jaywalker

4. Almost year round perfect weather. Here in Thailand the weather is much better then America for beach fun or riding motorcycles.

Agree with most of the O/P and as someone who left Chicago over 40 years ago and have seen snow only a few times first-hand since.

I grew up in Central Florida, about 30 minutes north of Orlando. I lived in either the UAE, Kuwait, or Thailand from 1998 to December 2013, with only a few brief visits back to FL every few years.

I went back Central FL (Umatilla) and almost FROZE SLAP TO DEATH last winter. In south Georgia now & definitely need to vacate this place before winter hits.

I've been back for 9 months, in Florida & Georgia after 4 years in Thailand. I have eaten rice a grand total of 2 times in 9 months.

On my last contract I had a rice cooker promptly turned on about 2 feet behind my desk every day. I truly got sick of smelling the stuff!

First thing I did was was hit a Waffle House. I was looking for a Denny's but alas... I also bought a big box of frozen burritos .

Next I actually enjoyed watching the commercials on TV. Call me a sadist I guess, but I'm sick of them now.

Here in Georgia a few weeks ago, it was 11:00 PM on a Saturday, I was busy helping my 17 year old nephew decide what classes to take at college, when I realized, damn! tomorrow's Sunday & I'm almost out of beer (no beer sales in Mt. Vernon GA on Sundays).

I'd already had about a six-pack, so decided to walk to the store, along a well lit sidewalk. I had to pass the county courthouse AND the sheriff's office. This IS the Bible Belt...I went to church yesterday myself. So instead of merrily walking 3 blocks, swinging a 12 pack around, I grabbed a small backpack for discretion.

On my way home an EXTREMELY OBESE cop pulls out of the sheriff's office & lights me up, blue lights & all.

He wanted to see some ID. I asked him why? Had I broken any laws? Did I do anything wrong?

He said I looked suspicious walking around with a book bag "in the middle of the night"...It was 11:15 PM, under a street lamp, next to the courthouse. All I could think of was some Nazi saying "show me your papers!"

Told him it wasn't a book bag, it was a beer bag & handed him my ID. He immediately called it in. I could hear the dispatcher say my name, followed by "No wants, No warrants".

Fat cop looked like a little kid when they first learned that Santa Claus was a myth. Pissed me off though.

I'm ready to head back. I think I'll wrap a few packs of frozen burritos in a towel & toss them in my suitcase though.

About 12 years ago, 2002 or so, they dug up Pattaya Klang to a depth of 1.5 meters or better. To give them credit, they did it in low season. Only took 4 months or so, which was quite decent I thought. It was a big "Whup-to-do" in all the newspapers.

The concrete had barely dried (Like, 2 weeks after they'd re-opened the road) before they were out there with jackhammers and tunneling machines, trying to install what looked like a 6 inch pipe under several hundred yards of road.

????????? Why does this current story not surprise me?

Homer Simpson comes to mind. DOH!

Thanks Jaywalker, we will try the shop next to Tesco Lotus, if you happen to know the name it would be appreciated. Otherwise we will go knocking, we tried along second road mostly without joy in the past. Great to know they can sell plus contacts.

Hi Dragonaus,

Tesco in S. Pattaya optician shop.....I can't recall the name of it....Walk in the South entrance door to Tesco. If you're facing the store from the parking lot, it'll be the one on the left.

Restrooms to the left. Swenson's in front of you. Turn right. Walk maybe 30 feet/10 meters or so. The shop will be on your right. It's the only optician shop in that area. They actually have a door that opens towards the parking area, so they're independent of Tesco.

There's a short, sweet rotund (fat) lady there that speaks great English. She's always been real good about calling me when my contacts arrive as well.

In 3 years of ordering from there, YES, they did let my order slip once, so I was stuck with glasses for a week or so. She was VERY apologetic, and got them for me in 3 days I think. Great customer service, as mistakes happen. She owned up to it & apologized & expedited my order.

Wal-Mart in the USA did the same thing, except they called me first.......They had ordered MINUS prescription. The lady there caught it & called me to say it'd be a while longer before they got what I needed.

That Tesco shop is the best I've found in Pattaya though, & in an emergency, go do the Central Pattaya Road trawl. I've never come back empty handed from checking the 20 or so shops along both sides of the road.

Hope that helps Brother!

This is in the "Land of the Free".

The US State of Georgia just passed a law for bank accounts with no activity for more than one year. They seize them.

I'd say try Singapore or Austria.

How is this relevant?

