Cent

Can anyone tell me where I can order birthday cakes to be made, it's not for a child it's for an adult.....

Any ideas???

Thanks

Where are you living? There are many good bakeries now in Thailand, especially in Bangkok. We have four or five just in Surin here, and they do bake a decent birthday cake. I use the Celebrate Restaurant in Surin, and they have a menu of cakes you can look through to order what you want. If you are in Bangkok this should be very easy to do.

Cent

JD,

"But likely TRT WILL go away!"

I doubt it. The party is still viable even without Taksin. They've won the past three elections, twice at least with decent numbers considered a landslide victory. Taksin may be unpopular, but the question remains to be seen if the party is dead without him at its head. The names may change, but the power brokers are likely to stay the same, except for Taksin himself. It'll be interesting to see what happens when democratic elections are again allowed by the junta. If the election result doesn't please them then what? Another coup? While I am no fan of Taksin and Taksinomics, what is the alternative? Coups are hardly part of a democratic system, no? Interesting times as they say. It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out in the next year or so.

Cent

If you want to have a bit of a giggle, check out this thread on the FlyerTalk Forum. It's a breathless trip report by a guy who was staying at the Sheraton Grande when the coup went down. He cut his trip short and checked out of the hotel in the morning, took a limo to the airport and boarded a plane first class. He reports on it as if he got the last seat in the last chopper leaving Saigon.

American...say no more.

Actually the first guy out was Australian. Here: http://www.thai360.com/fbb/showtopic.php?tid/515457/

Cent

My wife has a bit of a legal problem.

Does anybody know of a good honest solicitor (barrister) in the Surin area that she could contact quickly. An English speaker would be nice but that is not too important.

Many thanks for a bit of quick help.

Roger, T.Sawai, A. Muang

Roger,

I was recently told by Jing Jing that there is a Thai lawyer in Surin who handles legal matters for many farang living in Surin area who is well trusted and respected here. Is this a criminal matter, or some other legal problem? I'll see if I can get the name, or maybe some others from Surin here might know who JJ was speaking of?

Cent

t.s.,

Your post (#78) I feel hits this right on the mark in your examples.

"for what it is worth i too have had a sense of the loss of anonymity you mention, it is inevitable when you use the motorcycle taxi guys ,employ a maid, shop at local stores etc."

Very true and spot on. We are farang and Thais tend to watch what we do, are curious how we behave, what we buy (walk around in the supermarket and watch how many Thais check out what you have in your shopping cart), who we are with, what time we come home and who we come home with. We are a topic of conversation in our neighborhoods and a curiousity to many Thais for whatever reasons. (Some are extremely nosy and love to gossip. Some wonder where we fit in to their society, what level we occupy.)

"I know the contents of my house have been reported throughout the neighborhood, as have many of my actions."

Yes, for certain, and I hate that.

"likewise, i do get snide and knowing grins when in thai female company, though it only concerns me insofar as it may be disrespectful to whomever i may be with."

I get this sometimes from the motocyke driver dregs and tuk-tuk layabouts when with my wife. Some of these guys are extremely rude and if it happened back in the states they would get laid out for their comments. Here you'll end up fighting half the soi if you take exception and get physical.

"it is par for the course though, and, as i see it an extension of the moo-ban mentality, where everybody else's business is the chief form of entertainment."

This above I feel is the most intelligent statement in this thread so far and totally correct in its assessment of this experience many farang have when living in Thailand or just visting even.

"Oh and perhaps you are right to be nervous, a female friend of mine called me at 5 am one morning in tears asking if i could come by. she had been going crazy trying to figure out how she was hemorraging money. she would go to the atm, take out 5000 baht go shopping, spend 2000 and come home. The next morning she would have 1 or 2000 baht. we all thought she was on crack until that morning she woke up early to find the building's security guard rummaging through her purse in the living room."

This happens quite a bit, and is likely one reason the last security guard batch was dismissed and another hired (I know quite a few friends who have had this happen in their buildings). It happens quite often that robberies in the condos and buildings are an 'inside job'. I know a few people who had their apartments burgled and the police and others were pretty sure it was the guards themselves or others they spoke with/arranged this with to let know about the condo's contents and when it would be safe to break in. I would never tell the security guards I was leaving for a long period of time. One man I know lost quite a bit of money and coins and stuff he had in his condo when he went back to the states for a few weeks. I believe the staff all knew he was leaving for a long period. And this example you cite t.s. goes to show how dangerous this could be. If he was interested in the woman as well as the money he could easily come back some night when drunk and rape the woman as well as steal from her. It happens. These are not professionals. (This is why many Thais in apartments and condos have a large Yale-style lock and hasp inside their apartment/condo door that they can lock up before going to sleep. Look around yourselves and see how many Thais homes and condos/apartments are locked up like Fort Knox at night.)

