swain

Jack and coke... I work at nights... so 6 am is my evening.. nice, cool and quiet at this time of the night/morning.

Having lived in Thailand for many years now, sometimes I forget how good it really is.

Do you find that after a few years you forget how good things are and start finding faults with everyday living in Thailand? Once the good becomes 'commonplace', it's not so good anymore.

I'm reflecting a bit on my life here after 5000 [negative(and some positive )] posts.

Certain aspects of Thai culture and foreigners living here really get my blood boiling – but on reflection, it’s really a weakness in myself – self-righteous anger and lack of acceptance, which are subtle and perverse forms of self-satisfaction, which allows me to remain comfortably unaware of my own defects, of which there are many .

N N

Good question as I see so many that seem so unhappy being here. I go back to the USA every 6 months NOT BY CHOICE and I am renewed with the feeling of how good we have it here. I am here for good. Cheers

I look forward to the day, hopefully not in the too distant future, when we will be able to download movies quickly on demand to watch on what ever we want to watch them on. Maybe Thailand won't be "too foreign" to partake in such a feast!

For what it's worth, iTunes, Google Video and Movielink are beginning to fill that gap. I routinely download LOST, Battlestar Galactica and The Daily Show from iTunes while living in Bangkok and catch Charlie Rose on Google Video. iTunes has recently added movies too, but the catalog is still pretty small. The TV catalogue, at least for US shows, is fairly sizeable now - they have about 30 channels signed I believe. It's not great yet, but it's good and getting better. If you've got iTunes installed you can check out LOST, for instance, here:

http://tinyurl.com/ya6yew

Hmmm I tried movie link and got this:

Thanks for your interest in Movielink, the leading movie download service. Sorry, but Movielink is presently unavailable to users outside of the United States.

If you are a current customer of Movielink and believe you have reached this page in error, please access Live Chat with Customer Service under Help in your Movielink Manager.

I've tried making a booking enquiry with a few of the hotels in the sticky post at the top of the forum but have not had a response from any of them.

I'm looking for something fairly cheap, not to bothered about facilities, I'm traveling alone and don't need luxury.

Could anyone please point me at a hotel with online booking that might suit my needs? I'm only on Bangkok for a few days.

Alternatively I'm guessing I could always find a guest house on arrival? Although I prefer to have somewhere booked for my first night in Thailand, never been before and will need to get my bearings.

Thanks in advance.

Euro park hotel in bangkok.. NOT the EURO hotel.. but Euro park hotel across from the hospital on Soi 1. about 25-27 dollars a night... clean, near everything. They have new prices now.. but say you stayed there before and you will get the old prices of 1k baht or about 25-27 dollars.

Tell them Mr Steve sent you

Where?

Hello,

The same deal that was just listed... with domain for 1800 baht a year.

Message me ... I am with NetCBC Inc. and have been around for 18 years now.

Plus we just set up digs in Thialand, so you can debit your account directly.

Netcbc Inc. In thailand is NetCBC Thailand.

Message me if insterested.

Got it. VERY CHEAP

1800 B/ year. DOMAIN INCLUDED

1000MB storage, Linux, PHP, MySQL, etc..

All our servers are on the level 3 back bone, downtown Los Angeles at One Wilshire. This is some of the best bandwidth around. We set up digs here in Thailand so it would be easier for Thai nationals to pay and for the Programming bang for the falling buck.

great.

Where?

Hello,

The same deal that was just listed... with domain for 1800 baht a year.

Message me ... I am with NetCBC Inc. and have been around for 18 years now.

Plus we just set up digs in Thialand, so you can debit your account directly.

Netcbc Inc. In thailand is NetCBC Thailand.

Message me if insterested.

Got it. VERY CHEAP

1800 B/ year. DOMAIN INCLUDED

1000MB storage, Linux, PHP, MySQL, etc..

great.

im planing on moving to thailand for 5 months..next year may or so. i have a budget also of 30,000 baht...

my question is how would a person live on that amount,food,accomadation,and a socail life.

