dingfishingtours

Hi Chonabot and Boon Mee,

At the risk of appearing a smart-ass

Plaa Thu - Rastrelliger kanagurta,family scombridae = mackerel family.

The fish is a mackerel,although on the boat I work the Thais call it a sardine when speaking english.My girlfriend also and I daren't correct her.

Either way,hooked up live, and rigged with a wire leader and 2 hooks the little guys make for a superb bait.Any left overs get deep fried and served with prik nam plaa.Can't help you as regards the cholesterol though.

\M

I did a visa run to Ranong yesterday.NO cash requirement at all.I'm on a non-b but the other guys in the minibus were staying on 30 day visas.One of them wasn't even wearing shoes!

I had a good fishing trip in PhiPhi,Tarutao and then Similans about 4 years ago.With a longtail boat from PhiPhi we took 1 sailfish and a king mackeral both days.Plenty of sailfish leaping around all day but not biting the hook./Small size but good fun.Tarutao I only tried trolling metal spoons while a longtail was running to snorkelling spots, I think some small queenfish and longtoms.

Similan was great.Casting spoons from the campsite beach at dawn before anyone else was around.Some big blue fin trevally and small giant trevally.Im not sure if you are allowed to fish there with a rod and line anymore?

Koh Tao here in the gulf has fair numbers of sailfish and marlin pretty much year round but again small size.Fishing here has been difficult this year.Perhaps due to the commercial trawlers who disregard the 3 kilometer exclusion zone around the island in favour of what looks like a 30 meter limit.Bottom fish especially the trevally family have been hard to come by in recent months.Just noticed a pair of boats this evening working together dragging a huge net between them in front of Chalok ban kao bay.Way less than 1km out.Who cares?

I think when posters refer to the "Samui mafia" they aren't thinking of people with olive skin,dodgy mustaches,and italian accents.To suggest that the islands are free of dark influences is foolhardy in the extreme.Being aware of the situation and behaving accordingly is safer than living in a daydream.

Not in Samui but imagine if you will,opening a girlie bar in the center of Patpong.Refusing to pay protection money as you dont believe in the"mafia"'s existance would result in a fast and unpleasant learning lesson about gangsters.

I'd say that to work together with local people instead of competing against them is the best road to happiness.I have had many an occasion to be very thankful to my native workmates in a wide range of situations.

Seatran doesnt run to Koh Tao at all.Best bet is the Lomprayah catamaran which is fast, comfortable and safe.You can even watch a movie.

As for dangers-apart from human menaces you only need to use common sense.Normal hazards are motorbike accidents(the roads are crap and there are no helmets),plenty of fatalities in the sea each year-usually over exertion, and the occasional pair of "concrete wellies".

Last year the monsoon was very weak and ferries running fine pretty much throughout the monsoon.We were able to make daily fishing tours even in Nov,Dec.

I think you're "avin a giraffe" here mate.You want someone on here to endorse your attempt to bribe an immigration officer.Good luck.

Still, worst case scenario,write a book like that Warren Fellows chap and you can be living the good life in what,10 years time.

I'm glad youre not in charge of the trolling at the same fishing company I work for...

Oh alright hands up!

I know they're serious about this.I was contracted last year by Thai army rocket-scientists to assist in designing the powerplant for the Thai space rockets.

Slip up on my part found me swiftly converting the recommended bamboo thruster mounts to a double-barrel bong so had to find alternative materials for the mounts.When I tested the finished prototype this morning I had to use old toilet roll centers(which were also recommended in the government order) to mount the afterburners.However I blamed their directive that nam man gat was the fuel which seemed to burn a bit slowly to get any real thrust and orbit was not achieved.Luckily it was raining or my house would have burnt to a crisp as well as the top secret model.

I estimate that by December the mark2 version will be ready for the launch ceremony at Don Muang spacecenter.I hope so as NASA have already booked the front row,and alot of people are counting on me.I wont let you down! now wheres that bong got to?

thanks bartender100- just noticed Ive got access to sportingbet.com.previously unable to get there but havent tried for months.

Splitlid,

That was a true story.The man in question is called Lung Dam(uncle black) -nicknamed "bighat".I have found this link for you showing some fair sized carp taken from the same lake.

http://www.anglingthailand.com/awards22.asp?rec=carp

I understand that Lung Dams' giant carp is not the biggest from that lake.Some of my saltwater fishing customers when noticing the carp photo in our office recognise "Bighat" from German and Dutch fishing magazines where photos of his fish caused quite a stir.

Hi yellowfish,

My bosses Dad fishes a private lake called Bung Samran -not sure on the spelling.I believe its around 1 hour drive from Bangkok.I have seen a great photo of him and a 115 kilo carp taken from said lake.Has other freshwater species as well.Dont know how much for a day ticket but they have guides available to help you,and heavy tackle as well.

Anyone else fished there?

