vagabond48

We buy ours at the main vegetable market by the river. It is a larger quantity of a 1/2 KG but at the relatively cheap price of 150B some cracked or 160B whole. By weight, It is much cheaper by weight than Makro.

Anyone know if you can hire a your own personal proxy to stand on line for you?

Perhaps a student who can speak enough English. You pay them 200 to 400B but only if they get a appointment number for you. They call you to tell you to come on down to immigration and you pay them then. It might be worth it to shave off 3 to 4 hours from the wait time.

FedEx, UPS, and DHL all have 'arraignments' with Thai Customs, their own bonded Customs holding areas, etc., to handle collection of import duties for them so as to reduce the workload of the actual Customs agents and holding facilities. These are NOT illegal arraignments. They are contractual between a private company and the government for more efficient flow of goods. I'm sure someone is making a profit from this arraignment but I don't know who.

It strikes me as possible that the larger visa agencies also have some sort of legal arraignment with the government, or contractual agreement to aid the efficient flow of paperwork that Immigration needs to deal with.

Unfortunately, there probably isn't any way to find out for sure, but the possibility exists.

Were you a lawyer in another lifetime?

Regarding the online system which of course is free, it seems strange that no one including myself has gone online after 12 midnight and found loads of slots open. After all, it does take a minute to fill up the appointment request which remain open until you press the submit key so there should be a reasonable amount of slots available at the beginning. Perhaps either agents or even Immigration "reserve" a majority of the slots either before or as soon as they are available.

The lack of open slots certainly would increase the demand for these visa assist agencies but to quote you "Unfortunately, there probably isn't any way to find out for sure, but the possibility exists."

I know it can be a pain in the "ask" to get a visa extension "once a year" whether it is trying to get an online booking or arriving in person early in the morning.

I can also understand it if someone wants the convenience of an agent to do most of their wait time but just like another poster stated, I feel using an agent is encouraging the corruption mentality that is pervasive here.

For example, I reluctantly pay 500B (tea money) for a certificate of residency which is supposed to be free rather than paying $50US at my consulate. There choice is clear fro me but with the extension I can do it myself. I know for me I have opted to get an appointment online but if I had to I would arrive at immigration bright and early with my notebook and earplugs and wait patiently. First, the agency cannot get my income letter from my consulate so no time savings there. I assume most people would have to make 2 trips to the agency or 1 trip to the agency and 1 to immigration. That time should be deducted from your do it yourself Immigration wait time. Finally, if I have to spend 8 hours at immigrations, I'd rather pay myself (5500B / 8) or almost 700B/hour than support corruption via the agency and immigration then take the 5500B savings and treat myself to a 2 to 4 expensive restaurant meals.

And BTW, I can afford to pay 10,000B for visa service but wouldn't.

Aren't you, then, supporting corruption by paying for your letter that you say is supposed to be free?

Wow, you are really sharp and of course I am sure you feel much better for pointing this out.

Must be a slow morning for you.

I didn't want to sidetrack the other recent "where to buy organic produce" thread so I started this new one.

(1) I was wondering if people know which vegetable and fruits grown in this area are pesticide free because they don't need it.

I believe native bananas, papaya and mangoes are. Correct me if I am wrong.

(2) About 1 1/2 weeks ago we went for the 1st time to buy some veggies at the Royal project store at CMU. My wife purchased some "organic" round type tomatoes. They were not as ripe as I wanted them so I placed them in an enclosed shoe box to help them ripen. They still haven't ripened any further.

I would have thought that if they are pesticide free that they would contnue to ripen and actual spoil after a short time.

I have purchased 5KG for similar tomatoes at the main vegetable market at almost the same price as the handful I purchased at the Project store and they for the most part didn't spoil for a long time either but I figured they were sprayed with pesticides.

Any knowledgeable folks care to weigh in?

I know it can be a pain in the "ask" to get a visa extension "once a year" whether it is trying to get an online booking or arriving in person early in the morning.

I can also understand it if someone wants the convenience of an agent to do most of their wait time but just like another poster stated, I feel using an agent is encouraging the corruption mentality that is pervasive here.

