Bananaman

Well folks, Bananawoman just picked up her passport from the courier's office in Chiang Mai and.................................she got the visa! WAHEY!!!!!!!!!

That means we waited only 8 weeks out of the expected 12!

The last 24 hours while we waited for the passport to make its way north was sheer hel_l with an exceedingly sleepless night involved for both of us.

We are two very happy bunnies today.

Good luck to everyone still waiting.

Best regards

Bananaman

Ok, so in a previous thread that I started, I asked about getting things ready for when the TW gets her settlement visa (please God let it be soon! ) but it seems that herself is not altogether happy with the information that some of you kindly offered as she has been doing her own research on the Lady Inter site and it conflicts with what I've been relaying to her.

So....I need cold hard facts now if possible, rather than opinions, on the issue of translating important Thai documents for use in the UK. Her sources tells her that translations of our marriage certificate and her birth certificate both need to be certified and stamped by the Ministry in BKK. Other posters on the same forum have said that everything that you translate should be ministry certified. With the cost of getting these documents certified and sent by post coming in at B1,600 each or the alternative being a trek for her from Chiang Mai to Bangkok to do them there and then, I'd really like to know with some degree of certainty what, if anything at all, needs to be certified and what doesn't.

My point throughout this discussion with 'er indoors is that who in the UK honestly has a clue what a Thai Ministry stamp either looks like or is worth?.... I could be wrong, however, and there could be official bodies in the UK who are aware of it and will insist on it.

7by7, you offered info on this matter in my previous thread and while I don't doubt the truth of your own experience of the situation, I would appreciate input from other posters who've been there done that.

Cheers in advance.

I've never actually brought Thai documents to the UK but I have SENT documents for various purposes. In every case I was advised that any translated documents needed to be legalised by Consular Services at the MFA in Bangkok and furthermore then needed to be notarised by the UK Embassy or by an Honorary UK Consulate. The UK notarisation cannot be done prior to getting the legalisation.

I think that, in your case, it rather depends on what the documents are and what is their intended use. Certainly, you should get your Marriage Certificate and Registration Document sorted. I guess that it might be a good idea to get your wife's Birth Certificate done, also.

This is just my personal experience - your mileage may differ, as they say.

DM

Well, as I understood things, we certainly need a translated copy of our marriage certificate and her birth certificate and I was thinking that her degree certificate and TOEIC test certificate would be useful also.

You're saying that we do need such things to be stamped by the relevant authorities, while in Sumrit's experience, this hasn't been necessary....and there outlines why I'm looking for some clarity on the subject. I'd hate 'er indoors to arrive here with just shop-done translations, only to find that they aren't acceptable but then finances are tight right now, so I'd equally hate to spend money on getting things legitimised when it's not necessary. Well, cheers for your views guys and please, anyone else with experiences, do be forthcoming with them.

Thanks

Ok, so in a previous thread that I started, I asked about getting things ready for when the TW gets her settlement visa (please God let it be soon! ) but it seems that herself is not altogether happy with the information that some of you kindly offered as she has been doing her own research on the Lady Inter site and it conflicts with what I've been relaying to her.

So....I need cold hard facts now if possible, rather than opinions, on the issue of translating important Thai documents for use in the UK. Her sources tells her that translations of our marriage certificate and her birth certificate both need to be certified and stamped by the Ministry in BKK. Other posters on the same forum have said that everything that you translate should be ministry certified. With the cost of getting these documents certified and sent by post coming in at B1,600 each or the alternative being a trek for her from Chiang Mai to Bangkok to do them there and then, I'd really like to know with some degree of certainty what, if anything at all, needs to be certified and what doesn't.

My point throughout this discussion with 'er indoors is that who in the UK honestly has a clue what a Thai Ministry stamp either looks like or is worth?.... I could be wrong, however, and there could be official bodies in the UK who are aware of it and will insist on it.

7by7, you offered info on this matter in my previous thread and while I don't doubt the truth of your own experience of the situation, I would appreciate input from other posters who've been there done that.

Cheers in advance.

Not being a drinker or frequenter of venues awash with ladies of the night, I often struggled to meet expats of a similar mindset during my 7 years in the country. It does seem that if you are anything other than a walking cliché, that you don't really fit in on the local expat scene. It's not impossible, however, to find those with interests other than beer and bar girls; certainly not in Chiang Mai, where a local amateur dramatic scene is now flourishing and art and classical music scenes have been established for some time. If you aren't into either scenes then perhaps metaphysical pursuits are what floats your boat...again CM has an abundance of those. Life in LOS, is definitely what you make it, certainly in the cities.

