HarryHerb

I'm wondering if it is compulsory in Thailand for a woman to adopt her husband's name when she marries. Would any of you married ladies know if this is the case?

If you are not legally obliged to change your name, how many of you did? Why? (just out of curiosity )

What problems (if any) did you encounter when changing your identity back home - bank accounts, passport, social security etc.? Or is it even necessary to do this? Can you lead an exciting double life as Mrs Suwattanasin in Thailand and still be plain old Miss Smith in the UK?

Practical information will be highy valued, although a theoretical discussion on "names, subjugation and identity" would also be entertaining

So, which is it then? He does need a reentry permit or he doesn't?

He doesn't. He has a valid multiple entry visa. Re-entry permits are only for those who have one-year visa extensions. I believe Khutan is giving you an answer for the latter (in this case incorrect) scenario.

I thought that once you were stamped out of the country the same thing happened to your wp, or are they just completely independent of one another?

Nope, they're independent if you return within the validity period of your work permit.

So, Harry has the scenario right, but is Khutan right or Harry?

Well, I am, of course

Trust me, I've been doing this (multiple entry / WP ) for years - have never bothered with the extension.

And I'm in fact doing the very same thing as your friend next month - going home for 2 weeks in the middle of my 3 month permission of stay / work. It's never been a problem.

Ah, ok thank you.

I know you can read Thai, so next time I'll try to write in Thai, but for some others they cannot, so transliteration is the order of the day :-)

Plus my speeling is frigink bad tu

I think if possible both the Thai and the transliteration would be good

totster

I agree - both is better if you have the time and the inclination

'kon cheu harry (samoot), kao nisai yair mahk. Khun tum ngarn gup kao dai yung rai'

well you could answer that you can put up with him, but that would seem harsh e.g.

'pom ton dai krub'

better I think to say something like

'yoo duay gun.........gor..... dai leuy na...'

or

'tum ngarn duay gun gor...........dai luey na'

and that communicates the same thing, with the pause length indicating just how much of a pain Harry actually is.

Have I worked with you before?

I have a non-computer literate friend who has a multiple entry visa with a work permit. He needs to leave the country to renew at the end of May but plans on going home mid to late June.

If he goes home several weeks after renewing his visa & wp does he then have to get another work permit, same as with the usual exit/reentry after 3 months? Can he get a re entry permit and thus keep the work permit? Also, he is assuming the multiple entry visa is valid for, literally, mulitple entries and is not limited to 4 in a year.

Forgive these questions if they are obvious but as I have never had to deal with these things I am utterly clueless!

I will explain this to you as to a 6-year old (not a reference to your questions, but to your signature, btw):

Your friend leaves the country on his multiple entry visa (i.e. does a border run) end of May, comes back and gets a new period of stay stamped in his passport for 3 months (until end of August). He then goes to the Labour Dept and is able to extend his work permit until the end of August. That's it.

He is leaving the country in the middle of his permission of stay and provided he comes back before his original stamp (end of August) there is no need to clear anything with the Labour Dept (although he might like to inform them anyway).

Actually, he can go in and out of the country as many times as he likes within this 3 month period (he does not need a re-entry permit as he already has a multiple entry visa), but must go back to the Labour Dept to extend his work permit before the original visa stamp (end of August) expires. He will then receive an extension to his work permit until the latest stamp on his visa.

In this scenario, if your friend returns to Thailand in late June, he will get another stamp in his passport for 3 months until late September. He can then either go to the Labour Dept in late August and extend for a single month, then do the normal border run, or do a border run just before his original stamp expires and get a 3-month extension as normal.

Neither !

I tend to agree: there are much, much nicer places around the island than either of these. But since the poll forced a choice, I voted Patong, as at least it's fun and has some character as a place. Karon, on the other hand, is a totally dull, generic resort area - beach is nothing special and the crowd positively geriatric (am referring to mental age, as well as physical).

Come, come, Seonai, surely you know that the ladies' domain is the realm of make-up, hair and relationships, to wit most of the topics in this forum.

More tea, vicar?

I'm not saying central and southern words sound the same - they clearly don't - but I'm not sure what actually constitutes a 'dialect' and what can be described as merely a different accent.

