ProThaiExpat

In Chiang Mai, mine had expired so I had to watch a program on a TV monitor about the Thai Road Rules and then take an examination. The physical test of reaction time, color perception were also administered. Having had a one year license previously, I was able to get a five year one in the new format that has much English on it for use overseas and works well for an ID card in Thailand.

There was a hour long TV program, I think the History channel, that related the usual trip for North Korean escapees trying to get to South Korea. Their path is through China, Laos and then to Thailand where they are accepted as political refugees by the South Korean Embassy in Bangkok.

The program said that Thailand was the only country that allowed North Korean refugees to travel to South Korea however, they may have meant South East Asia countries. A boat trip across the Tsugaru Straits is certainly a shorter trip however there may be real danger from North Korean Coastal Patrols.

The program further stated that when China returns the refugees to North Korea after they have escaped, that the North Korean Government executes them as traitors.

It is a basic tenet in law that you cannot grant a right greater than what you hold or have. The measuring life of one holding under a usurfuct is the entire right granted under that agreement and thus one cannot create by a subsequent deed or contract a longer period of time than you have.

The same principle applies to landlords that try to grant rights in property which he has leased previously. Since his right to possession has been conveyed away for the period of time specified in the lease, any further rights he wishes to convey must be operative after the leasehold expires.

Thus any lease executed by one holding a usurfuct will end at the end of the "measuring life", ie the usurfuct holder regardless of the term granted.

Within the last year, I have had more than one squamous cell removed as well as some basal cell ones. Dr. Ekachai at RAM is a general surgeon but quite experienced in removing cancerous lesions and you would be in very good hands with him. He did one on my throat just above my windpipe with no problem. Others on less dramatic parts of the body.

I had a very large squamous removed from the inside of my left knee and one almost exactly opposite side of same knee at the same time at Lanna Hospital where the Ram Plastic Surgeon said my costs would be twenty five percent cheaper. They were, however his fee was very high in my opinion, 15k Baht for both lesions in the same session. Plastic man required operating room, where Ekachai does it in the ER, much cheaper. My last Ekachai squamous removal cost 3500 baht including everything in the ER and also Ekachai's fee, which was 1500 baht.

When I expressed shock at the size of the Plastic Surgeons fee, he explained that a plastic surgeon gets a lot more than a general surgeon. This plastic man works mostly at NakonPing Government Hospital but moonlights at RAM and Lanna. My surgical result was no less pleasing and I feel Ekachai would have done as good a job for much less. Most doctor fees have gone up noticeably in the past year, so Ekachai probably charges more now, but I would not expect more than 3K for his fee. He is happy to quote you a fee for any procedure before he does the work.

Ekachai is sensitive to the cosmetic result of his work and does try to hide scars in skin folds, not a problem in a neck with loose skin.

I have had plastic surgery in the US and I felt the work done there may justify the cost if the work is done on the face, but for a simple squamous cell removal scar on the neck, why spend the money? You will not be disapointed in Ekachai, he has a world of experience in removing skin lesions and knows full well how wide the margins must be to ensure a completely negative biopsy report when he is finished.

Do let us know how your removal goes and the details and I am sure I will be facing another one next year.

Under "Reason for extension visa"

Would it be correct to put 'extension of one year marriage visa'

Is that what others on marriage visa have successfully one?

Thanks.

T

I don't know if others have used the queue system specifically for marriage extensions, but yes...that is what you fill in on this part of the form. Marriage extension.

Whether it be business, marriage, retirement, missionary, education, etc., that is the reason you fill in depending on your personal circumstances for "visa extension".

Not 90 day address reporting, or re-entry or other mundane 5 minute immigration matters.

Until CM Imm refines the website and the process, people will probably continue to make an hour long time slot appointment for something that can be accomplished without an appointment in 5 minutes.....

Oh well, there is always people who like to hang around for 1 hour to make some paperworks that take 2 minutes.

I appreciate the information contained in these messages and particularly the information that seems to suggest that the Queue Card system is meant for visa extensions. My thoughts when making the reservation in October for my 90 day report was that the system is presently being used as an experiment with bugs to be worked out in the next few months. Once the time slots are all filled, there may be more provided and yes, perhaps the type of activity being reserved may be limited.

In any case, the information about a late afternoon easy in and out for a 90 day report will be tried and I will cancel my reservation for the 90 day report. Will keep my December non-imm-o appointment.

Northwest end of Middle Ring Road. It.s on the opposite side of the canal road. Latitude 18°50'23.14"N; Longitude 98°57'53.65"E.

