moonoi

Obviously leftcross you have no idea of Thai culture. Read some books on Thai culture.

Barry

thanks for the advice. maybe i could ask my thai wife and her family, my thai boss or all of my thai friends and neighbours about thai culture?

meeting a girl's family is a big no-no for a respectable thai girl. thai girls don't have casual boyfriends (that their family knows about anyway). if you go to the family's house then you need to have serious intentions.

i didn't meet my girlfriend's family for eight months and when i did the talk was about marriage, which is what i understood and expected would happen.

it might be different if you are going to see the family of a bar girl, who has no reputation to protect, but you should tread very carefully for a normal girl. a westerner can walk away without any problem but the girl cannot. westerners need to be aware of that cultural difference.

I'm sorry leftcross but I have to agree with Barry, perhaps your circumstances are unique

My gf is not a a bg (doesn't even like bars or alcohol infact), shes well educated (degree) and has a very well paying job in the software industry, I met her family after about 4 months and it was just that...to meet the family not discuss marriage....her words at the time in fact were "they have to get to know you before they will accept you"

1 year in and I'm like part of the family now, but still no discussion of marriage. I get the impression that its still too soon for her parents to entertain the idea. She has to at least get a masters degree first and I have to prove to them that I can look after there daughter first.......

seems to me that things here move at a way slower pace than Europe

or maybe I found a unique girl

i dont think vw have an assembly plant here.

No but Yontrakit do They have permission from VW to assemble the Passat in Thailand

Try out a JRD 'Tornado'. It's only 150cc but has twin cylinders and all the extras you could think of as standard. It's as comfortable as the Honda Phantom, a similar size, and just as quick (or slow!). The price is less than 50,000 baht

But only if you not bothered about quality or reliability

Theres a dealer on Rama IV rd right outside the Khlong Toei MRT station

Forgot to add though that your probably better off buying one thats already been imported. If your able to get a license to import the car you'll pay a duty between 100-200% on the new value of the car plus tea money.....just do a search on this forum about importing cars.......the general consensus is forget about it....one of the forum members (tuk tuk mike) lost his car to the customs auction house after an outrageous import duty assessment.

Some people might say you love your mercs' too much

If its not rude to ask, how much did that model set you back and what other models did you see?

Quite impressed with the detailing on it!!!!

In a year from now people are gonna be like "GSM What?" This antiquated technology is maxed out at 2.5G.

Guys that work for Hutch know the skinny.

CDMA is the future. Sadly the Finns & The Swedish are gonna hold onto GSM for as long as possible.

Weird - I thought the Finns and Swedes (and the rest of the EU) had all installed UMTS (aka W-CDMA) already as their 3G system (which is based on a type of CDMA). In the UK anyway, you've got 3G networks living alongside the 2G networks.

Agreed - CDMA (in one brand or another) is the future, but GSM is fine for voice calls - so long as there are enough base stations for the number of phones, and the telecom providers have decent connections to their base stations, and between each other. (which are probably the bigger issues in Thailand).

(In some ways, GSM is better than CDMA as you get cheaper phones, because CDMA needs more processing power, and GSM is used virtually worldwide, meaning there's a bigger market for it.)

I do wish everyone had agreed on which type of 3G to use. Then we could have phones that work everywhere. - But you have CDMA2000 (with extensions such as EVDO), which you have in the US, Thailand, Japan (KDDi) and some other countries, and W-CDMA, which you have in Europe, Japan (Vodafone I think), and some other countries.

Indeed the reason why CDMA wasn't popular in the rest of the world is the level of royalties that Qualcomm (the owner of CDMA patents) wanted to build handsets and network infrastructure. The GSM charging structure is much more simple and fair.

Quite simply its impossible to build a CDMA network and handset anywhere near as cheaply and cost effectively as a GSM network......hence GSMs' popularity around the world

This is also the reason for all the differant 3G CDMA specifications. China for instance came up with its own version to avoid paying royalties to Qualcomm.....other countries probably did the same.

Probably down to politics in the end, no one wants there mobile network systems to be owned by the US

I suspect it goes back to that guy who put bigger rims and wanted Toyota to fix his breaks for free, burned his car and got in the news with a "brake problem". It's been described in details in some earlier threads.

Yup I concur. If you keep the car standard you'll have no problems. If you fit 22" rims that don't provide adequate cooling for the braking system then your gonna have problems.

