DDBKK

I'll be on a flight end of the year before Xmas for 6 weeks with Mrs and daughter. Direct flights with BA already booked. Got some quotes for insurance for all three of us. 15 months insurance that covers Covid = £150. Cheap enough. 

12 hours ago, chrisinth said:

OK, great thread Neeranam, shows how many people don't understand the serious nature of it. But for those of you that don't understand the questions in the OP, listen to the lyrics of the below song by Tom MacDonald below (not necessarily watch the video but listen to what he is saying).

 

Before May 1st 1999 (last drink of alcohol for me, just happy I made it that far!), I could have related to about 90% of what he describes during my drinking years at one time or another. Not the reason I stopped, but just listening to the words make me reflect on what I must have appeared like at those times of hanging one on.

 

 

The self righteousness is outstanding. I would say a fare few on this thread know PRECISELY how serious alcoholism is and how utterly retarded the OP's questionnaire is - hence the pi$$ taking. 

If anything, it is the OP who has made a mockery of true alcoholism and the serious nature of it. 

Oh and by the way, I wont personally play a youtube video of any person that was bright enough to get a tatt on their face. I suggest you associate your own addictions with more worthy head figures. It doesn't paint your post in the best of light.

13 hours ago, Nanaplaza666 said:

I havn't read any of it , but i geuss nobody will answer with yes because a real alcoholic is always in denial . 

Damned if you do.....

And therein lies the rub. 

Give yourself up to higher power! Come join us, we are the wise, you are the blind. 

Load of ol $hite

It amazes me that anyone who is not a Thai national would ever contemplate that the Thai government (of all the worldwide govs out there.....) would give a flying <deleted> about them or their personal situation. It's Thailand <deleted>. They barely give two <deleted> about the Thais. ????

Everyone has the choice to obtain residency should they so wish. It's not easy, granted, but the option is there.

If I was stuck in a situation where I was forced to be separated from my mrs (which I have previously been) I would use this as a lesson to make plans and implement them in due course in order to improve my future situation so YOU have the advantage. 

This may ultimately mean moving your mrs and family to your home land so they can obtain a passport in due course (not to mention far superior public funded eduction and opportunity) and you can use the security of your home country should such as situation occur in the future by way of pre-emting the lock down. 

If you've got a bit of cash, which I suspect most do on this forum, it's really that simple. 

Have they "downed tools" due to the Covid chaos or trooping on thai style?

6 hours ago, Pilotman said:

They hardly ever visit and when they do, don't use aircon.  Not sure what your experiences have been like, bad by the sound of it. 

Funny because it's always my mrs and daughter who complain that I use the ac too much and have it on too low a temp ????

Sukhumvit road in samut prakan isnt toooo bad I suppose. Much more chilled out than in Bkk. You're probably looking at Samrong all the way along to Suvarnabhumi khlong. The khlong is one big fecker so you could loop that badboy for a couple of hours. There are also a few nice small sois that lead off from the khlong that you can spend time exploring but you can get some mad thais in pick ups blazing along the khlong so keep left. 

I regularly ride that route on my dual sport bike and don't have any issues but for the love of god DO NOT ride a push bike in thailand in a similar way to a western country. The thais for the most part give not a flying <deleted> about push bike rights on the road. You're up against it on a 250 dual sport bike a lot of the times in BKK traffic. 

Seriously, take care unless you enjoy visiting the hospital.  

Edit to add a second shout for the BKK lung as impulse suggested. That's a great option for push bikes.

I would be doing the exploring thing first and foremost. There are some nice condos all along the river on the east side that have some pretty good connections to either water taxis or BTS or both. 

The charoen krung road has some interesting stuff going on and you are actually contemplating moving to the city at one of it's most expansive times in terms of public transport network. So if you choose something central for the first 12 months and get bored with the hussle you will soon have a ridiculous amount of options for places further out that are much cheaper and a lot more thai-centric as opposed to farang ghetto style of lower Sukhumvit. 

I've tried both and I prefer being in amoungst the thais for the most part but I also ride a bike that sees me escaping the city so I also prefer to live a bit futher out so I can hit the bangna-trat road quickly without sitting in downtown traffic. 

As others have mentioned, hobbies should play a big part in factoring in where you decide to live and play.

On 1/29/2020 at 11:50 PM, madmen said:

According to countless idiot posters the. "elite" whoever the <deleted> they are. Are controlling the banks and propping the currency because they are not finished buying Rolex watches and Prada hand bags....he is going to hear it within 5 minutes of sitting in a bar anyway 

Aha but there is value in that. As soon as you hear it you know the type of person you are dealing with immediately and need to make your excuses and find another spot. 

It's similar to asking an interview candidate what they think really happened on 9/11. The answer dictates whether you offer them the job, or not.

Creating a new thread that delves into food and places of interest along the new lines would be a great idea imo. The wealth of info it could generate would be very impressive and well recieved by those of us who like to explore BKK.

Anyway bacl to the OP. I have to say I'm quite surprised by how much progress continues to be made. Who knows, maybe the new lines will actually open as planned on time.

