Meerkat

, but we didn't have too many problems aside from being told that "3 pin (ie earthed) wiring isn't available in Thailand" - got that sorted out pretty sharpish

They do make you laugh don't they. Or they would if it wasn't do dangerous.

Indeed. Took the guy down to the local electrical suppliers where lo and behold they had 3-core cable, 3-pin sockets and earthing rods - "Oh look, they must have just been introduced into the country!" exclaims me, hopefully allowing him to keep some face...

Recommend everyone who's embarking on building their own place here (or anywhere else for that matter) read our own Crossy's excellent website on wiring.

Just about finished our place in south Isaan, a few km from Khao Yai - still looks like a building site though. 2 bedrooms, about 800 sq ft plus around half as much again roofed but not walled (carport/porch). Think the cost was around 700k all in (including the driveway which is about 150m long).

Very basic - we just use the (bountiful in the area) rain for water after it's filtered, but will get around to boring a well at some point. We use it as a weekend place for now, but it will eventually become the staff cottage when we finally get around to building the main house (and we wanted somewhere "on site" to stay during the main construction).

Was a good exercise in learning what to watch out for when constructing, but we didn't have too many problems aside from being told that "3 pin (ie earthed) wiring isn't available in Thailand" - got that sorted out pretty sharpish, and the use of water-soluble paint in the bathroom, so the first time I took a shower I came out with blue feet! I do think I'll pay to get someone who really knows what they're doing to oversee the next construction though. Apologies for the fake Ionic columns at the front - make me cringe every time I see them...they won't be there for long.

Cracking views in that part of the world.

At our place in the 'burbs of Bangkok, rarely.

At our place near Khao Yai, often... Big skies!

I have the pleasure of living at the end of a Soi, and the end of the Power supply route ... would you call this ''Low''

Yeah, I'd call that "low" - I'd call this "lower"!

Immediately after tonight's storm-blackout, it re-started at around 68v and slowly crawled up. The voltage displayed is from the UPS input, so after it's already been bumped up by the AVR!

We get around 13.5 km/l in the Isuzu (diesel) - fairly mixed driving conditions and loads.

Things I don't like about it: the engine feels underpowered compared to the same sized one in our Fortuner (but is still adequate) and the steering is pretty vague, but heck I suppose it is a truck (and it's better than it was straight after delivery, as they had overinflated the tyres as usual). Oh, and according to the service book, the service interval is every 5000km all the way through!

Wish we'd gone with the 4x4 now - first time we took it up to our land in Khao Yai we got stuck and had to get a neighbour's tractor to pull us out...

We bought an Isuzu 4x2 double-cab with A/T about a month ago - pretty happy with it. Think it was around 750k - single cab/smaller engine (we got the 3L turbo) are quite a bit cheaper.

Something else to think about.

Do you live in an area where the voltage will sag below the normal 230 volts. In my area during heavy usage the voltage drops to 165 volts so you need a UPS that will accept a low input voltage and still give you 230 out.

That's an advantage of teaming up an AVS with the UPS if you're in an area with common low voltage sags.

A little off topic, but a friend of mine was quite worried about lightening and his computer. He had a high priced surge protector and a good quality UPS. Well it happened. Lightning hit his "phone" line and totally fried his computer. The UPS had a jack for his phone line but he wasn't using it. Whether it would have done any good is another question.

If your house gets hit by lightning, you're basically stuffed, regardless of surge protectors, lightning strips and the like. AFAIK the only device that comes close to full protection is a "lightning arrestor". I guess the only true way of protecting your gear in an electrical storm is a full unplug of everything.

I do have a 3 phase CVT (constant voltage transformer/stabilizer) that weighs in around a half tonne, but it is used to stabilize power to a linear accelerator that was removed from a hospital and used here for research purposes.

Absolutely no idea what it does, but I want one!

For a good explanation of the different types of UPS, start here.

The model I bought above is of the first type, an "offline UPS", the least expensive. The biggest drawback to the offline type is that there will be a split-second delay from when the UPS determines your mains power has gone off (or below/above the correct voltage), until it can switch its circuitry to provide power from the batteries. I've had my units a week or so, and they've "tripped" to battery four times. I was at the PC for three of those times, and noticed absolutely no interruption of power to the PC or router, ie they tripped to battery so quickly that the PC didn't even know it was now being powered by battery rather than by the mains supply and just kept on working normally.

Was in exactly the same situation as you and bought 3 UPSs last week. After recommendations from various threads here on TV and elsewhere, I went with APC. The CS500 500vA (300W) model was 2,650 in Data iT (think there are branches everywhere - got mine in Zeer Rangsit).

