Adagio

I think the FZ28 has been replaced with the FZ35-FZ38.

My personal experience of buying non-mainstream cameras is that they can be very hard to find in Thailand. So I have been buying from Hong Kong based retailers via eBay. The prices, even including courier delivery, are competitive, the camera arrives in 2-3 days after ordering and is delivered by courier. I have bought from DC Empire and Digital Rev, both gave very good service. I have bought a Sigma DP1, A Panasonic LX3 and TS1, and a Canon SLR lens via this method with no problems.

Thank you, that is good to know.

The biggest drugs problem on the island is caused by methamphetimes. Yabba before and now Ice (Crystal Meth). 99% of those who are consuming this are Thai. Yes other recreational drugs are available on the island, but only a very small percentage of farangs who come to the island dabble. The vast majority of people are high on buckets alone. These statements are meaningless PR stunts by the government. If they really cared about ridding the island of drugs, they would be targetting the local Thais who are getting affected by the methamphetamine blight, rather than the odd farang who takes one ecstacy or who is carrying a few joints.

Local meth heads don't pay bribes

Only just noticed this story as I'm in the UK at the moment getting my annual visa. Lived on the island 4 years and I've never heard of farangs taking the real problem drugs mentioned above but they really are destroying some of the locals. I like the island the way it is though I wouldn't begrudge the locals getting a better income. Hopefully this really is just another knee jerk reaction to some bad publicity on UK TV.

I have checked out all these sites

http://www.fotofile.net

http://www.meecamera.com

http://www.worldcamera.co.th

http://www.viewfindercamera.com

http://www.avcamera.com

http://www.thaicameracafe.com/

http://www.photobugonline.com/

http://www.niksthailand.co.th/

http://www.digitallifethailand.com/

Some of them look good and are in English, at least enough for me to be able to navigate, but none of them sell the particular model of camera I am looking for (Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28), I'm not sure why, it appears to be widely available for sale in other countries.

Hi, try tohome.com they sell all kind of other stuff too.

mbox

Thanks for that, it's what I'm looking for but they don't sell the particular camera I want unfortunately, probably as they are a more general retailer as you mentioned.

I know what camera I want but I live in a small island in the gulf and don't want to travel to buy it. I had my last laptop delivered here without a problem, so I hoped someone would be able to recommend a good online camera store.

Unfortunately I read no Thai so some degree of English would be necessary, though I know what I want and could probably get a Thai friend to help.

Good morning

I am looking for a recommendation for a clinic that does injectable facial fillers on Koh Samui.

All comments welcome. Places to go or places to avoid.

Thank you.

In addition, details of where foreigners reside, including satellite pictures with details of where foreigners live, are now stored on a centralized database and monitored for irregularities, he said.

I would be quite interested to hear where those sat pics are supposed to come from: as surely a commercial provider must be used, this might be quite a cost. Not that I am assuming here that the Thai government would simply steal them from a free service like Google Earth, there are now extremely strict guidelines against all this kind of illegal stuff in place here on Phuket.

What the hel_l is this supposed to tell anyone? My house is hidden under a cloud on google Earth!

This could be the way of the future. All of us Europeans who live out here and travel home once a year for our non immigrant O visas will probably get a shock at the price rises next time we book and if oil prices don't drop back to well below $80 we'll all be scr*w*d! Imagine that long bus ride!

I want to buy an Apple computer. They have very tight restrictions on what they sell to whom, where and at what price. The price difference (I have checked out prices with various suppliers around Bangkok) between Thailand and the USA is $500! About 30%. I have a friend who could buy for me in the USA and ship it over.

I have two questions.

1. What would the import duty be on a computer costing $1,299?

2. Is there a (major) shipping company people can recommend to use or avoid?

Thank you.

I have had a fantastic experience with shop4Thai - used just once so far, but that was great, will use again. Recommended.

Positive:

- They called me back to ask about some stuff. I had ordered some wireless antennas and they wanted to know whether I need cables, and what model router I have so they can deliver the right size plugs.

- They waited until they had availability information on all items before sending an invoice.

- Everything I ordered was in stock.

- They were reachable by phone at all times.

Negative:

- Website is a mess. But don't let that put you off.

They sell Macs:

http://www.shop4thai.com/en/category/Apple/MacBook/

Edit: Another negative, I think they offered payment by Verified by Visa, and that didn't work. Hardly every works though. Pay via ATM.

Too lazy for a trip to surat thani, eh? Wow.

