dao16

On 11/14/2021 at 12:15 PM, mommysboy said:

Yes, at worst I'm worried the money is gone. Hopefully, it will just turn up again, but I guess ultimately there's not much I can do.

 

Needless to say I'll channel further payments through my UK Paypal account.

 

 

Well, mine came in on Monday (sorry, haven't read down the thread to see if yours did), so it was basically 4 days later than usual plus the weekend. So, it's still working, but it might have been delayed because of this stuff. Not sure.

4 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

We should have a payment today into PP usually around 5pm Thai time, from USA we have also had recently with no problems then transfer to a Thai bank 

But then how long to the bank? My thing is that it usually takes 3 working days, so the day I withdraw and 2 more days. Not really had any problems, but today is day 5, and there are no holidays, no hold, no "pending," nothing. Just, it's not there, so I checked the Interwebs and heard about this upcoming change. 

1 hour ago, mommysboy said:

Not so funnily enough, I'm waiting on a late transfer from my PP account in to my Thai bank account.  I hope they are not going to do the dirty in Thailand!

Yeah, I had no idea about this until today. I didn't receive any emails about it (went back and checked, although I am sure I would have noticed such an email). The withdrawal I requested would normally have been here on Thursday, but now it's Saturday, and I am wondering what's going on. I mean, I can just use Wise, but I was not prepared for this, so the withdrawal is already "completed" but not appearing in the bank. Ugh.

I never heard of it being a requirement. My wife changed her name to mine about 10 years ago and it was just something we did for international travel. It took a few minutes at the Ampeu while we registered our marriage.

Benefits--If she makes a passport, it will be with your name, and other governments will recognize you more easily as a couple. Good for visas and getting into places that look on Thais as being suspect.

Drawbacks--Thais will immediately know that your wife is a "mia falang" and the crappy ones might try to take advantage, ie charge more for something.

Anyway, it has been a net gain for us and we haven't really had any negatives come from it.

Good luck.

Add-on edit: Your wife will always be able to prove her maiden name with her Tabien Bahn, so that isn't a problem either (or, at least, it hasn't been for us thus far).

One thing about Mexico and Mexicans. They are unapologetic about defending their interests and advancing their nation's and its citizens' wellbeing.

It seems that he was trying to board a plane to the US. The "additional screening" would most likely have involved US Homeland Security (have been through it before...you get through regular security and US agents work in a special area you pass through before you board US bound planes).

I would assume he stayed in Mexico...so, not following your line of logic.

Well, if these teachers can speak English well enough to pass to the kids, it isn't that bad of a strategy. I know a few Thais who speak well enough to pull it off, but none of them are English teachers.

Well, if my daughter went off with a significantly older man, I would not be thrilled about it and it would mostly indicate to me that I failed to educate her enough so she could support herself and not depend on others in her adult life.

If, on the other hand, she did have the options (decent job, stable income) I would like her to and she chose to be with someone older (even significantly older) it wouldn't bother me so much. In the end, if it is her choice not made out of desperation, it is ok....it's her life after all.

I don't remember what documentary I saw about people in Europe and North America with dolls like this. If I remember right, it was infertile or bereaved people who took the doll thing to the extreme. Of course, they didn't do spiritual rituals or anything, but it was still creepy. There are a few documentaries about it online, but this one looks pretty typical (can't remember which one I found first):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Stf7Z6A2M4

I think this would be an issue for women in the West, but in Thailand it is even more severe. Any extended contact with a member of the opposite sex can be seen as infidelity, especially if you have history with them.

While I understand your thinking, I doubt you'll be successful in trying to change her mind on this one.

Your "friend" is either up to no good, going slowly insane, or just a cheapskate sitting in a place for ages using the internet and not purchasing enough in the owner's opinion.

I have brought my laptop with me all over Thailand to all kinds of places and never had any problems. I still do. And I see people on their laptops at restaurant and bars all the time. That's why they put their wifi passwords up on the walls, etc.

Don't know what is going on with this post, but it seems weird.

I was there in the 90s. Has its share of muslims but majority are non-radical (non-strict) as they combine it with animism and hokus pokus...

ps. (edit): of course i don't know how BF is doing these (troubled) days. I was in Mali too and that was a great place once (peaceful) and has changed too unfortunately.

Yeah, when I was in West Africa in the early 2000's, Burkina Faso and especially Mali were the most popular destinations for holidays for expats. Too bad they have devolved in this last decade and a half.

By the looks of it, this clears up any ambiguity of whether people overstaying less than 90 days would be prosecuted--as long as said people turn themselves in. Still wondering what would happen to someone who overstays a week and happens to get caught.

I was at the immigration office the day after this came out (some time last week...don't remember the day) and I asked the officer about what would happen if, say, there was a natural disaster or border closings that caused me to be late by a day or two.

She said it wouldn't be a problem and that you still jut pay the 500 per day, but if you start approaching a 7 day overstay, thing are going to get hairy.

Anyway, that was the info from 1 (high-ranking) immigration official in Isaan.

It takes a while to do the upgrade, but it is worth it, in my opinion. The system seems much more intuitive and easier to use. Unless you have some crazy compelling reason, you should just upgrade.

