vegasdave

Jeez I love the Thais. They are amongst the world experts at shooting themselves in the foot. Rather than have a comprehensive immigration plan that investors, expats, and retired folks can plan around and work with, they just willy nilly change up the rules. Of course it is their country and they can do as they please. Honestly as I have stated several times before it is actually a good thing. It is what keeps LOS a "developing" country and will prevent it from becoming an overpriced Japan of SEA. Thus continued opportunity for mongers and cheap charlies of the world.

Well yet another case of if it flys, floats or f*cks its cheaper to rent than own. There seems to be no way to get divorced and not take it in the shorts. I was listening to a show on the radio the other day. A woman had been divorced for 16 years. Was married for 6. The guy had just retired and was getting his pension. She is entitled to half of his pension for the rest of his life. She gets not a portion but an entire half. So it would seem to me the trick for a woman is to get married 3 or 4 time while she is young and marketable. Always marry an older guy by lets say 30 years. Then just

I keep hearing the term "dark side" What does that refer to?

It has been frustrating watching the baht go up and the dollar down. As well as inflation in LOS adding insult to injury. But I still feel that it is possible to retire to LOS on about $1500 a month. I am lucky because I live a modest lifestyle in the states. I don't drink to speak of, I love Thai food. I am fine with a studio apt. My only real "have to" expenses would be internet and cable. I generaly prefer traveling low to the ground in terms of where I stay and where I go. I do tend to go semi-native where ever I go. And lets face it I rarely get laid here, so even once or so a week woul

I came in at about 40k baht. So if I live it up looks like I can do just fine on $1500 a month.

Hey its their country, they can do stupid things if they want. Hell look at the US they do plenty of stupid things, like allow bushyboy to be prez. On the other hand the sooner the Thais get on with the boneheaded ideas, the sooner they will get back to a more reaalistic approach. quality tourists. Yeah like Russians and Chinese.

I think it is possible to live in LOS on 50k a month. But if yoiu think you can live like you do when you are on vacation then you would be in trouble. It is important to consider the exchange rate issue as well as general inflation in LOS. combined in the past few years you are looking at about a 30% rate. I tend to think the notion of trying it out for a set period of time is a good idea. The five year plan mentioned really makes sense. I know that I could get by on 50k but I live very modestly and dont drink and dont have too many vices. I would be fine with a small studio, and would cook

Pete I do tend to agree with you regarding loud. I think the worst part is that the equipment and the souce material is of low quality to begin with. People tend to think of loud and volume as the same thing and they are not. You can have a lot of volume and it won't "feel" loud. If it is a good system and source you can rattle the glasses on the bar and still be able to decifer a conversation. As far as video goes I have a friend that just got a slingbox. I am waiting for a report. With one of these you can connect to and control your home based system anywhere in the world. This includes a

This is just another exercise in foot draging. Basicly it is a give away to the insurance companies. I think the idea of tax deductions only helps out industry, not the people. Why is it certain "products" are deductable. Why should any business be able to sell their products with this built in rebate. All it really does is allow them to pad up the price because it is "dedutable" I think that home mortgages are a classic example. I would venture to say that if you where to eliminate the deduction you would see mortgage rates drop by about 2%. I believe the only sensable tax reform is to elimin

Lots of great advice and opinions. Indeed I dont intend to use any moneys that I cant afford to lose. Here in Vegas they call it "scared money". I also accept that fact that it is a long learning curve. And part of my education will be learning to lose gracefully. Basicly I am looking to learn something that will keep me occupied and challenged when I eventualy move into retirement. Again not depending on it but wanting to keep my fingers in something. I forgot to mention that I worked with a friend that had developed a pretty successful nasdq e-mini system. So I have had a bit of a chance to

Just wondering if anyone has gotten involved in forex currency trading. I am in the early stages of learning about it and practicing with the free accounts. I realize that there is risk involved but there is also opportunity. Because it is all done electronicly and it is a 24 hour 5 day a week market with lots of liquidity it does seem appealing. The other thing I was wondering is if one is trading while in LOS is there an issue regarding work permits ect. Of couse it would seem that just keeping a low profile woudl be fine. Also I would not be trading baht. I am mostly interested int EUR/USD,

Well I dont think the US will go bankrupt. But there is definatly a shift in things. The transfer of middle class wealth to the upper class has been massive under the bushyboy admin. This is a real problem and will come back to haunt us. What I think many folks from outside the US dont seem to realize is just how much wealth the US has. Both in terms of general GDP and in resources. California is in itself one of the largest econonys in the world. I was once talking to a Thai friend, here in the US. She was getting all worried about us running out of food. I went to the cia world fact book a

