bloody tiger

i'm a sucker for the KFC or Macdonalds 10 baht soft serves....its a must buy after a hard session of shopping at carefour with the missus......okay, so its not super style icecream, but it does me fine

i make my own burgers and they're BLOODY GOOD

If you weren't aware:

there is currently no excise on gasohol products, this was lifted in June and will run for the remainder of the year. After this time the 3.5 baht excise will be re-introduced. Gasohol will still be far cheaper than regular.

I have been using gasohol now for about 5000km and have found no difference in consumption/power over tht period.

land mine clearance on the thai/laos border in uttaradit province. Pays 45 baht per mine cleared. definately not office work!

If this doesn't suit you maybe you could film your own suicide...but be sure to make it unique or you'll never make any money.

my brother in law just built (finished 6 months ago) a basic 28 room apartment block in chiang mai inner city for approx 1.8 mill. The property sits on 60 square wah (240 sqM) and is 3 story. the rooms are quirte basic furnishings and the original plan was to rent to thais and have basic thai bathroom. I suggested spending a bit more on the bathrooms and then having he option to rent to farangs too. He eneded up upgrading to farang bathroom at about an extra 3K per b'room and now enjoys almost full occupancy with a mixture of thai/farang....and a mixture of prices too!

Even 6 months though has probably added at least 15% to the price.

I think what soundman quoted was spot on for a larger plot for a single story block. But you'd easily get 30 rooms on 1/2 rai with 2 stories.

As for the thai ripping you off and cutting corners...yes that definately happens and also there is some very good ones...unfortunately there is no real way to evaluate this so it is very sound advice to always be on site...but bear this in mind...it can also become more expensive to always be onsite...ie...I think we'll do this instead....we'll add an extra "whatever here".....lets have some more power points....etc etc.....where as the thai constuction workers will just stick to the basics.

As you already have the land, no need to rush into it, talk to other people who have built in the area.

cheers

the blooded tiger

This guy loves the CROCODILE DUNDEE movie

A thai perspective on 70:30

Chaiyan Ratchakul, History Department, Faculty of Humanities, Chiang Mai University, talked to Prachatai about the PAD’s ‘new politics’.

What do you think about Thai politics now?

The question has been long debated as to who, in principle, should rule? Who should run the administration? A philosopher says that a ruler should be a philosopher king. Since time immemorial, there have been numerous philosophers and kings, as separate individuals, though. Both attributes are rarely found in one person. Some say rulers must come from heaven, chosen by God and ruling by divine rights, while others reject the idea. It did exist in history, and was tried at certain times. I think it has now become extinct.

Assuming that God cannot crown and cannot vote, the question remains as to who should choose the rulers. It has been an evolving system. Eligible voters used to be those who paid a certain amount of tax, or men only, or owners of a certain amount of land, etc. It has been tried until these restrictions on eligibility have been discarded, except in dictatorial regimes where the people have to select from choices provided by the state.

For lack of a better means to determine who is qualified to choose, everyone is eligible to vote, except people under 18, not exclusively those who are educated, morally decent or proficient, as there is no guarantee that these people can choose better than the others. Can the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) justify who is qualified to choose?

Choosing rulers is like choosing how to live. Which lifestyle is better? This is a difficult question, and ultimately one way is no better than any other in this. So everyone has to choose for him/herself. This is the meaning of Democracy which needs to be preceded by the word ‘liberal’, or Liberal Democracy. It needs the preceding adjective, not the long phrase following as it does in Thai.

Of course, this is not the making of heaven on earth, but it is widely practiced. If I say ‘universal’, it might be disliked by some people. So how should we put it? Perhaps ‘India-wise’. But India will say it follows the universal practice. If some people argue that the universal practice does not suit Thailand, as Thailand is so unique, they have to justify their claim that we don’t need to be universal, don’t need to follow the west in this regard. And they should also identify in which areas we should or should not follow the west. Is the idea of freedom of speech or freedom of assembly claimed by the PAD western? Have the legal system with the legal codes that apply to the whole country, and the judicial system with all the judges been Thai since the beginning?

