williamgeorgeallen

...am behind the moto taxi dudes on this one. They provide a valuable service. Too much invested to be undercut by a

snazzy web app designed to marginalize their livelihood.

Am all for Uber, etc. to go tits up and perish. Their idea works---until it doesn't--usually involving an accident and the finger pointing begins in earnest. How about an app for Tai legal system and justice?

uber and uber like facilities are excellent value and provide a superior service. why would you want them to go out of business? their business model seems to work very well. a friend of mine drives for uber in australia and said his customers refuse to use normal taxis as uber is so much better. this is why uber is growing at such a fast rate.

Never were their houses to lose were they

so true, so very true.

“Several people have estimated costs to recreate 9/11 and they usually are about USD3 million. We are trying to do it for 10 percent of that," said Paul.

"I wanna fly that sucker in there and see what happens," he said in the video. "We're gonna prove it once and for all: Was 9/11 a hoax or was it real?"

Let me save you some time and money on that...it was real.

"We deserve to find out what happened.”

We already know what happened.

ah finally some one who knows what happened. tell the rest of how building 7 cam down. i have watched all the footage and it look exactly like it was bough down with explosives. it was not struck by anything large enough to damage it structurally.

generally the sort of thai girls that us foreigners marry dont require a dowry to be paid. guess it dosent hurt to as though right? if your girl is in her thirties, she has kids and/or you got her out of a bar then there is no need to pay anything. i kind of wonder why anyone would marry and woman, let alone a thai one. seems to be an outdated tradition. took me 2 marriages to figure that out. many do it to get the marriage visa i suppose. i am pretty sure in most cases the elite visa would work out cheaper going by the number of guys who keep loosing their houses to thai woman.

actually a google search turned up this good explanation http://www.livingthai.org/how-much-should-you-pay-for-a-thai-dowry.html

OP said, "It seems like a topic of controversy, but should a dowry be paid if the husband is a foreigner?

ESPECIALLY if the husband is a foreigner!!!

Why is that?

hope you dont mind if i answer that. from my understanding traditionally a dowry is paid for the first time a girl is married provided she has no kids. if she is divorced or has children to a previous partner then a dowry are not required. marrying a thai prostitute certainly does not require a dowry especially when she is past her prime regardless of how many children she has. this it seams is not know buy alot of western men getting married to their bar girls who have one or more children to their previous/current thai husbands/boyfriends. hopefully these western guys will educate themselves more in the future by reading websites such as thai visa.

ok, so i just did this at the thai embasy in new zealand. i got a non im - o 1 year visa based on having my name on my daughters birth certificate. just need copies of the mums house book and ID. was very easy. just posted in copies of the documents with bank check for 250NZD.

i have never been married to the mother.

i havenot done the legalizing my child thing.

they were not even interested in seeing bank balances or income.

i did not need the mother to go to the embasy or be in nz to do it.

i suggest you call the thai embassy in london to see what they want. hopefully you will get this visa as easily as i got mine. i plan to do a trip home every xmas to get this visa as it is so easy and cheap.

Unfortunately, London has unusual rules around Non O visas. They will not issue multiple Non O to visit your Thai child under any circumstances.

If a Brit wants such a visa, Penang Malaysia is probably the most convenient place to get it.

well that is annoying. wonder why they dont all follow the same rules. i am a kiwi but lived in australia for a long time and use an aussie passport. i got the O visa in new zealand on my aussie passport so maybe using your brit passport in another country might be the way to do it as suggested in other posts.

was funny when i went to nz at xmas, me on an aussie passport, the mum on thai and out 2 kids on kiwi passports. few questions at immigration.

i was trying to think of some suggestions for innovative products for thailands cutting edge manufacturing industry. demand for sex toys must be going up with people stay single longer, getting divorced earlier, and not having so many kids. then i remembered that sex toys are illegal in thailands conservative society so i will just have to keep on thinking.

ok, so i just did this at the thai embasy in new zealand. i got a non im - o 1 year visa based on having my name on my daughters birth certificate. just need copies of the mums house book and ID. was very easy. just posted in copies of the documents with bank check for 250NZD.

i have never been married to the mother.

i havenot done the legalizing my child thing.

they were not even interested in seeing bank balances or income.

i did not need the mother to go to the embasy or be in nz to do it.

i suggest you call the thai embassy in london to see what they want. hopefully you will get this visa as easily as i got mine. i plan to do a trip home every xmas to get this visa as it is so easy and cheap.

of course i was joking about the tigers from the temple being used. think the monks would be pretty upset loosing them any way. was i reading stories about Cambodias wild game reserve managers continually saying tiger numbers were improving up until the point they became extinct? like many others have said no point reintroducing them to get wiped out again.

These republicans that won't endorse him are like little children having there candy taken away. He run against 17 candidates and won hands down elected by the voters. What the <deleted> ? Give him a chance , let the voters decide.

could not agree with you more. surely these republicans are just going to hurt trumps, and there fore their own chances of winning any election by not showing a unified front.

