richard_smith237

It's illegal to have an unregistered phone in Thailand, be it contract or pre-paid.

It's also very easy to pop into a 7-11 and get a pre-paid phone without any ID etc.

With so many Law’s having the appearance of being made to be breached / broken for the financial gain of law enforcers its hardly surprising that not many of them are taken seriously.

I can’t remember where I have heard this, and have no idea whether its true or not….

In his earlier days as a half Thai he wanted to represent Thailand in one or another Asian golf tournament. Apparently he was dealt with rather poorly based on his mother’s social status and his father’s race.

Once famous and clearly emerging as a world # 1 he was asked to represent Thailand in one or another golf competition, he told them to get lost and that is why he has not been such a huge hit here.

Has anyone else heard this story ?

Does the wheel itself not stay the same diameter ?

(i.e. with alloys and low profile rubber)

B400,000 or even B260,000 is nuts for rims on a B600,000 car. There are lots more options, I'd suggest shopping around a lot more.

I was quoted a similar price for 22" rims a while back - 17's for a Yaris should be significantly cheaper even if they are imported.

40,000 down to 26,000 not 400,000 down to 260,000

Toyota main dealer just confirmed that all warantees are VALID as they are fitting the wheels - I'll check diameters etc. you'resaying that the tyre is not so thick so diameter is same?

Woops... numerical dyslexia must have kicked in with the hangover this morning...

26 k is a reasonable price IMO.

I have a locally purchased Garmin Nuvi 200 (I think thats the model - it was about B9900 from MBK).

It's slow to start up and locate the satellites, it looses satellite reception along Sukhumvit (under the sky train).

On the positive I've found it useful with good maps both in and outside of Bangkok and it takes a lot of stress away from traveling to unknown parts.

IMO - A dedicated GPS is a better option than a one on a phone.

> The ESRI map is (with the garmin) is very detailed for the majority of Thailand.

> IMO Garmin appears to be more common here. I'm not sure about the Map quality and comparison.

> I have never thought my GPS was a waste of money.

> It might just be easier to buy the GPS locally with the maps pre-loaded rather than being charged to have the maps loaded (maybe some other responders can advise on this).

Does the wheel itself not stay the same diameter ?

(i.e. with alloys and low profile rubber)

B400,000 or even B260,000 is nuts for rims on a B600,000 car. There are lots more options, I'd suggest shopping around a lot more.

I was quoted a similar price for 22" rims a while back - 17's for a Yaris should be significantly cheaper even if they are imported.

I've been doing some research... here is what I have established.

Muju in S. Korea - But if you are a decent skier then this might not suffice. The runs are short, its more of a weekend play time for city koreans than a week long ski resort like Europe.

Shiga Kogen in Japan (Honshu - a few hrs from Tokyo to Negano) is apparently an excellent place to ski, but its quiet at nights.

Niseko in Hokkaido (Nr Sapporo) - Lots of Auzzie tourists, good powder, longer season than the rest of Japan (needs an internal flight from Tokyo to Sapporo).

All are about a 6 hr flight... then some further traveling is needed, trains etc.

I'm told, If you area good skier forget about Korea.

Apologies for the hijack - There seems little point in starting a new thread.

How about in Bangkok ?

Does anyone have the name / contact of a reliable insurance broker ?

> For a Condo and its belongings.... (TVs,, Washing machines, clothes, jewelry etc)

As I’ve heard.

Alert in Singapore – is OPITO approved (with re-breather). It also registers people on their data-base.

There is nowhere in Thailand OPITO approved (as yet). Petronas and other Operators in Malaysia will not accept the HUET/BOSIET from the place in Siracha.

IMO – If you want to be sure of your certification in the Asia Pacific region, Singapore is the place to do it and it gives you the same certification as anywhere in Europe (i.e. RGIT, Fleetwood etc).

I’m not sure about the level of certification provided by the one in KL. I know that companies like Petronas accept it, however I’m not sure how many outside of Malaysia would / will, or whether or not its OPITO approved.

Just bought a couple of Stiebel Eltron unit to be hidden under the sink.

One for For two sinks, shower and bath. 8000w model with a dial temp control.

Another for one sink and a shower. 6000w model with a dial temp control.

I purchased Stiebel Eltron as I’ve read that they are good. I also received excellent feedback and assistance direct from the service dept.

They are well known, although I’d never heard of them because I was never looking for a water heater before. Now I see them everywhere !

Cost of the units were around B7000-7500 each.

Somewhere such as Summit Windmills just past Bangna (30mins from central bkk) might suit your needs.

As its a busy course it is more likely than not that a single player will be asked to join another 2 or 3 ball - However, if its quiet he may still end up playing the round on his own.