What about the PAD’s 70:30 idea?

Shortly after Oct 6, 1976, it was proposed that Democracy had to take a step-by-step approach, or guided democracy, because the people were not educated. However, the proposal was recognized as a temporary measure, and further development would be needed. Does the PAD’s 70:30 proposal include a development plan? I’d like to hear how they plan to develop this. Is it until Thai people stop being stupid? Are the PAD so smart?

Nationalists, the media and Bangkok people always accuse rural people of vote-selling, being fooled by politicians, so they propose rural people and the general public get 30%. Sondhi Limthongkul says unabashedly that the Sakdina (feudalists) and the rich have to share the pie. His proposal is like taking us back to the time before the 1932 revolution. He is more Sakdina than the Sakdina themselves, because I’ve never heard such thing from the Sakdina.

Socio-politics is a subject that tries to find out who actually rules, unlike political philosophy which tries to say who should rule. We are well aware that even if people have 100% representation, their representatives would not become rulers. Some other forces, though not elected, rule the country de facto. These include the military, the judiciary, financial institutions, etc. Instead of the 70:30 proportion, a proposal should be made that these institutions be elected as well. I don’t mean it to be sarcastic, but I’d like to hear what the PAD have to say to oppose this.

In retrospect, when democracy was in its infancy after the 1932 revolution, there were restrictions in setting up the system that had to include, for example, both elected and non-elected representatives. But that was the beginning. Or according to Pridi Bhanomyong, ‘we cannot climb to the top of a tree at once’.

Before the dictatorial regime of Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat, members of parliament from the northeast were of decent quality in terms of their attitude towards the poor, better than the dignitaries. There was no vote buying and selling, which was a relatively new phenomenon in the 1990s and 2000s. But lately vote buying and selling have been in decline. Some argue that during Thaksin’s years it was not a direct vote buying, they bought votes with policies. This is an extremely broad definition of vote buying. If using policies to persuade people to vote for a political party is vote buying, then there would be no countries free from vote buying.

Most governments always spent a lot more money on Bangkok and big cities than rural areas. Is this vote buying? Candidates for Bangkok Governorship promise people that they will build this and that. Is that vote buying? Expressways, underground trains, and decent schools. Is this populism? When these are applied to rural people, Bangkok people ask, ‘Why give them money? Why don’t they learn to earn by themselves?’, attacking populism as a spending spree. I’d say populism is better than non-populism. Urban people have got used to it for so long.

Speaking like this, I’d be accused of being pro-Thaksin. Some friends who I have associated with since adolescence asked me that: ‘Are you pro-Thaksin?’ I can only respond that I’m not with those who are against Thaksin. It’s not that I cheer the underdog, but I wonder what the ‘Thaksin regime’ really means? Is it just a ploy to support another regime by using the ‘Thaksin regime’ as a decoy?

If Thaksin bought votes, then how can we explain the rejection of the 2007 draft charter by a lot of voters in the referendum? The accusation of vote selling by villagers has been cited so often to the point of becoming meaningless. I worked for the People Network for Election in Thailand in 1992 when vote buying was really huge. A particular party leader always claimed that his party didn’t buy votes, while smearing other parties for buying votes. But I preferred to believe the PNet volunteers. According to our figures, this party came in number two in vote buying, but it doesn’t mean that it was more decent. That’s because the number of candidates it fielded came second.

The 70:30 proposal just follows the prejudice, and follows the coup d’etat. With Thaksin already toppled, the coup already done, the 2007 charter already in force, they have yet to win. So electoral politics is next in line, isn’t it?

Is there something behind the idea?

When the PAD first proposed the 70:30 idea, it was just a good laugh. But it’s weird that later on there were responses. The National Government thing came back again. Some newspapers cheered. It means that this kind of idea was not just the brainchild of the PAD leaders. Perhaps this is a kind of conspiracy.

