Stevemercer

I agree with Southernstar. Maybe you could rent a house or property in Chang Ria so you can look around. There are plenty of bargains (people desperate to sell for cash), but it is all word of mouth. If you see an area you like, your wife can ask around. The locals all know who wants to sell. Your wife can take photos of any decent land. You should stay away or the price will go up.

'In an apparent reference to the videos shown at driving centers to promote good habits on the roads he intimated that the Thais attention span was too short.

"You need everything to be fun - after less than two hours of watching a movie you switch off".'

While I agree with the attention span comment, I think anyone would switch off 'after less than two hours' of a safety video.

Sometimes local hospitals can be sympathetic. A friend of mine had a heart attack a few years ago and received initial treatment to stabilise him at the local hospital. He was referred to a large regional hospital for an urgent necessary bypass operation, but he couldn't afford the 180,000 Baht fee needed. The doctor treating him at the local hospital signed him up to the '30 Baht' scheme, just for his heart related illness, and he was able to have the operation the following week for free.

Thai government workers and ex-government workers have medical insurance to which they can also sign up one co-dependent (such as a spouse or other immediate family member). While the insurance does not offer any immediate benefits above the universal '30 Baht scheme', hospitals claim reimbursement of costs directly back from the government, rather than using their own revenue. This means that government workers may get preferential treatment, full tests, full treatment etc.

The Baht keeps getting higher so the fundamentals of the Thai economy must be strong. It beats me how a country can deplete its foreign reserves by 80%, over a few years, and still be considered to be economically on track by the international community. Oh well, what do I know about economics. I'm sure the government knows best.

I don't know about this specific case, but most western countries would put the welfare of the children first. What is best for the children? Will the children be better off with relatives? In Australia, any decision to deport someone, and leave their children in Australia, would be appealable and, I suspect, not win much public sympathy. 

I still enjoy the vibe at Pattaya/Jomtien on my occasional trips from rural Thailand. We stayed near Soi 18 at Jomtien and I was surprised by how elderly most of the tourists seemed. Anyway, still a great place for a friendly and cheap massage. Walking at the back of the soi some ladies waved me in for a few drinks and to complain about their overseas boyfriends. There just seem to be endless possibilities and opportunities in Pattaya/Jomtien, and there are still 100s of decent ladies around if you stay away from the tourist bars.

I was on an end of school teacher's bus trip and didn't even get gouged for double pricing at all the tourist places. I even swam in the ocean and it wasn't too bad. A nice cool(ish) sea breeze in the late afternoon made things seem more relaxed.

The quality of care seems fine, but there are long lines at some hospitals.

This morning I went for a blood check (mainly cholesterol, sugar and PSA). I arrived at 7:30 am and went through the usual reception business. I gave the blood at about 8:00 am and went to the cafeteria to eat. At 9:00 am I was called to talk to the doctor about my results.

I also wanted to renew one of my prescriptions, but the right doctor didn't turn up until 9:00 am. The nurse directed me to the specialist at 9;15 am and then I went to get the prescription filled at the hospital pharmacy which took only a few minutes. There was no charge for anything.

I did go to the same hospital for 2 nights for a minor procedure last year. They put me a 6-person ward, but said I could stay in a 'luxury' room if I paid 600 Baht a night. That is what I did, the room was private, modern, spacious and very comfortable.

I must admit that this a relatively new university public hospital and is not yet crowded with patients.

If you are on your wife's government employer  insurance, the hospital charges the government directly for all the treatment costs which is then reimbursed by the government directly back to the hospital. So it is to the hospital's advantage to give you good care because they get full cost recovery. This is compared to the universal '30 Baht' care system which comes out of the hospital's centrally allocated budget, and which often runs short. 

I'm married to an ex-school teacher and am on her insurance. One has to be registered at the various hospitals one might want to use first, but this is pretty easy. One also has to wait in lines a lot just like any other public heath service around the world. It is best to go in the afternoon when it is quieter. I also have private insurance, but haven't had to use it yet.

I am registered at 3 hospitals - one in the local town for minor ailments, a university hospital in a large town for routine prescriptions etc., and a big hospital in a major city if I need to see a specialist.

One big advantage is free dentistry care which is available at all hospitals. The local one charges for cosmetic works like crowns, but only 1,500 Baht. I had a root canal treatment at the university hospital, at no cost, and the quality of work seemed fine.

Of course, all your prescriptions are free as well. I have glaucoma which required a $160 (after Medicare) visit to the eye doctor in Australia, plus $80 for prescription drops each month. Over here in Thailand I pay nothing for the eye doctor consultation and nothing for the prescriptions.

Oh yes, I agree. Many blended wines in the $10 - $20 price bracket (Australian price) are excellent. A $1.50 wine might be OK as a table wine, and still tastes better than most wines made in Thailand (in my opinion).

I reckon you go through stages in your life. I'm currently retired and wanted a bit of a hobby farm to muck around on and use my hands. I'd go mad in a suburban house.  I'll probably stay in Thailand for about 10 years. The big advantage for me is that I can live in Thailand at a similar standard to my pre-retirement income as in Australia. If I stayed in Australia, I'd have to keep working.

As they say, 'happiness is just a state of mind' - it's not a place, a new car, a big house, a new girl or whatever.  By definition, a happy person is one who is content with their lot in life and what they have. I'm content in Thailand at the moment and have everything I need at this stage of my life.

