markg

"Pointless" it may be, in some folk's view, but it is the law, and some folks don't want to pay baht 2,000 (or more if you're "caught").

It's quite easy to mail in the report if you're too busy to bother visiting Immigration, at least a many to most offices, not mine, tho, at Sam Koke, Pathum Thani.

And, no, rather doubt that they'll notice anything amiss at Swampy Immigration.

Mac

Yeah i know it's the law, and for 6 years i've been good about it, but the Immigration Police comments about my colleague being able to register at a house he clearly doesnt live in, coupled with the fact that immigration is now like a cattle market, it can take a couple of hours of my time to do it. I don't think you can post it in to Phuket, though you can send a proxy. Once i come back into Thailand and the clock restarts, i'll send one of the office girls in to do it for me.

I've been on a non-b visa extension and work permit for a number of years. The last 12 months or so, i frankly became too lazy to do the 90 day address reporting.

Yesterday i went in to get a re-entry permit as i have to fly out of Thailand shortly and the Immigration Police, who was focused solely on issuing re-entry permits, didn't mention the missing 90 day piece of paper in my passport. He stamped me up and passed everything on to a junior girl (possibly Rajabaht work experience) to write out the receipt. It was her that noticed the missing paper. I told her i must have left it at home, and she said i'd better have it when i fly out because i'll be in 'big trouble' otherwise.

I'll prudently take the 2k baht fine with me to the airport just in case, but i was wondering what the likelihood is of the airport immigration actually checking that?

(As an aside, the reason i don't do 90 day reporting is that it's useless. A colleague who lives rent-free with parents and therefore has no lease agreement, was told by immigration police that he could just fill in the form and register at my house if i agreed (we were sat next to each other) even though he stated to them that he did NOT live at my house. They waved this away saying it didnt matter - ergo, what is the point of doing the 90 day reporting to verify you live at an address that you don't. Pointless. Phuket immigration is so busy these days that its become a hassle to do this pointless piece of free bureaucracy. )

I'd been wondering the same for a week now. At first i thought 7/11 co were trying to emulate Soviet era supermarkets, but then i realised it was due to the floods. I've requested my butler helicopter in my daily dairy products henceforth.

Ditto what Richard said.

I'd cross the border as soon as possible. An overstay fine is not a 'filling the cookie jar' business but a proper receipted fine. And they make an entry in your passport. If that entry says that it's only a couple of days overstay, then i doubt any other country you try to enter will raise an eyebrow. We're all human and can make a slight oversight/mistake. If you go for the whole hog and do a serious overstay, then there are implications. You 'could' get deported, jailed and/or fined and you also 'could' get refused entry to other countries based on your past history............

Get over the border as soon as you can and pay what you have to pay.

I do believe a similar thing happened on the Costa del Sol in Spain.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it took the Russian mafia about 6 months to take over the lucrative drug / club and other establishments which had traditionally been the preserve of the Spanish and English crime syndicates. They just made all their opponents disappear. These guys don't muck about. Thai mafia? Forget it ! History already, just looking on in awe.

Yes. I'd like to know where the OP's mechanic is.

I also have had great experiences from bike mechanics.

Wonder why it is? Is it just the way it is, or is it a genuine 'loss leader' where they give you good, cheap or free service in the hope you'll come back?

I think it's the former. I've been to tin-shacks by the side of the road where they have wanted very little or even no money for sorting my bike out.

I love it !

Certainly in the UK you'd be lucky to be spending less than 50 pounds an hour on service, and bike parts are hugely inflated too.

I love the simplicity and cheapness of my Wave.

I ususally use Honda main dealership in Chalong, but have also used road-side mechanics. Both are amazingly cheap !

I know one woman (nice enough woman if your not her partner) who maintains the idea shes a Patong business woman (tho your not unlikely to find her in Tai pan in the small hours !!) and in the 5 or 6 years I have known her shes has flushed literally millions of baht into front businesses, not small money, but million baht key money on this one, multi million baht money into that one.. Deposits on Condos lost as she failed to flip them etc etc...

