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Digger
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Posts posted by Digger
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Why dont they buy the Rover production line sitting idle in sunny Birmingham and just make local versions of small rover cars. 1.0L -1.3L engines would save a lot of gas, put the site down in the southern troubled provinces and hey presto, instant positive PR for the leader, loads of jobs where they need them and further credibility for the Detroit of the East...
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180 local business operators discuss Tourism problems here in Pattaya.
At Pattaya City Hall, Khun Niran, the Mayor of Pattaya chaired this meeting along with Khun Sansak, the former Sport and Tourism Ministerial Adviser along with Khun Raiwat from the Chonburi Provincial Council. 180 local business operators were invited along to discuss ways to increase the image of Pattaya in Thailand and the rest of the world. Many delegates offered advice to the meeting including Mr. Drew Noyes, who suggested that Pattaya City Hall should utilize the private sector more to assist them in this matter. Recent events such as the Asian Earthquake and the suggested over-reporting of crime in local newspapers and television were also brought up as reasons behind the low tourism numbers being experienced here in Pattaya at present. A further meeting is expected in the coming weeks.
So I guess they will now try to stop the newspapers reporting crimes ! !
I think Mr Drew Noyes is the man behind the new Happy News Channel. Says it all really doesn't it?
The happy news channel
Your joking right???I know Sophon needs something but is this really the best they can do?
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I need to buy a second car primarily for her indoors and have seen quite a few ads selling Jeep Cherokee's typically around 3/4 years old for anywhere between 500,000 - 700,000 baht.
My question is how reliable are these cars? I would assume given the model has been around since the year dot, that they are pretty reliable and of course robust. Need it to go between our homes in Pattaya Bangkok and for her to go up to Udon Thani every now and again.
Its a 4litre petrol model which presumably drinks gas but overall, with her low mileage and tendancy to be erratic behind the wheel of a vehicle, i'd rather get something like this than say a new Honda Jazz. I assume they come fully loaded with electric everything. Given they were selling them at about 1.4m baht new couple of years back - it seems to be a good buy and I guess its easier to drive than a pick up which she is not at all keen on.
If anyone has any insight into this car from personal experience it would be very handy.
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I've always heard good reports about the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital but after the treatment the Thai manageress at the FLB Bar in Walking Street received there, many people have changed their mind. She had been coughing up blood and the hospital failed to diagnose blod clots as the problem. Then, whilst trying to inject some dye, they missed the vein and despite her screams continued to inject the dye into her thus causing her unneccessary discomfort.
Fortunately, she was transfered to Bangkok where the problems with the blood clots have been treated. Further medical problems have been identified and they will be investigating these further rather than going back to Bangkok Pattaya Hospital.
Those of you who are members of the FLB forum will be aware of the full story, which is much too long to reproduce here. So, it looks as though Pattaya International will be my first port of call when I retire to Thailand next month.
Alan
Since that lady is a friend of mine I closely followed the story. Needless to say that if I have any control of the situation I WILL go to Bumrungrad in Bangkok. Horror stories about Pattaya International are also plentiful. I have heard many good things about the Naval hospital in Sattahip but none about life threatening emergencies.
Making sure she is seeing a hemotologist would be a good start. I had a blood clot problem before and BKK Pattaya thought it was a mosquito bite - Bumrungrad Hemotologist just looked and felt my leg and said he was 99% sure it was a clot which was then confirmed by an ultrasound. I really have little confidence in Pattaya hospitals as they do not seem to have the depth of expertise on call, although I still rate Pattaya International doctors ahead of BKK Pattaya but only when your seeing a specialist which seems to be half the problem - if S**t happens, the chances in these hospitals of seeing a specialist is limited compared to a major BKk hospital.
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Why dont you take the Thai approach on this? Tell her and her new boyfriend that they can buy you out for whatever you spent getting her the visa + 50% and you will let matters be. No money to compensate you and you go to the authorities. It would certainly make things a little bit uncomfortable for them and you never know, you might end up with enough money for a business class ticket to BKK to get over her !!!!
Just think of sipping the champagne in flight and looking forward to finding someone better.....
