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In Jomtien I had TT&T MaxNet 512 (B790/month) for about 9 months and was generally satisfied with it: usually around 450k download speed showing on bandwidth testers.

Recently I upgraded to MaxNet 1024 (B1070/month) and it's showing around 850-900k download. Acceptable but not outstanding. I never tried TOT, so can't compare, just can report what I got/get on TT&T.

I seem to have received a "special deal" from TT&T. At the Carrefour office where I applied/paid for the upgrade the first week of this month, they told me the upgrade would be effective 01 November (and that's when the higher billing started). I noticed two days later that my connection was already upgraded. Since I'm not paying for it for another week from now, that's not so bad.

Further information is available at http://www.vnimm.gov.vn

I've wondered about the lines in the BKK airport immigrations hall labeled "APEC" (vs "Thai Passport" and "Foreign Passport") ... can any person with a passport from an APEC country use them, or is it for some special APEC-related function or what? I have an ordinary commoner's US passport. Can I use the APEC line in Immigrations?

A little caveat if you ever need technical assistance from TOT with the broadband connection: check the terms of your package with TOT to see if it limits you to use a single computer. If it does (and many low-priced packages often do), make sure you disconnect one of the computers before you ask for assistance.

I'm dual-booting my computer into a Windows Vista Beta (RC1) version which includes IE7, and have a question to those of you using IE7 on a non-Vista setup:

When you are reading messages here on ThaiVisa.com, are you constantly being alerted to the need to install Flash?

On my setup in Vista, practically everytime I open a new tab to read a thread, I have to accept the request to install Flash. I've been assuming it's a quirk of Vista Beta, but was wondering if anybody experienced it with IE7 on non-Vista.

My traditional method to read forums (not just ThaiVisa) is to have the list of forum threads in one tab and then open threads in separate tabs.

Opera makes this SUPER easy: <ctrl+shift>+click on thread title opens the thread in a new tab in the background -- i.e. keeps the forum thread list on top so I can <ctrl+shift> and click, click, click, click on all of the thread titles that I want to read. I can be reading the first thread while the remaining ones finish downloading in the background. Very efficient.

You might also consider consulting St. Louis Hospital (on Sathorn near the BTS Surasak station).

I've not been there (yet), but friends have told me that they have a large Chinese medicine practice. They say it's a good blend of eastern/western medicine: go to a western doctor for diagosis, and consult a Chinese practitioner for treatment.

Good grief, yesterday I cut myself on my nostril for the first time; weird. I need to slow down more.

Thanks for sharing that. Misery LOVES company. My friends sometimes are astounded when I cut my ear shaving. (And, one's ear can bleed like a sonofab*tch!)

And, no, I'm not shaving my ear, but in the speed frenzy to do the face, the ear sometimes becomes collateral damage...

Perhaps there is an long-term plan to expand the web cam service? It would be logical (by Western standards at least) to introduce the service in a small controlled group to get the technological and procedural bumps ironed out.

Hope springs eternal (with me, at least) that the group announced is a test group and that the web cam reporting will later be expanded to include more and more groups, like retirees doing 90-day reports for example.

I do wonder, though, how they would manage a larger group of people eligible to report via web cam: would it be first-come first-served, would you need to make an appointment for your web cam appearance (and then hope that the internet was not "down" at the appointed time), or what?

The negative comments and feedback above are mostly valid points, but c'mon guys, lets give it a chance. At least ... so far! ... it hasn't made any other processes or procedures any different.

Next time, I will go with DHL, Fed Ex or sombody that has contacts and maybe get it thru cheaper.

If you can remember to keep toggling it on and off, uncheck "File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks" before you plug the internet cafe's LAN able into your notebook. Re-check the box only when you are hooking up to a network via the RJ45 jack for the purpose of transferring files via a LAN. You don't need (nor want) file/printer sharing enabled for surfing the internet.

I network my desktop and notebook computers at home to synch files, and use a Firewire connection, so that connection has file/printer sharing enabled. My RJ45/LAN and my wifi connections have file/printer sharing permanently disabled.

Yes, I'm paranoid, but that doesn't mean nobody is out to get me.

JOOC, what is the fiscal year for the Thai national budget? Is it the calendar year?

Speaking of LCD monitors in Thailand, can anybody recommend a swivel monitor, i.e. one that rotates from landscape to portrait? I thought it was a somewhat common feature, but I can't seem to find one. Ideally I'd like to get a "widescreen" 20" monitor that swivels, but would definitely settle for a standard 19' or 20".

I have a 19" Samsung SyncMaster 910T that does that. Great for reading documents or word processing. This is a relatively expensive monitor though with DVI/VGA but has the highest clarity and contrast of any that I have seen.