Each time this comes from some new off the plane muppet, who falls for the 'shes not a bar girl' fantasy.. And gets sold that this is a solid biz plan and hands over proper decent sums of money into these ventures. Once its burnt through in a matter of months or year hes gone and theres some other guy paying the next one. Of course the entire time she can afford a car and all the girls call her 'Pee'. To meet her on the street you would think theres someone with their head together making money in Patong. Yet I have watched millions go into maybe 5 or more businesses each time with a new fella covering the startup.

I know this woman !

Oh..........it's just one of many doing the exact same thing.

The one i know has a nice car, a nice house (chalong) which she lives in plus another that she rents out (Phuket town). Plus a couple of hair salons. She walks the walk and dresses to impress, but the whole house of cards is underwritten by SEVERAL farangs, the visits of whom she assiduously juggles. I had a huge row with my GF that what she was doing was almost prostitution.........

Back on topic. The trouble with a Thai hair salon is that a wash and blow dry is about 70 baht.........that's a lot of work to do before the rent is covered.

Do some serious homework before you 'invest' in this business because they really are a dime-a-dozen. Your GF will also have to work almost every day because (according to my TGF) the staff will just rip you off if you are not in the shop counting the pennies.

Trying to open a salon in a hotel resort might be a better prospect if you can cut a good deal with the management about rent / profits.

Personally, i'd stay away from it ! Too much headache with not enough returns.

As I understood it, it's not the bugs that are unsafe, but the residual heavy metals in it, which accumulate in your body over time. These metals are in it from water coming from the old tin mines. I don't know if the water authority can or do take these out? I also don't know if a reverse osmosis system can take these out either.

I use the big white 25 litre bottles and never get sick off them, but don't know if they are safe. I have to assume they are i guess

There's a couple of things that stand out from your post.

Yes, 250 baht for a small bottle of beer is outrageously expensive. Agreed. However, you did say that it was clearly stated on the menu. I'd suggest that only a rich man walks into a-go-go and orders drinks without looking at the menu.

Secondly, you asked 'why do people go there'? Well........you went there, and possibly on your own too by the sounds of it...............Maybe you could answer the question for us.

In 7 years on Phuket i have been stopped maybe a dozen times at Police checkpoints.

I always wear a helmet. I have a valid Thai driving licence. (I also have a full motorcycle licence from the UK)

In Phuket town, the cops are definitly NOT just after farangs. They stop the first ten bikes and check them and WILL go to town on Thai people breaking the law.

I have been in checks where Thai people have their bikes searched, and the farang has not.

I've also been in checks where the surlyness of the officer turned into a salute and click of the heels when i produced my Thai 5 year driving licence.

I've never been asked for money.

I've was given a ticket once for out of date tax disc on a rental bike i once had. Paid that money at the police station - that's fair enough. (Rental guy paid me back)

Accidents that are foreigners fault irrespective of the actual facts - I've many stories from friends and witnessed myself and it's more or less true. In most cases, it's our fault. That;s the risk you take driving here.

The Speedtest.net results in Phuket are rigged. We uncovered a Potemkin a couple of weeks ago, using 3BB as an ISP. Blatant.

What's a Potemkin? Google say its 'a Russian officer and politician who was a favorite of Catherine II and in 1762 helped her to seize power' and it would be quite remarkable if 3BB are using that to rig their speed results............though you never know!

never been there but is there a local city bus between the 2 places ?

Yeah, get the friendly and cheap night-bus service. It leaves from the bus stop next to the train station...........................

Seriously, get a room. There are stacks of very reasonable, clean and safe guest house/small hotel rooms for 500b a night. Ride to Patong, take an overnight bag, score the chick of that night's dreams, send her on her way the next morning. Wash and brush up and then ride safely and soberly, home. That saves you 500 baht a trip.

And with that saving..........you could almost afford her friend too.!

Even during Songkran i managed to snag a room in Patong for 600b a night. It makes sensible sense.

They eventually recovered a few projectiles and were able to ascertain that once the energy was expended a bullet would just tumble back to earth like any object dropped from a height. Unlikely to be lethal.

Erm.......'unlikely to be lethal' isnt quite right.

