sipi

I am totally interested in my wifes family and their culture. They are totally uninterseted in my family and culture. We are never-the-less all very happy. The equation looks somethong like this... TC>MC.

Yes, yes and yes. I can assimilate entirely with your opening post. My family are all but dead. And I am in a situation similar to yours. I love the closeness to my Thai family, but feel for my son. I grew up with family and friends. My son has no-one but his imagination and the occasional contact. Hopefully things will work out fine.

Sorry OP, if i had a 3 year old child on my shoulders, the safety of the 3 yo would come first.

Whereas your heart appears to be in the right place, the bloke could have been off his face on yaba, had a razor in his hand, even had a concealed weapon in his underpants.

If he was moving, then he is alive in a situation like that................................

He was blatantly a threat to no-one, except himself. Geez, he couldn't walk, let along swing a punch. He had 2 lumps in his white, see-through undies. One small lump in the front and one large lump in the back. Both could easily be explained, seeing he had obviously just landed and was new to Thailand. I'm just glad he had a story to tell when he got home, if he could remember..

Thank you. ThaiVisa Forum has FINALLY put a smile on my face.!

My wife and are are walking down a Soi near Khao San Road. I have my 3 year old son on my shoulders. There are a few dozen Thais and farang wondering around. Mid afternoon. Typical day in Bangkok.

Staggering the other way is a young fella. Early to mid-twenties. 2 steps forward, 3 sideways, 1 backwards, half a turn and fall over. Stand up and do it all again.

Normally I wouldn't cast a glance, but his bloke was in his underpants.

Everyone was staring but no-one offered to help. I didn't know if he was just drunk, or had been robbed. I sat him down in a plastic chair; asked him if he knew he was just in his undies, has he had a few drinks, where are your friends....

Turns out, thank goodness; he was alone, drunk and having a bit of fun.

I just dread to think that this young fella had come by some misfortune and no-one noticed or cared.

There are all sorts of grammatic errors. People that can't read a full stop or comma.

The phrase "Let's eat, Grandma" becomes "Let's eat Grandma". And then they want to abuse you for eating your Grandma. Idiots.

Amuses me too.

They have never seen a lawn mower....or a set of golf clubs, bowling balls, water-skis,..........

My wife has a friend in the Nomads MC Chiang Mai. They seem a fun bunch that do recreational rides, mostly out of town. No use to you in Bkk; but I'm sure if you search facebook (or google) you will definately find a group in Bkk. No doubt they won't mind you tagging along for a week.

I couldn't care less about the "money" thing. If I am dead tomorrow the wife and kids get everything, and vice versa. So why not share and enjoy everything whilst we are all here?

The only unwritten "pre-nup" clause we have is: If I become a cranky old bastard, slip a pill into my cup of tea, but don't get caught. I'm still here and hope to be for a long while yet.

OP, how romantic of you...........hope the proposal was accompanied by the appropriate noises.

As I about me. I didn't propose, she said to me one day, tomorrow we are going to BKK to get married, get ready..........

No questions asked......just followed orders and we are happy ever after.

And yes, she wears the trousers round here..........

Yes Costas. Appropriate noises were in stereo.

Said a special delivery was coming and to wait for the postman.. I turned up a week early to propose.. She was in shock.. We had a baby boy last friday too

Congratulations.

They may well have had a legitimate reason, but didn't tell you. My god-daughter and I were stopped by a police officer basically at gunpoint under an overpass near the Bangkok Mission Hospital last year. Little did we realise that a convoy carrying Her Royal Highness Ubolratana Rajakanya was approaching. We were just taking a short-cut. We raised our arms, and as soon as the convoy passed he smiled and let us on our way.

They like even the most babbling attempt at Thai. Don't forget that most Thais speak Thai Plus their own local dialect; whether it be Isan, Southern....

If they don't want us to understand what they are saying for whatever reason, they just switch. My wife still does that with her family and friends after 12 years. I love it.

I'll give anyone a fair chance. Even the ones that post comments about Thais living on biscuits... But this OP is just tooo much.

Don't worry about it. I'm sure if an Eskimo in Malta saw another Eskimo, he would refer to him in the "third person narrative" as .......an Eskimo.

Having said that, a valid passport and visa for a visit visa, is a valid passport and visa in any language. Her ID card should have nothing to do with it.

May I suggest that you either change everything or nothing.

It is when half your paperwork is in one surname and the other half in another that eyebrows are raised.

My wife still uses her maiden name after 2 kids and 9 years of marriage, it is just easier for us. Some of her friends have changed their names on everything with no immigration problems.

The only friends that I have heard of having trouble have a Police Check, bank accounts, health clearance etc in their maiden name; and their passport, ID card, house book etc in their married name. These are however Australian/ Thai couples only.

