taxin

My opinion if you want all year round business instead of only 5 months of the year then it has to be Patong. Of course the usual bias people will always tell you "Do it in Surin", "Do it in Rawai" but in reality unless you have a good customer base in these places already then forget it.

All the successful places such as Offshore Bar in Patong, and Kamala bakery have been going for a long time. The best Sunday roast on the island which happens to be in Kamala has been doing it for 7 or 8 years, they have had time to build a reputation & get it to a fine art.

Do it in Patong & charge a bit more to cover your costs. I would pay 200 baht for a good breakfast, providing it was real back bacon and bottomless coffee !

Hello,

I was just having a conversation with my investors, and they asked a really good question.

How many expats are in Phuket, and where are most of them from.

We were on the subject of Resturants and such, and I know that different people from different places like many different things when it comes to dining out. By no means is this a competition, but I would love to know how many Americans are here on the island.

Working here, retired, vacationing?

I know, having read the forum in depth, that there are many from the UK and Germany, ad various other places.

I love the mix and find trying to place the language or accent I am hearing in the line at the store to be very fun.

So, where are you from? And What is your favorite dish! Regardless of its region or country.

Like I am West American and I love Chicken Masala from India.

~a~

PS: Siam Real Estate found me (2) PERFECT HOUSES!!!!

I see following the warning from the mods to Siam Real Estate to stop pitching themselves has now resorted to them getting there customers to do it for them !

Misterman. If you dont mind paying as much as 30-50% more than what it would cost you to do it yourself, and/or dont have the time then SRE are pretty good and will find a place for you.

The house im renting now was on the SRE website for 30,000 baht a month. I noticed the house one day on my travels (its quite distinctive) so I asked for the tel number from a neighbor, when I called the landlord quoted me 20,000 baht.... At the end of the day convenience (or just being plain lazy) will always come at a premium !

Back on topic: I am English and I love a gold old English breakfast !

I informed ebay also the travel agent who auctioned the holiday at absolute seapearl, but they are still being offered on ebay!!we have not heard anything further about our promised free offer, mrs nignoy wants to put in a guest apearance and give mr Ramjambutty the manager a good slapping, in september on our drive up from singapore, so watch this space folks :jap:Nignoy

What PK1 is suggesting here is that you leave feedback on the ebay sellers page to warn potential buyers of being tricked into visiting the resort, reporting them to ebay is a waste of time.

This is typical of most complaints you hear about Phuket or any other destination in Thailand, we all have a duty to make people aware so that these tricksters dont get the chance to do it to the next person, unfortunately there are not enough people doing so.

If you made the purchase on ebay less than 90 days ago you should be able to leave negative feedback.

Does anyone know if the Thailand revenue department have the power to access the company owner/directors personal bank account ? The personal bank account is with a Thai bank.

This is a real question and not a joke, I have used this username since I have been on here. By all means have a laugh about it

<font color='#000000'>Not a MD or prescribing any medication but Xenical is mainly used for cholestrol reduction. Costs about 55 baht. Available at private hospital pharmacies or larger pharmacies without prescription. A generic Thai compareable to xenical is 5 baht. Most drugs available without prescriptions,but caution should be used when not under Drs. advice.</font>

I have been using Xenical for about a year. I am under a Dr's care for cholesteral and the Xenical has had what we think only a marginal impact on the cholesteral count, albeit a positive one. Hence, I don't think doctors use it for treating cholesteral unless someone's count is already relatively low. However, it is very effective for doing what it is supposed to, but as you mention, is expensive. It can be bought over the counter from Boots at approx. what you are paying for it. I pay about THB 33 per tablet and the wife buys it a pharmaceutical wholesale place on Srinakarin (or whatever it is called when it passes Bangna heading south). The place is across the street from the Carrefour and Makro stores and the sign is in Thai. It is best that a Thai purchases the items or the price will skyrocket.

I am unaware of the comparable generic Thai pill. Please let me know what it is called. Also, how safe is it? Have you taken it?

Anyone know any updates on the above ?

I wouldnt mind giving it a go. I would pay the 55 baht, but even better if there was a Thai generic. Anyone know the name and where I can buy from ?

Does anyone know what the latest trend is for one way flights into Thailand without evidence of departure ?

Im bringing my folks over to Thailand but I dont want to purchase a return flight.

Cheers.

[

this is the main problem when looking to buy land, particularly larger plots here in Phuket. its very rare that you will ever get to deal directly with the owner. usually there will be a number of middle men, relatives etc. who all want their cut.

It is possible to buy direct if you have a diligent Thai wife keeping her ear to the ground. For a farang doing it alone, then no chance of buying at the true cost price. Too too many middle people, with their fingers in the pie.

ha ha ! Not always the case, a mate of mine in Udon just put a swimming pool in his resort, which is a resort that his Thai wife "helped" him build, he thinks the swimming pool cost 700,000 baht, it was actually only 400,000 baht !

