ItDontMeanAThing

1. dont withhold payment from a Thai if you are a farang. find another way to solve the dispute. once they have the money there is no other way

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1. Never renege on a business arrangement for payment anywhere -- with any race of people and especially when you are a vulnerable 'outsider' with little protections under the law -- until a new arrangement has been agreed to.

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Both are well written posts, I'm keeping copies to refer to before any sort of business dealings more complicated than renting a room for the night or buying a meal. I researched several less developed nations before retiring. One bit of advice repeated by expats in every country was was never put more money into something than you can walk away from while smiling, even if it's a fake smile. This advice was usually backed up by horror stories of what happened to those who didn't walk away. It's tragic.

The Super Bowl is on Murph's list of televised events for the week. Game time is 6am, place usually opens at 7am, don't know about that difference.

>- The Indian restaurant near the beginning of Soi 94 (can't remember the name)

S&S [something]

>- The Italian place next door to Sakura on Soi 94 (again, can't remember the name at the moment)

Closed. Space is now a Russian restaurant

Have a Seat is new on Soi 94. About 50 meters past Sakura, same side. Thai and European. Good stuff.

Souay Vista usually shuts down at midnight. A karaoke place opened almost across the street from them. If you live close enough to either of these places to be bothered by the sound, the dust from vehicles using the wide shoulder and the unpaved portion of the road will be more annoying. The intersection of sois 94 and 88 has had at least one multi story, multi tenant building under construction for the last 18 months, adding it's own dust and noise sources.

tesco lotus... you can play as much as you want AND if you don't like it after buying can return it within 7 days for a no quibble FULL refund or exchange....Down side is they only have 2-3 netbooks..

Good to know. The local Tesco had one netbook last time I noticed, which was long before I stated shopping. Thanks for the reminder, I'll check them out.

Just to clarify:

Most stores have zero computers that one can turn on and use. The lack of usable computers has nothing to do with my wanting to use a live CD, didn't even mention it. Because I'm looking for a netbook, I'll bring in Puppy Linux on a USB stick.

Some of the computers have a OS included in the price, some don't. Obviously no reason to power up one without an OS.

Shopped for a netbook in Hua Hin a few days ago. At most of the retailers all of the computers were intentionally without power. A couple have some products that can be booted and used. Wasn't this way when I bought a laptop here last spring. Got to power up and run an Ubuntu live CD every place I went, though sometimes it required finding someone with enough knowledge of both english and a live CD before they agreed.

No way am I buying a computer without playing with it. Can't imagine Bangkok stores are doing this, but gotta ask before taking a day trip.

Have you looked at the Samsung device that is pretty much a copy of the iPad but uses Android?

Not yet. My initial experiences with Android on my new htc smart phone were as expected. Fiddling is required, some apps I've tried are not ready for prime time and one ate my data. I'm a programmer since the card punch days, run Linux on my laptop now and write bash scripts for fun, so jumping hurdles to make software do what I want is fun. But for my media consumption toy I want something that works as intended.

Thanks to all for your responses, they've been a big help

The serial number is not on the outside but any shop in thailand will let you look inside. Also just buy it from an official reseller or the Apple online store Thailand - same price as the grey import shops.

The serial number is on the outside of all the Apple packaging that I have ever bought, and I have bought a lot; but this could just be Australian regulations...

I stand corrected.

I am not sure why the OP wants to know though?!

Because the surest way of determining if a product isn't grey market is by checking the serial number on Apple's site.

My requirements for a new electronic device put an Apple product (iPad2 WiFi) at #1 for the first time. I've searched for answers to determine if the iPad2 will do what I want. Now I'd like feedback on the conclusions I reached and answers to the questions I was unable to crack.

Only things I expect to acquire through the iTunes store would be podcasts and apps. All the other content would be uploaded from my computer, a usb stick, a USB external hard drive, downloaded from dropbox or similar, or saved from web page and email links. Syncing some or all of the content would be nice but not necessary.

Assume:

- all files are in a format supported by iPad2

- some imported files do not have DRM because the source was not copyrighted or the right has elapsed.

- some imported files are pirated versions of copyrighted works.

I think the iPad2/iTunes combo would allow me to:

- Import and consume the following types of files: audio, video, ebooks, pictures.

- Connect to a camera (with the adapter), download and view jpgs.

- Import and view documents in pdf and html format.

- Importing, consumption and storage of all media types is independent of an internet connection.

- iCloud is optional.

- Buy anything offered through the Thailand iTunes store but not the stores from other countries.

Expat issues with the iPad are:

- I can use the iTunes store with a credit card that has a USA billing address while living in Thailand.

- Changing the country specific store while traveling is somewhere between difficult and impossible.

- The warranty applies only in country of purchase and only if Apple expected the item to be first sold in that country, which can be verified by inputting the serial number on Apple's site. Gray market products have no warranty.

