mario299

Nope -- my post is intended as practical, not snobbish

You're a card.

OK, I surrender. This thread is a DUD. Can't win 'em all ...

Jingthing, not so sure your thread is a dud, and in fact I think the Thai village people already do the barter system pretty much as a regular thing becuae they don't have a lot of extra cash laying around. Many times I have seen people in our local area do trades for trades...i.e. labor for rice, loan money for rice, etc., but it just wouldn't (doesn't) work for us farang because we do have money. If I understand your point correctly, you are saying that this system sounds (and could be) practical, but not for farang in Thailand. Yes?

mario299

Flying Ants. If you have had some rain lately they will appear.

Or termites...there was a recent thread a month ago or so about "flying ants" and my previous experience with these types that lose their wings and die were termites. If you live near water, or as transam said about rain lately, probably termites and just an occasional problem....I hope.

mario299

Someone asked the girls name. Gaew.

I think maybe the dads father might have been farang. Hard to say.

Just thought it odd this farang looking girl with two Thai parents. Maybe she was adopted.

It is funny about their nicknames though.

My understanding of nicknames is that they mean something attributed at the time of birth...i.e. Noi "little one", Nok "bird", Nam "cool water", so perhaps Gaew is the number 9, which is very lucky in Thailand. Just a guess.

mario299

In what sense would a Bird be attributed to a time of Birth then ??

Not attributed to a time of birth, but rather at the time of birth.....for example..."oh, my little one", or "oh, my little bird"...something like that...but as I said, just a guess.

mario299

Someone asked the girls name. Gaew.

I think maybe the dads father might have been farang. Hard to say.

Just thought it odd this farang looking girl with two Thai parents. Maybe she was adopted.

It is funny about their nicknames though.

My understanding of nicknames is that they mean something attributed at the time of birth...i.e. Noi "little one", Nok "bird", Nam "cool water", so perhaps Gaew is the number 9, which is very lucky in Thailand. Just a guess.

mario299

NHK is probably the best station

Or the World News forum of ThaiVisa, these guys are excellent at up to the minute news! Thanks all of you, I'm glued to it and your information is great!

mario299

Motorbike is quicker in traffic, cheaper and easier to park... dangerous yes, but a car is still dangerous if you hit a bus head on..

Anyway most bike deaths are around Songraan..

By the way if anyone's after a cheap runaround, I'm selling my Nissan Sunny 1.5. I'll take 30K...

I could be interested, will PM you.

:rolleyes:mario299

I agree with you. I rely on the fino to get around.

And I agree with your agreement. I have a Yamaha 135cc and a Nissan Navara and will almost always take the bike over the truck, up to about 35 kms or so one way trip, or unless I need to carry stuff. Ian will chip in soon and advise that you have to keep your eyes open for the other idiots on the road and he's absolutely right ....always be aware! Bottom line, the bike is cheaper, easier and much more convenient for the many reasons posted, just watch out and carry many, many amulets to stay bullet proof!

:rolleyes:mario299

Posts deleted. It would appear that the misunderstanding is being addressed. No need for others to get involved. Thanks.

Once more, quickly...Doc, I received your email on my Yahoo address today, but nothing has been received from you on the other, ever. Thai Internet...??? who knows??

Your pictures and information were very good and I will discuss this further with my wife as to which of the barbecues we would like, and then be in contact with you.

I sincerely offer my apologies for any misunderstanding we had about communication, and look forward to discussing this with you further, and will contact you by phone....hopefully that will solve it all.

Thanks

mario299

Mario,

It's so nice of you to blast us in a public forum, however, an in depth reply, w/picture attachments, was sent to you within, 2hr 24min of receiving your mail.

Our reply is recorded in our sent folder.

I will resend your inquiry with our original reply to you again this morning.

Have a nice day...

R/Doc

Recorded time and date of your mail, and our reply, below.

On 2/26/2011 2:11 PM, mario299.com wrote:

MESSAGE:Hello

We live in the Surin area, and am curious about pricing on a couple of your barbecues...

On 2/26/2011 4:35 PM, WEB SITE wrote:

Good afternoon, < removed details >

, thanks for writing.

Here are the answers to your questions.

Etc,Etc,Etc....

Doc

I certainly didn't intend my request as a "blast you", and if you took it that way I apologize. I simply wanted information. In looking at your reply, if your email to me was sent to mario299.com, that is your error. Please check my initial request to you, or the auto-reply you sent to my correct email address, for my correct email address.

I still would appreciate receiving the information I requested. Your customers speak very highly of you and your products, I would like this opportunity, as well.

