Thighlander

As far as I know, China and Russia have always had "indepance" from America.

Cambodia spends 1000 Riel per day caring for its prisoners. That's 24 cents per day (USD).

499 Gs? Either 1) she was dipping into her supply. 2) someone owes her a g. 3) Lt. Somchai needs to recalibrate his scale.

3 million for .5 kg? The lady on the tour bus said 350,000 per kg.

Didn't devalue after the coup or during the troubles last year, in fact it went the wrong way for me.

As a Brit I would be more than happy for the Baht to devalue, but I don't think it will any more than the Pound strengthen - I would be happy to be proved wrong

^ I agree the baht being de-valued would be good for me. I am from the US, so I feel this is the only way to "increase funds" because we all know the US dollar sucks right now and Idont see it getting better in the futrue.

The THB was just downgraded. You must be using a different Dollar than me. Cause mine is up 30% in a year against the Pound, and a similar gain against the Euro.

I just bought a luxury condo in a great area for 35K USD. In America....

I hate it. It was fun once. It would be good for two days max, but it goes on for a week in chiangmai and it's difficult to get anything done.

Get rid of the rats, get rid of the soi dogs, make people stop at the zebra crossings.

Alternatively, there's a small shop/clinic that has all the good stuff, a little past the Inter Inn towards Thapae Rd. (The infamous one, yes)

That's the Panu Clinic. Mon-Fridays 6pm to 8:30. Dr. Panu is a good guy, and competent Phsyciatrist. The consultation is free, and the meds are reasonable. They also specialize in pain management. Walk out Thapae Rd., away from the moat, turn right passed the 7-11. It's 60 meters down on the left.

I did this exact trip last week. There is one company that goes from the Arcade bus station. I believe they have a 19.00, 19.30 and 20.00 (VIP). The VIP bus is a 2x2x8 seater and costs 701 baht. The others are 42 seats, not sure what they cost. Book ahead, the first day I tried to go all the buses were full. The buses are old and on my journey the bus required constant tinkering at the side of the road. It was a slow and uncomfortable journey.

I arrived in Udon Thani at 10.30am, a couple of hours behind schedule. A local bus was waiting in UT to go straight to Nong Khai (40 baht). Take a tuk tuk from NK to the Friendship Bridge (~1km). After Thai immigration, pay 15 baht to take the bus over the bridge to the Lao side. After Lao immigration (you'll know you've left Thailand!) take a tuk tuk to Vientiane (I paid 10,000 kip - walk straight past the idiots wanting 200 baht by the immigration exit and walk towards the bus shelter with all the locals.) I got to Vientiane at about 1pm. You would be very lucky to manage to submit a visa application on the day of arrival (cut off time is midday) but I suppose it's possible if it all went smoothly. I recommend you get to the embassy before 7.30 in the morning if you want to avoid the queues. I had no problems getting Tourist Visa x2. (2000 baht). 1 day processing time despite all the notices saying 2 days.

Good luck.

The first class tickets from CM are 601, VIP are 701. The VIP only runs about three times per week--at 8pm. They said 12 hours. My ticket has some kind of meal ticket, so we'll see. I'll let you all know about my trip, when I return. Anyone know of a decent, cheap place to stay near the Embassy? Will the same size passport photos work for the Lao Visa, as well as the Thai Visa?

The VIP to UT is a 32 passenger 2x2x8; not the 1x2x8 vip to Chiang Rai. I'm faced with a similar nightmare in a few weeks. First class is 42 passengers. I'm confused about the two bus stations in UT, and how far from the bus station in Nong Khai to "Friendship Bridge"?

The Nong Khai bus stops outside of the town where the tuktuks to the bridge are. Some of them are quite large and I shared one with four other people.

The bus station you arrive at in Udon is the one with the Nong Khai buses which run regularly. Do not allow yourself to be taken to the other bus station for the "Vientiane bus" unless you already have a Lao visa.

Cobra, the Chiang Rai bus takes about 13 hours so the CM bus would be about 11. I find it best to allow a little extra time when predicting arrivals on these buses. I was quoted 601B Udon to CM when I thought I had missed the Chiang Rai bus.

I was told there is a daily VIP from CM to UT, that leaves at 8pm and arrives at 8:am; so 12 hours and 700 THB. I would be a little concerned about making it to the Embassy in time, though. Definately not much slack time.

The VIP to UT is a 32 passenger 2x2x8; not the 1x2x8 vip to Chiang Rai. I'm faced with a similar nightmare in a few weeks. First class is 42 passengers. I'm confused about the two bus stations in UT, and how far from the bus station in Nong Khai to "Friendship Bridge"?

Thaksin was scheduled to depart for China today in preparation of the Olympics. I wonder if that'll change.

spoke to a former minister yesterday. His view is Thaksin has been granted leave for 30 days on the pre-arranged agreement that he won't come back.

Lets see if this is true.

Interesting information. Even if he doesnt come back he will still retain a lot of power through the PPP and will be able to influence events if he so chooses.

hearsay.

546 Million in taxes on 738 million worth of stock? Are tax rates really that high here?

I was also under the flight path. That didn't bother me. The jets create jobs and bring money to the local economy. A barking dog is useless. As one of the other posters mentioned; give them a late night concert. I did it a few times. Was woken up at 4am by the dogs and decided to play the stereo for an hour or so. The late night rings on the doorbell improved the situation, too.

