DLock

So why don't you start a baht bus service if it's such a good idea?

It would be a great commercial success, trouble is that the local tuktuk mafia would beat the drivers to a pulp. The beating of the first and only bus service between Patong and Karon a few years back is well documented in the Phuket Gazette.

No, 03.40 AM it would not be a great commercial succes. Never going to happen that time of night.

A Pattaya-Phuket comparison is simply impossible because of the different geographic conditions on both places.

I'm with Steven on this.

Phuket Baht Bus will never happen. I'm guessing that the average ride on a Pattaya Baht Bus is a few km, or maybe over the hill to Jomtien. Phuket is much more spread out so the concept doesn't work. And to have buses waiting like in Pattaya or 5 minutes apart would not be practical or economically feasible, especially at 3.40am.

Then add to that the tuk tuk mafia that control Phuket's transport system that the local Government has been able to control. Won't work.

Tourists are going to die on the roads. That's just the way it is and will be in Phuket for the foreseeable future. I'm surprised incidents like this even make the news anymore.

Drunk, no helmets, unknown roads and 3.40am...and IQ test at the airport would be more effective.

BTW, who pays for the motorbike repair when the rider dies?

If you're in Chiang Mai, just don't use the guy with a "lighthouse" in his logo!

I know the guy you speak of. I don't use him, but I am interested in your experience.

What happened?

If you really want to piss them off.

When a taxi stops make sure you open the rear passenger side door and tell him where you want to go. If he refuses, just leave it ajar and walk away.

Never fails to get the desired response.

This thread was doomed for the OP from the start.

One is allowed to tend to his own garden, particularly if it is a hobby.

However, having a non native grass is foolish. Best to go with local vegetation and to consider the benefits of rock gardens.

I love gardening...I could watch my staff do it all day.

Do you have uniforms for your staff? I find that many foreigners do not appreciate that groundskeepers must be suitably attired in proper work pants and shirts. Allowing these men to work in the typical state of undress, particularly when shirtless, can only lead to trouble for many foreigners. They will have no one to blame but themselves when their young wives leave them or have affairs with handsome viirile Thai men. A young woman looking out her window may see one of those muscled men working in the sun, the light bouncing off a taut pec glistening with sweat, be overcome with lust and allow her emotions to run wild, inviting the lansdscaper up to her boudoire where they would engage in amorous activity. This is why the staff must be suitably attired. Better yet, only hire kathoeys.

I find that keeping my fantasies to myself usually works out better in the long run...

You could also consider the Madrid protocol for wider (but weaker) European trademark protection.

But expect to spend some money on decent trademark lawyers...

From what I've read the Mardrid protocol includes the US and EU, along with dozens of other countries. Our company is small, however we sell worldwide so some protection is necessary. Any idea where one would find lawyers who could handle this and a guesstimate of their fees?

Mixed, I have always used US based Trademark lawyers who secure US trademark and then handle the European filing secondary through their affiliates.

If we have had trademark issues in Europe we have generally used specialist trademark lawyers in Spain, so that's where I would look.

I'd pay it and sleep better.

It's a tough one. Does being done without lube by another bloke make one sleep better.

You don't read so good.

I said "unless you are very confident you can defend your case with clear proof, I'd pay it and sleep better". If you had any knowledge of the Thai legal system and how it works, perhaps you would understand my statement.

What makes you think he doesn't owe the said money and that the marina owner is screwing him?

What's to say the OP just doesn't want to pay what he considers exorbitant fees?

You must be one of those forever "hard done by Thai's" guys that frequent this forum.

Seems you're one of the oh-serious-guys who cannot spot or handle some word play.

Thanks for all that effort though, it's quite amusing.

My pleasure.

You word play must be over my head.

I just see a guy who was called out for being slow who was trying to be smart@ss and it failed.

I'd pay it and sleep better.

It's a tough one. Does being done without lube by another bloke make one sleep better.

You don't read so good.

