PattayaClub

I bought a ro filter system

Superb

I have had it for about 4 years

When I bought it they said NO installation so I said forget it.

Then they decided that they would install it free.

It cleans down to 4 ppm.

Bottled water is about 28ppm.

Its saved me a small fortune.

If you want any details you can pm me.

I agree,my tap water is 135ppm & when filtered it is 8ppm. I have measured bottled water at 25ppm so my measurements are not far off the above quoted.

Mine has 5 filters & cost 8,000 installed with a spare set of filters. We have had it for just over 2 years & still on original filters & same readings as when installed.

I would hate to think about how many litres go through the filter, worth every baht.

What are you folks talking about, ppm? Iron, manganese, calcium, particulates? Every chemical or metal contaminant can be measured in parts per million, and I am not sure to which specific contaminant this conversation is referring. Bacteria, like E. coli, are normally measured in numbers of bacteria per ml.

Filters do not usually state filtering down to some certain number ppm. Normally they are stated in particle size, measured in microns. Bacteria can be rather large and will get caught where very small viruses may slip through.

What, exactly (specifically) are you folks measuring when you refer to ppm?

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) which is measured in PPM by electric conductivity (pure water is an insulator as unbelievable as it sounds). This is a very good measure of how clean the water is although there is no world standard - in practice the lower the better. Meters are actually quite inexpensive and work well.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/291410058187?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&var=590512740930&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Thanks. I have and iron and manganese colorimeter, but do not have a TDS meter. Need to pick one up. The Thai government lab water test I had done on my raw water showed TDS at 98 ppm. Iron and manganese were my main nemeses, but I got rid of them

I bought a dishwasher. Keep in mind, I do not live in Pattaya Farangland. Imagine my angst when I went out and could not even find dishwasher detergent. I finally found it at HomePro -- for a very premium price.

I spend half of my life trying to find things. Like medium sized screw-in hooks. Never have found them here.

Screw hooks are available, both curved and right angle - have found several size by sending maid to local hardware stores.

Got the same "can buy anywhere" when bought first dishwasher unit from Central many years ago. Have used these for last five years.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DISHWASHER-TABLETS-60-Per-Box-Brand-New-45-15-FREE-SHIP-/220672068956?hash=item3361148d5c

thanks for that! Might be better deal than the stuff from HomePro.

As for the hooks, if i had a maid to send, i would probably have better luck, but i am always going alone. Though armed with pictures and the ability to speak a little Thai, I get the mai mii quite often. I'll keep looking. Can't say I miss the US, but sometimes i sure do miss not being able to walk into a hardware store and see the complete selection. We have a HomePro, Thai Watsadu and Global House, but selections are limited and out of stock is the norm. Then a trip out into the jungle of small shops is indicated.

I may get one of those anyway, just to try. It's certainly not much to lose and at worst it should be good enough for cooking water.

As I mentioned, the main thing that puts me off with these domestic systems is that even the big shops that sell them (Home Pro, BigC etc) often dont seem to stock the replacement cartridges. Maybe Thai buyers just dont replace them?

Local stores seem to stock very few replacement parts - try finding vacuum bags and air filters after you buy the units. Most people just re-use forever.

Our unit provides much better tasting water and the TDS tests confirm.

I bought a dishwasher. Keep in mind, I do not live in Pattaya Farangland. Imagine my angst when I went out and could not even find dishwasher detergent. I finally found it at HomePro -- for a very premium price.

I spend half of my life trying to find things. Like medium sized screw-in hooks. Never have found them here.

Get the big blue containers delivered. I pay 50B (incl 10B tip) and I use about 1 per week (on my own).

Saves a lot of hassle and expense.

Wow, here in Phitsanulok, I pay only 10 baht for the big 20 liter bottles and a 5 baht per bottle tip, delivered into the house -- well I used to, before installing my whole house filtration system. Now I can drink the water from every faucet.

