surface

^ Agreed. The only time it was an issue with me was when I pointed at something being sold on the sidewalk with my foot. The person selling the goods was somewhere behind me, thus nobody to offend, so I pointed at an item with my foot as my hands were full. Apparently I offended the 10 baht junk being sold as I got a good slap from the TGF and haven't done it since. Woof.

I happened by on the first morning of the planned attack on GOM's seat at around 11:30, hoping to find a place for a good breakfast being my main objective, but was not sure where the seat in question is located. I saw somebody that fit the description of GOM, a 50ish, blonde haired, tallish guy reading a paper intently, with a 30 something guy with dark rimmed classes and short (bleached?) blonde hair a couple of seats away. Was that you CarlBKK?

I didn't stay to eat however as I wasn't sure if there is a menu or not and didn't want to eat just cake/bread for breakfast. Is there a menu available if you sit down? I saw something on the counter at the window seats that looked to have "breakfast" mentioned on it, but I didn't want to get up in the persons face sitting there to read it (especially since it may have been GOM and I already had my run in with the BIB for this month). I still may pop by this morning since I can't get to sleep and haven't eaten all day/night, but I'll await confirmation that at least some eggs are on offer.

This sounds too good to miss. I'm thinking I should make a video, register grumpyinthailand.com, and profit!

I'm on my 3rd 30 day SOA, and my previous 2 have 7 day extensions. I was told by the visa run folks that I wouldn't get a full 30 days on this last one, but the immigration guy didn't scrutinize my passport much and gave me 30 days. Now I don't know if it was a mistake or if the 7 day extensions I paid for the last 2 times don't count towards the 90 day rule.

I have to leave on the 11th to go for a non imm B visa, but the embassy is closed on 14 & 15 for Songkran, so I'd like to get a 7 extension again and wait until Songkran is over with.

If I go to the immigration office here in Bangkok to request a 7 dya extension, and it turns out the last immigration officer gave me too many days on my stamp, can/would the immigration office take the days back and make me leave Thailand right away?

If I just over stay for about a week, would the Kuala Lumpur embassy give me a hard time in getting my non imm B visa if I have an overstay stamp in my passport?

The Sin Sot as I understand it from my current gf is a repayment to the parents for the cost of bringing her up as a child and is usually paid for by the husband to be or his family.

My gf was married to a Thai man on her 18th birthday, he was 21 and he was to pay 60,000B and 5 baht of Gold which at that time would have cost probably another 40,000B so in total 100,000 THB. So I asked her where he found that kind of money where it transpired he didn't find it all as they both worked they saved together until they had the 100000 B split roughly 50/50 and gave it to her parents so the marriage could go ahead.

My gf is an attractive both to falang and thai with a fairly large breasts for thai and was in demand in her village as she had never worked in a bar, anyway the marriage lasted 2 months when he was found in bed with a mia noi and she sent him packing.

Now she has just had her 19th and is expecting our first baby but we are not married but we have discussed it and she would expect that a Sin Sod of 200,000 be paid plus some gold which may sound a lot but then putting it into perspective she knows that my income after all deductions is between 200,000 and 300,000 thb per month so taking that into account is not bad considering some of the amounts I have heard off oh and a 5000 baht per month stipend to her mama and papa for food etc which seems to be the norm for all girls that they have to send money back monthly for the parents.

So the money is not an issue but it still isn't comfortable as a farang to be talking about how much should I be paying for you, just doesn't feel right. Anyway no marriage until a prenup is drawn up then we will see if things change.

Mama-san: Welcome to Walking St., how may I help you?

You: Yes, I'll have the #2, with a side of golden nuggets and some of that juicy 5k/month gravy on top.

Mama-san: Coming right up!

The only problem is the property market is picking up and I know what its like to miss out.

I heard that there was a new police chief, or some high up person, that wants to be seen being tough on night spots. Everyone knew it was coming of course as it's all for show.

and that a weekly trash pickup service can be provided to each an every community in Thailand.

Many rural places in the US don't have trash pickup. You have to take your trash to the local garbage dump or drop off location. It seems a bit less likely in rural Thailand if most people have motor bikes... or perhaps more people have cars/pickup's these days?

I can think of so many fun ways to get the neighbor to stop without resorting to physical harm or murder, such a shame that creativity doesn't seem to be common here in these situations.

Do please share.

Sure, why not...

Send some hardcore wierd fetish porn mags to their home and office in the mail. Do not include a name on the address label so another family member / staff member will open it, but do include a fake invoice inside with the persons name on it.

Put up flyers around town advertising their car for sale (and when i say sale, i mean 50% book value), with their address and no phone number.

Some night time ninja style stealth activites:

Toothpicks or glue in the door locks (padlocks?) on their home and cars.

Glue their gas cap on.

Deflate their tires using the air nozzles, and again, apply glue.

And now, an EXTREME measure:

Step 1

Using the yellow pages call every local business in town and schedule them to come by the house at 10AM on a day when you know the target will be off from work, preferably during the week. By every local business I mean contractors, electricians, plumbers, food delivery, movers, taxis, etc.

Step 2

A few nights before the big event, sneak over to the targets house and bury illegal items around their house in storage bins. Guns, drugs, animal/kiddie porn, and sex toys will all work well.

Step 3

Call the police at 9am on the morning of the event and give an anonymous tip that the target will be moving drugs and guns from their house in an hour, but if they hurry they can still catch them. The porn and sex toys will be a bonus.

Step 4

Call the local newspaper and TV channels at 9:30am and tell them that something big is going down at the targets address right now, and involves guns, drugs, and many police. This will add to the loss of face and also push the police do an extra thorough job.

