bamboozled

What I've noticed is the Chinese heading back to the airport with plastic bags packed with snacks...Mama noodles, Lay's crisps, etc... What gives? Do they not have these things in China? That's hard to believe...instant noodles, really? I was thinking that perhaps they bring them as small gifts for friends, the novelty being that they're from abroad (the snacks).

Having spoken to a few small business owners in the night bazaar, sales are way down this year. I don't know if that relates directly to high season having started/not started or it just means tourists aren't buying...but interesting info.

I recently met a lawyer from New York here in Chiang Mai. He was on vacation visiting his American daughter who is teaching here but we got to talking and it turns out most of his work is on immigration...getting folks visas and the like for the US. He has assisted Thai nationals but I believe he said most of the folks are Chinese and/or Latino, if I can remember correctly, just because well, there are a lot of those folks trying to get to the US. Anyhow, I really enjoyed chatting with him. He was very soft spoken and I liked his presence. I have nothing to do with him, just met him one day. However, he left a good impression on me and I took his card for future need. PM me if you would like his details. It doesn't hurt to shoot him an email with your questions.

Cheers...........

Has to be cast and not cut? Some of the plasma cutters can cut 5mm steel...

They have English speaking doctors at the hospital here below. I've never been personally (not saying it wouldn't do me some good) so I can't comment on the quality but the price a year ago was 500 baht a session.

I like screws, too....Could you please give the name of this place and/or the location? I'm a bit of a Luddite I'm finding and with no smart phone I'm not sure how to input those coordinates..

Thanks.

Thanks guys!

...quick question on this older post.... I have one month left on my business visa (expires Nov. 2) which means I need to head down to Laos soon to get the marriage visa. I was thinking to go next week to "have a little extra time" on my business visa in case something didn't work out. Then it occurred to me that once I go out of Thailand the B visa will be nullified (I'm starting on the 15th and final month now) so going to Laos a bit early will not serve any purpose, correct? I'm better off using up the last remaining month on this visa and then going for the marriage visa. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Your advice and knowledge is much appreciated. What a great help to everybody!

And my apologies for a somewhat silly question. Just trying to juggle a few different things and if I can wait a few more weeks before taking the trip that would be helpful.

Thanks so much...

No cats will be injured or hurt, not mine nor the neighbor's. The small shock is just a deterrent. It does not harm the cat in any way. Yes, my cats will get a small zap, too, and will learn not to try and venture out. They will not be hurt. It's just an uncomfortable feeling that I'm sure you've encountered in your life at some point. Thanks for your concern, though.

Airmail and registered airmail are the same service...one just has a tracking number which will let you know when it has been delivered and is 65 baht extra. It takes on average a week to Europe and 2 weeks to the US (and a week to Oz). SAL, I believe, is not by boat but land and air as opposed to just air meaning it flies across the ocean I suppose to the most convenient city as deemed by the post office and then goes by truck. This takes 3 to 4 weeks. Then there is Surface which I believe is indeed by boat and takes up to 2 months. It's convenient for heavy items. You can register your parcel with any of the three shipping methods for 65 baht. It has nothing to do with the shipping service but can help some if the package goes AWOL.

This is my understanding of the system....

Yes, a dog would keep out the cats....

Thanks for the new posts, all. I think some people are having a knee jerk reaction to the term "electric fence" as if it's designed to hurt the cat or that it's being done in a malicious way. I see it as quite the opposite as a the best remedy for all cats involved. The neighbors don't need to do anything at all. Their cats just won't be coming over here anymore to bite my cats. Shocked mildly once or twice will only teach them to stay away and mine to not roam. It doesn't really hurt but is just uncomfortable. Anyhow, I'm sure the huge abscess and infection and twice draining and shaving and multiple trips to the vet and shots that my cat endured...and the squeezing out of all the pus from the abscess. Well, I can tell you from how my cat was screaming and hissing and biting and squirming, it was agony. It was also expensive and time consuming. And giving meds for two weeks day and night was no picnic, either.

The neighbors have dogs and cats and multiple chickens and roosters. The dogs bark and howl all night and the roosters start crowing at 4 am. I know very well because the rooster hutch in right under my bedroom window. Ask me if I'm tired.... The house looks like it was transported from Appalachia and would be a perfect location for the filming of a horror movie or a meth lab. The place is falling down and an eyesore to behold. The yard is a wreckage and trash strewn muddy swamp. I have nothing against them per se though I don't approve of some of their ways. We've never spoken, however. When I try to catch their eye they always look away. I've only been here two months so not a long time but there was no welcome basket waiting for me when I arrived.

cheers...........................ZAP!

