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GlutinousMaximus

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Posts posted by GlutinousMaximus

    Satang coins... what is the the point?

    in General Topics

    Posted

    It is mainly supermarkets and 7elevens, a bit like the old halfpenny in the UK which took years to get rid of.

    I have over 300 bahts worth, all bagged, but I do not have the balls to go into a 7eleven or supermarket, asking them if they want to exchange them, and certainly would not use them for a purchase !

    Tesco and 711 would love them. Our local ones put out an appeal for people to bring them in as the banks would no longer supply them.

    I also have, literally, thousands of baht in 1 baht coins. I can get by in Thai somewhat, but I am hoping one of my Thai friends can write me a note, asking if they need the coins for change. Then I will go into the shops, showing the note, and if they change it, they change it.

    Before the big deal O'Neills come on here criticising me, I might well buy something for the local orphanage when it is changed.

    We tend to ask the orphanage what they need, and buy it for them, rather than give cash, which may not be used for the right purposes.

    You can feed the 1 baht coins into those little red machines you see outside 7-Elevens and the like to do mobile topups for example (they have an English option on the touch screen menu - pretty simple to use). It takes a while to pump in 100 baht's worth and they charge you something like 5 baht per 100 baht but it's one way of getting rid of them.

    Agree with the OP about satang coins. It's also odd when you go to pay a credit card bill or utility bill and they are asking for 500.47 or something silly, errrr how do I pay 0.47 of a baht exactly? They just seem to round it up or down...hmm that gives me an idea for a scam..what if millions of people gave me 47 extra satang every day via my computer system...I could be rich!

    The art of making conversation...

    in Chiang Mai

    Posted

    This isn't the first time the topic has been raised on TV - see this well-written OP here in a similar vein: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/734442-in-10-years-i-have-never-had-a-conversation-with-a-thai/


    My Missus tells me Thais have a saying: "the more people you know, the more problems you'll have"


    While there's probably some truth to that, it's indicative of a rather guarded social mindset.


    In my experience, a lot of Thais keep themselves to themselves, fraternise with their close family and/or known associates and don't branch out much beyond that (socially speaking).


    Let's not even get into the difficulties of forging of a proper, friendly and equitable relationship with Thai males.

    The art of making conversation...

    in Chiang Mai

    Posted · Edited by GlutinousMaximus

    I'm with the OP on this.
    The times when I do try and make conversation, I get the feeling that they just want to shut the conversation down as soon as possible - hence one word answers, no responses/follow-on questions to something I've said. It almost seems uncomfortable to a lot of them to even engage in conversation - I have the impression they're thinking "what's this farang twit on about?"
    If they do ask something, it's often pretty mundane and I've heard most of it before - can you eat spicy food? what football team do you support etc. ?
    It's quite strange when you see groups of people en masse - e.g. at the DMV waiting to get a licence. There are often people who clearly know each other and have gone there together, however they just sit there in silence whereas in the West it would be a loud hum of chit-chat.
    So now I don't bother apart from very brief pleasantries - a quick wai, a smile, ' how are you?' etc. and leave it at that.

    This thread of full of the usual farang ethnocentric nonsense, but this one takes the cake. So because of your isolated observation at the DMV--which I doubt is even true--you're saying that Thais don't talk to each other? Are you freakin serious? Lordy.

    I though my post might raise a few hackles :)
    It's just my observation (ethocentric or not) after nearly 10 years here and hundreds of stilted conversations.
    Obviously the language barrier plays a huge part - if I could communicate freely in Thai using idioms,slang etc. then conversation might flow more freely.
    I feel it's more than this however - that a cultural gulf exists, and that our frames of reference and cultural/conversational norms are vastly different.
    While it is possible to have a conversation of sorts, I've never found them particularly interesting, or thought to myself 'hmmm that was a really stimulating chat, must see more of so and so'
    It's also more pronounced where I am in the NE compared to the (probably) more cosmopolitan metropolis. The few occasions where I've met more 'worldly' locals, then communication has certainly been easier.
    I still stand by comment about lack of chit-chat among the general population - I'm not saying they don't talk to each other, but my feeling is that there are socio-cultural norms at play and a lot of locals choose to keep quiet rather than saying something which might offend, cause loss of face, be 'above their station' etc. - things in the West which just don't apply.

    The art of making conversation...

    in Chiang Mai

    Posted · Edited by GlutinousMaximus

    I'm with the OP on this.


