Hawaiian

Last month while in Bangkok I subscribed to the wireless service provided by the apartment we stayed in. I could only

send emails (AOL) that were only a few lines long. Most of the time it took repeated tries to send a simple email. I couldn't even save drafted messages. Trading on eBay was a nightmare. Frequent "unable to connect"messages were the norm for one month.

Now my suspicions have been confirmed. Told the wife no more visits for me until they stop this silly nonsense. Thailand needs

to get serious about what is a threat to national security and what isn't.

Whenever I take the wife's family out to eat or bring them something when we visit they are extremely polite about saying thank you. The children are also well mannered and always greet me with a wai. I consider myself a very polite person and enjoy socializing with my in-laws because they are pleasant people to be around.

Whenever we go to a Thai party here in Hawaii the women always decide among themselves who brings what if it is "potluck."

Formal parties are a little different. Normally the host provides all the food and drink. I rarely see anyone leave without saying

thank you and good bye. I like to think that my wife's family and friends have class.

Hawaiian - You wouldnt have been to the dam site, as it's nowhere near the sea or Klong Son.

Sounds like you were at the southern end of Klong Son beach at the Siam Royal View housing development. The big hole you saw will eventually be a new marina. The water is sea water - not ideal for drinking. :-)

Changian, thanks for setting me straight. Because the excavation is so deep and lined with masonry I just assumed it was going to be a reservoir for the rest of the development. Sure would like to see the marina when it's completed.

We own some farm land on the mainland a few kilometers from the Ao Thammachat Ferry pier and were there to check on our property. The caretaker is doing a good job and was happy to see us. We always bring him a gift set of Crown Royal or other imported whiskey.

Was there couple of weeks ago. Stopped to eat breakfast on the way back to the ferry and the wife asked about access to the beach. We were given to directions and ended up at the construction site. The security guard gave us a pass which allowed us to drive pass the reservoir site and to a resort under under construction. The beach was deserted except for local fishermen and women. Magnificent view of Ao Klong Son. Construction site also very impressive. Gave the security guard's little boy a few baht to show our appreciation.

Get the product a patent then hit the market hard and fast with a wide distriubution net-work.

If it does well it will be copied, at which point it's time to come up with a new product and repeat the process. A patent is a good deterent but you probably won't want to bother with long intelligantal property litigation battles. Proffesional indemnity insurance would be an advantage - but not sure if you can buy it over here.

So try it by all means - but keep your eggs in different baskets

A few years ago I did some construction work for a gentleman who owned a machine shop. The owner had invented a machine to process macadamia nuts which he patented, manufactured and made good money selling to the small orchard owners. He showed me his new improved version and said he was not taking it to market right away. He said it was only a matter of time before "illegal" husking machine began showing up. Then he would his release the new model since it worked twice as fast as the old model.

Before I handed over one cetang, I would have a chat with the embassy. Is gambling illegal in the US? In my experience she was unlucky to get caught, in my 6 years here I only heard about 2 raids. In both instances the whistle blowers had a problem with one person who was playing cards. The 1st one caught the MIL which I did find amusing.

Have to agree. If she was involved in a gambling operation then it would probably be a more serious offense that you would want expunged.

In our state the law has been amended to allow friendly card games even if money is involved. It becomes illegal if the house takes its cut.

What these government clowns do not get is that every time they come up with another one of their harebrained "anti- fareng campaigns" they are

sabotaging the local economy. I know many people who have been here for many years, and they are starting to leave. They are traveling, and

researching alternatives to Thailand. These are people who on average, spend about $30,000 per year here (1,000,000 baht). How does that

compare to what the average Thai spends per year? Is there no regard for this contribution? I believe there are way to regulate foreigners, and

still remain respectful to them, and allow them to maintain their dignity. In Thailand it amazes me how foreigners are made to feel like 2nd class

citizens. We are not able to do anything as well as Thais, we are not as intelligent, creative, ingenious, industrious, honest, or capable as Thais.

We have not interest in building this country, nor contributing to it, and therefore we should be watched, and regulated. The Thai people cannot

seem to avoid shooting themselves in the foot, at every opportunity. Their country needs so much help at this point. Between the collapse of

the tourism industry, the appreciation of the baht, the world economy, their political problems and perceived instability, and a host of other

problems, you would think this might be the time to show more flexibility, and ease visa requirement, and maybe lower the bar for retirement

visas. While most of their neighbors are encouraging foreigners to invest, to buy land, homes, building for businesses, and offering reasonable

and flexible visa policies, what is Thailand doing? Marching vociferously in the other direction. They are digging the grave of their long term

financial well being. And as farengs, it is no fault of ours. I had a great deal of hope in Abhisit, hoping he was going to usher in a new era of

Thai politics, and progressive policy. I was sure naive about that one.

