mangoman007

We moved into an apartment in the Asoke area three months ago. Our electricity bill each month has averaged 22,000 baht. Has anyone heard of such an outrageous amount before? We are being charged 6.5 by per-unit by the landlord but we only use the air-conditioners in four bedrooms for 8-10 hours at night. We never use it in the rest of the apartment. We have checked the meter outside of the unit to make sure the landlord is charging us the correct amount, and we even had the Mitsubishi air conditioning people out here checking to make sure that the air-conditioners are functioning properly.

Anyone have any insights? Could the landlord spinning up the meters? I also don't know why they have the thermostats on the ceilings of units which would seem to indicate that the air-conditioners must work to cool whole room up to the ceiling rather than to standing or sleeping height.

We are looking to co-rent (sub lease) office space in central Bangkok for a high-tech start up. Anyone have any ideas?

Does anyone know how to go about obtaining a very fast digital or ADSL line? All the apartments say "high speed internet" but they are really quite slow. TOT commercial line? True? Or are there some buildings with digital lines?

Thanks!

Anyone recommend a family counselor in Bangkok that can help us (and teenage daughter) talk through some issues? Want a farang counselor

Thanks!

My friend has found that his exat daughter is referred to as a "player" but he doesn't know what it means in a conext of perhaps alcohol use, sex or drugs. Anyone happen to know what this means?

Thanks

We are thinking of leasing a new car. Am I correct in assuming that a "lease" here is just a loan of sorts:

Selling price& interest/term=monthly payments?

Need proof of income?

Anyone know of a good leasing company?

Am looking for a running partner. Deals with the monotony. I like to start at 6AM (but can be later) 3 days a week. I go for 2 or 3 laps.

Anyone interested drop me a note!

I posted this several years ago so will repost it here. The full topic is here > Wai Oh Wai

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Pretty much every time this topic pops up it gets the same crowd.

1. Those who don't wai at anything

2. Those that only wai a certain category of people

3. The backpacker wai - wais everything, even the local soi dog.

4. The culturally aware, which appears to be a small minority.

I have been coming to Thailand for over 35 years, working here nearly 16 years and 99.9% of my interactions are with Thai, from the lowest class to the highest class you can imagine. I made/make an effort to know the culture and its' meaning to make my daily life more pleasant. I'm at a point where I instinctively know when, where and how to wai. Not to say that I don't occasionally make a faux pax, but when I do I usually realize it immediately and kick myself for a while for doing it (in other words, I should have known better).

I talked to a Thai ajarn friend of mine at the university regarding his thoughts on farangs and waiing or not waiing. First I asked if it was a tourist or a visiting professor and he did not return a wai, what would he think. His comment was he wouldn't think anything of it knowing the person is culturally unaware. Now he made a point though and used me as an example (as an analogy for the opposite farang group). He said if he was standing somewhere out of sight and saw a Thai approach me and waied me but I didn't return the wai, he would be quite upset.

The reason is he knows me, that I have been here a long time and understand the culture, I speak the language and have a Thai wife. In other words, there is no excuse for my behavior with this person. Same with some other Thais at the university, if you refuse to wai then you do not respect the culture or the people (again, if you have been here for an extended period and not the casual visitor).

Now these are highly educated Thais who make a distinction between the various farang categories. Now try to think of lessor educated Thais and I suspect their thoughts are a little less forgiving.

One last thing and that is waiing children. Some think it is never appropriate. My ajarn friend explained that he will return a wai to a child (he will not initiate it), his reasoning is if he doesn't the child will grow up thinking it is not important. In other words, he leads by example. Funny enough, seems I see more higher class Thais returning wais to kids then others.

Handshake vs wai. Yes, not the same thing in either meaning or effect. Though having said that, it seems I remember reading that the wai originated in the same fashion as the handshake. That is, it was to show your enemy you were not holding a weapon. I'm still trying to find the history and the where and why of how the wai started. My colleague believes it originated in India.

My 2 satangs.

This is very very helpful, and insightful. Thank you

Part 1:

-- I am 50+ years old. Farang. Lecturer at Chula (although no one knows it; I don't wear it on my sleeve like some do)

-- The head master of our kids school is a real hi-so type. Big family name etc. About 40 years old

When it comes to a wai, who "goes first". Does age trump social status? Does it really make any difference?

Part 2:

I am taking Thai classes. My "Kru" is 20 years younger than me. She knows I am a lecturer at Chula. But not hers

When it comes to a wai, who "goes first". Does her "teacher status" trump age? Does it really make any difference?

