Hawaiian

Khun Jean, I do not disagree with you about the well running dry. Fortunately my wife usually listens to my advice when difficult family decisions have to be made. Granted Thai logic is difficult to overcome and sometimes we have heated discussions. She has been good to my mother and I to her mother. While my Mom is financially independent, her bedridden mother

needs help. We are not wealthy, but help when we can. Her family also kicks in their share.

Thankfully my wife's cousin has a medical background and skillfully manages my mother-in-law's expenses. Hopefully the situation does not arrive where we will be taken advantage of.

Phetaroi, agree with you. Even Thais know about pirated goods. Just ask any Thai woman why she brought home cosmetics or other items from abroad when they are available in Thailand for much less.

Well thanks for the replies , you have certainly given me some food for thought, I would be giving the land and house away so there is no problem about losing anything, I cannot see why my relationship with my wife would end if there is nothing to gain. , but who knows, I have taken on board the information i have been offered on here, as i thought a minefield,Thanks for your time.

Thongkorn, you have the right attitude. If your wife leaves after the land purchase, then you have only lost 600,000 baht and a woman whose object of affection is material gain and not love. Better to find out sooner than later. Later meaning for her to set you up for the "big one" possibly costing you millions and years of deception. Personally, I believe your generosity will be rewarded with a loyal spouse.

Plant them close enough so they hold each other up when fruiting. This also helps to crowd out the weeds. Can't give you the exact spacing because it depends somewhat on the variety. Here in Hawaii I had the white, low acid variety with large fruit. most of my fruit averaged 10lbs (4 to 5 kilo)apiece.

You might ask for a copy of the deed (chanote) and verify with the local land department if it legitimate. If you do decide to buy it is possible to arrange payment at the land office and have the title transferred at the same time.

Suggest using a certified, or cashiers check and not cash. Wife and I did this for a 3,000,000 baht purchase. It also helped that we had a friend who knew the seller. Just be careful and do some due diligence.

If you decide to use an attorney and/or escrow company check them out thoroughly. Good luck.

Jazzbo, while many are fish out water a great many adapt to their new surroundings. Prior to marriage my wife, a uni grad, was an administrative aide in the Bangkok branch of a major U.S. company. She had visited Europe and much of East Asia. She owned several properties including the house she lived in.

After 5 years she enjoys living in Hawaii. She has many Thai friends here and is loved by my friends and family. After every visit to her homeland she remarks that we are living a good life. Incidentally, we live in a rural community, nothing like Bangkok where she was born and raised.

So, to each his (her) own.

Agree that asking for your fiancee's passport is definitely a positive sign. Most likely she will be contacted shortly to pickup her passport with the visa stamp.

Trying to weed out sham or convenience marriages is not an easy job for consular officials. I personally know

of two cases where money has changed hands for an arranged marriage. To my knowledge, neither marriage was consummated and divorce followed once the women had completed the naturalization process. This is the reason K1 applications are scrutinized very carefully for this type of fraud. Applicants are not given a hard time just for

the hell of it.

Easttech, if the interviewer's questions were answered honestly it is probably just a matter of time before you get the good news. Right now there is a myriad of questions in your mind about what the "problem" is.

My wife's interview took no more than five minutes and centered around when and how she met me.

She was also asked what my contact address in Hawaii was. Two days later she had her visa.

I don't think having a relationship while going through a divorce is a problem. My attorney

wrote a letter to my fiancee at the time explaining why the divorce proceedings were taking such a long time. Evidently, he didn't think it was an improper relationship.

Many judges in the U.S. will not grant a divorce until all issues are resolved: property settlement, child custody, etc. It took me nearly five years of legal battling and I met my wife halfway through the process.

Good luck and please keep us posted. I really feel for you.

Land of the Free

Thailand does not mean "Land of the Free."

The word Thai actually means people....:jap:

We bus, free train, free school, free electricity, free water, and most import of all, free 2,000 baht when Mark step in. I won't call it vote buying, would you?

Nothing is ever really free because everything has a cost and someone is paying for it. "No fee" is probably a better term. All of those free things you mentioned are being subsidized by someone else. The wealthy may pay taxes, but usually pass on those taxes to the less fortunate in one form or another.

If Thailand ever wants a really democratic form of government they need to start somewhere. This is a good start. Of course there will be vote buying. That's the Thai way. And it will continue until the younger generation decides that it is no longer acceptable. This has happened to Japan to some extent. Democracy does not happen overnight. It usually is an evolutionary process.

There is not doubt the financial crisis has hurt the American taxpayer. However, TARP was a necessary evil.

When the final tally is made the bottom line will be a worthwhile investment, Most of it will be paid back with

interest. Interest paid and profit on stock sold will more than cover any monies not paid back.

Although the Bush administration caused a lot of damage, Obama and company's runaway spending is leading to a spiraling deficit that will eventually lead to a financial crisis far worse than most Americans realize possible.

I not talking about politics, but the urgent need for sound fiscal and monetary policies. Sooner or later the printing presses will run out of ink.

Duty free will only be confiscated if NOT bought at the current airport (i.e. brought in on a flight). The "buy it and then get it confiscated" scenario does should not occur (any first hand experiences?).

It's always wise to buy at your destination, or at your last transfer point.

The only time that I bought liquor at duty free was at Honolulu Intl. The package was delivered to the JAL counter and given to me at check-in. Hand carried it all the way to Bangkok with out any problems. Of course this was before the U.S. ordered the liquid restrictions.

Have to agree with mauiguy about our educational system in Hawaii. What has not been mentioned is that charter schools (private with public funding) are an alternative to public schools. Most kids enjoy attending them and excel in national tests.

