LivinLOS

The flip side of this is the growing number of people that I know that are just living here without any visa, they believe if they get caught they will simply pay a small fine and get deported, in the long run they may even be saving money

Someone I know just cleaned up 973 days overstay !!!

Couldnt he have waited for the round 1000 !!

He might be able to swing it on an child with ED and support issue.. specially if he gets that income verified and shows its been there for years..

My understanding is the 500k is a 'guide' and not a hard requirement. the requirement is that you must show yourself to be able to support the child, 500k is sure but a good fixed income might work if they are not having a bad day.

GE has upgraded its west coast images..

Been trying to date them, Jung Ceylon is built but not complete (no canvas roof, no side road) its at least 3 years old judging by some building projects I know to be started / complete.. Cant tell if its pre or post tsunami (should be easy I would have thought)..

Already found loads of off road trails to go have a ride round.. Superb toy !!

What connection methos are you using..

If its the 'fixed wireless terminal' thats a lot slower than the USB modem or the PC aircard..

Dave passed on in Feb of this year...

I,m confused. Your previous post stated you worked FOR an import company?

Now it can be your decision to move the factory production? At what cost?

Wood flooring importing into the US. We use factories in China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, VietNam, and Sri Lanka that either produce a part of the flooring, or the finished product. We don't own the factories, just give them the specifications and purchase the product. I am the Director of Manufacturing. I am directly responsible for deciding which orders are sent to which factories. I can very easily without any cost to us (actually saving money because Thailand is the most expensive factories, but better quality), decide that I will not send any more orders to a factory in Thailand. Actually I am in the process of doing that with the Chinese factories because they have too many problems and I am tired of fighting with them. I actually find the factories in Thailand much easier to work with than the factories in China. The factories in China are always trying to cut corners to save a little money and not meet the specifications. I have people that work for me in the other countries, but not Thailand because I like to come to Thailand and deal with it in person because I like it there.

Those from the US may have heard of a couple of our customers; Lowes and The Home Depot. We produce flooring for other companies under their brand names, we also produce our brand which is carried in smaller retail outlets all over the US. We do architectural jobs also. Just finished a shipment of 4000m2 of flooring for some condo's and we are now having a Thai factory start on a 30,000m2 order for a large building project on the US east coast.

Almost without a doubt you are violating Thai law doing what you are doing in country without a WP..

But as others are pointing out, the law is written in a clearly ridiculous way.. And you would have a very hard time aquiring a WP without a lot of financial commitment. So almost everyone (including convention visitors) just break the laws. Thats fine until it isnt.

Just sounds better and better...

Only thing I can say is.. Tell me when your open.

BTW have you checked coverage for CAT CDMA ??

Almost ADSL speeds and only 590 per month...

IPStar is about your only affordable one..

Years ago I looked at inmarsat offerings.. Very pricey back then.. And that was at a time when I considered 15k a month on IPStar as affordable.

Another news article from Norway today.

http://www.vg.no/pub/vgart.hbs?artid=173173

- The first one we arrested told us details about who kicked, beat and stabbed when we interregated him. The other person gave the same statement as the first one, but when the third person denied this , all three of them now denies what happened, says police investigator Pitthaya Thepmuang at the tourist police in Phuket.

The investigator explains that theres only two prison cells, one for men and one for women, at Chalong police station. So the three men had time to talk together, and changed their statement after this.

In the interregations they have both explained that they didnt mean to kill the Norwegian, but that the situation just got out of control.

When the oldest brother was arrested Sunday the police found a knife that probably was used to stab Knudsen. And the 18 year old then admitted he stabbed Knudsen.

But now he denies everything....

Yeah superb policing from Phukets finest...

Put them in a cell together until they have had enough time to get thier stories straight..

Well at least the policeman got his bike back hey !!

Just a side point.. My mate who did an ED support of child visa was told he had to have 500k in the bank, I think tho that was for a 12 month extension incountry based on the above.

Just apply to Hull.. They give them to anyone with a pulse..

Thais love hondas.. And while the sonic is an OK bike (my brother has a bastradized one with a CBR150 engine and swing arm and the lights sans faring zip tied in.. Goes like a demon but is RAF) I would have the X1 over the sonic even at equal money..

