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For many years, Thomas Ohlson has written a weekly movie guide. Until recently it was available only by Email subscription. Now he has his weekly guide online. Have a look: For Pattaya: http://thomatpattaya.blogspot.com For Chiang Mai: http://thomatfilms.blogspot.com

Actor David Carradine Found Dead in Bangkok The Associated Press 06/04/2009 BANGKOK—Actor David Carradine, star of the 1970s TV series "Kung Fu" who also had a wide-ranging career in the movies, has been found dead in the Thai capital, Bangkok. A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy, Michael Turner, confirmed the death of the 72-year-old actor. He says Carradine died either late Wednesday or early Thursday, but he could not provide further details out of consideration for his family. The Web site of the newspaper The Nation cited unidentified police sources as saying Carradine was found Thursday hanged in his luxury hotel room and is believed to have committed suicide. Carradine was a leading member of a venerable Hollywood acting family that included his father, character actor John Carradine, and brother Keith. ____________________ And this, from THE NATION: _____ David Carradine Found Dead in Bangkok "Kung Fu" and "Kill Bill" star David Carradine was found hung himself in a closet in a hotel room in Bangkok on Wednesday, Thai police said. Police believed he committed suicide. Carradine, 72, was in Bangkok to shoot his latest movie, Stretch, and stayed at a Suite Room 352 of the Park Nai Lert Hotel on Wireless Road since June 2. The film crew were aware of his absence when they went to dine out at a restaurant on Sathorn Road on June 3. Carradine did not show up at the dinner and the team could not reach him. They assumed that he took a rest because of his age. It was a hotel's maid who opened his suite on Thursday at 10 am only to find Carradine in a closet. He was described as behind half naked. Police investigation showed that he hung himself with a rope, the kind that is used with curtains. Police said he was dead for not less than 12 hours and found no sign of fighting and assaults. His personal manager, Chuck Binder, told BBC that the news was "shocking", adding: "He was full of life, always wanting to work... a great person." Aside from Quentin Tarantino's two-part "Kill Bill" in 2003 and 2004, Carradine was perhaps best known for his role as the fugitive half-Chinese Shaolin monk Kwai Chang Caine in the 1970s easternwestern TV drama "Kung Fu". He also starred in Martin Scorsese's "Boxcar Bertha" in 1972, portrayed folksinger Woody Guthrie in "Bound for Glory" in 1976, acted in Ingmar Bergman's "The Serpent's Egg" in 1977 and co-starred with half brothers Keith Carradine and Robert Carradine in the 1980 western "The Long Riders". His father was the noted actor John Carradine. In Thai cinemas, Carradine was recently seen as a martial arts guru in the Rob Schneider comedy "Big Stan" and as a perverted elderly Chinese mobster in "Crank: High Voltage" starring Jason Statham.

Nothing has changed.

It would be hard on them even if they did get paid. They depend on being taken off more than they depend on what the bar will give them. But with so few customers, boys who were used to being taken off several times each month are complaining that now they are lucky if they are taken off once a month or even once every two or three months.

Thank you for letting us know. I'm sure we all hope he will pull through. Please keep us informed if you can.

That's where you're getting confused. Yes, the US Embassy official probably said that, but he was not referring to what the embassy requires. He was referring to what the Thai Immigration offices might require. To date, the US Embassy only requires you, your passport, the form filled out (which is quite simple and probably takes less than a minute - bring a pen), and swearing before their notary that you are telling the truth about your income. Oh yes . . . they also require 1200 baht. Don't forget that the US Embassy now prefers that you make an appointment with them. They no longer will make appointments by telephone. You can make your appointment online: https://evisaforms.state.gov/acs/default.as...K&appcode=1

On the Ting & Tong's Gay Thailand board, Doug posted about this. The thread is: http://www.gaytingtong.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4654 If the boys were not paid, this isn't the first time bar owners have pulled this stunt. I think it really stinks. I understand that the Legun bar also closed under similar circumstances and that the owner hightailed it back to Germany. I'm not sure whether those boys were paid or not, but he is the former owner of Happy Boys and when he closed that bar, the boys were not paid, so they said. Also, after the controversy about the 150 baht charge to go upstairs at Happy Boys, that's now a moot issue. Happy Boys is closed. I understand they will reopen in three months, but some of the boys who worked there are telling me they were not paid. Again, I have no way of knowing whether they were actually paid or not. That could just as easily be a sympathy ploy to get people to give them "money for room" and "money for eat." Nevertheless, Happy Boys is definitely closed for at least three months.