"luckily the cowrard simply ran away and never manned his post again, but the response from building managment and the police was, to say the least, underwhelming."

Typical a lot of the time, and they do seem to get away with it by running away to the hinterlands and hide out until they feel the coast is clear. Much like the drivers who run off after an accident as well to hide out.

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

KAT,

I know what you are saying and what you are experiencing. It can be disconcerting at times. It does feel invasive and like some Thais do not know where the line should be in their curiosity about farangs (and other Thais as well). I've seen it as well and sometimes it bugs me! It is a culture clash to some extent. Hasn't anyone else here ever wanted to turn to a Thai and say, "What the hel_l are you staring at?" We farang find this rude and intrusive. I have many times wanted to say this. Some Thais ( a lot in my eyes) don't seem to see this as rude for some reason. We farang do at times and it can feel weird when people do this. And I know what you are saying about the middle-aged guard. I've seen this attitude and behavior myself from Thai men, and not just the older guys either. Trust your gut feelings and go with them. A lot of the time they are right on. I'll say this (and don't take it the wrong way-it's not about you): many Thai men see women who go out alone, especially late at night, as somehow being floozies and 'asking for it' or loose. I do feel many/some Thai men feel western women have loose morals. They wonder why you would be going out at night alone or unchaperoned. Many Thai women will not do that themselves, and for good reason I feel. If you just read the papers here daily and especially the Thai papers (I can't read Thai, but my wife tells me the horror stories that are in there almost daily) you see bad stuff happening all over, and mostly to women, women alone. I know this is an attitude some Thai men have.

And yes, some of these guys just give off a vibe of being overly paternalistic, or condescending, disapproving, or just damned creepy.

JMHO.

Good luck Kat.

Cent

Every time you leave Thailand you need an exit visa. They are correct. If you leave the country without the exit visa your current visa will be cancelled. A single exit visa costs 1,000 baht but if you plan to go out a lot there is a multiple exit visa available. I think it costs 3,800 baht. I am sure about the single exit costing 1,000 baht but have never had a multiple exit.

Although this is so it has not previously been enforced at this border - or many other crossings on the Mekong further north - I have crossed many times at Chong Mek to visit the market with my wife (last time also in Jan), usually paying a few baht to the customs post. I don't think that they are offering an exit visa, they will just stamp your pp with a 30 day stamp when you return which will invalidate your visa - and the cost of an exit just to spend a few minutes at the market would be impractical anyway. I saw that they were building a new customs post - perhaps they are looking for something to do with it!

I wonder if this will also apply for a visit to Chao Prah Vihan (Cambodia) near Kantralak?

Pnus,

Last time I went a few months back to Khao Phra Vihan it was 200 baht on the Thai side and 200 baht on the Khmer side. No stamp in the passport. I liked it much better when the Thais were in control of the site. Sad to see how this site has deteriorated since the handover.

Cent

Last week I went along with some people for a visa run to Chong Mek. Anewly hired teacher had to stamp out for a new tourist stamp. I had been to Chong Mek many times and had no trouble previously just walking through. This time I was stopped at the border and told that I needed to stamp out of Thailand in order to go shopping there. This would have cancelled out my visa which I was on my way to extend that afternoon. I would think that this would have required me to get a re-entry stamp for Thailand and a visa for Laos. By my figuring thats 2500 baht just to be able to do some shopping and downing a couple of Beerlaos. Which country is behind this?

Bill

Bill,

Yep, silly isn't it? You used to be able to enter the Chong Chum Cambodian border crossing here near Surin and just leave your passport with the Cambodian Immigration desk while you went shopping at the border market and even used the 2 newer casinos there. Now the past year or so they want you to stamp in and out and pay the 1,000 baht. They lost a lot of farang expat local shoppers this way, and even guys who would go in the casinos and play the slots for an hour or so while the wife was shopping at the market. Pure greed on the Cambos part to suck the money from the foreigners pocket without a thought of how it might affect the area's economy. Now I only use the crossing for a border/visa stamp every 90 days, and do my shopping in the Thai side border market (where many Cambodians go to sell stuff as well on a day pass anyway). As I am not a gambler anyway I could care less about using the casinos. There is one Cambodian girl selling some excellent French bread at the Thai market on the Thai side now, and one reason I will go there to 'shop' with my wife and family. Best French bread in Thailand!

Don't you just love the way these idjits shoot themselves in the foot nearly every time? Mostly to boost the government's coffers and to heck with the local economy if they suffer because of it. Also, the 'connected' guys who get the immigrations jobs always try to gouge each farang doing these border crossings for an extra 100 or 200 baht that they pocket. Silly buggers really. Worked much better before, and brought in some decent income for the locals. Whereas before I might go there once every couple of weeks to a month, now I only go there every 90 days to get stamped.

