Ray1167

There is a very decent bike shop along Sarasin Road which runs along the north edge of Lumphini park.

cluezo - look up the word sarcasm in the dictionary .

I always find immigration Bangkok to be very well informed and polite . Some of the farang who go in there on the other hand ......

Cluezo - be honest , Rayong province is a dreadful place , right ? We all hate it so much we can't wait to leave . There are no green hills and lakes , no unspoilt beaches nor offshore islands. No nice shops . Nothing to do at all. Hateful ugly industrial city.

This is what you should be telling people

Pattaya Real estate companies would have you believe that ; In 2007, 889,656 Russians visited Pattaya, up 84 per cent from 2006, making them the leading market for the resort. According to Raimon Land's CEO, Nigel, the Russians and Scandinavians have now displaced the Brits and Germans as the main property investors in Pattaya. Does that make Russians clever ? Better than the rest of us ? I don't think so . Pattaya - they are welcome to it.

Yet , TAT’s website (Tourism Authority of Thailand) tell us that the official figures from Immigration show that… only 277 503 Russians arrived in Thailand in 2007 (total airports + sea + land borders), an increase of 47 % compare to 2006.

Perhaps a lot of russians are going missing

Although the Russians have been coming here for the past 10 years, it's only in the past two that they have started to buy up Pattaya properties. Last year, according to Raimon Land, Russian property purchases accounted for 22 per cent, (USD 7.7 million) of condominium sales in their upmarket developments Northshore, The Lofts, Southshore and Northpoint.

Though Pattaya real estate companies always like to 'talk up' the market ( ) , they are in a no win situation because the Ruskies are now setting up their own agents / brokers etc .

GBP / THB today = 65.50

Taxexile - is this still what you call a blip ?? I am referring to your post on 26th May

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/06Jun2008_news08.php

.... "Conversion kits are in high demand as motorists opt for cheaper natural gas in the face of the spiralling cost of oil-based fuels. Liquid petroleum gas (LPG) kits are the cheapest, but the government is trying to force motorists to switch to compressed natural gas, sold here as natural gas for vehicles (NGV) by the monopoly provider PTT..."

Now that’s interesting , since ( 2 days ago ) PTT announced ( with the Government’s approval ) that they are increasing NGV prices by 40% . So whose best interests are the government acting in then I wonder ?

And what of their sudden rush to develop a nation of bio-fuel ( E85 ) cars? If everyone has done what they've been told , and paid for these NGV conversions , does the government expect them to change fuels and/or cars again so soon ? Directionless as ever , the government continues to amuse...

QUOTE (Brigante7 @ 2008-06-06 07:47:38)

As somebody who's family has been making and selling ice cream in "Sunny Scotland" for the last 90 years, I can confirm that HD, B&J and all the other big named ice creams are poorly made, full of crap and not fit to be called ice cream.

When people buy HD or B&J all they are paying for is the name and fancy packaging.

I agree,

Now, where can we buy your family ice cream in Thailand?

hee hee !! exactly the point . I wonder if Brigante's 'sunny scotland' cornflour ice cream ( ?? ) makes as much profit as HD and B&J , BR , Swensons etc etc

the funniest thing i've read all week are the attempts by real estate agents in Pattaya to 'talk up' the market . Specifically articles in the June edition of Bangkok Trader by the likes of Alan Verstein , MD Siam Gazette Co Ltd ( the swirling winds of change ) and commentary on Ocean 1 by Siam Best Enterprises Co.

I can't believe they expect people to take them seriously .

Oh .... I hope it's not the one at the river end of Sathorn Road . If it is , what went wrong ? I'm about to take my beloved motor in there for it's annual service .

http://aseanvisa.com/

Asian travelers intent on exploring the attractions of Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, but who have been loath to deal with visa hassles can now make their dream come true. Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) signed a visa exemption treaty which, if ratified by all the countries, would allow citizens to enter and stay in territories of the 10-member grouping for a maximum 14 days.

It hasn't happened and I doubt It ever will !

I believe The Thai Govt are more interested nowadays in developing a range of bio fuels , not hybrids , to combat the scarcity of fuel and the effect of current prices on their balance of payments. A couple of recent snippets from The Bangkok Post ;

Bio-hydrogenated diesel (BHD), a high-quality biodiesel suitable for blending to create a greener alternative fuel for vehicles, would be launched commercially after tests prove successful, said PTT Plc president Prasert Bunsumpun. Testing would be completed next year. BHD can be mixed in a 10:90 ratio with diesel fuel, produces less pollution and promotes longer engine life compared to traditional biodiesel. Toyota would supply Hilux Vigo pickup trucks and diesel engines to PTT for the testing. PTT has been promoting gasohol, palm diesel, B5 biodiesel and natural gas for vehicles to reduce oil bills and keep pace with the rapid development of energy technologies. Due to the high quality of BHD, farmers would also be assured that growing palm oil is worthwhile.

An initiative to introduce E85 gasohol, the 85% ethanol-blended gasoline, to the Thai market received a boost yesterday when the government decided to cut the excise tax on it. General Motors, Ford and Volvo are the first group of car makers ready to import their E85-fuelled vehicles to the Thai market. The three western car makers could also set up local production lines for the cars within 18 months. Japanese car makers said they could open local production lines of E85-fuelled cars within two years . They are currently working in Thailand to build ‘eco cars’ , so it is a bit of a late switch of strategy. Eco cars have been designed to run on E20 fuel with a maximum engine size of 1400cc. An executive vice-president of Toyota Motor Thailand, cautioned that carmakers would need huge sums of money to upgrade their production lines for E85. Criticism has been levied on the lack of direction "I just wish that the government would focus on one thing"...

