Gary

It's not cheap and probably not worth the 50,000 to 60,000 baht conversion cost unless you drive a LOT. Another consideration is that it may void your warranty. I considered changing my Ford Focus to LPG but was told by Ford that it would void my warranty or at least a major portion of it.

My Ford dealer is in Loei but I would fully expect dealer service to be consistent throughout Thailand. I asked some questions through the Ford website and got accurate quick answers. Any complaints should be given through the website. As a side note, my Focus loves the new E20 fuel. It does every bit as well on E20 as 95 octane gasoline. I think Ford designed the Focus engine to perform well on E20 at the expense of 95 octane gasoline. My fuel economy wasn't very good and 95 octane gasoline was getting harder and harder to find.

I bought a 2007 Ford Focus new. I lost one of the center decorative inserts from a wheel. I stopped at Ford to buy a new one and they replaced it free. I had a rumbling sound from the car at certain speeds. They replaced both front axle assemblies complete with bearings and CV joints at no cost. I took some other goodies instead of free sevice. Free service was available. Service has been quite good.

Time marches on and you just get older. I'd take whatever you can get for the house. I had a house for sale when I was ready to make the move. It didn't sell so I called my son and told him to meet me at the lawyers office. I signed the house over to him and told him that was his and my daughters inheritance and not to expect anything more. I further told them both that if they inherited anything more, it would be strictly by accident. I left the US owning nothing there. The rest of my life is for me to enjoy and I needed NO worries about property in the US.

A friend of mine had a legitimate Thai company and was doing business. Unfortunately the business was making no money but he was still forced to pay taxes. I'm certainly NOT an expert but paying taxes for income that you didn't have besides paying an accountant and lawyer didn't seem like a good thing to do. To make this long story short, he was forced by the government to close the company because it showed no profit during a three year period. The only people who profited from his business were the accountant, lawyer and the government.

There are thousands of these bogus companies that own property. Whether the government will ever prosecute those who have these companies is a BIG unknown. As for myself, I like to sleep well at night and if I had to worry about some Thai politician getting a hard on for farangs, that would definitely cause me to lose sleep. The worst part is the fact that some scum bag lawyers are STILL setting up these companies knowing full well that they are illegal. Even sadder is that some farangs are naive enough to believe their spiel. I would NOT like to pay an accountant and have to file a tax re

Please check your email. I have sent you my banking details and you can deposit your money anytime.

I have a small pair of 8X21 called Nikula. They are cheapies but the quality is surprisingly good. I had an expensive pair and they walked off somewhere.

This link will take you to the Issan forum on Thai Visa. That's the best source of information I know of. http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showforum=32

That's bullshit. One good reason to buy decent insurance is that they don't want to pay a claim unless it is absolutely your fault. They will do the negotiating and all you have to do is explain what happened then keep your mouth shut. ADDED - Check with PCD International on 3rd Road. Phone - 038 422 825. A farang lady will take care of your questions. She is a European but speaks good English.

I actually moved to Thailand three times. The last move was for retirement and to stay. Prior to the last and final move I had been out of the country for three years. I chose Jomtien to live and the bottom line is that I had no realistic idea what it would cost. I had many opinions from expats ranging from simply existing to being plain stupid and throwing money away. The point being that everyone lives differently. I had to find out for myself what it was going to cost. I rented a pretty nice apartment and paid 8,000 baht per month with no contract but six months rent paid in advance. I

The most stupid charge I ever saw was by the then Thai Farmer's Bank. I had sold a vehicle out of the province and went to the first Thai Farmer's bank I saw. The charged me a hefty fee for depositing that money. I paid it but changed banks shortly afterwards. I was already pissed off at them for refusing to deposit checks into my account that were under $100 US dollars. I changed to Krung Thai and was very happy with them. I eventually changed to Siam Commercial because of branch location convenience.

I have two Siam Commercial accounts. They have a 20 baht charge if the ATM card is used out of the province your account is located. Using other bank ATMs within the province is also free but you will pay the 20 baht charge if you use the card in another province regardless of the bank. If you use the little Mickey Mouse machines in some convenience stores, there is also a charge.

I deal with Siam Commercial bank and every machine I have used is limited to 20 bills. If the machine is stocked with 1,000 baht notes, that's 20,000 baht. I try to use only Siam Commercial ATMs because of the danger of losing my card or fraud. If I use my Citibank ATM card, I can make more than one withdrawal in one day. Siam Commercial has a set limit of 20,000 baht per day.

As it happens my Citibank branch is in Montebello, CA. I request the wire transfer via the Internet. It goes directly to my Siam Commercial bank account and the money has always been in my Thai account the very next business day. I wire dollars because the exchange rate is better. The Siam Commercial fee is very little and the exchange rate very good.

Unlike Vidman, I hate even the thought of blasting music. I live up country out in the boonies so I haven't had the pleasure of seeing the place yet. I will be down there in about a week and am looking forward to being able to have a good afternoon and early evening place to hang out. I DON'T want any pressure from the girls and I know VERY well how to encourage them if I do want some attention. After looking at the pictures, I didn't notice any pool tables. Are there any? I also like a little space and standing elbow to elbow doesn't appeal to me. At this point in life, I'm just a crotche

If you are going to drive a lot, consider that Isuzu and Ford get the best fuel economy and Toyota gets the worst. Prior to about 2006 Ford got the worst but the new generation diesel fixed that.

Immigration wants to see activity in your bank account, so the answer is that the 800,000 baht in your account can and should be used and then topped up before your next extension. The first time the 800,000 must be in your account for three months. This is to prevent guys from borrowing the money and then taking it out after they get their visa.

Citibank rips you off with their ATM fees but you can make a wire transfer on-line anytime. It costs a flat $30 regardless of the amount and the money has always been in my Siam Commercial account the very next day.

An older friend of mine had a hip replacement. He researched and visited many hospitals. He settled on Bangkok Nursing Home. Now called BNH Hospital. He was very pleased and was walking within three days. He threw his cane away within two weeks and is now back to playing golf regularly. He could have gotten it done for free in the US but said he didn't trust them.

jte is correct. A square rai is 40 by 40 meters or 17,222 square feet.

I don't know. They should give it a lot of thought because although it may sound like fun and be great for a while, problems crop up. Normally it is the liberated female who has the problem. She eventually discovers that she is not as liberated as she thought she was. On the other hand she may decide that she likes the Thai boys and that doesn't set well with the liberated guy. It all sounds like a great way of life but it seldom works out.

Any hat will NOT keep you cool. Besides that, the sun doesn't shine at night. Wearing a hat at night makes everyone think you are trying to hide a bald head.

Cebu ended up being second to Thailand on my short list. The lack of infrastructure, high electricity costs (when it is working), pollution and terrible roads put me off. That added to my earthquake phobia kept Cebu number two. Typhoons I can deal with but volcanoes, earthquakes and terrorists are a major problem. Cambodia, Sihanoukville, (Snooky) is the type of laid back place that I like but again the lack of infrastructure, especially health care for an old fart kept it in number three place. I think if Thailand no longer allows me to stay, I'd pack it up and head back to the US.

I was drinking Chang but the hangovers were just too much to handle. Four big bottles of Chang mean a two day hangover for me. I don't like the taste of Leo too much but I can drink it with ice. Four big bottles of Archa give me a nice buzz and I feel pretty decent in the morning. Most places up here have very few choices.