Guemlum

The most respectable and genuine Thai massage in Nongkhai can be had at the Healthy Garden.

If you are standing outside of Nobbies, head towards the Indochina market and before you enter, turn right and walk past the Thasadej Bar and about 30 metres on your right you will find the Healthy Garden. They have small curtained of areas that will ensure you are not on show.

I have been going here for 6 years now and they are the best in Nongkhai.

Foot massage 180 baht for 1 hr

Traditional thai 150 baht for 1 hr

The Grand hotel is overpriced and to be honest not all that good.

There is a recently opened massage shop just past Nobbies on the left hand side. I went there recently as they were too busy in Healthy Garden. It wasnt too bad but not as good as HG.

There are numerous establishments around Nongkhai but if its genuine you want then Healthy Garden is where its at.

If you are wanting any other kind of massage with extras then PM me and I can also let you know.

Hope this helps

Guemlum

If the mods want to remove or move this thread feel free to if neccesary. I have been helping Oum with her situation both here in Thailand and in the UK since the death of her husband.

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/news/Griev...il/article.html

Guemlum

But does the 50 baht spirits include mixer ...only taking the piss Dave.

Lets hope that our new host can do something for the "Meeting Place" where others once failed. If his desired plans go ahead in the near future, its going to be one busy place for sure.

Guemlum

Can anyone tell me the meaning or significance of the 100 day ceremony that takes place after someone has passed away. I have attended such an event in the past when my father-in-law passed away and will also be carrying out the same event next month for my recently deceased wife.

Thanks

Guemlum

Condolances - no need to declare or go through Red Channel

I had already thought about that one but at Suvarnabhumi your hand baggage is x-rayed prior to you arriving at your departure gate. A small urn would clearly show up including its contents, and thats where the questions would start to begin.

My father died at his house in Spain last March & was cremated as is the spanish way the next day. We performed a memorial for him at his land & scattered his ashes there but I returned on a commercial flight with some of his ashes & his urn as hand luggage. I checked before hand & was told there is no restriction at all.

Thanks Boo for the reply. I'm not to concerned about the UK end but moreso the Thai end. I have since found out that as long as I have both a death certificate in English and in Thai, which I have both, this should be enough, but have also been told that a further piece of paperwork from the British Embassy in Bangkok is required. I shall get on the phone to them tomorrow to find out what it is. Today public holiday.

Thanks

Guemlum

My wife recently passed away in the UK and we have since returned her body to Thailand where we carried out a traditional Thai funeral.

I have kept some off her ashes in a small urn and would like to return them to the UK.

Does anyone know whether there is any paperwork required in order to carry human remains through customs at both Suvarnabhumi airport or at Heathrow airport?. Should I declare them and go through the red channel once in the UK?.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Guemlum

At 13.15hrs yesterday afternoon my wife passed away.

I'd like to thank those forum members who posted with their thoughts and prayers for my wife and my family.

We will be taking her back to her hometown of Nongkhai within the coming weeks.

Guemlum

"Mods, feel free to move to the most appropriate sub forum should you feel it neccesary".I'm transfixed by numbers and colours at the moment…

Green = Heart Rate, fluctuating between 92 to 130

Yellow = Oxygen Saturation levels, fluctuating 80 to 100

Red = Blood pressure, fluctuating between 72 to 130

There's not a lot to do other than look at numbers.

My wife has been in ICU (intensive care unit) in a medically induced coma and on advanced life support for 24 days now.

Midazolan, Atracurium, Altrapid, Furosemide, Platelets; all new to my intellectual vocabulary. It feels like I've been studying medicine and nursing for years now.

An ultrasound monitor, respirator and Stats display sit to the left of her.

9 syringe pumps infusing an array of antibiotics sit to the right of her.

3 statues of Buddha sit watching over her, as does an angel on the windowsill surrounded by wedding photos.

Saffron coloured bracelets are tied around the end of the bed, blessed by monks from her hometown and brought to the UK.

A chest drain and catheter sit at the end of her bed, as does a nurse who gives her 24/7 care, rotating on a 12hr by 12hr shift basis.