I don't know if it is the lap pool, but the swimming pool you would take a right at that intersection then the next left enters with the swimming pool on your left.

MSPain

I think the middle ring road is the one that terminates at CM City Hall complex after you go under Mae Rim Road. After you reach the second stop light, you will be facing the entire Sports Complex more or less to your right, built for the Asian Games when they were in Chiang Mai.

If you proceed straight across the canal road, Highway 121, you will enter the South Gate to the complex and then you much drive around the complex with many speed bumps, but it is a good familiarization drive. You will eventually reach the pool complex, which is a right turn going this way, it is located just before you reach the North Gate to exit. The pool complex is located just adjacent to the canal which abuts the complex to its east.

To avoid this experience, turn right when you reach Highway 121 and then make a left at the first opportunity. You will be entering the complex through the North gate and the first left turn opportunity puts you in front of the pool complex on your left. There are signs in English with arrows to make the turn once your in the complex.

This is for anyone who has made a successful appointment using Firefox 6 browser. I can see the fill in block and the calendar. What I want to know (only) is: where does the que code show up after pushing the reservation enter key. Is it a separate pop up window? I have noticed since I made my original appointment that they have added a print link next to the cancel link. When you try to print, do you get a choice to save instead of print or is it a print screen operation?

I do not want to make a bunch of appointments to figure this out, and then not be able to cancel.

Lifer:

I can't tell you which version of Firefox I have but it is the latest, my guess it is one of the 6.0 series. You should download the latest if this information doesn't apply to your use of the CM Immigration Website.

I just finished using their website after reading your message. as I wanted to make a 90 day report appointment.

The system worked for me just as it did before although I did notice a Queue Purple Box tab in the right margin of their face page in addition to the box appearing a scroll down in the body of the Thai language.

Clicking on it gives you the appointment screen and after you click on the date you want in the calendars provided, all in Thai, you are given a reservation page.

Fill it out, put in the "security code" as it appears on the page and enter submit. Almost immediately you should receive a pop up window which is your "Online Queue Card". Immediately after those words you will see your "Que Code" on this card. Print two copies for safety as Immigration keeps one.

This time immediately after printing my Online Queue Card and signing out, I received an email confirmation of my appointment. Previously such an email confirmation was not received.

For what it is worth, the rumors at the Computer Club that you need to use Internet Explorer to make the website work is not true as I used Firefox and it worked fine.

I believe the Que Card is a form of Pop Up so if you have not allowed Pop Ups in your computer you may not get it. Also I believe it is a PDF Pop Up so if your PDF system is not up to date or is very slow as mine has been in the past, you may think you didn't get your Que Card after making your reservation.

I went back and checked after signing off and found that my name no longer appears on the appointments page, just the fact that that time slot is reserved.

Put thai mai dai, so I guessed right on the month since most of the website, except the queue cube, which merely takes a click and then your right to the reservation page, where you guess which month is right unless you read Thai.

After that it was all in English, very easy to do and not only allows printing of Queue online Card but allows for saving to your computer.

I made two copies of my Card, figuring they would take one from me at Immigration.

The Queue Card has the Que Code on it.

So far, a very easy registration process, although it would be easier for English speaking peoples if the website allowed for an English version. The post about clicking on the English Flag option taking you to the National Immigration Website and no use for CM is spot on.

A few years ago, there was information about this issue to the effect that the Australian Embassy BKK, perhaps implementing DIAC policy, has stated many times to multiple tourist visa requests from Australian men and their Thai girlfriends, that after two tourist visits, any further visas must reflect the maturation of the relationship into a fiance visa or similar.

Their point is that Tourist means Tourist, not visit to Aussie Boyfriend. I would suggest she was lucky to get the third one.

DIAC is very particular about the purpose of a visit to Australia and that it should reflect reality. For those Aussie men who don't want to marry their girlfriends, they need to seek other visa options other than Tourist visas after two such visas.

My partner recently was denied a six month visa based on a family visit subcategory of Tourist with a verbal explanation that with a one year multiple entry visa last year in which he was in Australia 340 days of the year, that he was abusing the family visit reason for visiting Australia. The rationale was in that year, he was in effect a resident of Australia not of Thailand. They want to see the majority of time in Thailand with much shorter family visits. They gave him a 3 month Tourist visit for a family visit this year from which we just returned today.