For example, the words 'Do I have to?' in English could be pronounced 'Dee ah haffty' by someone from Northern Ireland, or 'Doo oy av too' by someone from South-West England, but for me the actual words being spoken are the same, regardless of who understands whom. It's only their accents that are different. You could use a whole different set of letters to write down what they said (as I just did), but the speakers themselves wouldn't.

This is why I'm interested in sound or video files, because you would really get a sense of the language (with all its various grunts!), as well as being fun for our fellow central / northern Thai members to try and decipher what the hel is being said.

The tones you wrote sound pretty similar to what I'm hearing (over on the west coast) and actually whenever I go over to Surat / Samui, it does sound fairly similar - although not identical.

Okay, we'll start with vehicles seeing as that's a group I have been talking about recently.

I've put the tones in by sound - I'm sure you can correct a few. Same official spellings as Central Thai so they're just estimates...! Can't really transliterate the long/ short tones.

HT = High

LT = Low

MT = Medium

FT = Falling

RT = Rising

Motorbike = Rot (MT) Kreung (RT)

Car = Rot (MT) Yon (HT)

Bicycle = Rot (MT) Thep (high FT)

Bus = Rot (MT) Budt (LT)

Plane = Reua (RT) Bin (HT)

Ferry = Reua (RT) Feh-ree (LT-HT)

Boat (small) = Reua (RT)

Lorry (6 wheeler) = Rot (MT) Hok (LT) Lor (RT)

Motorbike with side attachment = Rot (MT) Sam (RT) Lor (RT)

Theep (HT) Rot Thep (ride your bike)

Cab (HT) Rot Yon/Reua (drive your car/boat)

Kee (LT) Rot Kreung (drive your motorbike)

Can't think of any more, but maybe you can.

These are Mainland Suratthani pronounciations

I think apart from 'rot kreuang' - which they also use in the north - and 'reua bin', as you say these are just different pronounciations of Central Thai words, which is also what I think Richard W was trying to point out with his link (although I have no idea what all the tables mean). The Marvin Brown book you mention is out of print, by the way Richard W - is it worth tracking down for a non-linguist?

Does anyone know if you can post sound files on TV? Maybe this is the way to go...

To add to the transport list: (สแลง?) sa-leng, one of those old style bicycles. You can also say วิ่งเรือ 'wing reua' to drive a boat. And have you ever heard the word 'dohn' (โดน?) used for street / road?

Any reports about 2Checkout.com?

Good or bad.

thanks

All I know is that 2checkout.com is the one Payzip suggested to me as an alternative when they went bust, so could be jinxed...

Also just found out that Thai Epay use the UOB / Bank of Asia system, so may as well go with UOB directly (if you can) and cut out the middleman (Thai Epay charge 4% + VAT, plus monthly fee, UOB only 3% + nada).

I'm sending off the application tomorrow, so will report back how it goes.

Sorry for short pause .

Maybe we could do a group of words at a time i.e body parts/foods/household items....?

Or are you more interested in the structure of the Southern dialects?

I think doing groups of words would be interesting and more productive, because then we could compare mainland and island words and see if there was any difference, or if this pan-Southern dialect really does exist.

Regarding "structure", I am always interested in reading tidbits of etymology and linguistics, but personally I am absolutely clueless in this case, so would have nothing to contribute on either subject - however, if someone else can enlighten us, that would be great.

So, go ahead, choose your topic area!

Apparently it's not as bad as it first looked - i.e. possibility of getting some money back some time . They've definitively closed down the credit card gateway though, so you will have to look for another provider.

I'm currently investigating UOB, who've just taken over Bank of Asia and - back to topic! - they seem pretty dependable. After a 2500 Baht non-returnable application fee they charge only 3% of transaction, and give direct settlement into your Thai bank account, which is probably the best deal I've seen so far.

Catch? You have to be a legit company registered in Thailand, trading for at a least a year, and keep minimum 100,000 Baht deposit in a UOB bank account. This is fine for me, but may not be for others.

I store mine on the plant, they keep for ages - if you don't use them, they just fall to the ground and a new plant grows, so no waste either.

If you're in Thailand, it's so easy to grow your own and they taste so much better fresh off the tree.

Tragically no takers thus far. Farts (or cheesy boffs as we used to call them at school) are apparently of more interest. Ah, well.

How about a more direct question: can anyone tell me what goes well with tom yam soup?

