buddy

Some more obscure traditions, including explanations:

Touchwood

When people are hoping for something, they say ‘…touch wood’, and find something wooden to touch, to guard against bad luck. For example, ‘The business deal is finalized next week… touch wood’. This dates back to Celtic times. A tree could take evil spirits down into the earth, like a lightning conductor.

Friday the 13th

An unlucky number and unlucky day. The reasons are lost in the mists of time. Various religious explanations are given (the fate of the thirteenth guest at Jesus’ Last Supper, Jesus crucified on a Friday, Noah’s flood started on Friday etc.) none of them provable. Some hotels omit Room 13 and occasionally people reschedule business meetings mistakenly set for a Friday the 13th, but the date is usually ignored.

Four-leafed clovers

Clover has three leaves, so finding the rare mutation with four leaves is very good luck.

Ladders

People don’t walk underneath them. Some sources say this is because a ladder was traditionally propped up against the gallows; others, that a ladder against a wall was a triangle and therefore the sign of the Holy Trinity.

Horseshoes

It is good luck to have one nailed up over the door. Horseshoes in a bedroom protect people from nightmares. Possibly the good associations come from its shape, like a new moon. Finding a horseshoe in the road is exceptionally good luck. If it has come from a grey mare, this is doubly good.

Black cats

If a black cat crosses in front of you that is bad luck.

Touch wood is an interesting one. I don't know of many people though that if something goes wrong will say "Ohhhh I forgot to touch wood. It is all because of not touching wood that my pet cat died". Also, I don't know of many people who would insist upon a Walnut veneer dash board in their car so that they can say "touch wood I get there" and touch it. Have you seen the gonks and crap thai's have in their car?

13th Friday (number 13 in general) - If this was a Thai superstition, no one would do anything on these dates. Westerners joke about it and get on with their days. Because we know it is a load of superstitious nonsense.

4 Leaf clover - so rare that to find one it is lucky I guess. I don't know of anyone apart from Gypsies trying to sell them who actually believe they bring luck.

Ladders - as matey says, easier to walk around than get a bucket of whitewash on your head. Or a Tile. Or a drill. Just common sense.

Horse shoes - Again, does anyone actually take this seriously? Does every house in the UK have a horseshoe on the front door? Nope.

Black cats walking in front of you bring you luck because they are taking bad luck somewhere else. If this was a thai superstition there would be whole streets where enterprising young gangs would tether cats to wires and would be paid to wheel them across in front of the customer.

You're whole list kind of proves my point rather.... they might have been taken seriously in the west 400 years ago, but not today.

Friday the 13th?

Is the day in the year 1307 that the Roman Catholic Church murdered its opposition in a 1 day Europe wide assassination of the Knights Templar.

Central Food Halls and Tops Supermarkets have organic meat and many other organic products.

Silly question, it's like asking which is the best between France and England; (Simple answer France of course , at least it's a country on its own)

Big C is French, Tesco English

Big C is Casino and if it was British it will be the equivalent of Sainsbury's because of its market position on gourmet products.

In THL the difference is only reflected by a small selection of organic veggies at Big C (and none at Tesco), a line of casino "gourmet" products. While Tesco has chosen to offer a selection of all over the world imported products.

Electronics same same

Clothes identical

Macro is US bulk buying and has nothing to do with the other 2, in terms of product position

Which hole in the sand have you been putting your head in?

Big C like Sainsburys ha ha ha ha...you got to be joking, its not even in the same league!

Big C refrigeration is NEVER down to temperature in every store I have ever been visited, so it doesn't matter what they put in the store as there is a risk of food poisoning.

Hello everybody,

I used to work as an employee in Thailand and had a work permit all sorted out by my employer and never once had to do a visa run.

My circumstances have changed now as I have started my own business and at present I have a non-immigrant category "B" multiple entry visa and have a 2 year work permit.

Question?

I have been advised by the people who handle my legal and accounting issues that I have to do 3 month visa runs and a once yearly visa run out of the country to obtain the category "B" visa at a Thai Embassy ??

Surely this cant be correct?

