TravelerEastWest

I know some practising chirugians in BKK who only work for farang in private hospitals and i agree they make a huge amount of money. Even their collegues from the West can only dream of that.

All medical staff deserves a proper salary in my opinion but the ones who want to become millionaires should have become bankers. I don't understand why medical staff in the West (and also in Thailand it seems) has become so greedy.

What stops you to become a surgeon yourself and become a millionair also?

Maybe the 6 years of medical school with 60+ hour work weeks followed by 4 years of specialisation with 80+ hour workweeks (I know one doctor who is currently specializing to become a surgeon and he makes 20 hour workDAYS regularly). If you can get in at least, as they do require you to be at the top of your class to even be considered to enter.

And the pay during those 10 years? Most get paid so little that they need to find side jobs during that period if their parents don't send money (taking shifts in the hospital where they study or a nearby hospital).

Bob,

Your post is perfect - I have no idea what most of the people on this thread are talking about. The prices I see at Bangkok hospital for top service with often Western educated specialists is a fraction of the US costs.

As an example seeing a Western trained specialist for an appointment that is scheduled for up to a half an hour is 600 baht with no insurance. So just under $20. A similar appointment in the US would be a large multiple of $20.

Medicine at the hospital pharmacy is more expensive than an outside pharmacy so I get what they call a passport which is a summary of your prescribed medicine which I then take to an outside pharmacy - no problem no pressure.

Which part of "it bites kids" don't you understand. Allowing this to happen makes you complicit in child abuse. The dog should be destroyed, and for allowing it, so should you.

You have a duty to ensure that it never bites another child again and sending away to do the same again is a morally void and dispicable act of cowardice

You having a bad day fella

I often have bad days when I recall carrying my 3 year old daughter to hospital because a neighbours dog had ripped her face open

My heart goes out to you - nothing more precious than our kids.

Utterly amazing these apologists for dogs that bite.

Grumbleweed is simply correct about child abuse, but sending the dog away could be a solution in the right situation and then again maybe not...

Sitar music is incredibly beautiful music.

Those who are near the concert are lucky.

The price varies depending on the experience of the vet, where it is done and if gas is used (preferable).

Our dog's operation could have been done with an injection at a local vet who is good, speaks English etc at a reasonable price (forget what it was so it must have been low) or you can pay more and have it done at a good animal hospital with gas for a much larger bill.

Worth it?

A personal choice - for my family yes.

But we also go to Bangkok Hospital for normal human care and we could easily go to a small clinic or public hospital for a fraction of the price.

Again a personal choice with no one size fits all answer.

I hope that all is well now with your dogs,

Cheers.

What do you think of Prem in Chiang Mai?

A more complex question can an English medium school ever do a first rate job of teaching Thai - to the point when graduating high school they are fluent/native speaker/ Thai school level in reading and writing in Thai?

Learn the history of the school...Originally TSV...you'll figure this out... Is it better? It is a nice campus in a community of high priced condos, designed to support the school and community.

As for the quality and the answers to your questions...Well they are trying, but is it enough?

I like Prem's campus and overall I think its a good school although very small - which has its own pros and cons.

I have been talking to friends who are involved with translating and I don't think it is possible or reasonable to expect fluent - native level Thai speakers in terms of reading and writing...

Married to a Thai citizen you normally only need 2 staff and 1 million capital, unless the law has changed?

same house, mine here, 7 years. always flush paper. never any problems and never had to have the tank pumped. its a falacy IMHO

Agred, we also use toilet paper and flush never a problem with the concrete tank - never had it pumped.

Perhaps many buildings simply are designed to handle sewage well?

Try a German Shepard with a single coat of hair (not the thick double coat)

They instinctively will round up sheep.

You just need to train your voice and hand signals.

I suggest that you start by buying a few business books in English on starting a Thai company - this along with reading the BOI site, Dept of labor and commerce etc will get you going.

A good Thai CPA that speaks English for most situations and for very complex legal situations a lawyer.

There are good Thai staff out there but you have to pay them well, treat them well and the other basics of management.

" from day 1, you own only 49% of that ... so if you feel ok so throw away 1.020.000 baht to thais, and they control YOUR company"

With a good CPA you can legally avoid most of the above problems.

