whitespider

And another two leaving here plus news of 12 other sets of parents too.

http://pattaya-news.com/best-burapha-school-pattaya/

This school has been little short of a nightmare and we are happily moving to the new Satit programme. Although the new English programe is as yet unproven the facilities make BEST look like something from the dark ages.

I caught dengue last year in pattaya, it was the most miserable and painful periods in my life, all my joints ached all my muscles ached, a deep depression and the worst part of it was that there is no treatment, it took 12 weeks to clear up and i have had small recurrences ever since maybe 1 or 2 days each time, this apparently was the weakest or less debilitating of the various strains of dengue.

Firstly, its worth pointing out that Chonburi has (historically) the 2nd highest incidence of Dengue in Thailand. Bankok on the other hand has very LOW incidence. This means that visitors to Pattaya need to be particularly careful.

Why do you say there is no treatment? Of course there is - but its advisable to catch it early. If you feel flu like symptoms coming on (don't wait for the breaking bones) get a blood test early, any high street surgery/doctors will do this for around 500 baht.

I am curious about the figure of 6000 cases so far this year. Last years figures show 200,000+ cases so 6000 in over 4 months would be exceedingly low.

Finally - keep it in proportion. Less that 0.05% of cases prove fatal and they are "usually" the very elderly or very young.

I am not detracting from the seriousness of this illness, I have seen it first hand on quite a few occassions and it is awful - you should take every care you possible can but as a previous poster said you are far more likely to have a traffic accident.

It is certainly NOT a reason not to book the plane ticket.

jdinasia - I might have this wrong but a previous post of yours seems to imply that you might still be doing visa runs to Laos/Cambodia.

If that IS the case the you ARE still a tourist - however long you live here, you would still be classed as a tourist wouldnt you?

If not - then I grovel, unreservedly

Isn't part of the problem the simple fact that we ONLY (usually) hear about the bad experiences? This generally gives a distorted view of the overall situation.

I have been married now for 5 years with 2 kids. I met my (isaan) wife working in a hotel in BKK. Classic story - left school age 11 and worked the fields until she met and married an older Thai who later died.

We both have stable businesses but she earns MORE than me - could have left at any time I guess. Fortunately I am not so cynical as to ever really have considered that an option. We live well and SHE supports her family, how can I complain about that?? I would do the same for MY mother if it were necessary.

My point is that I am just one of the thousands of "normal" stories - you know, the ones we NEVER hear about.

My Question: Is this Bandidos gang the same as the notorious motorcycle gang in the western United States? If so their influence is certainly spreading to areas I never imagined. In Washington State, the Bandidos are noted for drugs, burglary and mayhem, but hardly ever in any sophisticated crimes.

Yes, this is the same Bandidos. To describe them as "Bandidos Hells Angels" will no doubt have upset both sides as they are not exactly the best of buddies.

They are becoming ever more influential in Thailand especially in Bangkok and Pattaya where they are also becoming far for noticeable too. There are several bars and restaurants in BKK quite openly owned by the Outlaw MC although they tend to be a far less violent brood than BMC.

The Hells Angels Chapter in Thailand had its charter removed several years ago now and this was pretty much a green light for the likes of Bandidos and Outlaws to reap the pickings they left behind.

Just head down to Nana Plaza etc and you can see an ever increasing Bandido presence -mainly farang with several younger Thai "prospects" in tow. As far as the people who watch them are concerned they are mainly the Danish element but these have historically been the most violent outside the USA. Indeed it was in Denmark where the previously mentioned rocket attacks took place.

In the main they have kept their business to themselves in Thailand although the fact that they are becoming increasingly more visual and quite openly recruiting Thai "prospects" is defintley a worrying trend. It is unlikely that they are particularly interested in the Thai prospects for anything other than the fact that they need Thai "members" to legitimise business and property purchase. Put it this way you are not going to see a Thai "prospects" family attempting to rip these guys of I assure you.

Does anyone have experience in this field of single sex relationships. I am female 31 and dating a girl age 19. I am fully aware of the issues regarding "lesbianism" in Thailand but we are not at all into the (accepted) tom/dee structure both of us being "femme".

I have never experienced any problems from her family but we are not "open" in public (at her request) due to the predominant attitude here.

