canda

Hi Everyone, I'm living permanently in Phuket, have had issues with snoring until recently discovering this spray actually works and stops me snoring, I originally purchased some in Australia and have had friends there and from England bring some over for me, now almost finished what they brought for me.

Have been searching Pharmacists around Phuket, but no one stocks it. I will be up in bangkok in a couple of weeks and was hoping to find a stockist there, as I won't be visiting Sydney til Easter to buy more there.

If anyone knows of a Pharmacy that stocks it I would be very gratefull, it's manufactured in Uk by Omega Pharma but as it's an aerosol is is not able to be despatched by airmail via online sources.

There must be some snorers here in Thailand... hopefully one may be able to help me.

Regards,

CANDA

Speaking of Schweppes, anybody heard when Tonic water will be back on the shelves as well ? here in Phuket it's dried up like the proverbial ..... haven't been able to enjoy a G & T for almost a month, sad as we have a couple of top shelf Gins just waiting to be drunk.

Even getting knockbacks when ordering at our local watering holes. I live in hope that it will return soon but not holding my breath !!!!!!!!!

The shelves have been full with tonic again for a couple of weeks now in BKK, it should get to you soon.

My local Tops put it in a new place and still have an empty shelf where it used to be, so most people still think there's none in stock. Maybe see if it's just moved?

Will keep searching, several other favourite items also remain unavailable, funnily, our regular Tesco, Tops, etc. have been doing the trick of filling shelves with single rows of say Coke, juice or whatever, I guess it looks better than empty shelves !

CANDA

Speaking of Schweppes, anybody heard when Tonic water will be back on the shelves as well ? here in Phuket it's dried up like the proverbial ..... haven't been able to enjoy a G & T for almost a month, sad as we have a couple of top shelf Gins just waiting to be drunk.

Even getting knockbacks when ordering at our local watering holes. I live in hope that it will return soon but not holding my breath !!!!!!!!!

I am still convinced that draining, cleaning and refilling to pool is the best solution, but it seems I am in a minority, so here is an important point if you don't,

Algae reoccurrences happen in a swimming pool because the algae was not completely eradicated when treated. Sometimes poor or misdirected water circulation can prevent the pool chemicals from removing all of the algae.

When treating a swim pool for algae, it is important that all parts of the pool receive a dose of algaecide. Some of the many types of algae can exist outside the pool and will reinfest the water when brought back in contact with the water. An excellent example of this is yellow, commonly called mustard, algae. These spores can survive outside the water for extended periods of time. It is important that when you treat for algae you submerge your cleaning equipment in the pool overnight, so that the algae on them is killed also. If you don't take this precaution, the next time you vacuum or skim for leaves you may reinfest your pool with algae spores.

In that case you must also empty, clean and refill your sand filter as this would be the best place for algae to remain! I would also like to know from where you obtain your fresh water as this also could be a source for recontamination with algae?

I think you are going over the top with your treatment but everyone to their own. Usually I would say "if it works then go ahead."

Yet another problem with sand filters, a great breeding ground, impossible to inspect, difficult to clean..

For all those folk having issues with sand filtration, do yourselves a huge favour and change to one of the new medias available, we, and now, many of our friends have changed to glass media and never looked back, reduced algae growth, no channeling, less backwashing, better clarity, etc, etc,. Our sand media was due to be changed after about 4 years of daily filtration, so for a couple of thousand baht more we changed to glass, from what I've heard the life expectancy is more than twice that of sand and the grade of sand used here in Thailand isn't as high a standard as many other countries. As we have bore water, we were also occasionally having issues with reactive iron deposits discolouring the water, now, almost two years after the change - over we haven't had a problem there either.

CANDA

Living in Thailand they were never any good anyway...by the time you got to KL then dumped at Stanstead and all the add ons for baggage, entertainment, food etc it was a longer journey that cost more...so not really a loss for Thai residents.

I agree, did the KL to Stansted once cos I live near Stansted, still not worth it though, after you tot it all up, lots of other airlines cheaper and better service. They stopped going to Stansted as well, good riddance!

Perhaps you didn't book far enough ahead to avail yourself to the best fare with AAX, we have flown several times from KL to Stansted and more recently from KL to Gatwick, also flying AA between Phuket and KL thus utilising the inexpensive fares on that route as well, our average fare KL to UK each time has been around 20,000 baht return each, so we couldn't complain, so what if you have to book your food / beverage etc. when you buy your flights, it really doesn't add that much more to the overall cost. We will miss AAX as we have never had a bad experience with them, looks like we will be using Singapore Airlines or MAS from now on in though.

