Isee

Villagers brains were disparaged in an earlier post, however, if we had had villagers running the financial markets instead of the "Masters of the Universe" I am sure the Global Finance Crisis would not have eventuated!

The global financial crisis started with irresponsible lending to people without the means to repay, yes this would never happen in a Thai village.

Nowhere is perfect and Isaan is no exception.

I like living in an Isaan village, many of the people are great, many are not.

Overall, I'm happier here than living in a city, but it's far from perfect. But where else would be better? I don't know of anywhere.

Agree

dmax,i am still in the states as of now and will be in thailand at the end of july.i will make a suggestion.i am thinking serious on a pond.i think it may be good income in this my friend.as of now i really do not know,but i am really thinking about going ahead and doing thatwhen i come to thailand.the pond can not be dug until after the rainy season though.

Buffaloe,

1. Can you tell me what part of the States you come from?

2. How do you see your fish setup to give you a good income? ie: Size of pond/s, number of ponds, land available, location etc.

In a real downturn there is always a shakeout. If tourist places are unfriendly and the service is bad they will go to the wall before the friendly, good service places. Basing decisions on soundbites and media fads is stupid. No one has any real clue about crime rates, just a series of personal anecdotes which are easily countered by another set of anecdotes. My Thai family are always worried about crime but have never been burgled or robbed, cheated or scammed. Where as in the West I've been robbed, burgled, ripped off and felt almost as if I was serving time in precinct 13, surrounded by hostiles.

In the west Thais often meet unfriendy faces and sour officialdom. Often the perpetrators are scared of contact with aliens, of their odd language, of being asked questions they cannot understand or answer. Why should immigration officials in Thailand be any different? In fact they face a worse problem because in the West many Thais try, in halting and broken English, to make themselves understood, how many falangs at a border have one word of Thai? How many feel their inate superiority will carry them through? You only have to skim these forums to find anti thai racism writ large, carping sarcasm about thais education, intelligence, powers of reason and morality. Would you fancy dealing with a stream of such gilded beings gracing your country with their presence? I already know the answer.

I can't help but feel lost in where you point is suppose to land. You also appear to adopt a similar generalisation which you condemn on others. You have to accept that your view and experiences will be different to others. For example, you say you've never been robbed etc - do you suggest that others haven't? I don't think you know the "answer" either, but you presume so.

You have to realise that an established company has an "unknown liability" compared to a fresh company. I'm wondering how much benefit there is at the end of the day once transaction costs are compared when paying someone to check out any outstanding tax liability, compliance etc. The only real benefit I can see is for someone that would be advantaged by a 2mil company but doesn't have the capital to set up from new (and if so, I'm wondering why they would need the burden of a Co Ltd to start off with). I don't know enough about thai company rules to comment further. I would have thought getting out of the company with the incoming person paying costs would put the OP 30k baht ahead.

Bit concerned about hearing you don't trust your own lawyers advice. Have to ask then, what are you paying her for...why stay with them?

I would also suggest a national smile at tourists campaign to promote the idea that being pleasant, friendly, and FAIR to foreigners is in the overall national patriotic interest.

Good place to start would be immigration counters at the airport. Surely being told its now part of their job description to 'samile' wouldn't be too hard. Two visits to PI and always felt welcomed to the country. When I arrive or leave Thailand I ask myself "Is this really the Land Of Smiles?".

To the OP, not sure if I would agree with the view that Thailand is "finished as a tourist capital of asia" - Thailand will always have its attractions to various people especially repeat visitors, but some may not make as many repeat trips at the moment. I'm trying to think of a country that could offer what Thailand does....Vietnam maybe for a direct comparison, Cambodia as a second option if it can sort a few things out...I don't know enough about China to put it up as an option. Burma would be of interest to me if the military junta could ever be removed.

First time I tried it timed out, hit refresh and it loaded...would agree that it seems to load slower.

Yes, ram (lam) is the fine powder. The locals calls it ram ore lam but i dont know the english name on it.

