It good to be back in Thailand. Lots of surprises and stuff to see. hehe.. Girl girl now quite tall and a bit spoiled (wify's fault). I have planted 2 mango trees and one of them actually has a nest on it (see pic). I think I saw a sparrow flying out of it. I've told my wife not to disturb it as it seems quite interesting. Ah girl also very excited about it.
Will try to post more. Need to process some photos I took on a birthday party we went.
It good to be back in Thailand. Lots of surprises and stuff to see. hehe.. Girl girl now quite tall and a bit spoiled (wify's fault). I have planted 2 mango trees and one of them actually has a nest on it (see pic). I think I saw a sparrow flying out of it. I've told my wife not to disturb it as it seems quite interesting. Ah girl also very excited about it.Nothing to do at the airport... so post a quickie here. I'm currently at the Singapore budget terminal departure hall. I have to say that the facilities and shops here has improved a lot since my last visit (think about more than a year ago). They finally made some common sense by putting the Internet connection somewhere nearer to the entrance to the gates. (about time too). Not at an obscure corner it used to be. But I see some ungracious Chinese and Korean taking a seat without using the facilities. Have to tell them off. (why always the Asians that are the bunch that makes us look bad??)
Still got an hour to go.....sighs...
No lah. Not smuggling drugs or contraband items lah.. just electronic stuff.. hehe..
Thailand's custom is quite strict on electronic or computer products. Normally they see I'm alone they will want to check for these items (especially if you are from Singapore).
I kena twice already. The first time its a brand new mobile phone that I bought for my wife and the second time was some photo printer refill cartridges that I bought in bulk. The way they tax you also jialat... like anyhow come out with a price. (most prob they pocket the money themselves) First time blur blur, so they chopped me 1000baht tax. Second time I smarter, tell them for own use and they insist they need to tax me and again tax me 1000baht. I told them straight in the face no. And say if they want they can take the refills as I don't want to pay. The things are not that expensive anyway. In the end, they settle for 100baht. In a rush, I paid and left.
So now my strategy is not to have any things in a box that looks new to them(Toys are ok though). Take out the stuff and packed it into the luggage. I got an old 19" LCD monitor I'm carrying back this coming Tues.. so I chugged it into my luggage and hope for the best. Customs in BKK are more lenient than CM. (Those 2 incidents happened in Chiang Mai.) And this time I am flying to BKK then an internal flight to Chiang Rai. So I guess I no need to worry so much about this.
Nevertheless, if you plan to buy some stuff back, just remember to be prepared to get "taxed" by these customs.
PS: Postal service also kena numerous times. But at least they give you the tax rates. Its 7% VAT and 20baht process fees. Anything more than that its "pocket money for them".
HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. A HDR photo is able to capture and display a wider range of tonal details for a particular photo. For example, the photo I took on my right is actually taken at night (around 8pm). I've made multiple exposure to the same scene on a tripod and later merged them into a HDR image using Photoshop.
Still experimenting the technique as its quite new to me. But i would say its quite interesting and rewarding once you have the results.
I like music (who doesn't :P). Not to the extreme as those Audiophiles but to a certain degree, I want a system that really please my ears.
Comes the digital age and I find that I no longer really need expensive amplifiers (audiophiles will definitely disagree on this). This is because most of the time I would listen to my collections on my PC or Mp3 players. I always buy the latest creative series of soundblaster cards for my PCs as they are really good. My Audigy card just died recently so I switched to the onboard audio (those came with the motherboard)to save some money(since got one inside mah). Too my horror (Maybe I am just too fickle) but I find the output is not good at all. Bass and tonality is not there at all.
Went down to Simlim and bought the latest X-Fi series (Gamer edition). Since I might used it to play some games and its only $40 more than the standard edition. I bought it and wow.. the advertised X-Fi really works leh. Bass is deep and clear. Treble is sweet and sharp (not over piercingly like those on the motherboard). The quality is definitely better than my Audigy. Paid $135 for it and really worth it.
I like music (who doesn't :P). Not to the extreme as those Audiophiles but to a certain degree, I want a system that really please my ears. I have refrained myself from writing about this issue for sometime as its a pretty complicated from an outsider's point of view. So these are just my opinions on the situation and may not reflect the true nature behind all these chaos.
The problem with Samak is that he is definitely not as charismatic as Thaksin. He won because he was leading the PPP and during the election, he proudly proclaimed to be a proxy of Thaksin. So thus, he won easily (I think most will agree on this point).
You may asked why then, such a corrupted (well the Thai courts say so) leader such as Thaksin still managed to get so many people supporting him? The main reason is still that the poor in the North (especially the farmers) and Northeast are still loyal to him. Because while he was in office, their standard of living has definitely improved (I can safely said this as I first went to Maesai in 1999 and comparing it with today, it was really really different). Roads are more well build. The people are richer. There are Internet cafes with pretty good speed and etc. He was also the one who dared to implement the now popular 30baht fee to see a doctor. So you can't really blame these people who voted for him as to them, he was their hero. Their voice.
