Thighlander

I tried at age 46....about five years ago. I had just sold my home in Las Vegas, and was back in the DC area, and the economy was a train wreck. I spoke with an officer at the Embassy, basically he stated no matter how much cash you could show, they would not issue O-A for purposes of retirement to someone under 50.....and if they did, or some other consulate did; the first time I went to Immigration, the plug would be pulled. And remember, Immigration always has the final say.

If I was 10 years younger, in the same financial position I would be in Cambodia, and in fact I had decided that if I had any trouble with my visa for Thailand; I would buy a home in Northern Mexico, basically a 100 usd plane ticket home. It is a fact that they don't quite seem to know how to deal properly with people who don't hold 9-5 jobs. I think they've sent some bank personnel to detective school or something, and are ready to finger people for money laundering. I offered to review 3 years of my tax returns with them; just so they would shut up.

"It is a fact that they don't quite seem to know how to deal properly with people.... "

Properly?

They aren't obliged to set immigrations or banking rules to suit every person on the planet. They figured out that in general someone over 50 with a reliable income is a better bet for allowing long-term stays that will benefit the Thai economy. As an applicant it's up to an individual to qualify or they're willing to forego the "privilege" of dealing with those who don't. They seem to have coped with the loss of those who don't fit the protocols so far.

The problem was that it was they, who do not follow their own protocols. Says in bold letters right on the visa EMPLOYMENT PROHIBITED, but they (people at the bank) had to go on and on about where do I work. Then there is TMB, who require farang to have a work permit to open an account......All I ask for is common sense and consistency, and had no problem meeting the requirements; unlike those who go to the Consulate and pay 1500 thb for a dishonest letter. Perhaps, they think it is 6500, not 65000.

I noticed you have to be under 14 yo, and under 120 cm tall to get student rate on the BTS, lol. I think I was 120 cm at age 6.

I tried at age 46....about five years ago. I had just sold my home in Las Vegas, and was back in the DC area, and the economy was a train wreck. I spoke with an officer at the Embassy, basically he stated no matter how much cash you could show, they would not issue O-A for purposes of retirement to someone under 50.....and if they did, or some other consulate did; the first time I went to Immigration, the plug would be pulled. And remember, Immigration always has the final say.

If I was 10 years younger, in the same financial position I would be in Cambodia, and in fact I had decided that if I had any trouble with my visa for Thailand; I would buy a home in Northern Mexico, basically a 100 usd plane ticket home. It is a fact that they don't quite seem to know how to deal properly with people who don't hold 9-5 jobs. I think they've sent some bank personnel to detective school or something, and are ready to finger people for money laundering. I offered to review 3 years of my tax returns with them; just so they would shut up.

can be the same for toothpaste, soap, laundry detergent, shampoo, and even potato chips. I think you actually get more mileage out of the smaller bars of soap, as their is less deterioration once it becomes wet.

Back on topic! I've just been to Rimping (did I hear, boos and hisses from the back?) and got buy 1 get 1 on Nice &Natural muesli bars, and buy 1 Praise Ranch dressing and get 1 free Paul Newman's Classic dressing (never tried either, but worth a go) . Nawarat branch. Not sure how much the eggs were.

Newman's is excellent. I think you might discover the Ranch dressing to be an MSG-fest. I would jump at BOGO on Newman. 16 oz runs about 1.50 USD in the States, so that likely means 109 thb at Rim-sting, but I would do 2 for 109, and would even go out of my way to get there (on my way to a 40 THB large Leo promo, of course!).

I looked at TripAdvisor.....sheesh....don't know what to believe. Some of the reviews are like night and day, and that goes for most of the restaurants listed on TA. A good restaurant is consistent. Nothing wrong with expensive and good, but expensive and "bland, bad service, etc....", no wonder those street places do such a good business.

When I lived at BWT, a few times, after being woken up at 4am by non-stop barking, I cranked up a live concert or two full blast. Since, obviously noise didn't matter, and there were no rules; I decided to make some of my own. This noise was Thai owned dogs that were left in close quarters overnight. At least three very serious offenders within 60 meters of my attorney's house in 5A. Even 8 years ago, there were stories of gourmet chicken/anti-freeze meatballs.

high quality, skinless, Atlantic Salmon fillets can be had for approx. 450 per Kg in the US. Well this is Thailand....yes, I am aware of that, but the salmon market is global, so just a guideline. I've seen whole Pink for 70 THB per KG.....The Chinese have had a most negative impact on the fin-fish industry.

I would like to see some cheese prices.....a few of us bought the local cheese from the Art Cafe and were not satisfied, at all. Makro does a 2 KG package for 770 +/- THB.

Nantra 39......1 bts stop from '21....and quite close to bts. 675 including breakfast...those rooms are small, but it newish. Funny, I just mention 21 food court in another thread.....some great duck dishes.

Little Italy on the corner of Soi 23. The location is handy and it's always open when you're staggering home. Decent enough scoff and friendly, efficient staff but I got the impression the prices were creeping up the last time I was there (about 10 weeks ago).

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Yep, that's it.......seemed to be about 400 for pasta entree. I was tempted last time, but then remembered how far 100 thb goes at the Terminal 21 food court.

About a block east, on the north side of the road. Any comments?

After dark; you really can't see a thing out there, so keep that in mind. I did the Korat-BKK by train, during the daytime, and we went by a huge lake, and some pretty countryside. The last 100 KM or so took forever....with stops and delays around BKK.

Pummelos are fairly similar, but less likely to be juicy. They've been pretty good lately......could mix with vodka, for sure.

