rowley
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Posts posted by rowley
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Hey Mates,
I am still in America, still hoping to one day come back to Thailand for my retirement years. Covid has jacked up my plans and the plans of the world. I do not feel like the world has held China responsible for this special [deleted] gift but that is another story.
To you expats currently residing in Thailand how do you feel the current ... is affecting the economy and future of Thailand and your personal life and lifestyle? When I first came and lived in Thailand, Thaksin was in power. Sure everyone thought he was corrupt but the country felt so much more vibrant and I think we would all agree the average thai standard of living was much better than now.
Do you all think the pendulum will ever swing back the other direction and there will be a return to free living, democracy, laissez faire and a vibrant economy or do you just see the situation inevitably sinking further and further into a cambodian existence?
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much thanks for all the input!
I really appreciate it. I will check out all the tips given.
Cheers!
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Hey fellow expats and wannabes!
I went to Thailand 15 years ago to go rock climbing in Krabi, being newly divorced and on a professional hiatus I ended up staying for over a year. I loved it and wanted to live there but couldn't figure out how to make a living and was not ready to retire financially.
Now I am ready to retire but want to fill my days with mountain biking, rock climbing too if possible. I like road biking but thai drivers freak me out. In all fairness it is just as easy to get killed road biking here in Colorado.
Open to any advice about whether or not now is still a good time to relocate given the economic climate, pollution, costs of living etc.
Thanks to all,
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I am married to a thai lady and we live in the states (last 11 years) but would like to buy a house in Thailand and spend about half the year in Thailand. We were not married in Thailand so what would be the best option for me? I am presuming if I wanted to get a Non-O we would have to go to Thailand and get married there and then start the process. I wouldn't need a work permit.
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Our sign company is seeking a graphic designer with experience in Corel Draw to design sign proposals for our customers. You will be able to work remotely with us as we are located in America. Many of our customers already have artwork or logos and we simply need to create a sign and super impose it onto a picture of their building. Experience in sign designing a PLUS.
Please send me a PM if interested.
Thanks,
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It will be a cold day in hell before the BTS ever releases the vids.
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When the surf is decent the riptide is pretty dangerous, hence the red warning flags. A for effort Mac!
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Thanks to all for the responses.
I'll be visiting 4 different tailors over the next few weeks that I've collected from this thread and friends who's judgement I trust. I'll have a chat with them, look at their work, see who I feel most comfortable with and post back here my findings. I'll then go ahead and order a shirt perhaps -- while shirts and suits are very different things, quality in one product may be a good indicator of quality in the more expensive one. And then if I've found it to be acceptable, I'll order a suit. No need for a rushed decision, thats what has gotten me an entire wardrobe of Bangkok made suits I never ever wear.
I think I'm fairly fluent in the language and I certainly know what I want. But if any of you guys have any suggestions for the type of questions to ask or things to look for, feel free to suggest them. Some of you clearly know what you're talking about. Not things like "burn a piece of cloth to see if its real wool", but rather how I can tell the quality of a floating canvas for example or what trick questions I could ask to see if the guy really knows his stuff. Help would be much appreciated.
Would love to know how your visits to four different tailors went. At the referral of a longtime resident of BK I used to use Ambassador on Suk Soi 19 about three years ago. They used to do good work and made some fantastic linen pants for my wife that have endured her constant dry cleaning. But this fall I used them and their workmanship has gone way downhill and their choice of materials is nothing but the copy fabric from China. I tried Savile Row at the rose hotel for kicks just to see what a 89 euro suit looked like. The short story on that is it looks like crap and is a full 1 1/2" too narrow in the shoulders despite a long discussion about my shoulder width being 19" they told me they would fix it but never did. I have been using Pinky Tailors and he is the only tailor in BK that actually admits that copy fabrics exist BUT he does price the cheap fabric accordingly and has really nice Barberis and Zegna fabrics for a jump in price....and that is the way it should be. I recently had Mr. Pinky make two suits and a hacking jacket and I am very pleased with his workmanship.
In summation I give Pinky Tailors a thumbs up! Ambassador a thumbs down and Savile Row Tailor TWO THUMBS DOWN!!!!
