bunnydrops

"When I applied for a Tabien Baan at my Ket in Bangkok I had to have my passport certified as true copy at my embassy and then had to have it translated to Thai and the translation validated by the MFA. I also had to have my wife's ID and her Tabien Baan, our marriage certificate and had to bring a person that could verify my stays and address. We had an interview that was transcribe for my signature. I received a Yellow Tabien Baan that assigned me a Thai ID number and states I am a guest in the house."

Yes that is the same info. What is the advanage of this getting this? Its not needed to get marriage extension?

Sorry about the spelling --- Here is my problem. I am here on an multi O, I have my house almost finished and when my wife went to get change of occupancy card so we can get the electric turned on. The problem seems to be that I can't get my name on the card. I am told I will have to go to Bangkok and have my passport translated to Thai. Now my plan is to change to marriage visa in the future ( I still have to leave Thailand one or two more times for work.) I have never seen this requirement before for the marriage visa. If I wait until I get the marriage visa will this put my name on the house registry also? Or is this something extra I must do?

One quick question. I am entering Thailand with a multiple non-O visa with plans to get marriage extension. But I know I have to return to the US in about 6 months to close my business and sell my assets. If I leave Thailand does the marriage extension become null and void and I would have to go through the whole process again?

I do not know where you are located in the US. But send your app to the Portland Or. Embassy. I sent for multi-O, Friday afternoon, They are closed on the weekend, got it back Thursday morning. Same day turnaround at their office

I have the western without tank. Most of the time just one of the common bowls of water that the family used before does the trick---but then maybe you need a couple of gallons and a push stick

I have been using Noblecom ( http://www.nobelcom.com ). Can call from any phone or with app from your computer. Different plans to meet you needs. I use the US to Thailand plan (long calls). I haven't used the Thai to US calling card. I call to mobile out in Issan, very clear.

Interesting about the flight ticket. I go thru Portland Or. Never asked for ticket. They only state that I have to be in Thailand within 90 days.

A good link for rates

http://bankexchangerates.daytodaydata.net/default.aspx

I have never had a problem, but that may not be from every location. I have just told them that I was traveling to Laos by train. They pause, but have always let me board.

Yes, if you have a Bangkok bank account you can do a bank to bank transfer to the NY branch of Bamgkok bank-- they will send it to you account in Thailand, My Bank (Wells Fargo) charges me $3. The exchange rate is the Bangkok bank rate for the day it is sent. There is a small (I think $5) on the Thailand end. You don't need to setup a special account--you can use the one you already have

http://www.bangkokba...from%20USA.aspx

The piped water in my village comes from a small man made lake. Not drinkable. Most of the cooking water comes from the large jars. But with all the plastic that gets burned around here, I don't completely trust that water. even though I do wait for a few rains to "clean" the roof before filling. I buy bottled water for most of my water drinking.

It's interesting to note the different reactions and comments in threads such as this. Reading between the lines it appears that the majority of farangs living in Thai villages are blessed with monetary good fortune which allows them choose a particular lifestyle. And why not indeed? On the other hand I feel that many resident farangs rarely put a point of view highlighting the other side of the coin – like mine; ie: – living on a tight budget. I remember reading a post a couple of years ago from one such chap who even published his annual budget on the forum – split right down into precise baht amounts on a daily basis for every item of expenditure! Okay over the top maybe, but certainly confirms many falangs do indeed live very simple lives happily. Then, conversely to opinions expressed here about not wanting to meet or mix with other expats, one often sees announcements from guys seeking drinking companions who speak English to break their boredom. I wonder how many chaps in the not-so-well- off group would jump at the chance to meet and chat with similar without feeling embarrassed over worrying about getting into expensive rounds in a bar? Maybe there's room for thought for a 'Only Surviving But Happy' club who could organize cheap and cheerful meet-ups, members contributing a little bit to a kitty? Problem would almost certainly be travelling to and from the appointed places though! Mm – only a thought that's very unlikely to appeal – or work.