I've been down Soi 6 during the daytime, and it looked like a mix of a nightclub or two, and a beer garden or two...lots of space back there. One was "Sugar Beat," and there is a bar by the same name in Chiang Rai. I don't think any of it is short time or bar fine, but may be lady drinks, and the younger crowd....maybe more like Warmup Pub, with more Thainess. Looked like it could be OK; you are very close to CMU there. If anyone finds a good promo; please let us know. 5 large Leo for 199, now requires you get there by 19:19. Still pretty good. About a dozen drinkers in there at 1900 on a Tuesday night, and that's about a dozen more than many places had at that time. More like 60, when I left at 10pm.

I like Suthep.....it's on high ground, it's close to Nimman, and CMU is a great place to Bank, PO.....15000 attractive Uni girls is kind of nice, too. Dog problem not bad at all.

350 thb for 30 days.....much better option.....

but you seem to think it's ok for the dog to ride on the rail of a motor scooter?

The Brits "waddle" a lot more, that's for sure. Strange things happen, when island people breed.

I live in the boonies with a very poor internet connection. "Streaming" here is like "dripping" so it's not an option.

According to Gamepass, you need 800K download.....

I heard approximately 90 TEFL grads per month produced in CNX. If anything, salaries have gone down over the last 10 years, while paperwork nightmares have not. Even the ones with what appears to be several years of steady employment at the same schools seem to get canned for no reason other than cheaper new blood. I was recently offered 230 thb per hour to teach SAT Math....and of course that's if the student actually pays, and shows up. I have a feeling the WP wouldn't happen, either.

Looked at a stiebel 6kw at Central in KSK today and on asking the price was told it was 'only for show' . I pointed at the slightly different 6kw stiebel adjacent and was told that was 'only for show' as well.

The girl was quite unfazed by my incredulous expression and probably went back to playing on her phone.

Time these places set sales targets, and fired non-performers and rewarded those that work. TiT

If anyone is still interested in this subject, I have now become a real expert, and I have learned that most of the information provided by the big box stores is garbage, and that the information provided here on this thread is also questionable, since it does not list any data references. Where are you people gettting your data? Out of your heads?

So, Stiebel Eltron does provide on its company site all the information you need to buy the right size heater.

Just please go to the site and find the graphs of data.

They will tell you how much each machine will raise the water temperature for a host of various flow rates.

But, says you. How do I know my flow rate?

This is easy, and you just need to use your own noggin, instead of not thinking.

What I did, I got 6 empty Coke Zero Bottle, which are 1.25 liters.

I then turned on the water, full blast and filled up the bottles one after the other for exactly one minute.

I measured 6,6 liters per minute of flow rate.

With this value, I looked at one axis of the table provided by the manufacturer for each size machine.

In my case, since I live in the Northern Part of Thailand, I will need to raise the water temperature from approximately 10 degrees in the winter time to about 35 degrees C.

In order to do this, when I have a flow rate of 6.5 liters per minute (which is not high), I will need about 10 to 12 Kilowatts of power.

Unfortunately, Stiebel Eltron only provides this size water heater in Phase 3 or with voltage of 380 to 440 volts.

Since I do not have access to this kind of power, and only have single phase, then I am up the creek without a paddle.

My solution will therefore need to be:

I have already bought the 8000 watt unit. But, if I want the water hot enough in the winter here, I will need to slow down the flow rate to about 4 liters or maybe less per minute.

For me, this is a hardship, because I like lots of water when I shower, and I like it hot.

So, now you know, and there should be no further uninformed questions or remarks here if you would just read my comment here, and also refer to the data clearly provided by every major manufacturer.

I am very happy to help you guys out.

No need to thank me, in fact.

Bye now......

I know you said no need to thank you but I will anyway! Just conducted my own experiment and, of course, you are correct.

Didnt feel the need to fill containers for 1 minute- 20 seconds was enough, just multiply by 3 obviously! The water flow was just over 8l/minute. The mains stopcock is in the bathroom which made it easy.

Turned it down to 3l which was enough for handwash etc, but not for my shower head. The minimum I can get away with is 5l. But-- at that flow rate, my water now heats to 45c whereas at 8l it only heats to 38c, which is about 10c above 'cold'. So in winter when the night temp outside drops to say 16c, then my shower will be 31c. Better but still equivalent to 'cold' water today.

Thinking a 'water-saver' shower head was the solution, I checked online. They boast proudly of operating at flows of 1.5gpm (6.75l), and those that are designed to operate at 5l get very poor reviews - and offer no improvement over my existing new 'premium but normal' shower head.

Seems no option other than turn down the flow rate as you say AND buy a more powerful heater than my Imarflex 4.5kw. My new 6kw is on order.

I hope that, at a 5l flow rate, it will raise the temp 20c on max- we will see.

You mention a flow rate of 4l - have you found a shower head that will work satisfactorily at that level- including washing long, thick thai hair?? (gf not me.)

And if all this seems a bit anal to other readers- sorry, but I dont enjoy cold showers!

1.5 gpm would be 5.67 lpm....and they work exceptionally well.

I would pick my battles carefully, especially while a guest in a foreign country. Maybe 1 in 100 Thai dog owners take proper care of their pet. The majority of them in the US are pretty much idiots, too.

Air Asia direct payment works only with one or two Thai bank cards - unfortunately not the two Thai banks I use.

I don't have a Thai bank card. It allowed me to use my BKK Bank savings account. No fee from bkk bank, but they charge me 12 thb to pay my condo fee online.

I tried it with sound down on ASN, and www.espn980.com for audio....unfortunately, espn980 was delayed by about one full play.