mstevens

If you're running a legal business in Thailand you must have Thais helping in some sort of professional capacity like a lawyer, accountant etc.  Talk to these people who will be much better able to help you with making contact with the right people than your average ThaiVisa farang ever will.

Go AFTER lunch time i.e. arrive there after 1:00 PM.  Near 2:00 PM is probably about optimum in my opinion.

The main reason many Thai women choose to get involved with a foreign man over a local Thai man is the perception that she will be better off long-term with that man than she would with the type of Thai men who are interested in her.  Unfortunately these women you have met seem to understand that they would be better off with a Thai man than with you hence you're not having a lot of luck.  This is not a Thai women thing.  Financial security is important to women the world over.

20 hours ago, Just Weird said:

"...any stock available in Thailand has probably been on the shelves or in a warehouse / in storage for rather a long time".

 

Garbage, why do people like you post such crap? 

I got some from Tops, Sukhumvit, last night, packed on date is 27/3/18, best before 22/12/18, nothing unacceptable about those dates. B199 per pack, Vintage and there was plenty of it.

What I posted was not crap at all.  In November last year Mainland Vintage went out of stock across New Zealand with notices in supermarkets posted saying it would be available in July 2018.  It is still not available at supermarkets in New Zealand as of this morning.  I was in the local supermarket 3 hours ago and still no sign of it.  I can only guess that Fonterra (the company that makes Mainland brand cheeses) is putting more emphasis on the international market than the domestic market. 

22 minutes ago, shaurene said:

I went in BigC 2 days ago and bought the mainland tasty brand with the red label same price 179 baht, the other one which says 24 months ripening is 5 baht more. I was back in New Zealand 2 months ago and the Thai price is around the same price as NZ. Call into Tesco they have the same cheese  but always 5-7 baht more than the mainland.

it is surposed to be a very low duty because they are in APEC BUT CUSTOMS COULD HAVE GOT DIFFICULT, you never know.

At my local supermarket, 1 kg of Mainland tasty cheese is currently $12.49 which is about 281 baht - so the New Zealand price for a New Zealand-made product is (as you would expect) MUCH LOWER than the price in Thailand.  The Vintage variety has been out of stock in New Zealand since late last year so any stock available in Thailand has probably been on the shelves or in a warehouse / in storage for rather a long time.

FWIW, even here in New Zealand where the cheese comes from, the price of Mainland cheese recently went up also.  A 1kg block of Mainland Tasty cheddar now runs $NZ12.49 which is about 280 baht.  (And if that sounds cheap compared to what you pay for the same product in Thailand, only a few weeks ago it was $10.99 for the 1 kg pack!)  The Vintage has been out of stock since late last year - but should be back in stock this month.

2 hours ago, MartinBKK said:

If the story is accurate, as a TE member myself i find the one year ban very disappointing. Surely the sensible outcome would have been for the OP to pay the 20k fine and be able to remain in the country. I don't believe that this could not have been "arranged". The ban is very embarrassing for TE and no doubt will impact future sales if more people become aware of it. Obviously mistakes have been made by all parties (the OP, TE and immigration themselves). 

The point you make is fair, but never forget that this is Thailand and the concept of "sensible" is not common, at least in my experience.

22 hours ago, cmsally said:

Yesterday morning saw Thai woman buying 300 Bts worth of stuff in 7-11 on a credit card (not debit)! Over coffee we were trying to think if there was any reason you would do this unless you had no money - either cash or in bank. I don't know is there a reason, it just seemed pretty strange.

A lot of credit cards accumulate points or cash rewards so that is one reason to pay for stuff with you credit card (and make sure you clear the total balance at the end of every month!).  I pay for almost everything on my credit card because my card gets $1 back for every $75 - all of the little purchases add up - spent so at the end of the month there is usually around $35 or so cash back paid to me.  It won't make a big difference in my life but it's a nice little bonus and is one reason I pay for virtually everything with my credit card.

3 hours ago, ukrules said:

 

Sure, I've been in the lower levels of the building, I used to live just around the corner years back when it first opened.

 

It will be interesting to see if you can walk right into their offices without being authorised, signed in, issued an access card, etc.

Been in there and it's easy.  Just tell the main information counter which company you're going to see and they will ask you to give them a form of ID such as national ID card or driver's licence.  They will retain that and give you a visitor's card which they program so the lift will allow you to go to the floor of the building where the company you wish to visit is located.  You swap the visitor card for you ID at reception when you leave the building.  Easy peasy.

Vasu Exchange at the corner of Sukhumvit soi 7/1 has great rates and is very easy to get to - it is below the Nana skytrain station.

The Big Chilli wrote in the last edition exactly what you had heard - that Molly's would be moving further down Soi Convent towards the Sathorn Road end.  This being Thailand, I expect it's simply a case of construction / renovation running longer than anticipated.

One of the best things you can do for your children is give them the best education possible.  The other side of this is that one of the worst things you can do for your child is give them a lousy education.

Obviously, not everyone has the million odd baht a year that the best international schools charge, but if you have that sort of money, it's most likely worth it.

The bottom line is that for most of us, the fees charged by the best international schools are beyond us which means you have to ask yourself seriously if you wish to send your kids to school in a Thai school, or bite the bullet and return home and educate them there...

When I lived in Bangkok I would get sick often enough for it to be annoying.  I'd get an upset stomach once or twice a year and a serious cough / cold around twice a year - and it could take a few weeks to clear completely.  This from someone who eats well, exercises and doesn't drink much.  Back in my own country I almost never get sick.  If I do get a sniffle it never seems to develop in to a full blown cough or cold and always passes within 72 hours.  Healthwise I do much, much better at home than in Thailand.

1 hour ago, ThomasTT said:

Oh wow.... is that where the American sportsbar was ? Or further up? Closer to Sukhumvit or further away?

The American bar is in the second sub soi on the right, opposite Lolitas.  The new Kiwi is in the first sub soi i.e. closer to Sukhumvit Road.

The Kiwi has moved to the first sub soi up Soi 8 on the right, quite literally a stone's throw from the old location, about 15 seconds walk away.

16 hours ago, Rarebear said:

Chinese are trying to get money out of China.  Is this news to anyone?

As someone who lives in a country which has seen property prices soar, at least partially due to a huge influx of Chinese buyers and money out of China, let me tell you that few people are happy about it.  Will be interesting to see what the Thais think of this as there is more awareness amongst everyday Thais of what is happening.

I don't think I have ever heard a Thai say that the economy is good even when it was purring along.  They always seem to be complaining about the economy being bad!

Be careful with your morning coffee....would be a tragedy if you were to knock the pot over the passport, stain it through and render it useless.  I imagine that when presented with a passport in such state they would be willing to issue a new one.