crazygreg44

it will be interesting to learn WHY they would place a bomb inside a car. Can you win a million in cash by doing it? Are the security guards from the south, muslim, and known for having been trained in Pakistan ? Come on BIB , offer an explanation.

We've all seen it a million times. Changing lanes, turning and merging without looking.

...and please add to this, on many motorcycles there are no more rear view mirrors. The riders think, "whoa, I've got a large amulet, nothing can stop me"

<Supawan does not believe the bombing was politically motivated, and might have been the result of a conflict between locals or a personal issue>

so according to him it was a technical failure . .the bomb went off before the person it was aimed at unlocked the car?

the guy who armed the car being a bloody tosser ?

....we should always believe in what Thai authorities think up . . .'sarcasm off'

they are still throwing the dice before the choice is on who has to climb up the poles and repair the blown transformers. To big a risk for Some Chais

what can I say, my first thought when reading that somebody 47 yrs of age burns all the bridges behind him in the U.K. and likes to conquer Thailand, backed by 3 Million Baht - what was my first thought ? It hit me that it doesn't take long until "the penniless tosser at the bar" like another poster posted. . .

The hints here in the Visa Forum on how to spent the time between now and the date when you will be able to apply for a Non Imm O on retirement purpose (given that from your 3 M Baht, 800,000 plus will still be left after 3 years which I think is highly speculative) are quite helpful, but aside from that . . I wish you a lot of luck because you will need it. There's ziliion guys out there whose savings have molten quicker than a cone of icecream that dropped onto hot pavement.

You've been working as a carpet layer in the U.K., I'd like to share a good tipp with you, catch a flight to Florida USA two days after an F4 hurricane has hit and tell the boss that you are a roofmaker (it's really easy to adept) It will supply you with a kind of an income that comparably you will never find in Thailand, neither in Cambodia nor in VN.

I understand that you are a newbie, and it serves as kind of an excuse when it comes to not knowing more about the land you are determined to move and make a living in. Other forum members have already warned you about opting for a Thai business partner. I would have bought one or two apartments in the UK and rented them out, sort of having a soft trickle of some income, rather than arrive in the land of honey with 3 M that will last 3-5 years on the max, with not a penny to be seen again. Think about investments that include a revenue before heading out into the sun.

You can live on really small scale expenses in south East Asia if you use your common sense, but I suggest doing your homework first. Thailand does not allow many options to earn a living legally - work permit wise. Those that involve entrepreneurs, opening bars or resorts, all likely have had such businesses back in their home countries already and come to Thailand backed by some experience and most probably with a lot of cash ready to invest here. Make sure you have these assets or some steady income, before starting the adventure, or the adventure will eat your insides out.

Again, good luck!

From my experience so far with Thai electrical installations, there is probably not an earth ground installed anywhere at the home. As long as 3 wires are going from the electrical panel to each socket with 3 pins, the best solution is to ground the whole electrical system. This can be done with one copper ground rod and 00 gauge copper wire. More than likely this will not be the case. Most installations have only 2 wires ran and the ground pin is a decoration. In that case the previous posts about grounding the washing machine separately would be the best solution. And to the poster who grounded his WM to the rails on the condo balcony, You are aware that any current that goes to ground by whatever fault will pass through this rail and anything else metal that it is connected to. So if a fault occurred and all 240 volts went to ground you have created a high amperage electric fence. Your neighbor goes out to look off the balcony, leans against the rail, and is instantly electrocuted. I would suggest you re-examine your "solution" before someone else pays for your mistake.

. . . . .absolutely right, and I must say, I like the word "decoration" to describe the extra pin which suggests that there is an earthed cable.... This is typical Thailand . .TITT !!

The balcony rail posing a danger - i never thought of this. There are quick blow circuit breakers connected to the main circuit and the rail has a few layers of paint which act as a bit of isolation. In the 8th floor of a condo there are not many options to run a copper rod down. Connecting the ground strap to a nail in the Wall was what the Thai electrician did. On a ground floor I would of course run the copper rod into the earth and connect the WM separately. The nail in the wall method didn't actually have any effect - we received shocks from the WM nevertheless. The balcony rail connection worked. Maybe this explains the many members of the Pattaya Balcony Flying Club - do they all have washing machines on their balconies and came up with the same idea as me?

Meningococcal Meningitis , When you search for more info on this bacterial infection, you will find that it is not at all common in South East Asia. Aside from that, if the woman would have been infected with it, her life span would have been minimized - untreated - to just a little over 10 days. The hospital source is right.

A sad incident. R.I.P. Mrs Lieder. Condolences to her relatives.

In case anyone in our Moo Baan needs to borrow one of my tools, they have to hire ME along with them !

If he turns the blade around, nothing much will happen, as then he will cut upward with the teeth facing away from the board to be cut.

Chickenlegs is right.