I will be talking with the neighbors before I do anything but I cannot expect them to neuter their cats because I want them to nor to keep them inside. So I'm 99.99% positive I will have to do what I can on my side of the deal. Howardprice, that's kind of the idea, I believe, that I had with the chicken wire. If I'm understanding correctly, the wire on the top is swaying and flexing with the cat's weight and so they are afraid to climb it? Do you have a pic by chance? I had a tough time with the dimensions of your steel items and bolts. Are those millimeters? Seems waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too small!

I think the botanical solution is too difficult and too slow to implement. Thanks all for the input and output... I'll report back on what transpires after I speak with them. I'm a slow mover so be patient. Thanks guys for the concrete info on where to buy the zappers should it come to that....

Cheers

Well, the plastic sheeting...I think the cat would just climb up it. Can climb up the chicken wire, as well, but it doesn't look quite as obtrusive and I don't think quite as easy as probably not so comfortable on the paws. On the other side of the house is another wall and my neighbor there has a dog that stays outside (and howls and barks without pause) so no problem with the cat coming in there. The front will require the same work as the side but will greatly reduce any entering of the cat (there is already a wall and fence, just not "cat proof"). As for the back, well, once I block the side where the neighbor is, the "bad" cat won't have easy access to get in from that vantage point. There is a fence already, as well.

My house is only 2 meters from this fence. Any odor would be discernible to me, too. I'm thinking to put a meter of chicken wire on the top of the cinderblock fence to start which will I think will help...flimsy stuff that's not fun to climb. I thought a small current through this would suffice. Perhaps all that is necessary is a couple strands of barbed wire in addition to the chicken wire. Now that I think about it, the top of the wall has broken glass embedded in it....just lovely...so I suppose barbed wire isn't really going to raise eyebrows. Not sure who put the glass there or when. There are some spots where the bushes grow over it. Guess I'll have to cut those back.

...maybe I can get away without the electricity....

I've been looking at you tube. It appears some parts are required to regulate the voltage. Or at least a car ignition coil and some circuit board thingy. I have a battery charger that could be used but that's not enough voltage. I saw a ready made power box on Youtube but from the States. There must be something similar here in Thai 4 the Kwai?

I certainly wouldn't want that but don't think it's an issue with the proper voltage. Barbed wire is also an option but not very pleasant, either...

My neighbor on my right side has two non-neutered male cats that are attacking my two neutered 7 month old cats. One has already been bitten and developed an abscess/infection and is still recovering. So, I can either talk to my neighbors...but I'm pretty sure that would not solve anything, keep my cats inside all the time...or attach some electrified wires on top of the existing cinderblock wall surrounding my rented property. My cats could then enjoy the big yard in safety. I'm fairly handy and it seems pretty simple but some pieces and parts will be needed. If you know where I might find those pieces and parts or have any other tips/info, I and my cats would appreciate it.

If I'm out of my tree on this let me know.

Cheers, Bamboozled.

Thanks, guys, especially SinCity for that long reply. I appreciate all the info and the time taken. Gotta do some thinking and planning here.

Cheers!

yes! chang phuak.....slooooooooooooooooooooooooow for 2 says now.

I have a business visa obtained abroad, my 4th or 5th one. My understanding is that a business visa allows you to conduct business for a foreign company (such as buying and exporting) but not "working" the difference being that "working" means getting paid in Thailand. I could be wrong though if this is the case I don't understand why they issue business visas without work permits which I have never had. I always listed "business" as my reason for entering Thailand and was never questioned.

PoorSucker, did you mean to write "NEITHER" business nor marriage visa?

I am switching to a marriage visa to avoid having to go home to get the business visa, a costly endeavor to the States. I will no longer be allowed to buy and export as I have been doing (if indeed I was "allowed" with the business visa)? I do not qualify for a work permit.

Thank you

Hello,

I currently have a business visa and will soon switch to a marriage visa. What does that mean for me in what I can and cannot do legally in Thailand? Can I still conduct business such as buying and exporting or will that become technically illegal?

Thanks and cheers cheers cheers...Mr. Bamboozled.

That brings up another question I've been contemplating. I've read about the 12-month ext and the required money in the bank. Some folks seem to jump over a lot of hurtles to get this. Isn't it also possible to go back to Savannakhet and get a new type O visa based on marriage after this one expires, much the way I've been doing with the business visa, renewing it yearly? Is it just that the ext. negates the necessity of traveling out of the country?

Cheers.....

Thanks, guys. That alleviates my small fear about that. Ubonjoe, you gave me a nice tingly sensation with the term "newlywed". I will indeed be a newlywed. Have never thought of myself as a newlywed and have indeed never as of yet been one. Wow... Thank you for that.

Hello all. A search didn't turn up an answer to this question that I could find. My business visa is set to run out in October and rather than go back to the States to renew it, an expensive prospect, I plan to push up my wedding and marry my long-term gf and soon thereafter apply for an O visa in Savannakhet. Am I likely to run into any raised eyebrows on account of such a brief time period between the marriage and the visa application?

Thank you much, cheers....