dave111223

Thai shows look like they are made with a camcorder anyways, what would be the point of HD?

You never know though i could see UBC offer a HD package...maybe in 10 years

Where did this happen? Who was supervising the kids?

Happened at the woman's apartment building in the playground. Nobody was watching them.

So they were at the appartment building of the women who's son got hurt? And she left them playing in the playground unattended?

If so your friend is foolish for parting with the 40,000. And certainly should not be foolish enough to hand over another 100,000.

One born everyday i guess.

Where did this happen? Who was supervising the kids?

I don't believe that budgeting for a wedding will give you the day that will stay in your thoughts forever . But that's my opinion .

How are you supposed to not budget for a wedding?

Don't bother looking at prices and just wait til you get the bill at the end? And this is your advice?

Its like a Rolls Royce, if you have to ask how much then you can't afford it. You should be wanting to marry through love. Her family will know that and if they understand then rest assured you have no need to worry. But back to financials which appear more inportant to you. Lets assume you would like to give a Dowry of 300,000, the envises by the way is on what you would like to give, plus say photos, party for 300-400 etc. etc then that will only cost you another 200,000 tops. Ignoring any money you get back from wedding gifts, that is only 500,000 baht. Very cheap by Western standards and the kudos gained will last a lifetime. Also and more importantly, by giving a dowry you will have peace of mind that you have helped your new wife's parents which is far more important than considering you are "buying" a wife.

Who are you kidding? Party for 300-400 with "No expense shared" is going to run you alot more than 200,000 baht.

200,000/400 persons is 500 baht a head, and this is your Rolls Royce of weddings?

If you went and booked up a receiption at top class 5 star for 400 people paying no attention to price at all, i'm sure you could hit 1million baht.

I don't believe that budgeting for a wedding will give you the day that will stay in your thoughts forever . But that's my opinion .

How are you supposed to not budget for a wedding?

Don't bother looking at prices and just wait til you get the bill at the end? And this is your advice?

Had my wedding in Rayong, costs for photos, clothes, flowers, morning monk ceremony/food, afternoon western ceremony and reception for 300 at beach resort: about 150,000

I paid dowry of 100,000 covered most of the above costs, then guests brought in around 250,000 baht. In the end i got the dowry back plus about 30,000 (Rest went to "Mum").

I am always a bit shocked to see Farang walking around Thailand with football shirts of their national team.

I'd be more shocked to see a Thai person walking around wearing their national team shirt

Or get a big rubber and rub some stamps out.

Or you may accidently knock your cup of coffee over onto a few pages

I just went away for the weekend with 9 Thais. Every meal they would order a ridiculous amount of food.

I never seem to like the same foods as other Thais (whenever we go away they always seem to eat alot of seafood?), so i generally order my own seperate dish.

They wasted loads of the food they ordered, but my wife has already become accustomed to asking for my dish on a seperate bill, so that we dont end up paying twice for all the other peoples food still sat on the table every time.

Interesting as i thought the normal Thai tradition was cremation, or am i wrong?

No, you are not wrong.

But even in funerals coffins are used. Poor can ask for simple free coffins at the Thai Chinese foundations here, which are financed by donations.

Unclaimed corpses are buried at the grave yards of the foundations, and every 15 or 20 years they are given a collective funeral. And more often than not there are also several unclaimed farang corpses part of those festivals.

Seems a bit of waste to buy a coffin only for it to be cremated without any real cerimony or anyone (who cared) in attendance...

My Option: sometimes people should be a bit more pragmatic...

There are alot better things you could put your money towards

Interesting as i thought the normal Thai tradition was cremation, or am i wrong?

met her in a disco and gave her money for sex.

Need more be said?

I think all people throughout History in all parts of the world would like to believe that they are living in crazy times where so much is changing so fast.

I currently have a Type O 1 year visa for supporting Thai wife on my American passport.

I am also a British citizen, is it possible to get my visa switched onto my British passport (or get the visa in both passports?)

Well lest see, the private busses don’t want to go out because they are targets. So that leaves military busses. Colpyat you are way off base here trying to defend this one, and the incident not only shoots holes in the bus but also your reasoning that this is planned and very strategic. As I said animals.

Excuse me, this is a war going on down there. I don't defend anything. I just want to know why school children were put into such danger in the first place.

It may be so you people can satisfy your anger by venting about something you clearly have no experience about. In a war any military target is legitimate, and unfortunately civilian targets are made legitimate as well.

A military bus driving by is a military target. You cannot expect insurgents having the intelligence network to see that in that particular bus are children and not soldiers. Things happen in split seconds in a war.

Do you think such mistakes are not made by modern armies as well?

There were many incidents (most though not reported because journalists were purposely kept out of combat zones) where for example in the Afghanistan war whole villages were carpet bombed because ground troops mistakingly thought shots fired were by insurgents, yet in reality were fired in wedding celebrations, and called for air support.

