hansnl

Oh dear.

Really?

How sad!

Never mind.

How?

When?

Where?

Who?

Another lot of families without a breadwinner, or in this case, riceearner?

Never mind!

I asked this before but it has been a couple of years so wondering if anyone knows of any thai teachers in Khon Kaen, either city or one of the outer towns.

Looking for a minimum of 2hrs daily for a month of intensive lessons, reading writing & speaking & once the back is cracked ongoing weekly/bi weekly lessons.

Cheers

Boo

Maybe I do, or at least my wife's friend does.

The friend has to work till 17:30.

My wife will call her tonight.

It is a woman teacher/translator English-Thai and the other way around.

Send me a personal message if you are interested?

Miss England takes a break

She will compete in Miss World after her 10-night stay at Santhiya Resort & Spa, on Koh Pha-ngan, Thailand.

http://www.ttglive.com/articledetails?grou...amp;version=1.0

looks real english to me , anyway she seem to be a beautiful lady and she has a good taste

Oh yes.....very British.

most farang living in thailand are pensioned and it's tough to learn a new language when you're 65+.

especially thai.

Bangla, I think you are right.

In my youth, and later, I managed to learn to speak rather well, several European languages.

My mother tongue is Dutch, in school 3 languages were obligatory, German, French and English.

Besides Dutch, I manage to comprehend various dialects and accents of Dutch, i.e. Flemish and South-African.

Later I managed to get a good grasp of the Scandinavian languages.

And because of a girlfriend I even managed to make my self understandable in Suomi (Finnish)

I have no trouble understanding various German dialects/accents, and manage to understand and "ape" English varieties.

Some years ago I was transplanted to Thailand, and I try to pick up Thai.

The problem I have is that the Thai I hear is either Thai or Isan.

So my wife teaches me good Thai, and as soon as I am outside the door, it is no good, because this is the Isan.

On comes the rest of the family, trouble again, different pronunciation again.

And then we have some friends from the south, and yes, problems again.

All this is mighty frustrating.

But I did find out, for myself, that the brain does not pick up things so easily any more.

So I do my best.

I speak fantastic Thai.

Must be something wrong with the hearing of the Thai people.

They don't hear me

My friend has a problem which he asked my advice on but seeing as my daughter is my natural one with my Thai wife I couldn't be much help. I wonder if  the folks here could kindly give some input.

He has been married to his Thai wife for 4 years and she has a 7 year old daughter from her previous Thai husband. He wants to go through the process of officially adopting his step daughter but her ex husband is making waves.

The ex husband abandoned my friend's wife and daughter when the child was a toddler. Since then he has had no contact with the child whatsover and hasn't contributed at all financially to the upbringing his daughter. My friend has been the sole provider for the stepdaughter and needless to say she considers him to be her real "dad"

My friend's wife contacted her ex husband to inform him of their intentions and he simply refused to allow it despite having had no input in his daughter's life at all. It's not a case (as I have known before) of him wanting some financial "settlement" to allow the adoption to take place. He's an upper level government officer of fair means. He's simply being bloody minded.

What concerns my friend is if the tragic situation of his wife passing away or the like occured then he would have no legal claim over his stepdaughter whom he idolises as if she were his own.

Two questions please.

Couldnybody supply a link to the latest adoption requirements for a westerner with a Thai spouse wishing to adopt and live in Thailand?

Is there such a thing as a law on abandonment in Thailand where after a period of time the natural father relinquishes any right to have a say in the welfare of his child? 

Sorry but i'm completely clueless on such matters

Thanks

I went through the adoption process with two of my wife's children.

Her ex died some years ago, so I did not have the problem of an alive and kicking natural father.

Even so, it took 16 months, and that only because a telephone call to the adoption office by someone in the judiciary.

However, I gather if the natural father is still alive, you need his consent.

Because of his position, as you describe it, to take away his rights, would be a big loss of face.

And he will proabably fight it, all the way.

That said, I gather the mother can do something about it, her getting sole custody, as a first step.

There is a law in place about the father, or the mother, loosing custody completely if, and only if, it can be proved that no care was taken at all, in this case by the father.

