Altos

In my home country they are known as "Compact Flourescent". Nuff said. I am here to help the guy.

That's very interesting powderpuff .

Except for my error with ELP I did expect ES to be universal but now I know differently.

In future I will bear this in mind in future and either be more detailed or state what country's terminology I am using. Probably important bearing in mind TV members and reader come from all over the World.

Regards

Dave

Guys - ES SHOULD refer to Edison Screw which is the type of base the bulb has. The other type is Baynet or BC. This has nothing to do with the bulb type, except some bulb types such as sodium commercial, are AFAIK only available in ES, actually Giant ES. (GES)

There are energy saving bulbs as cool fluoro (causes light by the passage of electrons thru the gas) as someone said above and there are halogen bulbs which are filament bulbs but about 30% more efficient in light output as halogen allows greater heating of the filament and therefor recommended as energy efficient.

The ones I have seen here in Australia are actually a small halogen bulb in a more conventional outer glass case and so look identical to the old incandescent.

Apart from that, for our guy above wiring his lamp. In addition to the other good tips given it is also wise to check that the "hot" wire is the one that is in fact going through the switch and then to the centre contact in the bulb holder. If the hot one is bypassing the switch you could have a nasty experience despite it "appears" to be switched off.

Anyone really interested in light bulb technology could read

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_light_bulb

it is actually quite interesting.

Retired Engineer.

You might have at look at InvestorsEurope the website is the same with .com added. They trade in a very wide range of items. FX, stocks, ETF', options, FX options etc etc. They are far from cheap however. They are OK on FX if you use MT4 but other than that they are ten times dearer than Interactive Brokers in Chicago, who I currently use. IB deal in everything, all markets etc. It depends on what you are after. The IB platform is a pain but the costs are nothing. You might try a google search for offshore brokers. There are a couple of others, Thales in Panama (expensive), and if you visit LowTax with the obligatory .com you will find a couple of other links. Depends on needs and objectives. If you are over, I think 55, you will have no tax liability in LOS and might consider using a HongKong company and bank and keeping your funds in your native currency. just keeps all at arms length. Except for what you need in LOS.

HongKong allows bearer share cos - as of course Panama and some others but the others are getting too close to thin ice in my view. I closed my Nevis co. when they sounded a bit soft with the OECD, NAFTA et al.

on Samui

TT&T is good (premier 2mg package recently upgraded to 3mg with 1mg up)

CAT is good (unsure of packages but the 2mg package performs well with 35 ping to bangkok with fibre lines so im told)

CAT CDMA is ok 3mg/1mg (impressive performance over CDMA also faster speeds available and 600Baht per month according to people i know with it)

AIS and Dtac cdma is ok 460k/?? (a little tricky and annoying to top-up and select plans etc but hey, it works)

TOT is a joke (need i say more)

hope that helps

cheers.

Hi Guys So above is a summary from another forum member of some, plus JI Net, SME-CSLOxinfo ? albeit expensive, I see True and Maxnet get good press also.

I plan to come to Thailand later this month and the two main criteria are reasonable apartment/house rental and GOOD internet - so, the question is : What location am I likely to find suitable ? I prefer near the coast and Hua Hin and south, and Pattaya and south, areas are geographically viable. Can anyone comment on internet service in those areas. I can put in a load balancing modem and two lines if need be but must have rock solid connection. Can also go elsewhere, no restriction as long as living conditions are OK.

No family concerns but want quiet area as I do like to sleep at night. BG's are no interest.

Altos.

Hi

I am on Samui also

TT&T is good (premier 2mg package recently upgraded to 3mg with 1mg up)

CAT is good (unsure of packages but the 2mg package performs well with 35 ping to bangkok with fibre lines so im told)

CAT CDMA is ok 3mg/1mg (impressive performance over CDMA also faster speeds available and 600Baht per month according to people i know with it)

AIS and Dtac cdma is ok 460k/?? (a little tricky and annoying to top-up and select plans etc but hey, it works)

TOT is a joke (need i say more)

hope that helps

cheers.

Hi Guys So above is a summary of some, plus JI Net, SME-CSLOxinfo ? albeit expensive, I see True and Maxnet get good press also.

I plan to come to Thailand later this month and the two main criteria are reasonable apartment/house rental and GOOD internet - so, the question is : What location am I likely to find suitable ? I prefer near the coast and Hua Hin and south, and Pattaya and south, areas are geographically viable. Can anyone comment on internet service in those areas. I can put in a load balancing modem and two lines if need be but must have rock solid connection.

No family concerns but want quiet area as I do like to sleep at night. BG's are no interest.

Altos.

As I retired in May this year and my normal attire is shirt, shorts and jandals I have great difficulty in understanding both work and socks.

