bfc1980

I used to suffer the same problems in Bangkok. The only solution was to buy my own car and drive. Now I don't have to suffer smelly drivers, waiting in taxi queues and crazy off meter quotes. Now I can be stuck in traffic with the air con set at the temperature I want, listening to the music I want and relaxed knowing that my kids are strapped safely into their car/booster seats instead of being at the mercy of our maniac taxi driver weaving in and out of traffic. 

3 hours ago, Proboscis said:

Lets get this straight - you think that the boy should be expelled simply because he was once caught vaping? A very medieval form of justice, don't you think?

No of course not. For getting caught doing something illegal once, he should be excluded (which he was). For getting caught again he should be permanently excluded. Which he is. What the boy now needs to do learn from his mistakes and not vape at his next school. It's the parent's job to make sure this happens. 

If the school excluded him again for a couple of weeks, would he learn? Since he didn't the first time, I doubt he would the second time. They have to come down hard on people who carry out illegal activities on school grounds so that others don't think they can get away with it. I'm sure it's difficult pill to swallow as as his parent but IMO the best thing you can do accept the school's decision, let him face the music and learn from this experience. Fighting the school will not help him to learn. 

As for the witnesses who said he wasn't doing it. Are these the same kids who were vaping (his mates)? Kudos to them for denying his involvement, but can their word really be trusted? When faced with a mate getting kicked out school for a 2nd time offence, friends will lie to save that person. 

On 4/5/2019 at 8:02 PM, observer90210 said:

Not drunk ? Thai cop in the early hours of the morning who has a vehicle accident ?...okay, sure, of course....????.

 

Anyhow, good for the driver that he made it out with only minor injuries.

Are you kidding me? How is this good that he only had minor injuries? All it does is allow him to think that his amulets work and therefore can drive drunk and recklessly whenever he wants without being harmed. How long until this moron kills somebody? I'm sorry but he should have either died or had life changing injuries so severe that either he can no longer drive or thinks more carefully about the way he drives. 

8 hours ago, newatthis said:

What they fear most is intelligent people calling for change.

There was a regime not too long ago in a country not too far away that feared intelligent people. I hope this country learns from the horrors of the past. 

My daughter was born in Bangkok and we registered her with 2 middle names without any problem. I think you need to stand your ground and insist on it. 

Thanks for the replies. As an update, a few days after I wrote the post, her abdomen swelled up massives and has been diagnosed with bacterial peritonitis (probably caught from when she was spayed a week before we got her). She's been on antibiotics since then and it keeps coming back. We initially thought it could be FIP so there's huge relief that it isn't. We just need the infection to clear which is taking a very long time.

I took her for an ultrasound over the weekend at Rama 9 animal hospital to find out the extent of the fluid inside her and fortunately her organs are all ok. All in all since we got her, we've spent around 10,000 baht in vets bills. But she's well worth it. Plus, if this were in the UK, those vets bills (xray, ultrasound, drugs, fluid aspiration x2, blood tests x 2, bacterial culture and consultation fees) would be in excess of 50,000 baht.

9 minutes ago, alex8912 said:

But every once in awhile you CLEARLY hear your name mentioned lol. 

They probably wouldn't even do you the decency of referring to you by name. You'd hear the word 'falang' in every other sentence. Know they're talking about you because nobody talks about guava that much.

Hi, my cat just ate a gecko and after reading online (mainly US websites), geckos carry a parasite (liver flukes) that is potentially fatal to cats. Is this also true for Thai geckos? It's our first pet here and only had her a week so are pretty new all things Pet related. 

On 10/21/2018 at 12:57 PM, Esso49 said:

You mention children.   How old are they, where were they born and where and whom are they living with now ?

They are 9 and 4. Youngest was born in Thailand the eldest in the UK. We are all still living together at the moment. 

Ok thanks for your informative answer. The marriage was never registered here as I guess there was no need when we first arrived. There's no chance of her wanting to register it here now since the courts in her home country would be much more favourable to her in terms of custody arrangements and payments.

Thanks again

It's possible my wife and I will break up soon and look to divorce. We both live and work in Thailand and have done for at least 5 years. We were married in her home EU country and I am from a different EU country. Is it possible to get divorced here or must it be done in the EU?

