GreenSnapper

99,99% of farang in thailand are with ugly girls compared to the average kathoey. The rich, the poor, the teachers, the hiso etc etc. Always a 3/10 to 7.5/10

Even an ugly girl is still a girl.

And 99% of farang prefer girls over boys.

Life can be that easy.

Big problem on iPad/Safari. Micro reply window.

Please correct!

They come to help. It's a symbiotic relationship. They help you, they get commission. What, exactly, is wrong with that?

As for them not going away, my experience is very different to yours obviously. As I said, i simply smile, tell them I want to look alone and when I need their help, I will be sure to come and choose them to assist directly.

Life is so simple, when you don't cloud it with bitterness, resentment and anger.

Stalking people is wrong. I wouldn't mind if they were polite. They are not (with some exceptions obviously). I don't know what they are supposed to "help" me. They point out "20% discount" at some item where it is clearly written: 20% discount".

Some places have 5-10 of those stalkers hanging around. They are basically jobless, even if employed. They are bored to hell, what I can understand.

And as always in Thailand, I stay polite. If it is their business way to stalk people, it is my business way to buy where it does not happen. Easy.

But it is annoying and not only to me, but to Thais either.

So let me get this right. If a shop assistant comes up to you to help in Thailand, it's rude?

They don't come to help. They come to get their commission if you buy something.

And no, they don't go away even if you tell them. Because then they wouldn't get their commission.

Why would you trust Thai's to do your marketing. I've worked for companies and when they first hired a Thai Marketing firm and had them go out and do their work. If you want to spend money on Marketing, hire an agency that has reliable references. Otherwise, your wasting your money and might as well go out and hand it out to the beggars.

5. Filipino and Indian is preferable

Says a lot about Thailand....

What is 'cheating' and why do some people worry about it?

Don't escape to Lao, Cambodia or Myanmar - they have Songkran too.

I think it's just the ages of the majority of Farangs in Thailand, they would be moaning wherever they lived.

Miserable old git, Grumpy old Fart, etc etc..

Some moan about Thais, some moan about Farangs.

Same same, not different.

Interesting film.

This woman is in control of everything. The guy is way too weak.

Bargirl or not - such relationships almost always fail. In the East or in the West.

You gotta give this Thai researcher a lot of credit and anyone who helped him along with the university he went to. This guy managed to teach Thai hookers where Czechoslovakia is and where Slovakia is and the difference between a man who can't speak English or Thai saying Slovakia and Czechoslovakia.

There is no such country called 'Czechoslovakia'.

Anyway, their favorite country is 'Farang'.

So into the Citigold "lounge" in Asok I go and can only say the staff in there were completely unhelpful/usless and basically didnt have a clue, net result was I used one of their phones and called Singapore to help me resolve the issue

A few years ago, when I was a Citibank customer in my home country, I used their ATMs free of charge at their (then) office at Satorn.

While I was there, I went inside and asked the staff to give me a list of all Citibank ATMs in Thailand. Not knowing that there are none except in Bangkok.

The girls gave me the typical bland stare, giggled, asked other staff and nobody had even the slightest knowledge of English to understand my simple question.

After a while i gave up, still amazed about the total lack of any professionality there. At least I got some first hand experience what to expect when living Thailand.

Songkran Pattaya 2012:

1) Buy food and beer in advance for 5 days.

2) Stay indoors for 5 days.

3) Repeat in 2013

or

1) Buy flight to Malaysia.

2) Stay there for 5 days.

3) Repeat in 2013.

That's what I do too. Many nice places in Malaysia, friendly people and a level of civilization I miss in Thailand.

Went to Power Buy at Emporium and I was surprised that nobody tried to stalk me. I was almost missing it

Maybe the complaints from Farangs and Japanese who are prime customers there did have some effect.

At other places, I often ended my shopping when the stalking got too much. It is really annoying here, never experienced that in another country.

Hahaha... Philippines and Nigeria....

Some people smoke too much.

I might have a look down that end thanks.

The site I am considering that might be good (pending release of the units!) is opposite President Park in Soi 24, opposite where Tops used to be.

2.mill bht seems aweful cheap for a new condo in soi 24. In fact i would suggest its impossible unless its less than the standars 35sqm studio

How do you know about these condos about to be built and do you have a link? would like to have a look myself :-)

Studios start at 25m2 now 35m2 is a 1 bed

Actually it's a studio with a glass wall.

GF is right. This is cheap stuff anyway.

Besides the uncertainties regarding future prices of the condo and state of maintanance, calculate it just like any other investment:

2.5 Million purchase price, 12,000B rental income. That is what the OP was aiming for.

Let's say after agent fees and other costs, he can get regularly 100,000 Baht per year - an optimistic estimate.

