steadfast

Well, I just downloaded and installed the free version of Avira [while keeping my AVG] and same same when i try to update....it gets 10% thru and craps out on me. Making me believe that there is something wrong with my server as AVG says. The only major changes I have made were to install the latest Internet Explorer.

What to do now??

Why have you installed IE?! It's crap. Get Mozilla Firefox, IGNORE all the little boxes that come up with warnings from AVG and just keep clicking 'NEXT'.

I uninstalled AVG a couple of months ago thinking it was responsible for my downloads disappearing, once downloaded, together with blank pages, but still had all my toolbars, whenever I first logged on. This went on for about a week. Took harddrive to local computer guys and they told me it was TOT, again.

I then installed PC tools which showed up 2000 odd 'problems' on my browser whenever I ran it through Spybot

Also, you can only run one antivirus, note, antivirus, at a time, so uninstall any other antivirus programmes you may have.

In short: Install Firefox, Uninstall any other ANTIVIRUS only software you may have, Go to AVG Homepage and download, IGNORING warning boxes and keep clicking NEXT. It's something to do with the crappy internet connection we have to put up with here, somewhat like all those 'certificate expired' notices we still keep getting.

By the way, thankyou Reimar for all your help, the web guy's got back to me and states my site will be up by 8 pm this evening, but if not, am certain will not be able to count on you mods if anyone has any problems with advertisers on this site from now on. Thanks again.

It's slowly but surely getting that way that over-all it’s much cheaper for me to live in the UK.

I pay heavily to live here but at what point do I say enough is enough?

In Thailand i rent a house for 15.000 Baht per month.

In the UK I own my own house.

In Thailand my lady costs me somewhere in the region of 20.000 Baht every month.

That’s 35.000 Baht or 700 pounds worth of outgoings I don’t have in the UK.

The annual visa shit is another story.

Contrary to belief, the cost of living in the tropics doesn’t come cheap.

I've had twelve wonderful years here but!!

Is it time to bail out and go home?

Well let's see, how much is a prostitute in the UK now? Per hour. Okay, she won't do the washing up, but if you're just up for a roll in the hay once a week? Would you consider a friend a friend if you had to pay him to got for a pint/have a chat with you? Then why a woman? Paid 'company'? If you really think about it, would Thailand sound more attractive to you if it was 15k rather than 35k? Bin the tart or go home.

I do think a lot depends on your Age Health Ect

No it is not Cheap here for us anymore Not Cheap in the UK.

It is sort of 50/50 Much the same if you take everything into consideration

But I think you will miss Thailand I know I will, But age and future health have to be considered

I do miss Englands green pleasant land TV Internet and long summer nights.

As for me well i go back. Like you I have my own House

Only You can Decide.

I forgot this one, definitively agree !

Especially a jazz concert during a summer evening !

or a small chamber orchestra playing Bach at an old country castle illuminated by hundreds of candles on a warm summer evening

Ah No! You two up for Private Eye's Pseud's Corner?

Having project managed houses here I agree with everything on the list. And not just myself, all my Thai friends agree with everything on the list also.

I do find the comments of 'the Thai apologists' a form of 'inverted' rascism, quite as obnoxious as inverted snobism. No rationale.

Just had a mail from a friend who's thinking of changing his holiday from here in Thailand to the Caribbean, for no other reason than that he's been here but never there. I told him I thought it would probably be quite a bit more expensive, is it?

Cheers Beer, along with all the other Godawful locally produced beers here (why they can't brew anything decent here the same as neighbouring Burma/Bali/Cambodia et al, I'll never know), is disgusting, and like all the other locally produced beers gives a very nasty 'buzz' and a horrible hangover. After years, given up on all of them.

I think your theory is spot on. Something was in those rooms , and poisoned persons emitting an odor explains a lot. can you expand on that ?

Personal, reused drinking bottles of contaminated water could have only been placed in those two rooms, perhaps using the refill 5 gallon water containers that are popular (but not certified in any way. ) That particular contaminated container ran out, the maid opens a new one with clean water and those refilled individual bottles are OK , and the 5 gallon container goes back to the store to be refilled..Or the other guests didn't use the bottles...

There may still be bottles around..

