jimjel

The answer is obvious:

1) Don't get married.

2) Don't buy any property.

3) Just rent a condo or house to avoid the pitfalls that come with financial/legal commitments in Thailand.

4) Keep it simple and enjoy all Thailand has to offer.

try looking for your lima beans at Rimping market. They probably have both dried and canned lima beans. If you want o ship a case of lima beans to Thailand it will probably cost you $20 a can before customs is through with you. I had a small bottle of perscription medicaton UPS'ed from the US to Thailand and before it was over it cost me $275 dollars in shipping and customs fees.. UPS added another $75 for delivery from Bangkok to Pattaya on top of the customs fees. I think in the end some customs officer would really enjoy your lima beans before the dust settled..

Seems to me like a honda, suzuki, or yamaha 110-135 stomp-a-matic should do the trick, they are of immensely strong construction.. I have a photo of 9 people on a 125 cc, 8 on the bike and a baby in a bucket hanging off the side.

Thai pork is both fresher and better tasting than American pork and is not full of chemicals like American pork.

Kirk 0233,

I think you are behind in your technology. The Thai army has already used LRAD against the protestors. Thais must hear at a different frequency, as it didn't seem to have any impact.

Does anyone know where I can buy a 90 degree valve stem adapter to make it easier to check my tire pressures. I am looking for the type that you screw on to the valve stem and then remove after checking the tire pressure. I have an ER6N and it is difficult to check my tire pressures due to the air hose fittings at the gas stations here in Pattaya.

Jim

Is the one year O-A visa extension a one time thing or can you continue to get one year extensions without ever renewing your original visa?

I have had two Non-Immigrant multi-entry O-A retirement visas both issued by the Thai Consul in Florida. On both of mine (past and current) there is a stamp just below the bottom of the main visa stamp that says "Extension of stay not permitted". Those words are part of the original visa stamp, not something added seperately. I read it that I will have to get a new visa when this one expires. Is that right?

Jim

I have been in Thailand for 3 years on a OA retirement visa. For me the answer is simple, when my visa expires in Oct of this year I will not renew it. I will take my marbles and go play somehere else and spend my 40K USD where it is appreciated. It is really very simple, if you don't like where you are, its time to move on.

JJ

HO HUM!

Good thread. A lot of very good points have been made here and I agree with most of them. I am a yank and have been living in the LOS about 3 years, 18 months in Chiang Mai and the rest in Jom Tein. I have found the Thai people to generally be good people but totally without vision. (BG's excluded, they have lots of vision). There is no yesterday or tomorrow, only today. The govt is AFU, the police are totally corrupt, and Thailand has way to much serious crime for me. Go to www.nationmaster.com and check the crime stats. I drop an average of a million and a half baht a year in the LOS. I don't own anything but a motorcycle and a truck. The cost of living in many countries is on par or cheaper than Thailand and you don't have nearly the level of crime, the constant immigrations/visa/police hassles and BS that Thailand has. The BG scene has become totally stale. You can go anywhere in Asia, Central America, or South America and get your axle greased in a few microseconds. I will however, say the Thai food is excellent.

Been to China. Not for me.

PI sounds like Thailand.

Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam to underdeveloped for me.

Researching Malaysia and Panama at the moment.

I don't envision any positive changes for falangs in Thailand, so its time to move on. There are several countries that recognize the value of having expats living in their countries and treat them like the valuable commodity they are.

JJ

The US in the past few weeks either loaned or gave Thailand $3.9 billion dollars, probably to keep the boat floating for a while.

did you read that in the "Delta Quadrant Telgraph" during the time when the aliens abducted you?

No, it was on the Bloomberg Financial news network, but they might have been mistaken as they couldn't possibly be better informed than you.

The US in the past few weeks either loaned or gave Thailand $3.9 billion dollars, probably to keep the boat floating for a while.

There are two easy ways to avoid Thai family problems.

