RBWilson

Sounds interesting; where was (or is) it?

Suk Soi 23 (in Citidines Bldg). Still there.

Had a similar experience two weeks ago trying to book a Singapore 5-star hotel; Surprisingly, the only agent that beat the hotel's direct price was Expedia.com

Try Petchburi Rd. (North side) near Soi 7. Several shops there which may have what you want.

See: http://www.mfa.go.th/web/9.php for maps of various offices

I had to pay duty on a computer related item that I had to send to Singapore for repair (because I failed to file the proper customs paper work prior to sending it there).

My rankings:

1. Food Loft - Central

2. Paragon

3. 5th Ave at MBK

but they're all good, and nearly equivalent. I don't like the automatic 5% service charge (at 5th Ave, maybe more at the others), but what can you do? Prices are about 3x ~ 7x vs. a coupon (pre-paid) food court, but you are getting more and varied options, and a more enjoyable environment.

I believe all the mentioned food courts charge 5% S/C. Service staff will pick-up and deliver your orders to your table (except for 5th Ave. - they had this service when they first opened but, shortly thereafter dropped it; the only totally self-service place I have been to with a S/C).

Which bank.

Cheers

Didn't he answer that above, HSBC?

I'm going to look into this situation when I visit Bangkok this next week, and upon my return to the USA in Feb.

The little research I did seems to indicate they only have one branch and one ATM in Thailand? Is this so? This would seem to necessitate 'banking-on-line' which has always bothered me in this world of computer hacks reguardless of how safe all these people want to tell you their services are?

If you use another's ATM machine aren't you subject to a service fee each time?

I'm planing on retiring here within a year or so, but I don't feel it is best to buy lots of baht at this time, even as I feel the USA is in for some shock treatments to its markets....massive, iresponsible over-spending

HSBC ATM cards are valid at virtually all ATM machines in Thailand. No fee within Bangkok - only outside Bangkok (which is the same for all Thai banks I believe.) Yes, there is only one branch (Rama IV Road).

Hey everybody...

Are there any camera shops here that carry Minolta items? I'm looking for new or used Minolta lenses...

I've looked through the posts here and couldn't find what I was looking for. All the online shops seem to sell mostly Canon and Nikon items, but not Minolta. =/

Any help will be much appreciated.

Thanks!

There are two old camera shops (analog cameras) that I am aware of:

- Silom Complex (3rd or 4th floor, I believe)

- Petchburi Rd. (South Side, near Soi 10)

I am not sure about Minolta, but they both have a wide selection (and probably good for referrals as well).

Correction on a typo - Petchburi Rd. (South Side near Soi 18 [not Soi 10]).

Sorry

Hey everybody...

Are there any camera shops here that carry Minolta items? I'm looking for new or used Minolta lenses...

I've looked through the posts here and couldn't find what I was looking for. All the online shops seem to sell mostly Canon and Nikon items, but not Minolta. =/

Any help will be much appreciated.

Thanks!

There are two old camera shops (analog cameras) that I am aware of:

- Silom Complex (3rd or 4th floor, I believe)

- Petchburi Rd. (South Side, near Soi 10)

I am not sure about Minolta, but they both have a wide selection (and probably good for referrals as well).

Yeah Food Loft is my fave. The pasta is lovely. I haven't been to the 5th yet tho, any good?

5th Avenue at MBK is quite nice and worth a visit IMHO. Muslim, Indian, and Vietnamese offerings are particularly nice.

Recently several high-end food courts have surfaced in Bangkok. They feature multi-cultural offerings, typically representing higher-end restaurants elsewhere in Bangkok. The payment system is typically a post-paid, computer controlled check-out system. What has been your experience and why?

A couple of years ago I read in the Bangkok Post that there was a great and large electronic repair shop in Chinatown.

Can anyone give me the name of the place as I couldn't get my portable dvd player repaired up north.

Many thanks

Top Floor of 'Old Siam' shopping complex is great.

Taxis and Limos available directly at terminal Bldg. Taxi should be about 400b and Limo 700-800b to Conrad.

Canton House on Phayathai, one block South of Phayathai BTS. Menu only, but very reasonable (15b per dish) and very busy.