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In the contract with the builder/renovator guy - ensure that it states that you will deduct withholding tax from the payments you make to him - then you can include these expenses in your company accounts. Not sure of the exact timeline, but you can accrue VAT credits on things you buy versus things you sell. So in all liklihood you will be in credit for first couple of months. From memory you have 6 months in which to submit the tax receipts. They must be made out to your company and show your correct address in full to be valid tax invoices. For example, if you buy something from say Home Pro for your business, you have to take the till receipt to the customer service desk and ask them for a tax invoice. Its usefull to have a few cards made up with your correct address in English along with the company name. They will then enter this info and create a proper tax invoice which you can include as legitimate expense and reclaim the VAT element.
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Just a small point to the original poster, but if the roadway is 6m wide, thats actually pretty small and certainly is not going to look in proportion to the development once its finished. I have seen this all too often, great houses and tiny streets where two cars cannot pass each other. Unfortunately many people take the view that a road is dead money but all to often, the decision on buying (or more importantly not buying) a place is often made before they step inside the house. You might want to look into that in more detail and envisage how your million baht villa is going to look with tiny streets.
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I self insure myself in Thailand and have done so for the last couple of years after being with BUPA UK coverage for a number of years (kindly paid by my former employer). For me, it was based on the fact that the coverage with UK insurer was expensive but good, however i calculated that the cost of this, which was circa 200,000 baht per year if I continued it privately, was very high compared with the benefits. I have steered clear of local insurers because I felt the coverage versus costs of premiums was not very good and somewhat restrictive in where you went.
As your aware, medical costs are pretty low here but not cheap anymore with recent price increases certainly at some of the top private hospitals. As an example, I paid about 120,000 baht for a 4 night stay in Bumrungrad including 3 doctors fees but no surgery.
For me I am currently ahead in terms of what I have saved versus what I have spent on medical treatment, however the critical thing, is could you at the drop of a hat, pay a million baht fee to a hospital for something serious. Luckily I have credit cards and cash here that would cover pretty much this eventuality PLUS I have other people that can access money/gold on my behalf should I be incapacitated. The worry would be even if you have the money, not being in a physical or mental state to actually get it (e.g after serious road accident) which is why you need a safety net of people who can assist you. Hospitals (or at least private ones ) will not treat you without payment.
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I've noticed that passenger vehicles are taxed at a much higher rate than pickup trucks. SUV is like a passenger vehicle on a truck frame. So, the question is, are SUVs considered trucks and taxed at a lower rate than, say, a 4-door sedan? What are the import tax rates on motor vehicles these days in Thailand?
Why worry about it - there is nothing you can do to change it - i'd suggest you just buy a car magazine here and look at the different list prices and make your choice as to what type of car/pickup you want and then go ahead and buy it. Trying to fathom out Thai pricing strategies will just do your head in.
Also you may notice that certain brands here are way more expensive than the costs of the various import taxes - again there is nothing you can do to change it so much as its wrong, compared to the USA for example, just accept it. Strange how people dont try and reason why the cost of a beer etc is way lower than back home and how can that be
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ARV drugs on the 30 Baht medical scheme should not be regarded as the 'be all and end all'. They are only a temporary relief to the problem. For a start they are generic and do not have the potency of the real macoy. For many HIV patients one or two years will see the body rejecting these drugs. Reliable imported alternatives are available but not for 30 Baht. The very best of ARV drugs are not available in Thailand, imported or generic.
Thailand desperately needs a centre that specialises in the HIV problem and is staffed by intellectual, educated and experienced personnel. Something that is not liable to happen in the foreseeable future, despite Toxin's promo speeches and false political promises.
Suzy, thats quite an acusation that generic medicines are not as potent as the real macoy. How do you reach that conclusion? I have not seen any reports of the generics in Thailand not being as potent as the 'real macoy' in the same way I have not seen any reports saying that the GSK factories in for example Australia make AZT in a different way to GSK in the UK or USA.
There is still a way to go on drug availability for sure, but as I understand it its more to do with the manufacturers than anybody in Thailand blocking the way. For example, GSK (Glaxosmithkline) have their full range of medicines here in both imported and sometimes generic forms, as do Bristol Myers Squib and Merck. These companies already had extensive operations in Thailand covering wide range of other medicines. Biggest gap is for tenofivir as a first line treatment option but dont forget the average Thai population has not yet experienced much treatment failure as they have only been widely available in last 2-3 years. Anybody infected with HIV in Thailand say 15-20 yrs ago is likely to be already dead, unlike in say the UK or USA - which in itself need to develop new products to handle the resistant strains that can develop.
Not to say your comments are misguided, but you really need to understand how things work here and where Thailand has come from on this in last 2-3 years.
