AJARNJACK

My experience with raising ducks for eggs came after returning to our home in the Pacific Northwest with my Thai wife. She'd been a baker in Trang and used duck eggs for baking because of the richness of the yolk. I had no experience with ducks other than hunting them and so had to research the best laying breeds. We chose Khaki-Campbell because they are the best layers. The statistics said that one hen will average about 320 eggs per year! After two years I can verify that claim because we got 1 egg almost everyday from each hen the first year and the second year has slowed to one every two days.

Concerning feed, well the guys with experience raising pigs should like this; I feed them hog feed! It's the cheapest grain mix because it's just a mix of different types of grain to keep up with the amount of food a pig eats daily and be economical too. As far as giving them enough calcium for the shell strength, I simply grind up their empty egg shells and mix it back in their feed. Never had any soft shelled eggs either.

My wife's said her family had ducks in their yard so I figured she knew about how to feed and care for them --NOT! Turns out that the ducks were wild and would hang around their home and so they'd throw out rice to keep them around and collect eggs. They enjoy lots of greens to supplement the hog feed and even like shrimp hulls.

Good luck. :jap:

Hello forum members,

I'm going to travel back to Thailand and close my Siam Commercial savings account so that I can have that amount back in the States. I've read about the requirements needed to prove that the money came originally from the USA, so I'm ready for the paperwork. What I'd like to know is what is the best, cheapest way for me to have it exchanged and either brought back as a Cashiers Check to be deposited in my local bank or have it wired? I'm not sure if Siam Commercial itself offers the best bargain after their exchange rate and bank charges.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated. :jap:

Hello,

I wired the price of a pickup truck from my bank in the USA to my account with Siam Commercial Bank, Hua Hin in 2006, while working there as a teacher. My wife's brother bought the truck in 2007, after we returned to the States and placed the payment in my saving account with SCB. We'll be returning to Thailand for a visit next year and I'll want to close my account in Hua Hin and have 700,00 baht brought back to my bank in the USA.

My question is: What is the best way to go about moving the money back into USD? I've had a bad experience with HSBC in Singapore when wiring money back to my bank account in the USA. With their conversion rate and wiring fee I lost about 10% in fees! Is there a less expensive way than just having SCB exchange it at their rate and charge me their related fees? Also, is the fact that I have a bank book from SCB that shows the deposit of 900,000 baht from my account in the USA back in 2006 ( to cover the price of the pickup) enough proof to show that the money didn't originate from Thailand (thus quelling any suspicions that it is money made in Thailand)?

Any advice on this topic would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

:jap:

I live about 40km outside of Trang. Rental accommodation is generally very limited to shop houses, there are plenty of cheap hotels and bungalow type places (I was going to resorts, but they are not resorts). Shop house rentals start at about 2000 baht per month outside of the city and go up dependent on the area.

Where is your wife from? Is she southern Thai? This can be a factor because most people speak the local dialect, if she has family or friends in the area it will be a great help. My wife is from here and related to just about everybody within 100km radius.

If you plan to buy land, it is very cheap outside of the city, rubber tree land (with trees) sells for 100,000 per rai, roadside land is more expensive.

I don't think language will be the problem, it will more of a shock for you with very few, if any other foreigners in the area. Where I live I'm the only one for miles, also out in the country the lack of availability of essential food items. I'm not talking about McDonald's, I mean thing like bread, potatoes, butter, cheese, wine, ham, bacon, decent beef.

Anyway good luck with your venture and if I can help in anyway please feel free to PM me.

Phuket (Trang) Mike

There is a very nice gated community of mostly Thais called "Sri Trang" which is on the Palien Highway. That's a main road which goes by the Tesco Lotus store and out towards Wichienmatu School. I taught English there and one of the teachers was able to rent one of the houses from someone who just bought it for an investment., but didn't live there. My self, I rented a large two story town house right in town and up a side street for 6000 baht per month. That was 2000 baht higher than the regular locals paid, but foreigners are expected to pay more. There aren't any real estate agents to help you rent a place because they are only interested in selling a house.

Good luck with your move there and I think you'll enjoy the famous Southern Thai cuisine as I did. I didn't look for western food to eat, but instead enjoyed trying all the curries.

