Awk

Unless something has changed recently, laptops are exempt from import duty in Thailand. I have myself ordered a laptop and related thing. Being declared appropriately, have had no problems or unexpected charges receiving it. There's an Thai government on-line site where import duty is listed for various things, though I don't have the address of that site saved.

I'm a smoker, but consider myself as a responsible smoker. I don't smoke in our house, I don't smoke in our car. If I am out with the wife for dinner or something, and I want a smoke, I go outside, and away from other people. Even if I'm outside, but there are others around, I will move away so they are not affected by, or smell the smoke. But some people are just ignorant.

About a month ago my wife and I went into BoSang to one of our favorite open air food courts. I sat down at a table that was outside. There was no one within well over a meter from me. Then this 6 foot plus older guy stands up, picks up his young Thai son, turns around and sees me. He promptly stomps over and tells me roughly - "There's no smoking here. Put it out!" I smiled and pointed out to him that I was not inside the eating area, and was well outside, where smoking IS permitted, and noticed by the ash trays on the table. Then he comes out with - "Well, I don't want my son to have to smell your shitty smoke!" I stood up, placed the cigarette in the ask tray and crossed my arms over my chest and told him - "Then I suggest you take whomever son is you are now paying for, and your fat ugly hill tribe looking wife, and go home."

This was now attracting attention of others. He set his son down and started to step towards me when a Thai friend I know quickly stepped in front of him and told him - "i know this man. He will put your old ass in the hospital for a very long and painful time if you mess with him. My advice is to do what he said, take your wife and son and go home." The old man was pissed, but didn't try to come towards me. Instead he raised his voice even more and threatened to call the cops on me. At which point my usually quiet and shy wife got into the act. She told him her cousin was a Senior Sergeant Major and just lived about 2 kilometers away, and asked if he would like his number. The guy threw up his hands in disgust, snatched up his "son" and stormed off with his fat, ugly wife waddling along behind him. All I could do was laugh.

Like I said, I try to be a considerate smoker, but there are some people who simply want to take things to the extreme. Screw them! lol

Sounds like the rude guy got what he deserved. But one meter is no distance, really. For people who don't smoke, it's annoying, and probably quite unhealthy, to breathe in air from somebody smoking 5-6 meters away. At that distance, you easily smell the stench and it sure ruins it for me if I'm sitting there relaxing with a cup of coffee.

I wouldn't complain about somebody smoking outside in most cases. Sometimes I sit down outside the restaurant, and later on somebody starts to smoke there. Annoying to me, but ok, I can move inside, while they cannot, so it's I who should move.

In the op's case, it's somebody smoking in a very limited recreational area however. The area is marked as no smoking. And to boot, it's an area for "healthy" recration (swimming). Only a rude and obnoxious idiot would light up in an area like that.

I have a question. Has there ever been a case o a Farang being arrested, fined or deported for doing odd jobs around their place of residence? If there has, I have certainly never read about it, on TV or anywhere else for that matter. We all know it is technically illegal, but I like to think immigration have got more important things to worry about.

I don't think so, but I sure as hell don't want to be the first. Do you?

That's why I stay far away from washing dishes, taking out the garbage, or anything else Mrs. Awk can think of asking me.

And if I do happen to notice a plate has not been washed satisfactory, I make sure to call Mrs. Awk in to wash it again rather than risk anything by washing it myself. After all, why take any chances?

No idea why it was deleted, but Google has it:

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:3m2jjQ6YiecJ:www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/881449-muslim-tried-to-attack-2-jews-night-bazaar/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Anyone know where to buy a good filter/protection mask, and a hand-held pollution monitoring kit? (CM preferably, BKK if needs be.)

The 3M shop on Wulai road sells 3M N95 masks in bulk, both child and adult sizes.

Hand held pollution monitoring: http://www.dylosproducts.com/

It is indeed 500 Baht maximum for deposits but 500 Baht minimum for withdrawals in foreign currency. THB withdrawals are indeed free, they get the share on the exchange rate already.

How much is that share? I just checked the over the counter withdraw I did on December 19. That's a Saturday and I can't look up the rate for that day on

"https://www.bot.or.th/english/statistics/financialmarkets/exchangerate/_layouts/application/exchangerate/exchangerate.aspx", but using the rate of the day before

my over the counter withdraw provides the following information:

- Krungsri gave me 100,000 BHT.