Cent

Cent.......... Very interesting article, wonder if they thought how many unemployed get jobs when big supermarkets open, there is no reason I feel for the traditional shops to suffer because they cater and sell for what the poorer Thai people can afford, and of course look how many Thai families are in the big Supermarkets shopping every day.

macb

Macb,

Here's an even more interesting story from the Nation. Looks like the small retailers complaints have been taken into account and things are happening. I imagine the part where they mention 'foreign' businesses had something to do with it you think? :-) Looks like that new possible superstore opening in Buriram might be delayed a bit. Read below:

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

Big retailers ordered to suspend all expansions

The Commerce Ministry has ordered all superstores to immediately suspend their business-expansion plans in Thailand to ease concerns among small retailers who have protested against the spread of multinational retailers.

Siripol Yodmuangcharoen, director-general of the Internal Trade Department, said the ministry has sent a letter to all giant retail enterprises asking them to stop new expansion projects. However, only four of the 15 companies in this

category - 7-Eleven, Robinson's, Carrefour and Big-C - have replied to the ministry's request, he said.

The halt order will apply until the retail business bill is approved and implemented.

The order came in response to growing protests from local retailers who say they have been adversely affected by the spread of the foreign-owned superstores. On Tuesday, a group of provincial shop owners submitted a petition to the ministry asking it to take action or hundreds of them would surround the ministry.

Siripol said if any giant enterprises disobeyed the order, their representatives would be subject to imprisonment of up to 10 years or a Bt50,000 fine, pursuant to the Commodity Act.

The ministry decided to exercise the power included in the Com-modity Act of 1952 to curb the expansion of giant superstores. The law governs retail and wholesale business expansion, sets restrictions on opening times and sets limits on retail areas.

Deputy Commerce Minister Preecha Laohapongchana said the ministry had sent letters to all major retail enterprises asking them to suspend expansion plans until the ministry found an appropriate way to control the retail sector and help local retailers.

The ministry will today hold a meeting with representatives from giant superstores to sort out the issue.

Meanwhile, at a press conference yesterday, Likit Fahpyochon, former president of the Thai Retailers Association (TRA), said all superstores had fully abided by Thai law in expanding their businesses.

"They open hypermarkets only in permitted areas, and they also honour the laws when opening small outlets," he said.

According to current regulations, hypermarkets cannot open major stores in urban areas, though they are not barred from opening outlets smaller than 300 square metres. That rule has encouraged several multinational companies to change their formats to fit the requirement, Likit said.

Tesco Lotus, for example, has launched the smaller Tesco Lotus Express to abide by the rules.

Likit said the government already had proper regulations in place, including city zoning laws, to prevent multinational retailers from expanding so quickly that they destroy small traditional retailers.

"From the association's point of view, all multinational retailers have strictly followed the local retail regulations. We cannot do anything against them on the issue," Likit said.

He said the growth of the retail sector in Thailand was forecast to slow to between 5 per cent and 6 per cent this year, down from 10-12 per cent last year. The cooling market has caused intense competition among retailers, who have launched aggressive marketing and promotion campaigns to maintain their shares.

The association's members are mostly medium to large-sized retailers.

On Tuesday they submitted a letter to Commerce Minister Somkid Jatusripitak and the Internal Trade Department to express their discomfort over the new bill.

Likit said the bill is biased in favour of suppliers and that the retail association should be given a chance to take part in the drafting. This would ensure that all stakeholders - suppliers, retailers and consumers - would be treated fairly.

"We have no representative on the law's drafting committee, and our opinions have never been heard," said Likit, who is also executive vice president of Central Retail Corporation (CRC).

He said the current drafting committee included state officials and specialists from the Commerce Ministry and the Office of the Consumer Protection Board. Representatives from the private sector are limited to the Board of Trade and the Federation of Thai Industries, which represent manufacturers not retailers.

"The new retail draft and any new regulations should be fair to all stakeholders. They should be in place to ensure maximum benefits to Thai consumers and the general public," Likit said.

He said the bill gives more power to suppliers than retailers. He said this would not encourage suppliers to cut their operating costs, and consumers would eventually suffer.

"If we [retailers] cannot cut a good deal from local suppliers, we can import cheaper products under the FTAs [free trade agreements]," he said.

Thanapon Tangkananan, who succeeded Likit as the TRA president, said the law should be practical and take into consideration the needs of consumers.

Petchanet Pratruangkrai,

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation 07/09/06

Mark,

"Where is the Nelson Mandela/Aung San Suu Kyi/Ghandi for Thailand?

someone to show the way."

He/she was shot by a gun weilding thug as he was riding home on his motocyke one night recently. It happens to almost every Thai Ghandi/Suu Kyi/Mandela -type activist in the country sooner rather than later, unless they have very high up connections or some other way to protect themselves. Don't believe it? Read the papers every day for a few years. You'll eventually see where fighting the system here gets you ... murdered is where. Happens all the time.