But, I also gather, this route seems to be a long way.

I advise you to contact the Government Adoption Bureau in Bangkok.

Make an appointment for a talk, take all paperwork with you, also of the natural father.

And just hope you will get a sympathetic ear there.

I know for a fact those people are not against farang adopting Thai children.

And an advise how to do things, is free.

I have now read all the posts above, and most of what I said has already been said.

However, I guess I have some on hand experience.

The thing is the Adoption Bureau is where you will end up eventually.

And I gather from a long session with the comite ultimately deciding the adoption that they will gladly assist you or advise you.

So, before you start a legal battle with the financial burden it will bring, ask advise from the people who know what to do, becasue they handle very many cases of so called "soft adoption".

This being an adoption of a child where one or both natural parents are still alive.

The help of lawyers might be needed eventually, but maybe the Bureau can help you.

sorry but as a mod IMHO you may want to post from a more centered position as this post begs to be flamed I mean seriously seperation dismay from tonsils? youth is wasted on the young.

Let them flame! I'm not posting as a mod, but as a regular guy deeply concerned about... um... guys' foreskins.

As for the tonsillectomy, although they may not have known it at the time, they took away part of my immune system. If tonsils and foreskins were a liability, we would have evolved without them.

Medical knowledge changes all the time.

Blaming your parents for the tonsillectomy is a little stupid, pardon me.

The decision to do it was made in and with the knowledge of the time it was done.

The Hebrews and later the Muslims circumsised because they had gathered a knowledge about the por and cons of the snip.

Later the deed was ritualised to make it universally accepted within the population.

I chose the "Jewish method" in a later age, and I am still grateful I did.

Besides that, many dietairy laws and rituals in the Jewish faith are very much valid, even now.

I also include in this validity many of the dietary laws from the Muslims, of which many are identical.

I do believe that having the snip, even in a later age, can be beneficial.

Healthwise, that is.

And am I not in denial of the loss of my foreskin.

Or having a tonsillectomy.

Or loosing some other parts of me in my life.

Including my innocence.

To answer my own post somewhat, I could add, the reason they do not tell people is :

1/ Judaism is the oldest of todays religions, obviously. Christianity is the second oldest being around 1808 years old (it start about 200 years after the death of whoever "Jesus of Nazareth" was.) and of course Muhammed's Islam comes in much younger than both of them.

So if you consider most people forget the ancient Egyptians, the first of 'todays religions" that uses 100% circumcision is Judaism.

Oh my God............they all say. If we even incline that the Jews were right and people should be circumcised the political/religious fallout would be too great, so don't tell anyone.

And there you have it............quite simply the Jews and the Muslims, all being circumcised, have the "we were right" and all you beleivers of other incorrect faiths were wrong and are all going to die...............

So thats maybe the real reason why they are not trumpeting from the rooftops this vital information............................cause Christianity made an error in not copying this from the older religions (even though Jesus would have been circumcised as he was a Jew, as were his discliples).

And.....it has other benefits women like!

Well done ! Is there a chance that U-Tapao will replace Swampy in a very near future ?

The new airport could then be handed over to monkeys and snakes as it was before.

posttenebraslux

OK.

But only if Don Mueang is also swinged back in use.

Dont waste your time - install & enjoy - M$ has stopped supporting XP & dont care anymore. 99% of XP is illegal.

Dont do any O/S updates, AV only.

Bubba

Really?

Still get updates.

However, any version of Windows XP with the right license code can be installed.

But then you need the specific drivers for the notebook.

Downloadable from the Sony/Vaio website.

Do this all the time with notebooks with Vista as OS.

The preloaded OS on computers without a cd with the OS is a wrong sign of the time.

I had quite a fight with Acer in NL about this about a computer bought in Holland.

They wanted to charge me € 63 for the CD plus € 18 P&P.

End of the line, there seems to be a EU decision that any computer delivered in the EU with a preloaded OS is eligable for a free CD, excluding P&P.

Got the OS -cd free.

My son tells me, he is in the car trade, that used engine oil might be dirtier but works better.