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Great heavy duty leather shop at MBK. 2nd or 3rd floor i believe. Good prices, handmade, and durable. The satchel i take to work is almost exactly like the one pictured in the OP. The one below, is my "man purse" which is handmade in the US I use it almost everyday. I hate loading things into my pockets.
BTW: That's not me in the picture, I'm much better looking!
Nice man purse! I will have to check out MBK. Do you remember about how much these are. They are so expensive in the US
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ooh, a shopping question!
Have you tried the Pratunam area? its got bags galore.
Well now that you mention it I have looked about everywhere else but there. Does anyone know of a place that for sure sells satchels like this? I will have to try Pratunam I guess
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Over the last year I have noticed the increased popularity of students carrying leather satchels. Does anyone know where I could find one of these? I have looked all over Bangkok.
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Does anyone know anywhere in Bangkok which rents suits?.
Thanks
I would wager the suit rental business is not a thriving industry in Bangkok
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are they as good as theyre reputation?
I have flown with them from L.A.(non stop YAY!) Beijing, Tokyo, Hong Kong and all over Thailand. I adore their quality and service.....but I am used to being treated like sh*t by American Airlines. I prefer them over All Nippon and China Air. I have not tried Eva or Cathay however.
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Why drive when you can be driven
I used to think I wanted one but after 6 months of being in BK I decided I didn't want or need one. Mass trans is just too cheap and plentiful. I almost always rent when in other parts of Thailand however.
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Hello everyne!!!
I'd like to ask those who have done it or have real knowledge about how it works, we have an export company it was established in 1993 and had some business till later year when I decided to have kids and my mother is not a real business woman, she struggled but it's clear that she cannot do it now that she is 63.... we have nobody in our family that is willing to deal with this, so we have hiered an accountant 2 years ago to close the company, they said it should take 3 years of no business and only then you can close...
now the accountant that we have got married and blah blah blah all the job is on her employees that seems to be not so good in understanding what they do...
I am still left with the question HOW TO CLOSE the company as all these years our accountant manages to show some business activity and even profits !!! and now by her reports we even have some stocks ( which we do not have for a year at least ) I can feel that our accounting is all messed up, and it makes me want to finish with this even more...
the company has assets among the rest- condominium which is the office for the company, 7 shareholders are our thai "friends" and our family.
I don't know if there is an option to sell the company... sell the condo together with a company( ??? ) if there is it could be another way to finish with it.
please help ....
Fire your accountant after you get all the documentation you need from her and hire another accountant that can correctly advise you on procedure.
If you attempted to sell your company would you only be looking to sell assets or would you be looking to find someone to buy the corporation? The downside to a prospective buyer is that you are 90% closed already.
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S.S. payments from US, I marry, I die, how does she go about collecting, what should one do to make it an easy turn over, Thank you
I have been researching this and drawing a complete blank. If you move her to America you can undertake the process of her getting naturalization. However, if you both remain outside the US the INS seems to have the cards stacked heavily against you. I would like to hear if anyone has anything further to contribute regarding this.
The alternative that many seem to opt for is to get your SSI in an automatic bank deposit and you just set her up with an ATM card. While this is strictly illegitimate, being your wife, should you jump through the various hoops of fire the INS sets up, she would qualify for some portion of those benefits anyway.
This brings up an interesting point. If the recipient dies in Thailand while having his pension automatically deposited into his US account how would SS Administration ever be notified of the death?
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I've got a medical certificate from the doctor from the hospital, it says:
"Open fracture tibia, fibula (accident on 14th March), Rest till 13th June 2009"...
I didn't thought it's possible to get the visa extension because it says 'rest' instead of 'receiving treatment in the hospital, Thailand' etc... and my visa is extended 90 days from 5th April - 3rd July, 2009.
When I entered Bumrungrad a few years ago, a young lady came to my room and offered to take care of acquiring a visa extension for me. It wasn't necessary in my case but you might enquire from the facility you are using.
