Nirvana

LATEST UPDATE:

The Civil Court has issued an injunction against the protesters, ordering them to leave Bangkok airport.

Channel News Asia reports this morning that the PAD has 15 days to comply with the injunction.

Oh thats a lot of good and will help matters ...

emmmmmm lets see....emmm, how about because I want to AND on top of that MANY things, like the taxi mafi SUCK about Samui all at the same time....sorry if understanding both of those at the same time is beyond you

What is beyond me is maybe that also your above post makes no sense.

Not interested in being baited, just that I and feel I am not alone here are somewhat tired of such repetitive negative posts.

If that makes me ignorant as you try to infer , then i shall remain blissfully so thank you.

why not have another moan .. I am sure I will get some mileage out of it yet.

I like to moan when appropriate...grow up and deal with it. Samui is NOT paradise, so why not talk about its downsides as well?...or do you have some land for sale ....

Wow am I still getting mileage out of this one..

It is sad news that because of the troulbes in BK this week BA have halted flights to BK for the next 48 hours and could extend this beyond.This also happened to Kenya this year when they had troubles and within a week almost all carriers into Kenya ceased flying there.The damage is still being felt by Kenya with tourism down by 60% year on year.During these tough times all it needs is one carrier or operator to stop going to a destination and the rest follow like lost sheep because the troubles is an ideal excuse because they are not filling flights and are not filling hotels as they planned.

Trust me my Samui friends this is not good news for those who depend on tourists to make a living from.

Laters

Shakeyd

Not just BA. The NBIA has been closed totally for Departures due to PAD protestors invading the terminals. Thousands of passengers presently stranded.

This should be the final nail for Christmas Tourism in Thailand. I guess this will badly affect the BKK airways schedules as well.

Check out Bangkok Post online.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Suvarnabhumi...html&st=475

emmmmmm lets see....emmm, how about because I want to AND on top of that MANY things, like the taxi mafi SUCK about Samui all at the same time....sorry if understanding both of those at the same time is beyond you

What is beyond me is maybe that also your above post makes no sense.

Not interested in being baited, just that I and feel I am not alone here are somewhat tired of such repetitive negative posts.

If that makes me ignorant as you try to infer , then i shall remain blissfully so thank you.

why not have another moan .. I am sure I will get some mileage out of it yet.

I arrived at the Samui airport the other night and car would not start so had no real choice but to pay these criminals their fair...I was going about 1.5 KM and would have walked instead, just on principle but my girl was with me so...we asked, taxi says THB 500...then it starts raining...he changes "THB 600"...with a big toothless "smile"...go spend a few days in Chaing Mai or Hua Hin (if you need the refresher) and then realize what a DUMP Samui is.

So why do you stay then and always post such negative posts..

Are you physically bound to the island it seems not.

N

2) Do use a reputable architect and Engineering firm

My conclusions after the best part of 6 months are:

There seems to be lots of dodgy people passing themselves off as professionals in Ao Nang and Krabi

Only mr_lob has someone positive to suggest. Unfortunately my land purchase fell through so its back to square 1.

Never found the: "reputable architect and Engineering firm" despite checking out everyone in Ao Nang and Krabi.

Have heard similar stories from Pattaya to Phuket, especially involving farangs. Maybe thay just don't exist. Maybe Krabi needs another 10 years. Maybe its the wrong time to be investing here anyway: credit crunch, global financial meltdown, political turmoil. Maybe just stick to the holidays, who needs the hassle?

i think maybe you just answered your own question...

Nirvana

Hi,

I'm applying for job, and some of my documents must be translated into Thai.

Anybody who know a certified (qualified) translator? I meant, who can also give the"legal stamp"...

I know one, between Huathanon and Lamai, but they are charging me 1,200B per page.

Meeeen, thats pretty much .

Hope you reply soon!!!

May be try Liz Luxen. Not sure if she can legally stamp though.

I think that is Liz Luxen...

I suppose we asked for help from someone who was having a bad day. Because the first person we spoke to didn't say much she just grunted and made a swinging motion with her arm to indicate we would continue walking in a particular direction.

The second Thai person, my girlfriend said, was quite rude when she asked for directions to the van service.

Maybe I am just spoiled by Chiang Mai. It always feels good to go back to the place you call your home and I should not let a couple of people in Hua Hin make me think all people in Hua Hin are that way.

I also realize food poisoning happens everywhere. But when it comes to shell fish, depending on where they get their catch, it can all be a bit tainted for now. Maybe waiting a month or two will help clean out the bad shell fish. All I am saying is be careful where you eat.......for now.