Wan Teece moved from Trang, Thailand to Enterprise, Oregon USA only two and a half years ago and has already made her fame in her adopted country. Her husband had taught English around Thailand for four years before they returned to his home in rural N.E. Oregon. Right away she learned to love fishing on the nearby lake and soon she was catching big fish. On March 24th she landed a Kokanee salmon that broke the record for the largest one ever caught in the USA! It weighed 8.23 pounds and measured 26.24 inches long with a girth of 16 inches. The Associated Press picked up the news release from the Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife and now the news if world wide. Not too bad for a lady that had only learned to sport fish two years before!

Does anyone have any experience with a hospital or clinic in Thailand that does fertility procedures? I had a vasectomy almost 20 yrs. ago and my new wife would like to have a baby. I don't care to have the vessel reattached and only would like semen withdrawn and fertilize my wife with it. We live in the USA, but are planning to visit Thailand next year for a couple months. The medical costs here are very expensive and not covered under any insurance, so we thought of having the procedure done while in Thailand.

Everyone has an opinion about Thai hospitals and I'd just like to weed out the places that have bad reputations.

Thanks for your time.

Take a train ride to Trang. Nearby the train station there are many resort tour shops where you can look at your options. If you like a remote settings with beautiful coral offshore I'd recommend Koh Kradan. Problem there is that the only resort that advertises being there didn't have the cleanest accomadations and the restraunt's food was lousy -- and we ate Thai food! Bring some food with you and you'll enjoy the snorkeling.

If you like to be pampered more I'd then recommend Koh Ngai (Hai). There are several nice resorts there and the coral formations are very nice.

You could go further south offshore from Satun province to those other islands you mentioned, but sometimes the transportation there and back isn't as regular.

The main thing this time of year is to be sure that the seas aren't too rough. Boat travel isn't always possible because this is the time of year when the seas are rough. Have a good time!

The "Work Permit Scenario" has been around the education system since the King decreed that all Thais should study English. They employ "native speakers" so that they can teach the students the correct accents and not Thai-style "sing-song" interpretations. Unfortunately they also understand that foreigners that want to stay in Thailand would want to teach English (if all other forms of employment are not open to them). Many schools will tell you that you don't need a Work Permit or just purposely forget to tell you about that requirement so that they can save the 2500 baht fee and paperwork head aches. Most of those schools have "connections" with the local enforcers of those rules and so they don't fear any problems. The problem lies with the labor department and not necessarily immigration officers. If your particular school should fall in disfavor with someone there, they will be the ones to expose you and you'll have BIG problems and not so much for the school.

My personal recommendation is to either pay for the work permit yourself or quit.

Having transferred SGD from my HSBC Singapore account to my US bank account, I'm already aware of the outrageous fees charged by the banking institutions. I paid 10% of the transferred amount in banking fees and I'd sure like to avoid that this time. My Thai wife's brother bought my pickup and deposited the money in my Siam Commercial Bank account and now I'd like to reinvest the money into a pickup truck here in the States.

First I checked with my US bank who recommended the foreign bank simply send a bank draft and they could convert THB into USD. Unfortunately when I used the international currency exchange formula on the web it didn't match my bank's exchange rate. Yahoo's info was that the THB converted to 0.03010 USD, but that same day my US bank said it was 0.025703 USD! With the amount I was going to transfer I'd loose 20% of the international market value!!!

Next I checked with SCB and although they assured me that they would use the daily exchange rate and there was no charge for the convertion, they couldn't wire it directly to my account. It seems there is the 550 baht transfer fee, an additional fee SCB charges for using a "correspondence bank", the fees charged by the "between bank" and still charges assessed by the bank where my US account is!!!

Does anyone have any suggestions that might help me keep a bigger portion of my money before the banks start taking their shares out of it? We don't plan on returning to Thailand until April, 2011 so we can't just go to the SCB branch and take a bank draft back to the USA with us.

Thanks for the memories and the update on Soi Klong Ton (71). I lived near the bridge over the river there for almost a year in 1974! At that time the only non-Thais I saw around there were Indian men who sold household items door to door from a basket they'd carry. I was a 22 yr. old Vietnam vet who loved Thailand so much that I returned a year after seperation from the U.S. Army to spend the rest of my life, so I connected with a taxi driver (retired Thai Army) who connected me with friend of his whose family needed a place to live too. We shared a small wooden house down a side street near the bridge where there were other families living in this community of houses on wooden stilts. The water would run under the houses and that was were they dumped all their trash. Terrible odor and not so pretty, but the rent was cheap. The main street had small open aired restaraunts where I'd have coffee in the morning and wait for the bus. I only lived there 10 months before giving up after not finding any legal jobs and returned to the States.