Could it be "bran"?? Can't think what else it would be....

hmmmm....I tried

"Litigation" is NOT an area of law, it is part of the process of law. An area of law is property, contract, criminal, labour, employment, constitution, torts...etc etc etc etc

Goodluck with it

Nirvana,

Can I give you some advice...if you are asking for recommendations for a "good...lawyer" who is a "heavy hitter" then you need to tell people the area of law that is relevant. For example, a lawyer who is a "heavy hitter" will usually specialise in a certain area, while they may be great in that area, they are usually average in other area's. If you go for an "all-rounder", then they can be usually deal with most matters that are less complicated. I hope your friend who wants a "heavy hitter" is prepared to take a heavy hit to his wallet. Lawyers are like doctors....you have your GP's and then you have your specialists.

I cant help with any recommendations though.

some one named Bill had asked a question, 4 to be correct, to which i gave my answer. I now notice his posting as well as my response have been removed??

Am I allowed to ask WHY??

if someone can answer please do so even if by PM.

thanks in advance

RT

Because it was moved back into its own thread.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Live-Isaan-Input-t243864.html

You come across as being overly aggressive and subjective in your outlook and your replies. You failed to address the most valid point raised and that was that ALL international airlines had problems flying out of BKK and their call centre would have been swamped as a result. I can't help but picture you as being not so different to the woman who missed her flight at HKIA which is on youtube at the moment. Maybe you should give up on flying and paddle a canoe instead and then you can change your dates as often as you want without worrying about calling a call centre that reason would dictate was in a meltdown.

Thanks for your posts, I think I will make it a point to fly Tiger if I get the chance and see from myself.

How someone can compare a Suzuki Jeep with a Landi. A Landy is mucm ore spacious and strong. Even the design liiks excellent. You can play and make it look like Adnventure Style and it looks great. A Suzuki Jeep? Yes' i'm agree, a good car but in my opinion to small and very boring look.

Having driven various LR's both on road and off and the suzuki - at the end of the day both do the job and the suzuki has definite benefits over the LR in Thailand imho. I would easily pick a suzuki over say....a Series 3 LR - price difference would be the determinate of picking the suzuki over a series 90 or 110. For the most part, suzuki's in Thailand are the LWB version, so I'm not sure why you are saying that a LR is much more spacious. Why on earth would you want to spend money on customising a vehicle in Thailand if the OP isn't sure if he is staying or not - sounds like a good way to throw away money imho. Buy cheap, spend cheap, sell cheap - the equation is more likely to work than buying dear, spending dear and trying to get your money back - if you can sell it at all before leaving. I just don't see any benefit that the LR offers to offset the cost and resale unless the attraction of driving a LR is more appealing then saving money.

Be prepared for the early morning ....cockerells. You will not get a lie in if you stay in a village.

Aren't they just the fracken best. Some of the ones around my GF's home start off at 3am....they are in need of a re-education with an axe - at "dawn" would be fitting.

Luckily no loud speakers though.

fyrman,

Litebeer has probably summed it up well....however I might add some comments - some of which will support litebeer's advice.

1. I don't think there is any one formula in having a successful visit, but there are norms to follow.

2. Arrive with small tokens of appreciation for being welcomed to the family home, usually entails food that isn't easily (or cheaply) accessible to the parents (dried squid is a favourite of my GF's mother - father doesn't drink so I bring him some quality coffee).

3. Be happy and try to smile a lot even if you don't understand - try to make an effort to communicate which will probably be through you GF.

4. When you are talking about "bad" parents, this usually relates to how often and how deep you are asked to put your hand in your pocket. This is good time to test your GF as to whether she stands up to her parents if they try it on or not. Avoid discussions about money if you can.

5. You will probably have to pay for the food if you go to the markets - wouldn't get too paranoid over that as most of the food will be for you as its doubtful you will eat whats normally prepared and in any event, the family will want to know what you want to eat so they can cook it for you. Try to keep it simple like penang pork, tom yum fish, etc. BTW - their rice will be the "BEST TASTING" rice you've ever eaten as they will probably pull out their "best" rice for you to eat - unless its obviously crap and wasn't dried properly before storing etc.

6. If you are staying at the family home - work out what you are sleeping on and whether your back can take it. Also probably a good idea to refrain from night time activities - if you know what I mean. Try not to be surprised about the standard of the home, if there is only a squat toilet, or you are having a shower with a hand bucket.

7. Your GF is showing you off to the family, so don't be surprised if they come out of the wood work and want to watch or know everything about you (depending on how much contact they've had with other farangs before).

