orlov

42 minutes ago, tonray said:

I'm only laughing because the answer is likely YES !

Tourists cannot open a Thai bank account. You have to prove some form of residency before a Thai bank will consider your application. 

National parks used to accept a work permit or a Thai driving license as proof of residency but they stopped this a few years ago. Now ALL farangs pay 200 baht whilst Thais pay 20 baht at most national parks. This is racism pure and simple so whoever you are or where you come from it needs to stop.

26 minutes ago, Preacher said:

If the child is born the mother can bring a paternity suit and ask the courts to determine you are the father and as a consequence also responsible for the maintenance of the child. 

Normally the curts will award a sum of between 3,000 and 5,000 baht a month, plus half of educational and medical cost for the child.

 

How does this square with advice on the internet from one family lawyer that states “For children who are born outside a marriage in Thailand the biological father is not required by law to pay child support......” At this stage I’m simply trying to understand Thai law, nothing more. 

I had a very brief relationship with a Thai woman whom I decided I didn’t want to see again. However she now tells me she’s pregnant and I accept I am probably the biological father. Predictably she’s demanding huge sums of money since I’m a farang and trying to blackmail me. However, doing a little research on Thai family law I found out, somewhat surprisingly, that there is no Thai law that compels the biological father to pay any child support to the mother where the child is illegitimate “unless the issue of the legitimation of the child is brought into the court”. But presumably legitimation could (and would) only be demanded by the father should he so wish. Anybody know more about this subject?

20 minutes ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

It is only transferable to family members upon the death of the person named on the Sor Por Kor titled paper. Although Thais make up the rules as they go don't let them tell you otherwise. Too many land disputes in Thai courts because of this transferring land which is nontransferable before the person dies. And by law only a house of wooden construction is legally allowed.

Not saying you’re wrong but the land will be transferred to wife from her aunt at the appropriate office in Si Saket next week without anybody dying. Also nearly all the land in her village is Sor Por Kor land and there are many brick and tile houses built on them. 

4 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Land transferred between family members is usually done as a gift.

Unless a foreign mug is involved.

Just don't do it.

 

Almost no village property has any value, unless it's a massive and productive farm, everyone is moving to the towns.

If you have money to burn, buy a condo in your name.

I’m talking about the house, not the land. The two are separate entities. I own properties in Pattaya and Samui so that is not the issue here. 

Thai wife is about to buy about  300tw of land under SPK from a family member and we want to build a small house on it. Obviously the money is coming from me and I’m aware that SPK land can only be transferred between family members so the land will basically be a gift to the wife. But what about the house? Could it be registered in my name, or even joint names even though sitting on SPK land? If not, how could I protect my security of habitation should our marriage turn sour in future years? Would the house have any future salable value even though ownership of the land would remain within the family?  

Does anyone in Kantharalak or surrounding district play tennis? Failing that, where could I play tennis in Ubon? 

5 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Good tips there. Nice to see the "app-enabled, ride-hailing" service that the both local cops and taxi (un)cooperatives have deemed to be illegal still sticking to their guns. I am a new user of Grab so happy with that for now but if Uber consistently beat them by 100 baht, then I guess I'll try them too. Good to see some degree of competition. It would be great to see taxi/limo fares for U-Tapao down to around 550 - 650 baht o/w which is much more realistic. Once again, depends on demand and with the very slim chance of a seasonal uptick in foreign charters versus LCC's flat-lining, that won't happen anytime soon.

Sorry the deal I mentioned were with Grab, not Uber. Apologies, my mistake. 

Highway 7 tolls between Pattaya and Chonburi are apparently due to start on Jan 5th with cars initially costing 60 baht until Songkran. On April 18th the price will rise to 105 baht. My first thought is 'why make it 105 baht' and not 100 baht. Most motorists won't have the exact money so the booth operators will be constantly giving out change and this will slow down the throughput of cars enormously.  I can't see regular daily commuters wanting to cough up 1,000 baht/week or more either and can foresee a substantial increase in traffic along the coast road through Si Racha.  I also fail to understand why this toll road, which is supposed to be motorway standard, has no proper exits onto the service road that allows access to filling stations etc.  What exits exist are basically just small gaps in the barriers with no proper signage as to when these gaps might be coming up or what services might be available within the next 1-2 kms if you do decide to use one of them.  By the time a petrol station comes into view there is no way of getting off the motorway and stopping at it. It seems to me that If the authorities are going to charge over 100 baht to use this road then they should at least have installed clear signage giving information about the services ahead and proper slip roads with count down markings like every other country does, instead of just a gap in the hedge. .         

