craig

I live south of town in Huay Yai...will stock up on wine, beer, food and wait out the insanity...the wife will go off to get necessary supplies. No way I will venture into town during the bullshit season...I'm still pissed about the drunk foreigner who drenched me and my wife while riding the motorbike home with purchases from a store...It was after the holidays... My wife convinced me not to go back and take a piss in his mouth.

Relax and stay home. Hope lots of them kill each other.

Anyone living here for any length of time will have numerous horror stories to pass on about Thai drivers...I certainly do...I'm a retired school teacher from Washington state and one of my extracurricular jobs was to teach Driver's Education, which I did for a dozen years. First, I was appalled at the driving here and now generally just expect any driver to do the utter ridiculous and dangerous at any time...I've always been a defensive driver, having ridden motorcyles my entire life (I'm now 64)..

Just yesterday with my wife sitting behind me I was heading south on the new road along the railroad heading to Huay Yai when...WHOOSH, a car came screaming by the motorbike inches away and my wife yelled...fuc_k you...to the car (She is usually quiet as she knows it is possible to be shot for just looking at someone). The roadway was clear and no other vehicles were in sight and this driver chose to do this...go figure.

It is not just Thais but farangs who drive like this...I've seen white skinned idiots behaving just as badly...I'm not talking about the loutish morons on motorbikes but expats in cars not giving a care to others.

Why does this exist? Lots of reasons have been advanced. The rapid switch to driving by those with no training...ease of getting a license...police concerned with checking for correct papers or no helmets, while looking at dangerous infractions and not responding..the police could make a fortune if they would inforce the traffic rules...but those with money or connections have no fear of police or of conviction...Some have linked this mai pen rai attitude toward driving to Buddhism, some to the repression of anger in everyday life coming out in behaving like a king on the road...

My Thai wife says most of it is the Thais just don't care about other people...

Whatever, the reason...the roadway (and footpaths) are dangerous and lethal..You take your life into your own hands everytime you go out of your house...so be aware of your surroundings and take nothing for granted...

Sorry for the rant.

Craig

I'm watching it now in Huay Yai...I saw your message and checked...I usually only watch it for Jay Leno...Jon Stewart did a number on it a short while ago

I commented several months ago about the huge number of Foreigners at the Jomtien Immigration office...I've lived here some 7 years and made a lot of 90 day reports...the last two at Jomtien meant waiting amid all these bodies.

Yesterday that all changed. I went in about 9 am with a completed 90 day report form and pulled a ticket out of the machine...I looked up to see what ticket was being served...it was mine...I did a double take at my ticket and the announcement. I rushed over to the Immigration official, a young woman I've never seen at Pattaya/Jomtien Immigration. She looked at my form, proof of address...stamped the page, stapled it into my passport..smiled and I was finished inside of two minutes...

Just thought I'd share this, to me, amazing experience. Talk about quick service.

sammycic, thanks for your comments....I've done what you mentioned a number of times..usually it solves it the first time..this time it took about thirty attempts to finally get a connection....I wonder if the rainy season has something to do with it as during the last dry spell I had no problems...what 3G modem did you buy...As Thailand doesn't have 3G yet does this help with EDGE? In my ignorance, I wonder does a more expensive EDGE modem like Sierra have better connections and speed than SOLOMON?

I've been using Dtac with my Solomon Edge Modem for over a year. I first tried AIS and foung Dtac somewhat better. I live in Huay Yai south of Pattaya and no chance of a landline..so must use something like this. Last year around this time I began experiencing an inability to make an internet connection. I could contact Dtac but not the internet connection. Needed to try numerous times.

Then for over eight months no problems....now it is starting to say I cannot connect as I don't have authorization...I need to try a number of times before it works...also the internet is dropping off more frequently.

I have a Toshiba with Vista...

Is the problem more likely with Dtac network or my Solomon modem or what....

If I update my modem for would that help?

