realthaideal

I hate when they talk about Thai things, and in this case one with some reputable uses and properties, and they don't give the Thai name. Luckily it was recognizable from the picture. Many people take ฟ้าทะลายโจร (fah talai jone) for sickness here and elsewhere. Whether it's applicable to CV is speculation at this point, as others have pointed out.

I always bring mine from home, as they're super cheap there. But I've also ordered spices and things through local restaurateur friends - so that's what I suggest. Find someone with a sympathetic ear that wouldn't mind taking on an order of something small for you. I bet most of the German restaurants have a connection, or might even be holding and be willing to parse out a few for you.

I find them indispensable when making my sauteed red cabbage (rotkohl). You gonna do that or make sauerbraten? And no, I'm not German, but I used to be a cook and love food from all around the world done right.

Hi. I had a Non-Imm B visa that was issued on Dec 15, 2015 in the US. I did a land crossing on the very last day of the visa's 90-day stamp power/ effectiveness, Dec 15, 2016. So the visa is now thoroughly expired and my 90 days are up on Mar 14, 2017, just two weeks away. Will it be possible for me to go to Immigration, pay 1,900 B, and get an extension of 30 days? I'll be starting the process for my new visa to be obtained here in Thailand either today or tomorrow, but am worried 2 weeks won't be enough time to secure the new visa. I imagine going to Lao and getting a tourist visa is a possibility to give me some breathing room, but if I can get the 30 day extension that should be sufficient. Any advice from someone in the know is appreciated.

FYI - I did go to Lao and to get a tourist visa for Thailand about 2 yrs ago when I was between trips to the US and between business visas, while living full-time in Thailand. But it's been about 2 years, since I've done that, and I haven't abused the system, so I'm fairly confident they'd issue me one.

I need to have a ring resized, or maybe even remount a stone in a new ring. Do any of you have a trusted jeweler you've worked with before? Hoping to find someone trustworthy and to have a working relationship with. I speak Thai, so language isn't a barrier. Thanks.

21 minutes ago, Dante99 said:

What happened to the OP?  Still breathing?  Just had some heartburn and now okay?

Still breathing. Had a double whammy of being sick as well as the month of heart pains. I did an initial visit to Ram and got an EKG that looked normal. The doctor I saw was Dr. Patarapong as recommended earlier, though I just got him thru default, and didn't request him. He was very knowledgeable and reassuring. I've put together a buffet of other cardio and organ function (blood) tests I want to run, including an EKG stress test, that I'll get to this week. I didn't do it last week as the cold I was experiencing had me totally in the dumps. Haven't had that bad a flu/cold in several years. Sucked to have both at same time.

Back to the main point though, Dr Patarapong was very well spoken and explained the usual order of things when investigating. Because of the normal 1st EKG he said it's not necessary to jump straight to things that give direct pictures of the heart. I could choose to do so if I like, but he recommends the stress test and then if needed a carotid artery doppler sound scan. Apparently if they see plaque forming there, then it's an indicator that I've likely got it around my heart too. But at this point, that would be a third step. I also know I've been stressing over politics in two countries as well as sick parents overseas, been working too hard, and not sleeping regularly. Overall I see this as a warning to let go of alot of things and just focus on my own health and finding peace. I'll update when I have more info on how it all goes.

I've been experiencing heart pain/ tightness, but no outright signs of a heart attack for the past few weeks and am feeling foolish for waiting to get it looked at. Because of the thaivisa updates, the search function is netting me zero results from the CM subforum. So please help me out....

I'd like to know who's been in for check-ups, where, what tests did you get, and any recommendations for the most competent cardiologists. I want to quit stalling and get this looked at tonight or tomorrow.

Sharktooth - someone wanted some info, and by chance I found some info on a Thai outlet already shared over 10K times and thought I'd be helpful. No way for me to censor one pic yay, another pic nay. And did you read the Thai? I didn't think so. Anyway, go take up your argument with the original posters trying to help find the man's relatives or someone who can help ID him - article content and reason for mass reposting. Also, where we live.... Buddhism (with a good dash of Brahmic and Hindu influence), perhaps the body is just a body when we're gone and that's why cremation is ok. I'm not a fan of the gore, though you seem to be advocating for me being so. It's just what was there. Questions answered. Whatever - it's just how it works over here.

Didn't go well. Just saw a friend of a friend post this on FB. Looks like a Farang lost his life and they may not know who he is yet.... too bad.

Not sure if a link will work.