(no fart jokes, please)

Take back what I said about Payzip. They've just gone tits up:

Dear Payzip Merchant,

It is with great regret that we have to inform you that Payzip's merchant accounts have been closed down by our acquiring banks. The accounts were closed down due to pressure from Mastercard, who claims that Payzip is a third party payment processor.

Asiadebit/Payzip has gone to great lengths to prove that this is not the case, but in the end Mastercard chose to close the accounts. On top of the closure, they will fine our company, Asiadebit Pte Ltd (Singapore), 2,500 USD per day dating back since the day we started operating Payzip. This adds up to several million dollars.

We have no other choice but to cease operations effective immediately.

We understand that this will also have huge implications on your business as there are outstanding funds due to you. Be assured that we have tried every possible way to avoid this and to maintain our business as well as yours, but to no avail.

Our current standpoint is to counter sue Mastercard, but that is a process that can take years and with no guarantee of success. We are not the only payment processing company that experienced this problem. Several companies such as ours have ended up in a similar fashion as you might know from before.

Words can't describe how terrible we feel about this situation. If there is anything we can do to help you out, such as getting a new merchant account, please let us know and we will do the best we can. If we get any funds released, we will of course disperse it back to you. The chances for that to happen at this point look pretty grim though.

Sincerely,

The Payzip Team

Anyone else now in a fix?

Well, we can ignore it if we like but it's plainly obvious that, out of Caucasians married to Thais, the majority of them come from northern Europe and the US. [...] Obviously Caucasians are going to be in the minority of foreigners who do marry Thais but out of the Caucasians who it's plain to see the overall trend. There's no "lumping" of people going on, it's just an observation.

The OP didn't seem to find that obvious, which was my point.

Otherwise, yes, I agree that most Causcasians (regardless of class, religious persuasion or sexual preferences) who settle here are from northern Europe and America - just like the vast majority of the tourists: a fairly staightforward correlation, I'd have thought.

As to why Thailand attracts more people from colder climes than the Mediterranean I have no clue. Can't simply be the weather, can it? How mundane.

Hey guys, i am 25 fesh faced out of uni and heading to thailand to settle as i hate the Uk and the western world!!

How sweet.

I was wondering if there is anyone who like me left for thailand at a young age and is still there so can offer me some advice, such as regrets, pensions, saving etc! Just any thing really

I'm afraid pensions and savings (strange concerns for a fresh-faced and rebellious youth) are actually much better in the western world you so despise.

Regrets are not something I can offer you; you'll find you can make those for yourself.

Anything else? Some questions for you: why Thailand? What are you planning to do here? Where do you want to settle? Do you have any savings?

No-one's addressing the original point here. Maybe the term w.a.s.p. is offputting but why is it people from a certain cultural backgrounds are more likely to marry Thai ladies than people from other cultural backgrounds? Obviously there are plenty of examples from all over the world but the majority are from countries with a particular race and religious tradition. So why?

The original point, as far as I understand it, is whether there are any non-Caucasians happily married to Thai people. Well, of course there are.

The fact that you personally don't know know any is probably a reflection on your (and baan_yangyai's) social circle. "People from a certain cultural background" aren't more or less likely to marry a Thai - but you are perhaps more likely to know people only from a certain cultural background. I take it you don't hang around tailor shops or gold shops very much (not that you'd probably want to ).

But I'd guess that the majority - or at least a very large minority, more than you give credit to - of foreign spouses are not Caucasians, but non-Thai Asians (Singaporean, Chinese, Indian, Bangladeshi, Malaysian, etc.)

And, from the vociferous protests thus far, I'd also be pretty sure the white people who are married to Thais would not like to be lumped together as being from "a certain cultural background" either.

You hear it all the time: balance and harmony of textures and flavours is the key to enjoying Thai food. In reality, however, I see a lot of people stick with dishes they know rather than thinking about how well they go together. So what about some real examples of menus people have ordered in a restaurant or cooked for friends?