I suggest you get all your paperwork translated into English before you come to the UK ,It is a lot easer and cheaper, As for doctors and Ni number you can only do that when she arrives in the UK. As for myself i am just keeping busy , Decorating and working my nuts off to pass the time,

Can anyone tell me exactly what qualifies as an official translation? Do I have to get every translated document certified and stamped by the relevant government office in BKK, or is it sufficient just to use a reputable translation service and use the documents that they provide?

The former approach is going to work out a very expensive way of doing things and I just wonder for things like degree certificates and references for showing to prospective British employers, who would know honestly know what a Ministry stamp looks like?

Hi,

Will she be working in the UK when she get's there? If so what kind of job? If she wants to work in a hospital, school or any kind of care work she will need a police clearance certificate so it may be useful to get in Thailand from the police then get it translated to English.

I think she will need to go to her local police station to get the ball rolling, and knowing Thailand as I do I am sure there will be a charge and lots of waiting around!!!

Good luck and I hope all goes well

Andy

Hi Andy

Yeah she does plan to work but is not sure in what industry yet; however, getting the police clearance certificate you refer to might be a sensible option anyway just in case she does end up in any of the areas you mentioned.

Cheers

Agree with 7by7's post about translation of Marriage cert. Mrs Buzby and I have just had ours translated in UK (for Schengen visa application) and it cost us £25 and a lot of hassle with the spate of recent Postal Strikes.

Good luck with Settlement visa and for the future

Cheers Buzby and 7by7.

Anybody else with any helpful info, do please be forthcoming.

While Bananawoman and I wait on a decision on a settlement visa for the UK, we're wondering what we can be doing that will make life easier for her or both of us if and when she arrives on British soil. I'm thinking things like applying for an international driving licence so she she can get a year behind the wheel (before having to get a UK licence), getting references from past employers and translating her degree certificate.

Do we need to get a translation of our Thai marriage certificate?

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Cheers all.

In Pattaya at least, I have seen some improvement in this with 7-11 clerks. I have observed on numerous occasions the clerk noticed the jumper and served the correct person. Perhaps they are being trained that way.

I wish they were like that across the kingdom. I've lost count of the number of times in 7-11 that I've reached the front of the queue for the cashier nearest the door and some complete a-hole has just walked right in, stepped in front of me and ordered 20 Marlboro before I've had chance to set my goods down on the counter. As another poster said, it ain't a cultural thing, it's just out and out rudeness and I generally meet it with a very loud and exaggerated clearing of the throat and my best steel dagger stare.

There was a Nike store in airport plaza but it was short lived and closed down last year, now there are only sports stores selling Nike apparel and their ranges vary considerably.

To the best of my knowledge Air Pegasus were discontinued a long time ago but have fairly recently been re-released. I'm not sure if any of the stores in CM stock the reissues but my bet would be that Super Sports in Central would have them before Sports World, if either was to bother. Just guessing there though.

New Balance do some very good running shoes that put function way above form, so why not consider a pair of those? They can be found pretty easily.

Asics are of course the serious runner's choice but I'm not sure you'll find them in CM.

Good luck.

Congatulations jes5133

Good luck Bananaman.

I'm fesh out of finger nails and it's only been 4 weeks

Ah, I feel like I've just become part of a big virtual family. Thanks for adding me to the list guys and thanks for the good luck wishes. Will keep an eye on everyone else's progress and post details of my own, as and when something happens.

Chok dee na krup!

Mr. Khluay

Well folks, the good lady wife submitted her application at VFS today, so I now join the ranks of those biting nails, pulling out hair and suffering endless sleepless nights. Best of luck y'all.

I've tried the data recovery software route but it was useless - the drive won't even mount so there's a definite physical issue. I've also toyed with the idea of cracking it open myself and having a go but the case is entirely sealed and I'm kinda worried about doing further damage in the process. The annoying thing is that it's still under warranty, so I could in fact get a new one (provided I didn't mention it's suicidal jump from the table), however, they (Seagate) would take the old drive off me and trash it along with all my data, so that's hardly a desirable course of action.

I'm out of town right now but arrive back next week, so on Commons' advice, I reckon I'll give MTEK a try.

If anybody else has other recommendations, please post.

Thx all

I've an external hard drive that decided to leap to its death from the coffee table. I'm now looking at the loss of some 300GB of data that I can seriously do without saying goodbye to. Can anyone recommend someone in CM who might be able to recover the data from the drive? (Or at least make a competent attempt at doing so.)

Cheers

I am just starting the process of getting married to a Thai Lady,and have already discovered that the information on this web site is out of date.

Steps completed so far were very easy for a Brit.

1, Fill in 'Affirmation Letter' from British Consulate Chiang Mai. Original divorce document & passport photocopy required

2. Pay above Bht 2600

3. Go to recommended Translator

4. Translator also requires photocopy of Divorce Papers & passport. He will translate and do the neccessary with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in BKK for about Bht 2500

5 You receive your Marriage license.

Next Step

Find someone who will marry you. [Watch this Space]

So, the affirmation letter is definitely available from the British Consulate in CM and I don't need to make a trip to Bangkok for it?

