connda

I had some specific conceptions (or perhaps misconceptions) of what Buddhism was (or wasn’t) in Thailand when I first arrived. Those have been pretty well shaken to the core.

I’ll make a very general statement that no one necessarily needs to agree with me on. As a Westerner, your concepts of Buddhism will probably me more aligned to one of the Thai Forest Sangha. I personally see an over-emphasis on the concept of money, the use of money, and what looks to be a disregard for the Vinyana in the city based traditions. Maybe I’m just a stupid Farang – but I don’t think so. I believe you may find a more disciplined approach to seeking an end to suffering within the confines of the Forest Tradition.

I'm tired of doing web searches for inexpensive hotels (300 to 500 baht a night) in Ubon Ratchathani. I'm sure there are some, just not well advertised. I'm not a tourist, I'm visiting and need a place to "sleep" for two nights. Clean would be nice. Any ideas.

Police to release sketch of gunman killing Lop Buri Provincial Administration Organisation head in Bangkok after inspecting surveillance camera records /MCOT

Yellow shirts stepping up thier campain?

Three bullets hit Suban, chairman of the Lop Buri Provincial Administrative Organisation, in the head..

Thought there'd be cops everywhere? Pretty strange location with all the backpackers around...............:jap:

Three in the head? That's pretty good shooting. And the wife and assistant took the other two shots. This isn't your average 10,000 baht spray some bullets from the back of a motorcycle scenario. That's pretty professional work.

There is something universal about politics: 99% of the time, rich people - or a proxy for rich people - are handed a sh**load of money and put on the ballot. Democracy in action: you now have someone to vote for. Now, do any of these people actually represent that interests of the majority of the voters. Probably not. I mean -- really! Look around the world at all the various representative forms of government and how many of the "elected" are millionaires or billionaires? Let me answer that question: "A Whole Lot!!!"

Now, there isn't one millionaire or billionaire that has anything in common with me or my interests. In fact, my chance of getting within talking distance of one of my representatives is next to zero.

So, they're a little more "Wild West" in Thailand than we have in America (funny how that works - huh). Here, you can actually try to take your opponent out using lethal force. But what makes the game interesting is that two can play that game -- and feuds can run deep from what I've seen here.

So at the end of the day, some dude that probably doesn't give a rip about his voters becomes a victim of political expediency. Maybe he takes a bullet because his opponent doesn't have the same "war chest" of political action contributions and that's the only way his opponents feel they can "level the playing field".

In the end, the average person loses regardless of the outcome of any "vote". We're all just so much cannon fodder.

But who knows, I may change my mind on this. The world's becoming a very interesting place to live as the politicians, bankers, and corporations rape the "average man and woman" leaving them with next to nothing and attempting to take away the rest and leave their children in debt slavery. And when people have lost everything, they sometimes start to wake up. And if they wake up, they're usually grumpy as hell. And if history repeats itself (and it always does), things are going to get really interesting. Keep an eye on Greece and the Middle East. And actually, Thai politics are looking pretty exciting too. What a grand world we live in. I'm glad I don't have children.

By the way, I've given up on Fortune Dental and have now gone to Elite Smile out side of Pantip Plaza. Elite Smile has a very professional staff, the work is excellent, and everyone seems to speak excellent English. I'm very happy with Elite.Smile

i will never go back to Fortune.

Thanks for the replies!

$500 (15000 baht) for 3 to 4 hours instruction on how to change a motorbike tire? Are you kidding?

For that amount of money, I would throw in the girlfriend, a 43 inch widescreen HD TV and 3 buffalos.

You should change the name of this thread to: Stupid farang with lots of money to give away for doing sod all.

It`s very easy.

Do you know a Thai person who can translate for you?

If so, take that person with you to any small motorbike repair shop; there are billions of them in and around the town.

Then offer about 2000 baht to a mechanic (And even that's too much) to give you a hands on instruction on how to replace an intertube on a motorbike. Get the Thai person to translate for you and make notes or even take someone with you that can record the event on a video recorder or a with a camera that has a video facility.

Shouldn't take anymore than a couple of hours at the most.

500 Baht, like 500฿. I never can find the right key. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

Stupid Farang without any Mechanical Skills at all would like to learn to repair my own motorcycle and bicycle tires.

OK, let's set the stage. I like riding my motorcycle. However, I've gotten lucky to date. I average one flat tire every 2500 kilometers that I drive. I fill my tires regularly, and look for obvious damage. No good. Every 25KM -- Bang! Flat. So far so good. The worst case was a blowout about 25 North of Mai Rim on a Rental bike. Found the owners card and then discovered I left my freaking phone at home. Turned the bike about for a long trek back to Mai Rim -- but suddenly like an angel from heaven -- I hear, "Hey You!" Luck would have it that I blew out right across the street of a guy who repaired tires. Worst case scenario, I drove from Korat to Dan Kwian. Had to walk 2 kilometers back to a tire repair dude. And since then I've been lucky enough to always blow out in the city.

