old wanderer

Thanks for the info. I have some classes to teach at Orient Thai, and now it is settled where I will stay when i go in May.

Just take a certified copy of marriage certificate into passport office. There is a place for them to endorse with her new last name on page 2 or 3. Should be overnight.

My wife did it in Los Angeles without any problems.

Unfortunately I believe we are witnessing a repetition of the 1991 bloodless coup, that culminated in the horrible events of Black May 1992, where hundreds of pro-democracy protestors were shot and killed, thousands arrested and tortured and many people 'disappeared'.

I hope I'm wrong, but recent events have almost mirrored those of the last botched military efforts interfering with politics, and I believe things will get a lot worse before they will start to get any better.

I wasn't in LOS for the student massacre but followed it as close as possible via provincial western media.

My friend is a sharp guy and very observant. And no, not observing through the bottom of a Singha bottle.

So I just figured I'd ask the sage Thai hands here (save the smartarsers) and see if there was a consensus. There's not.

Long live the King.

My wife was at the protest in 92 and left just at dark. It was after dark when they started shooting.

Now she want to go protest again....I really wish there was someway I could block ASTV in our house. She is really upset about the current government support of I TV (Ch 11)./ Why should the tax payers support and pay for what has for years been a bunch of Taskin supporters, she yells at me?

Will there be problems in the next few years....pretty sure bet.

Why would I want to own a gun you ask??

Well I have owned guns all my life. They are as natural as owning a razor.

I hunted on 3 continents. Shot competitively in skeet, military, 1000 meter, and IPSC type events.

I read through the link and did not see any bar to a non-Thai being issued a permit.

So why when I come to Thailand would I not want to bring my property? They are like old friends to me.

There is nobody I know of that can take better care of my family and myself than myself.

People and their pet phobias>>>>>>>>>

Many years ago I had an upscale home near the beach in SoCal. I took a contract in South America, and leased it for 2 years. I came home after a year and wanted to move back in my home. My tenants, wanted to buy the home, and really did not want to move.

I had to get an apartment, again in a very upscale beach area. Naturally the apartment wanted a years lease. After moving in, the tenants decided they had found their dream home, and asked me about moving early.

I tried to talk to the apartment management, and they refused to allow me to break my lease (even though there was a waiting list to rent). Jerks.

So off to the dog pound I went and found a 90# black lab. Move him in with me. Took him swimming in the swimming pool, hit ball for him on the tennis courts. Drove the management crazy....they threated to EVICT me if I did not get rid of the dog....

Well in the end we all got what we wanted...I got evicted, my tenants got their new home, and me and my new friend got to move into my beach house.

My feeling, I don't care what my tenants have as long as they are responsible for any damages caused by kids, pets, livestock, and Friday night drunken brawls....

I built a nice deck on the back of my place, so because of the elevation, I was looking in my neighbors back yard over the fence. I bought 3 large bunches of giant bamboo, problem solved...

The stuff is now about 7 meters tall, and looks nice (wife hates it, and says it blocks the sun from the yard) but I like it.

Tilokarat:

Tough crowd here on the board. If you are happy helping her, do it. There are a lot of really cynical people that post here.

When I decided to get married 10 years ago, boy did some of my expat friends jump all over me, predicting the worse of doom and gloom.

Well 10 years later I have no regrets about my marriage. I had lunch 2 days ago with another farang, and he has been married for 20 years to his wife. However we both agree that 90% of these Thai/Farang marriages fall apart.

If you are happy and your wife is happy then you will succeed. God know I've had enough practice as this is marriage #5 for me. But practice does make perfect as this is my last. (Maybe I was a slow learner??).

Very interesting.....I bought a Business class ticket on Thai for LAX/BKK non stop. The ticket purchased about 4 months in advance was $1000 less than NWA and $2000 than my favorite airline Cathay Pacific.

Go figure

hi guys, coming out to see you all in los next week. want to take sterling cash with me. have an "O" so am staying for a year or so. is it ok to take cash over 1000 pounds. going for a year so if i declare at customs in the uk do you think there will be a problem.

maybe take receipt from bank to show i took it from there and it isnt dodgy.

your opinions are appreciated.

There is no limit on the amount of currency you can bring into Thailand. There are some exchage places (i.e. Super Rich...etc.) that you can usually get 2.5 - 3% better exchange for large bill than the banks or normal exchange places. Do a search onTV for locations and more info.

Yesterday would have been a nice day to exchage your money on. Today when the market opens, and seeing the dollar drop vs the yen of 2%, I think the baht will follow.....but then some other local countries had major drops in their moneys as well.....

Guess that is what makes this such an intresting poker game.

I gave up this morning and bought a stock that for the past 3 weeks has been going up every day....I had been patciently waiting for it to dip, and boy did it. it promptly turns downward, along with the 500 point drop in the market (for a while) and watch my money just disapear.