Can anyone please kindly advise me if what I am being told is true?

Hi Gents,

I have hunted high and low in local hardware stores and larger well known branded nation-wide stores but cant find anywhere that sells stainless steel screws.

Self tapping stainless steel screws is what I am actually after but normal type will suffice if they are not available.

Do any of you know where I can purchase stainless steel screws in Bangkok?

best regards,

I've pretty regularly found REGULAR PRICE items at various of the farang supermarkets in BKK, seemingly the Central Markets more than the others, where packaged food items are on the shelf at regular prices AND expired sell-by dates.

Hey you remind me of something that has happened to me inside the now defunct (in thai soil), Carrefour.

I was asking at one of those staff running around the store floor on their rollerblades, how comes the french cheese on the fridge was still bearing the same price tags despite being the date of his expiration, i was expecting to see a new discounted label.....well, he removed all of them from the fridge and told me i couldn't buy them, another case of succesfull store managements at their best

I would not buy any fresh or frozen food from the old revamped Carrefour stores which are now renamed Big C stores in Thailand.

The reason is the refrigeration in most stores is badly maintained so most food is not being held at the proper temperatures.

So it doesn't matter about the expiry date, its irrelevant.

Big C have some real food quality issues.

Just trust me I know.

Virtually every Hotel in Thailand has a lunchtime Buffet :

http://www.buffet-th...om/index-en.htm

Patrick

Yes agree.But how many hotels do free flow all you can drink with the buffet on a Saturday lunchtime in Bangkok?A few free flow on Sunday brunches exist but not on Saturday lunch for some strange reason?Must be a market for it....me and a few of my friends for one.

Dear All,

Can anybody recommend a good accountant in Bangkok for a small business employing 1 Falang with work permit as my current accountant has hiked up the monthly costs with no justification.

Already tried the sponsor on Thai Visa SA, they just tried to sell me some expensive monthly package not suited for my needs.

The accountant must be able to speak English.

Much appreciated for any responses.

In a country where corruption is part of the culture, how do they expect to get income taxes, law makers are the first to avoid it.

Exactly,

I have a business in Thailand and pay Taxes, it really vexes me but not in the way I hated paying taxes in Falangland sort of way.

For a Falang paying taxes in Thailand it is different, Why?

For the very reasons stated above by jpp2bkk and the fact that the principle of taxes being paid to benefit the whole of society just excludes Falangs.

I pay, but as a Falang I get didly squat back, zero, nadda, I mean absolutely nothing back, no medical care, no education, no old age pension, nothing it is just out and out state thievery.

I have paid millions of Baht in taxes over the years but I am still viewed by the Thai government as a nieve tourist in a pickpocket zone.

Another plagiarism by the Abrahamic religions. Comes from the Analects of Confucius.

Plagiarism? You are joking, aren't you?

SC

Yes, each religion has to make up its own "truth" from scratch, that's really going to improve the odds of any one getting it right, eh?

People don't realize that every religion has truth at its core, and to that extent they are all the same. It's just the worldly aspects - cultural specificity, money and power, organizational politics, propoganda for control of the masses - that intrude and screw things up in interpretation.

Truth...which truth are you talking about?

For the Bible ask one of the 40 authors, yes you did read right, 40 authors of the Bible which is the truth?

For the Quran ask one of the nine authors, yes you did read right, 9 authors which is the truth?

Oh an the Bible has more "truth" in it than the Quran if you are a Christian and vice versa if your a Muslim.

They are all deluded and Religions Modus operandi is to catch you when you are young.

Bit harder to indoctrinate a 30 year old.

So much for freedom of speech....whether you like or agree with it or not.

Racially abusive messages are considered criminal offences now in the UK. You cannot say they should be allowed under freedom of speech.

Yes, and its another politically correct law that shouldn't have even got on the statute books.

It IS a freedom of speech issue - Whatever happened to "I might not like what you are saying but I,ll fight to the death for the right for you to say it"?.

Once a Government starts to dictate what you can and cannot say it is the start of stepping down a very dark road.

I dont think you know too much about importing and the harmonised tariff system.