The Thai wife banked 280,000 baht and gave the swimming pool company 20,000 baht for supplying her with an inflated invoice ! She then bragged about it to the neighbors how she had made a nice profit !

All he needed to do in order to find out the real price was to get a few quotations, but of course, why do that when you have a Thai wife !?

Any one on here when through the process of getting a thai residency permit then a resident card like a thai has..

If you have can you shed some light on this for me, is the process hard? And the process simplifed ,,to give you some info I have thai kids and wife,,,and want to live there with out the other hastles with permits

Dont you mean Thai "citizenship" ? I always thought there was no such thing as permanent residency ?....

Has anyone bought Timeshare at Absolute? Why is it a scam? What is the cost & what exactly do you get if you buy into this programme? OK the police have been taking bribes, what is new but Timeshare can be enjoyed by millions the world over. Replies from unhappy customers of ABSOLUTE only would be appreciated.

Pothai, you get nothing ! Only 1 week in the resort in which you pay a yearly "management" fee, a fee which is more than double what you would pay if you went direct or through a hotel booking site. The upfront fee you pay simply goes down the drain !

Sorry but im not an unhappy customer, but this is generally the case with timeshare scams.

Feeling generous so I'll help out this first-time poster and decipher some of his cryptic message for the public...

It's a very brief news report contained within this video:

http://www.phuketgazette.net/tv/details.as...;from=lastvisit

After watching the video, I'd say that the title of this thread is totally misleading. Suggesting that Absolute Sea Pearl was "caught" bribing the police suggests that something clandestine and illegal has happened, which is clearly not the case.

The point the OP is making is this "gift" was given for the sole purpose of the police allowing them to continue hassling tourists on the streets. I know someone who used to work for this timeshare company and it is in fact true about the heavy fines they pay year upon year, mainly due to the dozens of street workers they have working illegally with no work permits. And these are not small fines, apparently it was into the millions.

Although I agree that the heading of this thread might be a little over the top it is still an obvious bribe in my eyes !

I have also tried to download the latest issue on the Gazette site but I cant. I think Phuket Gazette dont let you view the recent one until a certain ammount of time, of course they have to sell papers 1st so its understandable.

I have seen it in the hard newspaper though and I have to say it really is a huge embarrassment for the police. They probably dont realise what they are doing !

maybe they are never on time - but they are the only airline allowing smoking (of cource, if you don't mind to be smoked in a cheap cigarettes fumes)

Does anyone know the tel numbers for Emirates or Etihad in Bangkok ? (thats of course if they have offices in Bangkok).

Did you contact Charlert(Charlie) at Charlie Connection Travel? He should be able to do that quite easily.

Also no problem to do direct with the airlines, but don't expect a cheap flight. Just go to the airline office and pay there. THAI have been known to do it.

It does seem that direct with the airlines is the best option. Malaysia Airlines upto now have been pretty helpful, and will even let me pay by cash in person at any of there offices.

Will see what Thai have to say !....

AWD are a joke ! Rooms unavailable or not, there is no excuse for this unprofessional attitude and people need to know. Not responding to emails and taking 4 days to do so when they do is just not acceptable !

Why should you have to call them if they dont reply to your emails ? If they are an "online" company like they say they are then you should not need to.

The problem with AWD is they are victim of there own success, they struggle to find staff to keep up with the volumes of enquiries generated through the sheer amount of traffic they get on there sites. Take phuket.com, just Google anything with the word Phuket in there and it will always be top. As the saying goes, "Big is not always best" !

Due to low profit margins on bookings and lack of man power to respond to enquiries they turn to extorting money from business's to advertise on there sites. Again, just look at phuket.com, packed with overpriced advertising !

Great if you want to advertise with them and dont care how much it costs, not so great if you want to make a hotel booking.

There is an issue with the purchaser not being one of the travelling party but I have no reason to believe that that the agent cannot use a non UK card. I have used cards from a number of countries in the past.

Air Asia do not need the purchaser to be part of the travelling party, neither did Bangkok Airways. Neither any good for this instance I agree.

Just looking at British Airways. Firstly they say this:

If you choose to pay using a UK billed credit card you will incur a credit card surcharge of £3.50 per ticket.

Here they say http://www.britishairways.com/travel/genco...r1/public/en_gb

If you are travelling on an electronic ticket, you will not be entitled to be carried on a flight unless the electronic ticket was issued in your name and you can prove to us that you are the person named on it.

Further on in the booking process, BA asks whether the purchaser will be travelling. They have a yes and no answer so they must expect this sometimes.

