crazygreg44

I just checked, Nok Air does it from Don Muang plus return for 2889 BAHT, and Air Aisa for 3400 BAHT from Subvarnabhumi. All included return.

There is something in the OP plans that just doesn t fit in - the price he gets charged for a return flight BKK-Chiang Rai , and probably the dates.

There s a website showing some options, and they link directly to the airlines involved

http://www.domesticflightsthailand.com/BangkoktoChiangRai.htm

Maybe the OP can adjust his schedule and save some on the price !

To the OP, do you want to save time or do you want to save money ? You saiy you pay a 1200 Euro round trip , right ?

First off, I just checked Ethihad Dublin to BKK plus return, within a 4 wek spell in June, it can be had for 822,78 Euros.

This leaves you with near 400 Euro saved ! For this money you can rent a TAXI to Chiang Rai for about 4500 BAHT ( 110 EURO) or take the VIP bus from Northern Bus terminal for 500 cheap.

I don't know why you would want to pay 16,000 Baht for a return flight BKK to Chiang Rai, when it can be done for a lot less. Maybe you should get yourself organized a bit better . . . all is there, online ! And . . this plan includes no time waiting on anything - you keep yerself in "flow motion" !

I just bought a 73 sqm studio one bedroom one living room in this complex. The management is very nice and the athmosphere relaxed.

There is a BIG swimming pool - talking not the type children splash in oval bucket-style pools, no , but a real swimming pool you can do turns in - and a small gym.

The residence is both used as a hotel and condominium complex, which gives it a rather charming touch !

Guess you take a chance and see if they got rentals of the 73 sqm types ( there should be some above as well as below our's and on the seaview side ) of this complex. The name is Angket Hip Residence, and is located near the second Jomtien Beach road in the 425 Moo 12 Soi Wat Boonkanjanaram . Website is Triplew.angkethipresidence.dot.com, Phone +66(0)38 236061-2

Maybe this info is of some help. Good luck !

Walk and turn in Subvarnabhumi? A dazzling thought ! If it wasn t for the air-ticket check at the entrance to the immigration area for exiting or at the immigration officer's booth , I guess you could actually do a walk-and-turn-around in Subvarnabhumi ! Nobody says you have to touch soil of another country - just assumed it was your home country, there would be no visa or stamp revealing you had been abroad. When you are past the immigration, you are already on exterritorial grounds, or am i wrong on this ?

has not replied in a while, did he already get fleeced or has he jumped off a balcony?

I didn't bother to reply as the last five pages of posts seem to have been written by blethering idiots!

may I ask what makes my point a blethering remark ? I think it very strange you have passed the 60's mark and never before visited your Mom's homeland. Not even for a short holiday. Could the reason be that you are a troll ?

So you were born to a Thai mother and an American father shortly after WWII ?

And you have never ever been to Thailand before, not for a holiday, nor for a family reunion in the place where you Mom came from ?

You want me to believe your story ?

Very trollic, really !!!!!!

A good troll post that by now has evolved into silly remarks, funny wit and jolly jokes. Not a single reason to believe the OP's story, though !

Yah mean you are actually supposed to BELIEVE things posted on thaivisa? dam_n, that IS news to me. Why do you think I've been posting pictures on these forums? Unfortunately, I can't do that anymore unless I sneek one in occasionally.

I don't get your point. I was referring to the original poster's story - he claims to be 62+ , born by a Thai mother, yet has never visited the homeland of his mother before. Never met her family, the place she was born etc. Would his mother not have encouraged him to do exactly this ? Don't understand what this has to do with you not being able to upload pictures onto a post, or onto the avatar . . (?)

Maybe you intended to say I spoiled the party you are having with this post ! In this case I apologize ! I never meant I would always disbelieve anything posted on Thaivisa ! Just occasionally I have the whim to do so, when the smell of a troll is too strong ! and, ah yes, I must have spoiled the party with my nitty pickwittiness . . .

You have broken a Thai Law by taking so many Thai Baht out of the country ! I remember there is a post in the Immigration area of Subvarnabhumi Airport, stating the exact amount of what is allowed to take out of the country, me think it is something like 20,000 Baht. If they had the 600,000 Baht detected while you were stil at their airport, it would have gotten confiscated and you had gone to jail ! Correct me if I am wrong !

So you were born to a Thai mother and an American father shortly after WWII ?

And you have never ever been to Thailand before, not for a holiday, nor for a family reunion in the place where you Mom came from ?