- Using the BOT "sight bill" buying rate instead, I would have gotten 99,900. I.e., 100 BHT less than what I actually got.

- Using the BOT "transfer" buying rate instead, I would have gotten 100,268. I.e., 268 BHT more than what I actually got.

Thanks Peter, thats cleared that confusion up, any chance of knowing the insured value? (I do realise it will be lower this year but would like to know how much by).

Just curious, can you enlighten us on Stevens point regarding insurance companies 'premium structures' on 4 wheels V 2 wheels?

His point sounds like nonsense to me. When I was insuring my "big bike", I got next year got the same "no claims" discount as I got for my car, 10%.

Also, what's the point of a broker that only forwards you a quote, even a renewal quote, without even doing the most basic checking?

IMO, AA should not apologise for the mistake of somebody else, but for their own mistake in not checking the quote on behalf of their customer.

I fail to understand this request for a guarantor, too. If I open an account, I deposit my own money and I can not spend more than I deposit. So what is the reason for someone to guarantee me?

As I was told it, it was related to possible problems with the money. Perhaps if the source of money were to be considered illegal, or something else bizarre, they could make a claim against the guarantor. Quite uncomfortable to ask somebody to guarantee that for me actually, and not something I would offer to guarantee for others unless it was somebody close and trusted.

In addition to the benefit mentioned by others (being able to do the currency exchange at a rate known exactly) I am currently having some problems with my home currency, which completely tanked relative to the baht a while ago (down 20+%). I however need to show money in a Thai bank account for three months in order to apply for a one year extension of stay later next year. Hopefully immigration will accept the FCD account as long as the exchange rate at the day I apply, presumably, shows the baht equivalent meets the requirements.

At the moment, I'm optimistically thinking it can't fall significantly further, and hopefully it will return back to previous strength in the not to distant future. Of course, if I'm guessing wrong by a substantial margin, I will end up losing out on this, and will perhaps not even be able to meet the financial requirements for the extension of stay.

Thanks for the other tips regarding charges. I'll be sure to check and double check that I will not be charged some percentage fee on my withdraw. But as long as over the counter withdraws in baht at the local branch are free of charge, there should be a way to avoid any extra charges, if by no other way then to withdraw the whole amount as cash at the counter and subsequently deposit it into my the local BHT account, before proceeding to do whatever I want to do using the Thai baht account.

For what it's worth, I have never experienced a swift transfer to my BB account to take less than two days, and normally it takes three. I have no idea on which end the delay is though. Also, unlike another bank mentioned here sometimes (SCB) nobody from BB has ever contacted me offering to hold the foreign currency until a more favourable rate can be negotiated, not even when I transferred an amount slightly less than two million BHT. They also refused signing me up for any sort of SMS alerts for my accounts unless I also had an ATM card for the acount.

As others here managed to open a foreign currency account at BB without undue problems, perhaps it is just another example of the silliness here. Perhaps if I had visited a couple of other branches, I would in the end have managed to open a FCD account with BB too. Since they said all such account had to be approved at the main branch in Bangkok, I'm not sure however.

Since Krungsri was such a breeze, and I don't have much positive to say about BB, possibly except that they have not stolen my money so far, I think I might switch to just using Krungsri as my regular bank for other things too, and just keep the minimum required to avoid charges in my BB accounts.

Recently I tried to open a foreign currency with my regular bank (Bangkok Bank). After applying and not being contacted back for over a month, I went to check what had happened, and apparently the head office, which I was told is the one who approves all foreign currency accounts, had not approved my application because the person who "guaranteed" for me did not have at least 300,000B in a BB account.

When originally applying, I was asked for someone to guarantee for me. Why I don't know, but I found a person anyway. However no mention of 300,000B was given when applying, and in fact, my guarantor does not even have a BB account, much less 300,000B in it.

I smiled and expressed my curiosity as to why nobody had contacted me back to tell me this, but no one knew.

So I websurfed around a little and found Krungsri. Opening a foreign currency account there was a breeze and as far as I can understand, as long as I keep a minimum balance, there are no charges either. They'd even give me an ATM card that I could use to make direct withdrawals from the foreign currency account, giving me the bank's standard exchange rate at the time, and also without any withdrawal charges as long I use an ATM from the same branch/region or something like that (I didn't want an ATM card, so did check the exact details regarding branch/region).