Thanks

Question:

--My 15 year-old son has a Thai and US Passport

--He entered Thailand on his Thai passport

--Needs to get US passport renewed while here

--If he presents his US passport for renewal at the US Embassy, but it does not have the Thai Visa stamp (because he used his Thai passport to enter), will that cause an issue? Does the US embassy even care if he has two passports like this?

Thanks!

We need a driver to take our teens from lower sukhumvit to Bangna on Mon thru Friday mornings and then back in the afternoons.

Anyone know where to find/hire a driver? Ideally he will have a car (in which case it will be car/driver) but we might get our own car if necessary.

Thanks!

MM

Anyone have any suggestions?

How old are you and what are your interests?

i.e.

There are Bangkok Young Professionals events where people meet up, network and socialize...

There are football teams you could join (if young and good enough)...

There are pub golfing events...

I'm not sure if there is a Hash House Harriers in Bangkok or not...

Hi I am 55 yrs of age,I do go to the gym 5 times a week and run about 20 miles a week,never thought it would be a real option to run in Bangkok though.

I do play golf,or try to! ,do you know which pubs have golf societies/events please ?

I am the same age. Run 4-5 times a week starting in Asoke Area. Always looking for a running partner. Let me know if any interest

Anyone know what this is about? It lasts for about 30 minutesand is an ad for soemthing. It has been running for a week. Better yet, how does one stop it? (a joke in itself, I admit)

Namsukar. Sukhumvit Soi 8 is GREAT!

There is a foot massage place on Soi 23 about 3oo meters from Sukhumvit. They have a fish tank supply/maintenance business there and I have seen small sharks. Bet they could get one for you

I need a small river-side restaurant with boat access for a small group. I don't want a big hotel with inflated prices. Jut something a bit humble and reasonably priced. Any suggestions?

Thanks

I also agree: It comes down to respect. If they respect you, and your time, they will be on time. Although the higher the status of the person, the longer you will sometimes have to cool your heels (but no longer than 10-15 minutes). If you are being kept waiting all the time, then get a different job.

I have a new 16GB 3Gs phone from the USA (ATT) and I want to have it unlocked in Bangkok when I am there in a few weeks. I don't need it jailbroken-just unlocked so I can use on AIS Two questions:

I can get it unlocked without it being jailbroken, right?

Does unlocking it create problems for me if I want to upgrade software releases through itunes? Or does that only come up when it is jailbroken?

Thanks

I'll be bringing a new "locked" iPhone 3G from the USA soon. Does anyone know if the crafty Thai hackers at MBK can hack this phone as yet so I can use a local AIS SIM?

I will have a group of about 18 and we are looking for a small dinner boat to hire from Taksin Pier area for a few hours next month. Sometimes the family-owned ones are better. Rice barge also fine but don't want the music, fruit carving etc. Just a boat. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Hi. I need to book a small boat on Chao Phrya for twenty people that we can use for a meeting. Need to rent it for ourselved for three nights one evening. Does anyone know of any?

2 kids...good international school.......750,000Bt/year.

Indeed. Car, comfortable and convenient place and good intl school for two kids is quite expensive now in Bangkok. Not like it used to. We moved to the USA and find it is now cheaper all things considered for a better lifestyle than in Bangkok. Okay sure you can get maids and some people still get a kick out of that but that soon wears off. Food also cheaper in Bangkok but beyond that it can cost you.

Oh yes, memories of playing squash at the then Regent and the Erawan next door. I nearly lived in those clubs and you would have found a pick-up game guaranteed. The last few years that I played, it got harder to find players as many expats moved on or got older, as I did. Check around with some of the other clubs and talk with their knocker or "pro", if they have one. Ask where people are playing these days. It can be fun moving around between different courts. They are all different. A squash court in a condo never really works, it seems, because you need other people to play with and the squash population in Bangkok is small and dispersed. The British Club, RBSC, Polo and the Thai-Japanese courts used to be some of the most active. Not sure these days. Good luck.

I used to play every day at the Regent as well in early 1990s. Wonder if we ever squared off....

I'll be bringing a group of 15 university students from the U.S. to Chiang Mai in September. They are studying global business. I am looking for something for them to do of educational value e.g. visit a good NGO, a factory tour, a farm. Something beyond the usual elephant camp tours. Any suggestions? They have raised some money so a donation to a charity would also be nice as long as it is of educational value. You can PM me if you wish.

Thanks!