I'm afraid not. You need the letter from the bank and the proof-of-income statement from the embassy. If you can document that your bank account now holds 800,000 baht and has held that amount for three months or greater, then you do not need the proof-of-income statement from the embassy. However, if your income level is like mine and you don't have that kind of money, that's the reason for the proof-of-income statement. The US Embassy still takes your word for it. You do not need to show them any kind of documentation at all other than your passport. If you use the proof-of-income statement method you do need a new statement from the embassy every year. Sorry, but you're not going to be able to avoid that annual trip to the embassy. Look at the bright side. You live in Pattaya, so you can take care of that relatively easy. It must be a tremendous pain, not to mention expense, for farang who live in Phuket or Udon Thani or wherever if they're nowhere near Bangkok and if they have no consulate nearby. People from the UK who live in Pattaya do have the British Consul, Barry Kenyon, available and he can issue the proof-of-income statement. I understand that he does require some sort of proof before he'll issue the statement. No matter how you do it, 800,000 baht or proof-of-income statement, you still need the letter from the bank. As far as showing additional proof-of-income beyond the bank letter and embassy statement, you might be getting a little confused. A few months ago there was a brouhaha because the Immigration offices in Thailand made it clear that they have the right to demand additional proof. I doubt that the fact that the US Embassy takes your word for it is any secret to them. So, they do have the right, but to date I know of no instances in which the Immigration officers actually asked anyone for additional proof in Pattaya or any other Immigration office in Thailand. I think the thing to do, if you are concerned about the possibility of having to show additional proof, is to either have it with you when you go to apply for the visa, or apply for it well enough in advance to give yourself time to obtain it if they ask for it. But unless you are a very unusual case, I doubt you will be asked for anything other than the embassy statement. Applying for the visa in advance of the expiration date has no effect on the expiration date of your new visa. Even if you obtain your new visa a month or two in advance of the expiration date, you new visa's expiration date will be one year from the expiration date of your current retirement visa. By the way, the immigration officer who took care of me actually made up her own rules, as far as I know. I know of no minimum amount legally required to be in a bank account for visa eligibility if you use the proof-of-income statement. When she told me that next time I should have at least 10,000 baht in my account, that was something she simply made up at her own whim. I doubt she plans on denying anyone the visa, but I wrote the post because that is what she said and people should be aware of it. Another requirement people may not be aware of is now you must apply for your new visa at the Immigration office closest to where you live. It used to be that you could apply at any Immigration office in Thailand, but that has changed. While I was getting my own visa, I saw them reject a man who was in Pattaya, but lives in Bangkok. They told him he has to apply for his new visa in Bangkok. You can, however, still submit your 90-day address report at any Immigration office in Thailand. Speaking of the 90-day address report, I think everyone ought to be aware that while the date you apply for your retirement visa has no effect on the expiration date, the date you submit your 90-day address report does have an effect. You will be required to submit the next 90-day address report 90 days from the date you submit, no matter what date was the deadline on your current report. Also, while you can apply for your new retirement visa months in advance, they want your 90-day address report to be submitted no more than a week in advance. They do make exceptions to that if you have a valid reason why you need to submit the report more than a week in advance of the deadline.

That is a very good point. Some banks, if you are going to do a money transfer online, will send what they refer to as an OTP - one time password, which is more or less a security code to confirm the transaction before it goes through. Some banks send it immediately by Email. Some send it immediately by mobile phone text message. Some don't send one at all and you only need to hit the 'confirm' button while using their online system. Some banks give you the option of the OTP coming to you by Email or mobile phone. Also, some banks don't send an OTP when completing the transaction, but they do send out an OTP if you are adding an account to the list of accounts to which you intend to make transfers. So, if you are going to set up a means of transferring funds to your boyfriend's account, try to use a bank at which all the OTPs can be sent to you by Email if you will not be personally be in Thailand when adding the account. If you are planning to transfer money from your own account to your boyfriend's account, all Thai banks, with use of their online banking, will allow interbank transfers, which means you can transfer money online from your own account to any other account, even if it is a completely different bank. So, you do need to make sure that if your bank does the OTP, you can receive it by Email if you are going to be outside of Thailand when doing transfers or if you don't have a mobile phone in Thailand at all. I do know that both Bangkok Bank and Siam Commercial Bank do not send out OTPs, however if I remember correctly, they do send out an OTP if you are adding an account to your recipient list. You just hit the confirm button. Bank of Ayudhya will send out their OTP only by mobile phone. Thai Military Bank will send it out by Email. Personally, I think Thai Military Bank is the easiest. With them, the OTPs come by Email. There are no OTPs at all when selecting another account, even at a different bank, to which money will be sent. You simply select which bank the transfer is going to from a drop-down list, enter in the account number, and then a page will come up showing the amount you are sending and the name of the bank and recipient. A few seconds later, an Email will arrive with the confirmation OTP. You enter the confirmation code, and then hit the submit button. By the way, today a friend and I stopped in at a Bank of Ayudhya branch office. Now they too charge the 150 baht foreign ATM card fee. As far as I know, that was the last bank not imposing the fee. I believe now all the banks charge the fee.