Perhaps I should not have said a % of a %, my bad. I didnt realise we had English teachers on the board.

I meant to say 20% of the units are available and all of these would qualify for foreign ownership. A further 29% of all the apartments (currently owned by Thais) could in theory also be owned by foreigners, due to the foreign ownership quota (49%)

Perhaps you would like to be really useful and offer a typo checking service as well, or perhaps its not strictly necessary just so long as the guy gets the advice he needed?

I believe the 49% ownership rule is based on total square meters of occupied space (not the number of units). Larger units count more against the % than smaller units.

You shouldn't be relying on antivirus to detect trojans and spyware, that's not what they're built for. Read the benchmarking tests. AVG will in a majority of cases let through much more than the other two leading free AV's.

It's your security though, do as you wish.

I have no doubts you can link to benchmark studies saying AVG sucks, and I have no doubts I can give link to tests saying it's great...

Software comparisons are often subjective and biased'; inferior products today will often leap-frog the competition in a new release tomorrow - it is a moving target. For some positive comments about AVG, see:

http://www.freewaregenius.com/2006/11/09/avg-free-antivirus/

http://www.geekgirls.com/security_antivirus.htm

I have been running AVG on 4 systems for 2 years with zero problems.

I down loaded 7.5 has anyone installed it over the earlier version or is it best to un install the old version before putting 7.5 on?

I installed over the old version, using the 'repair' option (recommended on their website). No problems.

I have a friend in New Zealand who was in a similar situation - had not filed US taxes for years, but was refused SS benefits until he filed retro-active returns (with penalty). The advice I always hear is file an annual return, even if you owe no tax. The first $80,000 (maybe $90,000??) of Thai taxed income is exempt from tax in the US (Requires a special form for reporting).

A fare rise might encourage some of the passengers to travel using alternative means. The BTS is always packed !!!

The original plan was to put more carriages on when load factors increased. Thats why the platforms are so much longer than the trains.

For some reason they haven't accomplished this.

Agreed - Try to get on an inbound train at Ratchathewi station between 0745-0845 any workday; it is virtually impossible. I had to wait for 5 trains last time before I could 'squeeze' in.

The Plaza Hotel - 178 Surawong Road Bangkok 10500, Thailand

Tapae Place Hotel - Tapae Road Soi 3. http://tapaeplace.com

Not a lot in that price range, but four possibilities:

- Opera Hotel (Petchburi Rd. Soi 11)

- First Hotel (Petchburi Rd. at corner of Soi 11)

- Florida Hotel (Phayathai Rd. at Si Ayuttaya)

- First House Hotel (Petchburi Rd. Soi 19)

Yes, that is correct - his entry date was the 4th of July so he was required to report 90 days after that date.

"The first application for extension of stay by the foreigner is equivalent to the notification of staying in the Kingdom over 90 days" means exactly what is says - the first application. You said this person had already obtained extensions of stay so it is not applicable.

Don't know how I can clarify "first" any more than the word itself - the initial application for extension of stay from a 90 day visa entry?

Yes, that is one interpretation.

Another possible interpretation:

- 'first' day of attempt at visa renewal (where it is rejected for errors and subsequently approved, and/or a 45 day wait period).

Which would make more logical sense; It makes no rational sense that any approved renewal, containing all relevant personal data, inclusive of residence address, is not considered 'reporting'. Of course, apparently that is not the case.

Have a look at:

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1

I interpret this to mean that the 7.1 version will expire and that you must upgrade to 7.5

A recent related situation on 2 Nov. 2006: A colleague of mine went to Suan Plu for his 90 day reporting. His situation was as follows:

- Last Entry into Thailand was 4 July 2006

- Applied for a one year extension to his 'O' visa on 10 August 2006 (This is about his 10th consecutive annual renewal)

- Assumed that the extension application date was the basis for his 90-day reporting date

He was told this application date was irrelevant and that the relevant date was 4 July - he was therefore fined 2000b.

Is this correct? If so, what does the stated clause on the Immigration web site "The first application for extension of stay by the foreigner is equivalent to the notification of staying in the Kingdom over 90 days" refer to?

It appears from other discussions on this forum, that the key word here is "first"; what is considered to be the "first application"?