MichelBangkok

But is there any difference, between the 2012 and 2013 model? Some trucks dont change from one year to the next. I dont think most motor bikes change either, so you only know what year it was registered in, but not the year it was made.

Some manufacturers (e.g.: Toyota) include a metal plate riveted to the engine chassis indicating year and month of production; even if the vehicle is registered 6 months later you know it was on the road a few days or weeks after being shipped out of the factory. Others (e.g. Honda) have the warranty book with the details of the vehicle including date of issuance to the first customer. Again the registration could be delayed many months by using the red "temporary" license plates on the vehicle.

For me I am utterly convinced that once a Thai's gets behind the wheel of a car, they CEASE to be Buddhists. The more expensive the car, the worse they get. They would rather hit the old lady selling noodles than let her cross the road.They would rather Hit a child trying to cross the road at school times. Same same with Bikes

Poor Thailand

Absolutely TRUE. It seems that when they hide behind their "darker-the-better" windshields and windows they completely lose the politeness encountered when you meet them in person. It is "free-for-all" or "me-first" at any cost as, insulated into their vehicle, there is no "losing-the-face" any more, time to unload all that stress accumulated in the "outside-of-their-car" but real world.

What dose religion have to do with flipping out over catching your wife with another man?!?!...

In Saudi Arabia - best friend of Thailand (Jewels, remember ?) - the lady AND her boyfriend would REALLY be stoned to death... As for the husband, not sure that he would receive any punitive retribution for his actions...

I went there today for my 90 day report. It was a good thing I had the form TM47 filled out ahead of time as they did not print the form as they had done the previous two times I went there.

Yes, it was serious, the man doing the 90 day reports was not talkative but at least no waiting, just put the forms and passport in the basket and wait your turn. You still need the face page of your passport along with the TM47 and sign both for service.

The personnel in the office seemed to be in a jovial mood but maybe the boss had not arrived for work.

During my last 90 days reporting was told (I speak Thai fluently) that the new lanes may not open, as the new boss is not fond of the system. Was also told that no other immigration office in the country is or would implement such lanes; seemingly somebody is realizing that the lanes will be blocked for ever when someone is required to provide a photocopy of whatever is missing !

As for the attitude, it seems that it all depends on who is on duty when you land a seat for your particular processing. Personally, given the language advantage, never experienced a glitch, ever, but touching wood...

Here would be my list of criteria to judge by, kind of in ranked order:

--Able to gain some stable immigration/residency status.

--Affordable cost of living, leading off with quality housing.

--Safety / lack of crime.

--Availability/affordability of good quality medical care.

--Pleasant environment in terms of weather and surroundings.

--Ability to get by speaking English.

--Availability of common Western foods and goods.

--Attractiveness-availability of companion.

--Ability to work and/or run a business and-or own land.

--Availability of international and domestic/local public transportation.

It seems that you are describing some parts of North America or Europe, EXCEPT for item two (affordable) ! This level of perfection (all elements fulfilled) shall (may) prove to be very difficult to attain in most if not all the listed countries currently topping the charts of World's best Places to Retire.

What about the thousands of Islands of the Philippines too? With tropical sunshine, silvery beaches, world-class diving and jungle adventures, the Philippines is seventh heaven for vacationers. But this Southeast Asian country also has retirement-haven credentials. For starters, it never gets cold. There’s no language barrier—its ever-smiling people speak English. Private health care is inexpensive and the Philippines is a popular destination for medical tourism. Dazzling white sands, Low living costs and inexpensive inter-island flights & No need to learn a foreign language

One reason why to NOT retire in the Philippines is religion (Catholic for the majority, Muslim for a big minority) !

One example only : one fellow felt in love with a Filipino, who was separated but not divorced, as divorce is not allowed in the country, thanks to the heavy duty tactics of the Catholic Church. They had a baby; the jealous ex-husband (who was used to beat his wife) wanted to make some money from the situation and had the corrupted police arrest both the fellow and his GF on adultery charges. Requested extortion amounts were to high for the fellow, so they ended up in court : both found guilty and were heading for prison, but while on bail they bought their way out of the country and now live live in the US. True story. Reported by the Discovery Channel and in the press.

If you retire in the Philippines beware of the religious fanatics either Catholics or Muslims (no insult intended).