Funny how one incident due to a dozy sod wanting to bling up his fortuner translates into all Fortuners have brake problems

Hello all, am thinking of purhasing a Toyota Fortuner and have heard from locals that this car will have brake problems at about 1000 km. Has anyone else heard this and any owners of the Fortuner have any issues/pluses they can tell me?

Basically looking for a second car, maybe an SUV-type/non mini van looking vehicle.

Thanks All.

Nope

The only problems with the brakes on Fortuners are if you modify the wheels and do not ensure they are designed for the car (ie adeqate cooling for the brake system).

You should really post this in the Motoring forum, plenty of very happy Fortuner owners there that will be only too happy to advise

Can a mod move this thread please?

Doing this everyday?

For me it used to be about 2-2.5 hours

But since they dug up a large amount of Ram-Inthra road around Km8 and the heavy rain this week has increased that to over 4 hours (it can take me nearly 45min just to get the 2km out of my Soi and that at 630 in the morning!!!!!)

Good think I'm moving south of Ram-Inthra road end of next week...so hopefully my travel time will go back to something like it was before

On a side note with the increase in commuting time I've discovered that the seats in my Mazda3 become rather uncomfortable at around the 2 hour point and I can't change em coz they've got damned airbags fitted inside them.......

Yes they mentioned that at the dealers. As I could only put down about 25% I didn't get a chance to see if it worked in practice.

I can confirm that it works in practise this is what I did.....have to have a work permit though

Hi guys,

I never realised my original post and questions would cause so many comments, but I have read everything and value all your comments - both positive and not so positive.

Firstly, all the debt I have built up is personal and not related to business activities in any way. Much of it relates to debt incurred about four years ago as a result of a marriage break-up. That's not an excuse or a sob story - just fact. I have been paying it off slowly, but my new position in Thailand will mean that my disposable income is much reduced by UK standards. I am not going into any more personal details but I truly believe you should look forward and not back.

I disagree with an earlier comment about my financial accumen (or lack of it) is in any way a reflection of any other part of my character or abilities. Some people are good at some things, some are not so good at others. I am the one to blame for what has happened and all the legal advice I have received is saying I should declare myself bankrupt and put what has happened behind me.

I do understand that the debts have to be paid by someone somewhere along the line, but what can I do? I have been offered an exciting and challenging position in Thailand and I am sure that most people here in my circumstances would be doing exactly the same thing. I know I have done wrong in the past and I am never going to make the same mistakes again.

Andy.

Hi Andy,

I was just about to start writing a new - and final - post on this thread, when your own post came in. It doesn't change what I was going to say - it just re-enforces it.

I have been absolutely gob- smacked by the unpleasant, judgemental, accusatory and just plain outrageous content of some of the posts here. I know there are a few jumped up self righteous moralisng ponces amongst the expat community in Bangkok, but I didn't realise that half of them would be offering you the benefit of their uncharitable prejudices on this thread.

You make a very polite posting, have obviously gone through an extremely distressing time, and ask for help and advice.

And these guys come on here, without any knowledge of your true circumstances and dare to pass outrageous moral judgements. They don't have the slightest idea of the kind of job you will be doing in Thailand - for all we know you might be a rally driver, or a computer software developer, or a factory builder or a creative designer - or God knows what.! There must be thousands of positions that do not involve any kind of financial responsibility, and even if they did, how do these guys know that you've ever been really irreposnsible? They know nothing about you yet they can say "they would never hire you" and imply that you don't deserve a fresh start.

Well Andy, I guess the world is made up of all sorts, and if you have been to Thailand before, you will know there is a lot of good eggs over here as well as a few bad ones.

The very best of luck in your new life in Thailand, I am sure you will make many good friends. I sincerely hope it all works out for you.

Hi Mobi

Your quite right in everything your say

Andy

I'd also like to wish you good luck in your new life in Thailand, don't worry about those that don't understand your situation.......quite a lot of people on TV are quite judgemental without knowing the full facts......but that said most are very helpful and good people

Unfortunately however in your defence of such individuals you “blissfully” gloss over a very simple fact ......... whatever reduced amount of the debt the “IVA” negotiates for the Debtor, the balance is most certainly NOT “written off” – it is added to the cost others pay for goods; just as major Department Stores allow for a percentage of stock to be lost to shoplifters and increase prices to take account of those losses.

In the final analysis a Bankrupt who flees from his responsibilities is no different to a shoplifter – they both leave honest Customers to face increased pricing.

So, sorry Chonabot, that’s definitely NOT "OK" with me.

Patrick

Exactly what goods are being sold by the credit cards?