Just as an example you can easily structure a company where you own all the common voting shares.

"...paying for thai it guys, speaking well enough english to understand you + doing their job and at what price ? 25.000 baht each ?"

Good Thai software professionals are not cheap perhaps triple the monthly salary above and you should be able to find someone with some experience and skills.

Stay calm and keep going you can make it happen - keep in mind that almost everyone I have met who does well in Thailand has already done well in their home country, and that just the opposite is also true.

No problem.

The next time the child reenters be honest and immigration will take care of it.

You're American right? You hardly know what tax is.

So Thailand has high import tax on clothing. So does India, so does South Africa, so does Brazil. The idea is to protect the local industry. Probably 40%, by the sound of it. UPS will add handling/customs fees.

The arithmetic

<< That's what I did. I also never ever used a courier service again. >>

it depends on the country. Typically, the PO depot / international hub has a Customs department, staffed by Revenue Service / Customs. If you use post services instead of courier, they will calculate the import duty and you pay when you collect the parcel.

The arithmetic that Don Mega showed is wrong. The import duty is calculated on the value of the goods, not including the shipping cost. Then after the import duty is added, there may be VAT.

with my experience non-courier services (normal post) a lot of the times the parcels simply come in under the radar, occasionally I do get stung for import taxes and duties but that is rare.

Same in SA. But if it's labeled as Clothing [or whatever - computer components or whatever] the import duty will be applied.

Sorry to correct you, but the import duty is calculated based on the CIF value. That means purchase price + transport + insurance

The vat is calculated based on CIF value + duty paid

Correct, CIF for duty then VAT is calculated on CIF plus duty.

200 baht is a customs fee then there is airline storage fees and soon and clearing fees for a formal clearance around 1284 baht if I remember correctly.

Sometimes the freight in the CIF calculation is a customs supplied number not the actual freight sometimes one tarif amount is charged for duty instead of another.

Most of the people in the post who claim they are being ripped off by UPS DHL etc are not business people who import regularly.

The post office often but not always does not get around to collecting small customs fees so use the post office if your package is small.

I found that the office in big government complex to not be helpful refusing to notarize my signature as it was not for a Thai document.

So instead I found that for 500 to 700 baht a lawyer can usually do it.

Doublephil has given you good advice - start with a good CPA (not a lawyer) that speaks English.

Also this statement is very interesting:

"Foreigners can also hold Preferred shares to give them more voting rights and hold the majority voting power

over the Thai shareholders, even though the Thai shareholders must hold 51% of the shares."

From what I recall common shares normally have voting rights and not preferred shares.

But perhaps I am completely wrong, or perhaps something is different here in Thailand? - if someone can comment that would be great.

I believe you're right. Many of the big foreign companies out here have on paper 49% with some Thai national owning the other 51% however their 49% of shares are preferred shares and hold more voting rights....or something to that affect.

To be fair, the OP is not going to be able to make an executive decision until he sees a professional lawyer......I only know a tiny bit of Thai law and I doubt many on TVF know much more than I do. He still hasn't stated which type of business it is....for all we know little Ning has offered half her girly bar for 200,000thb in which case hiring a lawyer wouldn't be worth it.

Luxfare,

Do you mean the common shares have the voting rights? Pfd shares typically have some financial preference but not voting unless I am not remembering accounting 101 from years ago.

If a non Thai owns 49% of the company as common shares and a Thai owns 51% as pfd shares then the common shares should have all the voting power and control.

Of course as a practical matter if the investment is small it will be more of a hobby and possibly not worth hiring anyone to give advice.

Although for no more than 5,000 baht you could get a very smart Thai CPA who speaks English to advise you about most of what you need to know and they can quickly and easily setup a company if you need that.

Doublephil has given you good advice - start with a good CPA (not a lawyer) that speaks English.

Also this statement is very interesting:

"Foreigners can also hold Preferred shares to give them more voting rights and hold the majority voting power

over the Thai shareholders, even though the Thai shareholders must hold 51% of the shares."

From what I recall common shares normally have voting rights and not preferred shares.

But perhaps I am completely wrong, or perhaps something is different here in Thailand? - if someone can comment that would be great.