It could be that banks in US / Europe are now posting all the transaction fees separately . For example , i recently queried the rate used in an ATM tranaction once it had found its way back to HSBC in the UK . Their reply ( below ) indicates that they used to disguise a 2.75 % fee in the conversion rate. Now I am guessing they don't , but show the fee serarately instead. The handling fee is an additional 1.5 % . HSBC group's 2007 annual profits were very healthy...

We will convert the money you spend or withdraw into sterling on the day we receive the transaction. Foreign currency exchange rates used are inclusive of an exchange rate adjustment, currently 2.75% to cover handling costs.

Let me see , The same day bingo bongo joined this forum , he wrote this message in : http://forum.globalhousepricecrash.com/ind...1279&st=350 :

My wife has family in Thailand, but I have no intention to emmigrate to Thailand as finding work their as a "farang" would be impossible given the new visa requirements. My wife bought a condo in 2005 so I am interested in seeing how much it has fallen in value. It has taken her 18 months to find a tennant. It is located in the Thonglor section. I reside in the US.

I know where i'd rather live .

I've enjoyed reading all the comments on this particular thread. Just one thing ......

bingo bongo - i strongly believe you also post messages as "koko the monkey" on this forum ( link attached ) .

http://forum.globalhousepricecrash.com/ind...1279&st=350

One that is exclusively pessimistic about global house prices .

And looks very much like this forum , which of course may just be a coincidence .

Good reading .

I've seen a place like this , exactly as you describe it . A kind of open air nursing home for geriatrics to play . I visited there once , and I'm sure the name of it was Pat something . Pat Ya . Pay E Ya. That's it.

This website looks a lot like Thai visa . http://forum.globalhousepricecrash.com/ind...1279&st=350

'Half the country' fears another coup: Poll

More than 50 per cent of respondents to an Abac Poll fear there will be another coup within the next six months, the pollster said on Sunday.

Abac Poll by Assumption University said that of 3,404 people surveyed, 55.6 per cent said the military might launch another coup during the next six months, and 54.6 per cent expected some unexpected, violent event to occur.

Only 53.6 per cent of respondents surveyed from May 6-10 expect Samak Sundaravej to remain as prime minister.

There has not been a military coup since Sept 19, 2006, when the army unseated prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra

I wouldn't be sorry to see him go anyway .

Just wondering if you guys can you help me out? Do you think its likely to go up again and if so soon? Is there a trend that the rate normally follows? Or just personal opinions?

somebody on this forum advised everybody ( about 2 months ago ) that the pound would continue to weaken. They were wrong. It's actually beginning to strengthen. My advice - Do your own research and don't ask for other people's opinions.

You can later try Australia if you just want her to see a Western country. I don't know for sure, but I have the impression that it's easier for a Thai to travel there. Good luck.

NO ! No , and No !

It certainly is not . Unless you want to pay for her to study at a university there . Or you yourself are an Australian . Tourist visas for non-married Thai girls are notoriously difficult in Australia , almost impossible .

OP - I'm sorry but I fail to see your point . Non immigrant O multiple entry visas are easy to get . What's new here ?

how did you specify the charges on your instructions ? There are of course charges both ends , banks are not a charity

If you want an exact amount of THB , then next time you should tell ANZ 'all charges my account '. Though chances are , it will actually end up costing you more that way .

maybe this should be a different thread , but here goes anyway . Yesterday i visited several banks in Bangkok to open another account , not satisfied with the two i already have . Or maybe i was just bored. Each bank told me quite emphatically that I was not permitted to open a bank account without showing them a work permit. These are new central bank rules .

So , in the case of over 50s who are retired ; how can they possibly show a 'work' permit ? And without a bank account , how can they show immigration dept that they have the required 800,000 in the bank ?

Interesting

actually , it was the missus who commented that sudden rent rises ( outside of the lease agrement ) are a typically dirty tactic often used to get rid of the present occupant , so the owner can renegotiate a higher rent with somebody else. I believe she understands her own people very well .

there's some very good information on this thread . In response to candoman89 -

quote " After living in Suk Soi 8 for 5 years and paying 30 k a month for a 3 bed/3bath apartment (around 150 m2) my landlady (Thai) raised the rent on me last month without telling me. "

The reason for the owners playing silly buggers with the rent may be because they are encouraging you to leave . But don't have the face to come right out with it. I've seen examples of this behaviour a few times actually. It's not good , but it's definately Thai .

GREED is a factor. i myself know perfectly well what a sq wah / sq rai etc is worth in the area i am focusing on. ( The maths are simple enough when you begin taking an interest in it... )

One opportunistic Thai grandmother must have seen me coming and wanted 1.6 million baht for one square rai of dirt ! Not fenced in , no water supply. That's more than 500 percent over the correct market value. I laughed as i put down the phone. I guess she see's the spreading of the farang invasion and takes a chance , thinking we don't know any better . People are becoming greedy .