crazygreg44

I would book in TH (and I would have booked in TH in the past, too), but I didn't know! Agoda is just trying to make more money off foreigners. Farang prices, doesn't even stop with large companies like Agoda

Agoda does not do anything. Hotels set prices and have full control of pricing and availability.

Agoda has it's "best price guarantee" (joke in itself already) - how can they guarantee me to get the best deal when at the same time they sell the same room cheaper in a different language?!

On two occasions I found out too late, that the walk-in over the counter price of a hotel was more expensive than the agoda quoted price.

Too late, because me, too, didn't believe in Agoda's 'best price' policy.

I can assure you, they carry this slogan rightfully.

holy cow. . build your barbecue from red bricks , grill grates can be bought ready made for 80 BAHT a piece. stick steel reinforcement bars into the brick construction , allowing you to position the grill grates in different heights above the charcoal glow.

why bother welders . . .

I don't understand why you imported flour . . you can get all different kinds of flour for making perfect pizza dough at MAKRO or others. Makro even has Italian Wheat flour No. 1.

An Electric single pizza oven PLUS the PIZZA STONE, for making stone oven Pizza, upper & lower heat separately managed, from 20 to 420 degress Celsius, costs 23,000 BAHT in Pattaya and can probably be bought even cheaper in Bangkok at some gastronomy supply houses. For making multiple pizzas, you would have to spend about the same what you spend for your wood ovens, but without the import taxes and fees.

Even better, in Thailand they sell gas-fired (pizza) ovens for making 4-6 pizze at one time, gas from the bottle, with temperature gauges so youcan control upper and lower heats. direct flames, odourless. Using original heating stones at the bottom, your pizze will taste like a Neapolitan stone oven pizza, done and al dente in 4 minutes.

And then there you will have a problem of finding the perfect wood. Tropical wood that does not emmit any unwanted odours . . .good luck in finding some well dried wood at a fair price. . . .I don't want to sound overly pessimistic here . . .

And there always is the option to build your own stone pizza oven. Fireproof cement can be had in Thailand, as well as fireproof oven walls. A no frills thing that can be done with a bit of searching both in Bangkok and the internet.

What surprised me that your ovens were only rated 20% import duty tax. Knowing that for most items the import tax is well over 100% ( 180% on motorcycles!) for many things, the 20% on the ovens are a lucky draw !

Did you check the import taxes on the Thai Customs website before you went into action ? Can't blame them for donig their job, and only their job.

in the south, it's Krabi and a little beyond in both direction south and north, and there are bars. ... Ranong area and Ko Payam Island is very nice and there are very few tourists, so don't expect any bars except the local karaoke, many unspoiled places.

North of Trang/ Pak Bara it's mountaineous land, the beach changes from mangroves to sandy beaches and back every few miles . . . some nice spots can be found, but as it's away from the main tourist sites, no bars, only the local tikki tukka.

In the East, it's Koh Chang and the mainland along the coast west and east of Chantaburi . Backing Chantaburi there are beautiful mountains, and on Ko Chang you will find a biking paradise.

Ko Samui Airport is owned by ONE Airline, so only they have the monopoly to fly there. Don't expect normal pricing applied on any Samui bound flights.

Personally, on Nok Air or Air Asia, I have always found their online booking pricing better than anything you could get from an agent.

But this goes not for any Ko Samui flights . . . . . pretty much off the track monopoly pricing. . .

coming to the post a little late, but I thought I'd share my bits here anyways . . .

My former boss when I was working in Thailand is an muslim Indian from Sri Lanka. He's been married to a Thai wife, he has both a Sri Lankan and Irish passport. He went to the London school of economics and is a clever guy.

We often shared trips and evenings out together, and what amazed me most was how his rude behaviour got him points everywhere among the Thais. Myself on thecontrary I got educated to be friendly and humble, and I just didn't believe how well his unfriendlyness got him along. It served for him as a perfect way of telling everybody - the bellboy, the waitress, the shop attendant - ' I AM THE BOSS' . . and he always waved a big wad roll of Thai Baht notes under everyones eyes to underline his superiorness ! The wad roll often got used as an argument booster, even when it was no time to pay for any bill . . .just showing it off was part of the play! And he was master in showing off an annoyed face, the one that looks like he just bit onto a sour lemon.

After reading your post, it reminded me a lot about him. I guess he had felt the xenophobia right after he first set foot into Thailand. Maybe he realized long ago that friendliness and politeness did not get him far here, and thus switched into 'Boss-Mood'. Can't say such behaviour helps against the stereotypical xenophobia of most Thais, it does not cure them, but at least it helped him 'save his face' and make a clear statement of who is the paying customer and who is the employee.

The original poster might be a bit too friendly/sensitive in some ways. Some situations require a more stiff attitude, not utter friendliness. Without any offense meant, stepping up rudeness sometimes helps in situations like the ones pointed from EVN . . . just don't shy off so easily and dare show some attitude . .

i hope the admnis do not ban me for posting this link. It will help you to just find accomodation anywhere in Bangers

http://9apartment.com/

plus. . . you can scan the city by foot. However since you limit your search to the Silom area, I suggest you spent a few days scouring away . .

it might however be very exhausting.

The above link limits efforts . . .

@sceptict11

No need for a supermarket, go to French-biased Vientiane for instance and see what is available there in the shops. I love the Issan, but I also love Lao for its Farang restaurants/food and its very friendly people indeed.

@ubonjoe

I was in my last 15 permitted days to stay of my already expired previous Non-O-Visa and I secured those til their very end by a re-entry permit (done just after the Non-O had expired) in order to return to Thailand and extend that previous Non-O-Visa by a further 60 days based on my wife and in company of her to be done at any immigration office in Thailand.

