allane

There is supposed to be a kind of fresh-farmers market aimed at biologic/green produce, somewhere pretty far horth of centretown-somewhere just off the old road toward Don Muang-north of the PTT building-north of Bang Sue/Kasert Uni.

I think that you are referring to the Bon Marche (market) on Prachaniwet 1 Road ?

Anyone can get killed by the Muslims for doing absolutely nothing.

A further angle on this question: A former colleague of mine has a foreign father and a Thai mother. He told me that as such, he was not liable for Thai military service, but would have been, if his father had been Thai. There may be a sexist element to the Thai law on this matter.

I wouldn't normally hazard a guess, but your use of the word "quasi-emergency" got me ! There is an Icelandic guesthouse on the river side of Charoen Krung Road, about 100 metres south of the Main Post Office. I have no idea if they serve food or not, but if they don't, they may know of some place that does.

Not exactly on topic but...

There are two van services from South Pattaya that go to Century Plaza (near the Victory Monument. One departs from the Family Mart, on the north side of south road, just east of Wat Chaimongkhon and the Krung Thai Bank. The other departs from an optical shop (Top Charoen, I think) on the west side of Thappraya Road, perhaps 100 metres south of its intersection with South Road.

But, what do the GREEN licence plates indicate ? I never think to ask, when I am with a Thai person who might know ?

Are you going to work there? There is a bus that goes to sathu pradit from silom road. I think its number 72 (aircon one)

He might mean songthaew #1272. (large red truck, with bench seating in the back) It runs west on Silom, south on Surasak, west on Sathorn, south on Charoen Krung, then east on Chan past the Sathupradit intersection.

Or from Charoen Krung, take bus #35 southbound. Or, from westbound Sathorn (near Soi 1 or Soi 3), take bus # 62. It runs Sathorn - Suanphlu- Nanglinchi- Chan-Sathupradit.

Your in Asia now. You can sell almost any kind of food or beverage, if you tell them it is an aphrodisiac.

Have you considered working in Language Schools ? While you may have some large classes, you can often get some smaller classes, and even some private lessons where you only have a handful of students. In these situations, you can do much of your teaching sitting down.

The other side of the coin is, you may not be earning as much money as you would in a "day school" situation, where you stand in front of large classes all the time.

Check out this website: www.rd.go.th (Thai Department of Revenue)

Income tax rates are the same for teachers as for any other job.

Of note: Income tax is payable on a calendar year basis, and due March 31 of the next calendar year. If you are on an employment contract on an academic year basis, that is irrelevant.

Try Ayutthaya a historical and cultural site of world class. Not to be missed. 1 hour north of BK by bus or train. Nice city good hotels.. Give yourself 2-3 days.

Check out Lopburi, another hour or hour and a half beyond (north of) Ayutthaya. In Ayutthaya, the cultural attractions are far apart, and you need a bicycle, or a taxi driver for the day, or a series of taxis.

In Lopburi, the interesting things are all within walking distance of each other. Best to arrive there by train, if the SRT rail strike is over, and things are back to normal. If arriving by bus, take a songthaew west to the monkey temple. It is located on a traffic circle where you cross the railroad tracks and enter the old town.

Now that I have your attention, it is not actually a jail cell door, though it certainly looks like one. It is a door to my balcony. It is double width, and made of 1 inch square metal tube iron. One half is attached to the interior wall with bolts in the upper, lower and side frames. The other half pivots on 2 centre hinges, and can be padlocked to the side frame when closed. Both halves have vertical bars at about 4 inch intervals, with cross thwarts providing extra re-inforcement.

Does anyone know a distributor or manufacturer who would sell me one, and only one of these ? I prefer to find one in cetral Bangkok, though will consider suburban areas if need be. Please provide as much info. as possible about the business: address, days and hours of operation etc.

Forgive my ignorance, or maybe I am missing something here ? Assuming that your partner is an adult, why does he need you to "take" him to Australia for a vacation, as if he were some sort of chattel ? You stated that you are a non-Australian, and that you are proposing to go there only for a vacation, not to live there. On a presumption that Australia has no recognition of gay marriage, you would have nothing to offer him there either.

If he wants to go to Australia (with, or without, you), couldn't he do all of this for himself, by himself ?

I don't know. If you are working, you cannot switch to a retirement visa. If you are no lomger working, I believe you have to switch, as your work permit will expire. Best to ask immigration in Bangkok.

Barry

Yes, of course, there is nothing to stop any of us from walking into Immigration at any time and asking questions. But, the people who work there are bureaucrats, trained to look for reasons to say "no", rather than reasons to say "yes". And, being Thai, they are pedantic and slow-witted as well. I don't want to hand them Form B with Form A underneath it,if the rules require that Form A be on top. Few, if any of them, would pause to consider whether Form A was underneath, or look for themselves.

I once had to travel halfway across Bangkok after receiving an "urgent" message from someone at Immigration. I thought I was about to be deported, even if I couldn't imagine why. When I got there, all that they wanted was one additional copy of my passport. I guess it didn't occur to them to walk to the nearest photocopy machine and make one for themselves.

Coming back to the present, I do have the luxury of time, and I am not opposed to jumping through hoops in the prescribed order, as long as I know what the prescribed order is.

But, if possible, I prefer to avoid going in there "cold", and having to ask questions which might prejudice my eventual application.

