DDBKK

8 hours ago, Neilly said:

Mines well sorted (hence the reason for not messing around with my original motor) and I don't reeeeeeeally need any more power...but I'm addicted to tinkering ...

Same here. Bike is well sorted now but I just fancy some more grunt for the dirt to match the weight of the bike. 

I had the 305cc kit fitted and the reliability dropped right off. A friend had his done at the same time and we both experienced failures at almost exactly the same time. Could have been the mechanic fitting them incorrectly, but highly more likely that the kits are simply not suited to these engines. 

Wouldn't go near another big bore kit for these engines personally. 

I don't recall reading any failures with the stroker kits and I would trust any reputable place like dirtshop in BKK to fit it since it's not exactly a difficult thing to do. I'm just not willing to invest in the tools personally when it can be done for 5K baht. 

Still in two minds whether to mess with it any more or just keep it 250cc....

Ground works have commenced for the yellow line at some of the station locations along Srinakarin Road. 

Should be interesting watching it all go up in the next couple of years.

9 hours ago, Gnasher328 said:

I had my CRF done by a guy called 'The Monkey Father' who is just inside the East ring road and on Face book.

Very reasonable price and has been great since - still rattles like a bastard though!

With the gutted exhaust and CBR throttle it goes and sounds like a real bike;-)

I think we might have a winnnnnnner!

The name definitely rings a bell. Does he offer the all in one service, as in, turn up with the bike and he supplies and fits parts, then hands it back complete?

How many miles have you put on the bike after the stroker kit being fitted?

There are a lot more areas where condos are going up close to the new (currently under construction) pink and yellow lines. 

That's where my money would be going.

Head scratching in abundance at the moment....

Have previously had a big bore takegawa kit fitted to the CRF that was the most unreliable junk ever to grace this earth, however I hear reasonably solid word on the stroker conversion. 

There was, to my memory, a thread either on here or one of the asia riding sites about a thai mechanic in chiang mai who supplied all parts to do the conversion as well as fitting for quite a reasonable sum of baht.

Can I remember who? Not in the slightest! Does any of you knowledgeable folk know what I'm rambling on about and able to point me in the right direction? 

On 02/11/2017 at 8:42 AM, greenchair said:

If your daughter has good grades in a good mid range thai school, do you think it is fair to turn her life upside down and put her in an English school with a very uncertain future. You have been with this family only 3 years, so in the event things went pear shaped, this girl would have to pack up and ship back to thailand. Her Thai education would be impossible to pick back up on and she would end up in a crap vocational school. At 15 that means she will just be finishing Mathayom 3 and prepare to enter Mathayom 4. There are just 3 years left of her high school. Please reconsider and think carefully whether you are in fact going to ruin her final years of high school, in your misguided belief that putting her in an English school will be better education because she will speak English. 

She can enter an English university. but after you take her out of the Thai M1 to m6 system, it is extremely difficult or even impossible to come back. 

Think carefully about what you are about to do! !!!!

That's quite the random tangent you've gone off on there! !!!!

Brighton most likely. Some of the best weather the UK has to offer, good schools a plenty, decent culture/lots going on - and most importantly..... plenty of Asian market food places to ensure morale is kept at an optimum level for the girls....

1 hour ago, steve187 said:

not sure where you get that figure from, but anyway the op works off shore so any money changing will be in his favour.

 

Things are going up everywhere not just the UK. i think the most important thing will be the schooling, and how the daughter settles in.

This in a nutshell!

The pro's at this stage in the game by far outweigh the con's of relocating for the 5 years to get citizenship for my wife and daughter. We have an established base in Bangkok that will be visited each year for at least a month and will remain available for us to move back to if our daughter doesn't settle in the UK.

The only downside with having two places to live is the expense of having to kit them both out with furnishings and white goods, etc but the upside is you get the best that both country has to offer.

Thanks again for all the productive replies folks. much appreciated. 

6 hours ago, pigeonjake said:

70% bloody hell.

I no I'm back in the UK working, but still on a very good day rate 

Ok I'm not at home but I'm earning very good money,

Let's hope things get better for some of you guys 

70% sounds very harsh. That's like being offered pinoy/Indian money. Although a mate was offered exactly that last year but flat out refused. He's now in Kazakhstan on reasonably good money, just the short term contract is his only gripe. 

Have many family and friends in the north sea/Aberdeen region who say things slowly picking up and oil co's in London/South East also starting to sniff. Only a matter of time.....

2 hours ago, 7by7 said:

 If you cannot meet the financial requirement through earned or unearned income, then, yes, you have to do so via cash savings.

 

The income required for an adult and one dependent child is £22,400 p.a.

 

The cash savings required for same is £72,000.

 

Have a read of the financial requirement appendix to see which is the most relevant option for you.