Am I the only one who thought this guy's post was actually well thought out and showed that he's shown restraint and was simply seeking (wisely) best advice on how to go forward/ what to expect? To me he sounded like someone who gets that he doesn't necessarily get everything about the Thais nor the rural Thais and just wanted advice. OP, I think it's great that you're asking..

As far as using it as a work house - hello? Doesn't anybody have an office or reading nook they like to go to to be productive with book or with laptop? A country house sounds like an ideal place to do that. I'm embarrassed for the locals already trumpeting out visa this and work permit that.... The guy doesn't sound that unaware and.... that "advice" is such an old saw.....

What's going to work ultimately is going to be tightening your relationship with the groundskeeper and also restating your desires probably 100 times for it to begin to stick. Also, there's going to be some compromise or bonding that will involve him benefiting from you - that may be in the form of produce, a little extra cash, something..... but there will need to be a negotiation for him to see it more your way and not as same old same old. Buy in will take some sort of gifting showing you understand you're taking away from him essentially and you want to give back in another way. I've seen some other good advice from a few others too. This situation isn't unworkable and repeats itself in various forms throughout the country, so best to get on board with it.

Good luck.

Matichon rt now has the whole removed list and more up. The list is in English at the bottom, though the article is in Thai. The Thais seem to have caught on to our delight at their folly. http://www.matichon.co.th/news_detail.php?newsid=1439366634

There was one guy who posted here about 3-5 yrs back who won his case after a huge plot of land, custom house n many millions of baht - originally in pounds went poof when divorce time came. I eventually ended up meeting the ex by strange circumstances in the local hi-so scene and never let on that I knew about her past.

From what I saw over the last few yrs, is that the place was up for sale since even before the decision, and without any buyers, the whole resort-like property was defacto hers. So that kind of gets towards enforceability, even if a judgement is made in your favor.

You might search a bit more for it - headline was something like "Justice Received of Justice Served," though my memory could be off. If you find the thread, pm him to find out the lawyer's name and what happened in the end.

Best of luck.

It's been so long since I've been here on a tourist visa (from Vientiane) that I forget the extension procedure.

1) I see that my first entry (60-day) expires on Saturday April 4, so I do believe I have to go on Fri Apr 3 to ask/pay for the 1-month extension. Am I risking anything by waiting until that last day?

2) I know the 90-day B and O visa people start to queue up around 5am. Should I plan on doing the same thing, or is there a separate queue for the tourist visa extensions?

Anyone's recent experiences welcome. Appreciate any tips about changes to the Chiang Mai office or procedures that I should know about.

Cheers.

Great show ! Glad I got out n had a few laughs. Always happy to support Gate Theater.

And if they use misters along the bridges of the river again too - problem solved.

Thanks for that, Tywais. Having them in the big anchor stores makes sense.

I'm still curious what the options are in town so that I don't have to always give vouchers to the same places every year. Vouchers can be great because it spares everyone from picking/ receiving a gift they don't want. It is rather hard to argue with Swensen's, actually, but I'm hoping some other people chime in with places around town that we've never thought of.

One time a a few years ago I went all around - maybe 10-15 places - inquiring if they had them, or if I could pre-pay and give it as a gift to someone, and only Swensen's knew what I was talking about. Major had these gift booklets of like 1,500 or 2,000B each, and I had to tell them the friend they were for didn't rank that high -5555.

Who's got a favorite place to buy gift vouchers for friends and family? It's a pretty common thing to be able to buy all over town back in the US, but so far I only know of a few restaurants through the Dining Guide Chiang Mai, Swensen's, and some really pricey ones they used to have at Major Cineplex. Would love to be able to buy from local bookstores, spas, local product craftshops, so I'm open to any suggestions from someone who knows other places.

I remember the 380 fiasco. I waited for a cpl hrs on the footbridge by the motor vehicles office only to hear it had had a fender-bender on its press tour inaugural voyage from BKK. Couldn't be bothered to wait a cpl more hrs to see it arrive that day, though remember hearing it.

Met some friendly Menonites up on the bridge that day - truly a cross-section of CM showed up to watch or photograph the event.

I too believe it's probably a 777 variant that I'm noticing by size and sound. Trouble is that I'm often out on the moto when I notice them overhead and then never remember to look them up on flightradar24 when home and they're still in the air.

This page seems to have the kind of info I'm looking for, and seems to be current. http://www.flightstats.com/go/FlightStatus/flightStatusByAirport.do

Mainly I wanted to know if the 787s were in service here anymore or if I really was just seeing the fat 777s up there (though I suspected they'd be easy to discern by sight). I'm certainly no plane expert and that's also why I was posting. I guess some of the other new jets aren't even in service yet, like the 350 - but see that's why I was posting - to find out what's in service and what might be up there when it draws my attention.