But that also means that I am deathly afraid of taking by Honda Dream more than a few kilometers away from town. And driving is one of the few thing I really find joy in doing. SO – I've got to buy the minimal tools to replace an inner tube and inflate it.

So first off, 90% of the flats have be rear wheel. Good and bad. Good because I have more control over the bike to slow down, bad because I have to deal with chains and gears and stuff and don't understand. I obviously need a set of wrenches, pump, new inner tube (I'm not attempting to fix the old one, may lesson 2), valve stem remover, maybe an extra valve stem, and a couple Thingamajigs to get the tire off and back on, and what ever else my stupidity is forgetting.

And next, I need mechanic with a lot of patience, and at least minimal English speaking skills (to match my minimal Thai speaking skills) to help me do this over and over and over until I'm confident that I can do this with proficiency when stuck out in the middle-of-nowhere if needed. So, does anyone know someone in Chiang Mai (downtown area) who can take a day and help me. I live off of Kampandaeng (กำแพพงดิน) near the AIS building. I also have an mountain bike with the same issue.

But if I'm driving long distances I gotta be able to fix my own tires or I'm in a world of hurt. But I hate this freaking mountain bike, and I wish I had my old 27 in Schwin 10 speed that that I had to leave in the USA -- That Bike was as reliable as an Buffalo.

Now with that all said, the obvious answer would be to get a "Big Bike" with Tubeless Tires which are a heck of a lot more reliable. But, every time I have the money to buy one, my wife's sixth sense kicks into gear and she determines that our extra money needs to go to some other project. and I'm getting dam_n tired of it. I told her, that as soon as I've saved the money - again -- the next purchase is mine.

I digress. I need someone who can help me for about a day to teach me to install front and rear inner tubes on my Honda Dream, and to help my repair front and rear flats on my mountain bike. I'd be willing to pay a Thai person about $500 baht for 3 or 4 hours of work of if we can get it done in less time, still $500 baht. I'd be willing to paid a Farang in beer and camaraderie and maybe a bike ride together. I need to find friends with common interests -- I'm going crazy since I retired.

If anyone can help -- I'd be much, much obliged!!! Thanks much in advance!

Interesting responses to this revelation. Any US citizen (or AU/GB?) considering providing an income affidavit to Immigration without being able to prove it on demand was taking a risk. In my case, the USD has fallen enough in the last two years to put my pension (such as it is) below the 65K limit. I've had 800K in the bank here at one point, but have heard one scare story about money just disappearing from accounts. I got a shoulder-shrug from a Bangkok Bank rep. when I asked about account deposit insurance. I could have easily met the 800K deposit requirement, but what kind of ROI would it have earned? So, because of the retirement visa requirements, I've decided to push double-entry tourist visas to the limit.

Here are a few questions I hope can be answered by someone on the forum:

1) There was mention of a 'hybrid' bank account balance and monthly income arrangement. I had hypothesized that such a compromise provision might exist but had not asked Immigration on my visit researching the retirement visa. Does anyone have the details of this ... or is it back to Immigration with this one?

2) There was mention of a 'qualifying period' for the 800K on deposit. Does anyone know what the period is? I had a German citizen on the 800K deposit plan note that Immigration had somehow detected an emergency withdrawal that put the balance just below the 800K amount and he heard from them.

3) Does anyone believe that if the Thai average income is 8000/month, that has any bearing on what monthly amount they've 'decided' to extract from farangs? I would hypothesize that it's an inverse relationship ... if you know what I mean.

4) Does anyone know what the weather is like in Cebu, Philippines these days?

Thanks In Advance,

Max

1) The sum 65.000 comes from 800.000 divided by 12, but to require 66.666 would be silly, hence the sum of 65.000 If you have proof of 40.000 per month you will need 320.000 in the bank. The trick is to make up a total yearly income of 800.000

2) The 800k must be in a Thai bank 3 months before you ask for extension of your retirement visa. If you apply for a retirement visa, meaning the first time, 2 months is required.

3) The whole idea with the 65k limit is to ensure that you can support yourself and not be a burden to Thailand. I doubt what somebody stated that the 65k does NOT need to be brought into Thailand. This does not make sense

4) Google it!!