In 2003 I moved back to Thailand and taught English for 4 years, so I returned to Soi 71 with a girlfriend to show her where I'd lived and I was saddend at what I saw. I had a hard time determining which small side street my old rental was on and my girlfriend was very worried about this "farang" walking down those run-down paths. I found it and was sickend by the sight of my old neighborhood. Now there was only one or two wooden houses left standing and they were trashed. Not quite the scenes I'd rememberd where children had played and families washed outside near large clay water jars.

Progress marches on and although there are a lot more foreigners in that area now with things to make them comfortable, it was really more exoctic then.

I read with interest all the comments about this thread, since I'm in the same 'boat'. My Thai wife arrived moved back to my home in the USA this last October immediately after being granted a K-3 Spouse visa. The end of November we went to the Social Security office so she could apply for a number so that she could start looking for work. They informed us that she needed an Authorization for Work before they could issue her one.

After viewing the USCIS webpage I saw that she could apply for that document at the same time as Adjustment of Status to Permanent Resident and it didn't cost extra if you did them together. One of the forms asked for was an Affidavit of Support and since I just filed one with the Dept. of Homeland Security 6 months earlier I sent a letter stating that I wasn't given back that form, but I included a copy of the Cashier's Check I'd sent them for that form to be filed as proof. They didn't seem to care, as I got back a 'pink letter' stating that her application was temporarily suspended until they got the Affidavit of Support.

I'd sure appreciate anyone who could give me a phone number to call and contact a live person at USCIS who I could actually ask a question to. Calling and being given a list of self help info sometimes isn't enough.

Many thanks for any phone contact info this forum could offer.

Thank you, TH, for your comment. Getting married to a foreign national and wanting a prenuptial agreement that was binding in both my country and hers was the reason I searched for an international law firm to make sure it was done correctly. I chose Siam Legal because of their web site information. They also offered a money back guarantee if she didn't get a visa to the States. I was told from the beginning that the K3 Visa was the best option, but that it could take from 6 - 8 months. They never mentioned the CR1 Immigrant Visa and they knew exactly what our intentions were. Why they didn't is disturbing, because now we'll have to pay more filing fees and go through more paperwork once again after we move back to the States. It has now been 9 months and her interview is scheduled on October 3rd. The lawyer assisting us said that she was surprised how quickly everything processed! There was a long waiting period between the Dept. of Homeland Security's review and the National Visa Center's processing.

It is truly amazing to hear that the couple you mentioned had everything accomplished within 2 months! You are correct that we did have to fill out forms ourselves and gather the required paperwork ourselves, but the benefit was that we lived in Southern Thailand and going to Bangkok to run around and get things done would be time consuming (I was teaching at the time) and expensive for travel, room and board. The lawyer accomplished all that for us and had contacts at the U.S. Embassy and Thai government offices to expidite things (supposedly).

It's too late to do anything but "take the ride" that we already paid for to the law firm we retained. Others reading this should take your information into consideration if they plan go through the visa process for their spouse. Living in Bangkok would make it easier to accomplish this yourself too.

I realize that being at the mercy of any government's bias is a threatening situation. Dealing with a small Thai immigration office up-country serves up the same type of public servants that the U.S. does. They are complete and seperate "kingdoms" with their own interpitations of the laws. They are the masters of your fate when dealing in their "kingdom" and most of the time their superiors support them. I understand this better than most, having worked for the U.S. Postal Service for twenty years. It was a small, very rural office and I happend to get on the "bad side" of one of the locals that worked there for years. The postmaster supported this person because he was unable to do all the paperwork himself and needed their assistance. That was early in my career there and I endured unbelievable harrasment, but being that it was one of the few jobs that offered a pension in that area, I endured it until I could finally retire. I used the union contract to defend me against this predjudice, but the postmaster always interpited it differently than I did and so I had to always go through a long grievance procedure.

When I hear about similar bureacrats working at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, I picture that abusive long term postal worker and a postmaster who turned a 'blind eye'. We are stuck with them in charge of our fate and our only hope is finding someone in a superior positition to give us a fair deal if they won't. If anyone in this forum knows of such an individual, it would be much appreciated if you shared their name with us.

