nonthaburial

I came through the airport on Thursday, and for the first time ever was stopped after the "nothing to declare lane". I was asked where had I come from and what was my purpose of being in Thailand. I replied that I had come from Taiwan and that I lived and worked here in Thailand. I was then asked my profession and after answering was told Ok, thanks very much and was allowed through.

Two points here, the first could be a little confusing and that is the statement that TG flights with 4 numbers i.e TG 1234 etc will only be used out of the old airport. This is not strictly true as the TG flight to Kaohsiung ( Taiwan) has a flight number TG 6800 and leaves from new airport.

Secondly with reference to the name . If you look at the airport signs on Viphavadee Rd the spelling is Don Mueng and has been for as long as I can remember. and my memory goes back to 1977

The core of the problem as far as I can make out is the suitability of the drugs she has to take. When she was first diagnosed she was given a cocktail of drugs that gave her various and dangerous side effects. M knows only too well what the wrong drugs can do to her.

Hence her request for her Doctor in the Philippines to continue with the drugs that she has been prescribed by her Thai Doctor. and resulting in the problems now being experienced.

garro, your point about a cardiologist is taken, however please understand the costs involved in such things, especially in the Philippines.

An update on this situation.

I have just learned that M, who took a months supply of heart medication back to the Philippines, has visited her local Doctor and has been informed that this medication is not available in that country, and before she can be treated, the Doctor would require her Thai case notes.

M contacted her Doctor in Bangkok who informed her that she must apply for and receive her medical case notes in person. No amount of pleading would change the Doctors mind.

Sooooooo she has now to try and find the cash to purchase yet another air ticket to enable her to get back to BKK and collect her medical history etc.

This of course will entail selling family valuables, which the family are hardly in much of a position to do !

Seems it never rains but pours !!!

I passed through immigration at 1230 today, same thing happened, it seemed the offenders were mostly Russian and it held the queue up big time. however I did notice that those in question were told to go and fill in and then join the back of the line.

Sorry but I cannot accept the renmarks about cabin crew, nor do I accept the comments that its easy enough to fill the forms in ! In January a Chinese friend and i were on a Gulf Air flight from HK and were surrounded by an elderly Chinese tour group who obviously had no idea what it was all about. They couldnt understan the English nor the Thai writing, so my friend and I spent the 30 mins on approach filling in over 20 forms !! And an interestin g point gher is that this tour group were thrown on an aircraft in darkest China, met at HK then thrown on the GA flight without a tour guide. Now that is asking for trouble

I can recommend a very professionaloutfit here in Bangkok, if youre interested pm me !

I have heard it said on many occasion, that the PI immigration will not allow a non Filipino into the country unless a return ticket is shown as proof of outward travel.

With that in mid CP were perfectly correct in their actions, and I would suggest Air Asia are in the wrong.

As a side line it may interest you to learn that if you are resident in the PI and are on a tourist visa you can only stay the allowed days i.e 28 days. However if you are married to a Philippine passport holder and you are accompanied by your spouse on arrival you can request and get a Balikbayan visa valid for one year !

Same thing happened to me except this was an original contract, she also wrote in No cooking, no alcohol and no guests. Guess who didnt get my business.

I write this, not so much out of the need to attract sympathy, nor to draw flack or flames from the cynical, but merely to show how hard a life some people are born into.

For those of us with a different hair colouring than black or eyes that are also not black in colour, we seem to be living in a different world to that of the ethnic Asian!

This story begins 15 years ago, when a vibrant, healthy, moderately educated 23 year old girl, decided that her life would be better away from the hard times of the Bicol region of the Philippines. With very few belongings and on borrowed, but very limited money, she took a 10 hour bus trip to Manila and purchased a flight to Bangkok.

On arrival in Bangkok, she contacted a person who she knew of and was given a room for the night, from that day she scoured the area for work, not for the money to send home, but to survive on.

