eggshen

Anyone interested in what happend to the 2 women who died in 2009 over at the Laleena guesthouse,

please read Ryan's post (post #11 - he was the fiancee of the diseased Jill St. Onge from Seattle, Wa) here:

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1769166

There are some clear similarities, and it's outright spooky.

Did they stay at Laleena Guesthouse ? A Norwegian and an American lady died there mysteriously two years ago within hours of each other after they became sick. They exact cause never came to light, some alleged poisoning. The autopsies did not produce any results, except that food poisoning was exempted.

Thx for posting this, just want do the same. As far as I remember the reason of the death never was mentioned... Hope it will examinated a little bit better this time. A second case near similar like the one two years ago is a little bit more then suspicious

May they rest in peace, my condolences to familys and friends of the girls and a prayer for a explanation of the Thai authorities asap

This is really awful... These girls stayed at the Phi Phi Palms Residence - anyone knows if it's close to Laleena Guesthouse ?

It's actually eerily similar to the case at Laleena 3 years ago.

In 2009, a few days after that incident, the fiancee of the American girl who died posted the following:

My name is Ryan, I was Jill's fiancee. We were staying at a guesthouse called laleena. I have to think that Jill died of a poison substance. We got our room about 11 in the morning. It was our first room with A/C in about a month of traveling through Asia. So we decided to just hang out in the room all day and catch up on some needed sleep. I am not a great sleeper, Jill on the other hand was awesome she could sleep anytime, anywhere. Aroun 1 o clock I was antsy so I went to go use the internet. I was gone about an hour. I went back to the room hung out with Jill for about an hour. We were both hungry so I decided I would go get us some food, so we could enjoy the A/C. I was gone about 45 minutes. I came beack we ate our food and hung out for another hour or 2. We then decided to go out walking around. Jill started saying she wasnt feeling that well (probably the burger) but being the trooper she was, we stayed out for a few hours. Ate some dinner , watched the sunset. Around midnight Jill said she was still feeling ill. She wanted to go lie down, but told me to stay out for a bit, cause we were hanging out with some new friends. I went back to the room at about 2 am, to find jill in some real pain. She started vomiting not too long after. I layed down in bed with her to try to comfort her. Probably 2 hours later, I started feelin very ill. I started vomiting. feeling dizzy. This is when I realized Jill was not doing well at all. She started turning blue. I ran outside grabbed a utility cart, briught it back, picked Jill up and put her in it. I ran all the way to the hospital. They started doing CPR to no avail.

I found out later that there is a water treatment plant right behind the guesthouse. I feel that jill was poisoned by a chemical from that plant. She spent about 5 more hours in the room than I did. She was just breathing in the fumes for so long. The only reason I did not get deathly ill, is that I kept getting these short breaks from the air in the room.

The next day, a woman from Norway died right in the room next door, her traveling companion was admitted to the ICU. All thrree of them had the exact same symptoms. That seems like a hell of a coincidence. I just want people to know to be careful of the Laleena guesthouse. Whatever is there it killed 2 people and put one in intensive care, in 2 days. That doesnt sound like food poisoning, and I doubt two A/C units started pumping in gas on the same day. There has to be something in the air from that water treatment plant..

Well I think the odds are pretty high unless your in some high class joints, the last place I would want to find my future soul mate would be in a bar.

You really need to square up your logic

"unless I was in some high class joint" .."las place...in a bar" - so what you are saying is 'hih class hookers are OK - low class not.' Surely that's true for actresses and nurses and secretaries and accountants as well?

Anyway, we always find whatever we are looking for in the last place we look (for simpletons: that;s why we stop looking)

SC

point-set-match

Well said.

I've been actively dating here in Bangkok for 3 years now, having what most guys would consider great success - yet I'm still single.

Point is, even if you consistently date women you consider to be "good" - which is highly subjective anyway, but I for one like women who've got their act together, have a car, a condo, travel a lot etc, and there's PLENTY of them here in Bangkok - There's no guarantee you'll be able to form a long-lasting relationship.

Women who are in high demand (by Thais and foreigners alike) have plenty of options,

and it'll all boil down to physical chemistry, communication, practical matters such as the distance between you or having time for each other etc.

Sure, the "prettiest" women I've dated here have all spoken Thai only because most of them never had to make an effort learning English.

My Thai is quite solid, I read and write well - but it's nowhere near the level I want to use with my partner on a daily basis (yes, I'm very picky).

