crgram

RIP to a good man...

I stay at the Corus, moderate priced at around 2k baht, but has all the amenities and close to the Towers and the Embassy.

cr

All I know is that my eating out bill has halved since I moved back up to Chiang Mai and we eat out almost three times as much as when we lived in Phuket, the quality of the food is way way higher here with a significantly greater choice of (Thai) restaurants to chose from, really nice ones too and not just local food stalls. I now eat Thai food 75% of the time out of choice.

I moved to Phuket from Chiang Mai last year and it's definitely more expensive here. Not sure it's double, and as is often said on here, you can reduce the impact by avoiding the tourist areas. However the variety and quality of food available seems to me to be at least as good. And the sea food is fresh

I suppose the cost of living on an Island with nice beaches is going to be higher than average any where, not just Thailand.

cr

I am surprised his lawyers have not tried to get the US to charge him and get him extradited there ... but not sure even with the victim being a serviceman that the US could hold any jurisdiction.

I thought the fact he allegedly murdered a US citizen gives them jurisdiction worldwide

I don't think so...since the victim was traveling as a private citizen, both parties were private citizens. Military or not, the US is less help than most in this type of situation.

cr

He was not traveling as a private citizen. He was an active duty Marine on liberty (medical leave? I have seen both listed). The US has had a formal Status of Forces Agreement with Thailand since the 1960s that allow us to place military personnel in various capacities in Thailand and encourages the Military to use the Thai resorts as leave and liberty destinations. That is why in Pattaya and Phuket when the ships are in you can spot uniformed US Navy and Marine Police around the bar areas operating with the permission of the Thai government. Generally party to these SOFA's are guarantees regarding the various crimes that inevitably occur with military men on leave.

I generally agree with your sentiments but when military personnel are traveling on leave they are traveling as a civilian. "Liberty" from your ship or duty station is a different thing. The SOF doesn't apply because the crime wasn't committed by the Marine. If the the US wanted to get involved, the reason would be the same as for any other citizen. Which I don't think they will. I just hope the coward gets put in jail (at least) some where for a long time.

cr

I am surprised his lawyers have not tried to get the US to charge him and get him extradited there ... but not sure even with the victim being a serviceman that the US could hold any jurisdiction.

I thought the fact he allegedly murdered a US citizen gives them jurisdiction worldwide

I don't think so...since the victim was traveling as a private citizen, both parties were private citizens. Military or not, the US is less help than most in this type of situation.

cr

I agree that we "needed some rain" but the flooding we have in the Rawai area is starting to do some real damage. The farmer next us gave up trying to save crop his about an hour ago. I've seen rain this hard before but not for this long. Since I can't change the weather I'll make the best of it, grabbing the SCUBA gear and into the back yard

I'm use true cable, no problems.

cr

I renewed mine last December, and I agree the current set up at the Phuket LTO makes it a breeze. FYI: Every office is a bit different so be prepared. I got a car and motorcycle so they asked for 2 copies of everything including a medical form. There is a copy shop there but no clinics in the area so pick that up before you go. To get the five year renewal you suppose to be on a long stay Visa of some type. I've read on TV some people say they got a 5 year on a tourist visa but.......ymmv.

Check out: click here

Some info is old, you don't need photos anymore, and it didn't mention the medical but has some info on timing and fees that may help you.

gl

cr

I noticed the H (HSPA) symbol on my android phone yesterday. A speed check revealed 2 Mps down load and 1.7 Mps up in Rawai, not to bad.

FYI: I have a 1.5 gig for 399 baht a month package that I signed up for in Chiang Mai.

cr

I haven't seen any reports on this recently so I thought I'd post this......

Did the Andaman Club run from Rawai this week, using EVE Visa Tour. They do pick up in Rawai and Na Harn as there office is in Rawai close to the pier next to the 7/11 on the beach rd.

Trip cost 1950 baht, the van was the usual 9 pax + 2 front seats, in good condition and the driver spoke English. We left from Rawai 5:15am and got to the Andaman Club pier about 10. Took care of formalities with immigrations and the 15/20 min boat ride to the Myanmar side. It was a little before 11 when we sat down for lunch at the hotel. As asked we all took the boat back at 12, got our stamps at the Thai side and we were on our way around 1. I was last off the Van in Rawai at about 6pm. The driver stopped for a rest break once both ways.

We had a good, friendly group which always helps when all the seats are full.

FYI: for any newbies out there, I didn't go in to to much detail because when you book the Andaman Club version of this run they will do everything for you. Just get on the Van with with your passport, everything else is taken care off.

cr

'you've got nothing to say, and you are saying too much of it'

Love it.....probably could refer to most of the expats in LOS...

not me of course

cr

Back during high season it seemed I was getting stopped every time I went out. Once, I got checked twice at the same checkpoint, it had a particularly long que . But I have a current Thai drivers license, insurance and always wear a helmet. As such I've never had to pay anything.

Never seen farangs only being stopped either. I'd also be curious if anyone has any first hand experience with that. Every time I've seen/been through one the BIB pulled everyone over.

cr

"As for U.S. cards being rejected, can you blame them? U.S. gov runs completely in debt, many U.S. people are getting foreclosed on or going into bankruptcy, probably worried in the end they won't get their money."

It has more to do with which bank the card is from and whether they are willing to pay a fee to "verified by visa" or "secure by mastercard". I have one card that AA accepts and one that always gets declined.

cr

Flew AirAsia out on Sunday, Mar. 13th, and dropped off Monday morning. Picked up Tuesday afternoon and flew back to Phuket that night.

Information on the web site is correct.

