ChouDoufu

go to the local tax office and get a tax number.

takes 15 minutes with minimal paperwork.

6 hours ago, webfact said:

a local monk who had earlier predicted that the group would be found alive.

no.  he did not. he said nothing about them surviving.  he simply said they are still there, and would be found in "a few" days. 

had they not survived, he would have been correct.

had they made it out on their own, he would have been correct.

had the bodies washed out and been found a week or two later, he would have been correct.

it's the same as predicting that lottery numbers will be drawn soon.

not a trike, driven locally..

there are a few of these running as taxis in bangkhla (chachoengsa):

yes, this was at the MFA near immigration at chang watthana, bangkok.

this was just a simple letter identifying her (name, passport or id number, address, phone) authorizing me (name, passport number, address, phone) to submit her documents to the mfa for legalization, signed by both of us.

poa is required for legalization if submitting for another person.  may not be needed to submit the tm30...see comment #3 above.

when i went to the ministry of foreign affairs (chang watthana) to have some documents legalized for my girlfriend, i wrote up a generic "authorization letter."

she signed and dated, and provided signed copy of her passport ID page.

that letter was accepted (3rd floor document check), but was required to get tax stamps for the authorization letter, then back in line.

stamps were available at the photocopy booth on the 2nd floor.  a couple photocopies and two stamps cost 18 baht. 

i voted for trump.  i apologize.

he is a fool, but at least he wasn't she.

anyhoo, what we have here is amazing.  it took the likes of trump to get a

classic american icon to outsource. 

first he pulls out of the TPP, which results in either increased or continued tariffs on american motorcycles, which results in harley building a factory in thailand to service asian nations.

then he imposes tariffs on european metals, resulting in reciprocal tariffs on american motorcycles, resulting in moving production of bikes destined for europe to the thailand factory.

i guess this is winning?

have stayed in some mid-range hotels in pattaya, settled in for a peaceful night, only to be woken up after midnight when a busload of quality tourists from mainland china arrive, yelling spitting throwing trash screaming into cellphones in the hallways leaving the doors open with ten people playing the teevee at full volume smoking and drinking and yelling to their friends in the room four doors down and don't forget piling their takeaway garbage in the hallway outside.  lovely memories.

i can imagine the wonderful feelings when a few of the owners on your floor of the condominium building where you just bought your unit decide to get in on the action.  such an adventure!  new quality neighbors every few days!  i've always wondered why they always want to move the furniture late at night.  good news for airbnb slumlords, the numbers of quality mainland tourists is up again with no end in sight.

yes, but if you don't want to be without a passport for 4-6 weeks, looks like you have to submit in person, and still have the return by mail option.

you only have one card?  some work, some don't. 

i've been able to book direct using us bank credit cards with jetstar, tiger and airasia.

according to the website, you need to make an appointment at the embassy to submit the package.  they send the info electronically to the us for processing.

change as of 01 july.....they cancel your old passport and return it to you then.

https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/passports/adult-passport-renew/

5 hours ago, Vacuum said:

Yes, this is a Thai phenomenon. For some reason they can't/won't turn the steering wheel enough to make an appropriate turn.

 

it can be difficult to turn a steering wheel of a large suv with one hand.

oh boy!  another committee!  what's the takeaway from this story?

1....the DLT has received 2.32 million baht in support of its road safety programs

2. ....All three bodies are confident the agreement will lead to further collaboration in the future. 

where do you plan to stay for the first few weeks, or the first few days even?  make reservations at a hotel for the first week, see if they will accept your package.

no, not only in thailand.....

at least the chinese engineers in kunming had the sense to install a huge concrete block at the base of the tree to protect the bark.

note the absence of streetlights, in a region where drivers often drive without lights at night to conserve gasoline.

one more consideration for the bucket people.....

no one will be looking out for you but you.

as a motorcycle rider you are near the bottom of the respect pile.

scooter riders?  they don't get no respect.

so think carefully, you really wanna ride 12 hours or so, and arrive

in bangkok physically tired and mentally exhausted....during the

tail end of rush hour as darkness covers the land?

after that amount of time in the saddle, what sort of reaction time

you think you'll have?

dear OP, time to buy a new bucket!

fly or take the train.  attend your meeting.

why combine with a long (14 hours each way), boring (highway all same-same), rushed (must....get....to....meeting), dangerous (cheeze whiz! another truckie playing video games!) scooter ride?

wanna ride your scooter?  take the back roads to kanchaniburi and back, or tour the golden triangle. 

don't really need an explanation.  nazi stuff doesn't have the same meaning here as in western lands.  i've read (no personal experience) that chairman mao gear is all the rage in the us lately.  i would never call to have those images banned.

as for the usa, there is an american national socialist party, which does publish newspapers and websites, does run candidates for office, sponsors sections of highway for monthly cleanup, etc.

lotta negatives you can bring up about the usa, but can't fault freedom of speech. wonderful thing about that is it protects unpopular speech.....seeing as popular speech needs no protections. unfortunately too many westerners believe they have a god-given right not to feel offended.  that's sad,   sadder still when they try to force that on others.  does thailand need more limits on expression?

photos:  myanmar fashion

also appears in native american symbolism.

this is from the kimo theater in albuquerque

6 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Those are  not Nazi swastikas though , they are Buddhist signs

yes, was responding to the symbols on the wooden post.

common buddhist symbols.

i've been doing some shopping for similar.......was in one of the local malls, the 5th floor "power mall"  has a selection of 13&14" notebooks (asus, acer, lenovo, hp) with windows 10 included.

price ranges 10-15K baht.  additional 500 baht gets an extra software package installed.  (powerpoint, word, excel, skype).

14 minutes ago, cowbee said:

...I don't have letter of residence, and to obtain that maybe will take time 1-2 weeks and the owner wont wait till that time.....?

will your embassy provide a residency certificate?

amazing how many people leave their homelands behind, often due to overbearing government policies, yet "demand" that the foreign host government implement some of the same policies that caused them to leave their homelands originally.

think about how this progresses...

with the latest oil shale fracking technology,  the texas economy is booming.  won't be long before thousands of "redneck" oilpatch workers will be vacationing in pattaya.  should they be offended by ladyboys and public homosexual behavior, who here is going to agree the police should do something about it, else lose tourism money?

who here from europe would agree that new immigrants have a right to demand local governments institute various forms of sharia?  i'm sure the new arrivals in france find plenty to be offended by.