Bruce1

Natural for me too thanks.

And certainly not silicone if you value your lady's health.

Thai girls are just like other women in many ways I would think, so respect and trust and fun would be right up there.

The Thai girls I know who have good jobs are already supporting their parents in some way or other themselves, its a standard responsibility in a society without general old age pensions, so a farang would have to be pretty hard hearted to object to that, or to refuse to help out himself at times. After all, wouldn't we help our own parents if they were in the same situation? Lazy brothers who just want to lie around and drink are another matter altogether, in any country, and deserve a good kick up the bum, not a handout IMO.

I too would be interested to know what Thai women expect of their farang men?

I agree with the person who said $7000 wasn't enough to budget for a car.

Agree with the comment that if you worked for a couple of more years and doubled your nestegg you'd be laughing.

I would reduce your exposure to the falling US$ if I were you.

But hey, everyone's needs are different. Enjoy.

I like the airport, but I think there are obviously problems which need fixing. For instance, the wheels on the baggage trolleys jam in the gaps between the metal sheets on the pedestrian bridges to the car park. Its easily fixed if lengths of rubber are laid in the gaps.

They should also put an arrivals/departues board on the food level so you can monitor your flight's progress without having to go to another level.

Its pretty crook if the car park drainage overflows into the lift shafts - that would have ot be fixed.

If the concrete is cracking because its not strong enought thats also a major worry.

But I still prefer it to Don Muang - what a horrible rundown dump that was. Should be bulldozed and made into an urban park.

Of course, its obvious the powers would play up problems with the new airport to deflect attention away from their causing the stock market to crash, and because its good for their image to bag the previous government.

But closing it seems extreme.

I see Dr Tarissa and the finance minister are still defending this saga in the Post today. They're obviously under big pressure to justify themselves.

I read the following quote from above to mean everything except this exception remained affected by the 30% rule; now some are saying property is exempt, but honestly, does the left hand know what the right is doing?

"1. Foreign currencies bought or exchanged against baht for equity investments in the SET in MAI and in TFEX(futures) and AFET(agrifutures) are exempt from the 30% reserve requirement. Financial institutions shall ensure that such foreign exchange transactions are for the aforementioned purposes."

I imagine many people will just decide Thailand is too messy to bother with and go elsewhere. I see half the money from the sharemarket selloff this week has alfeady left the country, according to today's Post, so how can that be good for the economy?

Most countries welcome foreign investment.

BTW what is "speculative" investment and who decides? Surely all investment is speculative, otherwise why bother?

About as much chance of stopping prostitution as there is of wiping out the world's largest cashc rop - marihuana!

Yes, Bruce. You're quite right. Every action or decision the Thai authorities make is done solely with foreigners in mind.

<deleted>, do you really think we are that important? Get over yourself.

No actually. That was my point. They obviously don't think we're that important, otherwise they wouldn't do these things. Get over yourself.

I see the finance minister is saying it was "not a mistake". Therefore I can only conclude one of the following might be true:

1. The finance minister is an idiot.

2. The finance minister is a very clever man who has effectively cut the value of the baht to help exporters, while agreeing to personally look like an idiot and be the "fall guy".

Personally, I have now reached the following conclusions about Thailand, a place I love, incidentally:

1. They don't want us to marry their women.

2. They don't want us to buy their property.

3. They certainly don't want us to feel secure here, or to get visas for more than a year, or - heaven forbid - to become Thai citizens (they already have plenty of people).

4. They don't want us to encourage independent thinking - much better to use religious teaching to keep the population docile.

5. They like us to spend our money and then leave, to make room for others to do the same.

You gotta laugh!

Its just one more reason why I won't be bringing my money into Thailand any time soon. Renting is sounding better than ever. Why would you buy anything permanent in this place?

Good riddance to a stupid idea.

It's actually smarter to travel at night than during the day, since its cooler and there is less need for aircon and fewer vehicles, so less fuel is used. So, using the logic of the previous night fuel ban, to save fuel the govt should close service stations during the day and force all motorists to travel at night!!!!!!!

Logical - NOT!

Now, what is the logic behind closing liquor shops in the afternoons? How does that actually reduce alcohol consumption? Makes no difference to my drinking habits.

I greatly relieved to know that my province is no longer considered a threat. I will immediately reinstate political discussions over lunch. Today's topic will be, "Why the Fijian Army should copy the Thai Army and stage a coup".

There does seem to be a big gap between the "official" view of educated Thais towards foreigners and the "ordinary" people's view.

The "official" view is paranoid about loss of autonomy and devaluing of Thai culture. That's fine and I certainly think Thailand should value its culture and keep control of its national direction. But the way they try to do that - such as the silly 49% land ownership rule - is a ridiculous illusion, since it ignores the real issue, which is that the important thing is not who owns what, but if the laws of this country are actually enforced. If Thai officials are corrupt, then it makes no difference if the laws are good.

Officials also frown on the mixed marriage thing, and I suspect that is a male Thai reaction to the view of many Thai women that foreigners make better husbands than Thai men. Interestingly, the reasons my Thai female friends give for their holding this view is not because the foreigner might be richer, but because they believe the foreigner might be more faithful to them (less likely to have a second wife) and more willing to support their children and families, particularly when the parents are older. So I think the survey's conclusion that money was the prime motivator for Thai women marrying foreigners might ignore other issues. After all, there are plenty of rich Thai men who appear to be lousy husbands.

The influence of the sort of foreign men who would marry a a Thai woman and settle in an isolated rural village would, I imagine, be quite different to the stereotypical "sex tourist" who just wants a quick porking session. To marry and settle requires a willingness to invest in a long term relationship, which is a good thing and should be welcomed.

