Eneukman

I've rented from Northern Thai Realty for since July 2005. http://www.realestatethailand.com/ They have offices opposite Royal Garden Plaza and in View Talay 5C. To the OP, I live in View Talay 2A and really don't find it a hassle to get into town when I want to. Alan

The new committee are heading in the right direction. Of course, nobody will agree with everything they do, but give them a year or two and we should see substantial improvements. Or would you rather see the building go to rack and ruin, which is what would have happened had Vilai been left in place. Alan

So, Gabor, you would happily have allowed Khun Wilai to continue to rip off owners? What would have happened when the money ran out as it would have done this year and all the staff fucked off because their wages hadn't been paid? Your condo would have been worthless. THAT is the truth but some people are so blinkered with their cheap charlie attitude that they are not prepared to accept the truth even though it is staring them in the face. In Building A, the fire hoses that the Fire Brigade would have required to fight a fire on a high floor didn't work, the emergency lighting didn't work, it's seems highly likely that the fire alarm system doesn't work. Even if it did, there is, I believe, at present no way of knowing on which floor a fire alarm was set off. Also, the sprinkler system is probably worse than useless. Do you consider that good management? The emergency generator had never been serviced until a few weeks ago? Is that good practice? Take look here - http://www.vt.sfusa.com/index_files/VT2AQPMReview.pdf This shows maintenance that Wilai should have had done on a regular basis but never did. The new committee are slowly getting to grips with years of bad management. Wilai made, by my estimate, around 1 million baht per annum from the Sophon Cable contract which she put into HER name. Any surplus now goes for the benefit of the building as a whole in A building. B Building have decided to offer Sophon Cable as part of the annual maintenance charge. The new committee should be congratulated for tackling head on the many problems they inherited from Wilai, whose sole interest in the 2 buildings was to milk as much money as she could from the owners. Alan

Unfortunately, I'm going to be busy organising satellite tv, internet etc for my new condo during these dates. Alan

It's OK to call your son Mohammed but it's 1,000 lashes if you let him name his teddy bear that. Alan

When I went to Don Muang in November, I could see what looked like the extension of the Sky Train to the new airport. From what I could see, there is still quite a lot of work to be done. Now, if they would just extend the line to Pattaya ........ Alan

Not forgetting that flights may be delayed and you may then miss the bus on which you have been booked and be unable to get a seat on a later one or have a very long wait. Alan

Good one. Alan

That's more or less how I meet my taxi. We then go across the road to where his or her car is parked. Alan

Quite a lot! Alan

I cringe when I see farangs wai-ing service waitresses and other service staff in restaurant. To begin with, they don't have a clue how to return a wai - hands at chest level pointing at the other person's head. As for returning a wai to a child!!!! I have a pretty good idea HOW to wai, but not a clue as to when to and how high it should be - gf's parents/siblings etc - so I don't. I always acknowledge a wai though, which in Pattaya is sufficient. Alan

That's my reason as well - besides I use them to take me to the airport as well. I once had a taxi driver who couldn't read even the basic of maps - fortunately I had stayed at the hotel the previous year so knew he had gone too far on Sukhumvit !!!! Alan

Not quite. You are allowed to spend up to 90 days in any 180 day period without obtaining a visa. Alan

Since I retired here, I've only been asked about an onward ticket out of Thailand once. That was in Vietnam. I just pointed to the visa in my passport as proof that I didn't need an onward ticket. Alan

Very true. TT internal rate is 63.7 today so a slight improvement. Alan

I believe a bm has already expressed a serious interest in the condo. I know that if I'd had the funds immediately available, I would have been interested. It would then have gone straight back on the market at a much higher price. Alan

Whatever brand of safe you buy, you will probably also be given a key to allow you to open the safe in the event that the battery fails. I open and close my safe two or three times a day and after almost 3 years, the battery is still going strong. This means that the battery will now fail within the next two or three days at the most inconvenient time, such as when I want to pay the previous night's bg for services offered. Alan

When I went to Cambodia earlier this month, I only went through the one scan (and search). It was the same when I went to Kuala Lumpur last month. Maybe it depends on the airline or where you're flying to? Alan

They do a hand search of your hand luggage before your bag is put through the scanner. Presumably, they are searching for liquids etc. Alan

I wish! The wealthier visitors to LOS from the UK are probably used to paying anything up to £1,000(or more) for an overnight stay. They will still regard 3,000 to 4,000 baht plus as good value. Alan

I keep a note of the week's closing internal TT rate for the sterling - baht rate. In early November, the rate was 71.19. Today according to the Bangkok Bank site http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok+Bank/Pe...tes/default.htm it is 62.82 - a fall of a bit under 12% in just over 3 months. Since the start of the year, sterling has fallen by about 6% against the baht. My figures for October suggest an average of close to 69 to the £. Alan

I have a Nokia with a Vodafone sim card in it - on the Pay as you go billing system. I can use it in Thailand but have to key in - *123#*+ first followed by the country code (66 for Thailand) and the number without the preceding zero. I'm charged something like 75p per minute for calls received and something ludicrous when I make calls. I don't use it much but it's handy when I'm back in the UK. A different company may have a different sequence to key in before the number so I would suggest checking with their help line in advance. Alan

Some pension schemes will have a provision for minor children - though you may have to have them listed as dependents. One point to bear in mind is that some pension schemes will reduce any widow's pension where there is a substantial age difference. I'm not sure of the figure but will need to check it out should I ever get married. The rule was introduced after someone married a girl some 30 plus years his junior. Alan

I walked past Windmill with last night's barfine and mentioned I had heard that the mamasan there was ting tong. She agreed with that assessment. It seems she had worked in New Living Dolls 1 before (as cashier?) Alan

If it's a double rooom, it could be 82 square metres. There is apparently a way to tell whether each room is 37 or 42 square metres. The larger sized rooms have a small side glass panel, maybe a foot or eighteen inches wide to the side of the balcony doors, which the 37 square metre ones don't have. Whatever the size, it's a bargain at that price. Unfortunately, I don't have 2.3 million lying around doing nothing. Alan