Mystery

Where are the minibuses leaving Bangkok these days? I heard they moved from Victory Monument to Southern bus terminal but also there's a place at Ekamai?... and then I heard they were moving back to Victory Monument... any ideas anyone?

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As a parent of a kid in school and auntie to a nephew in the army one of the first problems is the tests are so terribly written even if you were educated to degree level you would fail! They need to employ educated people to write these tests, teach the subjects properly and then the kids can pass or fail according to whether they paid attention in class. The tests are impossible one question for example might be: What is the capital of Thailand a) Ayutthya, Koh Samui c) Istanbul obviously none of the answers are correct and so impossible to answer correctly! The army English tests I saw were even worse!!!! The problem is RIGHT AT THE TOP with the people who write the curriculum and tests thereof, once they do their work properly and stop copying and pasting and thinking that'll do without checking their own work, the goodness will filter down in time! You need a few perfectionists in their offices, willing to spend the time and money to make sure all text books and tests are correct!

If you wanna have a go at foreign teachers here, they do the best they can in this system and yes get kicked out if they stir the pot too much. Thai teachers... Some good ones, really care for the kids, learning new techniques and trying to employ them in an old antiquicated system some horrific ones, definitely rarely stir the pot as that'll risk them their jobs too... STUCK!!!

I try my best to talk to my son a lot about school, what he's learning, how the teachers are with him, supplement his learning, open his mind more, soon you won't have to worry about being caned for having one hair out of place don't worry son! And no, I'm not kidding!!

As a teacher in Thailand for 5 years and still involved in education, there is a lot I could say.

There are racists in every race... And amazing people in every race... One just has to pick the good ones and drop the idiots ? I've been here 12 years and I think it takes a little longer than 5 months to make such a generalisation with all due respect of course!!! Generalisations are just harmful in general as all people are unique ?

i have stayed in this country for just 5 months, and i have noticed that the greatest amount of racism surprisingly

exist among expats..Thais will readily accept you if you are a good person . this is my personal experience, i am black living in Thailand.

i have gotten stares from the locals but nothing serious, but i have experienced the highest form of racism among expats.

Hello everyone Miriam here from Por Promin Muay Thai Camp again with another update

Kerry has now been released from her quarantine having been thoroughly tested for MERS, by throat swab, nasal swab and blood tests and has been fully cleared to be MERS free - so she didnt get it from the Oman guy.

Also to confirm that she DIDN'T pay a penny for her stay in hospital, the staff looked after her very well, bringing her food three times a day, lots of fruit and extra treats and to say goodbye and thanks for being so compliant they gave her a traditional Thai hamper basket full of more goodies!

In five days they will be popping round to they gym to check on her one more final time.

It's a shame that article said people will have to pay for quarantine in the future, I don't really think that's fair on the individual, you're just gonna put people off travelling - but I'm not sure what the solution should be, who should have to pay, and I'm guessing insurance probably wouldn't cough up in this situation either! So I do hope that the intial article was wrong about charging patients in the future but I don't think a 2,000 baht fine is enough, if you need to be quarantined you should be compliant, it is after all for the greater good of not only Thailand, but the world, when it comes to preventing a larger MERS outbreak!

Thankfully it seems Thailand has only this one case, the Omani man, and fingers crossed it will stay that way!

Hello... My name's Miriam, and I'm the wife of the owner of Por Promin Muay Thai Camp, where Kerry was taken from, so I thought I'd add a little more information to this post, although I do wish people would thoroughly read the link to the article in the Argus Newspaper, as most of your questions can be answered there.

As the article states, Kerry was on the same plane as a man from Oman (it was a stop-over flight from England, so he was on the second plane that she was on from England) she was sitting three rows behind him. He was taken to hospital with what was thought to be chest or heart problems and difficulty breathing, after four days and four tests they confirmed he had MERS. His two sons who were sat next time him were immediately quarantined and tested and have come back with negative test results so far and are in quarantine until July 2.

The day after they confirmed he had MERS they came to get Kerry from Por Promin Muay Thai Camp. Three people arrived, a man from the Ministry of Health in Bangkok, a social worker and a health worker. They immediately asked if Kerry had displayed any symptoms to which we replied no. They told us that Kerry was on the same plane and would have to be taken into quarantine as a safety measure for 14 days from the date that she was potentially exposed to the virus.