Depends on where you live.. I live in Chiang Mai (and I love it) and I have a nice 3 bedroom house in a gated village where the village has a swimming pool and club house... and I pay 5k a month. I am addicted to AC so my electric bill is upwards of 3k, Internet access and water together about 1k, UBC 1.5 k and I go to lotus and spend about 2k every two weeks on food.. another 1k for cell phone upping and land line charges...plus runs to the market of another 1k (IE fruits and Veggies at the local market).. going out to dinner and movies 10k ..... I have my own car and spend about 2k a month on gas.....so I must be one of the boring ones .. I am at about 29k a month... I am NOT budgeting it ..just works out this way naturally.... but I dont consider my life at a subsistence level.. but there is always the unknown… such as medical emergencies…

I am married and settled.. if you are wild and crazy and love the night life… add another 30k to that 30k estimate and you will be fine…

Yes it is possible... will you find it? Depends on you. I have a good friend.. comes over here and treats all women as whores and every relationship as a business transaction. All I hear is how cheap he got his last date, and how she didn’t charge him to be with her. He really hates Thailand and everything about the culture. He drinks too much, smokes too much, and wears clothing thats not says I don't care about how others feel. He tells me that he keeps finding women that break his heart and clean out his wallet. He never tells me how much he cares for these woman.. he tells me what a freak she was in bed or how hot she looks. I found my true love ... working as a cashier at a restaurant. Every day I would come in flirting with her and every dayshe smiled and politely told me she doesn’t speak English. My friend came in with me one morning for breakfast and was doing the bitter expat tirade on Thailand and I was defending the place and Thai women in general. As I was paying the bill, I of course, flirted with the casher as always asking her out to dinner. She looked at me with a smile and said I could pick her up at 8 pm when she got off work. She spoke perfect English! She was raised Christian and went to a Christian school. I asked her why she had never talked to me before... she told me she thought I was just another frang that thought all Thai women were whores and she had no use for those <deleted>. She told me that she over heard me with my friend and that was it.. Started going out with her every day after that... She was working her way through collage and was about to graduate.. We have been together for two years now and we found out a couple of days ago that she is pregnant. Can true love happen? It really depends on you!

similar to this other case 4 weeks back in Udon,,

**********************************************

American man found dead at the Charoen Hotel, Udon Thani.

By Pimporn K (udonmap.com)

Published: August 6, 2006, 5:28 pm

At 1.30 PM, a Middle age American was found dead in room 521 of the Charoen Hotel in Udon Thani City. The police examined the room and found 5 open packets of sleeping pills and a letter to ask Thai officers help bury or cremate his dead body. But police want to testify his friends to find the reason why he wanted to end his life.

Mr. Mark Barluk, a 53 years old of New York, USA was found lying flat on his stomach without any clothes. A big plastic bags was next to his head, 3 bottles of water were opened on the table, 5 empty packets of sleeping pills and a further 2 large black plastic bags. There were no marks on the body or sign of any blood or foul play. The doctor said he died 8 hours before finding him.

Moreover his luggage, clothes, passport and a letter which was writen in English, were on the table, the letter read "Dear Thai Officers...I have killed myself by taking sleeping pills, don't contact my relations because I have nobody and please bury my body. Thank you" Police kept this letter to for further examination.

Miss Sonpean Pimpathee, a 32 years old housekeeper of the Charoen Hotel said that she called to this room at 1 PM but nobody answered then she used hotels key to get in to this room for cleaning but she found Mark dead.

Mark checked into Room 302 at 3.39 PM on August 2, 2006 when he arrived at the hotel with another American guy, but they checked into separate rooms. After that On August 3th, he changed to Room 521 at 11 AM.

First, police sumised that Mark might plan to use the plastic bags to clover his head but after he changed his mind and took sleeping pills. The police are still waiting for his friend give them a testimony.

Why do they have to be naked when they do it? I mean come on..if you're gonna do it, do it with some dignity! He could have left some baht to help the police bury him as well. Don't place a burden on someone else for this decision.

