corkman

Hi guys,

I'm not yet familiarised with Suvarnabhumi airport, and was wondering are there any decent maps of the place online...... there are sort of 3D type layouts on the Suvarnabhumi website, but to be honest there isn't much detail on them.......

Any pointers folks would be much apprecaited.

Thanks for reading.

I clicked on "other" so here's the reason why.

I live in Ireland, with my Thai wife. There is a string ex-pat Thai community in my area..... a group of 15-20 Thais ranging from 20 to 50 yrs of age......

In the past, we have all got together to celebrate Thai New Year by way of a 'House Party'...... by virtue of the "house" part, very little if any water gets splashed around.....

Whether we will have a party this year or not remains to be seen..... its usually on a few hours notice, if at all.....

If I were in Thailand, I would probably be on the street, acting the idiot with everyone else..... ...... wish I were there, not just for Songkran, I wish I were there, period!

Lomprayah used to arrive at the Ban Rak pier a few yrs back..... which was very handy......

Well I've booked the flgihts for 13.45...... so "on the day" I'll just get whichever ferry is best that day..... we're going to family on Ko Toa anyway..... so they'll know which ferry to take on the day....... if weather is that bad I can always get the boat over the day before.

The return leg o the journey is on the 13th of December, so I should be beating the christmas madness...... it is however the day after a full moon party..... hopefully we won't get bogged down with too many of the full mooner's.

Cheers,

Matt

Hi Guys > It's been 2yrs since I was in Samui..... it will be nearly 3 by the time I get there in early December. I used to do the 6 month thing many moons ago......

Anyway - the point > I am planning a week in Samui first, and then a week in Ko Toa. On the return leg, I will be getting the morning Lomprayah from Toa to Samui... which gets you back at 11.20am according to the Lomprayah website..... I then have the choice of getting the PG conencting flgiht to BKK at either 12.45 or 13.45 (there is a flight a 13.30 but its a 'prop-job' and actually lands after the 13.45 Airbus flight).

So..... will I be allowing myself enough time if I book the 12.45 flight? Its probably going to be delayed anyway...... and Samui Airport, novel as it is, is such a dreary place to hang around for hours......

Many thanks guys - advice much apprecaited.

Thanks a mil! I've been throguh Suvarnabhumi before, and BA tend to land a couple of minutes before the other airlines.... so I tend to hurry along corridors quickly to beat the huge que's..... so if I go for teh 7pm flight to Samui it should be about right! Plus I'll have my English-Thai dictionary with me (Thai Wife ) so that should hopefulyl speed things along!

Thanks again!

Hello good people.....

Its been a while since I ventured South - haven't done it since Suvarnabhumi opened!

I am arriving into Suvarnabhumi at 15.40 on BA flight BA009, and plan on transferring directly to Ko Samui with Bangkok Air. What time connecting flgiht should I get? i.e. how long should I allow to go through immigration and security etc. to make the next flgiht. I do nopt hold a consolidated ticket so I'll probably have to re-check in my luggage.

Many thanks for your help!

Just out of curiousity - why is the Thai Gouvernment so "Anti Long Stay Tourist" ...... I know alot of guys that work in the UK / Europe for 6 months during srping / summer, save up alot of cash, then go to Thailand for the autumn / winter (6 months) and spend all that cash...... I'm talking like 10 grand...... as in half a million Baht..... surely that is a good thing for the country? I can understand why they would want to stop foriegners buying up land & houses, pushing up prices etc., but what is wrong with people hanging around spending what is locally a hel_l of alot of money..... this money is filtering back up the entire country one way or another..... the typical long stay tourist is not exaclt a burden on the state?

Just seems pointless to me........... could some one fill me in?

PattayaParent - if it came to it, I would give it a shot, but I would have wife and baby in tow, so something a bit more stable would really be needed to be honest....... a years contract maybe.... I would surely meet the right people and pick up another contract after that......

Prakanong - Carrier are big - especially chillers / AHU's nice job to get...... wouldn't mind that - he's not looking for a "right hand man" by any chance is he..... if he's been there 15yrs! ............... and I know what you mean about the dreamers...... thinking they are going to live "the easy life"...... I know plenty of them - unless you have money in the first instance, there is no easy ride..... be it Thailand or "Farang" land......

THe goal for me would be equal or better pay than I get here, but much cheaper living costs...... save alot, invest alot, retire early.......