To answer your questions:

• There is a large number of courses within 1 hr of Bangkok - try looking at the website 'Thai golfer . com'

• Virtually all the courses offer club rental (usually about 6-800 baht).

• Regarding procedures to join other golfers - I'm not aware of anything superficially in place. Single players are asked to join up if its busy on that particular day.

• Most if not all the decent courses have golf carts (usually at 6-800 baht per round) Again. try the website 'Thai golfer . com'...

There often seem to be members of this forum who are looking for a playing partner.... keep your eyes open and you might find your father a group to play in...

So many different Scenarios...

A friend is getting married next year.

His GF is from a socially and economically well off family. She's a Tammarsat Masters Grad, her Father is Wealthy business man and has fingers in high up the Chain in Thai Politics - Without naming names couple of known politicians will go to his wedding. As will a handful of Thai pop stars and TV personalities you see daily on Thai TV.

Originally he was prepared to offer 1MB, but he was not sure he would get it all back and believes that money should be for his and his wife’s future.

As such B400k sin-sod has been agreed- He's not sure if he'll get all, half or any of it back.

Her family has / will give them 10 MB worth of land nearby on which to build a house (of course he cannot own this).

For all those who say sin-sod is a scam for westerners… In the bar girl scene maybe. But amongst normal middle to upper class families it’s simply seen as a tradition, nothing more and nothing less.

It's my understanding that as she has been Married before then sin-sod it not the norm amongst Thai-Thai marriages. In that case it shouldn’t be for yours.

Paying for the wedding by yourself should be enough.

It might be helpful for your decision to establish what the norm is for your circumstances. i.e. IF she was marrying a Thai fella, what would happen then?

I suggest that the OP looks around him. Do you have a roof over your head? Do you get enough nourishing food? Do you know where the next meal is coming from? Do you have access to good medical services? Have you undertaken full time relevant education? If you can say yes to all of these just be thankful for what you have. You are far better off than over half of the world population. What is your chance of stepping on a land mine? Or being caught up in a civil war, terrorist activity or governed by religious fanatics? Will these thoughts brighten your day and stop you feeling sorry for yourself in a situation that you have contributed to bringing about?

I suggest that you give deep thought to what YOU did that makes her behave in the way that she has. What she is displaying is the result of disharmony, not the cause. Put yourself in her shoes. Wafted away from her friends and relatives to a foreign land with strange customs and probably the object of much curiosity and maybe conjecture. How much support was provided for her by your family and friends? Were you not dazzled by her superficial beauty and she by the promise of a sunshine life in a privileged, dare I say spoiled, society so that neither of you could see straight?

So it has all gone pear shaped and you are all broken up. So what? Do you think that you are the first person to have been in this situation? Grow up and deal with it, learn from it and you will be wiser. What you are experiencing is real life and as the song says, you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again. You might learn that in life when one door closes another one opens and you will find later on in your journey that you will be thankful for what has happened .

The guy who used to live next door to me, married for over 30 years to a Thai woman and spawned 3 children, has worked in Saudi Arabia for sometime. She bragged that her husband earned 1 million baht per month. I, and my neighbours, considered her a loud, loathsome, lying and conniving creature of intemperate habit but he couldn't or wouldn't see it. While he was away she paid young Thai men to oblige her, bought new cars and trucks for her family on hire purchase and gambled all of his hard earned away. Recently the transport was repossessed, and the house and an apartment block which she used as security for loans taken out to support her wayward lifestyle have been taken from her and put up for auction. If that wasn't enough she 'married' one of her young men and paid sinsot, rumoured to be 200,000 baht, and bought him a new car. He immediately took off with the car and the dosh. This poor misguided, blind fool, now in his sixties, has nothing to show for his loyalty and endeavours, his total life a wreck. Perhaps you might, in the circumstances, consider yourself lucky.

Harsh, but summed up quite accurately. The Op is lucky and should take this lesson with him.

To the Op: Don't be sour or vengeful, just move on and use your instincts and intelligence - There are many good people out there. At the right time and the right place the right lady is there. Alternatively you can meet 'a right b!t£h' in the wrong place at the right time...

I shipped 3 boxes (each about 1 cubic meter) from the UK about 5 years ago. I used a company called 'Voovit' and the boxes of clothes and other miscellaneous used items arrived at a condo in Bkk without issue.

Damaged my back in a sports accident. I was referred for an MRI by a Dr. at Bumrungrad. It cost about B14000 for the lower half of my back.

As expected at Bumrungrad, everything was very smooth, little waiting etc

Looking at the costs that other people have posted I guess Bumrungrad was expensive. The experience met all expectations of a quality private hospital.

You don't need to justify yourself - what you had previously written was clearly understandable.