I just came from B2S, inside the Central store on the 4th floor of Silom Complex. Yes, they do have a laminator, installed at knee height behind a solid counter (where they do photocopying). I certainly wouldn't have seen it, had I not been told in advance about it. And, I didn't see any signs up either. So, thank you rak sa-ngop !

why do almost all farangs insist on saying pa-THAI-ya when all they have to do is listen to any Thai or read the spelling in Thai. it's พัทยา phat tha yaa.

I don't have an answer, but like you, I have asked myself the same question. I think it is mainly the Australians who pronounce it in the way you indicated.

On a related point, I have wondered why farang refer to it as Patters, Patty, and probably other variants that I can't recall at the moment.

It is like everything else - complaining about it here won't change anything, but i am still curious.

Thanks guys ! To Riley's Life: "Ngam Wong Wan" and "Panthip Plaza" are two distinct shopping centres located many kilometres apart. I am guessing form your "maybe too far out ?" comment that you might be referring to The Mall Ngamwongwan, and that there might be a store called "Panthip Plaza" in that mall ? Am I correct ?

I will try the B2S in Silom Complex today. Some of the items, I need done by the first of the month. I didn't expect that after 3 days, I would stil be looking for a place. So, if I don't have good luck at B2S, and don't get any further posts re more convenient locations, I may be off to N.W.W. tomorrow, perhaps subject to your confirmation that I have interpreted your message correctly.

I am glad I stumbled upon this thread, as I was planning to go to Suan Phlu tomorrow, Sept. 29. Has anyone been there today, Sept. 28 ? Is everything closed already, or will be at the end of today ? Thanks for a fast reply ! I could run down there this afternoon, if someone replies quickly.

Office Depot (formerly Makro Office) used to have a location on Phahonyothin Road, about 2 bus stops north of Central Ladprao, on the same side of the street. Is it still there ? If so, could someone who walks by there regularly stick their head in the door, and see if they still do laminating ? They used to do it at a counter right inside the window.

If you are working, you cannot switch to a retirement visa. If you are no lomger working, I believe you have to switch, as your work permit will expire.

Barry

Yes, I am aware that I would not be entitled to work on a Retirement Visa. I am wondering if I am entitled to make the switch standing in the Immigration office, instead of having to leave the country, and apply for the Retirement Visa from outside, or re-enter Thailand as a tourist, etc.etc. Over the years, I have seen many enquiries and replies on this forum pertaining to retirement visas from people living outside of Thailand, but I have seen few, if any, from foreigners who have been living here for years.

Hi guys. I am presently working in Thailand on a Non-Immigrant "B" visa, but comtemplating switching to a retirement visa sometime soon. And, I am contemplating moving from Bangkok to Jomtien/Pattaya.

So, once I have made a decision whether to stay in Bkk., or move out there, should I move first, then switch visas, or vice versa ?

I already have medical clearance to be here, and have a bank account in both places. So, I have the luxury of taking my time and doing things in whatever order seems to make the most sense.

I just searched this forum for an answer; to my surprise the latest answer I found was one that I had posted myself ! But, time moves on.....

I just came from the former Makro Office place in the basement of the United Centre. The laminating machine was gone, and the kid behind the counter told me it was broken. Naturally, he didn't know if it, or a replacement, will ever be coming back.

So, where can I get laminating done, preferably in the above areas, though I will go further afield if necessary ?

If you know of a place, please give the days and hours of operation, if you know them.

I've been searching for a map but only the very standard versions can be found on-line (I know all the routes).

Am mostly interested to see exactly where the exit/entry points are and as for exit points if only a left or also a right turn is possible.

Right now I'd like to know if coming from Dao Khanong is there an exit (on the 2nd stage) at Sathorn road and is a right turn possible or not.

opalhort

Northbound on Stage 2, yes, there is an exit to Sathorn, and yes, you can then make a right turn onto Sathorn. However, the traffic light for that is a brief one.

If you do a Google search for "map of Bangkok", and click on the Google map, principal streets are shown in yellow, and expressways (including on and off ramps) are shown in orange. The exit for Sathorn is quite a bit south of Sathorn, the down ramp begins just north of Chan Road.

Hi TV People,

I need a opticians near Sukhumvit and with a one day service before I go work. Any ideas, I know Rutnin will take to long.

Regards

Not on Suk., but Washington Optical is in Amarin Plaza, on the south side of Ploenchit, just east of the Erawan corner. Open Saturdays, but closed Mondays. English spoken. I am NOT certain if they offer 1 day service.

I have medical clearance to be here, and have been working in Thailand on a Non-immigrant "B" Visa. I already have a Thai bank account with the requisite amount of money in it. I am old enough for a Retirement Visa, and am aware of the "seasoning requirement" regarding the topping up of my bank account for annual renewals.

So, I should be a few steps ahead of most Retirement Visa applicants. But,it all seems a little too simple, and I don't recall having seen posts from people in the same position as myself. Maybe that is because it really will be simple for me ? Or, have I overlooked something ?

As the topic suggests, I am looking for the names and locations of the main clothing markets in BKK.

If you have knowledge of opening times /days that would be a great help.

Thanks

The Platinum Mall on Ploenchit is a good place to start. Basically a huge new indoor market with hundreds of well-organized vendors on five (?) floors. Right in the Pratunam clothing district so you get some real bargains. Good aircon, not overly croded, some proper food shops. About 200 m along the road from Pantip Plaza.

It is on Petchburi Road, not Ploenchit.