I'd say work on yourself, eat well, exercise regularly, do some self-help and keep going out - it's all a numbers game anyway, just be disciplined and you'll get there.

Proper apartments at good location in Bkk are expensive. If you can live in a small box of 45m2, then ok, 20000 should be sufficient. Otherwise count on 40-50000 a month. Yeah, same or more what you'd pay in your home country.

So you may end with 100k/month for everything, but add some extra cash for travelling and visits to your home country.

Thailand is NOT cheap if you need some standards.

Spot on. As anywhere else in the world, It's all relative to your desired standards.

Living on Sukhumvit for 3 years now and going back through my internet bank history, checking average monthly expenses, I'd say you'll be ok on a minimum of 60,000 THB a month when you've been here a while and you've settled in !

First off, Bangkok is not practical during the day if you're off the BTS / MRT grid. You'll be severely hampered in your ability to move around quickly during peak hours.

So a decent 1BR+ condo close to a BTS or MRT station is necessary imo and that's about 20,000 THB if you want to live on Sukhumvit.

I like to eat at normal restaurants like Ootoya, Piri Piri and occasionally a lunch at Aoi etc and do Starbucks regularly.

I spend a lot of time in malls like Emporium and shop my groceries etc at places like Gourmet Market (5th floor Emporium - has everything),

and I only go out 'partying' about 2-3 times a month these days - usual the mostly Thai venues around Thonglor, Ekkamai or RCA (speaking Thai helps here).

Clothes here are quite expensive, especially mid-range brand name clothing like Guess, AX and shirts off-the-rack like Meticulous -

which look good and all but it's ridiculous that they sometimes cost more here than back in Sweden

I thus spend around 60K++ a month and I'm able to save the rest, but I know I could easily spend around 100,000 THB a month - which I did my during first 12-18 months here.

Now - this whole thing about supporting your GF. It's all up to you and who you choose to date.

80% all the women I'm interested in here have their own condo, car etc, and there are A LOT of them out there !

If I'm dating someone I choose to pay for the lunches and dinners etc, but there's just no way I'd be giving out monthly allowances to my GF unless we're in a serious relationship - for some time already - and then only under very special circumstances !

Cheers.

You are awesome ! Thanks a bunch !

Please help me translate the following into natural, native level Thai (write in Thai).

At condo building's managerial office / reception:

I'd like to pay this bill, please.

The thing is, last time I came here the payment was already overdue, so I just want to make sure I'm able to pay today because I don't know if I'll be able to come back tomorrow.

No receipt is fine, or you can just print one tomorrow and put it in my mailbox.

On Facebook, when people make comments completely unrelated to whatever is posted:

Hmm, that the heck is this ? I don't see how the comments above have anything to do with what I posted.

Keep the comments related to the original post, and send me a private message instead if you want to discuss other things.

---

Thanks guys.

Hi all,

What are my options if I wish to reliably ship small items (non-fragile, 25-75 grams), from Thailand to end consumers in various European countries, and possibly the US ?

Can I use regular EMS via Thailand Post, or must I rely on DHL, FedEx, UPS etc for safe delivery ?

Are there any local courier/express mail companies - perhaps operating as partners to the big international ones - which I could use ?

Thanks.

Man..... eggshen, lighten up. your list is too stagerring... not many can successfully follow that on a daily basis especially in Thailand.

You're right Steele, it is a bit much to do all at once.

I do a lot of it, most of the time, but certainly not all the time

What I suggest is that you do some of it, and then more as you please, gradually over time.

As you get closer to your ideal weight, and you overall health and wellness improves, it'll be much easier to motivate doing more diet-wise. Like with so many things, it takes a while getting used to.

My two cents:

Do large cucumber and tomato salads, no vinegar, but use some form of olive oil based dressing, for 2/3 alt 2/4 of the meals per day. That will help you "alkalize" (google it).

Drink lots of water with lime squeezed into it, preferably add a couple of teaspoons of concentrated wheat grass to 1.5 liters of fluid.

Eat carbs and protein separately (2-3 hours apart).

Eat fruits completely separately (2-3 hours apart from eating anything else).

Go for low GI carbs. Buckwheat and millet = good, wheat flour = bad.

Eat lots of:

Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cucumber, Tomato, Avocado, and raw greens etc (alkaline).

Eat less of:

Pork, Mutton, Beef, Vinegar, Soy sauce, High sugar content fruits, Corn, Mushrooms, and of course Cane Sugar (acidic).

Listen to:

Tony Robbins - Living Health.