My wife's visa application is a K3 so that she'll be able to live in our home in the States with me. Hopefully the fact that I do have a home there to return to instead of just taking her there to visit will be favorable for her application. The fact that she doesn't have any bank account is very common for an up-country rural Thai that lived with her family before marriage. At 30 years old and an having earned a college degree, when she married me the only belonging she brought to our household was a bag of cloths! She worked baking 'kanome jeeb' with her sister and all of the money went to her family's needs. I did however, include in a form she submitted, the money I have in a bank account here as money she has - since we are legally married. There is another requirment to show receipts for items I'd purchased for her. In the five years I've lived in Thailand the only places which gave me a receipt were large stores, or hotels in the big cities or 7/11s. Thais don't want to pay taxes and don't want any records, but the U.S. government requirments for receipts don't acknowledge this fact either.

Reading about 'horror stories' at the U.S. Embassy concerning issuing visas is quite nerve wracking. With my wife's visa interview on the morning of October 3rd "just around the corner" we are not as sure as we were before about everything being okay. The the fact that one writer's wife was rejected twice is unbelievable, given the amount of security she has shown she has in Thailand.

Concerning one writers comments about why, if I've lived here almost five years, I hadn't filed for a CR1 Spouse visa: Although I've lived here that long, I only married a Thai lady last November. I too, questioned my Bangkok attorney why we weren't filing for the CR1 Immigrant visa instead of the K3 Non-Immigrant visa they had us file for. The explanation we got was that the CR1 visa was for couples married at least two years. If anyone knows something to the contrary, I'd appreciate hearing from you.

I've got a pension and have maintained a home in the States, she has a clean background with a college degree but no bank account. If that aint good enough we can always live comfortably here in Thailand.

As my wife and I are awaiting her October 3rd interview at the U.S. Embassy for a K3 Visa, this thread is of intrest to me. Reading that there is such a thing as a 10 year visa really intrests me. What kind of visa is that? I've retained a law firm in Bangkok to assist me with prenuptial agreement, marriage (married in Thailand) and visa application. They never mentioned a 10 year visa, only the K3 which is only good for 2 years.

After we married we started the paperwork for her visa in December of last year and "what a long, strange trip it's been"! Anyone who has done this understands the amount of documents and expense of filing fees involved. From what our lawyer tells us, the K3 visa will allow her time in the States to complete her Permanent Resident (Green Card) Application as well as mutiple entries into the U.S. for two years.

I've lived in Thailand for the past five years, but have kept my home in the States and she wants a chance at a better life there. It seems that we've gone through more paperwork than others I've read about and wonder if it's because I live here in Thailand instead of back at my home in the States.

Any advice from someone more knowledgable than me would be much apprecitated.

I'd like to recommend a man that really is a pleasure to take a cruise with and his boat would accomodate about 8 people besides the crew. His name is Charlie and he's on the opposite side of the river from River City near the Klong San Market. You simply take the public ferry ( 2.5 baht) across to where he parks his boat after you've made arrangements over the phone. He operates "Charlie Gallery" and is a very friendly American who has lived and owned businesses in Bangkok for the past 8 or more years.

He knows the Bangkok waterways as well as offers longer trips up to Ayutayha and back (a full day trip). If you're interested in a taking a friendly cruise that doesn't cost a fortune, then he would be the man to contact.

Give him a call at 081-837-5501 and tell him Jack recommended it.

Thanks to you folks that answered and especially to Silverhawk for the direct legal info from Thai Customs.

Now I need to find out about converting baht to USD and a wire service. It would be great if I could just go into a bank and have them give me a fair conversion rate and transfer it directly into my US bank account. I'll talk to them and see, but somehow suspect that I may have difficulty. Seems there have been many times in Thailand when I thought conducting business should be simple and then find out they make 'a mountain out of a mole hill'.

In a few months my wife and I will be returning to my home in the USA. Our plans have changed from living here year-round, to spending 9 months of the year in the USA and only returning to our rental home in Thailand during the winter months. I've already closed out my bank account when we moved closer to Bangkok and have a cashiers check that I was going to open a new bank account with. A friend recommended that we cash the baht into dollars while the exchange rate favors the baht and bring it back to the USA. Realizing that the baht will most likely weaken within the next year, we can then exchange dollar back into baht when we return to Thailand later.

Someone mentioned that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to take 800,000 baht out of Thailand and told me to check the legal constraints. It wouldn't surpise me if the Thai government had some regulation restricticting the amount you can take out, but I've never heard of that before.

Does any forum member know the law regarding this? If so would you please advise me?