If you really want to feel ripped off, try upgrading from a economy seat to business (very loosly speaking) on a certain budget airline from here to Australia, via a call centre (as our internet had gone down as we were in the middle of the booking process) huge mistake, not much change from 150,000 baht for 2 return tickets and service was as bad, have'nt used them since, now we fly via Singapore on Singapore Airlines...A380... their economy service far surpasses the alternative including their supposed "business class" service.

CANDA

From what I've read, Frontline will only prevent ticks from breeding, it does not kill the ticks feeding on your animal. I want something that will repel the ticks from the animal either on contact with the animals skin or after first bite. On my dogs the ticks seem to only live/feed between the toes.

If you would care to read the topic from the beginning you would see that from past experience, for us, it is better to try to eradicate the cause, sure there are many tick collars, washes, pippets, types of injections and home remedies that might of helped, but at the time we were dealing with the discovery of hundreds of ticks, not only all over our poor dog but in the house as well. At the onset I also wished there was a simple answer to the problem, but obviously it's was a little more involved.

We have tried various treatments over the couple of years, both the monthly injections & pippets on application, used to send our dog into a frenzy, also the commercial tick washes weren't suitable, now we use No Tears baby shampoo and a mild conditioner for washing and a Preventic collar year round, changed every couple of months, but still ticks attach to her, quite possibly they are injesting the poison but they still seem pretty active even when I remove them from her.

In regard to the ticks on your dogs feet, is your dog a large breed, & does your dog have a tick collar ? it could be the effectiveness is reduced the further they are from the collar, also, if you are using a tick wash or shampoo the solution may not be as strong if your dog is standing in water whilst bathing etc.

Our local vet suggested undiluted Frontline Spray when removing attached ticks, a quick squirt onto the tick and then removing with tweezers, pulling backwards and straight out to remove all the tick in one go. The reference I made to the use of a mix of Frontline / water spray for indoor use was, ONLY FROM MEMORY, as it was a few years back now, it may have been another brand of tick solution, that's why I suggested to the original poster they consult with their vet in this regard.

CANDA.

Thanks Dotx, with the advise of our vet, I managed to source the indoor solution from a local pet shop here, the outdoor stuff from a local Thai hardware shop, the outside one was in a small brown bottle with a tick on the label, the indoor one, may have been a Frontline product, it was a few years ago when I bought the stuff & I threw out the original bottles a while ago, still have an a premixed spray bottle of it left. For inside of the house I bought a simple spray bottle with a twist adjuster to squirt directly onto the top of the skirting boards and then turn to mist for the other areas, during the time they were active it was suprising to see them coming out and up the walls from behind the boards within 15 minutes or so of application, obviously it's important to get the percentage of the tick liquid and water amounts correct and as you said, you want to know were the product goes and the amount used etc.

The vet suggested when we asked for the solutions to explain it was for Hep (the Thai for tick) and to confirm the solution strength as well.

Again, I really hope that this will give you some help, it's was a bit of a dilemma as our dog is now 18 years old, obviously you want to do very best to alleviate the problem, but then again you worry that the sprays etc,. hopefully won't harm either the dog or yourself.... On a good note I have'nt found a tick for 4 or 5 days now, though I'll still keep up the daily checking.

All the best,

CANDA

Hey Dotx, Don't despare about the tick situation, you do have to become more proactive in your approach though.

Up until 3 years ago our dog had been completely tick free, until one day a friend brought their supposedly tick - free dog to stay whilst we were on holiday, Much to our shock and dismay, within a week or so, not only was our dog literally covered in seed ( first lifestage) ticks but we discovered our bedroom was infested as well, from what I have read, the seed tick has to have a blood meal then drops off to then go into the "crab like" stage again attaching itself to the dog, but this time, unless removed, engorges til it's almost ready to burst.

The first seed ticks I discovered were on the outside of my dogs ears, she is only about 4 kgs in weight, mostly white and long coated but her ears are sable coloured, the ticks felt like small lumps under the skin but then I found they moved under my fingertips, I don't think my poor little dog knew what was the hell was going on as she was quite agitated by this time, I put her in the bath and wet her down to find lines of these little blighters under her stomach, inside her leg areas around her face and neck area, I lost count at over 100, picking and scrapping them off her as I washed her, in the mean time my partner had found some funny little things in between the bottom end of the bed sheets and the quilt and then on further inspection a whole lot more, we then found them on both sides of the curtains and even on the walls and skirting boards... I reckon within the couple of hours it took to find and remove them, we must have removed around another hundred at least.