Read:

Robert Young - PH Miracle (or one of his newer books).

Also, check out Pete Sisco's Static Contraction Training.

Cheers..

I've been studying at Walen since the beginning of May. Just moved over to book 2.

Tod got it absolutely right.

I did Thai for Beginners with the CDs, followed by "Learn to read Thai in a day" software for a 3 months before I moved to Thailand.

Came into class able to pronounce the tones and read properly - as in, knowing the consonant classes and tone rules in absence of tone marks - and found the curriculum to be odd, but quite fun, given you come properly prepared.

The books do not put any emphasis on the tones, but are great for drilling vocab. Also, most of the tricky (yet vital) grammar is left unexplained. Be sure to compliment your studies with the Becker books (Thai for Beginners and Thai for Intermediate learners).

Several months ago, a friend of mine assured me that the key to Thai lay hidden in it's script - only now am I able to fully appreciate what he meant by that !

Walen has great teachers, a lot of enthusiastic students and the classes are fun once you find your pace.

1. I have mild eczema underneath both of my eyes on my upper cheek bones. I had some over-the-counter cream for it in the States that worked really well but of course I forgot it. It started with an H but I can't remember the name of it. If anyone knows of some good generic stuff I can get at the pharmacy I'd appreciate it.

Eczema around the eyes can be very tricky as the skin there is extremely sensitive. Normal cortisone-based creams are usually not a good idea here. Suggest you try Protopic (ointment).

Cheers.

Unless you're referring to surgical scar treatment etc, the resource http://www.acne.org has no equal imho. Dan Kern's regimen works for a lot of people.

The pH Miracle for Weight Loss: Balance Your Body Chemistry, Achieve Your Ideal Weigh

By Robert Young

Ehm.. I'll skip my personal comments.

But If you are serious about attaining your ideal weight and maintaining good health, google these books/audio programs:

Anthony Robbins - Living Health

Robert Young - PH Miracle (http://www.phmiracleliving.com/)

Pete Sisco - Static Contraction Training

Cheers.

Could somewith with TOT confirm you can access http://th.match.com ?

I am with TOT in the NorthEast and it works as you can see Thai_Match.com.pdf

But you do not need that in Thailand, do you? Sorry could not resist.....

Thanks. Wierd that it's blocked here.

Need it ? No, but online dating is a good compliment to conventional means (awesome actually ).

Just checked using True - get a page from Match.com showing the below text:

Our site is temporarily unavailable while we make important system improvements. We should be back online within the next few hours.

Hang in there

Thanks. I can access the site via proxies - no worries mate. There are a lot of Thais on Match so obviously it works with most providers.

Maybe TOT's head honcho had a bad experience there once or something ?

Could somewith with TOT confirm you can access http://th.match.com ?

I get the a timeout when trying to access the site directly (no proxies):

The connection has timed out

The server at th.match.com is taking too long to respond.

* The site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy. Try again in a few

moments.

* If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer's network

connection.

* If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure

that Firefox is permitted to access the Web.

Can anyone on TOT confirm they can access Match.com ? It's actually blocked here.

Why on earth would they block Match ?

Don't want their women to find foreign blokes ?

YouTube eats humongous bandwidth, so that's completely understandable but... *sigh* ช่างเถอะ !

On TOT 2mbit Goldcyber.

As other posters have pointed out: YouTube works great via proxies.

There are services out there that offer access to very solid proxies via a VPN connection, at a small cost. Google 'vpn proxy'.

This way you're able to circumvent all packet-filtering / packet-inspection rules put in place by your ISP as well, such as throttling of the bittorrent protocol etc (TMNet Malaysia does this very efficiently ).

On TOT 2mbit Goldcyber, On Nut, Sukhumvit.

http://www.numion.com/YourSpeed3/ give the following readings a few minutes ago (kbps in bold).

Download speed: 1,713.15 (214.14) 100%

Upload speed: 426.94 (53.36) 100%

Surfspeed outside Thailand: 108.21 (13.52) 100%

Probably not the best place to use for these tests. The connection performs very well though.

YouTube is being blocked by the ISP but I circumvent this by using proxies accessed via VPN.

And oh, I believe TOT blocks Match.com too for some "incomprehensible" reason (can think of one) - can anyone confirm this ?

Hi all,

Might as well share my short experience with TOT so far,

Moved to Bangkok from KL about 10 days ago. Got an apartment over by On Nut BTS, bland new place built 2007. Had had TOT 2048/512 setup before-hand, modem and install instructions waiting when I arrived.