There are two assumptions for the current round of protests by the PAD. One is that the PAD initiated this scheme on their own, and has been joined by like-minded people. The other assumption is that there are masterminds behind this. The PAD leaders just lead the demonstrations, but are henchmen for much more influential and higher-up people. I’m not sure which one is true, as both are highly likely.

But one is made to think why there have been such concerted efforts among various bodies in shaking up and attacking the government like this. The PAD kicked the ball. The media cheered. Political parties joined in, and passed the ball to the courts. And the courts shot the goal. Do these groups just converge by pure chance or a miracle? Apart from the courts, these groups overlap with those who killed students on Oct 6, 1976. This is a historical continuity. They are the same interest groups. Some are even the same persons.

The idea and the protests do not just stem from the PAD. It’s a display of conflicting forces in Thai society from the past. In my view, the ‘Oct 6’ students were killed because their ideas threatened the status quo, no matter whether they could really carry out their threat. What mattered was that the rulers felt threatened. This is like the case of Thaksin who has allegedly threatened the status quo. Thaksin himself may not have thought that far. He probably just wanted to try to get votes and popularity. But when he was popular in those constituencies, he had to be got rid of, as the ‘Thaksin regime’.

Why institutionalize an individual as a regime? Is it because Thaksin threatens another regime in Thailand? Thaksin’s corruption scandals are just condiment, but corruption per se is not so big an evil that it makes a ‘regime’. ‘Thaksin regime’ has no meaning in itself, rather a counterpart to another power in the same way that the students were labeled ‘communists’. If we try to find out if the students were really ‘communists’, we might not get the answer as much as if we look to find what the counterpart to ‘communist’ is.

Since the Oct 14, 1973 uprising ushered in people’s participation in politics, Thai politics has increasingly become mass politics. In the coups on Oct 6, 1976 and Sept 19, 2006, for example, the military just added the finishing strokes, and all the arrangements had already been made by someone else. And support from the mass is important. It’s no longer a power play exclusively in Parliament or among the elite. This is indeed the ‘new politics’, involving the mass. The PAD just play along this line. For the previous coup, the head of the PAD had to use this tactic.

And this is what makes Thaksin still look threatening to his opponents. And this is what prompts the 70:30 idea, to cut the mass away from the so-called ‘Thaksin regime’. Don’t bother accusing Samak of being Thaksin’s nominee. The real nominees are those who are willing to vote for Thaksin or pro-Thaksin political groups. And these nominees are over 10 million. The PAD’s idea is to reduce these nominees by 70%. Isn’t it a little too much? Isn’t it a little bit of a jo

This is actually a very in depth analysis of events within events, although i feel there may be some political slant by Chaiyan Ratchakul...nevertheless...i think a very nice piece with many relevant factors. Only one point I would strongly disagree with him (and my apologies, he is thai and i farang, i don't presume to know more then him...just my slant)... and that is vote buying........he said it was a 1990's/2000's phenomenon....i am afraid you are very very wrong there sir. The instance of vote buting in politics was absolutely firmly entrenched during and preceding that period.....as a matter of fact, prior to Thai Ra Thai( and in the year TRT wonpower) the democrats were the leaders in vote buying. Vote buying definately was in incidence long before the 1932 revolution (the people had long been empowered to run most facets of govt before the end to absolute rule in 1932).

So my summary on VOTE BUYING:

Long entrenched in the thai political system

Used by ALL parties in elections prior to this years one ( and used by some in the most recent election)

A system that DOES NOT have to be instigated by party leaders, it is so intrisic in the system that its occurs even if the leaders instruct not too. YES,THIS IS TRUE!

Once again, a good discussion by khun Chaiyan Ratchakul, and an excellent post bythai at Heart

Here's an article that a mate working in the UK just sent me :

ONE UNLOCKY SOD

Mr Thedginald Bigwart of Spearling Downs, Hampshire, was absolutley over the moon when he won a holiday for 4 to Amazing Thailand at his annual summer work raffle. "I have never taken the family on a holiday, so this will be just amazing."Mr Bigwart was quoted as saying "And I've been very interested in Thai culture ever since we started eating thai food when a thai restaurant opened in our village" he went onto say. "I won't be able to take my holidays during summer but have arranged for the kids to get off school and we'll be going in the first week of september, it's going to be a dream come true."