 

You should also read the relevant to you parts of Family visas: apply, extend or switch.

 

However

You say 'our teenage daughter.' Are you the father and named on the birth certificate? Are you British not by descent, i.e. born in the UK or a qualifying territory and at least one of your parents is British? 

 

If so, then even though she was born before July 2006 and you were not married at the time, as you have since legitimised (horrible term!) her birth by marrying her mother then she is now British, so you should get a British passport for her and she will not need a visa to live in the UK, not have to pay the NHS surcharge and not be included in the financial requirement.

 

 Local education authorities have a legal duty to provide a free school place for all children of school age living in their area. Back in February 2001 when my wife and 9 year old step daughter first arrived this was accomplished for her very soon after their arrival; although with the help of an excellent head teacher who took her into the school without, as she put it, 'waiting for the bureaucrats and their red tape!'

 

However, you may have a problem with your daughter's age.

Compulsory schooling ends on the last Friday in June in the school year in which the child reaches the age of 16!  She wont be arriving until the 2018/19 school year, but reaches 16 in the 2017/18 one.

 

So, in addition to the problems mentioned by bobrussell, she may not be eligible for a free school place at all!

 

The above applies to England and Wales; but I understand the situation is more or less the same in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

 

You need to talk to the LEA and schools in the area where you will be living for clarification.

Thanks for this post. Very informative. I'll have a read up on the links posted. 

I trust in your knowledge regarding the funds so that's now put to bed.

When I say "our" daughter I'm inferring biological of which I am not. I've known her since she was 8 and the relationship is now established as such that I am indeed her Dad, although I don't suppose that matters one iota when it comes to the visas. I am a British citizen. 

England is the preference for us to live and you have raised a very interesting point regarding the (potential) age limit cut off at 16.

I think the next logical step is, as mentioned by another poster, for me to contact a few of the schools in the catchment area and see what's what regarding admission.  

Finances aren't an issue. I purely need to understand if it's the most logical route to go down and also to have someone who can comment that has been through the schooling thing before. Hearsay is worthless imo.

Cheers

Hi all!

I have a slightly unique situation (although sure it's been covered many times before) that I would like to try and get some feedback from those in the know please?

Background:

I'm an oil and gas worker on a 28:28 rotation currently residing in Thailand during my time off work but planning on relocating to the UK with my Thai wife of 3 years and our teenage daughter hopefully before schools go back in September 2018 but might be cutting it a bit fine with processing times etc.

My Wife has previously had a spouse visa and 2 prior tourist visas for the UK

Daughter has never visited but has excellent English skills and is a smart kid - don't foresee any issues with her adapting to UK life/school etc - she is now 15 - 16 next June

So the big one first - am I right in understanding that without me being employed within the UK that we are restricted to having to apply for both spouse and dependent visas by possessing the £62,500 for spouse (+ dependent fee) to satisfy the UK immigration rules? 

2nd in line but equally as important for me to gain some clarity on - Is it generally acceptable for Thai kids to start at any time of the school year if there are places available for them at the school(s) of choice? This is a confusing topic for me since it's almost impossible to forecast when, exactly the visas will be issued.  I'll be back in the UK next month and plan on contacting said schools but it's nice to hear first hand info from those who have been through the process so I can go in eyes wide open, so to speak.

Thanks in advance.

Things are indeed picking up in the middle east now. I'm back to Iraq as soon as medical and visa is done. Only a slightly lower rate than when I was axed in July last year. 

Hope the rest of you are back to it soon enough if not already. 

Cheers.

Get the correct visa and no more phuket hassles it appears. 

Alternatively fly in via bkk. Probably not feasible on a rotation like that though. 

Am I the only one who read the headline thinking a drunk farang showing culinary pizzazz in the burger making arena has wowed some local Thais? 

I was hopeful of a video and everything.... 

Still, good on you mate. I reckon I'd prefer flying plastic dog $hit out of hong kong than work a stall during the hot months here but more power to ya!

I've personally known 6 guys to get a start back in the middle east this year. The entire middle east a right off? That's a pretty bold sweeping statement.

Yes agencies post fake ads and also post real ones. It's the way it's always been. Business as usual from that point of view.

However considering there were very few postings in the several months leading up to the end of the year and now several cropping up, I prefer to look at the glass as being half full. These are mostly construction related roles and my position is one of the first in and last out.

A flurry of office based roles in the middle east and Europe have been posted this past week which raised an eyebrow in the positive sense. Still no bites but it's definitely picking up.

OP. If it hasn't been mentioned already, here's what I would do if I was in your shoes. 

Travel the country. 

Spend at least 1 month in each place that ticks the right boxes for you. 

Mountains? Chiang mai/Rai up north. Kanchanaburi area? 