I'm presuming they found her via her TM7 card that every foreigner who enters Thailand has to fill in and give the address at which they will be staying whilst in Thailand.

I understand they are still trying to locate about 8 foreigners - read that in an article yesterday - Bangkok post I think - sorry I can't provide a link.

They have explained that the chances of her actually having the virus are very slim and we do not need to take any precautions at the gym ONLY if she develops symptoms like 'fever' or 'respirartory problems' would they consider us at risk.

They explained that they were contacting all the people who were in the same economy compartment - they had to be under quarantine - the ones in the busines lounge and pilot etc just need to report their symptoms daily as they were even less at risk.

They are following WHO guidelines in order to prevent a break-out here.

The man from Oman is recovering well and was immediately moved from the original hospital he was in.

There is nothing dangerous about going to the hospital in which she is in (although it is not Bangkok Hospital) - the girl is under quarantine in a room by herself with no visitors allowed.

From what I understand it is not as easily transmissable as Ebola which spread like wildfire obviously.

As always the best thing is to read and do your own research before panicking!

At Por Promin Muay Thai Camp we're not panicking, we feel the Thai authorities have reacted quickly and efficiently and isolated people at risk, Kerry only has a few more days left at the hospital and then she'll be able to leave. The closer we get to the end of the 14 days it means she didn't contract the virus from him and we also have nothing to worry about.

Oh and someone was asking who's paying for this... not Kerry that's for sure - the Thai Government is and they are taking care of her very well under the circumstances.

Here's a great and informative article about MERS that should put you all somewhat at ease - at the end of the day it's a new virus so there are still things they don't know, but historically it doesn't seem to transmit human to human very well.

http://www.vox.com/2015/6/5/8735037/what-is-mers-virus

Congratulations on your citizenship, albeit it's now a few years ago!! It's now my turn!!

Now as I'm an English woman, married to Thai husband for seven years this year and on my fourth non-imm o visa extention - I can now start this process!!

So... Does anyone have any details or experience of having done this as a woman - heard it's easier - less finanicials to show... husband only needs to show income of 15,000 baht?... True?

There was a lady on here years ago that I spoke to about this but I've lost touch with her... SK or something was her user name... She'd done it I think!

I believe my first step will be visiting Special Branch in Bangkok to get application form and details of what papers they require right? Anyone have the address, contact info?

Thanking you all in advance!

Miriam in Hua Hin

Very interesting and haven't time to read all comments but want to say I agree it should be down to Thailand to solve the problem not the tourists - although also agree tourists should be aware - but the tourists refusing to buy will only (perhaps only in the short term but still) result in the kids being beaten and abused for not making enough money for their captors. Thailand i.e. government, Prayuth (I think is the Priministers name now), the Police and Immigration and Social services all have a DUTY to get involved.

On another note I live in Hua Hin and we have flower sellers too... different story though with them I think... A couple of them go to school with my step-son... Been in Hua Hin for four years now and seen the same kids work the streets at night and go to school during the day... I do wonder what nationality they are and what their situation is. Needless to say I DON'T buy their flowers, but I do pop into 7/11 and buy them an ice-cream or sweets every now and then (now don't start about teeth and feeding them rubbish, they'd hardly be happy if I gave them a carrot would they and if I give them money it'll go to their parents) and I prepare to engage them in conversation and encourage them and their happy smiles and attitudes when I see them at school when I pick my son up.

To give you a bit of back ground I've lived in Thailand the last ten years, never taught in government school but plenty of language centres and have been raising my step-son with my Thai husband the last 4 years.

I have many bad things to say about Thai schools, but firstly, I want to say my son was HELD BACK a year - yes he FAILED!! And had to do grade 5 again!! So it does happen, although I would imagine rarely...

BUT.... I've also witnessed them not passing exams, re-sitting them again and again until they get the necessary score to pass!

Don't even get me started on their teaching methods, drill repeat, copy etc

Any projects - he uses google - copy and pastes EVERYTHING without reading ANYTHING onto a new piece of paper, adds a few pictures and prints it off and seals it in a nice folder - he get's high marks cos it looks pretty!

