BarnicaleBob

By the looks of the bills I would bet they were made in North Korea, they are very good at that sort of thing.

This seems like a very progressive program that will benefit the community well. In America they have been using a similar program quite successfully. The American program is nation wide and is called Police Athletic League or PAL. It works much in the same way except part of the day is devoted to sports activities. It is also run year around, full time during the school vacation weeks and as an after school thing during the school year. In the after school season officers help the kids with their homework as well. This keeps the kids from wondering around on the streets looking for things to do that sometimes could get them into trouble.

It is true that it would not be that hard for him to do it himself but if he doesn't mind paying the service fees I would suggest Starvisa which is just down the side street from the U.S. Consulate. I have used them on several occasions for family members and some of my friends have used them as well. They always did a good job and do it the right way for us, no shortcuts all only the legal way. But like I said, you pay for that service.

Why not apply for your retirement visa in America? It would be a lot easier and only takes a week once you have gathered all the required documents. Here is a link to the information and documents you need to apply: http://www.thaiembdc.us/dcdp/Non_Immigrant_Long_Stay

You will find the links to all the forms you need on that page as well. I did mine from the states, once I gathered the documents, put in a cashiers check and filled out the forms I followed the instructions and sent it all in with my passport to the Royal Thai Embassy in D.C.. My passport was returned to me within a week with my new visa in it. Good luck on your new adventure.

My neighbors and friends in the area as well as myself use Doi Saket Hospital when is for something not life threatening or minor things such as cuts that need stitches. I would consider it my first stop for something major if time was of the essence to get stabilized before a long ride into the City. Keep in mind there is not always someone there with good English skills so bring the wife or someone to translate.

My American neighbor sliced open his hand and it was a deep cut. I drove him to the local government hospital and they sewed it up, total cost 150 baht.

I have nothing but good things to say about Pizza Plus, I've been going since they opened a few years ago and keep going back for more. And yes, we are getting spoiled in Doi Saket with so many farang restaurants up here: several Italian, German, European, and an American restaurants all close by.

I agree with the others about renting your condo furnished. About your mail; there are re-mailing services at a lot of the private mail box stores (U.S. Pack N Ship) that provide a service where you have your mail forwarded to a box there and they then open and scan your mail then e-mail it to you. About taxes, I use an accountant in the U.S. and she does my taxes for me, she then e-mails me the filled out form and I sign it then e-mail it back, she files electronically and I follow up by snail mailing (regular mail) the hard copy of the tax form back to her for her records.

I've seen reference in books I have read to the use of the word "slope" going back well over 100 years. Not sure where it was first used but in the 1920s it was to refer to Asian people in several ways: Slope, slopehead, slopy, slopey, sloper

It was definitely used as an insult as it was referring as an attempt to malign the intelligence of Asian people by indicating that they are "slope-headed" with little fore-brain. (Ironically, most people of the maligned groups have higher foreheads than the European-descended coiners of the term.) Also used was the term slope-browed" (going for a Neanderthal thing).

As an example of how old the term Slope is you can refer to a book written by Richard McKenna who served aboard a Yangtze River gunboat in 1936 but set the novel a decade earlier, during the Nationalist Northern Expedition of 1925–1927, aboard the fictional USS San Pablo, a gunboat left from the Spanish–American War. The phrase "sand pebble" is a pun on the boat's name; thus, the sailors who serve on her are the sand pebbles. In this book the term Slope and slope head was used in making derogatory reference to Asians.

Try the Toys R Us store in the Prominada Mall.

I had lunch at The Dukes with friends today at the Prom. (Food was great as always) David stopped by our table to say hello and confirmed the new Italian deli/trattoria will be opening soon and it will be under the Dukes management. He talked about it will be making it's own sausage and other deli products in house there as well.

I'm optimistic about the future of the Prom if it can hold it's own for the next year. There is a lot of building going on out that way and beyond that is sure to be a good source of new customers. As it sits now I favor it for ease of parking and it's location outside the city where it is easy for us country living folk to get to without having to fight city traffic.

I go to the Prom. because the prices although somewhat high are a lot less than the other two new malls. I also enjoy how easy it has become to find convenient parking there and the fact that it is not crowded. Good movie theater as well. I hope they find a way to stay open.

About IamGourmet, I eat there several times a week because the food is great and the prices are low. Steakburgers 100 baht, spaghetti and meatballs 55 baht, big beef steak dinner 300 baht, the best BBQ ribs in Chiang mai 150 baht, pork chop dinner with veg., mashed potatoes and gravy 150 baht, and much more.

Disclaimer, I have no financial interest in the business, I just eat there a lot.

I was there on Christmas and the border is not open yet but the local hill tribe folk are all talking about it. I did ride my mt bike into Burma on a single track right before the check point but after a kilometer or two ran into a military patrol (not much if a coincidence since they were chasing me) but luckily they were Thai or I might still be there.