Actually, following his advice, I coated the underside of my cars in Holland with used oil, repeated the process once a year, and never had a rust problem, even with French cars.

My tools are all covered in a film of used oil, wiped off, and stored.

No rust.

In a moment of despair I also covered the bicycle of my son, and it works!

Add another 75mm layer of Q-con block with 50mm rock-wool (50kg/m3 density) should reduce sound transmission by 60dB.

Drywall does not have the mass as Q-con block. Suitable for improving insulation against heat, but not sound.

I used packing for eggs, the paper like stuff.

Glued those to the inside of a double wall of wood sheeting, at my side.

Worked very well

That packing has a proven sound deadening effect, and is much used in sound studios in Holland, and elsewhere I guess.

Don't mean to change the subject, but could someone explain how you are able to write both English and Thai script in your posts with, what appears to be , such ease? I use an IBM laptop running XP.

No idea but i will ask my friend well i will tell ya soon.

Go to the shop, buy an USB keyboard with Thai script, attach it to the computer.

Now you are halfway.

Last step, in Windows, make Thai script available.

And there you go.

I had the same question some time ago but found a very cheap (free) and easy solution.

Whenever I need more speed I ask my son to throttle his downloads for a while which he does on the spot. Sometimes we have to compromise and I give him a few more minutes if he is close to completing a download.

To the OP:

Talk to your kids, don't use force (throttle / off). It will only frustrate and upset them.

Kids these days know very well how to check where the speed bottleneck is coming from.

opalhort

Oh yes, they will probably know more about the internet as you do.

But maybe they have an inkling who pays for the internet?

If I need the speed for my business, I talk to them, or just tell them to stop internetting, whatever.

And if talking does not help, I most certainly prefer to the children being frustrated & upset instead of me.

The scheme was an ill judged & naive concept from the beginning, and was run by people who had no competence in a highly complex product discipline. Having designed & run such products for global airlines and other in the travel industry, and others, I can see no way that Elite can be turned into a viable business.

The core issue is that there is no consumer demand for such a product with a cost/benefit offer that is so lacking in value. The recommendation by Tammasart University is laughable in it's naivety, but then what would one expect from a study conducted by such an organisation.

Thailand has deep problems to solve in terms of tourism and the national airline. Elite is nothing more than a costly and time consuming minor side issue that needs to be dealt with once and for all. The country could recoup much more goodwill by simply returning the million baht fee to each member, and walk away from an initially unsustainable concept. Then it can focus on dealing with the intense global challenge of refurbishing a badly tarnished reputation and an industry that needs to deal with the fact that Thailand been sidelined by more attractive destinations.

!!!!!!!!!!!

Like so many countries or companies or schemes opting to cater for "high-end" customers, and forgetting the "bread-and-butter" basic customers, this plan also went down the drain. The choices made are wrong, very wrong. And might I say, very expensive.....for the deluded customers.

Middle class tourists bring in most money per head per day, not the mass tourist organised in groups, not the high end customers.

So woo the "disgusting" backpackers, because they will keep coming back, even when they get older and richer.

This is just a heads up as there is no further information available as of this writing. A very reliable source informed me this week that new Immigration Offices will be opened in Thailand before the end of the year. The only two that were confirmed were Udon Thani and Khon Kaen but I suspect that other offices will also be opened throughout Thailand in larger cities. In the past there were was a one day a week office in Udon but it closed a couple years ago.

Hopefully this will be good news for people who do not live close to a Immigration Office and need to report or have other business.

I would like that.

But, would it be reasonable in view of the possible number of customers?

I am under the impression that Udon would make a better chance, numberwise, as Khon Kaen.

However, I do know that there are officer(s) of Nong Khai living in Khon Kaen.

So, who knows.

One day per week would be nice for Khon Kaen

Mister Hans.nl

Have you be only too aware of something that Khon Kaen is the biggest but one city in Thailand.

The most foreigner living not in town,but be of region of origin near the city of Khon Kaen.

The distance between Udon Thani and Nongkhai is only 50 kilometre with two immigrationoffice,

and Khon Kaen town with hims large province don't have a immigrationoffice.