Regards

mario299

<br><u><i><b>I too am a happy Quick Fire BBQ user. I have the small stainless steel model with the insulated lid. My wife thought I was crazy to pay that much for a BBQ but has since changed her mind. You usually get what you pay for but not always.</b></i></u><br><br><br>

<br><br>I, too, would like to be a happy customer, but no one has taken the time to answer my two simple questions sent to you by email on February 26, 2011. It was just asking about pricing for two of your different models, as well as shipping costs from you to me in Prasat area.<br><br>Honestly, are you so busy that you can't take the time to answer an email? I received an "auto-reply" from you that you would be in contact:<br>"Thank you for contacting QUIK-FIRE.<br>

We will contact you as soon as possible with reference to your inquiry."<br><br>How will your service be if after I have purchased one of your products and subsequently have a problem?<br><br>Just curious, and quite a bit surprised, since your other quoted customer statements are quite nice. Am I being impatient? Please let me know if you can answer my questions.<br><br>Thank you<br>Jerome<br>mario299<br><br>

Easiest way is to submit an application for an ITIN with your return. Use her Thai passport as ID.

Okay, here's what I know about ITIN # and tax returns.

In order to file jointly, you need to fill out and submit the W-7 application form and then get the ITIN # sent to you. This number is a "temporary" replacement number for a Social Security number for your wife, which she cannot get until she becomes a resident of the USA. This is also true for any dependents, they must go to the US before they can get either a Social Security number or an ITIN number. Your wife can get the ITIN for joint tax purposes, but you cannot claim any dependents living in Thailand because they will not issue either a social security number or ITIN number for dependents unless they are residents of the USA, Mexico or Canada, currently the only countries that have an "agreement" with the US about dependents and taxes.

I'm not sure what mstribling is suggesting about the "easiest way", but I am pretty sure you need the ITIN number for your tax form, not just a copy of an application that "may or may not have" been submitted or approved. I suggest you get the number after submitting the W-7 form, seems to me it took only a couple weeks for us.

PM me if you need additional help, been there, done that.

mario299

Funny sometimes it works the other way round:

Stopped by at Robinsons Udon Thani to buy two more of these (how do you name these underliers? neat things to put under your plate to make your table look nicer) they were priced 199 each, took two to the cashier and paid 165 for two. I now remember when I bought the same two one month ago I was also surprised the price paid was 160 something. Error or not, dunno

"Placemats"???

mario299

A man that thinks the same as myself. I have noticed this myself. Very often buy bigger pay more. A good ploy by the shops. People automatically think buy bigger pay less, so are less inclined to compare prices. Swines

jb1

I always compare prices.. why pay more for the same product.

Agreed...I'm lucky enough to be good with numbers in my head so I naturally do the math on pricing and have been lucky that the lovely wife has started to do the same....helps the budget!

mario299

.... On another note why not go to the police and slip them a few baht to explain to the "future in-laws" that their honey trap is illegal and immoral.

My guess is that this would simply start the ball rolling but with the cops in on it from the off !

It is a truly worrying topic to think about though. I'd only looked at it from the point of view of how to keep the good for nothing little Thai adolescent males away from a girl but this is another twist. From a nation where selling children into prostitution and in family child abuse is all to common and often just overlooked, coercing a young girl into having what could well be consensual sex with a young man with relatively well off parents is hardly beyond comprehension. In fact, if they have the aptitude, it has likely crossed their minds already.

Unfortunately, this money attitude has and does occur. The figures I mentioned in my previous post of 150,000 to 300,000 baht are actual figures being requested from friends of ours right now. In another situation, a relative in our village accepted the marriage demands of the 14 year old girlfriend of their 14 year old son, rather than face police action and more money. They paid sinsod 140,000 baht, two pigs, two baht of gold. Another time, a village chief that we know received payment for his daughter's indiscrections with a fifteen year old boyfriend. These are Thai versus Thai situations, so it could well be imagined that having a farang step-father involved could sweeten the pot.

I wish I could offer a good answer to the OP, but the best I can do is wish them luck. Involving the police from either end can only end up costing money, but perhaps being the one that initiates the offer to them might reduce the ultimate cost. Hard to say.

mario299

Put me down for that !

As usual if it involves beer and food, I'm your man.

Cheers

We are in Surin area (Prasat). but I have recently been researching the Ubon area for potential vacation spot for us in March or so. When would this gathering be potentially planned for, and could we be put down for more info...sounds great. Thanks in advance!

mario299

i have a very decent black office chair with arm rests and the back of the chair goes all the way up to your head. i bought from index. i plan to sell next month before i leave Thailand, if anyone is interested pm me for a photo. you can have it for a 1k baht. i think i paid 6k at the minimum.

Hi, I have PM'd you about your chair, look forward to picture and reply. Thanks

mario299

The step son is now living with grandma because he stole my wife's car while we were in Bangkok, that was just the last straw there was many more things he did but that's another story. Hopefully the girls mother will get the message that I will not protect him.