Well, if the (theoretically) most 1st world country on the planet can seize your assets at their whim, what's to stop a Banana Republic from doing so?

Under Martial Law every 5-10 years at that!!!!

The video explains the "Safety Deposit Box" issue. I just mentioned the new Georgia law as an afterthought.

Seems relevant to me.

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Oh yeah @JSixpack, no offense Brother.....NOT picking at you, but it's amazing how some folks stick their heads in the sand. Not saying you do.....I should have explained myself better.

Cyprus & Greece just confiscated retirement funds over the past few years.

Argentina has defaulted on its debt 2 times in 13 years. Thailand did the same in 1997.

When a government goes broke, they raid assets.

Singapore has a fairly decent debt to GDP ratio as compared to other countries = unlikely to raid private funds for "The Good of The State".

LOS has just emerged from a major debacle (err....might be emerging). I'd much rather pay the 180 baht ATM fee to grab some cash in LOS than keep anything of serious value in a Thai "Safety" deposit box.....OR a USA "Safety" deposit box.

Just sayin'.......

Not familiar with your UK rig/brand, but am pretty sure I've seen Coleman products widely available in Tesco & Big C in Pattaya.

If you just need it for cooking, then take a stroll down Soi Khaotalo, just East of the Railroad tracks. On your right as you head East, there's a shop that probably sells the standard Thai version of burner-on-top-of-gas tank. They have a gazillion hatchets & machetes on display out front. Cooking stuff in the back.

I think I used to pay 250 THB (after tank deposit) for a good sized tank that would last my 4 burner stove for a couple months.

There's 2 places on Khaotalo that will swap you an empty tank for a full one. They're a bit further east on both sides of the road (same owner), near where they have the giant night market.

When I lived in Banglamung proper (N. Pattaya), I'd take my tank to where the taxi's get fuel & they'd re-fill my tank.

Makro sells a two burner version with a hose to attach to the tank. I bought one for my mother-in-law.......she still cooks on charcoal over a clay pot though .

GOOD LUCK getting an email reply from that other company.

Go out to Laem Chabang on the #7 motorway, at the Laem Chabang junction on the southbound carriageway of the #7 is a company called Container Construction, they have a number of 20 foot office modules with windows in etc. some have air-con, less than 100K, some around 50K.

Also on the #36 between Mapthaput turn off and the Map Kha junction on the northbound side there are a few places have the same.

Thanks Lenny!

A 20 ft container with windows would be the Cat's Meow.

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As for the work permit Nervous Nellies, all I plan to do is stand & point, inspect materials & blueprints etc.

Make sure that when they run out of 4 inch sewer pipe, they don't just reduce it to 2 inch (then quickly bury it just because that's what they have laying around), ya know, just ensuring they actually perform to specifications.

None of the below will be allowed.......Trust me....I've worked with Thai folks....I KNOW how they work.

http://youtu.be/FB2uHnztADU

This is in the "Land of the Free".

The US State of Georgia just passed a law for bank accounts with no activity for more than one year. They seize them.

I'd say try Singapore or Austria.

Easier to just build a temporary shack. Few poles and a roof would do.

You're certainly correct about that being an easier option, just would prefer to work out of something a little more professional. I don't want to look like a Burmese construction worker when I'm the boss.

It'll be a 10-11 mil THB project, so dropping 100 or 150K for an office is fine by me.

If I hire a management firm to do it they charge 25% of construction costs, so 100 or 150K would be a bargain.

Oh yeah, I'm a mechanical engineer. I can handle that end.

Any electrical engineer that might want to help, well, PM me. I have some specific requirements for the electricity, mostly making sure I have proper gauge wiring and making sure EVERYTHING is grounded (earthed). I even plan to install lightening rods on the roof.

Lightening popped a tree next to my parents' house when I was a kid in Florida. It FRIED everything in the house.......We went 2 months before Dad bought a new TV.

He installed lightening rods, and whilst scary as hell, lightening has popped them a few times. All the juice went straight into the ground & no harm to anything.

Construction probably starting early January. My wife will say

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EDIT: Just re-considering the shack idea Rhodie. Thanks. Plywood floor, plywood walls, BIG-ASS tinted windows (so they never know when I'm watching them & when I'm not). a window-shaker AC unit, desk & office chair....probably easier than trying to find a trailer.

Can't help you on where to purchase in Pattaya, because we are backwards and forwards between Oz and Pattaya, and can not purchase plus contacts in pattaya, every optometrist says minus only. So we are buying in Australia.