Why limit nightmares to only republicans? I think it is now a shared feeling among most Americans.

well a fair section of america must like him for him to be where he is now.

thought using tigers from thailand might be a better idea. wonder why they are getting them from india. there are 100 in some temple here that need relocating right? just need to move them to a temple in cambodia then bingo, successful reintroduction.

i have bought and sold a few places in thailand. i would not do it again. really it is best to be mobile, if you need to leave thailand it can be very difficul to sell. one property took 3 years to sell. i am waiting on 2 condos to be built. has been 4.5 years waiting so far. i would also not buy off plan again. good news is if you have to buy a condo you can do it in your own name. i would suggest buying something small and cheap as it should be easier to sell and if you have to sell it fast you wont loose so much. better idea would to be to buy something back in your home country if possible.

You should be scared. Not of physical violence but other stuff. Being grassed up to the police for overstay or working. Being planted with drugs and reported. Being beaten by paid for thugs. Be scared of being conned into sin sot. Be scared of building a house for her family. Be scared of losing your house and business when her real husband arrives at your house. Being scared is not about cowardice but about being smart. Never marry a Thai as they have nothing to offer but a neurotic family.

'Not of physical violence' - wrong. Thai women can be violent and can cause serious physical harm.

mate was pussy footing around trying to break up with his thai girl. why it is so difficult i dont know. anyway 4am monday morning when she was sleeping over he was woken up by a sound in the bathroom and noticed his girl was not in the bed. he went to have a look and found his girl slashing at her wrists. left a nasty mess and he was late to work dropping he off to the hospital. he was lucky she wasnt cutting him up while he was asleep. be warned these girls can be crazy, wonder how much of it is due to the actions of the girls they emulate in the thai soap operas.

i would advise to anyone to avoid starting a company in thailand. having said that i have one. i am a 49% share holder, my lawyer is 25% and the mother of our 2 kids is 26%. my company does not have alot of assets and the mother from my kids has a vested interest in keeping the company running as she gets her monthly sallary from it. the lawyer gets quite a bit of work from doing the books etc so hopefully they wont make problems. again, i would strongly advise you dont start a company in thailand. also you should be budgeting for a minimum of 150K thb per year for your work permit and visa. that is a bare minimum, and does not take into account additional payments to the police or immigration.

While your company remains small with modest profits the lawyer owning 25% doesn't seem a major issue, and this sort of arrangement can seem quite beneficial to you as well as the lawyer/accountant, particularly in early days.

The risk with it though is that if you grow your business and it becomes larger and successful, and acquires real value. Then you'll find a strong chance that the nice lawyer/ accountant expects a lot more. Giving someone a 25%-49% share of a THB 2 mn business doesn't seem a big deal at the time and looked at by many as simply a cost of doing business. When that same business becomes worth THB 20mn or THB 200mn etc it's a different ball game.

Of course if you've no plans to do that or are just using it for work permit/ convenience / small profits it's fine.

I'd prefer having the share ownership structure reflecting real contributions to the company. If all the lawyer/accountant does is a bit of advice here and there, and prepare the books, then just contract them to do that and pay them for it accordingly. No need to give them a sizeable element of shares.

there is a common trend in these discussions that you should not give any share to your lawyer or anyone else who does not contribute anything to your company. by law you have to allocate 51% of share to thai nationals. so who do you allocate theses shares to? i would always say never allocate these shares to any thai you are emotionally involved with, e.i. your girlfriend. dont mix business with pleasure, what little pleasure you get from having a thai girlfriend is just going to be ruined with arguments over money. i broke this rule when i had my 2 half thai kids as their mum gets about half of the income from the business and it is in her interests to keep it running as it is now. i will probably used the other half of the money the business makes to school my kids here until i move back to nz. has worked for the last few years but it may backfire at some point, not the end of the world as i do not rely on my business for my living expenses.

now the next point i want to make is just because you put shares in someones name does not mean they necessarily get paid any share of the profits. my lawyer who is also my accountant get plenty of business from doing accounting/book keeping visas etc to keep things going the way they are.

the next point i want to make is it does not really matter whos name the shares are in as most businesses simply do not make enough to cover the large amount of expenses involved in running a company with a foreign work permit.

start a business here as a hobby buy dont rely on it for income. if you need income go back and work in the west where there are fewer hassles and it is more profitable. after a few years of running a business here you will most likely be sick of it. on the bright side at least you will have a wealth of advice to dispense to other thai visa members on why trying to make money in thailand will probably just make you hate the place.

well this is pretty good but it is not as good as the thai cops paying them selves rewards for solving crimes. i wish i had enough money to reward myself for doing my job.

guys new to thailand dont understand why their bargirl girlfriend is so jealous after the girls them selves were/are so promiscuous. we are customers to them and as long as the money keeps running they do what they have to too keep us on as a sponsors. being crazy, angry and controlling must be the best way as this is how most of them go about doing it. on a side note a guy that drinks at my coffee shop has multiple scars on his hands from fending off his girl who likes to attack him with knives. they have a daughter together so it is one of those tricky situations, almost another private dancer story in the making. he keeps leading her on and posting lovey dovey pics on his facebook page. my girl went stupid one time. i waited for her to go to sleep and moved out, she quickly realized life was going to get very difficult for her and our son. i gave her one more chance and now refuse to sleep in the same bedroom as her to let her know things have changed. seems to have worked and have not had her go crazy for over 3 years now.

