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p_brownstone
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Posts posted by p_brownstone
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Like many people who have made their money easily Thaksin believes that it, money, is the solution to all problems.
Throw money at the people to gain their votes (30 Baht Medical Schemes and other "Funds" and subsidies) dent money to those who displease you - "Red" Villages etc. etc..
The man is simply a poor Manager unable to think outside his own preconceived and cast in stone "solutions" or invite - and listen to - alternative opinions and advice.
Patrick
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Was watching tv here (japan) over the weekend and japanese ice hockey came on. Has anyone ever heard of a similar league in Thailand? I have played with the Japanese, but my military obligations prevent me from making it full time. That will all change in a few months..........
Believe it or not there is an active Ice Hockey League in Thailand.
I don't have any contact numbers but they play at the Ice Rink on the top floor of what was the World Trade Center - now called Central something-or-other. I am sure there will be some information on noticeboards there.
Patrick
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Is there any Software out there which can convert a *.pdf file into Excel?
I have a quite large Pricelist in pdf Format from a local supplier and I need to work on the pricing before I send it to a prospective Customer – I know I could simply print it out and then Scan it into Excel but it contains quite a number of photographs and detail / resolution will be lost if I do that.
Patrick
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Is it possible that some retailers will offset some increases by subsidising from large profits obtained from sales in attached convenience stores?
You mean to give away his profits to his customers in the form of a discounted diesel price?
No,I don't think thinks that's possible... (pigs still can't fly, right?)
The main reason that the C Stores, Fast Food outlets, Car Washes etc., have proliferated on forecourts in the last few years is because of the Thai Governments’ price controls on the Retail price of Fuel. Retail Margins are so low that Station Owners / Operators had to find other sources of revenue.
VERY little of the 60 Stang increase in the price of Diesel ends up in the pocket of the Owner / Operator.
Patrick
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Well Edward, as my mother used to say, politeness costs nothing and it's reward is respect.
I have used "Kor beer ..." in places as diverse as the Mosquito Bar and the RBSC
(OK I admit, in the former place I did not add the "Krap", a casual "Na Ha" is more appropriate in that sort of situation!!)Also, in the same vein, เขา is not the best word to use in the example you give either, "kae" reflects much better on both the speaker and the person being spoken of ....... and your Secretary - for example - should say "tan".
OK I am a traditionalist, more prosaically called an "Old Fart" I guess.
Patrick
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It is better to use words other than “ow” for “want”, it’s one of those little clues which Thais pick up on when a Farang speaks Thai and indicates where he learnt the language or who / what level his Thai friends are.
eg.
“I want a beer please” is better said as “Kor beer kuat neung na krap”
“Do you want a beer?” = “Rab (or thaan) beer mai krap?”
“Ow’ is more usually used, or mischievously interpreted to mean, “want” with a sexual connotation.
Patrick
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To the average Westerner there is a definite atavistic revulsion to the thought of eating "Rat" .
However in many Thai Provinces (rice growing Provinces in particular) there are annual Festivals - Rat catching competitions, Rat cooking demonstrations ........... quite possibly a "Miss Rat" beauty contest - although I have never actually seen that!
Your average upcountry rodent is quite delicious, quite a lot of meat - for the size - and virtually no fat.
Joking aside - they live mostly on vegetation, seeds etc., not at all to be compared to the Western image of a sewer dweller.
Bats however are really un-appetising, little meat and LOTS of small bones!
Patrick
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If anyone is interested
Diesel fuel will rise by 60 satang at midnight today.
Expected to rise by 4 baht in total (probably 60 satang to 1 baht increments) as the govt subsidy is withdrawn.
Not sure when it will finally be at it's +4 baht but I suspect soonish with increases every week.
It was a foregone conclusion - within related Industries anyway - that Diesel prices would shoot up soon after the Election here.
No Government could continue to subsidise a litre of Diesel by the amount allowed in Thailand, the Fuel Subsidy Fund is in the (negative) Billions of Baht already (and some way, some day, that has to be repaid).
