happydays

I'm sure I've been handed a flyer for the new development called Hua Hin 94, but I couldn't work out exactly where it was from the map. Where in soi 94 will it be located? I know where Souay Vista is and it looked past there and probably past the Dusitland 8 project. Is it even further west than that?

If you go past Suay Vista there is a road to the left that takes you into the Hua Hin 94 development. They have lots of signs up so you shouldn't have any trouble finding it.

I lived there years ago, renting for a couple of years while my house was being built. We loved the area and now it has become restaurant row so you can just about walk to get any kind of food your want, western or Thai (European, Mexican/American (2 blocks off the soi), two Italian, Indian, many coffee shops, Japanese, and a multitude of small Thai restaurants). They are building some kind of new shopping mall where the soi meets the main road.

Sure you have to be careful of where because there is a busy railroad and some construction noise, but I wish I had bought the rental home I lived in there and just stayed instead of building further out.

I heard land in that area is going for 10m per rai now while 5 to 6 years ago when I lived there it was under 1m. Wish I'd bought up the whole street!

My wife & I love our food so having lots of eating places is definitely a bonus. The price of the land in the project works out at B12M/rai which surprised me but if your buying a small (50 sq wah) plot its going to be more expensive so your B10M/rai sounds right.

Cheers

I just moved from there because of the constant loud noise level , construction going on around the house and then when that stops the live music from "Suay Vista" would kick in until 2 or 3 am some mornings My old place was just across the road from Baan Hua Hin resort on Soi 94.

The project I'm looking at is probably far enough away from Suay Vista for that not be an issue but maybe I should go over there at 2am to make sure. The land adjoining the project has been cleared so there may well be some construction in the near future - something to bear in mind.

Cheers

I've been looking at a new development (not yet complete) in Soi 94 called Hua Hin 94. I was wondering if any ThaiVisa members are familiar with this area & can tell me if there are any issues regarding flooding, electricity (eg. power cuts), government water , etc.

Also, are there any legal implications to look out for when buying a house in a Moo Baan? For example, should the purchase contract state that access is guaranteed? I've bought land in Thailand before & I've always checked the access rights at the Land office first, but I'm not sure if this is the same for a Moo Baan where the access road is privately owned.

Thanks

First some responses to the 'advice' given to you already:

About litigation funds- avoid any exotic product from investment 'advisers' based in Thailand- anyone who has access to to a 12% return would not be reading or posting on sites like this :-)

HSBC mutual funds have very high fees- i know i just researched into them- i am a HSBC premier customer and was shocked to see HSBC funds charging on average 5% management fees PER YEAR! And this is excluding upfront fees.Best bet for mutual funds is vanguard, fidelity etc in the US (can do it via online).

You can buy gold coins in Thailand but there is a hefty mark up -so not a good investment.

If i was you id open up a stock trading account - in HSBC Singapore for asia (or any online broker for the US) and put you money into blue chip companies- they are at a low point now- but will get a big bounce when EU announces its trillion dollar bailout funds and bank rescue scheme in coming days.

Thanks for your comments ExpatJ.

I firmly believe that "if it sounds too good to be true it probably is" so no 12% return funds for me.

Spoke to a gold shop who can order 5 Baht weight gold bars at the current price (you pay 50% deposit & the balance on delivery). I wouldn't put all my money into gold but it is an insurance policy if the banking system collapses (after a Greek default for example).

I would like to invest long term in blue chips paying decent dividends so I will have a look at the online brokers you mentioned.

Cheers

Thanks everyone for your suggestions - time to start doing my homework!

Are there any investment brokers in Thailand that I can use to invest in mutual funds? Alternatively, are there any online brokers who do this? (I rent a house here & I don't have a home outside Thailand so providing proof of address is an issue)?

Also, is it possible to buy gold coins such as krugerrands in Thailand? I've heard that these are easier to sell than gold bars.

Thanks

I'll be there (+ 1)

Cheers

I've just discovered I've lost my wedding ring. Been doing a lot of work around the house recently to combat the floods, sand bagging etc. so the ring probably came off then. Tha chances are it's been washed away or somebody's picked it up but I would like to have a look for it using a metal detector. Does anyone have one I could rent for a day?

Cheers

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, MBK & Pratunam it is then.

