paulsenp

Another good starter is:

http://www.thailandguidebook.com/provinces/phetchabun.html

And a variation of this:

A man goes to the hospital for some tests. When all the results are ready, the doctor tells him: I have some good news and some bad news for you. The bad news are that you have aids. The good ones are that you also have Alzheimers.

Just a thought, but many of those killings might have happened because the police didn't want to have their own sources of income revealed in court.

Dear Geography challenged person, I don't this poll was set up with in mind. Scandinavia is as well defined an area as the EU or the States. There is no way it would ever include Holland. It would be a bit dull if we only run polls for the lowest common denominator.

No, really, I am that geographically challenged. I forgot all about Finland - I knew there was another country in there somewhere. And Iceland! Don't think I would have got that one. (I had to use Google to find out). Damm Mr. Wilkinson (my Geography teacher) - he really was crap!

When it comes to the definition of Scandinavia, it is not quite that simple. In your search for enlightenment did you find this one http://www.scandinavica.com/culture/society/nordic.htm ?

To quote that reference:

Scandinavia is the cultural and historic region of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The Scandinavian countries are Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

The usage and meaning of the term outside Scandinavia is somewhat ambiguous:

• Finland and Iceland are occasionally counted as parts of Scandinavia.

• In a German mindset, Norway, Sweden and Finland are usually included, but Denmark is not.

In a British mindset it includes Norway and Sweden, and is sometimes included with The Baltic region.

These alternative meanings are considered incorrect in the local languages, and some people may take offense by such usage in English.

OK, so now I'm totally confused and if you are Scandinavian, paulsenp, I hope I didn't offend you. I've learnt someting new today...

No offence taken, RDN, I am almost as confused as you. I was taught that Scandinavia only consists of the 3 countries: Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

I tried to book a ticket to Scandinavia last week and that nitwit at the travel agency didn't even know what the capital city of Scandinavia was. So instead I booked a midweek hotel in Holland, Michigan. Not that far from Scandinavia as the travel agent told us. We are looking forward to the trip.

Aussie? You are austrian, right?

Dear Geography challenged person, I don't this poll was set up with in mind. Scandinavia is as well defined an area as the EU or the States. There is no way it would ever include Holland. It would be a bit dull if we only run polls for the lowest common denominator.

No, really, I am that geographically challenged. I forgot all about Finland - I knew there was another country in there somewhere. And Iceland! Don't think I would have got that one. (I had to use Google to find out). Damm Mr. Wilkinson (my Geography teacher) - he really was crap!

When it comes to the definition of Scandinavia, it is not quite that simple. In your search for enlightenment did you find this one http://www.scandinavica.com/culture/society/nordic.htm ?

Keep in mind that the certification of retirement income, if used to qualify for the minimum 65k baht monthly minimum, must be obtained every year at renewal time.

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What do you say or what do you do from Thailand if your proferred document is not acceptable to an annally retentive immigration officer who interprets pension as stated in the regulation to mean just that.

In the documentaion found at http://www.thaivisa.com/318.0.html it doesn't mention anything about the source of your income, it is simply "income".

Khun Jean,

I have just one question for you to ponder: Why does this thai guy want a farang partner/investor instead of a thai one?

Good luck,

Peter

Search Google for "simcard clone" and you will find a lot of useful information.

[Look at the total of North americans verse Europeans. Speaks for it self. There are some people on this forum who can wait to take a shot at americans because of their goverment policys. I think they use this forum and poll for this.

If you believe that is the case, then why is the percentage of germans so high?

I knew that I liked you Tornado. With LC's new chest it sounds like lots and lots of fun. I won't wash for a few days and she might think that I am a ' dodger '

Chest of drawers?

A yiddish-speaking person?

Google says: Did you mean: travelers !

No need to check a bigger dictionary as it's obvious to any native English speaker that travelors is at best, never used, and at worst, totally wrong. If you want to the English language on your website to be crapp, that's up to you. I was only trying to help.

Your fiance is still well cute

When I just used google to search english language pages for "travelor", the result was about 2710 pages! Try again.

By the way, it's "crap", not "crapp".

Thanks Rascal, for your interesting post.

Just to set things straight: I am 59, my thai wife (for 26 years now) is 61, and I expect that we will move to Thailand when I am 62. My wife has a big family, and we get along just fine with them all. We also have several good friends in Thailand. Our economy will allow us to live as we want (unless, of course, a global economic meltdown should occur). Although we will not be moving until about 3 years from now, I have, on a small scale, started making plans already.