Beach: Pattaya? (Not my style but might be yours), samui?, phuket? Big Koh chang? Hua hin? Thailand has a vast coast line with vastly different places to choose from. 

The big mango (BKK) - it's pretty big and has many, many places on offer so take your time and choose wisely. 

The reason I say 1 month to gauge places is that the rose tints can fade and you realise that the place you initially thought was perfect starts to become a bit boring. It's then, after you've settled down a bit that the hobbies can kick in. 

Good luck whatever you decide and enjoy your retirement! 

On 24/12/2016 at 9:08 PM, bannork said:

If it wasn't a hoax it damn well should have been. What's the point of spending a fortune to go to a place with nothing but rock and dust?

Yes satellites are great for giving us views and forecasts of the geographical and meteorological situations on earth but there was really no need to go all that way just to say to the Russians ' ya boo sucks'.

By believing it's a hoax Thai people are giving the Yanks the benefit of the doubt. They know they weren't that stupid to really go all the way there  just to plant a flag.

Very good.genuine lol at that. 

Chuckles78 has a very valid point. 

Regarding the UK schools, they vary massively on quality of teachings from place to place. Paying for education in the UK is much like Thailand in that the parent expects the child to receive a greater level of education, to achieve in life at a higher level and be schooled with other well to do kids/families which should serve them well later in life. 

The quality of schooling in Thailand has such a broad spectrum it's pretty ignorant to suggest that ALL institutions in Thailand are Piss poor and conversely, kind of shines the light on the quality of the education the person making such a broad stroke statement has received themselves.... 

Myself? I suppose I was one of the luckier ones with only being laid off since begging of July this year. 

I was on 28/28 out of the middle east. To give my boss his dues he did try and get the top tier management to save my role but it was a no go so off I went. Commencing a distance learning masters degree in Jan 2017 to hopefully move up the ranks quicker when things get back to normal and keep myself out of mischief in BKK. 

This is my first downturn experience and although every one is different I'm hopeful of this recent OPEC/NON OPEC agreement to cut production. 

So I guess I'm asking 2 questions..... 

1. How are you getting on yourself? 

2. Do you expect 2017 to be the year the bulk of us out of work will return to the patch if oil remains steady around $50-$60?

Here's to a prosperous New Year! 

Cheers

31 minutes ago, dick dasterdly said:

Frequently, but not always.

 

Earlier I posted a few examples of the great kindness shown by complete strangers, but I also have the odd example of people that know me - that have had no compunction in 'stealing' from me, in the sense of not paying back money.

Are you talking about farang or thai? I've experienced it with one farang and that marked 2 things. 1 - the end of the friendship. Cheap price to pay IMO. 2 - ill never loan again to anyone outside my immediate family, who are hard working middle class Thais. Should they ever need it.

I've known extended thai family members to take the Piss with borrowing from my thai sister-in-law because she's jai dii. Some paid the money back, others didn't. But the one who didn't are no longer close to the family or business practices. 

Fool me once etc etc

16 minutes ago, transam said:

If Thai folk "read" you are OK you will not have a problem and they will do stuff....Many years here have shown me that...

I think this sums it up perfectly. I've always thought they had good intuitions even without speaking the same language. You show respect here and its generally paid back in spades. 

On 19/12/2016 at 0:16 PM, ezzra said:

But still they strongly believe in ghosts, Mo-doo and anything superstitious so much so that they run their lives according

to all those beliefs,

and than they all ask why young Thai kids lagging behind the rest of the world in education....

 

I'm struggling to understand the connection between being superstitious and suffering from being born into a country that only the privileged with some cash to spend on the kids education have to do with each other. 

Don't the majority of western schools have quite a strong belief in, eh..... a man in the sky watching over your every move? I know mine did and it wasn't staunch Catholic by any means, but the faith was present in assembles.

Now if you were to carpet bomb all religions as a way of saying that they repress critical analysis I'd agree. But your statement mostly sounds it derives from ignorance. Sorry to say.

11 minutes ago, diehard71 said:

I AM THE ONE THAT HAS HOSPITALITY AND I AM NOT THAI,I HAVE THAI FRIENDS AND NEIGHBOURS AT MY PLACE EVERY NIGHT EATING AND DRINKING FREE OF CHARGE,NOT DRINKING WATER BUT BEER AND WHISKY .BEEN GOING ON FOR OVER 40 YEARS ,AND NO I DO NOT HAVE A GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR ATTITUDE.BY THE WAY NONE OF THEM EVER INVITED ME OVER TO THEIR PLACE.

OK MATE. SOUNDS LIKE YOU ENJOY GETTING TAKEN FOR A RIDE BUT NO NEED TO SHOUT AT US, EH?