FYI: if your asking for an 1 year multiple entry they'll want to see the original work permit as well as have a copy.

gl

cr

"With traveling Americans I have noticed two basic types. Those that "get it" are usually young and educated and look at the world with wide eyes, enjoy travel and are respectful where ever they are, and those that are a bit arrogant, ignorant, national-centric, and believe non-Americans are below them, and see everything outside of America as merely "not American". I have met many of both types."

This comment could be applied to travelers from every western industrialized country. Apparently we can now add Russians to the list.

Let the bashing continue.....

Just got back from KL with a single entry/90 day NON B. Nothing new, drop off 9:30am pick up at 2:30pm the next day. I flew AA Phuket to KL on Sunday, dropped off on Monday picked up on Tuesday and flew back that night. Crowds are still pretty light. cr

"There's no law against "stopping suddenly for no reason"

What, where did you learn to drive? There certainly is a law specifically about this. There has been a big scam for years where some one will slam on the brakes in front of someone and then try too shake them or their insurance down. In the west street cameras have put a stop to much of this one.

Not that it's likely to help here in LOS without a good Samaritan like your wife, wtg.

cr

Bizarre logic. The reason that this scam worked was because the laws in the US are generally that the person who rear ends another car is at fault. There aren't near enough street cameras in the US to catch this sort of thing (not sure where you came up with that). The only reason that the frequency of this scam has declined is that the insurance companies have become wise to it.

And the US is the only place west?

What about educational visas? My passport is packed with tourist exempt stamps,ED visas and extensions but not a single Tourist Visa. Could I be denied a tourist visa?

Could you be? Of course you could be, but people with 2 or more tourist visas in a row are the ones having problems. Going from an ED to a tourist should work. I did that last year at Vientiane when tourist visas went free. But as always YMMV.

gl,

cr

"I would think the most damaging allegation in the eyes of the US citizens would be that the US government assessed the Saudis as being the biggest funders of terrorism up to and including some high ranking ones, and yet kept this quiet and recently agreed a huge arms deal. That is something I doubt anyone would argue should be kept secret, and is a damning indictment of government as representatives of the people."

This is hardly news, it's been widely known for years. There have even been numerous news programs about where the money comes from. It's just embarrassing for the diplomats who got caught saying it "in writing".

The most damaging information is mostly what was known or said about other governments....

cr

The most damaging information to the Department of State was Hillary telling the diplomats she wanted them to spy on diplomats from other countries.

Damaging for Hillary's reputation maybe, but don't think it's surprising that this is going on.

cr

"I would think the most damaging allegation in the eyes of the US citizens would be that the US government assessed the Saudis as being the biggest funders of terrorism up to and including some high ranking ones, and yet kept this quiet and recently agreed a huge arms deal. That is something I doubt anyone would argue should be kept secret, and is a damning indictment of government as representatives of the people."

This is hardly news, it's been widely known for years. There have even been numerous news programs about where the money comes from. It's just embarrassing for the diplomats who got caught saying it "in writing".

The most damaging information is mostly what was known or said about other governments....

cr

they got tired of their first wife "going to pot and nagging them all the time,"

sorry, but what the heck does "going to pot" mean?

"Gone to the pot"

An item which is broken, defective or substandard. Two explainations have been historically applied. The first is that in olden times when food was scarce, people would leave the bones, fat and undesireable portions behind after eating their meal. These second-rate items would be used for soup the next day, so as such, the poor-quality leftovers would "go to pot". The second (and more plausible) explaination is that in the days of the industrial revolution and early mass-production, assembly workers would occasionally find a defective or out-of-tolerance part which was not suitable for use. This part would be sent back to the smelting room to be melted down and re-cast a second time. Since the smelting was done in a giant pot, these defective parts had "gone to pot". In either case, the phrase gained popular use by the American homeowner who would occasionally wear out an item which would fail- often at an inconvenient time.

You may be correct, but I believe the reference to people is a little more simple. Many westerners refer to the women in their lives as "flowers" in various ways. And when the flower withers your left with the "pot".

cr

I have had an HTC Hero for over a year and have been very happy with it. It does have the slower processor but since the Droid 2.1 upgrade it runs fine. I'm on AIS which only has Edge available in Phuket so processor speed isn't much of an issue. The speed, or lack there of, updates is an issue. I would like to get 2.2 without having to flash a custom ROM. Over all I'm happy with the hero and HTC, been using various flavored HTC phones for years.

cr

"There's no law against "stopping suddenly for no reason"

What, where did you learn to drive? There certainly is a law specifically about this. There has been a big scam for years where some one will slam on the brakes in front of someone and then try too shake them or their insurance down. In the west street cameras have put a stop to much of this one.

Not that it's likely to help here in LOS without a good Samaritan like your wife, wtg.

cr

Well, enlighten us what is the "specific" law to which you refer.

Maybe "driving without due care and attention" but we do not know the full facts of the case. But of the two following vehicles, one was able to stop using her brakes. Was the other driver too close to do so or his brakes not sharp enough or was HE not paying too much attention.

On the driving side the odds are against the foreigner

But on the "cultural" side it's good to see a Thai not automatically sticking up for her own.

http://apps.dlt.go.t...E-Learning2.swf

See page 8.

You'll notice I did not comment on following to close, only the statement that it's legal to stop for no reason in traffic, both are wrong and dangerous.

cr

"There's no law against "stopping suddenly for no reason"

What, where did you learn to drive? There certainly is a law specifically about this. There has been a big scam for years where some one will slam on the brakes in front of someone and then try too shake them or their insurance down. In the west street cameras have put a stop to much of this one.

Not that it's likely to help here in LOS without a good Samaritan like your wife, wtg.

cr

Once Wikileaks published material that has put peoples lives in to immediate danges (such as names of Afghan nationals who have given information to NATO) I stopped supporting them.

Agreed, once Julian Assange put his agenda above the the safety of other people he became as bad as the governments he is trying expose.