But I brought over my own modem (+ wireless router), a Netgear DG834.

Set the VPI/VCI to 1/32, login: xxx@goldcyber and so on.

Got connected at 2048/512, all fine and dandy.

Downloads were really fast, maxed out at around 206 kb / sec.

(SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]:23,0 / 33,0).

Then about 3 days ago, I experienced a short blackout during midday. Lasted only around 10 min.

When the modem reconnected it got 2048/32 kbit !

With only 32 kbit up bandwidth I experienced all kinds of problems. Every other page I opened in Firefox got a "Server not found" error.

Nslookup would fail sporadically, especially when downloading something at the same time. Ping would fail instantly as if I didn't have an IP assigned at all.

I guess, with so little Up bandwidth I quickly saturated the line with the TCP control packets.

The connection was completely useless, no matter how many times I reconnected to the ISP, or rebooted the router. It only got 32kbit up.

And the SN Margin values were always good !

So I then decided to give the Thompson modem supplied with the TOT starter package a try (a Speedtouch 516).

Connected and, look and behold, back up to 2048/512 - downloads back up at max for a 2 mbit connection.

Wierdness...

If anyone experiences DNS problems, every other web page is unreachable, downloads are awfully slow, even Gmail won't refresh etc - check your modem and make sure you are connected at the correct speeds.

Cheers.

3-4 years of Java experience? 60k if they are any good. Less than that and there is most likely a reason. PHP is cheaper, as there are many more candidates, but I don't think you'll find anyone who is worth anything for less than 40k. Salaries have gone up substantially in the last 2 years. Lots of competition for the few skilled people.

We only hire the top tier people. They have to pass a test that I made up during the interview, and it is challenging by Thai standards. Not just regurgitating information. It requires them to think and show initiative. Not everyone has that skill.

..

I would say your best bet is to rethink your business plan and relocate to India. Much better skilled workforce there, and salaries are about the same or slightly lower.

I'm not sure where seo gets his figures, but we've got an office full of 200 IT people and the numbers don't even come close to what he is saying. Anyone who can get those numbers is very, very lucky.

As seo says though, sometimes Thais are driven more by environment than by salary, so if you can create a really good environment with the right people, perhaps it is possible. Don't bet the farm on it though.

Thank you for the feedback Gregb. I will adjust the budget for the 50-60k salary levels you've suggested. This is not far off our previous estimates and will not be a problem.

We are not looking to hire a large amount of people, but it's vital we get top tier candidates.

How well do the Thais fare in your test in general, as compared to, say, Europeans ? Are they able to comprehend the questions, and fully grasp the given problem ?

My experiences with screening candidates in Kuala Lumpur have been a bit of hit or miss unfortunately. Malaysians are definitely not as theoretical, on average, as similarly experienced candidates from the US or UK.

As for India, it is not an option. The big incentive for us is to enter the Thai market, as we love their culture and believe it (yet to be determined obviously) to be highly compatible with our existing products, which we intend to localize. That is our long-term goal.

You might want to start looking at Software Park they have an HR club, and its one of the places where leading Thai firms such as Central Retail Corp source their IT staff.

Noted. Will contact them. Thank you.

Hello Eggshen:

Your idea sounds good.

There is one main tax issue that you need to address and that a Thai company should not be established as a non-profit making entity. It needs to make a commercial profit on work invoiced, especially if the work is all for a related company.

Therefore you need to address this issue with your corporate advisers.

Thank you for the heads-up. I will definitely bring this up with our legal firm.

By the way, we are planning to use the Indo-Siam Group (thaistartup.com) for this. Mr Steve Sykes over there has been most helpful and seems to really know his stuff.

Greatly appreciate all the input.

freitag1:

Duly noted. The salary spread does seem to be quite substantial.

We will be focusing on primarily backend programming, or more specifically, Flash Game Server development via SmartFox Server (Java) or a simpler request-response based solution using AMFPHP.

The parent company has a reputable team of graphics artists and flash game developers, who we are to provide with various backend solutions.

seobangkok:

Spot on. This is what I was hoping to hear.

Personally, I'm convinced your strategy is the right way to go.

We strive to offer the right candidates a number of things:

An opportunity to work with a highly skilled, and well praised, team of graphics artists. The parent company has an impressive portfolio which has proven to be very attractive to Malaysian professionals in the relevant fields. Admittedly, it's one of the key selling points / attractors of the intended company.