I'm going to order a Kindle, but can't decide whether to go for the 6inch screen or the bigger Kindle DX. I admit I tend toward the bigger screen (my eyes are getting older) but it is a lot more expensive and I have horrors of going to sleep reading and having it fall off the bed onto the floor and break.

Is the DX worth the extra cost?

I'm really going to miss having an actual book in my hand though - but the nearest even half-way decent bookshop is a full day's trip there and back, and the selection very limited. Stocking up really means going all the way to Bangkok.

I went through the same choice process a few months ago and while I did not actually pick up the various options available in the Kindle line, I opted for the smallest one as the font can be enlarged. I am glad I did as I find holding the device not as easy as a pocket book, but with some practice and adaption, I have come up with a method of holding it in the landscape view with the keys to the left. There are more than enough lines of type in this size and the page turning is so easy, I really can't see why I would want a larger and heavier one. Those who use them for other than reading novels may well have excellent reasons for the largest one for document searches, web site viewing, etc. but for the pure book reader, the smaller one is more than adequate in my view.

Don't mean to quibble, but the Holiday Inn is an American "Brand" but the hotel owners and staff are mostly the same for the last ten years and the buffet is about the same as when the "Brand" was the "The Westin" then morphed to "The Sheraton" and now "The Holiday Inn". My bet is the kitchen staff hasn't changed much over the years. The owner 10 years ago, when it was the Westin, was a Pakistani and when he died, one of his wives took over, however, the Managing Director has remained the same all these years, Manuel, who is Swiss and a really nice guy.

I bought my Kindle for my birthday in March from Chiang Mai. However, I don't like the costs involved in courier delivery and their batch customs duty approach so I had the Kindle delivered to a friend in the US, he merely received it and mailed it via USPS for a total cost of 525 Baht in US dollars. No customs duty and small kindle fit into USPS small box shipping rate. I saved more than $75 over ordering for direct delivery from Amazon via courier. Total elapsed time from ordering online to arrival on my door step was one week!!

While you wait for delivery, you can go shopping at the Amazon store for free books or otherwise and download them to your computer via Kindle PC program at no additional cost. You can then click them back to your personal archive at Amazon and down load them to your Kindle when it arrives. I enjoy doing my shopping on the laptop but download for reading to my Kindle.

I only started filing my FBAR form three years ago after 10 years not knowing of the requirement.

I studied the form instructions more than once since I have 22 accounts overseas, some not over the 10k amount.

The instructions refer to accounts in the plural and my interpretation is that regardless of the amount in the account, if you have more than 10K USD equivalent in the aggregate overseas at any time during the year, you must report every account regardless of the amount in it.

As you will see in the form, there is a section asking for you to indicate if the account has less than 10K, more that 10K to 100K etc. This supports my interpretation that individual accounts must be reported even if they have less than 10k in them at any time during the year if the aggregate of all your overseas accounts exceeds 10kUSD.

I wished it was otherwise. I do put the individual account information but when it comes to the personal information requested for every account listed, I just write "ditto" boldly across the sections requesting repetitive personal information.

I question if this information is used by the Department of Treasury but is filed in such a way that targeted individual's reports can be accessed. Thus the correct way to fill out the forms may never be known.

Each hospital operates differently and each has their own methods of making a profit. My only experience has been with Ram and Lanna hospitals in Chiang Mai and my experience has taught me how to prevent "extra charges".

I broke my femur three years ago and it was displaced and comminuted. Surgeons fee for first procedure was 12K baht and he advised that stainless steel was cheaper and after discussing that option with titatium, I chose the stainless steel. Three surgeries later and 30 days of hospitalizations over a year, my total cost was 220K baht.

My Orthopedic Surgeon was a professor from CM University as was his assistant.

9 months after the first operation, the plate broke do to my carelessness and it was replaced. Plates came from BKK as does my rare blood type. I have the broken plate that was removed and it is almost like jewelry in appearance.

My doctor was forever worried about my suing him for the slow recovery and repeated procedures and I concluded that he really did his best and my final result has been excellent, especially due to my age.

If you had a reputable doctor and went to a western style hospital, I am sure they would not risk law suits by substituting an inferior plate from what you agreed to since it will be easily proved if you have the plate removed. You may get more satisfaction from contacting a supervisor in the accounting department.

By the way, my doctor said that in Thailand they rarely remove the plate, while in the US they routinely remove them. My doctor admonished me on many occasions not to allow the plate to bear full weight as it was not designed to support my body weight, only to keep the bones in proper alignment so they would heal. I had a non-union of my fracture site and thus my recovery was prolonged and it wasn't until he went back in and packed the fracture site with bone graft material that I recovered in the standard three months, despite my age.