My sentiments, exactly. Wife and I just returned from a month long vacation visiting friends and family. While we enjoyed ourselves immensely, I would not care to live in Thailand as long as the present form of government and policies (or lack of) exist. The wife owns a home in Bangkok and other property in several parts of the country, so that's not the problem.

We have Thai/falang friends who have extensive land holdings there, but prefer to live elsewhere. Every time they return for a visit they have to deal with a bunch of problems that their lawyers have failed to act on. Most of the time it is because existing

laws are rarely enforced.

Just met an older falang couple who have been to Thailand over 20 times and have chosen Malaysia to retire, mainly because of land ownership laws. They love Thailand, but are afraid to settle there.

While other countries welcome this kind of "investment" Thailand considers it a threat to her sovereignty.

Hope you are just being facetious and not trying to have the last word.

Australia! Friendly greetings on arrival? An older couple (in their late 70") were interrogated for 6 hours upon suspicion of drug

smuggling. Of course they missed their connecting flight. They are personal friends of mine in Hawaii. Both speak with a "British" accent as they grew up in Kenya, immigrated to Canada and then Hawaii. And both trace their ancestry to England.

Go figure.

When you say interrogated do you mean they were strapped to chairs and whipped, or do you mean they were questioned under caution about suspected drug smuggling. sensationalism at its bet there my friend. maybe they should just ignore suspicions, also <deleted> does a british accent have to do with anything or tracing their ancestry back to england have to do with anything, I guess the immigration or customs should have guessed this and since they are connected to the UK just let them pass and ignore the suspicions.

What was the suspicion, was it prescription drugs by any chance

Sorry that my post wasn't clear as to what actually happened to this couple. They were detained and questioned. The contents of their luggage was searched and then they were escorted to a room and questioned about where were the illegal drugs they were supposed to be carrying. I mentioned Kenya, Canada and Hawaii because this was part of the line of questioning. It was was also implied that their accents were phony. Six hours of wasted time.

Hawaii is well known for high grade marijuana and perhaps this is what they were looking for. I realize the most innocent looking people can be the most successful drug runners. Still a most unpleasant experience for this very pleasant couple.

They will never visit Australia again and neither will I.

Australia! Friendly greetings on arrival? An older couple (in their late 70") were interrogated for 6 hours upon suspicion of drug

smuggling. Of course they missed their connecting flight. They are personal friends of mine in Hawaii. Both speak with a "British" accent as they grew up in Kenya, immigrated to Canada and then Hawaii. And both trace their ancestry to England.

Go figure.

Expatlady, don't say that you could never compete with a younger woman. I am in my sixties and am married to a Thai woman who is 23 years younger than me. I had an opportunity to marry one of her friends who is 10 years younger than her, but chose not to. Wise decision. We have been married for 6 years and have a happy and stable marriage. Her younger friend who also got married at about the same time still displays the same emotional immaturity as when I first met her. She has told us that she is trapped in an unhappy marriage. The truth is that you are probably a prized catch as you seem possess the same character and

inner beauty that I see in my wife. Don't give up.

Went through a horrible drawn out divorce several years ago. Very stressfull and frustrating experience. With the help and understanding of a new wife from Thailand I am back in the saddle again. Don't let worrying about the problem get the best of you. Good luck.

Tourism is a major source of income for Hawaii. We make mistakes, but we fix them and don't continue to shoot ourselves in the foot. Police make an extra effort to help tourist who have victimized by scams, robberies or assaults. Many times victims of crimes are invited back to testify in court with some govt agency or tourist association picking up the tab.

Personally, I go out of my way to aid tourist who look like they need help. No, I am not a transplant. I have lived in Hawaii all of my life and know that without the tourist dollar most of us would have a lower standard of living. I think the benefits of the tourism industry far outweigh the minuses. It has sped up the passage of comprehensive zoning laws and environmental protections. Our reduced rates at tourist destinations are based on residency and not race. Thailand needs learn from others.

As said expect you will have to be with her. As to what line that seems to change with the weather. My wife had a 10 year visa and our first trip to LA we were told to both use the American line. Next entry in Seattle we used American line without any question. Next time at Seattle they flatly refused to stamp at American line (and rather nasty about it) so we went to foreign line (and another immigration officer (who suspect had overheard) allowed us to bypass queue (everyone on flight to New York had to clear immigration in Seattle that time). Have not returned since and that was five years ago.

