Marksamui

Maybe a dumb question but when did you last have them serviced?

If you have not had them cleaned regular, say every 3 months, then its only a matter of time before they start to leak. They just build up with a mixture of dust, dirt and water and clog up the drainage pipe.

You will need to get a man out to do a service and he will probably want to do a chemical flush on them (at least that is what I would recommend) and that should sort them back out.

After that have them serviced every 3 months and flushed every 9/12 months and you will be alright.

If of course you have all that done anyway, then I ain't got a clue, sorry

This article was written on 28th May in the Phuket Gazette, and has already been discredited in the Bangkok Post the other week as being misleading.

Old news, and a load of nonsense

You would need to rent an HDB flat and live a simple life.

Depends on your expecations but this is not a lot of money.

First the hotel Baan Chaweng is great. I think I have stayed there 3 times now, over the last 3 years and all times it was great.

Took a bungalow that runs down the center on the first 2 occasions and last time one of the new bigger bungalows that they built in the extension.

Rooms are not 5* but they are decent enough and good value for money.

Pool is small (compared to others along that it of beach) but does have enough room. Big resturant, good breakfast big selection. Entertainment on some evenings. Bit of beach with private loungers and a very easy walk to the nightlife of Chaweng.

Ig you just want to stay in Chanweng and walk around in the evenings and enjoy the beach in the day then this is a great location which avoids the taxis to get from your hotel to someone for dinner. You can just walk everywhere in 5-10mins.

When we go back and stay in Samui, we will probably stay here again, and yes we are also a small family.

Kick him out for not having the correct visa.

Ignorance is no excuse.

I have and continue to jump through hoops for visa's to various countries as do a lot of others on here. Rules are rules and he should have stuck to them.

There is a lot of speculation surrounding this article on here, and so I contacted a lawyer for there input. The response was:

Yes we have been receiving a number of these enquiries lately. There was a recent article which may have understandably incited this concern with many. As far as we can tell, the rules have always been the same. There hasn’t been any new legislation or ministerial regulation tightening such restrictions. Nevertheless, it has always been difficult already in any case. Foreign nationals buying land under their Thai spouse’s name always had little or no right as they are required to waive any of their interest in the property on the day the property is purchased.

A pre-nuptial agreement is normally the security measure we use in order to safeguard such rights in any matrimonial property. Certainly, such an agreement may be viewed as circumventing the spirit of the law (the law waiving the foreign national’s rights) but there are no real restrictions in matrimonial laws as to what can be included in a pre-nuptial agreement in regards to foreign nationals. So it is common to, for example, have a pre-nup which states that the property must be sold and proceeds shared in equal halves etc. which means the foreign national is safeguarded in the sense that they are not taking ownership but proceeds etc. There are other ways to secure their rights too by way of registering a lease or superficies from their Thai spouse to them.

This has always been the case and we have not seen any new laws restricting any of these processes.

To which I replied that the money had come from me but I do not own the land or even attempt to, as far as I am concerned it is hers not her holding as a nominee, and how could anyone prove otherwise, the response was:

Yes there was also mention of that in the article. It said that the Thai spouse needs to have a bank account to buy the property and needs to have the necessary funds in the account to buy it or else they would be deemed as a nominee. It doesn’t seem to make much sense to us as you or anyone for that matter could have transferred that money into her account to buy the property. This requirement seems impractical and we have no idea how this can be enforced. We have asked the land office the same question and they could not give us a satisfactory reply. So perhaps, it is another of our regulations which needs to be taken with a pinch of salt and I don’t think there will be any issue with your wife being a nominee.

Based on this I am going to put this to bed. Personally I think that the Phuket Gazette has got something wrong in the article and it has got blown out of the water a little. If there was any substance to it I think one of (or all) the larger national papers would be running the story, but apart from the one article no one has said anything.

Rather than just bang on about it I am going to write to my local MEP's (Member European Parliment) and ask them why do the same rules/laws for land ownership not apply as in the foreign country. Laws for Thais in the EC the same as rules for foreigners in Thailand.

Even playing field and all that.

Why should they ?

Reciprocity.

It is a pretty common practice between nations.

Example:

Even China does it with the U.S., on something as simple as visa fees. Americans have to pay a much higher fee than other countries. Why, because of the U.S. visa fees charged for Chinese. Check out the Los Angeles Chinese Embassy website, I know it's in English.

So you give the Thai's the same rules as we have to live by.

That ain't gonna give me any statisfaction if they take my WIFE's house!

So is it illegal for a husband to loan his wife money ?

"If the Thai spouse has enough money to buy the house that is fine, but if the Thai has no money and uses money given to him or her by a foreigner to acquire property, that is against the law. If we check and find out later that a Thai person has been using money from a foreigner to buy land anywhere in Thailand, we will revoke title deeds," he said."

As many will tell you, YES! It is illegal for you to give or lend your wife money to buy property, in fact if she buys a property she has to prove that she bought the property with her own money, which was aquired before the marriage!

I thought everyone with a marriage visa knew that??

