prakhonchai nick

Pattaya is no different from tourist resorts anywhere in the world. They will charge what they can get away with - they have a captive audience.

Cross over the Sukhumvit to the "Dark-side", where the locals live and you will find food and services at normal prices.

A request to those members living in the Krasang area

Is it possible to get from Krasang to the elephant village, by going north from Krasang rather than travelling to Surin first. The maps show roads, but are these of reasonable quality?

Many thanks

Speak plopery Trond.........it's Kolat & Sulin

Plakonchai Nick enjoyed his Indian cully at the Falang Connection in Sulin last Tuesday. Hope you restock Martin.

The Korat Resort is a nice place to stay, albeit some 20kms out of town. Good swimming pool and food and just 900bt Can book direct -no credit cards required

Just re-read your reply, when you approached AYCL direct did they give you a loan in your name or was it the loan in wife's name outlined in your first paragraph?

I did all the negotiating, but the loan had to be in the wife's name.

I bought a Honda City from Surin in March. Would not give me credit, but happy to put in wife's name (no work or income0 with me as guarantor, They did not want any info from me as to income savings etc. Only wanted copy of wifes bank book with approx 90K in

Approached AYCL (www.aycl.co.th ) direct for a loan - they visited me at home, we filled in the papers - they then called Honda who arrived 2 hours later with a demo model, signed up, and 48 hours later Honda collected me from home to go to their showroom and take delivery.

20% down 4 years at 2.85% per annum.

This news came from the Nation newspaper. I have seen nothing about price reductions in the Bangkok Post - but then their website is usually 24 hours behind with the news.

"and grilled curries courtesy of The Farang Connection"

I'm a big curry fan - the hotter the better, but what is this?

Come on Nick........you get a curry, put it in a chair, then shout at it ten times " Where were you at 22.00hrs last night" Thought everyone knew that.

Touche. I asked for that

"and grilled curries courtesy of The Farang Connection"

I'm a big curry fan - the hotter the better, but what is this?

Right buriram expert's where can i get a front load machine repaired .It's a Samsung nearly 2 years old out of warranty leaking and the programmer is faulty.

I'm not buying a new one and please no answers like take it back to the shop where you bought it. have done and its still the same!!

The nearest Samsung service apparently is in korat i'm just looking for a house call alot closer than that as they charge quite a bit just to come and look without actually doing anything.

KERRS

Depends where you are in Buriram province.

There is a man that repairs washing machines and fridges in Prakhonchai. Shop a bit of a tip but he has repaired my fridge before - new compresor - not expensive.

If you have proof of permanent Thai residency you will get in at Thai price just about everywhere.

A Thai drivers license or work permit does not make you a permanent resident in Thailand, but it will get you in at Thai price at most venues anyway.

My experience has been different. A Thai drivers license / stay or work permit would get you in at a farang resident fee, which is lower than a tourist price but higher than a Thai one.

Example (just to give an idea of the magnitude, as I don't remember the exact numbers)

Dream world park : price per entry

tourist 400

farang resident 250

Thai 120

Now that's triple pricing. Never ever heard of that anywhere, nor read of it. This is a first!

If you have proof of permanent Thai residency you will get in at Thai price just about everywhere.

I disagree. I have had Thai residency for 17 years now, and regularly, after attempting negotiation at various entry points, leave in disgust. Success rate about 60%. Failures at zoos, some national parks and historical sites, and Nong Nooch, . Never tried the other private operations, but understand they are in the main bastards! The negotiations, whether successful or not spoil a day out with the family and rejection causes the Thais embarrassment.

The Alien registration Booklet is stated by immigration to be the same as a Thai ID card. Maybe they understand this but nobody else does, In fact they have no idea what an Alien registration book is for.

An ID card, similar to a Thai ID card, should be issued to residents which would help . Don't forget Residents have had to pay enormous sums for their residency status (currently around 200K baht) and it is not unreasonable to expect something in return (other than just not having to do a visa run!) And I, along with many other foreign residents no doubt contribute far more in tax than the vast majority of Thais!

