richardm

Must admit it was not a quote on a forum it was from someone who lives in the outskirts of Pattaya. Maybe he has been brainwashed by TOT in that case. However if TT&T look to be the best then that's the way I will go. Do you think there will be an installation charge, bearing in mind that the cables (from TOT) are already in place but not being currently used? Do TT&T have an office in Pattaya where this can be arranged? I looked at their web site but it's mostly written in Thai even if you set the language to English.

Does anyone have any up-to-date information regarding getting a phone line installed into a condo and also broadband? I have read conflicting reports which say that True is best and others say TOT is best. I own a condo in South Pattaya and the previous farang owner was with TOT but it was disconnected when he left a few years ago, so the cables are still there to a socket in the wall. Now that I am in a position (soon) to be in the condo much more I would like to connect to the internet at regular intervals, but NOT for heavy stuff such as movies or music. But it would need to be a reasonable enough speed to connect to servers in the UK. Can an installation be done very quickly? I would like to be up and running as soon as possible after my arrival next month. Are TOT or True the only real choices for landlines? Would they include a broadband modem into the installation or would I need to get my own? Any help greatly appreciated.

Looks like Thai Airways are now using Airbus A340 airplanes for their TG911 / TG910 service but not their TG917 / TG916 service. It's not the Airbus A380 but at least it's progress on their currently very outdated 747's. I don't know if they have started doing it this week but if you look at their website it is showing up for everything from 1st March.

I selected seats 1A and 1B for my upcoming flights this June.

They are Timeshare scum, but they now call it a Holiday Club. Don't believe it, it is the same thing under another name. I went along on one of their jaunts once just to wind them up and waste 4 hours out of their miserable lives. Great to see their faces when I turned them down and said I was bored by it all. Same pond scum are/were doing this in Phuket. Its foreigners are doing this and they should be put on a black list and permanently excluded from Thailand, after spending some time in a Thai Jail first of course.

Does anyone know what happened to Mr Dang taxi service? I have used him many times before (up to January this year) and never had a problem. I was planning to use him again at Christmas. But now when I email him it comes back as "mailbox unavailable".

When society thinks it is strong enough to meddle with the Natural Order, that's when it starts fraying at the edges. An old Indian chief sat in his hut on the reservation, smoking a ceremonial pipe and eyeing two US government officials sent to interview him. One US Official asked Chief Two Eagles, "You have observed the white man for 90 years. You've seen his wars and his social and technological advances. You've seen his progress, and also the damage he's done." The Chief nodded in agreement. The official continued, "Considering all these events, in your opinion, where did the white man go wrong?" The Chief stared at the government officials for a while, and then calmly replied, "When white man found the land, Indians were running it. No taxes, no debt, plenty buffalo, plenty beaver, women did all the work, medicine man free, Indian man spent all day hunting and fishing, and all night having sex." Then the chief leaned back and smiled. "Only white man dumb enough to think he could improve system like that."

A young man is wandering, lost, in a forest when he comes upon a small house. Knocking on the door he is greeted by an ancient Chinese man with a long graybeard. "I'm lost," said the man. "Can you put me up for the night?" "Certainly," the Chinese man said, "but on one condition." "If you so much as lay a finger on my daughter I will inflict upon you the three worst Chinese tortures known to man." "OK," said the man, and entered the house. Over dinner, the daughter came down the stairs. She was young, beautiful and had a fantastic body. She was attracted to the young man, as she couldn't keep her eyes off him during the meal. Remembering the old man's warning he ignored her and went up to bed alone. During the night he could bear it no longer and snuck into her room for a night of passion. He was careful to keep everything quiet so the old man wouldn't hear and, near dawn, he crept back to his room, exhausted but happy. He woke to feel a pressure on his chest. Opening his eyes he saw a large rock on his chest with a note on it that read, Chinese Torture 1: Large rock on chest." "Well, that's pretty crappy," he thought. "If that's the best the old man can do then I don't have much to worry about." He picked the boulder up, walked over to the window and threw the boulder out. As he did so, he noticed another note on it that read, "Chinese Torture 2: Rock tied to left testicle. " In a panic he glanced down and saw the rope that was already getting close to taut. Figuring that a few broken bones was better than castration, he jumped out of the window after the boulder. As he plummeted towards the ground he saw a large sign on the ground that read, "Chinese Torture 3: Right testicle tied to bedpost."

You know you are married to a Thai if... * Your refrigerator is always full but you cannot find any food that you recognize * She sweeps with something that witches usually fly around on * The rice cooker is on 24 hours a day and uses up 50% of your electric and food budget * Your house isn't really on fire, but there is a very charred fish (including the head) right on top of the stove burner * All the desserts are sticky and all the snacks are salty... * Your phone bills are all international and average 3 hours per call * All the vegetables she buys at the Asian store look like they were grown at Chernobyl * Her friends are nicknamed Chinky, Girlie, Nit, Meow, Noi, Porn, and Bimbo and you are not allowed to smirk * She washes her hair with a bucket and your car with a broom * Her favorite book (she has 3 copies) is "1001 New Recipes for Chicken Parts You Were Gunna Throw Out"

I think that the next time I am in Pattaya I will visit the local Thai booking office near Beach Road to see if they give me a different story to what the UK office is giving me. Never know, maybe the personal approach might get me the upgrade for Christmas.