Hello... He did leave money for his cremation and had money in his account that was willed away.

From my understanding he was naked only from the waste up. He tried to do this far from anyone he knew and asked that no one be contacted so that he would not put an emotional burden on anyone. I think Mark tried his best to leave this world with out leaving much of an emotional impact.

poor dude, why does it seem like alot of farangs commit suicide??

He was a loser but the last thing he did ,he did right!

Thats really helpful. Remind me not to respond to your hour of need!

Mark was negitive like this as well.. he would have said something like this as well.. he was very sarcastic and negitive about people and their situations. so... who knows what the mind set of someone that would say something like that. I was in the same bubble as Mark .. was in the green and lost it all when the bubble burst but I still found the gold in my life, even though it wasnt in my bank account.

similar to this other case 4 weeks back in Udon,,

**********************************************

American man found dead at the Charoen Hotel, Udon Thani.

By Pimporn K (udonmap.com)

Published: August 6, 2006, 5:28 pm

At 1.30 PM, a Middle age American was found dead in room 521 of the Charoen Hotel in Udon Thani City. The police examined the room and found 5 open packets of sleeping pills and a letter to ask Thai officers help bury or cremate his dead body. But police want to testify his friends to find the reason why he wanted to end his life.

Mr. Mark Barluk, a 53 years old of New York, USA was found lying flat on his stomach without any clothes. A big plastic bags was next to his head, 3 bottles of water were opened on the table, 5 empty packets of sleeping pills and a further 2 large black plastic bags. There were no marks on the body or sign of any blood or foul play. The doctor said he died 8 hours before finding him.

Moreover his luggage, clothes, passport and a letter which was writen in English, were on the table, the letter read "Dear Thai Officers...I have killed myself by taking sleeping pills, don't contact my relations because I have nobody and please bury my body. Thank you" Police kept this letter to for further examination.

Miss Sonpean Pimpathee, a 32 years old housekeeper of the Charoen Hotel said that she called to this room at 1 PM but nobody answered then she used hotels key to get in to this room for cleaning but she found Mark dead.

Mark checked into Room 302 at 3.39 PM on August 2, 2006 when he arrived at the hotel with another American guy, but they checked into separate rooms. After that On August 3th, he changed to Room 521 at 11 AM.

First, police sumised that Mark might plan to use the plastic bags to clover his head but after he changed his mind and took sleeping pills. The police are still waiting for his friend give them a testimony.

I was the other American that went down with him. We went down to Vientiane to get our visas updated and stayed over one night before going back. He seemed to like it in Udon Thani but I see now this was a lie. He was planning his escape and didn’t want to involve me. His name was not Mark Burlak it was Mark Baraz. He didn’t have any family and was suffering from manic depression. Too young for Medicare and though he was on social security in the USA they dumped him (almost literally) in the street when he didn’t send back a form on time. (Go figure someone with this disorder would ever send in a form late) He came here because of me as I told him I loved it here and had found my piece of paradise. He was a millionaire many times over but lost it all in the tech bubble burst of 2001. He was used to a lifestyle he saw he could never attain again he hated everything about everything. There was no talking to him about making something out of his life. I took him to Suang Prung hospital and Ram plus a few others trying to get him on the path to something better. He had allot of gifts he could have given the world as he was very well educated with a doctorate from a very good school. Though the truth be told he had no desire to help anyone not even himself.

I miss Mark, even though he was very negative, he had amazing insights on just about everything. We arranged a funeral for him and cremated him at a temple in Udon Thani.

Mr. Chan and Miss Pauline Pizzeria Restaurant Hang Dong-- Have heard mixed reviews of this place and I have only had delivery from them. I really liked their margarita pizza and Lasagna some of their other dishes were lacking but MUCH MUCH better then the only other pizza delivery choice in Hang Dong which is The Pizza Store. Mr. Chans always sound so tired on the phone and like they are about to fall asleep, the person who takes the orders seems to be constantly new and has to go ask questions for the smallest order. Delivery is fast (big plus when hungry) and the food was still hot when it got here. I will be ordering more in the future. --- for delivery its 094347001 -- I hope leaving phone numbers is ok-- I always hate reading a positive review of some place that delivers and then I cant find the phone number anywhere.

