orlandoiam

One of my favorites is this outdoor food stand in front of ESSO gas station, at the corner of Ratchaprarop and Rang Nam. Usually packed until 9:30 or so. Isaan food and nice place for a relaxing outdoor beer.. 5 years+ and never sick of it. Good for newbies too. Muu Yang/grilled pork and ngieu yang/grilled beef, some of the tastiest I've had in Thailand. I found it delicious even when I first came!

Amazing outdoor food stand in front of ESSO gas station, at the corner of Ratchaprarop and Rang Nam. Usually packed until 9:30 or so. Isaan food and nice place for a relaxing outdoor beer.. 5 years+ and never sick of it. Good for newbies too. Muu Yang/grilled pork and ngieu yang/grilled beef, some of the tastiest I've had in Thailand.

After trying several dentists in BKK; I recommend Dentalis at Vejthani Hospital in Lad Phrao. Had a wisdom tooth pulled by Dr. Thepharith Wathraphoudej. He was thoroughly professional, spoke good English (as some of his dental education was acquired abroad in Australia) and was warm and friendly.

The whole office staff was professional as well; I received a phonecall the day after to see if everything was going good.

Oh, and the total price for X-ray, local anesthesia and extraction was 1500 baht.

I agree with others, that the Dental Hospital on Sukhumwit 49? is overpriced. For a check up, they tapped about 3 of my teeth and then said I had to have 800 baht x-rays performed to check the rest. I decided to go elsewhere for service because of the price. Unfortunately, if you go to some of the smaller dentist offices the quality is often hit or miss. I made the mistake of going to a smaller office for a couple of years, due to the lower prices and the friendly atmosphere. Unfortunately, their standards weren't the highest and I had many repeat visits (free of charge) to patch up previous visits. It took me a couple years to figure out, even if the dentist is nice and prices are fair-- it doesn't mean the quality is good.

That's when I moved on to Vejthani.

Here's the website and phone numbers. You can also check out the dentists' education on their personal websites.

http://www.dentalisthailand.com/contact.php#

Dentalis

+66 (0) 2734-0000 ext. 3000, 3004,+66 (0) 2734-0366-7

Those infloran capsules, does anyone know which pharmacy? Boots or Watsons .... Tesco or more the typical "Kai Yaa" Thai pharmacies... Just recently had a babe so don't feel like trudging around looking in each one. Thanks!

Thank you for the advice. Neither the father and I are in the position to hire lawyers. But we are discussing things civilly and openly. It's a shame things aren't working out as I really want her father around for her. He has registered her at his ampher but as long as I have a letter from him (perhaps with a copy of his passport) I shouldn't have a problem at the airport. Right?

sorry to have broken into sylvafern's thread-- but it seemed to be a related topic.

would anyone mind giving me a little advice? I'd like to be home before christmas and just wondering if there's anything I should do.

I'm actually having a similiar issue. Thai father (but not married) , and we've been together about 4 years but things (perhaps the stress of a new baby) just seem as if we're never going to meet eye to eye. Culture, education, economics, interests... they're all so different.

Our daughter was born in a little town where they said she couldn't take both of our last names. So being a bit more traditional than I realized I was, I gave her his last name.

He's said he would definitely give me her to raise if we ever split, as I have more means to finances and education for her future. But, not sure if I need some kind of letter or something to leave the country with her. I'm United States citizen by the way.

Does anyone know anything about Thai law pertaining to this?

This thread caught me as I also have a (Thai) husband who tends to slurp the noodles on occasion. Obviously, it's not just

a Thai thing as my (white American) father had the habit of hearty smackings as well. Once when I was a young girl and listening to my father's swishings over the dinner table I secretly swore I would never marry a man that slurped, swished or smacked. Well, here I am married to a fullblown swisher, with our first child on the way.

I don't think we can really choose what we're annoyed by, at least not without some serious work on our emotions. And although meditation has always been a want of mine, I've yet to have the willpower to sit on my ass and not do a thing other than take note of myself for any lengthy period. It's nice to say don't sweat the small stuff, but come on-- when something irks you, it irks you. It's so much easier to slough off another's annoyances as pettiness.