The U of Hawaii, Hilo campus attracts students from all over the U.S. and western Pacific and has a excellent reputation for a small town college. It is also quite

affordable.

For those that don't care for an urban lifestyle some of the outer islands offer a more laid back atmosphere and less expensive cost of living than Honolulu, Oahu.

Of course everything in life is a trade off.

Could it be that is in response to the new stringent rules being written for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)? Obama and others are in Seoul,

Korea right now planning to clamp down (crack down) on this type of activity. It is supposed to a secret meeting. Some secret if the Thais know it.

CaptHaddock, My Thai wife and I live in Hawaii and normally visit Thailand once or twice a year. Had her dump her Thai issued Citibank Visa and got a free one from our local bank where her account is. As for your situation, looks like vagabond48 has your answer.

Never had a problem using my Capital One Visa card. No foreign currency exchange fee and very fair exchange rate. They do require a travel advisory notification with country(ies) and dates of travel. Only use my card in larger department stores and for the rent at the serviced apartment. And normally for transactions amounting to 3000 baht or more.

I have also bought travel packages where the agency tacked on 3% or so with my consent.

Last time we rented a van was in 2007. Rate was 1,500/day plus fuel. The driver was invited to eat all meals with our group of 8. We rented several rooms so he was able to shower twice a day. He said he preferred to sleep in the van as there was a lot of room. Wife gave him a nice tip when we got back to Bangkok.

It is a small privately owned company which my in-laws always use. Probably the reason for the reasonable price.

Bad driving habits die hard. My wife had her Thai drivers license for many years and was even a hotel limo driver for two years. She even bragged about receiving company sponsored driving lessons from a major oil company instructor.

In Hawaii she applied for her learners permit and passed her written drivers exam with flying colors. Then came the "real" test. After failing her road test for the fourth time she got one of her cool headed Thai girlfriends to coach her. Her friend took her for a spin and pointed out all of the faults that I had mentioned. Next road test she passed, thank God! Guess she was determined not to break the record of some of her other friends who took as many as 15 tries before getting their licenses.

My Thai wife rented a car in Bangkok and was told no need to fill the tank. I questioned her about that and she showed me the rental agreement. Sure enough.

No problem when we returned the vehicle 5 days later with a 1/4 tank. It seemed their main concern was that we might flee to another country with the car since they accepted only cash. No credit cards. Another new one for me.

Hired a car. Pointed out to them that the front bumper was damaged.

The guy said he would make a note of it on the hire form.

Stupidly I dodn't ensure he did and later when I'd left the country the repair for the damage was charged to my credit card.

This was Alamo rentals at Heathrow, London.

Alamo in Honolulu lets the customer check off any visible damages and gives him/her a copy of the form. Never had a problem with them.

Don't know. Never asked for permission.

Some heavyweights are super nice guys. They are easy to please, rarely get upset and are not demanding when it comes to sex. And being fat doesn't always have to be a permanent thing. Of course you could say the same thing about some thin men.

Personally, I think some people have extra pounds/kilograms because they are so easy going that few things stress them. In turn, with this attitude toward life they burn fewer calories than someone who is always stressed out. Just my opinion.

Never had any problems to leave my laptop in my serviced apartment or hotel.

I'm not more worried about theft in Thailand then back home.

If you live in a place with 24 hour security and you have a good relationship with the guards and receptionist nothing bad will happen.

Good relationship with the staff makes for respect and good service. Our visits to Thailand are for a month or more. We always stay in the same serviced apartment. The security and people at the reception desk remember us because we bring goodies from Hawaii. I also give something to the cleaning girls like a few baht and chocolates. The only time we turn the room key in is when we leave town for a few days. And then we bring back fruit from our farm or buy something from the roadside stands to give to staff. Never had anything missing including laptops.

When it comes to child support there are NO extenuating circumstances. It doesn't matter what your ex-wife did or how much of a bitch she was. The court orders child support and you pay it one way or another. You simply can't run away from it. No one ever said life or the courts were fair.

ADDED - Your ex-wife CANNOT claim that you did not pay. Child support payments are made to the court and they pay your ex-wife.

You are a somewhat fool in your thinking, Or may be you do not read very good.

The

extenuating circumstances (as you put it) can be a number of things.

One the lone parent has no job.

He has to provide for his new family. (god forbid is no one in this world allowed to have a 2nd chance after divorce?)

May be he wants to support his children (You do not know the full story none of us do)

Yet many of you are willing to hang this person without fair trial.

All i can say is get your affairs in order before you try to correct others.

I read just fine although as far as your post, I am making the assumption that English is not your first language.

My affairs are in order because I followed the rules even though they are certainly NOT fair. The courts orders child support to be paid and regardless of what your personal problems happen to be, you are obligated to pay. It is up to you to challenge the court through the court system if your circumstances have changed and you can't pay.

Gary A, from my experience you are correct. In my case I asked for a reduction in the amount of my support. At the court hearing, my ex's attorney asked for a denial and the judge agreed. Why? Because my attorney forgot to submit my latest financial statements which I filled in the day before the hearing. My lawyer said requesting a new hearing was out of the question.

I submitted a request to CSEA (see my previous post) for an administrative hearing. The hearings officer reduced the amount based on the information in my updated financial statement. When it came time to pay my attorney's fees I deducted the amount of "damages" he caused me by his negligence. He never said a word because I would have complained to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel. Lawyers avoid facing the ODC at all costs because it goes on their record.

By the way Gary A, I don't think you are a fool.

Perhaps there was a little bit of naivete in my advice. The only experience I have with Thai women is my wife and she is just a cool person even when upset. Of course everyone has their limits, but she far from being a vindictive person. Sounds as if britmaveric and Thongkorn are better equipped to give advice for your particular situation. Better safe than sorry.