Full in-house training. I am a systems architect in both Java and PHP, and I have been training Malaysians here for about a year now with surprising success.

For instance, simple pair-programming methods such as me coding live, while explaining what's going on, and having them watch it on a projector and ask questions, has worked brilliantly.

This again shows that the proper expose to the right blend of technologies and techniques is the only thing needed to propel most ambitious juniors to new heights, bringing them up to above-average Scandinavian IT standards.

Semi-competitive salaries, but definitely no la-la land wages here. The focus is instead on personal growth, a fun working environment (Scandinavian style. And yes we CAN be fun ), a well defined salary "ramp" based on performance, and a lot of small perks, i.e. the kind that do not cost the company much yet are highly appreciated by the employees. The idea of fancy dinner outings and nice computer rigs is right on the money.

Wish you the best mate.

Thank you all for the input.

Thanks for all input, will take all of this on board.

singa-traz:

I get what you mean by your answer to Question 2 , but for the sake of me learning something new, could you please elaborate a bit ?

Prakanong:

The business idea is tried and old, and obviously the profits will be made elsewhere in the world.

Also, the director appointed would be I.

The Philippines are nice, I've spent about 3 months in the Laguna area on Luzon, but I personally do not fancy the language or culture. I am, however, studying both Japanese and Thai, so Thailand would be an ideal place to work AND have fun in (as per the "work hard, play hard principle").

I wouldn't even consider India. It's actually getting very expensive in the places that have good infra-structure. And gosh, I'm completely uncompatible with their culture. Nah, Thailand rocks (especially Chiangmai) - I think we all agree to that.

I will be moving to Bangkok at the end of the month to study Thai in any case. But if enough things point in the right direction, starting this kind of company would be very interesting - we have already done so successfully here in Kuala Lumpur.

Btw. Indians are overrated IMHO, I've have had much better luck with the Chinese.

Could someone give an opinion / personal assessment on the actual level of IT skills, relative to years of experience, of Thais in general ? How do they compare to Scandinavians, Americans, etc ?

Hi.

We're looking at starting an IT company in Bangkok, doing mainly off-shoring work for companies in Europe via a parent company in the U.K (owning 49% of the Thai operation).

The bulk of the costs are going to be salaries, and there is no intention to make profits (or other surpluses) locally. The Thai company simply invoices the U.K one the base operational costs and keeps the books at plus-minus zero.

Most of the rules and regulations governing the setup of a company seem acceptable, albeit clearly a hassle at times. There are solid ways to protect the parent company against the fact that it does not hold majority ownership, etc.

What is still a bit of an unknown though is whether we will be able to locate and hire right people, with the desired set of IT skills and English ability, and at the "right" salary levels.

I would very much appreciate some advice in this endeavor, namely;

1. We are seeking candidates who have 3-6 years of Java and PHP experience, holding a relevant WP (most likely Thai nationals), and have either studied or worked abroad. Will we be able to find them ?

2. How well can we expect them to communicate in English ? Are there any cultural barriers that make communication more difficult ?

3. What motivates / drives a Thai IT professional ?

4. Will we be able to find foreign national with the correct permits and desired experience ? We will NOT be issuing WPs ourselves (The director will be a foreign national requiring 2,000,000 THB r.c + 4 Thais).

5. What salary levels are we looking at ? We are hoping to hire the correct candidates at 30,000 - 40,000 THB monthly.

Thank you all. TV is a great forum.

1. Wrong unless you are talking University level studies - normal language school will not qualify you for one year extensions of stay. You will be allowed 90 day extensions only, at a cost of 1,900 baht each.

2. You will receive a 90 day stamp on arrival. You can use a re-entry permit for travel to keep the 90 days alive. You only want single entry as multi entry would only cover that 90 day period so be a loss of money. There is no transfer.

3. You can not obtain a multi entry visa in Thailand - but you should be able to obtain overseas and that is what you should be doing with your required travel - that will eliminate the 90 day 1,900 baht charge and the re-entry permit charges.

4. When you use re-entry permit to put it in the visa section of arrival card - it can not be "overlooked".

5. As said - do not extend - obtain a multi entry visa from on outside Consulate.

Thank you lopburi. That basically covers all of it.

So the necessary extensions will prolong the visa for 90 days as well as give me a new 90 days permission to stay stamp then ?

And for me to get a Multiple Entry visa I'd have to reapply using the previous paperwork at some other consulate than KL ? Preferably the one back home in Sweden, correct ? The KL consulate seems to only give out S.E ED visas...