Scarpolo

I'm not necessarily resentful as much as disillusioned. Beautiful and successful Thai girls ignore me like I don't exist while I thought before they would be thrilled to date me. The bar girl sex that felt so fantastic when I came here before on holidays now feels repetitive and practiced.

The reality is that for a lot of white guys, its dam_n hard to meet a beautiful, normal Thai girl here as there is so much pressure on her to conform. Even today she told me up to a year ago she avoided white guys as she believed people would look down on her for being seen together.

There is just so much crap on here that its misleading while reality is different. So many girls in Thonglor look like models yet I've only seen 1 farang with a gorgeous girl since I moved here. Nobody beats them off with a stick like you read on here. And yet every other poster claims his wife is gorgeous.

Too funny. You're many decades too late within your parameters.

The ONLY reason a "2-6" can end up with a "7-9" - sometimes even 10 in another country is because of the wealth disparity.

That disparity has been disappearing wrt "middle class" first worlders vs urban educated Thais over the past few decades.

If you want young & really beautiful, then you have to give up educated and urban, therefore obviously need to have decent Thai language skills and hunt upcountry. As long as you don't mind that level of "relationship" it really isn't all that hard.

If you do want young & really beautiful, but she has to speak English, there are only bargirls, unless you're young & hansum & charming yourself and/or truly wealthy.

And chances are very good no matter what, that the material side of things is a lot more important than you'd like to think, even if she isn't an explicit chiseler.

Best of luck with your latest conquest, hope it lasts a while for you. . .

The reality is, theree are hunters and there are skinners"

the men were the hunters, and the women were the skinners,

did someone forget that Thailand, albeit developing, is still primarily, third world?

I know many will argue that, but their level of english speaking, in a country filled with english speaking foreigners shows the lack of interaction,

Men with money, will achieve women with looks and figures, it is as true of thailand as it is in NYC, London, Prague, Moscow, Los Angeles,

Men with power can attract nearly anything, including the wives of other men (sorry to those whose wives I shagged)

Men who complain on imternet threads, and then admit they are dishonest, because they wouldnt disclose their past lust for lounge creatures,

is going to reap what he sows.......

really, a school teacher........I cannot begin to tll you how many young school teachers I know in the states that are the biggest drunken pigs in bars on the weekends.

on ex wife's kids second grade teacher gave me her number, at a bar, before I knew what she was doing........so, good luck to anyone w a school teacher

Of course not. I had to keep that part hidden. If she knew my past, she would finish with me. Why ask such a stupid, pointless question?

If you found out your girlfriend was an ex bar girl who had serviced 100s of men, wouldn't you walk away?

What's wrong with criticisizing bargirls even though I enjoy them for sex? Yes, I enjoy them but ultimately I found it unsatisfying from an emotional point of view. Similar to looking at porn. Meaningless in the big picture. Very few guys could ever attract a hot Baccara girl back home. I've seen their types in the clubs surrounded by groups of men all jostling for the chance. I criticize the bar girl acting as eventually their true feelings are seen and its unsettling. Like watching a children's movie star leave a set to go for a smoke.

If you find my posts trollish, why in the hell do you not only read them but in fact respond? Are you completely retarded?

soooo, when your teacher girlfriend finds out what a slug you are, and she walks away, that makes her just like you, doesn't it?

Of course not. I had to keep that part hidden. If she knew my past, she would finish with me. Why ask such a stupid, pointless question?

If you found out your girlfriend was an ex bar girl who had serviced 100s of men, wouldn't you walk away?

What's wrong with criticisizing bargirls even though I enjoy them for sex? Yes, I enjoy them but ultimately I found it unsatisfying from an emotional point of view. Similar to looking at porn. Meaningless in the big picture. Very few guys could ever attract a hot Baccara girl back home. I've seen their types in the clubs surrounded by groups of men all jostling for the chance. I criticize the bar girl acting as eventually their true feelings are seen and its unsettling. Like watching a children's movie star leave a set to go for a smoke.

If you find my posts trollish, why in the hell do you not only read them but in fact respond? Are you completely retarded?

Walk away?

really?

what does that make you exactly?

and, BTW, whats the difference between "servicing" 100's of men, and being abused regularly by a loving husband, or two?

you want to count the amount of strokes?

