carpediem

a few disconnected questions to which perhaps someone has answers: is it true that a condo rental (or even purchase) will always disallow pets (animals, that is)? how common is the practice of putting a 'to let' etc sign outside an available house - and is this practice universal (ie throughout thailand - city and countryside)? for a longish rental can one simply go ahead with putting up pictures, shelves or whatever - on the assumption that any wish to reinstate can be dealt with at the end with the deposit taken - or does one need permission item by item? again i'm asking about t

hi bullfrog thanks for the reassurance about the one way ticket - just before the sting in the tail - about the nz friend frogmarched and the visa situation being 'dynamic' these days! in my case the die is cast - i've just bought my one way ticket. thanks very much also for the agent's email. i trust she's competitive with tktsw in all directions with all airlines - europe and asia. cd

whitespider, whether or not your post went off the topic i found it very useful. thanks. my gf wants me to renew her parents house (build them a new one i think, although she sometimes talks of just a new roof and some improvements). at present they live in a biggish but ramshackle wood house on stilts. she wants me to make a house nearby for us, on their land - the father will give her a hefty chunk of it. if i did this obviously i'd want to make a house i'd want to live in. and i'd like a thai or partly thai style house but with western bathroom & conveniences. on the other hand i entire

thanks for the explanation. the question of minimizing expenditure on a house is a problem if one is going to live there - and things don't go belly up. (cutting off your nose to spite your face?). especially as quite a bit of land is being offered. but on the whole i'm inclined to play safe - for now. pity no-one has offered any specific tips on that score. cd

thanks for the reassurance on the visa situation - multiple entry non immigrant o visa - and potential problem. the bad experience with air france troubles me a bit - i'm going to take qatar, but it is from paris (french counter staff). on verra. but it seems unreasonable that the airline should sell the ticket & then make a problem at the desk. but on overall response here i don't anticipate a problem. thanks for recommending the ticket price. i'm going to get it today. on a different if predictable topic, can anyone recommend an easy and competitive online way of buying internati

i will be buying a one-way ticket, and later get returns from thailand. (this suits my specific situation vis a vis los stay, travel out, etc). qatari is offering 340 euros from paris (about 238 pounds). i reckon that's pretty good. am i wrong? presumably i won't have a problem at check in or immigration given that i have a non immigrant o visa valid to next april. cd

etihad paris office told me on the phone yesterday that their allowance is 30kg economy class. so the website and staff are out of sync. cd

bullfrog, can please you explain that bit - "insurance"? cd

to smooth probate, administration etc of a will should one make a will in every country where one has property (of any kind, including cash in a bank account)? or only/also the countries of citizenship, residence, domicile - and perhaps countries in which beneficiaries under the will live? or is this too complicated for anyone other than a series of solicitors in the various countries to comment on? i intend to establish both residence and domicile in thailand fairly soon. i have children living in two european countries. i may have other potential beneficiaries in thailand in due course. i

thanks for that useful info. on my side i discovereed that qatar airways gives an extra 16kgs to their fr flier programme members. cd

thanks for setting out the situation - but may i just clarify the issue of timing? my multiple entry non immigrant o visa was issued in april 06 and my first entry on it was in may. so presumably i would apply for the conversion/extension next april (or may?). any earlier would be to 'waste' the money already paid for the remaining period to next april/may? on a final detail does "any time in the month before your current permission to stay expires" mean a) 1 year from my original visa issuance date, or when my final stay in thailand legally expires - which could be later than a)

i'm probably going to book qatar but am a little concerned that my bag will miss the 50 minute connexion in doha. is that a serious risk? they offer an alternative connexion of several hours, which i obviously would rather not take. has anyone had this problem on a quick connexion? cd

i expect to fly out - from paris - in october & want to stay away from here until next spring if possible, ie 6 months. also as i'm preparing to live in los i tend to take as much as i can with me. would appreciate suggestions on the optimum combination of long ticket validity and high weight allowance among the usual airlines. i know no economy tkt (my usual) will allow more than 20kg so i'm hoping to identify the best deal above economy class. thanks for any ideas or info. cd

thnaks, and i take your point. useful info. more, with names, maybe france-los would also be helpful. cd

i have a non immigrant 'o' visa. i intend to retire to los in the course of the next 18 months - ie have my own place with my things moved across, etc. in the meantime i'll be spending a good 50% of my time in los anyway. can i convert my visa to a retirement visa - at the jomtien immigration office? or must i do some paperwork before i arrive there? i know that i need to move 800,000 baht into thailand. is there any benefit in doing this as soon as possible? or can i just do it 'in due course', ie after i've properly moved - though that'll probably call for another year's renewal of

if someone has used a freight company from france to los which was professional yet reasonable in pricing i'd be grateful to know of it. i'd want to be assured their packing was professional - in particular in regard to my many books which would need to be protected not just from the damage of being thrown about but also from damp and humidity. i picked up that eneukman had books sent - from england; and that idee fixe is a french los resident. there must be others too. thanks a lot. cd

my gf wants me to build a house on land that her father will give her next door to his own (very) humble home - in the countryside near pak chong. i know that if the relationship breaks down i'd have to 'walk away' and leave her the house - that a lease to me etc will be meaningless in the circumstances. so i'm not going to jump into this - yet. but if i do go ahead i'd want to assume things work out and therefore build to a good standard. i have in mind a 2 bedroom thai style house - elevated, partly in wood, etc. i'd want to work with an architect who'd done this sort of house before. i was

just to pass on the benefit of my experience in getting the thai license having brought my uk license. doctor's cert (5 minutes) a joke. receptionist looked at my passport, inserted name on photocopied form at hand, took it in for doc's signature, returned and put a rubber stamp on it. ie the doc never saw me. cost - 150 baht (i think - in any case, money for jam) the visa office (1 hour all-in) well organized, english speaking, and copying services etc outside. (keep lots of photos with you) accepted my hotel address, supported by evidence i was there (not authorized to accept non

don't understand this. if abuse - even as mild as calling someone an idiot - was penalized many of the participants would have over dosed on penalties & disappeared long ago. cd

thanks a lot for the further info. i'll try submitting the addresses i have in hand. i'll try the uk license - the lack of a motorbike license doesn't trouble me. i'll be trying to get it all done in the next couple of days. cd

'proof of address' i omitted to ask what precisely is the 'proof' they will accept - for the required address cd

my thanks to the helpful replies paul and alan have troubled to post. but i'm still not clear about a few questions: proof of address i can tell them the hotel i'm staying at; or i can give them the address of the place in khao yai i have agreed to rent; or i can give them the address of my girl friend's parents home (which i think is the address that will appear as my address for the car papers.) uk license vs. international license is my uk driver's license sufficient - or at least worth trying? if not i can postpone the thing until i return with an international license in oct/n

1. What is the proof of residency the immigration office require to issue the necessary letter? I have a non-immigrant o visa, and was given to understand that that would be enough for the letter. Presently I live at a hotel but have the intention of moving up-country to a rented house next month. 2. Is an international license necessary or will my uk license suffice? 3. Does anyone have recent evidence that there is someone there to handle the administative for one? (eg the 'woman in the parade of shops that someone mentioned). Or is it foolish to go there without a thai gir

mine last week to ban laem seemed reasonably quick, considering everything.... picked up at my hotel around 7am & dropped back around 3.30pm. 1700 baht all-in. cd

are there any internet facilities at the mark-land hotel? or a website address for them so i check it myself? thanks cd