So, I was not really asking, because I need ideas about how to handle my own situation. It is just, that I have heard so many horror stories, about the miserable situations some people end up in.

regards,

Peter

I believe, that I will have my own situation under control in the - hopefully rather distant - future, with my wife, her family and several good friends.

You are making an assumption that your wife will be capable of looking after you. It is also a possibility that you will out last her. (even if she's 40 years younger than you)

What then?

No, I am not assuming that my wife will be the one looking after me.

Actually, my wife is two years older than me. But with my wife and her big family, with all of whom we have good relations, several good friends, and our daughter who will be staying in Denmark, I believe that someone will be looking after me, when I am no longer able to do so myself. This situation may change, of course, you never know what will happen tomorrow, but I will try to prepare for that.

Again, I am actually more interested in hearing what happens to people, who end up in situations, where they cannot take care of themselves, and who haven't made preparations for this.

Thanks, dutch and rascal, for your comments.

I believe, that I will have my own situation under control in the - hopefully rather distant - future, with my wife, her family and several good friends. Also, my economic situation will allow me to choose rather freely between the available options.

I was more interested in hearing about what people, especially those living alone, actually do. Do people prepare for this, or do they just "leave it for later"? I suppose that some people end up in miserable situations because of lack of planning or simply through bad luck. What happens to people who are not able to take care of themselves anymore, people who are in need of help, medical or otherwise. Do anyone care about and take care of those people?

FYI .... there was a big thread on this about 10-12 days ago.

Thanks, Spee, for the hint.

I am not visiting this forum on a daily basis, and missed that thread.

There were some quite interesting posts, but it seems to me, that to many people this subject is still a taboo, which you can make jokes about, but have problems discussing seriously.

I am not yet a Thailand based expat, but expect to move there (with my thai wife) within the next 3 or 4 years.

There are a lot of things to consider before such a move: Economy, health, social relations and much more.

One question, I wonder about, is:

What kind of plans, if any, do you make for the last part of your lives? This is of course of the greatest importance for those living alone, because, unlike the situation in most of the countries we leave behind us, we cannot just go to an "old peoples home" where somebody will look after us. What happens when people get too sick and/or senile to look after themselves?

I don't expect, that I would end up in a situation, where I would have to spend my last few years alone, but you never know.

....

I spend so much time posting, I have no time to go out.

....

I just do not care, forum is "artificial", my life is elsewhere, thanks god.

....

I hope I am wrong, but from your post I get the impression, that this is where you spend your life, not elsewhere.

Bangkok Post Tuesday, June 1 has an article in the business section about this building.

if you could somehow repost the article here ..

the online edition of the Bangkok Post has a problem with the signup procedure and is no longer available for reading online . The webmaster must be a cowboy !

Here is then the complete article from Bangkok Post:

L&H brings pre-built approach to condos

Mr Anant (right), speaking at the launch of River Heaven on Charoen Krung Road, said the pre-built approach allows developers to adjust prices to reflect actual costs, while giving buyers a truer picture of what they're purchasing.

River Heaven first of five projects

Kanana Katharangsiporn

Land & Houses Plc has adapted its pre-built development strategy to the high-rise condominium market with the launch of the 2.1-billion-baht River Heaven on Charoen Krung Road.

The country's largest developer plans another four condo projects for the second half of the year, marking a key expansion for a company that has largely focused on detached housing.

President Anant Asavabhokhin said the pre-built approach to condos was as a turning point in a market where developers have traditionally sold units ``off plan'' before starting construction.

The crash of 1997 left buyers of thousands of condos and single houses out of pocket for units that were never completed. In the wake of the crisis, Land & Houses pioneered the concept of selling houses only after they were built.

``Many developers show mockup units that have bigger sizes than the units they want to sell, while a 100% completed condo project can show real units with different viewpoints and price ranges,'' Mr Anant said.

Pre-built residential projects, however, should be carried out with a good plan, an effective management system and a well-prepared marketing information to meet customer demand, he added.

As well, developers using the pre-built approach will be able to adjust selling prices based on real costs that are likely to increase each year.

``River Heaven was originally planned to build for grade B to C customers. But we found its potential buyers were in grade-B up, so we changed some materials and facilities to serve them though the changes resulted in an increase in prices,'' Mr Anant said.

