islandguy

As I stated in OP, I am told that I will need to change from getting a yearly extension of stay based on marriage which started years ago with a non-immigrant B visa to having to start over by getting a non-immigrant O visa and going through the process for that to continue to get yearly extension of stays based on marriage in the future. One poster said he had changed his basis of stay from work to marriage and had gotten an O visa as part of doing that, but this part of my OP has not really been addressed by later posts in this thread. Does anyone know more about this? Thanks, islandguy

If your B was for working and now you're not working you get an O for being married, what are your circumstances?

Working, retired or just staying here as you are married ?

Do you get it all done by your accountant or do it yourself etc?

Working still. Originally had a non-immigrant B. Extension of permission to stay after than visa period was originally based on work permit, then changed 7 years ago to being based on marriage. Now I am told I need to start over with an 'O',

Hey Island guy,Why are you too lazy to go to immigration's yourself ? Do you need help because you might not entirely legal or is it just the lazy part ?

You are making assumptions that are not true, as I have been to the Immigration office each year I have been here. Are you too cheap to have an accountant? That is the kind of accusation you have just made. Is it any business of yours if others want to be lazy, manic, or somewhere in between? Have you anything to add to this thread beside this drivel?

My accountant informs me that there is a new head of the local immigration office. Formerly he was quite comfortable and confident about how things worked there. That is no longer the case. He also tells me that my extension of permission to stay based on marriage will have to be changed (after 7 years) from being based on a non-immigrant B to a non-immigrant O. I would like to hear about what others may know about what is changing and what we should be ready for from Samui Immigration. Thank you.

And the tires fitted on overloaded trucks? Saw a small pickup truck at the air station of a gas station filling up his tires. Truck was very full of heavy large ice chests. He filled the tires up to 80 psi. Seemed pretty likely he would have an explosive tire blow out, most likely while driving at speed. Be careful out there!

Toothpaste, facial hair trimmer, kitchen tools (so cheap there), bottle of good wine, king size bed sheets (which are much cheaper for medium or high quality sheets).

Buy a modest parcel of undeveloped land with a solid chanote and road access in an area that your wife would be willing to live in. Consider that a gift, free and clear, and a hedge for her and your son's future security. List it for 4 times what you paid for it and forget about it for 10 years or until a buyer appears with cash in hand. Get a preferred customer multiple currency account in Singapore to simplify your Asian banking and avoid Thai banks lack of protection. As for the rest of your funds, your guess is probably better than mine.......

Samui Axson printing as you enter the Nathon area. Not sure of spelling. On your left before the kayak shop. Excellent for copies, including copying books.

Stores sell decorations, but as to what is left when you arrive one can only guess. I am sure you will get lots of suggestions as to food choices.

Just found the Bali Indonesian restaurant in Lamai. Nice change of pace from Thai food and other choices with hearty and savory asian food. Located on the T (one way) road that connects the middle of the beach road to the ring road. Very friendly place.

Learning to write in Thai it seemed to me that the complexity of the letters individually and the the great number of letters demanded a clearer style so as to make out the difference between one letter and the next. I understood then why my staff carefully sharpened their pencils to a fine point first thing each morning.

This goes all the way to the president but I am sure she will skate any charges. This has basically screwed the Brazilian people out of their lively hoods.

Kurt

Perhaps it will keep them in their all too lively 'hoods, the favelas, instead of getting a chance to move into better neighborhoods

Finally got a Safe-T-Cut installed, quite happy about it. A former coworker of my wife started his own business in Lipa Noi, and he seems very good at electrical and probably other stuff. Sounds like he is doing more installations than repairs, but still has time for smaller jobs. PM me if you would like his number.

Won my heart when he said, 'I have one in my house. My little child (mimes crawling around and putting a finger in the socket)....'

Thanks.

Reread the last post by Mole, see that he has 4pm as last shuttle, so change would be that you could take Lomphraya also as well as the car ferries. Never looked for the taxi desk there, where exactly is it?