You have to be very specific about what energy saving device u are talking about.

Somewhere in the harmonized system which has 98 chapters your product will fall and the appropriate duty rate.

here is a list on the macro subjects

SECTION TITLES TO THE HARMONIZED SYSTEM

SEC I ANIMALS AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS

SEC II VEGETABLE PRODUCTS

SEC III ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE FATS

SEC IV PREPARATIONS OF AGRI. PRODUCTS

SEC V MINERAL PRODUCTS

SEC VI CHEMICALS, EXPLOSIVES, PHOTOGRAPHIC GOODS

SEC VII PLASTIC AND RUBBER GOODS

SEC VIII HIDES, LEATHER AND ARTICLES THEREOF

SEC IX WOOD, AND ARTICLES THEREOF

SEC X WOOD PULP, PAPER AND ARTICLES THEREOF

SEC XI TEXTILES AND ARTICLES THEREOF

SEC XII FOOTWEAR, HEADGEAR, UMBRELLAS

SEC XIII STONE & CEMENT, CERAMIC & GLASSWARE

SEC XIV SEMI & PRECIOUS STONE, JEWELRY

SEC XV BASE METAL AND ARTICLES THEREOF

SEC XVI ELECTRICAL. MACHINERY, OTHER MACHINERY

SEC XVII VEHICLES, AIRCRAFT, VESSELS

SEC XVIII CLOCKS, HI TECH ARTICLES

SEC XIX ARMS & AMMUNITION

SEC XX TOYS, FURNITURE, LIGHTING & MISC. ARTICLES

SEC XXI ART & ANTIQUES

SEC XXII SPECIAL CLASSIFICATION FOR USA

U will need a customs broker to assist you.

Rgds Mark

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your input but it doesn't exactly answer my question.

I am actually aware of the HTS and what you have posted looks like a copy and paste of the Thai customs website that confused me in the first place.

Your comment "somewhere in the harmonised tax system" doesn't help to identify the category.

Where in the jungle of different customs categories is "energy saving devices" listed?

Can anybody else please throw some light on this?

Hi Guys,

I am exploring the idea of importing energy saving devices into Bangkok and have been on the Thai customs website to see if it qualifies for import taxes as the taxes (if any) will have to included in the final price of the devices.

Just reading the Thai customs website confuses the matter further.

Questions?

1. Where would I find the information about this issue? (with out employing an import agent).

2. Has anybody else had experience imported energy saving devices and what was the result?... did you have to pay import duties?

Thanks in advance for any input.

best regards

1:9 There is - There is nothing in the world but a continued and tiresome repetition of the same things. The nature and course of the beings and affairs of the world, and the tempers of men, are the same that they ever were and shall ever be; and therefore, because no man ever yet received satisfaction from worldly things, it is vain for any person hereafter to expect it. No new thing - In the nature of things, which might give us hopes of attaining that satisfaction which hitherto things have not afforded.

http://wes.biblecomm...lesiastes/1.htm

That includes deluded people.

Fly Laos Airline to Savaan, Laos. Thai Consulate there is very helpful and Laos can be cheap depending on tastes...and im my opinion better than KL for a holiday.

Any recommendations for hotel stay, restaurants etc in Savaanakhet?

Earlier this month we were at Central Bangna in Bangkok. While my wife was renewing her passport at the government office in that complex, I wandered through (the huge) Tops Market there. I thought I was back in the U.S.! The market was clean, uncluttered, and had items imported from around the world at (less than Villa Market) reasonable prices. There were many items from the U.S. that I have not seen anywhere else and their bakery section, meat and seafood section, and fresh vegetables and fruits sections were better stocked with fresher items than I've seen at any other store in Thailand. Made Tesco look like total crap and the Big C's I've been to (like the one in Petchaburi) are Tesco clones, certainly nothing special.

Where did the following chains originate anyway:

Tesco - (England is what I've heard?)

Big C (Carrefour) - (France is what I've heard?)

Tops?

Foodland?

Villa Market - (Thai family owned chain according to a friend who owns a restaurant here?)