Are you inferring that the unholy interest rates are hiked up because of these IVA/bankruptcy cases?

Surely the high interest rates are the very reason that these cases exist?

I would suggest that a bankrupt or IVA case is not running away from his debts , they are facing up to and dealing with them in a legal way , comparisons with a shoplifter are infantile to say the least.

May I ask how you came to hold such a biased view against this type of debtor?

I agree with what you say. It is not always down to finacial mismanagement by the individual.

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, my friend was forced into bankruptcy by the UK Government (Inland Revenue). And certainly not because he didn't "face up to his debts".

Although its easier to declare bankruptcy in the uk now (my friend did it under the old rules), its by no means easy..you have to prove your are insolvent to the court, they will freeze your bank accounts and seize any assets you hold. For anyone suggesting this is an easy way out of debt, then your sadly mistaken. It also leave a permanent bad mark on your credit rating.

If its a Thai company I would agree, they wont give a fig but if its a Multinational they may have a different opinion - the risk of course, is what the OP does if the shit hits the fan whats his plan then? Just looking at covering all the options - incidentally if it was me doing the hiring, I would fire him if I found out - quite simply shows a weakness of character that he is not facing up to his problems and sorting them out like a man. If he is prepared to do this, what else is he prepared to do that could negatively impact his position. If its as good a position as he eludes to, I think people would care

I also disagree with this statement. How does it show a weakness in character? By declaring bankruptcy the individual has faced upto there problems and is choosing the best way to to resolve them. I also believe that unless you work in the Financial Services industry then you are under no obligation to inform your employer that your are insolvent, it is not there business. I certainly would not fire someone (which in the UK you would be unable to do anyway) for not declaring themselves insolvent.

How do you know for instance the the reason for declaring insolvency is because the person lost there job, unable to find another job with a similar rate of pay means that they can no longer meet there payments. They negotiate with the creditors to restructure the debt and come to a new arrangement, but the creditors do not agree? In the past the only option was Bankrupcy although since 2004 there is now the Insolvency Voluntary Agreement (IVA) as a Chonabot mentioned.

Bankruptcy is not an easy way out, and should be thought about long and hard before deciding to go down that route as the effects of it will harm you for many years to come. Also according the the new UK rules you still maybe obiliged to repay some of the outstanding amount to your creditors during the term of the bankruptcy, its also possible for someone to contest a bankrupcy and reverse the decision should it become clear that they were not insolvent as claimed.

There are also many successful businessmen that had companies that failed and became insolvent before they met success. How are they any differant to an individual who due to circumstances outside of there control are unable to meet there debts? When you have exhausted all other avenues to meet your creditors demands and have been unsuccessful then what else are you to do?

However I agree that there are a small minority that use bankruptcy in order deliberately avoid repaying debt. But they are in the minority, unfortunately as with everything the minority get that loudest voice (be that bad press etc etc) don't for one minute think that everyone that declares themselves insolvent is doing so for this reason.

Ten last minutes of Da Vinci Code screening in Thailand to be censored

A police censorship committee will cut the ten last minutes of the controversial The Da Vinci Code film before allowing it to be screened in Thailand on May 18.

The censorship committee of the Police Registration Division reached a decision to cut the film after a meeting with representatives of various Christian organizations in Thailand and the film distributor in Thailand on Tuesday.

The committee and Christian representatives watched the film together and agreed to cut the last ten minutes.

The film distributor also agreed to print a warning at the beginning of the film that the movie was a fiction, not fact.

The Nation

How can you cut the last ten minutes of a movie without recking the ending? Thats a significant proportion of the film.

So instead of going to the movies to watch it...I'll get a bootleg version of the full uncut movie to watch instead

Anyone read this

And Again Asians Are Chosen

Dear friends

Once again I have good news for us people who believe in signs from the heavens.

In the country of my mother's ancestors, in beautiful Thailand, mysterious alien droppings have been discovered.

The first mysterious roll was discovered in the chosen province of Uthai Thani - in the washtub of Worawut Wiphusana, hidden amongst a load of dirty clothes.

The object swelled up to the size of 12 centimetres. But it shrivelled up to less than 5 centimetres when dry.

The wise men of the land were called. It was heard that a new marine species has been discovered in the bath tub. But for most of those true, hard working people the mystery was a clear sign of the Almighty.

The family of Worawut Wiphusana that discovered the object put it on display in a water jar, attracting villagers and worshippers.

There in Uthai Thani the heavens have given a sign.

Suddenly, all over the country sightings of the wormlike rolls in wash tubs and water basins were seen.

