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Guemlum
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Posts posted by Guemlum
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Looks good. I am thinking of driving there next month, for about 3 nights, I think will take about 5 hrs or so [takes me just under 4hrs to drive to the other side of Rayong] ...... is there a car ferry? Price? is it worth taking the car over? which part is best?
someone told me that 'white sands' is in fact NOT a sandy beach at all is this true?
White sands beach is a very nice, and very sandy, beach.
Contrary to another post here, I'd highly recommend taking a car onto the island - the roads on the west coast are all sealed and in reasonable shape. There are a few steep-ish hills, but nothing like the rollercoaster hills you get on Pha Ngan, for example. Quality of roads is generally fine, except on the east coast, but there aren't really many attractions on the east coast to warrant going down there. I've been to Koh Chang a few times and never seen or heard of one accident.
Having a car gives you great freedom to visit the many beaches on the west coast at your leisure and without having to mess about with the taxis (songthaews). Plus you can drive to the interesting village on stilts over the sea at the far south-eastern tip of the island.
You've got to be kidding me!!. We've been visiting Koh Chang twice a year for the past five years. In that time we've had 3 motorbike accidents, and not because we are bad drivers. The amount of building work going on on the island has bought an influx of large construction vehicles which spew oil all over the roads. This has been one of the many reasons for a large spate of accidents on the Island. Not only that, you get the typical drunk Thais and backpackers who seem to think they are indestructable after a few drinks on their way home.
On our recent trip....October, we heard of 1 death and 7 accidents in the space of 3 days. The roads on the western side of the Island are like a rollercoaster but only from Kai Bae as far as Bang Bao, which is roughly half the length of the east side. On the eastern side, the roads ar nice and flat up as far as Salakkok Bay, but once you turn of these roads and head down towards long beach or lonely beach backpackers, you will encounter the worst roads in your life. These roads are a very badly eroded with 12" deep grooves cut in the roads from rain and landslides. In many parts, we both had to get off of the motorbike and walk. Definately a need a 4x4 if you are heading this far. Its worth it as the scenery and views are breathtaking.
Koh Chang has an accident rate on par with other tourist hotspots. In spite of this Koh Chang is a lovely Island, as are many of the surrounding smaller Islands.
I would definately recommend the link that Cuban posted. The guy's name is Ian and he comes from the UK. He is a very helpfull and knowledgeable guy and his bunglaows are the best on the island. And no, I havent stayed in them, just seen them.
PLEASE LOOK OUT FOR THE OIL ON THE ROADS. EVEN THE DRY PATCHES. Would hate to hear of any TV members ending up as just another number.
Guemlum
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Well done scotty and to the wife. Get that flight booked!! Your story gives me hope for the forthcoming weeks.
Guemlum
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It is also about class as well. If someone can't find the money to marry someone then may be he is trying to marry out of his class and should look else where.
Love should transcend everything.
"You can't marry my daughter if you can't pay what I want" Disgusting!
Agree there...well here's my 2 bahts worth
We recently got married and a sinsod of 99,999 baht was agreed. My wife asked her father about sinsod prior to us getting married to which he replied, he didnt want one. The above figure was chosen because of the number 9 being lucky in Thailand. It was purely for show. He never gave it back to us on the quiet either but announced it during the wedding ceremony.
We gave it back to my parents who initially put up the sinsod, and they then returned it to us to pay for our honeymoon. Her father was happy that we received it either way.
She got a 2 baht necklace which she gave to her father and I paid for the whole wedding, costing roughly about 3k GBP.
Her father and family were simply happy that she would be taken care of for the rest of her life.
Incidently, he passed away 3 weeks later, which can be read about in this thread...
http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=161125
Guemlum
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OK, if we are entering into cost per call one-up-manship, this is one is free:
http://www.voipdiscount.com/en/index.html
OK, any know a service where they pay you?
:-)
Yeah, I tried this one...its Free for a while, then hits you with a "you must buy more credit to make further calls"
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Relax Scotty, its just a waiting game now. My wife is going to be putting forward her application for the same visa within the next week or two, so I understand what you're going through mate. Our's is also about 2ft thick. Good luck to both of you and look forward to hearing some good news.
Guemlum
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Must agree, was amusing first time I saw it....you must have been hanging around in their departure lounge all this time
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Oh god, not again...where you been for the past 2 years yorkie
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If you were to fly with Etihad and encounter a stop in Abu Dhabi of that length of time, they would put you up in a hotel free of charge. Worth a look, as its not very often that you'll be in transit for 9 hours with Etihad....the normal in transit time with Etihad is a couple of hours. They are alot cheaper and IMO far superior to Emirates
Guemlum
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Nong Khai ?
in Isaan
There are both Catholic and Christian churches in Nongkhai. I know of one Christian centre that is located in the small soi that runs along the side of the Nongkhai Grand Hotel. I'm sure there are other churches, but I'm not aware of their locations.