So compared to BB, at Krungsri it was very easy to open a foreign currency account, even though I did not even have any previous Krungsri account, while on the other hand I have two BB accounts. I only needed my passport, and I'm not even sure if they cared whether I had a one-year permit to stay in it, or just a 30 day stamp. (On the other hand, it was, at least at this branch, quite a bit more cumbersome to open a standard BHT account.)

I was told there would be some excessive charges if I transfer from the foreign currency account to some other account, except if the other account is a Krungsri account (and in the same branch/region?), but that seems to be on par with BB, and other banks here I guess. Over the counter withdrawals would not incur any charges either.

My only question is, are others here aware of any pitfalls or things to be careful about with this type of account, except not transferring directly from the foreign currency account to another bank's account?

Can anyone recommend any in or near Nong Hoi?

Thanks

The somewhat strangely named Soi 1 bar is there, within easy walking distance of Riverside and Holliday Inn, on the small soi that enters Chang Klan road after the bridge

between Holliday Inn and the hospital:

https://www.facebook.com/Soi-1-Bar-608189029217288/timeline/

Never understood the "bar" part of the name, as it feels much more like a restaurant than a bar. Food has been good every time I've been there.

This is a little puzzling because the place in the Facebook link shows a totally different location, on Loy Kroh near the Iron Bridge. But then the address lists Charoen Prathet Road, which would be the one withe the big Muslim mosque, near Thapae Road. And your directions give it as near the Holiday Inn, the 'small soi that enters Chang Klan'.. on which side? Between the Holiday Inn and the hospital? (That's where the bridge is.)

If you go across the bridge, with Holiday Inn on your left hand side, and R. hospital on your right, instead of taking left or right at the bigger road after crossing the bridge, you can go semi-straight into a small soi. 200-300m down that soi is Soi 1 bar. Eventually that soi comes out on Chang Klan road.

I took a look at the map on fb now, and have no idea what's up with that.

That's a good offer and I'll definitely bring my car in before the next long trip. Just be certain that no-one on your staff suggests work that isn't 100% necessary

Ont his topic I have something to add.. I actually wish that more car work shops would alert me of parts that may need service or replacement in the near future. Too many workshops (that aren't car dealers) are IMHO far too reactive, replacing parts only when it actually breaks. (This may be in line with what the market demands here.)

For me though I'd much rather be a little early in replacing something (including seals, hoses, belts, etc.) than wait for it to actually break and be on the side of the road.

Car maintenance is super affordable as it is in this country, so with the right mechanic who's a little pro-active you can keep a typical locally produced car or truck running near forever.

Now, this does NOT apply to car dealers, who will suggest pretty ridiculous things, typically of items that cost strangely a lot of money (ball bearings..).

For an independent car workshop though, I want them to be a little proactive. And typically that would result in a discussion where the mechanic points something out, and then gives a recommendation. (i.e. replace now because having it break is potentially a big issue, or 'replace within a couple months' if it's less crucial, and the expense can be scheduled.)

I'm pleased with ProAuto in that regard, and any other regard so far.

They were replacing one worn part, which unfortunately necessitated taking the gearbox out and is a bit of work. With the gearbox out they saw that another part was worn and would need to be replaced soon, though not necessarily now. So they asked me if I would like to replace that part also now, to avoid having to pay to take the gearbox out again when replacing that part later. This was fine by me, as I too prefer to replace things before they are at the point of breaking.

What they're doing now is really dumb from a business perspective.

Not at all. It's actually quite smart if you understand how these things work.

Different customers have different abilities to pay. Ideally, in order to maximise profit, a business would tailor its prices individually according to each customer's financial means - so those with less money are not deterred, but those with more money pay what they can afford. However, in the real world, it's simply not feasible to means test each customer in most situations.

But, where an easily applicable criteria exists that can be used to identify groups of customers who broadly share a financial status, it's simply sound business sense to use it to set different price points. Hence things like student discounts, pensioner discounts etc.

Here in Thailand, it's broadly the case that non-Thai visitors are better off than the locals - therefore it makes sense to use this fact to set different price levels and extract maximum profits.

You might find this a little callous (welcome to capitalism), but it's certainly not dumb from a business sense.

What you are describing is communism, not capitalism. You are able to pay 500B for entrance, you pay 500B. You are only able to pay 50B for the same entrance? Ok, you pay only 50B. "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." Capitalism? Too funny.

