Zonka

I submitted my passport to Trendy On 3rd of July and picked it up on Friday 25 July! So they CAN get their finger out when required. 22 days is not bad in this current situation.

Bed Breakfast Club, a new hotel.

Are you joking? or is that for real?

Who is the owner? expat or Thai?

More than 800 foreign media members and tour agencies have been invited to help publicize the event to the world which will hopefully revive travelers’ confidence about visiting Thailand as a result.

A 2 day 'flea market' on the street will not, I fear revive travelers confidence in Thailand. And if the you tube broadcast comes complete with the standard musical sounds at the end of every sentence, it will probably deter more people from coming!

I see Bed Supper Club has been torn down. Anyone know what is going to replace it?

Does anyone know of a good dry cleaners in Bangkok (Sukhumvit/Silom area preferred) That can put permanent creases in trousers?

The most stupid thing to confuse the kids is that one person speaks more than 1 language...

Each person should always speak the same language.

The most stupid thing to confuse the kids is that one person speaks more than 1 language...

Each person should always speak the same language.

Care to elaborate on that?

OP, as long as they don't call you, Bak Farang, you are all right.

There have been many threads about this and the majority consensus is that farang is not an insulting word.

They have been using the word for ages and they will carry on using it, with no offence intended.

So, get used to it and don't get upset.

Don't agree.

1. The N work and the shortened word to describe someone from pakistan was used for ages not to mention, another word meaning incline being used for Asians. Now it is not acceptable or politically correct. Thailand has to drag itself into the modern era to realise what was acceptable before is not now!

2. In certain ways it can be used to insult.

I personally (as I have said before) have no problem with a taxi driver talking on the phone to his wife saying he is taking a farang to the airport. I do have a problem when I arrive at a customers office, present my business card and tell the receptionist that "I am Mr. xxxxxxx and I have an appointment with Khun xxxx" Only for the receptionist to phone Khun xxxxx and say "there is a Farang here to see you" <deleted> rude in my book!

Good on him. Under 18's shouldnt be out on the streets after 10pm

By the way, I am married to a Thai. Did not pay any sinsod. My wife;s father died when she was very young, she has no sisters/brothers. Her mother is a very nice woman and a great grandmother to our daughter, and she NEVER asks me/us for money. In fact she spends too much on our daughter.

There are good ones out there and there are greedy ones out there. Just depends which of your 2 'brains' your using when you choose i suppose.

You've made a fatal error. Would've been better to ask for return of half of the dowry. What you did is show them you have little respect for their customs and zilch for them as parents who spent half a lifetime preparing the woman you chose as wife. Doesn't say much for you either, but, hey, that's the western minset set in proverbial rebellion and water tight self-righteousness. Good luck. You're gonna need it later, especually in a coutry you just insulted.

Although I am a relative newcomer to Thai ways, I totally agree.

Not sure if it's legit to mention here, but a recent StickmanWeeklyColumn compiled advice from nine successful 10-year+ expats. One of them cautioned that if we seriously want to do well here then we should take careful note of the concept of Kreng Jai, something that's almost hard wired into most Thais. When practiced - at home, at work, wherever - it basically means don't do anything to disrupt someone else's happiness, and explains why Thais will think nothing of getting out of potentially confronting situations via white lies, for example. Been there, seen that in action already.

Another poster here who refused to pay sinsot for his now ex-wife was shut out by his mother-in-law for 3 years, why, because he upset her happiness - and her bank a/c.

A blindsided farang - most of us initially? - might broach the subject this way: Yes darling, I will try to make you and your family happy, but...

Yoda wisely said: "Do or don't do, there is no try."

What a load of bull crap! Omar Zaid MD: It is a way outdated custom and as usual the price skyrockets for a Westerner. When was the last time a rural village guy paid up to 1 million for his thai bride? Also no respect for them as parents? half a lifetime preparing her for what? I think you may be confusing buddhist/muslim customs. Muslim customs prepare women for a life of servitude to the husband they pick for them/Thai customs 1. if a poor family, have the daughter working in the rice fields during school holidays, send them to Bangkok to earn more money when they are older and if they 'snag' a westerner get greedy for money ie sinsot. 2. if a rich family keep the daughter spoilt out of the sun so skin is perfect white and marry her to a guy whose family business is related to the brides family business thus maintaining the business monopoly the rich have over the poor.

Thaitakeaway.

Kreng Jai is not hard wired into thais - Lying is! I see no Kreng Jai during recent protests, none during the recent tragic rape and murder of a girl on a train,or even when the Thai guys get smashed on Lao Kao and get into an argument and shoot each other.

Also most guys would be happy to be shut out by the mother in law me thinks.

As for maintaining the family? Just tell them the same custom applies in your country hence most of your salary has to be sent home to your parents. If they want to be maintained then the daughter will have to go to work!

Rikki,

An ETD (emergency Travel Document) only entitles you to fly out (and return) to Thailand. It cannot be used at immigration to record a visa extension. Also worth mentioning that if you use an ETD on rentry to Thailand you will only be given the usual 30 stamp.