The subsidy was pretty pointless too; the Governments' stated rationale was that since most Consumer Goods - including food of course - are transported within Thailand by (Diesel powered) trucks, any increase in the cost of that particular fuel would immediately translate into higher prices. (OK - it's all politics, hence the delay in reducing the subsidy). However a visit to a Thai Freshmarket just after a Gasoline (not Diesel) price rise would provide clear evidence that prices there were immediately higher - the reason given ............ that the the cost of Gasoline had increased ........... and it would be a total waste of time to point out that the produce arrived from upcountry in a Diesel vehicle!.
Still, I guess the Asavahaemes et al are happy.
Patrick
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Even I have darkened a go go bar door or 10. Strictly in academic pursuits of course
So THAT's what we call chasing Students these days!?
Please don't ban me Doc. I'm just trying to accumulate enough Posts to get into the VIP Forums, after all, inanities count towards that elevated status just as much as relevant contributions!!
Patrick
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If I was at a party with 29 men and only two women even I might be tempted by something other than alcohol!
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"Kat, my dear - you really don't need to introduce "racism" into every Post you answer!
Patrick"
brownstone:
You don't have to be a condescending bore in every post you answer, or do you?
Condescending - Moi???
Boring?? - very possibly, but I am learning from an expert!
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You are 100% correct, having both a valid British Passport and a Right of abode certificate is unneccessary. However,in order to get a Right of Abode certificate, a valid British passport is required as proof of this right.
Ouch - I know it's Friday and I am slowing down for the weekend but this is something from the Queen in Alice Though the Looking Glass!
"If you have "A" then you don't need "B" however if you REALLY want "B" then you must have "A" first."
Or maybe Monty Python?
That said, I take your point about perhaps not wanting to spend (what, Baht 4,000.-?) every 5 years (initially anyway, until the child qualifies for a 10 year Passport) on a British Passport.
HOWEVER
Bear in mind that a UK "Right of Abode" sticker in a Thai Passport is in no way comparable to actually holding a British Passport.
For example - although I am open to correction on this point - I do not believe that a Thai Passport holder with the above "Sticker" has a right to enter any European Country without a specific Visa - or the United States under the Visa Waiver programme.
A full UK / EU Pasport automatically coveys this right.
(And, by the way, so many Thais' , at VERY high level, hold two Passports that there is literally no chance Thailand will suddenly decree Dual Thai / Other Nationality is not recognised!)
Patrick
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Both of my children are dual nationality kids (Thai-English). A few years ago when we were looking into getting Right of Abode certificates for the kids ............. <snip>
Am I missing something fundamental?
Why would anyone holding a British Passport want or need a "Right of Abode" sticker in their Thai Passport??
Unless I am WAY off base here, any holder of a full, valid, British Passport has automatic Right of Abode in the United Kingdom.
Can anyone specify a set of circumstances where this is not the case?
Patrick
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A couple of examples I’ve seen were a large fresh water turtle and an otter. Both were upcountry in Issan and caught by farmers in the local river. Unfortunately both ended up in the cooking pot. I've seen Toucans that have been caught and kept as pets too.
The turtle surprised me. Most rivers are netted each year and even the smallest of fish are caught. The shell on it was over 1 meter long; it filled one of those general purpose hand carts. How it managed to survive so long is anyone’s guess.
NL
Not to be pedantic ............ OK I lie.
The Toucan is not a native of Thailand, I guess what you saw was a Hornbill, of which there are 9 different species in Thailand.
The Toucan is a South American bird - perhaps best known as the long time symbol of that other famous South American export ..... Guinness.
I could be wrong on any or all of the above points.
Patrick
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Teaching English all day long to a bunch of unruly, racist brats. But the good ones save your sanity.
Kat, my dear - you really don't need to introduce "racism" into every Post you answer!
Patrick
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Not quite in the same category I guess but my personal peeve / subject of cynical amusement are the Security Guards in my Village here in Thailand - and other Villages, Office Complexes etc. too of course.