Be careful with your bar 'competitors'. Don't lose your temper, and be very careful of what you say and who you say it to. The best advice so far I have seen in this thread came from your female staff member.

Cent

There are rumours going around the community to the fact that land has been purchased for a Big 'C' in Burriram have you heard anything.

macb

Macb,

Interesting article from the Nation on the expansion of the superstores, also states 100 Tesco Lotus Hyper-markets will open in Thailand this year. Maybe one in Buriram?

Cent

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

The fight against multinationals comes to Bangkok; threat of big rally

Shop owners from several provinces launched a last-ditch effort yesterday to save their businesses from being des-troyed by huge supermarkets.

More than 30 shop owners representing small retailers nationwide arrived in Bangkok to lodge a petition outlining their grievances at the Office of His Majesty's Principal Private Secretary.

They deposited copies at Parliament and the Commerce Ministry.

Pak Chong/Nakhon Ratchasima retailers' association president Chanasak Unmeata-aree said government measures to control the expansion of giant retail complexes had stalled. Thousands of provincial shopkeepers would suffer.

"If the ministry takes no action to address this within 15 days, hundreds of retailers from across the country will demonstrate here and seal off the ministry," he threatened.

Panthep Suleesatira, coordinator of the Opposition to Multina-tional Business Union, said: "His Majesty the King has great care for his citizens. He always wants villagers to have a place to make a living under the sufficiency economy." The business owners had travelled to the capital to ask His Majesty the King for a favour.

Panthep argued that the government had to act urgently and implement retail-business laws to protect smaller concerns from being driven under by multinational companies.

He said the current law, that allows foreign multinationals to expand, should be suspended.

The delivery of the petition yesterday follows a series of demonstrations in the provinces against the opening of new supermarkets.

The groups said the supermarket firms received substantial funding from cash-rich foreign partners and would force hundreds of traditional shops out of business.

Chief among them was Tesco Lotus, which operates 55 hypermarkets and 140 Tesco Lotus Express markets nationwide.

On Sunday, more than 300 retailers in Pak Thong and Nakhon Ratchasima gathered to protest at the opening of Tesco's new hypermarket there.

A plan to build a Tesco hypermarket at Sakon Nakhon also faced opposition. Other major foreign players were Carrefour, Big C and 7-Eleven.

The shop owners' representatives in Bangkok yesterday came from Surat Thani, Khon Kaen, Sakon Nakhon, Chiang Mai, Ubon Ratchathani, Lamphun, and Nakhon Sawan.

Their petition pressed for caretaker Commerce Minister Somkid Jatusripitak to implement more retail controls.

They claimed a failure to act would see multinational players dominate the Kingdom's retail and wholesale businesses.

Suchart Thang-hua, president of Thang-Hua department store in Suphan Buri, said his store's turnover had plunged 70 per cent to Bt300,000 a day since the opening of a Makro store.

"If Tesco opens there, we may be forced to shut down," he claimed, adding in his area there were 42 7-Eleven convenience stores.

The shop owners wanted the government's help because they were unable to compete with the massive bargaining power of multinationals.

They failed to secure a meeting with Somkid but were received by the deputy director-general of the Internal Trade Department, Vatchari Vimooktayon.

Earlier, the Commerce Ministry announced it would revive the shelved retail business bill, which may require retail giants to reveal expansion plans on a quarterly basis.

The new law could place strict regulations on expansion now partly controlled by planning laws that prohibit hypermarkets in some urban areas.

But the shop owners said big firms had scaled down markets to comply with the law. Tesco Lotus Express markets were an example and nearly 100 of them would open this year in a Bt7-billion expansion.

In a recent interview, Tesco Lotus CEO Jeff Adams downplayed the grievances. He claimed they represented just small number of complaints - while consumers showed no opposition.

The Thai Retailers Association was considering the issue, and as a member, Tesco was waiting for a consensus on the dissent.

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation 06/09/06

I went on a holiday many years ago to Surin to see the Elephant Roundup. I remember there was a sign to a Silver Village there. I was on a tour, so we never had the opportunity to visit the village. Maybe someone else knows a better location, otherwise you could be driving around for days.

I can show the OP around to these silver villages if he gets down here. I bring friends to the smithy house/shop to buy silver jewelry and products when they are up here on a visit. Nice place. I have the info handy somewhere that I can give to him as well. I know where the ruby village is, but have yet to visit it. See it on the way to the waterfalls all the time and pass right by it. They also have shops that manufacutre the semi-precious stone jewelry right nearby that he might be interested in visiting. Lots of rings, earrings, necklaces, etc. Some nice stuff and inexpensive if you can bargain politely.