Unresolved issues:

- Is the serial number on the outside of the retail packaging?

- Creating an Apple ID asked for credit card info, including a phone number. I have a US card with a US billing address but no US phone. Will they accept my Thai cell phone? A US phone that is in a different state than my billing address? A valid phone number that doesn't belong to me?

Thanks.

Why on earth do you want to eat that krap

This Yank started eating it as a source of B vitamins. Spread on buttered toast it's gooooooooooood unless you glob too much on, then it's savory.

2km on a moto taxi costs me 40b in the daytime. Been here almost two years and haven't heard of any accidents involving them. Have my own bike so only time I ride is to and from the minibus or train station.

Have you tried flagging down a passing tuk tuk instead of taking one waiting at a spot with other tuk tuks? Waiting ones have to work their way to the front of the line and they want a big fare. Somebody running empty is probably headed to the back of a line of tuk tuks and could be more accommodating in price.

On my part of Soi 94 the dog pack gets territorial every few days when another dog comes in. That's about the only time I see them chasing motorbikes. Watching the Thai riders shows me the quickest way to diffuse the chase is to stop the bike quickly. The dog keeps his distance, then soon turns and walks away.

I've used demonoid, but I've found more content on piratebay. And you don't need a registration code.

Depends on what one is looking for. I find that older movies have more seeders on Demonoid than Pirate Bay, proabably because of the upload/download ratio monitoring. For current American TV, best I've found is eztv.it

Thanks.

I'm an American citizen staying in Thailand on annual extensions to a Non-Imm "O" visa for the purpose of retirement. I plan on getting a re entry permit, leaving Thailand and returning before my annual extension expires but within six months of my passport expiration date.

I know I will need a new passport to get another annual extension. My question is will I need a new passport to get back in the country on a re entry permit. I know most countries don't let one in with less than six months to go before passport expiration. Seems like a no brainer that having a re entry permit overrides that. But not much is easy with Thai visas, which is exactly why I'm asking the question.

^ Yes, as I live near there I've been to Best Beans a lot and they have a good beefburger, chicken burger, and some excellent salads at unbelievable prices... other stuff too but the burgers and salads are so good I've never been able to get past them.

Best American burger in town for under 100b. Long list of things you can choose to put on it but I gave up asking after 5 tries because it always came out of the kitchen with the same contents. Avoid discussing America with the owner. He doesn't have the business sense to stop himself from spewing his far left wing views at customers.

I've lived in HH for 18 months, agree with almost all of the previous posters.

On weekends and high season I can't imagine how frustrating the traffic would be in a 4 wheel vehicle, but it's no problem on a scooter. People do bicycle here, but I wouldn't. Too many drivers/riders not paying attention, texting, talking, riding with only one hand on the bars, etc. for my sense of security. HH has limited breadth and depth of entertainment choices. If you're not in the habit of providing your own entertainment I don't think you'll last long here.

At the other Boots in town the price is 185 per strip for the Boots brand generic, so the price per strip was not a mistake. Surprised me to see the 500% price discrepancy for a drug that's easy to manufacture. Could be their marketing strategy or the other generics are 1/5th the price because they contain no active ingredients.

Boots also offered an import from Australia manufactured by Schering Ploughat 300 per strip (?? number of tabs, 6 or 7 IIRC).

check if the medicine is the same in both places. THere may be a locally manafactured one in one case and a foreign one at the other.

Will do, thanks. Checked US price on drugstore.com. Converts to 15bt a tab for genric, so I can't see how boots prices it at 35bt.

Acyclovir 200 mg at Fascino is 175 bt for 25 tabs, while it's 875 bt at Boots in the same mall. That's 5 times as much.

Did one of these pharmacies make a mistake on the 'per unit' of their price? A box has 5 strips of 5 tabs each. The Boots price is 175 per strip, same as Fascino's price per box.

Googled the drug price and found next to nothing. Only reference was in a 3 year old post that said the cost was 150-200 bt for 2-3 days worth - at unknown dose size or frequency.

Would it just be easier to ask the forum what is the typical price for Acyclovir 200 mg?

They have rates for varying durations and number of people. Low season prices are in effect now. For one person it's 2000 bt for one month, 5000 for 3 months. They offer single visit rates, or a book good for a year for 10 (I think) visits, family packs, etc. etc. The same options were available in the past high season but at higher prices.

Cops keep reusing checkpoint locations. There are fewer daytime ones because there are not many places where they have room for pulled over vehicles and shade for the cops. Makes some of my trips a little longer but I avoid those spots.

I've had three packages sent from the US in the last year using USPS Express Mail International. All arrived via EMS.

So, if I can distill what is being reported, Songkran in Hua Hin starts in the bar area(s) on the evening of the 13th, extends through the 14th, and then is finished?

Last year it was the evening before Songkran (12th this year), the day of Songkran (13th) and then saw nothing the day after Songkran (14th).