You want me to believe your story ?

Very trollic, really !!!!!!

A good troll post that by now has evolved into silly remarks, funny wit and jolly jokes. Not a single reason to believe the OP's story, though !

IME M&S have slipped

I would not buy underwear or socks there any more, far too expensive and not the quality they used to be.

Get those items before you leave

Must disagree, mine are 10 yrs old and perfect. Worn once and washed, still going strong. They may not look much BUT they are good.

Perhaps standards have slipped since you last bought new undies ten years ago.

Noooo, my pal just brought me over some exact additions to my undies collection. Some here do not understand, it's not what they look like, YOU will never look like the ads, it's about materials used, plain and simple, BUT many are more concerned about looking like the guy in the ad than understanding, comfort and longevity.

Holy Cow, class AAA advice !!!!

I am not fat but the few things I buy here are all tight around the legs. I wonder if the opposite is true with American clothes?

Anyway, how much are 501's here compared to uk?

If you find the 501's a bit tight around your legs, I suggest you get yourself a pair of Wranglers Texas Stretch in the UK, either online or by a store. They can be bought in three choices of blues plus black, the light blue one is of very fine, thin quality and fits perfectly for your next trip to tropic Bangkok.

Actually I split up my clothing budget between Europe and Bangkok. The best of what each offers can be found in either place.

I agree to a previous poster to raise the budget on a quality pair of Jeans and quality shoes in the UK, and all the rest you get for much less in BKK.

However, underwear, shirts & T-shirts can be bought in Bangkok at very good quality and very good pricing, if you dare to shop around a little bit at Mah Boon Krong ( Tokiyu Dep. Store) and at the Fashion Mall across from Pratunam Market.

Inside Bayoke Tower I personally shop every year for the past 15 years for shirts - a batique-style fine fabric - at CARBON in the first floor of the Tower, pay 600 BHT for one shirt - warning, don't laugh at me, if you check their quality cotton and stitching quality you will understand why I would be willing to pay such an exorbitant high price - I have never been dissapointed by the quality after many many washings - on the left of course !

In the fashion Malls, there are many more stores of this calibre and choice - well you said you hate shopping , but that's how to get to the basics in Bangers - keep your shopping restricted to airconditioned malls and you will hopefully find it quite interesting to compare. Allow your fingers test the fabrics and determine. In the tropics, the thinner the cotton fabric, the more comfortable it feels when being worn. Find out about one CARBON shirt, and compare all others against this one, you won't ever be dissapointed by a mislead or gone-wrong buy.

Underwear, I find in the 3 rd parallel road behind the Khaosan Road - I am a bit clumsy, and all their cotton underwear fit, though !

If you buy at the street stalls , you must expect a poorer quality - what do you expect from a 3 $ shirt anyways , but like I said many department stores have excellent quality , but NOT your pants & underwear size as well as probably NOT your shoe size. Jeans here all are manyfactured in a different cut from that of the UK , more fit for asian (shorter) legs. Don't get yourself talked into buying one here. Only Bermuda or Short pants will fit you.

Learn how to smile and at the same time pretend you are not from this world. It works miracles !

Its illegal by Australian law to travel with more than 10,000 aud without declaring it.

sounds fishy to me.

They were 2 persons, that makes 10K each = 20,000

I thought that the 800,000 Baht had to be in the account for minimum of 90 days ( 3 months) for the Extensions. Only for the first application , the money has to be in the account for minmum of 60 days. The bank letter will help, but if the officer decides to use the 90 day rule, your extension will not be granted

Just to clarify, the background of these live-in girlfriends are:

1. Ms. X quit her condo sales person job in Bangkok and moved to Pattaya to live with my friend. She only does house work now. She was 24, he was 54. They have been living together for 3 years now. He pays her 10k a month. He owns the condo.

2. Ms. Y, was living in Pattaya and working as a clothing shop sales person. She is 38 and he is 68. After 4 years of living together, she now works in her own clothing store. He gives her 200-300b a day, which she uses to buy food for the condo and other things. Note that he lives in her condo, and she pays, the water, electricity and condo fee.

3. Ms. Z came to Pattaya on a holiday. She is 19 and he is 42. She only does house work and has never had a real job. These 2 have been together for 1 year now. He owns the condo. She gets 1K a week.

After reading all of the posts to this point, I still continue to describe her as a girlfriend, because that is how both people in each of the relationships label the woman.

I am truly astonished that some people think that western values, definitions and customs apply in Thailand. My understanding is that it is Thai custom to give your live-in GF/wife money. Please correct me if this is wrong.

