BKK90210

Give him a break....He’s madly & blindly in love!

I have to say….she is some lucky gal to have such a devoting/dotting man, don’t know about him though….time will tell….

However the subject is suitable for another thread....so best left him alone

It's nearly time again when i must go to my bank and part with around £250. which will wing it's way to my wifes family in Bangkok. I give them 5000 Baht a month and send it every 3 months (keeps the cost of sending it down). The money helps in part to support my wifes Daughter go through college and support the family in general, which is very reasonable and fine i quess.

.....However i feel considerable pain when i must part with this money! ....not sure why, i'm in no way i high earner so it is quite a lot of money for me.

Then don’t do it !...if you feel the pain in parting with YOUR money. If you don’t have much, there are only 3 logical solutions…..Choose one…..

1) Don’t give them any - they will not be happy w/you, can you accept this consequence?

2) Continue to give as before- now you’re miserable yourself!.....or

3) Reduce the amount to the level you feel comfortable parting with it – this will show her family that you’re not the ATM and you do work for a living. They too have to find something to do in supplementing the missing income from you and can’t expect easy ride all their life via you!

To make it worse i have never had one thankyou from any of them in the three years i'v been married,

Don’t give out anything voluntary then... if you're expecting to get a “thank you” back. Like someone said…see it as a charity thing, thing that makes you feel good when you did it.

i know it's not part of their culture but it is mine!

ABSOLUTELY “not true”!

Thai people are just not very good in one-on-one verbal thank you. But Thai culture is very big in appreciation, thank you, and award for good deeds done, etc. Infact they even have many awards up to the 6th place!, and often they even have many ceremonial events or days just to say “thank you” and showing “appreciation”. Like Heng said, for thai culture it can come in diff types and forms in showing appreciations and saying “thank you”.

Just to name a few….

- Most typical form is….cooking a big meal for you @home when you show up, and if you see seafood on the menu, you know that this is a very special meal, not a typical everyday meal.

- or when you want to eat anything, especially fruits, they will go out of their way and buy them for you

- Another form is….they will wash your dishes for you after meal

- or when you stayed over – they will wash your clothes for you, etc

In conclusion

You just have to truly know and understand the thai culture in order to appreciated it fully.

Did you achieve your goals for this year?

Yes…many for me……always aimed low and you won’t be disappointed!

Did you make the move from where you live to LOS?

No….still sitting on house “for sale” sign….hmm been 2 mos already

Was it a bad year?

No….where I live there were 22 straight sunshine days this summer!

Was it a good year?

Will see where the stock market is heading from here till the end of the year, as I have too many options to unlock on Dec 7

My situation is very similar to yours, I contacted Sunbelt and they did make a quick call to the labor dept ….the response’s “I don’t need a work permit in my case” and the thai labor dept is issuing me a clearance letter for this.

If you can actually get somebody official to issue such a work permit clearance letter, this would be big news for the telecommuters residing in Thailand. Please keep us posted one way or the other...

I will keep you posted. They had all my paperworks (1" thick) since last week, so it should be any day now.

My situation is very similar to yours, I contacted Sunbelt and they did make a quick call to the labor dept ….the response’s “I don’t need a work permit in my case” and the thai labor dept is issuing me a clearance letter for this.

Here is my situation......

-Married to a thai national for 20 yrs, I’m under 50

-fully a licensed professional engineer with the authorized engineering stamp issued by the state

- owned my own structural engineering firm in the US for about 10 yrs already

- will continue to have my company open in the USA and will need to contact these clients in the USA via internet to continue to do projects and work for them. I however will be in Thailand while working on these projects for my clients in the USA

-The thai structural engineers absolutely can not do my line of work for the clients in the US because all structural drawings hard copies/print outs must have a wet-stamp w/dated & signature of a professional US-licensed engineer before going through the building permitting process in the US.

-All the project locations will only be in the US.

-All my clients are US base only

- All income will be deposit into US bank only

Note: I will not be taking a job away from the thais, because they can not do my line of works for my clients in the US, and all my clients are US based. I think these might be the main reasons why the labor dept is issuing "the work permit clearance letter" to me.

Below is the response letter from the thai labor dept and what I have to provide....

“From The Thai Labor dept To Sunbelt"

Please provide us as the letter states: Each doc has to be notarized by the state and then the Thai Embassy in the US.

1. A copy of his original passport

2. Evidences of business operation or establishment, any certificate issued by any authorized government sector to affirm or certify that he has actually own and operating his Company in USA.

3. Affirmation made by him warrants and affirms that his income or benefit is not gained in Thailand, and his customers or the businesses of his company are not in Thailand.

4. A marriage certificate between him and his Thai wife

5. Current and present address of him & Thai wife

6. Certificates of company registration of the questioner

I'm going to bed now - it's 2:30 am here in the US, I'm working late tonight

Good luck in your case

Can't you just go on EBAY and get them from there?

I'm not in thailand yet and don't know how easy to order online and ship to thailand, but many of sellers are in China and HongKong also.

Also,

Farang dont cut you in line at the bank and start digging deep into their nose, pull out a booger and fling it across the room.

