egeefay

If he hadn't stabbed the policeman he probably could have gotten away with a bribe.

Now he's in big trouble.

I was reading this article in the Pattaya papers today

http://www.pattayatoday.net/index.php?acti...ews&id=2142

It seems to suggest that they are still planning to carve a new province out of Cha am, Hua Hin and Pranburi

I thought this idea had been killed after the coup

Does anyone know if it's still in the works?

I think governments should agree to deals struck by former administrations...even if the deal was a lemon for Thailand.

Imagine the reluctance that foreign governments would have doing business with Thailand knowing that any contract or agreement could be reversed by newly elected officials

Governments who decide to take foreign assets and "nationalize" industries in their countries suffer a big international loss in confidence.

The message they send is that rule of law and signatures on contracts are only good from one adminstration to another.

In addition All foreigner who bought condominiums in Thailand should start worrying that the new government isn't going start regarding them as national assets. Or if you are married to a Thai and own a house you might start worrying if Thailand is going to take away her right to own property. That's how it was only 10 or so years ago wjem the economy was in the toilet and the Thai government changed the law to attract foreign capital

best to come down to Hua Hin and check it out for yourself.

It's impossible to predict what Hua Hin will be like in the years to come.

While the King is living there I guess there will be less crime and pollution than in other areas of Thailand.

For the last two and a half years I have lived in a small village in Phitsanulok province. In the local area their is a Christian missionary which is very active in the community. It offers the local children scholarships, gifts for them and their families ( an example of this was duvets last month) as well as expensive holidays. They also have many fun activities at the centre. Apparently the money for this comes from the States. The children only recieve these benefits if they attend weekly services at the Christian centre and most of the children in our village now attend.

My Thai neice became a Christian after being recruited by a group of young Christian converts in Thailand.

It didn't last long. Once she was "in" she started to see the backbiting, hypocritical and mean side of some Christians ; and after a couple of years she dropped out.

Now my Thai nephew, who has been attending a Catholic boarding school in Thailand, wants to become a priest. His mother is upset but the rest of the family's attitude is that there are a lot worse professions than being a priest. My feeling is that it will probably all wear off after a while

The nice thing about Buddhism is that it lets each person decide which path to take. There isn't the dogma of western religions. Not a lot of "do's and don't".

It's pretty hard to go from the freedom of Buddhism to the authoritarianism of Christianity. My guess is that most converts to Christianity will find themselves back to where they started in a few years.

Buddhism isn't the kind of religion that actively seeks converts. That's why they don't have a lot of social programs for kids or do a lot to help the poor, or send missionaries out to recruit new members. Thais who are serious about being good Buddhists would rather withdraw from the world rather than make converts or get caught up in solving the problems of poverty , hunger and disease.

Many Christian missionary groups, on the other hand, uses food, medicine and money as a carrot stick to gain converts. And since the government and the Buddhist wats provides little in the way of social services and help for the poor, the void is filled by Christians and Muslim groups...both of whom are actively looking to boost membership.

No "hautiness" intended - just a jest referring to the earlier posts.

I don't live in LOS yet, but will do sooner rather than later with my wife (Thai).

Its being part of the community that I'm looking forward to, not cutting myself off, but it seems you have already done that and as has been said, each to their own - so good luck with your plans.

There are some "compounds" that are almost exclusively farang. Palm Hills , though, has a good mixture of Thai and Farang folks living there so you never feel "cut off" from the community. It's not a farang enclave.

If you make it to Hua Hin you should drop by and take a look.

These past few years there's been more construction going on there than ever before so it's changing all the time

Well good luck, egeefay, with life in your compound!

As I said, each to their own, and if replicating what you're used to is what your about, well, so be it - it does kind of raise the question of "why LOS"?

But, and I'm sure this won't apply, don't let the "nimbyism" (that's not meant to be rude) stretch beyond the boundry of the estate - it seems to have become an issue for some of those arriving to seek change in the wider community.