After two years in Australia with no dental care as their prices are unaffordable, I went to Grace for a cleaning and a couple of fillings.

The cleaning took a full hour and involved much scraping (not surprised after two years) and with an xray I payed a little less than 2000 baht.

Dr. Korakot did the two fillings which involved cutting away gums at two locations and that took a full hour.

I have been going to Grace for 10 years and there has been some increase in prices but nothing like what is happening to medical doctor charges.

Anyway, Dr. Korakot told me this time that her prices are largely dependent on the time it takes the dentist to do their work, but I suspect materials cost does affect some procedures.

Her charge for her work was 2200 Baht, which is probably close to what most dentists there charge for most procedures. Since my work involved cutting of gums plus fillings in graduated layers in anticipation of a future root canal in one of my teeth, I was not disturbed by the charge.

My last root canal was done there about three years ago and it was 6000 baht and done by the lady who does Dr. Korakots personal root canal. I actually fell asleep during the procedure. This time, I felt nothing as Dr. Korakot injected the Novacaine. Her needle technique is outstanding.

Contrast the 2200 baht for her hourly rate which includes her operating room against a couple of skin excisions on my leg by a plastic surgeon last fall who charged me 15K for an hour and a half work and an equal additional amount for the operating room at Lanna Hospital.

To determine upon whose property the wall rests, a survey is required. Once the survey is in hand, you will know if the wall is on your property or neighbors. I suspect it has been up long enough so records of who installed it are lost.

Perhaps questions to the neighbor might develop information as to the reason he feels the wall is his to build upon.

While there are set back requirements in most areas, they are uniformly ignored and many structures are built right on the property line regardless of where neighbors buildings are. It is not encroachment until you are able to show where the exact property line is. The a court has to decide if the encroachment is "de minimus" or minor or major and whether tearing down the encroachment is reasonable.

I did a taste test as I had a small amount of Kraft and my new purchase the Best Foods/Hellmans to compare.

Those who posted that they taste differently are absolutely correct.

Since Hellman's was always my choice for most of my life, I was not surprised that I preferred Best Foods/Hellmans over Kraft in the taste test, although for almost a year, here in CM, I have enjoyed Kraft until discovering Best Foods. I do like Kraft's plastic bottle better and the very white color. To each his own, hopefully while Kraft is not available, Kraft devotees will be able to subsist on Best Foods until Kraft re-appears.

If you don't like sweet mayo, give Japanese brand Kewpie. Less sweet than American mayo (which contains sugar), and very tasty.

Disagree they do not taste the same some are much sweeter and others too much vinegar taste so consequently I have absconded with all the stock and hoarding it at my house.. It's an annual tradition for stock to run low this time of year as some may have noticed, so I bought out all the local ones I could find but still have a local Tops market that carries MY private stock!!! Hellmans is a close, acceptable, temporary substitute..

From the internet:

Mayonnaise/Miracle Whip

James Bond eats his lobster "with a good mayonnaise." (The book version of James Bond, that is.) If you've got a blender or a wire whisk w/strong arm, it's not hard to make your own. A good, homemade mayonnaise is truly worthy to dress lobster, or any other prime seafood or meat.

I'll give a recipe later on, but meanwhile let's talk about the eternal clash between mayonnaise and Miracle Whip.

Many people mistakenly believe they are the same thing. They are not. Bargain brands of either are also quite different than the original. The closest to homemade mayonnaise is Best Foods/Hellman's, and the next best is Kraft. Other brands differ widely in taste and texture. The cheaper you go, the farther you get from the taste of actual mayonnaise, which should be fluffy, eggy, and without noticeable vinegar. That's because you really do need to break some eggs to make real mayo, and the lesser varities tend to have less egg, and cheaper oils.

Miracle Whip is a unique product. It does seem to start out much like mayonnaise, but has additional sugar and vinegar, which defines it as a salad dressing. (mayo has no sugar, or a tiny amount) I've tried and failed to duplicate it my own kitchen.

Due to the triangular shape of my house, flat concrete portions were required, largest 4 meters by 10 meters. Bedroom leaked as developer didn't seal the concrete. Sent specialist out who had a product that seemed to be a rubberized compound, quite expensive. Developer went for a white paint like substance with an additive and ten years later no leaks. 4 inch pvc drains in each sloped segment takes care of water accumulation and I removed the strainers they had installed as they gathered debris and blocked up the drains. No strainer and the 4 inch pvc pipe is large enough to debris does not accumulate.