Also, if a divorce happens here, would it also include the issue of custody arrangements and payments to help support the children (she is on a very good salary circa 100,000 a month plus benefits, as am I) monthly essential household bills are no more than 55,000 a month so she could easily support herself without too much financial support from myself. 

So is it possible to get divorced here? How expensive would it be as she will probably contest it here for reason that I don't want to say here. 

Thanks 

There are also lots of store promotions on redeeming points. 1000 points for 100 baht discount etc.

I've had a platinum card for 5 years and in that time never bothered looking at or redeeming points. A few months ago I was on the hunt for a new TV and Homepro had the same offer on. When I checked the points, I had over 100,000. So after store discounts and points discount, I ended up getting a 20,000 baht 4K TV for 8,000 baht. 

Also, were you offered 'the Passion' credit card sometime last year? They have bonus points that you can accrue for things like overseas purchases and give 2 points instead of 1 for Thailand purchases. You can also get 50% discounts at lots of golf courses around Bangkok. I've not taken advantage of these yet though.

My wife has flown back to Europe with both our children a few times. Here are a few things that made it easier providing money isn't too much of an issue:

Book with a middle East airline to break the journey up. 

At that age book a seat for the child. Some airlines (Qatar for sure) can provide a CRD (child restraint device) that attaches to the seat and securely straps your child in. You will need to visit the airline office in Bangkok to organise that. They probably won't know what you're talking about but persevere. A few days before flying, give the airline a call to remind them and do the same when you check in.

1st leg should be flown in the afternoon so that it is the child's natural bedtime by the time you land. 

Have a long stopover (around 12 to 15 hours) and book a room at the airport hotel. This is quite expensive at least 6,000 baht. Dubai Airport Hotel is much more expensive than Doha. This should give you plenty of time to have a good night's rest, get breakfast and have a little play in the kids area/browse the duty free. 

2nd leg should be morning/midday time in the middle east and you'll be nice and refreshed after your sleep By the time you land in Europe, it's early afternoon and almost bedtime for little one. 

Don't worry about it. In a few months she'll never recognise you. After all, as I was once told, all falangs look the same to Thai people.

Quick update. We didn't hear a peep from her after that. I think she knew the score and was just trying scare us into submission. We were fortunate enough to find a new nanny a few days later who incidentally was also from Burma and had the same name. She was absolutely awesome though. Our kids adored her but unfortunately we had to let her go in June as my mum in law has come out to live here for a year. Both children have very fond memories of her and still talk about her. I still have her number so if anyone is looking for a reliable and fantastic nanny, I'll pass on your details.

I'm going on a golf weekend soon with the lads and we'll be stopping at the resort (Evergreen Hills) but in the evening we'd like to venture out to some bars. Are there any close by? From google maps, the course seems to be in the middle of nowhere but I'm hoping there might be some smaller towns close by that have a few bars we can visit. Anything with live music would be good.

So what's out there?

I'm going on a golf weekend soon with the lads and we'll be stopping at the resort (Evergreen Hills) but in the evening we'd like to venture out to some bars. A

5 hours ago, Phuket Man said:

He can if she has an extension from Immigration. (Not a Visa)

You can do it without her having an extension of stay from immigration. When she goes to the embassy to get her visa, you can apply for your visa at the same time. Then once in the country you go to immigration to get your extension of stay. I did it this way for my wife and kids (non immigrant o's) when I first came here. More recently we have got new visas from the embassy in our home country and also got o visas for the kids and one for my wife's mum as her dependents. 

Not one person got out of their car to see if she was ok or to help her. It was a clear 10 seconds until the first car door opened. And that was from the car in front. Then the passenger door of the car in front opened. Another example of the me, me, me attitude so many people have.

In the past I've called the KBank call centre from Europe (via skype) when needing an OTP. They gave me a password via email that was valid for 24 hours. Of course it would be much easier if my sim card was activated for int roaming. I'll have to get this done for next time.

13 minutes ago, trainman34014 said:

Later in the day took wife's Auntie out to lunch with us and she did not want to wear a belt as 'she never does' in her own car.  I insisted that she put it on and she moaned the whole way in both directions because...  ''it's uncomfortable''.

Next time she's in the car with you, I recommend performing an emergency stop. If she doesn't put her belt on, then keep repeating the procedure until she gets the message. Or until she breaks her nose on the seat in front.