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Have they sorted out the land ownership yet down there. I also went past the entrance and thought they were looking good - however as no doubt I am being cast as one of the negative guys, my comments were always along the lines of needing to be very careful and asking heaps of questions as against being anti the development. In my mind there were too many unanswered questions. If the land ownership is sorted out and your happy with the quality, go for it. Personally I think its overpriced and poorly designed with infrastructure done on the cheap (4" plastic drains for the street surface water spring to mind). The developer has no track record (unlike developers of View Talay Villas) and a dubious method of selling - driving past it said that it had sold out in 19 days, yet just last weekend the same firm is advertising the very same houses for sale and had 3 of them on the ad
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In reply to one post above,I understand that the Revenue has its own formula based on the land office valuation, not on current real valuations.
Yes the land office have pre-determined values that they use as historically Thai's have said they are selling the land for XXX baht, well under its market value to minimise tax. Therefore to counter that issue and the endless debate between buyer, seller and land office everytime somebody sold land, they just set a value and use that value. The value varies of course by area.
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Sounds no different though to the average Thai guy - and again no offence meant to the original subject of this post. Its just life in Thailand.
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Not sure about the new Dutch owner but the reputation of the old owner was not exactly upstanding in terms of business ethics.
Interesting! What do you know about the old M.D?
Whispering Palms - a T&C project - selling land before they owned it and also telling people that they had access through Horseshoe Points private road, when they neglected to ask the people who actually owned the road. Not to mention the fact that the picture in the brochure is taken from a US copyright magazine of house designs and the house in question is about 450 SQM, but the ones they are selling were 250 SQM - other than those obvious clerical errors, they are truly upstanding citizens.
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A perfect contract agreement written by the seller, but alas does not seem to actually offer anything much to the lessee or buyer.
For example, no mention made of communal areas - who is keeping them clean and tidy. What about price increases of unstated service fees
every village I have lived in levies a monthly fee to cover security, garbage, street cleaning etc
What happens when the project stalls half way through - do you have the right to cancel the agreement and get a refund, or just have to grin and bear living on a building site. Actually thats perhaps not very fair given most buyers are naive on that point.
read items 12&13
No definition of price for acquiring the property freehold should the law change - should be stated as a monetary figure I would have pushed for.
see item 9
What about restrictions on what business can be conducted in the house next door - can they open a somtam stall if they so choose or even a bar in their front room.
developer and council regulations govern this
Has the land already been split and if the buyer wishes to convert freehold ownership at a later point to wife or child, who pays the land taxes for transfer etc etc.
see item 6
What about guarantees for communal facilities continuing going. Who replaces the gym equipment after 4 years, re-tiles the swimming pool in 6 years etc etc - probably down to you but always better to include it in a contract. Also who pays when the roadway needs re-doing? and at what price?
communal facilities and roads etc are owned and maintained by the developerHave you heard of body corporate fees.
Most of my points are relevant to a housing village as against a stand alone house.
I am sure I will think of more as I read through in more detail but these are my initial observations (and mostly gained from being burnt before on these points).
Are you sure you dont want a clause to say how many kids the neighbours can have.? Use a bit of nous instead of spouting your undoubted vast knowledge,perhaps as a first step, read the agreement properly before you comment. As was stated this is only a base agreement currently in use and virtually any clause agreeable to both parties can be included (so long as it doesnt contravene regulations) Instead of nit-picking, use your knowledge to draw up a contract you deem suitable, I am sure many will appreciate it.
ozzydom
Perhaps in my haste I read this as a contract between a developer and farang as against a husband and wife. I read that it was drafted by one of Chiang Mai's largest developers - however upon seeing later messages, your infering its an agreement between husband and wife in which case a lot of my comments are not relevant.
However you do not state what it is - its either one or the other - the two are not compatible.
This agreement though is not in my opinion constructive to an agreement between husband and wife - its does not specify fully that the farang will have unconditional use of the property for the duration of the lease, nor does it stipulate who's heirs are held into the contract - farang or farang/Thai? Forget the legal wording, you are invariably dealing with uneducated Thai's in these scenarios - my suggestion is to spell out exactly what it means in simple terminology.
