Replogle

What many people do not realize is that when they buy (or even rent) a home anywhere in Thailand is that the resident ant colonies object to neat and tidy occupants. Traditional style homes, the ones that are built on stilts, seldom have problems with insect infestations due to the minimal number of entry points. All concrete homes have a massive insect problem that may never be rectified.

Did anyone notice the sloppy paint job they did all over the sides of their register counters? None of it was masked properly. Some green splattered on the sides of their little keyboards and areas where bags are placed. A quick 'n dirty job for sure.

This is incredible! Ms. LookMee's going to write another book, about her love affair with a scuba diver?! WOW! Let me just scribble this one down right here in my little appointment book. I'll be the first one in line to get this, especially after reading stunning reviews of her first account.

Not sure if things have changed recently, but the trip my wife and I took a few years left us thinking the island's name should've been "Koh Sokapoke Maaa" (Dirty Dog Island).

Like everything else, the cost of goods and services are up due to gradual inflation. The article is a red herring and completely bogus, perhaps inspired by Thailand's Finance Minister as a means to conceal facts. The number of motorcycle-related traffic accidents has nothing to do with an increase in medical costs.

Keep on the lookout for further excuses, rhetoric, modifications to the currency's appearance and unsubstantiated investment advice by government sponsored news publications and organizations.

Hello,

My wife and I are considering opening an inclosed hockey rink here in our village. Everything appears to be in order thus far; refrigeration units, water purifier, electrical loads, stadium contractors. Our only hang-up is locating an owner who is willing to part with a used Zamboni. There appears to be no Zamboni distributors in Bangkok. Any information on where to obtain a late-model unit within central Thailand would be most appreciated.

Again, this is just all about the MONEY from tourist to the temple there.

Oh, I don't know. As soon as everything's settled down, when both parties agree on a compromise, the oil and gas drilling rigs will finally move in. The population of Phanomdongruk will skyrocket, the guy at the "Village Makro" (who always gives me that look) will make out with a fortune, and the wife and I can finally sell our home in A. Tamiang for a tidy profit.

Post # 12: I personally think it is because they are the government and you are a peon. They can do whatever the want because of that.

I would personally disagree: While many US Citizen - Thai Citizen relationships and marriages are legit, many others dis-integrate once upon American soil and these can create hellacious problems for the government service agencies stateside and for the US Embassy in Bangkok that served as the root of the problem. It is their right to exercise their discretion in granting marriage/fiancé visas; not your right to bring a 'fish out of water' to the US.

Is it US Embassy's right to thwart the obscene acts committed by horny and irresponsible Americans freely entering Thailand? How many "Dudes" have fathered, then abandoned a child within Thailand's borders, or worse? No, current immigration policy is as obsolete as... the United States, whose time has come to face-up and now recognize itself as a second-rate and uninspiring country.

On edit, perhaps the OP can have his wife's name changed to something recognizable South of the Border.

Does the 400K have to be from a local branch? The wife, son and I were renting in Pattaya for six months. I have over two million baht in a Pattaya Bangkok Bank account, but just recently transferred 400K+ to a Surin Bangkok Bank on July 25 (where our home is). The date for visa extension in my passport is November 4th. Am I ok?

After listening to the news lady on television the Wife mentioned the possibility of inevitable price increases for eggs and other foodstuffs. Currently, one can buy three large eggs for B10 at their local mini marts however a 20% spike may soon occur. I imagine the news commentator was perhaps floating a trial balloon in order to gauge public reaction, but who knows...

Nuclear energy is the cleanest source of power there is. These so-called "green groups" fail to admit that the use of coal fired plants, which are generally the only alternative, emit dangerous toxins into the atmosphere, as opposed to what a reactor emits; steam and a shoebox full of nuclear waste per individual. Renewal energy sources, such as solar and wind is simply not feasible given Thailand's current requirements.

Also remember that US Immigrations Law scrutinizes against women who've leased their private parts to strangers within the past ten years, regardless of whether you believe she'll want to return after the holidays.

<BR>An major (or even a minor) earthquake situated anywhere in Thailand would be absolutely devastating.  Most newer homes are no longer built using the stilt-based methods, or the "Yai Homes" as the Wife and I call 'em, which I would presume to be safer than those made entirely out of concrete.  Planning for a disaster ahead-of-time is a prudent measure.<BR>

<BR><BR>I like the old fashioned Thai houses made from Timber, they have style to them. They have phased out building these type of houses because of the trememndous costs.<BR><BR>

Those older village type homes seem practical, too. The wood siding would be hard to find nowadays but maybe there's an alternative, like that recycled plastic particle wood mix westerners use for decking?

If the stilts have cross-members then I imagine they'd hold up well in both the shaker and roller type tremors.

An major (or even a minor) earthquake situated anywhere in Thailand would be absolutely devastating. Most newer homes are no longer built using the stilt-based methods, or the "Yai Homes" as the Wife and I call 'em, which I would presume to be safer than those made entirely out of concrete. Planning for a disaster ahead-of-time is a prudent measure.

I agree with the gentleman above. If Thailand was serious about its future, they would shrug-off the phony "Green Energy" propaganda and fully embrace nuclear water desalinization coupled with a revamping of their entire retail electrical distribution systems.

On edit: Build two, and cut the cost of electricity for consumers. Thailand possesses the capital to carry it through to fruition. What better way to help the poor?