Now pull out your lawn chair, grab a singha, and enjoy the show as the police, news, neighbors, and all the local businesses converge on this persons house between 9 - 10 in the morning. The gossip in the neighborhood will be on a scale not seen before and will ensure that the person has lost so much face that they will surely move as soon as they are released from prison.

I can think of so many fun ways to get the neighbor to stop without resorting to physical harm or murder, such a shame that creativity doesn't seem to be common here in these situations.

Yes, I'm American. What does a "service place" offer that can't be done in the embassy? I live very close to embassy, and very far from khao san rd, but if your situation is reveresed it may make sense to get serviced.

I was originally planning on doing the same as you, flying into Shenzhen on AirAsia, but realized that the flight gets in too late to get any convenient and affordable transportation into HK. Emirates on the other hand had very cheap flights into HK, so I went that route.

I got a 6 month multi entry visa for China in BKK for about $100usd. If you plan on being in HK for a while, just get this visa and head over to the border by train to get a fresh 30(?) days in HK. The HK visa is free.

BTW, I got my visa in one day. Dropped off the forms in the morning, picked up in the afternoon... for an extra fee. The guy working the reception/info desk there was clearly trying to offer his services in submitting the application, though a tip was never mentioned, by basically not telling me what the normal procedure was. After a quick look around, I felt I could manage to stand in line for a few minutes, which caused his very friendly and helpful attitude suddenly change.

Forget Ramkhamhaeng, though you can get a place there for 1,500 or less. Go up to Ratchada, past Rama 9. Many places for 3000 - 6000. Many have pool, cable, internet, restaurant with room service, mini mart, massage, sauna, etc. You are 2 stops from the Sukhumvit/Asoke station on the subway. Ramkhamhaeng is a little student ghetto, with all the noise and crowded streets you'd expect from being next to a major university.

...the answer is not robbing a bank and doing a runner...

That is the answer since it's the only way this troll/boy will ever see 50k from a bank. Why do people waste energy answering this nonsense? What banks do you know that give gas pump boys living in shelters 50k personal loans? He couldn't get a 50k mortgage on a 300k house if he put the other 250k down! As for a personal loan...

Sorry PB, but you seem to start threads about this quite frequently, so it's hard to care much about your "problem" at this point. Only mentioning this as I'm sure others have noticed it and are feeling the same way.

Since you seem like a nice enough bloke though, I don't want to leave without making any suggestions. Seems to me your choices are

1. Leave Thailand

2. Learn basic Thai

3. Learn to mime

4. Do nothing and accept the fact that you won't be able to communicate with those who don't speak English or understand your pigeon Thai.

Cheers!

I think a new forum is in order titled "Is This Girl Marrying Me for Money?" where people can post a picture of themsleves and their loved one and get the truth via a poll. I think it could be upwards of 85% reliable. If it was restricted to members with 500+ posts being able to vote it could push 90%.

Fuji. The quality of their sushi is so consistenly bad that it truely amazes me when I see so many Thai's eating there with all of the great fresh seafood available here. Last time I was there they placed a bunch of wasabi between the fish and the rice as a little surpise for my companion. You can't be any more obvious in trying to cover up the horendous quality by sneaking a spoonful of wasabi under individual pieces of hamachi.

It's funny how there are plenty of Leuk kreungs on Thai TV but very few white parents of them.

Wow! That deserves some kind of award. I can't remember seeing ANY white parents in the soaps. So how do the Thais explain this away? Perhaps in the story they're not supposed to be leuk kreungs - just normal Bangkok Thais lucky enough to be born with nice long thin noses and whiter than average skin.

The mothers probably aren't bar girls on the shows either.

The idea that burritos don't travel well is nonsense since I've ordered many times from Burritoville and other local eateries back in the states, and the food was always excellent. If there is a problem, it's the methods used to prepare and pack the food. Burritoville and Chipotle have managed to get the real (i.e. not Taco Bell) burrito and taco franchise thing going well, so maybe Greg should check them out on his next visit, though I suspect he has already based his business off Chiptole but is not quite there yet. It would probably cost too much to make food similar to Chipotle though, but it's not like Sunrise is cheap to begin with, by Thai standards of course.

Dubliner on Suhumvit is easily the best IMO

Don't mention the Dubliner!!! - Victor will be along on a minute saying anyone who eats the breakfast there is supporting criminal activity...

using that as your criteria, 98 percent of the "irish"pubs in town would be excluded. gullivers too .....

The biggest crime at gull, besides the drugs, is the cues that haven't been changed in ages.

Loso will be at Hillary on Suk Soi 4 on Feb 2nd. Saw them on New Year's eve and they were pretty good. Mostly their own thai songs but they covered Knockin' on Heaven's Door (GnR version), Purple Haze, and perhaps one other. They toured the states according to a thai friend. Not worth coming up from Samui, but if you're already in town you should check them out.

This sucks. Sounds like my 2 year membership is about to get cut short when they close shop. Must be be having serious money problems and/or their new signup rate is slowing down. I know I'll be shopping around before I sign on again with them.

Why don't people just check the prices before ordering?

Then one knows the prices before they anyone tries to rip them off...

Now you tell us! Where were you when everyone was being ripped off?

The article mentions tourists, then goes on to state the man murdered was married and living here, etc. Do any of these stats differentiate between toursits and expats? Seems that while many toursits may be naive, there are plenty of naive expats here who simply have that much more time to meet and mingle with the wrong crowds, upping the odds for them landing in a bad situation.

Was on Soi 7 a while back and saw a couple of drunk 40 something American business men screaming "you f*ckn n*gger" to each other, back and forth, for a few minutes. My TG asked what it meant, told her, and she just shrugged. The funny thing is I realized that the Thai's working there probably wouldn't care even if they knew what it meant.