I inspected the filling and filtration system for these 20 liter bottles. Best system I have seen in Thailand. They have it all including UV and reverse osmosis. the water tastes like rainwater. The vendors in Pattaya must be making a killing -- or maybe you get the farang price. I absolutely cannot see a Thai paying 50 baht a bottle.

No there are different types, I use the 10 baht [gone up to 12 baht] big 20 lt bottles for cooking only, for drinking water those cost 50 baht much better and pure.

put water in a glass and you can see with your own eyes the crap in the 10 baht bottles + the difference to the 50 baht ones... in my Village 63 houses, most buy the 50 baht ones + other than me everyone is Thai, there are 2 different Companies that deliver in big trucks of Saturdays....... Next door bought last year a machine 23,000 baht from Amway. !!! they only ever used the 10 baht water before. so it will never pay for itself.

early 2004 I bought a machine from Home Pro, it was OK, but cost a bit as all filters must be changed 2x year.. motor was replaced within a year, motor was sent back and repaired within 2 years, year 4 the thing had rusted out, worked out then and still of the same mind, it is as cheap to buy the 20 lt bottles, as nothing with breakdown

I guess I am pretty lucky where I live. The 10 baht water is filtered through about 8 different processes, including

RO and UV. Clear as a bell and very drinkable -- tastes like snow water.

I will never ever recapture the cost of my whole house filtration system. It was purely a quality of life issue. I wanted to be able to drink from every tap and hose bib (American style) with the least amount of maintenance and ongoing expense, I have little ongoing expense as the media only needs to be changed every 6-8 years, but I would have to live to be 500 years old to break even on the initial cost! So with a pure economic analysis, not cost effective at all. But I sure love it.

I bought a ro filter system

Superb

I have had it for about 4 years

When I bought it they said NO installation so I said forget it.

Then they decided that they would install it free.

It cleans down to 4 ppm.

Bottled water is about 28ppm.

Its saved me a small fortune.

If you want any details you can pm me.

I agree,my tap water is 135ppm & when filtered it is 8ppm. I have measured bottled water at 25ppm so my measurements are not far off the above quoted.

Mine has 5 filters & cost 8,000 installed with a spare set of filters. We have had it for just over 2 years & still on original filters & same readings as when installed.

I would hate to think about how many litres go through the filter, worth every baht.

What are you folks talking about, ppm? Iron, manganese, calcium, particulates? Every chemical or metal contaminant can be measured in parts per million, and I am not sure to which specific contaminant this conversation is referring. Bacteria, like E. coli, are normally measured in numbers of bacteria per ml.

Filters do not usually state filtering down to some certain number ppm. Normally they are stated in particle size, measured in microns. Bacteria can be rather large and will get caught where very small viruses may slip through.

What, exactly (specifically) are you folks measuring when you refer to ppm?

Nobody can deny that the rice policy was vote buying. The farmers are saying we will vote for anyone who will give us an above market price for our goods. Sad actually that the working and middle class have to pay for the farmers who are just not economical.

I don't understand all the angst about the rice policy. Every Western government provides fairly generous agricultural subsidies to their farmers. As far as such policies being "vote buying," that's the way democratic politics is supposed to work. If the politicians perform in a manner to please the voters, they get the votes. If they don't, they don't get the votes. What could be simpler?

I was born and paid taxes in what some jealous people refer to as a nanny state.

I was born with a plan B.

I was born in the US. Yes, I am jealous as hell! In the US, it seems that the best of plan B's are never quite enough (unless, of course, you are born into the ultra-wealthy class).

I don't understand. I created a watchseries account but when I try to watch an episode of Bill Maher, I am told that I must create another free account in order to watch it. There seem to be any number of free acounts that must be created to watch various content items on watchseries. Stradavarius37, could you please comment? Thanks.

Read the user agreement!!!! After 7 days you will be charged a substantial amount for every one of these "free" accounts. If you open a few of them, then just forget about them, you'll be shocked when you get your credit card bill or see your PayPal account. Perhaps Stradavarius could comment on the costs of this service as well.

