katnip

Thanks for your reply.

Would anyone be able to give an estimate of the time needed to get from the airport to BKK Immigration Bureau at 8.00 am ?

Would it be better to do a little later in the morning (traffic-wise)?

I need to go from Chiang Mai to Bangkok Immigration Bureau some time next week.

I note that Tues Dec 5th is a holiday, so the bureau would be closed. Is there any likelihood of Monday 4th being a holiday, too ? If yes, when might this be announced ?

Might it be safer to go on Wednesday ?

I believe people with either O positive or negative blood can help. O positive is the most common group, so there should be many who can help Mark.

I am an A negative, which is 6 - 7 % of the world population. Not super-rare, but it's better to belong to the more common groups .

The predominance of some groups varies by area. I was told A neg was non-existent amongst the native mainland Chinese population. I had not been aware of this until another A neg expat was involved in an accident. Some expats go so far as to store some of their own A neg blood, in case of need. Is the same true in Thailand ?

More info on blood groups at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_type

Best wishes to Mark.

Yes, police everywhere circa 5 p.m.

At intersections, on motorbikes, and in cars with flashing lights.

Ah but you must realise that you will have to guard your patch of vegetation from the guys hired by the Tesebahn. Just last week my extensive plant display almost got zapped by the weedkiller guys. Then before that they tried to dig it up to put some kind of official post. Nature conservation in central Chiang Mai is hard work.

My sympathies. Even the monks have zappers in our area.

So the question is, how to create a different awareness of the beauty and necessity ( O2 production) of greenery in the increasingly less attractive city areas.

"Planting Days" can work well - the community of locals, foreigners, young and old, get together to plant some greenery. Helps the community bond through some physical work and cooperation.

Would the schools be the place to start ? Can parents & teachers get kids writing to the local powers-with-funds ?

Or does nobody care ?

It seems to go through a middlebank where the RMB is changed to dollars and then to Thai Baht before arriving in my account.

Expect charges both ends and a money change fee also.

That would sound right, David. Thanks for your reply.

Anyone sent money from Thailand to China ?

Any ideas on sending money from Thailand to a Chinese national or his bank a/c in China ?

P.S. Our bank here is Bangkok bank.

P.P.S. Have HSBC a/c but it only allows RMB to be sent to an account in your own name in China. (Perhaps other currency can be sent - must check that out.)

Please offer your experiences and suggestions.

Any ideas on sending money from Thailand to a Chinese national or his bank a/c in China ?

P.S. Our bank here is Bangkok bank.

P.P.S. Have HSBC a/c but it only allows RMB to be sent to an account in your own name in China. (Perhaps other currency can be sent - must check that out.)

Anyway, if anyone has sent money from Thailand to China, I'd be interested in knowing how.

(I am going to repeat this post in the General section, if moderators will be so kind as to allow, as part of the OP's question and mine are not particular to CM.)

Cyclists, too, should wear helmets ( as a precaution, that is, not sure of the law.)

Interesting thread !

Was the original name "Benign" or is that just a description/ indication of the welcoming sort of name he'd chosen ?

I like "Beautiful Sands", too.

Actually the hotels that are most likely to allow dogs are those where the owner also has (and likes) dogs.

Chanchao - true.

It's just that farangkevin's small dog could feel intimidated by strange dogs, esp. as they will be on their own territory and he will be a newcomer (if the dog sleeps outside).

There are also plenty of free-roaming local dogs that might be able to enter the property.

Many hotels and guest houses have resident dogs, which can be of the large variety.

You might like to ask about this, too.

Good luck .

Do post your findings here, so others can benefit.

Interesting idea.

I'll be watching this space.

American murdered near Baan Thawai

Nopniwat Krailerg

On September 29 the body of an American male, John LaChapelle, 43, was discovered at a house in Rattanaporn Ville, Tambon Khun Khong, near the handicraft village of Baan Thawai. On initial investigation police ascertained that LaChapelle had been shot twice with a shotgun: once in the back and once at the waist.

The body was discovered by Sineeporn Phanthawong, a lawyer for ICO International Group Co. Ltd. at 3 p.m. on September 29. Sineeporn said that LaChapelle had agreed to meet her at ICO offices the previous day. He had not turned up for his appointment so Sineeporn had decided to contact him at his house the following day. On arriving at the house she found him dead in the kitchen. He was topless and wearing a pair of brown shorts. Police investigators said that he had been dead approximately 24 hours.

LaChapelle had been indicted for fraud by a partner in his export company, Worldwide International and Export Co. Ltd. The contestant in the fraud case claimed that LaChapelle had claimed he needed 2 million baht to set up the company and received a payment of 200,000 baht. Following the payment, LaChapelle had disappeared. After checking the company profile, the partner discovered that Worldwide International Export Co. Ltd. did not exist. On discovering this, they filed fraud charges against LaChapelle.

ICO lawyers had managed to contact LaChapelle and arranged to negotiate the debt with the aggrieved party at the company’s offices near Payap University. LaChapelle, however, never turned up for the appointment.