Many Thais have not had the chance to travel and have broader experiences, so a farang marriage would be a good thing for themselves and their families.

As for food, we eat mainly Thai cause we prefer it and western food makes us feel fat afterwards. We have one educated Thai female friend who absolutely hates Thai food, particularly rice, and eats western all the time, but she's probably unusual.

Bilingual children will definitely grow up with an advantage in the future, with employers increasingly wanting their staffs to be able to operate internationally. The people I know with children who have grown up speaking both Thai and English seem to have benefitted and to be doing well at school.

The survey was interesting but I'd like to see the questions. I bet it could have been improved if extra questions had been added, such as more exploration of peoles' motives for entering mixed-culture marriages.

Are houses really a good investment in Thailand? I haven't seen any evidence, but maybe I'm not looking in the right places. I'm bringing as little money as possible into Thailand cause I can't see any good use for it here, and instead living off my Thai income.

I don't have a Thai licence and AIA (American) paid out on a minor claim I had last year when the Vios was banged by a Bangkok bus. I admitted I was in the wrong too, but they still paid. The AIA agent, who is also a family friend, said the coverage is valid as long as I have a valid International or (in my case) Australian licence. I have both.

I do intend to get a Thai licence, I just haven't bothered yet.

Rumor has it the cops are less inclined to extort bribes if you produce a Thai licence, but I can't vouch for that.

One point about buying a car here, if its registered in one province and you live in another province, don't forget to transfer the vehicle registration to the new province after you buy it. Gets very complicated later if you forget to do it (I can vouch from experience).

Yes, they're confusing two issues here:

1. The Shin to Temasek sale and whether tax should have been paid -of course it should have been.

2. Whether foreign investment rules are ridiculously restrictive and should be relaxed - of course they are and should be.

Thaksin's sale of Shin actually demonstrated the truth about foreign invement - that the rules need to be liberalised, not tightened.

Why would any foreigner bring money into Thailand under this silly 49% rule? You'd have to have rocks in your head!

And what's wrong with the baht strengthening - its called the free market, and actually just means the $US is weakening.

Does anyone in politics in Thailand have to guts to make long-term beneficial decisions?

Can anyone clarify the income tax bit under residency? I know someone with it who I don't believe earns 80k baht a month so is that the right figure?

Ah, yeah...guday. I'm an Aussie, as ya mighta guessed. Believe it or not I'm doing my bit for the world domination of the English language.

Still figuring this forum out. If I ever find a FAQ that tells me how to post an avatar or pic on here I'll do it???

Initially I looked at buying when we moved here and decided against it. Foreigners can't buy more than 49% of the land, or in apartments more than 49 % of the apartments, so there's legal trickeries to worry about.

Plus, there's a glut of places for rent. Its a renters market. I know a freestanding 3 bed two storey house with a garden and lots of space for rent in a security estate in Nakhon Pathom for just 6500 baht a month. How cheap is that?

If you just rent for periods, you can try a different place each time.

Keep your US property and money invested there. Hassle-free.

Spend some of the income on renting here.

Keep it simple. That's my advice, for what it's worth...

It just seems unnecessarily complicated to have one in each of 76 provinces in a country which is smaller than most of the individual states in Australia. We've done it, but my Thai friend reckoned the transfer fee was just another way for the govt to make money from people.

Interesting thread. I've been wondering if I should get a Thai licence or continue to rely on my international and Aussie licences? So far it hasn't been an issue.

As for insurance, we have a car here, insured with AIA, and they didn't raise any issues when we had a claim for a minor bingle after clipping a Bangkok bus. So in that case it was NOT invalidated by not having a Thai licence.

On a vaguely related ssue, we bought a car in Bangkok, the dealer fixed the rego there, and we didn't realise we had to transfer the rego to Nakhon Pathom where we lived. EVentually caught on, but it took a fair bit of processing hassle, plus an inspection in Nakhon Pathom, before we got it transferred and new plates for this province.

It seems a money-raising system really making people pay to transfer between provinces. Why don't they just have a national system? Silly.

QUOTE(tywais @ 2006-03-25 10:13:12)

I thought I would add this link to the pinned topic. Where to apply

Having looked at where to apply I cant understand where to apply in Pattaya! can anyone help?

If you head towards Rayong from Pattaya on the motorway and just before the overpass you will see the Regent school on your right hand side. Do a U-turn and head back 300 meters (just passing the school) you will see a black and white sign in thai language, turn left at this sign and follow the road. You will eventually see a building on your right side. In this building on the second floor you do your DL application.

Anyone have advice on the best time or best days to go to the Pattaya Driving Licensing Office for quick service. I was there twice this week because I was getting a replacement for a lost 1 year licence. On the first occasion when I arrived at about 10 am there were about 100 people ahead of me and I had to wait 3 hours. The next day I arrived at 8.15 - they start business at 8.30 - and I was number 68 - so another 2 hours wait to be seen and a further 2 hours waiting for the new licence. I will shortly be applying for a 5 year licence so any advice would be appreciated.

Mondays are bad.

Fridays are bad.

Any time before or after a public holiday is bad.

There are no good times - they are always busy so just get there very early.

The 5-year licence is very easy to get. No forms to fill in, no medical cert., no Immigration letter (unless you have changed address). Just take your expired Thai licence, your passport (and a copy), two photos (you can get these done at any one of a number of shop-houses across the road from the Centre) and 505 Baht. Takes all of 30 minutes - if you get there early.

DM

Thanks Doctormann. My first visit this week was, in fact, on Monday and since Songkran wasn't far off, I probably hit one of the worst times. I don't recall it being anything like as busy when I was there last year getting the licence.