If the OP has a circular saw that has the motor to the left side of the blade, a backward ( i.e. upward spin = counterclockwise! ) of the blade is correct.

And yes, there are handheld circular saws that have the motor on the right and the blade on the left - which will turn clockwise in an upward cut mode. And yes, as chickelegs said, blades bought in Thailand are for motor left/blade right machines, the indicator will probably show a wrong turn when used in a motor right/ blade left type of circular saw.

VERY IMPORTANT . .if the motion is against the indicator turn, then you will be cutting with the backside of the teeth in the material first. You should then REFRAIN from using the machine and seek help by the shop.

The OP should just fix a test board properly and start a short round of cutting & check the result.

...and good luck, don't step onto the cable while moving . . . . .

it is possible too, in Paxxe, as at the Chong Mek border, there is a large area in between the checkpoints where you can stay, shop, have a drink or see the market, without the need of having completed the Laos visa procedure yet.

However I do not know how Thai Immigration treats you when there is no Visa stamping you OUT of Laos.

I used Agoda a lot in the beginning until I realized it was a big scam operation , especially when it comes to prices in SE Asia. You will always see , special promotion 50% off and when you contact the hotel you realize that the "sale" is not real , its in fact often a bit higher at Agoda than what the hotel offer. Only the big , more expensive hotel chains you might get a better deal through Agoda but they are overpriced anyway.

So the first thing you should do is to call the hotel directly and ask them if they have any promotion.

I found it to be quite the other way around. I used agoda to book a Bangkok hotel (not a big chain hotel) for 3 nights, and afterwards wanted to extent for 2 more nights in the same hotel. When I asked the desk, they smiled and apologized that they were unable to give me the agoda room rate. I paid 1620 THB with agoda, and they asked for 2420 THB when directly booking !

As some poster here mentioned, this is not always the case, but generally speaking I do not agree with your "scam operation" remark. I use agoda and booking very often and I am very satisfied with both. Also, the booking company's give you a better description of available hotel facilities. The highlight is reading the good and the bad reviews so I always know beforehand what to expect. Hotel's own websites in most cases do not publish customers reviews

the taxis waiting in line at the ground floor BEHIND the MBK ( their back entrance & exit) all use meters when asked. They are not allowed to pull over and stop, on the road in FRONT of MBK. There are barriers.

The police used to fine them for stopping in front of the barriers. So even if the military is handing out fines to taxis for not agreeing to a fare, does this mean they allow them to pull over in a restricted zone ?

The only legal zone for taxis to pull over at MBK is the back exit on the ground floor !

Just a comparison . . . to show what 500 Megawatts in Thailand stand for . . . the equivalence constructed in solar panel power looks like this project finished in California last month :

Late last month, the Topaz Solar project achieved full commercial operation with the completion of its final 40-megawatt (AC) phase. This is the first 500-megawatt plus solar farm to come on-line in the U.S. and the largest solar plant on-line in the world.

Two years ago, the millionth First Solar (FSLR) solar module was installed at the power plant owned by MidAmerican Solar. As of today, the project has installed 9 million solar panels across 9.5 square miles in San Luis Obispo County on California's Carrizo Plain. Construction began in 2012

500 Megawatts in 20 years by constantly building new biomass power plants seems to be a wasrte of resources. There might never be enough biomass to feed the plants, regarding how Thai farmers treat the soil and how little is done to incorporate animal feces into a biomass collecting system.

One example, Thai farmers rather burn the stiples on rice fields instead of plowing them under. They save nothing by dismissing a ploughing round by tractors . . at the start of the rainy season, they order tractors to plough the fields. If they would plough under and mulch right after the rice harvest, they could plant right away after the first rains 6 months later . . . .

What I am asking is, where would the biomass come from that is supposed to create 500 Megawatts . . . from pineapple, corn leaves and palmoil residues ? It can be done but it needs a throughout and concile planning . . .

I have never seen or heard of carpet cleaning services in Thailand, as Thais usually on't fuss around carpets in their homes. It is not part of the local culture.

I bet the best you can do is do it yourself , spread the carpet outside on a flat surface (preferably concrete) and scrub it with a brush, using simple, mild odorless - or LUX - soap. Then rinse with water, scrub again and let it dry in the sun, no need to hang , just leave it open in the hot sun . . . will take only one day

they complain that they have to sit in the sand. No deckchair, no Umbrella. It is in the wee hours of the early morning (as you can see by the shadows) b ut I doubt that for the rest of the day their problem will get solved.

Mr. General, your plan was good but your employees are not capable of doing a proper job.

I can't recall any hand-shake with any Thai male. Everyone is wai-ing here.

Staff come wais...staff goes wais.....if my company gets bigger I need an extra staff who is doing all the waiing for me.....