Reading up on some of the newer Airbus 330s too - will have to research a little more to compare to 777 sizes and what's actually in the CNX-BKK TG routes. Seems the 777s win on engine size, though the A330-300's carrying capacity is seemingly close to those of the 777. But we'll save more investigations for the next round of procrastination in a few hours.

So probably if it's from a .gov you're good. But if it's like socialsecurity_gov.com or some other tricky manipulation of the real keywords to look like a legit .gov site, you might have cause for concern.

And if it is all good, then it's good news to know about ease of communication from Thld to check on US SS status and benefits. So thanks for that post.

Hilarious, Winnie - SS would be Social Security for those retired folks from the USofA.

And Bangmai, yes, you might want to double check that you didn't just get tricked into handing over your profile info to a phishing scam. Could have been legit, or not. Also, I'd look into what kind of antivirus n antispyware you use, and do a full sweep of things. You might have had a legit experience or been completely taken. Be safe.

I've tried looking around at a few flight schedules, but it seems to me that the new jumbo jets we were talking about last year - maybe the 787s and A350s have stopped flying here. Just curious as I do notice that maybe at 10a, 3p, and 5p the planes do have a very different sound to them, quite a roar of a powerful engine. I remember several had said they were being put on the BKK-CNX route so that pilots could get some hrs on them before switching to use in long-haul flights.

Like I said, I tried searching but came up only with lists or 330s and 777s at those times. Any of you more web/plane savvy folks might know better, and any links or info offered are appreciated. Just curiosity as I like to be able to tell them apart from size, looks, and sound.

Thanks for that. Same as I figured. But now I got more "real" facts - pitfall of posting for someone else. She's been on a visa extension thru employment for like the last 2 yrs or something, using just some kind of small immigration ink stamp to extend the orig fancy visa affixed to her passport - I've never had this, so have no experience with it. Anyway, this one really ends on Mar 5th, so it looks like she'll do a Mae Sai border run, cross and get either one month - what her visa advisors are telling her, though they seem to be unsure, or a 2 wks upon land re-entry, then recalculate for the real new B visa application in Lao.

Thanks for takin' the time, UbonJoe.

Asking on behalf of friend… who doesn’t use thaivisa… maybe this thread will convince her to participate…

Anyway, I have a friend who wants to know about a Non-Imm B visa extension.

The deal: Her multiple entry Non-Imm B visa with Company A is expiring (by expiration date) while she is transitioning to Company B (both companies are friendly with each other). Dates are not convenient for her to leave the country right now due to projects on hand. Both companies are loosely affiliated, and Company A has no problem to support her in an extension under their auspices if paperwork is required.

If, say, she goes to Mae Sai and does an exit n re-entry within the original 1 year of the visa issue date, will she get a 90-day entry stamp?

Otherwise she’s willing to go to Immigration and pay something to extend the visa that way, but she wants the maximum time possible via legit extension – i.e., a simple 7-day extension isn’t enough. Do they issue one month extensions or better ?

And yes, the whole starting/acquisition process for new visa with Company B is underway. The question of timing is the only thing, and thus inquiring about best strategy for maximum time while still keeping it legal.

Apparently there's a Western thief who's been caught recently out in San Sai and it looks like they're trying to get some of the stolen goods back to the proper owners. You can read about it on Facebook on the What's Happening In Chiang Mai page. I'll repost what one lady has said onto TV here, so that you can go search for it if you need to get in touch with her yourselves.

"Sorry this is not quite related but...URGENT TO EXPAT COMMUNITY! We have caught a thief with stolen goods. Trying to locate the owner of one of the (very valuable) items based on the confession of the thief: does this man sound similar to you? He is quite tall, American (we think) in his 40's to 50's with white hair and beard. He may have worked in England too. His name is Matt and lives in the San Sai area. Has been here for at least 4 months (when goods were stolen). If you think you may know someone that fits this description please send me a PM. (I am helping the Police with this)"

Hope this helps someone who might've been hit by the guy.

Sí, Jefe. And thanks too, Prem-R. I've got enough dollars for the VOA, and will use baht for the rest. I was there last in 2011 n just forget some of the details of how I did it. Plus wanting to be up-to-date on the latest info. When I first went there in 2003 there wasn't even an ATM and I was traveling with cash and travelers checks - hilarious, those old days. And back then the baht got a very bad exchange rate - using dollars was key to better pricing.