On 10/17/2017 at 5:51 PM, NanLaew said:

And what rates are coming up?

Uber 800 baht. But they have a promotion if you download Uber on you mobile for the first time you get 75 baht discount on your first 3 rides. The public bus service from Bangkok to Pattaya is also giving out Uber promotion leaflets (same deal) when you buy a ticket. At least they were a week ago when I got the bus from Ekkamai to Pattaya. 

Hi guys really need your help. My car's engine seized on a drive back from Surat Thai to Pattaya last Friday (only got about 15 mins up the road) and now stuck in a Toyota repair shop back in Surat 300 metres down from Diamond Plaza hotel.  Basically the car had a water leak but the temperature gauge gave no warning, so it overheated. They want ludicrous sums of money to repair and say it will take two weeks. I had to fly back to Pattaya sans car. My question is: does anybody know of a local, maybe family run, repair shop that can do the repair for a reasonable price and within a few days.  I know there is a way to free the engine which sometimes works by pouring in penetrating oil and leaving it for a day and then sometimes the engine can be cranked and a change of piston rings is all that's required. But whether this works or not any good repair shop is going to be cheaper and hopefully quicker than Toyota.    

Yes it opens every normal working day from 10am - 6pm.  Queues start to form about 2 hours before but there is a way of applying for a Thai passport online now. You'll still have to go to the passport office to have your photo taken but you can avoid the queues.  The website is not easy to find and I can't remember the address but I'll try to find it again if you want.

Only just read this topic so thanks guys for all the info. I did wonder what was going on in SSCC road between the S bends just

short of Maprachan Lake. Actually I still can't make out what they're doing. There are some huge drums linked up to a container

shaped box and some really big cranes. Almost looks like a fuel depot. Still, I'm not a construction engineer so maybe somebody

can enlighten me.

In the meantime, having looked at the route of this new road I can't see that it has any purpose whatsoever. It more or less

runs parallel with the existing 36/331 route and ends in the middle of nowhere at a point somewhere east of Sattahip and west of

Rayong.

As others have mentioned, the 331 is being up-graded to duel carriageway which takes you straight to U-Tapao airport and if you

want to go to Rayong then you take the 36 all the way and just turn off into the centre of the city.

Can't help feeling that the money could have been better spent double-tracking the railway from Pattaya to Bangkok, electrifying

it, providing some modern air conditioned rolling stock and offering a half hourly service. Could up-grade the rail link to Laem

Chabang at the same time (which is already sorely needed) and take thousands of containers off the road.

I'm sure most ex-pats must be familiar with the price of wine in Thailand which is way above western prices due to their huge import duties. Strangely enough Australian wines can be bought in the UK for much the same price as they can in Australia despite the 12,000 mile freight journey! But I digress. By far the cheapest way to buy wines in Thailand is by the box. Peter Vella (red or white) in 4 litre boxes sold at 799 baht wherever you can find it is a drinkable 'house' chardonnay, if a little on the sweet side. Mont Claire in 5 litre boxes is also found everywhere wine is sold and if you order a glass of house wine in a restaurant it's more than likely to be Mont Claire.

If you live on the dark side and head right down to the bottom of Nern Plub Waan, turn left at the T junction, just on the left a few metres down there's a drinks shop that sells a selection of wines at prices that you probably won't better. Obviously there's no getting away from Thai wine prices in general though. Also these small shops are the best places to buy gin and vodka rather than the much higher prices charged in most supermarkets like BigC and Tesco (e.g Gordons gin about 775 baht compared to BigC at around 830 baht).

7/11 also sell half bottles of Jacobs Creek so if the price of the red you saw was at 395 baht it was either a half bottle you saw or they genuinely mis-priced it.

On prescription through major hospitals such as Bangkok-Pattaya, the answer is yes. Off prescription your best chance is to inquire at Fascino in North Pattaya Road. If they don't stock it they might agree to get it for you but you might find it expensive. My wife takes Seroquel, which is in the same class of drugs as Lexapro, but the cost of buying it in Thailand, even at Fascino, is truly breathtaking. So I order it from an on-line supplier in Canada! But I'm not familiar with the cost of Lexapro.

Thai girl (28 y/o) returning to Pattaya after spell up-country seeks room to rent on Dark Side around bottom end of Nurn Plub Waan/Mitkamol crossroads area. Can afford up to 5,000 baht/month. Main requirement is aircon, hot water, small settee and a comfortable bed (not rock hard mattress on a concrete base!). Rooms in this price bracket are usually only advertised by word of mouth but if anyone knows of any nice room coming up that might fit the bill please let me know. Flexible starting date any time during July, or even August.