Watch Everything here - get rid of True.

http://thewatchseries.to/

Nice link. Thanks.

Just be advised that if you go for the free trial, this company will automatically bng you for $50US per month when the 7 day trial ends. Seems a little pricey to me.

I installed this system in Bangkok several months ago when water was starting to taste like the sea. Have been very happy with it and testing with TDS meter shows PPM of tap water in 150-155 range down to 12-14 range. This does not have UV - RO is the key filter system.

http://www.lazada.co.th/colandas-ro-50g-459200.html

62% discount and no warranty.

Why does this not inspire me?

It does not inspire you because you are obviously not a sucker. And with all those cartridges, look a the neverending expense! Cheaper to go with the 20 liter bottles, delivered, and call it a day.

Even if there was a warranty, warranties in this country are seldom worth the paper they are written on. There's always a catch. Like the 10 year warranty touted on all the washing machines, Motor only. Motors seldom go out. It's the electronics that go, and you are gong to pay through the nose or just buy a new machine -- and so it goes.

Get the big blue containers delivered. I pay 50B (incl 10B tip) and I use about 1 per week (on my own).

Saves a lot of hassle and expense.

Wow, here in Phitsanulok, I pay only 10 baht for the big 20 liter bottles and a 5 baht per bottle tip, delivered into the house -- well I used to, before installing my whole house filtration system. Now I can drink the water from every faucet.

I inspected the filling and filtration system for these 20 liter bottles. Best system I have seen in Thailand. They have it all including UV and reverse osmosis. the water tastes like rainwater. The vendors in Pattaya must be making a killing -- or maybe you get the farang price. I absolutely cannot see a Thai paying 50 baht a bottle.

We have used Berkey filters for over 20 years in several different countries, and found them to be great.

http://www.berkeyfilters.com/

No need for electricity, nor worry about finding compatible cartridges. Free lifetime warranty.

Calculate your daily usage and choose the model with twice that amount in holding capacity. We use about 6 liters a day, so we have the Royal Berkey with a 3 gallon capacity. I added two additional black filters for a total of four, and the sight glass spout. At that level of consumption, our cartridges will last over 20 years. Maintenance is simple: clean the cartridges with a scrub pad every six months.

Amazon US sells them and will ship internationally.

If you can have Amazon ship to a friend or relative in the US, and have that friend or relative reship to you using the Post Office, you will save a bundle in shipping and taxes over Amazon direct.

I can't imagine how you could possibly use 5,000 baht worth of bottled water per month. If you are buying the big 20 liter bottles at15 baht a pop, you'd be talking 6,666 liters a month! It must be a typo. If t is not, even taking baths in it would not account for that volume. You must be using it to water the lawn as well.

In any event, I put in a filtration system. Not the one you want; my needs were different, so I won't go into what I did. But I did do A LOT of research and looked high and low. What I determined is that ALL Thai "water experts" are uneducated cretins. If you really get into questioning them, you will find that everything they profess to know comes from 100% rote memory and zero understanding. They know absolutely nothing about water chemistry. So, as with most things here, never trust ANYTHING they say. Do your own homework. It's all on the Internet if you just make the time.

Finally, after examining the equipment available here I concluded it's all a bunch of very expensive junk. I decided that if I wanted trouble free equipment that would give me years and years of problem free service, I would have to bite the bullet, purchase from a reputable Western company and import it. That's what I did and I have not regretted it.

There will be an ample number of people on this forum that will jump up and say I am a fool. My only answer is that after over eight years here, I have grown very disenchanted with what they get away with selling in this country. I like high quality equipment. To each his own.

I am completely legal and always have been. But I have the distinct feeling that I am not really wanted/welcome here; only tolerated. More friendly countries allow their expats ownership of a small plot of land and house, and allow permanent residency for retirees that meet certain financial soundness tests. None of that here. I am married to a wonderful Thai woman and have made my life here, but having brought all my marbles in with no avenue to permanent residency, leaves me with a feeling of insecurity I can't shake.

