Honolulu

Mabey if they introduced a "Gold Star" system. Award a Gold Star, or similar "Excellence Award" to all the Phuket business's that currently have no record of poor business dealings. Inform tourists of the promotion at the airport, encouraging them to shop only at businesses that display the Award. Then shut down all the other business's that fail to qualify. Too many "complaints" and they lose their special status.

These types of problems have been successfully delt with in many tourist communities around the world in the past. It's not rocket science.

Until reading this thread, I always assumed that the service charge was to replace the tip. In a restaurant there is the food preparation, the overhead, the service, and the entertainment. If they tack on a charge for the entertainment, it would be called an entertainment charge, and rightly so. Why would I assume that a service charge was for something other than the service?

Sounds like restaurant owners are taking a page from the used car salesman's playbook, and I will be boycotting the service charge from now on. I hope food servers do the same.TRUTH in advertising.

Go to the store and buy TWO pair. To save yourself a trip next time.

Something is definitely going on. 10 eggs at Big C at Jungceylon recently went from 48 baht per package to 68 baht per package! Crazy

That sounds like a pretty good list. It should keep them busy for the duration of time! Best of luck.

It seems to me you would be better off with a NON-B (business) multi-entry visa. It costs 15,000 bht, is available online, with 90 day reporting, all the same as the ED visa. The benefit is that your visa sponsor is a legal/law company , and not a school. If you choose to study while on your business stay, fine, up to you.

I'm presuming you mean you can pay the legal company online, as opposed to making any sort of online visa application? Do you a have link? I'd be interested to read the requirements for issue and any other information available.

I have used Siam Legal. Very professional, never a problem. Try also Sunbelt Asia, advertisers on this forum. Sorry, I don't have a link. They will send you the visa application and legal documents, which you fill out and sign. Then you deliver the whole package with passport to your home country Thai Embassy. The Embassy stamps your passport with visa and returns to you.

As I said before, I was always uncomfortable being on ED visa. The school can deny your visa for any and various reasons at any time and you may find difficult recourse. Better to contract a legal firm to supply your 1 yr. multi visa and then choose your school of study independently.

Isn't it a condition of the Ed visa that you maintain your studies on some regular basis? And if , for any unforeseen reason, (sickness, injury beyond your control) the education authority can cancel the sponsorship of your visa? Which gives the education authority a great deal of power over your ability to maintain the visa. And what if you decide you don't like that school and want to switch?

It seems to me you would be better off with a NON-B (business) multi-entry visa. It costs 15,000 bht, is available online, with 90 day reporting, all the same as the ED visa. The benefit is that your visa sponsor is a legal/law company , and not a school. If you choose to study while on your business stay, fine, up to you.

Even if you want to study during your stay, Isn't the NON-B visa a better way to go?

15000baht is still expensive, but being sponsored by a legal firm sounds a bit dodgy to me. If the legal firm sponsor you then do they sponsor your WP even though, and do they follow the rules of 4 to 1 (thai to farang) workers. What happens when the Immigration officer starts asking about your business and WP and other matters.

One is not required to hold a WP while on B visa. For the sake of this argument, WP is a non issue. And 15,000 is not expensive. The OP just said he is being offered a Ed visa for 14,250 bht. on sale. In my book, this is the same price as the B-visa. Also, yes, you should use a 'reputable' legal firm.

However, is it true that the ED visa allows 90 day reporting BY MAIL. and NOT by border run? The B-visa does NOT allow 90 day report by mail, as I understand it.

Isn't it a condition of the Ed visa that you maintain your studies on some regular basis? And if , for any unforeseen reason, (sickness, injury beyond your control) the education authority can cancel the sponsorship of your visa? Which gives the education authority a great deal of power over your ability to maintain the visa. And what if you decide you don't like that school and want to switch?

It seems to me you would be better off with a NON-B (business) multi-entry visa. It costs 15,000 bht, is available online, with 90 day reporting, all the same as the ED visa. The benefit is that your visa sponsor is a legal/law company , and not a school. If you choose to study while on your business stay, fine, up to you.

Even if you want to study during your stay, Isn't the NON-B visa a better way to go?

If the "welder" leaves it a couple of weeks all your welds will be rusty, and to get a proper surface to paint on, one would literally need to blast it.