May I ask where you bought it? I live in Pattaya area, but can easily flit to Bangkok for a shopping trip.

I used to travel very frequently to Thailand and I always had High-End Laptops with me. I had them slung over my arm and I have only ever been asked what it was for..... My response email and work.

Try wheeling a luggage trolley packed high with a desktop computer and monitor still in their original boxes, and see how far you get.

I build my own systems and when I moved my desktop system to Thailand, the computer was in the box the Lian Li case came in. The Customs guy stopped me and asked what was in the box, and I said "A computer case" and he let me go. Heck, what's a little half-truth between friends.

Speaking of LCD monitors in Thailand, can anybody recommend a swivel monitor, i.e. one that rotates from landscape to portrait? I thought it was a somewhat common feature, but I can't seem to find one. Ideally I'd like to get a "widescreen" 20" monitor that swivels, but would definitely settle for a standard 19' or 20".

Only requirement I've ever run into when opening a bank account is that I have a visa other than 30 day VOA stamp. (Siam Commercial Bank) They refused to open an account unless I had a "real" visa issued by a consulate or embassy.

I just got this e-mail from the US Embassy, and thought some Pattaya area members might want to take advantage of it if they need the notarized embassy letter verifying income for a visa:

Dear Pattaya Area American Citizens,

The Consular Section of the American Embassy in Bangkok is pleased to inform you of an upcoming Embassy consular visit in Pattaya. Consular staff will be available to provide consular services on Friday, October 27, from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM at the Dusit Resort on Pattaya Beach Road near the dolphin circle. The outreach will be held in Dusit Rooms 5 and 6 in the upstairs lobby.

The following consular services will be available during the visit:

*Passport renewal applications (US $67.00 or baht 2,680 for adult passports – please bring exact change and a copy of your passport photo page)

*Additional passport pages (no charge, but please bring a copy of your passport photo page)

*Notarial services (US $30 or baht 1,200 for the first notarial; US $20 or baht 800 for each additional notarial – please bring exact change). Notarial services include affidavits for retirement and other visas in Thailand, Thai driver’s licenses, and marriage affidavits.

*Embassy registration and/or address change

*Absentee ballot application and voting abroad information

*Social security, VA or other federal benefits question

NOTE: Due to the large amount of time and paperwork involved, no applications for Consular Reports of Birth will be accepted during consular outreach trips.

Important Notice for Persons Seeking Extra Passport Pages: We often experience crowds of over 150 persons during our outreach trips to Pattaya. Inserting passport pages requires us to conduct a computer check on your passport beforehand. If you plan to request extra visa pages during our visit, we ask you to either fax a copy of the bio/photo page of your passport along with your Social Security Number to 02-205-4103. Send the fax attention: Pattaya Outreach, Extra Visa Pages. Or e-mail your passport information and social security number to [email protected] and write Pattaya Outreach, Extra Visa Pages in the subject line. If e-mailing, please provide your name as written in your passport, your date and place of birth, our current passport number, and your social security number. Please send this information at least two days before our visit. Doing so will allow us to provide you with faster and more efficient service.

If you have any questions, please e-mail: [email protected] or call the American Citizen Services Unit at: 02-205-4049.

We look forward to seeing you at the Dusit Resort in Pattaya on October 27th.

Sincerely,

American Citizen Services

U.S. Embassy Bangkok

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

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

To subscribe or unsubscribe to this list, go to:

http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/embassy/acsemaillist.htm

The U.S. Embassy Consular Section is located at 95 Wireless Road,

Bangkok 10330, Thailand (Nearest BTS Skytrain station: Phloen Chit)

American Citizen Services Unit Window Hours:

Monday - Friday, 7:30 - 11 AM and 1 - 2 PM

Note: The ACS unit will be CLOSED on Monday, Oct 23 and Friday, Oct 27.

Tel: +66-2-205-4049 Fax: +66-2-205-4103

Would a shop like The Top Shop in Pattayaland 2 also handle minor alterations? I've got some pants that need to be shortened & hemmed, and would rather take them to someplace other than sidewalk seamstress using a visible, uneven machine-made straight stitch.

A while ago I needed to have some curtains hemmed, too. Would I be out of place (i.e. would seamstress lose face) if I lugged them down and inquired?

And, just to muddy that clear concept, I am one of the folks who had the Immigrations office want to keep the original. I had the original and two copies, he preferred to NOT return the original to me. I did not want to rock the boat, so I let him. Looks like another trip to BKK to the US embassy next year for me.

