iainiain101

Chiang Mai - Lampun Road right hand side just before Holiday Inn, shop sells second hand fridges.

what is the price of the set up and any monthly fees??

I paid 19.9k Baht one off fee. I got it thriough NSS (North Star Sat) Tel 053 350 731

I have had it three months now and have as yet no issues to report.

I got the Multi Choice decoder in February. Not bad, I get BBC News, Sky News and CNN. 8 sport channels from South Africa, so get all the cricket too. Was watching the IPL, England v New Zealand and Aus v Windies on 3 different channels last week!

Ultimately, what a daft question!

If any of us knew we would all be currency speculators! Not even George Soros saw the pound going through USD 2 recently.

Basically the GBP could be worth 50 Baht or 70 Baht this time next year. No one knows. If you re planning a business, you need to plan it at the current exchange rate, and if you are reliant on funds from another country in the future, you need to trade in currency futures (hence the name) so as to be able to establish your costs and include them in your business plan.

If you then have no plan to repatriate income to the UK (assuming the business goes well) the only worry you have is inflation in Thailand ( not a small worry!)

The secret to running a good business is to try and negate variables such as currency exchange rates.

Iain

Anyone else tried the 'Just bake it' frozen brand from Makro?

90 Baht for 3 bases and sauce, just add your own cheese and any extras and pop in the oven for 10 minutes. Exceptionally good for frozen!

Iain

best never to post when pissed, wait till you sober up!

Out of interest, how can you survive in the US on an income of $300 to $500 a month?

Iain

Nice place to live. I spent a year there. Rents are dropping too as there are so many empty and a lot of people buying to let. My rent dropped from 15k a month to 13k a month from last year to this year.

Management does seem to be better, though there seem to be issues with the new committee!

The missus' sister (Thai) has met an Australian (of Italian descent) in October last year. She has now spent 3 months living with im in Sydney on a holiday visa. They would now like to get married, but in Italy in his parents village. They then plan to live in Australia.

Is this even possible?

If so, what visas and documents would they need?

Thanks for any help and guidance on this one.

Iain

Just reading the lattest postings, and the missus (Thai) asked what I was reading.

I said, 'can you live on GBP 500 (USD1000) a month in CM.' She replied 'if you are alone then easy, if you have a family, forget it!'

Seems to sum it up really!!

I opted for a chemical / oil drum cut in half, legs welded on with a grill on top. Once you have burned the hazardous chemical sign off, works just fine. Only 500 Baht.

Good charcoal available from all markets.

Once again a class Songkran. Looking forward to next year already.

Varied this year with one day open Tuk Tuk, one on the moat, one driving car with familly and ice water in the back, and finally today on Loi Kroch. Great to see how 99.999 percent of people stop at 7pm too.

Think I will top it off by ordering a Le Spice curry!

If it is of any comfort

Capacity

The airport has a capacity of handling 24 flight operations per hour.

Hours of operation

06.00 a.m. - 11.30 p.m.

Taken from

http://www.chiangmaiairportonline.com/

I do believe that the airport was designed to handle 6 million per annum (p.a.) passengers and currently runs at 2 million p.a., so things may change...

Have tried the Som Tahm in a lot of places including Warrot Road, and live with the Thai missus and mother in law and they all like spicy, but not hot. The missus comes from Mae Hon Song and likes very spicy food, but was surprised in the UK by how hot a lot of people would have curries. It is that sort of heat I was reerring to, say a good Phall strength curry.

I do think Spicy do the best Tom Yum in CM though. Not been allowed there for a couple of years though! (missus and baby now...)

Well. been in CM over 3 months, and its not cheese, sausages or pizzas I am missing, but genuinely spicy food.

I eat out and cook at home. I am coming round to the theory that the Thai green and red peppers are not as hot as you would use in say Mexic an and Indian cooking?

I love the really spicy Tom Yum and Vindaloo you can get here, but really miss a dish to make your top lip tremble, sweat....

any suggestions for where to buy hot ingrediants in town?

Cheers

Iain

Bit of work required there!

What is the 'form', if my missus has got her first Thai driving licence this month, for when we go back to the UK?

Will she get an IDL at the post office as we do in the UK or be able to use her Thai licence?

Thanks

Iain

I got a very good service from North Star Sat last month, but I am not sure if that was down to the fact I was buying a new dish and service...

He states he could double the figure to $2K/mo.

