phuketsub

I used to teach English at an estate in Phuket Town that had several of both breeds. I never back down from any dog, but one of the Rottweilers was by far the most aggressive and there were some very unpleasant incidents.

Both Rottweilers and Pit Bulls have poor memories, in my experience -- not a good feature in a guard dog.

The Thai soi dogs (mogrels), if raised properly, are the loveliest dogs on the planet: smart, loyal, attractive, etc.

If the reason you want a dog is security purposes I would suggest you get one of these. It's a win-win situation.

There is an old expression that dogs tend to resemble their owners.

From my perspective, the people I know who carry guns and keep breeds like Pitbulls and Rottweilers are over-compensating for their own insecurities.

But of course, that's just my opinion.

I'll let you all know how this case works out.

I have stopped hating myself for the foolish blunder that created it.

It won't be the end of the world if I have to do a visa run, but I would prefer not to.

My strategy will be to do a lot of smallish (but necessary) bank transactions on that account, then when I go to update the bank book they will all be 'compressed' and the fact that it dipped below 400,000 won't show up...does that make sense to anyone?

Anyway, I wish everyone who takes in this forum part a happy and safe Thai New Year !

I spent much of yesterday drinking beer at the at Saphan Hin, off to the sidelines at one of the salas as my wife and child 'played Songkran' at the tin mining monument roundabout.

There weren't many other people drinking in the area that I could see.

Unlike years past, there were several pairs of 'patrol police' there who arrived by motorbike. All got completely doused with water and didn't complain about it as hundreds of pickups carrying water in the back passed by in defiance of the supposed ban thereupon.

Authorities not only ignored the law, but took a very active part in breaking it.

Attached see pix of a Phuket City Municipality firefighting truck that was spraying water at people along Phuket Road (though not caught in action here) as well as children playing with water supplied by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation office on Damrong (Dumbwrong?) Road.

This is the agency that is tasked with preventing accidents and tabulating the death toll...

Given what goes on, I am surprised there aren't more accidents, deaths and injuries that there are.

Anyway, I am glad it's just one day here.

if this is what to come in patong with the first bit of rain, then batten the hatches down, all of patong along nanai road has no electric, all the roads behind jungcylon are flooding with oozing mud, patong hospital junction is out of action and just for good measure there's been no government water in patong for 2 days. thats the good news, what a total <deleted> up, please someone start suing the Thai government as a test case, how many times can they screw up common sense stuff

Escape with your sanity intact....Here in Rassada we got a lot of thunder and lightning, but not much rain. The cool breezes of the storm front were very much appreciated by this poster, but not his 7-year-old daughter who had the temerity to complain of "being cold". This is the same child who insists on using air-con at night, even though the temps outside are perfect for sleeping.

D

...like most of the plumbing products on sale here they are are of very crappy quality...

Actually, a bum gun of "crappy quality" sounds rather appropriate...

H

55555555555555555------- Love it

the pun was intended in the original post

Still, I am amazed at the response to what I thought was a pretty mundane request for information

...still no functioning bum gun in my abode however;

I went down there with my daughter and told them exactly what happened, not trying to hide the real anguish and self-loathing I was feeling about the whole thing and adding in that I was worried about who would take care of my daughter if I had to do a visa run.

One of the more senior officers told me it shouldn't be a problem; not to worry about it, as it probably wouldn't appear on the bank statement. (something I will do my best to make sure of)

I just hope he is still there when I go to apply for the one-year extension.

Anyway, I have resigned myself to fate on this one. In my own experience, I have only done an under-the-counter payment once in 25 years of living here, and that was to save on paying a much larger fine for failure to do the 90-day report on time.

I think most of the staff there are generally nice people who understand that what they do, the decisions they make, have a real, sometimes overwhelming effect on peoples' lives. The Immigration Police Volunteers deserve a lot of credit for their help too.

That said, if you walk in there with a shitty, self-entitled and rude attitude it's like a game of snakes and ladders, with the ladders removed. I've seen it first hand so many times.

I will let you all know how it works out.

I wish you all a happy and safe Songkran.