For example, I reluctantly pay 500B (tea money) for a certificate of residency which is supposed to be free rather than paying $50US at my consulate. There choice is clear fro me but with the extension I can do it myself. I know for me I have opted to get an appointment online but if I had to I would arrive at immigration bright and early with my notebook and earplugs and wait patiently. First, the agency cannot get my income letter from my consulate so no time savings there. I assume most people would have to make 2 trips to the agency or 1 trip to the agency and 1 to immigration. That time should be deducted from your do it yourself Immigration wait time. Finally, if I have to spend 8 hours at immigrations, I'd rather pay myself (5500B / 8) or almost 700B/hour than support corruption via the agency and immigration then take the 5500B savings and treat myself to a 2 to 4 expensive restaurant meals.

And BTW, I can afford to pay 10,000B for visa service but wouldn't.

Free in CNX until 2007 but that's in the past.

It was free for awhile after they started to re-issue the certificates again in 2013. We got our free one in 2014. I guess with all the turmoil in the country they think they can return to gauging "rich" foreigners once again just like the Thai banks are doing charging now 180B for ATM withdrawals using a foreign DC.

You can always go your embassy or consulate and pay their fee.

I accept picking the financial lesser of the 2 evils (greed) and but unlike the Frat character in Animal House being paddled, I am not going to smile and say "thank you sir, may I have another"

Free in CNX until 2007 but that's in the past.

It was free for awhile after they started to re-issue the certificates again in 2013. We got our free one in 2014. I guess with all the turmoil in the country they think they can return to gauging "rich" foreigners once again just like the Thai banks are doing charging now 180B for ATM withdrawals using a foreign DC.

It would have been doable except the blender needs 750W so I would need to purchase a transformer that can handle up to 1000W. They are heavy and the cost would not be worth it.

Thanks for the suggestions anyway.

Can I assume that my 1 year old Asus laptop that I purchased in Thailand should have no problems. The AC adapter reads AC 100 - 240V and 50 - 60 Hz.

We are traveling to the US for an extended period of time and we want to take a few appliances with us, a mini rice cooker. a steam iron, and a kind of blender that can blend and cook beans, grains and other ingredients that we use to make our hot breakfast.

All are 220V and 50 Hz. I realize that the US electricity is rated differently 110-120V, 60Hz.

I am aware of the plug differences and have adapters to handle this.

What else do I need to safely adapt these 220V appliances to 120V?

I'll be using these one at a time.

My wife has a large amount of cash in her bank account which I gave to her. I got the money from daily ATM withdrawals from several US debit cards within a 2 month period. We are planning to leave Thailand and want to wire it to my US bank since she doesn't have a US bank account yet.

Will presenting my US bank monthly statements showing the ATM withdrawals be enough proof to get a wire transfer?

I don't know for sure but I doubt it, it seems to me that a currency conversion on an overseas debit card might be done anywhere in the world and not necessarily in Thailand. Also, your bank statements are unlikely to show the same detail as an FET, rate/date. source/destination/treasury deal number.

Anyone?

The statement has the transaction date, posting date, the location of the transaction and the US amount.

You are right that the statement doesn't show the bath amount withdrawn or the exchange rate. I actually keep track of every ATM transaction I make which includes the amount in Thai baht. If I provide them with this information they should be able to confirm the amounts based on the exchange rate of that day.

There is also a pattern that I followed of withdrawing the max daily rate for several days and then depositing the money in my wife's account over a 2 month period. I know it probably will not be easy.

My wife has a large amount of cash in her bank account which I gave to her. I got the money from daily ATM withdrawals from several US debit cards within a 2 month period. We are planning to leave Thailand and want to wire it to my US bank since she doesn't have a US bank account yet.

Will presenting my US bank monthly statements showing the ATM withdrawals be enough proof to get a wire transfer?

Thanks for the serious comments

The buyer and seller are just going to have to trust each other to a point. Personally, I wouldn't transfer ownership until the transfer appeared in my bank account....this means the buyer will have to trust you. Are you trustable? Plus, the seller could always attempt pull back of the funds shortly after the transfer claiming a mistake or something...and of course this would be right after you signed over the vehicle. Yeap, the buyer and seller must trust each other or revert to a third party escrow service.

I always though if you wire money once it reaches the other financial institution it cannot be reversed by the sender.