A bullet, for those who don't know, is a piece of lead, wrapped in a brass coat. It's small and dense.

Physics aside, the terminal velocity achieved by a bullet falling - just due to gravity - is about 150 mph.

If that hit you on the head, i wouldn't bet on it being 'unlikely to be lethal'

'Unlikely to hit you on the head' would be closer to the mark, but if it hit you on the head, then pretty likely, it would end up going right through your brain.

Of course, whether that would be lethal, or even noticeable, to those involved in the bar brawl, remains a matter for conjecture!

I would echo TaoNow's points to a certain extent WITHOUT WISHING TO BE A KILLJOY !

I've been to the last 6 Veg Fests and will also go to this one for some of it.

From a tourist point of view, it's definitely a spectacle of noise and colour, and it's very possibly an event that is unique in the world. So for that alone, it's worth seeing.

As a vegetarian living in Phuket though, it certainly does nothing to educate or promote vegetarianism. For example, most Thai's think i'm veggie because i'm on some sort of religious penance of purification, and can't understand why i can drink alcohol. Secondly, the food, as TaoNow points out, is crap. Stir fried nibbles and little else. People ask me how i can eat that rubbish every day...................well, the answer of course is that i dont !

The permanent veggie restaurants near to the Jui Tui temple serve a huge VARIETY of vegan food every day and it's just a shame that the great majority of people don't see it, but rather see the stir fried finger-food that is on offer only.

The last day's procession can be a bit dangerous as people are throwing fireworks at each other.......

Be careful, be sensible, and enjoy the atmosphere, oh - and try to go INTO some of the veggie restaurants for a sit down meal instead of nibbling veggie street food. You just may be surprised !

I miss logic. Thailand is fairly illogical in my view.

I miss the variety of fashion and hair styles.

CHEAP and good wine (yeah we have wine in Phuket but not cheap AND good ! )

I miss customer service from staff in stores who are empowered to look after a customer..........(try returning stuff for a refund here........sorry mister, have to send to Bkk, you wait 3 months......that's not service)

I miss the cops. Yeah, i do. Cops here, and the whole judicial system scare me.

I miss girls who you can have an intellectual conversation with.

I miss long-term friends. I have close friends here - for sure - but the expat community is always fluid - and someone or other leaves. That can leave a painful hole. It doesn't seem to be like that back 'home'. People put roots down more back home.

I miss decent beer. I really do. Beer back home on my last recent visit worked out at 100baht a pint - for real ale. You just can't do that in Phuket.

To try to balance this, so as not to sound whingey.

I could go 'home' anytime i feel. If life becomes unbearable here, i have a passport and can work in ANY EU country. If you don't like it here, then sod off somewhere else!

I like the fact seven/11's are open 24 hours a day, with no security, and i can generally buy booze when i feel thirsty.

I love the good, cheap food which also is generally available 24 hours a day from many places close to my house.

I love the sunshine.

I love the preeeeety girls.

I love the prices for 'home maintenance/service ' etc. Having my house cleaned/painted/repaired etc is cheap. Sooooo cheap !

I kinda like the anarchic roads. Notice how hardly anyone honks here? Very little road rage, which is quite staggering really !

I like being able to afford to eat out for every single meal of every single day. I bet even Mick Jagger doesn;t do that !

If the Government acknowledge that people are scratching a living and using them - then legalise them and set up safety standards for them. Should a bike fitted with only drum brakes be allowed to have them? (no) Should they be set up so that the sidecar is also equipped with a brake ? Yes.

It's not that hard. Similar contraptions are legal in the UK actually.

I have two gripes about them.

1. When they 'forget' they are NOT a motorcycle and then block a perfectly good filtering lane for bikes by sitting in a gap between the kerb and a car which they clearly cannot get through......

2. The loony-tunes youths who ride what appears to be a 'company' vehicle delivering gas bottles or water bottles. They drive them as fast as possible............cement truck drivers in the making by the looks of things!