My salary here just about keeps the wolf from the door (in addition to the two trips a year out to THaialnd and the relatively high standard of social life) ....... even at bkk rates, cost of living would be less than half..... can rent the house in Ireland to clear the mortgage.... by the time I'm 50 I should be able to retire..... no point in even thinking about that here in Ireland..... its 65 or breadline.....

Thanks to all.....

Thank you so much to everyone for all your replies! I was not expecting so many, so quickly! I have been out sick for the past week - due in no small part to the miserable climate here in Ireland - hence my lack of feedback!!!

So - in summary:

Positions are available - but salaries vary considerably based on whether you get sent out to BKK by a western company - request assignment to BKK with a western company - or apply for work 'locally' to a western company. And any of the above will depend greatly on experience - of which mine is limited thus far.

At the moment, I am managing the Mechancial & Electrical services (worth about €3m) for a 120 bedroom 4 star hotel...... I have done quite alot of work along the lines of this - and have quite alot of high level experience, more so than most with the same number of yrs..... my 4yrs is really worth about 6 based on an industrial "standard" as it were - largely because I came to my current employer with "construction" experience as well as a (equivalent) masters degree in mech. eng. The company is small, the projects are big - so I was thrown in at the deep end from day 1 to be honest........ I'm also a little more "mature" as it were than your typical engineer with 4yrs experience - most would be about 26 - 27yrs old.... I'm nudgng 30 and married with children ....... that is reflected in my personality and have since been told I was employed on the basis of first impressions - that my attitude and personality were right for the job......

The fact I speak a little thai (emphisis on little) must be a bonus. I am going to aply myself to that more in 2008 and try to bring up my standard. I am quite well tuned to Thai customs and culture, quite aware of social classes and am self aware my place in it (dpending on where I am, and who I am with), and "mesh" failry well with Thai people. Thai's often remark I am "not like other Farang"..... in that I participate rather than speculate - so again, that must be a bonus also, if any such post would involve dealing with Thai clients and co-workers etc.

So - I suppose the reality of the situation is that whilst I can try I really need a bit more experience if I am hoping to get anything remotely resembling a western salary. I need to try and get to know a few more people in the industry in Bkk...... contacts if you will. I need to get registered with any recruitemnt agencies that might be sending people to bkk...... It should be added that I am not in a hurry....... I am looking down the line a couple of yrs., so if I start looking now, by teh time I really want to be there I should have found something....... and if something comes up before, then so much te better.....

Many thanks to everyone. And by the way - I take the negative input with the positive - its all relevent and gives me a feel of what degree of reistance I will encounter in my "quest".

Cheers,

Corkman......

I am just pondering the idea.

Alot of folks have remarked recently that I should look for work in Thailand / Bangkok. I am a qualified mechanical engineer, with 4yrs experience as a consultant in the Building Services sector (air con / ventilation / plumbing / etc.).

I'm married to a Thai lady for 5 yrs now, we live together in Ireland - but I would love to get work in Thailand, and be able to live there instead of here!

So - I am just fishing for ideas - broadly speaking - looking to see what type of jobs are on offer, if any, and what srot of salaries would be on offer......

Can anyone shed any lgiht on this???

Many thanks.

..................And now we are all happy - that's good ;-)

Just logged on now - gonna do some research now on trees / crops / etc. Nursing a sore head again, it was our 5 year wedding aniversary yesterday, so we had a few friends over...... Friday nights are "thai night" here in Cork (well at least in our area anyway) - we had 14 thai girls plus their partners / kids and one hel_l of alot of drink, and loads of Loas Karaoke music until 4am....... apart from it being cold outside, you would have thought we were in Thailand!

Dsys – thanks for the reply. I don't find your post condescending at all, a different point of view is always good to hear – only a fool wouldn't listen to everyone's point of view! I am pretty conscious of the "band wagon" scenari. I suppose one of the reasons I am looking at this particular option is that as chownah correctly interprets, I would like to do something that will benefit us all (as distinct from investing in something outside the area) but ultimately I have to look out for myself first, because if I fall off my perch no one is going to catch me, but if I can I would prefer to pull up those around as I go. I am glad I have found this web site, because the experiences (success and failures) of others will really help fashion how I go forward with this idea. So thanks, and I will keep your input in mind.

