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rickfarang

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Posts posted by rickfarang

  1. Air and hotel booked ahead of time are either on my credit card to paid at the nearest 7-11. Everything else is paid in cash, usually taken from my Thai bank or in some cases my Schwab One account which refunds the ATM fees at the end of every month. Ok, when desperate an cash advance on a credit card is utilized, but that's expensive.

  2. You mean the driving school can issue her license? That might be a good way to avoid the mob at the license bureau in Bangkok.

     

    Yes. And for a small fee they took care of the medical certificate. The only test the performed that was related to her physical condition was to give her the reaction test, which she retook a dozen times until she finally passed. The driving school also does annual inspection of the car and motorbike and do the running around to get the licenses for me. It is a nice service, especially since they are less than a kilometer from home.

  3. Tuesday my driving student girlfriend drove around our village with me in the front seat for about an hour -it was the most stressful hour in recent memory. I was preparing to deal with her disappointment when she failed butI was stunned to see that she passed her tests at the driving school yesterday and will pick up her license on Monday. She cannot safely drive around the block with cars parked on the street yet she is licensed to drive. Stunned, I tell you.

  4. My brother is trying to book a stay at the Ambassador Bangkok in June of this year and keeps running up against what seem to be new taxes. For example:

     

    On one booking site it says:

    The hotel will charge an additional fee at check in or check out 242.36,USD

    Tax recovery charges and service fees $248.53 <==itemization of charges

     

    On another bookit site it says:

    The total price of your booking does not include extra city taxes.

    Mandatory city tax to be paid at the hotel is between 19.74 USD and 212.1 USD

     

    After a little reading, the tax recovery fee is apparently common in the United States (that's where he is right now) but I have not heard of this in Thailand. My take is that there are some mix-ups in the booking systems, but there is the lingering worry that a booking site might slip in some overlooked fine print and he'll be hit with a substantial and unexpected fee.

     

    Has anybody run across this while booking or staying in Bangkok?

  5. :) I think this guy has literally gotten away with murder, so its nice to see him getting called on at least one of the crimes of his "former life." For those who don't remember, a few years ago, Chuwit admitted to many of his past crimes and declared that he was essentially reborn; a different person from the one who committed those crimes. I figures that if he was truly a different person, then he wouldn't have the money that resulted from his past life. But I digress. Here's what happened this week. (BTW, Chuwit Gardens on Sukhumvit, across from Soi 15, is where Sukhumivt Square once stood.)

     

    Source:

    http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=120902

     

    (BangkokPost.com) â?? The Civil Court ordered Sukhumvit Silver Star Co., Ltd. - of which former massage parlour tycoon-cum-Chart Thai party deputy leader Chuwit Kamolwisit is director - to pay financial compensation to business owners affected by the demolition of Sukhumvit Square four and a half years ago.

     

    The strip served as a watering hole for throngs of beer punters before it was demolished in the early hours of January 26, 2003 by a group of anonymous men.

     

    The court ordered Sukhumvit Silver Star to pay 5.7 million baht to six business operators affected by the razing of Sukhumvit Square with an annual interest rate of 7.5 percent until the required amount has been fully disbursed.

     

    Mr Chuwit was arrested in the parking lot of a massage parlour shortly after the incident in January 2003. He was a director of Sukhumvit Silver Star, which ran many massage parlours in Bangkok and owned the six-rai piece of land at the corner of Sukhumvit soi 10 where Sukhumvit Square stood before it was abruptly razed.

     

    Mr Chuwit denied he had ordered the strip's demolition, saying he had leased the land to Nickel Co. for commercial development.

     

    Police believe Nickel Co. was set up especially for the demolition of lessees' properties at Soi 10, in particular the beer bars, as the operators had a long-standing dispute with the landowner.

  6. Interesting thread, funny how some get infected so fast when others go on barebacking for years and get out fine - gotta love irony.

     

    I read the whole thread and still wonder what's the point in getting tested. Especially if one can live several years without feeling anything, what's the point to put so much stress on yourself? Than how you're gonna explain that to your next GF? Than what's gonna happen if you intend to make a family? tssstsss...

     

    Ignorance is bliss... sure makes sense when it comes to HIV...

     

     

    I am sorry if this sounds a bit harsh, but the attitude shown in the above post in one of irresponsibility and selfishness. If you might have been exposed, then failing to test means exposing your "next girlfriend" or other loved one to a grave risk. In my book, this is irresponsible to both her/him and society in general.

     

     

     

  7. Somebody wrote:

     

    "Use condoms properly with adequate lubrication to prevent breakage and the chances of catching HIV are negligible."

     

    Just so the message is not lost: Any odds may seem negligible until you catch it.

     

    Also as mentioned in JS's OP and in Free2Fly's post above, being drunk or stoned and around scuzzy women is a recipe for disaster.

     

    It used to be that a diagnosis of HIV was a death sentence. In the last several years in the developed world, its more like a chronic condition for many. That doesn't make it any less of a tragedy, and any less devastating to to one's self-image and view of the future -just "less physically lethal."

     

    If you think the chances are negligible, then you have not read up on the subject enough, or you have not lived though AIDS with a loved one (yet).

     

    Be careful out there.

     

    Thanks again, JS, for the reminder. It can happen to anyone, even those who aren't punters.

     

  8. Ahhhh, CRAP.

     

    Thank you for the wake-up call. Some people undoubtedly think they are invincible or at least not unlucky enough. Its a lottery, even with protection, and as in your case, eventually every number can come up.

     

    I hope your confirmation test comes back negative. Whether it comes back positive or negative, you will have many good years ahead. Keep posting. Keep your powder dry. Take care.

     

    Rick

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