I would love to hear from anyone with similar experiences.

Yah but so much for your fellow country men the high cost of your currency means the cost of your goods are high and no work as your products costs are high, but I guess you Euro ######s don't care about work or making a living you just want to play the big man role, same as the English and there over valued pound

Sour grapes and uninfored too!

The £ sterling has been depreciating against the Thai baht and Euro for some months while remaining virtually unchanged against the US$. Today the £ is 66.4265/baht and 1.74518/US$. The US$ is currently 38.069/baht.

Maybe you can illuminate on your claim that Sterling is overvalued so we can all understand where your source of information comes from. Maybe nobody told you that the Thai baht floated long ago and is no longer fixed against the US$ and will therefore never return to 36 to 38 to the £ or 20 to the US$.

This is rubbish - the £ has fallen steadily against the dollar over the laslt few months from a high not long ago of $1.90+ to $1.74

I don't dispute your knowledge on these matters but you should get your facts right.

I am a middle-class in Bangkok and the reason we don't want him is not against the poor. I just want to make sure my son can grow up and can compete in a fair country. I just want my son to have a place to stand at the same level with his son. The way he uses poor peoples as the hostage just make us sick. We are feeling like a foreigner here in Thailand now.

Well, middle class Bangkok, Thaksin is the answer for decades of ignoring the needs of the poor. While middle and upper class Thailand still think within their own class, Thaksin has managed to give a voice to the poor in the North and Isaarn.

Does he help the poor? Not exactly, he gives them very little.

But has any other government else helped the poor? Nops, not at all.

Has any political party in Thailand any sort of program designed to help the poor? Not that i have heard of.

You definately want your son and your grandson grow up in a fair society. But so do millions of fellow Thais who are living in poverty.

Isn't it time to find a solution for all Thais, especially the ones who have not gotten anything?

Well I have to admit this has got me thinking. Like many I have become disillusioned with Thaksin for his corruption and broken promises.

However it is VERY true that middle class and upper class bangkok has disowned the poor of this country for decades (if not centuries). These people often seem to have an "I'm all right Jack" attitude - even to extent of forgetting that the rice farmers helped build this countriues fortunes as they stand.

Sleepless - dont you think the rice farmer wants HIS son to have the same as YOUR son after all he already has more and yet all you seem to want to do is take take take?

Lukamar

I fully accept your point there is far to much moaning from non-thais and little of it is healthy debate. I have often wondered why the persistant moaners stay here if they are that unhappy with it here.

wow anon that is some claim

I cannot dispute that Mr Berlusconi is a bit of a shady guy but I see no evidence of Mr Blair being corrupt and definitely not Mr Kinnock and his wife/family.

The present UK goverment reeks of corruption & lies. Honours for money, goverment contracts to contributors to the Labour Party, Mandelson having to resign TWICE and still getting a job as European Commissioner, the suicide of Dr Kelly, the bogus '45 minutes' claim. I wouldn't trust any of them to clean my drains out.

Endure - I agree. I am no lover of this government and what you say stinks. We have never seen "cronyism" on this scale before but to compare it to "corruption" in the sense of doing it for personal gain on Blairs part to the things Thaksin has (allegedly) done is, in my opinion, like comparing chalk and cheese.

Lukamar

You make good points and have a sound background to your argument. However in my opinion the "culture" issue (NOT just in Thailand) often becomes an "excuse" rather than reason. Slavery and racial segregation were part of American "culture" once but it was wrong so it was changed.

I, like you I should think, have trhe utmost respect for Thai "culture" but not when it is used as an excuse to prevent forward movement and change for the better. Granted, it takes time but the voices of ALL are relevant. As a resident here I accept my "guest" status and respect that, but that does not mean I have to kow-tow to everything I see.

It seems to me that many Thais from all walks from life want the benefits of being part of the modern world but many are also prone to hide behind the culture issue when criticised.

wow anon that is some claim

I cannot dispute that Mr Berlusconi is a bit of a shady guy but I see no evidence of Mr Blair being corrupt and definitely not Mr Kinnock and his wife/family.

Sure, corruption goes on everywhere but to compare these people to the billions Mr Thaksin and his cronies are raping from their own countrymen is a bit much.