Please what is the law that states that, becuase I don't think you are correct and would like to see it in official writing.

20 years ago my English friend met and married a Thai lady in England.

Once married his wife kept her maiden name in her passport and ID card.

This was at the time when Thai women married to Farang men could not own property or land in Thailand if married to a Farang.

My friend decided to buy a large plot of land in Phuket. He used his money and Thai wife’s maiden name for the purchase without declaring to the authorities that she is married to a Farang.

3 years later, my friend’s wife got into some sort of dispute with another Thai friend and this friend informed the land office about the illegal purchase of land in Phuket. A note was attached to the land deeds explaining the situation.

So now, up to this day, the land is stagnant. My friend’s Thai wife cannot sell or build on it, otherwise if she turns up at the land office, officials will probably begin proceedings to revoke the land rights of my friend’s wife and re-possess the land.

That's not really like for like though is it.

The law has changed since 20 years ago and they have not made the correct declarations.

If you make the correct declations under the current law which does state in the event that the spouse is married to an alien, haw anyone lost their house/land??

I found this which might help:

For registration of land to a Thai national married to a foreigner proof is required that the money used to purchase the land is legally the Thai spouse's. In case of acquisition of land or in some cases condominium at the Land Department;

1. the Thai spouse has to show evidence that all money paid is a personal property (Sin Suan Tua) according to section 1471 and section 1472 of the Civil and Commercial Code, or;

2. that the Thai and his/her spouse must present themselves at the Land Office (*) to confirm in a standard Land Office letter of confirmation that all money paid for the property is personal property (Sin Suan Tua) not a common property (Sin Som Ros). Translation Regulation

So as long as your wife had a Sin Suan Tua in place or does stating that the money paid for the property is personal properrty then you should be ok?

The fact that the money might have previously been given as a gift should not be revelant as the money according to thai law would now be personel rather than common.......

Anyway I think that it best for people who could be effected to cover themselves but I am not sure if this would be really enforced.

I thought that for example the company route was illegal if it was deemed that the company was formed soley for the purpose of owning land - however I think that there a plently of Farang/Thai couples who went this route and I have never read anything that anyone as yet have lost their house/land. The rule that this person is refering to is not new. Are there any examples of a Thai spouse losing land under this law yet?

That looks like excatly what i am looking for

Cheers

Looking for some real Windows.

Proper strong double glazed ones with some strong locks on them.

Want to improve the home security. Also Patio Doors......

Any ideas of where the window shop is in Phuket? I can't remember seeing them in Homepro...

Any one have any idea of the costs?

Thanks

A lot of this north south split I agree with.

We have second home in Paklok which is the north part. BTW we are a mixed family and there are plently of them in my area.

Mid 30's age range....

Do with that info what you will....although really it don't seem of much use to me. If a new starbucks opens close to the heronines monument then maybe I have had something to do with it

Why would a Foreign National be liable for Military Service in Singapore, regardless of his immigration status?

Surely that only applies to Singaporean citizens?

Patrick

Male children born to PR's who also have PR status are required for Service in Singapore, not just citizens.

He is still on a blue book for our house in Phuket, but he would have a PR stamp in his passport for Singapore. I guess we should take him out the book which I presume would be possible given that he has a PR status in Singapore, so take him out the book without putting him in another one, never asked abou that before so if a Thai is going to live permanent abroad and has some document/visa as proof then they can come out a blue book fairly easy, right?

Then he can do his national service in Singapore and I presume that he would have some kindof record of this which he could present in Thailand for further exemption.

So confusing what is the correct answer without upsetting or losing status in either country. I am sure there is legally a way to do it correctly but all the websites say is that you are liable for service.....

Ok this is long winded but let me try:

Son is both a citizen of Thailand and Britain, holding birth cert and passport of each, with full citizen rights of both countries.

He currently lives in Singapore on a dependant pass but by the time he is old enough for National Service will potentially be a permanent residence of Singapore with a permanent address in Singapore.

Singapore also has national service which he would be eligible for.

So what about Thailand? We must be able to get him out of at least one without giving up any citizenship or residence rights, correct?

And if he went to live/study in the UK he could be exempt from both or neither?? Understand most countries amend the start date if you are in full-time education? Is there a time limit on this? Just wondering....

Phuket Airport has to be one of my top 5 places of "Places I hate going to on earth"

Be it arriving or departing the whole place is a dump and a mess. Nothing good about it and nothing to be done about it according to the report above.

Things they could do to improve it:

1. General referb of arrivals, departures, checkin and immergration

2. Make the stupid lifts work! put in more esculators also

3. Really need to address the immergration issue on departures. Have twice as many desks for peak times, it has taken an hour to get through before

4. Ditto point 3 for the arrivals

5. Get rid off all the taxi and hotel touts when you arrive. Very annoying.

6. Increase the carpark spaces

7. This is suppossed to be the land of smile, but no one working at this airport smiles, they are all rude

If the service AND food are good in a resturant I will tip providing they have not charged 10% service charge. If they have then I have alreadys tipped so problem solved. I would tip up to 10% of the bill, 20% is too much.

