floridaguy

Thanks for all your replies. One police officer said it was my fault as I was in the right lane, apparently motorcyclist are only supposed to be in the left lane. I don't think it was an official "verdict" or something and I did not admit or sign anything of course. If this goes to court I'll say I was about to make a right turn. The samlor driver says (most likely adviced by the old police woman friend) that he was walking with the samlor across the road, not riding the samlor. Maybe in court I can counter with that he did not cross the road at a zebra crossing.

Anyway, I've spoken to some more people and most say to not worry too much about it. It's kind of hard not to though as who knows what having some connections and corruption can do in this country.

True about right lanes and motorbikes, but somlor's also must stay to the left unless turning/overtaking. I assume you aren't in an area where pedaled samlors are illegal, such as anywhere in Bangkok?

Have you tried running the native uninstaller for that program? It should be in the folder with the install files.

Also, there are several registry cleaners and uninstallers that will help remove it. If all else fails, you can look in your system boot information and find what program is starting when you boot that is the offender and remove it.

One of my favorites is Revo Uninstaller. It is free.

Oh yeah, I forgot, iPhones have a flashlight built in as well.

I remember the days when cell phones came out and people said that there was no way anyone needed to have a mobile phone. I also remember Bill Gates saying no one would ever need more than 4 megs of ram or some such, maybe it was hard drive space. There is a value to new technology, such as smartphones, ABS, etc, that some will always denounce and ridicule.

There are some very legitamate reasons for a 13 year old to have a smart phone such as the iPhone. There is the safety factor. iPhones 3GS's have built in GPS, and compass and you can track the phone from your own phone. As a parent, I like to know where my 14 and 12 year olds are. I like being able to see exactly where they are if I need to. Also, if they are lost, they can get turn by turn walking or driving directions in their own language, bus routes, subway routes, etc. If my children are lost, I would rather they relied on technology to get them somewhere safe than taking the risk of asking a stranger. There is also the convenience. Shopping, barcode scanning, photo taking, email, text. If I want my kids to pick something up from the market, they can't read Thai, so I can often email or SMS them a photo of what I want. No 900 baht Nokia will do any of this.

I wouldn't want my 14 year old walking around with a professional camera, which costs several times more than an iPhone, around their neck. That invites thieves and kidnappers. And if my kids want to learn piano, then they can download and read the music sheets on their iPhone on the train home. After that, they could photoshop the photos they took on their hi-res camera on their iPhone and post it online for their friends and family back in our home country to see.

Meanwhile, a 900 baht Nokia is just a phone.

From my past experience with the law and police here in Thailand, which is a long story for another time, just ignore her or any summons from them unless it is a court summons or order. She and the police can do nothing at this point without a court order. If the police come to visit you, or the lady at the police station, you do NOT have to speak to them or give them anything. You don't have to let the police in your place either. They may want to ask you for your passport and/or work permit, so make sure you are all in order there. But you do not give them any money. It is sad that it comes to this, but the lady was just trying to bully you into paying.

You will know before hand by the summons to appear in court. They don't sound like they have the money to do that either. Just forget about it, refer all further correspondence from either the driver or his friend to your insurance company.

Glad that you are alright, scary thing getting into an accident. Hope all is well.

Its really a shame that this BS is showing its face here I really have not seen this type of BS in the 5 years of riding in Thailand and thought it was just an attitude left in the USA the riceburner Harley mentality, competition.

I sort of feel the same and sort of don't... I love riding Thailand, group of guys out on the road together, lots of different bikes... I can love an old BSA, a retro Triumph, and an ER6N on the track (Hi BigBikeBKK)... could probably even appreciate a HD if they weren't all but identical ...

but... (there is always a but)...

I don't like the Harley mentality that seems to have transferred itself to Thailand... have to be loud, have to be offensive, have to ride in a massive group and take over the road... and it isn't restricted to farang...

Day 5 of a 5 day ride last year we stopped for a break for lunch in a nice restaurant in Peaceful Phayo when a big group of Thai HD riders came in on their way to CM Bike Week... three laps through town revving their engines, reverse into spots, rev rev rev, storm into the restaurant ordering the staff around...

