ballbreaker

After checking in you head for immigration and just AFTER passing through the glass divider wall but BEFORE the passport desks look left and right, depends which end of the terminal, you will see a desk and some filing cabinets with hand written signs. Those desk are where you get re-entry permit.

Make sure you bring your own photo's because cannot get any taken at airport.

Just spoke to The Thai Consulate in Hull, very helpful, it seems I can get a 1 year Type o - Marriage visa very easy then do the visa run every 90 days then 2 days before the end of the visa do another run to give me another 90 days then post my pasport back to the UK to a family or friend who will then post it to the Thai Consulate in Hull and get another 1 year visa then get it posted back to Thailand via DHL or similar, although I'm sure somebody somewhere has already posted this, if not I hope this helps.

What happens if you get stopped and they want to see you passport?

See them in BG on Soi 7 Suk from time to time.

If airline is doing their job you won't even get on the plane much less get to Thai immigration.

I was returning to Bangkok from Sydney last year with 7 months remaining on my US passport and agent at checkin advised me to renew before to late. She commented that if it had been less than 6 months the only flight I would be catching would be back to the US.

It seems strange to me that the police have not filed criminal charges against this person. Don't they have laws in this country against what he has done?

Time to dump your agent.

Why on earth do you need one anyway ?

Do you really find filling out a single form an onerous task ?

Naka.

Ditto

Sounds like a load of crap. Friend just renewed retirement visa and only needed to show 800K baht in account 3 months prior to renew and it wasn't new money.

I do not have a wired phone line and only use my cell phone connected to the PC for internet access at my house.

If you need to buy a new phone make sure it is GPRS/Edge capable and allows connecting to PC via Bluetooth or USB. My phone does both but I always use USB connection because phone gets charged at the same time.

I currently use AIS access plan of 100 hours for 350 baht per month. Speed is great most of the time but does slow down in evenings and on weekends sometimes.

Any job that doesn't require you to work year round is great. I base myself in Thailand and do short term contract outside Thailand. I usually work 3-4 months a year with the remaining time spent in LOS.

Never buy a car that has an engine swap to a different brand engine because it will be nothing but trouble.

Do not lend money to family. If you want to give money to GF so she can manage that is fine but let it be know its one time only. If other family need cash she will have to do it with her 100K if she ever gets it back.

The crap about being looked down on by the family is crap because I said no twice for loans of several hundred thousand baht each time. One of the loans would have saved some of the family property that a sister had borrowed money on with the parents not realizing what she had done. I am still liked and respected by the family and they tend to take my side over the wife which pisses her to no end.

The one thing I did do was build the mother a new house because the old one was falling apart but it was my desire not a request from anyone.

Why waste the money on BMW or Lexus when the road quality and traffic won't allow full enjoyment of either machine except in your own mind. Buy a Toyota or Honda and use the money you save for vacations.

Never lend money to friends or family unless you are will to lose the money and relationship.

...

Alternatively if you're expecting to be in Thailand long term and any hospital treatment you need is likely to be in Thailand, where costs are a lot less, then consider using a Thai based insurance.

...

But what is no gamble is the fact that medical insurance is commercial business with quite expensive overheads, and statistically they will make money out of their customers.

If you were to put aside and invest as savings the equivalent of medical insurance insurance premiums over a period of several years, then the chances are that those savings would more than cover your hospital costs. But that's not guaranteed. It's still a gamble!

In our case my wife and I compromise and hedge our bets with a modest local cover from Thai Life. They've just recently signed me up for extended cover from age 65 to 70. I know they wouldn't fly us to America for treatment even in a life and death situation, but I also know I'm not a multi-billionaire able to afford the premiums for that sort of cover. Yer pays yer money and takes yer choice!

+ SJ

I'm not a zillionaire either.

If I went the self-insurance route, what do you think would be a sensible amount to put aside keeping in mind the sort of premiums I would have paid to a commercial insurance, and the fact I'm over 60 - though in good health. I'd probably go on putting aside the amount indefinitely, but for curiosity what sort of lump sum - if I did reach it - would be a safe enough level at which to stop?

Given, as you said yourself, that all this is a gamble and there are no guarantees.

Well if you put aside say 20K baht per person each year, which is of the same order as you'd be paying for a modest medical and life cover, then in 5 or 6 years you'd have enough to cover the cost of a few typical hospital visits. Before you're admitted to a hospital bed, they show you a book with pictures of all the different standards or rooms and their different prices, so they actually operate rather like a hotel. A super-deluxe room costs you super-deluxe money of course, so your choice of room can have quite a big effect on the cost of your stay.

Now whether super-deluxe residents get better medical treatment than the plebs is a moot point. They shouldn't, of course, but then "money does talk"!

+ SJ

I think anyone that has lived in LOS for any time can verify that medical cost have been going up and will continue to go up. That being said I think it is better to get a major medical plan and pay as you go on the rest. Trying to set aside say 20k per year for limited time of 5 or 6 years will only bite you in the end. Major medical plans are 20-40k baht a year and if you can't afford that you shouldn't be here.

