phusingpete

Onion Luke - is that just before the hotel on the corner?

Bergen, the artwork that Phadaeng have errrr ummmm 'hanging' is not really my taste!

Yes , and if you were to turn right at the corner you would be aproaching the big fire station . It is on the ground floor of an old shop house . I remember prints and objects hanging on the walls . I was looking for old vinyl records , unsuccessfully .

MeMock , did you find any thing ?

A bit late I know, but if you are still looking take a look here. http://freebeerforyorky.com/pete.html

I believe he already has Geoff. Shame really, it was a lovely place.

John.....

Restaurant/Hotel or both???

Think we better be clear on that

Yes indeed we should be clear on that. The hotel and as I understand it the bar will still be open. I shall certainly miss Rudi's food.

Thank you again for your response and for taking time out of your day to write such a detailed response.

You ask a very good question, a question that I too have thought about over the last few weeks. We want to bring the little girl over to the UK because we believe it will advantageous for her in the long run. I believe a child needs parents who can make sound decisions on their behalf when they are small; as they move into adolescents they need someone to assist them with their decisions so that when they get to adulthood they can make sound decisions for themselves.

Therefore , should Mean (her name) decide at 21 years old that she would like to relocate to Thailand, then we will be supportive of her decision knowing that we have guided her to the best of our abilty. Our main priority is that she is given all the tools as a child/adolescent to make such choices when she becomes an adult.

When we return to Thailand later in the year, we will visit a Thai lawyer and see what the actual process is. I have done some research and it seems that a private adoption is processed much quicker than one done through an adoption agency.

Again, thank you for your response.

Whatever you do stay well clear of private adoption, this is deemed illegal by the Thai adoption authority in Bangkok, I believe you have been sent their info sheets so you have probably already noticed this. Thai's do this all the time but being Thai they can get it legalised locally. My wife did this 30 months ago but because I am Farang we had to go to Bangkok where we have had no help or co-operation whatsoever, because we already have the child. I am living in Thailand. You will need to go through the adoption service in your own country as well as in Thailand. Good luck.

"Everybody must know the law" is a statement, feeling sorry for the guy too. And I feel sorry for him, even now he did something illegal. But did he know ? No one tells you when you enter the country. This artist did what every artist does: make something, create something. Have fun and make people smile.

This case could have been solved in a different way. Make the man understand the rules, take the 20 baht away from him, fine him with a 200, warn him and let him go. But the officer sticked to his principles and forgot that the man made a minor offence and forgot that this is the land of smiles.

Drugs available at the corner of the street; many violations of traffic rules; no helmet and no driving license; so many things wrong and than pick this man and deport him ? I have no words for this.

But may be we do not know everything. Did he have a big mouth ? Were his papers OK ? Did he have funds to live from ? Was this the first time they saw him doing this "terrible illegal things" ?

Many questions remain.

When you travel to a foreign country you need to study and learn the local laws. No sympathy.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Danish-Tour-...ml#entry3268087

Work permit, work permit, work permit!!!!!

OK so he did break the law, but what we clearly have here is a complete and utter lack of JUSTICE. You can have a law but there should be a system of justice that weighs up any infringement of that law, to investigate the nature and severity of that infringement and then dispense justice accordingly. Are you saying, gotlost that you really consider this guy's treatment as JUST. I am interested in this case as I am a Painter (pictures), I'm always being asked to paint someones portrait, often by a policeman, I never do. I never sell or give my paintings away but they are on my walls, am I breaking the law?

I have been considering going to Siam reap for some time now. Can you advise the cost of the taxi from Osmach to Siam Reap?

You said you used a taxi at the boarder so are taxis always waiting there? Please give us some more info Hotel cost, how was teh hotel good, bad etc. You make a post but vauge.