I just renewed my retirement visa. This was the first time since the new regulation from Bangkok Bank about having two accounts if you receive money by direct deposit. I wasn't sure whether Immigration wants the bank letter to come from your regular savings account or from your direct deposit account. It made more sense to me that they would want it from your direct deposit account. That's the account in which your money comes from a foreign source. The regular savings account now has the money coming from a domestic source when you transfer it in from the direct deposit account. Besides, both accounts are in different branches and the one closest to home is where the direct deposit account is. Immigration had no problem at all about accepting the bank letter from the direct deposit account, but normally when I receive the funds, I take all but 500 baht and transfer it over to the savings account. I leave 500 baht in the direct deposit account just to have something in there. When the immigration officer looked at my passbook, she questioned the fact that there was only 500 baht in my account. I explained and she was satisfied, but she did say, "Next time, please have 10,000 baht in that account." So, there you have it. If you're bank letter is going to be from your direct deposit account, try to have at least 10,000 baht in it when you go to apply for a visa renewal.

As good a name as any. Send it in. Who knows? Maybe you'll win. Since it was done by artificial insemination, I was thinking of "Shotgun." Since nobody realized the mother was pregnant, I was also thinking of "Surprise." Wouldn't it be nice if the authors of those articles would manage to tell people an address to send in their entries?

The following appears in THE NATION: _____ PANDA FEVER Name the Panda Published on June 3, 2009 The public is being invited to decide on a name for the first panda born in Thailand. Participants in the upcoming postcard vote also stand a chance of winning at least Bt1million in cash. "The winner from the lucky draw may get a car too," Zoological Park Organisation (ZPO) director Sopon Damnui revealed yesterday. Born last Wednesday at Chiang Mai Zoo, the female cub has become an instant media superstar and a hit with people all around the country. So far, this baby has been nameless, but not for much longer. Choose and win Sopon said the public will first be asked to come up with names. The ZPO board will then choose four of the best, which will be put to a public vote. "Those who submit one of the chosen names have a chance of winning Bt100,000 plus a free trip for their family to visit pandas in China." Giant pandas Chuang Chuang and Linhui have been on loan to Thailand from China since 2003. Linhui has been nursing her offspring for over a week now. The baby has increased in weight from 200 to 290 grams and the skin around its ears and eyes is beginning to blacken. Under the agreement between the two countries, the baby has to be returned to China within two years. "We will try to persuade China to let the panda family to stay here longer," said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti, who visited zoo to see the new arrival yesterday. "We hope China will agree to set up a permanent panda-research centre in Thailand," Suwit added.

Continental Bakery, although the Papa David's menu does feature some items that Continental Bakery doesn't have. But if I had only one as my choice, it would be Continental Bakery. Of course, once Papa David's 2 opens up, I'll have to give it a try to see how it compares. By the way, those are not the only breakfast places available out here. Personally, I rarely eat breakfast in the first place. When I do, most of the time I make my own at home. I would say I only go out for breakfast about once every two months. I have no idea why. "The Dark Side" is probably the most rapidly growing and up-and-coming area of Pattaya. It reminds me of the old joke people would say, many years ago, to those who they perceived as gullible: "Yes, and I have some swamp land in Florida to sell you." I wish to Christ I had bought it. Half of Miami and Ft. Lauderdale is now located on what used to be that very swamp land. Where I live, on "The Dark Side," you wouldn't even recognize it if you compared it to ten years ago. There was nothing out here. You should see it now. It doesn't take much imagination to visualize what it will be like and what will be available on "The Dark Side" of Sukhumvit ten years from now. How much you want to bet that within ten years, perhaps less, something similar to Central Plaza will be open, or at least under construction, out here on "The Dark Side"?

