tiger tanaka

this might help

http://www.womenthai.org/

both Thai and English. Give it a look over

Just wanted to say that for those who may have a similar problem I ended up ordering a new screen through Ebay for 68 dollars. I got the screen, a new keyboard and five day shipping to Chanthaburi from NY for 98 US dollars. The screen is perfect, a quality LG replacement (the previous was made by Phillips I noticed). Anyway, seemed cheaper and saved me a trip to BKK, which is always good.

Yes, it's at air cargo. Room number 21 or 22, somwething like that: the first one on your left as you go in.

They close at lunch time and then at either 4 or 4:30, and of course closed on weekends and ogvernment holidays.

You'll need your passport and they will want photocopy on the first page and the page with most recent entry stamp. Also need vaccination records and they will want a photocopy of the rabies vaccine certificate.

Thanks Sheryl for the info.

I have all of my documents in order luckily. I have jumped through a lot of hoops to take this cat to Japan without quarantine in Nagoya, including sending a blood sample to Japan for a rabies antibody test last year. Hopefully all will go well.

Does anyone know where the AQS is at the airport? I heard something that it was in the cargo building. I need to have my cat's microchip scanned and forms stamped and approved before we fly to Japan.

Anyone have any info on this?

Thanks much..

Hi all

A cat jumped off the curtain rod and smacked my notebook. The LCD screen is broken inside. Useless. I would like to replace it if possible. Still a pretty good computer. I just need a 14 inch WXGA screen to go inside the lid.

Here in Chanthaburi they said I could have it done for about 10k baht, but at Pantip Plaza which made me wonder if it is worth it. However, I found the screen I need for sale in the States for 80 bucks.

Does anyone have a realistic price idea for here, and if reasonable, where would I pick one up?

Thanks much

TT

Why do you not just go to a post office for your information ? When i started shipping things out of Thailand , i went to a sub-office across the road from my apartment , the young lady was only too happy to oblige I thought she would be more helpfull than the main office because she wanted my buisness . This young lady even packed my mail for me as they use special packaging .

Because I am working and living in Vientiane at the moment. But will be back in Thailand in a few weeks..

Including the cat.

Are you thinking of sending the cat via surface mail as well ??...

Oh I wish.. She howls in airports. Taking her on a direct flight. Had to have her microchipped and her blood serum sent to Japan for rabies antibodies test SIX months before departure. Still doing the paperwork for this tabby.. But will be no quarantine with this method if all goes well..

"I may be wrong here, but believe you need a minimum of a 1 year visa for Japan to bring in personal effects tax free"

That is correct. But it will go in my wife's name. Most of the stuff is her's anyway. Including the cat.

Does anyone happen to know where I can find the rates for Thai Post surface rates for packages? I can't seem to find it on their website. I need to send my belongings to Japan. If I remember you can send a max of 20kgs per box. I'm debating surface for a few hundred kilos right to my door, or a cubic meter in a container for only 5k baht. However, that is just to Nagoya Port, and customs clearance and further shipping can be a real headache in Japan.

Shipping stuff is soooo much fun..

And I am taking a cat too. Even more fun when you are traveling with pets.

Regards

And not trying to funny, but do you really think sending stuff by surface mail will get you around import duties in Japan ?..somehow think not

Think you will find sending the weights you intend to send by surface mail will cost you more than THB 5k

Its all used personal items, mostly books, clothing, and tools so there won't be any duty, I just don't want to go to Nagoya and deal with clearance (basically standing around while they go through every book spine looking for drugs) and then perhaps the hefty shipping fees from the port to my house. So spending 10-15 baht with Thai Post may just be easier and less hassle, even though I can't send as much.

edit: I mean 10-15 thousand baht.

Does anyone happen to know where I can find the rates for Thai Post surface rates for packages? I can't seem to find it on their website. I need to send my belongings to Japan. If I remember you can send a max of 20kgs per box. I'm debating surface for a few hundred kilos right to my door, or a cubic meter in a container for only 5k baht. However, that is just to Nagoya Port, and customs clearance and further shipping can be a real headache in Japan.

Shipping stuff is soooo much fun..

And I am taking a cat too. Even more fun when you are traveling with pets.

Regards

Tiger how do I go about emailing you. I just joined TV today and do not know how everything works here. I would like to pick your brain about boatbuilding. That trip you and your friend had to the island sounds like the trip from hel_l.