Land & Houses Property Fund 2 acquired the 90% completed River Heaven, formerly Chateau Chao Phraya, from bankrupt developer Green Union in late 2002. It spent 18 months to complete renovations and interior decoration was finished in May.

The fund is held equally by L&H and Government of Singapore Investment Corporation with registered capital of five billion baht.

Situated on six rai on the bank of Chao Phraya River off Charoen Krung Road, River Heaven has four wings with 521 units and total usable space of 41,000 square metres. Prices for units ranging from 45 to 335 sq m and one to three bedrooms start from 2.3 million baht.

Two wings _ Carnation and Daisy with 447 units _ have been booked by about 300 customers. The remaining units in the other two wings _ Allamanda and Bird of Paradise on the Charoen Krung side _ would be sold out by the end of the year, said Mr Anant.

Besides River Heaven, the fund owns Lang Suan View condominium, Wave Place, a building in Soi Sawasdee, Centre Point Wireless, Thong Lor 8 (formerly Royal Mansion) and Centre Point Phrompong, formerly the U&I Building.

The fund has current capital of about one billion baht to invest until mid-2005, Mr Anant said.

L&H itself plans four new pre-built and fully furnished condos in the second half: in Sukhumvit Soi 61, Sukhumvit 43, on Sap Road and Chan Road.

L&H shares closed yesterday at 9.40 baht, down 15 satang.

I normaly eat only "durian ban".

This is the non-sprayed, non-grafted, tree rippened, natural durian fruit only.

The rest of SE Asia thinks Thai durian is junk mostly. They always let the fruit fall before taking the fruit. Why because its ripe and ready to eat! Will digest the right way too sort of like properly baked bread!

They know a lot more about durian than they do here in Thailand too!

Is there such a thing as "the right way" to harvest and eat durian?

Many would say, that when a fruit is allowed to drop from the tree, then it is not ripe but overripe. Besides, it is often being damaged when hitting the ground.

The thais usually pick the durian from the tree just before it would otherwise drop by itself. Since most of the fruits are not eaten right away but are being transported to other parts of the country or even exported, they need to be picked from the trees early enough to allow for travelling time. The ripening process does not stop when the durian is being picked.

If people in the other SE Asian countries know much more about durian than thais do, why is it that Thailand is by far the largest producer and exporter of durian?

It is true, that in the other countries they grow more varieties than they do in Thailand, but that does not mean that the individual fruitgrower in t.ex. Malaysia is more knowledgeable than his thai colleague.

Its quite obvious that the Thai government used exessive force. Look at the numbers 5 dead on one side 107 dead on the other....now think about that...who was armed with machine guns and who was not? ....they did the same thing they did a few years ago with the burmese bandits/freedom fighters(whatever you want to call them) who took hostages in the embassy...the kidnappers were tied up and then shot at close range in the back of the head. The Thais do not fool around in situations like this. There is no doubt though they did use exessive force. Problem is that just leads to a new group of muslim bandits/terrorists/freedom fighters lining up for the next round. Bush is finding that out in Iraq as well. Killing everyone in site does not solve the problem.

Gerry

Whether or not excessive force was used cannot be told from the figures alone.

Any group of people being attacked by others will of course do what they can to minimize their own losses. Noone in their right mind would try to make it an "even" fight. You of course try to outnumber your enemy, and use more effective weapons.

Still, I too believe that excessive force was used.

Peter

For those who doesn't have any idea about how bad the drought is.

In Chanthaburi, in the area around Khlung, there are a lot of orchards. Usually, even in april, they don't have problems with the watersupplies. Durian needs a lot of water. It is mainly low lands, and they have many small lakes, and streams with water from the mountain. Those who needed their own wells usually only have rather shallow ones.

This year however, the lakes and the streams have more or less dried up, and in the nearby waterfalls you can have a dustbath if that is what you like. The fruits in the orchards don't grow, and even drop from the trees prematurely because of lack of water. Many trees simply die.

Many farmers have had water brought in by tank trucks in large numbers, if they could afford it of course. Others have new, deeper, wells drilled on their land. Where usually they did not have to drill very deep, now they need to go to a depth of 25 meters or more.

I would expect that in many other areas the problems are even worse.

To the gentleman,

"no use beating around the bush, when the truth will do!"

Don't beat around the bush, beat Bush around.

138 - and smart enough not to buy the "full report"