Shoeboat

Thankyou Indo - my second question is:

Having paid the 30-50 k whatever it is - how long does it all take to sort out? What I mean is, I have been on tourist visas since August and the I have one visa run left in about a week which means I have from this moment approx 5 weeks left before I need to leave for 90 days.

So if I go to Sunbelt Asia after my next (last) visa run, pay the money and get it all sorted - how will I stand... Will I still have to leave for 90 days at the end of March or can I stay put and just do the 4 runs a year which is what I understand all a business visa entails?

If a man has a unique talent which allows him to provide a unique service to expat families which requires a western perspective, could he go to somewhere like Sunbelt Asia with his business plan, passport etc, pay a sum of money and get his business registered legally and with it a non imm b visa so he would only have to leave the Thailand 4 times a year.

Is it taboo here?

Can any clinic do it?

I am not trying for a baby, but for personal reasons I would like to know if I am actually capable of producing one.

I live in Bangkok, where does one go for a sperm test, roughly how much does it cost and how long to get a result?

I would also like to know if abstaining from cigarettes and alcohol for a couple of weeks before going would make any difference whatsoever?

Regards

SB

^ I thought a forigner could own only 49% of a house or lot of land but as the land an apartment block is built on is already owned, and apartment can be owned outright.

As for visa, I am currently on a 60 day and plan to get a business visa now that I have started. The business is a unique service that a Thai could not do and I work mainly from home catering for farangs.

I should add that it is not something dodgy! I make exceptionally creative souveneir DVD's of people's events, I'm a videographer and a perfectionist.

My visa status should be taken into consideration I guess, and I will do my very best to make my business legit but if I can't then I can't, but I'm not going to turn down a colleague of an aquaintance of a friend who wants their 40'th birthday immortalised and needs a creative farang perspective and flavour instead of a Thai standing there with a bulky shoulder camera idly shooting away who will provide a standard edit and a DVD 6 weeks later.

If even half the expats on this forum are 100% legit then I'll eat my camcorder so please refrain from flaming.

With a budget of about 70 grand UK I am considering (after exploring many options) buying an apartment in Bangkok. It would make perfect sense to do so as I live here anyway, I suppose the reason I have not done it before is because I'm not sure I trust Thailand, much as I love it. Things change so easily here, so would it be safe to buy a condo - or buy 2 condo's, live in one and rent the other out?

Could any future event result in farangs losing everything they invested in? I am aware that unlike land you can actually own an apartment outright.

I would also like to know a good area to buy and what sort of prices (stirling) I would be looking at.

Many thanks.

Just bumping this up - will keep my fingers crossed for a reply.

As the title says, I am after tuition in Fianl Cut Pro or at the very least some technical advice regarding i-movies.

Can pay for the FCP tuition and am willing to buy a beer for anyone who can help solve a couple of i-movie problems.

Cheers in adv.

Thankyou, is that the name of the tube station as it appears on the MTR map?

MBK is the one place I was advised to avoid - it's moastly for tourists and wealthy Thais.

Saw one pro camera in the store you are talking about and it was on special offer at 169,999 THB.

Where is Fortune City? ...AND - will it be better than Phantip?

^ Though I agree this does happen in Thailand - in 6 years I have not heard enough similar stories to justify a flight to UK or US, or even Singapore or HK where they would be genuine.

Just to be sure, is there some way of checking other than asking the shop for a demo?

The shop I saw it in was one of a few Sony stores in Phantip Plaza - a place that generally has a good rep. I need to get this camera in the next week to shoot a friends wedding so don't have a lot of time.

My concern with Sony is that they are mass produced in many countries - that said, what isn't? I could buy Panasonic again and get unlucky.

What happened to you is unfortunate but I don't think it's very common - I'm sure Sony would do something about it as it would be bad for their business and Phantip supply a lot of Sony stuff.

They did offer a 1 year guarantee so I guess if I did get unlucky I could take it to a bona fide Sony Centre in somewhere like Siam Paragon and they would confirm it's authenticity.

Personally I'd go Panasonic but I haven't found the HD/DV model I require.

Where in Bangkok could I buy a top of the range amateur camcorder for the best price?

I have been told Chinatown and Fortune City - neither of which I have been to.

Saw a not bad deal at Phantip, it was about the same price on Amazon only with spare batt, carry bag and DV cassettes included.