I understand there is permanent residency, but it requires three years of continuous work with a work permit and I ama retired, so that is not an option. I can speak Thai, but am simply too old to learn to read and write it, so citizenship isn't going to happen either. I guess it is just the way it is. If I had it to do all again, knowing what I know now, I wouldn't be here.

Name me the counties that gives legal right of abode to retiree's ie PR ? there are not many.....

further go and look and see how many countries even let expats in on the basis of retirement a handful

And once you review all the terms / condtions and finanical requirements come back and tell me the deal retirees get in Thailand is so bad

If I were to do it again, I'd go to Panama. If you can show retirement income of $1,200US or more, you can get automatic permanent residency. Most people thee speak English. Spanish is a bout 100 times easier to speak than Thai. Spanish and English use the same alphabet.

The deal retirees get in Thailand is one of the worst in the world. Thee are places that are worse, but who would want to live there anyway? Would you want to live in Syria or Zimbabwe? I didn't think so. The thing that makes Thailand such a nice place to live is the climate and the people. I find the people to be mostly very friendly. I am not offended by the "double pricing" that upsets so many farang. I am only troubled by the very unfriendly and xenophobic immigration laws.

They provide no security for those expats living here.

Right so Panama thats 1....where else takes retiree's and secondly gives them PR / citizenship ?

Further just checked and retirees only get a residency visa in Panama if one purchases a property worth USD 200k or more and thats for everyone not just retirees, so even in Panama it seems they are not automatically given PR on the basis of retirement they are given PR on the basis of investmrnt

The retirees "worst" deal they get in Thailand is one of the few "deals" they do get LOL

How can it be the worst in the "world " when only a handful even let them in the door to retire ?, never mind the PR but.....

me thinks retiree doth protest too much...why should Thailand security for those who are neither PR or citizens ? .....if you want a security blanket and some to take care of you, stay at home then.....you made the choice to move to Thailand and one suspects you knew the process

Soutpeel, methinks you doth have no life. I made a simple comment a long time ago and keep getting these email updates. Holy cow! thirteen pages? Much ado about nothing, to use another Shakespearicism. I'm signing off this puppy. Enjoy yourself, seems you have nothing else.

I wish to disclose my ignorance.

If you are not a tourist, for what reasons would one need to do visa runs?

There are numerous visas available for long stay. If you do not qualify, you are not welcome!

Enlightenment sought.

You have certainly done that, disclosed your ignorance I mean, your words, not mine. Who are you to say who should be welcome or not welcome in Thailand?

A lot of people don't want to have a lot of money in a Thai bank, and are happy to do visa runs. Why should they not be welcome in Thailand? They are still

contributing to the economy.

For the same reason that Mexicans aren't welcomed in the US.

Not being an American citizen it is not for me to comment on this.

I am an American citizen and I'll be your Huckleberry. While Donald Trump and a few other loud mouths scream about Mexican immigrants in the US, I can godamnedguarantee you that they would not be there if they were NOT wanted. Forty years ago the borders were controlled. The influx today is quite deliberate. On of the big complaints made by the complainers is that the feds turn their backs on illegal immigration and block the State's attempts to curb it. Why do ou think that is? It's because the cheap labor is wanted. The illegals provide a ton of cheap labor all across the board. They also pay income taxes and FICA, though they can never qualify for Social Security benefits down the road.

So, yeah, the Mexicans contribute greatly to the American economy, and they are wanted. Don't kid yourself. Maybe if you went back and took economics 101, you'd understand.

And perhaps the Thais require an immigrant to have a job as a precursor to permanent residency for the same reason. Maybe they think merely paying taxes and spending money is an insufficient contribution.

I am completely legal and always have been. But I have the distinct feeling that I am not really wanted/welcome here; only tolerated. More friendly countries allow their expats ownership of a small plot of land and house, and allow permanent residency for retirees that meet certain financial soundness tests. None of that here. I am married to a wonderful Thai woman and have made my life here, but having brought all my marbles in with no avenue to permanent residency, leaves me with a feeling of insecurity I can't shake.