And remember, the security is porous (sic?), its worth as much as can be bought.

But Hua Hin is a great place and I'm sure you'll enjoy it more as you get to know it better, might even make you think twice about the outlay - and remember, if the airport takes off (excuse pun), don't compalin about the noise!!!

I do sense a bit of hautiness in your first statement.

I'm not sure what your reasons are for moving to Thailand but I'm sure they suit you perfectly. Just as you wouldn't want to live my life, I probably wouldn't want to live yours. We all find a niche we are comfortable with.

37 years ago when I was a Peace Corps volunteer I lived in a wooden shack, walked to my job at the Bangkok municipality, did my own laundry and shopped in the local market. Those were fun days but at my age now, my needs and requirements are different. I wouldn't want to live like a Peace Corps volunteer now.

Palm Hills does remind me in a way of the lifestyle I am living now. And that's great. I prefer to live in an organized community with some rules and regulations. It makes for better neigbors and if I'm going to be investing a lot of money to buy property and build a house, I would prefer to buy in a neighborhood where everyone takes care of their property , it's relatively safe, and they keep the place nice and clean. Nothing hurts worse than watching your investment lose value because the neighborhood went downhills after you bought into it.

Besides, I didn't make that decision. My Thai wife did. She's lived in the US for 29 years now and she swore she would never go back to Thailand to live...until she saw Palm Hills.

All that being said, we might be singing a different tune after we've moved there.

We'll see.

just watch out for snakes within the palmhills ground....especially if you have young children something to be concerned about. this was 3 years ago...and im hoping that the situation has changed. Im not talking about one being spotted everyday, but there were definitely a number of times. cant say if they were/are dangerous snakes or not....but it would frighten most people anyhow.....

so just check with the management on that

good luck with the new home

Although I didn't see any snakes while I was there, I've heard that they are around the area. Palm Hills backs up to the forest so I'm sure whatever wildlife lives back there makes it's way down to Palm Hills.

Where I live in California we have a lot of rattlesnakes. I've seen 4 or 5 of them in my backyard over the last 15 years...and once captured a big rattler with a pool net onetime. The snakes here tend to shy away from people so you don't see them a lot...but they are here.

I imagine the same is true in Hua Hin.

Anyone ever heard of anyone in the area being bitten?

Your post is kind of interesting and I wonder how well you know Hua Hin?

Some soi's are pretty quiet and I suspect those "run down" areas you refer to are really typical Thai streets? 1st appearances can be deceptive and change when you get to know a place.

Its a pity the architectural controls tou mention don't extend to some of the gross buildings at Palm Hills. Theres a whole thread about that on another site.

The thought of a noodle shop in Palm Hills is also kind of interesting!

Your post does rather sound that you will choose to live in a farang/rich Thai enclave and good luck to you. Horses for courses and all that but not for me.

You are correct. I have limited knowledge of most areas in and around Hua Hin. My experience of soi living is from our Thai friends who live on a Soi in Bangkok (not Hua Hin)

Their house is surrounded by a high wall so while you are inside the compound everything is clean and orderly. Once you step outside into the Soi , however, it’s a whole different story. The street is maintained by the city, I assume, because there’s a lot of garbage and dog poop littering the street and the streets themselves are broken and cracked. A couple of doors down from my friends house are a lot of 3 story “hong taews” where folks live upstairs and conduct business on the first floor.

People parked their cars along the Soi, which impedes two way traffic. The people running businesses also often extend their business out across the sidewalks and into the street making it even more difficult to pass. And At night the soi belongs to the street dogs. Few people dare to wander outside of the walled compound at night… except by car.

So, If I had the choice, to live on a soi or to live in a private development, I would certainly choose a private development like Palm Hills. It seems to come closest to the way I am use to living in my neighborhood here in the States.. It doesn’t have to be an exclusive area. Just an area that is reserved for residential houses, with security at the front entrance and some rules and regulations governing what you can build and how people are expected to conduct themselves…and no wild dogs running around at night.