Cent

Thanks a lot,

Cent, I will let you know before when I plan to go to Surin, it's only 45 mins. from where I live. I will send you a PM, it will probably be end of this week, and obviously when it suits you!

cnxpat

cnxpat,

No problem. We can meet up at the Farang Connection in Surin (right by the Bus Terminal and easy enough to find) for lunch, or breakfast even, any day except Sundays (I'm up to the village house on most Sundays/Sat nights). The silver smithy place closes around 4 p.m., so best to go in the late morning or early afternoon. Send me a PM for when you are coming down and we can figure it out.

Cent

welcome to the forum and if you are in khonkaen around sonkgran give me a bell

He means 'ring the bell'

hidden meanings

to all members thanks for the welcome

can any one tell me a shop or installer in chaiyaphum area who sells,installs satellite dish and decod-r set top boxes. can some one please me with this..

Vasmar,

Don't know about the satellite stuff for you, but a member here told me last week he has Bull Mastiffs he bought in Bangkok. Hopefully he'll see this and respond as to where he bought them.

Cent

I have only been here 5 weeks after spending a year in Lebanon.

Lebanon was very pleasant until Israel started bombing.

I really enjoyed having a cold winter, well 10C was cold to me.

I did live in Malaysia for 2 years 1989-91 so I do know the place.

Penang is not bad. 2 weeks ago I move into my own apartment in a tower block.

I live on the 18th floor in a two bedroom place, fully furnished.

I wanted somewhere I could just walk into with minimal setup expense,

as I am not sure how long I will be here.

The rent is RMY1500 pm (15,000baht). Expensive once I had paid a months rent, + deposit + security deposit for bills + agents fee, MYR6000 total. Then the phone deposit and sat tv setup.

However when I bought a motorcycle all I needed was my passport and the phone transfer document to show my address, much easier than LOS.

Life is peaceful. A little more expensive than Thailand for food, and especially so for booze,

MYR12 (120 baht) for a large beer at the shop!!

Imported spirits are MRY80 upwards

Internet connection is rated at 1Mb/s and does give that, even on international links!!

The cost is MYR77 per month (770 baht).

Everything is pretty well organised, compared to LOS.

What does irk me is the official dishonesty.

They are always patting themselves on the back to say how good it is here,

but when you look below the surface that is not really true.

The "privileges" for the ethnic Malays causes a lot of concern amongst the other 50% of the population.

Watching Astro TV, the local satellite system and the ONLY one we are allowed to watch,

I am struck by the lack of international advertising. No red screens like UBC, it is just not there.

All channels are delayed by 3 minutes giving the controllers time to hit the advert button if something "inappropriate" comes up.

Last Monday we had cartoons on the BBC channel for 50 minutes.............

I never did check which programme had been censored out.

In both Lebanon and Malaysia I have not found any problems living with the Muslims,

as long as I do not live too close to a mosque and all the prayer calls.

The extremists are in the minority, but get all the publicity.

Both countries have pork butchers, if you know where to look.

Don't be fooled by Malaysia, there is a lot of things not spoken there. If you have experience with the place, you should know what I mean.

There is definite tension there between the Malays and the Chinese.

Certain provinces in Malaysia have muslim Sharia law and a group of people who want Sharia to be applied more widely.

Have you never seen apartments being sold in Malaysia with the line in the advertisement "for Malays "(or something similiar) only?

That isn't to say I have'nt thought of Malaysia as a home either.

But everything has it's good and bad points.

If you are really interested look into the "Malaysia My Second Home" program.

You can google it and find quite a lot of info about the program online.

Agree with Ima Farang. I have a friend (Sihk) who was born and raised there and is a medical doctor with his own clinic outside Penang. I was just there a couple weeks ago visiting him. He says that the country is worse than ever for ethnic problems. Under the surface he says there are many many problems and he himself wants to get out of Malaysia. Lots of Muslim Malay problems toward the ethnic minorities (which aren't really that minority). He says the country is heading toward Sharia law, the Malays are given all the plum jobs by the majority Malay gov (which excludes most other ethnicities from becoming part of the gov) and he predicts the tensions will once again lead to ethnic violence and less freedom for all who are not Malay and Muslim. WHile it is a pleasant place to visit, and I love KL and Penang as well, and it is very easy to use their retiree program to buy land and homes, I trust his judgement in these things and will not buy property and live there. It could be a great retirement home setting right near Thailand. I'll wait and see, and listen to him on this.

Cent

I went on a holiday many years ago to Surin to see the Elephant Roundup. I remember there was a sign to a Silver Village there. I was on a tour, so we never had the opportunity to visit the village. Maybe someone else knows a better location, otherwise you could be driving around for days.