A better way is for the buyer to wire the money to himself first.

You're joking, right?

The money needs to remain in the US, not wired here. The whole idea of this exercise is to avoid transferring the US dollars to Thailand, converting the money to baht by the buyer and then the seller converting the money back to US dollars and wiring it back to the US.

cant see any reason why not...

So if you bought my car, you would have no problem wiring USD $18,000 to my US account and wait about 12 to 14 hours before I signed over the car to you. You must be a very trusting fellow. What guarantee do you have that I wouldn't take off with the car which still belongs to me and your money? I have to assume the average buyer isn't that trusting. I certainly wouldn't be. If there is an answer, it probably is not simple.

This may not be possible to do but I thought I would bounce this one around. I am trying to avoid getting bahts for a sale which I would need to convert to US dollars.

I am selling my car and was wondering if there is a way a buyer here in Thailand can wire the money (US dollars) with their US bank account to my USA bank account while being guaranteed that I will sign over the car as soon as I know the funds are wired. This type of transaction cannot be made without solid guarantees for the buyer. The fact that there is about a 12 hours+ time difference between here and the US doesn't make this easier.

Rimping would be my suggestion, too. There was a government program that subsidized first time car buyers. It's over now, and in its wake, the market is flooded with used cars that got repoed because the owners couldn't keep up on the payments. So, it's not a great time to sell your car. Prices are at historic lows.

That may be true but if the Thai banks follow a similar past pattern of not discounting their foreclosed real estate properties for quicker sell, they might think it is wiser to allow the car they own to rust rather than selling them at a reduced price to get them off their books. At least, I hope so.

^ It can be advertised for whatever wet dream the owner had that night. But does it sell for 570K.

If I had to choose between a 770K -> 570K price reduction for a FIVE year old used car, or just a new one then I know what I'd do.

I am the one who is advertising it and the equivalent model has the selling price of 895,000B so it is over 300,000B less besides that is the asking price.

We are selling our 2009 Honda Civic and we have placed our ad on various websites, TV, City Life, Craigs, Soldbaht.

We don't speak Thai and it appears Thais get extremely attractive loans and government discounts on new cars so we want to reach more foreigners.

Are there places where we could post an ad on a bulletin board in a condo, for example?

Yes, we could go to every condo and places like Grace International that we know but I am hoping I can get some concrete leads from some of you.

Thanks

My wife had an operation over 2 months ago to remove a very large ovarian cyst.

We just discovered 2 1/2 months later she has now 2 medium sized cysts.

The doctor at Sripat prescribed Yasmin and Berara. She has never been on the pill.

After doing some research, we are eliminated Yasmin because of the greater danger of of blood clot and cases of reported deaths.

Anyone here have issues with cysts?

I have read on the internet that .03 mg or greater of estrogen is better in preventing cysts.

The price of Berara is 350B with .03 mg. I found Diane-35 which is manufactured by Bayer in Brazil has .035 mg and is only 145B.

Neither Berara or Diana were on any of the lists. Are both products fairly new or don't have a good reputation.

Does anyone know why the major difference in price?

I know this forum is mostly male dominated but perhaps you might know the answer through your wives.

My wife needs to start using the pill. I dropped by one of the local pharmacies and they had them in 1 month supply only.I would prefer getting them in 3 months quantity as I am assuming they would be much cheaper. Of course in Thailand, that logic may not apply.

Surface which I presume the longest time.

I have sent big packages weighing 25kg 3 times to the US using surface mail.

I also plan to ship large boxes.

I have sturdy boxes of 63in/160cm and 75in/200cm. Are these dimensions within their maximum limit, assume they have limits?

Should I reinforce the insides? I have to assume surface mail will get handled many times from Chiang Mai to the US East coast?

With all the quake threads, I wanted to move this one back up.

I am still looking for the answer to the above regarding large boxes mailed using surface mail.

Your best bet would be going to the CNX head office of the big banks such as Kasikorn, Bangkok Bank, Siam Commercial etc...

Why?

I never got the manual when I bought the car used.

I checked oil dip stick and it looks like I need to add a bit of oil. I don't need to change the oil for another 6000 km.

Since this is Thailand, before I go to a service station, I just want to know which oil my model uses so I know they are adding the right one.