I sent you a private message. BBT

I live in Pattaya and there many boat yards that build the boats that run around the bay. There is a naval archietec? in California,Glen-L Boats ,that sells plans for boats that are framed with hardwood lumber and covered with plywood. The boat is then encapsulated in epoxy inside and out as well as a coating of fiberglass on the outside with epoxy and graphite. They suggest that you use marine grade plywood, but, many of thier builders just use exterior grade plywood as the glue is waterproff.

The boat I am planning on building is a semi-displacement hull about 20 ft. x 8 ft..

This no speed demon, only 7-8 mph, but using a 10 hp diesel will sip about 1.5 liters of diesel an hour. My plan is to start after the start of next year.

That is the method I used for building, BBT. It has held up well, especially in saltwater where you don't get the rot that you get in fresh water a much. The exterior ply made out of the Dipterocarpus grandiflorus is very durable. About 1500 baht a sheet for 10mm a few years ago.

Stitch and Glue Method is good for beginners, as you don't have to deal with frames or ribs.

Loads of plans available on the internet. http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/ is a good start.

I may do a sail to Koh Samet later this month. Can't wait.

I built a 17 foot daysailer in Chanthaburi a few years ago. Out of plywood and epoxy. You can use the high quality exterior ply they make in Thailand, its holds up great. It was about a 300 hour project. Earlier this year I did a 200 km solo sail from Chanthaburi around Koh Chang and back. Good time, camping on the beaches, sleeping in the boat, fishing, etc.

You can find most anything you need in Pattaya or Phuket boat-wise.

A very rewarding hobby and it keeps the boredom from setting in. Always keeps you out of the bars, which is a plus.

Here is a link to an earlier two-man sail that was cut short because of sunburn.

http://www.messing-about.com/forums/index.php?topic=6048.0

I'd be down for building a sailboat and sailing to Cape Town on it.

Keep in mind I have absolutely no knowledge about building boats.

Cheer Up!

Have a look at all of these articles from the main stream media..

Things aren't so bad..

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/BreakingNews.html

Thanks much for you reply. I will check them out and see what they say.

Hi all,

I need to send a 1 cc cat blood sample to Kanagawa Japan for a rabies anti-body test. What is the best way to do this? I know it needs to be refrigerated or frozen, and I would like to do this without spending a small fortune. It looks like Fedex is no longer sending animal products to Japan also..

Any ideas on this?

Thanks

I know this is a Thailand forum, but there is always interest in what is happening in our neighbor to the east. Crazy stuff!

Country For Sale

Almost half of Cambodia has been sold to foreign speculators in the past 18 months - and hundreds of thousands who fled the Khmer Rouge are homeless once more.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/26/cambodia

You can get any of these mentioned books from the Nielson Hays Library in Bangkok on Surawong if you live in Bangkok. Funny, I never hear much about that library. I don't think it's very well known. That library helped me keep my sanity that long year I spent in BKK. I must have read a hundred books or more. Not bad for 2,000 baht a year.

http://www.hotelthailand.com/ezine/2003/issue3/zine2.html

haha, sorry for the confusion. I mean this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Guns-Girls-Gambling-...s/dp/9747100754

I mean the non-fiction one written by three economic professors from Chulalongkorn U. Is there a fiction one by that name, or are you pulling my leg?

Just finished reading Guns, Girls, Gambling, Ganja, Thailand's Illegal Economy. A fairly well known book, but a bit dated (1998). It's an academic read, but seems well researched. After reading one could come away thinking that one, Thailand as a society is nicely"bent", and two, their isn't much of a moral framework here, or as one old long-term expat often says to me, "this place is totally, morally bankrupt".

Anyway, what's your thoughts on this book from those who have read it?

I had the same problems. running around at night, all kinds of noise. I took off a piece of roofing to let my cat in. No more problems. She is a scrapper for such a small tabby. No tookays, no rats.

maybe move to news section..

Anyway, careful with your song choice.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml...wbangkok108.xml

Hello

I need to microchip my cat for her move to Japan. If I do this procedure correctly with the vaccinations etc., there won't be any quarantine for her in Japan.

Japan also requires an ISO compliant (11784 and 11785) microchip so their readers can scan the chip.

I'm wondering if anyone knows a place in Pattaya, or better in Rayong. I am in Chanthaburi, and so far I haven't found a vet who does this procedure here, but I am also waiting on new information.