I can show the OP around to these silver villages if he gets down here. I bring friends to the smithy house/shop to buy silver jewelry and products when they are up here on a visit. Nice place. I have the info handy somewhere that I can give to him as well. I know where the ruby village is, but have yet to visit it. See it on the way to the waterfalls all the time and pass right by it. They also have shops that manufacutre the semi-precious stone jewelry right nearby that he might be interested in visiting. Lots of rings, earrings, necklaces, etc. Some nice stuff and inexpensive if you can bargain politely.

Cent

Not sure if this should go into the business forum, but since this is where the Surin ppl seem to gather :-) I guess a moderator will correct me if so, but I'll make the inquiry here first.

I am looking for contacts with jewellery makers in Surin. I heard there were a lot of them is that correct? I used to design and make rings etc. In Chiang Mai, now would like to find someone that can do casting and designing of either custom made items, or using the molds I have.

Experiences and suggestions are very welcome,

thanks in advance

There are some silver jewelry/silversmith places just outside Surin I know of that could do this. Don't know about gold. Also, there is a village a ways from Surin that calls itself the Red Sapphire Village (rubies actually) that may interest you. Lots of places doing semi-precious stone jewelry I've seen as well.

Cent

All,

I like to play chess and was wondering if there are any chess players in the Surin area that would be up for a game now and then. We can meet at the Farang Connect to play, or just about anywhere we desire really. Would be nice to play a few games with some others that like the game (I'm no expert but can usually hold my own and win some as well against most players). Just a friendly game or three of an afternoon or evening would be fun. Any takers?

Also, Martin, do you do a quiz night at the FC? I know a lot of UK gents seem to like these in BKK and Pattaya. Was wondering if you are doing this as well. Might be a thought for those that enjoy these once a week.

Cent

Hi All

I've spent hours on this site and its been invaluable. I still have a few queries that I would appreciate help with :-

My situation is Uk resident for next 6 months then I relocate to my Home in Surin (where GF is living) I will be 49 this December and intend to marry fiance next year. I will have over the required 800k Bt in Thai Bank and I do not intend to 'officially' work in Thailand during the next year.(I get a pension at 50)

QUESTIONS

1. I once heard that the London Embassy is more complicated than say Hull Consolate for obtaining a Visa. I live close to London and dont trust the UK postal system for important Documents ect.Any Ideas/recommendations??

2. I want to make my life easy as possible and dont fancy the idea of monthly treks to Cambodia so If I get a longer term 'O' visa what Immigration Office is near to Surin for me to report too???

3. Prior to getting married is it easier to go for a 60 day 'O' visa then extend it or get a 12m 'O' before I leave blighty?

Thanks in advance

I use the Chong Chum border crossing as well for my 90 day visa runs. Easy to do, cheap enough, and the people there are pleasant to deal with. Easy to get to from Surin if you have wheels.

Cent

Do you expats living in Isaan ever have any regrets.

I mean the people that have uprooted from thier native country and decided to live there permanently.

Do you ever feel homesick in a big way?

What about the food? How much do you miss the food from back home?

The language?

The Thai way?

If you have a Thai wife, has she forgotten any of the english ( or other ) that she used to be good at? Do you crave a chance to talk in your native tongue?

If you live in the sticks and miles away from other people or even a small village, what do you do?

I am only asking because I may be one of you in the future and probably a lot of others will have the same option.

Vegemite,

No regrets, just a few things missed at times.

One thing to gauge how you will do living in the boonies is what you already do where you live now. Do you have hobbies and interests you could indulge in in the village or anywhere? Are you easily bored? Do you require lots of nightlife? (Although in Surin this is easily done as well on a smaller scale if one so chooses.) But if you are a one night a week partier it can be done with some small effort and expense. even from the villages in most places. The internet makes a big difference and having access is a big help at times. Learning to speak Thai/some Lao/some Khmen is a plus, although as some have stated here it seems it gets harder as you get older (or lazier as is my case I suspect :-) )

Another thing is your income. This can make a huge difference in your Isaan lifestyle. Being able to afford to get away every few weeks or months as needed makes it all that much more enjoyable and easy to handle. Just scratching by on a small income/retirement would limit you and affect your enjoyment living upcountry.

One thing I have done is joined a Video store and I rent DVD's once or twice a week to get some English language movies to watch. I don't have UBC but the local cable, which does have one good movie channel to watch English language movies. But the DVD's help as well. And it is cheap enough to buy the DVD's in BKK. I can get them from a guy I can call to meet me when in Bangers for 80 baht each, and stock up when ever I am down there.

It all depends on what your comfort level is and what rocks your boat and what will drive you batty with boredom really.

I have a home gym, a nice mountain bike brought from the states, a couple motocykes, etc. which makes life easier as well and more enjoyable.