Thanks. Craig

Always one to wonder what if? I am planning on changing my retirement visa to a marriage visa. I've been married to a Thai woman for five years and support her and her 3 school age kids. I thought that a marriage visa would be more secure than a retirement visa as rules and attiitudes change...then I thought...what if she dies...can I claim that as I am supporting her kids I should be able to stay?

I certainly don't wish any ill fortune to my wife but, if this happens, do I rush to find a new wife, or what? Certainly, this has happened before that the Thai spouse passes...what happened to the foreign husband. My wife's brother married an English woman and then he died but as she was here working with a visa for teaching at Regents School it wasn't an issue for her...she moved to Tasmania and is married there and raising sheep... I'd as soon stay here. Thanks

I visited Thailand for several months at a time since 1988 and retired here 7 years ago. Thaiiland is one of the most violent places there is. I live in Huay Yai south of Pattaya and see examples of and the consequences of this almost daily. My wife will not and teaches the kids and me not to look at anyone for fear they will beat or kill you. An exageration? Two months ago a well liked and calm student stopped at the red light on Sukumvit near here and, according to witnesses, glanced over at the bike next to him and the male, with a female behind, took offence, shot him in the head. He died on the spot.

Unemployed and often drunk men brawl and threaten. Women do the same. Not all by any stretch of the imagination but virtually all of my Thai friends know not to challenge anyone as when provoked the violence comes swiftly and escalates. As a result, folks keep quiet and don't complain. The hordes of drug dealers here do as they please...The locals do not trust the police...so everyone goes on with their daily lives with a level of paranoia and distrust.

My advise...don't piss anyone off and as others have said...keep a low profile.

I just returned from the Jomtien Immigration office. I went in yesterday in the morning to find a huge crowd. After an hour I was sitting at dest #8...the woman said "up to you" when I asked about a marriage visa. I opted to get the retirement renewed and will go into the office come September and go after the marriage extension. When I picked up my passport this afternoon there was another huge crowd...what is going on?

I presently have a retirement extention on my visa from 1 May 2004...I married a Thai woman three years ago but still kept renewing the retirement extension. I now want to get a marriage extension. The changing regulations and with the financial crisis wiping out one of my sources of money I need to reconsider how much I can have in a Thai bank.

I have over 800,000 in the bank....400,0000 of it from September and the remainder deposited last week in January from my US bank.

How much do I need to have in the bank and for how long?

I have my marriage certificate.

My present extension expires 30 April.

Will I be able to do this in the next few weeks or will I have to wait or jump through other hoops?

Thanks, Craig

I live in Huay Yai near the Phoenix golf course and this morning heard and then saw a low flying passenger plane slowly moving through the sky above my house. It was headed north. This is unusual...I sometimes hear and see military planes but usually not this. Could it have come from or be going to Utapao?

that's too bad....I've eaten a number of good pizzas from there...but it has been awhile..I live south of town and don't get in too often...I was thinking of getting a Nick's Pizza tomorrow to help celebrate Obama's victory.

I live in Huay Yai and agree with timekeeper about reported crime. My house is in a rural area south of Pattaya near the Pattaya Air Park. My Thai wife's family all live in this area. She was born and raised here. Almost daily she hears of robberies, hit and run by drunk drivers, and physical violence of varying degrees...all in this area, not in Pattaya city. Drugs are everywhere here...We live in a walled compound and well known drug dealers practice their trade sitting in the shade of trees across the street. The consensus is that except in the most extreme cases it is not worthwhile reporting it to the police.

Bangkok Post's Breaking News internet says about 1000 broke throught the last barricade and are approaching Government House. I'm watching TNN, don't speak and am trying to follow what is going on. Here is the Bangkok Post's site http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=128372

I use the solomon edge modem and dtac....I could not get a phone line in Huay Yai south of Pattaya and started using this. I used both AIS and Dtac and both worked the same. Faster than a dial up but still slow. At times everything just buzzes along and then slows to a crawl. Drop offs are rare. I started buying the weekly Dtac pre paid hours and now use the monthly postpaid 140 hours. The Solomon edge device will keep track of the time you use so you can compare it to the Dtac bill.