When the political unrest started in Thailand towards the end of August, Mr Bigwart hurried to his travel agent who quickly explained to him how fortunate he was that his particular type of ticket was able to be exchanged, unlike the majority of prizes won in competitions, although nothing could be done regarding the accomodation package. So Mr Bigwart decided to fork out 250 pounds and pay for the accomodation to his newly re-itineried holiday, due to leave September 1st, to New Orleans, USA.

Mr Thredginald Bigwart, you are one unlucky sod!

My moral position on drugs is libertarian although I've never used drugs due to the potential legal repercussions.

My main issue with foreign drug dealers is what horrible people they are. I've seen them many times over the years in various tourist areas and they're flush with cash, show it off as much as they can and are arrogant and usually loud and boorish and unpleasant to be around (Presumably a side effect of their own merchandise). They know a few policemen and deem themselves untouchable and act as if they are. One thing I have noticed though is that they're not usually around for very long. The guy who was the King of Pattaya on the last visit has mysteriously disappeared on the next visit.

As to whether Thai or foreign drug dealers are worse, both are bad obviously, I doubt that getting rid of foreign dealers is going to make a huge difference to the availability of drugs to Thais. I seriously doubt that foreign dealers are corrupting innocent Thai womanhood to the same extent as the domestic variety. So the reason for this sudden police attack on foreign drug dealers. Anything against foreigners is popular at the moment and linking foreign with drug dealer and threatening to get rid of them is obviously popuar domestically regardless of the impact it has on actual rug use by Thais

Some good points but I think you're wrong with the last part - decent quality opiates, hash etc., need to come from abroad, so you would need foreigners involved. I think it's just a matter of time before we saw this headline, and I don't think it's necessarily anti-foreign sentiment that is to blame. Thailand has not been a tourist mecca for centuries, it is a relatively new phenomenon, and I think it's just a growing pain to go through that foriegn gangs making easy money will eventually be broken (more sophisticated ones taking their place of course).

As for anti-foreign sentiment, the Thais have learnt that not all tourists are desirable, and it is so true. However the Thais respect and are grateful to nice people who bring a respectful attitude to their country along with their tourist or expat dollars. That's my experience.

As for the Thai mafia, there always will be one, won't there?.....most societies have a a dark side, don't they? What to do? Spread the luuurve......

Some good points adam.

Also a lot of readers may not be aware that many foriegn governments, whose countries are recipients of drugs shipped from or via thailand, put pressure onto the thai govt to stop it from the thai end. So why wouldn't the thai authorites announce that they are increasing measures to stop it. It is the same principle as if you requested something looked into from your local govt ...you would expect a response

Here here,

Get rid of the scum !!!

how do you define scum old chap?

Are people who sell alcohol to others in the same boat? NO

Is hilltribe farmer who knows know better way to feed his family, scum? IF HE'S HE'S COMMITTING A CRIME, THEN YES (if he is mentally impaired and actually doesn't know any better...then more iffy)

Are the legal fag dealers, the ones who target kids, scum? MOST DEFINATELY, AND ITS CERTAINLY NOT LEGAL TO SELL CIGARETTES TO MINORS

Yours is the typical base reaction,

You simply cannot class everyone the same way. I might call people who makes simple spelling errors moron,s.

Uneducated, low class fools. NOT REALLY RELEVANT TO TOPIC

But they,ve probably suffered something in life to prevent them from getting it right.

By the way, you should of been ' hear, hear.