Could someone please enlighten me?

Sure we will be happy to to enlighten you. First can you clarify? What's are jandals?

He is a Kiwi. I spent 30 years in NZ but now Oz. In Oz they are thongs. Sandal type thing with a strap that goes between the toes and back over each side of the foot, nothing else. Very comfortable but can cause problems when running at high speed or when wet. :-) Also treacherous in mud - I have lost a few in deep mud. Not sure what work means tho'. Been retired for 5 years. Work may be putting out the trash (rubbish) (garbage) etc etc. I'll check the online dictionary

I have a friend who special orders lexapro through Boots pharmacy.

3 1/2 m of xanax? That seems like quite a lot.

Yeah, it is too dam_n much and it is why I have to break this cycle. However, questions answered and I know where I stand.

To other poster - I don't really drink much, few times a year - maybe, but anyone taking this kinda stuff would be well advised not to drink - my Australian MD figures a glass of wine with dinner is about OK.

Thanks guys.

Altos.

Have tried in vain to transfer some Thai baht out of our local bank accounts but both KBank and Ayudhya refuse to transfer THB internationally. They say you must first exchange it into another currency, then transfer it. I've never heard of this before. Can anyone confirm/advise please?

Why don't you just have then convert it to the currency of the destination country and then have them wire it ? I transfer a lot of funds around the world but unless I was transferring to a multi currency account at another bank or stockbroker I would have them convert it first. Otherwise they may not be able to get an equal conversion from the destination and would not know what to charge you.

I cannot imagine why you would want to do this anyways.

Cheers,

AltosTrader

Hi all - Having lost over $1,000,000 in the4 last three years through my dear wifes mismanagement I have decided to come to Thailand, be single, and trade the currency market to recoup my losses.

Problem is I am currently on Lexapro (to stop tearing her head off) and Xanax to sleep 3 1/2 mg / night.

Question is how are these available, IF they are available in LOS. I will get off them as soon as I can because I hate taking pills and have no doubt I can kick them when my account balances begin to recover.

Any help ot advice ?

Thanks guys.

Altos

Hi Guys - I am aware I can trade with Thales or Investors Europe who apply no withholding or other taxes.

I do however haqve an account at Interactive Brokers in the US who apply a 15 % withholding. Treaties with various govts around the world credit that 15% towards tax paid in country of residence or registration.

Question is - What happens in Thailand. I am retired and qualify for 12 month retiree visa and I understand am tax free in Thailand on income from shares derived outside LOS. I trade, not buy and hold forever, sometimes I may hold for a few years but that cannot be predicted. Tomorrows 4 year intended purchase may be dropped in a few months if not up to expectation. I am in equities, options, etf & n's on commodities and sectors and can be in FX optionsd or spot.

In some countries it makes a difference what you are trading ie spread betting being tax free in the UK.

Can anyone clarify the situation for me. I plan to come to LOS in about a month to check everything out - including using load balancing modems for greater internet reliability. All comments on any aspect welcome but tax info needed.

Thanks in advance.

Michael.

Was all that for a tourist 15 day extension on your visa ?

So the bottom line here is everything is open to individual officials interpretation within the broader guidelines. Which I guess translates to who the heck knows what is going on anywhere, anytime, and "it's up to you", and smile, and no problems here ?

Hah ! How relaxing. :-)

Thanks Mario2008 and Ignis. OK, I will have to settle for leaving in there. Personal income is not a good idea to be showing anyone and despite it is maybe irritating when I think about it it looks like easier to leave it there and write it of, or as you say collect that whopping interest. :-)

Maybe Thailand next year, presently the Caribbean next week. Simpler visa requirements but mostly Spannish. Oh well !

Thanks guys.

Altos.

Yep. You have to be 50 not 49.

Slight change of subject : I understand the requirement is to have 800,000 Baht to qualify for retirement visa - I am well over 50 :-) - but does that 800k have to sit in the bank all year doing nothing or can you take it out and use it between renewal times ? I trade stock and currency markets and having 800k sitting doing nothing is almost obscene to me.

Altos.

A single-entry Tourist Visa will get you a 60 day entry stamp upon arrival plus the ability to extend for 30 days at immigration, or 90 days (60+30=90) maximum stay per entry into Thailand. You can repeat this process for as long as you can obtain another Tourist Visa. There is no limit to the amount of time you can spend in Thailand with back-to-back visa entries.

Well, that's better news - I will talk to a travel agent tomorrow and see what they say - oh, Saturday - tomorrow is easter Friday. If they can't give me satisfaction I will go into the consul in a weeks time. Apparantly it is a Thai holiday for next Tues & Wed. If I have to I can pull some funds and get a retirement visa - no problem with that one - I just don't want to pull funds while we are around market bottom - too many buy opportunities at present to have cash sitting in a Thai Bank not working - but if needs be I guess. Thanks guys.

