maxbus1

In fact this guy who was 67yo ....

... takes a girl about once a week.

well done...

I guess the retired guy had his priorities after all.

I have stamps in my passport from all over the world and have never been stopped before usually they just say you sure travel a lot and I just respond with yup got the time too so why not and go on my way. This time however the customs agents were all retards with shaved heads and considered me guilty til innocent. I mean what right do they have to search files on a laptop? Thats like way invasion of privacy...all the reasons I will one day soon leave and never come back....I was held for like 45 minutes and was nervous for no reason and figured next time I will be a pompass ass to them...

I went through MSP (Minneapolis/St. Paul on the flight from Narita)....

I have to say get over it dude. Yes they do have the right, and have had the right to search your laptop and all items you bring into the country. Go ahead and be a pompous ass, it certainly won't speed up the process.

When younger and with a shaggery image I've been stripped and cavity searched at departing as well as recieving airports on the same flight coming from Colombia to the US. Not a big deal, I hadn't anything that would raise stink, except the orifice they were giving an exam.

I've found that simple politeness to any customs official in any country I've entered has always been a way to speed up the process. Smiles rather than attitute works for me.

I did get a bit miffed when after being taken aside to the small room and questioned about why my cat wouldn't drink water that they offered him. I simply replied maybe he doesn't like you. Which was quite true with this animal, as he tolerated no handling by anyone but me, and the vet.

On my return in August from Thailand I tried to pay my taxes on excess purchases being brought into the US, but they were so backed up he just waived me through after one question, which was I bringing any meat into the US. Dried squid and shrimp was what I replied. Welcome back he said

Well, the chaos is out there at most any port into the USA I seem to read. I am now more worried to try buying anything in BKK.. Am I better off mailing the little things I score at the malls to myself when I leave BKK? Most everything in bkk malls/markets are knockoffs of real brands anyway, sunglasses, watches, racing shirts. Must I fear it all being taken by some ass who thinks maybe I had too good of a time on a vacation?

My last question for this thread,, Which ports coming into the states were the worst, and which were better? I have the option of returning to San Fransisco or Seattle WA. I am leaning towards the sourthern more port in hopes to avoid the bad weather concerns in the first week of december. But, 21 hours on one plane leaving from san fran must be hel_l for my fractured pelvis thats healed only 12 months. I'm about to buy the tix. This week for sure. suggestions? Thanks guys. max.,

Most people would be afraid to complain about bad treatment for fear they would get on some kind of bad people list. How can say they wouldn't? I have seen one smirk too many from these bozos and once when these dumbos were trying to profile me by reading my reading material, any small amount of respect I might had for them vanished. Yes, of course, they need to go after real drug smugglers and such, but the insulting behavior and remarks are vile. What really amuses me are people who think these goons are their friends.

These people are selected due to their own personal profileing - they tend to be psychotic bullys with lower than average intelect. Belive me, they are chosen deliberatley so as to have them on the right side of the fence. America - like Britain - is a faciast police state. The most worrying aspect is that at one time they tried to disguise the fact (wolves in sheeps clothing), now they dont even bother to wear a mask.

The american sheep are easily lead - they still believe that the republicans and democrats have different agendas. The cold fact is americans are being enslaved but to admit the truth is too much for the average guy - read the patriot act!

Yeah,it stings a bit but I almost can see it too... I don't want to believe it but really, I watch the news all the time,,,,, my biggest thing is no other country will just let ME wander into their country and start living there with out any problems. Too bad thailand has so many darn Visa requirements.. "Gotta leave the country a certain amount of times a year." Come on! Who dreams up this crap. I'd have a business in thailand that tourists will want to go to, and even spend their money with my thai neighbor business owners. What about all the dang cash USA gives thailand every month?

I think I'm about to get started, so I'm going to stop. Cheers. max.

Sweet Child O' Mine ...........Guns N' Roses

"hot child in the city" Eagles.

whew,. the word "sweet" is now over.

mine is a Longines Evidenza stainless steel bracelet with triple safety clasp and push-piece opening mechanism, water-resistant to 30 meters. Bought in Sydney two years ago. I already had to change the quartz battery after 20 months, apart from that I'm quite happy with it.

ok, here are the two watches I wear. The Panerai is my new favorite, it gets worn everyday. Heavy, and I love it. The other is a 50th annivers. sub, note the green bezel. It's real sweet, and I love to show it off, but there were only very few made so this is something that must stay in the winder box more than I want it to. My next watch will be a Breitling. The big one, 47mm. I want the Bentley line.

ok, now I'm going to try attaching pics.

p.s. I was always the simplest of people, didn't even want a wedding ring, but hey, a nice watch is something I can appreciate, and now watches are of interest to me. I guess I'm getting older, and can enjoy what I choose to without anyone elses input. Cheers.

p.p.s. That BOSS model IS very classy. I just saw it for $249 euros online germany.

Get yourself a Casio G-Shock. They're good enough to be certified by NASA for spaceflights so they should last a while down here

funny you should say that...the G-Shocks i bought in the USA were tough as nails and took whatever beating you threw at them. however, i have had nothing but problems with the G-shocks i have bought in SE Asia. i have bought them at reputable stores (Central, airport duty free shops so assume they are legit models and not cheap knock-offs). they seem to break down after a year or so and the o-rings seems o wear out very quickly. several have had condensation problems on the insides after a little while.