Peterpop, on the British Embassy website it says that Thai Registrars require authentication of the British Consular Official's signature and certification of the Thai translation (available from the The Legalisation and Naturalisation Division in BKK), was it this step of the proceedings that your translators took care of?

I'm only be in CM for two weeks, will this be long enough to get my marriage certificate from start to finish?

I'll be going through BKK on my way back to CM from the UK in a few weeks and I'm wondering if there's anything to be gained financially by doing it all myself while I'm there. Anyone care to comment?

Cheers for any input

Anyone?

I am just starting the process of getting married to a Thai Lady,and have already discovered that the information on this web site is out of date.

Steps completed so far were very easy for a Brit.

1, Fill in 'Affirmation Letter' from British Consulate Chiang Mai. Original divorce document & passport photocopy required

2. Pay above Bht 2600

3. Go to recommended Translator

4. Translator also requires photocopy of Divorce Papers & passport. He will translate and do the neccessary with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in BKK for about Bht 2500

5 You receive your Marriage license.

Next Step

Find someone who will marry you. [Watch this Space]

So, the affirmation letter is definitely available from the British Consulate in CM and I don't need to make a trip to Bangkok for it?

Peterpop, on the British Embassy website it says that Thai Registrars require authentication of the British Consular Official's signature and certification of the Thai translation (available from the The Legalisation and Naturalisation Division in BKK), was it this step of the proceedings that your translators took care of?

I'm only be in CM for two weeks, will this be long enough to get my marriage certificate from start to finish?

I'll be going through BKK on my way back to CM from the UK in a few weeks and I'm wondering if there's anything to be gained financially by doing it all myself while I'm there. Anyone care to comment?

Cheers for any input

Hi folks

Sorry if this question has been asked before but the search function on here seems to give up if you throw more than two words at it. Anyway, what I need to know is when applying for a UK settlement visa, can the sponsor of the applicant be a parent of his/her (the applicant's) spouse? Though the application form says: "In applications from spouse/civil partners, the sponsor is the person you are married/in a civil partnership with", I'm sure I've read on this forum of husband's getting their wives in on the strength of their parents' financial status.

Any info on this issue would be greatly appreciated

Cheers

The grass is always greener....after 7 years living in Thailand I'd had enough of the pollution (air and noise related), the corruption, the shoddy public and private services, zero consumer rights and the whole intensely irritating bullsh*t of gaining and saving face. After six months of being back in the UK, I'm once again painfully aware of all its shortcomings but I appreciate many of its good points that I'd previously overlooked.

You may be able to make a life for yourself in Thailand and ignore all those issues I mentioned but if you're the kind of person who's easily wound up then those things will just wear you extremely thin eventually.

I've met the odd bohemian type in LOS that claims to make a living within the kingdom off his or her Thai massage skills. I can't think who their clientele would be, I mean who'd come to Thailand and seek a massage from someone not Thai? Couldn't see the locals queuing up for nuad farang either.

Anyways, that point aside, my question for today is do any TV-ers know of westerners who have been successful back in their home countries using skills acquired on massage courses attended while on holiday in Thailand? Seems with all the backpackers that flock to the massage schools in the tourist areas that there should be a deluge of qualified masseurs/masseuses in Europe and N. America and yet on my travels I've yet to meet one (though I acknowledge that doesn't mean they don't exist).

You made your bed, now ya gotta lie in it.

Somehow, I can't see many folk here offering you much sympathy or support.

Holy crap! PM-10 was recorded at 215 on the 14th and 205 on the 12th. This is beginning to look very much like 2007. We almost have a month worth of PM-10 concentrations above 100. If it wasn't for our house that is currently being completed (and doesn't have a gate yet), we would already be 700 km south. The whole family is coughing and wheezing. I'll order a jumbo pack of N95 rated masks for next year and book a holiday in March. Just too bad that the kids have to go to school until almost the bloody end of this month.

Cheers, CMX

Is this "N95 rated mask" specifically effective for the PM-10 pollution and if so where do you buy them ? Would appreciate that info.

There's another thread covering this but I'll reiterate what was said. The pharmacy at the very end of Rachadamnoen Road (Thapae Gate end) a few doors down from the Black Canyon coffee shop has 3M masks with charcoal filters that meet the above mentioned specs. They certainly block out PM-10 particles and smaller than that also if I'm not mistaken. Just ask the very knowledgeable lady pharmacist (or her equally knowledgeable assistant) for them. Cost is around B150 for one mask if I remember rightly.