Speaking with many years extension experience of married visa it's been my experience that immigration grant no latitude at all. All you can get is an extension (maybe 2 months) to get your time line sorted out. That's how I sorted out problems in the past.

I am on a two-month extension already after about six years of successive one-year extensions. I guess my question is: in what form does the "proof" that the balance has never dipped below 400,000 have to come? Is it a letter from the bank? A bank statement?

I really think the heat is starting to get to me...how the Hell did I commit such a blunder? I have to go down there before Songkran for my 90-day-report anyway; I am just wondering if I should tell them what happened or not. They were pretty nice in giving me the two-month extension to get it sorted -- and now this. Anyway, I assume on a day like today with all this heat they probably won't be in any mood to help me

Can't you get an earnings statement from your embassy? Or is that only for retirement visas?

that doesn't apply to me; I am on a non Immigrant "B"...Anyway, I am gonna go down there now and see what they say

Speaking with many years extension experience of married visa it's been my experience that immigration grant no latitude at all. All you can get is an extension (maybe 2 months) to get your time line sorted out. That's how I sorted out problems in the past.

I am on a two-month extension already after about six years of successive one-year extensions. I guess my question is: in what form does the "proof" that the balance has never dipped below 400,000 have to come? Is it a letter from the bank? A bank statement?

I really think the heat is starting to get to me...how the Hell did I commit such a blunder? I have to go down there before Songkran for my 90-day-report anyway; I am just wondering if I should tell them what happened or not. They were pretty nice in giving me the two-month extension to get it sorted -- and now this. Anyway, I assume on a day like today with all this heat they probably won't be in any mood to help me

that's my plan..thanks...I will keep you posted

Have no personal experience but would put money back asap to take it above 400,000 to support the argument that it was an error on your part and you corrected it straight away.

Then hope for the best.

I was trying to maintain a balance of above 400,000 baht for two months in order to get another one-year extension on my permit to stay. This morning, to my horror, I hit the wrong button while doing an ATM transaction and the balance now sits at 399,900 baht. Doh! I can put money back into that account today, but now I wonder if I have just screwed myself into having to make another visa trip...Does anyone know if there is any wiggle room on this? Should I go down to Phuket Immigration and plead for lenience today? Just wondering if any fellow TV members have experience/advice on this...

They will never be able to enforce it.

Even if the bars close you'll still get people bringing in their own or those guys who sell it from coolers on the sidewalk. It is ALWAYS the way here: play by the rules = get screwed.

Just look at the taxi mafia, mom&pop shops that ignore the afternoon alcohol sales ban,etc.

Saphan Hin is better for Songkran anyway, notwithstanding the recent report by one TV poster that he was targeted with acid to the face there last year.

Thanks, will try to find one.

Huh, mine is over 7 years old, never replaced a thing.

Then that's the one I want...what brand is it?

It's a Cotto brand.

I go to Saphan Hin with my young daughter and wife and have never had any problems whatsoever. In fact I sometimes feel like I don't get my 'fair share' of water directed my way because most of the kids have an innate respect for a 50-year-old farang.

That said, very sorry to hear about your experience, OP.

Huh, mine is over 7 years old, never replaced a thing.

Then that's the one I want...what brand is it?

Can anyone recommend a decent brand of toilet hose (aka 'bum gun')?

They are indispensable plumbing items, but like most of the plumbing products on sale here they are are of very crappy quality and I find myself having to replace them several times a year.

This thread seems to be dominated by people down south, but for anyone living in Rassada there is a really good restaurant named Prikwan. It's right on Rassadanusorn Road (the main drag through Rassada) next to the Tesco Express. It's set back off the road a bit, behind a small roti vending operation.

They have an extensive menu and the dishes are all high quality and very reasonable prices. Crowded every night, but they get the dishes out pretty fast.

I tried hitchhiking on Thepkrasattri many times, but all the people who stopped identified themselves as taxis and asked for lots of money to bring me from Bang Khu down to Supercheap, even though they were going right past it anyway. Sad.

That said, I am totally down with hitchhiking and often give rides to tourists in need, free of charge. I have met a lot of interesting people this way and they are always grateful for the assistance.