She was very lucky in one way, her "friend" who was also a Filipina allowed her the use of the spare room for an extended period, but as usual required payment. The lady who I shall simply call M, managed through the Filipino community to secure a job with yet another Filipina who legally operated a travel agency business.

M, being the kind of girl she was, would not allow herself to be sucked into the dangers of working illegally in Thailand and ensured she held the correct documents and work permit.

He job with the travel agency was going well, although the company owner threw 90% of the work on M and paid her a pittance. On one occasion, the owner asked M to deliver a number of tickets to customers i different areas ot Thailand, which took the whole day to complete. Upon her return to the office/flat, she found that in her absence, the owner had packed up and fled - believed to be back to Manila. Leaving heavy debts.

It was later realised that the owner had also stolen a number of M's valuable belongings. A number of days later, the landlady demanded that M pay rent and back rent to the sum of over 30,000 Baht. Of course M could not pay this and she was evicted from the property and all her belongings confiscated, including her passport and work permit.

Of course M did what must be considered the sensible thing and reported it to the Police, who did absolutely nothing.So realising that she was not going to get very far, she reported the incident to the Philippine Embassy here who issued her a new passport.

The cost of the new passport left her with almost no cash left and she was forced to sleep rough outside a 7-11 with no change of clothing or comforts.

It was during this time that M realised that she was experiencing mild but concerning chest pains, accompanied by shortage of breath, but due to the circumstances had no option but to "soldier on"

After a short while, the Filipino christian community got wind of what was happening to M and she was offered another job, this time with a placement agency. Operated by yet another Filipina who was married to a Thai.

M told me it didnt take her very long to realise that this company was making big money illegally by overcharging and scalping Thai workers who used the agency to secure work abroad.

Again M being M she was bitter and angry, but by this stage her chest pains etc were getting worse and after consulting a Dr she was diagnosed with a heart condition that will eventually require a heart by pass operation. However, with the correct medication at a cost of over 6,000 Baht a month, life could continue quite safely for years to come.

With the above in mind, it must be realised that although M could see that her employer was cheating, and the fact that M required the salary of 10,000 a month to survive with the expenses of her dingy cheap room and her medication, she was in no position to take any action or make any comments, self preservation being the order of the day.

As M explained to me, she hated herself for working there, and the fact that she could now speak Thai and could understand the emotional comments made by those being fleeced, she decided that she had to secure another postion away from that company.

Anyhow to cut an already long story shorter, M managed to get another but much better paying job where she did well and gained the friendship of the Thai staff. Unfortunately a number of years later, the company had to downsize and she was one of those laid off.

After being laid off she of course had to hand her wrk permit in and was given 7 days to leave Thailand. In this period of time she did manage to find another opportunity and got together the required documentation for a Non Imm O visa trip to Singapore, this at her own cost, with the company promising to repay her when her Work Permit was issued.Upon her return from Singapore with the required Visa, she was told "sorry but the position offered toyou is no longer open" and was refused the refund as promised.

Last Thursday, M, who by now was totally emotionally dead took the dreaded flight back to Manila knowing that her life was now dead, and probably she would also be dead in the not too distant future as she will have no chance of affording her medication in the Philippines.

This is a lady who would give someone her last cigarette ( no she does not smoke but you can understand my meaning) This is a lady who has seen terrible hardships and abuse but still continued helping others in distress. This is a lady who would do anything for a friend. This was truly a remarkable lady who has been forced out of the country she loved,and the language she spoke to an almost certain medical problem in the Philippines.

My respect and my admirations go with her and I hope she can survive.

So as you can see, for most of us life is a doddle isnt it ?? But for M the struggle for survibal goes on,and yes for those who are interested, I am going to help her as best as I can with finances to help her purchase her medication.It was me who am trying to sell three very nice 21" TV sets to help raise the required funds.

Why am I doing this, simple really, to try and give a very decent human being help when its needed.

Thanks for your interest in reading this

Am sorry for her and I can understand what she had been going through.Please send PM for me if there is a way I can help her ,hoping she would get a better luck and health wherever she is now.

