gkinbkk

Sounds like fun. In the interests of being sanook AND given that it seems to be all the rage, I asked the wife if I could have a Gik too. Request declined...something about taking the kids and never seeing them again.

I had a guitar shipped out UPS from New England....3-4 days to deliver door to door. Freight was $150 USD and Tax was about $50 so about $200 all up for a 2.5k guitar which was valued under that (cant remember how much as its about 3 years back)

Not sure but I think taxes are luck of the draw......higher using FedEx by all accounts?

Yamaha S70SX at Proplugin 95k baht or around 3200USD

Yamaha S70SX on eBay around 2200USD

That's a LOT of freight and taxes.....

Decide what you want and buy online.

After shipping and taxes you'll still be well ahead........

Or take a weekend trip to Singapore and bring one back......

I must be the only person in Bangkok that thought Big Pizza was terrible......

My 3 year old has a red t shirt with 'Number 1 Rabbitohs fan' on the back...... needless to say he wont be wearing that for a while!

I was wondering why all the motorbike taxis were slowing down giving the thumbs up as he walked along ThongLor the other day.....

Basilico on 33 wont deliver to Thonglor?

Alcohol is allowed like EVERY year they have it. Like it or not the ban does not apply to us.

I have it on pretty good authority that they will only sell booze coupons until 6pm but the music, booze and food will still go on until around 8. This so they are not SELLING alcohol after 6 and complying with the law so yes, the ban does apply to this event!

Also the authorities have killed the fireworks and they are investigating alternatives......"frickin' sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their frickin' heads," is an option I guess......

No idea where to post this.....so I'll try the BKK forum

Where to get Wet and Dry S/paper 3200 for a 'relic-ing' project....to take very fine slithers of polyurethane and paint off wood with vigorous rubbing to give the impression of the wood being worn down...... ?

Tried Home Pro and that's a no.....need a real hardware store somewhere central or east-ish

I knew they were going to Singapore but I thought TH was missing out...so this is great news Please let us know venue and ticket details, didnt see anything on Thaiticketmajor

yep

To answer the OP's question. By law, alcohol is not allowed to be sold from 6pm on the day before the election and the whole of the elction day (until midnight). So if the law is to be interpreted strictly, alcohol will not be served from 6pm on Friday 24th June until midnight on Sunday 26th June (as "pre-elections" are taking place on the 25th and 26th), and again from 6pm on Saturday 2nd July until midnight on Sunday 3rd July. However, in the past most bars have been allowed to open from about 10pm on the Sunday, as voting finishes at 8pm. And don't forget that Friday 15th July is Asarna Bucha Day and Saturday 16th July is Khao Phansa, and bars will be shut on both of those days as well.

We had a group of people coming from Australia for a 50th birthday celebration for 2 weeks. The Ash cloud has probably put paid to it but we wanted to take them all to Tawandang on Sunday night who advised us that Sat and Sun both weeks are alcohol free but Friday night is business as usual.

Ash cloud aside I do feel sorry for tourists who have probably been planning their Thailand holidays for months and the local businesses they were going to spend up big in on those nights.....

Yep the beer is on and I'll be taking the family out a bit later, for the flag/anthem and through the last 2 bands and fireworks.......looking forward to it

Notstickmanbangkok.com = pathetic. Why would someone do this?! Even the content is piss weak and poorly written......

However as always the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

What I don't understand is why people seem to hold a grudge against Stick. All the gossip about his private life, who really cares and what business is it of any of us?! All I see is people in glass houses throwing pretty big stones which, Stickman aside, seems to be fairly normal for foreigners in Thailand.....sad.

That said, the above poster is right and sometimes he does step over the line in writing about 'investigations' which opens him up to some flak which I'm sure he is ok with. I hate to imagine some of the mail he gets every week from the haters.....

One thing I am not sure of is the tax situation of severance. In Australia, for example, it's tax-free. I'm not sure what the deal is here.

I was also wondering this.

In Singapore it is also tax free

Down the bottom of the Nana station just before soi 11....a couple of stores there that specialise in <snip> sporting merchandise of all flavors including F1

I recently interviewed Thai candidates for 2 positions in the MNC I work for. Mid level technical roles. I saw easily over a dozen candidates, mostly in low to mid 30's. Every single one of them had salary expectations of >125k a month. The Thais I work with do ok, not great compared to Singaporeans in similar roles but ok. Often they will live with extended families on estates where they buy houses next to each other and extend them to be one big residence. When a middle class family is pooling income it can be a pretty nice existence...flash cars, nice holidays, ipads, designer labels....