I am no fan of the people you have mentioned but the fact remains that if they DID things on Thaksins scale they would be in jail now for sure.

I also think you are missing the point about Marcos. He was evil and Thaksin is just a thief but they will both end up the same way - exciled but WITH their millions of dollars

thaipro -

I think most of us "farangs" simply dont like the idea of corruption on this mans scale. Sure it happens in farangland too but they usually go to jail or at very least are exposed for what they reall;y are.

I well remember pre-Thaksin Thailand and most intelligent thinking people (of all races colour creed etc) thought that Thaksin would bring a little equality to this country. If you recall he was elected under the banner of improving the lot of the poor in Thailand. Things seemed to start well with the introduction of the hospital fees scheme etc but even that failed dismally.

It is now quite clear that his only agenda has been to improve his own (plus family and friends) personal wealth and that doesn't sit comfortably with decent thinking people.

Your racist tones and language shame your country but thank god you are not typical of the vast majority of Thai people who are, after all, why so many of those farang you seem to hate so much choose to live here.

I dislike Thaksin the same I would dislike ANY corrupt person, politician or otherwise - THATS ALL!!

"I want to run my existing busness from Thailand but the site hosting etc will remain in the UK. Income will be derived mainly from UK sales. Income will be transfered from UK account to Thai account monthly. I will (I assume) be Thai resident for tax. I also want to buy two small businesses in Thailand, one internet cafe and one hair salon (yeah yeah just to keep her happy before you all scoff). However I will NOT own these businesses before we move to thailand so have no "existing" business in thailand at the time of the move."

whitespider - have you actually checked what your tax status will be? I think you will find that you are still liable for taxation in the UK. Even though you are no longer resident in the UK the Inland Revenue will view the income as taxable in the UK because that is where your computer is located. In which case you would have double taxation issues although realistically if you are working from home over the internet then Thailand wouldn't know and probably wouldn't care.

Good point Jin - I will check. I had just assumed that as I would not be in the UK for 90 days in any tax year that I would be exempt but will check it anyway.

P1P - one more thing has come to mind

You say you have not returned to the UK in 8 years. You may be aware that passports are now only issued for 5 years in the UK so even if I get a brand new one before I come will I have to return to UK after 5 years to get a new passport and then get the O Visa again while I am there?

Is it possible to renew a UK passport in Thailand and will the new passport have the Visa in it?

Thanks

Andy

Pat

If they dont have 40,000 a month - how the heck do they survive 90 days anyway???

Thanks to the Dr and p1p - all seems clear.

P1P - I will probably be living in BKK although already have an apartment in Jomtien - I just like Bankok thoguh we are also considering Khon Kaen and Chiang Mai.

Do I make my first renewal as the initial 90 days draws to a close?

Andy

Get a Google Adsense account - its like a licence to print money. You only have to look at all the "Ads by Google" on this website top see how prolific it has become.

You can apply here http://www.google.com/adsense

If you are REALLY serious buy this ebook and course:-

http://wasana.1insider.hop.clickbank.net

it costs about $60 but gives serious tips and strategies on making money from Google Adsense adverts especially on setting up pages that can carry high paying adverts - some allegedly payingt the site owners $17+ for every click now, though that is very extreme and I never actually seen it. I DO regulalry see $3+ a click so 100 clicks a day makes for a nice living.

Andy

Blimey Pat - thankx

The sheer volume of info' on this (fantastic I add) website had made me assume it was a ###### of a lot more complicated than that.

Just to keep it going

1. Where do I do the yearly extensions? In Thailand or do I have to come back to the the UK

2. How many yearly extensions can I do?

3. If its this easy who DOES have to do these Visa "runs"?

Cheers

Andy

Firstly to pre-empt the howls of "search the forum" - can I politely point out that I have now read everything and I am still confused about A, O Visa run etc.

If I explain what I am doing then perhops someone can tell me what I need to do?

I currently live in the UK (I am UK citizen) with a Thai wife and 2 kids (one thai one UK passport shortly to be dual passport holder). I am 45 years old they are 31, 9 and 2 respectively.

We are hoping to move permanently to Thailand a.s.a.p.

