or hindered literacy ?

According to my 10 year old she and her peers are reading more story books as they are on line and it is somehow cooler to read from a tablet/computer than a paperbook.

What a surprise!

It is absolutely appaling that such a situation should occur. The Minister responsible should be called to account for this, disgraceful situation.No wonder he and his ilk send their children to private, international and overseas institutions for education. For a few Baht, out of school learning facilities could be set up where the poor can receive some extra and quality after schooling, bring in some overseas education advisers and shake up the pathetic Ministry of Education .

Agree it is kitsch, but the drive there throught some lush country roads is well worth it and kids love it. Dont take life so seriously.

Put politely, interesting. I hope that you are somehow able to add a concise account of what this ritual/ ceremony was about.Then repost it on Y.T.

You certainly need some cassette player to play your tapes,if you like them,original prerecorded?or your recordings?

You certainly do not need any player to transfer your music to your comp.

You can find all your music in internet and download.I believe,that you know all titles and names?

You will get CD/digital quality.Quality of your recordings....Dolby?...bygone era of hi-fi.

Your comp can automatically search net for your favourites and catch/record from internet radios broadcast.

This is legal thing.If your tapes are prerecorded,then everything is legal.

Buy some good walkman for listening with good headphones,or buy good quality stereo with cassette drive.

What you cannot do V'latte is to copy live concerts from radio, esp. those you have already edited , and which are ireplaceable. Thats one reason why a decent cassette player is needed before transferring a cassette recording on to a digital source.

Anyone know where you can get a decent cassette player that works in Chiang Mai?

Nice work if you get it! Three months holiday! Any guess what business?

Rent seeking perhaps!

Our local M&P quickie mart raised their prices by about 4 or 5 baht per 330ml can last Tuesday or Wednesday but they never had a shortage of stock. But on the other hand, out nearest 711 is out of stock except for the ethanol-benzene blends such as Cheers.

The local shops are probably selling old stock at the "new tax rate", making a nice profit in the process. What is left in 7-11, tesco, makro et al is at the old price.

Not so sure about that. The one mom & shop closest to us just started selling Heineken in cans today. Before they never stocked it (only had Leo, Singha & Chiang) so I'm guessing that they must have gotten in a new shipment.

But let's assume that it;s true that the small shops are selling old stock at the new prices. Why would only they and not 711, Tesco Lotus & Makro be doing that?

Because it's dishonest & cheating their beloved customers. The new tax applies to new supplies from brewery or wholesaler. Makro, Tesco etc are being honest. The small Heineken cans were probably all that was left at Makro for them to buy at the old price. I've seen well out of date beer at local shops at new tax rate before. Their turnover of Heineken is probably very low, but if it's all that's left at the old price, they'll buy it & sell it on at the new tax rate. But the govt wont get any more.

At The Big C(rap) store at Hang Dong today there was no beer at all not even in the coolers. Why,? "tax go up" I was informed. What a lark!!

1. Timing of buying and selling critical to profit - Your point in a property cycle. If you buy near the bottom, you should get a higher rental yield even when rents have fallen.

2 Location - The prime consideration when investing in real properties.

3 there are always some bad tenants - Can be minimized by choosing the right location for a targeted group of clients.

4 it will be more work than you think - Maintenance is a must, upkeeping the assets that are earning for you.

5 if you have any diy skills you will save a lot of time and hassle fixing it yourself ( and you will be fixing stuff) - I fix minor stuff, and have a reliable contractor to fix larger issues like repainting, fixing cabinets, plumbing and electrics.

6 Tenants dont care one bit about your room - Japanese clients do undertake to fix minor issues themselves.

7 Money talks no deposit no room

8 Dont ever give an inch on deposit money up front

9 Trust no one although you do get some good tenants and sometimes even they go bad

10 Good money was to be made in Bangkok but due to timing now not so good, anywhere else i dont know but suspect way lower rents than BKK - Old larger condo units (2-3 bedrooms) along Sukhumvit are still giving rental yields of 6% or more. Oversupply is mainly in studios and 1-bed sector.

My comments are in red above. Old condo units (15 years or older) in good locations are probably a better bet for such an investment.

Your time horizon for such an investment should be about 12-15 years, which is appropriate for retirement income. Old condo units have lesser price variance in a property cycle, thus have lesser rise and fall in rental yields.

The level of economic activity of a city/town will determine the demand for rental space, esp from foreign clients. Pattaya is tourist based with high and low seasons. What about CM?

I restrict myself to Bangkok, along Sukhumvit, and between Asoke and Prakhanong in particular. This is where my targeted group of clients choose to reside.

Anyone here know about the condo market in Hua Hin and how the 1bed, 2 bed condos are doing ref. rental yields.?

I think it would be so much better to inform people in the plane directly for the danger of those drugs , roads etc ... specially in touristic areas ... I remember seeing some warning in some airlines about drug dealing in Thailand ... Maybe an information package with all issues could be a solution for those young people...

A brillliant idea, send it to your embassy here in Thailand and hope the officials representing your interests, pass it on to their peers at the many buffet lunches/social functions they attend in BKK. Do not send it to the Tourist Office of Thailand though!

Invest in retirement homes and sheltered housing, from what I've been reading lately, by their own admission of some, Chang Mai is an old farts paradise...Could be right up your street...

Not just the retirement homes (MB1 how good is this sector regulated?) look into the Rehab. market also, lots of young and rich junkies too need good and appropriate care.

My advice, save yourself a lot of aggravation and just buy a low cost Index Fund from Vanguard and hope for the best!

Agree, forget about condos as a cushion for retirement income. There are far too many new builds at low prices and the low end stuff is oversubscribed. There is a bubble about to burst in this province. BEWARE. Do nothing until you have done your fieldwork and after 6 months decide.

Overstays do not affect the ability to get visas or extensions of stay.

Even overstays much longer than yours are not a problem.

You do get a small blue triangle shaped stamp for overstay.

This happened to me a while back and I also got fined and given a receipt in Thai. The Officer at the counter told me to try and not do this too often, as the receipt was like a summons and recorded on some data base. Best to stick to the regs., as who knows what new rules will be introduced to curb those of modest means, low enders and the criminal elements that Immigration Police have to try and contain.

But (seriously) who will lend them 2 trillion baht? The IMF? China? Where is this huge sum so glibly spouted to come from?

From the PM's brother perhaps and his patrons?

Some off-topic, troll posts have been deleted and replies. Please stay on topic. This is a developing story and can have an affect on a lot of people. Nonsensical remarks only act to clutter the topic and make it hard for people to find accurate information.

Agree, maark mar.

Do I need the wife with me?

Not really, unless you want someone to share your pain with.

Yes, wifey needs to be there and to confirm marriage is subsisting.

another hansum man bites the dust .greeks dont read english forums i guess

Clearly this one does!

Considering most of my assets are not in my name - I'm not scared. What I do live in fear of is if my Thai partner dies before me.......

Dont be scared, simply book an appoitment at your local Amphur Office and write mirrror wills. That is she leaves everything to you (and children) and you, ditto. Very easy ,cheap and will put your mind at rest. Dependant on the amphur you can get the wills translated into English also.

Great sport-tourer choice, especially with the engine that was in the first-gen ZX-14- extremely fast and comfortable, and can handle the twisties no problem.

I've seen it for ~900K over here.

WHAAT! 900K outrageous price. Imagine if the U.S., UK. Euro zone countries imposed that level of import tax on Thai rice ,rubber etc.Seriously though if they did this may bring down the price of imports into Thailand for a few bikes! Wishful thinking perhaps ,but about time Thailand revised its policies on foreigh imports!