First thing in the morning we headed to the local vet and he suggested injections, washes, sprays, collar etc, we checked with our gardener and bought tick (Hep) solution to spray the garden, another to spray the bedroom, which we bought from the local hardware store, I remember spraying it 3 times over a couple of weeks, particularly spraying down in between the walls and skirting boards, and even the timber bed frame and matress, mask & gloves on and showering after, closing the room off to let it dry for a few hours each time, the lawn and garden had to be sprayed as well.

The second stage life cycle began and again the bigger ticks came out to play, not sure, but I think it corresponded to a short burst of humid weather, found out that the tick wash was obviously not well tolerated by our dog whose skin turned bright pink after it was washed into her coat, experimented with various less intense shampoos, she wears a tick collar year round and we have a tick check at least twice every day, under a brightish light, basically feeling all over her body, paws, in particular in the ears and all the nooks and crannies, she tolerates this massage type of treatment well, though at first she would be hard to calm down, particulary when she has had quite a few on board.

The last major outbreak was about a month ago, but very much less than previously, in fact each time there seems to be less, so hopefully one day our place might again be the tick free haven it was.

My suggestion would be to keep a close eye on were your dog sleeps at night and treat that area as well, our dog doesn't sleep on our bed but we found the ticks migrate up surfaces, walls, the bed posts, curtains etc, inspect your dog as often as you can, even with the twice daily checks I can still miss one and within a day or so they start to engorge, anyway hopefully our experience might give you some help in the fight for a tick free and I would imagine, more comfortable dog.

All the best,

CANDA

What's not hard to believe about this whole situation, since the election has been done & dusted, I have read so many posts on the idiosyncracies of the Pheu Thai part as a whole, the above certainly doesn't surprise me at all.

Slightly off topic, but still pertaining to the above, over dinner last weekend a good friend from Oz & his Thai partner mentioned they had recently made a quick visit to the family in Udon Thani, both of them were emphatic that not only the relatives, but every voting aged person in the not so small village was given 2,000 baht to vote Pheu Thai and were proud to talk about it quite frankly.

It makes one wonder, just how many villagers throughout Thailand might just have been given a 2,000 baht helping hand to assist Mr Thaksin's defacto party to succeed in their quest and for that matter, just who might have plenty of money to give that very gift so kindly.

So now, when I read on a daily basis all sort of snippets related to the new kids on the block and an old man in Dubai reaching out so gently to guide his flock into some sort of orderly government, I wonder what is in store for this once great country.... hush, hush, quiet as we go....only the Shinawatras will know !

Some valid comments, itishothere.

Gone are the days when passengers were able to bring family and friends onboard for farewell parties before embarkation, sadly ,due to the threat of terrorism, security has become an even greater issue, even to the extent of shipping companies employing scuba teams to do underwater checks whilst ships are in port, passengers having to have digital photo swipe cards to gain shipboard access, the need for luggage and body scanning equipment etc.

I doubt these companies, nor for that matter their insurance underwriters, would welcome any additional resposibilities, the fact that the safety and well being of all passengers and crew lies with the Captain and his officers on a day to day basis it would be impossible to then keep watch on day trippers onboard.

A ship is like a mini united nations, not only passengers but crew hail from all over the world, and once onboard all passports are held by the Purser's office for the duration of the cruise, to go ashore at a port of call, all are given shore cards that act as a temporary passport to remain ashore whilst the ship is in port, imagine the passengers heading ashore being replaced by a ship load of day trippers coming onboard a ship at dockside, or with even more difficulty, tendering to a ship at anchor then having security checks, passport procedures and belongings checked just to have a couple of hours onboard.

Your reference to being "airside" must have some similarities, in regard to immigration and passport control, I'd assume the shipping company has to act under the countries immigration laws (and its maritime laws as well.)

All said, if it was to happen... it might well be a popular option for a "visa run"....(rather than sitting in a leaky longtail boat heading to Myanmar for a couple of hours).... Now, if only they could open the ship's casino whilst in port....No Contest... A SURE FIRE WINNER!!!!!

Canda.

Oh and then there are the security issues of actually allowing these people to wander around the confines of a ship unsupervised !

And another issue I find interesting; presumably these passengers are in international waters and therefore need a passport and immigration facilities to enter Samui/Thailand? I guess they are a bit like being airside in an airport in this respect?

And I also assume that for someone to board the ship they too need a passport to 'exit' Thailand?

I can imagine all the riff raff queueing up to do their visa runs that way!