There is some utter rubbish on this thread. The demographic on Thai Visa is too spread out give you the right answer for YOU. The income gap between rich and poor foreigners in Thailand that are active on this forum is too big to have a meaningful discussion around this subject.

For me, I am the point in my career where I shouldn't take a drop in standard of living to be here nor compromise on standard of housing and education for my family.

For you and the lifestyle you want to lead, I'd say your original estimate isn't too far wrong.....

I said the CELEBRATIONS in BKK were on that day (Sat) not the day itself but yeah...nice try!

DTF was a family staple of ours living in Singapore. We have young kids that LOVE dumplings.

Thought we would try it for lunch on Tue this week. Arrived at 12:10, estimated 30 minute wait, staff still setting tables (they told us they only open at 12?) and as the previous poster says half the restaurant is roped off.

800+ baht to wait 30 mins with kids is unacceptable to me, there are lots of other great places to eat in CW that seem to need the custom more than DTF so off we went.

Let's see what happens in 6 months when they are begging people to eat there. The good days won't go on forever, just ask the franchisee of Krispy Kreme, they don't seem to need the queuing system anymore!!

American Independence Day celebrations on July 2nd and they go into the night with bands and fireworks, food and BOOZE......only place to buy a drink?

Economics?

You eat in my restaurant I give you a small plate, you eat less, I make more money?

Farang eat too much anyway....

Now if "Timmys" opened up their chain here, that would be a good thing! Beats Starbucks coffee hands down!

Is there a place that DOESNT make better coffee than Starbucks?!? Expensive hot milk is about the only way I could sum up a Starbucks coffee.....

I know, not a coffee thread, but Suzuki coffee in Phloen Chit /Wave Place does great coffee and the McCafe flat white aint a bad thing either......Starbucks is junk.

I work for an American MNC here in BKK. Thy will not co-operate on being creative with taxation laws, fair enough I guess. 

The money you are being offered is way too low. I would not even think about it.  

Dont forget that the first year of school comes with the enrollment fee which is going to be the equivalent of an extra term and I dont think you can afford it. Also it will be touch and go to see what your housing allowance will get you after tax. Plus food Plus transport....

Cost of living has gone up immensely in BKK recently and I am struggling from week to week with my schooling paid for me.  

Do not listen to the people on this forum that tell you its enough, its not if you want to maintain the same standard of living, eat the same food etc. Many of your groceries will be more expensive in BKK than back in the US as they are all imported. Your air conditioning/power bill on a 3 bed place is going to be in the region of 7-10k a month. Cable TV 2k a month.Internet on average 1k a month. Weekly trip to the supermarket around 3k. Go out to a restaurant for dinner with the family 2k plus. It all adds up very quickly.  

BTW my wife is expat Thai, we came here from stints in Australia and Singapore over the last ten years. I think she is more miserable here than me despite being 'home'. She finds the attitude of the Thai people has changed a lot in the time she has been gone and found it difficult to assimilate back in. She has a passion for cooking that she developed in Australia which, with the cost of imported foodstuff, is almost impossible for her to pursue here on my salary.  

We've only been here 9 months, am on a bit more than you are being offered ( a lot more if you include education) and can't wait for my contract to finish so I can get the &lt;deleted&gt; out of here and get our life going again.  

Unless you have really compelling reason to come to Asia (money, career, lifestyle)then you should stay at home....

Chai's band still at Molly pub in Raja carpark through June on Fri/Sat nights..they are ok I guess but the place is empty and not that nice....a few really ugly hookers hanging around looking for drinks.....

Was in Hillary Bar on Soi 4 last fri, the so called band in there was absolutely murdering whatever they were playing and being rewarded by a constant stream of people towards the exit. Tried to speak to the manager about it but she was having none of our feedback......dont waste your time.

There is the Rock pub at ratchathewi which looks promising but I have yet to go.....

Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder... Were we watching the same video?

I saw somewhat of a Minger sporting a scanky tattoo in a desperate attempt to appear sexy....

I agree.