I’m sure there are lots of developments in Hua Hin that would fit that bill.

It doesn’t bother me that some people in Palm Hills build “gross building”. I’m sure the people that live in them really enjoy their life. And since I don’t have to live in those homes, it doesn’t bother me.

As long as they don’t turn them into dirty factories or open up a noisy karaoke restaurant I can overlook their design .

That being said, I’ll know if my perception of Palm Hills is anything close to reality once my sister in law moves in to their new house at the end of 2007 and they’ve had a chance to really experience life there.

After posting the initial topic and a long time seaching for the right plot we finally bought a plot of land in Palm Hills back in March 2006

I just returned to the States after spending several days in Palm Hills, playing golf and just roaming around the streets of the development, observing the new houses going up and seeing what was going on.

There seems to be a lot of construction going on now. But still a lot of undeveloped lots

Many Europeans seem to have bought and built there.

I like the idea of houses built around a golf course and the fact that it there are some architectural controls: no parking on the street, no opening up noodle shops on the ground floor appeal to me.

I don't think we could ever live on a soi..with all the traffic, noise , businesses and soi dogs at night.

There are other issues, like the water rates, which I understand are pretty high in Palm Hills. (They have their own water, not municipal water like most places in Hua Hin/Cha am.

They seem to take good care of the streets in Palm Hills and they have a nice Sports Center and Club House.

We took a look at other developments before we bought . Some of them were nice but could only be accessed by passing through some pretty run down areas. Palm Hills is right off the main road and has a nice tree lined entrance.

My brother and sister in law are building their dreamhome there now so once it is done and they've moved in I'll be able to tell whether or not it's a place we'd like to retire to.

So far , I like what I've seen.

Regarding the new rules limiting foreign stake in Thailand to 50% the Thai Finance Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula gave as his reasons for the new law as follows.

The new law is acceptable because

1.(Foreign investors) have not yet seen the details. If they had seen the details, I am sure that they would be happy,

2. "Why should we postpone it when we have worked on it for three months.

3. This is Thailand

4. he had consulted some foreign investors about the changes to the Foreign Business Act and more than half of them had found the new rules acceptable.

5. but (foreign investors he consulted)have not seen all of the details and the commerce minister cannot disclose the bill before the cabinet gives its approval," he said.

6. "We have a record of welcoming foreign investment. We are not hostile to them. Foreign investors have made Thailand develop and we are certainly still adhering to this policy," he said.

Surely there must be a mistranslation somewhere. I cannot believe and educated person would make statement like these

We would like to rent a condo for a month in Hua Hin...from Dec. 4, 2006-Jan. 4, 2006

1-2 bedroom

By the ocean

Furnished

Under 40,000 baht.

Anyone know of a good place we can rent?

As Promised we are just finishing up with our stay in Hua Hin and I wanted to report on the Palm Pavillion condo that we rented for 30,000k per month

Palm Pavillions is between the airport and Hua Hin. You can see it from the highway. It consists of two 11 story buildings.

The room we rented was on the 9th floor...one bedroom, two bathrooms, furnished (but I think the owner was Chinese (from the decor) so the furniture was sparce and not very comfortable.)

We rented the condo from the building managment who was handling the property for the owner. I would recommend renting directly from an owner who advertises on the internet. The property manager was totally worthless when it came to taking care of to things like burnt out lightbulbs . Long on promises, short on delivery.

There was a hot plate in the "kitchen" area and a microwave that didn't work. Once again, management was totally useless.

A slight smell came from one of the bathroom (a feature of Thai construction I understand since other residents also seemed to have the same problem). The building management was totally useless in dealing with the problem, too

There is 24 hour security and the place was pretty deserted on the weekdays so we had the nice pool by the ocean to ourselves a lot of the time. There wasn't much a beach to speak of during the day during high tide If you want to do a beach stroll you have to do it at night when the tides recede. But then the dogs seem to resent beachstrollers at night so we let them have the beach

There's a nice breeze that blows through the condo if you keep your front door open. That wasn't a problem, because, as I mentioned there was hardly anyone else there.

