mark henry

Again in the spirit of not wanting to crank things up, perhaps I'm not communicating very well.

Perhaps it's my eagerness to receive a photo greeting from you at your firestation.

Don't missunderstand, I'd be real proud to have such a greating.

A bit like the call sign cards my dad used to collect back in Radio Ham days.

your not communicating very well at all guesthouse and i'll go as far as to say your talking the piss.

bye bye guesthouse.

you've had your little moment.

I was thinking we are some way off the original topic i'd posted but i'v really enjoyed the banter between the two of you, love the "Trumpton Town" firemen, i think Guesthouse has got you good Ozy!

I don't know about coups i'm more affraid of taking my 18 month old son on the plane when we go to Thailand in November in case i get a thump from another passenger. Seriousley i get mild panic attacks just thinking of it! We are flying with Gulf Air to BKK via Bahrain, two 6/7 hour flights. Anyone got any tips/advice how to get through it (aside from leaving him behind that is). I'v heard Calpol is good for subdueing them a bit? What about Gulf Air? any one flown with them and their off-spring?

The Wife (Thai) is far less worried but not much seems to faze her anyway.

Any help would be appreciated.

Mark

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but my wife and I flew with our then 19 month old daughter on Gulf Airlines at christmas. I can honestly tell you it was one of the worst experiences of my life.

Gulf air will provide you with an 'aircot' which is far to small for anything other than a new-born baby. Not only that there is a bright light situated above it which cannot be turned off.

On the outward flight we didn't check our buggy but were given a slip of paper that would allow us to give it to the staff just before we boarded and were told that it would be returned to us when we got off in Bahrain for stop over. When we arrived in Bahrain we were told that because I had checked it at the check-in desk (not true) we couldn't have it. After complaining to the service desk repeatedly (please remember that because of the aircot which my daughter was too big to fit in none of us had slept by this point) the buggy was finally brought to us, broken and unusable, 3 hours after we had gotten off the plane. When I requested the necessary forms to make a claim I was simply told 'it's not my fault' and 'we don't have any forms'.

I have been pursuing the claim for the buggy ever since and acheived nothing.

By the time we got onto the second leg of the journey my daughter was so tired that she pretty much screamed for the whole way to London. We weren't even offered an aircot on this leg of the flight as our daughter was over the weight limit for it (not that it was much use anyway) and I was told that this was my fault for not having booked an extra seat for my daughter. I had checked with Gulf Air in Bangkok prior to booking and they had assured me that the aircot was suitable for a child of up to 2 years old and that booking an extra seat wouldn't be necessary.

After we finally got to my parent's house where we were staying my daughter was sick through exhaustion and we had to take her to the doctor the following day. It took all of us almost a week to get over what was definitely the worst journey of my life.

For three weeks in the UK I repeatly phoned the airline to try and make more suitable arrangements for the return journey, on the day before our departure the mant that I had been dealing with told us that he was happy to confirm that we would have an extra seat to make up for the 'difficulties' on the outward journey. When we checked in we were told that no such arrangement had been made and that no one at the call center had the authority to do so.

The return journey was only slightly better in that it was a day flight and the aircot provided a small space for my daughter to sit rather than being on our laps the whole way.

When I got back here I wrote a long letter to Gulf Airlines outlining what had happened (those things above and many more) after a week or so I received an email saying that they were 'looking into it'. I have heard nothing since.

I will never fly Gulf again. I would recommend you to do the same, whether you are travelling with a child or not, the food is crap, the staff are rude and you get more leg-room on a Bangkok bus.

Good luck.

Sounds like a nightmare, can't change flight now so may need your "good luck"!!

I think the most sensible thing you have done is get a two leg flight. I am going to try this next time as the last trip with our little angel was a real trial and I think I can handle two legs of 6/7 hours better than one 12 hour nightmare.

It is not just the strain of managing the little one, it is the pressure you feel with all those eyes drilling in the back of your head every time they make a noise. I am going to try for a two leg flight with a one or two night stoppover.

I would be interested to know how Gulf turn out.

I'm not sure if it's better to get the flight over in one go or have the stop-over in bahrain, we are only doing it this way cos it's a bit cheaper. I'll let u know how it goes.

Mark

Some great advice here.

That Calpon is ok. What is much better is a little dram of whisky mixed into the milk.

A doctor friend actually recommended valium!

I guess people from different cultures think that one thing is terrible to give kids - Some may say, "never give a kid alcohol", whilst giving their babies opium to stop crying. I say natural drugs aer much better.

