Bananaman

Hi guys and gals,

Apologies if this has been asked before (I'm sure it has but I can't find a relevant thread).

My Thai wife who resides in the UK with me holds valid British and Thai passports and we plan to visit Thailand next year.

When booking flights (Thai Airways), which of my wife's passport details should we provide the airline with and then subsequently check in with?

I understand that she has to enter the Kingdom on her Thai passport (unless she wants to be subject to visa rules) but just want to make sure that prior to arrival at Suvarnabhumi we know exactly which passport she needs to be showing at every stage of the journey.

There seems to be a lot of conflicting information elsewhere on the net on this topic, so I'm hoping some knowledgable individuals here can settle the matter.

Thanks in advance

I did say any helpful advice would be appreciated and for those who offered it, I say thank you. For those who felt the need to make snide comments or attempts to belittle me or my enquiry, please desist - it's neither affable nor constructive.

I apologised at the outset for the vagueness of my question. I don't have a business plan, nor do I have my heart set on opening a tourist restaurant. Yes, I'm mildly interested in the possibility of running a food-based business in CM with Mrs B, but at this stage it's little more than that and my question was merely intended as a starting point for what would be a much more in-depth catalog of research before any financial commitment was made.

Cheers again for the helpful responses.

Yes, I know that this depends on a multitude of variables but I'd like, if possible, to try and gauge a ballpark figure for a monthly income from, say, a small but successful eatery in a reasonably decent location in the old city, or any other tourist frequented area for that matter.

If the specs are too vague and it's an impossible question to answer, then I apologise in advance, but any helpful advice would be greatly appreciated.

People form all different backgrounds can share the same interests. I think the better approach would be to explain what your wife's interests are as someone from Issan might have the same interest believe it or not!

Language shouldn't be too much of a barrier either as long as they both talk mainstream thai rather than cambodian or hilltribe!

I think you miss the point. If I was a middle-aged intellectual with a penchant for classical music, yoga and macrobiotic food, I wouldn't really be looking to make friends with a 20-something, singlet-wearing, tattooed character who likes to prop up the bar all day. Not because I would have anything against such an individual per se but because we'd have very little to talk about. People naturally gravitate to those from similar backgrounds as themselves. I'm not saying girls from Isaan couldn't possibly share the same interests as my wife but rather that, as yet, we haven't found any that do. The language thing is an issue because when they all get together the Isaan girls insist on speaking the Lao dialect and they also talk about aspects of life in the east which my wife cannot identify with.

I didn't start this thread for an argument or to be flamed or to suggest that Isaan girls are in any way inferior but rather just to try and help my wife out.

No snobbery whatsoever and from Manchester too,now thats funny

Why is that funny? Manchester is famous for football and rain, not for being an epicentre for class discrimination.

Since Bananawoman and I have relocated to the UK, the only other Thai girls she's met have been from Isaan, and while they're all pleasant enough girls, they do speak a different dialect and tend not to share the same interests as a 32-year old university-educated Chiang Mai girl. We're in the north-west of England, specifically in the Greater Manchester area and are looking for girls of a similar background for socialising with. Please PM me if you live anywhere close by and have a Thai missus who might be in the same situation.

Please don't anyone take offence from this post - there's no snobbery involved whatsoever. I'm merely trying to help my wife find friends who she has things in common with, in the same way that us expats seek out those with shared interests and experiences to be our friends.

Cheers

Why buy a new car when there are thousands of used ones out there. Why buy a new house or build one when there are plenty of used ones for sale. Don't have your own children when there are so many out there for adoption. Stop buying new clothes. There are plenty of thrift shops selling second hand ones. Because people have the right to buy what they want with their money.

Now you're just being silly. Cars, houses and clothes are inanimate objects to which you can't possibly apply the same argument. Children, however, you can and without wishing to go off on a major tangent, you raise a serious point - indeed, in a world where 15 million children die of hunger every year, one has to question the morality of creating new mouths to be fed. But then few of us are anything more than slaves to our reproductive instincts. I digress, however, and returning to the original issue, I reiterate that the animal trade is essentially an exploitative and immoral one. At the legitimate end of the scale, look at the abnormalities created through cross-breeding programs, while at the opposite end are unscrupulous dealers who care only about profit and little about the welfare of animals. Thailand is a country where the fashion conscious buy pedigree dogs on whims, only to get bored of them and dump them when their fashionableness wanes. Whether that's you or not, in opting to purchase a pedigree animal, you contribute to and help perpetuate the idea that status or style can be achieved through ownership of specific breeds.

Eek and UG, I hear and acknowledge both of your sentiments but I'm something of a hardliner on this issue and don't really believe it's morally right to buy and sell any animals. Though I'm not accusing the OP of this, many individuals buying pedigree animals, do so for the perceived status that is attached to owning them. Often you'll hear those same folk saying "Oh yes, I am real cat/dog lover", while the truth of the matter is, if they really were, they'd be offering the chance of a good home to an abandoned animal rather than lining the breeder's pocket. I don't expect everybody to agree with my views but in offering them, I hope I might provide some food for thought.

Cheers

Call me a dog with a bone but I'm going to say the same thing I always say when someone starts a thread like this...Why on earth would you even contemplate buying a cat in a country that has an abundance of strays crying out for good homes? It just ain't right.

The planet struggling desperately to sustain the 6.6 billion inhabitants it already has and Thailand see the decline of its own birth rate as a bad thing? What kind of twisted, <deleted> up logic is that then?

There are no good Indian restaurants in Chang Mai period.

When a business man in CMX imports a real Indian chef from (say) Bradford and opens a restaurant then that will be the one to frequent - not the present silly imitations.