8. If you are only going for 2 nights, I would refrain from having a drinking night with them and just tell them you will bring some whisky from your home next time you visit and stay longer.

9. Try to keep your GF nearby or within calling distance for when anyone wants to start up a conversation with you.

10. The biggest problem you are going to have is deciding if you are going to wai or not and to whom. Probably best to restrict that and learn up on the protocols - best answer is to wait for them to wai and make sure you note the height of their wai.

11. When you leave, its usually expected to give the parents some small money to cover cost for rice etc...probably 500 baht would be enough, don't ask your GF as she will say up to you. If she wants you to give them a few thousand baht or more, then its one of those moments that I like to think about being ..."Things that make you go hmmmmmm".

12. Don't worry about them calling you farang, but probably nice that the parents refer to you by your name and you use their name.

13. Golden rule - take it easy, be flexible and have fun. Get out and look around and show a little interest in the family life (and the extended family).

14. Don't forget to take your flip-flops/thongs.

Consider how you are going to get about, better to have access to a car whether that requires renting one or the family is prepared to let you use theirs if they have one.

Edit: I've assumed that you are visiting a moo baan which is surrounded by her extended family. Depending on where the family home is will be dependent on what your experience is with relatives etc. ClaytonSeymour makes a good point about staying in a hotel first to be on the safe side but you will need transport to travel to and from her home. if you do stay there you could always make your excuses after the first night that you have a bad back or something or tell the GF you will check the place out first and decide. Not all thai homes are corrugated iron and dirt floors but you should be able to get some idea of what the place is like and whether you have seperate sleeping room.

Isaan life can be great, if you just want to go fishing, play golf or drink in expat bars. Apart from that there isn't much to do.

Horses for courses....but I wouldn't limit the appeal of Isaan to the activities you listed as you could have been talking about pattaya or phuket for all I knew. It doesn't matter where you are, any location will either appeal to you or not. The most you will get out of a place is doing stuff locally...if you aren't interested in rural life then why go there? Don't read that to mean the famous words of "Don't like it, then leave", just saying that you have to have an interest in that pace of life and what is done locally. In BKK you might talk about the problems with the MRT or BTS being too crowded...in Isaan the local daily news might be the current rice or cow prices - its all relative to where you are – we are talking pretty basic subculture principles here.

But in saying that, there are those people who jump in with both feet first before getting an idea of whether the life suits them (look at some of the new threads recently). Being accepted by the local community (as much as one can be as a farang) is a big thing, no one wants to live somewhere they are treated as an outcast. To say that Isaan people treat farangs as being lower to them and they enjoy the payback after being treated like that by thais is a bit of a stretch. How you are treated is how you conduct yourself and how you come across....come across as being weak or naive and there will be people there to take advantage of you no matter where you are in this world. There are so many elements in play to decide whether a person has a good experience or not that it’s hard to single out a few and say that’s the reason!! No matter where you are, a foreigner has to walk a tightrope at times and bend to cultural pressures.

To the OP, you obviously have a sentimental attachment to LR's, but why not be practical about it? If you really need a 4x4, why not get a Suzuki Caribbean which would be equal to the task. A caribbean to thailand is like a LR to UK. Not only would the initial outlay be cheaper, but parts etc would be cheaper as well. Don't under estimate these cars, I had one for 3 years, 20 years ago and never missed a beat and I took it to some places where other 4x4's were having major problems. The secret with the original motor is to put headers/extractors on the motors, increased benefit across the board. Like any other piece of machinery, how much problems you have with something 2nd hand is directly proportional to its previous care. Also, as someone has already mentioned, look at whats involved in owning a car in thailand and what involved in transfering ownership etc BEFORE you hand any cash over.

Hi Maizefarmer,

I agree, lots of factors in cross breeding to take into account if you are trying to achieve an outcome - or just do it and see what happens Yes, the lowlines are short a*sed cows. To note some traits, these cows were breed to be smaller and consume less feed but yield a higher meat ratio. The breed is also known to have a good temperament for handling etc. I'm not sure how successful they will be in thailand where "big is better" as well as being "beautiful" overrides feed/yield ratios to the average thai farmer. As to what the positives are of mixing a lowline with an indu....not so sure - maybe just a fad to experiment. I would have thought a breed such as the lowline would be good in thailand as I've seen some BIG indu where they were struggling to control the animal (I knocked one back as they were asking silly money (whats new) but more importantly its temperament was poor imho). To be honest not even sure if the lowline was the breed I heard about. Yes, might be of interest to track down who has some of these and see what they have to say (not sure how objective they may be though). The breed to me makes sense if they can cope with the local feed offered by the average thai farmer, but what would be make or break is how they are received by the thai market.