Cheeky, i'm actually doing the research for a friend.

THis does sound like what I'm looking for. Thanks very much.

Obviously it will have to be paid for in advance. My credit card comes with full protection so if it does not turn up or turns up broken that won't be a problem.

Or hit the Mac Shop next to Big-C on Ko Samui?

I had heard there was somewhere on Samui but it didn't appear on the list of authorised resellers on Apple's website so I was concerned about the validity of the warranty.

I have found plenty of web pages for companies that have a shop in Bangkok, but I live on Koh Phangan down in the south. There is an authorised Apple reseller in Suratthani but I was hoping there might be something online. I would rather not go to the bother of all that travel when I know exactly what I want.

Can anyone recommend a good online company that will deliver to Koh PhaNgan? Equally info on any bad experiences/companies to avoid would be most welcome.

Thank you.

With all due respect, can we please stay on topic and avoid comments like I should buy a PC or how I can fly to Singapore and buy one etc.

Robert

Nobody has actually answered the question yet.

I know the Thai way is always to give an answer, any answer it seems someties, rather than say 'I don't know' but I would hope a lawyer would be able to get over such social conditioning when advising me on how to spend a couple of million baht! (and getting paid to do so).

I have heard a small town Thai lawyer will tell you whatever you want to hear rather than what is right or wrong under the law. The waiter in my local bar could do that. I assume this lax adherence to the law must mean there is no such thing as getting 'struck off' as we call it in the UK. Loosing their right to practice law. If their livelyhood were at stake they may be a little more careful.

Wow I seem to have asked a sensitive question, however this topic was supposed to be about a market for the resale of leases NOT the leasing of land for more than 30 years.

I was going to start a new topic and ask people not to discuss lease extensions but I think I have found out all I need too. The market is small. Most farangs are buying (illegally or through a spouse) and the resale market is in it's infancy.

Thank you to those who stayed on topic. To those with opinions on lease extension, START YOUR OWN THREAD

About a year ago I saw some new eco bricks. They are apparently made from sand, clay and a little cement. They are pressed in a hydraulic press then dried in the sun. I was quite curious so I bought a couple of them. For a test, I have left them exposed to the weather and use them for blocking up my farm implements. They have proven to be a lot stronger than the cheap concrete blocks, look much better and have weathered well. I think I will use them if I ever build a new house. They are interlocking and both houses I have seen that used them have used no morter. The farang painted his and the Thai left his plain. I was a little skeptical about using no mortar but after the inside surface was plastered, it seems quite strong.

I've seen these around, I just didn't realise (beyond the obvious) what they were. Thank you, just the sort of advice I am after. Thanks for the second hand wood advice too, also well worth thinking about.

Earth and bamboo is eco friendly. When done properly it can look nice too although most of what you see looks pretty home made if you know what I mean.

Whatever you build try to build it to last...a building that lasts twice as long uses only half the resources more or less. One problem in Thailand is that everyone wants a new house so houses are not built to last more than one generation. Many Thai people do recycle parts of old buildings and even build houses with that in mind by not putting in unneeded nails.

Also consider size. Building a house bigger than necessary blah blah blah. Consider the design and consider how you can make your living space more efficient blah blah blah.

Chownah

I was thinking of a bungalow for guests somewhere down the line. This sounds possible for that though I think I would want something more substantial for my main home. Unless there are builders who could do this on my island (Koh PhaNgan) it might not be an option anyway but all ideas gratefully accepted.

Just dig a hole and cover it with fallen branches.

I am not sure whether I am supposed to find that helpful or funny.

Well if it is helpful thats great, but I was just having a chuckle.

No offense intended.

None taken but I'd work on your comedy routine

I live out in the boonies and during the past three years, I have not seen a single house built with wooden rafters. So to answer that question, the Thais are VERY good at using steel for the roof portion of the house. The foundation will be the difficult part. You will need a good engineer who will tell you whether to build on driven pilings or if you can get by with conventional poured footer. In any case I think it is a good idea to use concrete for stilts. Wood is still commonly used for the walls because the wood is far enough off the ground to allow visual inspections. There is a wooden house on stilts near our house. It is now empty. The stilts were made from wood. The entire house is full of termites. It still looks good but I would be afraid to walk on the floors.

Thank you, most helpful. you have also confirmed my pre-conceptions. Decorative but not structural wood. Shame.

I live in a Balinese style house which uses all three.

The "stilts" are made of cement to avoid termites entering. The support beams are steel and everything else is wood.