What about the carpet bombing in Iraq, and in any other war modern armies are involved? All the time children and other civilians are killed and maimed, because they got into the crossfire, or because they were deemed acceptable collateral damage by whoever makes the strategic decision.

And any escalation of a war, something i have seen you in particular asking for here, is going to have its own share of "collateral damage".

Therefore my question still stands: who made the incompetent decision to place children into a potential military, and therefore legitimate, target?

You've got to be joking right? Do you ever step back and take a look at what you've written?

You rebuke the person who made the decision for the kids to go to the zoo. And sypathize with the guy who shot at the bus?

I'm assuming you are just trolling, and don't actually believe what your spouting.

I think it is a good idea. Even if the kids later reject the religion, atleast they will have gained more knowledge and experience.

I dont consider myself a religious person, but i think it is important that you be exposed to it. And can make informed decisions.

From a pragmatic point of view how are you supposed to successfully interact with other people, most of whom have some kind of religious ideas if you are totally ignorant about religion?

"How will you pay the monthly service charge if you are out of the country?"

Some condos allow you to transfer money from your account to thier's on a given schedule. I prefer to prepay the monthly fee on an annual basis.

Condos in the 30K-40K (1.05M - 1.4M baht) price range may not be accustomed to accepting international money transfers.

I wonder how much tax the Inland Revenue Board will take out of the settlement

How will you pay the monthly service charge if you are out of the country?

You think the office staff will actually go to Western Union to pick it up each month? If you mail it in you know it will just end up in someones pocket, and you'll still own the money.

You'd have to pay up front enough to cover however long you'd be away, and that wouldn't be so cheap anymore.

Around China Town seems to be the hub of gold buying and selling. They have tons of big gold shops that have the buying and selling rate posted (almost like currency exchange).

Aren't the Issaan wives supposed to already showing them the attractions?

easy solution is to switch to chang beer.

cheers.

Exactly. Cheaper and 6.5%

Fully understand where your coming from Garro, been there ,done that, Instance,We bought the house block adjoining our house from an elder sister,only because she was skint of cash.The night before the surveyers came evil sister whose house block adjoins said block moved the posts to steal 2 metres of our purchase and then told all and sundry how she had dudded the farang,we said nothing, did nothing.

Then she had a tractor dig a drain so that the village storm water instead of going into her fish pond /resevoir ran down the side of our access road eroding about 2 metres of the 2metre high road we had put in when we excavated the first fish pond,we said nothing ,I just had a new 150 metres of concrete post and barbed wire fence erected on our boundry with evil sister then we boxed and poured a 60cm wall along the base of the fence,now when the rain comes the water she diverted to give us aggro will instead erode her land, its a bit like chess she dreams up grief and I countermove,

The stormwater is the product of the whole village and I approached the village head re piping the water to the Klong, but she reckons she had already asked the villagers about contributing to that scheme, the reply "not my problem".

Her suggestion " live with it or block the water and make it go someone elses land"

Thats Thai mentality for you.

As for all this talk of "FACE" , that may be the case in middle-class Thailand, but in village life I see no sign of it. But jealusy is the main contributor to village problems.

The majority of village Thais are basically lazy,they harvest their rice ,then lay in their hammocks until next planting season comes, the odd hard working Thai who does two crops a year and doesnt hide his head in a whisky bottle every day is scorned as "stingy".

Sounds like a great place to live...

I've decided to go the superficies route. The Thai wife (GF actually....never married) will grant the superficie on land I purchased in her name of course as foreigners cannot own land in Thailand. I will own the home once it's built and have the right to use it for my natural life; can even will the superficie to someone else (not that I would unless the wifey and I have a problem).

Ironically, I can't imagine really needing this (super wife) but I see no reason to take a chance.

edit: I don't know why anyone would go the 30 year lease route.....except for the fact a lot of lawyers 'push' this to make some extra baht........

But you do require a Thai wife to actually own the land?

How would this work for unmarried forgieners?

Well I had better bring you all up to speed ,I was summoned to the Police station at5.30 pm and just left.

The guy I biffed turned up and demanded 10k compensation +500 bt to cover the 5 stitches he had over his eye, I had already given my version of events when he eventually arrived ,still pissed as a newt.

The policeman sent us outside while he interviewed the guy and after an hour called us back and said the guy would settle for 3k.

I asked the policeman ,what law allows a drunk to come on our property ,pick a blue and want payment when he comes up second best. Mr.P says you should have rung us, I said ,if he hadnt gone for the machete I wouldnt have decked him,Mr P says again you should have rung us,so I gave the argument away at that point

Any way the wife says ok we will pay you but we want damages of 5k for the mess your cows did to the pond walls at which point he says I want to ring my daughter in Bangkok.

Mr P rings her and gives her the gist of things and she tells him 1500bt and call it quits,the wife says ok (she was hungry and wanted out of there.

So what money actually changed hands? Did you end up getting anything for the damages his cow did?