BigSnake

two of our thai employees are dancing on our heads.

driver: salary 7,000 Baht/month, working days mon-fri, max work 3-4 hours a day driving wife shopping, washes two cars once a week and twice a week pool vacuuming, most of the time an additional free day each week, advance 23,000 baht (father sick, medical cost) / reality bought a second hand car.

can't find a replacement in Pattaya.

gardener: salary 7,000 Bath/month, (should be) working mon-fri 09.00-15.00 hours, sat 09.00-11.00 hrs, comes and goes to his native Isaan province whenever he pleases.

can't find a replacement in Pattaya.

are you still trying to tell me thai economy is down?

/quote]

There are many Thais that would love to work for you, however I don't think you will find them here(ie most do not have internet), you and the wife/girlfriend should make a little trip to Isan or the country side near you. "enough said"

Nice Photos, happy no damage to your Camera. Water water everywhere, can't wait until next year.

Seven killed in pickup crash

A pickup truck overloaded with 23 passengers returning to the Northeast for the Thai New Year overturned Tuesday after a front tyre burst, killing seven people and injuring another 16, police said. Songkran will be held from April 13 to 17. The pickup, packed with labourers heading back to Sisaket province from Bankgok for an early start to the Songkran revelries, burst a tyre in Surin province in the Northeast. The driver lost control of the vehicle which crashed and overturned.

Sadly continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=117855

Sad for sure, however this is thailand(TIT) and it is alway Mai Pen Rai until a bad accident/death.

A reminder just popped up on my electronic agenda. A year ago, in this post I predicted that today, on 12 April 2007, you would be getting 20% more for the pound sterling than on 12 April 2006, 10% more for the US dollar, and I am man enough to post now that I was wrong.

GBP (Bangkok Bank buying rate for TT)

12 April 2006: 66.525

12 April 2007: 68.750

Change: +3.3%

USD

12 April 2006: 38.07

12 April 2007: 34.89

Change: -8.4%

The economic crash I expected in Thailand did not happen, and I now doubt whether it will even happen within the next 12 months. Does anybody care to make a prediction what the rates for GBP and USD will be on 12 April 2008?

--

Maestro

No Maestro, don't care to make a prediction, will say wish the heck you had been right on. Oh well win some lose some.

Guys,

have heard so many conflicting stories regarding my position, I currently do a 28 day on 28 day off rota in Russia and return to Thailand on tourist visa each time (which works out at 26 days in country) so in reality I am doing only 88 days in a 180 day period.

I hold two UK passports and have been alternating these each time coming in, the question is would only passport be ok ? and also do they track electronically now or is it up to the immigration official to spot any errors ?

Regards

KK boy

Two UK passports how did you pull that off?? Yes they can and do track electronically,beware it will only be a matter of time before some SHARP EYES immigration official catch on. Until than enjoy

Again, not trying to be too much of an idealist but,

A common theme seems to be having a girlfriend or wife that you give money to usually monthly. The only times in my life I have been given money monthly have been when in gainful employment. I provide a service and my employer rewards me for it.

33 years in England and some wonderful girlfriends! Never gave one of them an allowance. Never paid them for anything. Would by gifts and such like as I would for my Mum and Dad and anyone else I care about, of course. Almost always earned more than them. But they all worked too. Also they never asked for money at anytime. You must be joking(never gave one of them allowance or paid them for anything) or a very very compfused person; ie who paid for the flat, food, etc etc,, she took care of your dumb ass, yeah when pig FLY!!

I love the culture hear more though. Its very relaxed and open. It seems the economics of Thailand are not hidden at all. Women know what men want and they are confident enough to recognize a good market when the see one. Good on them. I am sure they are worth every Satang.

So whats my point? Well, do you chaps that are leasing it really believe it is something else?

Rent-a-family sounds a bit harsh doesn't it? Its just I've seen a few chaps come a cropper when either funds ran out or they realized (somewhat slowly) that if they weren't servicing their 28 year old Girlfriend and mother of their son (with their 49 year old self... )someone else almost certainly will be. And when she can conceal it no longer that will be you out of the house you bought in her name and no longer driving the car thats in her name. Maybe I'm the only one to come across such horror stories... but I think not

So this is the land where rental is the way forward and know the terms before you sign up right?