The "source unknown" shall be modified to : "The Bangkok Post"

This was published on December 25, penned by Songkran Grachangnetara and titled : "11 simple ways to tell if you're really Thai", in response to a prior article by the same author titled : "How to tell whether you're a Farang".

Both articles quite interesting.

Google it !

Driving While Intoxicated

Please put it in a language the UK members can understand "driving WHILST intoxicated"!

Maybe the UK members not understanding American English could take a course or consult some dictionaries ? The days the Empire was ruling are over, Sir !

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

I don't have any bar girl experience, so can't comment. But from reading these forums, it seems that is is mostly bar girls and uneducated people that cause problems. Dating an educated girl is no different to dating back home. That's my experience and that of others I know that are in the same situation.

So please don't listen to all the rubbish posted on this forum that claims all Thai women are the same. Many on here have never even met a decent Thai woman.

If you have no bar girl experience, how do you know they don't act like all the other girls?

And many Thai women have never met a decent Foreigner...

Yes, I am willing to pay for her tuition.

That was the important one!

Have a great time.

Expect to spend 200-300k per year.

Lets do some simple maths here, take 200k per year as being what he will pay.

Pattaya BF and LT rate of say 4k.

200k/4k = 50.

As long as he gets laid more than once a week he is in profit.

Its all the other BS he will have to endure along the way than only he can answer if its worth it.

Anybody serious here? 4K? 50 times a year? Three times a week ? Viagra ? Are most TV esteemed contributors only obsessed by sex ? What about the relationships, the friendships, the emotions? How much do you put a price tag on these ? On a per/day, per/month or per/year basis ?

My magazine usually comes before the first of the month. However, with the latest format and the quality of the paper it doesn't even make good toilet paper.

Same here, on time but now useless.

Decrease in service, claiming to save trees during their never-ending commercials, but in reality diminishing their costs without increasing the quality of service or reducing the monthly subscription.

Bravo Bad Visions !

It is horrible (the taste of Est) They are squeezing the mom and pop shops they supply. stock Pepsi and we will not deliver anything anymore is what these shops are told I was told by the owner of the store in my condo downstairs.

In my years in Thailand this is the 4th time I've seen this done. Pizza Company (Pizza Hut), Chang (Carlsberg). True (Orange) and now Est. It is clear Thai business partners will copy any foreign brands product and then boot out the foreign partner.

W

Totally in agreement - worked with TA Orange, then True Move, during the building of their network 10 years ago and it was to get France Telecom out as quick as feasible using any tactics available...

The Carlsberg saga is also quite colorful with a very similar taste (pun intended).

Producers of Est are following the same pattern, although they took quite a longer time than True or Chang to get to this break point.

Nevertheless Est (Execrable Squalid Taste) is awful so PEPSI shall recover their lost market share when fully operational (production and distribution) during this coming year.

Crocodiles against alligators at work - no tears ! This is story is far from over...

Thank's for highlighting this major increase in fees; the federal government is always eager to pocket more moeny, a tax disguised as a fee. For us living abroad, the option to renew a passport or not is simply non existing. The good news is the 10 year validity, something that will diminish the hassle of renewing every 5 years, always consuming more time getting the right pictures, having someone signing for confirming your identity, etc...

10 years here and stopped many times and never once been asked for my passport apart from at immigration. must just be lucky.

Me too. 22 years. Never carried it except when there is some bureaucratic necessity. I travel to other provinces at least once a month, catch flights, check into hotels, rent cars. Never have my passport. Reading what some have to say, I've either been extremely lucky or we live in a parallel universe.

Same here, Over 23 years in Thailand with a lot of traveling and never asked for my PP.

I have a 5 year DL with PP number and i use this for almost everything.

The PP number should be enough for them to check the status.

Maybe luckly.

Identical : almost a quarter of century here but never had to produce the PP, but the driver's license yes and the tea money, many, many, many times...always with a smile, naturally !

"est" produced by the former bottler of Pepsi, Serm Suk.

This "EST" replacement is a cheap shot at trying to emulate the masters. PEPSI and COKE may sleep well, EST is just awful [ according to a recent but very limited survey performed by Your's Truly ], but you may find some that like such a taste, but EST is really not a Coke-Pepsi alternative. Big Cola is much better, but with only 20% of the Thai market is available in only certain regions, not in the capital, but the Peruvian owner company has announced grand plans to change this; they will benefit likely from the recent Serm Suk-Pepsi divorce, if they move aggressively.