In 1985, as Engineering graduates, my dear friend Dr Roy W and I stopped in Thailand for 1 month en-route to the UK via Nepal, Africa etc. We took 11 months to get there. One of us went on to become a much respected medical specialist. The other one stayed with Engineering and eventually married a Thai and lived happily ever after.

I have a complete (basic) diary of our travels if anyone is interested.

We went to the post office to make phone calls and collect mail. We bought travellers cheques from American Express and changed them at the bank (there were no "bureau de change" in Thailand, or ATM). We woke up at 5am, as apposed to going to bed at 5am. For some reason, we seemed to do a hell of a lot of walking/ hitch-hiking. Ladies would ask us quietly if we wanted a "vegemite sandwich", instead of shouting "massage, massage" as we walked by. Taxis on Phuket stopped at 6pm. We fashioned a speargun from bamboo and reinforcing rod from a construction site to hunt crayfish....

Memories.

We had our "kodachome 64" slides developed at the nearest "photo-express', and picked them up 3 days later. There was no bottled water, we all carried a film canister of chlorine powder to sterilize our water..

The exchange rate was 14 baht to the dollar, variable daily. Before it was linked directly to the dollar....

14 bhat to the dollar? I'm curious. When might this have been?

14 baht to the Australian dollar, which was around 60/ 70 cents to the US dollar.That puts it around twenty something baht to the US dollar. I have no idea why, am quoting directly from my diary.

In 1985, as Engineering graduates, my dear friend Dr Roy W and I stopped in Thailand for 1 month en-route to the UK via Nepal, Africa etc. We took 11 months to get there. One of us went on to become a much respected medical specialist. The other one stayed with Engineering and eventually married a Thai and lived happily ever after.

I have a complete (basic) diary of our travels if anyone is interested.

We went to the post office to make phone calls and collect mail. We bought travellers cheques from American Express and changed them at the bank (there were no "bureau de change" in Thailand, or ATM). We woke up at 5am, as apposed to going to bed at 5am. For some reason, we seemed to do a hell of a lot of walking/ hitch-hiking. Ladies would ask us quietly if we wanted a "vegemite sandwich", instead of shouting "massage, massage" as we walked by. Taxis on Phuket stopped at 6pm. We fashioned a speargun from bamboo and reinforcing rod from a construction site to hunt crayfish....

Memories.

We had our "kodachome 64" slides developed at the nearest "photo-express', and picked them up 3 days later. There was no bottled water, we all carried a film canister of chlorine powder to sterilize our water..

The exchange rate was 14 baht to the dollar, variable daily. Before it was linked directly to the dollar....

14 bhat to the dollar? I'm curious. When might this have been?

14 baht to the Australian dollar, which was around 60/ 70 cents to the US dollar.That puts it around twenty something baht to the US dollar. I have no idea why, am quoting directly from my diary.

In 1985, as Engineering graduates, my dear friend Dr Roy W and I stopped in Thailand for 1 month en-route to the UK via Nepal, Africa etc. We took 11 months to get there. One of us went on to become a much respected medical specialist. The other one stayed with Engineering and eventually married a Thai and lived happily ever after.

I have a complete (basic) diary of our travels if anyone is interested.

We went to the post office to make phone calls and collect mail. We bought travellers cheques from American Express and changed them at the bank (there were no "bureau de change" in Thailand, or ATM). We woke up at 5am, as apposed to going to bed at 5am. For some reason, we seemed to do a hell of a lot of walking/ hitch-hiking. Ladies would ask us quietly if we wanted a "vegemite sandwich", instead of shouting "massage, massage" as we walked by. Taxis on Phuket stopped at 6pm. We fashioned a speargun from bamboo and reinforcing rod from a construction site to hunt crayfish....

Memories.

We had our "kodachome 64" slides developed at the nearest "photo-express', and picked them up 3 days later. There was no bottled water, we all carried a film canister of chlorine powder to sterilize our water..

The exchange rate was 14 baht to the dollar, variable daily. Before it was linked directly to the dollar....

In 1985, as Engineering graduates, my dear friend Dr Roy W and I stopped in Thailand for 1 month en-route to the UK via Nepal, Africa etc. We took 11 months to get there. One of us went on to become a much respected medical specialist. The other one stayed with Engineering and eventually married a Thai and lived happily ever after.

I have a complete (basic) diary of our travels if anyone is interested.

We went to the post office to make phone calls and collect mail. We bought travellers cheques from American Express and changed them at the bank (there were no "bureau de change" in Thailand, or ATM). We woke up at 5am, as apposed to going to bed at 5am. For some reason, we seemed to do a hell of a lot of walking/ hitch-hiking. Ladies would ask us quietly if we wanted a "vegemite sandwich", instead of shouting "massage, massage" as we walked by. Taxis on Phuket stopped at 6pm. We fashioned a speargun from bamboo and reinforcing rod from a construction site to hunt crayfish....

Memories.

Well this was a flop....Next......

Your post had a degree of nascissism about it within 2 dozen or so replies JAFO. How unusual.