It should be banned , its dangerous , , probably helps erode these rock faces ,

ha, what about all the rampant sex industry around thailand spreading nasty diseases. surely that is doing more damage eroding away at thailands moral fiber. we should be worrying more about thailands plastic being allowed to wash into the oceans before we worry about a few rock faces being chipped away while supporting the locals.

How can all Americans not be totally embarrassed by their election campaigns? calling people such childish names as a campaigning device? My God!

we the rest of the world should be thanking america for its excellent reality TV. i quite liked that american show about some people put on an island who are in 2 teams. the last voted off the island gets the prize money. but this show is even better as the stakes are far greater. trump and clinton, pretty good as lead stars in this show. should keep me entertained for the next 5 months while i am having some time in esan.

my thai girl (mine cos i pay her the most) said there is some story going around the thais that there is a ghost going around foreigners in condos telling them they can fly. now that does seem like a bit of a stretch to me but it would certainly explain alot.

i had some dealings with couch surfers in pattaya several years ago. i helped put on a party for them. they turned up and all the food and booze seemed to vanish almost immediately. we then went into walking street where 2 of them started fighting over who owed who 5 thb. was glad i did not have any of them staying at my pad.

Aussie. I know that motorcycle rental is a "Thai" thing, but I also know other people who are doing it legally.

I guess I would not be getting a work permit simply based on "renting motorcycles", but more as a "general manager/web developer" for said company.

you will need to have alot of motorbikes to cover the cost of running a business with a foreign work permit. i am not trying to be a negative nancy but what you are trying to do is almost impossible. remember to have a business you need to buy/rent a property and keep it staffed with 4 thais. ontop of that you will not be able to talk to your customers or touch the motorbikes or it will be perceived you are working and taking a job away from a thai national. if you are in competition with a thai then forget it. a foreigner i know was renting out bikes in competition with one of his ex employees. the ex employee just told the cops what he was doing and the cops turned up with some flat bed trucks and confiscated his bikes. people think businesses in thailand are easy, unless they have had one.

i would say the elite visa is a far better option for anyone under 50 to stay in thailand. far simpler and cheaper than having a business. if you cant afford the elite visa which works out at only 100 000thb (about 3 000 USD) per year then go home and come back when you do.

The only problem with that is a Thai Elite Visa does not allow you to work and earn money.

How many people under 50 can afford to stop working with a minimum of say 30 million baht in the bank? (assume they are 45 and will live to 80 years that means they need cash to cover the next 35 years, personally I'd need a lot more than 30 million)

i am your average joe shmo. i am 42. i worked the last 20 years. i have my house and one rental property paid off back home. i can easily live on that income. if i did it i doubt i am the only one. i have a business here but it only really give me enough income to cover my kids and their mum. i see people under 50 trying to start businesses to get visas to stay in thailand. pointless. again if you cant afford an elite visa and you are under 50 then there is no point being here.

Aussie. I know that motorcycle rental is a "Thai" thing, but I also know other people who are doing it legally.

I guess I would not be getting a work permit simply based on "renting motorcycles", but more as a "general manager/web developer" for said company.

you will need to have alot of motorbikes to cover the cost of running a business with a foreign work permit. i am not trying to be a negative nancy but what you are trying to do is almost impossible. remember to have a business you need to buy/rent a property and keep it staffed with 4 thais. ontop of that you will not be able to talk to your customers or touch the motorbikes or it will be perceived you are working and taking a job away from a thai national. if you are in competition with a thai then forget it. a foreigner i know was renting out bikes in competition with one of his ex employees. the ex employee just told the cops what he was doing and the cops turned up with some flat bed trucks and confiscated his bikes. people think businesses in thailand are easy, unless they have had one.

i would say the elite visa is a far better option for anyone under 50 to stay in thailand. far simpler and cheaper than having a business. if you cant afford the elite visa which works out at only 100 000thb (about 3 000 USD) per year then go home and come back when you do.

I obviously wish to open a company here in Thailand because I wish to continue to live here and make money to allow this to happen.

Where I currently live, there is no motorcycle rental available, and a strong need to it. Now I'm not going to make millions doing this but its a project that would tick along ok.

I figure even if I only own 49%, registering the bikes in my personal name would keep the assets to me, not the company, so I protect myself there, but the prospect of having 2 Thais owning 51% of my company is a little unnerving.

renting out motor bikes is a profession reserved for thais. you will not be able to get a work permit to do this so there is no point paying alot of money to open a business if you cant get the work permit. the very best outcome is you would get fined 8500thb for no work permit, (this happened to me) if the bikes are in your name then you get the bikes confiscated. (this happened to a guy i know)