This is an interesting topic, because most everyone that has responded had come here initially to experience Thailand - the good. I first came for a week of R&R from Vietnam in 1971 and thought how great it would be to live here - a place with beautiful women, good food, cheap prices and no one shooting at you! I did just that and in 1974 I sold everything and moved to Bangkok. There weren't many business opportunities for a 22 yr. old back then, since there was little demand for learning English. The possibilities left were all illegal and I didn'tn want to end up in a Thai prison, so after 10 months I returned and started a life in the USA once again.

The American dream ensued: college, career, marriage, children, divorce and retirement. Although heartbroken, divorce gave me the opportunity to pursue my Thai dream. My home was paid for by then and so I just locked it up and moved back to Thailand in 2003. I didn't need to work since I had a pension, but chose to teach as a way of meeting "proper women". Once again the idea didn't work out since even in an academic enviorment - Thais preferred to distance themselves from foreigners. hel_l, even teachers that I co-taught with or had desks in the same office would never think to sit with any foreign teachers at lunch time. This was reflected in the three different high schools I taught in throughout Thailand. "Renting" beautiful women is nice, but less than satisfying for the mind. It's like being lonely in a room full of people. Lucky for me, after 4 years, "the right woman" came along and we married. At the time I met her I had 5 women that were pursuing my affections, so I wasn't desperate.

My wife wants to give life in the USA a try and maybe better employment opportunities. I have no objections, since my home is in a very rural and beautiful place and I long for the outdoors once more. I'm ready to move back as well, since the things I really thought I would find in Thailand are non-existent (other than my lovely and caring wife). Thai women make fine wives, but you have to be very careful in your selection, since beauty alone will bring you much grief and expense.

My big let downs about living in Thailand are: 1) 90% of the Thais think all foreigners are rich and stupid and they expect you to always give to them and aren't shy about asking for things. 2) Unless you are very wealthy and can afford lots of security, it's dangerous to live or even camp away from the population (poor people can and do live everywhere in this country). 3) For a population that is mostly Buddhist and make a big show of devotion, few people actually practice the terms they use such as: jai yen (cool heart) meaning patience - driving and waiting in line, Thais always try to get around you(especially foreigners), nam jai (juice of your heart) meaning generosity - ever try to walk across the street and have a car stop for you or get a fair price when buying something? 4) Equality - no matter how well you speak the language or respect the culture you are never treated as equal to a Thai. You find this out when you stand at a counter and they help Thais first or you get involved in a traffic accident or fight with a Thai - you will be quilty and have to pay all of the fines and expenses. 5) Pollution - it's everywhere! I've been to many beautiful beaches, caves and waterfalls which have so much litter it makes you sick to think they would have so little care for the natural beauty they have. Even in a classroom there is trash everywhere and the trash bin is in the back of the room! 6) Cheating - it's openly accepted and understood. Thai teachers actually sit outside the classroom during an exam to avoid catching students with "cheat sheets". They've learned it only makes their job tougher since if the student fails they will have to test them again. 7) Lying - necessary for 'saving face'.

Oh sure, there are some fine aspects about living in Thailand. People are basically friendly, especially if you speak the language. The 'sanook factor' (food, lodging, booze and women) is cheaper than many countries. So if you live in a big city and can afford to pay for their services, Thais will make you feel very happy in their country and isolate you from the grim realities of a Third World country.

Fortunately for my wife and I, my home back in the States is in a 'vacation land' too and many people love to visit there. Situated amongst National Forest and Wilderness Areas it has a county population of only 6000 full time residents. During the 30 yrs. I've had a home there the population in my town alone has only grown by 20 people. My town has never even had a stop light! For me the benefits of returning there are greater than trying to live my 'Thai dream' any longer. I'm renting a small place to store our household belongings, pickup truck and motorcycle and plan to return each year during the winter months.

Best of luck to the rest of you.

Normally I woudn't reply to anything positive about Southern Thailand, because I moved here to get away from my fellow "farangs". Saying something positive might bring more of them down here and it wouldn't be comfortable for me because of the increase in the price of everthing that would follow. Fortunately for you, I will let you know that you are correct in assuming that the only danger is the other Thai drivers. The three provinces you mentioned do have more danger, but if you don't linger you won't have any problems there either.

I live in Trang and it's nice to see Buddhists, Christians, Muslim and Chinese temples in the area and the folks all get along. The reason I'm giving a positive report is because I'll be moving in a month and won't be here to see the prices go any higher because of foreigners living in the area. Have a great trip.

I am looking for a clean, reliable & compfy but nothing luxurious longstay accomodation in the pranburi area, nothing resort-like but a gym (nearby) would be top or a location not too far from the Forest Park even better.Thanks.