A senior officer at Thai Immigration told me that they would not necessarily reject an ETD for an extension.

However the British Consular facility argue that if you do not follow the stated itinerary, that Thai Immigration may not honor the ETD.

So the conclusion is be less than direct with the British Consulate, then try for the extension, at least you can get another 30 days by travelling the stated itinerary, or if you can get a visa, maybe longer.

Why should Rikki be faced with arrest, imprisonments and deportation, just because the British Government doesn't care and HMPO are incompetent?

I totally agree with you. I am going through this s#*t at the moment myself. I was told by immigration that you cannot get a visa extension on an ETD hence my post. I have also phoned the UK helpline (which is a call centre in Northern Ireland and not even co located with liverpool and they said there is nothing they can do to fast track an overseas application and I have to wait! I phoned the embassy to speak to the consular section and got through to an Indian lady who listened to my story then put me on hold for 9 minutes while she went to ask a REAL consular for a solution to my case. The solution? "Send an email to the helpline!" whilst i am not worried about visa expiring (im visad up till November) my job requires me to fly all over Asia up to 5 times a month which I now cannot do. My American boss is not best pleased. Its a bloody disgrace and the UK embassy/ambassador should be talking to liverpool/UK to sort this. Some young passport clerk in Liverpool will likely have no Idea about renewing work permits/visa extensions that are required here.

Rikki,

An ETD (emergency Travel Document) only entitles you to fly out (and return) to Thailand. It cannot be used at immigration to record a visa extension. Also worth mentioning that if you use an ETD on rentry to Thailand you will only be given the usual 30 stamp.

Last time we heard about cleaning the immigration status of illegal workers, it was about the Cambodian nationals => they went back home but Thais realized they badly needed them => Cambodians came back.

Same story here? No => Thais DON'T NEED English teachers from abroad because millions Thais speak a perfect English and can teach to the children.

Millions Thais speak a perfect English?

Are you one of them?

I've been here 16 years (not a teacher) and whilst I agree there are Thais than can speak English, no way would I say that 'millions' of Thais can speak English.

He is one of the survivors of the deadly royal massacre in 2001 when the entire family of the then King Birendra was killed at Narayanhity royal palace in Kathmandu.

How can he be one of the 'survivors' if the entire family was killed??

She's an english citizen with Thai origin by her father.

Just hope she didn't know that her results were manipulated in her back !

Because if she's convicted of being a comparse of this fraud, her name should be stained.

In all cases, the prejudice isn't big because she don't get any awards or medals she could lose !

British citizen, England is not a country

It was the last time I looked! Great britain is made up of Northern Ireland, Wales, England and Scotland.

get a credit card.

He will need 6 months of Thai bank statements before he can get a credit card here.

Yea I can see it being irritating but compared to not having anything at all - a small inconvenience I guess.

Bts doesn't do it - there is a security guard there with a metal detector thingy but not once have I ever seen it in use. Not sure what that security guard does to be honest.

Thats my point, shouldn't have it at all! They dont know what they are looking for and dont do 100% anyhow so whats the point of doing it?

Does any one else get irritated by this complete and utter waste of resources and time? I carry a laptop with me and use the MRT frequently throughout the day to go to meetings with clients etc. So at least 5-6 times a day I have to stop, open my bag so some old dear can shine a torch in it for a nano second before i am allowed to proceed.

I would understand and not complain if it were a genuine search and they knew what they were looking for. Also if every station had the same rules. Some stations the woman just stands there and lets everyone through, other stations they check everyone and some stations randomly check.

Is this just another example of Thailands 'all show and no substance' mentality? Or is there a simple explanation to this waste of my time?

There are only a handful international schools in Thailand that are proper international schools, eg ISB NIST Patana etc. Dont waste your money on the rest, they are businesses, not schools, with majority local students who do not want to learn, its only prestige for them to say they go to an 'international school'. These schools are a joke. There are good Thai schools with a bilingual program and which are cheaper.

I know the headmaster of a well known international school in Bangkok. After speaking with him he suggested I keep my child in a Bi lingual school until she is 11 and only then consider moving her to an International school.

Today I paid the 200 baht for a maid. She spent 40 minutes cleaning my small studio and in my opinion did a subpar job.

One area under one of my tables was not fully swept and had some rice grains spread around. The dishes were not cleaned. The small balcony area was not swept at all(!) I don't know if the Thais think of it as a place unworthy of maintaining because it's exposed to the outside; to me it should have been at least swept.

I suppose this is what I get for going with the most convenient option instead of shopping around.

Lesson learned. My next maid will actually clean the entire place, and get paid half the price (100 baht) because my place is so small it does not even require an hour worth of work.

You sound like a bundle of joy to work for!

If your place is so small clean it yourself you lazy @#^@. then spend that glittering attractive salary of 100bht on 2 large changs and congratulate yourself on a job well done.

what a waste of life opening a thread about 100/200baht.

The beer vault on sukhumvit 15 has leffe on draught

Err where did my post about expensive beer go?