See, we all makes mistakes.

i agree with terrytan....get rid of the scum....drug dealers, prostistution rings, pedophiles...these are are scum and need to be dealt with in the extreme

maybe i was/am selfish in so much that i always wanted to strive to learn more thai....i often had to force my self to even speak a few words of english to my kids even though i had them from day one...as they got older they started asking me more and more stuff in english....suddenly one day i realised that my oldest was fluent in both languages and the others weren't too far behind........and for me.....well i'm still trying to learn thai even after 25 years........don't worry about the kids, they will be okay...just be a good parent and a great friend

There is actually an incedible amount of super honest people of the utmost integrity in Thailand, probably at least double(percentage wise) that of all western countries........

.............but infortunately, because there is so many nice people in thailand, there is a absolutely obscene amount of thieves/grifters/bludgers/scum just waiting to prey on all those nice thai's......probably at least double (percentage wise) the amount of any western country.

The honest and integral man, or woman, is far tougher and extemely more empowered than the filth of this world.....good on you mr taxi driver, you are a real person.

Maestro is saying that you do not need to go to a consulate and get a new visa. Just get a new extension of stay from immigration based on marriage after you can show 40K/month family income. Then if you lose your job, you would still be able to remain.

Not sure if this appropriate but my recent experiemce was fairly straight forward - my Non Imm B multiple had ran out - I am not employed here but as a freelancer I travel and work throuought Asia and get paid into my UK and Thai bank account from overseas commissions - so I dont need a work permit - I was in Melbourne and took my Marriage certificate, Thai wifes House registration, ID photocopy and birth certificate of my baby (not necessary - nor was any proof of earning demanded), and they gave me an 'O' visa without any further question - come back tomorrow and do you want that a multiple entry or 90 day? multiple please says I- very well sir.

I am 50 in July and will after that apply for a marriage visa and I believe I do not have to prove any monthly salary, even though I can - I am going to get my legal boffins to do it as for about GBP100 its worth the time and hassle I save, even though I will have to go with them to immigration of course - but I think it is all pretty straight forward.

Hi there,

I'm gonna read between the lines and possibly be incorrect....

1. You turn 50 in July

2. You previously showed birth cert of baby at Thai consulate in melbourne (Iwill assume that your child was born in thailand and a joint effort of both your wife and yourself, otherwise you probably wouldn't have included this info)

3. You have been told that when you turn 50 you will have no requiremnt to show income.

using the above "stated" facts it just may be possible that the "legal boffins" have advised you to apply for a non O visa and then apply for an extension based on being a parent (actual parent and not by marrage) of a Thai child. In this circumstance you will not be required to show any income. This particular clause came into effect a couple of years back in late 2006 when there was massive changes to the visa rules/processes and appears to be one of the real positives that has come out of it all............mind you, in saying that, i have advised a few 50 plus expats who have "thai" chidren of thier own, to try this path as it makes the most sense and they have reported back extreme difficulties on having this approved.

On previous posts others have mentioned thay have had difficulties also and Thai Visa's main sponser, Sunbelt Asia, has reported that they have had success in every instance of applying for this type of visa (Foriegn parent(50 years +) of thai child/children)...........so my advice to you would be to contact Sunbelt and use their services, which are reasonably priced for the product received......they also have some nice looking young ladies at the counter!

I'd also like to add this regarding the "Marriage Visa" issue.

So many posts refer to a "marriage visa" and so many replies state that there is no such thing as a "marriage visa"

Technically,the latter is correct.

But there is many situations which these can be interpreted as a marriage visa....please remember that in these forums we are translating into english.....

........the reason i mention this is that this year when i went to pick up my extension after the obligatory one month, i was handed my passport by an actual immigration officer, as opposed to the work experience uni students that are always doing a lot of the menail work at immigration offices, and the officer, whom i have dealt with for many years, said to me (in English), "here you are sir, your marriage visa for another year"..............................so even Thai immigration officers can be found referring to this visa as a "marriage visa".....maybe because that is exactly what it is!

I'd also like to say thank you for all the excellent advice that is always offered by the likes of Lopburi3 and maestro and all the others. Top effort guys.

G'day RueFang,

Firstly, congrats on your marriage, hope you have a long and successful union.