(least Ive never seen a farang do this yet)

Yeh I agree…Do get used to Thais ‘jumping the queue’!, they can wait 3 years for the first kiss from their boyfriends, but having to wait just 30 seconds in a queue at 7-11 is just unbearable.

In order to get a thai pp - you need to have - a thai i.d card,

in order to have a thai i.d card - you have to have – your name on a “thai tabiean baan” (house registration book),

in order to have a tabiean baan – you have to have – prove that you’re a thai (either father or mother is a thai national w/ their thai birth cert, tabien baan, or old thai i.d)

So forgetting about obtaining a thai pp for now – which takes only about 3 days to get. Your real problem is in obtaining a thai tabiean baan with your name on it.

Note: I have never heard/met any thai national in US who came here w/ the refugee status.

Just to name a few…..why farang can't ever be a Thai

-Farangs don’t enjoy having to waste their precious time waiting for folks who turn up half an hour late every time.

-Farangs got used to saying “good-bye I have to go now” to people and not just walk off halfway through a conversation.

-Farangs can’t live with their mother all their life.

-Farangs don’t like to share during meals….what mine is mine!

-Farangs usually don’t ask their unmarried Farang lady friend “And why aren’t you married?”

-Farangs have no need to feel embarrassed about saying “sorry” when made mistakes.

-When make a mistake say ‘sorry’, Farangs don’t give a darned about who is older than who etc..

-Farangs don’t swim with all their clothes on

And

-Farangs don’t like to be nicknamed like …..Porn, Jum, Golf, Bowling, Benz, Orange juice, Ped(duck), Kob(toad), or Dum(black/stupid)...

29. Professional civil engineering concerning design and calculation, systemization, analysis, planning, testing, construction supervision, or consulting services, excluding work requiring specialized techniques.

What are some of these?...any examples?

I’m working with a small army of men in my company and these are some I’ve seen so far…….

Desktop punching bag

Cd - musics or movies

Mouse pad w/ a joke writing on it

Swiss army pocket knife

Key change w/ built-in nightlite

coffee mug

Smal/pocket appointment book w/ good built-in calendar

Small bottle opener

Money clip

Small note pad

I don't know all causes of the problem, but your place for sure is too damp without much ventilation. The trick for instant clean-up "for now" that seems to work like a magic for me is.....

To spray directly to the mold/mildew areas with solution of - 1/2 water+1/2 bleach - and watch them disappeared in 5-10 min, then rinse area well. Make sure you have a good ventilation during this procedure.

I just read the Thairat - thai newspaper - 2 days ago

According to the front page article.....

Credit card debts seem to be an upward spiral problem in Thailand, as much so that the central bank of thailand is thinking to mandate the borrowing rate from credit card in thailand starting at 20% min.

Maybe I am slow today, but this exactly what I can't wrap my head around.

Why can't I as a private person employ somebody (my wife) to for example be my P.A. or my fulltime translator or whatever, without it having to be tied to a workpermit, or a business?

/t

This is my logic…..

If you want to “employ” you wife and pay her monthly income – then this is a business contract (you as an employer, she as your exclusive employee) – then you must get a business license & work permit

If you don’t want to get a work permit – for yourself

You can still hire your wife as a PA or translator and pay her monthly income…..

In this case your wife will have to become an independent agent/contractor and therefore can not work exclusively for you & she has to get a business license in order to do this.

The only catch is…..since she has chosen to be an independent agent/contractor…..she’s now has to have other customers beside you as well, - otherwise according to the business law, you will have the risk of being discovered of running a “money laundering scheme”.

I’m not a lawyer but this is what my commonsense tells me

Am I right or close enough?

I’m not a lawyer or anything. But common sense tells me.....

Let’s just say he can pass on those shares to his son upon his death, based on the will. Then his son has to be worried about “inheritance tax” at the time of the transfer. Dealing with this tax w/ govt in our own country is bad enough, but his son has to be dealing with the headache from thai government as well too.

That is Not including the other issues such as….Upon his father death, who is going to be the new director of the company….or Is this new MD planning to liquidate the company asset? And what will happen to the distribution proceed? Will he get his fair share of 49% or will they(other shareholders – presume thais) just take money and disappear?

Yes – she makes more money than me

Yes – I have no job and not intend to get one

Yes – she doesn’t mind supporting me and the kids

Yes – she brings meat and rice home

No - I don’t know where she got them from and don’t care – as long as they are there when I woke up

I kinda like and don’t mind being a “kept man” and labeled as “trophy husband” for a change!

I don't know about thailand

I'm a prof licenced structural engineer....Here in the US - I'm paying $3000/yr for liability insurance. This allows for up to $500000 coverage for each client.

Miang Kum -Thai spicy snack, wrapped in bitter leaves

Ingredients: Filling

grated & lightly brown/ roasted coconut

small cubes of limes, unpeeled

small cubes shallots

roasted peanuts

small dried shrimps

fresh hot chili peppers

small cubes of peeled fresh ginger

Serving

1- With a fresh wrapping leaf in hand, fold it once across the bottom then sideways to form a pocket.