Chownah – I few points if I may:

• To start with, I am not getting in a huff, and I am sure you are not getting in a huff either. I feel I am being misunderstood, and I feel you have a low opinion of me based on those misunderstandings. I am not going to try and be tough and say "I don't care what you think", because I do care and I would like you to understand where I caming from and why I say and think what I do. I am new on this forum and I am looking for friends and like minded individuals to discuss "all thing thai" – I am certianly not looking for people have huffs with So, I am left to trying to impart or explain to you what I feel is the difference between my true sentiments and what you (may) perceive them to be.
  

• I get your point of the "I" versus "we" thing now, and yes you have hit the nail on the head that I want to my endeavors to benefit them also, pretty much exactly as you describe. I further agree that all this trying to interpret one another's "dreams" etc. is pretty ridiculous (and I found your choice of words quite amusing actually – made me smile – clever word play ).
  

• I think that you have mistaken my tone and sarcasm in earlier posts for contempt or arogance. I am poking fun a bit, which I suppose I shouldn't, but that is all it is. If you have had nothing but good experiences with your Thai family, then perhaps you have better educated or more (naturally) business savvy in-laws than I (or many other farangs). My in-laws are simple folk, they are hard working, sincere, genuine and very caring, and I would not change them for the world. But business minded they are not, and trying to get them to view something in a proper business sense is difficult to say the least. This is not their fault, nor should they be ridiculed for it, it is purely a lack of education. They recognize that their world is changing, and they want to change with it – they just don't know how, which is why they fail - but at least they try. I am hoping to help them in that regard, but not by breaking them down to build them up – I get no pleasure or pride from such arrogant pursuits, and besides they are a bit long in the tooth for that carry on anway.
  

• I am not deliberately trying to create scapegoats for if and when something goes wrong. I feel that their potential investment of labour, in actual terms, is of far greater value than my monetary input. Setting people up for blame would serve no purpose other than for gloating – and what good would that do? Beside, it is not in my character. If someone is doing something wrong, they should be made to understand why it is wrong and shown how to do it right – if they are stubborn and you let them carry on, then it is you that fail by allowing it, and it is your fault for tolerating it. Similarly, if neither of you realise something is being done wrong, then that is a genuine mistake is hardly their fault either. Either way, as far as I see it, it is in everyone's interest to succeed, and in everyone's interest to educate each other to ensure you succeed. Setting someone up to blame (in this context) is incomprehensible to me. The purpose of the 7 rai is that it will always be a year ahead of the "main" crop. If we make a mistake, it will be made on the 7 rai – blame and fault is irrelevant – identifying and solving the problem is the aim. That problem may be communication between them and me, it may be too much or too little water or food, it may be uncertainty how to deal with pests or disease……. it may simply be that after a year the input (either labour or finance) is far greater than was anticipated……. It is for all intensive purposes a prototype – not some fulcrum for me to gain moral leverage with which to later ridicule them for my own failings. Thai culture being what it is, my wife (and by default me) will always be at least part responsible for the well being of her parents and siblings. She is the oldest child, and that carries with it a responsiblity of care. I take that quite seriously (in spite of frequently joking about it), and I will do what I believe to be best in stepping up to that responsibility - I'm afraid humiliating them into seeing things my way does not fit that model - positive reinforcement beats whip and boot and day in my view.
  

• As regards the "tractor" thing, your way off target here. I am skeptical, but not cynical. There simply are not enough potential "customers" to make renting the machine and/or its services a viable business proposition. Furthermore they only work a small amount of land, meaning that there is no real justification for the machine. They could pay some guy a couple of thousand baht per year to turn the soil etc. and invested the capital elsewhere. But it boils down to that they just wanted the tractor, for wants sake, so I got it for them. Everyone else is getting one, so they want one too – keeping up with the Jones (thai style). And I have (and want) things, for wants sake too….. as do most people. That's why I got it for them - just to indulge them – not so I rub their nose in it in 2yrs time when they realise it wasn't the golden goose they thought it would be.
  

Anyway, trying to get back on topic - I have learned (and realised) quite a bit in the post:

• The concept of inter cropping needs further examination - logisitcs is they key here I suspect.
  
• Alternative crops, instead of rubber trees - this has my interest - I am put off by my inital lack of knowledge, again I'm concerned logistics? How are crops sown and sold etc. Labour required to tend them - ongoing costs etc. Likely profits per rai and so on.
  
• Although already aware, I am more acutely aware of my need to get down to the nitty gritty and establishing a proper business model and proposal to put to the inlaws, something with some short to medium term pay off for them, and medium to long term pay off for me.
  