    The times when I do try and make conversation, I get the feeling that they just want to shut the conversation down as soon as possible - hence one word answers, no responses/follow-on questions to something I've said. It almost seems uncomfortable to a lot of them to even engage in conversation - I have the impression they're thinking "what's this farang twit on about?"


    If they do ask something, it's often pretty mundane and I've heard most of it before - can you eat spicy food? what football team do you support etc. ?


    It's quite strange when you see groups of people en masse - e.g. at the DMV waiting to get a licence. There are often people who clearly know each other and have gone there together, however they just sit there in silence whereas in the West it would be a loud hum of chit-chat.


    So now I don't bother apart from very brief pleasantries - a quick wai, a smile, ' how are you?' etc. and leave it at that.

    Quick visa run to Laos return same day - possible?

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted · Edited by GlutinousMaximus

    Just to feedback on the topic I started

    • Went to Thai Friendship Bridge 3 in Nakhon Phanom at the end of January
    • Thai Immigration stamped me out of Thailand (lucky I brought my expired passport along with me as they wanted to see it)
    • Applied at the Laos visa on arrival booth with payment of 1,500 in Thai baht (had to fill in a form for it plus an entry/departure card, but they hardly seemed bothered what I wrote)
    • Laos Immigration stamped me into Laos
    • Hopped on a bus going over the bridge
    • Spent a pleasant day in Laos visiting caves and so on (hired a van plus driver who was touting for business at the bridge on the Laos side)
    • Went back over the TFB3 bridge around 5pm and was stamped out of Laos
    • They stamped me back into Thailand on the other side for 30 days on a visa-exempt entry - no charge

    So all in all, pretty straightforward.

    Thanks all for the input/advice.

    Sold my car - buyer brings cashier check.. 100% Safe?

    in Thailand Motor Discussion

    Posted · Edited by GlutinousMaximus

    I sold some property a while back and was also iffy about the cashier's cheque they were paying with. I went down to the TFB branch it was drawn on and they verified it as genuine and although they weren't officially open at the time they said we could come back later and draw the full amount of cash on it. So we transferred the property, then immediately went down to the bank, drew the cash and had the security guard walk us over the 10 metres to our own bank (this was in a shopping mall) and deposited it there and it was all fine. I certainly didn't want to wait for 2 or 3 days while the cheque was floating around the byzantine Thai banking system.


    I was nervous though - the problem in Thailand is that doing this kind of thing is like musical chairs, and if you're left standing when the music stops, you'll get some nice wais and "terribly sorry sir" but it's tough tittie for you and there are no guarantees.

    Quick visa run to Laos return same day - possible?

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted · Edited by GlutinousMaximus

    Thanks Ubon Joe - we tried that today, but they said we'd already done that on some previous entry. They were talking in Thai to my wife and seemed pretty categorical, however I wish I'd pressed them on it now (I may go back to the office and ask for clarification)


    You said: The only restriction would be if you have gotten a 60 day extension before for the entry you have extended.


    How do they determine that & what does it mean in practice? I've had a Non-O going back (extended back-to-back) for years & as far as I recollect, I haven't done a 60-day extension - certainly not in the last few years.


    EDIT - removed question about my OP, you've already answered it

    Quick visa run to Laos return same day - possible?

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted

    Hi all


    I've done some reading/Googling on TVF and I think what I want to do is OK, but just thought I'd check with the resident experts


    (Sorry if this has already been covered in other posts, but I couldn't find a succinct definition of the process)

    • My 1-year Non-O (based on marriage) extension runs out 2nd Feb (UK passport)
    • I am planning to return with my family to the UK at end of March/very early April so I'm not going to bother doing another year extension based on marriage
    • I propose to exit Thailand at Nakhon Phanom Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge on 1st Feb & get stamped out of Thailand
    • Get Visa on Arrival for Laos at Thakhek (1,500 Baht) & get stamped in to Laos
    • 1 minute later, turn around, leave Laos and re-enter Thailand on a 30-day visa-exempt/waiver entry (I haven't used the Thai visa exempt entry in the last 10 years or so)
    • After 30 days, extend the visa-exempt entry for another 30 days at my local Immigration (Sakhon Nakhon) for 1,900 baht
    Is the above doable, or am I missing something & are there any snafus that will bite me?


    Are there better ways of doing what I'm proposing & if so, what would the process be?


    Many thanks,


    GM.