My question was going to be - Why add fruit juice to wine? Surely this is just an added expense? OK, I can see the answer above is that it is just for tax reasons, to make wine affordable and to develop the domestic industry. Fair enough.

Cheaper wines (under 500 Baht) will be blended wines (with the grapes or raw wine coming from any number of vineyards). In Australia, Aldi changed the game some years ago with blended wines selling for $1:50 (35 Baht) a bottle. They're probably up to $2:50 (65 Baht) a bottle by now. My wife use to bring these back to Thailand and palm them off as good wines from Australia. Of course, none of her Thai family or friends could tell the difference from a decent $20 (500 Baht) wine.

Legally BlackJack is correct. Requiring 'proof of income' to be attached to a stat dec that an embassy official witnesses is just an administrative wank. The embassy official is not going to check up to make sure the 'proof' is genuine. The official will just accept your word that it is a copy of some 'proof'. If somebody is going to lie about their income on a stat dec, then it is easy enough to forge a bank statement or similar 'proof'.

It's nothing like the notarisation of your Australian marriage certificate required for a marriage extension. This has to be notarised by DoFA as a true record (e.g. they will check with the relevant Registry Office). A translation to Thai then has to be made. Only then will the Thai Embassy/Consular accept and stamp the document.

Thank God it is still gross income. Australians get taxed a flat 33% if a non-resident (no tax-free threshold). I would probably be under the limit if the calculation was based on net income.

Thus requirement sounds dubious to me (although I guess it is not possible to challenge). As many posters have said, you sign a stat declaration to testify that this is a true version of events (at least from your perspective). There is no need to provide proofs unless challenged in court. I assume the embassy staff will not check with whomever the money is coming from to verify your 'letter of proof'. Most banks, super funds, financial institutions etc. are not going to provide this information to a third party. If they did, then there could be all sorts of privacy/tax/pension implications.

Novel idea: hold out for a guy that you actually like. Who likes Thai food. Who wants to get to know your mother. And your father. Who's hard working. Who doesn't want to sit around drinking beer and smoking all day long. Who you're proud to go to immigration with.

I'm not sure there are many single and available 'good' farang hanging about in villages in rural Thailand? Besides, there's nowhere near enough 'bad' farang to satisfy the demand. 

I assume the oxygen sensor is that plug screwed into the left down exhaust pipe.

I might try kick starting again when the engine is warmed up. I know you have to turn the engine until the piston is top dead centre or at the hardest compression. Then you let the kick start go all the way to the top and put all your weight into the kick. Then try again and again. After half a dozen attempts you are buggered. 

I don't think the mechanic at the shop where I brought my bike is very good. Hopefully I can find a decent mechanic somewhere if I start to have problems. You could try advancing the timing somewhat (higher revs), as per the above instruction, to see if it helps. But only try if it is still stalling. Otherwise leave well enough alone.

This morning my bike stalled once while still cold. It restarted easy enough and seemed fine when hot. However, it always takes 5 or 6 turns of the starter motor to fire up. Most bikes with fuel injection seem to start on the first turn so I'll have to see how mine goes over the first 12 months. The revs at idle on mine always seem to wander a bit, although they stay above 1500. 

I've got an early model CT and have heard rumors that the ECU mapping is not quite right (but has been fixed on the 2017 models). If the oxygen sensor goes, the engine management light should go on. If it is an intermittent wiring fault between the sensor and the ECU, or the ECU/ignition timing is a bit out, the light won't go on.

I'be tried kick starting a few times, but with no success. It would be nice to know if there is some technique to it, so as not to have to worry about getting stuck with flat battery. I can get to kick back a bit, but not to start so far.

I have the CT 400 and it idles in the range 1,500 (hot) to 2,000 (cold). I attach the page from the manual for the British variant. According to the manual, RON 95 should be used, but the odd tank of RON 91 will do no harm. 

Have you ever tried to kick start the thing successfully? The symptoms you describe is most likely a combination of the things mentioned by other posters. However, I would expect the bike shops to have looked at the obvious things like the air filter, spark plugs, air leaks, clogged injectors, bad fuel etc. A faulty oxygen sensor (or more likely the wiring) could be causing problems, but I'm not sure how you can check this at home.

Even ignorant expats talk to Thais now and then. The Thais I have spoken to don't seem to take much of an interest in world affairs. However, most think the Muslims down south are trouble makers. Some of my Thai friends, who are more worldly, share similar opinions to westerners about militant Muslims.

Buddhism teaches tolerance to other religions and certainly would not comment about Muslim practices. God only knows what Muslims think about Buddhists and its adherents who do not believe in the one god, and who eat raw pork most days.

A tragic loss. I, for one, will now be more careful on my bike when tackling those curving elevated ramps. It's easy to get a tank slapper if your front tyre hits the edge like that and a tank slapper can throw you off quick smart. It doesn't matter what size bike you're on (400 cc or 1200 cc).  Just watch motorbike racing - it happens all the time even with a steering damper - but it is the worse luck to occur where it did in this case. Best wishes to Christian's family and friends.

I'm going to feed the fish at the beach and get a nice photo. What could possibly go wrong.

I doubt it will cause a ripple in Russian tourist numbers. For every dissatisfied customer, there are 1,000 (presumably satisfied) we never hear about. My opinion is that this lady has been treated way too harshly. Her holiday has been ruined. I assume that someone, somewhere behind the scenes, will make things right for this lady so that, at the very least, she is not out of pocket.