However your tone is not exactly helpfull to soliciting advice so I will leave it at this and the following general comments. Firstly, I am not a supporter of husband to wife leases for many reasons. Good luck in drawing up a contract with a lawyer however if this was drafted by one of Northern Thailands top lawyers, i would eat my hat - it should be running to over 10 pages if written by a leading professional lawyer and as I stated before it really has no consideration for what MAY happen and what if scenarios. I have expereince of going to court before for multinational corporations and contracts are always searched out for what they do not say. It really does nothing to protect the farang in my opinion but then what do I or any of us really know. As someone else has stated, it also needs to be written in Thai to prevent ANY misunderstanding between the lessor (Thai) and the lessee (farang) which has occured before in presentation of legal documents written in English along the lines that the Thai did not understand what they were signing as it was in English. Therefore simply it needs to be a correctly written Thai agreement translated into English.
The simple truth is that any agreement in Thailand needs to be fully understood in layman language to avoid any need to end up in court unless your involving professional business people on both sides. By doing this you will likely make things a lot easier. Personally, I do not think this agreement really does provide any meaningfull help - in my opinion its a cobbled together developer contract conveniently stated to a farang as being suitable for husband and wife. In reality its anything but what its claiming to be.
Sorry to be negative on your efforts but that is how I see it and speaking personally, I would never sign such an agreement and seek out a lawyer who actually understands what it is we are attempting to contract as against a one size fits all version.
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Why do you want a yellow book - I have always had blue books and never any problem - just remember to take the company stamp along and copious copies of your passport pages to whomever needs to see it.
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A perfect contract agreement written by the seller, but alas does not seem to actually offer anything much to the lessee or buyer.
For example, no mention made of communal areas - who is keeping them clean and tidy. What about price increases of unstated service fees
What happens when the project stalls half way through - do you have the right to cancel the agreement and get a refund, or just have to grin and bear living on a building site. Actually thats perhaps not very fair given most buyers are naive on that point.
No definition of price for acquiring the property freehold should the law change - should be stated as a monetary figure I would have pushed for.
What about restrictions on what business can be conducted in the house next door - can they open a somtam stall if they so choose or even a bar in their front room.
Has the land already been split and if the buyer wishes to convert freehold ownership at a later point to wife or child, who pays the land taxes for transfer etc etc.
What about guarantees for communal facilities continuing going. Who replaces the gym equipment after 4 years, re-tiles the swimming pool in 6 years etc etc - probably down to you but always better to include it in a contract. Also who pays when the roadway needs re-doing? and at what price?
Most of my points are relevant to a housing village as against a stand alone house.
I am sure I will think of more as I read through in more detail but these are my initial observations (and mostly gained from being burnt before on these points).
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Every time I have been there, the consultation is around 500 baht, but for him it was 300 baht and I suspect medicines are cheaper prices for Thais.
Resident farang prices are based on you paying something like 1000 baht for a discount card which gives you different prices for inpatient accomodation, check-ups etc etc - quite valuable if you ever get admitted and well worth the price.
Doctors are free to determine their own fees for any particular service. Hence consulation prices can vary widely. I've even had a free consulation, which I found rather shocking. Other times what I figured would be B500 turned out to be B800. Your example doesn't mean that there is any systematic two-tier pricing scheme in effect. Besides, I've known Thais who paid the same price as farangs would normally pay.
I'm also not sure that this discount card is only for resident farang. I could be wrong, but my mpression is that it is for everyone. I seem to remember seeing a brochure about it written in Thai. I'm also not certain that if you're a farang that you must be resident. Are you absolutely certain about this? Surely some TV member will be going to BPH hospital soon and can find out definitely.
Unfortunately its the only example I have got of paying for a Thai without accompanying my GF for treatment. However in my mind it firmly establishes that dual pricing exisits, however I would doubt you will ever get official confirmation of it. Maybe its up to the doctors discretion but a consultation, injection from a nurse and a course of antibiotics as well as the usual strips of tylenol all for 620 baht seems very cheap to me.
I am sure that the card is available to everybody but its targeted at resident farang and they make a big play of it with the residents clubs such as Pattaya Expats Club etc etc.
Personally I have never been impressed with doctor ability at this hospital and wherever possible now steer clear of it and try and go somewhere else, so my detailed knowledge is a little limited to what I have seen and experienced myself.