Hello I'm new to this forum, Firstly I am 38 form Ireland and I would love to move to the north of Thailand, around Udon, I have a girl from a village a couple of hours form Udon, and I have a friend living across the border in Laos and I don't want to be too far away form him, but I prefer Thailand to Laos

I have so many questions. I know I cant work there as I have no special skills and will have no income other then what I can bring with me. What kind of business can I do? I also know that I cant own my own business, but I'm not sure if I would be ready just yet to sign everything over to a girl I only spent a couple of weeks with, although we have been talking regular for on the telephone the past 4 months. I have been trying to get her a visa too visit for a couple of months, but it is taking ages and we have to appeal as her first application was refused.

I don't see myself as the farming type although GF from a rural area. I told her I would not be able for that life where I would be 7km away form the nearest market, I would prefer the city life of Udon. I am far form rich by western standards, but If I sold my car and possessions along with a little savings, I am sure I could have some kind of business to keep us ticking over. I Have no idea of how much I would need too start-up. I know I am not going to make a lot of money, I just want enough for a family to make a decent living.

I know a lot of westerners teach English so I did the two day TEFL but I am struggling myself with the grammar, so I have a lot of study to do before I do the online course, plus being a teacher takes a long time (imoa) and I have no batchlers degree which I believe you need for most teaching jobs in Thailand.

I am sure most of these questions have been answered before on this forum, so forgive me for asking again, any help or advice, even a link to previous topics are gratefully appreciated.

one more thing, does marrying a Thai girl, give me any rights to work or own anything, or just make it easier for her to take everything?

daveman, there are so many red flags in your story that I couldn't comment without getting sidetracked and becoming overly negative. As for links to other threads (on this exact subject) try: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Business-Sta...an-t242420.html which was started 5 days ago...

Having said that however, why then have Kasikorn bank (K Bank) recently announced their maximum rates for credit cards has been reduced to 20%

Whatever, the Loan sharks continue to operate and generally quote rates of 5% a month up, with no problem from anyone.

Probably because credit cards are a different kettle of fish and treated differently every where in the world - on essence they are a line of credit as opposed to an amortised loan.

Yes I agree that the loan sharks seem to operate without any problem (that we know - but you do hear of some news stories where things go wrong from time to time), but I'm wondering whether that would be the case with a farang in the equation. Something I wouldn't want to test. I have a thai friend who lent some money to one of her "good" friends with a 'just below the loan shark rate' and her friend disappeared when it came time to repay and of course, her parents haven't heard from her to this day....hmmmmm.

Has anyone heard a new breed (as in for being present in Thailand) that is being crossed with the local Indu?? I seem to recall hearing a snippet of it but can't recall what the breed was...wasn't texas longhorn though. Maybe Aust Lowline? as I see someone has them in Thailand and posted some vid on youtube.

Hi omni4me,

Thanks for the useful information. Do you have a link to the company that are using? I'm not sure if you are talking about a company name or a "door to door" service such as Fedex, DHL, UPS, TOLL etc. I've read various feedback on some of these companies, some of which lacked any praise to say the least, so curious which one you are using which you've never had a problem with. Are you sending things out to one country or worlwide?

Thanks

The "permitted loan rate" and the actual rate the loan sharks charge have nothing to do with each other. That's why they call them "sharks". When I lived in Viet Nam the moneylenders on the street were getting 10% a month.

errrr yes I know what the difference is between a loan "shark" and a loan from a bank or other recognised financial lender and yes I know these rates can be up to 10% per month or even more (5% per day) with a "shark"....but you have to read what I said in context.

1. prakhonchai nick made the statement "permitted loan rate of 28%" - I interpreted that to mean a rate which is legally enforceable and that is what struck me as odd as I didn't think it was that high and hence why I went and looked it up.