And you want to lecture on how things work? Hilarious.

Any nice parties this weekend? Last time I went out for halloween was a few years ago, to a one-off thing near rimping by the river, but not seen any posters this time. On the other hand, not been out for a while either, so wouldn't have seen the posters even if they are there.

Something for the 20-30 age group. I see warmup has some event, but I'm sure it's going to be crowded as hell, so anything else?

About 13 yrs ago there was an article in the Bkk Post about solar energy. Someone at EGAT was quoted as saying "we have to study the issue because Thailand may have too much sunlight to make solar feasible."

Yeah. That does sounds pretty damn stupid, does it not?

But perhaps the person from EGAT, whoever he was, knew what he was talking about? If it's too hot for too long, the cells can overheat. The first problem with that is that power output will drop considerably. 13 years ago, power output wasn't all that great to start with, and cost was extremely high.

Since then, many advances have been made. But 13 years ago? Yeah, I'd think it would be pretty wise to study the issue before saying anything, much less buying anything.

FABB on the Canal Road is pretty good (though very expensive and a bit touristy)- they use frozen coffee cubes in their iced drinks, which is a nice touch as they don't get watery.

https://www.facebook.com/fabbcoffeeroasters

Sounded interesting I thought, but must be for the vips only. My "american" ice coffee was just the same as any other american ice coffee, apart from costing double++.

Well, I did say 'very expensive'.

I like their lattes and their atmosphere, but it's not a place I head to daily due to the price- it's one of the nicer shops I've seen in CM, though.

Hey- they gave you a cookie, didn't they?

Nope, no cookie either. Perhaps they didn't like me.

FABB on the Canal Road is pretty good (though very expensive and a bit touristy)- they use frozen coffee cubes in their iced drinks, which is a nice touch as they don't get watery.

https://www.facebook.com/fabbcoffeeroasters

Sounded interesting I thought, but must be for the vips only. My "american" ice coffee was just the same as any other american ice coffee, apart from costing double++.

Wow. 200 Baht a day. Thats less than £4 UK money and youre looking for a cheaper option? You cant even drop off at a UK airport for less than £5 these days !!

Irelevant ,as i used to pay 9 euro a day near Dublin Airport 12 years ago ,but i am now in Thailand on a Thailand wage stream .It jumped from B100 to B200 in one year here at Chiang mai Airport parking .

Indeed. Next somebody will be informing us of what it costs to park at the airport in Dubai, or Switzerland. I've given up understanding what these people are thinking with. :-/

Beef ........ You go to any supermarket, select the cut that you like and ask them to mince it.

Eggs ........ You buy some eggs and separate the yolks from the whites, set aside the yellow bit for later use.

Yeah, no kidding, pretty easy to separate the egg yolk from the egg whites.

Obviously. But if you have no immediate use for the yolk, it's both a waste and expensive to throw/give it away.

Back when I was working in a restaurant in farangland, we got egg yolks delivered in a five litre container. I can only assume a similar arrangement was possible for the missing egg whites. I'd try a bakery supply next. Perhaps YOK next to Hillkoff, not far from Chang Puak bus station would have it?

I'd be interested too, so please follow-up if you find a source.

I' wondering if anyone knows of a local place where one can bring some fruit or vegetables and have it tested for pesticide residues?

Recently Mrs. Awk has taken up buying guava fruit from a women who claims that on her farm, they wrap the guava in news paper and a cheap, general purpose, plastic bag which they tie together while the fruit is still on the tree. Thereafter they spray with pesticides, but the woman claims, they do not use much pesticide, and it's targeted at the leaves and other parts of the three, rather than than the fruit itself, which is protected by paper and plastic bag. She showed Mrs. Awk some fruits that were still wrapped in paper and plastic bags after Mrs. Awk indicated her husband did not believe this story.

Assuming pesticides are not overwhelmly expensive, I cannot imagine there being any economical reason for doing the above. Even if they are able to do with less pesticide spraying, the time and labour involved in wrapping each individual fruit must surely more than make up for any savings on pesticide, making this woman's guava more expensive than other guava. Yet her price is not more expensive than others, which makes me think this is a "too good to be true" thing. Originally the woman, for what reason I am not exactly sure, volunteered to Mrs. Awk this information, telling Mrs. Awk she did not need to peel this particular guava before eating (we normally peel the fruit before giving it to Awk Jr.).