A monk from the Thai temple in Wimbledon has just left after giving her a blessing. We hope that she was able to hear and that it gave her some comfort. The nurses tell us that the first sense to go and the first to come back is the hearing, but they also say that she may not remember everything we say to her. It tends to come back in the form of dreams.

Nevertheless, we continue talking to her so she knows we are here.

I don't feel it necessary to go into what brought her here, but just as equally important, the idiocy and bureaucracy that was involved in getting her son here.

A few days after my wife had been admitted, I started the ball rolling with regards to my stepson visiting his sick mother. Only once my family in Thailand had told him he was going to be getting a passport did he realize the seriousness of it all.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please let me introduce you to Mr. Davies of Davies Khan Immigration Associates".

I had used the services of Davies Khan in the past and felt that he was the only man who could take on board and manage my affairs in a prompt and professional manner.

A letter from the consultants in ICU was forwarded to Davies Khan, which in turn was forwarded to the British Embassy in Bangkok. With very few questions asked the British Embassy agreed in principal to issue a visa without the usual formalities subject to him obtaining a valid passport.

I am indebted to the British Embassy for their swift and sympathetic response.

However, we still needed a passport for my stepson, and the British Embassy could not issue the visa until he was in possession of one.

Family members had taken him to the passport office in Udon Thani on 2 occasions only to be told that as he was only 16yrs old and would be traveling alone, he could not be issued one…HOLD IT…unless my wife would write and sign a letter of consent. "<deleted>?"

Now some idiotic clerk with no common sense had already received a letter from our local hospital stating her condition. Surely they would put 2 and 2 together?

Despite me providing them and Davies Khan with all of the necessary documentation asked for, they still weren't budging on the "Authorized Letter" from my wife

Davies Khan steps in again, this time using very influential contacts in Thailand whom include the former Foreign Minister, Dr.Kantathi Suphamongkhon.

Whilst Davies Khan was using his contacts in Thailand, I was using my contacts here in the UK and via the Royal Thai Embassy in London.

Everyone was working flat out in order to get the passport office in Udon Thani to issue the passport. I even believe that Dr.Kantathi Suphamongkhon was told on one occasion that they wouldn't issue the passport because they were concerned that we might be "Child Trafficking"

Anyway, after 1 week of fighting, the passport office decided to issue one with no further questions asked or any explanation as to the delay.

The following day, my stepson was on a flight to the UK where Davies Khan had prepared and issued a letter to the Border Control at Heathrow Airport, ensuing that he had a speedy and problem free entry to the UK. 15 minutes in fact, from departing the plane through to arrivals.

He's been in the UK for 2 weeks now and has settled in very well. You can never tell what someone is feeling on the inside but we can tell how he's feeling from the outside. He just wants his mum to wake up. We all do.

Our days are spent by her side, praying and hoping and not giving up.

The care she is receiving is superb. My stepson realises this and also knows that had she been in Thailand she would have probably have left us already. We are so glad that he made it to the UK in time to see his mother still alive.

My family and I, both here in the UK and in Thailand would like to thank Mr Davies at Davies Khan for the professional, considerate and compassionate service we have received so far. As per my previous posts, I cannot recommend highly enough the service that Mr Davies has provided us.

And last but not least, I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart, the contacts that were used via Davies Khan including the "middle man" and also the former Foreign Minister for Thailand, Dr.Kantathi Suphamongkhon for their intervention in this sensitive matter.

Guemlum

Scouse, you forget we're all shandy drinkers down south

G

Very true scouse, very true, but should be "in castlemaine xxxx veritas"

Guemlum

Just read my lost post...a bit out off character for me...must have been the few beers I had last night.

Anyway, thanks scouse and vinny for the posts. Very helpfull and will probably call the college first.

Guemlum

Thanks for the replys guys. It still doesnt help me in determining the right course for my wife.

And about the rant at the end...I agree with it all. My line of business see's me taking charge of different trades on site, many of which are eastern europeans, and they all tell me what they get upto, and how easy it is to milk the system dry. Makes me bloody sick. Its down to me as to who we employ on site, and I'm tending not to use the Poles and the Lithuanians now as they are all money hungry, greedy, bastards. They all moan about the money they are earning and I'll tell you something; there not earning far off what I do, and I'm on a good salary. Despite my own mother being Polish, it still pisses me off. I'm getting a bit off topic now so I'll stop.

