tutsiwarrior

for the past 40 years I've bought all my clothes from LL Bean in the US because they fit me nicely, all cotton chinos and knitted golf shirts mostly...outdoor clothes like parkas and etc from REI Inc...I usually order them when working in saudi where there is no import duty so I'm cool...

tried ordering from Thailand and the UK and got hit by the full whack of customs duty...now most of the time when at home I just go nekkid...why bother...

someone said recently that in Hanoi you could proceed directly to the VN airport immigration/passport control counter with the invitation letter from the internet and not havta stop at the visa desk first?...that would simplify things considerably...

the brits have been able to get immediately stamped in for 15 days for a while now with just their passports...

I bought a belgian made bed ensemble (inner spring mattress and bed frame...) from homepro about 5 years ago for around thb20k...best bed I ever had...with western all cotton bed linen (Ikea and lazada have them) hard to beat...outta the shower and into bed and then zzzzz...a bit of melatonin helps as well...

local mattresses don't work as most asians sleep on the hard floor with a mat...my wife useta start the night with me in bed and then I'd wake up alone...only to find her in the kids' room under a pile of rags on the floor, lift up the rags and there would be small grandchildren and other various small nieces sleeping peacefully...sorta like an easter egg hunt...

it was just tescos and 7/11 that got involved in the plastic bag moratorium...went to get my usual vodka and ice today at the corner shop and someone pulled out a plastic bag outta habit...I waved it away and stuffed the goods down me backpack like I usually do...ate some seaweed crisps and shuffled off down the road...

a lotta folks expect the bags as part of what ye pay for and not having any will take a lot of getting used to for both check out staff and customers...constructive forethought ain't sumpin' that the locals are used to...probably need armed thugs in riot gear to get the message across...

'hey, man...didn't I see youse down at my immigration office?'

 

I order mine, bami nam mu daeng, usually they only have one kind of bami noodle.

where I live they got stalls that only sell muu daeng noodle soup, one at a petrol station and others at the market, looks to be part of a chain operation and they do a good business, always busy...they got hanging whole cooked muu daeng pork loin on display to attract customers...

tutsi points and shouts 'look out! house on fire!' and when attention is diverted grabs a muu daeng pork loin and runs to Venezuela...if only the broth wasn't so hard to make...

a favorite...

1 hour ago, pauln said:

As said, it was money in the bank method. (800k on deposit)????

oops sorry, didn't notice as the surface tension in the bubbles in my blood tend to make me cross - eyed when the MFA verification issue comes up...

good to know that you had a pleasant visit at the Pathum Thani IO...

didn't mean to hijack the thread...

51 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I think you need to check with Suphanburi immigration about it.

FYI division 3 is for the entire central region of the country and not all offices want the signature on the affidavit verified.

thanks, UJ...yeah, looks like I'm gonna havta drop by their office...I tried calling them to ask the question about MFA signature verification for retirement but they kept talking over me on the phone and wanted to speak to my wife...my wife's recent death is none of their business and I'm trine to keep it simple...

I know that Nakhon Pathom, Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi and Suphan require the MFA business for income affidavits...Suphan sez for marriage extensions only and not required for retirement but that was last year and one never knows...

dumbshit district 3 commander wanting to be 'creative', mumble, grumble...

thanks for your report...income affidavit or 800k in the bank? if affidavit any requirement for MFA verification of signature? I'm in Suphanburi which is immigration district 3 like Pathum Thani and had to put up with a lot of BS last year for a marriage extension...gonna go for a retirement extension next month...all info is useful for others in district 3, Nonthaburi, Ayutthaya, etc...

is Hua Hin in immigration district 3? I was told last year at my district 3 IO in Suphanburi that the affidavit signature for marriage extensions required MFA signature verification but not for retirement...has anyone from Ayutthaya or Suphanburi had to mess with this foolishness recently for a retirement extension application?

lotsa bad news about Hua Hin IO recently...

12 hours ago, elviajero said:

The 3 month seasoning rule applies to combining income and cash in the bank too.

I'm doing the combo income/bank deposit method next month and thought about doing it early, extension expiry date 20 Dec and maybe go in for the new application 10 Dec and the seasoning date is 19 Sept...am I likely to get rejected?

I'll be switching from a marriage to a retirement extension, any reports of any problems under the new regime using the combo method? there shouldn't be under the last police order which is still effective...