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U.S. immigration has always been polite to my wife. Probably because Hawaii goes out its way to cater to asians. They make up a large portion of the state's population and our foreign visitors. Also helps that we have one of the most senior members

of congress who successfully lobbied to clear the bottleneck at Honolulu International. We now fly out of Kona where the bulk of the passengers are Japanese tourist. So the American line is short. Soon the missus will be a U.S. citizen. Then no worry about which line to stand in.

Here's another one.

My brother-in-law moved his family back to England because he felt public schools here were not doing his kids any justice.

The kids are smart and bilingual. He tried private tutoring but it was cutting into his beer budget.

Soutpeel, there are some salespeople here that know how treat customers right. Wife wanted a new Cyber Dictionary. Went to The Mall and chose one that she was shown the day before. The sales girl took my credit card and told me to put away my ID as that wasn't necessary. When we inquired about a VAT refund she accompanied us to the service desk to do the paperwork. She made sure that we were taken care before she returned to her counter. I have always received polite and courteous service at The Mall outlets. Let's hope that this is contagious.

Soutpeel, there are some salespeople here that know how treat customers right. Wife wanted a new Cyber Dictionary. Went to The Mall and chose one that she was shown the day before. The sales girl took my credit card and told me to put away my ID as that wasn't necessary. When we inquired about a VAT refund she accompanied us to the service desk to do the paperwork. She made sure that we were taken care before she returned to her counter. I have always received polite and courteous service at The Mall outlets. Let's hope that this is contagious.

Just before leaving home I phone in a travel advisory notifiying my cc company of travel dates and country(ies) that I intend to visit. While it does not prevent fraud it certainly limits my exposure. Most cc issuers encourage this practice.

Also, another benefit of using Paypal is their dispute resolution services. Beware that Paypal has a strict 45 day time limit to file

claims for non-delivery and lost items. You must follow their rules or they will honor your claim. There have been many, many

complaints about Paypal's handling of disputes. My advice is, Paypal or no Paypal, only deal with reputable vendors.

Have to agree with pagallim and djc45. There are many variations to the scams which may not always be recognized as a dishonest ploy to rip you off. These crooks spend 24 hours a day working on new schemes or reworking old ones to separate you and your money. Please don't stop posting. I have gained some very valuable information from your warnings and have given advice to my friends who are very appreciative. Aloha and mahalo.

Shop at stores that display the blue, white and red "VAT REFUND" signs. They are efficient and give you an official brochure which explains the rules and procedures. 2000 baht minimum per item purchase with total minimum purchase of 5000 baht.

There is 100 baht processing fee paid at time of redemption. Incidentially, the brochure is in Japanese, Chinese, German,

French, Korean, English and of course Thai.

Never seem to have that problem both here in Thailand and at home. Paid the utility bill this morning at the front desk (Bangkok) and the change was given to me. Same on the buses. On Koh Chang, when addressed by the waitress, I apologized for not speaking Thai. We then had a pleasant conversation in English. The wife says it's because I could pass for a "white" Thai.

Agree with previous posters. DO NOT LIE! A reentry permit is required for any stay out of the U.S. for more than 365 days and up to 2 years. Suggest you visit the USCIS website to confirm.

Difficult to say whether she will be happy living in Europe. We live in a multi-ethnic community and have a climate similar

to Thailand. The wife has many Thai friends living in our neighborhood. They get together at least several times a week

to cook, eat and socialize. Of course my wife misses Thailand, but she phones her family once a week and goes back home to visit once a year. She gets along very well with my family and my mother treats her like her daughter.

There are many factors that can affect how well a relationship works. My wife is allowed and encouraged to pursue her

hobbies such as tending to her orchids, anthuriums, vireyas and Thai herbs. I make a special effort to see that our pantry

never runs out of ingredients for Thai cooking. In other words, it's the many little things that count.

Another thing is that whenever we are in public people do not stare because we are a mixed couple. Here in Hawaii that is

quite common and getting to be the norm. Hope this gives you some insight.

Edit to read: owners of transportation and construction companies.

Have to agree. And if you do not look BOTH ways you will be mown down sooner or later by some driver and they will leave you for dead. If it is a truck that flattens you, watch out, he will reverse back to make sure he did a good job. Dead is cheap, injured is expensive.

Just like the Philippines. Drivers for transportation and construction companies instruct their drivers to make sure the struck down person doesn't survive. Death benefits are cheaper than medical care.