One of the big problems with this solution is that "teacher training" here isn't really what one would expect. As others have said, they will sit there and chat among themselves, look at things on facebook and zone out. Believe me. I have been to them and also facilitated them. They go away learning very little and getting a certificate and everybody is happy.

Maybe the British Council (of which I have a very good impression from knowing staff members and teachers there) can pull this off, but I think the institutional and cultural norms will be pretty hard to put aside.

He knows no Thai will interfere....Thats the way it is...... .....He is lucky that______________

Well, I had a situation about 10 years ago where a guy came into a shop, grabbed his wife by the hair and dragged her out of the shop (by her hair still!). I got up and was going to tell him to calm down (as he was beginning to kick her in the ribs) and I was told by male and female Thais to sit down and let them sort it out.

Not saying that is right, but that's how it was seen. Once the severe beating was over (not too long and nothing to the head, although a lot of hair was lost and the woman got in some blows with a wooden board, too) the people said "She didn't do her work on the rice today and was drinking instead, so she had it coming."

I wouldn't beat my wife or daughter ever....but I have seen stuff similar to this, although the shot to the head was really intense.

Well, it's one thing to let your 15-year-old have a sip of some alcohol. (Usually, they go "ew...how disgusting!) It's another to pour it down a 5 year-old's neck.

One would expect bouncers employed by an entertainment establishment to act professionally and use minimal force (if any), even when under provocation, to evict any unruly patrons.

Obviously this was not the case here, where the bouncers' lack of anger management skills and thug temperament got the better of them. Very unprofessional and should be sacked.

The only thing about this is that I have seen bouncers do much more than this to Thais. Once you cross a certain line (not saying the foreigners in the video did or not), they will pretty much go nuts on you. Have seen people kicked in the head multiple times as they were being dragged by the feet out of a club. Stairs? No problem Their heads just bounced on the concrete on the way up and down.

So, these guys may be out of line, but it is certainly not so uncommon here.

I agree that you pretty much need some kind of shared interest to really make friends here. I have made friends through football and muay thai. It's easy to sit down, have a few drinks and watch a match and then use that as a foundation to later talk about other things.

Most guys I meet here, though, don't really have much of a conception of the outside world (even outside the province) so we don't have much to talk about. The 3 male friends I have are able to maintain conversations about current events and whatnot (in Thai) so we get along.

Well, unfortunately, there are plenty of these scumbags to go around all over the world. Sure, US law enforcement spotted it in this case, but it's good that the Thai police acted on it. It could happen (and has happened) the other way around.

With the recent cases in the news, I know that very few of us are keen on how the law enforcement in this country works at times, but this case is good (despite the fact that it took way too long to detect, but hey, just look up Sandusky or the Jared guy from Subway Sandwiches to see how these guys get away with all this crap for years, even in the west).

I would ask someone near them and see where and when the service will be. As other posters have said, you can just go one time. Go in, wai everybody, get some food if they are serving it, and sort of see what people are doing. Usually, there are envelopes to put money in and then someone (maybe you, maybe not) will present them to the monks. Maybe light some incense if you feel inspired (people just light it and pray for/think about the departed and then put it with the rest of the incense sticks). Either way, like everyone said, a few hundred baht will be appreciated and then you can say your goodbyes and take off.

If you know the person really well, it gets much more involved.

Drive?

Plane?

I am thinking bicycle - 2 months should be enough, plus a detour into Bangladesh for a week ( best kept cycling secret for those in the know)

Myanmar - Visa needed

Bangladesh- Visa needed

India - Visa needed

Now, what other countries between India and ol Blighty? Which route?

That's the first thing that passed my mind, too....I wonder if it would be a nice route by bike. I have been wanting to do this route for YEARS. Also, I wonder what the permit situation is like in the northeastern states of India. Used to be you had to have special transit permits on top of your visa just to go through them.

This is great timing for me, too....you reckon 2 months? I seriously have some research to do! Butterflies in my stomach.

it is sure he is muslum and this is relate to a terrorist attack.

Great work associating a bomb with an act of terror! And how do you know he is Muslim?

Why also is this article still throwing around words like Arab? didn't we get told to stop reading International news on account of misinformation?

He doesn't look at all like an Arab.

Well, sort of by definition he wouldn't be an Arab, would he (assuming he actually is Turkish). Being Turkish would make him a Turk, or Turkic. Possibly some other unrelated ethnic group. Anyway....people need to calm the bleep down until more information is available.

You'll find most local governments have programs for adults on the weekends. My wife and some of her friends went there to learn Cambodian and Chinese...more for a laugh than anything. That said, if they complete the whole course (assuming they actually study) they will learn and then get a certificate. Not being able to read Thai is a hardcore case for a 35-year-old, so she has her work cut out for her. Ask around about the government weekend programs. The one my wife attended was free, so I assume most of them are. Not sure, though.

What gets me is the insane amount of time they already spend on "activities" during the day. Classes are easily and frequently cancelled so the kids can do some sort of extra thing related to anything under the sun unrelated to learning. This really just codifies it, I guess.

Tell her to go to a lawyer. If she has a good case, they will take it on for "free" at first and then just take their fees out of the win.