At present police believe there are two possible motives for the murder: the fraud and the fact that LaChapelle was committing adultery with a Thai woman. Police also believe that the murderer was known to LaChapelle.

http://www.chiangmai-mail.com/current/news.shtml#hd16

HouseHunter,

Perhaps you could tell us a bit more about yourself - your age-group, gender and interests might help us give you more suggestions, and perhaps hook you up with other expats.

Don't know about others, but pill period is same length each time, whereas proper period varies slightly. Plus latter heavier.... Sorry, too much information.

My thought being, that should someone know their girl's menstruation well enough, then might tell if they're on the pill or not.

Some people have entirely regular periods while not taking the pill. Not a reliable way to try to make a judgement.

In any case, the real problem lies (oops) elsewhere ...

plus if she's actually on the pill and just messing with thai_pitbull's mind, then she won't actually have a proper period.

Eh ? She should have a normal period while on the pill, unless she's taking it continuously (to avoid the inconvenience of a period) - a practice not advised by doctors.

Having a child is a pretty major committment (obviously)... do you really want to do that with someone you can't even trust? I would be getting as far away as possible from someone who is deceitful and manipulating like that when the issue's so important

That was my reaction, too. It's not a game .

In the "General" section of ThaiVisa, someone posted a link to a site about Loy Krathong. It sayeth :

The most popular festivals in early of the month November, is the Loy Krathong Festival. This festival is very welknown to Thai people and also foreigners. And it set during the weather is clear, on the full moon night, when the river is high over the country.

So there you go.

Hope you're still dry.

Link Below:-

Loy Krathong

In glorious Thinglish !

Thanks, marshbags - very helpful .

(Never even noticed there was a health section !)

In another thread, AIA and BUPA were recommended for medical insurance in Thailand.

I am currently insured with "World Nomads" - http://www.worldnomads.com/ . It's a type of travel insurance that includes medical.

I am thinking of changing to a straight-out medical plan.

Are there plans that cover you for all countries (not absolutely certain I will stay in Thailand long-term), or at least the home country and Thailand , that forum members would recommend ?

Any comments on important considerations before signing up for anything ?

The LOS is one of the few places in the world where the avg. white fella is actually in that category, below the white female and Thai male on the food chain.

Interesting comment. May I ask why the white female is "ranked" above the average white fella ?

(Genuine question, btw, not being sarcastic. Oh dear - maybe that makes it worse ... . Anyway, asking out of genuine curiosity.)

Here are some interesting comments from a Chinese Australian :

We might compare the plight of many Filipino brides who have been brought to this country by white Australian men to that of gay Asian men here. Sometimes the characteristics of such relationships include the less savoury aspects of sexual colonisation. These relationships often involve an older white male, economic dependence by a younger ‘Asian’, an assumed cultural, intellectual and social inferiority of the Asian partner, and, finally alienation of the Asian partner from his own culture.

A not atypical advertisement from Capital Q, a Sydney gay newspaper, reads: ‘I’m looking for a young Asian guy, 18-25 years old, who would like to have an older (50 years old) Aussie guy as a friend’. There is a common belief among older, white Australians that Asians have greater respect for their elders than do white Australians, and that while it would be difficult for most older, white gay men who are not wealthy to find a white sexual partner much younger than themselves, ‘Asian’ gay men are available.4 For the uninitiated, in gay parlance the advertiser would be known as a ‘Rice Queen’, whereas a Chinese man who prefers a Caucasian lover would be a ‘Potato Queen’. ‘Sticky Rice’ is when two Asians do it. These are not complimentary labels; after all, rice queens are often objects of derision as men whom only Asians could possibly find attractive.

Film-maker and writer Tony Ayres’s most famous work is the documentary China Dolls, in which he examines the plight of growing up and subsequently negotiating emotional survival as a gay Chinese Australian in an unfairly skewed world of intercultural sexual relationships. Flattered at first that white men found him attractive, albeit men twice his age, Ayres came very quickly to the realisation that ‘according to the predominant rules of Caucasian Western sexual attraction, being Chinese was actually a distinctive sexual category in a racial hierarchy. Asians were behind Black and Latino men in the scale of things. Of course, white men were on top’.

http://www.api-network.com/articles/index.php?jas72_leong

"Western" cultures are a long way from being free of racist attitudes and these attitudes affect relationships in significant ways; from both inside the partnership and without.

Perhaps, while foreign men are considered desirable by Thai women in certain ways, and may bring status accordingly, they may also come at a certain social "cost".

Edit : Just saw Heng's further comments above and they're in line with what I was thinking. The Thai woman's exisiting level of status and attitudes of those around her would be important factors in the equation. In other words, the situation is a rather complex balance.

The only change is by Immigration that the consultant now needs 4 Thai employees

to get the extension of stay

Will this apply to all Consultants or only those who start business after Oct 1 (or other date )?

If the man comes into it looking for a woman for only some very specific wants, it would seem any woman would do, so why should he find a woman who loves him for himself when it isn't reciprocated?

Indeed.