I can tell you something about the female body,

it adjusts to the man it is with after a month of being the "only one"

unless she has had 15 kids, she will feel like a virgin again, in no time flat,

do you actually know much about women?

have you ever been married?

do you know, both of my wives called themselves my prostitues after awhile,.

I decided to start with one this time, and, I am much happier and she is much more honest and open about her feelings, than both of them' and as a result, I am becoming a better person, while with her

"feelings", have you heard of them?

bargirls have them too BTW

I read your comments,i am not impressed !

These girls who work the bars , streets ect are mostly in survival mode so I would strongly advise you not to look down your nose at at them...

There is probably a minority that are in it for the money alone but most will be supporting elderly parents,children or other family members...

What did your school teacher friend do to support herself whilst going through university ???

Survival mode? Are you shitting me? My ex was making 5000 baht a night, did nothing to support her family and many of her friends are the same. So if a girl is making 100,000 baht a month, what kind of mode is an average Thai in? From what I've seen, you can describe almost the whole country in "survival" mode. Limited savings, zero investments, maxed out credit. Nothing to do with bargirls.

I never looked down my nose at them. I just said that the mentality they have is one of extraction, regardless of whether they have a great personality, are caring or anything else. I've met bargirls that would do anything possible to help another person, but at the end of the day its about the money every time. Why so many houses in Issan built by sponsors? I don't see the same in other areas of Thailand. The deal was she would marry him, sleep with him and he would take care of her family and build a local house. That is called extraction.

Will I screw it up? Only if I don't value my future as I find it very hard to meet a beautiful, educated, independent Thai girl. For some guys, they can't push them away fast enough. For me, its hard because of my size, baldness, age and I'm looking for the same type of girls that Thai men are looking for (light skin, educated, employed, and beautiful).

During school, her parents supported her. They work at regular jobs.

My point is that some people (myself included) get so buried in the bar life that we don't know how much we're missing out on until we get a chance out.

If some of you dislike my posts so much, do you not understand how the ignore feature works?

And why in the hell do some of you have absolutely nothing better to do in your life than read past posts and research another person? Do you live on here with your 10,000+ posts and not have an outside life? Sad, pathetic life in your village I guess.

Maybe, you are just an alcoholic, and think a girl making 100,000

baht a month, is making a lot of money, because, it isn't, thats $3,000 a month USA, give me a break, that isn't getting most of them, anywhere

not to say it isn't a lot of money, to most thai's, but my girlfriend, IS EDUCATED, is white (she thinks so anyway)

I am Ukranian New Yorker and darker than her, she is beautiful, owns a home in a gated community surrounded by golf courses, at 5'7" 100 pounds, is absolutely delicious, in most western and even asian cultures, and at 32, thinks she is getting too old to be a call girl,

get it yet?

it doesnt matter what and who they are, what, you think there arent gorgeous hookers in Las Vegas with college degrees?

lay off the sauce, put down the bong,

you aren't kidding anyone here trying to justify your "new found" religion,

you are a slu_t , and you will return to your slutness,

why not be honest about who YOU are?

we are, who we are with,

I know what I am,

and she knows, I am as bas as she is,

but we both want more, and we both treat eachother well,

<deleted>, do you think life is about?

where you met your girlfriend?

I read your comments,i am not impressed !

These girls who work the bars , streets ect are mostly in survival mode so I would strongly advise you not to look down your nose at at them...

There is probably a minority that are in it for the money alone but most will be supporting elderly parents,children or other family members...

What did your school teacher friend do to support herself whilst going through university ???

you just asked the most revealing and probably most relevant question, which will destroy the OP if he reads it, because now, he is going to have to ask, and will never believe the answer because of who HE is, not her

I believe, every girl we meet is a reflection of who WE are, at the time

The fact that I'd probably earn ten times more than the average Thai can earn probably means it would make sense for me to pay for everything.

As it is I live in the UK and sharing the costs of going out with a girl isn't a massive problem anyway as no one can afford to go out often due to the cost of everything. :-)

It never makes sense to pay for everything . . .

Only lambs to slaughter think like that.

Anyway, the OP sounds like he's made a good move but I suspect he's going to screw it up if his past behaviour is anything to go by.

Remember this is the guy who got annoyed because the locals told his ex bargirl GF that he'd brought a different hooker back to the home they shared together.

Amazing this internet, that a person cannot run from even themselves!

