AdmiralKen

As an owner and operator of a boat based business in Pattaya for a number of years, who also also rented our jetski, I'm pleased to hear this.

Of all the nationalities that frequented my business the only one to earn a "complete ban" were Indians (and not the bow and arrow type)

Ultimately it cost more to clean the premises after use than I made in profit and the complaints from our 'female staff' indicated behaviour that was frankly disgusting. This wan't one isolated group but many different ones from varying levels of Indian society (including the so called upper class - who incidentaly were the worst of the lot!)

Due to a traffic accident I've been forced into retirement but if I ever start a business here again there will be a 'No Indians welcome, please go and make a mess in your own country' sign at the front door (or gangplank)

Is there anywhere I can sign up to have the Indians accelerate and encourage their decisiion to not come here?

Cheers AK

Crack down usually costs business owners money in an unlawful way, here we go again! phew..

Close, dont you mean PHEW - KET

I've been taking Tramadol / Tramal since 2002 as the result of pain associated with reconstructive surgery for a massive orbital fracture (eye socket).

Tramadol Hydrochloride was developed in Germany during the 2nd World War as a non-addictive replacement for Codeine, the supplies of which had been cut off by the Allied manufacturers. (Humanitarian huh?)

Haviing gone weeks and ocasionally months without having access to supplies of Tramadol I can say from experience that they are in no way addictive and I have never suffered any form of "withdrawl" when not using it. For people who have not taken it before the 50mg capsules can elicit a euphoric feeling the first few times that it is used and driving or operating machinery until the effects wear off is not advisable.

Strangely enough I'm now using it in conjunction with Paracetamol due to injuries suffered last Thursday evening when a car decided to pull out in front of me while I was travelling on a motorbike. With no broken bones I also refused hospitalistion as I could see no benefit from it ocmpared to the treatment I could self-administer.

Tramadol as of today is freely available in Pattaya in all the pharmacies around my area (Suk Sabai VIlla) for 30B a strip of 10 caps. Though some try the falang price on me if there is a new assistant in there.

As always, if pain persists , see a doctor.

Cheers, Admiral Ken

Sounds too good to miss. Myself + 1

Cheers AK

Lot of other celebrations going on in Pattaya around that time too

OK, some good news and some bad news - but first some information.

The old 3G "True Move" network was allocated to the 1800Mhz spectrum and I was advised yesterday that it has been discontinued (in Pattaya) for the last 2 months. Connections are still possible but there will be speed limitations

The new "True Move H" is their latest attempt at bringing Thai internet connections into the 21st century and operates on the 850Mhz band.

All of their plans have a limitation with the 3G component at high speed and I am currently on a 5GB package at 7.2Mbps (555) which will drop to either 384k or 128k (cant get a sensible answer yet) afeer the 5GB. They are NOT unlimited plans at the high speed.

If anyone knows at GENUINE UNLIMITED plan please tell me as I have frequent high traffic usage. The speed is OK but I can chew through 5GB in a single session (see below)

As for the session disconnections I am experiencing dropouts at 9h:59m, even when the connection is actively transferring data - ouch. Effectively they've stopped me consuming my 5GB in one session but it doesn't help when I have to restart huge uploads/downloads.

So it looks like someone heard the complaints, just upped the time limit hoping that no-one is silly enough to stay connected for 10hrs. Great in theory but as a software developer and web host it's a bloody pain in the neck.

Cheers Admiral Ken

Better still try Tramal / Tramadol or one of the many copies. Tramadol was developed by the Germans during WW2 as a replacement for codeine (which was unobtainable).

You can LEGALLY buy Tramal from a pharmacist in Thailand. It is touted as a non-addictive form of Codeine.

Cheers, Admiral Ken

Tried 3 passed 2 (just) and I'm an Aussie expat.

Whoever writes this crap needs to learn the (English) language as many of the questions are ambiguous or so badly worded that their intention is unclear.

... just for the expected responses, I do know and understand the terms grammar, punctuation and syntax. Obviously, unlike whoever wrote the sample questions. Most of the UK population that I meet here in Pattaya can't even spell these things, let alone understand them. How do you expect and immigrant to know (or care) if 1.75678% of the population of Greater London is made up of immigrants from Prednistria? ... and who cares?

All a test like this does is encourage cheating and allows the politicians to beat their chests and say "look we're doing something". Better for politicians to do something useful or nothing at all. This applies not only to the UK.

Australia (and the UK) should apply a similarly difficult test to it's politicians and expel any that fail - now that would be interesting. (Couldn't happen in the US as someone would claim that it discriminates against morons and have it dismissed by the Supreme Court.)