You being the boss, you are not supposed to wai your 'inferior' staff. A visible nod of your head into their direction is absolutely sufficient

That's a very steep price ! We live in the Sisaket region and rubber tree land, 6 year old trees, sometimes is available for 100,000 - 130,000 per Rai !

I remember two years ago we were offered 1600 trees, on 20 Rai Land, for 2 million Thai Baht.

Seems you are going to pay the Farang price.

Rubber is down from 65 Baht per kilo raw rubber 3 years ago, to 18 Baht per kilo this month ! Not a business worth doing any more at these prices. Fertilizer? Rubber tappers take HALF as they don't work for salary, only for sharing. You should barter the price down until the seller bleeds from the eyes.

I bet, even when the wait at the immigration queue has been only 10 minutes, you will still have to wait another 10 - 30 minutes for your luggage at the belt conveyors ! You win absolutely NOTHING by a faster progress through immigration.

At Frankfurt airport, every time the immigration takes 5 - 10 minutes (only within those lanes for EU citizens!) but after a loooong 10 minute walk to the luggage pickup (NO automated ways anywhere in arrival zone! Subvarnabhumi HAS them!!) Every time at Frankfurt airport, I have to wait for the luggage for a minimum 30 minutes.

I don't find Subvarnabhumi that bad . . . if you come early for your check-in and if you plan your itinerary accordingly ( leaving only 1,5 hours between arrival and a connecting flight when you have to pick up your baggage, is stooopid IMHO)

However I don't fuss around King Power (overpriced, can buy EVERYTHING offered there cheaper in my home country!!) so I have nothing to complain, I only walk around looking !

I don't arrive at the immigration officer's booth without an already filled out Arrival Card , so I don't have to complain about 'no smiles'.

I don't have any questions to the staff

I can find the toilets by myself, thank you

I know my favourite beer and I know that it is always more expensive at airports than outside of them, Accepted.

I don't need the fast lane, I have time.

I know where the taxi stands are, I walk up the desk, tell them my destination. I have NEVER been asked for a fixed fare, not in 17 years ! Always got a fare by the meter, plus the 50 THB airport surcharge

etc etc

you tend to forget that the mentioned 35 - 40 degrees have been measured in the shade

If you started to sit under an umbrella at Siam Square, you would soon find yourself sitting in an 80-90 degree Celsius bowl right underneath the umbrella, more so because the surrounding pavement will reflect direct sunlight in forms of even more heat.

And we haven't begun to speak about the humidity, yet, which will bang really in after May, and the sudden monsoon downpours.

Why not try it out, rent a taxi, bring a chair and an umbrella. Bring some eggs, because you can actually fry eggs benedict in a pan in the direct sunlight next to your "cafe culture" . . . .

all along the river, there are countless of cafe's , restaurants and bars catering to your needs for the time after sunset !

I think you under estimate the presence of insects, ants, termites and other flying things in the Isaan.

Your wine would end up anything but eco-wine, due to all the pesticides and herbicides you need to use on the grapes and the grapevine, in order to keep everything intact. I remember 14 years ago seeing a photo from Hua Hin Hills where they covered all the young grapes with a translucent plastic bag against the flying hungry armies.

Then there is the soil, in the Isaan locations with good soil are rare.

Then there is the availability of water. No water near your wineyard in the dry sason means sure death to the plants, if their roots cannot reach any moist ground table.

If red grapes would grow successfully in the Isaan, it would have been done a long time ago and would be visible by now. It's worth a try, but don't expect anything from it.

We had to grapevines near the house, they needed water constantly but just did not grow, but I admit I didn't tender them with the best care . . maybe someone who really cares, will have slightly more success ?

Doing the Boat trip from Chiang Kong to Luang Prabang, as being tipped by another poster, sure beats taking the bus by lenghts !!!! There are a few blogs on this topic , need to search a bit in the internet . . .

Like I said, forget the South south of Chumpon in June . . . . .monsoon season. That's why I suggested Hua Hin, or Khao Takiab and the little beach beyond. . . it's far enuff south.

Remember they are first timers . . . i would not send them on a criss cross country tour. It's like it is with food . . .slow food beats fast food . .

It would pay off to know a few do's and don't s before visitng a country . . etiquette and scams . . .well, that's the basics for a tourist. Same as getting an accident insurance for the duration of the journey.

Good on him, tell it how it is.

It is as King Power designed this airport. Domestic fully serviced by moving walkways and no Duty free. International a 2km. hike through shops controlled by King Power and No moving walkways. A disgrace !

The automatic walkways have been removed? Are you sure you're not just a liar?

Gentlemen, there are automated walkways in the arrival circuit, all over the place !

There have never been any automated walkways in the departure concourses, though.

all of the new inverter cooling fridges are rated grade 5. This sums up to 60 BAHT per month for a 520 liter fridge that comes with a freezer compartment !! Don't buy any old types !