rosier

We need someone to care for our 4 year old son at home during the Christmas holidays (from now until 4 January) about 4 days a week. If you can drive you can use our truck to go out and about; otherwise he has lots of toys and games at home.

Must at least understand English as he refuses to speak Thai! Please email or call or text on 087 885 1125 if you are interested.

Elizabeth

Hi again. I just posted a reply to your nursery thread.

If you would like to volunteer to help at local primary schools chatting to the kids in English I can introduce you to the heads where my step daughter and young sister-in-law attend. They have asked me to do it but I have a young baby so no time.

Or if you would like to meet some others to hang out and have coffee my friends and I welcome you.

PM me....

I am in Ao Nang and know a number of expat girls with babies who would like to use to reliable nursery service for casual care at least.

The only problem is most of us don't have a lot of money to spare and often wold need care to allow us time to earn our own money by teaching which pays very little around here (about 300-400B per hour). Therefore if the hourly rates were too high it would not be cost effective to use such a service.

I have solved the problem for myself by hiring some home help by the month which works out very cheaply if you think how much you have to pay per day/hour and she can do some light housework and shopping as well.

Also, I think you should know that I have heard from a reliable source that there is a local Thai guy who has rented space in Ao Nang already to open the same sort of facility for babies and kids from 6 months upwards. He will have qualified Thai nurses as carers, so it may be difficult to compete once he is up and running.

But that is not to say your idea may not work - it's just like every business here there is always heaps of competition and unfortunately, price rather than quality, is often the deciding factor.

If you would like to know more about your potential market around here, you can send me a personal email.

I was thyere picking up some people recently and saw that there were some new rooms built up high above the old bamboo bungalows that are along the "back" road of the resort.

They seemed pretty nice and worth and look as they are new and therefore less likely to be damp.

its even rougher for me to quit saying "alai nah?" when i get back to farang-land.

of couse living in Singapore only compounds the difficulty. They speak english so well, it has become its own language

I disagree that Singaporeans speak English well. When we have Singapore passengers on our boat, I have to ask my husband in Thai what they are saying to me so I can answer. For him, their accent is understandable but for me, impenetrable.

Thanks everyone for your help. I have the visa, marriage papers etc.

My husband is self-employed though - we have a TAT registered tour business. Would that be sufficient to count as a reason to return?

We can give my parents address as where we will stay but as to funds......how much do they consider sufficient. What if I say my parents will be covering our costs. Do I need some sort of stat dec from them?

What if I say I am intending to work there? Or is that not a good thing to mention on the basis that it could mean we intended to settle there instead....?

E

Has anyone had experience of applying for a tourist Visa to Australia for an Ozzie with a Thai husband?

We have one baby together and are legally married. We want to take him home to show the family next wet season.

I've established what I need to do to get my son registered as a citizen and get him a passport, but am not sure how they will view my husband's application.

Is there anything we need to demonstrate and do I need money in the bank?

Also, does anyone know if a Thai citizen who has another Nationality through his mother (cf father) must choose between the two when he is older?

E

Thanks for the good wishes, g00dgirl. How funny that you saw us - you should have come over and said "hi". We are just marking time now till he makes his appearance, which could be any time from now until the next 2 weeks or so.

Maybe we'll meet you next time you're back this way.

E

I have booked with Destination Air for a group coming in December. An administrative nightmare which is still not over.....

They now have a special promtional price form Phi Phi - Phuket for about 5000B.

We have seen the planes around here for a while now. They do look a bit scary but the great advantge is getting straight to Phuket airport in 15 mins instead of wasting the better part of the last day of your holiday getting a ferry and taxi.

Worth considering I suppose if time is of the essence, or you want what must be a great an aerial view of the islands.

Thanks for the welcome, Seonai!

Actually we have a blog at http://andamancampandcruise.blogspot.com/ which is designed to keep past friends up to date on family news and new trips.

It may also be helpful for those planning to come to Krabi who want to see some pictures and get some ideas about how they might spend their time.

At the moment we are featuring a lovely Aussie family for whom we put together a great itinerary which allowed them to take in all the highlights of Krabi in a relatively short time, as well as having plenty of time to chill.

It will be updated regularly throughout the season.

Elizabeth

Hi Meandwi.

We'd love to take you out next time you're in Krabi. We can collect you by boat on the beach outside Nakamanda, or by road, depending in where you decide to go.