Thanks for the explanation Richard. People (especially the Thai people) here are usually friendly while the directions given by any Thai, even when they are going out of their way to be helpful, have been hit and miss all over the country for me.

Maybe you did just catch them at a bad time. I know, my attitude and appearance, as well as my Thai wife's attitude towards other Thais comes into play as well. I'm not saying you or your girlfriend did something to provoke the unfriendliness but this is often the case (especially between Thai women when one is with a foreigner).

I've only been to Chiang Mai twice and indeed people I came in contact with, both foreign and Thai seemed friendly, but that has been my general impression all over the country.

Thanks for the shellfish warning, I'll be careful where I eat it for a while.

Maybe a little off topic.

I have the nicest thais with me and she is nice to everyone unless pushed hard and i must say from the north to the south i see huge differences, for us it is sometimes like 2 different countries with the malay influence to southern peoples. A number of times I just cannot believe the differences in way they speak to each other. Of course i talk about deep south here, but for me my experience is not positive all over the country.I knw which i prefer

I agree totally with this post. All displays are plastic and cheap looking, catalogue is good. But expensive? We got 2 bedside tables a year and a half ago and got them delivered to our house a week after we ordered them. All nice, all in time, but it cost us 15000 baht for 2 small woodentables. They are nice and all but still im not sure i would reccomend this kind of shopping after doing alot of furniture shopping on the mainland. Just take the boat to and do your shopping in one of many furniture shops in surathani. At least that´s what i would do now. Anybody agree?

mattias

I am glad this came up as I am looking also for some bits and pieces.

Do you recommend any in Surat, looking for Asian style heavy wooden furniture. Is it normal they can deliver as part of price. Just thinking i do not want to order and then sit around for weeks. Thanks

Hi all

i seem to have a leaking roof and my most helpful landlady has had a thai guy quote me, ME, YES ME 7000 baht to repair it. i was wondering if anyone knew a good maintenance company or roof repairer

thanks

Maybe I misunderstand , but why does she not pay for it ? .Its exterior etc so is it not so she is responsible not you.

I saw that Don's food on Ring road, Chaweng was closed.

Have they moved or shut down?

Not sure , but does any1 knw the best place 2 buy good sausages 4 BBQ u knw Lamb chops etc. Hav an urge for a good sausage.F+B has turned totally crap..

Yes they have moved to a soi near Big C a think. I passed the old shop to day and they had put a poster in the window telling the new address.

Regarding good sausage I can recommend LUCKY LIFE. It`s about 1 kilometer from the Boput light intersection towards Mae Nam. They have many different German wursts.

HI.

How about any shops near Lamai area or Nathon for that matter. Do you or Mattias know any ?

Same stuff , Sausages BBQ fair . pretty fed up of usual ones.

Can anyone point me in the right direction for furniture shops in Surat. Not looking for modern furniture but Wooden Thai style etc. Any place that does delivery as well would be great.Also a good mattress shop I did see a post a mnth or so ago but cannot find it. Think the price difference must be quite a lot compared to Samui. Thanks

The thinking now is don't go out on your own to Kata and drive back, if you do you are asking for trouble.

The police are useless.

I can fully understand the new feeling in the expat community that if we can't rely on the police then we will leave them to their money making scams and sort it ourselves.

Most people I know carry bats and other things in their cars, I go to see Thai friends in Kata a lot, I am now so wary anyone comes near me on the route back will get run off the road.

Really sad. High end promotion? In your Thai gov dreams.

I came here to live with my falang wife, i obey all the laws yet I have no protection at all from the police who are self serving money grabbers.

My circle of friends [Thai and falang] are all disgusted by our lack of protection. Is it any wonder that we want to take matters into our own hands?

This is a time bomb of Thai making, I thing we have been very restrained so far, it won't last.

Tough words, I do wonder. You tend to find in Asia that if you try this route of meeting conflict with conflict you will loose, unless you have the necessary back up. This is their country , alot more of them than you and generally in Asia, it is never one on one for long. If you do not like it and cannot restrain yourself then leave, as other wise it will surely end in tears. Running someone of the road , you will pay anyhow if they are killed. Well done ... for your family. Adapt to your environment or get out of it.

pretty sure you're being ripped off, if you rent a house with three bedrooms and a pool(is it private?) if so the owner thinks you're not after a few thousands bath.

as said litebeer, a unit is 3.4 bath BUT in samui they like to take a profit on this so they charge it to you at 5 or 7 thus the high bill.