I have just returned from a 7day trip to Sien Riep. I went via Osmach bloody awful dirt road, we had a car arranged to meet us at the border $125 per day sure it can be done cheaper. I returned via Chonsangam (sp) near phusing, a good paved road all the way, took 2 hours from our Hotel to border, but you would need to be met at the border, nothing much exists here. I stayed at Reaksmey Chanreas Hotel right in the nightlife

, good bars and restaurants in abundance, good Hotel friendly and clean, $15 per night. Taxi back to border cost 2500 baht, I cannot recall name of taxi firm but I can get it if you are interested.

A thread that should have been called, things you have never seen before and irritate you because you have never lived in any other developing country. I have seen nothing mentioned here I have not seen in other Asian countries.

Amusing nevertheless, mostly because it says so much about the posters.

For me what is most uniquely Thai is the blend of Buddhism and animism you find here that permeates pretty much all levels of society. You find animism in many Asian countries, but it just seems much more practiced here. I think it may because of the lack of European influences (or communism in some cases), particularly in religion that happened in most other Asian countries.

TH

Something that has always baffled me, particularly considering the importance of Losing Face, is the complete lack of respect given to speakers at large functions. I have seen this happen at so many functions, when the VIP speakers start their speeches everyone just carries on talking and laughing loudly without any regard for the speaker. And the VIP speaker continues to drone on and on and on regardless.

When I transfer through UK telephone banking i get asked the question,

"How do I want to pay the charges? This end, that end, split the charges?"

Can somebody please explain exactly what this is, and what option i should choose.

Note: this is seperate to the 20 GBP charge to use the service.

And i did ask the bank what was best deal for me, but of course in there lies a conflict of interest.

I have accepted my UK banks offer to pay bank charges here in Thailand before. They charged me the same price as the UK charge, 20 pounds. The bank charge in Thailand is no where near this, just another Banking scam.

Littering and spoiling the environment is a world wide phenomenon

Really? I have the opinion that littering and a national average IQ might show some correlation!

Strange but I have found that the litter problem has improved tremendously over the last 8 years. When I first came here to a small village in Issan, the place was strewn with litter, a real mess. Now we have regular rubbish collections, taking away unwanted waste.In addition all plastic bottles, tins, paper, glass is saved and later sold. potted plants now adorn the front areas of the farmers houses and it really is a very pleasant environment. Certainly I do see children drop their crisp bags on the ground, and you do see occasional plastic bags around but nowhere near what it used to be. Just noticed a few plastic bags outside my gate, I am sure they were left by the rubbish collectors. I shall go clear it now.

And remember not to tell the buggers that you are out of the UK ...

...and spend the rest of your life worrying about whether they find out.

how? there are even guys here claiming the social,which i dont by the way approve of ,but you paid for your pension ,you earned it,dont let them take it away .unless someone phones them and splits on you they wont find out.

Wait til the FULL effect of these new style biometric passports kick in........THAT's how !!!!

While they stop short of knowing what colour underwear you are wearing, they will reveal a lot more about you than you both think and would like them to know. And all at the press of a key

Also, when you say "claiming the social" what kind of social are you talking about? unemployment benifit?

Or is it a disability one thats perfectly entitled to be claimed for while the recipient is abroad?

Penkoprod

I cannot imagine them ever putting all the information together, they are so bloody inefficient, which is why so many people get away with fraud. I applied for the state pension in Dec. 2007, told them I was in Thailand, married to a Thai, wanted monthly payments and claimed for my dependent wife. I sent all required documents and it was all ignored, they sent my pension info to my previos address in uk, which stated that I had told them I was not married. They also included an increment that I was not entitled to, ignored my claim for the wife and paid me weekly. When I advised them of this they very quickly removed the mistaken increment but I am still awaiting the dependant's allowance. When I recently phoned them, they asked for my address ,they would not talk to me as they had an address on their computer that I had left 10 years earlier. I have recently received a payment of 250 pounds, which I assume is the coal allowance, something else I am not entitled to.

I can see a pragmatic and possibly fair reason why the pension should not increase.....

Those spending their pensions in the UK will be setting in motion a chain of payments out of which taxes direct or indirect will take a certain percentage. I'm guessing this must be an % amount not less than inflation. This will go back into the government coffers in turn helping keep the pensions up. Those living abroad will not be so doing. They will instead be modestly subsidising the Thai tax coffers through their spending. As they didn't pay income taxes through their life here to build up some of the communal benefits they enjoy, that seems not unequitable.