Why do I have the sense that there is a bad ending coming to this story? ie., he gets caught w a hooker because his "nice girl" won't give it up in a few months, and then kicks him out, keeping the new flat screen TV he was watching his football games on, and the new air conditioner, so he could watch those games in comfort, and the new refrdigerator he bought her to cool his beers, oh wait a second, that was me that bought the frodge for the beers, and carrots, apples and other things I need toi survive here, other than Pad Thai and Papaya Salad which I still cannot eat without choking

Please, this story is weak...........I love bad girls......they know who they are..........

Bar girls and schoolteachers..........

Why restrict yourself, have both, as often as possible.

There is a website in the US, I forget the name at the moment, where girls advertise as GFE - girl friend equivalents,

they charge $300 per hour, and frequently are out of town school teachers coming to "work" for two weeks, and say so, directly.

others are stewardesses, who want to earn a few thousand, giving the term "layover" real meaning,

I would beware of what you think they are,

and be aware of how they react, how they treat you, and what they are inside,

you can usually tell by the way they speak to others and the way others react to her, and you, when with her,

to know what and who you have

real smiles, don't fade in a half second, nor does real laughter............come on guys, lameness starts at home

if your young its proberly good for you to get out but if your old like me then this bar girl dating scene is the only option one has

My mission is to find an old Thai lady that's done the job on a few foreigner and built up a next egg so we can live in relative comfort without constant ATM withdrawl.

Nothing wrong with ATMs, old chap. Would you prefer to keep your money under the mattress?

Exactly, and even ATM's have a limit, so, you can't get in too deep, without diving, head first.....choose which head, it ends the same

I have lived here for 23 years, I came here when I was 35, that's the difference, I was a young guy, and I got along ok..

I would think most guys on ThaiVisa are old men, too old to adapt, am I right ?

Hey, guess what, that's why you can't get along, you are too old, just go back to your own home, be safe.

Thailand is not an Old peoples Home.

ThaiVisa forum might be though.

I don't care how old most Thaivisa members are. The help and advice I have received from them has been invaluable, so cut out this "go back to your own home nonsense".

I agree w the above.

I am soon 54, my g/f 32,

this is simply not available in the US,

the girls 32 wants guys 29-36, 40 tops and they want babies too...

just because a girl was in the sex industry, BFD, my ex wife was a high so from Brazil and France, and slept w the worst garbage I had ever known, and as a former biker from NYC, I know trash.....and am occaisionally quite fond of many of them,

but to call them classless, and not worthy my friends,

allow me to bible thump you with the story of jericho, and the only person to have been saved from the calamity, was the HOOKER that hid, Joshua's spies, so, be careful how to speak about them,

I am with one, she is awesome, wholesome, loves her mother, owns multiple properties, and today told her mother, that the reason she didnt get a diamond for valentines day is because, if she wants to marry me, it is the american way, not their old custom of paying the mother......

the mother is now digesting that....

We are MEN for pete's sake,

we make our decisions,

we live with them

we do not CRY about them publicly,

I met a bar girl from Chaing Mai, I was in the bar 20 seconds and she was already rubbing into me, asking for a drink, like she needed one on top of the 30 she already had that nite,

when I told her I had a thai g/f asleep in the hotel across the street, she sobered up, and then told me if I didnt buy her a drink, she would get fired,

so I had her tell me who the owner was, I spoke to the owner, told her I had a thai g/f, and then told her to take the girls scooter keys away from her, and give her some water.............they did as I suggested.

I dont know if the OP meant to write what he did on the forum to convince himself, or others, but his argument is weak...these girls deserve respect, especially, if they acknowledge who they are, and what they are.........no man from the west can be fooled by a thai girl, he caN ONLY pretend, that he was

It's good when people make changes to their life if what they were doing was making them unhappy as seems to be the case with the OP.

It's better if they can reflect on their behaviour and move on fully, for good.

Then the shame and guilt are no longer transferred on to others, in this case with some vile and deeply misogynistic language.

ditto, and to add;

what makes him thinks that hookers and call girls do not look at themselves in the mirror, (or walk) with pride?

many will say no to him, he just never found that to be true

I expect mutual respect, love and loyalty, no matter where my wife or partner would be from in the world. If you have that, then you also have a best friend, who will stand by your side no matter what bad things in life you will face.