Although tomorrow is Kao Pansa, our village as usual has to be different, and had it's candle procession this morning. The motley procession had some 50 old men and women proceeding it dancing around in the street and they were all MAU MAK MAK, many wielding bottles of lao kao

If the Thais' can't observe the customs why then should the foreigners be forced to do so?

Get a driving license and you will pay the Thai price at 95% of these tourist places.

Yes but only with hassle and causing embarrassment to your Thai wife or girlfriend and family!

Some contributors have suggested a boycott of double pricing venues. Why not, but for residents it means that our children do not get to see what their school friends can.

As non-tourists we can show driving licences, resident permits, tax certificates etc to the ticket sellers, and after much negotiation we generally (but not always) enter at the Thai price. But any form of confrontation is disliked by the Thai people, and our negotiating a cheaper entry causes much embarrassment to our Thai wives, girlfriends, mothers in law etc. Not a pleasant way to start what should be a happy family day out.

Maybe we should collectively write to Ocean World and other double pricing businesses. Set a time each day for 1 week and clog up their web sites with our justifiable complaints. Probably won't achieve anything, but will cause them annoyance just as they do to us.

I would suggest that all entertainment venues that have double pricing win some but lose more.

Private operators cannot use the "paid more tax" excuse, but government sponsored places (historical and national parks) do. In my part of Isaan very few people pay income tax, and just VAT on their limited food and petrol purchases. The average farang, resident or tourist, pays far more in indirect tax.

Perhaps now with the falling number of tourists due to high oil prices, and the economic problems in general, the government and private operators will review this disgraceful policy, and perhaps use a new slogan "One Price for ALL" in their next advertising literature. At the moment it certainly is "Amazing" that the current double pricing policy is permitted.

Hi RY12 (again)

All good advice here but 'Builders from the village' or from 'the family' are usually FARMERS WANTING EXTRA MONEY. Before you do anything, go see examples of completed work undertaken by guy you are to trust with your home and money.

Dave

You are correct, but RY is building a 2 room structure on stilts not a mansion or a palace and wants it done at a bargain price.

Local farmers in between the rice are in my view quite capable of doing something basic like this, but still need to be supervised every day by RY, to ensure sizes are adhered to, doors and windows go where they are supposed to, and the toilet sits against the wall, and is not a showpiece in the centre of the room (Think I'm joking - they did it to me when I was away for just 1 hour!!!). Don't let them do the electrical work though! I always do my own.

Having just replaced all my ill fitting wooden windows with aluminium ones. i would suggest these especially as the wooden ones are likely more expensive

I cant believe nobody has mentioned the very poor design of the car park, I prefer to park in a nearby soi and walk there but then you have cross second road. Access to the place is a nghtmare.

I too would prefer to park in a nearby soi, whether visiting the Avenue, or anywhere else in Pattaya, but generally, except for the early morning before 10am, it is impossible!

Perhaps the owners would do better if the whole complex were turned into a multi storey carpark

If your wife is a Director or shareholder of the Company, she will first have to resign, then the Company will have a "board meeting" agreeing to close down and sell the house to your wife.

A Company cannot sell property to someone who already has an interest in the Company

Land transfer taxes apply as normal with a straight buy and sell agreement. Land office will have their own valuation of the land and will use this for tax purposes unless you use a higher figure

Below is a rough Google Sketchup of what I was hoping to build late this year in Ubon. I was told that 300k could build a two storey, 9 post house, with basic finishing, so I'm hoping 300k for below isn't too crazy? Specs:

What are your basic dimensions?

No need for drawings, etc. Just a builder from the village who is familiar with what to do, give him the sizes, maybe stick markers into the 9 places where the posts are to go, and basically let him get on with it.

2 points though

1) You personally must be present every day. Do not leave it to the wife or heaven forbid her family

2) Let the builder tell you how much sand cement stones, blocks etc you need and go and give order YOURSELF. Never let anyone else do it for you.

I heard two days later they sold to a man from Taiwan for the price they were asking.

He couldn't have bought it himself. No doubt a Thai wife or girlfriend lurking in the background.