"downtime"

I was using this phrase(perhaps incorrectly) to refer to the frequent and often long periods when I cannot access the internet.ipstar is searching for signal etc. or looks like its logged on properly but shows the cannot find server page when trying to use the internet.I find when I get home at 4pm is often hard to get any access but early morning and evening no problem.

Have to admit I normally would say to my mia."Honey the ipstar is ######ed again",but then on your forum censors will likely edit my usual choice of words forcing my use of inapropriate technical jargon.

We have to move house next week.Anyone tried moving the ipstar satellite dish themselves to save the 8,000baht fee??

Im still using the 750MB per month package for 3,200 baht.

Although I work out at sea all day every day I use the internet a fair bit in the evenings and early morning.Average 3 hours a day.Downloading music from Kazaa and surfing the web I cant use up more than 600MB per month?

Also got a credit note for 300 baht or so.Didnt understand what it was for but have had alot of downtime this month and especially last month.

Have to step in here for in minute.Visa runner in my opinion has exactly the right idea.If its possible to cross a border every 30 days then simply do it.Dont worry yourself about applying for complex visas that may let you stay an extra 60 days before having to cross a border anyways.

Visa runner, thanks for the chuckle as well!

Some companies are paying 7% dividends. Did not check bond yields but must be much bettter than what we get in our saving accounts. yes i am aware of extra risks.

If you are concerned about dividends your money would probably be safer in other more regulated markets such as the London stock exchange.Excellent yields are available.eg Lloyds bank is now yielding 8.75% at todays share price of 394p.Looking at the SET,anything owned by Shinawatra family should be a safe investment while he's still PM anyways.

I keep putting off opening a Thai trading account.I know too many Thai people heavily in debt because their banks encourage them to borrow or remortgage their houses/land seemingly without thought to how this money will be paid back?If Thai interest rates were to rise significantly we would have an interesting situation.

Good luck if you take the plunge.

> > > A hippie gets on a bus and spies a pretty young nun. He sits down next

> >

> > > to her, and asks her: "Can we have sex?" "No," she replies, "I'm

> > > married to God." She stands up, and gets off at the next stop. The bus

> >

> > > driver, who overheard, turns to the hippie and says: "I can tell you

> > > how to get to have sex with her!" "Yeah?", says the hippie.

> > > "Yeah!", say the bus driver. "She goes to the cemetery every Tuesday

> >night

> > > at midnight to pray, so all you have to do is dress up in a robe with

> > > a hood, put some of that luminous powder stuff in your beard, and pop

> > > up in the cemetery claiming to be God." The hippie decides to give it

> > > a try, and arrives in the cemetery dressed as suggested on the next

> > > Tuesday night. "I am God," he declares to the nun, keeping the hood

> > > low about his face. "Have sex with me."

> > > The nun agrees without question, but begs him to restrict himself to

> >anal

> > > sex, as she is desperate not to lose her virginity. 'God' agrees, and

> > > promptly has his wicked way with her. As he finishes, he jumps up and

> > > throws back his hood with a flourish.

> > > "Ha-ha," he cries. "I am the hippie!"

> > > "Ha-ha," cries the nun. "I am the bus driver!

My next door neighbor has been here 5 years overstay on 30day visa.6 months ago his mother died and he tried to return home to his country.immigration at DM airport wouldnt let him pay the 20,000baht fine(which he had on him ready)and sent him back to immigration office in Bangkok to sort it out.He panicked,ran and is still here ,now 5 1/2 years and unable to leave.

He's sorry for overstaying now!

Hi issan2,

hows your ipstar now?Mine been nearly unuseable this week with the same messages as yourself and no signal strength when I check my login status.Today Ive been on 2 hours without trouble.

Im reluctant to get the engineers down again as I have to pay for their ferries.Even though I make them come on the overnight cargo boats to Koh Tao-both ways- its still +1000baht.Any charge when they come to visit you?

The train was very crowded, so the soldier walked the length of the train, looking for an empty seat. The only unoccupied seat was directly adjacent to a well dressed middle aged lady and was being used by her little dog. The war-weary soldier asked, "Please, ma'am, may I sit in that seat?" The French woman looked down her nose at the soldier, sniffed and said, "You Americans. You are such a rude class of people. Can't you see my Little Fifi is using that seat?"

The soldier walked away, determined to find a place to rest, but after another trip down to the end of the train, found himself again facing the woman with the dog.

Again he asked, "Please, lady. May I sit there? I'm very tired." The French woman wrinkled her nose and snorted, "You Americans! Not only are you rude, you are also arrogant. Imagine!"

The soldier didn't say anything else; he leaned over, picked up the little dog, tossed it out the window of the train and sat down in the empty seat. The woman shrieked and wailed, and demanded that someone defend her and chastise the soldier.

An English gentleman sitting across the aisle spoke up, "You know, sir, you Americans do seem to have a penchant for doing the wrong thing. You eat holding the fork in the wrong hand. You drive your autos on the wrong side of the road. And now, sir, you've thrown the wrong bitch out the window.