The recent crisis we see Samak more or less being isolated and even the people in the North wants him out. I think mainly because they felt betrayed by the fact that he did not vocally supported Thaksin's return and keeping his distance away from him. Another reason is that the Northern Thais are not as vocal as those in Bangkok. And even worse, we are sure that the Army really doesn't supports him.
So the next few months will be quite interesting. Most probably we will have another election and I do hope those PAD leaders will be arrested for the recent events. These jokers are actually quite dangerous as they believed in mob rules rather than real democracy. As I have told a friend before. No matter how righteous you may declare yourself to be. You should respect the law and the current government till the end of the term. If you are able to prove that they are corrupt or a cheat (in elections). Then bring them to court. (Thai courts are quite independant from the legislatives as proven). Social discord and disobedient should be the final straw if the courts are unfair. They way they behave are like spoiled brats. Creating havoc and damage to the country because their demands are not met.
Same goes to Samak. Stop being power crazy and resign and let another PPP candidate take over. If not, call for fresh elections and win this time without proclaiming yourself to be Thaksin's proxy (see if you can win :P) But I guess its too late for him now.
Wow! I'm a bit surprised by how time flies when you are busy. 12 more days and I will be in Thailand again. Hopefully by then all those political mess will be resolved as I may need to stay a night in BKK to settle some personal matters...
This trip will be 2 days longer than the last last one :P So already prepared most of the stuff that I need to carry back this time. Jetstar screwed up as it canceled (2 weeks before departure some more!!) its morning flight to BKK (think the protests is hurting the airlines business) . The next available flight is in the evening so I asked for a refund instead and got myself Tiger Air (Arrrgh ... the most jialat budget airline). Lucky its cheap lah, paid SGD100+ for the morning flight. The real pain in the ass is the Budget Terminal (I avoid it at all cost).
So from today onwards, I will be working night shift till 21st. So I guess there will be more posts this month....
gerald said...
hello fat boi
would you mind answering my questions
what the monthly costs(estimated) of living in maesai?
how much do you pay for your house?thanks
Another reader Gerald asked about my monthly cost in Maesai. So for basic necessity like utility bills. Here's a breakdown of the latest charges (prices increased in Thailand :( ).
my rates are rounded up 100B = $4.5SGD so actually should be lesser.
Water bills average between 250B to 350B ($12 - $16)
Drinking Water 12B/Gallon House of 4 needs average 5 gallons/week 280B($13)
Electricity average between 1000B to 1500B ($45 - $68)
Phone and Internet(2MBps ADSL) 1200B ($54 We never use the phone for outgoing as its more expensive than mobile! But the incoming is free though...)
Petrol for my motorbikes 600B ($27 I don't go out often :P)
My Burmese maid 1500B per month ($68 really cheap labour but sometimes I give her more if she did a good job, and she gets to eat whatever we eat and has day off every week)
So if you take the maximum (do take note that I stay in a single story detached House.)
It will be $246. Make it safe, $300SGD for utilities and the pay my maid.
Food wise is subjective. Let's say you don't cook at all. 100B per head for each person per day is quite luxurious (A plate or bowl of noodle is 30B for large portion). So my household is Wife, baby, maid plus me(I not around at the moment though) So its 400B per day. 30 days is 12000B which converted is $540SGD
Of course, if you cook yourself, the cost will be even cheaper.....
So total is SGD$840.
I send at least SGD$1000 every month and of course my wife gets to save some money out of it.
That's the normal expenditure for a house of 4 in Maesai. Of course it can be more than that as there are diapers, sweets and shopping for clothes etc etc.... It really depends on how you spend. :P So I can safely say that SGD$1000 is quite comfortable and considered to be luxurious for Maesai's standard.
Cheap anot? Feel like going already liao right?? hehehe
gerald said...
hello fat boi
would you mind answering my questions
what the monthly costs(estimated) of living in maesai?
how much do you pay for your house?
thanks
Think the title summarise today's interview. Seems like there are some paperworks that are missing and the date of my wife getting her current id is not in line with Maesai's rule.(bit complicated, not sure how to explain also). So her birth cert was denied for the moment. Now have to check again with the other district officer on whether she can apply anot.
Sighzz... So used to this type of news. Wify also bad mood. Spent so much effort and wasted her aunties(3 old ladies) time at the district office.
Anyway, Thai politics is going haywire again. Thankfully the north is not affected much by the incidents in Bangkok. Hope everything clears before my trip back at the end of the month.
Tomorrow is a big day. The reason is that my wife and her sis will be at Maesai Amphur to get their birth certificates. The necessary documents are prepared and the 3 old ladies (as witness) will be going down to make their statements. That's the trouble we need to go through as proof that my wife was born in Thailand. (A lot of people around the border never really had a birth certificate, especially those who are poor.)
Anyway, after this step. Wife and her sis could then go back down to Mae Fa Luang's Amphur to convert her to thai citizenship. So I really have to cross my finger that tomorrow's interview to be successful.
Think another sleepless night for me again...