    • Like 1

    Who's in the wrong? Motorbike crashes into pedestrian, 2nd moto flips

    in Thailand News

    Posted · Edited by GlutinousMaximus

    To my mind, this video gives a vignette of all the things that are wrong about the road scene in Thailand:

    • Lack of proper provision for pedestrians to cross safely
    • Lack of spatial awareness by pedestrians
    • Complete lack of consideration for pedestrians by drivers
    In terms of apportioning blame (not that being 'in the right' matters when you're dead) , I think it's a case of six of one and half a dozen of the other. As a lifelong Thai pedestrian, the guy crossing the road should have known better - anyone who's spent more than a week here knows there are no 'rules' and traffic can come from any direction at any time. If I cross the road here, I only do it when there's a big gap and my head is constantly swivelling 360 degrees (like the girl in The Exorcist) until I'm on the other side.


    I've also done (on a bike) what the motorbike is doing - i.e. overtaking (in the wrong lane) a queue of stopped cars to get ahead of them and be first at the light. I look out for pedestrians however and am ready to cut back in to my lane if there's an oncoming car and I don't normally travel over 20kph doing a manoeuvre like that.


    I still maintain that the Green Cross Code holds good here - if you do cross between cars that are close together (either parked or in a queue like here), you need to be hyper-vigilant (because oncoming traffic can't easily see you) and it didn't look to me like the pedestrian was thoroughly checking both ways - he glanced over his shoulder about a second before being hit, but didn't look round far enough.


    Having said that, as a pedestrian I've been surprised and annoyed at how downright dangerous people in cars/bikes can act - you can be crossing in front of slow moving traffic carrying a child, and they won't even take their foot off the gas, and if you didn't hurry out of their way, they'd hit you.


    Who's in the wrong? Motorbike crashes into pedestrian, 2nd moto flips

    in Thailand News

    Posted · Edited by GlutinousMaximus

    As a child, the UK Green Cross Code was drummed in to me with hard-hitting adverts fronted by actor David Prowse (AKA Darth Vader in a later incarnation). One of the things they stressed was don't start crossing between parked cars (as clearly it affects your visibility for oncoming traffic). It's fairly simple stuff but spot on - I say it to my child when we cross the road.


    I'm often amazed at the lack of spatial awareness from local pedestrians....about time they had a similar TV campaign here






    The Green Cross Code itself is a short step-by-step procedure designed to enable pedestrians to cross streets safely. While the Code has undergone several changes over the years, the basic tenets ("Stop, Look, Listen, Think" or "Stop Look Listen Live".) have remained more or less the same. The 2005 version of the Green Cross Code reads as follows:

    THINK! Find the safest place to cross, then stop.

    STOP! Stand on the pavement near the kerb.

    USE YOUR EYES AND EARS! Look all around for traffic, and listen.

    WAIT UNTIL IT'S SAFE TO CROSS! If traffic is coming, let it pass.

    LOOK AND LISTEN! When it's safe, walk straight across the road.

    ARRIVE ALIVE! Keep looking and listening

    Why do so many drivers here seem so inconsiderate and lacking in etiquette?

    in Thailand Motor Discussion

    Posted · Edited by GlutinousMaximus

    My hunch (and it just that) is that the worst behaviour I see on the on the roads is perpetrated by males. Women behind the wheel tend to be very cautious, perhaps overly so (and again I am generalising).

    Video of a Thai woman pulling out of a side road (silver car on left) in front of me, on a fast main road, as if I didn't exist.

    I would say the bad diving is entirely equal across the sexes.

    Remember the woman hitting the group of cyclists on the road to Doi Saket?

    http://vid.me/RHSM

    You displayed some admirable restraint there - I'd have been tempted to let out a few choice expletives! It did look like a fairly textbook 'SMIDSY' however - as in "Sorry mate I didn't see you." which also happens in Farangland fairly regularly for people on bikes, motorbikes etc. See this vid here for a particularly unpleasant example: https://youtu.be/hZCadhDW_i0?t=166

    And yes as you say, women are perfectly capable of causing accidents, viz. the bike carnage you reference, the young lady who killed all those people in the minibus, the actor woman who killed a cop etc. - arguably however, those are passive/mistakes of omission (i.e. the driver failed to stop in time or take note of a developing situation)

    There's another class of aggressive/risky manoeuvres which are more 'active' - e.g. When you're on the open road at 100KPH and some dimwit undertakes you at speed, then cuts in front of you with inches to spare, 9 times out of a 10, it's a guy driving (at least in in my experience).

    Why do so many drivers here seem so inconsiderate and lacking in etiquette?

    in Thailand Motor Discussion

    Posted · Edited by GlutinousMaximus

    Maybe a large proportion are just plain thick. There was a study sometime which indicated the low IQ of a large percentage of the population. Add to that an unwillingness to learn....and a propensity of many for day long drinking.

