martynsnowman

There si a news relaese in th Ntion tha says that the PM Mr. Samak and 111 PPP MP's are meeting in Udon on Tuesday. Probely be a non event if PAD isn't anywhere around. If they are I would bet on a repeat of he last time they got togther here, only mor violent.

Me I'm staying home for the day. But I would be careful if your in the area. Most of the Government events are held near the Robinson Complex, but there is no notification of the location in the news.

Good day to be careful in Udon, lets hope for the non event.

can you tell if there was any problems last time at udon airport ??? as i,m catching the thaiair flight tomorrow afternoon to bkk .

thanks martyn.

If you renew your old passport the new ones expiry date will be 10 years from the time your old one expires so you will not lose any time.

Not so!!!!

For example, I have just received the renewal of my daughter's British Passport (issued in Bangkok) and the validity date is two days after I submitted the application. The original passport expiry date is October 18th, 2008. So the period between validation of the new passport and the expiry of the old has been lost. Passports are not post-dated.

Edit: Date correction

sorry taijitu , but my passport WAS post dated i renewed it in pearson at Peterbough in u.k because i had less than 6 months left to run and was told by ETIDAD airways they would not let me board . i renewed it in september and the expiry date is in january .

I bought a 100kg safe that is large enough to hold my

laptop when I leave for more than a few hours.

It cost 9000 baht and also holds other valuables like

passport, jewelry, important documents, etc.

The 100Kg means that it would take two guys to carry it

out and this is unlikely given our condo security.

I could have gone another step and bolted it to the

floor but did not.

No problems in 4 years now.

Staying in a cheap place to deflect suspicion is

foolish IMO. You do not want a $1000 laptop to

dictate your living standard.

Thank you for the suggestion. 9000 baht sounds very reasonable for this kind of protection, and I will definitely put "buy a safe" down on my to do list. FYI it will be at least a $2000 laptop.

Problem is with a Big Safe is the people you buy it off, then deliver it to your home, they KNOW you have some valuables that warrant having a safe.

Hence you may well become a target by having a safe.

It's Ok having a 100 Kg safe or a 300Kg safe, but if thieves can't open it or remove it, they may just wait for you to come home, and force YOU to open it, then of course that would leave an eye witness ' YOU '.

hi ,

i got 1 of the 2mt plastic coated steel ropes that locks into the back of my laptop before i left the u.k only cost about 10 pounds you can secure it to most places out of the way with a loop thats on 1 end .

but i,ve also got a big nasty dod that helps also ... .

martyn.

hi, can any1 out there tell me if theres any problems getting from don muang to new airport , as i,ll be coming from udon and need to get across the city to new airport will i need any extra time ???

thanks for any help ...martyn.

I changed dates twice with short notice in economy class with etihad and had no problem.

hi bassmaster ,

i need to change dates with etihad next week can you tell how much it cost to change yours please in british pounds or thai baht ???

thanks martyn .

p.s or ANY1 else who can help me .

Does anyone know if it's possible to purchase a Kawasaki Ninja 250® in Thailand? I heard that they're now made in Thailand but they don't seem readily available. Are they strictly for export or are they also sold within Thailand? If you can buy them here, what do they cost and how can you get a hold of one?

It would be great to have another option with regard to small sports bikes. Th CBR 150 is a great little bike but I'm sure the Ninja 250 would be significantly quicker. I think these bikes can hit 150-60 fairly easily.

Also, why is it that 250cc (and other bigger bikes) are so rare in Los? I see people riding big bikes very occasionally but I've never seen any bike bigger than 200cc in any shop in my city. If bigger bikes are illegal then how are people getting them and why are they illegal in the first place?

hi ,

glyn who owns hotel (englishmans retreat ) in udon thani bought 1 yesterday , beautiful bike colour black , he bought it in bkk and rode back to udon he said all told with insurance it was 140,000bt.

he regestered it here in udon not bkk so the plates would be o.k .

martyn.

Excellent!!! And this is coming a cabin crew member of over 20 years who does not work for Etihad! Family and friends have come to visit me on Etihad the last couple of years and though they have some problems for the most part you get a quality product. Do 2 round trips as a frequent flyer member and you become silver which entitles you to lounge access in all ports when you fly them and an extra 10kg.

I flew them last year on an airline pass to europe and the only problem that I noticed that the crew were fairly young and not as experienced. Not old and bitter like the carrier I work for! LOL!

hi to all,

i think excellent also, and i got the trequent flyer silver card , before i mover to thailand i flew with them 3 times a year and had enough airmiles to get up graded twice which was spot on . also like flightcrew says you get frre access to all there v.i.p lounges ..

martyn.

I have seen one in 7 years of visits and living in Thailand.