I'd join your club. I see the " with only that amount of income, you shouldn't be living here" posts all the time. I guess I could live on the streets of America. I like the simple life, reminds me of my childhood in the Old South. My wife is more frugal than I and just beams when she finds a nice dress for a hundred bath. I support most of the family expenses of my wife, her sister, her sisters two children, and their mother, and do it all for less than 15,000 a month--- I put money in the bank every month. My wife and her sister work, make about 150 baht a day. I tell them they don't have to do, but they like to "hold up their end" and just don't like to sit and not do something useful.

But about village life-- I guess the only things that I have problems with is yes, those dam_n loudspeakers, I live a little too close to one, I am the only farang in the village and my Thai is not coming along as well as I hoped, I sometimes feel like the village idiot or deaf mute.

LOVE. I heard tell once when an westerner asked an easterner about arranged marriages and why they work, the easterner said the difference was the same as the difference in the way we make tea. "In the west you bring the water to a boil and then add the tea. In the east, you add the tea and bring it to a boil". My mother when she remarried, married a man the same age as myself, she was 48, he was 27. I thought each of them must be mad and it wouldn't last. They were still together when she died at 72.

On the lighter side--my favorite Doonesbury cartoon has one of its characters ( my guess in his 50s) making a pass at a younger woman. She says to him " gee, you must be over 50, why don't you go after someone your own age!. He looks around and see a woman about his age and walks over to her. She looks at him and says " Gees, you must make less than 50!"

Its clear what the law is but not always clear if and how it will be enforced. I help in the building of my own home. I am sure I am breaking the law. I live about 3 doors down from the " aw ba daw" government building. They wave and ask how the job is going and seem to respect the fact that I don't mind getting dirty. On the other hand, I hear of the owner of a bar that got nicked for going behind the bar to change the CD. He had competition in the neighborhood no doubt.

Grain carbs are non essential macronutrients.

if your intake is hypo (low) caloric then a calorie is welcome for survival but if a person never ate a grain carb in their life then can be perfectly healthy.

Consider the diets of people far from the equator like Inuit (aka eskimo's) who eat almost all fat/protein.

The outside germ of a rice grain contains chemical inhibitors which protect the grain against premature germination. Just because plants don't have teeth and claws doesn't mean they don't defend themselves. Their defenses are chemical.

if you try to eat many grains then they have chemicals to prevent digestion etc. If an animal eats a grain then a defense chemical causes the animal to excrete a non digested grain potentially back into the soil which can then grow.

The plants with the best defenses are the plants that have tended to survive.

This is changing somewhat due to better breeding to make plant foods less problematic for human digestion but still lots of plant foods cause problems. Case in point. Wheat plants and their allergy causing gluten compounds.

Of the grains rice is one of the least problematic for most populations. Removing the germ does make a lot of sense. They key would be to eat small portions and combine with slow digesting foods like fats to decrease insulin reaction.

I think you may have hit the nail on the head. Most Thais I know eat a lot of fat with their rice.

When I am in Thailand I lose weight and I eat a lot of rice. Khao tom for breakfast everyday-- I love it. My Thai wife claims she gets hungry faster if she does not have rice with her meal. No one in her family is fat, from the kids to grandmom. When I am back in the states I keep on the rice diet for some time but the rice here does not taste as good (almost tasteless as with just about everything else grown here now) and I sink back into my US diet which isn't bad by text book standards. I eat more grains, oat meal for breakfast most mornings, soup for lunch, dinner mostly built around chicken, or fish and noodles---I gain 10 lbs and keep it until I return to Thailand. Of course this is all anecdotal . There are sure to be many factors. But I don't believe rice is as bad as many here are making it sound.

One thing that was not mentioned is that the US military uses a female voice in their fighter jets because they found out that men would respond faster to a woman's voice waking them out of a High G induced turn.

So once again I am wondering: Is he right, misinformed, crazy or just plain wrong?

FOR GODS SAKE GIVE US A CONSISTENT MESSAGE!!!

(Even if its a lie).

How about just a "Maybe"

Oh My! Well I will pretend this is a serious question. First why would anyone let this guy go that far? Second--anyone that would let this guy go that far would not have the cahonies to take a bat to him.

I have my SS put in my Wells Fargo account that is set up for automatic transfer to Thai Bangkok Bank account via New York branch once a month. The Well Fargo fee $3, Bangkok Bank takes bt 150. I get TT rate. I can do $2000 a transfer, $4000 max a month. Since it goes into regular Thai account, I can use my ATM card.

