asdecas

I think it's just posturing on her part…probably has a relative in the police.

This is a private matter between two people….bidness, as they say.

She offered you some real estate…you said I'll take it if you throw in some extra incentive….you sent her a picture of your goods.

Civil case at best, and one that deserves to be thrown out.

Number of thai girls sending pics of their body parts to farang men far exceeds your efforts.

I'd say wrong in almost every assertion: it is NOT a private matter once transmitted electronically; it is potentially a criminal offence; farang men do not register complaints with the police about such matters because sexual harassment (and that is what this is) is almost exclusively a male on female thing, not vice versa.

It's difficult to understand how the west has managed not to collapse when I think about the high quality individuals who have left the 'nanny state' to enjoy life in Thailand. Every where I go in Thailand I meet these guys, highly educated, highly qualified, high achievers, high contributors; the movers and shakers the west so desperately needs and must be hurting on account of their absence.

Even though not in the west, and perhaps not been in the west for a number of years, they have their finger on the pulse, they understand the problems, they have all the answers - they know precisely who to blame. They are a sad loss to their home countries.

But then they do at least quietly sneak home to 'nanny' when they need her.

You're absolutely right, and another mystery is why so many of these high net worth entrepreneurial individuals from the best universities wear wife beaters; are they, like the business socks worn with open-toed sandals, some sort of sign of recognition in the higher echelons of freemasonry?

Joe - is there any absolute definition as to what is and what is not an acceptable place to deposit the necessary funds for retirement and/or marriage extensions? Clearly savings accounts and term deposits at banks recognised by the BoT, I suppose. How about investment in funds on the SET, are these acceptable? I ask because certain funds will pay a dividend of 6-7% (though the capital value fluctuates day-to-day), far better than the risible 1-2% paid on term deposits at local banks.

In a long list of items I would least like to receive as a prize, a massage chair comes top, slightly above The Compleat Barry Manilow Recordings in crush velvet presentation box.

What about my tikals?

Good to see some opinions other than those the holier-than-thou crowd offer regularly.

Laos, through their state owned airline, are quite entitled to refuse uplift to a dodgy traveller who has demonstrated a distain for the rule of law elsewhere. Many people here think overstaying is no big deal, and others have boasted about saving money by not doing border runs for many years. The 20,000b fine has little deterrent value for most.

The upcoming ban on re-entry for overstayers will go some way to change the type of people who have long treated Thailand as a haven for criminal activity. There are inbuilt allowances in the new regulations for short term accidental or incidental overstay, but it is time for the others to seek fresher pastures to express their "freedoms."

Thailand will never advance in status as long as it's borders are wide open for the crap of the world to flow through.

Hopefully, those of us who live here legally will be harassed less often because of the activities of these others.

In general I agree that remaining legal as a guest in any country is a prudent rule to follow.

However, you do your argument no service by indulging in hyperbole - how many times have you been "harassed"?

In thirty years, I have not been "harassed" once.

Do you people really live with so much fear and paranoia?

Clearly there is a small but significant section of the expat population that does move in such circles and does concern itself with such things as weaponry, attack dogs and such.

Personally though, in thirty years here, I have never had anything but cordial relations with my neighbours, the local shopkeepers and almost everybody else - excepting the occasional overly aggressive hustlers on the - infrequent these days - times I go downtown to the tourist areas.

It does make one wonder how much cultural conditioning, the circles one moves in and the expectations one has, play a part in feeling the need for such armaments.

Agree, treat all of these 3 in 1 'coffee' products with caution, they are sugar (typically 40-50%) and creamer (30-40%) laden. Good for emergencies only.

If your surname is na Ayutthaya then stand on your rights. Otherwise, kneel paysan.

Can a re-entry permit be obtained from most local immigration offices in Thailand..... Is there a reference number for this form to help immigration understand what's required

It can be applied for at any immigration office if you have a local address to put on the application form. You can also get one at either airport in Bangkok 24 hours a day but you should be sure you have a photo for the application form.

Download TN8 form here. http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/download/pdf/tm9.pdf

Ubon Joe, that link you provided above is for the wrong form.

Not illegal , but hard to find even in hospital pharmacies. Asprine and Malaria/dengue don't go well together , so they make it harder to self medicate.

I use the bayer 500 mg , 8 pills for 17 B . The 81mg ( why 81 mg ??) ones are for people who use them everyday for cardiovascular reasons ?

Anyone over 50 should take 81mg asprin. It keeps the blood thin and recommended by most physicians.

As for availability, most any pharmacy here in Khon Kaen has it. I have never had a problem buying them.

I suggest you buy the ones that are wrapped individually as they go bad quickly when exposed to air.

Aspirins that 'go bad'?

Pull the other one.

Boy, you picked a good'un, though on reflection your arrival on the scene was probably serendipitous, if you take my meaning.

If your paramour has no understanding either of the value of money or of personal responsibility, one wonders what future you foresee together?