When we move to Pattaya full time, we may have a problem unless we can buy online overseas.

very interesting read from wheredoolive (DailyMail) on contacts lasting much longer.

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Not sure what's up w/ the quote function today, but yes, I agree. It seems most folks need a minus prescription. Us Plus folks seem to be the minority.

I bet every time (see my post above) I've done the Central Pattaya Road "hunt" for + contacts, most will say "no Hab".

It's a numbers game. Just keep trying shop after shop after shop........That shop next to S. Pattaya Lotus is the best I've found though.

ALWAYS write done your prescription.......I've gotten - (MINUS) 5.25's by accident once in Pattaya on Central Road due to the language barrier.

Also got MINUS 5.25's from the doctor's office in Florida as well due to stupidity.

I just get so excited after I've been out of contacts for a week or so, that I yank off my glasses & poke them in.......I can't see squat with the polar opposite of what I need though.

Make sure to write it down for the shops in Pattaya.

Am considering doing my own construction supervision (Project Management) for a house in Huay Yai.

I've done it before on commercial projects.

I need to be there every day, as I know how they like to take short cuts. I'm looking for a small trailer (caravan) that I can use for an office on the building site.

Does anybody know where I might acquire such a contraption?

Just need something big enough for a desk is all.......Something I can haul away & either sell or burn after it's finished = nothing too fancy.

Of course I'll install an AC unit in it. Electricity is already there.

I'm guessing something about 4 meters long & ~3 meters wide?

I know the guy you're referring to.....at least I've seen him.

2 years or so ago I was pulling out of Khaotalo on to Suk. one day, stopped at the light. I'd seen the guy in the police box quite often.

I'm guessing he was rolling his own cigarette, but anyhow, I jokingly asked him "is that some some good shit man?".

He just grinned & waived at me.

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I once saw a crazy bum in Chicago, and it was COLD! Snow was everywhere. I thought to myself "if I ever become a bum, I'll do it someplace warm". I guess that's what he's doing?

Beware of the neighbor's yapping mutts also.

Spend some time around a potential place at night.

I moved in to a decent 3 br/ 2.5 bath house in Eakmongkol 4 once.

The "lady" across the street had a poodle.....Then she'd feed soi dogs right outside her front gate, so the poodle would yap at them all night long. It was maddening!

Try the optician shop next to Tesco Lotus in S. Pattaya. Walk in the south entrance & they'll be around the corner on the right.

I wear a + 5.25 prescription......extraordinarily difficult to find.

They always had to order them (daily wear), but they always had them on time, usually 5 days or so.

Even Wal-Mart Vision Center in the USA has to order them & they take 2-3 weeks to get here.....Errrrrr = I should probably get some more on order now.

Another option is to get the 2 week variety. It's hit & miss, but I always find them in stock at one of the many shops on Central Road. Just park at Big C & start walking towards the beach & hit every eyeball shop you see on the right & if no luck there, return up the other side of the street.

I've probably done that 5 or 6 times, and always found a shop along there somewhere that had what I needed.

Not sure if you've ever tried the 2 week kind, but they cost about 1/3rd of what the dailies cost.

$44 USD (in the states) for a 3 month supply of 2-week wear vs. $155 for a 3 month supply of dailies. Those are pretty close to Thai prices.

I from the USA & lived in Kuwait, Thai wife got pregnant.

Baby girl born in Surin. I was there for 10 days & had to return to work. I signed an affidavit at the Thai embassy in Kuwait so my wife could get the little one a Thai passport. When she was 3 months old they came to stay in Kuwait with me.

I went to the US embassy in Kuwait to do a consular report of birth abroad, and was told it would take 6 - 10 MONTHS to process, since she was born in Thailand......Fat lot of help that was. I said "no thanks".

About a year later (2006) I had 3 weeks vacation time, so we went to the US consulate in BKK. At the time their website was singularly confusing (it's much better now). Anyhow they asked if I had an appointment.....Errr, didn't know I need one. They tried to book me for 6 weeks out! GRRRRRR!!!!!!

Told them we were all leaving in 3 weeks, so they "Magically" managed to squeeze me in 2 days before our departure.

I showed up on time, replete with squalling 10 month old kid for an "interview".

Some big hog of a lady (AmeriKan), shows up 45 minutes late for our so-called "appointment" and starts asking all kinds of inappropriate questions about my wife (we'd been married 5 years by this time). It's a good thing they have that thick glass to hide behind, because I was ready to choke the life out of her.