1) Don't marry a Thai woman.

2) If you do marry one, do not live anywhere near any of her family or relatives.

Tony,

If you are going to be ordering up some bling, count me in the the engine sliders, frame sliders, and the swing arm spools/sliders.

Haven't been able to find a windscreen yet but contacted Givi and they said they will have one out for the 09 ER-6N in the late spring.

Jim

My ER-6n came in today at Pattaya Kawi Big Bikes. They told me when I ordered it would be 10 days but it arrived in 8 days. Pick it up in the morning Yeeeee-Hawwwww.

Is there anyplace in the Pattaya area that carries quality riding gear such as flip face (modular) helmets, boots, and mesh riding jackets/pants?

JJ

It would be interesting to hear from some of the other Pattaya ER-6N buyers too see what they paid for registration and insurance from the kawi dealer. Getting bent over a little in Thailand is the norm.

JJ

I went there this afternoon and I liked the bike, all the more so when I saw the price : 225.000 (+ 3.500 for the green book).

Interesting that Kawasaki Mityon is charging 3,500 Baht for registration. If I remember right I paid less than 1000 Baht to get mine registered at the Rama 9 showroom. Is Mityon padding their margin or did the cost of registration go up? What did everyone else pay?

Happy Trails!

Tony

I dropped by Miltyons in Pattaya today to check out the ER-6N. This is what I got soince I don't speak Thai.

The 225k baht price includes tax.

Registration including all the paperwork and number plates was 3,300 baht. I asked salesman why so much and he told me that Pattaya has different registration rates than BKK.

First class insurance is 8420 baht.

They had 2 ER-6N's at the dealership. One floor model and one being prepared for delivery to customer. (Both black) The only 2 colors available in Thailand Black or Orange. They require a 10k deposit to order a bike and can deliver on or before the 10th of March.

I asked about getting an operators manual in English rather than Thai. Salesman said he had some on order (think there was a flake of HS in his answer)

Very nice bike for the money. The only thing I didn't like about it was the funky instrument cluster. The 08 cluster was much better IMHO.

The bike is a bit taller than I expected after having read all the propaganda about it being developed for leggless people, and midget women, seat seems relatively comfortable and my little crotch rocket that rides pillion liked the seat much better than on my Honda Phantom.

I liked it well enough to go back and place my order tomorrow. Hopefully I can squeeze a test ride out of them before I plunk down a deposit, but doubt it, as I didn't see any extra bikes sitting around.

JJ

A lot of people seem to think the police haven't been very effective. I disagree. They have whacked me for over 800 baht in tea money so far this year.

The first thing the police should do it cut the heads off the 9 headed PAD snake.

I think I might head up to China and check it out. Thailand is screwed.

I just got my visa for China last week at the Chinese consulate in Chiang Mai.

All I needed was a completed visa application, one passport photo, and my passport. Airline and hotel confirmations not required per the consul straff.

I went with the one day service which was 5600 baht. Submitted application at 9 AM and picked up passport with visa at 3PM. I requested a 12 month multiple entry visa for tourism purposes but they would only give me 6 month double entry visa with two 30 day stays.

Jim

anothertorres,

Your information is much appreciated and comes just at the right time as I am right now planning a trip to China.

Could you indicate what exact type of visa you refer to with the 5600/5200/4800 baht one? What validity length, and is it single or multiple (how many?) entries?

And I agree with you: Beijing is a very interesting city to visit. So much to see...

My visa is for the "purpose of tourism and/vacation". The validity is 30 days and I went for the multiple entries. I had checked the "24 months" box but they informed me that the longest they were now accepting would be 12 months. Hope that helps and hope you have a great time. Any other questions, just ask!

YUK! YUK! YUK! Vaht a Cuntry. This should be fun to watch. Baht should head towards 40 and I will head towards China.

As Smirnoff would have said "VHAT A CUNTRY". Think I will go to China where they have a stable government.