Cheers

I live on Koh Samui but I'm going to be in Bangkok for a few days. I'm not obese but Thai XL which is the largest size most shops down here sell is too small for me. Adidas do some stuff in XXL and XXXL but they tend to be quite expensive. Is there anywhere in Bangkok that sells cheap sports/leisure clothes for the larger male?

Cheers

I'm going to be in town over the weekend - does anyone know a bar where they will definitely be showing the game?

Cheers

Thanks to Microwave & moench for your suggestions.

My wife & I will be spending 5 days in Bangkok & we're thinking about things to do apart from shopping. For example I came across the Siam Winery near Hua Hin which does daily visits - has anyone been there & would they recommend it? Is it doable in 1 day?

We live in Thailand & have been to Bangkok many times so we've been to the obvious places like Ayutthaya. I'd like to see some traditional & less touristy places - do they still exist?

All suggestions are welcome.

Thanks.

I've been using The Thai Translator which costs about B300. It has transliteration, Thai script and audio of Thai & English although not for everything. It has a really annoying registration screen that doesn't work but the developer is working to fix it.

I recently bought the Thai-English English-Thai Talking Dictionary by Benjawan Poomsan Becker and Chris Pirazzi (mentioned in a previous post) which is a pc application and is excellent so I'm looking forward to the iPhone version when it comes out.

whats this one mean;

oohooo

ิBlimey that was close!

I was thinking that since we're not going to get any English commentary for the World Cup maybe I could use it as an opportunity to pick up some new Thai vocab. Here are some phrases I've learned:

lum naa - offside

bai liang - yellow card

bai daeng - red card

luhk tawd - penalty

Maybe we could create a glossary of Thai football commentators' phrases?

(Feel free to correct my transliteration)

Cheers

So,according to the World Cup Guide in this months True mag,from the 22/6-25/6, there will be 2 games kicking off @ 21.00 hours,and 2 games [email protected] and the starred games will be in HD,so no HD for Slovenia v England,but HD for USA v Algeria?.Also,unless you have 2 UBC boxes,you will only be able to watch one game per time for these 4 days.Her's hoping the other games are on Thai tv.

PST.

Spoke to True Visions today & they confirmed that all the matches will be shown on Thai TV with Thai commentary only & adverts during the game. Also, all the games will be shown in HD on Channel 111. In the case of the final group games where both matches are played at the same time one game will be shown live while the other one will be recorded & shown later, except for USA v Algeria which will be shown live on HBO HD (Channel 112). To watch the HD channels you have to buy an HD receiver & pay an extra monthly subscription.

Looks like I will be watching the games down my local - at least my wife will be able to watch her soaps.

yes here and freeclick

Brilliant, thanks a lot.

My wife & I will be visiting the UK next month & we will be taking a laptop with us. Is it possible to watch Thai TV over the internet - my wife is an avid watcher of the news channels.

Thanks.

Thanks for your replies. We will apply for the UK visa first & if that goes through OK then we'll apply for the Schengen visa for Spain.

My Thai wife & I are planning to fly to the UK for a holiday & while there we want to pop over to Spain then return to the UK before flying back to Thailand.

1. Which visa should we apply for first?

2. Will the UK visa be multiple entry? (i.e. do we need to say that we will also be going to Spain when we apply for the UK visa?)

Thanks

There is one in Bophut. On your right hand side, about 600 meters before you get to Bophut lights, coming from Chaweng direction, 100 meters before the second Soi monkey entrance. I've taken heaps of stuff there.

I've found the place you're talking about. It's currently closed for the New Year, reopening on the 4th.

Thanks for your help.

I've got an old PC & various other electronic bits & bobs that I want to get rid of. None of it works so I don't want to give it to a school unless they are able to repair them. I also don't want them to end up in a landfill - is there a recycling centre either on Samui or on the main land?

I want to transfer funds from the UK but I'm worried about the exchange rate worsening between the time I make the request (by post) & the funds arriving in Thailand where they will be converted into Baht. Is it possible to open a sterling account in Thailand? Or, can I use another method that doesn't require conversion eg. International Money Order? Alternatively, is there a way of fixing the exchange rate in advance - I came across a web site called XE.com where it seems you can do this but I'm reluctant to risk a large amount of money this way.

I'd be interested to hear anyone's experiences in this situation.