Cheers, Admiral Ken

I use the shop on Naklua road to buy my resin and matting, head up Pattaya-Naklua road until you get to the intersection to turn right to the post office (don't turn right), its just through the lights by about 50m to 70m on the left hand side, small looking hardware type store with generators/air compressors/welders out front.

Used it today and not a huge variety but enough to get simple jobs done.

Thanks for the heads up

Cheers, Admiral Ken

Come on people ... it's NORTH SUNSHINE <deleted>.. Nothing up there anyway apart from dole *&%(%s and *(*)&% addicts - and the occasional decent person trying to survive between them.

It's the "self proclaimed birthplace of the 'Ashes'" no less

... and has anyone forgotten that the Tiger aircraft had incorrect data in their OBCs? Maybe Thai has the same data? errr pilot flyig too low because computer says so.

Typical crap from Oz news agencies (where it no doubt originated)

Cheers, Ken

APRIL FOOLS

Great - so now we have a rising Baht, just to complement a HORRIBLE low season and reduced tourism.

Can they think of any other ways to *%$@# us ?

When the next rebellion starts we may all have to take up rice farming.

Thxn for the quick reply, it is indeed a CRT TV. How much would a fix cost? Cause it's a 3000 baht TV, and I wanted to buy a new one anyway, timing is not perfect but don't feel like spending much on the old one, already taking it out on the motorbike to get it fixed is something I am not looking forward to.

Crossy is 100% correct. The problem is nothing more than the TV has become magnetised or is stiing next to some magnetic field (speakers or wiring can do this).

Move the TV and see if it changes (cost NIL)

Move other things away from it and see if it changes.

If either of these make changes to the "pretty colours" then it's just magnetism.

Degaussing is a fancy word for de-magnetising and the process takes about 1 minute so cost should not be high if you find a reputable repairer. Some may even do it for free -if you're very lucky.

Ken

If you have suicidal tendancies, Koh Larn or Koh Si Chang.

Ken

Our boat went out today to Koh Sak (next to Koh Larn) and I have been told that the water was full of them (jellyfish), including lots of small ones.

I personnaly saw lots around Koh Larn on Sunday and had to advise our customers on board to stop swimming for their safety.

I wouldn't swim at any of the mainland beaches for ANYTHING. Fortunately I dont have to.

Ken

A good mate has gone - will miss him.

For all his friends I belive that FLB is holding a get together on Tuesday night (12th) with discounted drinks of Whilliam's favourite drinks (JD and Corona)

2SS

From 3rd road go down Soi 17 until you see a market on your left. The road takes a sharp right but you continue straight onto Ko Phai 10. About 80m after this turn left into what looks to be the second turn (there is a motorbike taxi stand on the corner). Land office is about 150m down the road and on your right after the first cross street.

The area is reasonably well signposted in English.

There is parking on the grounds inside.

Cheers 2SS

Interested in info also.

http://www.boatrentalsthailand.com/

Rod's contact number is on there.

The boat has just been refurbished and is now back in the water.

There will be some small changes in the coming months (all positive) and I will keep everyone informed when this happens. We'll be sponsoring with Thai VIsa when the ink dries.

The business is no longer for sale

Cheers 2SS

"Next time I will have documentation that proof my adress ! "

That could also be a problem, depending on what proof you offer.

Most legal tourists aren't going to have much more than a hotel receipt to show them.

If you offer something more permanent, then you really aren't a tourist and would probably be denied on those grounds.

Sorry but that's rubbish. I rented a house in Pattaya using 30 day exempt entries and nobody ever queried my status. Left every 30 days (except one 7 day extension ----- and they will not budge on the 7 days on an exempt entry) but had proof of an address in the form of the rental agreement.

Im still a tourist untill I enter again in 4 days on my new B visa

Cheers 2SS

A full 40 foot container (just under 400 boxes) just left my home in Sydney bound for Thailand .... I'll advise what happens when it gets there (fingers crossed).

Im using Wridgeways and Asia Tigers as the shippers ....

Cheers 2SS

Have done this recently.

I use SCB (Siam Commercial Bank) and have found them to be great. All in I now have 4 different accounts withthem at 3 different branches. SOME branches refused to open an account for me without a visa others were fine. Just walk ou if they give you any problems and go to another branch. The first one I opened in Pattay (Soi Bukhoaw) and use my hotel address as the address. Make certain you sign up for internet banking.

(Some of this has been stated above I know but just to confirm and add a little bit) :

Transfer from CBA to SCB AUD22 from the thieves at Commonwealth

Inbound fee at SCB 450 baht

CBA will let you transfer up to 20k per day (you may need to adjust your limits at the brach) via internet for personal accounts

They will allow up to 100k per day for business customers.