Cent

p.s. Oi, here's a question! Any of you Farang Connection farangs play chess? I have a chess set and would be up for playing a few games once in a while at the Farang Connection or at home and at others homes. ANyone up for a game? (Thais don't seem to be that into chess around these here parts. And Thai checkers drives me nuts! :-) )

A previous time we were writing about this subject, there was much discussion about missing certain family members back in our mother countries. I still think this will be the big one for me once I make the move. I am very close with my older son... anone have intent to visit regularly and find themselves staying in Thailand for longer periods? I'm thinking this is likely to happen to me.

Surfer, (and OP)

That is my own conundrum at times. I miss my three grown kids in the states. I now do a 5 months in Thailand, one month in the states cycle to see them and my Ma and friends. Gives you a nice holiday back to the homeland, and a good counterbalance that makes me see why I like living in Thailand so much. Miss the kids, but for a couple grand USD a year for two trips it makes it much easier to deal with this, and not so expensive, although the airline prices keep going up as the oil prices go up. Also, thanks to TV.com, I have installed Skype on my computer and had my kids install as well. So we now can talk to each other all the time for basically nothing for hours if need be. Add a webcam and it is even better. My daughter is having my first grandkid in December and I'll be there for the birth and a few weeks after (get the taxes done and all). With the webcam I can even see the tyke as he/she grows up and the grandkid can see Gramps as well. SO easy to do now with these modern technologies. :-)

I agree with those who spoke about a man having his wheels, 2 or 4. Four is best though, and I have taken my truck all over the country over the years I've had it. It does make a big difference and gives you the freedom you need to keep from feeling isolated or trapped in the countryside. I now live in Surin and spend my weekends in the village house, but if it wasn't for the schooling of our daughter in a decent Surin school I could easily move back up to the village full time again. We could have stayed in the village but that entails a 50 minute drive each way to bring the daughter to school in Surin. Much easier, and inexpensive, is a rental and live in Surin. Only thing against the village is there is no internet access up there, so I'd have to do the satellite connection thing for more baht. But not renting a house in Surin would save the baht and could/wouldbe used for that as well. Not a problem really. A wash in expenses.

Only thing I really miss at times are my few good friends back in Beantown, and some regional foods from Boston and the US that are harder to find here, and certain ethnic foods I enjoyed in the states. I love Thai food, but I do need some farang food (good as well) to feel completely at ease and comfortable. So, a trip to Bangkok or Pattaya at times for good Italian or Mexican (yes, you can get decent Mex in Thailand). The Farang Connection here in Surin has some fine farang foods and some great choices for beers and liquors as well that help a man stay healthy and fit and not getting bored with diet or choice of bevvies. :-)

As others have said, you need to do a test run to see if you could live here (the longer the test run the better) and you can easily find some good farang company with a bit of searching about, or through places such as ThaiVisa which makes it all so much easier.

Let us know how you get on.

Cent

There are rumours going around the community to the fact that land has been purchased for a Big 'C' in Burriram have you heard anything.

macb

I haven't heard any rumors of this. Yours is the first inkling. But, they built a Makro here in Surin a few years back, then last year or so they built a Tesco Lotus and a BigC. The BigC is going gangbusters with loads of business. Tesco is slow compared to BigC. I'd think there would be a good customer base for a BigC in Buriram. It has made a difference in Surin with the amount of farang foods one can now buy between the three places. Just a few years back we had nothing really of these 'superstore' places, now we have three. And that is how I heard about BigC being put up here ... rumors of land acquisition. I'd say, expect a BigC in your neighborhood soon. :-)

Cent

Great night - many tks for your generous hospitality and the hard work of your attentive staff Lampy.

Captions invited - first prize a night out in Surin, 2nd prize two nights out in Surin!

"Captions invited - first prize a night out in Surin, 2nd prize two nights out in Surin!"

Okay, see! I told you the little thing still worked!

Great night was had by all. About 25 Thai Visa members made it to the bash, including Jai Dee, Kurgen, Jayenram, Thaddeus, GEAussie,Bergen,Cent, George, Pnustadt, Lampard(of course) with Bronco (Australia) & Totster (UK) providing the coverage via the web-cam. ( please excuse me for those I left out, as I'm still not sure of everyones TV name) Highlight of the evening though was Yorky NOT falling over. There was a row of seats reserved for this usual spectacle, but the lad denied us this time round. A couple of new TV members left a bit disgruntled, and staggered off muttering in the general direction of Soi Kola.

Yorky gave Kurgen some right stick when he left at around 10, but as soon as he was out of sight, the York threw the towel in himself and retired.

Wish I could have stayed longer! Had a fun time talking and drinking a couple Chang's with the Ubon crew. Nice gents. I'll have to make a trip up there to see them again. Had a wedding to go to Sunday in our village and my wife and family wouldn't let me stay out to play. :-( All in all a great time, thanks Martyn! Next year it's the Grolsch on for free isn't it? :-) I'll be there.