2. Going back to the initial suggestion of others about money lending, I said (in a nutshell) that the loan sharks have to use other tactics in recovering their money when a default occurs because their rate is in excess of the legal maximum. The amount of trouble you could get into with lending money at these excessive rates as a farang is just not worth it as I feel you would wind up having a target on your back when someone doesn't want to pay you back or simply thinks they don't need to pay you back because you are a farang (whether or not you go through your wife etc). However, if the "permitted loan rate" was as high as 28% - then enforcing your loan agreements is a lot easier as you would have the backing of the law instead of going around knee capping people or whatever loan sharks do.

The other thing is that I seem to recall reading somewhere that only recognised THAI financial institutions could register a mortgage on property (farangs definitely cannot). I've heard that these loan sharks take the paper chanote of property as security - but the reality is thats a false security as the lender couldn't do anything with it as the borrower could still deal with the property during the loan term (ie: sell it, mortgage it to a bank etc) by getting a new paper chanote issued. Yeah they might be in the bad books with the lender, but thats not going to get their money back. I'm just speculating here, but if there was a problem and it was known that a farang was in the background, I reckon that everyone would think that getting your money back (no interest) would be a good outcome. The question one has to ask themselves is if thats going to be the case, why risk your money in the first place?

Do you know what the maximum loan rate that can be enforced at law?

OK thanks for the effort in replying, you actually got to the point of answering the question in your last two paragraphs. Lost me on the explanation of the freaklover bit - but thats ok. You might note in my previous posts I asked what YOU considered a limited company was...I didn't ask you to explain what it was. I suppose I was trying to be polite about the point I was making and it got lost in translation by me trying to be too polite. BTW - the "loop hole" of different share classes is well known by most who know something about companies.

I have a question for you if you don't mind, have you ever exported foodstuff or only chattels? as I'm interested in exporting rice crispies and buffalo meat. Also, when you say the duty is paid for "on the other end" you mean to say you just add that amount to the invoice which is paid by the buyer, but your company is ultimately liable for payment to the Govt. Actually, isn't the 7% tax VAT, which is a consumption tax and therefore not applicable for export items (among other exemptions)??

Cheers

You misread my reply. I was not not trying to be smart at all. Just answered a simple question with a simple answer.

Interesting how expats like yourself, look down their nose on people working online and at the same time want to know how to do it.

I'm not an expat, don't look down on you and don't particularly have a lot of interest in "learning" your operation. The OP asked for any ideas and your contribution was to say you've opened a "limited export company" - how does that help him?? and you didn't answer the simple question which was to expand on what you define as a "limited export company" as opposed to what I consider a proper company operation to be. If you are selling scented soaps or candles etc on ebay - so be it, if you are making a dollar or two over it good for you - but in telling us what exactly you export, how are we learning how to do it, how you are marketing the products, your established markets etc??? I take on board your fair comment that your neighbours find out how to do it there will be 5 shops (or whatever) next to you, but I think you could be a little less vague (like others who have replied) seeing as how you raised the point in the first place and still keep your million dollar company afloat. Noticed you put the line out for info on "Any other business success stories out there?", hope people replying are a little more forthcoming in their info to help you out who aren't worried about their neighbours.

BTW – I'm intrigued now, what’s the reference to the second part of your name "freaklover"??

Cheers

I'm always interested in hearing what exactly constitutes an export business in Thailand

An export business in Thailand is a buisness that exports goods from Thailand to other countries. Some businesses use the internet eBay or other hosted sights to sell. Others use containers or airfrieght. Some do all three. I'm an online seller, hence the name geek.

You can probably get away working on eBay without a company set-up if you keep a low profile. But if you get caught you have the risk of deportation or worse. There was a guy in Korat a while ago that got caught selling a bunch of fake football shirts online and ended up in prison (although I'm sure the guy had some prior hisotory with the BIB).

But the way things are going export is not the best business. Best to do something in country where you don't get hit by the currency exchange. The problem I've found in Thailand is that if, for example, you open a shop that does well, you have five shops suddenly open up next door seling the same stuff!!

Any other business success stories out there?

Thanks for replying to my question in the spirit that it was asked...I guess its not such a big world after all. Maybe you missed the last sentence in the paragraph where I nicely said "Don't take that as a slur on your business, just curious if you would expand a little more on it" If you don't want to answer the question then don't, just say so instead of trying to be smart about it.

Anyway lets sing together - Its a small world after all, itttts a small world after all.....