Guemlum

So I've noticed there are a couple of posts on this forum about ESOL courses. Whilst we are on the subject, I was wondering if anyone can tell me which one of these courses we should be applying for; or what course is required by the home office/British embassy in order to apply for ILR once our settlement visa has expired.

My wife will be arriving in the UK on the 1/4/08 and I want to get her on one of these courses ASAP. Her English is fine as well as her reading and writing, so we are not sure which course she should be applying for. These are the courses my local college are offering:

ESOL English for Speakers of Other Languages

ESOL English for Speakers of Other Languages Elementary

ESOL English for Speakers of Other Languages Pre Intermediate

ESOL English for Speakers of Other Languages Level 1

ESOL English for Speakers of Other Languages Level 2

ESOL English for Speakers of Other Languages Intermediate Level 1

ESOL English for Speakers of Other Languages Intermediate Level 2

ESOL English for Speakers of Other Languages High Intermediate Level 1

ESOL English for Speakers of Other Languages High Intermediate Level 2

Guemlum

Tuk Tuk takes no more than 5 minutes max to get from the train station to the bridge (where immigration is), depending on how loaded the tuk tuk is. I would have thought it shouldnt cost you more than 60 baht to get there as it usually costs me that to get from the centre of NK to the train station, and thats considerably further.

Guemlum

Well done mate to you and the Mrs....we never got an email of apology but we did receive a phone call asking her to come and collect her visa and an apology for the inconvenience.

If only they new how much their inconvenience has cost me.

Guemlum

Well maybe I'm wrong, but I would have thought that would have carried alot of weight. You might want to wait and see what "Scouse" has to say.

You have to be able to show that you can support your wife and child without recourse to public funds. Evidence of how much savings you have will help as this will show you have enough funds untill finding employment. A letter of job offer will also help.

I believe that a third party offer of accomodation is acceptable in the rules posted on the embassy website, however a third party offer of finacial help is not acceptable.

If you have an offer of free accomodation from you brother-in-law, then get him to write a letter confirming this. Also get him to provide evidence of the size of the property on offer. i.e, council tax bill, property deeds, paperwork from mortgage provider, photo's. Anything that can show that the property is large enough to accomodate you and your family should help and is also owned by him.

I dont claim to be an expert on these matters, but these are a few that I have come up against recently in putting forward an application for my wife.

Good luck

Guemlum

personally i think they wont accept this idea.......as we could all probably find someone well off that could write a letter saying whatever you wanted it to say.

Yes, but surely being related should help. Maybe I'm reading this wrong. Is your brother-in-law Thai? or are you talking about a brother-in-law based in the UK?. I would have thought that a Thai brother-in-law based in Thailand wouldnt have carried much weight, as the sponsor should be UK based. Maybe I'm wrong. Just my thoughts.

Guemlum

Heavy stuff there scotty...It takes alot of guts to admit to that. I don't really know much about bankruptcy but I really do hope you manage to sort things out, and hope you both get yourselve's back on your feet again soon.

Guemlum and Mrs Guemlum

See the advertisement banner for Davies Khan at the top of this page.

Guemlum

Dont panic or give up guys.

We submitted our application on the Friday 15th Feb. It was taken to the embassy from the VAC on the following Monday 18th Feb. We were informed on the 21st to come to the VAC to pick up the passport. We collected the passport on the 22nd. The refusal notice inside stated that the decision to refuse the visa had been made on the 19th Feb.

I then employed the services of the Scouse who wrote a letter to the embassy on the 25th Feb. We received a reply back from the embassy on the 28th Feb. A further letter from the Scouse was written on the same day back to the embassy and on March 6th we received another letter and phonecall from the embassy telling us they were overturning their decision and were now granting my wife with a settlement visa.

I hope the above gives you some idea of timescales involved. Should your application be unsuccesfull and dependent on the type of visa and reasons for refusal, I would definately recommend the Scouse's services otherwise you could be looking at a 7 month battle before you receive a tribunal hearing.

