moogradod

Double pricing for tourist attractions is easy to deal with I believe: Most are not worth any amount of money anyway. Remains a couple of must-sees: As a genuine tourist you would not leave out to see Wat Phra Kaeo - would you ? This would be like visiting Egypt and not have a look at the pyramides. What I see more of a problem is double pricing for food - which I am told exists. I doubt this happened to me (I have a Thai wife as well). But they could try that trick on other unexperienced travellers. This would not be double pricing, this would be fraud in my opinion.

I am still a newbie (wrong: I just got promoted to "Rookie") after more than 1500 posts. I notice that maintenance and bug-fixing in many cases takes far more time above from what is usual in the IT world. And when you have finished, may I kindly ask you to explain these new "badges" and how they are calculated ?

My Thai wife and me tip as a general rule. Exept if the service was noticeably lower than what you would expect as a minimum or done without any enthusiasm and effort. I observe that my wife tends to give more and more often then me. I more or less follow the rule to tip for something exeptional and the rest would be more of the "leave the change" thing and if there is no change, then nothing. In places where we show up more my wifes method definitely yields positive consequences - we might get a special parking normally not used for that pupose, etc. At our hospital we do get treated like a VIP by the service personnel. Noticeably better than a "normal" customer. I refrain from tipping when it is obvious that the person to be tipped has just waited for an occasion to get some extra and does very little to deserve it. So sometimes they come running when they see you approaching the car with shopping items only to help you lift 2 shopping bags into the trunk and expect to be princely compensated. You can judge this from their behaviour, body language etc. In restaurants its all about attitude and quality of the food. As is obviously customary in the US I would not give 10-15% of the bill if the bill is a bit higher for there would be no healthy relation between the amount given and the bill. In these cases some 100s may be left nevertheless for an exeptional service. Otherwise the range would be something between 20 and 100 - completely depends on the situation. So service personel at a gas station would get some 40-50 for cleaning the windows or filling up the pressure of the tyres. I may add: Sometimes it seems better to give the tip directly to the person you want to tip and not leave it on the plate only to be confiscated by the shop owner. In some countries, tipping is regarded as an offence - like in Japan.

I thank every contributor so far for the different aspects to consider. I now think it is a matter of own personal priority. I would not care if I had a basket ball playing field or a gym. A swimming pool, however, would be a must. One without shrieking kids in the vicinity or karaoke lovers. Noise pollution would be of utmost concern. Some say that the common fees could be quite low. This has to be proven. Currently our common fees for the condo (paid by the Landlord and included in the rental fee) are something near 100KTHB per year. I think that is quite a lot but the facilities and services are as well top notch.

J'aime is a very good restaurant with an outstanding hospitality. But this not a family restaurant. It is more than a fine dining spot. Carries one Michelin Star.

We have started the process of planning/selecting a future home (Stand-olone house) to buy for our family (4 persons, evtl. plus one child). To do that a number of basic decisions need to be made. For example it is practically set to have it in the greater Pattaya area. But there is one thing we are not sure of: Is it worth to consider a house in a non-gated community ? The advantage would be reduced cost, we might have a dog and electronic means to ward of burglers and on the positive side plus we might be less dependent on the behaviour of any neighbors which we do not know yet. Then we are independent of community rules - giving my wife more possibilities to arrange a garden, which she would love. The dog comes on top as a usefull wish as well. Does anybody have experience with both ways of living or can give useful hints in terms of advantages/disadvantages ? We are not in a hurry

Has anybody an idea where and when you may obtain the guide ? In various publications they mention it but I did not get any hint of where and when to acquire it. I have been asking at "Asia Books" Pattaya and searched on the web (Amazon). No trace of the book. And I am hungry all the time.

Exactly. This is what I meant. You will encounter this problem for example with an iPAD whose display is no more working. You cannot easily open the thing either to determine where user data could eventually be stored so best is to destroy it physically. Similar for some HD I want to dispose of. I could theoretically connect those disks to a still working PC and then apply secure mechanisms to destroy the data. Simply "deleting" is not enough but I would prefer to shred all in small metal praticles. I tried a hammer already. Seems that these disks are more sturdy than you might think. But drilling multiple holes through the device should do the job. Thanks for all the tips.

I have several devices on which data is stored which I want to get rid of but which I do not want to discard just like that. The devices (such as old harddisks, old iPADs can only be accessed with difficulty - otherwise I could securely destroy the data and throw away the device with erased data). But I do not have any means to access the storage - a good example is a broken iPAD of which the display is destroyed, nevertheless the data is still on the device. Of course - if I cannot retrieve the data then others might have the same difficulty, but nevertheless I ask if someone knows a company that is shredding all kinds of material. I remember the company I worked for some years ago would not have discarded any storage without shredding it first physically regardless of their capability to use secure data erasing algorithms, but this was in Europe - and of course this data has been of much more importance than my stuff.

According to a Swiss Newspaper, the danger begins already at a distance from under 5m so to keep it in the pocket would maybe not a very bright idea. Furthermore it is suspected that the tiny capsule may have been picked up by the profile of a tyre and transferred to another part of Australia which was not on the known route. Automobilists have been instructed to investigate their tyres.