I have a confirmed flight in early December from London to Bangkok in economy with Thai Airways. The flight has a booking code which will allow me to upgrade using points in my ROP frequent flyer membership. I have asked Thai Airways but they say there is none available. Have other members come across this? I think maybe they are keeping the business class seats separate in case they can sell them, if they can't then they will become available as ROP upgrades. Based on this I am wondering if it will be better to ask for an upgrade 1 month?, 2 months? before the departure date. Again has anyone come across this? I don't want to leave my request too late as maybe all the seats will have really gone.

That's good. Glad it sounds about right. Expensive for her though if I send her lots.

About how much do Internet Cafe's in Pattaya charge to translate each email from English into Thai and provide the translation in written form? Then transalet the handwritten Thai response back into English and have them type it in and send it for the lady. My Thai lady cannot read or write English and says it cost 200 Baht to do all this each time and is very expensive for her if I send her too many emails. Do you think this price sounds correct or is over the top? If it sounds too expensive do you have any addresses of places in Pattaya that can do this cheaper, preferably South Pattaya.

Thanks for all this information. Looks like the Retirement Visa is the way to go, as I initially planned.

I have just been reading various comments on thaivisa on how the new laws should be applied. Looks like I am stuffed if I have to prove an income every single month, which I cannot until I am aged 55. So even if I happen to have 1 Billion Baht in a Thai bank (I don't have that much) it would still not be good enough to satisfy Immigration. I know I still have some 4 years to go and I can only hope the situation might get better, after all these are new laws which could even change again. But if they don't improve then I cannot see that I can prove an income even though I will have more than enough in a Thai bank to live off. R

Drat, looks like problems. My idea was/is to sell the condo and live off the proceeds from age 50 to 55. I have to wait until age 55 because the UK Government have moved the goal posts and personal pensions will no longer pay-out at age 50 - only at 55 onwards. I don't mind selling it as that was my long term plan anyway. Will be moving into my girlfriends house anyway so I am not bothered about it. Do not much fancy having to lve in the UK another 5 years and I have worked out that I can live off the condo proceeds for 5 years or more. Is there another way if I can't get the retirement visa for 5 years? Would they issue me a multiple non-immigrant visa for 5 continual years running? Or does it mean I have to resort to sending the condo proceeds back to England and then sending it back to Thailand in portions 5 years running? Seems a bit long winded like that. I would have more than enough money in a Thai bank account, which I would draw upon each month. But having to prove it keeps coming in from England would be difficult from age 50 to 55.

I am from the UK and hold a British Passport.

In a few short (I hope) years I would like to apply for the Retirement Visa and come and live in Thailand. I currently own a condo in Pattaya and my rough plan is to sell-up and move into my girlfriends house in the country. At age 55 I would then start drawing on my UK private pension. However I have recently heard that to prove the 400,000 or 800,000 Baht rul you must be able to show that this amount of money is coming in from a foreign bank every year. Is this strictly true? I was planning on just leaving sufficient money in my Thai bank account and making sure that it never drops below the minimum requirement for the visa each year (the money would stay in the account and not go in and out of the account). However if I must prove that the money is coming in from abroad every year then my plans may be out the window. Is it enough just to prove that the money is always in the account, or do you have to prove it is fresh money from abroad every year? Any help from people in the know is appreciated.

Lots of information here:- http://www.airportsuvarnabhumi.com/ including plans for departures, arrivals, and all the rest. Not absolutely certain about the Health Centre but the web site also has many different phone numbers for the airport departments.

Ranger, they were coming up on www.opodo.co.uk I managed to get as far as putting the flight into the shopping basket. But when I clicked onto check-out, the system kept on saying there had been an error. I emailed Opodo about this but they never replied. Then 1 day later I noticed that the flight was no longer on the site. Guess it had previously gone and they had not taken it off. Oh well, I will have to keep on looking. If you look at www.etours-flights.com Astana still come up on their list. However if you try and book the flight it says "not available".

I too would like to retire early (aged 50) to Thailand in a few years time. This seemed to be going to plan. However I have recently read that under the new Pension Bill (I am referring to the UK) due to take effect in April 2006 that any company or private pensions which currently does allow this, will end. It will be raised up to the age of 55, staggered over the next 5 years. One example is here:- http://www.qck.com/pensions-2006.html I checked this against the government's web site for pensions and also my company pension provider. They both say the same. The new age for early retirement will be aged 55 before you can start drawing the pension. Does some knowledgable member know if I am I correct on this? As I dont want to spend an extra 5 years in this western wasteland if I can help it.

Thanks, this is exactly what I am after. Airline looks like it could be worth a try.

Having recently searched various ticket agents for tickets from the UK to Thailand I have seen an airline called Air Astana at remarkable good prices for the peak Christmas period. On searching the web they seem to be based out of Kazakhstan, and the flight is 1 stop via there with just a 2 hour stopover. Any one ever heard of them or more importantly ever tried them? Or could it be a case of you get what you pay for, i.e. £400 to £500 for peak Christmas time as opposed to £800 or more for the "decent" airlines? Would be very interested in hearing from anyone who recommends them, or not.