I understand there is permanent residency, but it requires three years of continuous work with a work permit and I ama retired, so that is not an option. I can speak Thai, but am simply too old to learn to read and write it, so citizenship isn't going to happen either. I guess it is just the way it is. If I had it to do all again, knowing what I know now, I wouldn't be here.

Name me the counties that gives legal right of abode to retiree's ie PR ? there are not many.....

further go and look and see how many countries even let expats in on the basis of retirement a handful

And once you review all the terms / condtions and finanical requirements come back and tell me the deal retirees get in Thailand is so bad

If I were to do it again, I'd go to Panama. If you can show retirement income of $1,200US or more, you can get automatic permanent residency. Most people thee speak English. Spanish is a bout 100 times easier to speak than Thai. Spanish and English use the same alphabet.

The deal retirees get in Thailand is one of the worst in the world. Thee are places that are worse, but who would want to live there anyway? Would you want to live in Syria or Zimbabwe? I didn't think so. The thing that makes Thailand such a nice place to live is the climate and the people. I find the people to be mostly very friendly. I am not offended by the "double pricing" that upsets so many farang. I am only troubled by the very unfriendly and xenophobic immigration laws.

They provide no security for those expats living here.

The "deal" in Thailand is that you get a retirement extension on your visa which you renew every year. 90-day reporting is now online and relatively painless. What else do you want? PR does not allow you to own land, and only removes the need to renew your retirement extension and report at 90 days. If financing the requirements of the retirement visa is an problem then I respectfully suggest that the applicant is not really of any interest to Thailand or any other country. There is no country that recognises an over-arching "right" of a retiree to live in whatever country the mood takes him.

We know these details because of the up-close experience always reported in here. Comparing Thailand with the situation in "other" countries is a little bit dubious because unless there is the same volume of personal experience of the "small print" elsewhere, the comparison will be flawed. I Have lived for years in other countries and the rules might not be the same, but there are just as many tripwires, sometimes tax law, etc, so unless you actually have first hand detailed experience, I suggest that the rose-tinted glasses need to come off

I wish you luck with you painless online 90 day reporting . . . you obviously haven't tried it lately.

I am completely legal and always have been. But I have the distinct feeling that I am not really wanted/welcome here; only tolerated. More friendly countries allow their expats ownership of a small plot of land and house, and allow permanent residency for retirees that meet certain financial soundness tests. None of that here. I am married to a wonderful Thai woman and have made my life here, but having brought all my marbles in with no avenue to permanent residency, leaves me with a feeling of insecurity I can't shake.

I understand there is permanent residency, but it requires three years of continuous work with a work permit and I ama retired, so that is not an option. I can speak Thai, but am simply too old to learn to read and write it, so citizenship isn't going to happen either. I guess it is just the way it is. If I had it to do all again, knowing what I know now, I wouldn't be here.

It may surprise you, but Thailand actually makes it fairly easy to become a citizen, but you are right, unlike other countries merely being a resident does not qualify you.

Thai authorities want you to be married to a Thai citizen and working for 3 years straight as a minimum on a non-immigrant visa extension of stay, earning at least 40,000 Baht per month and paying tax on that, with a valid work permit of course, to become eligible for citizenship. I'm not sure if they require fluent Thai skills or not because I know of at least one famous Thai citizen, who apparently speaks no more than 100 words of Thai. That person is none other than former American citizen Bill Heinecke, who runs one of Thailand (and Asia's) biggest food empires, Minor international.

However, he received his Thai citizenship decades ago so perhaps they have become stricter now in terms of eligibility criteria. Requiring Thai proficiency, especially in a country where it's hard enough for many foreigners to even convince the locals they can speak their language is reasonable enough though. On the other hand, it seems to me that gradually they have loosened the criteria a bit, because previously one needed to be a permanent resident for like 5? years before becoming eligible for Thai citizenship, now it's possible to skip PR altogether (which offers relatively few advantages anyway) and apply for Thai citizenship straight away after meeting the eligibility criteria outlined above, but of course only if you are married to a Thai.