First about 1 per cent or less farang speak Thai, the reason most Thais can speak and understand English(common Language). Second find a quailfy teacher to learn to speak and write the Thai language. Girlfriends, and wives just don't fit the bill here(some maybe). May I suggest AUA, checkit out at, www.auathai.com

Yes, Songkran is lots and lots of wet fun. enjoy, take care

Hmmmm!!

Start enforce stop talk, my guess is it will get worse. Let's all hope for the best.

Old "WISE TALE" Best Safe than SORRY!! right on powers that be. Happy Songkran holiday, y'all get nice and wet you hear. Stay safe watch the drinking and driving

The old Carrot and Stick trick. They hit with the stick on 18 Dec 06, now the Carrot, or maybe it because the PM is take a little rest in Hospital

Lot of great cheap meal around most anytown. Maybe that is why so many fat Farang are touring this country

Just came back from Penang

and they gave me the third

single entry tourist visa

I asked them ''next time also non problemos''

I mean over 3 months again

asked twice

they say nothing will change youre welcome that time

there is only one serious advice

go there in person ,don't use a agent to do the pasport job

in a way it's illegal to do that

and I saw some people having big time problems with it

and it's also been mentioned earlier on this forum

Good for you, maybe it the Songkran holiday happiness, oh well what ever enjoy. Maybe I will go to Penang next time.

WOW!! What's next. They need to crack down on parents that allow their 10 years old or in some cases even younger to ride their motorbike, dam near hit another one yesterday, kid just haul ass down main street not a care in the world, even pass a few cops, they act as if they could really give a crap; oh well This is Tahiland(TIT)

http://www.bangkokpost.net/Business/31Mar2007_biz42.php

waiting to see when the motorbike taxis in my soi get one of these....

notice they don't mention that Triumph actually have a couple of huge factories in Thailand now...

From screen to showroom

Actor Dom Hetrakul sees a starring role in his life for high-end motorcycle business

Pitsinee Jitpleecheep

Actor Dom Hetrakul is preparing to scale back his activity in front of the camera, saying he now intends to devote up to 60% of his time to his passion for business Mr Dom is the main shareholder in Britbike Co, an official distributor of high-end Triumph motorcycles from the United Kingdom, in the Thai market. He and his friends set up the company with initial registered capital of four million baht.

The 30-year-old TV star and scion of the family that owns the Daily News is following a well-worn path taken by other entertainers into businesses such as food, fashion, beauty, jewellery and spas.

Methinee ''Look Kate'' Kingpayom, for example, sells her own line of lingerie. Young actress Ann Thongprasom runs a kindergarten and Pattarapol ''Paul'' Silapajan has a health and fitness centre.

''I've been in show business for 12 years. Though I still find some excitement in entertainment, the Hetrakuls are not a showbiz family but a business family,'' Mr Dom said.

In addition to turning his passion for high-performance bikes into a business, the actor also has an event-organising venture that he aims to turn into a fully fledged creative house in the near future.

Before setting up his own company to market Triumph motorcycles, Mr Dom held a small stake in the local distributor of Ducati, another storied European motorbike name. He said that demand for high-end motorcycles had been rising steadily in Thailand for the last decade and he wanted to have a major part in an international business.

Still, he acknowledges that his celebrity status is a good selling point.

''I'm not quitting showbiz at the moment because it helps us with our reputation and our connections,'' he says.

Britbike will officially open its first Triumph showroom on Royal City Avenue, off Rama IX Road, on April 9. Three more will be added in Chiang Mai, Phuket and Pattaya by the end of this year.

The company will offer a dozen Triumph bikes including the popular Rocket III Daytona 675, along with Triumph parts, clothing and accessories. The motorcycles cost between 500,000 and 1.2 million baht, prices that Mr Dom says are 20-50% cheaper than rival brands. Triumph is competing locally against Harley Davidson, BMW and Ducati.

Mr Dom said that in the first two years, the company would focus on the affordable ''modern classic'' line of Triumph bikes and later provide high-performance models to keen enthusiasts.

''We expect Triumph will be a new alternative for customers who are considering a city car as a second vehicle, or for somebody who has never owned a motorcycle before,'' he said.

''We've received good feedback from local style and speed lovers with 14 motorcycles sold in the three months since our opening. Suprisingly, up to 75% of the customers who visit our showroom are newcomers.

In its first year, Britbike aims to sell about 70 bikes and earn 50 million baht.

''There are more than 1,000 big bikes on the road and the market is still in its early stage,'' said Mr Dom.