When I was at school we had to read read read and then write our own material based on what we'd read with a few quotes from places we'd got the information from - my son had NO CLUE what he'd written, whether it was relevant or what the content was - SHOCKING for me!

They hardly EVER have any homework (we have an adopted son too now) and very VERY often the whole school stops learning for Sports Day or Buddha day or whatever other projects they have going on - i.e. there's not much studying going on.

Now they have to sit exams every month apparently, so they will all definitely pass at the end of each year - again, teachers just making them sit and sit until they pass.

Yes totally agree with everyone they can't think outside the box, creativity of intuition or anything like that is severely missing and DEFINITELY NOT ENCOURAGED!

And the teachers... yes they still use the cane, they still physically punish the students despite it being illegal - and I as a parent feel like some lower class plank whenever I'm there, the teachers seem to lord it over you!

I've been called to the office before when my son was in trouble. There was another mother there, on her knee's crying, apologising on behalf of her son, it was ridiculously humiliating for her, they were trying to make the son feel sorry for his mother... Just crazy! Needless to say I didn't cry or any of that nonsense, just said there are consequences for his bad behaviour at home too - but those teachers, I swear they'd cane the parents too if they could!

Finally, there are some good ones... The system and old school behaviour seems to be fairly well entrenched still but there are occasional teachers that are refreshingly caring - my son's head teacher at his Primary school was one of them - 600 students and knew them all individually and was so nice and easy to speak to and approach about any problems or questions.

As far as I know it goes like this:

Anubaan 1-3 (Nursery/Kindergarden)

Pratom - 1-6 (Primary School)

Matayom - 1-3 (compulsory) Secondary school

Matayom - 4-6 (optional) Secondary school (can also change to vocational course instead at this stage)

Mahavitiyalai - University - I'm not sure if teachers during M6 would help with the application process but at this stage the kids can apply for Uni

What frustrates me as I still see LOADS of kids quitting school even age 12 and no-one seems to care or do anything about it.

Some of it has to do with registering kids for school. So if you're a construction worker, bring your kids with you, your registerered as living in Isaan in the housebook but you want your kids to go to school where you work? You gotta make sure you transfer your kids to a house register here, where you're working, extremely hard as people don't let you go onto their house register when you rent a property, so how does said man get his kids to school here?

Then if you move, half way through school year, well your kids have to wait for the next school year to start - can't change schools during the year... So I believe this makes it difficult for a lot of people, especially construction workers, to keep their kids in school.

Just my two pence piece worth - good day to you all

Thanks SO much for your advice/comments/reply Jimmy - I used to live on Koh Samui, but in Hua Hin now, otherwise I'd invite you round for a cup of tea (I'm presuming by your username you're living on Samui)

I've attached a few more photos so that you can see I haven't been trying to cook them lol and have transplanted a few more, albeit into polesterine box's until I can afford a few more pots. Difficulty in planting into the ground is my 8 dogs will love digging them up, but I've now seen something in a garden which I'll do in mine - just gotta buy some wooden planks and some nails and create some beds on my lawn (it's hardly a lawn, more like a dirt pit, but there's a few tufts of grass I'm trying to cultivate!)

All points taken, need larger pots, more space and they'll flourish. Funnily the easiest, is proving to struggle the most, the Coleus, as you can maybe see from the photo - but hopefully it'll pull through, the branches finally seem to be firming up a bit, all big leaves nearly gone, new one's coming so fingers crossed will survive.

The orchids came in coconut shell in a plastic pot, so do you advise just popping a bit of charcoal in with that? We've got some from a leftover BBQ somewhere. Do you spray (I have a spray as thought that'd be better) both leaves and roots daily or only roots? Morning and Evening or one or the other, and if so which is better morning or evening? (Bearing in mind my morning is 8am at the earliest...

At the moment all plants are in the shade until I can construct my plant beds (cheaper than buying a whole load of pots and I'm on a budget )

Once again thanks so much for replying and giving me your advice, it's very much appreciated.

kindest regards, Miriam in Hua Hin

Looks to me they need potting into larger pots or in the ground, most garden shops sell potting soil.