Nothing complicated. It is all as I want it to be and this is what counts. The other issue (swimming etc.) I answered already in a previous post. Either my wife takes care of it or when we swim together the important things are placed in the safe of the hotel reception against a receipt. Not in the safe of the hotel room. Paranoia ? Better that and safe as possible. I started to travel far away about 52 years ago. A lot of my own and the experience of others is reflected in my procedures.

I go even one step further. The plastic bag with the PP contains as well a small dated and signed paper that serves as an immediate permit for my wife to act on my behalf in all matters. It contains as well the contact details of my lawyer who acts based on my last will and living will I have set up with him.

Online banking in Thailand is a No-No for me. The legitimation change is no problem, for me, too because in my case I carry the passport anyway. For my Thai wife other rules apply, she has a nice small ID-Card.

No problem at all ! Acceptable. That does not help so much. Losing a passport = Hassles, big and small (see below) I was not aware that you can apply for a backup copy. How about all the visa, stamps etc. ? As I said: I lost a passport two times abroad. Once in Spain, it was recovered. And once in the Philippines, never to be found again. They managed to produce a new one within ONE week only. The problem was that the picture in it deteriorated quickly - looked like a DIY Polaroid and every time I passed a border with this PP since then it was "...get out of the car please...." or "Just a moment we need to check something ...."

Well, at least I could contribute to your wellbeing then. Surely Brits do attribute a certain non humorous character to Germans, but this is not entirely true - I for example even like the specific British humour, something that cannot be said about your breakfast style (if you could at least leave out the beans it would be much better). The secret of carrying a passport with you regardless of weather, sweat etc.: The PP goes into a plastic bag first. It is for sure a coincidence, but there are plastic bags available into which a German PP fits perfectly. This is then put into a bag which does as well fit exactly and is closed with the zip of the bag. It is then worn under the arm at the side of the body under the shirt. It can hardly be recognized that there is anything underneath the shirt. It cannot be ripped off your body because everything is under the shirt and cannot be snatched.

Thanks. Now I know what a nerf gun is. And a nerf football !! And the intention - which is not to be taken seriously as so many times with posts here. But why be serious all the time ? Thank you all and do with your passports as you see appropriate. Good luck and please never loose one. Especially not here in Thailand - just think what this could trigger ???? depending on the timing.

Indeed. Missed it. I do not know what a Nerf gun is either. I have never been involved with the military. As this is an English speaking newsgroup most have had a relation to the British or US Army and know some related terms. I am only German and have never served there either. But I have around 50 years of intense Self Defense experience which gives me a certain confidence not to be "taken" at least easily if the bout would not last more then a few seconds (which it should not anyway). With 67 years I have no more special endurance. Think of that what you will. It is not meant to boast myself as a tough special forces guy. But I suspect that to get my passport might be not so easy as it may seem ???? if you see me. Simple as that. Shooting me from a distance would be indeed the easier method of choice.

I doubt that you met me. My wife and stepdaughter are here permanently a bit more than 4 years. We do not frequent the bar scene. And anyway I would not know what SBS is - let alone an SBS hero. Must have been some other guy.

Unless you have a bank account with Bangkok Bank. They recently changed the acceptance of the DL as legitimation for transactions. Recently tried to pay my condo bill using the DL as legitimation as before. No more. Passport please.

Here I am. I carry my passport with me. And partially you are even correct with the above. But I guess you need some explanation to fully appreciate my decision and overcome some shortsight. I have lost my passport twice while travelling in foreign countries. So I know of the importance of not losing the passport. And this is exactly why I carry it on my body all the time. This has primarily nothing to do with the ability to present the document to authorities (this is only a nice by-product, although some institutions have recently changed to insist on the passport instead of the Drving License as legitimation). A well protected bag to carry it with you well installed is the safest place I can think of. Hotel Safe ? Never. Safe at home ? Unless you have a really really good fireproof one, nope again. Mugging then ? You would need to shoot me at a distance otherwise good luck.

So again a company that uses Facebook in its procedures as a must-have. May I give you the well-meant advice to reconsider that for not everybody likes/has Facebook and will not use it (like myself). A well maintained homepage which includes all the information in one place including a booking mechanism would be a far better choice. Every restaurant can do that so I guess it is not too difficult. But of course that is all up to you. Just a business promoting idea.

The vote does not provide the main option: "Yes, I carry my passport with me all the time". Only refers to a copy. I personally carry a correctly dimensioned bag with my original passport (not a copy, there is one in my redundant file system) in a water proof cover and my Thai driving license, credit card around the neck all the time. The only time I have to deposit those documents somewhere else is if my wife and myself go swim together. Then the documents are in the hotel safe (not the one in the room, at the reception against a receipt).

Thank you. Looks nice ! There was even a menu posted before - but maybe you change that. I do not know your plans. Food is important, as is the availability of the higher class rooms. My wife and myself always travel together. Live in Sattahip. Good luck for getting things going !

As soon as a schedule and price list (per person, per category, per car and per restaurant menu Item is available this would be of interest. Thanks.

A Thai Will will only cover your assets in Thailand as far as I know. And to my knowledge, only the Thai text will be considered by any court. The English text would only be a tool for you in case you do not speak and read Thai that you know about what is written in there. If the translation is faulty only the Thai text counts. I would not make any effort to DIY and I do not understand that many even consider doing this given the importance ot the matter.