I dont really see what I, or anyone can do here apart from trying to raise a bit of cash to ensure that she can purchase her medication, but sadly I do not think I will be allowed to openly appeal for donations on this forum.

As I have said, I am trying to do what I can but my liquid assetts are not that positive. If anyone has suggestions I would dearly love to hear them.

I write this, not so much out of the need to attract sympathy, nor to draw flack or flames from the cynical, but merely to show how hard a life some people are born into.

For those of us with a different hair colouring than black or eyes that are also not black in colour, we seem to be living in a different world to that of the ethnic Asian!

This story begins 15 years ago, when a vibrant, healthy, moderately educated 23 year old girl, decided that her life would be better away from the hard times of the Bicol region of the Philippines. With very few belongings and on borrowed, but very limited money, she took a 10 hour bus trip to Manila and purchased a flight to Bangkok.

On arrival in Bangkok, she contacted a person who she knew of and was given a room for the night, from that day she scoured the area for work, not for the money to send home, but to survive on.

She was very lucky in one way, her "friend" who was also a Filipina allowed her the use of the spare room for an extended period, but as usual required payment. The lady who I shall simply call M, managed through the Filipino community to secure a job with yet another Filipina who legally operated a travel agency business.

M, being the kind of girl she was, would not allow herself to be sucked into the dangers of working illegally in Thailand and ensured she held the correct documents and work permit.

He job with the travel agency was going well, although the company owner threw 90% of the work on M and paid her a pittance. On one occasion, the owner asked M to deliver a number of tickets to customers i different areas ot Thailand, which took the whole day to complete. Upon her return to the office/flat, she found that in her absence, the owner had packed up and fled - believed to be back to Manila. Leaving heavy debts.

It was later realised that the owner had also stolen a number of M's valuable belongings. A number of days later, the landlady demanded that M pay rent and back rent to the sum of over 30,000 Baht. Of course M could not pay this and she was evicted from the property and all her belongings confiscated, including her passport and work permit.

Of course M did what must be considered the sensible thing and reported it to the Police, who did absolutely nothing.So realising that she was not going to get very far, she reported the incident to the Philippine Embassy here who issued her a new passport.

The cost of the new passport left her with almost no cash left and she was forced to sleep rough outside a 7-11 with no change of clothing or comforts.

It was during this time that M realised that she was experiencing mild but concerning chest pains, accompanied by shortage of breath, but due to the circumstances had no option but to "soldier on"

After a short while, the Filipino christian community got wind of what was happening to M and she was offered another job, this time with a placement agency. Operated by yet another Filipina who was married to a Thai.

M told me it didnt take her very long to realise that this company was making big money illegally by overcharging and scalping Thai workers who used the agency to secure work abroad.

Again M being M she was bitter and angry, but by this stage her chest pains etc were getting worse and after consulting a Dr she was diagnosed with a heart condition that will eventually require a heart by pass operation. However, with the correct medication at a cost of over 6,000 Baht a month, life could continue quite safely for years to come.

With the above in mind, it must be realised that although M could see that her employer was cheating, and the fact that M required the salary of 10,000 a month to survive with the expenses of her dingy cheap room and her medication, she was in no position to take any action or make any comments, self preservation being the order of the day.

As M explained to me, she hated herself for working there, and the fact that she could now speak Thai and could understand the emotional comments made by those being fleeced, she decided that she had to secure another postion away from that company.

Anyhow to cut an already long story shorter, M managed to get another but much better paying job where she did well and gained the friendship of the Thai staff. Unfortunately a number of years later, the company had to downsize and she was one of those laid off.

After being laid off she of course had to hand her wrk permit in and was given 7 days to leave Thailand. In this period of time she did manage to find another opportunity and got together the required documentation for a Non Imm O visa trip to Singapore, this at her own cost, with the company promising to repay her when her Work Permit was issued.Upon her return from Singapore with the required Visa, she was told "sorry but the position offered toyou is no longer open" and was refused the refund as promised.