I have a decent 24 hour joint that has the football on late at night and does a mean pad krapow moo kai dow but it aint no downtown establishment. 

Suk is going through a strange transition period at the moment and I cant help agree with the poster who moved to Pattaya. The scene around soi4 on suk itself its deinitely a shadow of it's former self and it's quite sad really. It's never going to be singapore no matter how much the junta try to make it. The appeal WAS the haphazzrd market on the sidewalk interlaced with pop up bars playing music with fairy lights around them.

I did a walk around the area a few weeks back on a Sunday night till late. Bars pretty full on soi 4 but outside it just felt like the place has been given the kiss of death. Very sad indeed. 

OP you're probably best to head to KSR area. Plenty of 24 hour bars there. You just need to find one with a TV.

Really? Because your own op comes across as polite and respectful does it? 

And not using LinkedIn due to privacy concerns..... best of luck. You’re going to need it. 

Get on LinkedIn and network.

Doubtful you’ll get much of a response by way of contacts here. 

3 hours ago, Nickthegreek said:

Thanks so much for input, this is more and more of what I am hearing and it makes me feel that it is indeed the right decision.. Bank I still have with credit history and accommodation sorted for now.. Incidentally I have been told that the visa from application, using ab agent will the around a month, what was your experience. 

Thanks 

Personally I wouldn't bother with an agent. I did the application myself but I suppose it depends how confident you are with it all. 

I think the entire process lasted approx 8 weeks from time of submitting the application to collecting the visas. That's a nail biting moment! But at least they have a pub inside the building you can wait in to calm the nerves. 

10 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Assuming you can pay the 'foreign student' fees they are charged if they didn't attend five years of high school in the UK.

My daughter has walked into college all fees paid. She will study at this instiution for as long as it takes to obtain the qualificaitons to be accepted into uni which is GCSE English and Maths as well as the main courses themselves. 

Reading up on univeristy fee categorising, it isn't as clear cut as you put it. Liverpool uni has a 3 year criteria of residing in the UK for example. Scotland different again. 

There are many ways you can plan out a childs education and the UK is one of the most accomodating and forgiving countries in world when it comes to being accepted onto courses if you demonstrate A. Abilitiy and B. Willingness to achieve at any age. 

OP - Go for it. I moved my mrs and (step) daughter over in May this year. Best thing we've done as a family unit to date.

If the child is showing signs that they have the aptitude for university then it is absolutely necessary to provide them with the best possible opportunities for their future and a UK university degree (if chosen well) will provide that opportunity. 

If you have no rental history you can bang down 6 months up front and a deposit. It's as easy as that. 

If your daughter is anything like mine she will love the experience. She hasn't looked back so far. Both my mrs and daughter are working part time jobs and integrated nicely into the local community. A lot more than myself in fact due to me working away. 

We too kept on the condo in BKK which is a smart move imo. Gives you a place to go back to and the mrs some security knowing there is a property back home if needs be.

There are some frustrations but everyone is different and mine may not be the same as yours. 

For the most part costs are pretty much the same when averaged out. Seafood, meals out and property are the stand out expensive ticket items. Everything else is either roughly the same or cheaper in the UK.

That's the sad fact now although it does make the transition that bit easier to stomach when you pick up 3 large singha from tesco for £5 and realise that's almost bang on 7/11 price. 

Immigration, NHS and job centre were all very welcoming of the girls and couldn’t have been nicer which came as bit of a shock for me. Banks are a bit of a pain in the <deleted> but easy enough to sort once you’ve got a utility bill and national insurance number.

Goodluck!

Good luck finding anything worthwhile at 10K-20K.....

Some great updates as always Lakegeneve

Keep them coming.

On 8/7/2019 at 6:22 AM, JonnyF said:

I know a few guys in Pattaya that will go to the trails in Chonburi at the weekend, maybe do 3-4 hours proper off roading and then back to their Moo Bahn. They might do that once or twice a month. This bike would be a decent option for them, they could ride the bike there and back instead of loading it onto the truck, unloading it, getting changed, leaving the truck somewhere etc. Easier and more fun just to ride the bike the 50kms or so to the trail. 

 

They might do a few hundred kms a month for 8 months of the year so the service intervals aren't a huge issue so it does kind of make sense to a small market. Again, that's IF (and that's a big if) it's not the normal Honda Thailand low spec, lowered, restricted crap that they normally give us.

 

300K does seem pretty cheap though. I was expecting more than that, maybe the savings from the strong Baht are actually being passed on to the consumer?

 

 

If it's the higher powered bike that's sold and coming in at 300K I will definitely wait for them to hit the 2nd hand market and pick one up. 

My type of riding is almost exactly as you describe. It will be the perfect machine for it.

9 year thread bump. That's impressive! 

It's not a straight forward question from my own limited knowledge, however let me give you my own situation going back several years, albeit as an employee as opposed to contractor. 

I sponsored my wife when I resided in France because I was still technically a UK tax paying resident. I just happened to reside in France for work but would regularly return to the UK for a weekend to see friends and family. 

I suspect this would be a good question for a reputable firm to answer. The last thing you would want is for your mrs to be rejected for residency after 5 long years.