As I said, forget PR because not only is the PR route only granted to those working here (just like those seeking Thai citizenship), as a PR you still remain a foreigner and I believe PR holders STILL require a work permit, despite attempts since at least 2008 by the Joint Chambers of Commerce to eliminate this requirement. PR status also does NOT allow one to own land. Only citizenship does. So in that sense what does PR entitle you to? Not all that much, apart from unrestricted residence. I think the criteria for company ownership is loosened, but that's about it. There may also be a few other advantages, but citizenship is far and away the best option and you can even keep your existing nationality(ies) too, which is another advantage.

So-called migrant workers (this terminology is actually flawed since they have no right of abode in Thailand - they should just be called expats like everyone else) from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia will never be eligible to become Thai citizens. This is because they don't earn enough and Thailand only wants rich, relatively successful people, preferably those married to it's citizens to become one of their own.

Retirees can never become Thai citizens, even if they are married to Thais, because they don't work. Thailand wants people working here before considering allowing them to become citizens.

Anyone who has ever spent any time in Thailand on any sort of non-O, non-B or tourist visa in the past, even if they previously held a PR but no longer do now, will find none of these will be taken into account when it comes to seeking PR again or citizenship. Only continunous, unbroken residence according to the above criteria is allowed.

You are incorrect about Heinecke. He has lived in Thailand since he was 14, and he reads, writes and speaks Thai fluently. He is also a billionaire. You must read and write Thai to become a citizen. But if one happens to be a billionaire, I am sure that requirement would disappear. If you have enough dough, you can get whatever you want here.

I am not a billionaire. I am just regular guy living on a regular retirement that lives here, pays taxes and contributes to his community. But I must get "permission" every year to stay another year, even though I have a family here. On top of that, I have to report every 90 days. Even registered sex offender do not have to report that often.

By the way, I came here as a volunteer to help Thai villagers (US Peace Corps). My reason for coming was altruistic. I met my wife and married her during my service and without knowing what was in store for me if I wanted to stay (she does not want to leave Thailand). I suppose I naively thought there would be a reasonable process to permanent residency. 555, joke on me.

You ask, what benefit does PR hold for me? Nothing except the comfort of knowing I am here permanently instead of year to year. That is everything to me. that is all I need. That small piece of security. It is not a lot to ask.

Your comment that "Thailand actually makes it fairly easy to become a citizen," doesn't pan out for anybody over 40, given the language fluency requirement. You could paper your walls with all the studies showing how language learning skills plunge after age 40. But you are right about one thing, if it was easy to become a citizen here, it would certainly surprise me, and I'd be on it like a duck on a junebug. What's the secret you are holding back?

I am completely legal and always have been. But I have the distinct feeling that I am not really wanted/welcome here; only tolerated. More friendly countries allow their expats ownership of a small plot of land and house, and allow permanent residency for retirees that meet certain financial soundness tests. None of that here. I am married to a wonderful Thai woman and have made my life here, but having brought all my marbles in with no avenue to permanent residency, leaves me with a feeling of insecurity I can't shake.

I understand there is permanent residency, but it requires three years of continuous work with a work permit and I ama retired, so that is not an option. I can speak Thai, but am simply too old to learn to read and write it, so citizenship isn't going to happen either. I guess it is just the way it is. If I had it to do all again, knowing what I know now, I wouldn't be here.

Name me the counties that gives legal right of abode to retiree's ie PR ? there are not many.....

further go and look and see how many countries even let expats in on the basis of retirement a handful

And once you review all the terms / condtions and finanical requirements come back and tell me the deal retirees get in Thailand is so bad

If I were to do it again, I'd go to Panama. If you can show retirement income of $1,200US or more, you can get automatic permanent residency. Most people thee speak English. Spanish is a bout 100 times easier to speak than Thai. Spanish and English use the same alphabet.

