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Cowboyshoe

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Posts posted by Cowboyshoe

  1. I've heard there is an agency on Phuket that will recruit and legally verify workers from Myanmar for you to hire. Does anyone know of such a service?

    Failing that does anyone have suggestions on how to find a Burmese couple for work at a restaurant in Krabi?

    Thanks!

  2. had this same situation, entered with a non imB & got my work permit then thought it would be simple process to get an ext of stay for 1 year... yea for a simple fee of 27000 baht! So I just left every 3 months & came back, no need for new visa if you have multi entry visa.

    Same situation for me - but my local immigration office wants a 17,000thb "fee" for the extension service.

    I choose to do the visa runs rather than support this kind of tea money nonsense.

  3. How could the future not be bright for Thai TV and movies?

    What with all the money they save by not using scripts, actors, skilled technicians, or original music they must be rolling in the dough!

    That's assuming the rights to use the Looney Tunes sound effects library year after year aren't too expensive.

  4. Seriously? You don't see how your opinion could be offensive to those of us living and working on Lanta?

    I'm sorry that your idealized backpacker paradise no longer exists (if it ever did) but that does not translate automatically into a 'tourist trap'.

    Now the island's residents and visitors have the benefits of safer roads, cleaner water, reliable electricity, improved schools and an expanded healthcare system to name but a few of the advancements of the last few years. If that means fewer bamboo huts where gap-year travelers can pass out after spending 300 baht on booze and 40 baht on fried rice, well, apparently that's just fine with the Thais who live here.

    Obviously your last visit to Lanta left you longing, but just because the island didn't live up to your ideals does not mean Lanta is no longer charming. Nor does it mean Lanta is turning into Ao Nang or Phuket. As a former backpacker myself who's lived here for six years I can tell you without hesitation that Lanta has changed for the better and continues to do so. If you don't agree, don't come here. We'll save that room for someone who actually wants it. Just don't think you can talk smack about someone else's home and not get called on it.

    • Like 1
  5. Lanta is moderately busy at the moment. Now the raging scene of years gone by but still a good influx of people.

    The consensus seems to be that while many of the hotels and resorts are full the tourists aren't frequenting the bars and restaurants as much as they have in the past. Retail is dismal. Those retail shops that are doing a decent business complain that the customers are bargaining to the point of obnoxiousness. Those folks who do go out to eat tend to look for the cheapest items on the menu. Lots of folks walking around with 7-11 bags full of Chang in the can.

    Can't complain really, it's all to be expected in this economy I suppose.

    I'm sure business will pick up soon, what with us being touted on the internet as a 'tourist trap'. dry.png

    Cheers Semper, always nice to have somebody talking bollocky trash about where you live and work. saai.gif

  6. Apple%20Founders%202.jpg

    “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.

    Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.

    Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.

    And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.

    They somehow already know what you truly want to become.

    Everything else is secondary.”

    Steve Jobs

  7. There are several Karaoke bars in Krabi town.

    This is true but they are aimed at an almost exclusively Thai clientele.

    Don't expect to have a lot of English spoken there.

    Do expect to run into a lot of off-duty police officers.

    As GrumpyOldMan stated, if BGs are what you're looking for Krabi is not your area. Phuket, Pattaya or Samui would suit your interests better.

    Or so I've heard... O.o

  8. As a Lanta resident I can tell you it is absolutely do-able. That's the short story.

    The long story is you'll have to do lots of footwork to get everything you want for the prices quoted. Your main hurdle will be finding the house. 6k is not an unreasonable expectation for a small house with a bathroom, but when you add in the requirements of a small kitchen and internet access you are expecting too much. I think 10k is closer to what you should expect to spend to get all your housing requirements filled. The good news is a house for that price will be leaps and bounds above the cheaper options when it comes to quality of construction and location. (Think new, concrete house near the main road as opposed to bamboo bungalow off a dirt track.)

    Another option is to find someone to share space with. Khlong Nin is thronged with new, unoccupied shop houses for 15k to 20k each. They are all internet ready (you'll need to pay installation) and have kitchens (though unfurnished) but with 4 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms you should be able to divide the rent into digestible chunks. Keep in mind however, I know a number of folks who've been screwed when their flat-mates decide they miss home and walked out on short notice.