A holy land of holy people, indeed.

The faithful in Uthai Thani are still worshipping the manifestation of some holy spirit, whereas government scientists examined them.

It's used cooling gel sheets, they said. Used to relieve fever in children. The people of Uthai Thani though know, they are the chosen one

Original here

So funny

Baby Pilot Rules 1 of many:-

1. Fuel required to arrive at destination from point of departure.

2. At destination 45 minutes holding fuel.

3. Fuel required for 45 minute flight to diversion airport.

4. Diversions planned per route for application on route.

5. Hence little need for 3 & 4.

I would doubt very, very much that an airline such as BA would ever be involved in a fuel crisis on a long held route (operated by Quantas) as reported in the People.

Indeed, the route would involve using more fuel to get to Phuket than actually being in the hold at BKK for 20 mins with a diversion to Singapore if it was a weather thing.

(CAT 1- 2-3).

And who ever accused the People of allowing the facts to get in the way of a good story?.

The quoted pilot said he was flying from Sydney to Bangkok.....Phuket is closer than BKK when approached from Australia........so that part of the story is not so far fetched as it might seem.

Anyway its easy to research, just search for BA flights that were diverted on that route it could well be that it happened several years ago.......

Hi, and thanks to everyone that has posted - I really do appreciate your comments and thoughts.

I know I could be in trouble if I did get credit with no intention of paying it back, but that's certainly not the case for me. I've done nothing criminally wrong, and whilst I could just 'disappear' I don't want to run the risk of companies here selling the debt to a Thai Collection Firm in the future. I know that happens and, even when the debt originated in the UK, you can be 'chased' under Thai Law where, as I understand it, the penalties are more severe.

If anyone is in the same situation I'd be happy to share any of my forthcoming experiences with them. I am certain I am going to file for bankruptcy here and make things formal before I travel.

Thanks again.

Andy.

This is incorrect, there is no agreement between Thailand and the UK (or Europe for that matter) for seizure of assets. Also they cannot sell the debt to a Thai Collection agency, they can sell to a UK agency that operates internationally. But again they cannot seize any assets from you in Thailand.

If you were moving to somewhere in europe then yes you could have a problem, but only if you had seizable assets in the other country. Being bankrupt in the UK doesn't cause you a problem in any other european country either.

I know this as a friend of mine went through a bankrupcy just before the new insolvency laws came into effect in 2004 in the UK although he was living in France in the time. In order to declare bankrupcy you don't have to be resident in the UK, but you must be present when you file your petition at the the court.

So for piece of mind if I were you I would declare yourself bankrupt before leaving the UK in order to avoid any difficulies. If it is grant it will clear you of all debt, including any taxes owed to the Inland Revenue.

Just as a point of interest it was the Inland Revenue that caused my friends bankrupcy, they re-evaluated 5 years of expenses and decided they were all taxable and demanded payment.......impossible people to negotiate with, so instead of getting something back they got nothing....

EDIT: Just wanted to add its quite well know in France that students who went to study in the UK and rack up debts there then also declare themselves bankrupt before leaving the UK and returning to France (I know several people who did this!) and it never caused them a problem in the French banking system

Ok Guys here's what u guys may not know,

those unidentified calls are those who tried to call the previous users of ur number. They are not crazy and there is nothign wrong with technical system or the reception. In the past there was no system that help users to warn their contacts when they decided to switch to other numbers. It would happens more to those who use Prepaid numbers ( high turnover per number)..u just happens to use someone's else ex number..that is all.

Next time, whenever they do calls, tell them this number is no longer belong to those they try to call-end of case.

Hope that this helps.

Dory

Hmm, the point is they are told but don't believe it......so that advice doesn't really help sorry

My computer crashed as I was completing my last post

Just wanted to say that I think the reason Gig/Gik came up is the OPs' description of his relationship with #2 is better described by that term

That is not correct. The relationship which I am seeking is not for casual sex. It is intended for emotional, physical and mental gratification and compatibility, which will be appreciated and enjoyed by both parties. This dose not exist in my formal marriage. The "lady new" seems to have the qualities for a much better fit with me.

I suspect you didn't read my complete post.

The term Gig doesn't describe casual sex partner for the majority of thai people I know....

Just to repeat myself

Friendship like in the western world is a new discovery for the Thai-society... I would say a "Gig" is a friend/soulmate from the opposite gender with whom you can speak about "everything".

seems more like what your are describing to me.......

the next step for you is maybe to divorce you current wife and hook up with #2 and forget about the "mia noi route" or try to fix the problems in your relationship

My computer crashed as I was completing my last post

Just wanted to say that I think the reason Gig/Gik came up is the OPs' description of his relationship with #2 is better described by that term

Hold your horses there...never ever claimed to have a mia nowy...