Hi !

Did somebudy know Qweens Garden hotel at the airport ? Or maybe have some advise for other hotel at the airport, but not expencive ??

Very close to airport but isolated. Don't think they have resturant and none within walking distance. Its new and cheap if wanting a place to stay between flights.

I thought Kansai airport had a limited life because the entire island was sinking and the jacks were a temporary measure to extend life of airport a few years.

Has anyone asked the management to iinspect the tank because maybe something has died in tank.

Don't wait get a Thai drivers license now its not that hard. If you are involved in any type of incident you could be in for some problems and it might be costly.

Hi folks,

Can anyone help please. I am hoping to move over to Thailand soon (Khorat) I take it i can not drive on my English licence.

Question is, which licence required + how to obtain. Thanks.

Best regards.

jb1

I got mine in Korat 4 years ago and needed the following and was only required to eye test. My Thai wife also obtained Thai license following same procedure using her US drivers license also.

US drivers license (doesn't hurt to have IDL also but not needed in my case)

Couple photo's

Application filled out

Letter from Amphor to verify address or letter from your embassy okay

Medical exam letter (walk in any doctors office and tell them you need letter for drivers license)

From: Pattaya Mail Vol XV, No.14 Friday 6th April 2007

http://www.pattayamail.com/current/news.shtml

Question: Howard writes in: Where might one acquire a fully legal international drivers licence in Thailand?

Answer: International driving licenses can only be applied for at the Department of Land Transportation in Bangkok, 1032 Phaholyothin Road, Lardyao, Chatuchak district (opposite the well know weekend market).

The Department of Land Transportation requires one set of original documents and photocopies of the documents listed in 1 - 4 and a fee of 505 baht (the license will be issued at the time the application is submitted).

Required documents for international driving license application:

1. Non Immigrant Visa

2. Passport

3. Work Permit or certification from the local Immigration Department confirming the address of the applicant

4. Domestic driving license valid for 5 years (a temporary driving license will not be accepted)

5. Two 2" photographs (full face, half body photograph, not over 6 months old on date the application is submitted)

Further details can be obtained from the Department of Land Transport, Chonburi, Banglamung branch on 038-221399 or the Department of Land Transport, Bangkok, tel: 02-2723614 and 02-2723618.

This information has been supplied by the Department of Land Transport, Chonburi, Banglamung branch.

Two years ago when I arrived in LA, California I tried to rent a car using my Thai license. The rental car company refused to rent me a car because they could not read what I said was a drivers license. Their words: "How do I even know its a drivers license". I had a California license so not a problem but they did not know that when refused rental. I just wanted to know if it could be done.

I would suggest getting a international license or translation before going. I remember seeing on TV, I think, about place to get international license or official translation. If located I will post.

Why not check out the following site and see if your current PC can be upgraded to support games you want.

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest

Like you I've been thinking about buying game console but in the end I think I will go with new PC.

Why not open box at Thai Post office. I did and only required passport and current address in Bangkok. Cost is less than 200 baht a year.

If you want Mail Box Etc. I think one is located at On Nut BTS just inside the door of Lotus on the same level as BTS platform. I've seen others but do not remember where.

In 2003 I built a house for my Thai GF on her family land. It was a large extended Thai family all living on Papa'a land. Kind of like a cummune-all with separate houses. I never really fit in there. To much family -to close. No Privacy at all. I had little say in anything with all the family around. Felt a bit small. After 2 years we fell out. Of course everything I bought-- the house, motorbike, furnishing stayed with her. I just left.

I like Thai women, and still want a relationship. but i do not want to go through the customary -"buy the girl a house "thing again. Thinking of just renting a nice place and going that route. That of course does not please the lady I am with now. They all want houses of course. Is there any one out there who has gone my route and found another way to appease the "owning Spirit" of Thai ladies. Like maybe just buying them a piece of land-100,000 or so and just keeping renting.

Looking for a easy way out. I enjoy the ambiance of Thailand--but want to keep it simple.

No reason to buy her a house or to give her a chunk of land as you suggest. Would you do those things in your own country? Maybe you should set the expectation correctly at the outset of the relationship else walk away. As a friend of mine says about his girlfriend, she's easier to replace than a motorbike and it takes less time and she knows those things. Harsh but broadly true.

Well said. Or, who has the baht call the shots.

Looking at the info you provided I don't think you need more RAM unless you run multiple software programs at the same time that are memory hogs but increasing to 1 GIG would be nice.

I think the slow down is being caused by the 76 processes you have running. Currenly I have only 22. All software companies seem to think their programs should be started when the PC is booted up so they are loaded in memory to same time when called for. As you install software it may add one more of these processes that will load at startup until you have so many, like 76, it starts to slow your computer down.

You have to be very careful but you can use msconfig to disable the ones you don't want running at startup by doing following: Start/run then type msconfig. A window will open and under the startup tab you can uncheck programs you don't want running at startup. Be careful because some of these might be apps to operate some of the hardware on your laptop.