Sounds scary what most have posted with regards to repairs at the shop, on the other items being destroyed instead of just the bodywork. So what do you guys think could have happened? Since your car is in their area for a long time, they took it for a rough drive? Have you checked the odometers? etc.?

That's one of the reasons I like to maintain my own cars, we could never really see what those "trusty" mechanics done to our cars. Making it worse or better? You be the judge.

Took my truck to Car Buddy (I think that's the name) near Ocean Marina (I often wonder who came up with such an original name for a marina, but I digress).

Simple oil change. They forgot DUH! to tighten the drain plug = oil all over my driveway.

In Georgia USA right now.....Took my 82 year old Aunt's 42" mower deck in for a service, as it was noisy as all get-out. They replaced the tensioner pulley.......NEVER looked at the blades.

Oh yeah, the MORON about my age (47) called it an "Idler Pulley".....It's a tensioner pulley dummy!

I'm a mechanical engineer, but I'm not a lawn mower expert, so I took it to the shop, as I knew it needed new bearings.

I got it home, and the left mower blade fell off about 4 minutes later, and the right blade is seized up/won't turn.

There are IDIOTS all over the world. At least here I speak the language, which is Redneck, quite well = I took it back & made them feel lower than whale-sh&t.

My 17 year old nephew was trying to tell me he's been diagnosed with A-D-D (attention deficit disorder).

I diagnosed him with I-D-I-O-T.

Yep, I had an accident of my own some 5 months ago and ended up rear-ending some old fart who slowly eased out of his lane to prepare to take a right onto a small side road while I was trying to pass him. I guess no one ever bothered to teach him how to properly apply the brakes and use the right-hand turn signal and THEN TURN so I ended ramming him in the rear and that was that. Of course I had every reason to be angry with the old country bumpkin's reckless driving but why bother? Where would it get me? Anyway, down to the police station and I'M the one who had to pay the 400Bt fine because I hit him in the rear (That's Thailand for ya, if you hit someone from behind you are ALWAYS wrong) but my insurance guy showed up and after 2 hours I was out of there. It really pissed me off, though. This is the first accident I've been in since I've been here (10 years) and my truck was less than a year old (Mazda Bt-50 4-door 3.2) but the real pain in the ass was having to wait almost 5 months just to get my front windshield replaced. Thank goodness the body damage was minimal so that was taken car of in about a month but the windshield took FOREVER. Anyways, not a good experience at all so remember 2 important things before you buy a car or truck and hit the road: 1) Never, NEVER assume that the other drivers around you know how to drive or understand the basics of driving because many, many don't. Therefore, ALWAYS be ready for some idiot to do something stupid because they will and you'd better be prepared for it. It will happen every day. 2) If you do wreck your vehicle, your dealer and/ or insurance company is not going to be in a hurry to get your car or truck back on the road again and sometimes it will take months before your car or truck is back to its original condition.

I recall back in 2002 or so, reading the Pattaya Mail "newspaper" (rag), about them giving some farang a ticket for "stopping too suddenly" on Pattaya Central Road. He got rear-ended & got a ticket.

Back in the 1990's a friend of mine was turning North on 2nd road off of Central Road (Pattaya), when some maniac whizzed by on the right, hit his right front fender, went flying over the bike, and jumped up and ran away.

The cops tossed HIM (he's a farang) in the clink and it cost him 50,000 baht to get out.

2012 some YO-YO was whizzing around a truck, in the wrong lane, in a no passing zone as my wife was trying to make a right turn. The truck driver was courteously stopped and allowing her to go as he was backed up by the traffic light.......Soi 4 & Threppasit Rd...She wanted to go East. Said YO-YO T-boned her in the driver's door.

I have some good friends with the RT Marine Corps so I took it there to get it fixed (they owed me a few favors).

Cops saw she had a farang last name & smelled money. Gave her a "ticket" for violation of right-of-way - 2,000 baht........Another 10,000 baht or the cop said "you will have BIG problem".......Ye Olde IDIOT on the bike had no license & no insurance. Broke his leg & I hope he limps the rest of his IDIOT life.

I whacked/side-swiped a pole with a Budget rental car once in Surin.....It ripped up the entire left side...tail light flapping in the wind. I drove it back to Pattaya & told them I was trying to avoid a cow in the road (I was arguing with my wife actually).....5,000 baht deductible & I got a new car.

2012 - On my way to a funeral driving down Soi Khaotalo one evening about 7:00 PM, some kid who could not have been more than maybe 12 years old came whizzing around me. Another Toyota truck in front of me was inching along. The IDIOT went SMACK & got lodged between the truck in front of me & oncoming traffic.