Can never understand why the Bangkok to Pattaya line still has a 1930's timetable of one train a day in each direction which is non-aircon and takes roughly 4 hours. No trains at the weekend at all I believe but then, silly me, who would want to come to Pattaya for the week-end from Bangkok? Compared to the cost of these long distance super trains an up-grade to double track and electrification on the Bangkok - Pattaya line would be small beer I would have thought. For long stretches there is enough land already either side owned by the SRT to double track without appropriating more. Then increase to service to half hourly, stopping at Sri Racha, Chonburi and Suvarnabhumi airport with an improved freight link to Laem Chabang container port and you've got the makings of a highly profitable line. Sadly, the concept of profit is an entirely unfamiliar one to the SRT and will remain so even when these long distance high speed lines get built (if they ever do).

Forgot to mention. There are no parking restriction on the road by the hospital and the area is very quiet at night so I don't think your vehicle would be subject to any undue risks.

Yes there is. Take the elevated highway (past Chonburi) to Bangkok Take the Bang Na exit (you MUST go through toll booths 1-3 on the far left). Drop down to ground level and join the highway. Take the first (or second) slip road to the left and at the traffic lights turn left. You're now on Sukhumvit Road heading south. Pass under Bang Na BTS station and take the second opening on the right. You'll see signs to Manarom hospital. Park up in the road just short of the hospital and walk back to Bang Na BTS (about 5-6 mins). If you have satnav then just type in Manarom hospital and the satnav should do the rest.

1. The police arrived in considerable force after the accident (obviously a quiet night!) and somebody who was 'associated' with the police drove my car back to the police station at his insistence. I was then told the top man had ordered that I pay 1,500 baht for 'checking' my car. I argued that he'd already driven it back to the police station with no problems but if he wanted to check it further he was free to do so but I saw no reason to pay any money. It was made clear to me that I wouldn't be allowed to drive my car home until the 1,500 baht was paid. So I eventually paid it, upon which he simply walked off.

I've been in similar situations whereby an accident I was certain was not my fault was judged as being 50:50.

This is because the other vehicle had no insurance.

Ultimately the 50:50 ruling is not so much to proportion blame, but to expedite the process and make it easier and simpler for everyone involved.

The 50:50 ruling means that your insurance covers you, not the other party.

In effect, the 50:50 ruling has no more or less impact on you than a ruling proportioning blame 100% at the other party.

IF 100% blame was proportioned to the other party, your insurance would sue them for the costs to your car (or write the issue off as a non-starter). The fact that the other party was on a bike indicates that they have little funds to go after.

Thus: doing any different than accepting the 50:50 ruling does nothing for you except for polishing a little righteousness. I know how you feel, but sometimes its just easier to accept things are the way they are for a reason, in this case, nothing more than making the process easier.

Point taken. I had already considered that my only losses by accepting a 50/50 would be a 'fault' claim registered against my insurance record with the subsequent loss of an NCD next year plus a 400 baht fine which the police intended to levy against both myself and the motorbike driver. That's in addition to the non-returnable 1,500 baht that the police stuffed me for when they 'checked' my car after the accident. I'm rather surprised that the insurance company are leaving it to me to make the decisions as in theory they are the ones who are supposed to take over the case and decide on a final outcome.

Driving my car down Soi Siam Country Club Road about 2 weeks ago a motorbike drove full tilt straight at me and although he attempted a last minute swerve he unfortunately didn't quite make it, shattered my offside front headlight, dented the front panel and took the wing mirror clean off. Purely by chance the accident happened directly outside a housing estate and was caught by CCTV camera situated behind the security box. The exact point of impact is obscured by the security box but the footage shows car coming from the right and slowing down before disappearing in front of the box and motorbike coming from the left. Motorbike and driver also disappear in front of the box where they are then seen shooting out the other side where driver is rapidly separated from bike and lands in the road about 3 car lengths behind the point of impact. Fortunately (and amazingly) he wasn't seriously injured mainly due to the fact that he was wearing full security uniform. Subsequent photos shows my car on the correct side of the road with offside wheel just touching the centre line. The road is slightly narrow due to road works on both sides but it still leaves the other side of the road completely free for the motorcycle to pass. Yesterday the police judged the fault 50/50 despite overwhelming evidence in my favour. I asked my car insurance company representative for advice and he said 'up to you'. So in the interests of justice I rejected this ruling and it now goes for a full 'investigation'. So my question is: Anybody know what happens at a full investigation and if I reject that ruling what happens then?