Cent

Tip - I don't think anything will be resolved in your mind until you haul your arse back there and thats the god's honest truth mate.

That is a puzzle to me, the fact that Tip has not rushed back to see her. Forget all these PI clowns. Come back and check it out for yourself or keep cool and forget it.

Harry,

Tip does state that leaving now could affect his employment/job/work. Also, if it is true that a Thai cop is involved with his wife it could turn out to be that there could be some possible physical threats if he catches them together, ruins the cop's gig and income stream, gets violent with him (plausible in the heat of the moment), his wife could get very angry-especially if it all turns out to be a hoax, etc. Not smart to just rush in not knowing what you are facing and what the truth actually is. I still say, get the info by using an reliable P.I. Know what the deal is before bracing her with the facts found or not found. The whole thing could be a ruse by a jealous neighbor, friend, relative, co-worker, farang wanna be lover, ex lover, whatever. Bad things have been known to happen in these sorts of situations. Throw in a Thai cop to the mix and a farang needs to be extremely careful. Just look at the cop in Kanchanaburi that killed that young couple, and many other dodgy deaths of farangs over the past few years in the news. If this is for real it is not be be taken lightly. People do awful things when caught out and where maybe money or love is involved.

hel_l, this 'e-mail informer' could even be the supposed Thai cop himself trying to get Tip to leave his wife because the COP is in love with her. From what Tip says his wife sounds like a keeper and a truly nice woman that many men would love to be with.

So, even though it would be nice to just chuck it all and fly over and face her with these suspicions and accusations, I think Tip is being level-headed enough to at least take this all into account and see if he can find the truth. Although I think he is waiting too long to hire a good PI and just find out the truth as much as it can be detected. He's letting the e-mails get to him and cause doubts about his wife's fidelity. That's not good.

As I said before in an earlier post, Tip, get the PI and get the truth, for you, for your wife's sake, and for your marriage's sake before believing anything in this sad scene. You owe it to both of you before making any decisions or taking any action.

Cent

In my opinion, hiring a P.I. isn't something I would do for the following reasons...

1) You'll have to relate your situation to a total stranger whom you have never met and negotiate a money transfer from half way around the world. How will you know he is even serving your interests?

2) If, God forbid, he finds the scenario in your email to be true, what's stopping him from approaching the lady in question and offering her a clean slate if she'll match what you are paying?

He'll give her a 5 star rating, she'll be more cautious and you'll be out whatever you paid the P.I.

Just my opinion.....good luck.

Buckwheat,

Good reasons there. I don't think the money transfer will be much of a problem. I've also wondered how many of these so-called detectives play both sides of a situation like this. I guess he'll need to find a 'reliable' P.I. that is recommended by someone he can trust. Does anyone here know one they can recommend? In case he does want a good Private Investigator in Bangkok?

Cent

Ok , brainstorming ..thinking out of the box - how about Plan C

"Let sleeping dogs lie"

If she's getting her oats elsewhere, then it might as well be with a policeman than a tuk tuk driver. At least the house is protected.

If you're 10,000 miles away, doesn't make much difference if she's having an occasional schlumpfing. If you were there it would be you, you're not so she adapts. You're still numero uno. Think of the copper as no more than a sexual aid, eg dildo

Papa,

And then what? He gets his wife tested for HIV and other std's after she has been bopping the cop while he ignores it all as he is still "#1"? Goofiest thing I've ever heard of in a way for dealing with something like this. Thai men are known for their aversion to wearing the latex, and Thai cops (and I know, my BIL is one) are known for being a bunch of playboys who cheat around whenever they get the chance. I know a local Thai cop who caught HIV from his mai noi (who was screwing around on him as well) and gave it to his wife as well. Both are dead now and their kids are orphaned. Smart way to deal with it all? Yeah, right. Nice to be liberal with your wife's sexual urges while you are away, but in this day and age it can also be dangerous.

If his wife is fooling around, has a Thai husband, boyfriend, whatever, best thing he can do is know what the heck is going on to protect himself from the many things that could hurt him in this, financially as well.

Tip, get the PI, now, a good 'real' P.I. that comes recommended and does 'real' detecting and surveilance, and find out what is really happening if possible, then deal with it when you have the info to make an informed decision. If the PI gives her a clean bill then forget about it, or try to find out who is trying to harm you both, OP. Until you know for sure this will hurt you, eat you up with not knowing, and damage your marriage even if she is innocent of these charges in the e-mail sent you. She does not ever have to know you hired the P.I. You are doing this for yourself, but also for her and your marriage. Don't live with the doubt any longer. Get it done.

JMHO

Cent

p.s. And good luck whatever you find out and do, Tippaporn. I know you are feeling very stressed now. Best of luck.