Agree with this, sounds very wrong to me, even with running aircon and a pool pump , so long as not running constantly then this bill is very high. I would check that you actually have your own meter and not paying someone elses bill or they are just ripping you off with add ons.

I dont think you will ever get rid of the sex industry in Thailand but I think it needs to be controlled so its not so in your face. Too many places are turning into Pattaya. Walking through Patong gets a bit much after a while. As for the beaches on Phuket I think they need to employ full time lifeguards there due to the rip tides. Every year you get tourists drowning around the island as either there are no warning flags or they are just ignored. A tip I was given by an Aussie lifeguard was if you are swimming somewhere you dont know take a deflated beach ball tucked into your trunks. If you get into a rip simply blow up the ball, hang on and ride out the rip back to shore. Affordale taxis would also go a long way but nobody seems to care whether the poor tourist gets ripped off by greedy tuk tuk drivers. Its the same on Samui, they want ridiculous money to go a short way. They dont realise that a lot of people will not return.

nice one about the beach ball , will have to bear that in mind.but ride out the rip back to shore?, does it not just take you out, excuse my ignorance. just wondering how far they normally go out from shore. As for having kids with you as well guess the answer is dont go in until proven. thanks for info..

[

As I have been for quite some time on Samui, but resided most of this time in the North of the island, so I can only recommend the business in Nathon, opposite (right hand side) Sanpeth Supermarket, it's a Picture Framing Shop, but they do make Custom mosquito windows, doors, name it, since long time, they got plenty of experience!

Samuian

I knw this is a bit off the main topic but i am looking for a good aircon supplier, do you knw any in your area ?

i have tried posting but no responses. thks

It has been shown on UBC True visions a few times last year now...

In my humble opinion its really crap

[op 15 stress busters - Keep cool, keep talking and keep it friendly

DOES anyone knw this company ?

Does any fellow member recommend a place selling air con units (9000 BTU) at a reasonable price. Understand BKK and mainland is cheaper but then have to pay installation anyhow.Thanks

dementia or some other mental illness and needs to be repatriated to some place where he can receive appropriate care?

did your daddy beat you too hard so that couldnt think anymore?

The loser posted in this thread.. hes a plain old drunk with no money that gets beaten up by thais.. not a demented old fart that ran away from his family..

But good job on your brains swooshing..

ps: Jews are a self-proclaimed race, they are the racists, stop being such a cry baby.

Little Goat

I think you have some maybe serious issues..

Obviously you take pleasure from this baiting as well so you must be leading a sad little life.

So I went to bangkok hospital, because my friend use their package around B35000.-

But I should had to go to Nathon.

They only thinking money I think. Their equipment is new and good qualily, but human hospitality is ????

constraction started, so I have to birth sure, but the doctor said, if you take this test, you have to pay around B3000.- is this possible?

I have to say Yes, because my baby want to born now!

I ask staff, my friend use package, so I want to use your package also,but before I had not come check up here, so they don't have my record so I couldn't use package. and I ask cost for delivery, they cannnot say soon, after I entered delivery room, the staff said to my husbund, the cost will be around 140000.- for only delivery and stay 2nights.

It was too expensive for us. so he called thai-mother and she negotiatied , and then staff say around 50000.- for 2nights.

Before delivery I told to doctor I wantd to take tubal sterilization.

But the delivery cost was too high, so I decied take this another hospital.

When the doctor ask me you want to take this or not?

I say no, but doctor say, why you don't take?

You have already 3 children, so you are too enough,do you want to more?

I hated to speak doctors and nurses. they only think money, own commission. The doctor ask me personal things alot. but thai inter don't ask personal things at all.

next day evening, accounting staff come to see me, bring the bill,the bill was around 57000.-

she said if you want to stay until tomorrow morning, you have to pay more 20,000bath. We couldn't understand their cost. so I came back home only 24hours. I could walk, eat everything normal and baby was small(2600g) but very fine, so I could that. But if something happend,I don't want to think… after I went to thai inter for injection for baby.

This is a just my opinion, the doctor of thai inter, he is not so old but he have experience, he don't say a lot, the doctor bKK hosptal depend on data.

So before decide hospital, you should go some hospitals for using package.

Sorry for my poor English and hope understand.