As far as Thai Police , particularly in that region, being capable, or willing of doing a western standard investigation? I think not.

This is a risk when in Thailand and tourists are really unaware of it- Life is Cheap.

Perhaps providing " Travelers PI/ Coroner" service would be a profitable business.

What an earth are you talking about? I've been buying and drinking from those 5 gal water bottles for years (water tastes okay if it's refrigerated), and never been ill, ever. Now, a can of overpriced out of date anchovies dolloped on top of your pasta's another matter ...

Hi,

If I were you, I would move here, you are still young enough if it doesn't work out!

I moved here due to the 'credit crunch' that actually started around 2 years ago. I had enough money in the bank for the forseeable future, so I thought 'why not'?

I still have property in the UK that I rent out.

Good things:-

Weather

Food

Cost of living, especially housing!

Safe

No 'Chavs'

Culture

People

Access to everything I need or want eg. internet, phoning home cheap, latest electronics, Tesco's etc etc.

Girlfriend, better mention her before she slaps me!

Bad things:-

Miss family and friends

TV (lack of decent material)

Apart from that, I've been here for a year or so and I really like it. Could I stay here forever? Possibly.

The strange thing is that I miss the UK sometimes, but when I go back for a few weeks, I realise it's actually a bit crap. You speak to friends and ask 'what's going on?' and the reply is 'nothing'....just the same old job, same old thing.....I then then usually get back on a plane and head back to my 'home' in Thailand! This time I have been here 6 months continously and have no great desire to go back!

Here I have no mortgage (and a nice house), minimal outgoings and quite a relaxed, easy life really.

In the UK, if I lived there I need £1300 a month before I get out of bed!

Agree with others re dossers/thugs/uneducated idiots/freeloaders etc in the UK, I worked every day in the UK since 18, I did ok.....but once I got redundant, it gave me the 'kick up the bum' to move!

I think Thai people (generally) have better work ethic and survival ethic to many in the UK, all too often you hear about the 'lass' in the UK who has 6 kids from different fathers and gets house, money etc but still manages to smoke, drink, holiday etc.....used to get right up my nose.....bring'em over here and let them learn how to survive on their own two feet, I say!! On second thoughts....leave them in the UK, away from me!

One thing you need to think about seriously is 'how will you afford to live here?' eg. work, investments in UK etc....eventually any savings you have will run out.....so start thinking about it sooner, rather than later!

No chavs? You've obviously never been to Phuket then. And I'm not talking about just the tourists.

Hard uncomfortable little seats (not not much worse than Cathay). But whatever you do - do NOT get seated in the midst of the arab contingent - you won't get a wink of sleep with them reciting the bloody Koran all night and their bloody kids kicking the back of your seat and woe betide you if you complain. Worse flight of my life ...

Other than that, it's fine And Bahrain's got a very nice cozy bar discreetly set away to the left as you enter and up the staircase.

The Phuket Gazette will not print anything which might upset their sponsors/advertisers. I wrote a letter to them pointing out that whilst they were reporting on the killing of the dugong/manatee, Tops in Central were selling 'dugong parts in oil'. Never got printed and never heard anything back. Shills.

Thankyou to all of you who took the trouble to reply. I will check out your recommendations. Thanks again

I know there's outlets in Big C and Central (or used to be), can anyone recommend on quality and price please?

When I try to log in to accounts from yahoo to twitter, I'm getting 'licence expired ... cannot be trusted ... blah blah'. Anyone?

Hi - I'm working on an eco housing project and need to source some rattan and coconut fiber sold in large sheets. I've been to Chiang Mai many times and remember the large market areas outside the main city Bo Dang? etc, the umbrella village, the bamboo village, teak village etc. Anyone know if there's a specific village/area/outlet for this product? They must be in sheets, when I've googled rattan, I just get a list of furniture shops. I need the sheeting for panelling. Thanks all.

There's a lot of myth around bamboo houses not lasting. I've spent the best part of the past year researching the properties of bamboo as an ecological alternative to either cutting down great swathes of rainforest or living in a hot ugly concrete box. Take a look at one of the now hundreds of sites (INBAR is a good one) on bamboo for construction (which was recently passed by the Canadian International Architect Standard). There are bamboo houses in Vietnam and China between 50 and 200 years old.