Then again I am too big for the sonic, feels like a monkey bike with the bars all the way down there..

Is CNG what I would think of as LPG ??

If so (and having lots of experience with LPG kits in many cars) dont forget you lose some BHP with an LPG conversion.. And the 2.7 petrol fortuna isnt over powered.. Would be a concern to me if speed / acceleration was a point thats being discussed already..

Just having had a blast round town.. The little bakery counter on nanai does a roaring trade and at pretty premium prices.. No reason why you couldnt find a small low cost counter space, or partner up with existing..

If the product is good you will do well... I think farang food is most likely to sell well in the high tourist / expat places.. Which does mean Patong / Karon / etc..

Why so bloody negative? Do the math .... before the upgrade I downloaded 112kB max, now it's 224kB ..... no dreams, just reality.

Just downloaded a 700+ MB movie in 59:34 minutes. Before took me 2 hours.

Those are pretty good numbers for TOT.. Pretty much flat out at 1000 / 2000..

Its the people with 80kb (10KB) that are getting the shitty end of the stick.

Guess it's domestic! Only get 86 download 150 upload international (never checked that before!)...still, I'm happy with the speed cos it sure beats dial up and satellite that I had previously. Why does every speed test come back with a different speed? I got 86, 1124 and 56 kbps from 3 different sites, what's the deal with that?

I dont want to piss on anyones parade but..

Your HAPPY with 86Kb downloads ?? Thats 'amazing service' to you (while paying for 2Mbit.. more than 20x more than your getting)..

Have you ever used real broadband in the west.. Had near instant full screen streaming TV..

if nothing else just goes to show what being exposed to Thailand does to your expectations of service.

Do you live out in the boonies where you only have choice of one company? Have you ever used dial up in Thailand? I know for certain that's a resounding no. Going from 5 minutes to download one webpage to being able to watch video clips, youtube, only waiting perhaps a second (oh, maybe 2) for a web page to come up, etc is a massive difference....so yes I'm ecstatically happy! Very different life from living in the city.

Do I live in the boonies.. Did I use Thai dialup.. Sure did.. So your 'certain'ly wrong..

I was using 'broadband' (in very loose terms) here long before there was ADSL.. Back in the glory days of IPstar at 7500 baht per month and then sometimes as much as 7500 on top for going over my bandwidth (a system you can get in the boonies by the way.. There isnt just one company !!)..

What I am saying is.. The service your getting is <20th of the service your paying for.. Hardly cause for celebration is it ?? And if you had real expectation of what broadband can do when its got some real oomph you would know what your missing out on.. Streaming TV is one, games with low latency pings is another, etc etc etc..

I have given up on expecting real service with uptime and just live with whats here.. As Naam says no point wetting the bed about it.. But also no way I will be congratulating anyone giving me 1/20th of what they are agreeing to provide. Would they congratulate me on giving 1/20th of the bill ??

Well I am with you on quality.. But from a business perspective.. Down in Rawai.. I am fairly sure price will be a factor in peoples regularity of being there.

BTW mentioned this idea to a mate of mine whose just moved back to Gods waiting room (rawai) and his only response was 'when and where'..

If they are really good the quality concious bars will want them to improve the farang food offerings..

It would be a way to build turnover, get some things moving, to then finance a shop front.. I tend to think being in tourist foot traffic area is not cost effective for what your doing and a shop selling ONLY pies may be a bit limited..

Whatever I wish you luck with it.. Anytime you want to drop samples into the Offshore let me know

To be honest I only ever use my UK passports..

But I have never had them ever give any indication of being aware of multiple uses.. Tho I dont get short term visa's.. Just use em for 1 years..

I am sure hey CAN check through.. What I am saying is they dont seem to without a reason.

When someone drops off a passport at an embassy or consulate for a visa, the passport history is checked as a part of the routine for visa issuance. This will be amplified after these visa limits go into effect

The passport history ??

Or the persons history ??

Because if a person has multiple passports it has to the latter..

Dumb luck.. Or Dumb criminals.. Yes..

Have you ever had dealings with Thai police where some element of followup or detective work was needed.. In even the most basic of cases its keystone cops stuff.. This is the country that wanted to block CSI because they were worried criminals would learn.. I have.. My mates niece was killeed and despite the person responsible being as guilty as sin it took private legal work to secure the conviction as the police didnt have a clue, lost statement, and simply ballsed the case up from start to finish etc etc etc..