I think it's just a matter of expressing your annoyance. My boyfriend knows slurps irritate me, as I'll make some pretty expressive faces upon hearing those echos. So he smacks louder, I'll realize I'm silly (annoyed but silly) and his slurps will quiet (but rarely cease in full). He claims the damp orations are purely functional. They cool the noodles to an acceptable temperature, or lessen the pain of the pik kee noo's. I remain doubtful, although I have noticed inhaling while eating can lessen the bite of a particularly large mouthful of chilis.

Having said that, open expressions of annoyance aren't always the answer. My sullen teenage ass tried to tell my father to spoon his cereal more quietly. The look I received shut my mouth forever, if not his.

Thank you! I've been reading the "other topics" but when it comes to banking vernacular....i'm pretty much at a loss. So a direct response was nice.

Hi--- I'm in the process of returning to the U.S. after living here for about 4 years...so now I'm transfering my Thai Baht back to my American account. I've already done one transaction, where I got a dollar for 33.5 baht. But I'm trying to figure out if I can get a better rate. I've been reading your onshore, offshore posts...but I don't understand them.

(this is the first time i've ever taken note of fluctuations of the dollar/baht...as it's the first time it could ever noticeably effect me...)

Is there a way to transfer Thai baht to America so I get a better rate? I'm mildly confused--- Could someone explain this to me?

So, if I can't reach it-- but other people can-- what can I do?

IP Address : 10.0.0.178 Thanks, I had seen it before but didn't know how to get back to it.

i haven't been able to access for several days. but i have no idea how to see my ip address. (computer idiot.)

Hatari Phone Net from 7-11 is the best. But, use there 1800 number so your mobile isn't charged at all. It's a flat rate of 4 baht a minute-- at least for calls to the U.S. (and many other countries... not sure about Switzerland.)

I'm doing the fiancee visa.

After I first started, I backed off for awhile but now I've just begun all the paperwork. The problem I have is I've been told I need to live in America to file for a fiancee visa. Or I need an American address.

The point is, I don't understand what addresses I should put in the I-129F (fiancee visa) form and the G-325a (biographic info).

The current I-129F has four sections I can write an address. Hello Specifically:

Part A. #2 (USC address)-- (Should this be the USA address?)

Part B. #2 (alien fiancee address) (The address he will live at in the U.S.?)

Part B. #15 (your fiancee's address abroad) (Thailand address!)

Part B. #16 (your fiancee's address abroad in their native alphabet)

The current G-325 has 1 section:

Applicant's residence last five years. List present address first.

Obviously, I'm still living in Thailand... so do I list my present Thai address or.... what do I do in the G325A?

This topic is a bit old, but you sound like an expert Thaihome...

I've been living in THailand for 3 years...going home with my husband. I've established residency in Thailand but I'm employed by a Thai company.

From my understanding, in order to qualify my income must continue once I return to the United States. In other words, my income must be U.S. based.

Is my understanding correct? Or could I qualify under a Thai company?

In order to file the I-130 petition at the Bangkok USCIS office you must prove you are a resident. This would be impossible with a tourist visa or I suspect a recently obtained Non-Imm O. The usual is a non-imm B with work permit.

If you get a non-imm O, either based on being over 50 or married to a Thai, I would think as a minimum you need to get a year extension and have lived here for most of that year, being able to show you have not left for any entry stamp border runs or such, house lease, bank account, etc. I understand the USCIS and consulate are quite strict about proving residence before letting you file here.

You can save a considerable amount of time by filing here, I know of one person that got his adopted daughters green cards is less then 3 months, but I don't think your plan would work.