NEVER EVER let the Oz banks do th eexchange. As an example when SCB gave me 30.5 on my inbound CBA would have only given me 26.3 (figures about a week ago) which iis a whopping 13.7% rippoff and they still charge you the $22 fee.

The inbound TT rate is the one you will get from SCB and can be found on their website. It is always better than the cash rate.

If you are leaving Oz you MUST declare any cash over $10k AUD and also must declare any cash over $20 USD equivalent on arrival to Thailand. NO fees, no hassles but telling customs at Swampy that your carrying USD20k cash is askin gto be mugged IMHO.

If you intend to use any large amounts for purchase of property make sure you talk with the originating bank about the required documentation so you can prove to the Thais later that the money was from abroad.

Best of luck 2SS

You can get roaming on a Prepaid Card.

You need to register. It is easy and free. You can register using your phone with no documents required.

Details. Happy go inter.

Just some information for anyone about to panic (like me) because they cant get SMS confirmation messages from their internet banking.

I'm now in Australia finallising things for the move to Thailand and didnt think about roaming before I left. When I turned on my mobile in Oz (with the Thai SIM card) it was unable to find any networks. Panic set in How do I confirm a new recipient in my SCB internet banking without access to the SMS confirmation message? And I can t call them from the Thai number because the phone doesn't work here (cart before horse problem).

DTAC to the rescue

http://www.happy.co.th/en/hi/06_gointer_diy.php

The international assistance number was answered by a very helpful representative who after listening to my request and a few ID questions promptly said "that should be ready in about 15 minutes. You will need to reset your phone to allow the change sto work". You can ring from any phone - it doesnt need to have the DTAC SIM card in it.

Their SMS advertising drives me crazy but I'll be more tolerant of it in the future.

Hope this helps someone.

Cheers 2SS

[/i]For a workpermit you have to employ 4 thai. nationals and for your self you have to pay tax for 50k Bath. There is a lot of information about this in Thai-Visa.

If married to Thai:

- the requirement for 2M baht registered share capital is reduced to 1M baht

- the requirement for 4 Thai employees is reduced to 2

- and on extension of stay the minimum salary requirement is 40k/month.

Thanks thaiphoon. Looks like I need to check the figure I've beeen given in relation to capitalisation.

Whilst it woiuld make things a bit cheaper the wedding wont happen until after this gets sorted but the advice could be helpful for additonal employees later. You can never accumulate too much information

Cheers, 2SS

Soory dear 2slicesshort

I do not speak english verry well and i dit not want to offend you.

"Somrak : .... I was looking for helpful advice not an uninformed lecture."

I have spent over 10 hours (probably lots more) trying to find some specific answers on this and many other forums and I do know how to use the search facility. If you can't answer my questions just ignore the request. I don't need someone to tell me that Thais hate farangs (because in my experience they don't) and all you're doing is showing your ignorance. I relayed your comment to my Thai girlfriend and she suggests that the only farangs that Thais don't like are the ones that treat Thais badly - so you may need an attitude adjustment if this is your experience.

.... pleas do not put things in my mouth i did not say!!! And maybe ask first your girlfiend before you ask for advice!?

You, with your 30 years exipirience, your girlfriend and second-hand and/or specialist items, you may only need 2-3 month to understand Thailand. But take this 2-3 month for look around!

I live in thailand (with my own money) and have a small business, for "sanuk", with my wife. And i still not understand everything!

"My decision to move to Thailand had been made long before my "whirlwind" trip and I research any major changes in my life extensively. Evidence of this is bourne out by the fact that I have succesfully operated my own businesses for over 30 yrs and have almost completed the purchase of a business in Thailand, have a residence, motorbike etc in Pattaya all without any complications."

For a workpermit you have to employ 4 thai. nationals and for your self you have to pay tax for 50k Bath. There is a lot of information about this in Thai-Visa.

Tschuess and sorry again

Somrak,

The comment that I took offence at was

Sorry, Thailand don't like "farangs" open a smal business a they will put a lot of stones in your way.

My experiences do not reflect that ... as I commented. So far every government department that I have visited has been informative and helpful. I base my comments on my own observations, not "forum rhetoric".

Not everyone in the world speaks English and I understand that sometimes problems arise due to misunderstandings. I'm a big enough man to not let minor things get in the way and I'm happy to buy you a beer should we meet up in the future.

I don't profess to know everything - far from it. One of thjings that I have always remembered is the advice that "the wise man is the one who realises how little he really knows". I'm blessed with the ability to learn fast but I will never know everything about anything - I wouldn't need to ask questions here if I did.