I happen to have been caught in a Kafkaesque black hole, I made plans based on the old rules and now it is too late to comply with the new rules (my money won't be seasoned enough), and have to make a decision very soon based on whether it is really true immigration will show flexibility.

Thaiquila, am I reading correctly that you feel you won't qualify for the retirement visa now only becasue you haven't had the money on hold in the Thai bank long enough?

If so, then I believe Immigrations will give you a provisional extension of your current length of stay for a sufficient time for you to have held the money long enough. e.g. If you put the money in the bank last month, so only have had it 30 days, they would give you a 60-day extension to give you time to qualify. Mind you, if at the end of that 60 days, if you hadn't met the qualification, you might be facing a 7-day pack-it-up-and-leave extension.

Or, am I totally misreading your situation?

I have seen twice over the past few days a super looking yellow coach, brand new I think marked Pattaya-Savannaboomi at its stating point at the junction of Soi Chaiyapruek and Jomtien beach Road.

This is just round the corner from Yorkies and the same place as the blue/orange Jomtien/Bangkok buses depart from.

A friend told me they have 4 times a day schedule but no other details,

Next time I see one I'll stop and enquire then post.

They run three times a day, 100 baht fare. So I am informed by one of the drivers

Does anyone know what time those three departures are? Does it pick up passengers anyplace other than the origination at Soi Chaiyapruek & Jomtien Beach Road?

Buying a desktop in the USA:

postives: cheaper, perhaps more selection

negatives: must bring through Thai customs possibly paying duty, must buy and install Thail software* for wife/son, and also buy Thai keyboard, no warranty/tech support

Buying a desktop in Thailand:

positives: the operating system and software (if installed) will already be Thai as will be the keyboard, warranty & tech support in Thailand

negatives: price**

Buying a notebook in USA: probably cheaper, but unable to swap keyboard

Buying a notebook in Thailand: more expensive, but preloaded Thai software, warranty service & tech support

*If she or her son are not computer geeks, installing Thai Windows and/or other software might be something you'd want to avoid. Even if you are a geek, when Windows/software prompts for info, decisions, etc during installation you will have to rely on their translations of the screen messages. I am a geek, and used to pull my hair out installing Japanese Windows & software and trying to have a Japanese housewife make her best stab at translating the technical terms. :-)

**And, even though in general computers are more expensive in Thailand, you can still get decent basic computers at places like Big C and Tesco for about B16,000. Decent prices can also be had at Pantip Plaza (BKK) and Tukcom (Pattaya).

Another possible caveat of buying an inexpensive computer in USA: make sure the power supply is switchable, and not a 110V-only one. I don't think many manufacturers would scrimp to that level, but make sure!

I will install a PVC underground tank, seems the water will be fresher than being heated up by the sun in an inox tank.

Interesting. In Japan and Thailand my apartments always had the tanks mounted above ground (usually the roof) and I always enjoyed taking warm showers in the afternoon after the sun warmed the tank. I never thought about that same solar heat being a negative: would it encourage/accelerate algae growth, etc?

Would this be another plus to wearing briefs vs boxers?

I'm assuming a leech (or a urethra-entering fish) couldn't force its way past the elastic in the waist and leg bands?

I also read on Jack Golf's forum that the panic is all over for now I have pasted it here for you to all read.

He explaned that THE NEW REGULATION WAS POSTPONED PLACTICALLY with some reasons; taking time to bring suitable online system to every single check points, hard to handle of claims of forgin Embassies...etc

What the heck does that mean? Assuming he meant "PRACTICALLY" it still doesn't make sense: "postponed practically" = "almost postponed?" Or, what? I don't mean to slam "Sony's" English as it seems that he is a non-native speaker, but I really can't figure out what that part in UPPERCASE is supposed to mean.

Baboon will be OK, the 400k requirement is being grandfathered, if you're already in the system doing extensions like tha you are OK and can continue

I went along to renew my annual visa the other day showing sufficient funds for a marriage visa (as I normally do) only to be informed that as of 1st October I now also need to show a stipend of 40,000 baht per month as family income because the showing of funds was insufficient.

If I'm reading Casanundra correctly, he's saying that for a renewal (i.e. already in the system prior to October 1) he needs to show B40,000 monthly income in addition to meeting the B400,000 bank balance.

I'm reading Casanundra's sentence I quoted to mean: "I now also need to show a stipend of 40,000 baht per month as family income because the [mere] showing of funds was insufficient," and not "...because the showing of funds was insufficient [i.e. not up to the B400,000 level]."

I clicked on this topic because I was dying to know what a "wanted fugitive" was doing with a "penguin" in Pattaya.