paulbrun

Thank you, Nowretired. I thought I'd start by getting our UK marriage translated into Thai, so it can be registered in Thailand. Not so fast..! Officially, it has to be authenticated at the Royal Thai Embassy, in the country where the marriage took place. But we were advised at City Hall, that it should be acceptable, if an affidavit is signed at the British Embassy, in Bangkok..? But I am not going to make a special trip down there, on the off-chance it is acceptable..? So more research is required, especially as there is no pressing urgency. And as you say, the retirement is relatively straightforward to extend each year. Thanks again.

What advantages are there for an extension based on marriage, as opposed to one for being over 50 (retirement)..? I currently have the latter, but I believe for the former you require only half the funds (400k) in the bank, and you are also allowed to work, or run a business..? I just want to get an idea of the pro's and con's, before deciding on one or the other. Thanks.

What advantages are there for an extension based on marriage, as opposed to one for being over 50 (retirement)..? I currently have the latter, but I believe for the former you require only half the funds (400k) in the bank, and you are also allowed to work, or run a business..? I just want to get an idea of the pro's and con's, before deciding on one or the other. Thanks.

Thanks all. Sorry, I have not been checking TV, because I am away until next week. I will continue the search for a good 'Bug' when I get back. :-)

Thank you both. I use YouTube myself, and find it excellent for finding new ideas. My son wants to have a few lessons, to get him started with the right technique, and will then go on to the practice tutorials, when he feels comfortable.

I am looking for someone to teach my son to play the bass guitar. He is keen to learn, but would prefer to take lessons at home, rather than in a music school in town. If there is someone in the Mae Jo area that could get him started, that would be great.

Thanks.

I am looking to buy a VW Beetle, if anyone sees one for sale.

Condition not important, as long as running, and mostly original.

I have searched most of the local ads, without success. Thank you.

I just found this seed pod on a beach in southern Thailand, and would like to know what it is..? Anyone have any idea..?

Why did you need to leave a deposit..? Was it for a long-term rental, or a hire without a credit card..? Anyway, I don't know them, but could investigate when I get back. Where is/was their office..?

My friend who used to grow, and export it, sadly died, but I believe his partner continued to grow the stuff. I will try to find out and let you know. But be patient, because I am not at home right now..?

Reply to follow...

Brilliant..! Reminds me of a Monty Python sketch..!

'Steak of the Day' is pretty good. It is located in a block of shop-houses behind the centre of Mae Rim. You turn left at the lights if you are heading away from town, and drive a block, and then turn right into the shopping area. If you heading towards town, then you turn right at the lights, and right again. They do lunches as well as dinner, I believe.

My son has an Alienware laptop, which I bought directly from Dell in Malaysia, about 2 years ago. He has had a few issues with it, and overheating is one of them. He bought a special tray that it sits on with 2 fans inside, drawing air underneath it. That seems to help a bit. He has also had power problems, and had to replace first the adaptor, and then the battery, just last week. We live in Chiang Mai, so I can't advise about a service agent in Bangkok, but we have used a Dell-authorised shop up here in Pantip Plaza, and they seem to know what they're doing. If you want their contact details, I'll get them for you.

I expect he recovered his wallet and phone from the scene of the crash, and possibly did some shopping, while waiting for the BiB to turn up..?

Thanks very much for the advice. We will investigate further. My younger son has decided to be a cadet, and the older one will have to deal with it when he comes back from college..?

Will my sons need to do some sort of military service..? Both were born in Thailand, and have Thai and British passports, at the moment. I thought they would just be able to give up their Thai passports, at a certain age, and become exempt from any form of Thai national service. But my wife tells me otherwise..?

Hot on the outside, cold on the inside..!

I agree there is no easy way to tackle the burning problem, as the people just do not seem to care. In our village, most people put their rubbish out for collection, including garden waste, but not our immediate next door neighbor..? He tries to save 20 baht by burning his trash at night. Now we have the garden hose at the ready, and as soon as he lights his trash, we douse it with water..! He is not happy.

Phuket is also very efficient, and straightforward. The expat 'helpers' tell you exactly what you need, and help you fill out the forms, and then you get a number. It still takes a couple of hours, but it's quite civilised, compared to up here. I needed a re-entry the other day, and it took about 2 hours.

I don't see an English flag anywhere in this thread..? Maybe Sabaii69 should put his head somewhere so he can see better..? ;-)

Great news. Will check it out for Christmas..!

My son was downloading an App yesterday, and now the iPad is 'frozen' on the Settings screen. I can't get back to the main screen, and I can't turn the thing off, and reboot..? I can move through the various tabs in Settings, so maybe in one of them I can restore things..? But I don't know how. If anyone can help, or at least suggest something I can try, I would much appreciate it. Thanks.

Thank you, Ricardo and Nancy. I will investigate both ideas further.

We are about to move back to our old house in a fairly small village, just outside Chiang Mai (10km). We last lived there about 6 years ago, at which time, we were still using a dial-up modem. It appears that things have not improved much, if at all..? We have been using Triple B for the past few years, but they tell us they have no lines available in that area, at the moment. And that they will have to run a new wire from the next village, about 1km away. So we will have to wait, and then get a big bill, I expect..! Does anyone have a simple, temporary solution in the meantime..? We must have internet access, so which other companies can we try, or is there another way of getting an internet service (wireless) while we wait for a line to be put in..? I would appreciate any help on this. We already talked to True Move, but they can't help us, although they will be setting up the UBC satellite TV dish for us. Thanks.