So the plot has thickened a little bit, in that your current relationship with your stepson is somewhat on the outs. That probably rules out the heart-to-heart talk, so your next best hope is that the girls mother does realize that extortion "probably" won't work. Unfortunately that still may not get your stepson off the hook, because she will still feel her daughter's "virtue" is at risk for future sin sot needs. What kind of family is the girlfriend from, have she and stepson been an "item" for awhile, has she had other boyfriends (yeah, I know, we're talking 14 year olds here), and most importantly....what does your stepson have to say about all this?

again...chok dee

mario299

Have your wife tell a neighbor who will pass it along, that your not going to shed a satang.

They can handle it like they have for years.

Realistically not quite that easy. If the girls mother goes to the police it will be after it is pretty certainly determined that they have "fooled around". The girl's parents will probably first approach you and wife with question about intended marriage and amount of sinsot (yes, I know he's only 15, but it will happen....) If marriage is not your step-son's intention, then they will ask for payment for "fooling around" with their daughter, probably in the area of 100,000-150,000 since you are farang. If you refuse, then they will threaten or actually go to police, when the asking price increases to include a piece for the police. Now you're talking perhaps 300,000. If you continue to refuse, there could be legal concerns for your step-son. The very best thing is for him to "keep it in his pants", because the extortion method is how "They can handle it like they have for years."

The grandmother taking pictures sure seems like the first steps toward approaching you for payment, what were your step-son and girlfriend doing when the picture was taken.?? Definitely time for a good talk with the boy.

Good luck!

mario299 :jap:

Hi<br>Are you not able or not familiar with online booking? Do you need to have a travel agent handle this for you for any particular reason? Nowadays it's a pretty simple thing to do e-ticket purchases, and the search engines available can conceivably cost you less than going through an agent. Just curious, as I have not found it necessary to use an agent for some time, but maybe your situation is different?<br>mario299<img class="bbc_emoticon" alt="" src="http://static.thaivisa.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif"><br>

Were still on soap cans and string here in Kap Choeng south of Surin.

Up the road a piece to Prasat, then go West about 12 K to our little town of Thungmon, where they have erected a wireless tower and ran a phone line to our house. Cost 500 baht for the phone line. On New Years Eve they came by and charged us 1000 baht for a wireless router and we now have dam_n fast internet speed! Wow, There truly is a Santa Claus. The monthly cost for this service is 488 baht and my download speed has been as high as 500 kbs. I previously used Edge, then AIS 3G aircard...all garbage, usual speeds for download was 6 or 7 kbs. I am a very happy little boy! Service through TOT.

mario299

Maybe that was why someone was sticking pictures of me all over Chiang Mai. I can't recall why I was in the woman's washroom for, though.

Any mention of a reward??

mario299

It happens when you get older. You go upstairs to get something and spot something along the way that needs taking care of. Then, when you return down stairs you remember what you originally went upstairs to get. It happens all the time.

Ian

This might explain why you take so many pictures...helps you remember where you went and what you went there for??

mario299

After reading the link below, I think we should also add a smiley with a buttcrack...

http://www.thaivisa....nd-navy-escort/

Is there such a thing as a "bite-me" smiley? Sure have felt the need for one for some of the posters replies lately!

mario299

Just went threw this. With no farang present can be done for 20K

Sorry, the wife says "bullsh@t mak mak". cannot be done for 20K. Five days will run about 100,000 or so, but cost is offset by envelopes given by guests and the probable Cremation Insurance fund (usually about 10,000 in fund) kept by village for this purpose and usually contributed to by family. We put in 1 baht/day for wife's aunt (30 baht/month), max they will pay is 10,000. Also, as rice farmer in Issan he probably deals with Rice Bank and probably has insurance with them as well. Correct assumption that you will probably not be told about these insurances. Best of luck, the wife's grandmama passed away a year ago (at 102 years old) and the costs exceeded 150,000. It was well done, and worth the expense. Chok dee!

mario299 :jap:

OK so I'm a liar and my wife did pay the complete cost for her friend in Prasat of 20K.

Please, no offense meant, just trying to lend advice from experience. If your wife was able to do it for that...good on her! Other posts indicate more than 20K was needed for them.

mario299

Just went threw this. With no farang present can be done for 20K

Sorry, the wife says "bullsh@t mak mak". cannot be done for 20K. Five days will run about 100,000 or so, but cost is offset by envelopes given by guests and the probable Cremation Insurance fund (usually about 10,000 in fund) kept by village for this purpose and usually contributed to by family. We put in 1 baht/day for wife's aunt (30 baht/month), max they will pay is 10,000. Also, as rice farmer in Issan he probably deals with Rice Bank and probably has insurance with them as well. Correct assumption that you will probably not be told about these insurances. Best of luck, the wife's grandmama passed away a year ago (at 102 years old) and the costs exceeded 150,000. It was well done, and worth the expense. Chok dee!

mario299 :jap:

Should have included that we were not required or asked to handle the cost, my wife took care of all the arranging tasks but the family (families) all chipped in.

mario299