2long

Just bought a (secondhand) motobike. I'd agreed a price after several visits. My girlfriend said I'd pop right down to pay after a wee whizz round the block to check it rides ok. Their answer; if you want perfect, buy new one. And no, I couldn't test ride it.

I went and bought the same thing for the same price up the road.

Cheers, I'll do my best and see how we go.

This probably sounds odd...

My wife's got her 3rd uk visa and we also plan a brief trip to Sweden. A mate at work (often full of ****) said he got his wedding certificate stamped by the British embassy, and then the French embassy just looked at it and gave his wife the (Schengen) visa free of charge and without the need for any other documents, such as insurance. The British embassy had never heard of this and the Swedes said they'd need insurance. Please someone either tell me they've heard of this before or confirm my colleague's jackanory skills.

Ta.

But what's this crap about licensing hours 11am-2pm and 5pm-midnight? The 'kids' will be pissed at lunchtime and asleep all afternoon.

I'm an adult and enjoy drinking mid afternoon. Does this mean I can't? Should I start at 11am? I don't smoke, but what happens if an adult needs fags to smoke in the afternoon? Oh my word, what is this place coming to? This is worse than the uk fifteen years ago.

Hear hear, about those noisy bars.

Get Toxic Thaksin out!

My wife's pregnant and a friend's just had their 2nd sprog. Some doctors/hospitals insist on a Thai name, others allow any name, so long as it can be written in Thai. This friend says the law changed a month ago (back to Thai only) but he's often full of sh** and we wanted to know if there were any other opinions or experiences out there?

"There's more than enough to show the point."

Don't you mean 'There are...'?

Well, while we were on the subject, and all that!

Do you remember Hawaii Five O?

Nana nana nanaaaaaaaaaaa nana nana naaa

I'd like to see you, or any of us, up there in front of the cameras giving live interviews that are broadcast all over the world and not do something similar! Leave the poor bugger alone.

Ok, he's not the brightest bloke around, but he's very good at what he does. I've never heard anyone complain that Stephen Hawking is no good at football!

Oops! Sorry, Santini. It wasn't until I had already explained that I noticed your 'taste' in, well, can I say football team? Never mind, I have a good friend with the same. That'll be both of your, then!

We digress. I just wanted to get something going where it may help all those who want to go out but are unsure what time they'll have to go home.

What type of guy wears a stetson?

What's an abbreviation of grandmother?

Where d'ya think rucksack street might be in Bang Lamb Poo?

Probably better to be discrete about the names of these places if you wish for them to stay open at all in future.

Ok, being native speakers, a simple code should be sufficient and not necessary to explain.

John Wayne, Garndmother, etc.

Good good, C'mon, more!

How 'bout Khao Sarn?

Most are unhappy about having to go home early. Nothing's fixed as yet with regards to closing times, so I suggest we report the pub/bar/restaurant/street that closed (or stayed open) for us on a particular night and post it here. No long winded whines, just the place, the date and the time.

This should help those who are interested, but concerned, to plan thir evening by seeing when the place they're hoping to drink in has been closing.

It can be anywhere in town (or countrywide ) and very simple.

The more who help the better for all.

ps. If someone's already done this either ignore me , tell me or a bit of both! Ta!

Thanx guys. Will she still be able to come back in a year or two on a tourist visa (as my legal wife) if we wanna do just that; be tourists, and not settle?

A weight off my mind and a registry office to be visited, me thinks!

Any other helpful ideas?

We're in England and my girlfriend/wife (in the eyes of Buddha) is on a tourist visa. We're going to have a ceremony here anyway but are afraid of getting legally wed because I've heard (on this 'ere forum) that it would mean she's broken the conidtions of her visa and will be barred from the UK for 6 months. That's not a problem, but we don't want a black mark for future applications.

Any help and/or advice would be greatly appreciated.

I've posted this question before but in the wrong part and got no replies.

I won't be able to reply to you guys/gals immediately because I only have access to this computer in the evening UK time.