Thanks for the topic and the feedback,

I have this type of account here and it took about a month or more to do.

I was surprised at the amount of fees it cost me, I did not have the foresight to investigate the total costs.

It ran me last month about $12 USD in total fees not too bad on a check under $2000 a month.

No ATM card but can see online when the money arrives from NY BKK Bank.

Cannot do anything with it except withdraw full amount with Passport and Book Bank, and put in my other Book Bank account.

They never told me If I can setup SMS notification when the money arrives.Since they allowed me to link to my online account, I can check and see how much arrived in Baht and prepare the withdrawl and deposit slips for easy acces when i arrive at the bank.

That account is a special account. Where they have setup with the US Government the ability when the person passes on to stop the account and get the money put back into the USA Government account.

The five hundred baht I used to set up the account I was able to remove with the first withdrawl on the 3rd of the month was when I get my check.

Only SS or other type of Government direct deposit checks are setup this way, but if someone has another pension not from the Government, they can have that money direct deposit but in their regular Book Bank account and that money can be ATM removed and Internet banking used also.

Again I hope it helps someone that needs this info.

Right now I'm using a system from my local U.S. bank which I start with an monthly email. It works fine, but the U.S. bank charges me $30 per each SWIFT wire transfer. No charge here presently from Bangkok Bank the way I do it now.

Still I would like to avoid that $30 fee from my U.S. bank, if possible.

The Direct Deposit of US Gov't checks into a special Bangkok Bank account (special, as in 'can only be accessed in-person')costs exactly the same as sending money from your US bank account via ACH through Bangkok Bank New York. Plenty of info on this on this forum -- briefly, $5 for a $2000 or less transfer; $10 for $2001- $50,000; and .25% fee on Thai side, with 200 minimum, 500 maximum. So, no cost savings on the Direct Deposit method, but possibly it's sent a few days early in order to be in your account right on pay day. I don't know, however, on that one. However, the inconvenience of this money not being available for immediate ATM use, or direct debit by your utility company, etc etc doesn't really make it sound too attractive.

IM, plenty of US bank accounts (actually, probably most nowdays)that allow you to ACH funds for a minor -- or no charge. And to do this via Internet instruction. Again, the fee for doing this thru BB NY to your Thai bank account definitely is cheaper than a SWIFT. (I'm sure your SWIFT transfers are incurring BB's .25% back end fee, although this sometimes is not obvious. Next time figure out the fee, add it back to baht received, and I bet it will be right on the money for the TT rate for that day. Always has been for me, for both ACH and SWIFT transfers.)

The only sure way to know what the baht will do is watch what I do---- and then do the opposite. I never get it right

Thanks everyone, Yes, my father is Thai and is a permanent Resident. I am only a US citizen because my mom is from US.

So with that information, with the price should I get non-immigrant or Double Entry Tourist Visa for our 6 month stay?

How long is the application process? We leave Nov 15th (4 weeks).

Many thanks for all the help!!!

Its pretty quick. If you live in a city with a Thai Consulate, can be done in one day. I use the one in Portland, Or. by mail. Always less than a week.

Sorry if this is answered somewhere but I didn't know how to word the question in the search engine . I am thinking about changing from retirement visa to marriage visa to free up some money for the building of the house. What happens if the wife should die. I read here that if you divorce. At the moment of divorce the marriage visa become null and void. Is this true of death of wife? I don't think she is going to die before me---- I'm just got curious about how the law works in this matter.

Thanks to all for your help---and sorry for giving the opportunity for a pissing war. of which I see both sides. In my own country I take the free services because I feel I have worked and paid for it. In Thailand, I think I should pay. Nothing is free, somebody pays and there sure are many that could use free service more than I. Does my not taking it mean someone more deserving will--I can't answer that.

On UA, I was asked only once. I told them that I was leaving by train to Laos. The UA employee just said "Oh, OK". I don't think they can make you leave by plane. You just need a quick and believable answer.

I have been to St Mary's, I didn't know they did dental. I had my wife go there for a while. The only problem was very long waits. Was never less than 2 hrs, and a couple of times more than 4. But that may just be the doctor we had. Thanks for the heads up about the dental. Any example of cost?