Thanks much.

August 29, 2007

In Thai Cultural Battle, Name-Calling Is Encouraged

By THOMAS FULLER

BANGKOK, Aug. 23 — America has Tom, Dick and Harry. Thailand has Pig, Money and Fat.

For as long as people here can remember, children have been given playful nicknames — classics include Shrimp, Chubby and Crab — that are carried into adulthood.

But now, to the consternation of some nickname purists, children are being given such offbeat English-language nicknames as Mafia or Seven — as in 7-Eleven, the convenience store.

The spread of foreign names mirrors a rapidly urbanizing society that has absorbed any number of influences, including Hollywood, fast-food chains and English Premier League soccer.

The trend worries Vira Rojpojchanarat, the permanent secretary of the Thai Ministry of Culture. Mr. Vira, whose nickname is the relatively unimaginative Ra, is embarking on a campaign to revive the simple and often more pastoral nicknames of yore.

“It’s important because it’s about the usage of the Thai language,” Mr. Vira, an architect by training, said in his office decorated with Thai theatrical masks and a small Buddhist altar. “We worry that Thai culture will vanish.”

With help from language experts at the Royal Institute, the official arbiter of the Thai language, Mr. Vira plans to produce by the end of the year a collection of thousands of old-fashioned nicknames, listed by such wholesome categories as colors, animals and fruit and including simple favorites like Yaay (big), Ouan (fat) and Dam (black).

Published in a small booklet, the names will be distributed to the news media and libraries, and posted on the Internet.

“We can’t force people,” Mr. Vira said. “It’s their right to have their own ideas. But what we can do is give them options by producing this handbook.”

The Culture Ministry’s plans have not yet been made public, but some Thais, when told about the nickname campaign, were skeptical.

“I don’t agree with this; it’s unnecessary,” said Manthanee Akaracharanrya, a 29-year-old real estate contractor. Ms. Manthanee, whose nickname is Money, says having an English name is practical because it is easier for foreigners to pronounce, unlike Thai names, which are tonal and can include sounds alien to non-Thai speakers.

Her name has meaning, Ms. Manthanee said. Her father chose Money because she was born on Nov. 29, around the time his paycheck landed. Her elder brother is named Bonus because he was born on Chinese New Year, when some companies hand out extra cash. And her younger brother is called Bank, because it fit the theme.

Korakoad Wongsinchai, an English teacher at a private primary school in Bangkok, is also not sure whether the Culture Ministry’s campaign will stem the tide of English names. “Parents think they are modern names,” Ms. Korakoad said of the foreign nicknames. “Thai names are from 20 years ago.”

More than half of her students have English names, she said, offering this sampling: Tomcruise, Elizabeth, Army, Kiwi, Charlie and God. One apparently gourmand family named their child Gateaux, the French word for cakes.

“I think a lot of parents get the names from television or magazines,” she said.

Ms. Korakoad, 30, carries the nickname Moo (Pig), a traditional name that Mr. Vira approves of and says will be in the booklet.

After years of hearing about the spread of foreign nicknames, Mr. Vira says he was spurred into action in July when he saw the results of a survey of almost 3,000 students in and around the city of Khon Khaen, in northeastern Thailand.

In one classroom there were three children nicknamed Bank. To tell them apart, fellow pupils had renamed the children Big Bank, Medium Bank and Small Bank.

Forty percent of secondary students and 56 percent of primary students had English nicknames, the survey showed, compared with just 6 percent of university students, indicating a clear trend among the youngest Thais, Mr. Vira said.

Ball was the most popular English nickname — possibly because it is the nickname of a well-known Thai tennis star, Paradorn Srichaphan — followed by Oil and Bank.

The most common Thai nicknames were Lek (small), Ng (one) and Mai (new).

Mr. Vira, who is the most senior civil servant in the Culture Ministry, says his mission is to preserve what he calls Thai-ness: “not only the Thai language but Thai dress, Thai food — everything that shows Thai identity.”

The year 2007 (2550 according to Thailand’s Buddhist calendar) has been proclaimed the Year of Promoting Correct Thai Usage, he said, and the nickname campaign is part of that effort.

From a purely practical point of view, Mr. Vira added, having a foreign name like Apple or Bank may be cute for a child, “but once you’re an old man with no teeth, it doesn’t match with the name.”