It sounds to me that there are some entrepreneurs in the Hospitals selling "visa services" for those who are incapacitated. Many of these "visa businesses" are based on corruption where they know someone in the Visa/Immigration/Embassy and where everyone gets their "cut" of the profits made from you, including the corrupt immigration officer who approves the visa for you.
I don't doubt that happening, I should have been more clear. The particular lady who offered this service was a Bumrungrad employee.
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I've got a medical certificate from the doctor from the hospital, it says:
"Open fracture tibia, fibula (accident on 14th March), Rest till 13th June 2009"...
I didn't thought it's possible to get the visa extension because it says 'rest' instead of 'receiving treatment in the hospital, Thailand' etc... and my visa is extended 90 days from 5th April - 3rd July, 2009.
When I entered Bumrungrad a few years ago, a young lady came to my room and offered to take care of acquiring a visa extension for me. It wasn't necessary in my case but you might enquire from the facility you are using.
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If i ever buy another one it'll be off the shelf as at least i know what im getting and can then take it to a tailor to get altered to fit.
That's an idea: buy a high-quality off-the-rack suit and get a tailor here to alter it so that it fits as well as a bespoke. Wonder if that would work.
This is a great idea if you are slender. Most men over 30 get a little beefier in the chest and waist so they buy an off the rack suit to fit their chest. The shoulders are then too wide, the length extends beyond the buttocks and most men don't know that a good sleeve length should show about 3/8" of shirt cuff. Therefore they end up looking like they are wearing their father's suit.
Siince narrowing the shoulders on an OTR suit is a bitch it's just easier to go bespoke or made to measure. My last BK bespoke suit really was a silk blend and fits me better than my purple label made to measure suits hands down and the quality is great. If I were a farang businessman in need of a few suits I would hop a flight to BK, have a nice holiday and get several decent fitting suits and shirts for the same price as one savile row suit. Just find a reputable suit maker and expect to pay at least 9,000-12,000 baht per suit and inspect the fabrics carefully.
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I think the Blue Elephant might fit the bill then. Outstanding food, service and ambiance and not nearly as pricey as Sciroco or some of the other hotel restaurants mentioned.
Did you not find the Blue Elephant a bit touristy? (I do love their foie gras drizzled with tamarind, though.)
Yeah it does seem to have a bit of a stuffed shirt crowd but I can overlook that because the thai haute cuisine is that good!!!
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My 2 cents on bangkok bespoke suits
A brit expat friend of mine referred me to Ambassador Fashion on Suk soi 19. I had two suits made there (about 10,000b ea) and they fit me perfectly. The quality is solid and the fabric is "ok". But I would rather have a well made suit that fits me perfectly than to have an off the rack suit using zegna or piana fabric that doesn't fit well. In fact I will never buy an off the rack suit again.
In the future I will look a little closer at the fabrics and get a small sample to make sure I don't get the old bait and switch pulled on me.
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Cabbages and Condoms has great thai food and a nice garden. Bring your mosquito spray.
I agree. Never had a bad meal there but not outstanding.
Maybe a bit "touristy" for the OP and not "special" enough.
But overall a nice place and it won't break the bank.
RAZZ
I think the Blue Elephant might fit the bill then. Outstanding food, service and ambiance and not nearly as pricey as Sciroco or some of the other hotel restaurants mentioned.
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My personal favorites for date nights
Yok Yor Marina Restaurant(s) for raw oysters, grilled prawn, som tom and talay pad cha, etc. Actually I have never had anything there that was bad.
Contrazzi on suk soi 11 for Italian and decent wine selection.
Arancini on Phahonyothin for Italian and has great pizza and decent wine selection.
Cabbages and Condoms has great thai food and a nice garden. Bring your mosquito spray.
I also like the sushi buffet in the japanes restaurant at the Landmark.
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Forgive me if this has been covered but I have been unable to find any info on exporting the Yamaha Nuovos or other similar cool looking Thai scooters to the USA. I own one now and would love to have one at home. Additionally I think these thai scooters are so much cooler looking than the scooters being offered by Honda and Yamaha in the states I am wondering if there might be a market for these babies and I am curious about the various hurdles that may exist.
Hopes for Future Leadership in Thailand - request for prognosticator input.
in General Topics
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Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way