If you are looking for something just for the trip go cheap. There are lots of low end PC's that will do the job and last a year or two. thus if it gets stolen or damaged no big deal. But if you are looking for a longer term unit then the best way to go is with a mac book pro. It allows you to run windows and mac os using a program called paralles (about $80 plus the cost of win xp) But the truth is you will find yourself avoiding the windoze os as much as possible. in terms of value you can't beat it. It seems more up front but with a bit of looking into it you will find mac's to be a good

Well these things happen in all places not just LOS. I was in Orlando on business and was robbed at gunpoint in my room. I opened the door and went to turn on the light but the switch at the door didnt work. So foolishly I walked into to room to turn on the lamp. Of course the lamp was unplugged (inside job) and when I turned around there where two youths of color (is that PC enough:) ) with a gun. They ordered me on the floor and then proceded to go through my pockets and took everything including my blackberry. They then forced me at gunpoint into the bathroom and into the bathtub. I figured

If its not boeing Im not going LOL. That was the saying when I lived in Seattle. Boeing is indeed a bit slow on the uptake, but look at the laurles they do rest on. Simply some of the best planes ever made. Airbus still has years to go in terms of having planes that have been in service as long. And no matter how you look at it, it still takes multi countries to compete with boeing. It is basicly a gang against just one. Boeing will continue to be a major if not the major player in the game. It is not a matter of 5 years or 10 years for that matter. It is about decades of quality aircraft, a

I got snipped about 8 years ago. It was a totaly painless procedure. I was a bit sore for a couple days but not incapacitated at all. For me it has been a very good experiece. No worries about the old I have your baby scam. Basicly a fantastic insurance policy.

I found the service to be ok, but the seats where imposibly small. the seat back only came up to my shoulders. thus it was impossible to sleep. I got very lucky in as much as the flight from LAX to narita I had a row of 3 all to myself.

I wouldnt do it. Not without a ssl hookup. You could be asking for trouble. I have arrived in BBK and Pattaya at all hours of the day and night and never had a reservation. The worst was a 1am arrival in BKK on Dec 30 and I still managed to find a place after just a few tries, and I got a great rate.

I can recall on my first trip, there was a guy in front of me checking in. He had what amounted to a shaving kit. The person said, your going to BKK and that is all your luggage. Well I have come to learn that he had the right idea. On my last trip everything fit into a large day pack, including laptop. I just breezed through passport and customs, and was on my way in record time. Anything I needed I bought as I needed. I would also just jetison things as I went along as well. Basicly I see no reason to bring lots of clothes. For all practical puroposes you are just draging around a bunch of d

The 380 has a very specific market in mind and should do well. The 7e7 will be a more versital plane. It is aimed more at point to point as opposed to the hub and spoke system. It is the first airliner to use carbon fiber for the fusalage and will weigh about 20% less then normal. It will be capable of long range and also can be used on shorter flights as well. It will have better cabin comfort in terms of presure, and humindity and has larger windows ect. It should find a very wide appeal for lots of different routes. I think the 380 is just a bigger version of a typical plane, but the 7e7 wi

I have stayed at the Apex several times. There is not doubt that it I could find a place for the same price that was nicer I would go there. I agree the staff is rude at times, but they seem very short staffed and under lots of stress. For the most part it was fine for my purposes. I would definatly get a room with the tile floor. Lets face it carpet and the tropics is a bad mix. Also the breakfast buffet is great. You do get what you pay for and all and all I will stay there again, all the while looking for a better place for the same price. Oh by the way one thing they do have thats nice is

jeez Turk56 I got my trip from lax to bkk for $146 and that included FF miles. You was robbed! LOL

The old 10% service charge trick eh! And adding the vat tax as well. I am sure in the mind of the average Thai businessman he will truely belive that the "price" for the room is still the same. This is pulled by lots of places that just dont want to admit that they are raising prices. Its ok to raise prices but to do it in such a backhanded way blows. The bad part is that the herd instinct will enssue and in no time at all they will all raise the price to match their fellow hotel owner. It strikes me that in Thailand competition is more about how much you can charge for your product or service

I travel from Vegas as well. It seems that $700 is the going rate for those dates, but that can change quickly. One of the things you might look into is leaving from LAX, and then seeing if you can get a cheap flight over to LAX. You may find a $595 price out of LAX from time to time. But it may cost you $60 to $120 to fly there. Its really nice to just have to get to one airport and check in once rather than have to go to LA then get your bag, and recheck in at LA. I have usualy gotten the best prices and service from America Asia travel. The women there named Iris is really on top of the che

I would agree that the Pornping is a pretty good bet in Chiang Mai. The price is right the rooms are clean if not a bit out dated. But the nice part is you are near the river and the night bazzar. I enjoy Krabi. It is a very nice change of scene. I always stay in Krabi town. Au nong is just an over developed tourist trap. The beach is not that great and the whole scene there is tolerable for about 2 hours. Krabi town is much more fun to me. I rent a scooter and I can explore the area. There is lots to check out there. Within a 50 km. radius, there are many great beachs and mountains, water fal