One of the problems that has created my dillema is that the Thai company I'm purchasing is only capitalised to 2M Baht and currently only has 2 employees. My advice is that I need to up the capitalisation to 4M Baht. The additional employees can be readily sourced (my TGF is one and I shouldnt have any problems finding another family member to "employ"). Unfortunately because the cart needs to be before the horse I can't get the work permit without the company being fully transferred (purchased by me) and there is a time limit on the duty free importation. I am well aware of the foreign ownership limitations though the TAFTA (Thailand Australian Free Trade Aggreement) has some provisions in there

that I have a Thai lawyer looking at in case theere are some hidden benfits. Depending on which version of the story you read some advice is that I need the work permit to get the duty free import and others say I dont. Again - that's why I'm asking

I assure you that I will continue to look into things, including using the search facility, and thank you for your input.

Cheers 2SS

"After a whirlwind 3 months I'm planning on moving to Thailand and purchasing a business. Currently I qualify for a retirement visa (over 50)"

As you have such a lot of questions .... > I woud advise you, come first to thailand with a non-o-visa, look around for 1-2 jears and ask for this time for a retiremt visa.

Sorry, Thailand don't like "farangs" open a smal business a they will put a lot of stones in your way.

To bring personal possnesions to Thailand, if they are not very expensive workingtools, brings normaly nothing! Thailand is much cheaper than Autralia.

....... and ......

Sorry, come look fist.

Somrak : .... I was looking for helpful advice not an uninformed lecture.

I have been to Thailand MANY times over the years and have travelled all over the world for the past 25yrs ... so Im not what normally would be considered inexperienced. Now, it's time to settle down.

I have spent over 10 hours (probably lots more) trying to find some specific answers on this and many other forums and I do know how to use the search facility. If you can't answer my questions just ignore the request. I don't need someone to tell me that Thais hate farangs (because in my experience they don't) and all you're doing is showing your ignorance. I relayed your comment to my Thai girlfriend and she suggests that the only farangs that Thais don't like are the ones that treat Thais badly - so you may need an attitude adjustment if this is your experience.

As for the ..... it's cheaper in Thailand that's also not necessarily the case. The items I want to bring have ALREADY BEEN PAID for and as they are second-hand and/or specialist items selling them and repurchasing is not a sensible option. Some of my "tools" would need to be imported anyway ... I'm trying not to get my own thread "off topic" here so I'm not going into specifics where it isn't necessary.

My decision to move to Thailand had been made long before my "whirlwind" trip and I research any major changes in my life extensively. Evidence of this is bourne out by the fact that I have succesfully operated my own businesses for over 30 yrs and have almost completed the purchase of a business in Thailand, have a residence, motorbike etc in Pattaya all without any complications. Fortunately my experience in many different countries means that it won't take 1-2yrs to learn the "ropes" - though I do understand that some "slower" people may take this long.

phetaroi : Many thanks. This is the sort of thing I was looking for. Obviously there is hope, I just need to find the right importers. Will try out your suggestion on Monday. Is it possible to get the details of your lawyer via PM so even if he can't help me directly I can refer my lawyer to him?

dr_Pat_Pong :

I typed O-A when I meant O. Your Thai partner can import goods ( if she is out of Thailand ) but you have no rights of importation. You have been given an explanatory link about motor vehicle

She has only been in Australia for a few weeks so does not qualify. The link that I quoted in the OP (which has been repeated by others) details the qualifications. It also disagrees with you on my rights -- but what would Thai customs know?!?

As for the motor link I can't seem to find any thread that deals with importing 20yr old cars from Australia and the specific costs and processes required. I'm happy to stand corrected if there is one. The customs site is no help there either as the rates stop after 10yr old and the "up to them" figure doesn't help me much. Again does anyone have any experience?

-----------

To clarify : I'm looking for advice or help from someone who has done it or knows how someone has done it. Please save the "use the search" and "dont do it" comments for someone else.

Cheers 2SS

and getting a work permit as a retiree is definitely not a foregone conclusion. Bringing in a motor vehicle is generally cost prohibitive. www.customs.go.th

From what I understand getting a work permit on a retirement (O-A) visa IS a foregone conclusion : IT WONT HAPPEN.

This make ssense as the two are really mutually exclusive (how can I be retired if Im working?). The only way to do it is to convert the O-A and/or start again.

The visa question is more about the other options eg B, spouse or anything else that Im not aware of. B seems to be the go (pun not intended).

The question for the car is more related to WHY the problems exist and has anyone FIRST HAND experience. Whilst I appreciate that the advice of "dont" may be with the best intentions I have always wanted to know WHY .. which may explain my success in business over many years. There appears to be a mechanism but who knows how it works? Details of a thai company that does this would be ideal .. if they're in Pattaya that would be even better

Cheers 2SS