Was there this morning (Oct 17), and one officer confirmed the drive-through "may" open soon...but inside the main building, business was running smooth as silk...

So basically you live here because it is chaep. It is one of the only countries in the world that you don't have to pay any tax.

Most countries consider you a resident for tax purposes if you stay more than six months in any calender year . Most of these countries make you pay tax on your world income. I think Thailand will wise up to this in the near future and follow other countries. Then you might not find it so cheap! Personally the only reason I stay here is because I have so many wonderful Thai friends.

The tax laws are very different in each country; just take close neighbors Canada and the US; if you hold a US passport you are bound to pay income taxes irrelevant if you are resident or non-resident of the US, not so in Canada. Thailand has elected to implement its taxation system differently and residents in the country are subjected to taxes depending on where, how and when they earn revenues, especially focusing on when they bring these revenues in the country if it was earned offshore. If a foreign resident is careful, he can minimize obligations to pay direct income taxes in Thailand, but he will still contribute to Thailand well-being through the 7% VAT and all other duties and custom taxes imposed on various items, starting with car prices way more expensive here than in the US or Canada.

We used BUPA for years from 1996 to 2000 and then decided to assume the risk ourselves given that it was a fight with many requests for reimbursements with multiple visits at their head quarters. Many if not all pre-existing conditions were specifically not covered and you are requested to list these completely before you become a client; also check the limitations in case of a major sickness as their maximum amounts may be deceiving as not "per year", but "per sickness", that is, if you get cancer, you get a million baht and after that you will be "expelled" form their coverage the following years for this specific sickness. After 10 years of saving the large premiums for two persons ("gold", it was called at that time), we have more in bank in case such sickness falls on our heads than their maximum coverage would offer. We only hold "accidental" coverage from a local Thai Insurer (very inexpensive, but very limited) in case we are hit by a bus or drop from a balcony...

I have the Samsung PVR (previously I had the Humax similar to you). At first they had a lot of problems getting the recording capabilities of the new HD box to work, and I understand others were having similar problems. That was a few months ago. Since then, they have been able to set it up, and it works beautifully (much, much better than the Humax box).

Yesterday they changed the Humax box for a Samsung after realigning the dish, thinking first that the signal was marginal, given that the Humax was having difficulty decoding some of the channels but not all of them and not all the time (with such symptoms for approximately one week). As soon as they installed the new Samsung box all channels were received perfectly; it seems that the Humax box stopped performing according to specs following the upgrade of their transmission equipment (decoding technology) performed circa July 17, 2012. It seems that resetting the box clears the issue in most of the occurrences, but not in our case (unplug the power source or using the setup menu).

Does anyone how more up to date experience of using this service. I'm about to move condo and their service has been suggested by the condo owner. I would be glad to hear what other people have to say.

I use Buddybb for 7 years, but in a location very close to the main TOT Chaengwatta central offices and from a relatively new moobaan (village), using their ADSL 3 mbps service at 500 baht per month. This means that the lines and repeaters are of excellent quality, so no degradation of service, let's say during storms or other climatic changes. So far the service has been impeccable, and when questions asked, their call center handle efficiently, although I always communicate with them in Thai, as I am fluent in the language. The satisfaction level depends probably more from your exact location within the city than anything else...

....I live just the other side of the Chaengwattana complex, but in Nonthaburi, so have to drive all the way to Bangyai as well.

Same thing with my situation, on one side of our road it is Bangkok, on the other side it is Nonthaburi, and you can bet on which one we reside ? I am using the Nonthaburi office for 8 years now and never experienced major hurdles but speaking fluently the dialect certainly helps, as I saw many "visitors" struggling for various reasons. Even for the 90 days confirmation of residence they need a copy of the first page of your passport, so not surprised they required copies of everything for visa extensions. I always keep copies of everything, including the house residency book, at hand. The staff has always been polite and trying their best, even when huge amounts of alien (neighboring country) workers were requesting re-entry permits or renewing their extensions of stays, even though at these times the place is really crowded. The new setup, following some major renovations during the last 6 months, hopefully on the longer run will allow for a better streamlining of all activities. Even when something goes wrong, keeping the smile up and the politeness help to circumvent potential roadblocks.