I also expected that first time around.

Unfortunately, what I received was someone (UK schoolteacher) who thought it was OK to lie, cheat and steal from me.

Now, second time around (Thai farm girl), I expect the lying, cheating and stealing, and I get what I expected.

But at least my eyes are open, so I'm not in for such a big disappointment, and I can (hopefully) manage the losses.

PS

Forget the "foreigner" and "a Thai" from the post title.

It seems to be a 50% likelihood of getting married to anyone, anywhere in the world.

PPS

Forget accusing me of being bitter, not bitter, but am really, really, disappointed by women's behavior in general.

females are females,

we overlook what we choose in exchange for what we receive.....

let's face it people, no one gets fooled......

we can only fool ourselves

allow me to quote:

"What we allow to "exist" will "persist". The truth is not always easy to hear but the truth is the truth. The world is not going to change itself without our involvement! We are all on the this planet for a reason and this reason is for us to realize who WE are. We can take a few more thousand years to do this or we can do it now. "

Anyone who claims they have been "taken" by a female, anywhere, any city, and country, farm girl, or city "slicker", has allowed it; period

Correction:

I meant, cumpulsory jury duty, not voting.....

the voters card can get you a bullet in the head from an IRS agent though in the future, if you register as a tea party member,

I have had friends threatened by IRS agents, for their affiliation w the tea party, with physical attack

I would like to ask something. Is this the page where have to talk about high educated, fair skinned half Chinese/half angel wife, who comes from medium to high society ?

I take mine medium-rare thanks. . .

They all bleach their skin, so, how would we know?

and we, in the US, tann our skin?

someone has something half assed backawrds here,

but it surely can't be the thais,

their country is just so perfect

You are giving legal advice, and this you should be aware of:

If a person has a tax or other citizen-resident reason to be an ex-pat, and then decides to get a drivers license, and then, try to claim that they aren't a resident and should be dismissed fom jury duty,

you are setting yourself up for bigger problems than you are outlining for this OP,

my suggestion, see a tax lawyer, AND an immigration lawyer upon returning to the States, or if the Embassy can do anything here in Thailand, but I can tell you that, the Voting release restrictions are tight, and not so easily dismissed by fine, they become crimes, which carry jail terms, not just fines

What is a "voting release restriction?"

You have to prove you are over a certain age, that may be over 72, or you are caring for a dying spouse, or family member,

other than that, a driver license obligates you to several laws, one of them, is voting, and if you fail to appear, a bench warrant is issued;PERIOD

I just transferred $145,000 USD from USAA bank to Siam CB. Wife went in on Tuesday and opened an account, she has changed her name to mine. Wire took less than 48 hours. Amazing. I transferred USD and it was converted here in Thailand.

She got a call within 24 hours from SCB asking what the money was being used for, and if it was her own money being brought in. She said it was her money that she earned in the USA and was using it to buy a house. I guess there is a report that has to be filled out...maybe for the AMLO?

Next day we went to the branch and it was transferred into her account. I did not go with her, thought it would be better that way. They asked her the same questions at the branch. And she had to sign a form that she was using the money for a house purchase. Very painless...and very fast! Cost me $35 from USAA...no costs were charged by SCB...at least that we know of!

if you did a wire transfer,

your wife's bank account and ultimately your tax filing history, is about to come "under review" as, every FED wire, goes to the IRS over $7,500 (they say it is 10k, but it isnt)

you would have been better off writing a check

Checks are a major pain here. Last time I tried I was told some 30 days to clear. The IRS does get reports of every CASH transaction over $10,000. According to this article, it's for cash transactions only?

http://www.ehow.com/about_4672449_transactions-do-banks-report-irs_.html

Plus, I don't care. I file my taxes properly and have nothing to hide. Doesn't both me at all.

Agreed, but there are many people here, seemingly trying to game the system, but using the FED wires is a major mistake,

checks are not tracked, although, I do not have experience with this on the Thai side,

on the US, between US banks, they are not followed

He wants to ESTABLISH residence in the states.

You brought up the scenario where he's not physically there.

The court clerks don't care or cross-reference your tax status, just show proof you're living out of the coutnry, fax them your passport entry/exit stamps, no problem.

Of course once he and his tilac are in fact settled over there then he'll need to do jury duty.