2- Place about 1 teaspoon roasted coconut in the leaf together with a small amount of each filling to create a bite-sized quantity, spoon the sauce on top, then close the leave top by folding the leave at the top……Pop into your mouth and enjoy!

There is nothing like it. The blend of coconut, ginger, fresh bitter leaves, peanut, lime, and chili is fantastic flavor. This recipe requires a great deal of preparation time, and not worth it for DIY at home – better leave it to the expert.

Ok I found this on the web and want to share with you all. I thought it’s a very good and informative article. I can't write it as good as this.

“Is there still true love?”

“I believe so, but perhaps a lot of time people get hurt and no longer believe in it, without realising they missed the whole pt...

Well we all do go through feelings of attraction, its normal, and alot of times we get hurt in one of the following reasons

1. rejection

2. betrayal

3. non-commital partners

And as a result, we start wondering if our partner's original commitment of "love" is really true or even just an emotional high, a false promise.

But, then we've missed the point, love is not a feeling, its not an emotion, not even a relationship. Love is a commitment, a choice.

And a lot of time, when people are in the early stage of the relationship the "love" exist, because truly their emotional highs make commitment easy... but as the saying goes when the daylights replace the moonlight, and the homemade candlelight dinner becomes dishes. Are we STILL willing to make that commitment?

For me, its not easy even in my relationship to constantly to be in love, in light of both my partner's and mine time... we're both in the banking sector, with our constant flying about. But I am thankful for a woman who wakes up every morning, making a choice to love me, even when I do not have time for her. And making that choice is not merely lips service, but a conscious effort.

Some may deem the following actions romantic, but romantic itself is a matter of opinion, I have never been a romantic chap, not a flowers, nor good with my hands. But just last week, when she was stressed at work over deal, I knew she missed her days in Australia, dated her out for lunch, and brought her to an Aussie eatery by the waterfront. That made her day, and is my daily commitment to her. Not to do romantic actions that merely remain memories, but little actions that is reflective of my commitment to her.

This was a commitment I made to myself when we started off, "...that I will grow in love daily, one little action, one little word of affirmation, one conscious thought for her well being, one gentle gesture at a time..." because a relationship is like the great wall of China, built one brick at a time... a relationship is built one brick of love at a time...”

I too have been married for 20 yrs (actually we’re getting closer – not further apart). And I know if you have lived/slept with someone for 20 yrs, you’re not thinking about a divorce because just simply of growing apart with no apparent good reason.

At this point – after 20 yrs together – there’s always or sure to be involving the external factor, not the internal one.

Be a man!..... Why don’t you just tell her the truth in details that you’re having an affair with a thai uni girl and have been wiring money to this new love of your life all this times? In addition you’re planning to buy a condo in BKK (to live with this girl), and planning to travel the world with her also. This is the truth isn’t it – judge by your previous posts in various threads? I guess the old shoes is now too ugly to wear?

Guess you’re not a man enough to end your marriage first before begin with the next one. What kind of a man are you? I feel sorry for your wife for putting up with you for 20 yrs and not even getting to hear the true reason why you’re leaving her!

I have nothing else further to say

All you posters out there can give him advices as much as you want about protecting HIS assets. But the fact remain the same - he's having an affair with a much much younger univ girl -while still being married to her. I guess he will not be walking away that much from the divorce court.

"pat" or "pad" = stir fried

"kapow", "krapow" = basil

"gai" = chicken

For example....."Pat Kapow Gai" = stir fried chicken w/basil

Just adding to the above... Most thai banks offer both....For Sale and Auction dept.

I have been lurking through their websites(in Thai only) for many months now, the key here is patience until you found what you want. The properties will be in mostly thai neighbourhoods and somewhat run down condition.

If you go for the auction route, make sure you have a deposit of 50000-200000 bths ready. Some bank will reguired you about 50000 bth, some will go higher with your bid application. Some will except bid application anytime up to the auction date, some will accept only every Friday up to the auction date. If you won, then they want you to be ready with the remaining cash within 1-30 days. I think Bangkok bank is 15 days, Siam commercial bank is around 7 days - unless they've changed it again.

Be sure before you go online, make sure you have the area map including districts and their sub-districts ready. Because normally both will be listed on the address with the accompanied street map and it can be confusing at times.

Good luck

$580 - may be enough in the stick somewhere, w/ thai lifestyle

$580 - not enough for marriage or retirement visa extension

$580 - no social life - unless of course - you like "the village gossips!"

Try this....It works like a miracle for our family for years! Just dap on the pimple during day or night time, comes in untinted/tinted

If you guys think that pregnancy is such a disaster, you could choose to stop having intimate relationship with this woman then and move on to the next one which willing to be obedient (like a door mat).... very often, men are very selfish in this matters...

Not at all. It should take two YES - not one YES, to have a child. Parenthood has to be a choice, not a mandate, not everyone is meant to be a parent due to various reasons. It’s very easy to have a baby, but raising one and still be able to maintain a healthy/happy family, required you to be ready not only physically, but emotionally and most important – financially nowadays. The selfish one here is the partner who’s only Want Want Want! without thinking through - the 3 factors mentioned.