SunnyValentine

Looking forward to that, for sure!

Lots of themed Gogos doing very well, like Airport, Iron, even the Office with all their still not solved teething issues is doing well financially. On the other side there a lots of traditional Gogos struggling. Maybe that's the reason? Majority of customers in town expecting something different than you (or, as I suppose, the majority of jaded-seem-them-alls board embers)? Just a thought.

Taxpayer in Thailand (for the grasses ...). I run a company that sells Bar Software and the Hardware that is necessary for that.

Living here now for over 6 Years, and to me it is getting better overall. "The good old days are good and gone. That's why they're good, because they're gone." (Laudon Wainwright III)

Instant classic! A few years ago, my wife and I were on the baht bus heading home from Walking Street, where we encountered a Russian couple desperately seeking their hotel. No English, me no Russian, so sign language was the call of the moment. They mimed something resembling a big "V" followed by what must have been waves .... Royal Cruise Hotel Beach Road, Bingo! And off they went, happy!

I am invited, and shivering with anticipation. Depending on the fine print of the nondisclosure agreement I will have to sign, I might report, or not.

We had the Software on a few establishments that sunk, but so far you are the only one who is using it on a boat that actually swims ... cheers! Manfred

After having been in the bar business for more than 10 Years in Austria, and 4 Years in Thailand, I finally sold my bar here, and concentrated on distributing, servicing and selling the BlueBarTender Software which is developed to be used in Thai bars, Gogos and Restaurants. So far we have installed the Software at over 60 Places in Thailand, plus one in Cambodia and recently Laos. In Pattaya, these bars run on our Software: Mistys, Beavers, Roxy, Hootys, Paris, Sisterz, TQ2, Utopia, FLB, XZone, Sin City, and a quite a few others. In Bangkok, The Cathouse in Nana Plaza, Bangkok Beat,

USPS items are customs-cleared by the local Thai Post, FedEx ain't. They have their own agents, resulting in much faster clearance, for a fee ... I had not so long ago tracked the proceedings of an USPS parcel which I had already written off. It arrived after about 2 month, and according to the stamps and documentation enclosed, it did sit more than 5 weeks at the Bangkok Airport customs office, before a small charge (If I remember correctly it was about 250 Baht for an item valued 60 US$ plus shipping) was charged, and then delivered about one week later. I have received FedEx parcels to

Been there a few times lately (strictly on business I have to state!). They seem to be doing well, gets busy in the Mid Afternoon, and they close around 9 pm. Quite a few decent girls hanging around ... Sunny

Thats an interesting approach: By obeying to the rules and staying legal you get screwed? So, you are importing an item, and in order to scam the authorities, you have the value underdeclared. According to your post, you do this to avoid getting screwed? Does that approach also apply to say, bars? A bar that does not participate in scams like bill padding, overcharging on drinks, watering down the Alcohol content, is getting screwed as they are making less money as they would in case they participated in these scams? What is the difference between these two affairs?

By all means, there are exemptions on customs and excise duties for articles with a low value. The amount is different in every Country. But this has nothing to do with the declaration of a shipped item as a gift.

There is no customs exempt for shipped items declared as gifts, nowhere in the world. Sometimes smaller shipments get through unnoticed, in this case you're lucky. Once tax and customs duties are applied, all shipping agents also charge you a handling fee, which in the case of lower valued goods can exceed the customs and duty amount. Sunny

Seen quite a lot of bars showing the games. But all my customers I spoke about who show the matches paid for the licenses, most told me it was possible to strike a deal somehow, with a months worth of Chang beer thrown in, or such. Sunny

Because RS has the monopoly over World Cup Broadcast in Thailand. Public Internet Streaming is not licensed and therefore illegal, by paying the license fee there is a more than fair chance that RS looks the other way. Sunny

The owner of the broadcasting rights pays a lump sum to FIFA. They try to recoup this plus make a profit by sub-licensing it to TV stations (Lump sums plus a share of advertisement), sponsorship money (Chang beer) and public broadcasting rights. In Music it is different. Here (with music) the ownership companies usually make reciprocal deals with each other, concerning the rights. Bruce Springsteen gets as much from Thailand as a Thai composer gets from public or radio broadcast in USA. There are ways of dealing with inequality in value here, but they are usually only done on larger scale

Try to run it under Thai laws. Unfortunately the licensing is perfectly legal here. Your True subscription is valid for private viewing only. It is handled similarly in most of the civilized world, too.

Some pix I shot at their opening few weeks ago. Not too many girls in these pix, as it was early and most of them hadn't arrived by then. Came back again twice since then, and there are definitely some lookers. Prices reasonable, with beers in the 75 Baht range. Sunny

I had a few shipments, mainly from the USA, Electronics and Photographic equipment, shipped to here in the past. Regular (USPS) unregistered mail mostly arrived without customs. But so far twice it did not arrive at all. later turned out that it was returned o sender, most likely the postman did not bother to find us, and rather filled out a pickup notice which he displaced so it got lost .... FedEx, UPS and the like all well, and usually within 3 days. Last order the total (including shipment charges) was around $ 360, and I paid less than 2000 Baht to the freight agent on delivery.

I rented a one-br condo there a few Years ago for a Year. I did like the complex, and everything was fine for me. I think I have paid 23000 a month. Moved out because I could rent a nice house for even less money, closer to main Pattaya. Guess you should be able to find something in your price range. Sunny

Hi all! I recently did some upgrades on my Equipment, and now have severl items that I don't need anymore, therefore looking to sell. I live in Pattaya, but go to Bangkok once or twice a month for several days, so a meeting can be arranged where you can look at and test the equipment. I have to offer: * Canon EF 70-300 1:45-5.6 DO USM - SOLD * Canon EF-S 60 1:2.8 Macro USM - SOLD * Lensbaby 3G. 50 mm 2.0 Tilt-and-bend-and-be-creative Lens, with Canon EF Bayonet. Excellent Condition. Bought 2 Years ago. Now replaced with Lensbaby Composer. My price: Bt. 5000. Used to se

I have lots of books in German that I would like to swap, for English or German books. Is this possible at your shop? Sunny

All sounds good so far. Two things: Smoking rooms is a must for me and many of my friends. Also: Make sure someone competent is always on location to fix the Internet. Hate it having to wait two days for the Internet to reappear when all it takes is a reboot of the router. Sunny

More info (on Gabar) here Sunny

LDK, I really start getting worried about you now! Still in Japan? Living in your own shack which (as you once told me) is not big enough to entertain a guest there? What are you doing there? Apart from writing suggestions on how to improve Paul's business? The best way to do that would be to head for the Airport! Lots of Misty's girl miss you (and your wallet) maak maak! Hope to see you soon! Sunny