I also know a shop where I can get a 14dbi directional outdoors antenna, and an 8dbi omnidirectional outdoors antenna.

Can you post the details of the shop? I'm keen to get hold of a directional antenna myself...but haven't seen anything in the various BKK IT malls. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place...

Finding any antennas other then the desk top basic 8db gain units is next to impossible up here in chiang mai. If anyone knows where you can get a roof mounted unit in Thailand I would be very interested. For me Omni directional is fine. In the USA you can find them at fry’s electronics or one of many other electronic stores. You can buy them online from the USA for $50 and in the stores for a bit more

Going back to the USA next week, what is the deal with bringing that back with me from the USA? Are there any restrictions?

Though I don't have a cat, it would be helpful if you wrote where you are located so that others can help you appropriately.

Guardian

PS: BTW, I wouldn't mind one of its kittens.

Of course your right... Up in Hang Dong Chiang Mai.

Help, I have a white Persian that is howling all night long. My wife wants kittens and doesn’t want the local toms to have their way with her. So I am in hel_l until I find her a breeding partner. At this point pure blood is the least of my worries. So if you have a male cat and either you’re looking for pick of the litter or stud fees.. Please let me know... I have been to one person’s house that had a pure Persian cat but he was too old and was firing blanks. I am open to anything, (but spaying her is out of the question) so please if you know of someplace to get this cat handled.

Please let me know.

From the stories I have heard from family and friends I am not sure you want this. Doctors not taking the time needed to really find out what is wrong and rushing through with a "take two asprin and really dont call me in the morning"

Hi,

I seem to recall when sifting through Internet pages many months ago that Expats with Retirement and other types of longer term Visas who are permanently residing in Thailand can apply and be granted enrolment under the 30 Baht Medical Health-care Card.

I am now unable to find the relevant pages now that I have just been granted my Retirement Visa.

I am keen to get some kind of Health protection (be the 30 baht Health-care scheme less than perfect). I appreciate many will try pointing me to BUPA etc. BUT all the schemes I have checked so far not only are very expensive in my opinion for older ages (I am 54) BUT they are scathing in the way they apply their "Exclusions Policy rules for past problems.

e.g.

1) If you have had 1 hernia then they will not cover you for any future hernias ANYWHERE in the body (TOTALLY RIDICULOUS bearing in mind that medically a weakness in one part of the body does NOT suggest a propensity to a hernia elsewhere

2) If you have ever had a breathing problem then these types of companies say they will exclude the complete cardiovascular and respiratory system (lungs, heart and circulatory system).

I do not claim to be a doctor or that these examples are 100% bang on but I know from checking, that these companies are VERY quick to limit their risks with new entrants. Essentially they only give complete and adequate cover (in my opinion) to those young and free from any medical adverse history.

I am sure I like many are not interested in being covered for very limited items at high expense AND the primary illnesses and risks that accompany old age are excluded.

Hence my interest to set up some form of medical protection and the 30 Baht Medical Health-care System (be it not perfect by any means) seems to best and easiest way forward ASSUMING the information I found previously was accurate namely, that I am eligible to apply and be covered under it

I would very much appreciate any information on this OR what other members do for health cover (without paying an arm and a leg) where companies like BUPA are too swingeing in their exclusions policy

Hoping somebody can help advise me.

Kindest Regards

Dave

Hi Guys,

I'm building a website for a Thai friend who is completely computer illiterate. Therefore I am looking for a webhost who can take her payments from her Thai Bank account, but who I can also speak to in English should any problems occur.

Anyone know a good one?

The only other alternative I have is to host elsewhere and pay out of my UK bank account but obviously I would rather she made the payments herself.

Any advice much appreciated.

Hello,

I am based in Chiang Mai and Have a server farm in the USA. Can set you up with service here with alot of space very cheaply and yes you can make payment your thai account.

message me at [email protected]

I'm sorry to hear that you had a poor meal there. I've been there several times and not had these problems.

