Crash999

What do you drive in Thailand and why did you settle on that car?

2001 BMW 318... Was looking at a Benz, Volvo, or BMW. BMW wound up being the best of the three- pretty steep depreciation the first couple of years so I could pick it up for a good price, better to drive than the C-class, and better image than a Volvo.

I think paying for wedding will be good show good heart, everything else Papa pay for, even holiday after wedding in Samui Papa pay for.

Sorry, not totally clear- can you please write your situation in Thai? I can read Thai so will be able to help you better.

Might sound a bit abrasive but I feel it has something to do with Thais - generally - being unable to do too many things at one time.

Those that do have a license, and assuming they have actually passed the test, were tested on little more than how to start, drive, turn, squeeze through a gate with a foot spare on either side, a bit of reverse, brief practical and it's all over, now go kill someone.

And there are other contributing factors, perhaps religion, as someone mentioned, a general or even genetic inability to function efficiently under the acute pressure of so much incoming data, coordination of mind and body...and no doubt much more if we sat down to really think about it.

What has happened? The driver has seen you approaching in the distance. He knows you have right of way, and stops to compute his own chances of turning safely - he doesn't want to hit you or be hit by you - ...but by the time he has the result (yes, it is safe) you are already dangerously closer than you were when he started, but he has the result and out he comes anyway. Swerve or brake, hoot, rage, and if you manage to make eye contact you'll get that quaint, 'sorry but I'm Thai' smile.

I don't like to write flames, but sorry to say this is a bunch of crap. Seems like *you* are the one who shouldn't be let on the road, as you clearly don't know the system for driving here. You seem to take pride in looking down on Thais, imagining that everyone here should drive according to *your* standards. Brilliant.

The bigger vehicle has the right of way and you, on a motorcycle, rank down there with soi dogs in terms of priority. If you keep imagining that 10-wheeled trucks are going to defer to you on the road then I hope you have good insurance coverage.

Cheers!

So the only way to drive here is to drive without a thai license? but will the insurance company accept me with a european driving license?

Or maybe the best would be to subscribe with a thai name?

Wow... lots of convoluted answers to a simple question.

If you're renting a car then present your European license along with an international driving license. If you're buying then you need to check with the insurance company as to what their requirements are.

One does need an affidavit from a local embassy to get a Thai driver's license, but the due diligence on the embassy's part was, "Where do you live?" and then they issued me the form.

Cheers!

Was interviewed by a morning chat show here on a work-related topic about 6-months ago.

A few years back did some auto racing here in a series that was televised- even managed to win a race after qualifying fifth.

The security guards in my building (who watch tv all day long) recognized each time, and a couple of former coworkers called me up to say they'd seen me. Never did leverage my brief fame to shag any models or somesuch.

Cheers!

Totally inconsiderate and anti-social. But I've also seen some big bikes with perfectly normal, working silencers. So the noisy ones are deliberately made that way because the riders like to show-off. Now, where's my shotgun...

At least big bikes have a nice sound to them- I do like hearing a sportbike at full tilt.

What really annoys me is all the scooters and messenger motorbikes run in Bangkok without mufflers. The din on major roads, especially underneath skytrain stations, can be deafeningly load. And it's not as if it those 125cc engines sound cool either- to me it sounds like a bee farting into a tin can, amplified 10000x.

Cheers!

A friend of mine routinely flies Air Asia back and forth from Singapore- he likes it a lot and has never had any problems. The best prices are when one books in advance, during the week, and selects the less popular flights.

The ultra-cheap fares are likely only one or two seats on the plane so one must book way in advance. I randomly entered two mid-week dates in October for a Bkk->KK->Bkk round trip and got the 99 Baht fare. Seems like just a case of being first in line.

That said, even the higher priced tickets are still more reasonable than Thai Airways so it looks like competition is heating up.

Cheers!

Signed

I was told that the reason vehicle import duty is so high here was to protect the infant Thai vehicle industry about 40 years ago.

Some infant, anybody know why the duty is so high?

The taxes were placed on luxuries following the crash in 1997. Prior to that cars were reasonably priced.

Did well for the resale values of cars bought pre-tax, though. A friend of mine can still sell his BMW Z3 today for more than he bought it for in '97!

However, once the brain gets this new odor recatagorized, which often takes some time, one discovers the durians odor to be completely different and usually quite enjoyable.

Yeah the odor is something completely different... but it still smells awful. Never been able to bring myself to eat Durian, but I did sample some Durian ice cream and guess what? It tasted like the smell... yuck!