Hans.nl you think that only one day per week would be nice for khon Kaen?

I can tell you that there living 95% of the foreigner in the province of Khon Kaen, and only 5% in

the city...maybe including you also!

What an idea...one day per week would be nice for Khon Kaen.

When I want visit in the future the immigrationpolice in Khon Kaen in the morning 10.00 am,

then it's my turn at 4.00 pm to serve.

I am a farmer of humble descent from the Netherlands,but I know that I see something clearly more...

Close the immigrationoffice in Nongkhai.,they still have a second immigrationpost by the border and

friendshipbridge! Reopen a new and large immigrationoffice in Udon Thani,and also one in Khon Kaen...

the both office service for 5 days a week.

Only then you can give a good service to many foreigner who living in the northeast of Thailand.

Hello Boer Jan Koekoek

I do know about Khon Kaen, and maybe there are more foreigners living around Khon Kaen as in the town itself.

Like you, I would like very much an immigration ofiice in Khon Kaen, and if it might be possible to have opening times like 7 days a week, 24 hours a day I would be extremely content, however........

If the office in Khon Kaen would be a fully fledged office, like Nong Khai, and not a satellite office like Udon Thani some time ago, I presume the waiting times would be as in Nong Khai, and not as long as you quoted.

Last time I was in Nong Khai for my extension, everything was arranged in 20 minutes.

The drive up and down took 4-5 hours, so effectively I lost a day, or more if I also count preparing all the paperwork.

I presume the fully fledged Khon Kaen office could realise the same handling times as Nong Khai does now.

I would be very happy, instead of going to Nong Khai, if the immigration office in Khon Kaen would be open for only one day a week.

Anything better as going to Nong Khai.

But please, open up an office in Khon Kaen, preferably open 24/7

The immigration office in Nong Khai, for your information, is not only there for our visa business.

It is also the "headquarters" for all the other things the immigration does in NK, and a base for people working at the checkpoint.

The border checkpoint is just what it is, a border checkpoint.

So forget the closing of the Nong Khai main office.

So i am looking at bike prices on different websites and i see a nice ZX10 on Mocyc dot com for 250k with no book and then i see the exact same bike on classifieds.thaivisa.com... for 290k no book...hmm me thinks this is suspect , so i send them an email and this is the funny part , checkout out the reply i got back.

Me thinks it tis a wee bit smelly.

quote from the dealer below

The reason for the different prices actually very simple and is widely practiced around Thailand: Thais and "Farangs" don't have the same negotiation preferences. Usually a foreigner will not buy a bike if there is no discount, and a rather large one at that. A Thai will.

So please don't be offended, and the price is not there to rip people off, it is there to provide a negotiation basis.

If there is anything more you would like to know, please don't hesitate to contact me or have a look at my website.

Best Regards,

Pon

The communication specialist's adagio (or spinner's delight):

If you repeat your message on and on, people will start to believe the message.

If you keep repeating the message after that, even the sender will be convinced of the story.

For me, a typical case of farang pricing.

Forgive me to classify his story as golden, creamy, smelly BS.

Contrary to what this man is spinning, Thai are bigger hagglers as farang.

Why not just put a price tag on it and no haggling?

Much more honest

If the "farang haggler" haggles down the price with half of the allocated "haggling space" the trader will have a nice additional profit.

Nice spinning job, BS explanation.

And I understand the owner is farang too?

Nice job.

I don't think I will ever visit the premises.

Yeah Rocky bar sells John Smiths IIRC , also 7s bar sells cider and Guinness on draft and used to sell John Smiths on draft but dont think it does anymore.

I thought he was after "English" ales? I'm surprised no Irishman has written to complain about this afront to the pride of Ireland!

On a connected note, does anyone know where the imported Guiness to Thailand is brewed these days? Singapore or Malaysia perhaps? They used to have a brewery in Bangkok but it closed many years ago. More's the shame, given the appalling choice of beer available, vis a vis smaller neighbours like Cambodia. Having said that, the Laos range of beers is poor, although at least Lao Beer does make a dark variety which is quite palatable.