Plant 1 Portulaca .... dry tolerant, but this needs to be divided up and re-potted... broken pieces will root easily .... bloom open only in mornings... Sun or light shade... well drained soil .

Plant 2 . Not sure of name off hand, but looks like it has dried out too much, put in ground or larger pot... Sun ... If soil dry in pot, place in a container of water until soil stops bubbling... put in larger pot.

Plant 3. Impatiens variety... these are drought tolerant once roots are established but needs larger pot or in well drained soil.... keep moist but not wet.

Plant 4 Another type of Number one.... ^ same same...

Plant 5 ... Orchid, replant with coconut chunks and charcoal, seems to be the way the locals have success.... spray foliage... daily ...

Plant 6. Coleus... This one should be easy to grow.... pinch back so to make it bush out... easy to make cuttings from.... seems to do well in sun or part shade here.... do not let dry out too much... but don't keep too wet either!

Plant 7 .... Not sure.... why still in bag? are you cooking it???

All will benefit with fertilizing ..... but would get some larger pots and some soil first! The portulaca and plant 2 will fill a larger pot quiet fast...

Good luck!

Hi All,

I'm having a little trouble bringing out my inner green fingers - I've bought a few plants from our local market, started with four, hung them all in my Frangipani tree... They're not liking it... and some of them are dying, so before they die on me completely, and before I even start killing the new one's I got yesterday, I thought I'd ask on here if anyone can advise me of what they're names are so I can look up what they like, or even tell me what they like i.e. what soil, wet, dry, water a lot, a little, lots of shade, lots of sun etc etc

I know the Thai nickname of one of them, Khun Nai deun sai which means madam wakes up late, and my Thai friend advised me to stop hanging them, only the orchids I bought like to hang, and to plant them in planters - so I'm in the process of doing that unless someone here advises me otherwise. By the way can't plant them in my garden directly as my eight dogs and 2 cats will dig them up in seconds, but the whole point of these plants is a. to create a more beautiful front garden, but b. also to create cooler mini climate in my garden (if that's even possible) because my little terrace house get's an awful lot of direct sun during the day. We have now put up a big rain cover thing that covers half the area, so my orchids are hanging under there.

Here are a few photos of the plants, many thanks in advance for any help!!

1. Has red, orange, yellow and purple flowers, is apparently called 'Khun Nai deun sai' in Thai but not sure, seems to be the only one doing relatively ok hanging in my Frangipani tree

2. This is nearly dead, was covered tiny tiny dark blue kind purply flowers, all gone now, was hanging, now sitting in a bowl, waiting to be transplanted to planter

3. This has red flowers, you get them in loads of colours, it's not dying, has new buds, but doesn't seem to be flourishing either

4. This is a new one, haven't had a chance to kill it yet, has white flowers and rubbery stems

5. The orchids, one purple one white and the other not sure, seem to be killing the first, the one's still green were newly bought yesterday, just moved all into the shade

6. New plant given to me yesterday

7. New plant given to me yesterday

Which one's are good to plant together or separately?

I have lived in Thailand for 9 years and seen many examples of domestic violence, having also come from England where'd I'd witnessed and even been subjected to it myself!

Yes some Thai men are brutes, and so are some English, but some Thai and English men are also wonderful. To put this all at the feet of the men is unfair to say the least, and it has been shown in England, that abuse of men is also a huge issue, if not worse in some ways if it could ever be said, cos whilst awful for anyone to admit being abused, fractionally harder for a man to admit being abused by woman.

Now onto Thai issue - the women here work it like you wouldn't believe, I've never seen women work it like this in England, quite the specialists! But then some of them certainly do have to be, having left desperate situations and with no welfare state to fall back on like our women in England, CPS, however slow it sometimes works, helps women in England force men to support them. I know a lady, it took 18 years, but eventually her son got a massive payout for years of no support.

Now - back to Thai issue - how to you squeeze blood out of a stone?! If the man has no money or prospects, how on earth is is supposed to provide for these ever greedier Thai women? Not all of them, but I've seen so many just take take take, from both Thai and Western men, it's never enough, it's NOT for the kids, and it's just greedy - there's a feeling that the man should somehow give everything to her and she do nothing but sit on her laurels being a woman - it's lame to say the least.