Yes, degradation in southeast asian countries can be much faster than other areas due to saltwater affecting the seals on certian models and certain brands. Not all watches are affected by seawater quickly, but any $1000 watch or more should require dealer maintaince from time to time for replacement of these seals and any other issues you may come upon. I personally like this thread as I have a new love and it is watches... Yes, some of them are replicas, but you'll never know which ones are the replicas. My wife's dad owns a high end watch shop and she remarks on the Citizen Kinetic. Me, I love the fancy stuff. Brietling will be my next watch when I hit BKK in December. Can't wait. Yeah, that and the islands, 58 days and counting. cheers. max.

Just to add that most of our staff have free accomodation if required as well.

Heck chavy, the unions would have a field day if gender was specified in a job description in England or Australia for that matter!

Soundman.

Your not wrong there. On the advertising board outside the factory specifically states females only & an age between 18 - 25 and no shorter than 1.50 m

Not to hijack an intelligent post (I'm thinking of moving to Chonburi with the wife and finding something for me to do business wise, small food or coffee or beer place) but my biggest concerns and questions are about what will be required of the crooked police and mafia? I can't imagine all these stories about bribes are not true... A farang face on a new storefront, what kind of things will I be concerned about?

Maybe I should go to work for someone else... I'm a plumber and building inspector in the states. Probably not much call for this type of instruction or service in thailand? Thanks guys. max.

p.s. yes, I'm looking up to you business owners!

I wear a genuine Rolex, they sell them at any corner stall at insanely cheap prices, I assume they're over-stocked.

Yeap, nothing like a genuine, genuine replica that is,

Who cares my Rolex is spelled with two x's, keeps great time,

My (thai) wife's family owns a high end watch shop in LA, the father takes trips to thailand and sometimes goes to the mall stalls in BKK and buys a couple of Replica rolexs and even a Panerai for me. I have three watches now, the nice copies can be bought for around $220 and have actual swiss internal components. 14 jewel movement. The father has inspected them in the store and gone as far as to even open them to check the movement. Stay away from the cheaper japanese movement watches($80 ones). Truly, if you want a great watch at a pittence($200 or so) search out one of these stalls. My Panerai cannot be seen as a fake being compared to a real one. My rolex either. The rolex I gave my best man,, he has been wearing that watch for the last year everyday while travelling and working on the road, not one complaint. Note, ALL rolexs real or fake will run about five minutes fast every week or two. The relica watches I'm referring to at these stalls, they are not kept at these stalls, basicly you select a watch out of a magazine, and they send out a runner to an undisclosed location to retrieve it. There may be a "wait", but it is worth it due to the knowlege that the rolexs have been checked to have real saffire crystals, and swiss movement. I'd sell them in the states if I could. My two cents. Good luck on what ever you decide.

So,

I got married in the states, great wife, well brought up, and very old fashioned. She is thai, obviously.

She has a greencard, but she took on my last name at marriage, and the greencard has that name. She renewed her thai passport (it was ten years old and required to be updated) in LA but she cannot change it to reflect her new last name, she is required to do this in Thailand. We are visiting there in December, and will do that.

BUT, the thing is, the plane ticket must have the same name as the ID. Her Thai passport will have her old name on it flying to Thailand, and after she updates her Thai passport in BKK, it will have her new last name on the flight back. It will also match her greencard.

So, We can't buy her a round trip ticket for this reason.

Is the simple solution for us to buy her two one way tickets, the first in her old last name and the return in her new last name? I don't want Thailand to retain my nice new wife. I got used to her cooking, and it will be hel_l not having her around.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Are we on the right track?

What will we be up against with her flying back on her own a week after I fly home(for job).

Thanks.

I think it is time to start 2 sub-forums on ThaiVisa. One would be the "I am a farang who hates farangs" forum and the other would be a " I am a farang who hates Thailand and all things Thai." That would keep most of the bitching off of the rest of the forum.

humm..it would create a war zone right here..i think!!

Well, My first post on here and I bring myself to do it out of disgust for all the crap westerners complain about. Ever think back to when you first wanted to travel and find a place where you could get away from all your hassles even just for a little while? (Unless you are a sexual predator, then you get whatever you deserve) But step back and see things now how they are... you bring all your complaints with you. Don't forget, this is Their country. This isn't the USA where mexicans can skip into the country and claim every right that us pro-freedom people enabled for mostly everyone we could help. Thailand is different, and you must have respect for the country. All of the farangs ARE people from other countries that really don't belong there. There are so many people that, in their own countries just don't fit in there, and also some good people that are travellers, and you will see them all in thailand. I've had the good fortune to have a friend that has gone to thailand 26 times from 1987, and we talk about those times a lot. The biggest thing he speaks of is, "whenever you hear english spoken, walk the other way", most of the time the farangs are loud, rude, excitable, a bit drunk and many times(act like) soccer hooligans. Stop trying to know more than you do. Who are you trying to impress? Sit down, write a darn post card to your buddies saying you're around the world from where you should be, and get on with your life. You bring your western civilization with you, and if it were served on a plate, I wouldn't set it to the floor for a starving dog. I am going to thailand during the high season this dec. and I have to plan AROUND the darn tourists.

There are nice peaceful places in thailand, unfortunatly I have to get around most of the drinkers and complainers to enjoy myself. Here's to avoiding all of you. Go back to your own country, or at least go back to complaining about it.