I make my living entirely from the internet. All payments are currently paid to a UK account which is transferrable to an existing Thai bank account. My Thai bank account currently has just over 1m baht in it. The monthly income is approx 216,000 baht and this is more likely to increase than decrease. I will also have further capital of around 11m baht from a house sale by the time I move.

I want to run my existing busness from Thailand but the site hosting etc will remain in the UK. Income will be derived mainly from UK sales. Income will be transfered from UK account to Thai account monthly. I will (I assume) be Thai resident for tax. I also want to buy two small businesses in Thailand, one internet cafe and one hair salon (yeah yeah just to keep her happy before you all scoff). However I will NOT own these businesses before we move to thailand so have no "existing" business in thailand at the time of the move.

My initial questions are

1. What visa do I need to get before I come as non immigrant A seems innapropriate due to the businesses not being in existence yet.

2. Where do I get the visa from

3. How long does this allow me to stay in Thailand

4. What exactly IS a Visa run and how often do I need to do it. Can you just do visa runs forever or do I have to come back to the UK at some point to renew it?

Soooo sorry guys as I know the answers are in here somewhere but for us forum newbies it is a victim of its own succes by simply being so vast.

Thanks

Andy

Yeah - and try holding a connection on Skype when you need it - total waste of time. Even msn messengers crappy free audio connection holds better and longer

I make my living 100% from the internet and working from home. At the moment I live in the UK running UK based websites.

At the moment I have 3 websites all with a UK (only) market place. I am currently adding new sites and looking for a worldwide product or licence. The bigger the market the bigger the potential revenue so limiting to one country is not optimum.

I sell TWO things - advertising and other peoples products via affiliate schemes. The former requires highly relevant info and high visitor numbers and the latter requires a lot of trial and error until you find products that people WANT and are competitive to sell. The first product I sold was selling about 1000 a month at a commission to me of £7.98 a unit. Howevber by the time everyone else jumped on the bandwagon I was paying out £7.50 a unit in advertising costs. Had I perservered I would probably now be running that product at a loss.

The BEAUTY of the net is that (within reliability limits) I could run these sites from anywhere in the world. I dont have export costs as I only sell other peoples products. If I sold my OWN producsts I could probably make more money but would have export and storage costs and then I WOULD have to run the busines from the UK.

As a mater of interest I gross around $7,800 a month with around $3,000 in expenses (mainly marketing) so a current net income of just under $5,000. A long way from a fortune but, as other posters have said, a good living in Thailand when I finally move.

For what they are worth my "tips" would be as follows

1. Get a REAL product even if it is someone elses.

2. Try and think worldwide simply because that way your customer bases is larger. I have a friend who sells a thai product (direct not as an affiliate). He started out exporting to the UK and shifted around 70 units a month at a profit of around $40 a unit. After a while he changed emphasis to the worldwide market (after all what the internet is supposed to be about) and now sells around 1000 unit at about $34 profit per unit (he now has staff to pay but that is partly offset by lower export costs to some countries).

Andy

Thanks Samran

I did do the "search" but just got offered 1000 "posts" and gave up after skipping through the first 5 pages as they were not that relevant anyway.

Perhaps I need to learn how to do the search properly first.

Apologies for perservering here but is it possible to get the birth certificate and passport issued in the same trip to the embassy in London? Indeed is it the Thai embassy we have to go to? Obviously if I can do this in one trip to London it would be much better than have to make two.

Oh - and if you can show me the link to the correct topic I would be MOST grateful.

Andy

My wife and 2 kids are emigrating from UK to thailand. My wife and oldest child (not mine) have Thai passports but myself and my son have British passports.

I understand that it is possible for my son, who is 18 months old, to have a Thai passport issued due to his mothers nationality. Clearly this will be beneficial to the emigration.

Can anyone tell me where and how I apply for the passport for him? Is it better to apply in Bangkok or London? Can he hold dual nationality, i.e. can he keep his British Passport as well.

Any info gratefully received as the inof on the UK Thai Embassy website is not very clear.

Andy

now don't I just know I need to duck .............................but

The death penalty never solved anything. There is now NO civilised county in the world that still has the death penalty on its statutes.

I abhor this mans crimes (assuming eh IS guilty) as much as the next man but killing him is not an answer. The only countries still applying this kind of solution are neanderthal in he extreme with no respect from their civilised neighbours.