For the uninitiated "landlubbers" above.... the reason that Star Cruise ships visit Phuket as a weekly "Port of Call" ( the nautical term for a ship either berthing at a wharf or "Anchoring Off" and tendering passengers ashore).... is simple, these ships Embark from the port of Singapore and sail through the Straits of Malacca, stopping at Port Klang for Kuala Lumpur and continuing to Langkawi, Malaysia, then to Phuket....then return... Phuket is in the Andaman Sea and that is where the mystery ends... as Koh Samui... IS NOT.. (being in the Bay or Gulf of Thailand, you may see ships call at Samui, quite possibly having called at Laem Chabang, the Port for Bangkok, as, you guessed it, Bangkok is in the Bay also. Until such times as a Canal could be built... eg...like the Suez or Panama, possibly connecting the the Andaman Sea to the Bay of Thailand, you won't see any of these ships itineraries visiting Samui. Another reason is Phuket has a true Deep Sea Harbour and an alternative fair weather anchorage and more than enough facilities for the international cruise market.

In regard to the idea of offering Tourists "day excursion packages" to go onboard cruise ships to be entertained to lunch, drinks and a look around, whilst the ships passengers are ashore ...is absurd.... go figure..... passengers pay several hundred dollars a day or more, for the right of being treated to some privacy and security whilst aboard, also, not all passengers "Go Ashore" at every port, could you imagine a paying passenger having to wait in line whilst the beer drinking riff raff eat their fill in the restaurants and buffets then use the pools and bars... Oh and then there are the security issues of actually allowing these people to wander around the confines of a ship unsupervised !

http://www2.thailand...arch_ems_en.asp

Different rates between EMS & standard airmail.

Oh what a useful website - thank you Mr Roo.

A little puzzling tho ..... the abbreviations after the items .....

SURFACE - is easy enough, but then there's SAL. Anyone have any idea what this is?

(Plus the list is further complicated by having 3 different abbreviations for 'surface'!)

Cheers

R

SAL.... stands for Surface Air Lift.... and signifies a combination of Air And Sea Mail, it is used for parcels( as letters are sent via Air Mail).... it can also indicate that, for example : a parcel addressed to say an address in the backblocks of Ireland would be sent via Shannon Airport in Dublin and then forwarded by road transport to the final address rather than being directed to a regional airport... obviously the said item would take a lot longer to reach the final destination.

Hope this answers you request.

Canda.

Hey Guys, not so much a reply to the actual article, but does anybody else find the articles published by Pyanart Srivalo of the Nation particularly annoying due to inappropriately placed hyphens.

The article above is a prime example of what I am referring to: question-ing, repre-sentatives, compa-ny, gov-ernment, accord-ing, organisa-tion, ord-nance, con-tract and pur-chase.

Another short article, I discovered from a couple of months ago, had something like 25 strangely placed hyphens in the space of a couple of paragraphs, again for example: pro-testers, meet-ing, pub-lic, sec-ondary, intersec-tion, gov-ernment, inci-dents, pro-longed, maxi-mum, trans-parency, proce-dures, secu-rity, offi-cials, com-pleted, mecha-nisms, coordi-nated ( that's a corker) politi-cal, semi-nar, crit-ics, rec-onciliation etc,.

The author, quite possibly may have english as a second language, therefore using the hyphen helps break up longish words, but I would summise, the majority of the Nation's readers, would find the said articles rather hard to read.

Though, not being an english teacher, I do consider hyphans used appropriately, after a prefix etc,. are of great use, but I think the Editors-in Charge need to take a closer look at these articles and resubmit them to the author who might then consult a dictionary before posting further articles.

Regards,

CANDA.

Thanks guys for the information.

Yes, MJo, at the time we ordered the vehicle my partner hadn't received a work permit.

The Thai guarantor is a local businessman and well respected member of the community, so we trusted there wouldn't be problems, ( that's also another reason I don't want to rock the boat.)

Cheers guys,

Canda.

Thanks for the info JohnLeech, will attempt to contact the Land Transport Dept. to see what, if anything, can be done

As we are gradually discovering things work in different ways to what we would expect as normal practice in our own country...

Cheers,

Canda.

Thanks Katabeachbum for that advice, when we first purchased the car we basically had all the paperwork organised by the Thai guarantor and we paid the monthly cash payment to him, making it easier for us I guess.

He is sorting the transfer and when I mentioned it he said too difficult, yet when my partner has asked him previously he said he HAD done it with two names a couple of times ?????... that is why I wanted some advice, I don't want to "rock the boat" so to speak, as he said he had done the guarantor thing as a favour and wanted no difficulties.