Poetic justice I suppose.

Folks in the USA will pay $2,000 or $3,000 to go get the Richard Petty or Dale Earnhardt "Driving Experience".

I keep telling them........Just go to Thailand.

There's no rhyme nor reason.

I tried to get my old boss to set me up with an IT arm of his company. I'd been doing part time consulting work for him (illegaly for 3 years - which was OK though as we were working for the Army - no way to get busted there!)

Anyhow I tried to explain my concept to this super nice guy I've known for 10+ years, and it all went "VROOM!" right over his head, and I had even set up his website for him!!!!!!!

I was trying to get legal, willing to pay Thai taxes and split the net profits 50/50 with him etc.... All income would have been from the USA, UK, Canada, Australia etc.

Really smart guy. He knows how to bribe the Army to get contracts (saw it happen with my own two eyes), but this concept blew him away = even (some) educated, English speaking Thai folks really have no concept of the world outside.

I flew back to Florida & have it set up now....in my name. Yep, I'll be a digital nomad when I return.

"that Thailand wants IT people to actually invest and hire Thais, not just live here." well tell me how?

I would be more than happy to open a small web company and start with 1 staff and then build slowly but I can't do that. I need to get 4 staff (with no knowledge of basic English)and a office and as I see in some post I need get a photo with the office and staff wearing company shirts/uniform? Totally nuts to start with that and then next thing, I can't open the company without a Thai partners that will own 51% and they have to show that they really put in 51% of the money(2 mil for 1 wp) Share my company with Thais?? Nuts. And yes I know most ppl do this the wrong way with fake papers and proxies and its all illegal so why would I even try ? It's all BS .

We're from the government, and we're here to help.

Well, they confessed = They should HANG or at least live the rest of their lives in irons.

Capital Punishment may or may not be a deterrent, but then again it's not called Capital Deterrent is it?

Creten is what they are.

After reading the linked article, I would ask of all Thaivisa members to please have a thought for AYJAYDEE and JLCrab, two of our esteemed posters, who have now lost their favorite topic of conversation: harping on and on about how people working online are criminals working illegally. May they soon find another topic to post inane replies to.

I agree with the quote above.

Looks like the Chiang Mai whatever website could use a freelancer to help them out a bit.

The article/web page is saying it's offline at the moment. Just wondering if it's because the webmaster Somchai from CH "University" is incompetent or maybe it's a true tech glich. My guess is it's a 50/50 chance of either one being the case.

I AM a web designer, so I know technical glitches happen, but I often see Thai websites that are patheticaly put together and/or maintained for months on end.

If you look up the Thai consulate in Miami, quite a few of the links don't work. Has been that way forever.

I'm looking to get a new Non-O Marriage visa. I'll be driving 4 hours to get to Miami, as I'd like to get my passport back in a few days & don't trust them to mail it back to me. I wonder just how out of date their information is????

EDIT: Just checked that link again......Sorry Somchai......Must've been a tech glitch. It's working now.

Amin, Mugabe, Stalin, Mao, Hitler, Pol Pot, Prayut.

The world hall of fame is never ending.

You forgot Saddam. That's what I immediately thought of.

^{What I want is the enforcement of the No Smoking in the Go Go Bars and restaurants. 90 % of the people will go outside and smoke the 10% make it unpleasant. Secondary Smoke is dangerous and smoking makes all smell bad !!}

The human race survived for millinea around cooking fires, yet tobacco smoke is the killer.

Yeah, right.

How about "Cracking Down" on something that might do some good?

I agree it's all about the taxes.

Why doesn't Pattaya, for instance, put some undercover "volunteer" farang police on baht buses at 0200 hrs to bust pick-pockets?

When I was 18, I tried something called crack. I quit it very quickly (I tried it here & there for a month maybe).

Why oh why is EVERTHING the cops actually DO in LOS, called a "Crack-Down"?

For many farangs.....We do Not Like aggressisive homosexual advances.

Why Katoey's do that is beyond my comprehensive powers.

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Let's say you ARE homosexual, and some guy walks up and grabs you where the sun don't shine.

Maybe your boy-toy just ditched you & you are in no mood for amorous activities.

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I'm heterosexual. If my wife/girlfriend had just dumped me.....Some bar girl grabbed me by the nuts......I wouldn't appreciate it.

Everybody has their own state of mind at any given time of day.

Some katoey, or even a bar-girl assuming he or she has the "Right" to accost you........It's Pattaya folks.