The deal retirees get in Thailand is one of the worst in the world. Thee are places that are worse, but who would want to live there anyway? Would you want to live in Syria or Zimbabwe? I didn't think so. The thing that makes Thailand such a nice place to live is the climate and the people. I find the people to be mostly very friendly. I am not offended by the "double pricing" that upsets so many farang. I am only troubled by the very unfriendly and xenophobic immigration laws.

They provide no security for those expats living here.

I am completely legal and always have been. But I have the distinct feeling that I am not really wanted/welcome here; only tolerated. More friendly countries allow their expats ownership of a small plot of land and house, and allow permanent residency for retirees that meet certain financial soundness tests. None of that here. I am married to a wonderful Thai woman and have made my life here, but having brought all my marbles in with no avenue to permanent residency, leaves me with a feeling of insecurity I can't shake.

I understand there is permanent residency, but it requires three years of continuous work with a work permit and I ama retired, so that is not an option. I can speak Thai, but am simply too old to learn to read and write it, so citizenship isn't going to happen either. I guess it is just the way it is. If I had it to do all again, knowing what I know now, I wouldn't be here.

When I asked about one of these, I was told that it must be some foreign invention. Thailand No have.

Good god, man, of course it's a foreign invention. The Thais have NEVER invented ANYTHING -- except maybe the false smile for which they are s famous.

I looked high and low for one of these -- all to no avail. If you ever find one, please post on here so others can find it, too.

I looked into importing one, but because of the dimensions, it would have cost over $300US with shipping. What I ended up doing was importing a handheld model, which would fit in a box with a lower shipping cost than the walk behind model (but still not cheap!). It works fine, but a walk behind is going to give a more accurate spread. One advantage of the handheld, though, is that it has a very wide broadcast and is quite rapid. I purchased one of these from Amazon US and had a friend ship it to me in a plain box -- no tax or duty.

The yellow house registration book (https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lYhyYwSNdso/T4Mvfdu3smI/AAAAAAAAO6w/KqKGY7JKrZc/s576-Ic42/Yellow%252520tabien%252520baan%25252020070213.JPG) and the residence certificate (http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/download/pdf/res_cert.pdf) are two different things, not related to each other.

Other than most Amphurs want an Immigration residence certificate as part of the documentation to issue a Yellow Book

And it is worth noting that if you have the Yellow Book, you will never need to get another residency certificate. The Yellow Book serves that purpose.

Green tree snake for sure. Very common. Harmless to humans. Good news for you if you leave it alone, less mice / bats and poop all over your place.

Nearly every Thai I meet think all snakes will kill you. Only around 10 - 15% are actually deadly to humans, and guess what? death only occurs when people dick about with them. Recent morons have tried to take selfies with rattle snakes and ended up in a bad way. Good I say. Just helps to confirm that nature eliminates the weak, stupid and feeble minded.

A recent surevy in the sates showed that 90% of snake bites were when "humans" tried to pick them up and in over 50% of cases the person was intoxicated at the time.

Well I wish great luck to everybody. Considering that only 10% of the people bitten by poisonous snakes are bitten through no fault of their own, the actual number of "no fault" bites is probably very small. That puts the odds in favor of the snake lovers.

On the other hand, if you kill every one of them, the odds of not being bitten are even better. That's why no snakes are welcome at my house. I can't tell the difference between common rat snake (good snake) and a cobra (bad snake) unless the cobra stands up and shows its hood. It's a little late by then, isn't it? That's why I dispatch them all. For those that can tell the difference and will attack me for being a stupid killer, etc., I am happy for you. It's just me.

Did anybody mention that there is also another bright green snake that is extremely deadly and is known to cause a large number of the deadly snakebites in

Thailand (according to my snake book). I almost stepped on one, as they just lie there and don't try to get away. If you step on it, you have a big problem. Lucky for me, my wife saw it and warned me. I dispatched it to the spirit world.