I'm looking forward to 3G. I visited the states last month and stayed with a friend in Seattle...his connection was like the speed of sound compared to mine. I like to download audio from BBC, NPR, CBC and ABC ....what takes me 30 minutes here took 2 minutes there.

My attraction to Buddhism has been increasing. I am not religious and am a secular humanist. I highly recommend "The New Buddhism" by David Brazier.

I bought a plug in USB Modem, Popular (brand name) from ucall in Bangkok...It worked with AIS then failed...now it works with dtac..but after several days I get a popup that says...

Data Stream has reached User Setting

The connection failed...I restarted my windows XP and it works but the pop up keeps appearing and it often causes the modem's control panel to jump to the screen.

What can I do? What is this?

I live south of Pattaya in the Huay Yai district...lots of strays here also...we have a number of dogs all of which have been vacinnated for free...the local district office will give the shots there or will give the vaccine with needles to do it yourself...My wife's small boy has been bitten twice in the last two years by dogs that the owners are too busy smoking drugs to get the free shots...he has had to go through the anti rabies regimen twice.

My neighbors all love puppies but neglect the grown dogs...the local temple looks like a dog breeding center as dogs are dumped there.

Pattaya does not have used bookstores to equal those found in Chiang Mai...I visit Chiang Mai annually, visit the bookstores and bring back a bunch to read here in Pattaya...Jeremy's and Swans seem to have the best selections with the shop above Tops improving...I have found some nice selections in the open air shop in North Pattaya near the roundabout...

The used bookstore scene here, while a bit sparse, has improved a great deal in the past few years...please give the shops your business to keep them in business.

Yuyi,

Thanks again for this information and for your quick reply to my PM.

I will plan a trip to Sri Racha toward the end of the month. Would you send the number of the Lady manager who speaks English...I will go with my Thai wife so this should help in communicating.

How much money will this entail? The USB modem is probably what I will use.

Again thanks for your help....

Thanks to 8i8 for starting this topic and to ProThaiExpat for his great reply. I'be been reading about it on the internet and am really confused.

I will move to the countryside near Sattahip at the end of September and am told I will have some difficulty in getting a landline phone...I presently am in Jomtien and use a dialup which is slow but I can live with it...I don't download a lot of graphics. I'be read about Maxnet and the Sierra Wireless from Edge Thailand....then I read that some cellphones can be used as a modem.

This just confused me more...So, I would really appreciate some more recommendations based on personal experience...

Thanks to all.

I have a year's extension (retirement) and have a letter from the US embassy stating I have well over the required monthly pension income. I live fairly inexpensively and find that in my first year here I will spend something less than 600,000 baht which is the amount of money I will transfer in in the course of the year....

My question is:

If my bankbook reflects three overseas transfers of money with about 200,000 in the bank plus the letter from the embassy, will this be seen as sufficient funds to renew the extension?

For financial reasons I would prefer not transfering in any more money than I will actually spend in a year.

Thanks in advance for any advise.

Thank you Lopburi.

I have a Type "O" visa and have a year's extension for retirement purposes...After more than a year with her, I plan on marrying my Thai girlfriend. My renewal date in in April of 2005...

What do I need to do to renew the visa if I marry her before the renewal date?

Can I do this all in Pattaya or do I need to leave the country for a new type "O" visa?

If I get the new extension based on marriage, will this allow for a work permit. If so, then I can start a small business.

Thanks for any help.

I am all for the police enforcing traffic laws...not just grabbing folks for no helmets but for wrong turns, SPEEDING, improper lane changes, etc. This would make the Thai roads of death a bit safer and would bring in revenue...would the increased revenue help raise police wages and less corruption...maybe not but the increased safety on the roads would make life here a bit nicer. By the way, several weeks ago my Thai wife pointed out signs along the road, in Thai, that warned about the increase in fines...some penalties carry a 1000 baht penalty.