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ZenHillbillyPoet22
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Posts posted by ZenHillbillyPoet22
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Time for a rant: Made to order stall down the soi from my condo, passed by a couple times thought I'd give it a shot. Gave my order in Thai and was politely asked if I wanted it spicy. I replied yes, make it just as spicy as you would for a Thai person. When I got home I noticed there was no chili whatsoever. Went back a second time, made sure to speak slowly, disappointed same result. Even had my girlfriend go with me and order, but again same thing, he just refuses to put any chili in my food! I'll never go back now...
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Monogamous couples would be MUCH LESS likely to have aggravating factors going on like other STDs and abrasions from industrial sex. As noted above, the Thai and African strain HIV is more likely to pass heterosexually than the western strain HIV.
I don't doubt that, obviously open wounds would increase the likelihood of transmission, in addition to the numerous studies that show that having other STDs increase risk. My point is that it's not as easy as merely having unprotected sex with some one that is infected to yourself become infected. My other point is that it's not particularly bright to stare down the barrel of a gun even if you don't THINK it's loaded.
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I'm a hypochondriac and I always assume the worst, but at my last regularly scheduled check-up while having full blood work done, the doctor told me that in fact the transmission rate from an infected female to a male during unprotected vaginal intercourse is pretty low, .1% or something like that. He also mentioned that they've even done studies with couples where only the female is infected and are TRYING to get the male infected, and after a year only about 50% of the couples successfully transmitted the disease. I can't quote the source of the study and this may have been the doctor just trying to assuage my apprehension but fact of the matter is that HIV is not a very strong virus (i.e. can't live outside of the host very long). Still, better safe than sorry, and no matter the odds as previous posters have mentioned even 1 in 2000 odds doesn't mean you'll be number 2000 especially since the probabilities are really cumulative.
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I don't really see how it can be a scam. There are good police out there. Rare but there are.
The police the op had encountered did not show anything to indicate that he is a bad police.
I agree, where does the scam part come in, unless you are inferring that any attempt to enforce the laws that you might happen to not be following is a scam. I think it's just easy to forget that there are actual laws here sometimes, even though most of the time they're just guidelines.
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It only seems like more women than men because all the men are driving taxis and waiting at the corner with their motorcycles, at least in Bangkok anyway. In the universities it's 50/50, you just only notice all the girls in skirts...
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A couple years ago I went through customs with some kind of dried fish product. I declared it and when asked what it was responded "I don't know". Got a couple funny looks and then a red flag. Sent to another desk and was questioned further with only more "I don't know" for an answer. They let me through... our tax dollars at work. Conversely, I've also made it through Thai customs with a 20lb frozen turkey.
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She's a keeper if:
She lives in a lighthouse.
She works in a zoo.
She plays football and has the number 1 on her shirt.
Don't forget book- or dungeon- either...
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I went to Saint Louis hospital a few months back to get a persistent sore throat checked on. The doctor gave me Xanax
and told me to smile more... -
Update:
OK, news from the shippers. Going back to even before my effects had been collected from their point of origin, the shipper's office in Europe didn't have a "weight" figure on the packing list and invoice supplied to them so when they drew up the "Bill of Landing" somebody in their office just "guessed" at 11,000Kg! Now a new Bill of Landing has to be drawn up by the shipper's European office and re-submitted to customs in Bangkok, effectively starting the whole process from scratch - except that someone is going to have to pay some storage and demurage fees
.Yes, when I first saw the documents you posted I thought this was strange. 11 tons of personal effects would most certainly lead the customs department to believe something funny was going on. The documents do need to be reissued from the point of origin, but I would recommend talking to your agents on both sides. Since this was not your fault you shouldn't be held responsible for any charges incurred because of this (or any duty/taxes for that matter). Sorry to hear that you're having all these problems but stay calm and be persistent. Eventually you'll get all your stuff.
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Customs are having another look and giving me a taste of their power at the same time. I've just been required to submit a breakdown of the precise contents of every package and exactly how many of every item I have in each of the eighty three packages along with their values. That's one hel_l of a list of 30+ years accumulated memorabilia and artefacts!
It's funny because that's almost what I supplied my agent with in the first instance, but they made me re-format the list and dumb it down and condense it into the format that customs supposedly "wanted" the list in.
I think I'm going to be told tomorrow how much they "really" want. To be honest, I'm getting more bored with this whole thing faster than I imagined I would.