TH

no way dude! I'm a chicken. plus, i've got a boyfriend. but nope, certainly not. that would be way too scary. (feminist or not..........and yes, i'm a feminist too-- 5555555). sorry, just been noticing a lot of rants by people lately against feminism.

as if there's something wrong with the whole idea of equality thingie. or as if it's impossible to carry over to Thailand. i'd really like to carry it into a discussion!

but i'm mildly afraid of being slammed.

so...back to topic. seems like meeting someone and paying for sex might be pretty scary. and plus, what about the ego thing? would i be worried if he "really" liked me? and then, there's the stranger quality. i don't believe women can't enjoy themselves with a "strange" man, but it certainly seems like it could be nerve-racking. particularly if you picked him out at the bar.

i think the idea of diseases would be sliding in and out of me all night long! (Yes! pun intended)

and then... there's jealousy. what if i went back and saw him hanging on to the arm of some other chick! and what if she was younger than me?!? and what if she was hotter?!? yup, that would be a killer.

there's gotta be more issues. but, i'm too hungry to think of anymore.

Hello, sorry to here about your wife/girlfriend's loss. I asked my Thai boyfriend about it...as he's from Yossoton. His family are also rice farmers.

In Yossoton terms, he describes his family as comfortable middle class. To give you an idea of comfortable middle class: when we go back to Yosso his family's houses seem cleaner and nicer than alot of his neighbors, and during Song Kran the family gave all of the older neighbors 100b during the ceremonies. Their family has about 6 cows and two of them lived under us, while I was visiting the house. (that was noisy!) I'm describing their financial status to allow you to compare funeral costs of a comfortable middle class family to your girlfriend/wife's family?

His mother died about 10 years ago and he said the 3 day funeral costs came to a bit over 200,000 baht. But, almost all of this was covered by his mother's insurance policy. He also said he believed about 95 % of the elderly had these policies. (Of course, this is coming from his thoughts...rather than any direct facts...so take it with a grain of salt.)

For the 3 day funeral, they killed two cows. A small cow goes for around 5k and a bigger around 8k or more. They also had about 7 monks, they would get paid between 50-100 baht per day. He said the payments depended on 1)how rich you were 2)if the monks were somehow related or friends with the family you would actually pay them more.

If someone dies in an accident they'll be buried. But if they died by disease or old age then they'll be cremated. He said that there were no cremation costs, as his village works together to cremate the body. They put most of the ashes in the forest (although some of them may be taken home with the family). The call this part of the forest Ba Cha... which translates to Slow Forest. (nice huh? in the thai/english dictionary it just means "cemetary )

Anyways, during the 3 day funeral he said that almost all the families in his village sent a person or two to the funeral. He said usually only one person goes to represent the whole family. Close friends and family would stay the night as well. They have a typical Issan house tall, wooden and large. He said the house was full, the downstairs open eating area was full and even the street in front of the house was full of people eating and drinking for 3 days. So, that means whiskey, coke, beer, ice, water, food for a lot of people. In his case, he thinks it was around 100 people per day -- as there's around 100 families in his village.

He also said that some villages and families think it's wrong to hold this type of funeral (although funeral in Thai, translates roughly to "death party") So, I guess you should check out if you need to buy all this stuff before you do it. The way he explained it is, the family gives a "party" for the community, friends (and it seems like there, everybody pretty much knows everybody) the community in turn comes and gives the family support during this time...and helps the family be less fearful of returning ghosts. So, pretty much like a Western funeral, just a little longer and probably with more whiskey.

As I mentioned earlier, most of these funeral costs were reimbursed by the insurance policy. But, my boyfriend (who is not a rich man and gets paid 300 baht a day for between 11-14 hours of work) gave 9,000 baht which was eventually reimbursed. His older sister and brother who have more lucrative careers, being owners of their own Isaan outdoor foodstands in Bangkok both put out 100,000 baht each. They were also almost fully reimbursed. But it appears the more able you are, the more money you'll need to help with.

Also, at the funeral party all of the neighbors and friends contributed some money to the costs as well. According to him, around 50-100 baht each (with a sprinkling of 500 bahts)-- and he thinks the total was around 20,000 baht.

Now, I'm not sure my numbers add up. And obviously this is coming from asking only one person (my boyfriend)...He also said that the costs can fluctuate wildly...he believed perhaps the poorest of the poor could "go" for around 6,000 to 10,000 baht... but he stressed these were very poor people. And, that the funeral his family held was perhaps a little bit more expensive than most funerals; but was pretty similiar to most of the surrounding families.