Got to agree with that I'm afraid. After trying most of the Indian restaurants in CM, I concluded that, on the whole, dishes were rather generic and all very similar tasting, lacking any of the subtleties of decent Indian cuisine. I guess it depends on what you're used to really - I'm from Manchester, England where we have the famous Curry Mile, an area known to produce some of the best Asian food in the country but someone from India might find think the food there doesn't compare to what they're used to back home.

Funny, some years ago a pal and fellow TV member, posted exactly the same question on this forum and got a temporary ban for enquiring about something that could potentially be an infringement of Thai law. The mods must be slipping or getting lackadaisical in their old age.

I find the idea of 113,000 sites difficult to believe. Pages, sure, but sites no way

Why is that so difficult to believe? Porn sites alone number in their millions. If the censorship bureau just googled "sex" and worked their way through the list of results, it wouldn't take too long to reach that figure.

As well as the venues already mentioned, there used to be a small place in the basement of Kad Suan Kaew that sold it. It was along one side close to a small coffee franchise and not far from the entrance to Tops Supermarket. A juice bar on Soi Rachamanka off Moon Muang also used to sell it. I say "used to" in both cases because I've been out of town for a while and hence can't confirm that they still do.

I would say, however, that it's that easy to grow that it's worth getting your own going. The only issue you might have is finding a juicer in Thailand that's capable of handling wheat grass. Obviously they exist, otherwise the vendors wouldn't be juicing it but I had problems getting my hands on one when I'd decided to grow my own. You can always just chew the grass to extract the juice!

There's something decidedly immoral about paying for a cat or dog in a country that has an abundance of strays just begging for good homes. So, if you are a genuine cat lover, why not do the right thing and go to Wat Pa Pao and get yourself one of the poor unfortunate moggies that have been dumped there?

I think you need to offer some concrete examples of the stupidity you've observed; however, even in doing so you won't change the fact that stupidity is a trait that is not exclusive to one single race. In the UK, stupidity abounds, from the ignorance of the uneducated to the sheer idiocy of some of the health and safety regulations (devised by supposedly intelligent people).

Definitely a stigma. It means that you are going bald and trying to hide it. Most women, probably 95% find a bald head on a man to be hideous looking.

Rubbish, please substantiate that claim with some reputable statistics.

If you're an ugly so-and-so already, then chances are a shaved head is not going to enhance your appearance any; however, if you are even moderately good looking it doesn't detract from those good looks in any way.

And yeah, I shave my head and my TW ain't with me for the money, 'cause I haven't got any!

Today's index from the PCD gives MaeHongSon a reading of... 

FIVE HUNDRED EIGHTEEN POINT FIVE (518.5)

Is there some kind of yearly world pollution trophy?

Can you substantiate your post with a link, please?

Chiang Mai, you can see the figure here: http://www.pcd.go.th/AirQuality/Regional/G...?task=graphsite

That's truly horrifying and yet amazing at the same time! I'd love to know some figures for hospital admissions in the area, that might help convince some of the naysayers on here.

I shopped a lot for second hand clothes during my time in CM and rarely found a shop where the quality wasn't erratic to say the least. Of all the places I frequented, however, I found the stalls at Sanpakoi market to be the most consistent. The very first one that you encounter on your left if you've passed the small pharmacy and the food area is on your right, was always the best, I found. If you understand any Thai, you'll know you've got the right shop when you're inside because the owner is Christian and they constantly play Christian Thai music. Anyway, that place is good for shirts and jackets, especially this time of the year when they have an abundance of the latter.

I'd love to see the science or proof behind the LIFE THREATENING reactions to MSG, especially since your own body creates it and its an ESSENTIAL nutrient for survival.

Your liver creates cholesterol if you don't have any in your diet ( and even if you do ).....it is an ESSENTIAL nutrient for survival.

But how many people die from cholesterol buildup in their arteries ?

Hear, hear

On a similar note, the entire body is awash with proteins of one description or another but consume excessive amounts of dietary protein and your kidneys will suffer.

Benje's argument is a ridiculous one.

Puppies are also available at Care for Dogs which finds homes for abandoned puppies. Lanna Dog Care specializes in spreading loving kindness towards dogs and spnsors a very successful sterilization campaign. Perhaps you could donate to these groups if you decide to purchase a dog. All acts have consequences.

I can't help but feel like Earl has the best attitude here. Seriously there has to be something a little immoral about buying a dog in a country that has so many strays crying out for good homes. My wife used to work for Care for Dogs and there was rarely a day that she didn't return with a tinge of sadness in her heart.

Maybe you won't get a German shepherd, but in terms of temperament, I'm sure you'll find a needy mutt at Care for Dogs that is suitable to keep around children.

It's called edema (or oedema) and can be indicative of something more serious including kidney and liver problems, so I'd say you'd be wise to avoid the binge drinking. Even if your liver function is fine, any doctor will tell you that alcohol is best avoided if edema is a recurring issue.

Thanks for the congratulatory sentiments folks. I gotta say that I was fairly gobsmacked when Mrs Banana said she'd had the SMS to tell her that her passport was on its way back to Chiang Mai (after only 8 weeks). I guess I was equally shocked when she opened it and we'd got the visa because we certainly didn't present the most convincing case from a financial perspective, however, we did supplement it with loads of evidence of our relationship and documents indicating our combined capacity for earnings in the future.

Best of luck Jaggg88 and everybody else who's waiting.

Cheers

8 weeks..........you jammy dodger

CONGRATULATIONS

We wish you both the very best for the future.

Cheers TJTHAI and best of luck with your ongoing issue.