Someone suggested the drivers license,

my suggestions are derived solely from the ramifications of that,

once he or she tries to pull the, " I dont live there" routine, on the US Court systems, they may also be contradicting their tax status claims,

this is like buying the rope to hand someone and then testing it by hanging yourself,

Arriving LOS with about 200 American Silver Eagles and 200 American Silver Dollars and 200 American Silver Quarters plus about 20 more Silver and Gold Mexican and Canadian coins. Am I going to have problems? Is this the best thread for this Question?

Just wondering how you would handle being called into a room with a dozen Thai police officers standing there, diviiding up your coins, then telling you to get back on a plane to wherever you just came from?

Then another guy at the window, stamps your passport as NO RE-NTRY?

I will also be wiring about 50k USD into Thai USD account, so I need to provide documentation of how I get the money? how do I get this currency exchange certificate and how much does it cost? so 50k or higher I will need some documentation, exactly over how much amount do all those hassles occur?

People, I won't say this again,

FED wires mean FED wires,

they are tracked, accumulated and analyzed,

Checks, I repeat, Checks are NOT,

have a relationship with your bank at home so THEY know why the money is being sent out, or expect trouble, somewhere, sometime, when you least expect it

Arriving LOS with about 200 American Silver Eagles and 200 American Silver Dollars and 200 American Silver Quarters plus about 20 more Silver and Gold Mexican and Canadian coins. Am I going to have problems? Is this the best thread for this Question?

Obviously, this will be in a carry on bad and not luggae, or your bag will never see the light of day again, at least, not for your viewing pleasure,

and if in a carry on, will be spotted, your bag opened, and you will be asked <deleted>, you are doing.

Unless you fly 1st class out of JFK, on a foreign airline, and do so late at night when no one cares.

You are at great risk for any currency carry, and any coin movements, and the new $100 US bills have RFID tracking devices and will go off, from a metal detector if carried in large quantities,

BTW, your passport has RFID in it also,

pay attention to Ed Snowden,

I just transferred $145,000 USD from USAA bank to Siam CB. Wife went in on Tuesday and opened an account, she has changed her name to mine. Wire took less than 48 hours. Amazing. I transferred USD and it was converted here in Thailand.

She got a call within 24 hours from SCB asking what the money was being used for, and if it was her own money being brought in. She said it was her money that she earned in the USA and was using it to buy a house. I guess there is a report that has to be filled out...maybe for the AMLO?

Next day we went to the branch and it was transferred into her account. I did not go with her, thought it would be better that way. They asked her the same questions at the branch. And she had to sign a form that she was using the money for a house purchase. Very painless...and very fast! Cost me $35 from USAA...no costs were charged by SCB...at least that we know of!

if you did a wire transfer,

your wife's bank account and ultimately your tax filing history, is about to come "under review" as, every FED wire, goes to the IRS over $7,500 (they say it is 10k, but it isnt)

you would have been better off writing a check

What would happen if you were to take more than $20,000 or equivilent and got stopped at customs having not declared it? Would / could they confiscate the differance or is there some fine etc.... I know it is a stupid idea to be carrying large amounts if cash. But like the Op I want to avoid ATM fees and would like the cash on the hope the exchange rate improves rather than dump it all in at the current low rates. I have considered a bank transfer but want to stick to carrying the cash. However if possible I would like to avoid declaring it as I don't want to give the customs staff the temptation of making an excuse up of taking it for some reason if I was to declare it.

I dont know where this $20,000 cash limit came from but the USA requires anything over $10,000 to be a possible forfeiture....

I left the USA w $9,900

the rest comes from debit cards where you get charged 150 baht each transfer and get a flat 30 baht per dollar,

if you have a good relationship back home, you will get the 150 Baht fee waived, from the US side

I will not put money into a Thai account, until I know for sure, there isnt a hosing aroundthe corner,

I dont trust anything to do with banks, here, or abroad, as they are preparing "bail-ins' across the globe.

for those who never heard the term, that means, no more gov't bailouts, now the depositers will be covering the banks mistakes, as, "bail-ins"

look at Cyprus and Panama as examples and watch New Zealand, closely

I just transferred $145,000 USD from USAA bank to Siam CB. Wife went in on Tuesday and opened an account, she has changed her name to mine. Wire took less than 48 hours. Amazing. I transferred USD and it was converted here in Thailand.