I said "unless you are very confident you can defend your case with clear proof, I'd pay it and sleep better". If you had any knowledge of the Thai legal system and how it works, perhaps you would understand my statement.

What makes you think he doesn't owe the said money and that the marina owner is screwing him?

What's to say the OP just doesn't want to pay what he considers exorbitant fees?

You must be one of those forever "hard done by Thai's" guys that frequent this forum.

However you structure your company you are only allowed to own 49% of it. That means that it is possible for the 51% to collectively outvote you. You know this. You understand this.

What is it about this maths that you don't understand?

Yoshiwara, actually this can be averted with giving the Foreign shareholders "Preferred shares" - which could give them preferential voting rights (up to 10:1) over "Ordinary" (the Thai nominees). So the nominees could be watered down to 5.1% of the vote.

This allows Foreigners to have control over any company they invest in.

Many people don't understand Thai company law and have Thai (or Farang) lawyers that know only the very basics, or are deliberately giving Thai control.

Thai company law works and is effective if setup and maintained correctly.

Of course, allowing your lawyers wife to be Director and majority shareholder with no pre-signed resignation and share transfer forms kind of negates that.

Sunbelt are not quite correct.

Firstly, I would recommend filing for US trademark. The US trademark has the most credibility worldwide but still only protects your mark in the US, although many people can be "fooled" with a US trademark elsewhere in the world...but a good lawyer will check.

Secondly, I would file for a European trademark via a Community trademark that covers the EU member states. It's the easiest way to get wide EU coverage. You could also consider the Madrid protocol for wider (but weaker) European trademark protection.

But expect to spend some money on decent trademark lawyers...

I would ignore the rest go the world as too hard.

I love gardening...I could watch my staff do it all day.

What are the disputed amounts for?

Marina fees are marina fees - usually berth, fuel and utilities. What could a marina charge for that you feel is not your responsibility? Did you damage something?

Given the boat is not in the marina, he will have to file charges before a boat can be seized. He may be able to get a lien or an emergency injunction on the boat so you can't sell it, but you could always go to Langkawi and berth it there...but troubles will follow the boat if he is successful. He may be able to use connections to stop you getting fuel, but it's more a threat. Immigration problems are a long way off...but using connections to make your life stressful is the norm.

...but having said all that, unless you are very confident you can defend your case with clear proof, I'd pay it and sleep better.

Where is the boat registered? I assume Thailand.

Yingluck sure looks good!

Desperate Sicko!

-mel

Frame grabs off of TV tends to flatten peoples heads.

Great for resting my beer can.

self censored.

Gary, sorry to hear about your troubles. I can understand how you feel. I also have a pond and fish that I raised from fingerlings to decent size, purely for fishing and relaxation. Knowing someone stole my fish and was probably bragging and eating them would really piss me off.

I have a fence topped with barbed wire around my 12rai - not really to keep people out, but to keep pit bulls in. Whilst the dogs sleep with me, they are very sensitive to noise.

On that fence I put big signs in Thai "Beware of Dogs" and locals see me walking the dogs around the property regularly. It would be a pretty brave (or drunk) person to jump over my fence to try and steal a few fish.

Thank you all for taking the time to replay. I have to say, nobody really has answered my question, which was my fault as I think I wasn't able to make it clear enough. I did not ask your opinion about the Thai system. Internet is full of people talking about how terrible the system is and how may horrifying stories they have heard. As far as I know, Thailand is full of farangs owning a business. In a different Country, I would have done differently. For the simple reason: in most Countries nobody requires to have a local shareholder holding 51% of the quotes! So, my question is very simple: is standard procedure to make the Thai shareholder the director of a new company until one of the farangs get the work permit?

Thanks to everybody who will be so kind to answer a yes or no.

This is a question for your Thai lawyer.

Oh wait...he is the husband of your largest shareholder and Director. His answer may be skewed.

however, the tool cost is too high for this project ( 85.000 baht )

How many cavities? What daily output? What lifetime required? All that affects the cost.