I don't agree with very much of what you're saying, especially the part about what I witnessed being a surprise to me. Where in my post did I say I was surprised? However, I don't attribute witnessing a fight to the idea that a "sudden influx of non-indigenous wealth into a small area" had anything to do with it. I don't even agree with the idea of a sudden influx. Unless twenty years is to be considered sudden, I would say it has been gradual. I also don't see it as something negative. I do agree that the farang population is expanding rapidly. I also don't see "cheap and easy" as something negative or something to be ashamed of. If there is anything wrong with "cheap and easy" I'd like to know what it is. Should I be ashamed that I chose "cheap and easy" over "expensive and difficult"? If I had it to do all over again I would do the same thing. The only thing I regret is the fact that I couldn't have done it sooner. How many people who read this web site do you suppose "take the best and loveliest of their women for spouses"? I would imagine that not too many gay people take women at all. I see nothing shameful about "cheap and easy" or the fact that I may have more money available to me than the average Thai. I worked damned hard and honestly for what I have. I'm happy I have it. Why should I be ashamed of it or buy into an idea that I am a negative influence on Thai culture and society? The world is much smaller than it used to be and societies are usually dynamic. That includes Thailand. I believe Thailand is a victim of 'Future Shock' not because farang come here to stay, but because, as one of my closest friends always says, "Thailand is not a proactive country. Everything is always reactive."

I don't know if farang are eligible, but your boyfriend certainly is. You might want to let him know about this contest. If he wins, he might even leave your wallet alone for two or three days. The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Million Baht for New Panda's Name Published: 2/06/2009 A one million prize is being offered for the winner of a contest to name the baby panda born in Chiang Mai last week. Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti announced the competition on Tuesday after a visit to the Chiang Mai Zoo to see the new panda cub, which is now seven days old. He said the contest was open to people all over the country. The entries would be shortlisted to four. Each of them would get 400,000 baht and a round-trip air ticket to visit panda sites in China. One of the four names would then be selected for the new panda and the winner would get the winning prize of one million baht. Mr Suwit also said Thailand would ask to extend the 10 year period the two adult pandas are on loan from China, which has four years to run. Under the agreement any cubs must be returned when they turn two years. Representatives of the Zoological Park Organisation would go first to China for negotiations and the prime minister would follow for government-level talks early next month, he said. The minister also presented a birth certificate for the new panda cub to Chiang Mai Zoo.

You're right. Only phony tourists are bothered by the ATM fee and would also consider a visa run to stay longer. In your opinion, what constitutes a "real tourist"?

I had a pleasant surprise today. I was on my way home, on "The Dark Side," driving up Soi Khaotolo from Sukhumvit. I spotted a big sign, "Papa David's 2." It's the same Papa David's restaurant so popular in Jomtien. Now there will be one on "The Dark Side" as well. From the outside it looked like they'll be ready to open in about two or three weeks. If you're not familiar with Soi Khaotolo, the easiest way to find it would be to go up Tepprasit Road to Sukhumvit. At the traffic light make a left and then get immediately into the right lane. Only a few yards up you'll come to a right-turn-only traffic signal. Make that right. That's Soi Khaotolo. Go up Soi Khaotolo, pass the railroad tracks, and then about 200 yards or so further up you'll easily spot the 'Papa David's 2' sign on the right. Excellent! For those of you in the vicinity, now we not only have a Continental Bakery out our way, but very soon we will also have a Papa David's.

Goes hand-in-hand with the 150 baht ATM fees, doesn't it? Yes, fans, let's keep Thailand a highly attractive tourist destination.

I see. The please contact both Prime Minister Abhisit and President Obama. They can certainly use advice from a man who has the answers.

Thai Visa has published the following report: To view the entire thread, click: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Immigration-...ne-t269827.html _____ Immigration Crackdown on Border Runners BANGKOK (thaivisa.com) -- Thai Immigration Bureau has issued a new regulation to be enforced from today, June 1, 2009. In a crackdown on foreigners who regularly abuse the tourist exemption rule of getting 15 days stay at border entry points, the Immigration Bureau has confirmed and informed thaivisa.com of the following new regulation: A foreigner who has entered the kingdom four (4) consecutive times on 15 days tourist exemption stamps, will not be allowed to leave the country and reenter Thailand. The only option is to exit Thailand and re-enter via an international airport, which will allow a further 30 day stay. Thaivisa.com has today confirmed the new regulations with the Immigration checkpoints in Pong Nam Ron and Aranyaprathet at the Cambodian border. We have also got confirmation from bus visa run companies that the new regulations are enforced from today June 1, 2009. Immigration checkpoints bordering Laos, Myanmar and Malaysia are expected to enforce the regulation shortly. The new rules does not affect holders of visas issued abroad. Foreigners are advised to apply for a Tourist visas or Non-Immigrant visas at a Royal Thai Embassy or consulate outside Thailand instead of abusing the 15 day exemption rule. As usual, holders of Tourist visas will be given 60 days stay while Non-Immigrant visa holders will be allowed 90 days stay. -- thaivisa.com 2009-06-01

I agree. Pattaya seems to be in a state of what I would call 'negative evolution.' I don't like the direction things are going. The beaches used to be much better. Traffic jams were rare. City streets were kept in good condition. The gay venues were consistently packed and few ever went out of business. Prices were much more reasonable. Police raids were unheard of. Any farang could open a bank account as long as he simply held a valid passport. These kinds of violent crimes were rare. I, for one, felt perfectly safe anywhere in town at any hour. Those days are gone forever.

