Guderian

It's been pouring down this morning on the other side of the Bight.

Just when I'd bought the teelac a sahmlor cocktail bar, too!

Phil Conners, on 2012-05-02 12:14:19, said:

+1

If you want decent quality at budget prices, try Thanakorn furniture on Thepprasit. Driving from Jomtien towards Suk, it's on the left about 500 m from the Thappraya junction. If you see something you like you can haggle with the owner on the price. Free delivery, too.

Another reasonable place, though I haven't bought anything there, is the shop on Thepprasit more or less opposite the entrance to the Outlet Mall. I can't remember its name, but just cruise towards Suk from the Soi Kopai junction and you will see it on the left. They have a good selection of beds and sofas.

And don't forget Tesco Lotus. A few weeks back they had a very good offer on some excellent quality Slumberland beds, reduced from 45K Baht to 25 K. It's worth checking to see if they have any offers on.

I've now got my new Green Book, and I thought it may help people in a similar position in future to post what was actually required.

The paperwork needed is as follows:

1. A police report saying that you have lost the Green Book. This should apparently be from the nearest police post to where you lost the document. In my case that was the Dongtan Beach police box on Jomtien Beach Road (I was living in a nearby condo at the time). I presume if you've moved a long way away then you could get it locally, but I wasn't able to test that presumption so don't depend on it. The policeman was very friendly and chatty, it took about 10 minutes and the cost was 20 Baht. As well as my passport, he wanted to see the copies of the pages of the green book that you are supposed to carry around with you. Luckily I had those, though the copying was rather faint, but he accepted them. I have no idea what would have happened if I hadn't had them, so memo to self: get a good quality copy of the new green book ASAP.

2. A residence certificate from Immigration, exactly the same as you had to provide when you bought the bike. I've heard that these are free in some places, but in Jomtien/Pattaya it costs 200 Baht.

3. Copies of the usual suspects from your passport. I gave them a copy of the ID page at the back, a copy of the TM6 arrival card, and a copy of my current visa (the latest retirement extension in my case, valid until 1/1/2013). I had to sign all these pages. I also had my passport with me just in case, but I was not asked for it.

4. A form to get a new green book. This is available at the information desk at the Land Transport office, but it's entirely in Thai so you will probably need help to complete it. I had a Thai taxi driver and he did it for me.

When your turn comes you present all this paperwork to the guy at the relevant window. He then checks that they have all the details on their computer. Allow 20 minutes for this according to the flowchart (written in Thai) showing the process. It was very quiet when I went and the check only took 5 minutes. He wanted to see my current road tax certificate for some reason, so take that with you too (in fact, it's best to take everything you might conceivably be asked for with you, just in case).

Anyway, my bike and details were all present and correct on their system so I paid the fee - all of 55 Baht - and was told to come back in 45 minutes. (The flowchart said 30 minutes.) I wandered around and watched the driving tests that had just started, and while I was smiling at the antics of some of the drivers I was called back in by my driver as the new green book was ready. It had taken 35 minutes.

I picked it up, had my Thai driver check it was all in order, which it was, and off we went with me feeling happy and legit again. So all in all it's a simple, quick and cheap process, but you must have the correct paperwork with you or you will be sent away to get it. The Banglamung Land Transport office is way out in the sticks, so this would not be a good idea.

Anyway, I hope that this information will help someone in future who is unlucky enough to lose their Green Book.