One thing I *do* like, however, is fried Durian chips. Now that's good stuff.

and she is very good at driving on pavements 

Is this part of the Thai governments campaign to keep death off the roads?

Drive on the pavement.

Ah so *that's* why there are so many motorcycles going down the sidewalks on Sukhumvit!

What are the best prices to ship my motorcycle helmet back to the USA? I checked out FEDEX and it costs more than what my helmet is even worth!!!

The FedEx quote you received sounds strange. Try with DHL or TNT. Our office regularly sends items of that size (and much larger) to the US via courier and the prices are relatively reasonable.

Think twice about sending your helmet, though- better to keep it with you. A bit counterintuitive, but helmets are actually rather fragile- on a good helmet (not a Pattaya rental job) there's an inner shell that's designed to withstand a single severe impact. If it's dropped once then it could be ruined.

Even though motor racing helmets are designed to withstand multiple impacts, the rule of thumb for drivers is to either replace or get inspected any helmet that takes a tumble.

Cheers!

Thai women in general are very clever. they know how to use a 'feminine touch'

to get what they want out of men. They don't use mass protest marches, bullhorns,

motorcycle parades or legislation to go forward in life. They use good looks, charm,

a sense of humor, intelligence (cunning) and wicked bedroom antics to get what they need.

Don't forget the dreaded 'silent treatment', something akin to Chinese water torture only 100x worse.

Pepe , heres a pic of my beast ( taken from the trader website I bought her from)

Before any mods , which are def on the way!

Nice ride!!!! Wish I could afford something like that here in Thailand. At a guess I'd estimate around 4-5 million baht for a 2000 model.

Cornation Street.... the longest running soap ever! has new story line about "fred" the over the hill butcher who has no luck with the ladies, and the possibility of meeting a thai lady on the internet.... stero type or what?

I read somewhere that the name of the Thai gal he's hooking up with is 'Orchid Pattaya'.

That the best they could come up with after the script writer's research trip to Pattaya?

All we need now is a Wendy's! Definitely the best of the burger trio.

Heard that there was a Wendy's in MBK ages ago but it didn't do so well. Perhaps with Subway's successful return a Wendy's could also come back.

Cheers!

From my reading of Nong Khai website the writer was indeed foreign as he mentioned he did not carry his passport with him but it remained at his school; I believe in Udorn. He mentioned at times that he would have to wait for senior officials word to answer some questions.

I got the impression that a group of foreigners had volunteered to help out the Nong Khai immigration center... But it seems that only a few were actually helping and the rest slacked off- hence the post about the office in Khon Kaen not opening.

Come again, if you make less than 7,800 USD, you don't have to file abroad. If you make over 70K you do? is this on a IRS info bit?

To make it simple- if you earn less than US$80k/yr (actually, more than that with various deductions) then you most likely don't need to pay tax.

Best to use a tax prep program to make sure.

If you don't owe tax then you don't always need to file- but it's a good idea to file anyway.

There seems to be some different opinions on whether income from Bonds (which are US Bonds), or stock investments for that matter will be taxable or not. The search continues as the answer has a big impact on retirement money.

I found this on a US military website:

What Foreign Earned Income Is & What It Isn't

FEI is income "earned" from "foreign" sources. "Earned" includes salaries, wages, commissions, fees, bonuses, profits, royalties, and rents. It does not include pensions, annuities, interest, dividends, gambling winnings, or alimony. While these items cannot be excluded, a foreign tax credit is normally allowed for foreign taxes paid on these forms of income). "Foreign" includes any source outside the United States, except sources from the United States Government or its agencies.

Hmmm... would seem that the exclusion wouldn't apply to bonds. As rents are included it'd seem that renting out a property is a better alternative as it'd be tax-free, assuming one is under the exclusion.

Best bet would be to consult a professional on this if one is moving out here and intends to live off bond income.

Overall, seems rediculous that the US government tries to tax the income of those citizens living outside the country who don't use any US facilities and have no intention of returning. Might be renouncing my citizenship before I hit retirement age.

I'm going to buy a used car in thailand. I will have about 250000 BHT in cash. Does anybody know if it is possible to get a car for about 400000 (150000 finance?)

I'm working in Thailand, my salary is 30000, have work permit and non-immigrant b.

Should be no problem from the info you posted- you'll just need a letter of verification of employment from your company and a Thai guarantor.