And yes, you can get broadband in Nongkhai.
Guemlum
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Nong Khai,
in Isaan
Hi Lickey, glad to hear you enjoyed your steak.
Its a hive of activity around there, what with the market so close. The dogs name is Bianca for future reference, and I heard she enjoyed the leftovers.
Guemlum
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Hi Scotty,
obviously dont dress in short skirt, flimsy top and 6" stilletos. Just treat it like you were attending an interview back here in the UK.
When my wife went to the application centre, she dressed smart casual....long trousers, smart shoes and her yellow "we love the king shirt". After her application, she was invited to attend an interview at the Embassy where she wore long trousers and a smart long sleeved shirt. Go easy on the bling as well.
I saw people in there looking like they'd just come back from a nightclub or the beach.
Guemlum
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If I was you, I'd write down you are in full time employment at present in Thailand. I'd also attach a note mentioning that you are moving to the UK with your family, but you will be unemployed upon arrival.
The thing is, as you are the main sponsor, you will have to show some means of being able to support your family without the aid of government help (benefits). I also believe that no financial help from parents is allowed but an offer of accomodation is acceptable.
Alternatively, you secure some type of employment before moving back to the UK.
Dont give up yet. You can always wait to see what the SCOUSE has to say on the matter. I'm sure he'll be able to advise you accordingly.
Guemlum
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I'm assuming that you are situated half way between Mukdahan and Ubon? I do know of a supplier in Surin where we recently purchased wine and vodka for our wedding in Nongkhai. You can buy a whole range of western spirits from a guy called Nobbi. He was based in Nongkhai but know resides in Surin where he is set up as "Nobbi's Restaurant and Minimarket" Unfortunately, I dont have a website link for you. Alternatively, look at some of the sponsors of this forum. Hope this helps.
Guemlum
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For those who might be interested, and have never taken part in such an event, I thought I would post my recent experiences in taking part in my father-in-laws funeral. Forgive me for not being able to name each ceremony (in Thai) that took place, so I'll try to describe what happened as best as possible. This is a rather long post.
My wife and I had only got married 3 weeks prior, and were not sure if he'd even make it to the wedding. We believe it was what kept him going, and were extremely happy that he witnessed the event.
I could see it coming, and 2 days before I was due to return to the UK decided to extend my stay by 2 weeks, change my flight, and run across the friendship bridge to extend my visa.
Probably one of the best decisions I made, as 3 days later my father-in-law passed away. I could never have lived with the guilt of returning home, only to be called by my wife a few days later with the news he had died. His final day was a painful day. We were all by his side as he left this world.
Once the initial shock of him dying and the tears were over, which all in all lasted about 15 minutes; a train of events was to unfold which lasted 7 days.
My wife, her brothers and sisters carried his body into the bathroom where they disrobed him, washed his body from head to foot, and dressed him. They also removed the catheter, which had been administered by the local hospital.
Whilst this was taking place, I had jumped into the back of the family pickup with several male family members and driven to the local temple where we picked up an enormous air-conditioned coffin inlayed with mother of pearl. It took 12 of us to carry to coffin onto the pickup. Along with the coffin, came other items from the temple such as carpets, tables, statues and various items, which would be used by the monks for the next 7 days.
Upon our return, we lay his body in a wooden box, which was then put inside the huge air-chilled coffin. The coffin now remains in the home until the day of the cremation.
The next few hours were a bit of a blur, but the events, which were about to unfold, were carried out with military precision and had been planned out for a while prior to his death.
The following seven days involved people coming and going, eating and drinking for 24 hrs a day, monks visiting the home every night to carry out various ceremonies, and very little sleep for all involved.
My wife once showed me some photos from her mother's funeral, and I'd noticed from these photos that it was a requirement, though not necessary, that the immediate male members of the family became a monk on the day of the cremation.
I had already made the decision of becoming a monk for the day, without anyone even asking me if I wanted to do so. It was as far as I'm concerned the final show of respect that I could give to my father-in-law. I did this for no one else, not even my wife and purely for him. This decision was a shock and surprise to the family, but one, which was welcomed with open arms. I don't do anything in life simply to earn respect as a result of ones actions, but this earned me huge respect within the family and local community, but something I was not looking for.
You see, I loved my father-in-law and my wife's family. Although they are from Isaan they are not the type of family that have been tarnished with the same brush that a lot of family's are tarnished with, especially if a member is married to a farrang. We all have the same level of respect for each other.