I don't know where you live but prices of beer in Thailand have been much the same for 10 years and 70 Baht is 'cheap'. Try a 'decent' hotel and you will pay 190 for a 330ml bottle. But why compare 'swilling' prices to Thai tourist bars as a pint comes off a 'hog' or a keg and a vast difference in cost and without the glass, label or cap wrapped around the bubbly. An 18 gallon keg works out about 300 Baht a gallon in UK so you are being ripped off blind for you 'pint'. Compare apples with apples and you may find it much the same and there are no short skirted bar-flys in your pub you can take home to play with under 50kgs a cheek!

I was replying to someone who intimated that beer in Thailand is cheap. I maintain that it isn't cheap. I compared prices for a pub in the UK with a pretty standard bar in Thailand. I'm sure a 330ml bottle in a nice hotel in Thailand can hit 200 baht, but that isnt the point. The point is when you compare UK to Thailand 'standard' pubs/bars, the UK is cheaper for beer. And the reason i was making the point is that Thailand isn't a 'cheap' place to visit like it used to be. Tourists would put up with the expense and 15 - 20 hours travel time because of the cultural experience, and could offset the price/aggravation of getting here, against cheap food, drinks, accommodation and entertainment. That isnt the case anymore.

Tourism is a big part of Thai GDP. It's a big deal. It's important. The old European markets for tourists are being affected by a hike in prices and the strength of the Thai baht. People are going to be looking closer to home for their 2 weeks in the sun holidays.........and the problem with that is, they may re-discover places in Europe that they'd forgotten about in their pursuit for exotic culture. Meaning that next year, they may stay in Europe too.

The Thai baht is way too strong and i just cant figure out why.

This is really no good News to the Foreigners currently living in Thailand. But do they even know that this affects the Tourist and all the Exports.

in this High Season they really need to put the Thai Baht down. Else next Year no one is going to come NO more.

his is great news for us expatriates who live here and work here. We can now afford holidays in the UK and US. Tourists still find Thailand very cheap and are flocking here. Ever had a beer in a Pub in Oz or UK? Three times the price of here.

Am recently back in Thailand after a holiday in the UK. The average price of a pint of bitter in pubs i went in was 2 pounds. Thats about 100 baht a pint.

The average price in a bar in Phuket (NOT in a 7/11 etc) would be about 70 baht for a 330ml bottle. Thats about 1.50 for about half a pint. Or close to 3 pounds a pint.

Cheapest pint i had in the UK was 1.50 in a city centre pub right next to Harvey Nichols. That's HALF the price of beer in Thailand.

Beer in Thailand is NOT cheap ! ( I compared like-for-like. Pub in UK vs Bar in Thailand.)

One does have to wonder who is working the money markets here. Certainly it will have an effect on tourism.

Thailand used to be an expensive place to fly to, but that was offset by accommodation, food and entertainment which were cheap. That is now generally not the case. It's still expensive to fly here, but accommodation, food etc are now approaching European prices.

With the global economic downturn, people are going to look at shorter-haul flights to the sun and will save significant amounts of money in doing so.

If you keep aiming at your feet, sooner or later, you're gonna blow your toes off.

Could anyone explain to me on what grounds he could be tried in the UK or the US?

I don't understand it.

He has been accused of a crime that was committed in Thailand. Surely he can only be tried in Thailand - either in person or in absentia.

I just don't get how the US could have any grounds to extradite him and try him there.

Sure, he is accused of killing a US citizen, but the crime occured outside the US.

Can anyone explain and give their source as to how this works?

(I am a Brit. When i was 16, i once shagged an American who was also 16 on holiday in the UK. Presumably, i could be arrested in the US now because she was under the age of consent there - though not in the UK.)

Beer Lao. The best beer in Thailand in my view.

You can definitely get it in Michaels Bar in Phuket Town.

You used to be able to get it in Nikitas in Rawai - dunno if they still have it though.

I emailed the suppliers myself and didn't hear anything back. Strange really as you'd think from a purely nationalistic point of view, they would want to break into the Thai market.

I also think from a nationalistic view, that Thais are unlikely to drink it !

As a long term Heineken drinker, you can really taste the difference in Beer Lao. Much tastier.