I have no idea of the official justification for no increase and whether my suggestion comes into it.

......but perhaps it'll help you feel better.....

John

On the other hand I and I am sure many others living in Thailand are paying taxes to the British state , these taxes will increase when you receive the state pension, even though we do not benefit from any British amenities.

I have noticed that a lot of my customers come from certain jobs. Like Taxi Drivers, Policemen, Airline Crew or Armed Forces. Where did you come from? I was an Aircraft Ground Engineer for instance.

I have been a painter most of my life, pictures not walls. Though I did spend around 5 years training and working as a plastic surgeon in Sidcup, uk. Loved the work, very creative though some of the punters were somewhat stunned by my passion for the cubist style. Told them to keep the bandages on for 6 months while I shot off to Thailand. Have noticed one or two ex customers in the farang connection.

If George is going tell him to leave his f****** computer at home.

Peter

I'll tell him to leave his head at home.........slightly better chance. ( we are referring of course to GEAussie,not TV George)

Thats the one.

Hi

This point should be taken seriously by all UK passport holders after all baring unfortunate circumstances we will all be pensioners at some stage.

To me it seems petty minded and spiteful to selectively punish anyone who choses to live out their retirement overseas. However New Labour has been encouraging us to take responsibility for our own pensions and at the same time stealthily pillaging pension funds so is it any wonder we are treated badly.

So maybe a letter or 2 would not go amiss, at least when crying in ones occasional treat of a beer a few years down the line at least you did try to do something positive rather than just criticize the original post.

Another point which has crossed my mind is that should the govt departments ever get there act together and liaise, with the new biometric passports which everyone will have to have within under 10 years then the pensions dept would have access to all your overseas movements and know who was where and for how long! Big Brother huh!

TBWG

Hi,

I am just now going through the process of claiming my state pension,been going on since november. It is the principle involved here the irks me, I have never had any state benefit, worked all my life and paid my dues, now they work diligently to give me the minimum possible. However at the other end of the machine they take as much tax from me as possible, even though I am not living there or using their amenities.

Is it true that if I return to uk they make up the difference in my pension. I usually do a trip now and then.

cheers Phusing

I havent been to the FC (or Surin) since the last TV party. Really want to come but Martin will have loads of ammo about just coming for the free food and beer.

Just have to close my ears, I really enjoyed the last one

Don't worry Andy.........I'll share it around

Got my share last time .....................and hope for some this time as well

Hi Trond, it will be good to see you, hope you are fit and tuned up for the disco dancing. I don't think Martin is refering to the free beer and food when he talks of sharing it around.

Martin I assume you have booked us a room, a letter from my mum is, at this very moment, winging it's way from heaven.

I really don't want to spend another night under the table with yorkie. If George is going tell him to leave his f****** computer at home.

Peter

We are waiting for our third adoption child now. When we get the first two (Thai babies), we lived in Europe and now we live in Thailand.

I have to say that it was much easier when we were in Europe..social workers did almost all the paper work and were in contact with Thai authorities.

This time we had to do everything by ourself: home report, criminal check from police (took 3 months, in Europe 3 days), all familydocuments translated in English..and still, always something missing. It took one year for us to get all the documents to the adoption office. The day everything was completed was 13 months ago and we have no idea how long we still have to wait. Estimated time was 15-18 months but our friends in Europe has been waiting for 2,5 years.

There are many families waiting. And orphanies are not so full of children as it looks like. Many (or the most?) of the children are not free for adoption. And many of the children are special need children with behavior disorders, hepatite-B, Hiv..There are many families who want those few healthy babies, that's why it takes a long time.

We are waiting for THAT phone call every day..