That was on a trip to BKK a few years ago.

It was a 250, single front disc brake.

I know where there is a rolling chassis for a 250 TDR in Kanchanaburi. Everything but the engine.

Have seen that wheeled out of a motorcycle shop everyday ever since I first visited in 2001!

One day I will ask if it's for sale.

i have a TDR250lc here in udon its a bit of a ratter and blows little white smoke but starts first kick every time .. i,ve just tried post a photo here but for some reason they wont download ( i,m not 2 clever on my com yet ) martyn. .

From what i can gather so far there seems to be no live coverage of the olympics

in english I assume one of the local Thai channels will have live coverage but i

somehow expected True with all its sport channels to be covering the events in english

but the lack of mention of the Olympics in the current months magazine leads me to

believe that once again true visions is out to prove what an inept useless company

it is with absolutely no concern for its subscibers

If anybody knows different i would be interested to hear if there is going to be live

coverage in english anywhere on Thai tv

hi sorry to hear your problems ,

but here in udonthani we have HOME CABLE only 300bt pre month about 12 channles in english couple news channs ,couple films , nothing special but we get ALL the big sport events , cricket , football , F1 and the olympic covereage has been second to none . 3 diffrent channels all day most of the night . sound if you cant sleep ... i think the coverage is stolen from south africa but hey i can live with that ...

martyn...

hi to all,

can any1 please tell me if its o.k to do visa run tomorrow at nong khai , only with it being thai mothers day will i have any probs . thanks for any info ....martyn .

sorry i forgot , its only for a 30 day visa exempt 1 just cross over the bridge and come back into thailand.

hi to all,

just a quick 1 , if some can please help ,

if i bring a playstation 2 over from england ( i have 1 there with many games already bought )

will it plug stright into my thai t.v and be ready to go ?.

last year i brought my u.k dvd player over with scart lead and found theres no scart sockets on thai t.v,s .

thanks for any help . martyn.

hi to all,

would you loan cash to farang friend ?

you,ve known him about a year , he,s never got much money but always manages to keep his head above water , or do you think giving him the loan will spoil friendship if he,s unable to repay ?

its only 10k bt but i was always told when i was younger , NEVER A LENDER OR BORROWER BE !

what do you think ... martyn .

just to let you all know , i went to see friend yesterday to ask about the money , and yes 90% of you were correct he does,nt have it.

he says he,s not had any money for 2 months but did need to do a visa run . even at the time when i loaned it to him he knew he could not return it .

i told him to keep it but not to come to my home or shop ever again ...

its not the money , i just dont need a so called friend who lies and deceves so easly .

maybe i should start a new thread. IS HONOUR A THING OF THE PAST ?.

martyn.

"NEVER A LENDER OR BORROWER BE "

I think that's a quote from Benjamin Franklin, and it's as applicable now as then. Whenever I've been asked for money, in any amount, I tell the requestor that I'm not in a position to lend money. The biggest question is "if you don't have the money now, how do expect to pay me back in the future?"

Just out of interest, the quote is from Shakespeare's Hamlet, part 1, act iii. 58

Almost correct, it is Hamlet, Act 1 scene 3 75-77

liyba , can you now tell me where the quote, A FOOL AND HIS MONEY ARE SOON PARTED .

comes from i will use it when i,m next asked to borrow some1 money .

but as i said the loan was to guy from u.k . not thai .

Don't lose track of how much 10K THB is. I notice you said 'only'. According to my calculations that is 150 GBP or US$300. That sort of money I would lend only to family or long-standing trusted friends.

So the answer is yes if he/she is a long-standing trusted friend.

But if he/she is just an ocassional friend/drinking buddy then No!

I picture myself in the UK in a pub, and a pal or drinking mate says; "Hi Libya can you lend me 150 quid"

I'd say; "piss-off, I'm not made of money you know, how about a score, will that do you"?

In other words the most I would lend a casual drinking buudy is 20 GBP which is THB 1,300

Do you see what I'm saying?

lybia,

thats a good point i did,nt think of , 150 quid is a lot to some ( me included ) .

the guy needed the money to do a visa run from udon to loas. thats why it was 10k. he said his monthly

cash from u.k was late and his visa run out same day and would cost him 2k per day in overstay if he did,nt renew it quickly .

he says he.ll return the money saturday 26th . so i,ll keep you posted . martyn.

hi to all,

would you loan cash to farang friend ?

you,ve known him about a year , he,s never got much money but always manages to keep his head above water , or do you think giving him the loan will spoil friendship if he,s unable to repay ?

its only 10k bt but i was always told when i was younger , NEVER A LENDER OR BORROWER BE !

what do you think ... martyn .

Hi,

What do you mean by "not updated" ? Where ?