I won't, but I will accuse you of causing this thread to go way off topic. This thread is supposed to be about the possibility of the Thai government controlling the baht, remember? So, let's get off of personalities and American politics and back to the subject at hand, ok?

It certainly seems to be moving in that direction. Only a few years ago this kind of story was unheard of. Now between the gangs, shootings, robberies, beatings, drugs, and everything else, it's all becoming too commonplace.

Pattaya seems to be plagued with more and more violent fights and crimes, and those involved don't seem as if they couldn't care less that there are dozens of witnesses. Only a few nights ago I was in Sunee Plaza, with friends, when a violent fight broke out in front of one of the bars. We saw one boy bashed over the head with some sort of solid object and he made a bloody retreat. We never did find out what the fight was about or whether anything further took place later. Now we have this, from PATTAYA ONE: For photos see: http://www.pattayaone.net/news/2009/june/n...1_06_52_3.shtml _____ One Dead, One Seriously Injured Following Jomtien Beach Fight For some time, there have been problems with copy CD vendors on Jomtien Beach. The disputes have centered on territorial issues. The two men involved in the dispute are Khun Nawin aged 26 and Khun Wootishai aged 23. On Sunday Afternoon, in front of hundreds of tourists, the two men came to blows and despite calls to Police suggesting a fight was about to start, officers arrived after the fight had finished despite the station being situated only 100 meters from the incident. Spikes which keep beach umbrellas from flying away in the wind and other weapons were used in the fight and both men received serious injuries during the scuffle and were rushed to Hospital. Khun Nawin, died from his injuries in Hospital while Khun Wootishai is fighting for his life and is on the critical list at this time. Police are investigating. ____________________ I like the line, "Police are investigating." Good. Better late than never . . . .

At the time of this post, the exchange rate is as follows: US Dollar - 33.87 Euro - 47.84 British Pound - 54.87 Australian Dollar - 27.1125 Canadian Dollar - 31.0125 The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Govt Should Rein in Baht, Exporters Say By Petchanet Pratruangkrai The Nation Published on June 1, 2009 Exporters are urging the government to give serious consideration to managing the exchange rate, as they say the baht's continued appreciation is destroying their competitiveness. They believe it is very important for the government to maintain a weaker and more stable currency in order to ensure Thailand's economic growth amid the global economic downturn and weak demand. The export sector is the Kingdom's key economic driver. The comments came after some economic experts suggested the government not try to weaken the baht, saying exporters did not trade solely in US dollars but used other currencies too. Sukij Kongpiyacharn, managing director of garment firm Hong Seng Knitting, said traders wanted the baht to be stable against the dollar. He said exporters relied mostly on trading in dollars rather than other currencies like the baht, euro or yen. The government should ensure a more stable baht, he said, because the currency had appreciated almost Bt2 in recent months, from 36.20 to the dollar in March to 34.40 last Friday. Sukij said the ideal rate for ensuring export growth was 35-36 against the greenback. Narong Seafood deputy managing director Arthon Piboonthanapatana said that most foreign importers preferred trading in dollars regardless of exchange-rate instability. He said more than 80 per cent of traders in the food industry preferred trading in dollars but the baht's strengthening in recent months had made it more difficult for exporters to win contracts. The baht's appreciation has raised per-unit prices. Exporters must lower their margins to maintain competitiveness. Foreign buyers can easily switch to other countries for their goods if the baht becomes too strong, said Arthon. Wanlop Pichpongsa, deputy managing director of Capital Cereal, Thailand's largest rice-exporter, said the baht's strengthening had continued to destroy Thai exporters' competitiveness. "Although the market price for rice has not changed, Thailand's price has increased slightly, due to the baht's appreciation. This has created difficulty for exporters, because other countries' prices, particularly Vietnam's, are now much lower," he said. Despite exporting worldwide, Wanlop said dollars accounted for 99 per cent of his company's total trading value. Paphavee Suthavivat, managing director of Swift, the Kingdom's leading exporter of fresh fruits and vegetables, said exporters could not shoulder their losses from the stronger baht by buying into hedge funds.