Nice bike, to expensive for my taste will stick with my little Honda WAVE.

Hurt their cause, I for one give them a wide wide berth and move on. This is the land of smile, however I say let them have their say I just will not set a listen to it. enough said.

Best of luck, my friend

Hope will save lifes. Be enforce to the max and not just an eye wash. Best of luck to all that will be out and about over the long holiday period. CHEERS enjoy be safe.

Sad, but happen all to often.

Good for you Ajarn

My Humble opinion the worse is yet to come> good luck to all

I support it 100 per as long there is no doubt what so ever about the person is guilt of the crime.

New Luxury tax on internet usage in Thailand

All internet accounts to be taxed with 970 Baht/month.

Hardware dongle required for internet use

BANGKOK: -- The government has announced heavy investment to upgrade Thailand's international bandwidth, but has introduced an internet tax to help fund investment, and control usage.

The internet tax will be based on bandwidth and would be applied on a graduated scale according to the speed of a users internet connection. The internet luxory tax will be 970 Baht/month for most users.

Foreigners without a work permit and retirees will be required to pay the monthly tax at a higher rate, 1,490 Baht/month.

Sombat Merou-Ruang, director of the Alien Internet Control Division at CAT headquarters in Bangkok says "foreigners that do not have work in Thailand only hang out on internet forums, visit pornographic sites and other website lamock, different from Thai citizens who mostly use the internet for banking, ecommerce, and furthering their education".

In addition to the bandwidth tax, an extra usage tax of 490 Baht will be levied on those using Bittorrents and surfing foreign language internet forums.

New hardware required

The new internet tax will require all internet users in Thailand to install a hardware dongle from CAT. The dongles can be picked up free of charge from any 7-Eleven outlets in Thailand starting today. Without the dongle, users will be disconnected after 6 minutes of use and unable to access the internet from 23.30pm tonight.

A dongle is a small hardware device that connects to a computer

serial port, to administrate the software who controls the user.

When the tax dongle is not present, the software runs in a restricted

mode or refuses to run. Windows XP and Windows Vista operating

systems are likely to hang without the tax dongle installed.

"This is a disaster" says Jarunsek Khlongtoy, owner of the Sanuk Internet Cafe at Khao San Road in Bangkok. "We need to raise our minute fees up by 300% from today, and set aside special computers for those wishing to use internet forums."

Malee Thorlee, manager of the Excite Internet shop on Sukhumvit says that she will now have to limit foreigners using the internet in the shop to one at a time, to keep costs down.

The head of CS-Loxinfo Department of Internet, Dr. Boonlert Chaamaak says this is a blow to internet users in Thailand, who already enjoy fast internet speeds and almost no down time.

DTAC has announced a new range of GPRS packages for foreigners, starting with 100hrs for 2,000 Baht, to combat the new internet tax. Other operators are likely to announce new GPRS charges soon.

Internet satellite to me moved

Shinsat PLC welcomes the tax, and has pledged to use the extra funds allocated to them to improve satellite internet communications. Dr. Rinrada Maimeepompem, head of IPstar Internet Speeds Division, has announced plans to move the IPstar satellite closer to earth from next month, which should improve speeds greatly due to less distance for the signal to travel. The new owners Temasek will also use this opportunity to move the satellite nearer to Singapore, as it is now theirs.

TOT sources have said that executives are overjoyed at the prospect of government investment, adding that now they would be able to buy a new fleet of vans for their technicians, which is important if they wish to improve internet speeds and quality.

"This is typical for the CAT monopoly", says Dr. Pat Pong, administrator at Thaivisa.com, the leading portal for expats in Thailand. "We strongly believe this is just the government wanting to keep track of the internet usage". He continues: "Thaivisa.com will launch its own nationwide ISP shortly, trying to bypass the new internet tax with a new speed concept. We will provide speeds of 300 and 1200/75 baud, which is not taxable", says Dr. Pong to Reuters.

Foreigners applying to the Internet tax need to provide a valid passport with Non-Immigrant Visa, health certificate and 6 colour photos 4x2 cm, plus a verified copy of their house registration (Tabien Baan) or lease agreement.

CAT will close all unregistered internet accounts before midnight today.

-- Thaivisa.com/Agencies 2007-04-01

WOW!! Why not, you Tax everythings else!!

Sure he will have many girl friends in Prison to choose from. Poor girl just trying to find a better way of life and run into trash like this, RIP.