I returned the document to the SSA in Wilkes - Barre registered mail from Thailand on 04 July and then got a second notice dated 04 Oct from the SSA...I returned the second notice EMS and tracked it and then saved a screen shot of the EMS tracking record in the event of any more SSA BS...

and yeah...the charge for sending a one page document EMS from Thailand to Wilkes - Barre is ridiculous...the SSA and Thailand Post EMS puttin' on the squeeze from both directions...'you better get that document to us tout suite as we demand or we're gonna cut off yer money, goddamit...'

that pisses me off...why can't they at least be more polite? they sound like school yard bullies waitin' to kick my ass after school...

whoooah Nellie! the present location of the Thai Embassy is far away from the place that I went to in 2010 to seek assistance in getting a thai police report for purposes of obtaining a temp VN resident permit...the old place was in the diplomatic area not far from Uncle Ho's mausoleum...

from the map it should be easy to find, near the Hanoi Towers which is a big landmark (big high rise) on Ha Bai Trung, just around the corner and down the street...the infamous Hanoi Hilton prison (now a museum) is close by as well...if yer staying in the old town it's a pleasant stroll on leafy streets...good european eats and outdoor cafes on Ha Bai Trung...I stayed at the Melia Hanoi just down the street during TET in 2011, 4 star and not cheap but luxurious accommodation (oh, the beds and the bed linen) with a fantastic breakfast buffet...

On 10/29/2018 at 1:22 PM, balo said:

If the salary is high I would choose SIngapore. But its boring so would jump on a plane every weekend to Thailand. 

 

yeah, me too...the place so clean that you can eat off the sidewalk, don't look like any place in asia that I know of and I was there over 20 years ago...

that bein' said the noodles are mighty fine at the cheap sidewalk eateries...some of the best food in SE Asia with chinese, malay and indian influences...beats thai food any day...

40 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Missed the information and very sorry to hear that news - are you still living in Thailand, working, or traveling in region?   Wish you and family the best.  Can't imagine Tutsi too old.

thanks for the condolence, lop...I'm retired at home with the wife's family, MiL daughter and 2 grandkids, I've been here for 15 years and I'm comfortable...ain't got nowhere else to go anyway...

recent funeral costs for wife:

80000 for everything at the wat incl food for the village for 3 days, monks fees and cremation...

40000 for the 100 day party at home incl food prepared at home, monks fees and sound system...

a few hundred for 2 monks to chant at the riverside with the ashes, etc...

all food preparation by family and friends from the village...

On 10/13/2018 at 8:48 PM, lopburi3 said:

Never heard of those and not young - do remember S&H Green Stamps "a line of trading stamps popular in the United States from the 1930s until the late 1980s."

 

it's a Saturday morning and young tutsi notices that his mom has got the shoe box out fulla loose green stamps and some pasting books and it don't look good...and as he tries to sneak out the kitchen door 'HEY! ye little bugger, come over here and help me with these stamps...' 'aw mom we got little league practice and the coach gets mad if we turn up late...' 'siddown, shaddap and get on them stamps...'

and then tutsi's dad darkens the escape route with his 6'3" 200lb bulk and sez menacingly 'yew been upsettin' yer mother again ye little bugger???'

a gloriously dysfunctional Pasadena, California childhood in the late 50s...

little buggers indeed...

I'm using the combo method for my new retirement extension in Dec...and to obtain the amount to be deposited in the bank I used:

800000 - (12 x monthly income) = required deposit in local bank account...I added about 10% extra to compensate for currency fluctuations...

and I transferred this amount into my K - bank account last month for 3 month seasoning purposes...I'll get an income affidavit from the US embassy when the time comes...

anyone hear of any stories of folks running down to the USE in a panic to get the affidavit in advance afraid that they'll pull the same shit as the UKE?

^^thanks for the condolence...like you've said generally speaking most IOs encourage retirement extensions because of the reduced paperwork and hassle and it's strange that in this case they appear to be doing the opposite...

my IO is in district 3 where the commander is a PITA like insisting on MFA for income affidavit signatures and etc...now I tremble to think of what he might require for marriage to retirement extensions if CW has already initiated some BS...he's probably annoyed that he didn't think about the additional obstacles first...'lying falang! go retrieve yer wife's ashes from the river to prove to us that she's dead and fergit about any death certificates!' she died in Thailand btw...'whaddaya mean yer wife's not here to countersign??? just smear some of her ashes on the bottom of the photo copy...come along, there's a good obedient falang...'

oh dear...if it was CW then this might spread like a virus...

unfortunately my wife died a few months ago so I am no longer eligible for a marriage extension and my wife is no longer available to sign anything and I will revert back to a retirement extension when I have to renew...

what then? a 'ghost like' imprimatur required for the documents? I wouldn't be surprised...'we shall need a copy of the death certificate certified by the Ministry of foreign affairs to proceed with your application...'

which immigration office was this at?

22 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 

No trucks but plenty of little food joints around and a Pavilion’s market.

I walked around the Home Depot on Sunset for a couple hours...little different clientele than a typical Home Depot...

 

sounds like west LA...my favorite area for food was W Pico Blvd west of the 405 fwy where they had most everything, all mom&pop places...considerably south of Sunset

just bought a Bosch 3/8" variable speed drill here locally, wonder what they cost at the Home Depot in LA...