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So what is the definition of 'standing water'? For example, could it mean those little ornamental lotus leaf plants in concrete pots that you often see in people's gardens or are these somehow able to fend of the dengue mosquito's - My neighbour has hundreds of them dotted around her garden
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Just a follow-up on this post 'Visa Problem': http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=30968
His girlfriend came crying to us this morning saying she could'nt take it anymore - it appears he has been beating her
Last night , she went to the hospital after what he told his mates in the pub was 'a slip in the shower'. She said he begged with her to tell the doc the same story so he would'nt get nicked.
She told us the real story - he banged her head repeatedly against the wall and pulled her arm back so far she thought it had broken her shoulder. A big fat falang guy against a small thai girl, and sometimes in front of her daughter.
So we tell her to go to the police, who surprisingly go up to the house to find he has put a new padlock on the door so she can't get in.
They find him in a friends bar a few hours later, and he gets down on his knees pleading with his bird to forgive him. The police see the 9 MONTH OVERSTAY in his passport and say its up to his girlfriend if she wants to get him kicked out.
Now she is back at our place with his passport and he is out drinking again....i'm taking a trip to immigration in the morning. Scum like this are exactly the sort that Thailand could do without.
So did you go to Immigration on of all days Friday the 13th as per your post?
Whats the reaction/outcome? -
Is Bangkok Pattaya hosipital on Soi 4?
No, that's Pattaya International. Ok, but not the best.
Bangkok-Pattaya hospital is on Sukhumvit Road, just north of Pattaya Nua.
Re. 3-tier system in B-P, never heard of it, though both my TW and I have been treated there (at same price). Maybe it's a new thing?
I never heard of this 3-tier system. Thais I've known have paid the same as the farang.
Be aware that PTY Int'l has its supporters who do prefer it over BKK-PTY. 'Nuff said.
Three tier pricing is in practice at BKK-Pattaya. Basically its Tourist/walk in farang, resident farang WITH a discount card/programme and Thai stand alone price. Thai stand alone price is where there is no visible farang in the picture. I recently had to take one of my staff there - he saw a doctor with one of my other staff while I got busy in Au Bon Pain having a coffee and danish pastry. After they had seen the doctor, got the injection and the bill, they came looking for me to pay the bill. All of 620 baht for a consultation, injection and course of antibiotics. Every time I have been there, the consultation is around 500 baht, but for him it was 300 baht and I suspect medicines are cheaper prices for Thais.
Resident farang prices are based on you paying something like 1000 baht for a discount card which gives you different prices for inpatient accomodation, check-ups etc etc - quite valuable if you ever get admitted and well worth the price.
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digger, i have used it in toilets and everything, it even breaks down the silty cement in pipes from when the workers have been cleaning out cement buckets in the sink, now i have to admit that my knowledge of physics is extremely limited, but when this stuff hits water it like boils it, whether its cos its an acid and thats a normal reaction im not sure, if this stuff gets on your skin it starts burning in seconds, and i mean just a tiny little drip, its that strong, it will also burn thru the plastic waste pipes.
when you pour it into a toilet there will be clouds of vapour straight away, i really cant stress enough how dangerous this stuff can be, but it sure does work good
Stupid layman question but if it burns through plastic pipes, of which 99% of thai homes are using, are you not storing up trouble for later on (i.e when your walls start to smell of biodegradable <deleted>)?
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Thanks guys! Recently got a thai friend to check on the price of a Rai of land and was told 16 million baht! I fell off my chair laughing as well!
Its probably 16,000 baht per TW (400 TW = 1 Rai) and something has got lost in the translation. This is particularly the case if as you say its in an established village. Once land gets developed (and plots shrink), the standard size used in TW and not rai, given that most villages plots are well below one rai.
16,000b per TW is about par for the course in any half decent village these days on the outskirts of Pattaya.
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I think you are worrying to much. The rates at the airport are pretty fare and as far as I am aware, actually the same as downtown bank branches. BKK bank for example have a standard update for their foreign exchange booths and I have never felt its any different from a downtown booth to the one's at the airport. If your really paranoid go upstairs once you clear customs and between terminals one and two their are about 4 banks altogether on the departures level. But personally I would not bother and certainly not for 6,000 baht.
Over-reporting Of Crime In Local Newspapers
in Pattaya
Posted
Stems from the fact that they have got between 40-60 minutes to fill up when even the BBC and ITN as an example with their huge resources, only need to fill 30 minutes max with real worldwide news. Given that their media net only covers the distance that a honda wave can travel on a tank of gas, means that they just trawl the net for anything they can. Personally, I find it so boring watching these shows when I am in Pattaya that I dont bother anymore.