So thanks everyone for your input - the weekend is nearly on us - looks like I've got even more reading / research to do (alternative crops etc.).

Cheers,

Corkman

Thanks for the replies folks:

Lickey - if I were actually living in the region, I would probably look at what you suggest, the "inter cropping" idea - but not being there, I think the logistics of getting produce to/from market etc. would make things a little tricky - the proper market is 20kms away, and they have no vehicle to transport them on. But the idea is great - its gives the family short term profit, and while they are tending to the fruit trees they can tend to the rubber also - I will definitely give this further consideration, but I need to fully review the actual rubber tree concept first.

Clownah - I think in my previous rambling the sentiment may have been a little (although not entirely) twisted. My thai family have really good, and sincere intentions. To be fair, they have never treated me like an ATM, and I certainly have never felt like one. They work hard and do their best to make what they have go as far as possible. But the fact remains that they do not think things through, and they quickly loose heart when things don't work out the way they had hoped. Rather than cutting their losses they end up throwing good money after bad until they end up in some form of debt and end up having to sell up to get back in the black. Then they dream up some other elaborate scheme . And they were doing this long before I ever arrived on the scene! You have to admire their determination and spirit though. But this time we are not talking about a couple of grand..... we are talking about 50 grand plus, and if we are going to do it on a large scale, then a little practice on the 7 rai might get them to be a bit more sensible and a bit more realistic in both their approach and their expectations. This proposition could be quite lucrative (on a large scale), but it could easily go the other way and they are probably not factoring in crop failure, drought, disease, fire, their own health, the value of rubber (in otherwords "profit margin") - I am. Hence why I say I am worried they are viewing all this through rose tinted glasses. I am curious however, how do you come to the conclusion that I am blinded by this 'dream'? I'm curious further still how you can make an analogy between seeing a "scenerio as being inevitable" and being blinded by the light of ones own dreams (assuming by inevitable you mean inevitable failure)? Have I missed something?

Anyway - thanks again for the input / replies folks. I really need to spend time this weekend number crunching and researching. Ultimately it is the numbers that will either put the wheels in motion or stop them in their tracks......

Cheers,

Corkman

Hi All,

Been discussing this with a few semi-ex-pat friends (as in the type that do 6 months Europe / 6 months Thailand). Is a holiday house actually an "investment" in so far as is it likely to appreciate much in value?

I am looking into various investment oppertunities, trying to be a little more inventive / creative by investing money in Isaan in land / farming / building, but a couple of friends reckon that it is all just smoke and mirrors and the only way to make money is simply buy a holiday home in an up and coming area area, wait a few years, and then sell it to the highest bidder. To me, I cannot see how you'd get much of a return on that?

Realistically, if you were to buy a house, say 2.5 to 3.0 million baht, in an area like Cha'am or Hua Hin, at what rate are hosue prices likely to increase in the coming years. Has teh boom gone, or at least slowed down? Is there a fear of the market getting flooded? I remember in Samui 5 or 6 yrs ago you could get a really nice house for a little over a million baht.......but that type of growth can't be sustained for long.

Realistically, is this something worth looking into in detail, or is it a bit of a spruce goose?

Cheers,

Matt

C-sip,

Thanks for the reply. The 7 rai is just a dry run - I want to "employ" the wife's family - I'd pay them well etc. and help them to help themselves as it were, in addition to making a living myself - if they can't handle 7 rai, well more accurately, if I can't handle them handling 7 rai....... when I said the "7 rai is ideal for growing rubber trees" - I meant that it is good ground / good soil etc. not a good size plot or whatever.... much to small to be commercially worth while for furnishing a farangs pockets.

Point taken about family driving you crazy - and to be honest that is the main purpose of the "dry run". I can see it in a couple of years - I will have invested time and MONEY and then for some reason the crop fails, or the family loose interest, and then I will be expected to inject more cash to "make it work" to a point where I will have invested more money than the place will ever make, and then I will be expected to feel sorry for the family..... having lost my investment, and will then probably be expected to start some other wild scheme (at my expense), and further more be greatful that they want to take part in it...... but thanks for thre heads up.

Its like the latest "investment" (which I totally don't mind). We bought this tractor thing for 65k for herselfs parents, because "you can make good money" renting it and your services to other farmers. Of course they are making good money - they are making 100% profit, since the machine didn't cost a penny. But as soon as they realise that this contraption is going to require a bit of maintainance every now and then, they are going to tire of it, and then it will be "better to sell it before it gets too old"..... naturally I won't be getting the money back though.