In Palm Springs, California flat roof construction is quite popular and a white cement type paint/compound is used to seal and reflect summer sun.

GOOD NEWS!!! But first listen to my hard luck story. Recent thread post authoritatively advised available at Tops Huay Kaew. Rushed down within hours of posting but nothing, nor did management say they had had any for weeks.

Now the good news. Whether it is called Hellmans, Kraft or Best Foods, it tastes the same to me and I am a Mayonnaise addict. I do think they are the same product merely branded differently.

Anyway, I found a very small jar of "Best Foods Mayo" at Rim Ping and tried it along side Thai mayo to see if it was different. Why, because it is labled in Thai except for the Best Foods Logo and the stylized word "Mayo". The other jars were much to sweet, but the minute my tongue tasted the Best Foods Mayo I actually exulted out loud. In the prior thread on this subject a post reported the small jars were available at 7 Eleven near Maejo University.

RimPing had these small jars all the time but I missed them as I was used to the tub style plastic jars with the big word Kraft on them and not labels all in Thai except for the Best Foods Blue logo.

Now to get specific. Best Foods Mayo comes in two sizes 220 and 460 and the only words in English, other than small ingredients list are The Blue Best Foods logo center top of front of label and the stylized word Mayo in shaded brown to the left corner of the Best Foods Logo angled downward. The appearance of the contents is slightly less white than the Kraft previously available, but to me the taste is the same.

Would enjoy hearing from the deprived if they found what I have described and whether they agree the taste is the same as Kraft, Hellmans.

Thai readers might be able to post the country of origin, I didn't find it on the label but there is a telephone number next to a telephone set suggesting a place to call for information or complaints. Will take a looking glass to read it.

The most prominent symbol on the overall yellow label is two deep fried chicken drumsticks, one on a plate with other fried parts and a solo friend drumstick to the right dipping into what may be intended as a bowl of mayonnaise.

I saw both size jars of glass at Carrefour in their special section for foreign "gourmet" foods, one aisle over from frozen foods and at the front of the store. There are two aisles facing each other and one back to back. The signs are faux brown signs over the display shelves.

Even in the west, real estate agents offer for sale properties that they are not the "listing agent", that is the agent contracted by the owner/seller to market the property. In many countries, Thailand being one of them, only the listing agent receives the fee for selling the property so agents who have advertised the property to give the impression they have many listings, have little to profit from when you contact them.

Also, if the property is a dump and many are in Thailand, the listing agent has long ago given up hope of selling an overpriced property so why bother showing it.

The advice that you need to "walk the neighborhood" to see what is for sale and what is a fair price is a must.

Buying a condo without thoroughly investigating the building, the Juristic person committee and determining how much the reserves are only invites disaster as many are recounting regularly on Thaivisa.

Coming to Thailand from a well managed condo building in Waikiki I was fortunate to rent a condo in what appeared to be a nice building for six months before building my home. In Thailand, all too often "investors" buy condos and don't bother to pay their common area fees, as many Thais don't as well. The result, elevators are turned off, pools not maintained, maintenance not kept up and gradual deterioration of your investment occurs even if your committee is a good one.

Even if you find a "good building" there is nothing to stop an owner from selling or renting to people you would not want to be physically so close to, ie. on the other side of a common wall, riding up in the elevator, avoiding garbage left in the hall prior to be taken down to the rubbish bin, etc.

I thank my luck stars I didn't buy a condo in CM and was able to build a house of my own design in an ideal location for me at a price far less per sq. meter than any condo I saw that was merely a box in a stack of boxes. To each his own, just tread lightly and carefully and investigate more than carefully before buying into what many have fled from.

My Thai friend got his "fix" by watching Thai TV programs on DVD discs. I do know that shows beamed in Thailand weekly become available on disc in Australia from the local shop in Dee Why and I am sure elsewhere.

If all else fails, you could contact the vendor in Dee Why and see how he does it, on his laptop as far as I know. He is located in the Thai food mart on Howard Avenue very close to its intersection with Pittwater Road.

I will be there for six months on April 14th so if I can help after that, don't hesitate.

Many bamboo varieties have adventitious root systems that travel rapidly horizontally and pop up like gophers usually where you don't want them. Do consider some form of durable container system to control the roots of the spreading varieties. I have made concrete trenches or canals in the past to control my border bamboo to keep it out of my lawn areas.