Yes, you are right.

I was looking for "English" ales.

The pride of Ireland, Guinness, is brewed all over the world.

Even so, drank it in Ireland, in England, all over Europe, and I even tried to get it inside me in Asia.

I still do not like it.

I like Irish beer, but not Guinness.

I prefer, or maybe I should say preferred, The Wandsworth Young's Ales.

Since the closing of the Ram brewery, I gather it is not the same as before.

That said, wish I could obtain some bottles or even tins of Youngs bitter, or special.

hel_l, I even liked the dark Guinness imitation from Young's.

Over the last few days it has been well documented on Channel 3 news that the police are going to stop Karaoke and Bar girl female workers from touting and showing off their wares outside of the premises.

It was stated that some establishments are permitting their girls to sit outside on the street only dressed in skimpy underwear and that this is causing offence to some tourists and locals.

The big clamp down will begin at Bangkok in the foreseeable future than probably be imposed nationwide.

So is the end of, Hello Welcome? And could this be the beginning for the restricting of practises for beer bars and similar establishments that Thailand is famous for and could possibly cut the tourist trade down by another xxx%?

Anything else we can do to kill off tourism?

That said, I think it is indeed, sometimes, very annoying.

The touting is really getting too.........ehhhhhh.......intense?

Shock! Prostitution in a so called civilized country... In the 21st century and even disguised as a "medical" premises...

How can that happen...

I always thought Sweden was one of the most liberal countries in the world. I have changed my thoughts.

- The child molestation;

- The trade in humans;

Those are the points that made the arrests, ehhh, unresistable?

I gather in Sweden prostitution is legal, only exploitation of prostitutes and the use of the service by a man are unlawful.

All in the good "women-friendly" idea that all prostitutes are exploited by those dirty men.

Nothing will change if it not bypass CAT gateway. And I strongly doubt it will!

And the filters from the watchdog?

How many of you whiners are real tourist. If you have more than a few tourist visas back to back I would say you are not a tourist.

I know I know< I come here long time and spend big money and support family, then get a real visa for that purpose.

Oh dear no 1

The Buri Ram Provincial Court on Thursday ordered the State Railway of Thailand to pay compensation amounting to 14 million baht to relatives of eight schoolchildren and a driver killed in an accident involving a train and a school bus in January this year.

The accident took place on Jan 14 when the train hit the bus at a railway crossing in a municipality of Lam Plai Mat district of Buri Ram province. Eight schoolchidren of Bamrung Witthaya and Thanthong Witthaya schools and the bus driver were killed and many other people injured.

The SRT was found guilty of recklessness not placing barriers and an official at the crossing where traffic was usually busy, causing deaths and injuries.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/14...14-million-baht

-- Bangkok Post 23/07/09

What happened was very sad.

I have no idea what will be the Railways law, if Thailand has one, tells us about crossings,

Most of the time the train has the right of way on road traffic.

That being the case, the train has an obligation to pass a crossing carefully and with slow speed.

But, even on a slow speed of 10 km.h a train needs maybe 50 meters to come to a standstill.

If I see car and motorbike drivers cross the railway line in Khon Kaen, I just wonder if the bus driver checked if he could cross the railway line safely.

I guess not!

Reading through the article, I presume the crossing guard was not there, for whatever reason.

The train driver was not condemned, but the railways, for not supplying the guard.

However, the bus driver should have used his eyes and his brains.

The train driver will have this accident troubling him for the remainder of his life.

Even if he was not to blame.

And I assure it will!

Can anybody help me? I try to find a bar/pub in Khon Kaen that serves English style beer.

Tetley's, John Smith......whatever.

Or somewhere to buy in tinned form?

Thanks

(Lager type beers give me the r*ns, while ales do not)

Of course, Thaksin inspires many poor and rural Thais and things were clearly better when he was in power, though I don't think Abhisit is completely to blame for that. Being a social liberal, I find that Thaksin is clearly more palatable than the yellower more rightist elite alternative. It would be nice if someone else had the power to oppose this evil elite machine, but for now there's only Thaksin. Bring him on!

Wake up!