One more quick one..

A man takes his wife to the live stock show.

They start heading down the alley that house all the bulls. The sign

on the first bull's stall states: "This bull mated 50 times last

year." The wife turns to her husband and says, "He mated 50 times in

a year, isn't that nice!"

They proceed to the next bull and his sign states: "This bull mated

65 times last year." The wife turns to her husband and says, "This

one mated 65 times last year. That's over 5 times a month. You could learn from this one!"

They proceed to the last bull and his sign reads: "This bull mated

365 times last year." The wife's mouth drops open and says, "WOW! He mated 365 times last year. That's ONCE A DAY!!! You could really learn from this one."

Fed up, the man turns to his wife and says, "Go up and inquire if he

had to shag he same cow every day.

Shamus and Murphy fancied a pint or two but didn't

have a lot of money. Between them, they could only

raise the staggering sum of 50 pence.

Murphy said "Hang on, I have an idea." He went next

door to the butcher's shop and came out with one

large sausage.

Shamus said "Are you crazy? Now we don't have any

money left at all".

Murphy replied "Don't worry - just follow me." He

went into the pub where he immediately ordered two

pints of Guinness and two glasses of Jamieson Whiskey.

Shamus said "Now you've lost it. Do you know how

much trouble we will be in? We haven't got any money".

Murphy replied, with a smile "Don't worry, I have a plan. Cheers!"

They downed their drinks.

Murphy said "OK, I'll stick the sausage through my

zipper and you go on your knees and put it in your mouth".

Said and done, the barman noticed them, went berserk

and threw them out.

They continued this, pub after pub, getting more and

more drunk all for free.

At the tenth pub Shamus said "Murphy - I don't think

I can do any more o'this. I'm pissed and me knees

are killin' me!"

Murphy said "How do you think I feel? I lost the

sausage in the third pub."

Our ipstar has been excellent for the last 3 weeks or so since they changed everything except the plastic dish.Lovely high speed internet access and it doesnt crash every 15 minutes like before.We are moving house in 2 months and will definitely take ipstar with us.When the technicians were here they adjusted the position of the dish very slightly and signal strength and esno are steady now instead of bouncing around.Can this be why it is now working properly?

we had big mozzie problems until buying the raid vapour plug in mozzie destroyer last week.I havent been bitten since.Before we used screen doors,baygon spray and burning coils which didn't totally stop/kill them.260baht or so for no more mosquitos.Bargain!

Sounded great so I registered.Funnily enough it isnt quite like Mr.Thomas would have us believe.

Whats the catch?

1) if you dont live in the US or Canada most of the survey sites wont let you register .I spent hours trying to register with dozens of companies which they highly recommended and only 1 would accept me.Their claim to make back your stake in the first hour seems a little optimistic.

So I could get to try a survey I made up an adress etc and got sent a pay to do survey pretty quickly.Sadly it wasnt one of the ones Mr.Thomas gets that pays $150.This one offered $2.It was boring,took 15 minutes and was about what telecoms company you use and general questions about where you live.At the end a thank you message for doing their survey but also an apology for not being able to pay the $2 !!

Why dont you thaivisa guy take a look for yourselves.If you check out

http://fun1.mysurvey.com/join/join.asp?r=555091&LID=57545aaa

you will see one of the companies you are advised to join to be sent the surveys.The list of these companies is what is being sold for $40US

As for me I am bored with it and will try for the 40bucks back to my paypal account after 90 days?Anyone else faired better?###### it sounded tempting though.Ill get you Miles Thomas LOL

Hi folks,

We are into our 4th month of iPSTAR now and would like to share my experience with others thinking about using it.

The speed we get is great -faster than the broadband connections I have used in the UK and Florida.However it is far from dependable.Last month our unit packed up and we had the boys down from Bangkok at our expense to see what the problem was.They changed everything apart from the actual plastic dish and again we could use the internet.Even with the new unit(which looks different and has more ventilation holes) there have been problems.Cannot find server is the usual problem.Maybe per one hour 10 minutes is spent looking at the xweb to check if I am logged in still.Our signal strength is good at all times.Backup from Loxinfo is crap and not worth the bother of telephoning to tell them their server is down again.

I use ipstar for daytrading and need a dependable service.This month I have been dealing over the mobile phone again as ipstar is so unreliable.We would like to cancel service but it seems we are stuck with having to pay for a year as this was the contract when we first started.

Price of 3000baht a month gets you 750mb's.I'm online around 3-4 hours a day and use only 500mbs maximum per month.

Anyone else have anything to say about ipstar??I would be so happy with it if I didnt get that white screen with cannot find server message every 2 minutes!

Regards,

Marc

signed

i was down in Penang about 10 days ago.My 1 year nonB mulitple entry has also had the"extension of stay not permitted" crossed out and signed by immigration.Others on the minibus had exactly the same thing.Very interesting..Would be great just to pop down to the local immigration office istead of actually leaving the country.