Regarding last bus/van connection out of Surat, another thread this week showed a sign advertising a newly added Lomphraya trip on this route. Think it was out of Surat airport at 16:00, then getting to Nathon at something like 19:30? Could someone confirm? Starting November 25th

Amusing post and replies, certainly managed to get the 'dogs' barking

However, the OP is all about not doing (not spending your own money). Is there any doing (activities, interests, accomplishments) here that you care to share? Not counting the few people you have mentioned, are there any people, animals, or places that are better off because of what you do? Just curious.

Out of season now, but a few still being sold. Central Festival has a local style bamboo hut vendor area set up, had durian earlier this week. Probably not from Samui but the Chinese love it too and that's the primary market there. Also Tops Supermarket may stil have it also this month, again not from Samui. Saw a farmer I recognized yesterday with some at the corner near Nikki Beach and also a table with some at the intersection of the ring road that leads to Nikki Beach. However, looked like it had been on the tree a long time and would have gone thru a few weeks of heavy rain.

My wife has always done so. She would change place of furniture and artefacts and even plants in the whole appartment every month or so. I was wandering about and even posted here on tv to ask if it was specific to thai ladies. I had replies about feng shui too but my wife doesnt know about it. She told me she likes to change. I hope its only about furniture...

Since she doesnt want to change husband (so far) it doesnt bother me and i dont wonder about anymore... i think she s happy with taking care her home and it s ok for me. I see it like an other part of the mystery of those great women and their enigmatic culture. Cheers

Fred

My long held theory is that because of humidity, mold, and pests, leaving things in one place for too long has bad results here. Combined with the former (for some former) annual flooding season it makes good sense here to constantly move things around and clean up the back corners and unseen spots at the same time. Formed this theory after the one maid I ever had here used to completely refold and move into different drawers all of my clothes not on hangers each time she came - and that was only for 3 hours a week!

Not a new thought, but to restate the obvious:

A simple bus system, preferably with an automatic electronic card charging system, would benefit Samui tourism immensely. The current system adds a large cost to tourist budgets, generates much ill will (how many people have vowed to never return after bad transport experiences?), puts more and more cars on the road, and leads to many inexperienced motorbike riders creating havoc for themselves and others. Buses would also get some of drunk drivers (at least some farang drunk drivers) off of the roads.

The lack of such a system creates a tremendous cost in time, money, and injuries/deaths.

Considering the layout of Samui's roads, such a system would be quite easy to set up, given the political will. The total lack of any such political will makes me quite pessimistic about the overall business trajectory of Koh Samui. Because of the greater and greater strain on the road system, quality of expat life here will suffer as well, IMHO.

Mostly its the taxi costs that keep me away...oh and the flight costs too.

You can get cheap flights including island transfer from Airasia, up in Chiang mai right now, return ticket from Samui, 3500 baht.

Not to Samui...don't care for ferries and all that <deleted>...other places I can just fly direct for that cost.

Not knocking Samui...but its the truth.

Am flying in/out of Krabi/Trang in December for just over 4k Baht for two of us...to Samui with Bangkok Airways would be over 20k.

Its not worth the extra money...simple as that.

The middle path (price and convenience wise) is to use Phuket or Krabi as a gateway and then take the Bangkok Airways flight to Samui from there.

Happened to me on the airport (van) shuttle. One of the reasons I avoid Phuket.

RIP. Saw this van last night about 8:50 pm. Van was all the way to the left, upright and facing forward (as in the picture). The people around it were all sitting against the road barrier on that side except for a few standing. From the quick glimpse I got from the taxi it seemed most were on their phones. No emergency responders were there yet and traffic was whizzing by at speed. After 10 years here I try hard to avoid all van transport.

They do have them in Indonesia, slightly less far

Last I looked my Samui flight today was rescheduled to leave 2 hours after original departure time. If I had been on that flight would have missed my connection. Sometimes you need to think outside of the box and improvise. Haze (to get back on topic), was less in Surat than Samui but quite bad in KL.