All our trips include home cooked food, snorkeling equipment, English speaking guide and a flexible itinerary. We are happy to answer any questions about the various islands and other trips we offer, so don't hesitate to contact us via the website when you are ready to plan your next holiday here.

And we are delighted to see that the ad has worked already!

Elizabeth

There are some newer places still which are good value. I like the feel and style of Duang Jai which is on the outskirts of Ao Nang and thus quiet.

Ao Nang Princeville is right in the middle but they have done the rooms really nicely.

Up the "McDonalds" hill there are hepas to choose from: Tipa resort has some new Thai style bunglaows which look nice, Vogue is fine and Ao Nang Paradise has separate bunglaows which are comfortable.

As to activities, just click on the banner of the sponsors of this forum to get some great ideas for customised tours by sea and land, or see my profile for the website address.

Elizabeth

Best boat trips are with Andaman Camp and Cruise out of Ao Nang.

If you want to read reviews about them search the Krabi forum on Travel Advisor

Hi Mandy.

I am pregnant (37weeks+) and in Ao Nang too. We are going for Bangkok Phuket (due on 10/10 but the local doc thinks he might make an appearance sooner). We checked Phuket International too but liked the service at Bangkok-Phuket better.

We are going to drive down once labour starts so I don't know about accommodation.

A couple of things to note about my experience at the hospital so far:

1. I chose Dr Rujirek because she is the only woman obstretician, and that was an error of judgement, not because of her skill as a doctor but her personality. I have since heard that Dr Supakrit is a good one, especially if you are planning a natural child birth.

2. I had a stressful time when I told the doctor I planned a natural birth and that my Mum had done the classes with me in OZ, so I wanted both her and my husband in the room. She point blank refused and it took a half an hour with customer relations to find out that this rule is up to the doctor and she was not going to allow it. However, they called the head of the maternity dept down who was lovely and said that the one person rule applies only if you need a C section. She took us up and showed us a room which is bigger than our house here and said I could have both people present and give birth any way I wanted so long as there were no complications. The doctor was not impressed but seemed to give in at that point.

If you want to hear more you can contact me at - please PM each other with email addresses we don't generally allow them in a live forum. Thanks, Seonai

I was late earlier this (in Krabi). In fact, I had lost the slip of paper so I didn't know how long it had been.

Thinking it was better to do "the right thing", I went in and confessed. We met a horrible guy who yelled at my (Thai) husband for not attending to it, saying it was his responsibilty as the Thai person with whom I live, and purported to charge us an 800B fine (which figure he apparently pulled out of thin air).

Another officer, more junior, officer was apologetic but bound by his superior.

As luck would have it, just then another more senior guy who knows us came along and asked what we were doing. I told him my story and he wandered inside, said something to the first guy, then wandered off.

As a result, we didn't have to pay at all.....

BUT the REAL point is, I realised then that THEY also didn't know when the last report date had been. If I had done nothing but waited till I left the country the next time, then reported as usual on my return, no-one would have been any the wiser!

At least 2 Doubles needed. Any style is OK as long as seaworthy.

Have you tried looking around Koaw Yaow Noi. there are some stunning places there.

You can also do camping if you want to get away from it all.

We wnet camping on Bamboo Island and Hong Island with Sun and Elizabeth. they arganise everything for you. Also day trips from Ao Nang.

Website is at www.andamancampandcruise.com

Why don't you try Krabi area. There are lots of great places to see and you can choose from a range of accommodation.

We did a trip with Elizabeth and Sun (www.andamancampandcruise.com). Instead of going to a new place every day, we did a continuous trip around the islands staying in bungalows and camping for a couple of nights.

Check their site for lots of ideas.

I'm looking to visit again in April. So I want to solicit as many people as possible to give their best choice for the best island to visit in April. Been to Ko Chang, in 2006, Samui, been there 4 times, and 2 times too many, and I have been to Phuket back in the mid-90's.

Looking for:

Weather, this is important to explore the sea, to go on interesting day trips.

Beach, good sandy beach with not too much tourist crap.

Nightlife, good real local Thai food, place for a beer, hear some music, maybe dance.

Beach Bungalow, in the $50.00 to $70.00 range, beach bar & eats, 3* category

I enjoyed Ko Chang very much when I went last year. I wouldn't mind going back, but would like to find island with similar amenities. Did not enjoy Ko Samet, too difficult to get around and too many mosqitos.

So I'm curious to read your opinions, thanks.

Peace,

Mayacan