You can find last change here :

http://www.bangkokbank.com/fxbanner/banner1.htm

http://finance.yahoo.com/currency/convert?...;submit=Convert

...

i mean on the tool bar at the top of every page in the expat forum . i find it much easier than going to another web site . although i dont know how close to the actual exchange rate you,ll get in the banks.

thanks for the exchange rate links you posted i,ll take a look .

hi ,

to thai visa or any1 else who can tell me ... why has the thai visa baht rate not been updated since 13th july i check it every day now that the pounds getting a bit stronger against the baht .

but all week now i,ve had to look else where.

thanks martyn.

You cross into Laos and can come straight back again.

You will need a Visa to enter Laos. Can be got at the border cost around 1,500 Baht. Take a couple of photos.

Don't forget you can extend your current stay at immigration in Thailand for 30 days.

help needed ,

i,m here on type o multy entry, that ran out in may i got my last stamp that lasts untill aug 13th. so that will be my full 15 months but i need an extra 30 days ( i have ticket back to u.k on 9th sep )

what is my best way of getting the extra days. do i have to leave thai and go to laos. or can i just go to immigration at nong khai ???

thanks for any help ....martyn.

Important - If you hold UK State Pension Rights - This Could Cost You Money.

In response to a question asked by Neerham on the thread discussing UK National Insurance Payments, I did a bit of digging around and turned up something that impacts all Expats below the age of retirement who hold UK Pension Rights.

As is being discussed elsewhere the Law has changed with respect to the number of 'Contribution Years' required to get a full UK state Pension - People Holding UK State Pension Rights need now only make 30 years of contributions to receive a full UK State Pension.

As in the past you are able to make 'back payments' for years you did not contribute. Perhaps the years you have been in Thailand.

But there is now a time limit at the bottom of page 3 in this UK National Insurance - Voluntary Payments Guide there is a statement that Voluntary Payments must be made before 6th April 2009

You need to be aware of this and consider if you want to make payments - Time is running out on this so give it some urgent thought.

My personal view is that this is a bargain that one ought not to miss.

hi to all,

can some one give me a little info or advice please

i retired to thailand last year at age 45 i started work in u.k at age 15 and always had a job so payed national insurance , i think just about 30 years maybe 29 is it worth checking it out to make sure or is the 1 year missing not worth the trouble ... would 1 year effect my pension amount much ?

thanks for any help martyn.

Hello, I have bought new appliances and my dish washer and stove (stainless steel) have stickers on them and glue left over from the protective covering...

Does any know how to get of the glue with out scratching the stainless steel?

little dab of petrol on cotton wool works, getting glue off most things ..

i used it to get stickers off fridge and pick up ..

hi to all,

sorry if this has been covered before, or i,m posting in wrong section .

i,ve just bought a round ticket from bkk to m/chester , can you tell me if the old airport tax about 500bt is now included in the ticket price or do you still have to pay when you leave . i,m flying with etihad .

thanks for any help martyn.

I have been using a Motorola cell phone to connect as a modem to surf the web.

The speed is 115Kbps. The service provider is True Move.

I am satying in a small village in Isan . Does any one know how to get a faster connection

using the GPRS cell phones and /or a different service provider. True Move says it is not possible

in remote areas.

Thanks for your help in advance.

Sundaram

hi sundram,

i,ve a nokia 6680 and service provider is dtac. i also get 115kbps in udon.

martyn...

If you are from a visa exempt authorized country you can obtain such an entry at the border.

thanks lopburi3,

i,m from the u.k so not visa exempt, can i still get a visa on arrival over the bridge in laos valid for 30 days ? or i need to go to thai embassy in vntn. and stop over night ?

thanks for any help ....martyn.

hi to all,

i wonder if 1 of you can help me with this ,

my type O multy entry visa ended yesterday so i crossed bridge nong khai into laos and did the 40min turn around back in udon 2 hours same as i,ve always done they gave me 90 days so thats up untill 10th/8/08.

what i need to know is when that date comes can i get a 30 day visa on arrival at the bridge another fast turnaround or i need to go to VTN in lao and stop 24 hours ???

thanks for any help martyn...

2000....your complaining about 2000 baht hospital bill???????????????????

20000 i may have raised an eyebrow (Just - but probably not) but jesus man 2k.......3 meals 3 doctor visits and an eyewash and a bed overnight...

If I am ripped off to the sum of 2k it's a good day

hi,

i got knocked off my bike few weeks back thai drivers fault but eye bleeding quite bad so no time to argue with driver , went to local hospital ( with t/w ) washed , cleaned 4 stiches and bag of drugs i,d never need all as out pationt payed cash 1900bt little high i thought but happy enough and they did very good stich work . martyn...