I PREFER TO USE NUMBERS....as in number one, number two, number three...

Gik just has too many uses and meanings...and if the relationship is just based on sex, than it can't be really considered as a Gik by overall use...The use as a sex buddy is more under-ground i.e. males in the locker room type talk...

A gik does not have 'too many meanings'- it has one: casual sex buddies with no strings attached.

But this thread is about mia noi's, not giks. So I would prefer we agree to diagree and leave it at that.

Then perhaps you should read this thread then

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=68270

Gik/gig does indeed have many meanings as GW said

For me (my gf and most of my thai collegues) Gig doesn't involve sex at all

I shall quote Patex from the other thread as its the closest match to my understanding of the term:

Friendship like in the western world is a new discovery for the Thai-society... I would say a "Gig" is a friend/soulmate from the opposite gender with whom you can speak about "everything".

There is a sexual dimension but mostly on a platonic level because sex would destroy the deep familiarity.

It has to be a joke Very amusing read

If its not then shes' sadly a very deluded person

Although I did read the book 1634, The year China dicovered the World. There is compelling evidence to say that the Chinese did invent things, have major international trade routes across the region and explore many places before the western world. But then the next Emperor (sorry can't remember who been a while since I read the book) decided that China need to concentrate on itself and destroyed many documents proving this becoming very insular.

Actually the book is called 1421 the year China discovered the world and it is a very interesting read i am about half way through it where he is offering dna proof that north america was settled back then by the dear ole Chinese.

Having done a fair bit of sailing and understanding his theorys and the seemingly overwhelming proof of evidence found i think they did an amazing job of discovery as did the author of this book. I recomend it highly.

1421 web site

Ahh well I did say its been some time since I read it

I would say it goes both ways with the romanisation of thai words by thai. Ever seen the differant spellings for the same place on road signs, maps etc etc

Anyway to me Sondhi (the way I say and is understood by my thai collegues) sonti and son tee maybe son tii too are pretty much the same

Oh I might add the romanised spelling normally comes from the family not the post or nation.....thats how Sondhi, Abhisit et all chose to spell there names

Dare I say OP is trolling.......

EDIT: Oh and the vast majority working for those publications are Thai too........

Well my food budget works out at 200 per day on average

I don't eat much western food (just the odd pizza once or twice a month)

Breakfast - 30 baht

Lunch - 50 baht

Dinner - 50 baht

Drinks for the day - 70 baht (with meals)

Wow! 70 baht on drinks! Steady on, old chap.

Thats a lot of drinks Can of coke/sprite/lipton lemon tea/green tea etc etc is just 5 baht from my office and coffee is free. Take some cans' home too.....I'm mr cheap

Well my food budget works out at 200 per day on average

I don't eat much western food (just the odd pizza once or twice a month)

Breakfast - 30 baht

Lunch - 50 baht

Dinner - 50 baht

Drinks for the day - 70 baht (with meals)

EDIT: Forgot to add I don't cook food at home as I don't have a kitchen. Quite often have those 5 baht instant noodles though...but thats not cooking

I concur.

Germans are bent on pricing themselves out of the market completely and their products do not justify prices in any sense. Their combined market share was less than 2% last year. That's the whole luxury+sporty segment.

Thanks guys, it is a choice then for me between Toyota Camry ( 2004.05), Honda Accord 3.0 ( 2004-2005) and BMW 323i SE ( 2004) OR 5 SERIES ( 2002-2003 )........WHAT WOULD BE WISEST CHOICE and Where would you go to get the best deal ?

Well a "wise" choice would be a Camry (although I can't stand the look of them...real ugly buggers) or Accord (if it was me this would be my choice out of the 2 ) The heart would say 5 series....and forget the 3.

End of the day its your personal choice, the BMW is a real drivers car but might hit your pocket hard in cost of running...I know some people complain of reliability but I know a few people with 5 series around the age your looking at and have had no issues other than normal wear and tear/servicing costs. If you like your driving and don't fancy the possible expense of running a BMW opt for the Accord, its also a pretty good rewarding car to drive although the fit and finish aren't quite upto the BMW.......and forget the Camry if your the kind of person who enjoys to "drive" it has the fastest 0-Sleep time in that class (funnily enough just like the Altis )