The Cremation
11 of us had decided to be monks for the day. This involved a trip to the barbers where we all in turn had our heads and eyebrows shaved off. We were then taken to the temple where we took part in a small ceremony and given our monks robes. All jewellery was to be removed, as were any under garments. We went commando. I also had to learn some Thai prayers that had to be repeated 3 times upon receiving my robes.
We were now monks and were treated with the same respect that any monk would be treated with. I was not allowed to refer to my wife as "Tilak" or by any other pet name, and was to simply call her by her given name. If I needed anything from her, she was to put it on the floor in front of me, and not to give it to me directly. This seemed a little uncomfortable for a while, but I soon got used to it.
Once again we (monks only) piled into the back of a pickup whilst family and friends removed the coffin from the home and loaded it onto the back of a small flat bed lorry. The lorry was at the back of the procession, in the middle were friends and family, and leading was the pickup full of monks. We all held in our hands a long piece of string which in turn was held by every person in between the two vehicles and which was tied to the coffin itself. Everyone present had to be in contact with the coffin via the piece of string.
The procession left the house with one vehicle up ahead throwing popcorn onto the road in front of the procession and letting of firecrackers at the same time. I'm not quite sure what the meaning of the popcorn throwing was about, but the firecrackers were to ward off evil spirits.
Upon arriving at the temple, we all walked in procession 3 times around the oven, which was to cremate my father-in-law. To my surprise, this was not some type of medieval fire but a state of the art, oven that was computer controlled. You could even watch the interior via a heat sensitive TV.
After about 2 hours of talks and further ceremonies and presentations, it was time for the cremation. After about 500 of the guests had left, only the immediate family were left for the actual cremation. The wooden box was removed from the air-chilled coffin and lowered onto some trestles where the lid was removed, and the video camera turned off. The oldest son then lent over his body and removed a small cloth hiding his face, with his teeth. This cannot be removed by your hands and has to be done by your teeth. After the initial shock of seeing a 7-day-old dead and frozen body we all took it in turns to pour coconut oil over his face and body. A few prayers were said and then he was placed inside the oven. We were then ushered around the other side where we could view the cremation on a heat sensitive TV up until the point where the coffin filled up with smoke and could see no more.
It took 9 hours for the body to be fully cremated. We returned the following morning where his remains had been placed on a small table. Along side his remains were several sets of chopsticks and a small bowl. Each family member using chopsticks proceeded to sift through his remains to see if they could find any teeth as a keepsake. Anything found was placed into the small bowl. His remains were then shaped into the figure of a person, and 1 baht and 5 baht coins were placed all over his remains along with flower petals. Monks carried out another ceremony and then his remains were placed into a linen cloth to be taken home and placed on the family shrine.
That evening, there was more drinking and eating and a lum-sing show at the home. Spirit houses were sculpted out of banana trees and placed on display outside the home along with photos of my wife's mother and father on each spirit house. Numerous gifts for the temple were also on display along side the spirit houses that in turn were all connected to my father-in-laws remains via a long piece of string.
The following morning, monks at the home carried out one final ceremony, before taking his remains to the Mekong River. The family had rented a long tail boat so that we could take his remains to be scattered in the Mekong. We carried out a small ceremony on the banks of the river before boarding the boat and then sailed up river to the very sacred site of the old and ancient "Wat Pho Chai". The tip of this site still sticks out of the top of the river at certain times of the year, and was visible on this day.
We all took a handful of his remains and scattered them in the river, before putting the remainder of his ashes overboard. This was his final wish.
I miss my father-in-law, and although it was a very tiring and stressful time, the whole process was something I was very proud to have been involved with. 7 days of events meant so much more and had so much more meaning.
Here in the UK, we have a service, dig a hole, put you in it, then say goodbye.
I posted this here to give people a small insight into the funeral process, as I'm sure that if you haven't already been involved, you surely will be one day. I know that everyone's experiences will differ to that of mine, depending on the location, wealth of the family and religious beliefs.
My father-in-law was by no means a rich man nor was he a poor man. The fact that he had such an ornate air-chilled coffin, and that the 1st Minister and ex 1st minister for Nongkhai were both present at his cremation, made me realize he was a well respected man.
Thanks for reading guys, especially if you made it to the end and are still awake.
Guemlum -
I'm pretty sure you will be able to get a tattoo after you've been ordained. Many of the "sak yant" tattoos that you see on monks nowadays are actually performed during monkhood and buy other monks. Check this link out if you need to know more......http://sak-yant.com/
Guemlum
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Cheers guys for the replies. Vinny, what I mean by temporary is that I'm also looking to buy, so this being a temporary measure. Cheers
Guemlum
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Hi guys, I'm not necessary looking for answers, but looking for some re-assurance from past members who may have been in my position before.