From the ones you list above.. The Kancahanabui case.. Well despite the fact that a newspaper source I know says that cop isnt in prison there were 10's of witnesses.. And he still nearly didnt go down (and may not be there now).. The 2 ruskis in Patts.. Well they got the claimed shooter but not the reason or person behind it.. That was a hit for reasons unknown.

You list a few cases.. but the multiple handcuffed to bed 'suicides' dont see much listing above. Anything that doesnt have the most basic of motives and dumbest of individuals has a very low record of success.. Seen that farang bank robber lately ?? Full view, full daylight..

My mates wife was kidnapped, bag over her head, drugged and forced to sign land papers / debt papers.. Despite the person taking her to his own house, and a mass of hard evidence the police couldnt follow it through.. 2 Nakhon hit men were known to be looking for the husband and the police's advice was 'dont go home'..

Factor in amount of local population compared to 10 largest cities in the US.. The idiocy of the usual murderers and simplicity of conviction (eg known man walks into apublic resturant and shoots someone he has a business dispute with.. and it still took weeks / months to catch him, and he handed himself in IIRC)..

The detective element in the police force here is almost non existant. Unless they trip over him and he immediately grasses his buddies (as above) they tend to look around with a 'mai loo' look...

I stand by my assessment..

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=144019

98 neon.. <100k kms.. Dual airbags.. 130k.. Maybe pick it up 100 - 120k cash on the nail..

Now I tend to think the neon is a bit dull but seriously how much is there to lose.. Own this car a couple of years and I will be shocked if it cant be sold at 80 - 90 plus.. Cheap insurance, bit of service, costs are minimal if its looked after.

For 500'k you get a very basic "Japs". No air bags, no ABS, steel wheels with plastic wheel covers, and nothig inside. You have to spend at least 650'k if you want fully loaded. You buy a 10 year old Crysler Neon or a Volkswagen Passat for example you get 2 air bags, ABS, automatic, alloy wheels, etc for about 150'k. Sure you are right parts are more expensive, but you have to look the condition carefully, when you buy a used car. Don't buy a "Lemon". If you like style, spend a little bit more and buy a Audi A4 (2 air bags) or a Nissan Cefiro (sometimes one air bag). Very good cars, much more safety than a Jazz or Yaris, a liitle bit bigger and no problems at all. Remind if you buy a used car, check the condition very carefully.

Also Audi 100's or A6's are good buys if you can see a clean one..

Thais dont rate them, yet they are great solid vehicles.

Brand new car would be the cheapest, very small depreciation, warranty etc..

I think not. Buy a 10 to 15 year "Non Japanese Car" (Japanese cars are very expensive in the Used Car market, therefore buy a "Non Japanese Car), like for example a Hyundai Accent or Elantra, Peugeot or something like them. They are arround 150' k for a good one and afther 3 years you still get a 100'k for it, if you sell it. Depreciation 50'k repairs and maintenance maybe another 50'k. 3rth party Insurance 3'000 Baht and taxes maybe another 15'k. So you'll drive for about 115'000 Baht for the next 3 years, it is 3'200 Baht per month. This is the cheapest way to drive.

BTW you can get full insurance for a older car for only about 7'000 Baht by 'Akane" Insurance

Theres a reason those cars are cheaper, probably double your maintenance costs and then add in all he time and hassle of going to get it repaired, waiting for parts etc...

Much better to buy a new 500k Toyota and sell it on in 3 years for 350k, 1st year insurance is often free, no maintenance costs etc...

My first Thai car I bought for 80.. spent 40 on and sold for 150..

My next Thai car cost 120.. Spent nothing special on (perhaps a battery cos I dont drive much and they flatten) sold 140..

Current car bought cheap and can sell for 60 - perhaps 80 at a push more than I bought it for.. I have spent about 15k on fixing some little things that were not 100%.. Runs starts clean little runabout and needs no more service than any new or newish motor (cheaper in fact as your not dealing with rip off main dealers)..

Personally I think there so many people buying new now (on credit) under that assumption that the second hand market is getting flooded and price compression in inevitable.. The low end of the market is the least effected.