The two pieces of paper you should have received are:

KOR ROR 2 : Tabian Somorot or mariiage registration certificate...2 copies

KOR ROR 3 : Wedding certificate 2 copies which you have.

If you did not recieve the KOR ROR 2, i would strongly suggest returning to the amphur and requesting an extract. This will be required for many situations in future dealings in Thailand, which may not be the present plan, but always handy for the future.

once you have the KOR ROR 2, you will need to have it translated into english and then you will need to have that translation approved by the Thai ministry of Foriegn Affairs in BKK.

Good Luck, the australian consulate can be a right pain in the keyster

They should start by banning smoking at all of thailands snowski resorts

After having a lung removed because of lung cancer, i decided to retire to thailand for a nice hassle free life...and now they tell me i can't smoke when i go out disco dancing!!

I am not gay, but was doing the same as your partner with an alcohilic friend of mine.

Sounds like someone wants to come out of that closet

On the Maxnet website..... http://www.maxnet.co.th/product_Indy.php ......it actually states that the Indy package "has limited bandwidth for international VoIP/P2P"

I used to be quite overwieght for a good number of years. About 5 years back I decided to do something about it and started on a strict exercise and dieting regime. The results came very rapidly and I started to shed those kilo's...and there was lots of them to shed...........anyhow after about six months of this I was showering one morning and glanced downwards past where my huge belly used to obscure my view and it was at this time that I encountered the starngest and alien looking creature... a fearsome purple helmeted snake like creature which had apparently attached itself to me...........I was in such shock that i started compulsive eating and now it is jut a distant memory.........

Presumably you mean bullion? That being the case few buyers actually take delivery and suggest you look at HSBC Hong Kong for their bullion service. In case you do not refer to bullion and mean gold jewelry instead - there is a small shop on Silom that sells necklaces and the like, the only one I've ever seen in the Kingdom!

LOL Yip, gold shops are rare in Thailand. Almost as rare as Tuk-Tuks. But seriously, if you want to buy gold, there are gold shops almost everywhere. Their prices don't vary much and it's slightly cheaper if you are buying bullion as there is no design fee.

I have explained to my wife on numerous occasions that Thai gold shops, by law, are not permitted to sell to foriegners.....otherwise i would buy her some gold every week

I bet the govt won't have THIS response to someone whose wife has fails the english test :-

Sir, as your wife has failed to speak english and thus is not able to live you, you will be denied access to many of the govt services and benefits for which you have have paid tax all your life and for which you continue to pay tax for, so we have decided to refund to you 40 years of tax payements and you will no longer have to pay any tax.

!!!!

Obviously i am being sarcastic, but lets face it, they the govt are taking the piss. I totally agree for normal immigrants and working immigrants, but someones wife should be exempt from this stupid rule (if it comes to pass).

I myself have been frustrated by my Australian govt for many many years. I decided to live in the land of smiles back in the early 80's and now some of our kids are grown up and living/studying in australia.

Whenever my wife, a long time wife of an australian and the mother of lots of australian kids, wishes to visit australia(and her children) we still hav to go through the whole visa process every bloody time. At the same time, any old Joe Blow fom any of the "farang" countries can hop along to australia without 2 bob in his pocket and get a visa on arrival. Its frustrating and its BS.

I realise that many people rort the system through a dubious marrage. This should be the govt's problem to sift through and not make it a real time drama for every honest marrage.

Sb has offered me a

Ford Ranger 2,5 4WD - 2005 - 42.000 km

for only 350.000 THB... no accident, farang owner, warranty until 100.000 km

What can be wrong??

Thanks for advices!

Last week i was having a look in the "rot weekly" cars for sale mag, there is quite a few 2005 ford ranger 2.5 4WD's in the mid to high 200's range.......so if you shop around you may find one at an even more attractive price than 350K

Cheers

or drive up to the poo yai barn's place (in my new ferrari) and ask if he knows where i can find somebody important ...yeah, that would be a must

Oh, and maybe i'd start a broom cart business too

I'd regularly post on TV enquiring what the poor people (you lot) are up to