You can then enter your payment details including any one of about 100 countries where your card is billed. this is irrelevant to the person travelling.

I think this should satisy the OP.

Not really. Im still looking for a way how I can book and pay for a flight from the Uk to Thailand. i.e. NOT purchasing it from the country of the departure but from the country of destination. Calling the UK and using my credit/debit card means im purchasing it from the UK (although physically im not there), and I dont want to do that.

Hey Mods, why did you completely remove all the comments about a SPONSOR agressively using this forum to promote their business ?? Is this not subject up for member debate ??

Did this really happen ? Sorry as im a bit of a late arrival to the thread.

I suppose in defense of the mods it is a little off topic to be discussing if a sponsor should be allowed to actively pitch other posters, but still its a very interesting point made by livinginkata.

I think siamrealestate didnt help by by being so obvious, might have been better to go with the less obvious "in-direct" route by simply answering the OP's original question, or by sending a PM.

But then again, PM messages dont help when the main purpose is for optimization and getting your name on the forums

I dont have a UK bank account and I dont have a UK credit card. Hence the reason for me saying that booking in England is NOT an option.

Im hoping to pay with hard Thai baht currency, or with a Thai issued credit or debit card. I would even consider paying by bank transfer but only if it was direct to a reputable airline. Upto now none of the airlines have responed to me....

Are you sure that a Thai credit/debit card will not be accepted? Have you contacted the on line ticket agents such as ebookers or airline network.

If not you could try this agency who are a British managed agency in Thailand

The UK agents or airlines will not take a credit card payment over the phone unless the person paying is part of the traveling party, so where the card is issued is of no relevance. Again, another reason why booking in England is NOT an option !

I have looked into every possibility of doing it through an agent in the UK and its a no go. I want to book it and pay for it in Thailand.

Any website or agency that is NOT based in Thailand im not interested in. I will however try musictravel and see what they say. Thanks.

If you have a UK account you can draw on search for WestEast travel. The are based in London. I've used them when booking from the UK several times. Good prices.

edit: http://www.westeasttravel.com/user/default.asp

I dont have a UK bank account and I dont have a UK credit card. Hence the reason for me saying that booking in England is NOT an option.

Im hoping to pay with hard Thai baht currency, or with a Thai issued credit or debit card. I would even consider paying by bank transfer but only if it was direct to a reputable airline. Upto now none of the airlines have responed to me....

Thanks PJS, I have sent them an email to the link you gave me, see if they can help. Cheers.

I need to book a flight from the UK to Thailand but I need to book it from within Thailand, and of course pay for it here in Thailand.

Sending money to England and booking/paying for it in England is NOT an option. The travel agents in Thailand dont seem to want to know or say they cant do it. So it appears that my only option is to go direct to the airlines.

Does anyone know how ? And if so can anyone recommend any airlines with offices in Thailand where you can make a booking.

Cheers all.

If you really don't know, I suggest you keep your money in the bank. Perhaps if you were working in Bangkok then you would know what sort of work you were suited to.

From my experience, agencies selling businesses have no idea how to value them. ONe particular one went down from Bt55m to some Bt30m in a couple of weeks. Certainly the agents just put up whatever bullshit the client tells them to.

I couldnt agree more with these so called agencies. I looked at this myself and the prices these brokers are advertising for business's in Thailand is outrageous ! It amazes me how they come up with these crazy figures. I mean, who in there right mind would pay X ammount of millions for a coffe shop that will give you zero return on investment, and a measly 50,000 baht a month profit if your lucky !

My advice is go for a franchise or invest in an existing business that already has a working model, maybe a branch of that existing business. Thailand is a big country and there are lots of business owners out there who simply cannot or dont want to be in 2 places at once.

I have a franchise in Thailand that cost me nothing in terms of a franchise fee, I only had to pay the costs in relation to start up and getting the Thai company itself registered. I simply pay a cut of all sales to the company that lets me use there brand. Works well for me !

Hi guys, having a holiday from work in march 08 and planning a trip to phuket with my girlfriend, however, it's kindda a 1st time trip for me and my girlfriend so would like to ask the experts here

We would like to take a tour around phuket for 4D.3N

would appreciate some recommandations and dos and whatnots

We're a couple looking for a relaxed trip, shopping, paying the beaches a visit (no diving cuz girlfriend's not water lover), visits to some Wats and nice dinning places. also some nightlife as 1 or 2 nights we might wanna check out the nightlife there.

Hotels ( preferbly 1000thb and below)

areas to visit

places to stay

places to shop

temples?

i have been looking for a iternery for 4d3n but unable to piece them together, so im hoping some kind soul here will help out?

would really want to enjoy this trip to phuket with my girlfriend

thanks guys

1,000 baht a night ???... hey you know how to treat a women well on holiday !!! Thats like, USD$30/AUD$35/£15 per night !