One of these units keeps my (single Core Duo) iMac, Wifi router and Linux-based sat box happily going for 15mins according to the UPS monitor software - drawing about 150W. They also had a 1000vA/600W model for around 7,500 IIRC. If you're using a more powerful PC you might be better off getting the bigger model (you don't state what size your current UPS is).

They also had some local and Chinese brands for sale (don't remember the cost), but for the sake of a few thousand baht I thought I'd go with APC as they seem to have a good reputation (and a 2 year warranty).

On top of the UPS, I also bought some tap-change automatic voltage regulators (AVR) to feed the UPS with cleaner and more stable voltage. This will help stop the UPS tripping too often from brownouts etc. I also use the AVRs to feed other components that I don't need to keep on going in a power-cut, but might suffer from bad voltage/surges, like the TVs. The 2k vA Powermatic models were 1,800 each.

A good discussion about AVR/UPS by people a lot more technically-minded than me is here.

Many thanks to all who have contributed in this and the other AVR/UPS threads.

After yet another power-cut this morning (after the one yesterday evening), I decided that I should get with the programme and finally get some protection sorted - some of my gear, especially the Dreamboxes, really doesn't like surges/cuts. Went for the Powermatic TCA-2000 and the APC CS500. Prices in Data iT in Zeer Rangsit were 1,799 and 2,650 respectively. Had I read Upcountry's post above I'd have gone direct to Powermatic to get the Tap Changer a bit cheaper, but with no power to connect to the internet this morning...

Minor point to anyone looking at the APC units. The sockets are of the same type as you see on PC/printer power leads. If you want to connect anything else, you'll need an adaptor. Data iT had some power strips that instead of the usual fixed lead to a normal plug, use a lead with the same design as the APC sockets, so you can use it to connect your router/sat box etc.

Hopefully this belt-and-braces approach will keep everything humming along smoothly - thanks again all! Sadly for the rest of you I think Crossy lives closest to me, so he'll just have to have all your thank-you beers himself...

Wasn't this scheme (or a similar one) started by BBL Sing three years or so ago? Why the fanfare now?

a fake one yes. a real one NO!

Understood, thanks Naam!

If it seems too good to be true...

Hong Kong ID has expired, so valid HK drivers licence cannot be used to renew their international licence, as before. Now live in EU. HK licence can obtain 10 or 20 year Thai issued Int. licence. just wonderning if anybody has used one overseas. Of course you wont know if its any good till the cops stop you.

Am I understanding you correctly that I can get a 10/20 year IDP in Thailand with my HK license? I can only use it to get a 1 year IDP in HK, so the extra validity would be a bonus.

I have successfully rented cars in the UK (Avis) using my HK license with the IDP in spite of having a UK one. Did it that way only because my original UK license now looks like a mangy scrap of paper (and I haven't bothered to update it to one of the new types of UK license).

But did you look at the people?? That were respected people, not some generals.

Where in the constitution of 2007 you can find a "looking after your own" in matter of continue to stay in power and fill your pockets for Sonthi or any other Army guy??? As well after the constitution was finished the junta went back home, not even tried to continue, not even a chance if the people would like them. While PPP only tries to stick on their chairs.

So the situation is complete different. I can't find any self-serving things in the 2007 constitution.

Exactly - they went home, rather than jail where they should be (and where they would be had their overthrow not been legitimized retrospectively).

Also bear in mind that they took out of the constitution the declaration in the 1997 version that outlawed coups. At the time, the junta's Gen Saprang even hinted that there might be justification for other coups. What this does of course is set the army up as the penultimate arbiter of government under His Majesty - above the level of any democratically elected government. If that isn't self-serving, I don't know what is!

I do concur with your opinion though that the army don't appear to have used their brief rule to line their pockets personally (but don't forget about the two massive increases in the defense budget - which may, or may not, have been justified).

But you noticed that it wasn't the junta who made the new constitution?

They didn't? The junta appointed 2,000 people onto the National People's Assembly which then voted itself to pick 200 drafting candidates. The junta then picked 100 of those 200 to be Royally appointed to the Assembly, plus the Assembly head. Of those 100, 25 were chosen (by the Assembly itself) to form the drafting committee, along with another 10 hand-picked by the junta. I'm not sure quite how much more influence over the constitution the junta could have had!

It was for this reason of course that the constitution granted amnesty to the junta for committing treason/rebellion/whatever you'd like to call it. Ironically this "looking after your own" is exactly the same (and just as despicable IMO) as what the PPP are now trying to do. I believe the PAD were a tad quieter on that issue at the time though...