    You also should keep utilities expenses in mind. Water is (usually) included in the rent of a house, but electric is on you. Depending on how many computers you have or how much TV & air conditioning you are using your bill could be anywhere from 300 to 2,000 a month. Make sure you know who handles your electric bill as well. Some landlords will double the charge per electrical unit, so it's best to know upfront what your per unit charge will be (currently on Lanta it's around 3.5 per unit if you pay directly to the TEC).

    Unfortunately this is the worst time of year to go house-hunting. The high season is beginning so all the reasonable options have been snapped up by seasonal workers (dive masters, etc). Houses going for 20k to 30k now will be down to 8k in April.

    If you're going to be living here you might as well buy a motorbike. Once you get settled start asking at your local motorbike repair shops about used bikes. You should expect to pay somewhere between 8k and 15k for a decent used bike, plus a promise from the mechanic to cover repairs for a reasonable amount of time. In the long run this will end up being a much cheaper option than renting. Now, technically I believe that without a work permit you cannot legally own a motorbike, but I don't know anyone on the island who's ever been hassled about this. As long as the plates and registration are up to date you shouldn't have a problem either. In a tough spot you can always claim you rented it from a friend or borrowed it from a girl, but I don't think it'll ever come to that.

    I think your main hassle will be a visa to cover your long-stay plans, but that's a question for a different thread.

    Oh, and before I forget... Electricity on Lanta is capricious. Just this week we had a problem with the line and lost all power for 14 hours. This isn't a constant problem, but interruptions happen often enough that someone whose business relies on computers and internet would be foolish not to take it into consideration.

    That said, keep up your research and good luck!

  9. The curmudgeons :annoyed: are right - Apple is more expensive. My Powerbook cost me about $1200.00 and lasted roughly 7 years before I replaced it 2 months ago.

    Over the same time my girlfriend went through 3 PC laptops (about $500 each),

    two of which needed DVD drive replacements (about $150 each),

    and dozens of trips to the local 'PC guy' for de-virusing, de-corrupting and software upgrades (as the windows software was never 100% compatible with the version of whatever software she had bought she had to hire this guy to install software, that would allow her to install the software she bought. This made numerous software purchases twice as expensive.) ;)

    Frankly I think the whole PC is just as good as a Mac argument is pointless - to a certain extent it's like comparing apples :whistling: and oranges. Nobody ever says, "Why are you paying more for that Ferrari than that Toyota? They're both CARS, right?"

  10. Edit there is a review of Changs Guesthouse on Tripadvisor, but doesn't give contact details and the review is five years old.

    Doh! :lol:

    That would explain it. Can't believe I missed that detail.

    Thanks for the suggestion theoldgit, I'll check out Jing's.

    Anyone else with suggestions? I'm looking for the 500thb to 1000thb per night range.

    Thanks again.

  11. I'm coming to Hua Hin for a long weekend to visit friends (out by the Maruekatayawan Palace) so proximity to the beach/nightlife/city center isn't my main concern, just looking to save some cash without risking my health and or sanity. Been reading good things about the 'clean yet inexpensive' Changs Guesthouse in Hua Hin but I can't find contact info online.

    As my train gets in after midnight I'd like to make sure I can contact and book beforehand. Anyone have their phone number?

    (Also feel free to let me know if the glowing online reviews I've read are somehow misleading, I'm open to other suggestions.)

    Cheers!

  12. Any chance on showing some editorial restraint in the Thai Visa email news alerts?

    It's frustrating how often a story such as "McDonalds Silom Center Bombed" turns out to actually be "McDonalds windows in Silom Center slightly damaged by what may or may not have been a Bombed which may have been thrown at the restaurant but then again may have not and for all we know it might have been gunfire, either way you should PANIC PANIC PANIC"

    I do really appreciate the news service TV supplies - especially when it's accurate!