Most auto dealers, new or used, have their own financing options available. You can also contact financing companies such as GE Capital Thailand to compare the rates they offer.

I'd recommend using a multinational instead of a local company, assuming the rates are comparable, as they'll have English-speaking folks ready to walk you through the process.

Cheers!

Does this $70,000 exclusion include investments?

If you live in Thailand and make $20,000 from bonds is that taxable?

If you are a US citizen and live outside the US, you are required to file- no if's, and's, or but's about that one. Unless you have income above US$80k (not $70k) you won't have to worry about tax- so it's just a matter of filling out some forms and sending them in.

But it's important to have a tax return on record- no one knows what metrics the IRS uses for their audits, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that having many years of missing returns would be a red flag.

So if you feel you might ever return to the US to live or to visit, be sure to file. Anyone living outside the US gets an automatic 2-month extension to June 15th, so you still have time.

The forms you need are the US Individual Income Tax form 1040 and the Foreign Earned Income form 2555. Both are available for download... However, I recommend if you're filing an overseas return for the first time then use something like TurboTax (a dodgy copy from Panthip will work) so you know which lines to fill out.

TurboTax will ask you a lot of irrelevant questions that'll take up your time, but after doing it once it becomes easy to file the next year without having to go through all of the various steps- just copy the lines filled in by TurboTax and update with any new info.

Don't forget to sign your return before sending it in. Also, my TurboTax screwed up my long Thai address so I had to white-out a couple of things and add a zip code.

From looking at my forms this year it seems like the US$20k won't be taxable as you live overseas. But don't take my word for it- go through the exercises on your own to make sure.

Overall, seems like a pain in the ass and is something easily procrastinated- but at the end of the day it's relatively easy and a good thing to do.

Now... if someone could change the law so that US citizens living overseas paid no US taxes whatsoever, I'd be grateful!

Cheers!

Thaksin hits back over killings

Foreginers warned not to criticize his govermentIn Geneva, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights demanded Friday that Thailand investigate the killings, citing treaties that require security forces "to refrain from using force exceeding that strictly required by the exigencies of the situation."

The attackers were armed with machine guns. What does the UN High Commissioner believe was an appropriate way to deal with them- give them a hug?

Not sure if any of the attackers were taken alive. If not then it's an opportunity missed to interrogate them- though I'm sure the UN High Commissioner would have opposed that too.

Cheers!

why would she want to work for you if her husband is very wealthy 

Why anyone would want to work for me is better question!

In my company there are a few woman like that-who have enough money to not work but still come in every day, working late, on weekends, and putting up with all the bullsh*t. One, though not in my office, drives an S-class to work every day. Her boss drives an older Accord!

She's a middle manager in charge of a business unit, so she can be fairly independent and have a fair amount of responsibility. We pay her well, not well enough to fund her new C-class, but it may supplement whatever allowance is given by her husband.

I suspect from what she's told me that there just isn't much for her at home- so she makes work her life, her objective.

FarangYaayYaaw's story is certainly believable- after all, all the girls got their start somehow. They weren't all molested or sold into slavery or were looking for a garment factory and took a wrong turn into Nana.

As far as working in a factory, it's easily possible to get a job doing so- but it's not very easy to support a family at 168 Baht/day, or less out in the provinces.

Hence working in the bars, or starting to freelance, becomes a more attractive option. And of course once the money starts coming in it's very hard to go back to working in a factory or as a clerk.

Lots of guys meet very nice, personable girls in the bars. They get the idea (in many cases supported by the girl) that they can 'rescue' the BG from her present life. This is where the troubles start and Private Dancer scenarios come into play.

Cheers!

You goal will therefore be reached:

- Making prime news all over the world

- Making more and more muslims angry

Bluecat is on the right track.

I really believe that it's the goal of these insurgents to create animosity towards Muslims- a similar strategy as used by small extremist groups all over the world. Try and create animosity towards Muslims and provoke an extreme response- which will in turn move more Muslims towards extremist viewpoints, building up the support of the very people who the government wants to eliminate.

There's a common strategy seen here- what good is really served by attacking schools, or skyscrapers filled with civilians? The actual damage doesn't serve any purpose at all- it's the *reaction* they're after, the series of events set into motion by the attacks.

It's a chess game. Hence any response must be measured carefully, politicians balancing the teeming masses' desire for knee-jerk 'revenge' with long-term consequences. Unfortunately, the US has been drawn into an undesireable situation- I hope the Thai government doesn't find itself in a similar mess in the South.