We've been lucky on our two flights to the UK - one time we were next to a big, middle-aged German woman who loved our daughter, so she disappeared into her for most the time.

The other flight, there were three Thai teenage girls who looked after her the whole way.

Thanks again folks great advice.

Mark

Thankyou all for your advice. To be honest i was'nt sure i'd get a reply it's not quite as interesting as coups and the like! I'm going to print off your advice and keep it nearer to hand for when we go. Only thing i did'nt mention is that our child has'nt got his own seat! he'll be on our lap or the floor.

Thanks again.

I don't know about coups i'm more affraid of taking my 18 month old son on the plane when we go to Thailand in November in case i get a thump from another passenger. Seriousley i get mild panic attacks just thinking of it! We are flying with Gulf Air to BKK via Bahrain, two 6/7 hour flights. Anyone got any tips/advice how to get through it (aside from leaving him behind that is). I'v heard Calpol is good for subdueing them a bit? What about Gulf Air? any one flown with them and their off-spring?

The Wife (Thai) is far less worried but not much seems to faze her anyway.

Any help would be appreciated.

Mark

A freind of mine who's traveled all over Asia, including Thailand told me once that the Thai's are essentially a "warrior" people. I'v always kept this in mind when i'v been in Thailand!

Do you mean "warriors" as in fighting noble wars; or as in cowardly and sadistically murdering unarmed tourists ? Please clarify....

A fair point, there is no doubt this is a cowardly act and very sad for the victim and his family. I hope i was not appearing to make light of it with my comments, not my intention at all. As it was my freind who made the comment i cannot be sure what he meant by "warrior people" . I have difficulty articulating what "warrior people" means to me but i guess it's based loosly on historical and cultural ideas i'v aquired through reading, visiting the country and being married to a Thai. Of course i could be talking total ****! and the guy was as you said a sadistic coward.

My wife however has quite strong views about this if a little simplistic/child like. She thinks if you speak bad about another person/their family, cannot control yourself when drunk then you can expect the worse to happen to you. You do not, as she says, know what is in that persons heart and you should always take care of ones self.

A freind of mine who's traveled all over Asia, including Thailand told me once that the Thai's are essentially a "warrior" people. I'v always kept this in mind when i'v been in Thailand! It aint wise to upset the locals or get so pissed-up you don't know what your saying.

I'm further reminded of the Thai's warrior instincs when ever i upset my Wife (Thai) all smiles up to a point then...well put it this way i'm nursing my bruises from thrown fruit, mugs and anything else at hand for several days after!

So my message (or rather my Wife's) is, keep your cool, be overly polite and don't travel to far off the beaten track.

Hi Tip

I'm sorry about what you're going through it must be hel_l for you. I guess most if not all of us can identify to some degree with what your going through.

Just wanted to add a couple of small points that may have been overlooked: Firstly i think for sure something is going on, after all there's no smoke without at least a small flame! secondly; have you considered the thought this cop may of wormed his way into your wifes affections knowing she's on her own for long periods, has a wealthy (ish) farang husband and is blackmailing her? perhaps threatening to set you or her up if she does'nt pay up? etc etc, this might explain the $13000. I don't know perhaps she is a little vulnerable and open to being exploited?

My Wife (Thai of course) thinks that if she is well taken care of and loved which she sounds like she is then she unlikely to stray. From what i know of Thai women they do seem pretty loyal if taken care of. Personally i cannot imagine she would stray for a low paid policeman, why? It's not likely to be even for sex, from what i can gather sex is not particularly high on a Thai womans list of priority's! also she runs the risk of being"shamed" if found out, a very big deal for a Thai.

Lastly regarding her not e.mailing you this does not surprise me at all, Thai's don't seem to like writing letters. My wife rarely wrote to me when we were courting and when she did it was 2/3 lines at best. I have to tell her what to write on a Birthday card for her Daughter! So i would'nt worry too much about that.

Lastly ring her you know you want to do it, your unlikely to feel any worse than you do now are you?

Sorry one more point if you do sort this out and every thing is fine don't go away for so long..8 months! asking a lot of anyone.

Good Luck

Hi all, new member here,

nothing particularly new to add here other than my own humble experience.

Married my Thai lady three years ago now, she's from a poor(ish) family in Bangkok, got one grown up child from a previous relationship and in her late 30's (all of which is very relevent when talking sinsod & sending money home). She cost me the following!: 30.000BHT in engagement gold, 32.000BHT Sinsod (about £500 back then) and i send home 5.000BHT every month (about £85 with sending charges). They never ask for more and i'm told what i'v given and send is very reasonable (although i confess it still pains me a bit!)