You don't really have to pull funds to get a retirement visa if you have a pension of at least 65,000baht per month, or if the embassy will issue a letter stating that you have a guaranteed monthly income of that or more. The alternate route is to keep 800,000 baht in your thai bank account starting at least 3 months before your visa is to be renewed.

The benefit of a retirement visa is you do not have to leave the country, but you do have to report to immigration every 90 days to verify your address. This is no big deal in Hua Hin as they have a desk for just doing that.

It's a nice place to retire to.

Yeah, I thought about this overnight. I will come in on the retirement visa and review the situation. Seems the other way I am going to be constantly running about the place. Depends where one has to go to get a new initial tourist entry visa. Am going to have a chat with the local (Brisbane) consul next week but if I can renew once a year right in HH then I think the decision is half made. The single entry may be a nuisance as I may have to pop over to HongKong periodically. Dunno yet.

I am glad to hear you say it is still a nice place. There seems to be some disillusionment in that it is maybe becoming a ghost town with many incomplete or empty high rises (apartment blocks). I just need good internet and somewhere to go kayaking. Seems there is is a good lake up behind HH but in the gulf the water doesnt start to get clear till Bang Sapan - I believe. I will make my own decisions about it all when I get there but HH is my start point. Pity the flights stopped - it's quite a jog carrying luggage from BK.

A single-entry Tourist Visa will get you a 60 day entry stamp upon arrival plus the ability to extend for 30 days at immigration, or 90 days (60+30=90) maximum stay per entry into Thailand. You can repeat this process for as long as you can obtain another Tourist Visa. There is no limit to the amount of time you can spend in Thailand with back-to-back visa entries.

Well, that's better news - I will talk to a travel agent tomorrow and see what they say - oh, Saturday - tomorrow is easter Friday. If they can't give me satisfaction I will go into the consul in a weeks time. Apparantly it is a Thai holiday for next Tues & Wed. If I have to I can pull some funds and get a retirement visa - no problem with that one - I just don't want to pull funds while we are around market bottom - too many buy opportunities at present to have cash sitting in a Thai Bank not working - but if needs be I guess. Thanks guys.

Hi All - It seems there have been some recent changes ?

I have Australian and UK passports but by what I read on the net they are treated equally.

I was under the impression I could visit LOS on a tourist visa and have it extended almost indefinitely by doing the Visa runs. I would preferebly be based around the Hua Hin area but in fact could go near anywhere. I see posters in here talking about 90 day extensions but everywhere else I look on the net a tourist visa is 30 days in any 90 day period. I just spoke to the Brisbane, AU consul and they say 30 days.

Is there any legal way round this to enable staying long term ? Visa runs no problem.

Copied from another website *******************

the Thai government has decided to enforce stricter new immigration policies beginning 1 October 2006.

There is a boat ramp and I asked a park officer if I could bring my speedboat up to the lake and he said sure. So I'm sure they wouldn't mind a kayak.

Oh Great - That'll give me some exercise. Any crocodiles up there. We have had three shark attacks in as many weeks in AU and these big munchies are a worry. :-(

I've been out to the Pranburi reservoir by car and also flown above it in a small plane many times. It is a stunningly beautiful area. When the wind is calm it would be flat. However, I've been there on a windy day and the waves on the lake rivalled those in the Gulf on a stormy day.

Hi there - Thanks for responding. Is one allowed to paddle in the lake. Some places will not allow recreational boating of any sort in a reservoir, other places don't worry. Yes, I have had some difficulties in a racing kayak with rough water as they normally are not fitted out for Eskimo rolling but I guess if it really was rough a white water spray deck would fix that and I plan on a touring TK1 so it is easier.

Cheers,

Altos

Hi All - I see from Google maps that there appears to be a largish lake between these two above places.

Can anyone tell me if recreational kayaking is allowed there or is it protected water. I was a marathon paddler and would love to paddle what is presumably flat water. I did do white water and sea kayaking, white water is now out since I am 70 and it is a bit unclear whether the Gulf is suitable. I have heard reports of polluted water from cleaning of fishing catches. Doesn't appeal much. Flat water TK1's are only about 12 - 14 kg and very easy to cart about and lift on top of cars. Sea kayaks may be up to 25 kgs, are much longer and really a two man job to put on and off a car.

Can any one advise if I can get up there and paddle the full length of the lake ?