My wife and I are going to be applying for a settlement visa mid January. At present, I am staying with parents but am looking for suitable accomodation for us to live in as husband and wife. This isnt a problem as accomodation where I live is in abundance.
I dont particularly want to sign a six month or even 1 year rental contract without knowing the outcome of my wifes visa application. She has visited the UK back in June for a period of 1 month, and we have put together a comprehensive application for the Embassy, so we dont see any reason for a refusal. But should the worst case scenario happen, I will be bound by a rental contract for at least 6 months and be paying un-neccesary rent.
We have a letter in our application from my parents offering temporary accomodation for us untill we find a suitable home. There is no financial support being offered by them as I can take care of finances myself; only temporary accomodation.
Does the British Embassy look upon "living at home with parents" as a no-no.
I have had some good advice from one particular member of TV already, but was wondering what anyone else had experienced in similar circumstances.
Thanks
Guemlum
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Nong Khai,
in Isaan
Hi Lickey, by all means check out the other two links. Nobbi's is now owned by an English guy called Vern, but has decided to keep the Nobbi name as it has a long standing reputation. Nobbi now resides in Surin. I'm not sure of the standard of food there now since changing hands but Verns a nice guy anyway and worth a check. I only ever pop in there for a drink. The link I gave you before also has several links to other restaurants worth eating at in Nongkhai.
Alternatively, the Vietnamese restaurant opposite Nobbi's is renowned all over Thailand and is frequently visited by high ranking government officials, army generals, Thai TV personalities etc and makes a nice change to both Thai and western food.
But me thinks that you are on a mission to find a nice juicy steak
Guemlum
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Hi guys, I'm hoping that some of you resident Ajarns can help me out here. I know this forum is geared towards those learning Thai, but what about those who are Thai, and wanting to learn English.
I have just spoken to the wife, who informs me of her recent purchase of some English learning books. Her English is fine, but she needs to scrub up on her grammar. She's also hoping to pass on these books to her son as well, but after speaking to her, I was appalled to hear some of the phrases she was repeating back to me.
Can anyone recommend some good learning material that I might be able to purchase via the net and pass on to her, so that she can learn the Queens English as it should be spoken.... and I don’t mean in a cockney accent.
Thanks
Guemlum
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Hi guys, I'm hoping that some of you resident Ajarns can help me out here.
I have just spoken to the wife, who informs me of her recent purchase of some English learning books. Her English is fine, but she needs to scrub up on her grammar. She's also hoping to pass on these books to her son as well, but after speaking to her, I was appalled to hear some of the phrases she was repeating back to me.
Can anyone recommend some good learning material that I might be able to purchase via the net and pass on to her, so that she can learn the Queens English as it should be spoken.... and I don’t mean in a cockney accent.
Thanks
Guemlum
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Nong Khai,
in Isaan
I'm surprised you're not familiar with all the eateries in Nongkhai if you're from Namsom but nevertheless if you want the best steak around then visit the "Thasadej Bar" owned by Tum and Carsten..tell them Guem sent you. I've not had a better steak in the UK! The western food is absolutely suberb, and everything is made in-house. As for rolling backy, Im not sure if you can get the brands you mentioned in Nongkhai. Just the usual 5 baht bags.
http://www.gothasadej.com/menu.php?exp=28&sp=en
Guemlum
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Brokenmoose, I'll be sending you a PM.
Guemlum
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Hi Peaceblondie, thanks for replying. The thing is, I dont know what the Thai terminology is for the necessary levels that each student completes whilst at school. I have since found out that he will be finishing Matayom 3 next year, which is why he is wanting to leave and attend another school.
I'm concerened that he might be leaving his highschool at a time that is not necessary to do so. Should he be staying on longer and finishing Matayom 6, then go to Technical College. What are the benefits for him finishing Matayom 6 as apposed to going to a technical college, or should we be looking at schools further afield such as Khon Khaen?. Are there any benefits to him attending a school/college in Khon Khaen instead of attending one in Nongkhai?.
I really need to have an understanding of the Thai educational system before making any decisions.
Regards
Guemlum
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First of all, forgive me if this has been posted in the wrong forum and if the mods feel necessary to move this elsewhere, then feel free to do so.
My wifes son is 15yrs old and has the choice next year of changing schools.
Firstly, I dont quite understand how the Thai schooling system works, so maybe someone can explain.
Secondly, We have the option to move him to a Technical College in the Nongkhai region but have also been told that Khon Khaen is another good region for further education. Are there any advantages to moving him to study in Khon Khaen other than staying in Nongkhai region.
Thanks for anyone that can help.
Guemlum
Post Your Fav Eastern Thailand Pics Here
in Eastern Thailand
Posted
Some shots from Koh Chang.
Guemlum