Just as well your g'friend doesnt like diving, a dive trip for 2 people would cost you at least 5 or 6 times the ammount your willing to pay for a room per night ! A taxi ride to the nearest temple would equate to 40% of the price of 1 night accommodation... As for nightlife, 2 drinks would cost in the region of 20% the equivalent of your accommodation....

Ask yourself, based on this price comparison would you pay this in your home country ? If not then the answer is simple, dont come here as you will be disappointed !

Throwing money around does not make you the big man. The guy asked for helpful advice, not abuse.

Its not abuse, its fact ! My above price comparisons are factual (give or take a little). Apoligies if I appear to be a little strong, the bit about how you treat your g'friend on holiday wasnt called for, sorry. And if your a Thai then an even bigger apology !

The point im making is Phuket is not cheap and you will be very disappointed if you think it is. Its the people who think they can get a hotel for 1,000 baht in high season who spread the bad word about Phuket, not me. One minute they are on Thaivisa looking for "advice", a month later they are on thaivisa slaging Phuket off how its a rip-off and overpriced !

Its not about "throwing money around", its about having the right perception on what Phuket is all about and what the costs are. By giving it to jetzie exactly how it is we have one less person on here with the wrong perception, and potentially one less TV member posting about how overpriced Phuket is ! Which really pi*ses me off !

Hi guys, having a holiday from work in march 08 and planning a trip to phuket with my girlfriend, however, it's kindda a 1st time trip for me and my girlfriend so would like to ask the experts here

We would like to take a tour around phuket for 4D.3N

would appreciate some recommandations and dos and whatnots

We're a couple looking for a relaxed trip, shopping, paying the beaches a visit (no diving cuz girlfriend's not water lover), visits to some Wats and nice dinning places. also some nightlife as 1 or 2 nights we might wanna check out the nightlife there.

Hotels ( preferbly 1000thb and below)

areas to visit

places to stay

places to shop

temples?

i have been looking for a iternery for 4d3n but unable to piece them together, so im hoping some kind soul here will help out?

would really want to enjoy this trip to phuket with my girlfriend

thanks guys

1,000 baht a night ???... hey you know how to treat a women well on holiday !!! Thats like, USD$30/AUD$35/£15 per night !

Just as well your g'friend doesnt like diving, a dive trip for 2 people would cost you at least 5 or 6 times the ammount your willing to pay for a room per night ! A taxi ride to the nearest temple would equate to 40% of the price of 1 night accommodation... As for nightlife, 2 drinks would cost in the region of 20% the equivalent of your accommodation....

Ask yourself, based on this price comparison would you pay this in your home country ? If not then the answer is simple, dont come here as you will be disappointed !

Aussietraveller, im looking at this myself at the moment, although im in different circumstances than yourself. Im not married but I do have a Thai company.

What I have recently been told (by a Thai developer) is that a bank will not touch you unless your company has at least 2 years of trading, luckily my Thai company has been Trading 3 years. Im also told that its NOT net profit but more based on turnover, which I find a little odd but then again understandable Thai mentality. Your combined salaries will get taken into account more than the actual profit of the company.

I think you have a good chance of a 50% mortgage without the need to establish a company in Thailand. Land & house in Phuket will grant upto 50% to foreigners who have a Thai spouse and a business outside of Thailand, might be worth popping over and seeing them. When I get some time I will be going over there myself.

As for English speaking accountants in Phuket forget it, been there tried that & failed everytime ! Its like asking for a Thai speaking Accountant in Australia !

Any further info you get let me know on here.

I think you heroes out there should back off onionman ! He has every right to be pis*ed off. The fact that he was banging her for free and never gave her anything more than street food is totally irrelevant.

Me personally, I think the slut should hang for what shes done !.....

I don't have any kids, but I know many expat families that heve been here 20 years plus.

If money is no problem, their kids get sent to British International School (formerly Dulwich).

If not quite so much money, or, seeking good value, then the kids get sent to QSI.

If money is an issue, then Dao Rung, or, Dara Samut.

No person that has lived here a long time ever sends their kids to Montessori. As someone has already said, the children run the school, no discipline and no critical thought.

Interesting thread this one, will have to keep an eye out for future posts on here. Im a little off yet until my kid goes to school (in fact its not been born yet) but I suppose theres no harm in planning ahead.

So in a nutshell.

Dulwich (or British Curriculum as I believe its now called) is the best but the most expensive, but teaches real Queens English.

QSI a bit cheaper but only 2nd level English taught by Yanks.

And then you have the even cheaper Mosquito infected Montessori.

Not sure which is worse, my kid speaking like a Yank or having dengue fever !

I guess I better start saving up my hard earned cash now for Dulwich !