She got a call within 24 hours from SCB asking what the money was being used for, and if it was her own money being brought in. She said it was her money that she earned in the USA and was using it to buy a house. I guess there is a report that has to be filled out...maybe for the AMLO?

Next day we went to the branch and it was transferred into her account. I did not go with her, thought it would be better that way. They asked her the same questions at the branch. And she had to sign a form that she was using the money for a house purchase. Very painless...and very fast! Cost me $35 from USAA...no costs were charged by SCB...at least that we know of!

Please report any changes to this issue, if they arise,

thanks

Steve

My partner is an Executive Chef who I meet in Kenya where she was setting up a very up-market Thai restaurant in the capital. Now we have kids she has "retired" from her profession (she had worked in 17 different countries setting up facilities in hotels as well as restaurants) BUT has over the last 6 years back home set up a number small restaurants in and around Bangkok. My advice - it is bloody tough way to make money - competition is fierce and the price of street food is down in the region of margins as thin as a film of oil on water.

The biggest problems - staff - train them and they leave and it doesn't matter how trusting they are when they start - any profit rapidly disappears out the back door. Very few Thais want to work in the trade so you are having to deal with Cambodians and Burmese (he says with a shudder). The only problem bigger are the relatives - who one is initially tempted to trust - they know I'm an expat (even though I'm totally banned from ever appearing at the facility) and believe my wife to be a successful self made businesswoman (which she is) and therefore honour bound to help out on ever single crisis in their side of the family from school fees to unexpected illness. The daily take shrinks, they blame the waitress and finally you discover it's them - now you have a real family problem - accusing an aunt of "theft". If you have had trouble with the ill laws in the past I can promise - you ain't seen nothing until you insist that your partner finally fire your MiL's sister and tell her she's not to ever come by the restaurant again.

I could go on and on but - the only way it has been marginally profitable was because my partner is a total hospitality professional and knows how to maintain stock - buying meat, prawns etc in BULK and spending hours preparing and freezing meal sized portions. It takes real skill to adjust your buying of vegetables to market and meal preference trends - if not you end up throwing away mountains of stuff.

The problems you can encounter from authorities would take more space than there is to post - but I promise you if you are there it will get worse and secondly if your wife is not bloody bright and experienced at handling life in the small business sector of Thailand - FORGET IT. Life with the SME parasites of Thailand - police, local licensing authorities, health officials, sanitation inspectors, etc etc - is particular difficult and at times harrowing..

And let me add,

I am American, and the first few months here insisted on eating at buffets where they catered to foreigners, ie., Swissotel for ex.

Then I met my thai g/f and, I still maintained my eating habits, taking her to places like Fuji, BBQ Plaza, etc., so again, I could eat like I was in the US.

I also visited the Dubliner Pub, near Sukhumvit, which gave me home cooked food, strong drinks, english speaking patrons, and occaisionally very good music, but then.

there were times we would eat "my way" and a few hours later the g/f would say, I am hungry again, I just want to go to the noodel stand on the corner, so off to the noodle stand we went, I watched as she conversed and ordered, and then paid 60 baht, for two plates of food, then another time, 50 baht, then, I would "sample" on her insistence, everything that didnt have pork on some dirty water fish in it, and soon,

I began eating at thai restautants, vietnamese restaurants, and my eating bills starting dropping like mad,

then I moved in w her and shop at Gourmet markets mostly, getting high quality food, and cooking it myself,

We still go to the buffet's, Fuji is still a favorite, and you can eat very cheaply, in air conditioned comfort, and then leisurely stroll thru the air conditioned malls, but last night we were at Huai Kwang market where she buys her creams, and, she took home a ton of food, total cost, maybe 300 baht....

We considered opening a restaurant bar in Chaing Mai, and I still want to do it, but she has been warned off because the only bars there making money, aren't the crowd he wants to be in,

we are now considering a "guest house"

we are told there are no police bribes required and no harrassment, as long as you do not have an actual bar,

you can sell beer from a glass fridge and not get hassled, but, any bars, and they are coming for bribes,

on the positive note,

if you do won a bar, and you do pay the police,

when you do have a problem, the only person they talk to is the owner,

if the owner tells them there is no problem, they leave,

I have watched a group of australians nearly kill two guys in fist fights, where they ganged up on two guys, who didnt have a chance, and someone called the police, nobody moved as the bar owner spoke in thai to the police, whi then got back on their bikes, and left,

in the US everyone would have been harrassed, and someone would have gone to jail, maybe many people,

one thing I have also seen, is the police will come in, and pat everyone down looking for drugs, if they get a call, and usually, someone gets arrested,

not sure of the implications of that here, but serve one underage girl in a bar in the US and kiss your license and your business, goodbye

Where are you based ?