Also, when you go to the Moo Baan office--ask to speak with the owner of the development company directly. That will get their attention.

I need to vent! The thread description says it all. I have moved to a wonderful house in Tanawan 2. Problem being next door is an older dog worshipping woman who has a total of 14 "rat" dogs that bark almost non-stop all day. I am serious when I say almost non-stop. This womyn (did I spell that correctly?) relishes the fact that her dogs are barking and has never made an attempt to quell the mayhem.

I wasted about a hundred dollars on the Viatek Bark Stop. Absolutely no help in any way shape or form.Poisoning or grenades are not part of the solution from my end anyway so am asking about other ideas. TIT so subdivision covenants or other civilized solutions aren't considered effective either.Has anyone in a similar situation found relief and have suggestions? Ajarn ,you live in the same subdivision... do we have a poo-yea(spelling error) or someone with both intelligence and manly balls who can help? Canceling my cable Monday. Simply cannot hear my TV over the din. Dog Worshippers should have just a small amount of respect for humans also. Not really that much to ask IMO. Rant complete

I had a similar problem. There were two homes out of four hundred in my Moo Baan that thought it was their duty to run an "animal rescue." The rules said no more than two dogs, but.......If they won't stop her from disturbing the neighborhood, then there is probably nothing in the rules about ringing her doorbell at 2,3,4 am. After the old hag told me to "go back to my own country" I found her husband to be more reasonable. I asked him how many children he had--he said "one." I told him, you have sense enough to only have one child, but you have nine dogs? There are several million orphans in Myanmar, should we set up a refugee camp in our Moo Baan for them, as well. I thought the Buddhist were "considerate people." Most of them, anyway.

If all else fails, try this recipe: 100 gram pork, 50ml anti-freeze.

This is a bit gut wrenching for me. I just sold my house for about a million. The difference between 33 and 34 is about 900 usd to me. Yesterday's BKK Post reported that there was a key resistance level at 33.20, but it appeared to be headed to 35. It barely broke through thte 33.20 barrier, but did indeed retreat to 32.98. I would love to see it at 31.50, while I'm waiting on the bankers and lawyers to complete my transaction.

BTW, my first trip to LOS was in January 1998--was getting close to 60. My room on Sukhumvit was 500 per night. Now, that same room (with the same mattress, a/c, and carpet) is 800 and I'm only getting 32.80. Ouch!

I'm going to be sending most of my proceeds back to the USA. Is there a 700K limit per year or any other ridiculous rules that I should know about?

I got a 30 year pre-paid lease on property owned by my nominee. A bit of a grey area on this is the amount of the rent. We tried for 300,000 for 30 years--10,000 per year, but the office said too low. They did accept 500,000 for 30 years. We had to pay a 1% tax on that--it is now a part of the chanot. I was told, as mentioned above, there is a 12.5% rental tax, but I also heard it is rarely collected. If it were, that would be 2000 thb per year. This is on a pretty small, but nice, home, in a great, well-known moo-baan. My total legal fees were 20,000, plus the fees at the Amphur. I'll keep my fingers crossed, but it all seems pretty kosher.

There is a place on Hang Dong Rd, across from Lotus--within 400m. They are the tube type. The cheaper one is 28,000 thb fully installed. The tubes are packed with freon, that's what make them super hot--so it's more than just a passive system.

I did a 31 day stay one time. I was not fined, and my passport does not indicate ANY overstay. That was 2004.

A one day overstay does usually not draw a fine. Never say "never", though. I would lag to the end of the cue and try to make up the extra day coming in. Worst possiblescenario is that they won't let you wait the fifteen minutes (unlikely), and they will fine you 500 Thb for 1 day overstay (even more unlikely). There are far worse offenders at immigration.

I took my application for a 60 day tourist visa to the counter--It has to be in by 1:00. The nice young lady asked me if I needed "one or two." Since I already had my plane ticket (gave her printed itenerary) i said one--she asked for 25us and told me it would be ready two days later and I could pick it up in person between 12:30 and 1:00. Two photos were required. The form says 2 inch by 2 inch. I gave her 2 standard passport photos, which were suprisingly alright. I returned two days later before 12:30 (about 12:15). A nice young man waived me up to the counter and handed me my passport with my new visa. I must enter Thailand within 90 days. I asked if I decided to stay longer (like 5 months total) could he give me another 60. He said use the one I was issued, then get an extension. Then, go to the border twice for 30s. So, therefore, the 60 and the extension DO NOT count towards the 90 days within a 180 day period rule. It was a very pleasant experience. A far cry from those folks at the Thai Embassy in Vientiane. Even got metered parking in Georgetown.

Best of luck to everyone.

Time will tell. It does seem like you would be in violation of the more than 90 days in a 6 month period rule.

I opened an account at BangkokBank with a 30 day visa. They said I couldn't buy CDs, though (time deposits). The ladies that work their are friendly, helpful, and good looking, too. Many branches are open Sundays. It is a pleasure to do business with them.

I'll be arriving at about midnight on a Saturday night, and will be on the first flight to CNX the next morning. Usualy, I'm wide awake, when I hit the ground in BKK, so a GH does not make sense for me. The observation deck with a couple of cigars from Duty Free sounds like the place for me. Will there be take away beers available from inside the airport? Are the bars open all night, or do they close at one?