There's a two seater truck taxi that stops by the front frequently and goes into the city and out to Khao Takiab but it stops running at 6pm so you need to take a tuk tuk or something to get back to the condo if it's after dark.

All in all it was a pleasant experience and we'd do it again...but rent a different condo and check it out before we rented.

I just arrived in Thailand a few days ago and passed through the new airport.

Both my wife and I were very very "unimpressed" with the architecture.

The "warehouse" look has been tried in a lot of places for far less money.

I thought the indirect lighting was too dim

And I noticed that cobwebs were beginning to gather on the homecomb ceiling plates above the immigration cue.

It was...just another airport design.

I was told that the Germans came up with the idea.

All the struts, metal columns and glass looked like something out of a past era.

We had to wait a lot longer to pass through immigration than we recall having to to wait at Don Muang. The line wasn't that long...maybe 20 people but they took a long time stamping everyones passport. But that's an immigration issue and not related to the design.

Dispite the long wait in the immigration line, Our luggage took a long time to arrive .

When we finally got out the first thing our greeting party said was "what took so long?"

Here's an interesting article in the Bangkok post today

"Overseas visitors left in dark by the loos on show at World Toilet Expo

APIRADEE TREERUTKUARKUL

The Health Department's exhibitions on the history and development of toilets in Thailand, as well as the royal projects on national public health, have failed to draw the attention of international delegates at the World Toilet Expo and Forum. A lack of information in English was blamed for the low attendances at the exhibitions held at the Impact Exhibition and Convention Centre, Muang Thong Thani yesterday. The expo ends tomorrow.

Most foreign visitors could not make out what the exhibitions were about and walked past them because they did not understand the information, which was presented mostly in Thai.

''It's a pity that international participants cannot understand what these exhibitions are all about by only looking at pictures,'' said Peter Gorges, a delegate from Australia.

Tai Li Jiang from China said he was disappointed because no English pamphlets were available for international delegates, although there was a multimedia presentation with English subtitles. "

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/17Nov2006_news02.php

If Thailand is serious about doing business worldwide it is going to have communicate in English.

For better or worse, English is the language of business.

Last year, I went to a Thai hospital for a checkup. The hospital is trying attract foreign customers . Sadly, Only a few members of the nursing staff spoke English. Much of the exam had to be done in sign language (I pretended I couldn't speak Thai)

One good thing is that the kids of these mixed Isaan marriages are having to learn English in order to communicate with their western fathers. This means that there will be more Thai children who will grow up have a good foundation of English as a second language.

Thailand really needs more fluent English speakers if they hope to compete with Malaysia or India for business from the west.

Like it or not, English is the language for business.

I started this topic on "nursing homes in Thailand" a few months ago and now we are seriously starting to look for a nursing home to take care of my ailing mother in law.

She's gotten to the point where she can no longer move much at all and has to be helped to a sitting position just to be fed.

The family is really stressed because she needs care even at night for diaper changing and the grandkids or the daughter has to get up to care for her.

To add to the stress, two of the daughters are about to go abroad for work and study and one of them is getting married.

At first the daughter resisted the idea of a nursing home and opted to find a live in caretaker. But now the caretaker can't even handle the heavy lifting involved.

If anyone has any suggestions for some good nursing homes that we can visit please post them here.

I've got a short list of some of the suggestions already made but when we go to Thailand next week we want to do a tour of as many as we can find so we can select the right one.

From talking to friends they say that good nursing homes in Bangkok are not easy to find...and usually have a long waiting list.

Help!

Update. The caretaker who has been living with my mother in law is a wonderful person and would be perfect if my mother in law were able to get around herself.