If Savannakhet would not have worked, my plan was to extend as above, then switch to an extension based on retirement by an income letter that I had to get first.

I prefer however my present situation with the Non-O-Visa for reasons already mentioned.

My head is spinning.

You have to go through all this grief every year for the rest of your life?

No,but the other option is WORST: tell all your life, be victim of a police interview and show the photos of your room, bed and dirty sheets after crazy night.

Which option do you prefer ?

For me I will enjoy a trip abroad until the rest of my life if necessary instead of giving any private information to people who should be grateful that I stay and spend millions in their country every year !

So you spend millions in their country every year, but cannot afford the 400,000 BHT in the Thai Bank ? It's like some poster here quote, my mind boggles at the concept. And the "farang food" to be found in Savannakhet, there are no supermarkets, just restaurants, so you enjoy the baguettes day in day out while you are there, but when you leave that's all that there was to it. Haven't you learned to bake your own bread ( flour & yeast is readily available in Eesan towns) or a potato salad going with a nice pork loin, pancakes with honey, etc ??

the Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair is upcoming soon, guess it would be worth while visiting and check for stones, as traders have booths on the fair . .

by the way, it is spelled SWAROVSKI and PRECIOSA

Buy her a 2-week tour trip to Europe so she can see all the wonderful infrastructure, show her how fast the internet is there and how clean the country is, how happy the people and how beautiful & clean houses there are. Show her a Costa Brava beach and a Switzerland town. Then go back with her for a Sunday afternoon to Cha Am or Jomtien Beach after the hordes of Thai weekenders have left and aks her if she still likes Thailand

if you find my avatar sexy, why didn't you post this much earlier ?

me think the electric heater you are using is the best option, when itcomes with a sheep-wool pullover you are wearing while inside the house. Sleep in goosedowns brought into Thailand on your last flight , in order to meet the climate change occuring in Thailand appropriately ( or similar good duvets that can be had at Index and other stores) . Coal/Barbecue/Gas fires can kill you gently in your sleep !!

whoever thought this advertisement up . . brilliant !

ya need aircons, super-clean area, clean refrigerators and meat processing machines. Trained reliable staff.

And most of all, a work permit.

As being a butcher is a common Thai profession, you would not be allowed into. However, as we know of many farang butchers who are specializing in doing delikatessen of their home country, which a thai national will never be able to do, you have a fair chance of achieving the work permit. I guess ( i admit I don't know for sure) a business plan explaining this and translated into Thai will be admitted and passed positively by the Labour Department

The point is, you are not allowed to manufacture and sell any known and common thai style meats and sausages.

If you can figure out how to get a hefty field rat into a sausage peeling, tasting like french pâte de foie, you are gonna be my man !!

visit one of the many weld shops and have one custom made for your size bikes

really out of curiosity, i notice that you did have more than 3000 messages on tv, so here my question: Are you one of those members

who spent their times claiming how much their gf/wife is different, that she come from a good family, she is so honest, you can trust her with you life, she will never harm you, she is the best thing that did happen in your life, and she love you maak????!

(Well inspite of warning, the cultural gap, language barriere, difference of wealth, her family, etc etc)

Because if you are one of them, who spent his times to spread myths and <deleted> on tv, well in fact you might have fooled some other members, but the biggest victims is...you!

Now its time for some weeks holidays, and after to start to build back yourself, and dont run again in the same problems as it seems that some never learn.......

I am tempted to side your opinion, as the OP , with over 3200 posts on ThaiVisaForum, has obviously spend too much time behind the keyboard and left business to his Wife.

When you make the goat a gardener, don't cry over trampled,crushed and devoured flowers !!

always thought, warm temperatures are speeding early flowering of plants. How the cold is said to have affected and resulted in premature flowering of rice, leading to empty rice hulls, is outside my logic understanding. Can some expert explain ?

the thought of it is tempting, and if you plan to have a new passport with lots of free pages issued anyways ( the subsequent renewals, entry stamps and extensions of a Non Imm O-A visa on retirement purposes are going to take up space!) then do it !

It is true that immigration officers sometimes cannot resist to scroll through and check back and forth between recent and older visas and stamps, I have often twiddled thumbs at their offices waiting for them to end giving my passport a scrutinizing review. So the OP is actually touching a psychological factor.

Of course, in LEGAL SENSE, all your stamps and back to back visa runs and ED visas are no reason to refuse you an retirement visa if they were all in line with the requirements.

Why ARRANGE a taxi . .you can get both VIP limousine (arrival level) as well as regular Bangkok meter taxis (one level below arrival level) at the airport. Would it make a big difference ?

Gotta shop for drinks come monday and stock up for next weekend when the february 2 vote catches you naked at the doorstep with no towel near

Throw your SIM card away and buy another one with a smart internet package prepaid that is not a promotion package. . I had the same problem with AIS, used the 799 BHT 3 GB monthly internet package, after having used up the 3 GB two weeks later, I choose a 250 MB promotion to extend, then found out the package and the promotion didn't work together fine as both were recurring and the intercepted with each other or whatever. In an AIS shop the clerks helped me cancel the promotion. If you don't find a DTAC shop willing to help throw away the SIM and get a new one is the option.

this thread is gaining speed. I like to add that a hairstyle does not have any affluence to your behaviour. A grey hair half balded gentle 57 old gut come smiling will probably achieve more positive points than a grumpy 40 year old who thinks the world still belongs to him

I do. Let me know if you mind. I will think about it.