Thanks,

Altos

Maybe it comes from China. My wife is Chinese (in Australia) she has a whole range of Chinese herbs and medicines and (to quote an old ad.) "at the very first sign of a siffle or sneeze" - Mind you, I gotta admit some of it works. But, I cannot get her to acknowledge the suction cups used by Chinese and Tibetan and maybe others really only damage the skin and capiliary blood vessels. - Nuts, but ya gotta love it. :-)

Yeah - I am aware of usenet but never used them. I also use Perr Guardian which supposedly is like a P2P tunnel.

Seems your speeds are a bit slower than I would have expected but also seems you have no real complaint which is good to note. Yes, location is a problem with ADSL, maybe I will try and rent space in the exchange, build a little apartment, then it should fly.

Thanks guys.

Hi All - I note you are saying a 1 MB account but speed of 100kb/s. You don't mean 1 MB is your download limit do you ??

I am considering moving to the general HH area and like another poster trade the stock and currency markets. Seems to me the best option as you have said is two lines for reliability and load sharing router, that's good but now what is the download allowance. Here in Aust. I have 60 GB / month for about AU$120 or ~ 2600 Baht total cost. My connection is ADSL 2+ and I get ~ 800 kb/s which is not wonderful since adsl 2+ is supposedly capable of 2400 kb/s. I am a user of torrents also. :-)

Download allowance and reliability are my bigger concerns though. Can someone comment on these two points please.

Thanks,

Altos.

Hello All - I am preparing to move to LOS in the next few months. It seems Hua Hin may have good infrastructure to get things established in LOS and so (presently) is my initial destination.

I am however a keen kayaker and when I enquired about beaches and water in the Jontein area was recommended to forget it as even few locals will swim there. The claim was the beaches were virtually strewn with condoms and turds. I don't find that very appealing so have been looking at the HH side of the Gulf. I believe that Phang Nga Bay is a very beautiful location but from what I see looking at Google satellite pictures it is mostly mangroves on the beach lines. This makes me look further North as I have no wish to camp amongst mangroves or stop for lunch in such a location. Such may also be a good habitat for salt water crocodiles which I have no wish to meet. At present I expect to look at locations for living anywhere from Surat Thani to Cha Am.

I believe there are fishing villages on the HH side of the Gulf and so the water is not so good in those locations as the fish are gutted etc. I don't know whether sharks are a problem on the western side of the Gulf. The fish cleaning may attract them . . . . ??

I do also however need good internet facilities, at very least reliable 512 ADSL, as I trade stock and currency markets. My wife is Chinese and so I am accustomed to Asian dining so as long as she can find a vegetable market we have little problem doing without farang food although some farang company would be nice. I am 70 my wife of ten years, 45.

A Western style doctor and dentist might be desirable but we can travel easily.

I note cable TV is available in HH but is there much English TV ?

Anybody give me some comments on any destinations between the above and the general lifestyle of any such locations. Comparitive area housing/condo costs are of some interest also. We will keep a house in Australia so don't have millions of $ for housing. Just nice average is OK.

Thanks,

Michael.

The US Department of Homeland Security (and its related Customs and Border control agencies) has confirmed that notebook computers (and any other electronic device capable of storing information in digital or analog form, e.g., phones, PDAs, cameras, iPods, etc.) may be seized, held, and searched from person entering the United States, whether a citizen of the U.S. or not.

So welcome to the land of the Free and home of the Brave...NOT!

Hey Guys - There is a German encryption system which is not obvious. The computer starts up and all looks normal but - it is only a front. One now needs coded access to get to a password protected entry to get to the real contents. Looks to me to be designed for just such a situation.

Find them at http://www.securstar.com/products_drivecrypt.php it may not be the total solution I can't remember ALL details but I am sure this will go a long way.

I have to look at this now as I travel with two laptops a 1 T external drive and an 80 G external. I am heavy into music, which is all legal, heavy into video - mostly P2P and family photos. No porn or such crap but how do you prove your music is legal in ten minutes in a foriegn country with no access to home resources. F*** amussia

[email protected] Any one know where I can purchase a new or s/hand sea kayak or canoe. regards Dave

Het guy have you found a sea kayak yet, If you have e-mail me back or put a reply, I have one and looking for someone to go sea kayaking with, paddle partner.

Hi there - I note this msg was some time ago but I am looking to retire to Thailand and looking for a place to live which will give me some good paddling. I have seen some pretty strong comments about water quality down Pattaya way which kinda swung me a bit to Phuket but it is a bit farther south that I really want. I have paddled white warer to G3, flat water marathon and sea kayaks of several high quality makes.

Can you enlighten me as to paddling conditions and places you might consider as a Hua Hin resident. I would be happy with flat water also provided there is some distance available - and no crocs. :-(

Thanks,

Michael

Australia.