Thank you for some direct answers to the original question. Can anyone else provide compensation values?

Absolutely correct to look it up from Thai point of view, not from western standards. As I mentioned before, beauty and self esteem rules the price for such a go-together. Concubinism has a long history all over Asia . . .

they were on a privately organized Rallye, I presume. Otherwise can't explain the accumulation of most expensive cars on a motorway. Their insurances should verdict to them the conditions done in small script in their contracts. It's not allowed to risk the car for pure fun and game. Only to get you from A towards B.

Your point is well taken, it is a tribute to Thai culture, most Asians culture in fact that the wives are responsible for finances.

However the OT is about a girlfriend who is essentially acting as consort. To ask how much she should be paid, ( and that is the question ) is, in my view akin to discussing the details of prostitution and thus actually against forum rules. Honestly though let the P- whips congregate in another sub forum addition and stop polluting the General forums with details, whinings and musings of their paid for sex partners/maids.

I talk to a lot of thai people and Chinese living here in Thailand and it appears the norm for the husband to give the wife all or a large portion of his income monthly. I know one Thai man in Nonthaburi gave his wife 125,000 baht a month and that was 15 years ago. Both are well educated and from good families. I feel there are a lot ill informed foreigners here about thai culture.

I have also heard if a married thai man who works for the government is not giving money to his wife monthly she can go to the government office of his employment and have a percentage deducted from his monthly wage and given to her for the household.

So to judge foreigner and thai marriages poorly because this is done here in Thailand is pure ignorance in my eyes.

This is just my personal feeling on this. But here goes.

Two adults living together no matter what their background, be it bargirl or accountant , I personally consider them the same as married.In Canada it is called common-law marriage . So even on the international level a couple together is considered to be in some form commitment. Thus I feel according to the culture of the nation of residence the couple relates as married and acts according, to the culture that surrounds them. There for men here give the woman in residence money every month. regardless of her past employment.Over here there are even 3 kinds of marriages I know of. The amphur is one , the temple is another and the village is another. A simple party at home inviting friends and family here can be considered a marriage.

Fully agreed !! Expectations into such a live-in form , perfectly made a point.

Calling HER a live-in, and having sex, makes HER a live-in, live out, in, out, in out, hop-on, hop-off. My old Boss in Bangkok ,who run a jewelry store, warned me of having sex with the staff, as this would be deadly for the team-psyche in the factory. He suggested I must always take a GF from outside. Clever guy. A maid who visits you , does your laundry and cleanup, dusting and cooking, should be paid somewhat around the $$$ you mentioned. If you keep calling your cook/maid/duster/delivery maid/ your GIRLFRIEND, then she will sooner or later make clear how high she rates herself. The more pretty and young, the less your 10 K will be enough supplement. You can expect a lady in the forties to take care of you in your dreamed up manner. If you have lived with your Mum all the time before you moved to Thailand, I fully understand your point of view, you need help in your house and around, and at the same time the Maid must also be the sex-partner. Did you have sex with your Mum, i ask ?

Look, a lot of people on this forum won't hesitate to call you names . . . Why not just find a nice person who likes living with you, sharing your time, she will do what she thinks is essential and needed in a household, depending on her own upbringing. The less educated she is, the less she will have adopted to a western-style housekeeping. You gotta visit her hometown and find out where she is from and how her upbringing was, then you will understand how much you can ask from her in matters of help vs support. The pocket-money here is called "SUPPORT FOR MY FAMILY" as for all the above the term pocket money is unknown in these premises. Money is money for a living, Thai don't care how you call it.

Do you want a Girlfriend, or do you want a "Slave" ? A "Slave" is cheap here, something around 6000 BHT will do, but if you dare to ask your slave for sex, you will sooner or later find the XXXX being thrown your way from the fan . . . . All these people here have their own pride, don't you forget. You would not do this in your homecountry for long . . . . blues guaranteed . . . !

He he! Thongkorn, that is the punch line of one of my favorite jokes....

Hoping for some more concrete places in the Bangkok area, but if need be, I must try to make a deal with one of the guys on the farming forum - about getting me meat that have lived a happy, healthy, natural life, before ending on my plate

Cheers!

sorry, you have to become a cannibal, as the meat that is living happily, healthy and natural is usually being found in Soi Nana . ..