Phantip is the only place I know how to get to also! For directions to CT and FC plese start with the nearest BTS.

Finally, if anybody does have any personal comments on this - would you be inclined to go for Panasonic or Sony?

I trust Panasonic and they have not let me down but I have heard mixed feelings on Sony.

Canon and JVC - forget it.

Much appreciated.

How can she find a job here?

Thanks for replies so far, she flying home at the end of the month so it's doubtful she will find something before then, but I guess she could apply online when back home.

So she needs a family to sponsor her and then she just needs to get herself back over - is there any way I could help from over here?

I know a Fillipina undergraduate nursing assistant, good English speaker, loves children and very trustworthy.

Nothing much for her back home, I was wondering what would her options be for working in Thailand?

Cheers,

S

^ Ah, yes she is from Luzon... Then again Cebu would surely be less alien than Bangkok, and I think it's good for a relationship if you are both in an unfamiliar place, it makes it more equal.

Try Cebu. Have not been there but have friends who moved from Angeles to there and like it much better.

Cheers Lop, I need to see more of the country anyway so a holiday there wouldn't be a bad idea.

By the way, can pesos be changed into Baht once in Thailand?

But why not consider living in the Philippines?

A Fillipina who owns a travel agency in Bangkok will be boking the flight so hopefully she can give me some reassurance.

I'll see how things go once she's here but what I've seen in the Fils is just Angeles and I didn't think much of that. Can you reccommend anywhere that is nice and has a good expat crowd that aren't dirty haggard old chain smoking barflies?

If I returned to the UK after the 3 months and did what I had to do and paid what I had to pay to obtain a 12 month visa, how would it be possible to live with her in Thailand?

I hope she could find legal work here but if not, the bset I could hope for from what I have been informed is that she would have to do a visa run every month, or every two months from Laos. She would be afraid to do this alone, yet if I accompanied her it would be a waste of time me getting a year visa, or would it?

Perhaps it would be easier for us to return to the Phillipines every three months but we, or at least I would have to remain there for three months until I could return.

I also heard that Phillipinos can not get a year visa like us but they are intitled to unlimited monthly visa runs.

When she flies here should she get a 30 day or a 90 day return to Manila?

Sorry for the amount of questions here but I just want peace of mind and a happy simple life in the country I have made my home.

no idea, but you also get a lot of filipino singers in bands in bars, can she sing?

She can sing, but she's not a singer - surely though she'd have to already be part of an existing band, I can't see there being many Fillipno bands in Thailand in need of a singer. I only know of one as it is, that band that do the Samui circuit.

How about teaching kindergarten? She's great with kids and has enough nursing qualifications to be a nanny.

My fiancee is a fully trained nursing assistant who can speak pretty much perfect English - would there be anything she can do there?

If a guy got a job in Thailand and missed is Fillipina wife, could she legaly stay with him, could she find work? I read somewhere that Thai's were employing Fillipino teachers as they were more cheaper and reliable than farangs.

You are unlikely to encounter problems at BKK but, as ha been said, the airline may not let you board without an onward ticket within the 30 days. Also you will certainly encounter problems if you do the two border runs across land crossing like Aranyaprathet/Poipet.

I may only need one visa run, I am going out in a couple of days and my girlfriend will come out to see me roughly a month later for a holiday before returning to the Phillipines. I have a couple of job oppertunities in Bangkok though if they turn out to be unsuitable or illegitimate I will return to the Phillipines and if love still blossoms, get married.

I have not done a Thai visa run since 2004 but I used to do the Poipet with Jacks Golf tours from Asoke Soi 11, or was it 12?

Why are there now problems at those boarder points and what is a safe or more viable alternative? It is nigh on impossible to sort out a visa in Manila before flying. (I will fly from Clark nr Angeles)

You may have the problem of no onward ticket when you return to Phillipines though but I guess you will check that.

I'll worry about that nearer the time.

R.e. The visa, I am nowhere near Manila otherwise that would be a good idea.

Thanks again MA.

Ah, no no no I won't be re-entering Thailand... I flew to the Phillipines 2 months ago on a rtn from Hong Kong but I extended my visa here and never used the return ticket back to HK.

So I will be arriving in Thailand on a return ticket meaning I have a return ticket to the Phillipines (valid 90 days).

Sorry, I should've clarified that.