Gary

I contacted Bangkok Bank in the US to see if I could open an account. I was told that they only handle business accounts. I wanted to close my Citibank account. I have no love for that bank. Unfortunately I am still using Citibank. They say on their website that an international wire transfer cost $30 regardless of the amount. They also added a $15 for an intermediary bank. The intermediary bank is? Yes, Citibank. I make two or three wire transfers a year at $45 each. I send the money to Siam Commercial Bank. The money gets here from Citibank in less than 24 hours. Why don't I like Citibank? International ATM withdrawals used to be free. Now they charge 3 percent. A no fee account used to be a $1,500 minimum deposit. Now I think it is $6,000. They cancelled my credit card because I don't reside in the US. They just seem to get more greedy and picky as time goes by. They worst part is that I have been unable to find a better bank. Bank of America has no problem with me living in Thailand and giving me a credit card.

I didn't buy my condo for an investment. I bought it because I liked it and wanted a nice place to live. I can also decorate it however I want. It also serves as a security blanket for me. I don't live there and after about 10 years, I don't expect my wife to throw me out of her house but one never knows. I use it as an occasional getaway from the small village life in Issan. It is fully furnished complete with a computer, two TV's, a washing machine and some of my clothes. I'll always have a roof over my head and no rent to pay. I could move back in tomorrow and only need a backpack full of more clothes.

Even here in third world Thailand, LPG bottles are banned in condos and apartment buildings. That is a restriction that is vigorously enforced.

Stainless steel is expensive and difficult to work with. I have one that was built by Quickfire in Udon Thani. Everything is hand crafted and welded. Mine was one of the originals and after about 7 years, the firebox and bottom grill fell apart. The originals had a steel firebox. Doc, who owns the company totally rebuilt mine and now even the lower parts are all stainless steel. I expect it will last much longer than me. The lid is double walled and insulated. It works well as an oven.

My wife pays my Internet bill. Being that she is Thai, nothing about their bills surprises her.

Maintenance and insurance cost 600 baht per month based on 10 baht per square meter per month.. Utilities are very little when it is empty. I use Mama WiFi when I am there, that cost 250 baht per week or 500 baht per month. It's not great but it's not too bad.

As far as I am concerned, Neil's Tavern in Bangkok has the very best steak in Thailand. Before you take a group of friends there, make sure you have a pocket full of money. It is pricey.

The last time we went there with a friend and his Thai wife, the place was totally packed and a long waiting line. We decided not to wait and went back towards Jomtien and picked another sea food place. It wasn't bad but not nearly as good according to both our Thai wives. That was the first time I have ever seen it totally filled and a waiting line. I don't know what the occasion was.

One thing to keep in mind is that air cooled diesel engines have a shorter life than petrol engines. By contrast, a water cooled diesel will run forever, particularly the very common tak tak single cylinder Kubota or Yanmar types. I have two generators, both petrol. I bought a 2,500 watt that I used for a one HP submersible water pump. A good electrician that I know told me that running that water pump would quickly kill that little 2,500 watt generator. I then bought a 5,000 watt for the farm pump and took the 2,500 watt unit home and use it for power outages.

Is the diesel air cooled or water cooled?

I'm not one pf those people who is constantly on the Internet and sending emails several times a day. I don't play games and seldom use the GPS maps. Besides that, I tinker with the phone a lot. It is rooted so I am able to delete battery hungry applications. I am using Android 4.3 and a ROM called Omega V55. My battery meter says I still have 48 percent battery left. I just checked the usage time and it has been 5 days and and 1 hour since being charged. I also use a free application called Greenify. Some programs switch on and off whenever they feel like it. This program allows you to make those applications hibernate. They can't be used unless you actually turn them on your self. Google maps is a battery hog unless you hibernate it. Depending on how I use the phone, I VERY seldom have to charge it more often than every 4 days. I do have an extended battery but no longer use it because my silicon case won't fit over it and 4 to 5 days is good enough for me.

Cash is king. I don't personally know any farang who has been able to finance a condo through a bank. Once in a while you will find a farang who is willing to finance his condo by himself. But, be prepared to pay a very high interest rate.

Sometime back I saw an item on Baht Sold that I was interested in. I emailed the guy and asked him if he had a GPS. He replied that he did not but that he was familiar with Google Earth. He was able to give me the coordinates for his house and he apparently did it perfectly. I put the coordinates into my Garmin and they took me directly to his driveway. It would be great for guys to put together a directory of coordinates for out of the way bars and other places of interest for mongers. As for myself, I find the decimal format easiest to use. The guys on Udon Map Forum put together a directory for Udon Thani and it helped me a lot. Punching coordinates in a GPS is a lot simpler and accurate than someone trying to give directions or draw a map.

In the electronic world, my two dash mount units are ancient. One is a 750 and the other is an 855. The 855 has voice recognition which is interesting but I very seldom use that feature. Both of these units can play audible books. I am disappointed that the new Garmins no longer have that feature. It's great to plug the Garmin into the auxiliary plug and listen to a good book when on a long trip. I'll have to use a different device when I have to replace one of those Garmins. Both those Garmins have their own speakers but they sound like crap compared to my car's stereo system. Why Garmin no longer supports Audible books is beyond me.