Then there's the Thai guys that do the same, refuse to work, refuse to take initiative, lame lame lame - and so you get these wonderful hard working Thai's in between, the women with the wonderful successful children they've raised despite no support from husband - I know men in Thailand that are raising their kids having been abandoned by their wives who would rather seek a more luxurious lifestyle with a Western man in a bar in Pattaya.

Women (and men) treat babies abysmally - have you seen the pinching and teasing and general pushing them to their absolute limits til they cry behaviour - I mean its barbaric - why would you do that to a child?! And so they do it to each other and animals and all around them this behaviour is witnessed and perpetuated!

I think therefore in conclusion that the problem is throughout Thai society and far too complicated to simply single out male abuse against females and children, men and women and children ALL need to learn to treat each other with more respect - although I am by no means lessoning the issue of domestic violence against women originally addressed by the article here above, the abuse that goes on there is sickening to say the least and the whole of society, not just the victims, need to stand up and say 'it's not ok'! (And by respect I don't mean the silence that you're met with from children as an adult just cos you're an adult, children also desperately need to be taught to speak up for themselves in this country, they're taught to follow and say krub and that's it, they need to learn to think and make decisions on whether this adult might be doing something bad that they can protest about)

And yes I completely agree that the Thai TV series could really help - considering 90% of the country is addicted to them - but when have we ever seen a business take a risk and challenge society and do something for the greater good rather than financial rewards... It would be wonderful though

Peace and love to all!

so now no-one has any common sense anymore and needs to be babysat whilst on holiday here, needs their funds checking and personality checking to see if they CAN enter Thailand?! What a load of nonsense - screams of Nanny state England to me where no-one's trusted to make any decisions for themselves anymore.

People travel to Thailand, Thailand allows them in, as do many other countries - people are idiots and trust people (male or female) far too quickly, far quicker than they would in their home country - part with all their savings - really you'd do that in your home country? These people have to be expected to use their common sense, and yes whilst I'm not completely unsympathetic, as there be some clever game players here, you have to educate yourself on the place your visiting before you come here - that's your responsibility, not Thailand's responsibility to vet you before you enter the country - have you got enough common sense to avoid the scams type test... The Thai's get scammed by Thais themselves, it's not only a Western thing.

There are MILLIONS on Thai people that require help getting off the streets, much needier than the Westerner - I agree with most people on this forum - they should be cleaned up and sent home where there are the necessary services to sort themselves out - it's horrendous that some tourists do this regularily - and just keep coming back - had one recently at my husband's business, was a joke how much of a ride she was expecting from everyone just for her holiday - had no money - told her to just go home - instead she phoned home for more spending money from friends - went on for another two months until she finally ended up in Malaysia, phoned some of our customers crying and begging for help - they paid for a ticket back to UK for her - She deserves no sympathy, we all warned her, if you have no savings just GO HOME and come back another time you're NOT being responsible - but did she? NO!

Occasionally, VERY occasionally, there is a genuine case of bad bad luck, but even in that case, the best place is your HOME country where you have access to all necessary services to help you get back on your feet. And next time you travel BUY travel Insurance, DON'T bring all your money, use COMMON SENSE!

p.s. I'm not very well off at all, have even had times of Mama noodle a day budget in Thailand, but in TEN years I have always taken responsibility for myself, not been a burden to a system that even struggles (or wants) to help their own people - so why should I, not as a native, expect them to help me?! If I need help I go HOME! (Even though I don't really feel it's my home anymore, it's still where I'd have to go if the shit really hit the fan) Look at the state ENgland's got into by opening it's doors to everyone... Thailand's got the right idea, look after your own FIRST! And I'm quite happy being a guest here until I can get my Thai passport - if I don't like it - I know where the airport is!!!

Hold on a minute!

Where's the person who writes, "Before we start turning this into a Thai bashing session, this could happen in any country."

Remember? The guys beating up those women in the Youtube video!

Come on, where are you now?.... What have you got to say?

are you actually trying to dare someone?

what is this, primary school?

As somebody else has pointed out, That video showed Burmese men beating up Burmese women and was filmed in Malaysia. Apart from that, great post darren84310!