That is the behaviour that makes them so despised in Oz, and which will lead to the same feelings in Thailand... That and whenever I tell someone that I love riding in Thailand the question is "you have chopper???"... no, I like to go fast

I do like that often the sports riders and harley guys group together because they all ride "big bikes" and give each other a bit of friendly harassment... same as Brit bike and Jap bikes do...

Daewoo

I can undertstand you

there is a local bar i go to and my bike is Loud and the bar is in a small soi and I have to pass to park the bike and I SPECIFICALLY idle it to run past the bars and park up the bike and when i leave I again start the bike up try not to rev but idle out onto the main st and off i go, other bikers that frequent the bar dont they rev there bikes and tear off like a bat out of hel_l and yes people tend to look down on that even I do as its not cool.

I like loud pipes many times i notice car drivers take note I am there only because of my pipes or of they dont a quick rev and they soon know I am and are aware of me.

I can understand they can be obnoxious but i also believe loud pipes save lives.

DK

I have tried to remain silent on this one, but I guess my opinion counts, that is what TV is for. I agree a little with everyone. I like choppers, and am proud of what I drive. I never look down on another biker, no matter what he drives. His outfit might look silly, but that is part of the fun. It is one of the only ways that we can show our personality. Cars are boring and mostly the same, but motorcycles are so easy to customize. Show your pride.

Now, I am not an a$$hole rider. Anyone can be an obnoxious driver, whether you are on a chopper, a sport bike, or a little scooter. Haven't we all had a small scooter do the same as the OP described, merging into us or cutting us off? The OP is making a big deal of something that happens to everyone by other drivers of all types of motorbikes, big or small.

I like to ride fast and respectful. Respectful to my fellow riders and to those around me. I never rev my throttle just to rev it. Why? Wastes gas. That is the same as when we were teenagers and would squeal our car tires. Just immature and trying to show off. But I do agree that loud pipes saves lives. I see almost daily a driver who didn't notice me until they heard me. But, I do respect my neighbors and don't advertise my noise. Even I don't really like to hear loud bikes when I am not on the road.

As for the way people dress, well each club has it's own rules. Sport bike riders usually prefer tighter leathers for jackets and pants, sport boots and gloves, and enclose helmets. Chopper riders like jeans and chunky boots and tattoos and bandannas and open faced helmets. So what? To each his own. Not all wear the same (I don't own a leather jacket or vest or leather chaps or sport giant tattoos and have a handlebar mustache).

The OP should have posted that they were cut off by a$$hole drivers, regardless of what type they were driving.

Short answer, yes. But you have to have itunes on the pc, you have to then authorize that pc, then update. this may not be possible it the pc doesn't have itunes and you can't install it.

I think the motorbike taxis are really quite localised in their territory. Maybe there's a bit of bad feeling between Sinikarin where you live and Bangna Trad Big C area; they're close enough to clash - you only ever complain about your neighbours...

SC

EDIT: And yet far enough apart, that it is not a typical short moto-taxi ride - must be a good couple of kilometres....

Correct answer.

Correct, and more serious. Taxis are run by a sort of Thai Mafia. The areas are strictly outlined. Talk to any free talking taxi driver and they will tell you. Crossing of those lines is controlled. Obviously they will need to cross lines at the request of their fares, but they cannot pick up a fare in the other area. Both motorcycle taxis and car taxis are the same. Notice the color of the vest or the car, they are grouped.

Your guy probably already clashed with the other group, or the two groups have clashed in the past. It really is of no concern to the fare, as long as the guy doesn't get attacked with you on the scooter!!!

As a "boss" for the past 15 years, I have found that it always pays to invest in your number 1 asset - your people. I have written many recommendation letters, and have lost some of those people for various reasons, such as furthering education, career advancement not possible with the current company, etc. This philosophy has paid back many times over. I find that these past employees are very loyal, often returning, and often recommending good employees, and a couple of times recommending me to their business contacts. The employees that stayed after a recommendation were also very appreciative and loyal that I would write a letter of recommendation for them, essentially I invested in them.