The customs department normally requires a detailed inventory list. At my company we also will sometimes ask customers to simplify the list when we don't expect any hold ups. In this case, as I previously stated, 83 packages, large or small, would be condsidered a lot for 'personal effects' and customs wants to double check that you're not trying to sneak commercial goods past them. Also the reason for wanting to know quantities is that more than one of certain items will be subject to duty (e.g. anything that uses electricity). Don't worry too much about storage charges, although after extended periods of time they can add up, I believe it's only something like 15 THB/cbm/day. I don't know how much information you gave the customs officer you spoke to originally but if you didn't mention the large size of your shipment, that might be the reason for the increased interest now. I am still of the opinion that your original problem was stemming from the company and not customs. From what you've detailed there is no reason you don't qualify for the tax exemption. However, now that it's been stirred up you will probably have to, as a previous poster suggested, make 'friends' with a customs officer. Sometimes that's just the way things go here.
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But, relating to qualification for duty free import of pers. effects, have Thai Customs published anywhere, the requirement to be in possession of a work permit valid for MORE THAN 1 year? On their website they state "at least" 1 year. Customs (or my agent) are telling me that a 1 year WP isn't good enough!
Again, I don't want to speculate on anybody else's motives or intentions, but this is a serious red flag. I have never had to present anything other than the standard 1 year work permit nor have I ever heard of anything but the standard work permit. I think the best thing to do is have your friend try to help in dealing with them. Remember not to lose your cool or make any wild accusations, it can only make things worse. Me and some other people at my company are very curious to see how this turns out, updates appreciated.
Also, looking at the documents the agent sent you, I am very confused. The weight of your shipment is 11,000 kg???? This must be a typo, or there's something wrong with my eyes.
Reason for edit: forgot note about work permit.
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Customs (or my agent) are implying that if, before "changing residency" to Thailand, you make any first visit to Thailand and then leave, you no longer qualify for one-time duty free import of your personal effects. i.e. You make your first exploratory visit to Thailand to see if you like it, can find employment and think you can integrate. After deliberation, you come back and enter Thailand for a second time to follow up your offer of employment, then you no longer qualify for duty free import.
I remind you again of customs reason for denial:
Custom can give this approval once you enter Thailand first time, and for second time they treat any cargos as similar as regular.
I refuse to believe that I am being told the correct position.
I don't want to make any accusations against another agent, but I would be very suspicious of this. Again, I have done countless shipments and presented original passports to customs agents for both Thai citizens and foreigners with multiple entries. The only restriction is that only one duty free exemption is granted, for additional exemptions you will have to have been out of the country for at least one year. I have never heard of a blanket 20-30% tax on all items. I wouldn't put anything past customs because they have been known to make the rules up as they go, but I would make sure that this is genuinely coming from the customs department. If it is, then it should be negotiable, and again I can't imagine an under the table payment would exceed a few thousand baht.
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I've imported countless shipments of personal effects as an agent. There are no restrictions on the amount of times you have entered the Kingdom, and you are only allowed one duty free exemption per year. Looking at your documents it is hard to tell what is going on here. I would expect some kind of tax simply because of the large size of your shipment (83 pkgs). This would be one point where customs would be concerned about everything being for 'personal use' only. Another thing to consider is if there are any electronics or various other high tax items (golf clubs, dolls, kitchenware, etc.) which as a previous poster mentioned you are allowed only one of each. In any case, I have never seen the customs department levy taxes this high for anything other than electronics, alcohol, or misdeclared forms. I once had a shipment that was approx. 2 tons and 40+ pkgs, the consignee paid a little more than 2000 baht to customs. You should definitely do some more investigating.
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I am currently studying in a master's program at Chula. Although Chula is internationally ranked http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/Rank...009-Top200.html, the program is lacking a little bit. Personally I feel there tends to be a focus on making sure everybody can understand the English, as opposed to the business and economics, which ends up a waste of my time.
Can't really speak on how much weight a degree here would have anywhere else in the world, but the reason I chose this program was because I intend to stay here long term. The truth is any business program anywhere in the world is more about the connections you make and networking opportunities. All accredited schools teach the same stuff, I have a friend studying at Sloan, MIT and he's learning the same stuff that I am, albeit from a much more experienced professor. In the end you only get out of it what you put in to it. I used to know a guy that graduated from Harvard and was working as a pizza delivery guy.
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Here we go with another bash-Thailand thread.
Let's remember how things work in the world.
As one source said, "Construction cost overruns are so common and expected that most owners are helpless to do anything but reluctantly acknowledge them as business as usual." Oh wait...that article was about construction in the United States and "the West".
There are law firms in the the West whose entire practice is defending companies for construction delays.
This isn't just in Thailand. It's everywhere.
Here's a bit about Denver's International Airport: "In September 1989...federal officials authorized the outlay of the first $60 million for the construction of DIA....scheduled to open [in]...1993. Delays caused by poor planning and repeated design changes due to changing requirements from United Airlines caused Mayor Webb to push opening day back, first to December 1993, then to March 1994. By September 1993, delays due to a millwright strike and other events meant opening day was pushed back again, to May 15, 1994.