Next time I will ask the Mahdoo for advise.

I lived for 8 years on a ranch with only generator power. If you can find one, something between 7.5 to 12 KW would supply everything you usually need, and have good economy.

Look for a low RPM model....(Mine ran at 1200 RPM, but i needed 60 Hz) Here in Thailand you need 50 HZ so 1500 RPM will work fine on a direct drive. My little 2 cylinder diesel consumed about 2 liters per hour of fuel.

If you have an electrical background, or hire somebody, then you can do an auto start in case of loss of power, but more expensive.

For myself I had to walk out to the shed, and maually start mine when I decided I wanted electricity. Good insulation of the gen building is necessary to keep the quite around the village. (Also bury your fuel tank and have it under the building to prevent pilferage.

I am not a fan of the high RPM gas generators, as reliability is not available.

What date are you going to BKK/Surin. I have a driver that I have used for the past 4 years. English is very good, driving is very good, and has a van. Last year it was 1800 Baht/day plus fuel and food/lodging if staying overnight.

I also will be in Thailand in April and if our dates do not conflict I will pass his number to you.

The K1 visa is not a multiple entry visa for the USA. It allows only one entry. Once you marry, and submit your paperwork (and remember it must be withing 90 days, no exceptions), you will then have applied for permanent residence.

Once you get the receipt you can ask for a exit thing (forget the name) it cost about $150 and many times it is not granted.

When my Thai wife came this was at the end of the Mexican Illegal Alien fiasco (Remember a one time deal never to be offered again by the government). Well it took over 3 years to get her green card. We did get permission to leave the USA 2 times, each time paying the fee, and getting the document.

If you leave the USA you most likely will not be allowed to re-enter.

The terminal never closes. It is open 24 hours a day along with the places to eat upstairs. You can find some comfortable seats near the window looking out at the airport between the N and S wings of the terminal.

Good luck

When I had my ranch, I bought a couple of hives with some extra frames from a neighbor. The bees had no problem being moved. After a few months I would just put on a long sleeve shirt and go out to the hives and open the top to see how they were doing, never a sting or problem.

Several times other people decided to come along and every time they got stung, one poor guy right on the lip.

I would like to have a few hives up about Saraburi on our land, just to play with a bit.

Can you purchase the the Giant Asian Honey Bee? Seems like they would keep the timid away from poaching my honey.

Stephen,

Guess I should stop sniveling. I do know where my MBA's from Tulane are, and my MSEE from USC is in a box in the garage (I think). The BS I have not seen for over 10 years, so guess they will have to figure if I got a MS I must have got a BS before, plus it is no problem to get certified transcripts from USC.

Actually what I would really like to do is open a composite repair school. With the new Boeing 787 being mainly carbon fiber, the demand for schools will really be in an exponential growth mode over the next 10 years. Maybe I should look to get some certification for the classes from Boeing and Airbus. Since it is new technology you cannot apply old skills to do this.

Now that would be a gold mine. Those typical classes run about $2500 - $5000 per week per student. Typical certification would take 4 to 6 weeks. Usually you would have a max of 10 students.

The cost to set up the lab to teach in is high due to the vacuum and autoclave requirements as well as materials, (but you can charge students for materials just like any school)..

Now do I really want to work that hard?????? I do not think Thailand would be difficult to deal with on this kind of high tech school. BUT TIT??

Ciao

Bob

Don't really want to work too much when I finally move to Thailand. Married for 10 years to a Thai. I have been teaching internationally for a aircraft mfg. technical subjects for the past 10 years. I do about 10 international trips a year and will be with a Thai airline in May.

I have looked at the requirements, and for me it was always a certified transcript that showed degrees and honors. I notice you also require?? a diploma? I have several but with my constant movement, have misplaced some others.

Is the physical diploma a true requirement, or just a sealed certified transcript?

BS Physics

MSEE (Summa Cum Laude)

MBA (Finance) (Summa Cum Laude)

MBA (Marketing)

FAA Airline Transport Pilot

FAA Mechanic

FCC GROL

ISO 9000 Sr. Auditor

(Probably some other I have forgotten about)

I lot of junk to try and keep track of when one has the basic nature of "Colombo". (For our European friends that is a TV show).

I enjoy teaching to the top of the class, but will always try to make the light come on in the heads of those that have never discovered how to make their mind work. (Fun). Not of lot of patiences with the stupid, politicians, or lazy.

Not even sure when I hang it up, if I want to do these things, but one time before when I was 38 yo I retired and became a cowboy. (One of my dreams). I went crazy in a few years because there was nothing for my mind to do. Just a bunch of physical work, nothing mental, so I started playing attorney just to match wits with educated people and beat them at there own game. So probably need something to keep me mentally active.