That makes an annual gain of 4%.

Then you are basically investing in Thai Baht. Even if you can sell the condo with some gain after a few years, nobody can say how the THB will have developed. At the moment it is a strong currency and it may not weaken very much in the near future. But there is a high risk that this will change some day.

So basically you gain 4%, you have the risk of selling cheaper and have the risk of losing big in currency devaluation.

Not a great investment, considered that an Australian Bank will give you at least that in AUD and then you don't spend your money in THB.

But if you believe in the longterm stability of Thailand and the THB, well....... up to you

Responding to the OP, the idea of comparing the farang experience in Thailand to the REAL racism that African-Americans dealt with back in the day is patently absurd. There is no comparison.

Must be really terrible being the elected president of the USA.....

Where? Give us a source that's better. Please!

I've stayed there before, know the managers, and think it's quite nice. I lived near there for almost one year several years ago (Pratunam House). I really liked the area. Used Wendy House's internet almost every day, had breakfast there on a regular basis and they did my laundry. Not cheap, but good. There are some other places nearby, but I think Wendy House is pretty good. It was always booked out. One next door seemed nice, but can't remember the name. I think it had bed and breakfast in the name, or something like that. Nothing else on that soi came close to these 2 places.

Wendy is a guest house, last time I checked it was almost 1000 Bt. <deleted>? When I stayed there, I could not even switch off the a/c. For that money, you can do much better at KSR.

The Soi is a nice neighbourhood, I agree. There are 2 proper hotels which always have been much better than "Wendy's" and there are some more reasonable GHs which easily can compete. Recently, a new hotel was built next door to Wendy's which looks fancy and expensive.

You are going to be subject to Thai tax on any profit you may have made on the sale, the amount is dependent upon how long you have owned the property in question

Remember the initial sale was recorded by the Land Office and they will have those records when you go to sell now

If you do transfer your funds back to the US, the fact that you paid Thai taxes will minimize your US tax liability since there is a tax treaty between the US and Thailand

Correct.

Don't fool with taxes. Just pay what you have to pay.

Once you have payed Thai tax, you can move the money out of country via SWIFT transfer. Don't use ATM, Western Union or such nonsense.

In US, you may have to pay taxes again, but you can use the double taxation treaty with Thailand and therefore reduce them considerably.

Green snapper you said prices go down a lot. How much roughly? I'm also thinking about investing in a couple of apartments over here, since from talking to an agent, the return sounds similar to in Nz (8%ish) but with less tax. However most apartments in Nz retain their value (only decreasing in real terms due to inflation), if apartments in Bkk often lose value then this may change my perspective

Don't talk to agents. They will tell you anything to get their commission.

About prices in Suk 24: one square meter is now around 120,000 Baht or more. Is that really cheap, considered that they are poorly built by Burmese workers for 30 Baht/hour.

You cannot compare with NZ or OZ. In both countries, you will have a proper maintanance which is often lacking in Thailand. That's why I said, go and see 10 year old buildings how run down many of them are, and you may reconsider your plans of purchase.

One more remark: there is a high demand for condos in Bangkok without question. But the big majority of Thais cannot afford condos for 5+ Million Baht. Nobody would finance them.

So the only people who buy them are rich Thais or foreigners.

Don't do it.

Your post shows you haven't done any research.

Read the real estate forum for 6 months and visit some of those 'cheap' places 10 years later.

You are too young to burn money like that.

Wendy House is very popular.

It's an overhyped Lonely Planet place.

Overpriced and you can get much better quality for the same money.

Surprisingly, they do not offer tri/quad band 3g radio (850/900/2100) on all their smartphones. Is it really that expensive for manufacturer to use 3+ band 3g radios? tri/quad band 3g should be standard now 2012.

4/5 Band 3G is still the exception in the Android world.

It is not expensive at all, considering the cheapest 5-Band Nokias cost little more than 4000 Baht.

That's why I'd only recommend the Android top models which are finally up to today's standards. The cheaper and midrange models normally have only 2-Band.

The big banks shall be considerably safe. They do not gamble high risk as so common in Europe or USA.

But being this Thailand, you can never know for sure. You can also never know if the "government guarantee" has an value for a farang. How do you enforce this law, if your bank goes bankrupt? No way....

So the general rule applies here as well: don't bring anything into the country you cannot afford to lose.

The only money I keep here is the amount I need for visa renewal / about one year living expenses.

Keep everything else in Singapore. SG is a very safe financial place, and the law is taken seriously there. Absolutely no comparision to Thailand's "mai pen rai" attitude.