Probably with his resources he could quintuple it to $5K/mo. and still be fine.....but he chooses not to do so. This is a lifestyle choice called "downsizing". The entire rest of the planet is on this crazed "bigger faster better longer....." rush which seemed to be a uniquely American thing for decades, but now has taken on a life of its own everywhere. Soon peasants in China will be driving brand new shiny black Fortuners, with chrome spinner wheels....

All us Yanks will be living on a commune somewhere, growing veggies and getting back in touch with Mother Earth

I am no mathamatician, but he also states he is under 50, pension doesnt kick in till after 60, so at USD 5k per month (60k per annum) he would have used up his total capital in under 14 years assuming he is returning less than 5 percent on capital. This would probably see him through to his pension (?) but allow no 'nest egg'.

If he also wants to cut out the currency exchange risk and go for a Baht account, as far as I am aware Farangs get no interest on deposits, in which case he will last just 10 years assuming no inflation.

or are you suggesting greter returns are available?

House would be two-three bedroom place (need to plan for guests) at a guess around 10,000-12,000 B/m rental. Travel within Thailand, going away a few days at a time exploring various rural corners, parks and the like - not staying in fancy hotels on the beach.

As you will see from the looking for accomadation in Chiang Mai threads, 2-3 bedrooms does not describe the properties here. What size in sq metres? Thai or Western style kitchen? etc.

10 to 12k will get you a basic Thai standard property. You need to budget for around 20 to 25k per month for a good Western standard house, and of course more for a larger condo.

Well if you arent looking for a Thai girl, I hope you dont play golf. Cheapest around Chiang Mai is Sand Creek at 200 Baht, but realistically you need to budget for an average of around 1.5k Baht a round playing better courses. I reckon I spend aroud GBP 80 (5000 Baht) a week on 3 rounds of golf. This does not include fuel!

Thanks all. Paid the consulate fee, went back today and got the license in about an hour.

As pointed out above, photos are no longer needed (they do it as part of the new credit card license).

Fair play to the guy who is still managing to sell people pictures downstairs in the license office!

We bought ours recently in PS Baby shop in Wararot Road. You have to get them to order from the brochure, takes about 3 days to arrive. They also have a branch in Airport Plaza, and Brown Farm (baby shop) also have them in Airport Plaza.

Prepare for a cost of around Baht 6,000, but with all the stairs and marble floors, well worth having.

One further bit of advice, 'baby' will never like going in baby 'jail', so I found if you picked up the wife and put her in too, there was far greater acceptance....from 'baby' anyway!

Iain

I am aware that there is a special thread for driving licences, but I have read that and it seems that all offices in Thailand have different requirements/standards. This is a question specifically aimed at Chiang Mai.

I read the article in the Chiang Mai Mail 'A Licence to ... Drive' (page 11, 12th Feb 2008), and decided to give it a go today.... Unfortunately 'fell at the first hurdle'!

The article explains that amongst the fairly extensive paperwork needed, the first thing required is a certificate of residency available at immigration office at a cost of 300 Baht. On arrival at the immigration office I was told they had not issued these since last year and that I would need to go to my embassy or consulate for one. (UK consulate charge 2210 Baht for the service)

The question, is the article out of date or was I just 'unlucky' at the immigration office?

I am aware that in the past the residency certificate requirement has not been enforced, but it does now seem to be.

Thanks

Iain

Thanks for all your answers on this one. We will avoid the spicy food, and for now she has discovered a likeing for boiled pork loin and also lasagne, so all is well!

Iain

The missus and I have now been in Chiang Mai just over 2 months. (please move this if there is a more general thread)

Junior is now 11 months old. She arrived in Thailand eating solids (aged 8 months), big shock, she should be on milk or rice.

She is not eating too much now, I think the heat (v UK), but she is eating plenty of fruit.

Thing is I eat hot (spicy) food, more so than most Thais, usual for an English man brought up on curry. The missus has had 3 trips to London and never eats as hot spicy food as say an English person 45 and under. ( I agree the older UK generation tend to not like spicy food, and it is not my intention to discuss this here)

Here are the questions...

On the odd occation where 'junior' has got the odd bit of food with spice off my plate she loves it but the missus says she should be over 12 to have spice. why?

It seems better for her to eat well and sleep all night, than worry about a bit of spice causing the 'runs'! It doesnt anyway! (my view)

I am getting shouted down on this one, any views?

Iain