craigt3365

You might stop by a few of the home improvement stores here. I've heard of members having their places renovated by contractors they've recommended. Boonthavorn has some great displays. Worth a peek if nothing else. A few of the Home Marts have some nice mock ups also. The one on Suk (I think it's near South Pattaya road, but not 100% sure) had some nice mockups a few years ago. The new Hardware House in Ban Amphur also has some nice mockups.

Even though many of us think the Thai economy is slowing (and it surely is), the contractors I've used in the past all say they are super busy. We've got a small job and are having to wait quite some time for them to become available.

Thank you for not naming the facility. It is against forum rules and we take that one very seriously.

I might recommend you writing a review on one of the hotel sites like tripadvisor, booking.com, etc.

Congrats to Thailand for starting to crackdown on this. Unfortunately, it was outside forces that probably forced this....

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/625110-thailand-must-stop-ivory-trade-or-face-severe-sanctions-c-i-t-e-s/

Thailand must stop ivory trade or face severe sanctions: CITES

BANGKOK, 11 March 2013 (NNT) - A senior CITES official has warned that Thailand, and other countries of what he calls the "Gang of Eight", must stop ivory trade, or face severe sanctions.

Senior CITES official Tom de Meulenaer said that CITES' ruling committee has "lost patience" over the issue of ivory trade.

He said that unless the "Gang of Eight" countries stop ivory trade within a year, they will be banned from all wildlife trades, including the lucrative orchid and crocodile skin trade, which are a significant source of revenue for Thailand.

Forever the optimist!

Well done to nakorn chai air, good luck with your new venture and thank you for doing something about the thieves that are driving taxis at the moment, hopefully they will all be put out of business.

Please remember that there are lots of very honest and good taxi drivers in Bangkok.

Well put. Unfortunately, a few bad apples are spoiling the whole bunch.

Not CM related but may influence a decision and what you do.

We have just shipped a 1.5 Cubic Meter - 125kg crate of TWs personal effects from Brisbane to Udon Thani. Still slugged with 20% Import Taxes and 7% VAT even though she was Consignor and Consignee. All up costs door to door was over 51,000 baht and a never ending line of hoops to jump through even with the aide of an import agent. The value we placed on the shipment was $1250 AUD or 30,650 Baht.

Lesson learned - NEVER AGAIN.

Unfortunately, this forum is filled with stories like this. One reason we decided not to ship anything over. Luckily, we were having to travel back home 3 times a year for several years and were able to bring a BUNCH of stuff in our suitcases. Just nothing large.

Very nice trip report! I just found a video on the park. Looks great!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5c2Shy0IHI

sort of a gumball rally with the squits ??

Yes! LOL I actually traveled India for 30 days without getting sick! But anywhere you travel, you are open to this. Even here in Thailand....

Seem Durbar Square is pretty much rubble. Sad as it was such a beautiful place. Glad I got to see it a few times. But like you say, Kathmandu was a difficult city to deal with!

Doubt you'll have a problem. Other than the case might get bent unless you have a hard shell suitcase. They can be pretty rough with luggage. Take the more delicate parts on the plane with you. Hard drive, motherboard, etc.

OP: you might also do a search on some keywords in the General forum. Like "container", "shipping", etc. Might be some older threads there with some good info.

Lion Pub seems to be showing a lot of sports events. Nice bar/restaurant.

Ah the rickshaw run. My Apprentice did it in India a couple of years ago said it was great complete with riots and disintry as well

As the article says, it's for adventurous travelers!

Here's a pic from AFP showing the avalanche as it roars into base camp:

Thanks, but wouldnt they want a return ticket home as the reason being if Thai passport control reject you, the airline is responsible for your sorry ass. You cant simply hop onto a train to Malaysia if that happens

No, they do not as that is not the requirement.

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The requirement is never for a "return" ticket. As the language in the IATA rules states what is required is an "onward" ticket. That can be the cheapest ticket you can buy to a neighboring country. {out -of- Thailand).

Also, if it comes to that the carrier who brought you to Thailand is not required to provide for your return to your country.... again it is only out of Thailand.

Excellent point. We just assume a return ticket, but an onward one would be fine also. I've heard discussions of train tickets, but don't know of anyone who's tried that.

I'm guessing one reason some airlines are tougher than others is they don't have as many flights and perhaps not any to neighboring countries? UAL would be a good example...

If it's properly labeled as synthetic silk, then you are OK. If it's misleading, then you are potentially breaking the law and opening yourself up to trouble....

Synthetic material is not very comfortable here.

The local Asian airlines seem to be the most lax. Because getting you back to your point of origination if you are turned back here is cheap...and rare. Getting you back to Europe or especially North America is much more complicated and expensive for the airline.

I've read lots of reports about AirAsia not checking, but have also read about a few travelers who've been rejected at KL airport. It's a crap shoot.

I'm flying with them in June. Great prices right now. $350 return with checked baggage, meal and reserved seat with Norwegian from Stockholm to Bangkok. UIA was $420 from BKK to Kiev.

Let's be careful with what we're posting here. The official requirement is you either have a valid visa in your passport OR a return ticket. If you've got a valid visa, then NO return ticket is required.

As has been posted here before, some airlines enforce this return ticket rule, some don't. Some didn't do it before, but do it now. Some did it before, but don't now. It's an ever changing target.

The only way to be sure is to call your airline and ask them. Or, if you don't have a visa, be prepared to buy a fully refundable ticket at the airport if you have any problems. Which I have had to do before.

Picture the scene. You have been driving for over 15 hours. The monsoons are thundering down. You and your friend are in an auto-rickshaw, laboring along an ink-dark road in the middle of nowhere in India. Oncoming trucks barrel toward you, blinding you with their headlights. The rickshaw dangles within inches of the road’s shoulder.

It’s a test of wills on the ultimate road trip: an international rally. The whole idea dates back to 1911 in Monte Carlo, when 23 cars rallied on public streets to a finish line. It was one of the first recognized road rallies.

The quest for more authentic — and more adventurous — travel experiences has created an even more extreme subculture of road tripping. These days, the idea is not just navigating from point A to B or who can go the fastest, but, rather, to pair up with like-minded adventurers and drive an inappropriate vehicle that is slow and might even break down. The result: you can have genuine interactions with locals, see corners of a country that a typical tourist would not see, and challenge yourself at the same time.

Continued:

https://www.yahoo.com/travel/a-crazy-new-kind-of-amazing-race-international-117138357567.html

If you are interested, there's one coming up in Cambodia!

http://www.cambochallenge.com/

Scott is the harbor master at Ocean Marina. You can also try him here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/user/86134-mcyachty/

Synthetic Thai silk?

You might want to think about driving to a place like Koh Chang or a cheaper place on the mainland like Chao Lao beach. A car is a must if you are in Chao Lao.

Even in Hua Hin, unless you are right in town, or only use public transport (which can be a pain), a car is great. There are so many great places to explore. And you can fill the trunk up with all sort of stuff for the family.

Please come to Pattaya!!!!