Interested to hear your comments.

I have left stuff at the hotel for several weeks with no problems. (But then again, it depends on the hotel).

I have hunted extensively around the world. Therefore I have carried guns and ammo from state to state and country to country. Believe it or not, it is not a big deal. Some countries are a PIA (like England) so just avoid them.

It always makes me smile when I take my gun case over for x-ray and am asked if I have any firearms. My typical reply is "not enough to start a revolution, but yes I have some" I then proceed to unlock he case, and present the various gun for inspection to make sure it is not loaded.

Funny how people just sort of back away from you. Ammo must be stored in a separated locked container.

I am working on importing some guns too Thailand, but it takes time and the right connections. Would be nice to shoot a few rounds of skeet at a club.

I guess my Ghengis Khan approach will not be popular, but if i was in charge i would round up every high ranking officail that was involved with that project, that clearly has assesets greater than his salary would provide, and confiscate every thing the family owned.

Unless the government (i.e. military or HRM) comes down with the fist of Thor on this, it will never change.

I love Thailand and its people, but like someone said in another post, it is doomed to be a 3rd world backwater country until corruption is stamped out.

Very Interesting.......

What I am doing is more closely related to a business meeting.

Here is the scenario more fully:

My employer is a manufacture of aircraft, the airline wishes to "consult" with the manufacture subject matter expert on how to better or more efficiently operate the product.

My employer charges any airline a fee to discuss its products. I am on salary, and receive my same salary whether I come to Thailand and teach or not. The Airline pays for my travel and expenses, plus the fee to my company.

Now we have been coming to Thailand for years for almost every airline that exists in the Kingdom, and always got a B visa with no WP. There are several Rep's that are here full time, and they do have WP as they are working/living here.

So I think we have to differentiate between what I do and say a pilot that is working directly for an airline, or Tiger Woods, that is being directly paid to play golf in Thailand.

I'm still listening...

please note that LEGALLY you can not work/teach in Thailand w/o a work permit no matter who pays you (or even if you are not paid). CHeers!

In each of the past 3 years I have had a letter of invitation from 2 different airlines that wished to purchase training. Each time the letter stated the reason was for me to provide "Training". The Embassy promptly issued me a B visa for this purpose. No mention was ever made of any additional WP needed.

I suspect there is some fine print somewhere that makes this kind of business activity "legal".

I was about to get a Non-Im O visa based on marriage, but I was asked to come over and teach a few classes for an airline in 2 months. (No work permit needed as my USA employer is paying me, not the Thai Airline).

Since I can easily get either a Multi-Entry O or B visa, and will be just traveling back and forth to Thailand this year not living there, while our house is being built, which type of visa would be most advantageous?

Most likely I will continue to be in and out for a few years and if all works out OK will be working in Singapore for the next 5 years.

Things I need to do this year:

1. Banking

2. Maybe buy a car

3. Get a Thai DL

1965 Married a Chinese born in the USA....(it was the 60's and I screwed things up.)..5 yrs

1977 Married a Columbian girl.....way too possessive and jelous...............................2 Yrs

1990 Married a Okinawan/Spanish singer......black heart..........................................2 yrs

1997 Married a Thai.practice makes perfect...(or finally somebody that can stand me.)

(She says she 'Oh tones" a lot.)....best thing I could have done. She has learned a lot living here in the USA> We have property in Thailand and will be there soon. She is 27 years younger than me.

In her little Issan village she is like visiting royalty whenever we return.

Like all couples we have good days and bad, but that is life.

Both happy??.....pretty much so.

remember you will most likely be required to decare a large amount of cash when leaving your home country.

Yep,,,,been there done that.....aint no big deal...just fill out the form, (be accurate right to the dollar) after check in walk down to the arrival area, find the customs people and hand them the form...They usually asked to see my passport to see if the name matched.). Went back up and through security and on the airplane.

(If the scanner should want to look in your bags, pull out a copy of the Customs form and ask for a private area to open your bag. They will usually pass you right through. If you should have someone that try to open your money in public, just put a hand on it and ask to see the supervisor.

I came into the USA one time with $500,000.00 and declared it with the right check mark on the customs decleration and had the monitary form filled out. When asked where I got the money my reply was, "Sir I am required by law to decalre the money, not disussit. I have complied with the law". "Supervisor Please!".

I was out the door in the limo less than 10 minutes.

Always be smart when carrying large amounts of cash. Never let it be opened in any public area by anyone. Never talk about it on the aircraft. Be aware of those people around you. Have a defensive plan. Know EXACTLY where you are going once you exit the customs area. (I make sure my guard/driver is imedatly in front of the cutoms area and the car is at the curb. If not I wait until all is ready, (cell phone call) even if I have to wait to go through customs after everyone else has gone.