Last Thursday, M, who by now was totally emotionally dead took the dreaded flight back to Manila knowing that her life was now dead, and probably she would also be dead in the not too distant future as she will have no chance of affording her medication in the Philippines.

This is a lady who would give someone her last cigarette ( no she does not smoke but you can understand my meaning) This is a lady who has seen terrible hardships and abuse but still continued helping others in distress. This is a lady who would do anything for a friend. This was truly a remarkable lady who has been forced out of the country she loved,and the language she spoke to an almost certain medical problem in the Philippines.

My respect and my admirations go with her and I hope she can survive.

So as you can see, for most of us life is a doddle isnt it ?? But for M the struggle for survibal goes on,and yes for those who are interested, I am going to help her as best as I can with finances to help her purchase her medication.It was me who am trying to sell three very nice 21" TV sets to help raise the required funds.

Why am I doing this, simple really, to try and give a very decent human being help when its needed.

Thanks for your interest in reading this

Threaten him, wire his jaws closed, thrash him, pull his teeth out------------ HOLD ON, this is a puppy and I thought thats what puppies did, especially this breed as they love to carry things in their soft mouths.

So cancel the thrashings etc and try to understand that this is perfectly normal behaviour and yes he will grow out of it quite soon. In the meantime why dont you offer him an alternative "chew" such as a tennis ball.

There are orphaned children that need help here in this Country, the orphanage's are run by Thai's so do not have the expense of keeping a farrang and her family on her mission with dog's.

Do you have a WP and Visa???

Everyone has different priorities and interests in life. You are more than welcome to help at a local orphanage and cheers to you for doing so. HOWEVER, that certainly does not give you the right to criticize others for not following your agenda.

Kudos to November Rain, and others like her, for her devotion to those creatures who rely on us for support and are, more often than not, let down and neglected for their devotion.

Fully agree with sbk on both counts. Seems some members think it's an either/or situation when it can easily be both.

From what I understand November Rain is doing a fabulous job on extremely tight resources. I for one have been in communication with her and have agreed to donate my time in the near future to assist in raising much needed funds.NR my dear, keep going we are not all like that French sounding chappie who appears to have his frogs legs caught in his vitals !!

Being cynical I am afraid I always treat these announcements from LCC with total lack of interest.

When the day comes that they offer a fare that is fully inclusive with no hideden extras is the day I might show a little interest

Has anyone connected from the United NRT-BKK flight to Cebu Pacific's BKK-MNL flight?

How do I do this?

Is there a connections hall?

Are they far away?

How much time is needed for the the connection?

Thanks in advance. Sorry for the poor English.

United flight arrives in the middle of the night.

Do you want to stay inside transit area or go out at Bangkok ?

If you want to stay in transit, you will need to make sure your bags are tagged up to Manila from Tokyo.

When you arrive in Bangkok follow transfer info and check-in for your flight at the transfer desk

Then wait for your flight

It will be very lonely as very few flights during the night

I believe the Cebu Pacific flight leaves at 0150, so the connection timings may be quite good

check the Thai darts Association web site at www.tdadarts.com they show that they have supplies for sale

Would almost guarantee its not an alternator problem, you state your vehicle is gasoline powered, that being the case you would be lucky to get 20kms before grinding to a halt. Of course it would be an idea to check the "charging" light on your dashboard to confirm.

And no I dont see it as a battery problem neither, although rapid discharging and then recharging would not help the battery.

my money would go on a electrical fault which is draining the battery when not in use, I note that you state that there have been times when the car has not been used for three months. In future I would suggest you totally disconnect the battery before you leave.

The three months again points me into another direction, namely the scourge of vehicle electrics in this part of the world, namely the RAT, believe it or not they are adapt at wire chewing, all they need to do is chew away the wire insulation then if the bared wire should go to earth etc (ok ground if you speak a different language) and bingo the battery will discharge to the earth

I make it a policy in my business to offer financial help to staff members.