Payboy is asking all the right questions.

Silicone molds are really just used for prototypes. They have a very short lifetime and deteriorate with each use. You may get 100 - 300 decent casts before it is no longer useful.

85,000baht for tooling is very reasonable and should be a one-off expense if made by a competent toolmaker, used by a competent manufacturer (pressure, heat and repairs) and well maintained - 10million cycles minimum.

All depends on your needs and budget.

I have attended few networking event in Bangkok, or anywhere else for that matter.

For people that do attend these networking events, why do you go? What do you want to achieve?

I ask that because the few events I have attended it felt that the majority of people were looking for investment, advertising or a job. Whilst I am always looking for investments and always hiring, it was not the best forum for me and I got little out of it.

To be honest, the lower price for women sets of a red flag in my mind. It makes no sense to me to offer women a lower price if they are worthy of being at a networking event of any value.

Why not 10,000baht and having a serious event - speakers, guests, events, food, drinks etc. To me it would be a pre-qualification of the type of person attending. I need to get something of value out of an event.

...maybe these events are just not for me, but I'd value some insight as to what people get out of these events.

Your lawyers wife?

Should the lawyers wife do anything silly, who do you think the lawyer is going to support?

You are completely at the mercy of the wife, the lawyer and the Thai legal system.

Firstly, get a new lawyer who offers you good legal and company structure advice. You can be the Director. You can have shares of different voting rights for the Thais (10:1) and have pre-signed share transfer agreements from the Thai's just in case you want to change shareholders in the future for any reason. The Thais are basically nominees and technically illegal also, so you may want to consider "loan agreements" to cover their % of the "investment".

This is how the nightmare starts...change the Directorship and get those blank share transfers signed before you put 1 baht into this venture.

As I see it, you made a few mistakes:

1. The wording of that clause is vague and does not read that their rights expired after 3 years, only that they can deduct a maximum 3 years of interest (15%)

2. Regardless, you did not get in writing their intention NOT to buy back your land after 3 years

3. You signed such a contract to begin with

4. You did not start construction

The way I read the situation is that you have breached a contract and they have enforced to buy it back at 15% discount because they can.

Given that the exchange rates in 2005 ranged between 38 and 42, you paid between $142k - $158k *.

They are offering to buy back the land at 5.1million baht at todays exchange (31.4) is $162k.

They will take you to court, waste your time and legal costs and they are likely to win.

Time to move on.

Note - exchange rates are approximate.

I have been wondering what happened.

The Duke's burgers were usually pretty decent. A few times they had a temp cook who overcooked them, but generally, they were worth the ride into town for.

This was my last burger at Dukes. I have no idea why I took the picture at the time, but everything happens for a reason.

Farewell my burger...I will always love thee.

Regardless...the bill goes up by the rental price per day for everyday its not paid.

...I recommend you pay it and put this down to youthful stupidity.

Well, that's seen him off.

Strange lad, that.

Best. Royal. Ever.

So, let me make sure I understand this.

You readily signed an agreement that stated that you liable for any damage to a rental bike.

You left your passport as a form of guarantee.

The contract stated that if you damaged the bike you could fix it yourself, but you had to pay 10,000 baht.

You crashed the bike.

The bike needs to be repaired and the owner will use factory parts to repair the bike to the same condition it was prior to you crashing it.

Everyday the bike is not rented it costs him more potential money.

You do not have the money to repair the bike to his standards?

And you don't want to pay?

But happy to bitch that he has threatened to sell your passport?

You are the kind of chump that makes things difficult for people in Thailand. You knew the rules. You busted the bike. Pay up.

Regardless of what anyone thinks, the bike owner holds all the cards. You hold a couple of Jokers.

BJ, it was a setup from the start and the only person who didn't know was you.

We've all been there and I know how you felt.

In your case, I probably would have just divided the bill by the amount of people and handed over that amount and got up and left.