I have no interest in the good snake/bad snake guessing game. For those that do, I wish you luck. In any event, the odds are with you. There is that.

And just for the record, even though I have few snakes, and almost none that survive a sighting by me, I DO NOT have a rat/bat/other vermin problem. I built my house with an eye toward keeping them out; and it is rare for one to get in. I have never had a rat the living area of my house (kept very clean) and the couple that managed to get into the attic area were soon dispatched to become food for their snake friends in the spirit world. I have ventilation like the OP picture, but I put aluminum screen over it all, topside.

Just because you live in Thailand doesn't mean you have to choose between snakes or vermin. Despite what some people would have you believe it IS NOT an either/or situation.

You said "... no snakes are welcome at my house. I can't tell the difference between [them]." Then you tell us you almost stepped on one of these deadly green snakes, which you were able to look up in your snake book. How is it you were able to identify that one with such certainty? You just told you you can't tell the difference. And if your snake book is such a big help, why don't you use it to identify snakes before you kill any of them, because, as has been pointed out, many are useful? Why are you so eager to kill harmless creatures? There are poisonous toads. Do you kill all amphibians you see? There are vicious dogs. Do you kill all dogs you see? There are some incredibly fearsome felines? Do you shoot them, Bungalow Bill?

How could I identify the white lipped viper? Easy. First, my wife pointed it out to me and said it was poisonous, so I killed it. Having the dead snake, it was easy to use the book for certain identification. I had almost stepped on it. Had my wife not pointed it out to me (she sees snakes much better than I), I would more than likely have been bitten as I was working around it. The good news is they are not aggressive if you do not touch them. The bad news is that they also do not try to escape; they just lie there and ignore you. But if you inadvertently touch it or step on it, it will very quickly strike and bite. This is the reason this species is responsible for so many snakebites in SE Asia.

If I see a dark slate gray snake just slithering off into the grass and it gets away, I don't know if it was a cobra or rat snake. I can't use the book for ID on a snake that is disappearing. But I do not want to risk having a coba getting away, so, if i can, I just kill the thing, then ID it. Why not let it get away? If it is a cobra, they breed. I am not taking the chance. It's like mosquitos. If you kill one, you may have killed thousands or even millions because it is deprived of breeding. My intent is to minimize the number of poisonous snakes on my land.

I had a worker point out a green snake on a tree one day. I went over and had a look. It did not try to escape; just hung there. I was able to identify it as a harmless tree snake. I left it alone. I can't do that with a snake fleeing into the grass or weeds.

Poisonous toads don't bite; they are no threat. Why would anybody kill them? Snakes kill and maim (venom rapidly destroys tissue), toads don't. Toads help control vermin and pose no threat. Snakes help to control vermin and do pose a threat. To each his own.

I killed a whole slew of wat dogs that kept digging under and breaking through my fence to kill my chickens. Once I eliminated the marauding canine gang, the problem disappeared. That was over three years ago and I haven't had a single dog problem since.

You know, we all have a choice. You can choose to be a pitcher or catcher. Of course the catcher has to bend over. I'm a pitcher. I don't bend over. Again, to each his own.

By the way, with my practices, I certainly fit into the local culture better than you. My behavior in this respect is the same as every Thai I know. Unlike you, they do NOT see venomous snakes as "harmless creatures."

http://www.directtoshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/en/directtoshop/shino-basin-wrench-p281276

HomePro indeed says they have - just be sure you have room to use.

Brill, 179 Baht and in-stock at our local HomePro

I wonder why they thought I was crazy?

I got the old mia mii treatment so often in situations where I KNEW it wasn't true that i stopped believing it. My practice now is to always ask at least three different people in different aisles of the store before accepting mai mii. I very often score using this method.

It isn't only the Thais, I used to get the same treatment from lazy clerks at Home Depot who did not want to get off their duffs to look. But it does happen a lot more here. I think they just don't want to struggle with my broken thai and try to write me off.