This means that if a staff member has been with our business for a certain period of time he becomes eligible to borrow money from the business. We treat this transaction as any financial institution would. They sign a contract that agrees to terms of repayment, interest, and surety.

If they leave the business for any reason the terms of the loan do not change.

Staff who have borrowed money do leave. They do not always go to other jobs. Their payments fall behind. We send the debt collectors after them. (usually a member of the local police force who keeps 30% of the received monies for his after hours work)

So I had two staff who left, fell behind in their payments, and had the police arrive to collect.

These two genius's thought they could raise the money owed by, you guessed it, selling drugs. Today the police busted them, with traficable qty's of yaba. They will probably spend 2 - 5 years in prison.

They have both called my office for assistance.

When working for me they were both reasonable staff members with good de-meanors. (They are both in their late teens, early twenties)

Should I help them?

The bail surety alone is over 200K Baht.

Feelings?

Soundman.

Soundman, please accept my comments are not an attempt to flame, but I question your man management skills.

You recently posted another piece about how your staff were ripping you off etc etc, now this thread, again on ways you were getting ripped off financially.

You are obviously a well meaning and kind hearted person, but unfortunately, here in Asia 98% of your staff will see you as a patsy and use you as so !.

In my 25 years working throughout Asia, I think I could count on one hand the staff I met who could budget their salary. Believe me a lot of staff members are down to their last baht long before pay day gets around again.

Your generosity is likely seen by your staff as a weakeness and guaranteed you will be exploited.

As for these two idioits who have been caught drug dealing stay away, you gave them your help and trust and they <deleted> on you. Learn your lessons fast or you will be the next asking to borrow money !

Your header is very misleading, as the flights go to Singapore and not Thailand

One of the amazing things about Thailand seems to be the fact that old "antique" refurbished vehicles are to be seen almost everywhere, so obviously spare parts must be readily available.

Saying that, a couple of years ago I spotted a SWB Land Rover parked up with a for sale sign, saw it every day for months and one day my curiosity got the better of me and I stopped for a look. sadly it was carrying an Isuzu diesel engine,so not original. Later I found a LWB for sale, only to find that the transmission brake was disconnected as the guy said the parts were too expensive !!!

I wonder what the fuel consumption was on your 700 Km safari ?

Anyhow good luck with your search

So she paid 50k for 30 trees, then the article says the trees are for sale for 800-1000 baht. Something doesn't seem right there.

Darnn it beat me to it. Perhaps she is a charity worker, buying for approx 1,666 each and then discounting onward sales

I used to "import" many food items in my travelling days and if apprehended the magic words were "for personal consumption" never a problem

i have already two dogs at home, a poodle and a terrier. I would love to have Elsa, though I haven't talked to the hubby yet.. Do you think she would not be a threat to the two because they are smaller than she is?

a threat ? I dont think so, when I took Elsa I already had a female GR of my own , they are great friends and have never seen any aggro between them. However very much depends on your other two dogs, are they both male and are they territorial in their attitude.

I find Elsa , and most other females of the Lab/retriever breed to be very maternal and dare I say it. Soft !

latest pics of Elsa

As for riding in a Pick Up, I have tried her once in the back and she was fine, but she was being closely watched at the time. As for her age I agree with you but the Vet has suggested that she is about the 4 year old mark, but that would be 5 years old now.

She is very loving, loyal and obediant and to be totally honest good fun, once you get used to the fact that what looks like a snarl is in fact a smile !!

Will charge up the digital camera and see if I can get some decent shots.

Of course her new residence is not restricted to Bangkok

Wel lits now the end of February and as yet altho a few enquiries, I am still looking after Elsa.

Point now is that time is running out fast and I really have to find her a good home immediately as I am soon moving on to pastures new.

I feel extremely frustrated being placed in this position and obviously if anyone wants to take this lovely dog off mre I would be prepared to deliver ! At this moment she is near Chaeng Wattana in the northern Bangkok area

Help please