Sounds like a terrible experience and seems to me from the posts that this hospital is money first and healthcare second, I did have this impression but never had to use it much (thank goodness). From what earlier post says that BKK hospital its supposed branch or head office in BKk does not even recognise it as a proper hospital gives great cause for concern to me. Its ok to have good hi tech equipment but without experience and the turnover of many patients with varying needs of emergency care, one does wonder. I should think maybe the board of the bangkok hospital in bangkok would be interested in such feedback. Sounds like just another rip off in Samui to go with the rest.For the lady that lost her baby , this is absolutely terrible and i do feel for you.

2 things.. Often checking the pump at completion is not a guarantee they are not making a minor slice off you.. they often dont zero the pump before you fill up, so it starts from the last customers amount and then ends at what you ask for, once you have left they pocket the last customers amount (what they didnt put in your).. I am sure you can see this but just mentioning.

Secondly the much larger point about thai integrity.. I have no intention of turning this into an anti Thai rant, and I am sure there are a great number of honest Thais. However I do feel that in general Thais place honesty at a much lower premium than I am used to. Consider how much Thais will happily lie to cover 'face' and that not be socially wrong by their measure. That in turn teaches that 'truth' is less important than other factors. I tend to think that leads in turn to a lack of fundamental honesty which is the building block of integrity. Not just in the low class tourist scamming fast buck merchants (which again I agree Phuket probably has higher than its fair share) but look into business dealings at all levels, look into how competition will rip off your ideas, look at how competitors will grass up anything they can, look even at how legit business operates (the nissan thread is a prime example). Lie, over promise, and under deliver, seem the norm rather than the exception, to me thats fundamentally lacking in integrity and very much a Thai trait.

hear hear , but this is the land of smiles and they are all "so nice people"

Sorry to be down, they are all crap, if you want western standards forget it. Your only chance is to pay top dollar and be prepared to spend every minute of the day there to say no good, do again, that is the only way to get what you want and paid for. Don't think for a second that a guarentee means sod all here, once it's finished they don't care.

Up to you, if you can't be here for the build then employ a farang to oversee. It costs a lot more but saves a fortune in heartache and arguement.

In saying that , even having a farang sometimes does not help. Employed farang and sometimes this lures you also into a false sense of security, they are good with the talking and you feel at ease and then find they are not on job site and spending alot of money and unless you are there...

Oh yes the famous nod and smile and "i understand" .Personally i find it a stinking nightmare and have not heard of a good one yet, unless you are paying more per sq meter than in europe even..

I am interested to knw good contractors always

I'm planning to take Firefly to Penang the last weekend of the month for a border run. I'm not interested in sitting in a minivan all day again so I decided to make a weekend trip out of it and see someplace new. That said, I'm sure a lot of you have been there on visa runs before, can you maybe toss out a few suggestions of interesting places to go? Bars & restaurants as well as museums or shops or the best beach. As of now it looks like I'll be staying at the Cititel Penang Hotel in Georgetown. It looks pretty central.

Penang Museum and art gallery is good. Sea food, Bali Hai on gurney drive is very good also

Dear All Wise-ones,

I am relocating to Koh Lanta and will be working in a hotel. I am given a rental +Utility allowance of TBHAT$25,000. My wife and my 2 years old will be coming along with me. Need advice on followings:-

1. Any advice on a town/suburb/area that is suitable for family to live within a expat community nearby to amenities (Shopping, clinics/hospital and groceries)?. I would prefer if my daily travelling time to work is within 45 minutes.

2. Is the above allowance sufficient for a two bedrooms unit/villa/apartment that has reasonble security and in safe environment in your recommended area in question 1?.

3. Should I be getting a car myself or rent one on weekends and rely on public transport on weekdays if the intended of work is within 2-3 years?. If buying one, how much will it cost for a small sedan family car?.

4. Is there any good real estate agents that any of you can recommend?. My search in the net is not very encouraging.

Since I am moving in a month time, all your prompt advices will be deeply appreciated.

Thanks.

Tzi.

1. 45 minutes pretty much covers you from one end of Koh Lanta to the other. 25,000thb should cover you for a pretty decent rental, sorry, I do business down there but have never looked into places to live.

2. Lanta is pretty safe, don't go overboard with paranoia, I know a lot of business people that live and work there.

3. Yes, get yourself a Suzuki Carribean car, or a Honda sedan, should be able to get that in a used car lot in Krabi for around 90-150,000,thb. For your ride to work, just have a motorbike, used one of those 10,000thb (or around anyway).

4. Best cut the real estate agents out of the equation when thinking of a rental. There are a lot of bungalow resort places that are really cheap this time of year. Get one of those for the first couple weeks and source the place to live once you are there.

Are you going to work for Langham? What is your position?

hi huggy bear,

what business / industry are you in then ?