I saw this topic and decided to add "my two cents". I live in Southern Thailand and went to a funeral a few months back for my wife's cousin who was killed in 'another' motorcycle accident. The true irony was that is was in the early morning hours of his 22nd birthday!

The same day he was killed they had the first of five days of the "ngan sope" (funeral party). I picked up her family and drove to the funeral and expected a sober atmosphere. NOT! It was out of town amongst the rubber plantations complete with lights and sound system. His father greeted us with a smile and asked us to find a table to sit at so they could serve us food and drink. His mother was doing the cooking along with her lady friends. Only the best booze for Thai guys - Regency(Thai Brandy) and soda along with platefulls of homecooked food. All the males were drinking and the women chatting and over in the corner was a casket with monks chanting and old woman kneeling.

I'm not adverse to death, having put in a year of combat in Viet Nam as a rifle squad leader, but I was a bit 'put off' with the limited grief exhibited. The deceased only sister came by our table and greeted us with a smile and some small talk before she broke down and started sobbing. My wife's sister put her arm around her and comforted her while all the others looked away as if someone farted! Soon she composed herself and the party atmosphere continued. I asked my wife about the behavior and she said that "the death party" was for the deceased to feel the the joy of their family and friends and help them make the transition from life easier. Kinda made sense to me, so I accept it.

We were committed to attend more than once since he was close family and each time there was a party atmosphere with nobody showing signs of remorse. The last time we went was the night before the actual cremation and my wife asked me if I didn't notice how sober the deceased's father was then. I accepted the party and hadn't thought about it until I looked at him. He wasn't as cheerfull and she said it was because he realized that the next day they would cremate his only son and it would all be over.

Now I'm more aware of the Thai's attitude towards death and accept it. That's why you see all the grisly death photos in the newspapers. They face death as common as birth, but with a bit more curiosity. Who's to say which culture has right idea about how to handle death.

Good luck with your photos. What you're doing is "Illustrative Photogragphy" and you can find information on techiniques by looking up that topic on the web.

While using a SLR camera and the polarizing filter, simply look through the lens and rotate the ring on the polarizing filter until you reduce the glare to the desired effect. No need to be a 'rocket scientist' here, just watch for the reduction in glare and stop, shoot and 'develop'. Ooops, no such thing as developing with a digital camera -- lost in the past.

Please let me "take a trip down memory lane". My comment has to do with Poipet and going there for the purpose of a visa to re-enter Thailand for another 30 days.

My only trip there was 33 yrs. ago and I took the bus from BKK to Aryanpahtet. As you might well imagine, I was the only "white folk" on board! It was 1974 and the war in Viet Nam was still going on and the capitol of Cambodia was under siege from the Khmer Rogue. I got to the Thai boarder late in the afternoon and so I booked a room at the biggest hotel there - 3 stories. The next morning I boarded the bus for Poipet, which was crammed with people and their packages. Between the boarders there was a "no man's zone" for about a kilometer between the barbed wired countries. Just before reaching the Cambodian side, a jeep equiped with a fixed M-60 machine gun raced towards us. The bus halted and Army personell boarded with weapons drawn. There was general chaos in the bus and the old lady with a small child sitting next to me tried to hand me a package she'd been holding. Figuring it to be contraband I refused and she put it under the seat between us. The officer in charge shouted orders to the people on the bus and they complied while a soldier leveled his M-16 at them. Row by row they checked the passengers until they finally got to me. Luckily he ignored me but yelled at the old lady as she clutched the child. He grabbed the child but the old lady wouldn't let go until he drew out his bayonet. I thought "what the <deleted>, is he going to kill her?" Instead he felt the child and pierced her jacket -- out came a white powder! I immediately got out of the way as he grabbed the old lady, child and package under the seat and took them to the jeep. I figured it to be heroin, but after tasting the powder later, found it to be SALT! Turns out there were restrictions on how much a certain items you could take out of Thailand legally, salt being one of the more coveted spices in Cambodia then. WHAT A TRIP!

Once at the Cambodian check-point I was greeted by a government official complete with sun glasses and a "shit eating grin". He grabbed my passport and laughingly asked me how long I was going to stay in his beautiful country? I knew better than to say anything derogative and only smiled back and said "just long enough to get my visa stamped". End of story. One I will never forget!

Sorry to hear that you know that indivdual also. Thanks - I needed that! Sure glad that I'm miles away from that kind of treatment from 'one of our own"! I appreciated your comment.