I say, talk to your boss. He will appreciate your honesty and your ability to speak candidly without fear of losing face. Give him assurances that you will keep in touch and consider returning after you receive your education. The bottom line is that you must invest in yourself, and education is one of the ways you can do that. Any boss worth working for will understand this and gladly give you the letter. If your boss won't then he/she is not the kind of boss you want to work for. Your boss made a conscious decision to hold you back in your career and life for their own gain, and will continue to do so.

I like Logmein the best. Secure connection, free, as many PC's that you want, you can access it from any computer, it has Mac and iPhone application.

Yeah, I am interested as well. Lost my motorcycle license last week. I haven't done the police report, but I don't want to have to go out to Kanchanaburi to get a new license. I would rather do it here in BKK

Villa Market ships and they will special order anything you want

Anyone who has been here since 2004 with no passport and is begging to survive is probably not exactly in his right mind, but I would not be surprised if he is a frequent poster on Thai Visa.

hahaha

is the free sending SMS service reliable ?

If it is like teh post paid website, each SMS costs 1 baht. To announce a new number they will send upto 10 SMS's to your contacts for free. I have never used it, so no opinion on reliability.

I have been using the post paid version of this website for a year, it is great, I like paying my bill through there. I hate the one time password each time I login, but whatever.

Jeesh, the US government is intrusive aren't they?

They're going to hunt you down and fine you for not having health insurance.

Darn, I forgot about THAT too! Does my Thai issued insurance count? US citizenship is nice, but comes at a price.

Your viewpoint is understandable, but it's plainly not the The Law.

Remember Steven Cheung, a well-known economics professor in Hong Kong and a US citizen, who didn't bother to report the money he was making on his parking lots in Hong Kong to Uncle Sam. Well, Uncle didn't like this, and charged him with criminal tax fraud in 2003.

http://www.justice.g...eung012803.html

Steven Cheung, the once eminent economist, has since been cooling his heels in Mainland China, where he doesn't have to worry about extradition.

Wow, that is crazy. He is definately a bigger fish than me, earning tens of millions of dollars a year, but certainly gives us Americans pause. The IRS is often used as a tool for other law enforcement agencies, look at Al Capone. So it looks like Cheung was on the wrong side of the law for a long time, selling fake antiques. But I couldn't find any information about him being a US citizen. He was born in Hong Kong, which makes him a Chinese and British (?) citizen. Also, the indictments were clear to state that he benefitted in the US from his income, which may have been a requirement in the federal courts to prove although he earned income abroad, he transferred the money to the US to his wife, who was a resident of Seattle.

Anyway, thank you Taxout for the information. I have sent an email to the IRS, and will follow up with a phone call tomorrow to the IRS and maybe a tax accountant familiar with this issue.

I don't have anything to hide, and know I will not owe any taxes, but since living here in Thailand, my strong "contempt of authority" is really kicking in. I don't want to file, just because! I guess my nationalistic Thai side is rebelling against my patriotic American side.

Ah well, I will update this thread after I speak to the IRS and a tax attorney/accountant.

I had problems with speed and dropped wireless connection. They can fiddle with speed without it being the router, which they did and it speeded things up. Still dropping the wireless signal though. I did alot of research and chose the Cisco/Linksys WRT320N. It is a N signal dual band 2.4/5ghz wireless router. I have never had a dropped signal problem and the range is great. The only drawback is that it is not an ADSL router, I had to connect the wired router from my service provider to the Linksys. But, it has an auto sensing port which new exactly when I plugged in the Cat 5 cable from the other router and configured itself to the normal Thai network settings. And it was cheap at Thanni with shipping for 135 baht and arrived the day after I ordered it.

Check out this link:

http://taxes.about.c...ignIncome_3.htm

There is an exclusion on income earned overseas. This year it is $91,500. Now this is for EARNED income. Money you get from a job. If it is interest or dividends, etc....it does not qualify. You also have to be out of the US for a certain amount of time...like 11 months.

So I would file the US return and unless you are making big bucks, you won't owe anything...but you will be OK with the IRS.