  13. Rock Tripe > New England > Protestantism > JESUS

    William Bowyer > Charles, Prince of Wales > Westminster Abbey > Saint Peter > JESUS

    Polk Township, Huntington County, Indiana > 2000 Census > Mormon > JESUS

  14. thumb.jpg

    From Architectural Record:

    OMA-Designed MahaNakhon Tower Announced

    July 22, 2009

    By Aleksandr Bierig

    The Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) released renderings today of their forthcoming MahaNakhon tower and plaza in Bangkok, Thailand, with design led by OMA partner Ole Scheeren, head of the firm's Beijing office. The 1.6 million-square-foot, $515 million complex plans to include 200 apartments, a 150-room "Bangkok Edition" hotel operated by Marriott Group International with hotelier Ian Schrager, and mixed-use public and commercial space. Construction begins later this year with an intended completion in late 2012.

    Rendering of the MahaNakhon Tower in Bangkok, Thailand.

    The centerpiece of MahaNakhon is an elaborately designed 77-story tower. At a planned 1,017 feet, it will be the tallest structure in Bangkok. A spiraling incision of "architectural pixels" travels up the building, interrupting the curtain wall to reveal a series of terraces for larger units and shared spaces. This frenetic expression, according to Scheeren, came out of the psyche of Bangkok itself, which he describes as "the most intense and chaotic" of Southeast Asian cities. Throughout the "pixels," the tower's conventional glass curtain wall is disintegrated into cubes that will feature a variety of vegetation circling up the building, reflecting what Scheeren calls "the constant struggle between civilization and nature" in the tropical city.

    Another primary feature is the fully operable "bi-fold balcony window" that allows the glazed wall to open completely in the building's smaller units. Scheeren says that this strategy grew out of the fluidity of indoor and outdoor space in Bangkok's tropical climate. Instead of a separate outdoor terrace—which would have made smaller units much more expensive—Scheeren says the idea was that "suddenly you can open your whole living room facade in to a balcony."

    At ground level, the design attempts to reinvent the tower podium by creating a "valley" between two series of terraces—one at the bottom of the tower and the second as part of an adjacent structure called the "Cube"—which together frame a public square with restaurants, cafés, and other commercial space, creating a connection to the street and surrounding city. This sense is tied into the name of the tower itself, according to Scheeren: "The full name of Bangkok in Thai is Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, which means 'Bangkok Great Metropolis'—naming the tower MahaNakhon expresses the ambition of the project to be a metropolitan center for the city."

    http://archrecord.construction.com/news/da..._mahanakhon.asp

  15. There's a Provence in Krabi? Can I get rose wine as nice as Provence, France?

    Oh my, I made a spelling mistake!

    Thank goodness Huggy was there to correct me.

    I will never overcome my shame. :)

  16. Population of Pattaya - the city : 650,000

    Population of Krabi - the Provence : 340,000

    That should give you a pretty good indication of the difference right there. :)

    Not trying to be a smart ass (it just comes natural) - I love living in Krabi - but comparing it to Pattaya, you might as well be comparing it to L.A. They're really two different worlds.

  17. Wow, lots of bitter folks in Ao Nang! Can't a guy put in a request for a decent burger without being pilloried as a culturally insensitive barbarian? :)

    Why do you say "bitter folks"? The bottom line is there is not a good burger in Ao Nang and you're best off eating some pad gpao.

    That's my point Huggy, How do you know what I am better off eating. It's great to make a suggestion but when posters are insistent they know what is best for the OP it becomes less of a forum and more of a soapbox. :D

    The OP is just looking for a decent burger but he is subjected to a rant about commercialism and cultural insensitivity.

    The OP didn't ask for a Burger King or a McDonalds or an Italian Pizza joint to be built in AoNang - why is he being held accountable for the alleged capitalist sins they represent? I'd wager all those businesses are Thai owned and operated, yet there is no uproar over the abuse of Thai culture by those Thais themselves.

    Yes, yes, I know, if it was not for tourists there would be no reason for any of those farang chains, but at the same time if it was not for tourists AoNang would still be a fishing village.

    Personally I think it's a dam_n shame the way fast food chains (and convenience stores) have blossomed all over the world like a rampant fungus, but that's not what I'm defending.

    I live on an island where I eat rice and salted fish every day. On the rare occasion when I do get to Krabi or AoNang I like to go to get some greasy farang crap food and it's nobody's business to tell me that I shouldn't. Especially when didn't ask for your opinion of the political ramifications of my choices!

    All in good fun - flame away! :D

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