LA Don

Thailand has an Accident Research Center? Wonder what their charter is?

Unfortunately I am unable to give you any details about opening an account with BKK bank in NY. As I originally said my bank in NY uses their services to transfer US funds to BKK bank in Thailand. Have a good trip to the US.

I've been using Bangkok Bank for a few years now. I transfer via bill pay from my bank in the USA using Bangkok Bank NY. Using their routing number in NY and my account number in Thailand it works, without any fees. Now Bangkok bank may not give you the same rate as For-ex but if you check their exchange rate it is spot on to what they are giving you. The transfer usually takes about 5 days. My bill pay service is free, the transfer is free as well. Just plan a week out and avoid unwanted fees.

Can you send me more info on using BKK bank in NY? I have stopped using BKK bank here because of the fees for receiving money transfer now using K-bank. But would like to know how to set up with the NY BKK branch.. any help thanks ..will be traveling to USA next week so I can check with them...THANKS

I use Bangkok Bank NY transfers with no prob. You need a Thailand account to use (you don't get a NY account). When doing a wire transfer or e-commerce payment (billpay) you use the 9 digit NY routing number and your Thailand account number. Costs me 10USD for over $2,000USD transfers plus the Thailand 2.5%. The have an internet site (Google) with all the rates and restrictions.

I expect the volunteer police will help to greatly reduce the reported crime statistics.

Twenty of thirty-six cameras are not working - so the maintenance plan is to add 100 new cameras? Still no concept of planned maintenance. Glad Thailand decided not to build nuclear power plants.

The first recorded American sextourist, Benjamin Franklin, is quoted as saying “Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see.” - I wonder if he had been to Thailand before he spoke?

I am back in Los Angeles, California and this kind of incident doesn't even get mentioned in the news. I will feel a lot safer getting back to Chiang Mai.

Glad the teach is OK and sad Thailand gets another black eye.

I was unaware that Jatuporn Phrompan was convicted of terrorism. Is he not just being detained on charges? If he is not convicted then he is not legally guilty of the crime, right? If detained and cannot vote than his basic civil rights are infringed upon. Slippery slope. I believe that a court would rule in his favour as he would then have been illegally disenfranchsed. There is a bigger issue at play: The right to vote. If convicted and if the law says convicted prisoners cannot vote, then yes he cannot vote. if not convicted, he has the right to vote. That''s what the law says right? Or, do the people espousing the rule of law only believe the laws that they agree with should be upheld?

I guess speculation doesn't help. It's time to ask a lawyer or start reading the Thai laws yourself. Keep in mind Thai laws may be somewhat different from those in your country of origin.

You don't get to vote in most places in the world if you are in jail. Not a slippery slope at all. A court has already ruled and not in his favor. The law says if you are in jail you cannot vote.

If you were arrested in the US and bound over for trial you would not be allowed out to vote either. I think the same is true in the UK. The other paper reports, if you are in jail you cannot vote.

Disagree - you are able to vote by mail (absentee ballot) from US jails. Convicted felons in prison lose their voting rights until released and off any parole.

The story isn't new to me but the police involvement is. Normally (word used loosely), for a person of lower status to make a complaint some money must pass to the policeman. That will get a visit to an apartment.

To get five policemen to the airport to intercept a falang, I would suspect a large pot of money was promised by the lady.

Really sad to die like that. Surprising from one of the safest countries in the world.

Murder rate in Thailand is 7.92 per 100,000. US rate is 5.0, New Zealand is 2.0.

Not true,, i applied for a tourist visa via Hull consulate this morning,,asKed the qestion are the visa's for free,,, a definate no,i said i had read on internet that the free tourist via exemption had been extended to 2011,,, the lady asked 'did i read this on thaivisa.com?,,, i said yes,,, she replied,,,'someone needs to tell them its NOT TRUE,,, i had to pay £28 60 days

I got the same denial yesterday (16/4/2010)at the Los Angeles Consulate. Slow paperwork or bogus?

Prosperity link is nice. A different flavor than the index at http://www.numbeo.com. Now I have two pretty good indices. Soon I will be in information overload -wait - I think I am already there.

Looks like a lot of alternatives to Thailand. I was reading a price index comparison on numero.com and it seems most of the alternatives mentioned are really close in total cost of livng. Only one area not mentioned in your list showed a serious lower cost of living - India. Nice to know there are other choices if Thailand continues to be anti-expat.

Malaysia probably won't fall into your 1,000-1,800 criteria. For persons over 50 a deposit of $42,500 and monthly income of $2,850 (about 92,000 baht) is required. If you have a government pension of $2,850/mo or more then the deposit is not required.

The official program MM2H (Malaysia My 2nd Home) is not bad if you can afford it. I have watched this program change every couple of months for the last two years - mostly good changes. You can import a car duty free (one time) oh, does not apply to motorcycles - sorry Harley. You can buy any number of homes but price has to be above $75,250 each.