That may be a factor in some of the costs.

You may well be invited to have a 'red box'. That would involve paying the police 500 Baht + pm. Avoid getting involved with the police at all. Let your wife handle this (and almost all other things).

Signs are charged by the square centimetre. All Thai wording is cheaper than a Thai/Farang mix and just Farang wording is most expensive. Get you wife to speak to the Amphur.

Your wife should know the answer to all these questions as well as what days can't we sell alcohol..

" You may well be invited to have a 'red box' "

is that what those red boxes are for?

I used to live opposite a consulate and I watched as every now and again 2 policeman on a motorbike would pull into the driveway and one would get off and put his hand inside the red box and collect a small envelope. I often used to wonder what that was, and I just assumed it was some kind of neighbourhood watch reporting or something like that.

But why would a consulate need to pay tea money?

"But why would a consulate need to pay tea money?"

I suppose it depends on how you define the payment and the service. When I was young in the US the police or fire men in our community would come around each year selling tickets to a policemen's ball or firemen's dance. Everyone with any sense bought the tickets and most of them didn't attend the dance. Or else they would sell raffle tickets ... whatever. If you didn't buy whatever they were selling, it was always possible the police or firemen would take some wrong turns and get lost responding to an emergency call at your address.

In the US and UK there are various charities that benefit the police and their families. Some businesses and individuals find it useful to make very visible contributions for reasons best known to themselves.

Some shops here, especially gold shops, hire police to sit in the shop during business hours. And in western countries, in some instances off-duty police or retired police are hired to beef-up or supervise security.

Farangs calling it tea money in Thailand seem blind to the "acts of charity" or "good business policies" that are common back in farang utopia ... and of course there is no shortage of actual police bribery in the more "developed" countries as Rupert Murdoch can assure you.

This description sounds more benign than the pukka sahib's use of the term "tea money."

The basic idea behind the boxes is this (and please please jump in if you know more): When a Thai (or community of Thais) feel the extra need to protect their homes or businesses beyond the traditional sleepy security guards, they make an agreement for the local police to come by every so often. At some point in this process a red box is attached to the side of the building in question. And for as many times as they’ve been paid, the local police stop by, open the box, sign a piece of paper to note they’ve been, and then close the box up again.

So all over Thailand (?) police are riding around in tandem, opening red boxes, signing white pieces of paper, and putting them back in the boxes. And getting paid for the service

Read more: http://womenlearnthai.com/index.php/thailands-mysterious-red-boxes/#ixzz2syrHaeH4

Nightclubs in some areas of the USA are REQUIRED to have police present at all operating times; in uniform, if they sell alcohol in residential areas:

this is an undisputable fact, so please, no attacks

what happens here is far different,

the police come, demand money, free services, food, cell phones, w/e they want, and provide nothing in return, other than this I observed in Chaing Mai

Bars stay open until the last straggler leaves and there is nothing on the street except ladyboys, and Australians on scooters seeking them,

however, after hours, they will stay open until they see the police come, then, its the twilight zone, every door comes down, to about 2 feet from the ground, implying you can leave, but you can not enter,

I walked past the police one night, as this was occuring, with a guitar on my back, and as I slipped it under the door, and entered, they said nothing,

I later learned the girl that owns the bar, pays the police, and also offers the bar girls to them, for free....

You are giving legal advice, and this you should be aware of:

If a person has a tax or other citizen-resident reason to be an ex-pat, and then decides to get a drivers license, and then, try to claim that they aren't a resident and should be dismissed fom jury duty,

you are setting yourself up for bigger problems than you are outlining for this OP,

my suggestion, see a tax lawyer, AND an immigration lawyer upon returning to the States, or if the Embassy can do anything here in Thailand, but I can tell you that, the Voting release restrictions are tight, and not so easily dismissed by fine, they become crimes, which carry jail terms, not just fines