Tesco is British

Carrefour is French

Big C not sure but could be French as there are branches in Vietnam and Cambodia

Foodland is, I think, mainly Thai but part American

Vila Market is Thai

Tops is part of the Central Group.

I agree with you about Tops supermarket, will be visiting the one at Central Childlom next week. We go up there from Hua Hin every 3 months or so to stock up.

Tops and the more up scale Central Food Halls is run by British retail execs, ex Sainsburys etc.

That is why you even see such items as Waitrose products (Waitrose is an up scale British retailer for those that don't know) and a vast difference in the appearance and layout even from just a couple of years ago.

Tops never used to make a profit in the Central group but these guys have turned it around.

The Black Swan pub,

Sukhumvit road, below Asoke Skytrain station.

The 0.05 % tax on financial transactions that has been voted by European Parliament, would generate 250 Billions of Euros per year, If applied it would :

- Get the European States out of their debts

- Avoid austerity packages

- Make the real responsible of this crisis pay : ie the financial system

And 85% of that tax money will come from the City of London.

It,ll hardly touch France or Germany thats why they are so enthusiastic about it.

Any mossad connections, Ben?

We have enough SAS already.

Ex British Military guys from all ranks meet in the Crossbar in Asoke every 3rd Sunday of the month (British Legion members).

They are get up and go guys and most have there own businesses in Thailand or hold important high positions in Multi-National corporations.

Good starting point if you want banter or indeed intelligent conversation.

^

NEW EUROPEAN UNION LANGUAGE POLICY

The European Union commissioners have announced that an agreement has finally been reached to adopt English as the preferred language for European communications, rather than German, which was the other possibility.

As part of the negotiations, the British government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a five-year phased plan for what will be known as Euro-English ( or "Euro" for short, to match the currency ).

In the first year, "s" will be used instead of the soft "c". Sertainly, sivil servants will resieve this news with joy.

Also, the hard "c" will be replased with "k". Not only will this klear up konfusion, but typewriters kan have one less letter. There will be growing publik enthusiasm.

In the sekond year, when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced by "f". many words like "fotograf" will become 20 per sent shorter.

In the third year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters, which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horible mes of silent "e" s in the english languag is disgrasful, and they should go.

By the fourth year, peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" by "z" and "w" by "v" , which are boz kviker to vit.

During ze fifz year, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou", and similar changes vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters.

Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be toking German lik zey vunted in ze ferst plas

Ha ha.....a cracker.

You have to visit immigration with full company paperwork as used for work permit plus proof of your income at 50k per month (if from western country) plus tax records for the last year for company (which if new will not be available so a non-starter). Would advise checking with your immigration office for exact list of what they require.

Thanks Lopburi3,

Looks like a visa run then as the company tax records do not cover a year yet.

Thanks all who contributed.

best regards

buddy.

I appears you did a 90 day entry on a muli-entry visa. You need to do a border run, or perhaps apply for a one year extension of stay.

The work permit alone has nothing to do with your stay in Thailand, it permits work.

Hi Beach guy,

Many thanks for your reply.

You are correct I did a visa run to Malaysia nearly 3 months ago.

I have a business in Thailand and obviously do not wish to do visa runs every 3 months as it disrupts my business.

What do I have to do to get a 1 year extension of stay?

best regards,

buddy.

Hi All,

I am getting conflicting advice and before I go off to immigration when the office opens. would like to ask your advice if I need to to a Visa run every 3 months or do 90 day reporting of my resident address.

The documents I currently have is the following -

2 year work permit that expires in 2013.

Non - immigrant "B" visa that expires in August 2012.

Passport stamp from immigration at Suvarnabhumi airport states "admitted until 6th November 2011" (nearly 3 months ago).

Valid passport.

I have a Thai registered limited company, all legal and above board with tax certificates etc.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

best regards

Thai immigration would not deface another countries passport, it may in fact be illegal.....Swiss immigration would only punch holes through a Swiss passport not another nations passport.....A passport does not belong to an indiviudal, it belongs to a goverment of specific country

And a passport belongs to a Government because?..........