Thanx

Jamie

Thinking of marrying my Thai girlfriend in the Uk on a tourist visa. What are the disadvantages? I've heard she won't be able to return to the UK for 6 months, that's ok, but will it affect her next tourist visa application? My mate and his girlfriend recently went and were asked at UK immigration if they were planning on getting wed!!

Any info/advice would be lovely jubbly,

Maybe! I am connected with them, indirectly, and they/we appear to have a good relationship with the uniforms. I heard it from a teacher of another branch who was in a negative mood about everything that night. There seems to be a lot of them around and the moment, doesn't there?

I was there (Phuket and Phi Phi) last week and it had been shit beforehand, but was fandabulous. The diving is getting beter and better and I wanna go back but am at work. Saying this, it could change anytime because it should be raining.

If you go to Phi Phi and want to dive, the best shop is Aquanauts! Tell them you heard this from Jamie.

Good luck and have nice trip.

I heard from a teacher that a certain, very well known, language school based in the centre of town was visited by uniformed and/or plain clothes chaps on Friday last week and removed six teachers from their classrooms for working on Non-B or toursist visas. Is there any truth in this?

Why do you take the straws and bags and other wastful plastic? One of my pet hates is wasted plastic and we all know know how good Thais are at doing it. Not only is it a waste when you throw it away, it causes waste making it in the first place. I'm still looked at as a weirdo for not wanting 15 carrier bags and nine million straws with a bottle of milk to put in my fridge, but I take it on the chin and politley refuse to accept them. I buy my beer at a local shophouse run by a Chinese Thai lady who always, always tries to overdo the bags saying that they'll break and I'll be sorry. We have the same joking argument every time and I just hope that she'll learn one day. After five years I'm able to refuse the straws and extra bags in the local lingo, but I've yet to try and explain that (I'm not a tree hugging lesbian) I care about the environment. There was a huge clampdown in Taiwan last year and Thailand should follow suit.

Good luck and be prepared with "mai aow lord, khrap" and/or "mai aow tung, khrap" (no apologies, I'm neither a Thai teacher nor script translator/scriptologist/linguist nor a person who knows which word I want to wite here!)

They (at the embassy) appear to be interested in things like.. How long you've known each other, how much money you'll have to support her while there (they know the cost of flights), and you both looking respectable when you arrive at the embassy. It sounds daft, but I've seen what appear to be blatant bar girls wearing very little over the shoulders and/or cleavages and some even with tattoos showing! A good idea is a letter from your folks inviting her and saying that they'll put her up and feed her for the duration of her stay. If either of you work here (it appears your wife does) then a letter from her boss saying that there's a job for her to come back to helps. well, it did for us last year.

Good luck and enjoy the weather!

I disagree. Ok, us Brits are the worst yobs, especially after plenty of booze, but after 5 years in this city I feel that it's safe from both pissed idiots and other nationalities. (not including Israleis and Ladybys)

Any capital city's going to have drunken tourists and locals causing problems. I could count on one hand the prblems I've encountered and still have enough fingers to play with myself. I regularly drink in Khao Sarn, Cowboy and Nana so it's not as if I hide in my apartment.

The more time one spends on the road, the greater the chance of having an accident. Bearing this in mind, drive as fast as possible at all times! Crash helmets increase drag and reduce visibilty, avoid using them at all costs!

Girlfriends are there to have a go at us for just looking at some <deleted> who tried to run us off the road or using a horn that Mr. Honda designed to be used in such situations. They never, ever, say anything like, "Good overtaking move, Darling' or 'Nice lane choice' or 'That was a smooth and stress free bend negotiation' etc.

I called Phuket Air and the deal's a 30 day return (+2350B tax) I want to go for two months and that's 28grand. It flies to Gatwick and there appears to be a stop over in Arabland. They don't have wee tvs in the seat backs but it's a decent price if your stay's less than 30 days. Oh, and you have to be back by Sept. 30th. Good luck

Thanks everyone. Sad to say that 'here' is Thailand and it was just something I'd heard 2nd or 3rd hand and wanted to ask. The UK government are a tight bunch of of you-know-whats and, unless I'm an East European or poor Arab that's travelled through Europe to become a refugee in UK and claim a house, job and money, don't hand out nowt to nobody!