Agree 100% with Crossy, had the same issue, with one particular switch so much cramped with residues left by the visitors that we had to replace the switch itself. Was afraid it was termites, but the leftovers were more of the mini ants sort, termites leaving very specific traces...usually. As for a solution, still debating as to which toxic chemicals will give the best results over a longer period without affecting the human users. For the time being it is a "swap-the-switch", type of solution.

Greetings to all travelers.

Looking for updated recommendations for Bangkok - Montreal Business Air Tickets: price, satisfaction of airline(s), transit airports and lounges, etc.

Sorry if this is covered within other threads, but did not find any info applicable about this topic following a thorough browsing of the Thailand Travel Forum; not too many individuals probably flying to this part of Canada from here as Toronto and Vancouver are probably remaining the favorite destinations with accordingly an easier task to purchase tickets, business or coach.

The idea of acquiring separate tickets for different portions of the trip is appealing, but the varying rules applicable for luggage and other aspects of the trip quickly become major headaches. Under a one-ticket umbrella the same rules remain for the entire trip.

During the last quarter of century, flew most airlines for this long stretch, but the offerings are changing so fast that even Googling or using consolidators sites do not provide such great results.

Price-wise European airlines seem to remain more expensive than their Middle East counterparts, while Asian carriers are a mixed bag.

Any advice ?

Instead of insulting them by calling them nuisances and flies, you should be singing the praises of all the urban bikers and moto-taxi passengers who every day, every hour and every soi, massively reduce your cage-created traffic jambs all over Bangkok while risking their lives to car drivers' inattention, arrogance and disrespect for human life in the way they drive. Imagine every person on a bike, instead riding in a car all by themselves likely just like you... and then do the math on how many cars would be added to your car-dream-world. We call that a nightmare.

Fully support the motion ! I am signing loud and clear... But doubt that most bikers in Bangkok would not buy a car would their finances allow it. If you understand that not all but many car drivers initiated their good habits by running a bike for a while... It is certainly way faster in the Bangkok traffic using two wheelers, no question asked. I am still riding on the pillion, once in a while, although my heart-rate is increasing every time at the desperation of my cardiologist. Back to your accusation that I am insulting, sorry, but many, many, many are sadly acting exactly like flies; just stand on a busy corner (aren't they all ?) and watch from - maybe - a pedestrian perspective for a change ? Many bikes are running on sidewalks like if it was their own mini-highways, pedestrians remaining at the lowest end of the transportation food chain... Many bikes jump red lights like if these were just turning yellow. Many zigzag (buz ?) around cars to try to get in front of anything that moves, oh yes protecting themselves, but without consideration for others, etc. So am I really that insulting bbradsby ? But I do fully agree that all bike drivers are paying attention way more than your typical car-truck-bus driver, it is a question of simple survival, given the vulnerability of the vehicle versus the propensity of other drivers to consider the road their own property, car drivers included !

You want funny look at GKs post claimed to have lived in Quebec. Knows all about there standing in Canada. Misspell any other province in Canada and you will not get the whining about it you do from the French Canadians. Walk down the streets of Montreal and see if you can spot a sign in English. It is illegal.

Walk into any store in Canada and see if you can buy some thing that does not have a name and description on it in French. Never mind that at the Max there is probably only 2% in some of the province's that are not English speakers just speak French. Would be willing to bet there are more that speak only Chinese than French in BC but the stores do not have to put Chinese on every thing. And then to top it all off he calls Canada the land of Ice and snow. Not only clueless about the French Canadians but clueless about Canada. He was probably in Iceland thinking he was in Canada.

Flame away boys you can not change anything.

Very good suggestion Hellodolly to : "Flame away boys you can not change anything."

The whining is certainly more about your hatred of us than about a spell-check error; thought that you would be intelligent enough to understand at least that. And this is why, most likely, Annabel concurred, another French Canadian not happy with your Quebec (with no k ! Got it ?) bashing around.

You are someone that seemingly hates French Canadians quite much to blast non stop against us like this, although this topic is about "Canadian Sisters Deaths: Probe finds more information but no clues" not about "Are French Canadians bad people?". Given that you come back again with this rant, your attitude is probably incurable, but maybe you should lower the decibels against us and get back to the issue at stake. I will certainly refrain from telling others how French Canadians are treated outside their province in their own country and the inability of most English Canadians to say two sentences in the second official language of the country, like it or not, especially remembering many hard core individuals living in Montreal at the heart of "La Belle Province".