The masks that heybruce refer to are excellent at filtering out small particles but they don't withstand heavy cycling because they soil very easily and deteriorate quickly if you sweat profusely.

I have a Respro mask myself and wouldn't wear anything else for cycling anywhere in Thailand. I'm not sure they'll ship to Thailand (bought mine in the UK) but you could give them a go.

http://www.respro.com/products/sports-leis...ling/city_mask/

Alternatively, these guys say they ship worldwide: http://totobobo.com/blog/?page_id=98

It might be worth giving them a try.

Good for you. Maybe you should get together with UG, Priceless, Winnie the Kwai and all the other naysayers and have yourself a jolly little smog-free party, while those folk seriously concerned by this issue take what steps are necessary to protect themselves and their families from its harmful effects.

ie: Whinge about it on Thai Visa!

(Sorry, I could not resist)

"Flippancy, the most hopeless form of intellectual vice . . .” George Gissing

As far as air quality goes, March is the worst time of year for Chiangmai. The pollution has been breaching government-defined acceptable levels by 50% on many days. Personally, if it were feasible for me, I'd escape the city this time of year and you actually want to pay good money to come here.

Having said that, if you're healthy and only here for a few days, you'll be alright— if being alright is all you want from a holiday. If you want to enjoy all that Chiangmai has to offer (and it has plenty, including beautiful clear skies and crisp mountain air—just not in March), I respectfully suggest November as a good time.

--oops, looks like Mapguy beat me to saying something quite similar.

I think we all agree that the air is positively grotty at the moment, and has been so for the last two weeks. However, for the sake of precision, the air pollution level at the Chiang Mai measuring station has only exceeded the government-defined level (120 µg/m3) on one day so far this year (2 March). The last time before that was on 19 March 2007.

Let's keep our fingers crossed that we are not heading into a March like the one of 2007

/ Priceless

True. The figures are from around March 2nd (as reported on the news) but subsequent days have seemed to me to be almost as bad and I assumed the figures would be similar, I should have clarified. The negative assumption stemmed from the fact that the burning feeling in my eyes that began earlier in the week continues unabated. I realize that on an accuracy scale, that's somewhat above 'perception' but way below empirical data.

My sense from watching the news and endless discussions by television talking heads is that the authorities are this year much more aware of the seriousness of the problems and acting to mitigate the situation as best they can instead of burying their heads in the sand and blaming everything on burnings in Burma the way they did in 2007. I'm therefore hopeful that less negligence will result in less pollution this year. Kpeenig my Fnigres corsesd. dam_n! that affects my typing.

My apologies, I realize I was nit-picking a bit I guess it's just that I am so tired of some members who post blatantly false information that I sometimes overreact a bit to rather minor errors.

Let's hope that you are right about the authorities becoming more aware and actually starting to act. As has been pointed out, the emissions problem is unfortunately a regional one as can be seen from this picture that shows fires during the last week (source: http://maps.geog.umd.edu/website/Activefir...dMap=Thailand):

/ Priceless

But on the serious side....... anybody else see the picture of the dog in the map ??? Dog sitting on his haunches facing left..... Look at the outline of the map..... Pretty clear to me...... Now thats important...

Gonzo

I see the Dog Gonzo, your right mate. Time to get out of dodge.

Seriously though, I'm sat here in rural Chiang rai and we've actually got smog in the room. Kids are coughing so am I. I can see the fire line on the horizon in the same place as last night. So they've restarted the Fire. Did someone say the authorities are taking this seriously Just thinking about maybe taking a trip further south when the kids finish school for the holidays. How many of you guys consider it also. Not wanting to be too dramatic but a sort of temporary evacuation ?

Leave if you want. I'm enjoying myself here too much to split

Good for you. Maybe you should get together with UG, Priceless, Winnie the Kwai and all the other naysayers and have yourself a jolly little smog-free party, while those folk seriously concerned by this issue take what steps are necessary to protect themselves and their families from its harmful effects.

Well, i've found out about dreddy's clinic which i think is in the hang dong area, maybe even in ban wang tan housing project. No time to do more research, but it looks promising.

Back later with more info that i get!

This thread seems to have died. My daughter has spent fruitless hours chasing up a practioner but to no avail. Any more news anybody ?

Do what I did:

Order yourself a copy of "Perfect Health" by Deepak Chopra online. Read it and by the time you've gotten to the end of it, you'll understand all the fundamental principles of the philosophy. Then go to the ayurvedic centre in the old town and discuss any specific health issues you have with the Thai practitioner there, she's pretty knowledgeable and with your own base of information to fall back on, you can decide for yourself whether her recommendations for treatment are any good. I did 10 days of panchakarma at their centre off the Canal road and though I had nothing to compare it with, every aspect of it seemed authentic and adhered to the principles of practice described in Perfect Health.