    Such a helpful post thanks for sharing with us bet it took you all day to come up with that

    To my mind, poster Jonathon has a point.
    Regardless of what level of training you've had, or how good/bad the driver vetting & enforcement system is, there comes a point where you need to work out for yourself (as a driver) what's happening out in the real world on the roads, and the risks associated with certain manoeuvres.
    An inability to do so, which we can clearly infer from the behaviour of all around us as well as the terrible RTA stats in Thailand, points to a rather shaky grasp of physics/reality.

    Introduction to Real Estate in Thailand

    in Real Estate, Housing, House and Land Ownership

    Posted

    Hi OP


    In my experience, a lot of the property market in Thailand is informal, word-of-mouth at ground level so maybe try and have a long holiday or two where you can have a good look around. Thai property prices are extremely location-sensitive. One rai of general-purpose farmland away from a road and utilities can be had for peanuts. The same rai fronting a busy highway costs the earth.


    Having said that however, we did just find a Thai buyer through kaidee.com , so don't rule out the websites (ddproperty.com is also worth a look).


    The other thing you need to get a feel for is true market value. Ask a farmer how much any parcel of their land is worth and they can tell you fairly accurately. By market value I mean that if you buy it, you can immediately sell it at something close to the price you paid for it. I think a lot of Thais advertise their land at some vastly inflated price - they're just fishing and/or they think the market will rise to their asking price. Also, a lot of sellers will inflate their prices if they get wind of farang (or mia/wife of farang) interest - it's best to approach it very discreetly as a strictly Thai-only affair until the deal is done. Maybe your wife has some (trusted) relatives that can do some discreet scouting for you (incentivised by a small commission)?


    If it were me, and I was looking for a long-term sleeper investment, maybe with a view to relocating here sometime in the future, I'd be looking at locations where there's some possibility of future development - e.g. a 2-lane highway which might be developed to a four-lane, or a village or town that was expanding etc. or would be eventually subsumed by a larger town. In that vein, I know of places which you could have bought for 50,000 a rai 10 years ago that are worth 5 million today - that's quite a nice ROI in any language.


    There are also local land agents who know about plots for sale and find buyers - maybe worth getting a few contact details there. I've not found agents here to be particularly dynamic though (as opposed to the go-getting American realtors you're probably used to)


    One advantage of the Thai property system is that if you do find something, and the owner has clean title (e.g Chanote), you can get the transfer done in a matter of hours, although if it's in your wife's name, she'll need to be there in person.


    If you're a cash buyer, try making some really cheeky offers (by which I mean 50%-75% of asking price). You've nothing to lose and you might get a bite.

    Why do so many drivers here seem so inconsiderate and lacking in etiquette?

    in Thailand Motor Discussion

    Posted · Edited by GlutinousMaximus

    My hunch (and it just that) is that the worst behaviour I see on the on the roads is perpetrated by males. Women behind the wheel tend to be very cautious, perhaps overly so (and again I am generalising).


    There's some psychological demographic at play on the roads IMO, something intimately bound up with gender roles in Thai society.

    My Project - House and Garden

    in Real Estate, Housing, House and Land Ownership

    Posted · Edited by GlutinousMaximus

    At the moment the terrace is planed to North front entree and South terrace because of the pond. Would be nice to see it from the place outside. BUT the sun and draft might change my decision.

    I am surrounded by mountains and only the West part is open area.

    https://www.google.co.th/maps/@12.6541411,101.4099176,206m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=de

    My Budget is 3.8 Million baht to completion,

    My uncle iL did calculate 2.8 M to my requirements with double q-con walls, PVC Windows and good roof tiles, but sure I would put another 1 million on top just for the sake of an optimal insulation and materials

    Looks great & the Google street view car has even been in that area close to your plot! It's amazing where they get to. There was a Streetview car outside my house in NE Thailand a few months back & I think my feral dogs barking at it will probably be in the images once they're published - I would have mooned at it from my balcony but unfortunately it had already gone by then.

    For 3.8 Million, that's a nice budget and you should be able to get a really tidy place put up & as you say, with good insulation and maybe a bit of solar etc.

    BTW & you may know this already, I think there is some kind of approval process for building plans with the local council - I think they look at structural soundness and so on. I know the planning laws here are pretty loose, but I do remember getting ours stamped and signed off at the local relevant council department (it was pretty easy), so might be worth getting your Mrs to make some discreet enquiries about that so you don't run into potential future problems.
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