I'll be using my Samsung S3 until it is totally dead. My next expensive smart phone will be a water resistant model, hopefully Samsung will have a popular one by then. I think Sony and Motorola already have them. Since it appears that Motorola has been bought by Lenovo, it will be interesting if the quality is still there. My first smart phone was a Motorola Defy which is water resistant and shock resistant. My wife is hard on phones and she is still using the Motorola Defy since I upgraded. She likes it and hasn't been able to destroy it, YET. As for a separate camera, the days of having a camera hanging around my neck are long finished. My S3 has been abused some, but has never needed any repairs.

I have never seen the Secret's villa but have heard that it is top shelf. I think you will have to contact Secret's bar for details.

HTC doesn't seem to be too popular here in Thailand. I too looked for one and ended up with a Samsung i9300 S3. You can buy a new S3 for about 10,000 baht now that it is an old model. when this phone first came out, it cost more than 20,000 baht. I never really liked Samsung but must admit that this is without a doubt the best phone and camera that I have ever had. If you buy an S3 here, just make sure that it is the genuine item and not a cheap copy.

Google maps will work in Thailand but you have to be online and Google maps also leave a lot to be desired. Buy a dedicated Garmin unit and forget about the Internet and your phone battery going dead. I'm not a Garmin fan boy but they have the best GPS navigation using local Thai maps available.

I actually have four Garmins. All four were purchased in the US. They all work with the ESRI Thailand maps. The US Garmin SE Asia maps suck. If one of my dash mounted units die, I would be comfortable buying a cheap Thai unit. The function junction view will work on the Thai units. That function will not work on any of my US units..The Thai units start at about 4,000 baht. I would be quite willing to buy one of the cheap units. The Thai made maps will do anything that you need. English will work fine. The more expensive Thai units will work with Thai or English. I only want English so no problem with any of them. You do have to specify that you want the English.language. If the store says that only Thai is available, go to a different store.

I am lucky that I can eat nearly any type of food here in Thailand except those green mussels. The sickest I have ever been was caused by green mussels. It took three times from three different restaurants to know exactly what was making me sick. When I say that I was sick, I mean that I was afraid that I was going to die and then I was afraid that I WASN'T going to die. All three times, I was on the bathroom floor and had it coming out of both ends at the same time. The people I was with had eaten the same green mussels and suffered no ill effects so I am sure the mussels were fresh and not spoiled.

Most of you are getting off cheap is all it cost you is 150/180 baht. I used to use a Citibank debit card. Those assholes charge 3 percent plus the Thai bank charge of 150 baht. Needless to say that I no longer use the Citibank card.

Sweden said it much better than I did. After a nine hour drive from upcountry, it would be a pain in the ass to be looking for a place to stay. About two weeks ago I made the trip and went directly to my condo, made myself something to eat and had a couple beers from MY refrigerator. On the other hand a friend of mine came down from Chiang Rai. He had a difficult time even finding a room. He ended up in a tiny 800 baht per night shit hole of a room. He could have slept on my sofa but that didn't fit his plans very well, LOL. The 12,000 baht per month rent I could get would be nice to have but you only live once and you can't take it with you.

I bought my condo when the exchange rate was 41 baht to a dollar. I was kind of a niche buyer. I didn't want to be too close to the beach. The breeze is great but the salt air causes exposed metal and electronics a lot of problems. My unit is less than a kilometer from the beach, so it is within walking distance with several bars along the way. I also don't like the narrow hallways that the high rises have. There is always the risk of a fire. My unit is on the third floor of five story buildings. I very seldom used the elevator. The rectangular buildings are open in the center and when you step out your door you are basically outside. I lived in an apartment for a year or so when I made the move to Jomtien. I resented the landlord jacking up my electric bill to nearly double what the power company charged. I wasn't permitted to change any colors, furniture or even hang a clock on the wall. I can change anything or do anything I like with my condo. Maybe the most important thing is that a separate bedroom was a must. That means a shoe-box size unit definitely wouldn't do. Living with a Thai lady in a studio size unit would drive me crazy. She has her TV in the living room and mine is in the bedroom.along with my computer set up. I now live upcountry and the condo sits empty. I like having a nice place to stay when I want to get away from the house. I rented it for a while but decided that when the renter moved out, I would keep it just for myself. It still has everything I would need to move right back in. My Thai wife would have no claim on it if she would decide to throw me out of HER house. The condo is in my name. That's a big reason to buy your condo BEFORE you get married. I could move back in tomorrow. I will always have a roof over my head and I wouldn't miss any meals. I feel good having a security blanket. In my case, I could easily double my money. But why sell it? I'm certainly not a wealthy man but I do live comfortably.

On the VERY few times I drive into Pattaya, I park at the large wat on Pattaya Tai. If you turn right on Pattaya Tai coming from Jomtien, it is not far from the intersection of 2nd road on the left side. It is a very large parking area.

As mentioned, Loei has the dubious distinction of being the coldest province in Thailand. Since I live in Loei, I can assure you that it is indeed cold. Many nights are in the high 40's. Global warming? Where? I have a small catalytic LPG heater that I sit in front of in my computer room. My wife is not the cuddling type but at night for the past several weeks, she has been cuddling. Our home is located at more than a thousand feet above sea level. We have no flooding here but we pay for that benefit in the winter.