The wood needs changing every 5 years due mainly to mushrooms and mold. We have thatched roofs on our salas which also need changing annually. Wood has good insulation and is easily replaceable but needs constant attention. IMO this is the way to go as the climate does not need thick cement walls. There are hard or oily woods that are sustainable such as rubber tree.

Thank you, I have pretty much been thinking along these lines, though with a tile roof as I am not planning on the roof being step enough for thatch to be completely watertight.

I would still appreciate any comments on the environmental and cost implications of the various options.

Just dig a hole and cover it with fallen branches.

I am not sure whether I am supposed to find that helpful or funny.

What sort of recourse do I have if I am given bad/negligent legal advice by a Lawyer? I am assuming none at all as none of them seem to (for instance) have any qualms about having their staff act as silent partners for their clients companies which is, as far as I can tell completely illegal as a Thai holding shares in your company has to be able to prove they invested their own money in the purchase of company held assets. Fair enough if the lawyer warns you but I have been told by a couple of people that a Thai lawyer will basically tell you whatever you want to hear in order to get your business and will gloss over or ignore any potential problems 'down the road'. I have heard stories of lawyers forgetting to submit paperwork and a client being faced with financial loses as a result.

Obviously the sensible option is to listen to friends recommendations but in the event of a problem that is plainly the fault of a lawyer, something like an important clause being left out of the Thai version of a contract or failure to register a contract with the relevant agency, where do I stand?

Get a cat. I have no objection to the small Gecko though the large ones sh*t really stinks. I am forever (daily) having to rescue various animals from her. They get tossed off my balcony.

I am at the very early planning stages of building a house (single story, stilted, 2 beds, large surround balcony) on Koh Phangan. I would like to build as ecologically soundly as my budget will allow. I would appreciate peoples comments on the merits of the three main possibilities of wood, steel and concrete.

I know concrete to be an environmentally unfriendly material due to the vast amounts of energy used (and so CO2 produced) in it's manufacture. as far as I know though this is the cheapest option.

Wood is potentially a renewable resource and looks great but a couple of friends have said the problems that come with it, such as the constant need to be applying toxic chemicals and the quality of the materials available mean they would not use it again. I very much doubt the wood I could get hold of on this island would come from a renewable resource anyway and would probably be the product of illegal, or at the very least unsustainable logging, something I would not want to support. Apparently it's very expensive here too.

I know next to nothing about building in steel here or anywhere. Would local builders even be able to do it? I would at least want the roof structure in steel which I have seen being done around the island. Building the structure in steel would only have any point if there is a substantial ecological or financial merit in doing so.

I am not an expert, but being a land 'owner' in a company name, I have made a lot of enquiries since the news last year that the land laws would be interpreted more rigidly.

My research into this has come up with the following:

- 30 year lease registered with the Land Registry office is very safe. It has been tested all the way up to the Supreme Court (I was advised this in a thread in TV - so may be worth looking for if you are interested). I have not heard of any loopholes.

- Incidentally - to dispel an urban myth here in Thailand - there is no such thing as a 30+ 30 lease. Only 30 years is recognised legally and then its up to the owner if they want to extend.

Thank you, this is helpful. Especially the supreme court bit.

As regards 30 year leases with an option to extend the extension option cannot be registered with the land registry so is in effect useless. I have just read (www.chiangmailaw.com/leasing.htm ) about th possibility of a 50 year lease available to businesses making a 20M Baht investment though of course I might as well buy if I'm going to go down that dodgey path.

Most of the lawyer sites mentioning leases seem to think clauses on resale or transfer of ownership of the lease in the event of the death of either party are legal and above board and that a clause allowing sub leasing would negate any need for the assistance of an unco-operative landlord.

Back to my original question, Is there a market? I do not seem to be able to find leasehold properties to buy, just new leases from freeholders.

Wouldnt that depend greatly on the view and location?

Location location location of course.

OK so how about some ball park min/max info. How much for a dark swamp with no views, no road and how much for a nice flat piece of land somewhere expensive like Haad Rin or Thong Nai Pan with views and all the facilities.

I am still very much at the research stage. I did not want to go into all the details as these forums do have a bit of a tendency to go off at tangent and I don't want to bore people but here goes; Must have possibility of good internet so somewhere in the south, probably no further north than Thongsala (I'm looking into internet possibilities elsewhere). Other than that most things are negotiable. View would be nice. low flood risk. Year round adequate access at least by bike. No standing water (i am a mozzie magnet).