Stevemercer

Yes. I am doing that now. I renewed my marriage extension at the start of July and have an under consideration stamp up to 14 August (6 weeks). I had to get a new single entry return as my existing multiple entry will expire 14 July 2024 (when my marriage extension expires). I am flying to Australia on 10 July 2024 and must return to Thailand before 14 August. I will then go to immigration to get my 12 month extension stamped into my passport. I'll also have to buy a new multi-entry.

Yes, decent Thai women need certainty and marriage gives that commitment. Family, relatives and friends will be happy she is married. If you are not prepared to give that certainty.many Thai women will be uncertain about your commitment which may make them anxious at times. While they may try to be faithful, there will always be that question mark in their mind that maybr you will abandon them and they need to think about themselves and their future.

People who are (generally) relaxed, happy, smile a lot and go with the flow People with enough money to live comfortably and who are generous when they do have money People who try to look after their physical and mental health People who are still curious about life People who don't keep banging on and on about negatives in Thailand and Thai people

I have only lived in Thailand for 10 years. To my mind, everything/people are much the same. I live in a small rural town - no tourists, but a dozen or so foreigners live locally. People still smile and are generally helpful. I've never encountered 'farang pricing' locally and most peple go out of their way to show hospitality. On the bigger picture, I think Thailand is doomed to keep repeating history because people don't learn from past mistakes. They keep trying the same old things, electing the same old people, and hoping things will get better. I think Thailand is the lucky country, despite shooting themselves in the foot all the time, the country will continue to do ok, but it will never get anywhere near its full potential without allowing innovation and change. From an outsider's perspectiveit is hard to see why the military is held in such high esteem. To my knowledge, they have never won a war. Wasn't it the military who forced the monarchy to give up executive power and for the country to become a constitutional monarchy earlier last century?

Does this mean all narcissists are toxic? I must admit I'm not really sure what a narcissist is. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? I suspect we all have degrees of narcissim(?), some more than others. Maybe that means I must be one?

We seem to have half the family registered on the blue book for our house even though only the wife and I live here. One of the 'residents' lives in Australia, a few are down in Bangkok and one is dead

I love to see the fireflies too. Normally they appear following the true onset of the wet. I haven't seen any this year yet. It is still too dry in my part of Thailand (Isan). Maybe in a few weeks if the rain continues

Here in central Isaan I saw a dark looking cloud, but it has fled. Back to watering the garden. To be fair, our province is not mentioned in the alert.

I doubt Thailand will be hit by secondary sanctions. Thailand will continue to sit on the sidelines and be 'neutral', that is, it will seek to be friends with all nations or at least maintain cordial relations. I don't think Thailand has an ideological or morale agenda to push. It just wants to keep all its options open and remain open to business to all. Any secondary sanctions may be at a level causing inconvenience, but not enough to force anyone in Thailand to rethink their plans.

It sounds like the bike is an old model. Assuming it was made overseas, then parts may be hard to get and will be expensive. Most of the damage will be comestic (e.g. to the fairing). Specialist Thai repairers can fix this, as well as the dented tank, for a reasonable price. The owner will need to get you a quote broken down into the various components. Maybe you can pay for the repairs in accordance with priority to get the bike 'street worthy' again (assuming it is registered). Most bikes can withstand (e.g. still run) being knocked over which most often results in bent handlebar levers, dented tank, dislodged/broken fairing and smashed lights. I would imagine 10,000 Baht would pay for most of the fixable repairs (fairing, petrol tank and levers etc) to get it on the road again - any new/replacement parts will be expensive (think European prices). An itemised quote for repairs is the place to start.

You don't need need new translations for the renewal, but your friend will need to go to his local amphur office to get the kor 22 printed out again a few days before going for his renewal. The IO will accept this as eveidence he is still married. It only costs about 50 Baht and can be done quickly at the amphur office.

They should investigate Koh Samui next

I hope you can resolve this. I don't think any lawyer would advocate criminal charges as such actons would be unlikely to succeed and would take years. However, civil proceedings may well be successful. Just the threat would make the school take the issue seriously.

Duplicate

Duplicate

You can always buy your own nitro(methane) and add it to your fuel to get the desired octane. Nitro is added to methanol to make up RC hobby fuels. It is pretty cheap for that extra bang to the buck.

Absolute rubbish!

Is he on the Australia Single Old Age pension? If yes, he will still receive indexed increases. But it will be reduced if he marries a Thai lady and tells CentreLink. They will calculate his new OAP at the married rate, but he will only get half of this (because his Thai wife is not an Australian citizen and not entitled to the benefit).

This is pretty usual practice. The police will want to negotiate an outcome. The negotiations centre around who will pay for what and how much 'compensation'is payable. The police will take their cut (usually 50%). Take a Thai wife/girlfriend along and see what the outcome is. You don't need a lawyer unless you think you are seriously being ripped off. As an example, my wife was recently rear-ended by a drunk motorcyclist. They both had the basic insurance. The police said both were at fault (my wife was rather sloppily parked about a metre from the curb) and that each party should pay for their own repairs. The motorcyclist was in hospital for a week and suffered permanent damage to his leg. The police ruled my wife didn't have to pay for his injuries (covered by his basic insurance), but that she should pay compensation (this ended up being 25,000 Baht - the motorcyclist got 15,000 Baht). No fines for either party.

I was reading in the Australian (not Austrian) news about a man recently stopped in Australia for not wearing a seat belt. He was found to be on overstay for 25 years.

I've been living in rural Thailand for 10 years and everyone still seems happy to see me (or at least smiles). I can't really notice any changes in peoples' attitudes over this time.

Is it illegal to set off fireworks in Thailand, or is it just illegal to get caught? Or is it just a Phuket/farang thing? We always have kids throwing bungers from their motorbikes or shooting off rockets. I'd always assumed you can buy fireworks everywhere and let them off to your hearts content.

Many Thai people seem narcissist. That is, the world revolves around you and you are the hero in your world. Maybe that is enough fame for most

At least the British old age pension is not means tested so everyone gets it. The Australian old age pension is means and asset tested and anyone who has worked hard to generate a modest independent income in retirement will not receive it. Plus, any independent income will be taxed at a flat 33% if living overseas.

I have a Honda Cub (110 cc) that I use around town. It is handy for the shopping because it has plenty of storage/hooks. You can ride it around casually without donning full protective gear. The wife and visitors can use it becasue it is light and easy. I've also got a Stallions 400 cc that I use in longer trips to bigger cities (typically 50 - 100 km). It is heavier and stable at highway speeds. I usually don protective gear including a full face helmet, boots and jacket. I guess I treat the scooter as a practical means of transport around home. The motorbike is fun to ride and I get more enjoyment out of it,