You ran into a Thai military patrol on the Burma side of the border?????

You can wash all parts of your washing machine with vinegar, it takes of the scale and the smell.

Officially, Thai Immigration has said that in the northern provinces; Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Lampang, Phrae, Nan, Phayao, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son there are 18,400 Americans. I would think that about half the number live in or in the surrounding area of Chiang Mai.

I also have been there, real nice guy who runs it and the food is good. By the way there are a lot of westerners living out here in Doi Saket so he will have no problem staying busy with us locals.

I would suggest you find a maid who is already in country and at least understands a little Thai if not English. We found a Burmese maid in country but without passport, visa or work permit. Before she started working we started the process of obtaining all of these documents for her so that she would be legal. Upon receiving the documents we made copies for our records and gave her the originals so as there would be no question she was free to go whenever she wanted. This required a lot of trust on our part but we treated her with respect and honor and she has done so to us in return.

About the social problem of the maid being on the phone all day while she is working; After a few months we started to have this problem and informed our maid that it was not acceptable and that we were giving her proper warning that if it continued her job would be in jeopardy. We set certain hours (her lunch time and other time off) that she could have long phone conversations and since then we have had no problems.

If you treat your maid with honor and respect you will get honor and respect in return.

Don done the crime and I sure as hell hope get gets to do the time. Very sad story, and it never ceases to amaze me that there appears to be so many cowards whom resort to weapons when they get a kick in the arse. Which it seemed was called for. Its seems now that as a 'falang' you should not only never get involved in a Thai fight but also never render assistance to hurt parties after a fight.

Pretty sad state of affairs overall methinks.

In this case I don't think rendering assistance had anything to do with the victim getting shot. Don shot wildly into the bar from his car with out care of who his bullets struck. So anyone who had just happened to walk into that bar that night just after the fight was over and not even knowing a fight had occurred could have been shot if they were in the place when Don returned with his weapon. This could happen at any bar at any time to anyone with out warning.

Sometimes things just happen and it is sad when it has life lasting results. The video asks for help for Nick but I did not notice any information on what kind of help he wishes for or if it is donations he seeks where and how to make one. OP, can you add this information please.

I have noticed you were asking about car insurance but most of the replies were in regard to bike insurance. I have owned two cars during my time in Thailand and bought both of them new from a dealer. In most cases the dealer will pay for the first year for you as part of the sales deal.

This will be what they refer to as Class One Insurance which can only be obtained for vehicles up to five years old. It covers everything resulting from an accident; medical for you and the other people involved, total repair cost with no deductible and an agent will respond to the crash scene while you are still there. The insurance adjuster will keep the police out of it in many cases and make arrangements for any injuries to be handled as well as for the repair of you car with no out of pocket expense for you. Over the years I have had several crashes and none of them cost me anything. I have taken out three motorcycles sending the riders to the hospital and never had to pay anything or deal with the police except for one occasion where the police arrived ahead of the Insurance man and in that case I still did not have to pay anything or even get a ticket.

This is one of the reasons I traded my old car in for a new one, it was in it's forth year and I wanted to keep the Class One Insurance so I traded it in.

PS, I guess I am a slow learner on driving in Thailand, thinking about getting little stickers for my car door of motorcycles crossed out.

I have noticed you were asking about car insurance but most of the replies were in regard to bike insurance. I have owned two cars during my time in Thailand and bought both of them new from a dealer. In most cases the dealer will pay for the first year for you as part of the sales deal.

This will be what they refer to as Class One Insurance which can only be obtained for vehicles up to five years old. It covers everything resulting from an accident; medical for you and the other people involved, total repair cost with no deductible and an agent will respond to the crash scene while you are still there. The insurance adjuster will keep the police out of it in many cases and make arrangements for any injuries to be handled as well as for the repair of you car with no out of pocket expense for you. Over the years I have had several crashes and none of them cost me anything. I have taken out three motorcycles sending the riders to the hospital and never had to pay anything or deal with the police except for one occasion where the police arrived ahead of the Insurance man and in that case I still did not have to pay anything or even get a ticket.

This is one of the reasons I traded my old car in for a new one, it was in it's forth year and I wanted to keep the Class One Insurance so I traded it in.

There is an American restaurant owned by an American on the 118 highway in Doi Saket 500 meters past the footbridge over pass as you drive north that is serving a traditional Christmas dinner starting at about 5 PM. I'm think the price was about 250 baht per person. The name of the place is "I Am Gourmet", it is an open air place that is difficult to notice but it is exactly 500 meters past the overpass footbridge and about 200 meters before the turnaround.

I eat there several times a week and the food is always the best.

My business car had an AED as part of it's on board equipment for the last 8 years of my employment. During that time I used it twice with success both times and yes all I had was a four hour training course in it's use. I think it would be a great idea if AEDs were placed in more locations in Thailand.