9,?/

I doubt the boys in brown would have allowed his name and mug be plastered in public if there was any doubt that he was not guilty or at least had a track record. Hard to believe that a man like this gets to either 51 or is it 57 without arousing suspicions. I would think that perhaps the school removed him from his position for a related reason. If the school was negligent which seems likely they are equally guilty in my eyes of betraying the trust of the family and more importantly the child. I have to say that in the past 12 months there seems to be an influx of scum bags in the Chalong, Kata and Karon areas abusing young women. As the girls are working girls they dont report the crimes which allows the bast*rds to move about freely. That all said I have met quite a few teachers who claimed to have secured their qualifications on the internet.

So - do you live in Chalong, Kata, or Karon?

You speak for the BIB and girls who have not reported crimes - they only told you? Your vicous attack is more scary than the story.

I do not understand why the blood lusters cannot wait until the full story - hopefully with the truth - comes out.

Great pics, wow I would have loved to been able to experience that as a young adult back then. Heh but since I was just Born in 1975 I guess no such luck

Thanks for posting

I was born 1984 but I would have prefer if i was borne in the year of 1947

Just an idea:

Maybe a Mod could pin this thread and rename the Title into: "Thailand in the Old Days" or something like that????

And the sub title change from "3 pics for u" to something different. Any suggestion here welcome!

Hey! Maybe we can work a trade? I was born 1944 - would that work?

My first trip to Bangkok was in 1963 at the tender age of 19. I truly wish I had been more a tourist instead of a GI. I used the electric trolleys back then - they were gone when I came back two years later.

Thanks to the posters for the pictures. I really enjoy the old photo's. Polaroid was the latest thing in 1963 and all the pictures I took have deteriorated over the years - another good idea gone bad. A pin of the "old days" is a good idea.

I dunno - to watch a 69 year old man wiggle his butt on stage

The family and I visited Costa Rica often with the intent to retire there. They had great rentista and pensionado programs.

When we first looked - the plus points were:

1. Required family income of USD 600/mo retiree (pensionado) or USD 1000/mo rentista.

2. Import an automobile duty free every three years.

3. One time import duty free of household goods.

4. Able to join the low cost medical program.

5. Great climate (San Jose is over 4000ft elevation in a valley.

6. Nightlife available for those with a need - better than Pattaya plus casino's.

7. Housing inexpensive (if not too close to town)

8. Labor cheap.

9. Excellent schools.

10. Great English newspaper (Tico Times).

11. No restriction on owningand operating a business (but you cannot work for a company other than your own).

Bad points:

1. Petty theft extremely bad. Anything not watched disappeared in minutes.

2. Only available insurance is government owned with ridiculous rules (e.g. if your house was burglarized and you could not show forced entry your claim was denied). All homes look like fortresss on the first floor.

The programs are bing wittled down each year and with the latest changes (this month):

Good:

1. Pensionado required income USD 1000/mo, and not so good - rentista USD 2500/mo (bad part is you have to show money was converted to colons.)

Bad:

1. No free auto import (duty approx 200 percent value of vehicle)

2. No duty free household goods (duty 100-200 percent for electrical items)

3. Housing costs have doubled in top areas.

4. Now required to join country social security.

5. Armed robbery and carjacking now a daily event.

Costa Rica is nice but the benefits are going down at a rapid rate.

I decided that if I was going to have to stand on one leg and quack like a duck while flapping my arms, I would rather do it in Thailand. Vietnam certainly looks interesting but, now that I have kids going to university in Thailand, I will have to stay put for awhile.

I looked at the Ramkhamhaeng University Institute of Language website but it wasn't too informative The "Thai for Foreigners" webpage is in Thai (of course) so translation is required.

Follow the URL at this website:

http://www.ru.ac.th/language_conference200..._langauges.html

Congratulations to the Thailand government for their persistance. It is unfortunate Thailand does not have similar laws to China for handling mass embezzlers. These people destroy the lives of hundreds of hard working people and should be treated accordingly.

There is a terrible misconception that a Thailand degree is not valid in the US. The US Department of Education position of recognition is shown below.

I personally have hired a number of persons with foreign degrees. In my last position, with USAID, over 75% of our staff had foreign degrees.

Sorry this is off topic but I thought it should be said.

==========================================

Recognition of Foreign Qualifications

See also:

◦Organization of U.S. Education

◦Structure of U.S. Education

◦Accreditation and Quality Assurance

◦U.S. Institutions and Programs

◦Visiting the United States

NOTE: THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND USNEI DO NOT EVALUATE FOREIGN DEGREES OR QUALIFICATIONS. PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT REQUESTS FOR SUCH EVALUATIONS TO US OR SUBMIT DIPLOMAS OR OTHER RECORDS FOR REVIEW. REFER TO THE LINKS BELOW.

There is no single authority in the United States for the recognition of foreign degrees and other qualifications. International agreements and the practice in the U.S. education system and labor market recognize the existence of three competent authorities for recognition matters:

1.The admitting school or higher education institution, for students who seek to study in the United States and who are presenting credits or qualifications earned abroad;

2.The hiring employer, for individuals seeking work and who are presenting degrees or other qualifications earned abroad; and

3.State or territorial licensing boards, for individuals seeking to practice regulated professions in a jurisdiction of the United States and who are presenting degrees or other qualifications earned abroad.