On another note, I believe that the ECO's only have a certain amount of time in which to read any application and supporting evidence put forward. Had they read all of the supporting evidence I had provided, it would have taken a couple of hours. Hence, evidence provided was overlooked resulting in our refusal.

Guemlum

Hi scouse. I'm not sure whether she had to sign for anything but she did receive a piece of paper telling her she had to enter the UK within the next 28 days otherwise she would have to pay for and apply for some sort of extension?

I've asked her to bring along everything that they gave her when she picked up the visa. I can always clear up matters when she arrives.

Guemlum

So having returned last night to the UK, from a 4-week stay in Thailand I feel it necessary to praise the hard work and professionalism of the "scouse", from Davies Khan.

Our paperwork that we had put forward for a settlement visa application was as concise as I could possibly make it. I had covered every angle to ensure that things went smoothly. This was our second visa as we had previously been successful in obtaining a tourist visa for my then girlfriend and were now applying for a settlement visa, as we are now husband and wife. The visa was refused.

Upon obtaining the refusal notice, the embassy gave only one reason for refusal, which was based around accommodation here in the UK. We had made very clear in our application our accommodation status and saw no reason according to the rules and regulations that are posted on the embassy website that we should be refused. However, the embassy thought different and overlooked allot of the evidence provided in our application. I knew I had a case to fight the refusal notice and decided that I neither had the time or patience to be handling this myself, and decided that if I wanted this fatally flawed decision by the embassy turning around, I should get in contact with the scouse.

Upon talking to the scouse and giving him all of the information that was required, he went on to produce a literary award-winning letter that was sent to the embassy. The reply back from the embassy was a few lines of text telling us simply that they would not overturn their decision. Once again another hard-hitting letter to the embassy was produced and 6 days letter we were contacted by the embassy and told that they would be issuing the settlement visa for my wife.

At this point I would like to name and shame the ECO that refused the visa but I wont, as I'm sure the mods would not appreciate it and secondly we have the visa granted already.

As for the scouse.... he maintained a very professional service throughout our battle to get the decision overturned. He understands the immigration law and in doing so is able to write down in words what most of us would not be able to. His letters are powerful and hard-hitting to the point as not to be rude in any way. He kept us informed at every stage of the game and was not judgemental or prejudice in any way. He was a delight to talk to and has a sense of humour that can lift you up when you are feeling down.

If you ever encounter any immigration related problems then I would definately 100% recommend his services. Had we have not used his services, I could have been looking at a possible 7 month battle with the embassy.

Here's to you scouse

Guemlum

PS. I have the rice cooker already and the wife will be arriving in the UK on the 1/4/2008

I to have had some good experiences at the Wattana hospital.

I Recently spent some time nursing a sick father-in-law at the Nongkhai hospital as well, and the conditions and treatment in the public wards were terrible. You do not want to be on those wards. We moved him to a private room in the end where we had some privacy. The treatment was no better. I can go into details if you really want to know.

Because of his age and illness, we moved him back home as it was his wish and it made no difference as to whether he stayed in hospital or at home. He saw his last days at home with the family.

Guemlum

Hehe, I was going to say you haven't read my post properly, but you've noticed.

She's visited the UK once before on a tourist visa and we are now applying for the settlement visa.

As for experienced members, I have been in touch with the most experienced of them all....the scouser. We just have to wait and see now as to why they have called her in. We will find out this Friday for sure.

Still bricking it though.

Guemlum

My wife received a phone call today from the British Embassy, asking her to attend an interview this Friday. I suppose this news could still be deemed as good news as they haven't given an outright "no" to her application. Then why am I bricking it?

When we applied for a tourist visa last year, we put a very very thorough application forward, and she was asked to attend an interview back then. She was granted the visa and visited the UK for exactly 1 month.

This time we have supplied the original folder of information, and more, trying to make everything as clear and detailed again. We have tried to cover all eventualities. We cant see what reasons they would make her go through the very stressful experience of having to attend another interview. Maybe we are panicking about nothing.

Lets hope she has the very polite and helpful lady at the embassy who interviewed her before.

Guemlum