Eneukman

I moved out here last year and arranged for a shipping agent to ship over a load of CD's, photographs, books etc. When everything was collected, the rules allowed me ONE shipment free of duty but in the intervening period the rules changed and it seems that you can now only bring in that one shipment duty free if you have a work permit. The agents in Bangkok seemed to be on the ball and they suggested that I should "offer" to pay duty of 4,000 baht. This would get everything through Customs quickly without the need for any of the boxes to be opened. Officially, there is no such thing a

Just to add to Sunny Valentine's reply, you will also need photocopies of your bank passbook, medical certificate and letter from the bank. There is a small shop next to Immigration and they will copy everything you need for you. The cost for the retirement visa is 1,900 baht. As you may know, if you want to leave the country for a holiday, you will need to have a re-entry permit or your retirement visa will be invalidated. For this, you need copies of the relevant pages of your passport, one photograph and a completed application form. A multiple re-entry permit costs 3,800 baht. I went t

The guy who was stopped after exiting Customs was a member here. I suspect that Customs were giving him every opportunity to stop and declare the excess cigarettes. The position is quite clear. There is a limit on the amount you can bring in duty free. Bring any more than that in without declaring them is defined as smuggling. Smuggling is a criminal offence and if caught you will be treated as a criminal. If you chance your luck and get caught, don't start complaining about a spoilt holiday or about the size of the fine. Alan

I've flown BA many times and never had a problem with hand luggage, which was frequently overweight. I did once see someone being stopped on the way to board the plane and have their hand luggage weighed. There is more likely to be a problem on internal flights. I was waiting on my flight to Edinburgh and announcements were being made that because the flight was full, only one item of hand luggage would be allowed on board. On my last flights to and from Heathrow, I had my usual hand luggage as well as my lap top - though what some people take into the cabin is ridiculous! Alan

I'll look forward to seeing this on tv at some point in the future. Sounds as though she got what she deserved. She obviously wasn't told the story of the tortise and the hare when she was a kid. Alan

I remember seeing that when it first came out. Just remembering the script would have been quite hard, even for someone as professional as he was. Alan

Is the new airport going to handle domestic flights as well as international flights? I reckon I'll be making a fair bit of use of the domestic terminal over the next year or two, though I'll try to avoid flying in or out immediately after it becomes operational, whenever that may be. Alan

I've seen the odd quad on the streets of Pattaya and they certainly seem safer than motorbikes though I'll pass on driving any sort of vehicle here. Alan

I know nothing about prices, but the guy who runs the new place on North Pattaya Road was at the Ex-Pats Club yesterday. He's a former Mr. Universe (2004) and indicated that he's really looking for family groups. He also said that he's going to close the membership list once it reaches a certain level. He mentioned a price, which from what I recall was not cheap. Alan

Didn't vote either as neither option applied. I used to fly BA for a couple of reasons. First, there are plenty of connecting flights to Heathrow from Edinburgh and secondly as a (former) shareholder I got a 10% discount on the cost of the flights. Some people hate Heathrow but I quite like it. It's easy to go from Terminl 1 to Terminal 4 and vice versa. I'm close to getting a bonus on my miles (principally, I think from flying 1st class with them last year) but I'll need to make some more enquiries to see how I can take advantage of this from Thailand. Alan

As I now live here, my intention is to buy clothes I need from the local shops along Jomtien Beach Road - Hawaii shirt for 150/200 baht. t-shirt for much the same. Granted the quality may not be the same but if I can get a quarter the amount of wear from them that I would get from something costing 6 times as much, I'm happy. Also, because of the heat, I tend to go for looser fitting clothes. The Tuesday/Friday market is on Soi Buakao. It's quite close to the junction with South Pattaya Road. It's a while since I've been there but t-shirts etc were available for 150 baht or so. I would nor

I haven't heard any mention that Cheny had been drinking before the incident. Like driving, alcohol and shooting simply don't go together. Having said that, one single beer shouldn't have affected his judgement. As I said before I don't have a problem with shooting for sport IF the animals killed pass into the food chain. As for dining on the type of game that has just been shot, it is obviously impractical for birds shot that day to be served up for lunch or dinner an hour or two later. Alan

I should be totally amazed by the attitude of many Americans to this "accident" but because it's America, I aint. Grouse shooting takes place in Scotland from 14th August each year and if an incident like this had happened there, there would have been a major police investigation into what went wrong and why appropriate safety precautions weren't taken - i.e. How the hell was the guy who was shot allowed to get in the way in the first place? or Why was the vice-president shooting in the direction of his fellow shooters? Questions have to be answered and answered honestly (hard in Cheney's

London to Bangkok is about 10 1/2 hours in the air and nearer 12 hours the other way. Alan

The new airport is closer to Pattaya than the old one. Not sure about travel time but maybe around 1 1/4 hours or so? According to latest reports from Khun Thaksin, the new airport will be operational from the latter half of June. Alan

You can't buy alcohol in supermarkets (at least not Family Mart where one guy saved my blushes by going to the fridge containing alcohol just before me). I passed a few beer bars in a baht bus this afternoon and the ones that were open were freely selling alcohol - either that or they were selling lemonade disguised as alcohol. Got my usual beer with my dinner though. Alan

According to the latest Pattaya Mail, there is a plan put waste water through extra treatment processess and then return it to the public supply. Hmmm - so you could in theory be taking a shower in your own piss! http://www.pattayamail.com/current/news.shtml#hd2 "City looks at treating wastewater to help ease possible water shortages Ariyawat Nuamsawat City administrators are investigating the possibility of re-treating wastewater as one way to help ease any possible water shortages in the future. The goal, they say, is to produce an additional 30,000 cubic meters of water per da

I assume that you still have to be connected to the internet to use the phone? I only have dial up in my condo. Broadband is available but until I've made up my mind where I really want to stay, I haven't done anything about installing it yet. I've just signed up for Skpe so far have only made one phone call to my brother in Scotland. A good clear line though we were disconnected once. A half hour call cost me 36p. Alan

I was on the phone to my brother yesterday afternoon and the post had just arrived. Out of 6 or so letters, one was for me and at least 3 or 4 of the others were for next door or two doors down. Now, he stays in a small town where the neighbours do generally know each other so there's no problem there. Nevertheless, an appalling percentage of letters wrongly delivered! Alan

According to a report in the Pattaya Mail, http://www.pattayamail.com/current/news.shtml#hd2, there will be repeat of last year's water shortages which saw many places getting daily deliveries of water by tanker. "Ariyawat Nuamsawat No water supply problems are anticipated this summer, with the completion of East Water’s water feed system from the Bang Pakong River to Bang Phra Reservoir, which has already started to ease the supply shortages in the Eastern region of the country. Other plans are also operational, with a second pipeline between Bang Pakong and Chonburi due for compl

Good point, Chivas. I have high blood pressure though it's fully under control thanks to the pills I take. However, I would not be covered if I were to have a stroke or something else allied to high blood pressure. I'd better keep taking the pills. Alan

Never been asked for this myself, but I don't see any problems in giving the agents what they want. Hotels/condos etc lose money when people don't turn up and don't let them know that they're going elsewhere. Alan

I used my hotel address when I opened my account in November 2004. By the way, you wouldn't believe the form I had to fill in to change my address!!!! Suppose it keeps someone in a job. Alan

I'm pretty certain that Nationwide lowered the daily withdrawal limit to £300 some time ago - though I could well be wrong. Alan

I asked about this in my local branch just before I moved out here last year and was told that Thailand was one of the countries they wouldn't post cards to. They might be willing to have a duplicate card couriered out to you though no doubt at your exzpense! Alan