Many, if not most, of these competent authorities in turn depend on expert comparability recommendations prepared by credential evaluation services. Credential evaluation services are independent organizations that perform analyses of non-U.S. qualifications and issue recommendations as to how a particular qualification compares to a similar qualification or set of qualifications in the U.S. education system, labor market or the professions. Credential evaluations vary in cost depending on the complexity of the analysis and the amount of documentation available, and are generally paid for either by the individual or occasionally by an employer.

Thanks to everyone for the great responses.

Degrees in the US are quickly becoming the "minimum" requirement to get the interview door open. I have never heard of anyone questioning the country of origin - only whether it was accredited by the proper government or educational associations. A prestige university will get an eyebrow raised but not too much more.

My home base for years has been Paknam Lang Suan (70km below Chumphon). Chiang Rai is a little more cosmopolitan but looks great. MFL University sounded pretty good also (of course, I would rather send my kids to Yale or Oxford but that isn't going to happen).

Unfortunately, I received the below email from MFL confirming what goski noted in his posting - all first year students are required to reside on campus. This would seperate them from any family support and make the culture adjustment more difficult - I think. Anyway, it moved MFL from No. 1 to 4 for consideration - a big disappointment for me. I was already thinking about the BBQ ribs at Don's.

Thanks again

Don

=============================================

Dear Mr. Don Middleton,

We have almost 300 international students from 15 countries studied with

us. All first year students have to stay in the university dormitory.

This is the university policy. Attached please find fact sheet and

application form. For further information please feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,

Division of the International Affairs

Hello

The wife (farang) and I are in the madly attempting to close out our affairs in the US for our retirement to Thailand. Everything had been planned with a move to Hua Hin and my two dependent grandchildren would have attended Stamford University there. Seems Stamford has moved all their English formatted classes to the Bangkok campus. Not wanting to retire to Bangkok, I have been searching for new locations.

I just returned from three weeks in Thailand checking out universties and living areas. The best two locations for all our criteria seem to be Uttradit and Chiang Mai. But Uttradit seems a little too quiet and Chiang Mai may be too distracting for the grandkids. I somehow missed Chiang Rai which seems to fit all the needed criteria. I see MFLU has an international program and an really reasonable cost - but I can't find a lot of info about it.

Does anyone on this forum know if there are many international students in Chiang Rai? By international I mean farang. I have searched through the teacher's forum (Ajarn) but they discuss mostly employment issues.

Our plan is to be relocated by Mar 2010 to get adjuste before the school year starts in June.

Any info would be appreciated.

I'm considering whether I should get my wisdom teeth removed (4 of them, all impacted!) in Thailand in a hospital or dentist, from what I heard it is cheaper than getting it done where I'm currently at (Syd, Australia) which is over $2000 and waiting list. How much is it in Thailand and is it best recommended to get it removed there? (I'm going to Thailand in few weeks for about a month)

Thanks for any feedback

I have used Silom Dental in Bangkok over the past six years. They are probably on the top end of the price range but I enjoy their "state of the art" capabilities. They have a website (http://www.silomdental.com) listing all their procedures and prices if you want to get an idea of costs.

I have also used the Yanhee Hospital Dental Clinic which is much cheaper and quite good but does not have first class surroundings that Silom Dental has. I had a broken tooth and Silom Dental recommended I have the removal done in the hospital due to possible pain and discomfort - Yanhee Hospital dentist said he would do it in the chair "no problem".

Most dentist in Thailand seem to have a great grasp of the need for instrument sterilization and usually have signs up to let you know. What is unusual to me is that it is a seperate charge in almost all cases.

Cheers

"A small overnighter"

I just used the left luggage at the International Arrivals on 29 Mar - located on the back wall next to the airport police station. I also saw one on the International Departure level - also on the back wall. I have not looked for the one reportedly located in the domestic side of the terminal - maybe next time I have a small overnighter I'll look.

What Briggsy said about transferring funds between accounts with your atm card is kind of the

way i understood it. There's more than a few stories about duplicate cards being made. I didn't

realize this atm card swallowing thing was so prevalent? Sounds like a lot of cases?

Had my US ATM card sucked in by a 7-11 K-ATM in Hua Hin during Oct 08 visit. Called the number on the box and they made arrangements for me to retrieve it at the local branch the following day. Went well except Bank Mgr seemed really reluctant to give it back. Had to leave copy of passport and ATM card. Would have been nervous if it was my only card. Otherwise, never had a problem in last twelve years.

When flying Thai Air Business Class they have the immigration fasttrack on the way out of Thailand which is a great service after suffering some of the waits at the standard immigration, but all the times I've flown with them business class I've never been able to find if there is a fastrack on the way back into Thailand, can someone verify if such a service exists ? And if it does where is it located ?

TIA

I flew in 4 Apr Biz Class and encountered a massive line. Thai rep sent me down concourse toward C/D and about half way there I spotted an immigration check with only about five in line - Fast Track?

Leaving could not be more convenient. Checked in Royal Silk 21 Apr and at the end of the counter is Fast Track. Twenty paces past immigration is one of the now numerous Thai Clubs. Biz check-in asked if I wanted a vacant seat next to me - maybe things are getting better?