There appears to be quite a few retired U.S. nationals both young and old, happily married to former bar girls for less than a decade that are unable to gain entry into the United States to visit family members, regardless of their "strong ties" to Thailand. Many couples have children with with dual nationality status, have possessions and responsibilities inside Thailand, and so forth. This is an expats' Achilles' heel, since none of the existing visa categories (K1, K3, CR1, IR1...) apply. Simply put, if you're residing in Thailand and married to a bar girl who's now a stay-at-home mom, then you can forget about visiting relatives in the States as a family for at least 10 years.

So, what's a fellow to do? He's met the woman of his dreams, a healthy non-smoking non-tattooed condom-using prostitute, lives comfortably in Thailand with absolutely no desire to return and stay in the United States permanently, but only to visit his immediate relatives for a short time. He's shrugged off the silly American stereotypes placed upon Thai women (by those perhaps not so pretty or lucky) whilst living well in LOS, and convinced that as soon as the wife and kids have a taste of the bitter cold and frozen, dated fish, they'll be eager to head back to the sun and plenty. One suggestion would be to call the U.S. Department of State and ask some unorthodox questions, such as "Shall a former American porn star return to the U.S. after having sex with a soi(street) dog?" or "Are their any known statistics pertaining to American servicemen impregnating/abandoning gullible underage Thai females?" 'Course, questions will accomplish nothing, yet exposing double standards to those unaware may be an enjoyable activity. Another suggestion would be to inform groups that America isn't such a great place to visit after all. It is a nation mired in debt, loaded with aliens lacking documents (many infected with tuberculosis), food is more sparse and expensive, less respect and care for elders, not tourist friendly. The list goes on... Knowledge in the hands of foolhardy Thai nationals translates into less revenue for Uncle Sam.

Future U.S. Immigration policy may change allowing those with legitimate intentions to visit their relatives, but as America pretends to be a moral, decent and wealthy country, chances are slim to none that anything will change within the foreseeable future.

What advice would the NZ government give to its citizens with families, "remain vigilant?"

Given the possibility that this little bottle-rocket and slingshot melee goes on for a while, it may be wise to consider temporarily relocating services to a vacant office space somewhere with reasonable security.

Hope this initiative materializes into something eventually. The benefits of an educated population would certainly offset the costs. Perhaps I won't have to move the wife and son out of the village after all. The "schools" here are more like playgrounds than bastions of educational greatness.

Then again, the world does need to eat. Thailand is a rice mecca, and one does not require advanced math skills to whack-away. The future may find common ground, however, in that with better schools, rice-harvesting could be achieved with nuclear powered robots that must be maintained and reprogrammed by its creators! But eventually the robots will get bored...

Thai rice production is one of the most inefficient in the world, using buffaloes, hand planting and ancient machines in small villages to clean the rice.

Instead of moaning about currencies they should mechanize the process, and educate the poor so that instead of a couple of periods of heavy work inter spaced with long periods of watching the rice grow they could work in a more productive environment.

Thaksin started along this line....

Growing rice here in Thailand may be inefficient, but the use of arcane methods and tools makes production quite reliable. There isn't much that can go wrong or interfere with its cultivation. Reliance from the outside world (other than petrol) is minimal; no heavy machinery to maintain, no large-scale union conflicts, ect... Besides, buffaloes are really cute, too.

1. Yes - immigration has extended the under review period.

2. You must visit on that date to obtain stamp or new period of under review or receive disapproval stamp (that is not likely on a valid submission).

3. You need to visit on the date specified in any case. If a long distance they might allow phone 'visit' but if you had a police problem without entry in passport it could get complex. It is a bit of a gray area.

Thanks for the quick response, lopburi!

The only problem I can think of was that the Wife and I brought our four month old son with us, and that we were all wearing matching elephant T-shirts from Chiang Mai; no respectful collared ones. Originally we thought this as being slightly disrespectful to the Immigration Officer, after the fact, and decided to give us the run around. But if this is common then I suppose there shouldn't be much of a problem.

Cheers.

Went to Chok Chai Immigration yesterday to have my passport stamped after submitting the usual documents one month ago, but was told the paperwork had not been received from Bangkok and for me to return in roughly two weeks. The officer scribbled a date in my passport for the 13th of November, 11 days past the one-month evaluation time period, and that I should now call (or return, not sure which) to verify the paperwork's arrival.

My questions are...

(1) Is the new penciled-in date in my passport valid?

(2) If my paperwork from Bangkok does not arrive by the time the new approval date expires, am I overstaying or do I need to visit immigration again for another?

(3) Am I the only one who failed to realize that one should call first before going to get their 1 year extension stamp?

Thanks in advance.

Was there today for my annual marriage extension…

May I ask you to have a look at this map and tell me where I should move the marker to pinpoint the immigration office correctly?

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&amp...01eab7f9c08c469

--

Maestro

There was a longish North to South building adjacent to a gas station, so I'd guess the pointer should be moved slightly to the left near those two small buildings perpendicular to 24? This map could be old, making it difficult to spot without a solid reference point, such as the Toyota dealership. The pointer looks to be close enough to where anyone close-by can spot that humongous brown and white "Immigration" sign.

Was there today for my annual marriage extension. Everything went smoothly. Not much of a wait. Most of the Surin staff was there and as such, seemed to know what they were doing. One nice older woman was kind enough to allow me to do a 90 day report early within the same visit. She was all smiles, but new on the job and entered my passport information into the computer slowly.

There was a bit of crud and whatnot lying around and in piles, with a large hole near a power pole in front from which buffaloes may have roamed, but I suspect that'll all get filled in soon which should indeed allow more parking. There's a copy machine to the right in a small restaurant with a young fellow who seems to be making more money with it than from selling food.

All in all, not a bad experience.

Well, it looks like our infant son will be breastfeeding in Korat for a while.