In Thailand or Singapore or England I would not tip for much else. Salon - no way, Taxi - no way they are all rip off merchants anyway, Cleaners etc - no tip although my wife often will tip Thai maids with food from the market or something, Drinks in a bar - tp for what, opening a bottle and putting it down LOL!

I am not a big fan of tipping, I would sooner that the staff get paid the money by the employer the correct amount and I am charged the necessary. To be honest I am happy with the service charge as then everyone knows where they stand - if the food or service are shit, I just pay and don't go back.

I went on Friday and hardly noticed this music outside......

question - opposite there is a toys-r-us although it does not look like a permanent one, I think it is the same stuff they had in Patong and they moved opposite villa. Anyone know if they are going to tidy it up and make it into a proper toys-r-us??

On the villa side of things I still struggle to find things I want, not like in TOPS - sorry just can't get happy about Villa, TOPS for me.....

I went to Nai Harn on Sunday. Not busy and water was good, but...............the rubbish was terrible..probably to worse beach I have been on for rubbish in Thailand, could not believe it, filthly. Surin beach the day before much nicer, but Nai Harn, one to miss if they don't get it cleaned up....

Hi Mark,

this time of year when the wind directions change we get a lot of garbage washing up on many of the beaches, not just Nai Hairn.

It was the same at Kata Beach on Sunday, actually a little worse than Nai Hairn that day.

P.S. no followup on your Hatton insights?

Yep, Hatton fought the worse possible fight he could have! Pac was great, but Hatton threw any chance he had away with the worse possible tactics ever in a world championship fight.

Did a search but could not find the answer, although I could have sworn to have seen something similar to this a while back.

Is there any public pay-as-you-go swimming pools on phuket? Is there any that are nice??

If not, does anyone know of a good hotel on a beach which has a pool and will accept day visitors. I will pay of course to use the sunloungers and swimming pool etc. but won't have the room. Will probably use the restuarant for drinks and food also.....

I went to Nai Harn on Sunday. Not busy and water was good, but...............the rubbish was terrible..probably to worse beach I have been on for rubbish in Thailand, could not believe it, filthly. Surin beach the day before much nicer, but Nai Harn, one to miss if they don't get it cleaned up....

Hatton is a famed body puncher.

As for says who, you might want to start with asking Castillo.....

Quote from the Times on that fight:

With a wicked left hook to the liver – a punch synonymous with the greatest Mexican fighters – Ricky Hatton stopped Jose Luis Castillo in the fourth round to retain the world light welterweight title at the Thomas and Mack Centre.

If the fight was anti-climactic, this was nothing to do with 28-year-old Hatton who dominated his Mexican challenger from the opening bell before delivering what promoter Bob Arum described as “the perfect punch”.

The 33-year-old from Mexicali, clearly in agony, spun around from the effect of the blow before going down on his right knee. He remained in this position until referee Joe Cortez completed the count at 2:16 of the round, which delighted the majority of the 13,044 in attendance, up to 9,000 of whom had flown in from Britain to support the Hitman from Manchester who underlined his status as one of the world’s best fighters.

So Bob Arum (Pacquaio's promoter) says Hatton has a pretty good body attack........

Huggy, the first guy took Pacquiao down, he knocked him out in the 3rd round with a body shot (Hatton is one of the best body punchers in the world)

Ledwaba - hardly a world beater, tell me his best wins? Since the Pac fight he has lost 4 of 7

Hussein - again, who are he best wins, he has lost everytime against world class, scott harrison and Oscar Larios both beat him also

Barrera - these were two great wins for pac, and yes barrera is better technically than hatton, but these fights were at featherweight not light welter

Marquez - first fight a draw, despite Marquez being down 3 times in the first, 2nd fight a SD win for Pac (could have easily gone the other way) and again at much lighter weights than Hatton.

Hatton's record is comparable and in Tszyu, Vince Phillips, Collanzo, Mayweather, Castillo you could argue he has faced bigger punchers than anyone on Pac's record.

The Hatton/Pac fight is a great match up. Power and Size for Hatton (don't forget he has never lost at 140) against the speed and southpaw stance of Pac (Hatton does have trouble with Southpaws) its a great looking match up, could go either way for me, but style wise if Pac comes looking for Hatton I think he will get KO'ed and I think Hatton is gonna win.

Hatton will weigh in at 140 but will enter the ring on fight night between 152-154 (this is common knowledge)

ODH weighed in at 147 and entered the ring at 149, they really screwed up his weight he was dehydrated at the start of the fight and was basically a punch bag. If Hatton had been in there with ODH I think he would have stopped him sooner. ODH had no business fighting back down at welterweight after going up in weight it is very difficult to come down again (RJJ is another example of this)

Pac has been in troubled by Featherweights and was KO'd by a bodyshot years ago. I would say Hatton would be the biggest puncher he has faced.

I see a Hatton victory, unless Pac can really use his speed well and fight on the back foot. If he trades with Hatton I would say Hatton by KO.

But this is just my view and in boxing anything can happen - it is a tough fight for both guys....