In order of preference, I'd solve the problem either by:

1. Walking away from the relationship, or

2. Looking into Thai personal bankruptcy laws, or

3. Moving abroad together and never coming back, or

4. Grinning and bearing it together, and suffering years of arguments

Peel the visa off and stick in on the other page

I feel like this is not strictly necesary to clarify, but just incase... Please don't do this.

I agree. Besides making a mess of the page(s) and doing something possibly illegal in your home country, you will invite suspicion every time you cross a border, because the IO will see your passport has been tampered with.

Just asking for trouble.

Go home, get a job, see if you still want to come back in five years. Good for your bank balance, good for your psyche.

In order to secure any money you transfer into Thailand, I recommend consulting "Mme Pum Pouey", mama-san at a well-known bar in Sukhumvit Soi 4; she has a range of eligible young ladies who are eminently qualified to help you with your investment decisions.

Ubon Joe

As a matter for future knowledge, will the Thai consulate in Bali accept a coach ticket such as, for example, Hat Yai to KL, bought online and including email receipt, as onward ticket out of Thailand?

The simple idea of people here stating that Thai food is good for them, is ridiculous, there are plenty of fat Thai's in this country.

Apparently some people prefer their foods cooked with questionable ingredients, and feel it taste better, but that is just a theory,

especially when you watch how much the Thai's depend on MSG for what they state is taste good ingredient, and that's exactly what is supposed to make you brain think; that is taste good. It also helps preserve food to some degree.

If there's any question about how great their food really is, just walk around a Thai Market,

where all the meats & poultry are strung out everywhere, and take in that great aroma...

now after about half an hour,

think to yourself, what you want to eat, now that you've built up a healthy appetite?

The locals state that eating food that isn't so preserved and clean only makes you stronger.

Really?

Perhaps that's why when I look at Thai's the same age as me,

it's easy to see they look 10 years + more than I.

Our bodies will fight off what ever we throw at it,

but by doing so, we are taxing our bodies even more,

which results in us aging before your true time,

it that really worth that quick snack we grab on the sidewalk?

Now people will compare this to western food, as they like to put it,

but we are not talking about other foods, we are talking about or I am writing about the street foods,

sold in Thailand, which are sold on the side of the road, with all the great seasoning of the street dust,

and fumes off those beautiful buses that drive by every 5 minutes.

What's not to love?

I don't see many people smiling when they have to continuously maneuver around all the stalls that are placed every which way

a person can, to grab all the sidewalk they can each day.

If people are healthier from eating this so called health food...Lol;

it might be from, all the work they went through to get there or it from their favorite stall vendor.

It's an experience in itself, that much I will agree, but it's a far cry from healthy, or a better alternative from real food,

with real ingredients, which people refer to here as western food.

I don't call it that, I call it health, conscience eating,

and since the dirtiest place on anybodies body, bar none is their mouth,

it's something to consider about what we put in it, no?

Not to mention the verdict is still out for me anyway, that the things sold on the street are actually cheaper than in an

establishment. All the junk they sell at these walking markets I can certainly buy from Lazada for better price,

and I didn't have to go anywhere.

If for some reason I find shopping outside to be adventurous, then I can still find things cheaper at the stores.

Why?

The vendors have to pay crazy rent prices to be on those locations, and then they have to pay even more to the Police,

to look the other way.

Guess what...the shoppers who haven't woke up yet to figure out things are not such a great deal from the street sellers,

are in fact paying for the vendor to be there, instead of organizing themselves and getting a real business model together,

which would support them into the future, and even perhaps actually put more profit into their hands,

instead of into the Police, and land owner for the few who set up on private locations, like in front of someones home.

Yes those people pay too, and pay big; by the way.

A vendor in front of a house can set them back 30,000 + a month, vendors don't care, they charge the suckers thinking they are getting a deal

by buying from off the street.

My wife gets her nails done from a lady who rent a piece of a corner in a Lotus shopping area.

No walls around this lady, just this stretch of space that Lotus has rented out to her,

for only 20,000 bht a month.

The lady could easily rent the same amount of space, with four walls around her,

and even have her own toilet, but she stays here, because she like the foot traffic.

She can't figure that most of the foot traffic is just walking past her,

as they don't want to be getting their nails done on what amounts to the sidewalk,

where people are just walking by.

I have sat there many times and watched, while my wife gets her nails done by this lady,

who doesn't realize she has a following for her work,

and they will come wherever she lands a true shop at.

She just needs to take on the responsibility to establish herself.

Will she?

Probably not, Thai's love to have others sign contracts,

but they in fact hate to commit to anything, especially in writing,

and that's all it takes to get the same amount of space these people pay for this sidewalk space,

as it all essentially is.

I got about halfway through. Can anyone beat that?

I gave up on the first apostrophised plural.

It is a curious phenomenon, one not confined to Thailand, that Westerners, many of whom profess to love the country in question, wish it to be as cleansed, sanitised and made as stiflingly safe and law-abiding as their country of origin.

You'll save the equivalent of 2-300 Baht, depending on your nationality, by presenting USD at the border, but make sure the notes are in decent condition.