All of this underscores another big problem in the Phuket transport fiasco that seldom gets mentioned: unless your happen to be leaving a hotel or some other location where there is a taxi rank, it is almost impossible to get a taxi because they don't troll for fares like they do in Bangkok and elsewhere.

The taxi drivers here are not only thuggish, they are lazy.

The remind me of those crocodiles that lie in wait for a herd of wildebeest to cross their river...

Okay, so it is a little warmer than ideal, but I don't think it is a sufficient reason to complain. I moved here after living in Montreal for five successive winters, where it can get down to -30C, and windy, this time of year . You could get snotsicles growing out of your nose in no time. It really is a living hell, if you ask me.

I still think Phuket has the nicest, most benign weather of any place I have ever lived or visited and the TMD stats support this. The annual range of min-max temps over the last 50 years or so is something like 25C-38C. Hard to beat.

I find the most effective ways to beat the heat:

1. Open all windows AND SCREENS to encourage cross flow of air.

2. Wear a soft, cotton pha khao maa (Thai loincloth) at home. Yes, your Thai neighbors will laugh, but if you can't take that element of Thailand it might be time to relocate anyway.

3. Rinse off every two hours.

(Note, I don't pretend to have invented any of these measures, which are all well known to Thais)

If you do these three things you won't need to run the air very often at all. Anyway, I don't think it will be long before the talk turns from drought to flooding and landslides. It's all just part of the cycle here.

Some 7/11 put the amounts to their special notebook along with the money, when purchased beer during the forbidden hours. Then in the morning or after 5pm they push the amounts to the machines.

My experience is that 7-Eleven is the only chain of convenience shops to have never sold me outside legal hours...I have never once been denied at a FamilyMart

I was surprised to note today that BigC Market near Rajabhat is the same price for a liter of 100 Pipers as the SuperSuperCheap (my new name for it)...far more comfortable and much friendlier staff too///

I've seen people turned away many times at Tesco and 7-11. And they charge more than the local wholesalers, which will sell anytime. Patong Whiskey does a huge business and is stacked to the rafters usually.

Do they have a branch somewhere outside Patong?

Lone goal by Krissada Sakaew in minute 81. Only 425 people attended, including a contingent from Phuket.

This was just posted on the TPL website: Phuket FC win 1-0 in road match against Thai Tobacco Monopoly in Bangkok. The three points ties them for second place in Division 1, but there are still two more games to be played tonight.

Some 7/11 put the amounts to their special notebook along with the money, when purchased beer during the forbidden hours. Then in the morning or after 5pm they push the amounts to the machines.

My experience is that 7-Eleven is the only chain of convenience shops to have never sold me outside legal hours...I have never once been denied at a FamilyMart

I was surprised to note today that BigC Market near Rajabhat is the same price for a liter of 100 Pipers as the SuperSuperCheap (my new name for it)...far more comfortable and much friendlier staff too///

Interesting you mention that as I need to buy 20 bottles of 100 Pipers for my brother-in-law's party...thanks for the tip

Does anyone know if Promphan adheres to the retarded regulation banning alcohol sales between 2pm and 5pm?

Yes they do. There is of course the alternative of buying more than 17 litres of alcohol (at least I think that is the quantity) in which case you can buy at anytime, anywhere.

Does anyone know if Promphan adheres to the retarded regulation banning alcohol sales between 2pm and 5pm?

I could write a book on this topic. I would say the best bet overall is the one at Merlin Hotel, across from the Muang District Office.

A sentimental favorite is Fairy Barber on Tilok Uthit 1, near Talaad Kaset (near Robinsons). I've never left that place dissatisfied in some 28 years since I first went there as a tourist. It's cheap and old Chinese lady that runs it should be in the massage parlor Hall of Fame. The decor is a real time warp too. Despite the the name, nothing gay about it and it is open all hours.

If you really don't want to run the risk of any temptation whatsoever, try the one at Phuket Prison. All the massages are given under supervision of prison wardens -- enough said. The price is reasonable and it's clean, but there is definitely a weird vibe about the place.

At the end of the day it is all about the masseuse and not the establishment.

I wish I had more time and financial resources to research this issue further.