Excuse my ignorance, but you mentioned our "local LTD" might give us some advice, we are living in Phuket, would you know where the office is located and (sorry) what LTD stands for ?

Thanking you,

Canda.

We need some advise on transferring the papers for a vehicle we used a Thai guarantor to organise.

Three years ago we purchased a Toyota sedan through a local dealership, an expat friend suggested we use the guarantor, paying a deposit and 3 years payments on a low interest loan and holding the remainder in one of our overseas accounts making interest.

We decided to make a larger deposit and paid 50% of the purchase price and were assured at the time that we could own the vehicle in both our names when we transferred the title at the expiration of the loan.

Both my partner and myself are expats and have lived in Thailand for a fewl years now having property in both our names, I am on a retirement type O visa and my partner has a work permit and associated visa, we are now being told by the guarantor that it is very difficult if not impossible to transfer the ownership into 2 names and that it can only be in the persons name that holds a work permit.... I did ask the question.... "if there are so many retired expats here, obviously on retirement visas and buying cars, how is that possible"... no answer was forthcoming.

I feel that it seems wrong as both of us paid cash from each of our seperate Thai bank accounts to make up the 50% that we paid and contributions for the monthly cash payments have been sourced from us both.

The other issue is if my partner was to pass away, what then happens to the vehicle, would it go into probate for months or simply be taken from me as having no legal right to the vehicle.

Hoping for some expert advise from the learned members.

Cheers,

Canda.

For all those in the Laguna, Thalang and Surin area... NOK & JO'S Restaurant is offering Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Dinners from 6pm on both days. The menu includes... Spring Rolls, Prawns, Mussels... Roast Turkey, Duck, Ham, Beef, Ribs... Dressing, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Cranberry Sauce, Salads, Fresh Fruit and more...

Prices for both days are... Adults: 500 Baht... Kids: Free to 1/2 price...(depending on age.)

Have been looking for somewhere decent up here and at a reasonable cost compared to the resort options, which tend to be overpriced... we have been to a couple of Nok & Jo's BBQ Buffets previously and the food has been great.

At this stage they have more bookings for Christmas Eve, but may be due to the proximity to the Sun Wing, Amora and Best Western Resorts and their guests at this time of year...

The Restaurant is located on the road that leads from Surin Beach through to Bangtao Beach...You can book on...081-5382110 or 087-2796532. E-Mail: [email protected] ....ENJOY......

I would like some advise re my upcoming visa needs and hope the learned board members may offer some help.

My nationality is Australian,and I am 51 years of age and am presently not working.

I have been living in Phuket since April last year, I applied for a multiple entry type B non-immigrant visa from the embassy in Sydney about 2 months before leaving Australia, I had planned to look into small business options.

My current visa runs until 08/02 and having done 3 x 90 day visa runs, the last on 28/12, my passport shows "admit until 26/03/o8."

My questions are :

1) Is it possible for me to do a further visa run before 08/02 and therefore gain the "additional" 90 day extension on my current "B" visa, as I have heard sometimes it is upto the discretion of the immigration officer, whether it is granted????

2) Having gained the 90 days, do you think it would be viable for me to then extend or re-apply for a further 12 month "Multi B" and if so travel back to Sydney or another embassy/consulate?

3)Or, I have the required 800,000 baht thai bank account and the other requirements for the retirement visa - could I apply for this instead, again during the above 90 day "B" visa extension period? as I understand one needs to apply using this type of visa or additional fees are required to convert from a tourist visa etc. also would the 21 day prior to the "admit until" date further confuse the issue? again could this be done here or in KL, Penang or Singapore or would it make life easier by me applying back in Sydney on a quick trip home?

Hoping the above may be in Lopburi-3 and other member's realm of expertise.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

CANDA.

Hello all.

My adopted Thai daughter is planning on doing he Masters degree in Business Administration in Australia next year. Being a Brit. myself, I do not really have much information about Australian universities. She has asked me for advice about which university she should choose, and I mentioned Perth because of it's geagraphical location and similarities to Asian climate etc. I know there are quite alot of Thais living and studying in Perth. But, what about Sidney, or Melbourne. Are there any good universities in these cities ?

Any advice from our Oz members would be much appreciated !

Thanks.

I have a Diploma Of Teaching from an Australian Teachers College, not a degree, a TESOL Certificate and 24 years teaching experience in Secondary Schools in Sydney both as a classroom teacher and in Admin. I am now living in Phuket, will I be able to obtain a teaching position here without a degree? Thanks canda