Thanks. These are the typical replies I was expecting. It is good to know that there are no real generalizations and that it is couple and individual dependent. I think there is no real way to know for sure how a person will age, but it is safe to say that if you treat your partner with the respect they deserve, and they reciprocate of course, the relationship will stand a much better chance as looks go away and is replaced by attraction by friendship, companionship and, most importantly, love.

BTW, I'm not marrying a plant or buying a woman.

Here is a joke that I received, pretty funny:

World's shortest fairy tale

Once upon a time, a guy asked a girl "Will you marry me?"

The girl said, 'NO!'

And the guy lived happily ever after and rode motorcycles and went fishing and hunting and played golf a lot and drank beer and scotch and had tons of money in the bank and left the toilet seat up and farted whenever he wanted.

The end

wrong- left the toilet seat DOWN when takin the leak ! Or was this person the Woman ?

It's amazing and ridiculous to watch human beings tempted to start road rages and tit-for-tat games among each other.

I have found out on zillion occasions, that the driver tailgating me, passing on the last chance, speeding like a madman on Yaba, most often wears a big omelette, sorry, amulette, and I always meet them at a fueling station 100 km further, parked off, sipping on a Tom Mama and shaking their adrenaline off in there toilets.

They don 't gain a millimeter, so why would YOU be tempted to copy them, just go in your own pace and peace, ignore 'em maniacs and make sure you don't greet them with a finger but a hefty teeth showing, and Life will award you with low heartbeat, longer life, lasting smiles and the last grin will be upon you !

It's called "defensive" driving, and it has gotten me a long way without hassles - toi,toi,toi on wood - so why would I be embarassed by people who are obviously idiots. I rather most often pity them !

Very fishy ! And where is the boat ??

BMA is called for big clean up. Next step is digging up canals from upcountry to the sea. hopefully , the next 7 years it is El Nino. So no more heavy rains. But when La nina arrives, it's time to head for the shelters. Still would give Bangkok all five fingers up ! Number one city of the world . . .

Everything is dry here near Sukhumvit 100 , traffic been normal today so its just like a normal day in Bangkok.

I'm not too worried about this area, we'll see the next days.

let me know if ya need any help, I will fly in from Europe on November 2nd, got an inflatable 4-person boat in my luggage . . . .

in fact I am really worried about all the stuff that now gets flooded up after it has been left rotting away for 30+ years. Out there and not counting the junk that has gotten dumped into the water canals, was and is leftovers of chemical fluids and agents, thousands of oil cans open and half open from literally one million of car garages, hidden and dumped clinical wastes, dead animals , feces and excrements from flooded toilets and floating sinkholes, all the leftovers of 30+ years of Bangkok City civilisation on the rise, when nobody ever cared much that all this <deleted> gets collected and properly managed and dumped into special areas desingnated for toxic and problem waste.

The end of the rainy season marks the end of the longest breeding period for myhriads of mosquitos and other blood-hungry insects. Water pools AFTER this deluge will make PERFECT breeding grounds for more mosquitos. I hope the government ( REDS) plus the City gouvernement ( yellow) plus the Army ( pink) plus the Humanitarians ( blue) all together, in unison and not acting against each other, already are working on a PLAN TO HANDLE THE NEXT CRISIS with care and combined activity . The request for medical support , freshwater and body hygiene will be immense. I still cannot believe they just turned away the help offer from the Aircraft Carrier George Washington and it's DESALINATION untis ! Does anyone here understand the task that is lurking at the very end of the deluge ? when will they realize that hundreds of tons of toxic waste will settle down all over the place after the water has dried ? Do they realize that when this stuff dries, any little wind will blow up gusts of toxic dust ?

30+ years of bad and weak waste management is lashing back onto the great managers of this city. This year will see garbage washed onto the beaches of Hua Hin and probably further. I cross my fingers and wish everybody well in handling the problems. I think very high of Thai people standing together and work together in times of hardship and when it is needed, they have shown this in the past and I have high expectations they will do so in the future. However, what they lack is a sense for the MAGNITUDE of this disaster, and their ability to think and plan ahead. It's like as if when you "paint the devil on the wall" , they think it will evoke the devil firsthand, so better don t speak about it. I am bonr and raised in a different culture where it was self-understood that you could share your thoughts and predictions with others without fearing to be shied away for sounding all to negative. Folks, bear in mind this is serious and not a game !

for all it takes I would be careful not to fall prey to the skydiving mafia . . . . after you have crashed they might claim damage of the parachute from you

.. just kidding . .ain't heard of any skydiving taking place on Phuket . .