Maybe she's a baddun, and will resell the land when he is safely tucked up in Taiwan. Try and find her and be prepared to assist her in offloading at below the original price!

Insurance will cover you for repairs to the veichle & hospitol fees. If you are in a police box, with an injured person & their family there. What do you do???.... I ask because I know the other side to the situation....IT IS YOUR FAULT!!!....but only minor injuries & damage.....you are asked for

300,000 baht or you can not go??? what do you do....remember you are probably nervous, maybe had one or ONLY 2 drinks.....alone with people all around you speaking a language you dont understand.....think about the situation if you can.....again I pose the question....would you stop or carry on. .....I believe the law should be fair but sometimes it isnt....would you stop or go???

If I were a Thai, I might possibly do what the majority do - Do a runner! Off to a Wat in deepest Isaan, lie low for a few weeks and then re-emerge as if nothing had happened. I'm sure there are hundreds of Monks up and down the country who have done just that.

However I am a responsible farang, and my first duty would be to assist any injured person. Then I would ask the insurance company to sort things out. I have first class insurance, which I believe everyone should be compelled to have. If you can afford a car and the petrol then you can afford insurance! Unfortunately only a minority of Thais have full insurance (far too many nothing at all) and many farangs too don't bother beyond the government's compulsory insurance.

It amazes me to read regularly in the newspapers that following a serious accident the driver(s) fled the scene leaving the vehicle(s) behind, but no effort is made to track down the culprits. The vehicle owners make a token payment to the police to reclaim the vehicle, stating they only know the nickname of the driver and have no idea where he came from.

In the UK, leaving the scene of an accident is a serious offence regardless of blame and quite rightly carries serious punishment. Even hitting a dog requires a report to be lodged with the police!

I have just recovered from Dengue haemmoragic fever, which I caught earlier this month.

After 3 days of fever, pain behind the eyes, and a severe itching on my body on day 3, I took myself to the local government hospital (well used to seeing dengue fever) for a test. I told the Dr I was 90% sure it was dengue, and he sent me for a blood test.

20 minutes later, he told me I had an STD and prescribed tablets for gonnorhea!

Later that day I went to the main private hospital in Buriram, who very quickly diagnosed dengue, which became haemmoragic the following day.

3 days in hospital, a drip, 6 hourly blood tests and I was discharged. Weak, with a low platelets count, but an assurance from the Dr that all would improve. A week later returned for a blood test and all was OK.

Cost me 8,300bt for 3 nights in hospital. Interested to learn how much Mervyn paid for his stay in Bangkok Pattaya. Perhaps just a little bit more!

I do believe in reincarnation as a matter of fact. I want to come back as a bull in Oregon so I can legally have more than one wife that I don't have to support. This would be a delightful change from my current situation of supporting a current wife and two X's. Human wives can't live off the land like moo cows can.

Why not a Moslem in London? Then you could have 4 legal wives, all supported by the government at the taxpayers expense.

Maybe then the original OP could be persuaded to use his legally obtained gun to shoot all the stupid lawmakers in the UK parliament!

I would of thought that more than just forum members, it's of concern to society as a whole what it is people require guns for. No?

Agree in principle, but not in the context of this topic. It was a straightforward question anticipating an equally straightforward answer

I am allowed to give my opinion that what the OP is doing is, at the very least, not in the spirit of the law. He is using his wife to get his hands on a firearm. His wife seems to have managed perfectly well without one in the past, but for some reason she now needs protection - I'm sure there is a story there. I believe that this way of obtaining a firearm is irresponsible, and I don't think that irresponsible people should be allowed to have guns.

What on earth gives you the idea the OP is using his wife to get his hands on a gun? He has said he needs it for home protection. Perhaps he is away a lot and would feel happier knowing that his wife and her family have access to a gun should they have intruders. What gives you and others the right to question his integrity? When he mentions the word "WE" I would suggest he is using the "royal we". Perhaps her educational skills are such that she requires his assistance in making the application.

But whatever - it is and should be of no concern to Forum members as to what the Gun is required for. He has stated many times that he only requires to know approximate prices and the best locations to buy guns.