But its all done with the best of intentions on their part - it is just they lack the foresight to see these things - they are blinded by the light of their own dreams..... so I don't mind..... the way I see it is that if I had farang in-laws I would be spending alot more than 65k a year on birthdays / weddings / anniversaries / xmas / etc. ........... so its fine by me, and we are all happy - I rather that than the policy of monthly "hand outs" that seems to be more the norm.

Thanks for the invite by the way - I'll keep it in mind next time I am up Isaan - which is probably going to be Jan / Feb time.

Cheers,

Corkman

I've heard of this working too...... but having said that the Loa Koa does play strange tricks.....

Bottle of water on lawn - it used to work on our front lawn - well, there was alot less dog crap anyway.....

Thanks again for the input!

Well yes, I do have time on my side. I have just turned 29, and don't see myself moving to Thailand for at least another 10yrs, and more likely 20 yrs. I am veiwing this as an investment for my retirement, to supplement pensions etc. I am thinking along the lines that the land will almost certainly not depreciate, and a few thousand euros here and there is not worth investing in Ireland.

Thanks for the tips regarding places to start looking - intersetions etc. Next time I am there I am going to do some serious reconaisance in the area. The village is about 30km from the new "friendship 2" bridge to Loas. While I do not think that is going to directly influence the immdiate vacinity of the village, it will directly influence Mukdhan itself, which in turn will drag the satalite towns up with it - and as I say, the village is actually a nice little place, right next to the river, and alot of the infastructure to develop the village into a town already exists, and it already draws quite a few people during the Thai New Year.

Thanks again for your interest and replies.

Thanks Joe.

Sorry guys, 'fell off the wagon' this weekend so to speak - didn't get round to reading / reviewing / writing up that synopsis - weill be doing though.

Just wanted to "check in" in case folks thought I lost interest

Definitely get the wife to do the talking. First step ask her to go down to the land department and ask for a copy of the town plan, yes that will be unlikely if you are in the sticks but you never know, and in any event it opens up the channels of discussion regarding planning permission.

Be very wary with some of the advice you read here, planning permission may add absolutely zero to the value of a land parcel. There are of course excpetions to this rule. For instance, say you are have planning permission to build a condo in Bangkok under the 10:1 floor to area ratio, in an area which now can only build 6:1 that would be quite valuable as you can sell more space under the old rules.

But these circumstances are rare.

If you are taking a long term view focus on the basics: location, location location. Its used so much that it has almost become a cliche but its true.

Thanks again, for the second reply :-)

When you say "location location lcoation" - are you speaking nationally or locally? If nationally, well unfortunately I don't really have teh money to invest in up and coming locations such as cha'am etc. If you mean locally - then I hope to make any future purchases that are near to the village or the main (black) road. I tend to visit twice a year - if I bought a modest plot every time I wet out, while land remains cheap, I would soon own quite a few - and they are never going to loose money.

My next trip is going to be a major reconnaisance mission - looking at plots near the village, and no so near the village, and so on. In the 20km distance from my wifes village to That Phanom, there are at least 10 houses that hit teh 3 or 4 million baht mark.... and at least another 20 that hit the 2-3million........ so there is a market in teh area for such houses, and my wifes village is in the middle of That Phanon and Mukdahan, it is right on the Mekong, and as the two towns expand, it is the likes of this little village that will become attractive for the overflow populations........

The one down side to this plan is that Thai people in general would probably prefer to buy the land and build themselves - since half of them are either builders, or have builders in the family.........

Thanks for your input.

Thanks for the detailed reply! I will probe into this matter a bit further - i.e. what to do as regards harvesting the end product. For someone that is thinking in investing in this area I am pretty ignorant to the whole thing to be honest.

Thanks for the figures regarding set up costs etc.

My father-in-law appearently has expereince in the whole concept of rubber trees etc. but quite simply does not have teh cash to put his knowledge to use..... but as with everything, you ask how much something costs and then you normally need to multiply by 4 (or divide it by 4 if you want to know how much you can make).

I think I am going to set aside this weekend to sit down and read every single post here that realtes to rubber trees etc. If anyone has any good links or other sources of info (in english) that you would consider "must read" material, please let me know. Once I have done this, I think I will put together a synopsis of what I find out, and post it here. If folks in the know would then be kind enough to read through it for critical appraisal, it would be great........