Firstly the 1997 constitution was widely hailed as being the most progressive ever in terms of democratic reform.

Then why no protests when it was abrogated by the military?

I believe the 2006 constitution includes powers for the National Security Council, which would I guess be synonymous with the military.

Putting yourselves in the shoes of someone who truly stands for democracy, the most logical position would be to support the reinstitution of the 1997 version and the condemnation of the 2006 version.

Surely the 2006 constitution was a step backwards for Thailand regarding the passage towards democracy.

Yup, that's pretty-much how I see it as well. Perhaps with a system of better checks and balances though to safeguard against ministerial abuses of power.

Usually when pointing this out though, the coup apologists like to say that the 2006 constitution was voted in by the people. My take on that is that the main reason it did get in was because it was the quickest way of getting rid of the junta - indeed at the time some commentators were urging even those who were ideologically opposed the coup to vote for it for that very reason.

If not for Constiitution amendment, they wouldn't have any reasons to rally at all, and they didn't, for more than two years.

Which is odd really, considering that the last Constitutional change ex post facto legitimised treason.

Ouch. Shame to see that racism is still alive and kicking on the forum, in contravention of the rules.

Oh, and out of interest, how many generations does one have to go back anyway to prove oneself as "Pure"?

One to watch out for in the future for the region:

www.toscanavalley.com

It's about 7km past Kirimaya (coming from the main Pak Chong-Khao Yai road). Drove past it the other day (we're building a house about 5km further down the road) and it looks stunning - at least the bit they've finished does. Expect Kirimaya type costs though I'd presume.

No idea when it's due to open, but I feel it would be churlish not to play it once it's ready and provide feedback to other TV members.

However after reading all of the misunderstandings/rumors/stories/Fairy Tales/Utter Crap etc being created by none TE members they would believe the moon was made of blue chewing gum if their mate in the pub told them.

Yeah, I'm getting a bit tired of the misinformation too. There was even someone on another thread recently who called out a member with a snide remark for not knowing the rules. Needless to say the member was actually correct all along...

There should be a sticky post about the real benefits of the TE card so that people are not mislead by those who can't afford / don't want and/or will never buy it as they are truly misleading people.

Agreed. I've had a look at the main TV homepage and I can see explanations of tourist, non-imm, residency, WP etc, but nothing about TE's Special Entry visa.

I'd be happy to draw something up for TV if asked.

These guys that say the TE is losing money are the guys from the company that operates the TE.

Agreed too, but I don't necessarily believe TE has to make money as long as the scheme brings in the extra FDI (on an individual, sub-BOI, level) and tourist-spend that was the whole point of the exercise in the first place. That is of course a much harder metric to evaluate - they did a survey of members a year or so ago to try and get a better understanding of this, but I don't know if the results were published. From my perspective, Thailand has made millions more out of me (on top of the TE fee) than it would have got were it not for the scheme.

Maybe I am wrong then. In all the discussions on the board about the TE card, I have never heard anyone saying that they needed to pay 1900 baht every 3 months for an extension of stay.

Odd seeing as you even participated in this thread here on TV less than 2 months ago in which I again stated that you had to get 1,900 THB extensions every 90 days. It has also been mentioned in other threads here on the subject. Extensively.

As you said here though, if one were spending a million baht on the visa (now 1.5 mil), you'd kind of want to know the rules...

If I had paid 1 million baht for a TE card, I think I would know how the system works better than you do. You can stay in Thailand for the entrire 5 years without leaving or needing to get an extension. You are only required to make 90 day reports to immigration which are free.

Er...well as another 2 year TE member, I can tell you that he was correct and you are not (unless something has changed since I last came in 2 months ago). You only get a 90 day stamp in your passport each time you enter the country and so are required to get another 90 day stamp if you don't leave before then. Cost per stamp is 1,900 THB.

On the ESRI database (v. 8), it's under "Chok Chai Farm". The database often uses 2 words instead of 1 (and vice versa). For instance the Kirimaya resort in the same area as Chokchai is included as "Khiri Maya".

You kind of just get a knack of working out different permutations of transliterating what you're searching for.

Edited to add: Actually there are many Chok Chai farms in the area (and in the database); the one you want though is listed as a tourist attraction (camera icon I think from memory).

My connection's been awful this week as well. Funnily enough this morning not only is last night's hassle now fixed, but I'm getting the speediest/stablest connection I've had for a while. I bet it'll only last until this afternoon's storm...