If the car entering does not have a "sticker" they officiously require that you surrender I.D. of some sort in exchange for a "Pass", and on exit the reverse exchange is made.
It all looks very secure until you realise that absolutely no record is kept of who enters and when, and no check is made of who or what is in the car - there could be 3 bodies in the boot but you are still passed through the checkpoint.
Patrick
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Well, I'm 58 ....... but I often feel like a teenager.
Unfortunately there's rarely a teenager around when I feel like one.
Patrick
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I think the “Culture Minister” and others would be far better employed getting rid of at least 50% of the huge Billboards which deface major roads throughout Thailand – regardless of what they are advertising.
Just as an example, the highway to Don Muang has, in places, boards every 100 meters or so – the majority absolutely gigantic structures on legs which appear designed to support an Oil Rig.
There obviously must be some regulatory authority but they seem to be incredibly lax or simply supine.
Patrick
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I can only assume that you have significant Assets in Sweden (or elswehere) since an income of Baht 35,000.- a month would be far too small to support your own Family (wife and two young sons) here in Thailand, let alone contribute to the support of your wife's Parents plus her sister and her husband?
Are you living in Sweden now?
Unless your "Baht 35,000.-" income is well protected against inflation you would be extremely foolish to even consider "retiring" at age 36 - again unless you have substantial Assets outside Thailand.
I believe you need to sit down and really think ahead; you have many years of significant expenditure coming up - not least the cost of your childrens' education which, if you live in Thailand, will be very expensive unless you intend to condemn them to the Thai school system. What provisions have you made for illness / medical expenses, particularly for your young children? What about savings for retirement? How will you accumulate Assets - in Thailand or elsewhere? How do you plan to afford to travel backwards and forwards between Thailand and Sweden twice a year on your income?? The list goes on ......
Frankly if I was in your situation I would be extremely worried about the future and the last thing on my mind would be "Retirement" - in Thailand or anywhere else.
Partick
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I have found that
par mer mi san sorn
[sorry for the translation]
Your father and mother have no manners.
It works well.
I believe the OP is asking for advice about the penalties resulting from having already insulted a Thai.
He is not asking for garbled, pseudo-macho (vide your Signature) or ill-translated information on how to do so.
Patrick
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cars and housing for directors are deductable i dunno howmuch just the thing is that the car and the house must be in the company name..
However they are also subject to Personal Income Tax as a benefit in kind.
Patrick
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Talking about specialist career opportunities in Thailand / Asia.
I'm a keen amateur brain surgeon - anyone hiring?
Patrick
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working as bodyguards in the middle east for rich oil barons and sheiks
earning good money .
I know a few blokes that do this...it's really boring they tell me.
Of course.
99.999% of the time it's boring.
But that .001% of the time is when you really earn your money.
Patrick
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This is a wonderful example of how Thai law, when it eventually changes, gives with one hand and takes away with the other.
My wife is Thai, and about 20 years ago we decided to buy some land up-country, the idea was to build a retirement bungalow there at some time in the future – still not built by the way, but that’s another story.
Anyway, at the time, as soon as a Thai woman married a Farang she lost the right to purchase Land in her "own", now farang, name - but there was no restriction on how old a person might be and yet have the legal right to own land.
Our daughter was 2 years old and, having been born in Thailand, was a Thai citizen, so the land was purchased in her name ……….. I still treasure the look on my daughters' face when we took her to see the land for the first time – she was about 5 years old – and told her to whom the land belonged.
Since then of course aspects of the law have changed – a Thai woman can now purchase land even if she is married to a Farang (provided the Farang signs a document to concede any possible claim to it) but there is a restriction on how old a person must be before land can be registered in their name.
Patrick
Living In Thailand
in ASEAN NOW Community Pub
Posted
Plus, the gaping hole in your c.v. is unlikely to impress anyone interviewing you when you decide to return to gainful employment!
Patrick