Thanks for reading.

Thanks for the reply.

The reason the whole idea of planning permission came to mind was something I ready here, recommending that someone get planning permission to build on their land, as it would “quadruple the land value” in years to come. So in general, you would simply seek an agreement with the local government, as oppose to the long protracted process of submitting detailed engineers / architects plans as we do in the west?

I doubt very much that there is a "town plan" in place in the area...... and generally speaking, at the moment, people just build what they want, where they want.......

On my last visit to the area, a couple of Farangs had been seen around the area, and my gut feeling is that this area will, in time, develop into a nice little town.... it has all the hall marks of it, and in another 5 yrs its going to be jsut as expensive to buy land / houses near Mukdahan town as it is to buy down south..... so Farangs and well to do Thai folk looking for decent homes at bargin prices will be looking in area's such as this (there are signs of it already). I want to get in before the gold rush, as it were, but I want to do so in the knowledge that my investment won't be a 'spruce goose'. I am also loking at farming based investments in the area.

I have already made the mistake of "buying" within the village itself, to discover that it is essentially governement land, and all I have done is purchased the right to reside on it...... I won't make that mistake again. But I do have the aforementioned 7 rai of land, which is actually mine (well, my wifes).

So - if I am going to start looking into this "planning permission" idea at a local governemnt level, am I better to keep a low profile and let my wife do the talking - are there going to be "special" circumstances for farangs etc...... or even the wife of farangs?

Thanks for your input.

I visit Muk on a regular basis - my wife is from a small village 40km north of Muk, 20 km south of That Phanom. I really enjoy the relaxation up there, and do not miss the big lights or "creature comforts" of the big cities. But I do miss the odd evening out in a bar, where everyone is up for a laugh.... thai or farang men or ladies doesn't matter, as long as they speak a bit of pigeon english. I'm not looking to pick up a girl - although I do not mind "pick up" bars so long as they happy not to be "picked up" if you get my drift......

I have heard of a place near Ploy Palace in Muk..... anywhere else?

Hi Folks,

Well what a great site. I cannot believe that I have been married to an Isaan girl for 5 yrs and only now discovered this site! Anyway - very brief introduction. I am 29, married to an Isaan girl, 28, from a small village 40km north of Mukdahan. I want to start investing in the Isaan area, mainly for my retirement (hopefully early retirement).

As is the case with most Farang, you can't do anything without involving the family, and this will hopefully serve to help them help themselves - and help me to grow an returement fund. I have read about rubber trees quite a lot, and think that it is a worthwhile investment. I know it will be 7 yrs before I see a return. I currently own 7 rai of land, which I am led to believe is ideal for planting rubber trees. I know its an average of 10k per rai retrun, so in 7 yrs I could expect 70k a year retrurn/yr ..... which isn't great, but before I get involved in large amounts of land and money I first want to have a "dry run" as it were with this modest sized plot.... give it a year to see how the relationship goes, and gauge off that if I want to dive in. Hence for now my first concern is the set up cost of such an endeavour (on a per rai basis) i.e. how much will it cost to get this plot planted up, and how much is it going to cost me per year to nurture the crop - excluding the cost of clearing the site, fencing it in etc. I understand that the recognised method of payment is to split the profit 60/40 in favour of the land owner. Is this correct? How about during the 7 year "growing" phase? Is it the norm to pay the workers a wage or what? An important element if the exercise will be to establish suitable renumeration with workers etc. and again to give them a year to "live" with that agreement, before I plonk down serious cash. As a note aside, could anyone point me in the right direction for information on planning persmission and plannign guidlines etc.?

Many thanks!

Hi Everyone,

I was wondering could someone point me in the right direction with regard to Ownership of Land, Planning Permission, and Planning Guidlines. I am talking in the context of the Isaan region, and I am looking at small, private development.

My wife is from a small village, 40km north of Mukdahan. We have a small amount of land (7 rai) which is in her name. We would eventually like to build a house (or indeed 3 or 4 houses) on this land, with a view to living there eventually, and providing homes for our children, should they want them. I would also be interested in aquairing choice plots for furture investment. I am only 29, so time is on my side in that paying 50-60k for a plot now is small money - but in 10-15-20yrs time this is going to be worth alot more...... i.e. around about the time I intend to retire.

Here in Ireland, I am an engineer, so I already possess alot of the skills and knowhow - I just lack local knowledge. Any pointers toward online sources of info would be much appreciated.

Thanks.