Was the italian owner not in attendence, he is usually out and about in the restaurant itself?

Did you call him, or anyone else for that matter, over to your table to complain about the food, and if so what was their reply/action?

Yes the Owner was there and I was with a my wife who would consider the dinner a total loss if I made a "scene" Her take was we tried the food, we found it lacking, we enjoyed our company and we learned something (WHERE NOT TO GO). For me, dam straight, if I was a alone I would have sent the food back and talked to the owner or manager.

"I was with a my wife who would consider the dinner a total loss if I made a "scene""

One doesn't have to make a scene to get ones message across. I would have asked for the manager, asked him what he thought of the food (was it satisfactory) and only if he (the manager) made a scene or refused to acknowledge/discus that the meal was not good (i.e. that it was pure shyt) I would have then explained to him very politely exactly what the results were going to be which would be that "never in the future would I step foot into his stinking restaurant ever again"

And I would tell every soul that I know to avoid the place like the plague (a bit like as in posting it on the forum)

I have also found that my wife has become a lot more assertive in letting her feelings be known if the service, food etc., is not up to scratch. And had she communicated to one of the staff they would have got the message I'm sure.

BUT anyways he has lost a few customers as I for one won't be darkening his doorstep.

I have been to some great places in Chiang Mai. Seems my anger over a bad experience is more of a motivation to post a review. I will try to post some of my positive experiences, as the negative are really few and far between. But when someone charges as much as they do and gives you the kind of food I got ….

I'm sorry to hear that you had a poor meal there. I've been there several times and not had these problems.

Was the italian owner not in attendence, he is usually out and about in the restaurant itself?

Did you call him, or anyone else for that matter, over to your table to complain about the food, and if so what was their reply/action?

Yes the Owner was there and I was with a my wife who would consider the dinner a total loss if I made a "scene" Her take was we tried the food, we found it lacking, we enjoyed our company and we learned something (WHERE NOT TO GO). For me, dam straight, if I was a alone I would have sent the food back and talked to the owner or manager.

My 2 cents: I swear by the plug-in gadget as well. Tried everything else.

FROM ANOTHER THREAD AT

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...=62655&st=0

EUREKA!

However, for the first time in years, I've now gone a 45 day streak with no bites at night. I give credit to a little gadget my friend bought me. It's called ARS NOMAT, and under the name on the box it says "Liquid Electric Mosquito Repellent". He picked it up at the local mini-mart for about 150 baht. You pour some kind of liquid into a holder, and plug it in during the night. No odor. (Now wonder what I'm inhaling.) Lasts 45 days before a refill needs to be purchased. (Yeah they got me on a string.)

But, it's working. I'm a believer. I don't think the no-bite-streak is due to the weather because I see plenty of mosquitos in my bedroom during the day, and in the evening when I'm reading or working at my desk (also in the bedroom). But, they do seem to disappear when I use this little gadget at night.

P.S. I don't own stock in the company, and I'm not a sales rep.

The problem is .... that the rules in Thailand for additives and chemicals that are extremely toxic are MUCH more relaxed. (As were many of the rules before this whole visa issue) I think you worrying about what you’re inhaling is a very real concern.

For me, the electrified tennis racket and air con work well for me.

Just wondering how you get settled here when you first arrived.

New place, don't speak the language, it's all wierding me out a bit. I can head to a main restaurant, but kinda nervous about even going in a small one since I might not be able to actually order anything if someone doesn't apeak english =P

Did you learn thai fairly quick when you got here? If not, how did you actually figure out how to do stuff like finding nice cheap food, shopping centres, transport (probably should learn to ride a motor bike - but finding a place to learn will be a mission in itself) , a gym (yeah, i know there's a thread, but i have no idea about location and how far away any of them are to my aptmnt), etc.

Any tips on getting through the "no idea how to do anything" phase?

I hooked up with a hot university student who spoke english and knew her way around Chiang Mai. As she had a car, transport wasnt an issue. So find yourself a hot uni student with a car that speaks English and your wired.