Post welding oxidation occurs within a few hours, you would use the same prime as the "dipped" sections

Agreed. Your welder is just being lazy. He should be cleaning and coating all his welds as he goes, certainly no later than at the end of the workday.

I've noticed a shortage of eggs around the West side of the island. 7-11, Lotus, and the street markets in short supply.

However, Villa Market in Chalong has Grey Goose vodka cocktails for only 35 bht! promotion. Get them while they last! Exceptional value.

Just shows you that the politicians in Phuket have no balls. They have a police force to enforce the law are they afraid of them too? OR are the police being paid by the mafia?

This is not about anyones 'balls'. It's about the BIB being the spearhead of a comprehensive effort. The Tuk-tuks outnumber the cops about 10 to 1, and all drive vehicles, where as the cops are forced to double up on motorbikes. It is a very big problem and there is finally a concerted movement to stop it. Pull your head out.

I arranged a ride from Phuket airport to Kamala one night. The usual fare is about 500 bht. It was 1:00 A.M. so I agreed to pay 600bht. I got in with a Japanese tourist who had also agreed to pay 600bht to go to his hotel in Patong. During the trip, I was extolling all the virtues of Thailand and explaining some of the attractions he might be interested in seeing. When we arrived at my house, the driver tried to extort another 200bht from the Japanese fellow for the ride to Patong. It was embarassing and pathetic. When the tourist refused to pay more, based on the principal of the thing, the driver made him get out and left him standing there, in the street, with his bag! I offered to give him a ride to his hotel in my car. I will never forget that display of injustice by that Thai driver.

If you're up for it, buy the battery and change it yourself. There are "how to' videos on youtube.

If they can't get the basics of education right, this scheme is only going to serve to enrich those who are behind it.

Quite right- This scheme has corruption written all over it. Nothing to do with the education of children. Follow the money.

I've never really understood or liked the role Ambassadors play. I believe they should be there to protect their citizens when something out of the ordinary happens, but having a say in how a place is or should change to be, is something I believe they should have no right to meddle in.

I can't see logically why it should be any bodies business but that of the Thai people. It is our choice if we want to travel to Phuket the way it is, and it should be the choice of Thai people if they want it changed.

One of the Dutch Ambassador's jobs ( as an employee of the State Dept.) is to decide weather or not to issue travel warnings to their citizens, regarding travel to Thailand.

Read between the lines. He's saying do something to improve the situation, or risk having travel restrictions placed on Dutch citizens coming to Phuket.

This scheme won't work with a device that has only 4 hours of useful battery life. By noontime, all the students batteries will be exhausted, and they will all have to plug them in, in the classroom, to charge. There are not enough electrical outlets in the rooms to do this. There is probably not enough juice available at the school for all the students to plug the units in, at the same time, without tripping the breaker. This is a political stunt meant to direct funds through the bank accounts of some campaign donors. Watch and see.

Is it just coinsedence, or are Iranians packing more drugs to Thailand lately.

If I remember correctly from the first article, the victims laptop computer was left behind. Obviously BIB will find incriminating evidence in there. That is probably why they have been able to piece the crime together so quickly. Good job BIB. Keep up the good work.

Since when does an expat have to "piss a local off", or "annoy someone" to get robbed, beaten, and murdered here.

More than likely, " they" needed to pay for a drug habit.

Another brick in the wall.

Especially when all they have to do is make the stamp a little smaller!

You can't beat the cost of living, my friends, no matter which country is your citizenship. And the people who sign up, help to establish next years budget for services. It's not a bad thing.

This is not correct.

The reason Duty Free retailers put liquor into plastic bags, is so you CAN take them onto the plane. These bags are SECURITY bags, and are for the express purpose of allowing passengers to take products through security onto the flight.

What you should have done was go to another retailer, explained your situation, and ask them to reseal the bag, or give you another, as you had the receipt as proof of purchase.

If you want a refund, you will have better luck complaining to the retailer, not to customs, immigration or airport security.

And yes , I agree with you, all customs, immigration or airport security officers should have name tags in English or else a clearly displayed badge number to identify them.

Not true.

Some of us come for the women and alcohol.

My God, is this thread still going?

Actually it might be fun for all the expats to descend on Pattaya, barricade ourselves inside all the beer bars and refuse to leave until....all the beer is gone.

That ought to give the Nation something to write about.

Anyone know what happened to the Thai driver? He must have got killed too, huh?