Yeah but this whole scheme gets totally FUBARed as soon as the US$ get crushed. It was my understanding that prior to the 1997 economic crisis, the baht was pegged 25:1 to the dollar and the amount needed for a retirement visa was significantly less. I keep bringing this situation up with my wife, because I forsee a day when the USD goes under 20B to the $ and the Thai government starts to invite married foreigners to leave Thailand along with leaving their wives and families who the foreigner has supported while the foreign currencies were strong. It will be an interesting day when the Thai bureaucracy shows their true Buddhist compassion by kicking out of the country the vast majority people who have helped support so many families by bringing their own money over from their foreign country to support their extended families as they also support this economy. That should be great -- bureaucratically enforced divorce based on the whims and speculation in the currency and FX markets. "Thanks for bringing over the money when we really needed it, but now get the he*l out of Thailand because your Central Bank has just destroyed your currency. But wait! Wouldn't it be the compassionate thing to do to lower the financial requirement to pre-1997 level if the dollar hits 25 Baht/1$? But it seems the worst the exchange rate gets, the more Immigration tightens the requirements. Maybe I should find a gig in Cambodia. I can't find a mia noi anymore because I'm too old

My new accountant in the US said she couldn't file electronically, so I'm stuck sending this via the mail

Why is this? Every accountant I have used in the past could file electronically, and since I have been here full time I have used TurboTax and Tax Act to file electronically from Thailand. Just curious.

mario299

I don't know either, but that's what she said. She also charged by about 4 times what my previous accountant charged me, so she will not be my accountant next year. I'm playing with a copy of Turbo Tax and I''m planning on doing my own taxes next year. It look pretty straight forward.

I've recently sent my IRS 1040 return to the US via EMS mail. However, three weeks later I can not verify that the package actually arrived. International US Citizen send their forms to

...There's got to be a way that they can "Put a trace" out for a "lost" package. I mean, what do I need to do to get them to confirm that they have LOST the package? I think at that point they are liable for the contents up to a certain amount of baht?

1. Compensation policy for EMS items: http://www2.thailand..._id=44-S-000005

2. You fill out a claim form and attach information/evidence about the value of the contents of the EMS item.

Puccini,

Thanks for the links and info. Much appreciated.

I'm off to the CM post office on Monday for another round of discussions. I will post the results for my discussion in detail.

Maybe customs has snagged it at Swampy for some reason and havent told EMS or the air freight company has forgotten it in a warehouse or has been stolen..maybe EMS is telling you the truth, they dont know where it is, these things can happen at times, it appears there is nothing of "value" in it...sure it will turn up.

Personally always found EMS a pretty good set up and used it many times over last 10 years and never had an issue

Trackable and Traceable mean that some person with a handheld computer is making entries regarding where the item goes. I've used other couriers in the past and I can see if the package was diverted to customs. Why not EMS? And I did say that these were "important documents", i.e., they have value to them.

There's got to be a way that they can "Put a trace" out for a "lost" package. I mean, what do I need to do to get them to confirm that they have LOST the package? I think at that point they are liable for the contents up to a certain amount of baht?

Well, so much for all of the posts that I've seen that indicate that EMS mail is great. The first time I use it, the Thai Post office loses my package that I sent to the United States.

EMS is Trackable! EMS can give you Proof of Delivery! From what I can tell, it's not trackable or traceable-- here's why:

My EMS package was sent May 19 from the main Chiang Mai Post Office. I've checked the Thai PO EMS tracking web site and I can track it as far as the SUVARNABHUMI MAIL CENTRE. I then checked the US Postal Service web tracking to see if the EMS package arrived in the US. It has not. The trail ends at the SUVARNABHUMI MAIL CENTRE on May 20.

I went to the main post office in Chiang Mai with my Thai wife (so I wouldn't run into English / Thai translation issues) on May 30. The bureaucrat we were shuffled off to speak to left for about 5 minutes and then came out with a printout of the same tracking sheet that I can obtain off of the Thai EMS tracking site.

He tells my wife that the package is not at SUVARNABHUMI. So I ask where is it. "Not at SUVARNABHUMI. Come back next week."

I went back home and contacted the US Postal Service and requested a "Proof of Delivery" from the US Post Service. Today, I just got back a letter indicating that there is no record of my EMS parcel being received in the US.

So, now my guess is that I'm going to be stuck between two bureaucratic organizations, both of which claim that that have no knowledge of where my package is -- and worse -- I had important documents in that package. It seems as though the EMS system is inaccurate and unreliable.

So here's my big questions to whomever may have an honest, legitimate answer:

What do I do now!!!

I really don't expect any assistance from the Thai Post Office considering that I've already have gotten the run around. I'm stuck! Who can help me? Anybody?

As a Theravada Buddhist of European descent, I find the statements and racial overtones in this article to be immensely disturbing for all of the glaringly obvious reasons.

Well, i dropped in to check out Elite Smile. The front desk staff were fluent English speakers. That was a good start! I made an appointment to get two chipped teeth repair and a filling replaced that had been done less than two years ago by my previous dentist. The female dentist that I saw was great - Dr. Kessanee. Reminded me of my dentist back in the US. Very professional. All the work was on my front teeth The work was beautifully done. And I didn't have to have a discussion with Dr. Kessanee about anesthetics. I asked for a shot and got it. I'm very happy with the staff at this dentist office.