So...goodluck, making your own decisions and deciding what seems fair and good to you.

No problem Schooner-- I just read your replies.... I really ought to check in here more often... I had just assumed the topic had died.

Anyways, I hope your fiancee visa is doing well. Me, we're just beginning! Goodluck!

Thanks for you reply! You're right... I'm having to go through the court I got the divorce from. But I hadn't though of getting it notarized... or stamped or something! So, perhaps I'll request that too! A bit late of me, but thanks for your reply!

On the other hand perhaps there is something to gender related face-saving, if we were to think of our own relationships (assuming in this case we're heterosexuals).

If we were in public, and in a potentially face-losing situation... either the boy or girlfriend has to lose face. Who is more likely to "lose face?" Would the girlfriend more likely sacrifice her "face," for the sake of her lover's?

Although I'm speaking a bit theoretically, or vaguely, it seems like this kind of situation might arise all the time between married couples and their families.

It certainly happens often enough in the west.

"Saving-face" is a rather distancing term, isn't it? The concept alone seems to separate us (falang) from them (Thai). Is saving-face simply the avoidance of what could be termed an embarassing situation? For example, not admitting a lie/mistake (even when confronted) because that would be "embarassing."

In contrast to Thailand, it seems that in the West, if we were to not admit a lie/mistake when directly confronted we are even more embarassing or perceived as being more foolish (and infuriating). In fact, it seems to me that apologising or admitting a mistake is often seen as a way of "gaining-face" in the West, while here it seems more of a way of losing it.

In a sense, it seems like both cultures try to maintain their sense of dignity and hold on to outsiders' respect. It just seems we use entirely different means to maintain it.

Sorry, I know this was actually a gender directed topic... but I too, got hooked on the "saving face" bit. I'm ill informed about saving face between the sexes...but I'm sure there are gendered aspects to it as well.

At least there seem to be between my boyfriend and I.

Well... as much as I enjoy airing dirty laundry, I have a previous "failed" marriage, that ended with a legal divorce.

The U.S. fiancee visa requests that we provide copies of the divorce documents to prove I'm actually legal to marry. Problem is, all of those documents are neatly locked away in a trunk in the U.S.

What can I do?

Is there a way to acquire these documents overseas?

Thanks for your help again.

I don't know, when I go back to my boyfriend's home in Isaan, his older sister (happily married with 3 kids and husband) has a couple of nudie calendar's in their kitchen. I've seen more than a few naked ladies in some of the smaller non-air family restaurants around Huaii Kwaang. ANd speaking of barber/beauty salons, I was just at one a couple of months ago. Had 2 huge life sized photos of Britney Spears and some Asian chick. Nipples weren't actually exposed but they were notable, to say the least. It was certainly a surprise to me.

I come from the U.S. and it seems we have a few paradoxes about sexuality. I doubt it's going too far to suppose Thailand has some too. But, the wierd shocker was for me in Isaan. I know I shouldn't place moral judgements on someone's calendar choice... but it was hard not to ponder. I mean, the whole family is hard working, well off by Isaan standards, and very close-knit-- but, then there's a couple of creamy white calendar girls flaunted in the kitchen.

In the U.S., calendar girls are usually reserved for a teenager/college boy's bedroom.never saw one in a family kitchen before.

Thanks for your help Gumball.. I'm checking out the sites now!O

Hi-- I'm from the U.S. and have been living in Thailand for about 3 years. In a year, I'd like to return to the States with my (Thai) boyfriend.

We want to do the Fiancee Visa, as once married he'll hopefully be able to work in the U.S. as soon as possible. But I'm terrible with paperwork and am confused already.

I'm sorry, I've tried researching this on Thai Visa for previous posts but either I'm performing stupid searches or I just can't find what I need.

Can you answer this question-- Do I need to return to the U.S. first to get paperwork for his Visa before I can do anything? From my understanding, I actually have to fly home and acquire this in person. But this seems inane, and terribly expensive.

Thank you for your help