I'm currently working on an ecological modular housing project using bamboo, but can't help you out just yet, still need to get the finishing touches to the design over from Europe. I think bamboo's suffered somewhat from mostly 'folksy' design, I'm making something much more contemporary.

I know the outlets to go to to buy the bamboo, they're the ones who are still in business in over the ten years I've been here. And yes it can be dragged through the sea and left to dry for 3 months, it can also be pressure treated with borate. In fact, I have pieces that old and not one wormhole

Don's bakers are coming to work at 05:00 in order to provide fresh bread daily when the deli opens. Black Russian, 7 grain, whole wheat and rye breads Europen style are available daily at 08:30 AM. Should you like a special bread please let the baker know. Also have whole wheat and white sandwich breads. Morning bread customers can have a free cup of coffee at Don's Cafe, Don's Mall. If you have any suggestions about the breads please call Don at 081 894 6401.

Sourdough.

The gov't is a joke. First, they shouldn't have let him out of the country, because it was pretty sure he wasn't coming back for a hearing. Second, you might want to have an extradition treaty with a country before you try and get them back and third, you might want to keep your mouth shut about what you are/aren't doing.

'The gov't'? Most certainly wasn't this one, and the rumoured 50m bung to um, go see the Olympics saw him up into the big blue soonest. I'm not sure, but does Thailand have extradition treaties with any country? I thought all the villains escaped to, here! I think the present government are just trying to show that they alone are doing something to get the little rascal back. Belatedly for sure.

Nice place

Why are you selling it ?

Relocating.

There's no House Contents Form in Thailand. As far as the Land Registry is concerned the transaction concerns the land/house only. Thai law doesn't give a flying duck about 'furniture', which to most Thais, is a relatively new concept, hence it's being so outrageously expensive here. You're not in the UK now, so why do so many of you bring your preconceptions with you? The Seller can take whatever they like, including stripping the garden, if you're not present during the handover. So you really should have done your homework first. Sure, go to a lawyer, he'll take a few thousand off you and laugh behind your back.

All you newcomers, do do your homework before any transaction here, I know it takes a little more time and effort, but worth it in the long run.

Who's using it and any tips ?

There's a big misconception about twitter being for people with nothing better to do than post banal one liners about what they had for breakfast/walk the dog/hide their dead spouse's body etc. And many people who subscribe to twitter actually do this.

Twitter is two things. First, it is merely a way of friends and family keeping in touch with each other via the net rather than expensive text message bills (although why your friends/family would want to know what you're up to in one sentence (and each and every day too) instead of email beats me).

TWO (and this is the most important one) Twitter is a great FREE tool for promoting your business/blog/website via a tinyurl (just go to tiny url maker paste in the long http address and 'tiny' it).

Now this is important: Make sure you put all the relevant words (tags) in your limited space along with the tiny url. Twitter's search engine will then pick it up and anyone searching for information on a product, service, info, will have your link again, free.

phonetically= Kai looat Hok

Sorry don't have a Thai Keyboard

Thanks, just tried your phonetic translation and got the blank stare. Tones everything here, eg mun mun mun - it's an exhilarating potato For anyone who has a keyboard with Thai script, could you please just toggle between shift plus alt to change from English to Thai and let me have it in Thai script? Thanks.

A Thai friend doesn't understand when I say Dengue fever. Malaria yes, Dengue no. What is it in Thai please anyone? Thankyou

A friend of mine who owed tax was apprehended by immigration at the airport on the way out of Thailand. It was flagged up on the computer when his passport was checked. He had to have his accountant talk directly to the immigration officer by phone to reassure them before they would allow him to board the flight.

In another instance the foreign director of a company I worked for who was disputing a very large vat bill was told directly by the head of the Revenue Department in Phuket that if he refused to pay, the details would be put on the immigration computer system and he wouold have problems either leaving or re-entering the country.

Pity he didn't 'bung' them same Taksin then.

I think it is perhaps understandable that a British based based news organization would feel an obligation to ensure a movement fighting for universal adult suffrage would be heard.

You believe in the tooth fairy too?