In April 1994, the city invited reporters to observe the first test of the new automated baggage system. Reporters were treated to scenes of clothing and other personal effects scattered beneath the system's tracks, while the actuators that moved luggage from belt to belt would often toss the luggage right off the system instead. The mayor cancelled the planned May 15 opening. The baggage system continued to be a maintenance hassle and was finally terminated in September 2005 [25], with traditional baggage handlers manually handling cargo and passenger luggage.
On September 25, 1994, the airport hosted a fly-in that drew several hundred general aviation aircraft, providing pilots with a unique opportunity to operate in and out of the new airport, and to wander around on foot looking at the ground-side facilities—including the baggage system, which was still under testing. FAA controllers also took advantage of the event to test procedures, and to check for holes in radio coverage as planes taxied around and among the buildings.
DIA finally replaced Stapleton on February 28, 1995, 16 months behind schedule and at a cost of $4.8 billion,[26] nearly $2 billion over budget."
Here's another good example of delays in construction in the U.S. and much more up to date. This one is starting to piss a lot of people off too, as it should. 8 years and 4+ cornerstone ceremonies later and still almost nothing to show for it except a lot of bureaucratic mess...
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I work for a freight forwarding company in BKK and find some of the paranoia about shipping things laughable. However, I think being well informed about the process and the regulations is the best defense against being swindled. It is definitely true that shipping things under a Thai name makes things easier and gives the customs officials less opportunity to look for bribe money, but any foreigner shipping things that follows the regulations shouldn't encounter any excessive bribe requests. I've handled countless shipments of personal effects and the largest request I've ever seen was a little more than BHT2000 and that was for a shipment of over two tons that was inventoried as clothes and books (???).
Anybody shipping things has to understand that there are fees at the port of origin and destination in addition to the freight fees. If cost is a concern you can often save a lot of money by clearing the goods and picking them up from the port yourself. I would say that the customs procedure isn't that difficult (aside from it being all in Thai) as much as it's time consuming.
When using an excess baggage company the mark up is very high, but the premium paid is for peace of mind and ease of service. Additionally many freight forwarding agents will not handle personal effects because of the amount of work involved versus the low profit margins, hence the ability of personal effects specialists to mark up so high.
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There are alot, 3 that are pretty good are sabai sabai on khao san, log home on thong lor, and ad maker which i think is on wittayu or in the lang suan area...
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19. Why did kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
Why do they sterilize the needle before a lethal injection?
Sorry to be a bore, all needles are sterile, whether used for letal injection or not!
What do you mean? How can all needles be sterile? The point is that if you're gonna kill somebody what would it matter if they got an infection from a dirty needle...
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19. Why did kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
Why do they sterilize the needle before a lethal injection?
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Just finished it... not so easy on a laptop. Can I sue you because of my carpal tunnel syndrome now?
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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Isn't this from an old song? "I'm my own grandpa" ?
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Rubbish! He can't take bananas through customs unless he has an export/import permit, so the logical answer is NONE.....oh and bananas go off after a few days too.
Are you hitting some lateral thinking website here AA?
Ha! Ha! Ha!
I don't see myself standing in the excise or food & administration department friend, if I am not mistaken this is the jokes, riddles and puzzles department and I guess 'Anything Goes' in here.
Here's something my son asked me a few days back and it puzzled me, maybe someone in here could help.
He said, suppose there are three people standing in a cue waiting to buy a movie ticket. The person standing next to the counter says I have two people waiting behind me. The person standing last says I have two people standing infront of me. The middle person comes up with, I have two people ahead and two people behind me. How is that possible?
maybe they're friends and they're standing kind of in a circle?
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Was there greater distinction in tones used in loan words from English before? I am thinking of examples put forward in the AUA teaching material I studied some 10 years ago.
From my observations it seems these days, high tone is most common for monosyllabic words (although some take the low tone), and there is an obligatory falling tone at the end of those with more than one syllables.
Older polysyllabic word borrowings, such as chemical substance names, do not seem to have a falling tone at the end.
I've been wondering about something similar to this myself... If you used high tones for the syllable with the word stress and mid or low for the unstressed syllables wouldn't you get a sound closer to the english pronounciation?
Visa To The Us - Can't Get An Appointment
in Visas and migration to other countries
Posted
I had the same problem and finally got somebody to acknowledge the problem. The issue is (which the website doesn't note) is that although it seems as though there are no appointments available for infinity, it's actually the case that they don't schedule appointments more than a few weeks in advance, so clicking ahead a few months is pointless.