Thanks to all who posted suggestions. I picked Elite primarily because it was walking distance from where I live.

I have only had the bike for 4 days now and taking care to run it at various speeds, it seems to handle well, underpowered for weight but 200 baht for fuel, Chiang Mai to Chaing Rai OK.

What the Lifan like on the highway. I'm interested in how fast you can "comfortably" ride it on the highway. 110kph? 120?

I confirm that the Pantip Plaza showroom is gone.

The Mazda dealer is the best clue, particularly because of their tall high sign, and the Lifan being across the street means that the motorcycle shop is on your side of the street coming into town. There are bikes in rows out front, many sizes. English spoken. Shop in back.

Yeah, I drove by the other day and found it. They had a nice Lifan V250 outside. Just what I'm looking for.

I think you could learn to ask for your pain medication in Thai. I can imagine a lot of discussion by Thais to someone who asked to be 'numbed'

If a trained dentist doesn't understand a request in English for numbing the area first, then my guess is that he/she wouldn't understand a more complicated request.

Edit: I had deep cleaning done by Dr. Jarunee when she was at Grace and once at Impress. We have an understanding and she uses as much anaesthetic as I need.

Thanks. I've heard about Grace by a number of people inside and outside of this forum. I believe I will go check them out. I appreciate the replies!!!

I went to a dental appointment today at a dental clinic I have used in the past with mixed results. I asked to have them do a deep periodontal cleaning which my dentist in the US recommended that I have done yearly. I explained to them that I needed to have Novocain injections prior to the cleaning. I know from past experience that the deep cleaning, for me, is extremely painful as they clean the root surfaces under the gum line. When I asked for Novocain the dentists looked at me like I was from a different planet. She called in the front desk manager who again asked what I wanted. I told her I wanted to be numbed for the treatment. More confusion followed. They talked between themselves in Thai which I was unable to follow, and then they decided that I should be seen by a "senior" dentist at a later date.

This isn't the first time I've run into this issue with Thai dentists. It seems that every time I ask to be numbed, I get the same confused, perplexed looks and nervous laughter from the dentists and their assistants -- and it happened again today. Why?

The bottom line here -- I need to find a dentist in this area who understands that some individual, like me, experience immense pain during what may seem, to them, to be minor procedures. Now, I don't understand why an individual with a doctorate in medicine or dentistry can't fathom that some people have lower pain thresholds than others. It's a medical fact. But I'm tired of having to explain over and over that I want to be completely numb before any dental work is done in my mouth. I'm well over 50, I've had a significant amount of work done in my mouth during my life, and I know exactly what hurts me. So, I'm looking for a new dentist that has the consideration and understanding to take care of the pain issue without arguing with me or trying to make me out like I'm some sort of an idiot. I'm done with arrogant, sadistic dentists. The 10 minutes it takes to numb me should a no-brainer to any competent dentist, and once I'm numb I'm a very compliant patient.

So can anyone recommend a quality dentist in Chiang Mai who actually understands and practices pain management?

Thanks!

A few blocks up from the train station, in the way to the super highway there is a good one. Across from the Mazda dealership.

This is where I bought mine.

Thanks for the info

Does anyone know if there is a Lifan motorcycle dealership in or around Chiang Mai?

Unfortunately the word doesn't get out to the majority of tourist who could then vote with their feet -- i.e., don't vacation in Phuket. There are too many other nicer vacation venues in Thailand. Why deal with the blatant corruption that starts at the top and progresses to the bottom.

I don't go there, and I don't recommend to my friends to go there. It isn't going to change, so don't go.

What NancyL said.

I'll add one more -- do some volunteer activities. My wife teaches English to Burmese students a couple of evenings a week and I spend time at the dog shelter. (Please notice that I called it "volunteer activities". I don't work as it's prohibited under my visa.)

The only stress I have living as an early retiree in Chiang Mai is finding the time to do all the things I want to do.

Hummm. This is a real grey area. From my understanding, you are required to have a work permit to perform volunteer work! If that is correct, and you don't have a work permit, and you get caught -- you can be thrown into jail, detained, and possibly deported. The organization that you work for will probably get a hand slap.

That's not to say that I'm not interested in working for a non-profit. Actually, I'm very interested in the processes of organizing, setting up, and running a non-profit in Thailand. I would eventually like to establish one in the remote area of my wife's village with the intent of providing educational programs that are not normally available to poor villagers. The object here would be to identify and groom intelligent kids in these villages, actively assistant them in improving their skills, and assist them in finding scholarships (Technical or University) with the hope that these kids with return to the area and help to break the poverty cycle in that area. But I need to understand how others are running their NP organizations.

Anyway, it's an option...