I love Chiang Mai!!!!

Hmmm . .. does the declaration of income from the US Embassy mean that I don't have to have 400k (or monthly equiv) in my Thai bank account when I go to extend for 12 months?

Sunbelt asia confirms the above statement.

So, there are two ways to prove financial capability:

1. Place 400,000 baht in an account for 90 days before the extension expires.

2. Get a letter from your embassy stating "declaration of income".

My only question is will thai immigration want to see some financial proof(bank records here, foriegn bank records etc.)? I would hate to get to bangkok and they ask where the money is if you know what I mean.

If this is the case, this is an improvement and I welcome the changes.

Once again, let me confirm these two choices are for ONLY current extension of stay visa holders based on support of a Thai national.

New applicants, only have one choice which is 40,000+ Baht income per month.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

So if my soon to be wife is making 40k a month (which she is making twice that) from a company in the USA doing website design work but is living IN Thailand. Does she show the bank book showing the payments or does she have to get a document from the companies she works with as she is a independent contractor. Or do we just show 40k or more a month that is hitting the bank account?

As for me I am not working at the moment and with the money my wife is making I would not mind being a kept man .......if I *have* to show an income I could work... but I would rather not!!!

At first look this place is very classy. They treat you very well and are quick to seat you and get you menus. Prices are high but this is not important if the food is good. Sad to say this is not the case. We started off having the cream of lobster soup which seemed to consist of luke warm milk with chunks what might be confused for lobster. Next we thought would start off with a margarita pizza which was cold when it arrived and bland and the crust was cracker like. Seemed to be pre-made with tomato sauce and little cheese. Then we had fettucini alfredo and my guest had the spaghetti carbonara, both were very dry though the portion was large. Was going to get some wine but at 1300 baht for something that looked fair at best I decided to pass and had ice tea. They brought us water with out asking which in the USA is assumed to be free but they added 30 baht to the bill. Over all as far as Italian restaurants go it was severely lacking. I will not go back.

I did alot of research on this very subject when first coming here. My g/f and me looked at the best insurance providers and only first class insurance and found two things to be true. One is that almost every provider puts a clause in their small print that says that they won’t cover a driver with an international driver’s license, that it MUST be a Thai driver’s license. When asked in general conversation I was told no problem. When I confronted them with the small print clause that’s when it turned interesting. They said that no they would not cover me if it we SAID it was me driving, they said all we had to do is LIE about who was driving EVEN if I was driving alone and we would be covered. NICE.. This was of course not acceptable and I was living in fear of running over one of the maniac motorcycle drivers that are cutting in and out of traffic. What was worse was ...everyone was telling me I could not get a Thai drivers license as a tourist. WRONG ... it’s very easy to get a Thai drivers license in Thailand. Which is what I did and now drive like I live here.. Motorcycle nut jobs beware.

All you need is a document you can get from your consulate called a certificate of residency and it costs 1200 baht. There is no restriction in getting one. All you do is go in and raise your right hand and say the information on the document (address in Thailand) is true and you’re done. Go to the Thai DMV and get your license. EASY!

A few days ago I parked my motorbike unfotunately at a street with parking restictions.

Found my bike half an hour later with lock, chain an police ticket.

Well, bad luck, that what I thought.

But what a surprise at the Mai Ping Police station, they charged me a 400,= thb. fine.

Thais friends told me that the regular police ticket for such a ,,criminal parking misbehaviour,, is

100 ,= thb. for the Thai.

I went back to the Mai Ping station to complain. As I already expected a useless action and waste of time. The aswer was that I should not worry as long as the fine is not yet 400,= USD.

Comming and living in Chiang Mai for over 20 years I see my sympaty for Thailand slowly melting away. Now it even looks like Chiang Mai police turns to Pattaya style. Thsi does not make it any better.

Amazing Thailand.

My girlfriend (Thai girlfriend) had the same thing happen to her ... same price 400 baht. There is NO mistaking her for anything but what she is.. a thai national. so...