Some folk simply refuse to accept that a situation can happen. And until it actually happens to them they assume everyone else is either making it up for attention or has a very skewed view of reality....

Keep your chin up. You’ve found out relatively early.

You are already aware your only real option is to cut loose, it seems that your pride will take a kick which is understandable.

I was talking to a guy today and what I heard shocked me as I always thought it was the beer bar loosers who experience these things…

This fellow (I’d guess in his 60’s) in a very prominent position in his company (and I couldn’t imagine him being on less than the equivalent of B10million per year).

Having been here since the Mid 80’s – met his girlfriend in ’92, discovered she was cheating quite early on but forgave her nonetheless. 10 years later she had a child, which it turned out was not even his, he is still with her after loosing his car (in her name) to gambling debts, and no now very worried about the house he built and paid for (all in her name)…. (This really is a true story I listened to today, I couldn't beleive how much like a bar stool story it seemed).

I didn’t ask him, but I have a very good idea of the type of woman he met and where he met her.

What you have experienced is not even the thin end of this wedge. The first time she cheated on you was when you should have walked away. Once you planted the seed that you could forgive that behaviour things were lost.

Move on and move up… Good luck…

Depending on the type of pot….

Move it back, then paint some kind of black tar under the rim so that when they move the pot, it gets all over their hands…

By the way, that’s how a local pub stopped people smacking their sign hanging in the street. If they did, they’d get black tar on their hands….

Another idea – Find some way of securing the pot to the road in front of their house in a location where it doesn’t affect you… I’m not sure how you could do this, some sort of concrete glue etc…

i do find it quite amusing tho when peple ask about teaching jobs with english like this. english is not the first language for many on here so mistakes are quite forgivable. but when people who are claiming the intellectual high ground make the common 'their vs there and 'your vs you're' mistake its amusing to see some of the regular culprits jump on them. also the no paragraph posters make their own posts difficult to read.

I got bored after reading the title.

Were you more bored after you posted ?

Is this a money thing ??

In the same way people with motorcycles get harassed, bothered and generally screwed over where as those with cars hardly get stopped…

If you travel home (to US, Aus or Europe etc) every 6, 12 months (or what ever the normal visa is) then you have no issues. If you border run every 15 days you are screwed.

If you run a variable combination you are screwed after some time, and if you don’t have enough money in your account for the extensions of your marriage or retirement visas you are also screwed.

It seems that one way or another regardless of your situation or the morality involved (families etc)… one thing remains true… “Thailand is ok for those who can afford to stay”…..

It might seem harsh, but you get a ‘Big Red’ stamp… which to me seems like a ‘You Got Away With it a few Times Already, But We Know What You Are Doing’ stamp.

Pretty decent of them really.

How many countries give you this kind of warning?

<Snip>

Who cares about her ex ? Foreigner or Thai whats the difference ?

<Snip>

IMO - If a Thai woman has had relationships with more than a couple of Western / Non-Thai men then there may be an underlying reason.

There are girls here (some with decent careers) who choose to date only Western guys only - 'The Occupational Farrang Hunters'. They hang out in places where Westerners / Non-Thai's like to hang out to increase their chances of 'catching one'.

If in my home country I had a history of only choosing to date women of a specific race and that race was generally known for having a higher wealth than the locally attainable average, then something is clearly not right. I do have my socioeconomic standards but race does not fit into that. Some girls clearly equate dating a westerner in Thailand to increasing their financial status. This is why I would tend to steer clear of Thai women who have a line of Western or Non-Thai ex's.

Of course this is not always the case - But as generalisations go I think this one is not too far off the mark.

MC Hammer !!! My Mother made me escort my younger sis !! What a nightmare, the dancing was incredible though.

Snap Supported - 'I've Got the Power' was brilliant (I was 16 !).

Hmm… The only foreigners I know here are dating / Married to… Flight Attendant / University Lecturer / MD of family Company / Own their own business / Work for decent company.

IMO in Bangkok at least, there are plenty of respectful and financially independent ladies around.

I disagree with the majority of this post, but as it seems aimed at guys who are worried whether or not their girl is a BG or money grabber then behaving like this might be necessary.

Neither anyone I know or myself would treat our girlfriend or her family in this disrespectful manner.

One thing I read that I quite agreed with was the point that touched upon knowing how many western ex’s the GF has. Of the successful relationships I know of over here the answer is generally zero.

IMO – A successful relationship is often a result of (but not solely limited to) both parties being of a similar socio-economic status, financial independence and similar age brackets as it would in many countries.

I thought it was just me who was like this. We've talked about it and luckily my girlfriend completely accepts my need for a a little extra space now and again. She calls it my quiet time.

I can't explain it though, mens hormones?