Hi, My Thai wife and I are in the process of adopting a Thai baby, or I thought we were. We already have the baby, she has been with us for 13 months, since she was born. My wife heard about a couple who had just had a new born girl and wanted to find a home for her. They were extremely poor and already had several children, I was in England at the time,so had to deal with the process by phone. My wife, her family, village elders and pui bann dealt with formalities, no money changed hands, this I insisted upon. We went to the adoption dept in Bangkok a year ago, filled in forms and gave documents. Since then I have been waiting for letters of authorisation to get records on my wife and I from the Thai police. They simply do not reply to my letters. Does anyone know If there is any other way I can get such authorisation.

We had tried the IVF route, big needle and all but the fertilzed eggs did not take. Though expensive I would have tried again but my wife was so depressed she refused. Thing is she actually had the symtoms of pregnancy, morning sickness etc, and was convinced it had worked.

The baby we have is an absolute joy she has enriched our lives beyond my dreams, also the lives of my wife's extended family and the locals. They have all taken her to their hearts as though she were their own. I have had children in the past when a younger man, but then I was working always busy, up early in the mornings etc. Now I have bags of time to devote to her, if she wakes uip at night no problem we can play,I can sleep when I want in the morning.

BUT, I really need to legalise the situation, any advice on dealing with the adoption dept. would be really appreciated. Phusingpete

Can we have a few confirmations on who's coming, who wants rooms etc.

ok Martin, I may very well be in the area around the 6th,It has been a long time since I met up with you all. Please book me a room at your usual special price, the low special price, not the high one. Not to worry about the pasta sauce I still have 10 jars left from the last lot you sold me. Plus 9 loaves of bread,8 salad creams, 7 tins of beetroot, 6 jars of pickle, 5 packs of custard, 4 slabs of cheddar, 3 jars of marmite, 2 chicken madras, and a......................

The other half will probably be there to supervise my every move, but not little Daisy I think.

By the way have you spent all your money yet?

peter

feolindo,

yes, I agree!

Thanks for posting- i like your work.

I've been living and painting/illustrating here for 4.5 years, one thing I miss is mixing (no pun ) /hanging out with other artists- as I live far from the "city".

It’s been a good/weird experience as the local people i meet (i live in the country sticks, on a tourist island) dont really get their head around "art", until they saw there was some cash to be made from it.

If I can, I try to spend some time in Bali where there is a large expat/local art community, which I can feed off to a certain extent.

Are there any good Bangkok/Thailand (not to miss) art websites/links?

Anybody else out there.. ?

come on... dont by shy.

hellohello

Hi, I have been painting out here in the sticks (Issan) for some years now, love it out here, the landscapes are wonderful and the Issan women so beautiful, I always think of them as being Gauganesque, if you know what I mean. Spend every day in my studio working ,something I could never do in the UK, too many distractions. Do not know how to post images on the web, sorry...

You can buy SIX Fortuners for the price of BMW X5.

Did I not just say all that in my previous posts?

My perfectly valid point was to let you experience the differing quality in the ride of a German automobile in comparison to the Fortuner so you could come to an accurate conclusion about the standard of handling it provides.

Not really difficult to comprehend.

I understand your point perfectly well, it's just examples of cars you offer don't make much sense.

"Great value for money" is if one car is 20% cheaper than the other, not THREE to SIX times cheaper. It's like comparing smallish Hyundai to top BMW 7 series.

People who drive Fortuner yet again praise its handling. They probably compare it to Japanese cars in its price range - Civic, Camry, Accord, CRV, Altis etc.

Camry and Accord are double the price of a Fortuner... I could have used them as a comparison also, I just chose not to.

Like I said, it is value for money when put up against the competition in the similar price range but it is not all it is cracked up to be and it handles nothing like a car.

Handles acceptably for an SUV based on a pick-up though.

I also own a Fortuner which I drive every day and find the handling far better than just 'acceptable', though I do not generally drive at breakneck speeds. I remember some guy who borrowed a Fortuner and went on about how difficult it was to get out of busy parking lot's such as Big C. I have never had such a problem I find it manouvres so easily for the size of vehicle. It has good acceleration for overtaking and I certainly do not hear the engine when I am driving. In fact I was surprised when I got out of the car to open the gate and heard the usual noise of a diesel engine . Neither have I ever noticed any loud noise from the tyre's on the road. I think the car is fantastic value for the money, and to say the'look of the car' I assume this means the design,' is average at best' ...I rest my case.....