Also, if you are a US citizen and have a bank account overseas, you need to file a special form. I can't remember what it is, but it is a BIG deal. I use TurboTax and it alerts me to this and prepares the form automatically. It has nothing to do with taxes, they just want to know how much money you have and where it is. Isn't Uncle Sam great?

Interesting, but I don't earn my income under my social security number. I earn it as a Thai citizen on my Thai ID number, I pay Thai taxes. I have Thai bank accounts, but they are funded by my wages earned as a Thai citizen, not by any money paid to me as a US citizen, nor transfered from the US.

Yes, so long as you meet the minimum filing standards, you'll have to file income tax returns and bank account disclosures for life. There may be other filing requirements, as well -- if you own a Thai corporation, for example.

Well, I can't believe it! Why would I need to disclose to the IRS that I own a Thai corporation if I own it as a Thai citizen, no US citizenship information used? Why would I need to disclose my Thai bank accounts if I opened them with my Thai ID, not my US passport? They don't even know I am American here, I never tell anyone that I am a dual citizen when I open bank accounts, cable tv, phone, companies, cars/motorcycles.

And what happens if I don't earn anything under my US social security number, have no US assets or assets purchased with US funds, have no US bank accounts, no US property, etc. What happens if I stop filing? What can they do? They can't garnish my wages, I don't have any. They can't prosecute me for tax evasion, I don't have any US income. They can't take my property, I don't have any. I can't see them prosecuting me for such a crime as not filing, and asking Thailand to extradite me. They can't even get the biggest arms dealer in the world extradited!

To me it seems like 2 separate identities almost, in a legal way. I should only need to report to the US authorities for things that I do as a US citizen, such as assets, debts, income, traveling as a US citizen, etc. And vice versa for Thailand. Those things that are done in my name as a Thai citizen should not have to cross over, and vice versa. The only common element among everything is my name, birthday. That is it.

Jeesh, the US government is intrusive aren't they?

So, I am an American and Thai citizen. I earn no money at all in the US, but I still have a financial presence there (I own some houses, various credit card debt, student loan debt). Now I am employed here as a Thai citizen, earning baht using my Thai ID number. So, do I have to still file a US tax return, as I always have in the past as a wage earner? What happens in 10 years when I have no financial presence in the US, no credit cards, no mortgage, totally off the US "grid", and earning all my income here? Am I forever bound as a US citizen to file forever no matter what?

Do you know of any that offer 24 hour access? Do they offer different sizes? Also, back in the US, private delivery companies wouldn't deliver to PO boxes. Will UPS, FedEx, etc deliver to an address at a Thai Post Office?

I don't like the pack either. I am on a Steed, and looking to move up. I am not fond of Harley's, they are too "cultish" and I find things that are surrounded by a group of die hard loyalists are usually just hype. So I am looking at the new Honda Fury. 1300cc's and it is legal in Thailand. There are enough Honda mechanics around that repairs/maintenance should be easy to come by.

I had a Boss when I first got here 8 years ago, good reliable bike, but I found it a bit low (I'm 5'11"). I've got a Phantom now and find it a bit more comfortable and solid feeling plus they have the advantage of being very common and easy to get work done on. On the negative side, the Phantom is a little bit more pricey: by the way, I want to sell mine as I want to change to a bigger bike!

Don't mean to hijack it, but it seems the OP had his questions answered, but what kind of bike are you looking at? Staying with a cruiser, or joining the rest of the pack and getting a sport bike?

Villa market sells whey protein, GNC brand I believe

Well, Thai is more of a simple language than English. Words such as pronouns, past/present tense, they are not widely used. Explaining it to a non-native English speaker is difficult. Unless you use it on a daily basis, with native speakers, it is very difficult to learn all the nuances of a language. Those Thais who have been abroad for long periods of time, say more than a couple of years, get it, but they are using it daily with native speakers. My mother lived in the US for 30+ years, and never fully grasped the past/present tense (she usually used qualifier words, like "go already"), she struggled with pronouns (usually used their names as they do here in Thailand), and hated words with multiple spellings/meanings (red, read, read).

So, my advice is find a Thai person who has been abroad and understands these concepts and get them together for chats.