Here's a few I like:

แกงส้มปลากะพง Kaeng som with snapper (hot and sour southern curry - not sure if you northerners know it )

ไข่ผัดมะระ Khai pat mara (bitter melon stir fried with egg and oyster sauce)

ปลาทอดกระเทียม Pla thoht kratiam (crispy pieces of fish stir fried with garlic)

น้ำพริกกุ้งสด Nam prik kung sot (chilli dip with fresh veg)

-----------------

แพนงเนื้อ Panaeng neua (penang beef curry)

วุ้นเส้นผัดไก่ Wun sen phat gai (stir fried glass noodles with lettuce and minced chicken)

ยำปลาดุกฟู Yam pla duk foo (crispy catfish salad)

ไก่บ้านต้มขมิ้น Gai baan tom kamin (free-range chicken and turmeric soup)

ทอดมันปลา Toht man pla (spicy fishcakes)

----------------------

ปลาทอดขมิ้น Pla toht kamin (whole fish fried with turmeric)

ต้มข่าไก่ Tom kha gai (chicken galangal soup)

ยำมะเขือเผา Yam makheua pao (grilled aubergine salad)

ผัดผักคะน้าปลาเค็ม Pat pak kana pla khem (green veg stir fried with oyster sauce and dried fish)

Won't go on, starting to get hungry... but if anyone else has something to add

QUOTE(HarryHerb @ 2006-02-11 10:24:22) *

QUOTE

I have never come across a non-WASP married to a Thai.

Err... try several million Thai people - they don't all marry foreigners wink.gif

Eh, yeah. I know! But I was referring to foreigners married to Thai dry.gif

Apologies for sarcasm, baan_yangyai.

But what's your point? Your narrow social circle? Or that that non-WASP foreigners with Thai spouses may not be happily married?

Not sure I get this one.

I have never come across a non-WASP married to a Thai.

Err... try several million Thai people - they don't all marry foreigners

Wes Turner, health forum:

It didnt itch today but i didnt soap my back, just my armpits johnson and anus the rest dont really matter, and my feet. You gotta be double jointed to clean your back properly so why bother, its like legs, who scrubs there legs?

How delightful.

(This post is for the benefit of all those ladies forming a queue at Don Muang to take up Mr Turner's offer of some hot Canadian loving.)

Is this man representative of western manhood? I'd like to think not. Neither can one poor office worker who fancied his chances with Yahana be taken as a model for Thai men.

Jersey, I think the fact that "everyone" has pointed out the foolhardiness of such generalisations lends weight to this theory, rather than the opposite.

IMO if you edit down to a too precise form of words you often remove the character as well as the meaning behind a post.

I also find this opinion rather misguided: surely precision in expressing oneself actually helps clarify one's meaning and give character to one's thoughts, while it is the vague generalisations which tend to remove all character, meaning - and authority - from one's words?

I vote for renaming this topic:

What is with this Thai man I just dated?

CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHY I FOUND THIS PARTICULAR THAI MAN APPEALING?

(apologies for allcaps, just copying OP's style)

Sorry, Yahana, but you said it yourself:

I went against my better judgment and decided to date a guy ...

What can one say? Next time (farang or Thai), use your judgement and you may have better luck.

My Thai friends have a word for these kind of people: 'rent people'. Maybe not much of an insult (they are Thai, after all!), but the implication being that all those who have to struggle to pay a rent, who don't actually own their own place so have no security, inevitably turn into cynical, money-grubbing, impolite people.

This can apply to the Thais in tourist areas, the majority of whom have come (like bees to the honey pot) from elsewhere in the country, as well as many of the farang (also like bees to the honey) who live there in rented accommodation.

The people - farang and Thai - who live elsewhere, or who are actually originally from Samui etc. tend to be more happy with their lives and less obsessed about money - mainly as they don't have to a pay a penny for where they live, they have their land, their home and their families with them and are thus totally secure and generally uninterested in your Baht (your boobs might be another thing ).

Harry Herb. You beat me to it. Does she want someone to go for her?

Not sure, leisurely, depends on what cocktails they serve . Make mine a Mojito - do you think they have those?

Thanks for the info.

By the way do you know if Ao Nang Beach or Noppharat Beach has restaurants or bars right on the beach in order to get a drink and watch during sunset?

Good grief, YES!! Both do, as you have already asked and been told. The Last Fisherman on Ao Nang Beach and Luna Bar on Nopparat Thara. Any basic web search (Google /Thai Visa) will turn up this sort of information e.g. about weather and places to stay - why not try this before posting (and re-posting) such questions? Pure laziness?