Xmas Day at the Farang Connection in Surin:

First I really have to give a more than big 'THANK YOU' to Martin and his wife and all the staff ,they worked so hard and the food was absolutely wonderful, how the hel_l they coped I dont know. You can book me in for next year Martin.

Cheers mate.....in all over 150 turned up. The staff were wonderful. Only one complaint, a Norwegian complained he had Turkey and not Pork. Pity nearly everyone turned up together though.

Your booked in for next year.....by the way, it's being held in our villa in St Lucia. No, seriously, we just about broke even for the day, with all the staff bonuses. We had two turkeys left over, so we got through 13 birds, around 16lbs.

It was indeed a really great day Martin, many thanks to you ,the missus and staff, a very successful Xmas extravaganza.What a crowd,so many good looking farang assembled in one spot and they all made such an effort to look their very best. I was particularly impressed with yorkies little maroon ensemble with the lace trim, not so sure about the matching ear-rings though. Unusual for him to put in such an effort .

What about Alf! as usual he was wearing his viking helmet,but he actually made an effort and painted it red in keeping with the festive occasion, but he let himself down when he began a chorus of viking war songs.

My author friend actually sold 98 copies of his novel, clearly a high proportion of avid readers among your customers, or perhaps they were just keen to get rid of him. So all in all a successful day, once again many thanks...........................................

MERRY XMAS TO ALL OF YOU AT THE FARANG CONNECTION

Thanks for the hospitality thats is always forthcoming and friendly atmosphere and of course 1st Class Menu.

See you all later today

Bah!!! Humbug!!!!!!!

Here's one.............

Thats just a picky of Martin talking to a bit of wood,so what, he does that all the time.......................

Dear Lampy, as chief sponsor and arbinger of lively debate and sophisticated discourse on the Issan forum, for god sake post something , we need you man, we NEED you...............

I gave up Polygamy...

Then we still broke up.

I'm regretting giving up the polygamy.

Surely you can take polygamy up again!!!!!!!

I gave up drinking in the Broadway pub in Adelaide wiv my mate Bronco..................

Chiang Mai,

You have already taken the first step to quitting by declaring you want to quit.

You must now take the second step which is to understand why you smoke.

So why do you? Post your answer here.

You will find the answer here www.whyquit.com

This is a sincere question, if you want help to quit, make the effort to post a genuine answer.

Hi, I did look at this thread some time back and thought I should join in at a later date. Anyhow I stopped smoking on August 3 2006 when I flew back to UK for a 5 week break. I was not going to pay those ridiculous prices. Have been helped by the nicorette chewies and up to now all has gone well.But recently returned to my home in Issan after a month in the UK and several months in Bangkok, now settled in my home and begin painting (pictures) again. Suddenly I find I spend a lot of time thinking about a cigarete, I always used to stop work on a painting sit down with a cigarette and think about the work in progress, and I think I miss this. I do not intend to give up the fight now, but is'nt it a strange business.......

I want to quit smoking, its a 20 a day habit and its really getting me down. I need more than willpower and i was interested in nicotine patches but the price i was quoted was incredibly expensive at 1500bht for 7 days supply...........thas 6000 bht per month and you still need willpower on top............

So how can i find and buy these cheaper. I hear in the UK the doctor gives them for free but I have been ex pat for 6 years now and have lost touch with all and sundry in thew UK

Any suggestions guys and gals

JAF

Hi, I have tried these patches in the past and found them to be totally useless in this climate. I used to place one on my arm in the morning and find it in my underpants in the afternoon, the swear generated by the heat creates an excelent surface for the patches to surf around your body, they usually end up stuck to your clothing. I have found the Nicorette chewing gum to be far more effective, now into my 5th month........yippeeeeeeee.......

Sorry the 'swear' should be sweat.......