However turns out my mother in law's health has deteriorated to the point where she can no longer move herself even to be fed. She has to be lifted to a seated position. She has to be almost carried to the bathroom to bath.

The caretaker is not strong enough to do this. It take two people to lift her.

In addition it turns out that the caretaker doesn't give injections. So a family member has to be around to provide insulin her insulin shots when she needs them.

Now the family is thinking of trying to find a suitable nursing home where they have enough round the clock help to provide her medications and to lift her when she needs to be moved.

I guess the caretaker turned out to be more of a private "servant" but not a trained nurses aide.

Here's a program called CACTUS SPAM

http://www.download.com/Cactus-Spam-Filter...&tag=button

You 'teach" the program to recognize good and bad emails. After training it for a while it starts to recongize the bad stuff which goes right in the trash folder (or you can just flag it as trash).

Best of all...it's FREE (You can make a donation if you want)

I've just started using it this morning and already it's recognizing all the junk stuff that has been so annoying.

Works with most POP3 email clients

Here's a recipe for Laap which uses minced beef

http://www.thaifoodtonight.com/thaifoodton...yGroundBeef.htm

There's a video of how it's made.

Hi

just so I understand correctly, the aide stays in your mother (sister) -in-law's home?

thanks for sharing this info!

Yes. The aide actually lives in the home so my inlaws have to provide a place to sleep and food. But they can monitor the quality of care because a family member is usually home most of the time.

On Friday my mother in law had to be taken to the hospital so the aide accompanied her and is staying by her bedside 24 hours.

It really has taken a lot of the burden off my sister in law, who has a family of her own and a daughter who is about to get married.

The cost..8500 baht ($230 a month). paid to the hospital!!

Excellent service from this hospital. What’s its name?

---------------

Maestro

Correction. The service is provided by a Nursing Home called Golden Life Nursing Home in Bangkok.

I couldn't find any reference to them on the internet but my inlaws say they are located on Jang Wattana. You can email me if you want their phonenumber

It almost seems as if those who designed the new airport had never really designed a real airport before.

Providing sufficient seating and toilet facilities seems to me to be in direct relation to the number of daily passengers.

I mean, how many toilets were there at Don Muang? That should give you some idea of the number you will be needing at the new airport, shouldn't it.

I've been to a lot of airports all over the world and haven't run across one yet where I had to wait in a long cue to get to a toilet.

Didn't the new airport designers even do some basic calcualtions before building the place?

My wife's mother is 84.

She's been living with my wife's sister in Bangkok for the last few years.

Recently she's taken a turn for the worse and requires around the clock care diaper changing, bathing , getting to the doctors.

My wife's sister finally decided that she didn't have the energy to care for her family and her mother at the same time.

So she called a hospital to inquire about hiring a competent aide to assiste my mother-in-law.

They sent an aide to her house who has been trained to take care of elderly patients. She's about 40 years old and has been doing it for about 10 years.

The aide is assigned to take care of my mother-in-law around the clock. The aide sleeps in the room beside her, changes her diapers, takes her to the bathroom to bath, washes her clothes, cooks her food, makes sure she takes her medications, gives her insulin shots...whatever the mother in law needs, she does.

She works 6 days a week

The cost..8500 baht ($230 a month). paid to the hospital!!

I read this in the Bangkok post

"Liquor tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi is investing around 30 billion baht in property projects nationwide worth a combined 70 billion baht.

Also in the pipeline for the country's richest man is an ambitious plan to develop a Thailand Disneyland covering 10,000 rai in the seaside resort town of Hua Hin. "

Surely this is just a big joke, right?

Turning Hua Hin into a "Coney Island" is just what Thailand needs.

What is this obsession with "Wild Animal Parks", "Giant Aquariums" and "Disneylands"?

Do they think that tourist will be drawn to Thailand by ferris wheels and rollercoasters and people dressed up in animal costumes?

Here's a movie I posted on YouTube about our experience a Thai hospital