Agricultural zoning question

If land is clearly in a farming area what types of use are allowed?

Example can an apartment building be built?

Can a restaurant be built?

Also how do you confirm the zoning of land?

I understand that zoning is sometimes not observed in Thailand but sometimes it is for example a big factory normally can't be built without permits and maybe not at all in certain areas.

KimEng is a good broker but not cheaper than trading in America (for me)

I am not sure but Dario your fees seem a lot cheaper than what the stated rates are - perhaps you added a couple of zeros?

Or maybe I am not reading the rates correctly?

the fees you mention are all via sales rep channel and that's of course more expensive. I understand that sales reps have to be paid. I trade via cash balance channel on my computer, so for < 5 Mio Baht the commission fee is 0.15% ++ = 0.1578%.

In America I pay $8.95 per trade with Schwab (for US trades not sure for set trades) so unless I am missing something trading in America tends to be a lot cheaper especially for large trades.

KimEng is a good broker but not cheaper than trading in America (for me)

I am not sure but Dario your fees seem a lot cheaper than what the stated rates are - perhaps you added a couple of zeros?

Or maybe I am not reading the rates correctly?

Commission Charge

Commission fee of Equity Trade (SET)

Commission fee of Equity Trade (SET) From 1st July 2011 onwards

Retail clients:

Yes Nienke, i said and i quote "To be honest with you, in all my years of pet ownership i have never ever seen any surgery done with mask for a dog."

Again for the 4th time, Thonglor, best equipped Vet in Thailand and most expansive Vet in Thailand, did not offer or had oxygen mask for dying dog.

Did not have or offer mask for major spinal surgery, or legs surgery or nose reconstruction.

They also did not have it for other occasions such as bladder surgery for a cat.

So if best and most expansive hospital does not offer a mask in case major spinal surgery, you expect me to believe they would offer it in case of simple desexing?

Great, i am happy to accept this masks exists and apparently also exist on Thonglor website, however it does not exist in reality, for the reasons i already explained.

Yes Vet is taking the piss, lets do a poll, how many Pet owners had to have their pets blood tests before desexing a pet? As i said previously, i have had 35 pets desexed and know of at least another 35 from my staff or mates and none had to have a blood test before simple 10 min desexing.

So what is misinformation? that at least 70 pets never had to be blood tested but according to some theory its the right thing to do? so Thonglor, Animal Vet Clinic, Muang Acke, Soi Neamb- are all idiots and do not know what they are doing?

Even when desexing the disabled dog, he was not blood tested, nor was he blood tested prior to spinal surgery or nose reconstruction or broken legs..

Konying, Nienke is giving you great advice, Thonglor certainly does offer a mask for neutering a male dog as they offered it for our dog about two months ago. They also gave our dog a pre-op blood test - why were your dogs not offered a mask - simple answer why don't you ask? and then report back?

They also offer a mask and pre-op test for female dogs getting spade again I know this from recent experience.

I use a local small vet office for routine vaccinations etc and the vet told me that she could do the operation with a needle anesthesia but that it was better to use the gas.

Having a dog neutered or spayed is the right thing to do unless you are into breeding.

The cost is a personal matter - if on a budget go to a government clinic.

If you want the best quality go to somewhere like Thonglor hospital - fantastic service - and more importantly after service.

We took our two dogs there - yes with blood tests which are very normal preop.

Later we had a problem at 2AM not related to the operation - a quick call and we got an on duty expert vet helping us out - try that with a government clinic.

What do you think of Prem in Chiang Mai?

A more complex question can an English medium school ever do a first rate job of teaching Thai - to the point when graduating high school they are fluent/native speaker/ Thai school level in reading and writing in Thai?

More likely than not you are thinking about Prem in Mae Rim.

You can live in Chiang Mai city and have a driver pick you up and take you home.

Unless you like traffic & crime and noise and heat go to CM.

The answer is so clear that I wonder if you are serious or just having fun with your post.

Split your shipment into packages weighing less than 2 kilos and then send them via small packet registered airmail - on average 3 weeks to America.

Eye catcher,

That is exactly what I wanted to know - 200 baht is in my budget - thank you sir!

As a side note I noticed that on the 2nd floor there is an OTOP office with some interesting crafts on display.