I've since read that some experiments have indeed been done (in India was what I found) using the above method; wrapping it in paper, and then in plastic, and that it, at least in the paper I briefly browsed, was shown to reduce pesticide residue by a significant amount, even though the tree was still sprayed with pesticides.

Now, rather than insisting that the woman is lying through her teeth, I wonder if there's a place in CM where one can bring some fruit and have it tested?

I imagine comparing the pesticide amount on guava fruit from this woman with guava from some other random seller would provide a good indication on whether what she says is true or not. Barring that, I'm tempted to see if I can order a home testing kit from a reputable company, but I suspect that will be quite a bit more expensive for a quality kit I could trust somewhat.

Naturally, I'd love for this to be true. That indeed, this is a woman/family who are doing their best to produce cleaner, less pesticide laden fruit, and they still manage to sell it at the same price as others. Hell, even if it costed double of what others sold it for, I'd be happy to buy it.

Really good burger at Aussie boys go try it you won't be disappointed one of the best i have had in chiang mai.

https://www.facebook.com/Aussie-Boys-879627528773725/timeline/

Thanks, I tried this one myself recently. I agree, it's good.

The burger at Soi 1 Bar/Restaurant is better, though smaller and a little more expensive, but this is good too. Service is also much faster and easier, naturally, with the Aussie boys being a fast food place, rather than a tablecloth restaurant like Soi 1.

Will be eating here again when what I want is a quick, good, burger.

Value-for-money wise, the BurgerBox (if I remember the name correctly) at the newish foodmarket located between Foxy Lady go-go and Kalaree at the night bazar is #1 without any doubt in my mind, though.

Yup. Closed a few months ago. And Bubble Disco next door. And a few other places too. Part of the new strategy to encourage more tourists to Chiang Mai. You can go but you cant enjoy yourself and must retire to bed around 11.30 !! ..........Hang on a minute, shurely shomething wrong ????!!!!

Hotshots had been dying a slow death for the last couple of years, and after they re-arranged everything inside a year or so ago, it was all but empty on the handful of times I stopped by. Bubbles, ditto.

Part of some big government strategy? Part of not having any customers is more like it.

Why do we have this discussion? Drinking water in TH does not contain any minerals, it's as clean as distilled water. Thus sucking out minerals of your body if you drink it. It's unhealthy!

There are tons of discussions too...so feel free to believe, what Nestle tells you.

Why do you think so? As you say, many people think drinking distilled water is very unhealthy in the long term due to the lack of minerals, so why would the drinking water in Thailand have these minerals removed? And how, if not through distillation?

Do you have any reference for your claim that the drinking water in Thailand, from Nestle and whoever, is as clean as distilled water?

Thanks for the responses everyone

If price is a concern and you want to pack up everything yourself first, we recently paid about 3,000 for a large moving truck (big enough for two pianos I'd guess) with two people, driver included, who helped us carry things in and out. Probably less professional than Chiang Mai Removals who many seem to recommend, but good enough for us.

I can probably get their number if you want, but you'd need to speak Thai.

If the distance is not far, I'd guess it would be cheaper and easier to rent a pick-up and go back and forth a few times yourself. I've rented cars from North Wheels in the city before without problems. From the website, price seems to be around 1200B for a pick-up.

Yeah, the number for that company would be great. I gave Chiangmairemovals a call and they're a little out of our budget.

Thanks!

Name of the guy we talked with is Nom. Phone number is 08 6911 2972.

I just use battery water it is distilled.

Right on thanks, maybe I'll give that a shot. Is the water pink as stated above?

The water is not pink, but is sometimes sold in a pink bottle. Mostly the bottle is light gray however. Sold at any gas station. Can't remember if the price

is 10B or 20B per one liter bottle.

If price is a concern and you want to pack up everything yourself first, we recently paid about 3,000 for a large moving truck (big enough for two pianos I'd guess) with two people, driver included, who helped us carry things in and out. Probably less professional than Chiang Mai Removals who many seem to recommend, but good enough for us.

I can probably get their number if you want, but you'd need to speak Thai.

If the distance is not far, I'd guess it would be cheaper and easier to rent a pick-up and go back and forth a few times yourself. I've rented cars from North Wheels in the city before without problems. From the website, price seems to be around 1200B for a pick-up.