I wonder how all the golf courses stay green?

presume the same as in oz they use spear pumps to bring water from deep underground pressure

we had them on our local course anyways and very good and easy

Might be an idea for the local populace then................if they are 'good and easy' as you say.

Maybe the local authority could requisition them and force golf courses to pump water for humans instead of for their fairways..............

Maybe they could put these quick and easy spear pumps in the BOTTOM of the reservoir ?

A torrential downpour is of less benefit than you might imagine. When the ground becomes waterlogged, or rain falls quicker than the ground can absorb it, it becomes 'run off' and just runs into the drains and then into the sea. Basically it's lost.

Steady rain for 24 hours is what is needed.

I wonder how all the golf courses stay green?

One more niggle I don't understand;

Why are there words spelled with an "R" in Thai when Thais don't pronounce "Rs"? For instance "arai" (what), I have never heard any time say "arai", only "alai" which is how I have learnt it!

Aswell as Bs and Ps sounding the same from a Thai, there's Gs and Ks - Gai (chicken) and Kai (egg) is virtually the same word!

The problem is in the author trying to transliterate Thai into English.

As a silly example, try to WRITE down the exact sound YOU make when you sneeze.

Then get someone to read it back.

Sound the same? Nah !!!

Gai and Kai are similar but you can hear the subtle difference if you listen closely.

Trying to transliterate 'go' is hard, though because 'b' and 'p' are so similar in sounding, i do like 'bpai'

I once went out with a Thai girl called Jurairat. Or Chutrairat. Or Tjutrairat. - Almost impossible to transliterate accurately. In fact, immigration at K.L. had a right ding-dong with her because she couldnt spell her name in English. Of course she can't - but she CAN spell it correctly in Thai !

Like someone said, its better to learn the Thai alphabet and do it that way. Also, learning a TONAL language from a book is nearly impossible unless there is an accompanying cd or MP3

They most certainy are. A very good friend of mine was a fibre optic engineer and did a lot of work for the military. As he had a very good security clearence he also did work for the Ameruicans as well. the NSA operate a very large listening post in the UK. Menwith hill. Do a Google search. They record every telephone call, both mobile, satalite and landline, fax, email and internet activity. As already mentioned they havethe ability to screen these for certain words and they can even search for a particular voice pattern, That is how they eventually captured or rather killed Pablo Escobar.

So yes be worried. As they say " Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean that they aren't all out to get you ! "

Have a look here

http://www.euronet.nl/~rembert/echelon/mwh.htm

Sorry mate, i just find this unbelievable. You are actually saying EVERY single phone call is being recorded. It would be logistically impossible to record the whole of the UK's phone calls in a 24 hour period. There are just too many.

And then who or what listens to them all? It would take a year to listen to one days worth of calls !

I just find it unlikely and logistically impossible.

Certain calls are tapped and then recorded - for sure. Political firebrands, members of the IRA, the BNP for sure. But ALL of Joe Public - i dont think so.

I know for a fact working in the telecoms industry that the caller details are obviously stored - for billing, and all SMS messages are recoverable, but the calls are not routinely recorded. It would take terrabytes of storage every hour. Where is this storage facility? For now surely it must be the size of Belguim by now.

I also know that Joe Public has certain privilege rights or levels which in times of war can be turned off or restricted, freeing up the mobile phone network for govt and military.

Sorry I have to disagree This is not the " west's fault"

west, US particularly attitudes toward throwing trash on the ground are it's a No No.

Thai people are simply, blissfully unaware that the garbage ends up, well, everywhere.

Or they do not care.

You are quite right - but it wasnt always this way. Certainly when i was a kid, the streets were strewn with litter. People didnt really care about dropping litter. Slowly, over time, with education, and public service announcements, it became socially unacceptable to drop litter.

Now it is a no-no.

With an ex girlfriend and her family in a pick up truck in Chumphon. We'd stopped and 6 of us bought Big-Gulps.

One after the other, when finished, the family members wound the window down and threw the empties out.

Their justification was that 'tinkers' would pick them up and eventually weigh them in for a bit of money.

With education, this 'justification' can be changed.

In fairness, Thai kids that i have taught are very aware of 'green' issues. It would seem that their parents are not.