I thought it was Thai men beating Burmese women who'd come over to work? I may be wrong... But I though this post started with an article on domestic violence death rise in Thailand 90% being women... not about the youtube post...? There's plenty of videos circulating around youtube of people beating each other up in every country - only fools think this happens in Thailand only! Domestic violence is BRUTAL and happens everywhere - check out the facebook group Empowered and Beautiful - millions of stories of American and other nationalities who have HORRIFIC stories of Domestic Abuse! One poor girl had hot oil poured over her while she was sleeping - her husband and father or her two sons had to boil the oil and walk thirty-two steps to her bedside to do it! Pure evil calculation! Yes I would agree that Thailand is generally speaking more violent, but violence and Domestic Violence are two separate issues. I believe some cultures are just more violent - in time I would hope they become less violent - like England - however Domestic Violence is something different, as it's the art of controlling someone emotionally, physically and often sexually also! Which can end often end in a fatality. General violence, kids against kids, parents against children, partners against each other is different - in my eyes anyway : )

sorry but I know it's all about innocent until proven guilty BUT why when people get old or ill, do we suddenly decide the complainants don't have the right to have the plaintiff accused anymore?!

IF he is guilty - the girls he accused have to deal the the consequences of his abuse for the rest of their lives - why should he be forgiven and allowed to go home and live his last months/years comfortably when they have to live the rest of their lives uncomfortably

IF he is guilty - he made the decision to abuse them and so he SHOULD live with the consequences no matter what his health - prisons and courts are perfectly equipped to deal with old/sick people

If it turns out he's not guilty then fine and it's a shame he had to go through this - but in all seriousness they wouldn't press charges unless there was some pretty compelling evidence anyway, so I'm guessing he's probably guilty

I guess I'm just saying the girls have the right to accuse the person they say abused them and have the right to have the case taken to trial!

Domestic violence is not limited to class, race, creed or even sex guys! I can't believe some of the stuff I'm reading here! I don't know any statistics or such but I know what I've experienced in my personal life...

Firstly, agree with the person who says farmers life is actually less stressful than urban jobless life, or even urban job stress! The modern lifestyle does not help people that are already that type of person that would beat someone or has a need to control someone. But it also comes down to simply the person. It is a type of person and they exist everywhere!

Yes, there probably are still some families that would insist their daughter marry her rapist, but it doesn't mean ALL families in country areas are like that!!! And certainly doesn't make it a majority either! Thailand is still a developing country, stop expecting it to be so modern like Europe! Electricity came to my husbands village when he was a teenager. There have been plenty of arranged marriages in England in the old times, it's not only in Thailand and cases of rape not being reported.

Having lived in Uthai Thani (countryside with one or two westerners), Koh Samui (tourist island with small Thai communities) and Hua Hin (supposedly aristocratic Thai city and now also tourist place, so attracting Thai's from all over) for the past 9 years, I've met a lot of Thai's from all walks of life.

Let me tell you this, there's plenty a Thai man that is TERRIFIED of his wife! There be some powerful matriarchs in this country!! My mother in law being one of them, my father in law lives in wooden structure away from the main house... : )

Now onto the next issue, Thai Thai Thai... yes the original article was about spousel violence in Thailand being on the increase, which is a sad fact... could also be looked as at it's being reported more? Perhaps people are standing up to this type of behaviour more and so it's reported more?

It goes on in EVERY country in EVERY class in EVERY sex! I have plenty of personal examples to share with you to prove my point...

My father (bless him I love him dearly!) an English Middle-Upper (born in the 40's) class gentlemen, had a temper and smacked my mother, not often, but enough for me to remember! My sister, born in the 70's, an English rose they would call her, physically attacked her husband, an Israeli, not often, but enough times for it to become and issue that needed resolving. I was beaten for a year, by a man of mixed Nationality of middle class, his father was Italian/English and his mother African/Indian. I have gay friends that have reported their boyfriends beating them, I know of lesbian couples where the same occurs. I have a female friend from America who has physically lashed out at her Thai boyfriend and and I know of Thai men that beat with wives and kids.

Violence in general is still a lot more acceptable in some societies here in Thailand, men on men, women on women, kids on kids and then also parents on children, siblings on children, in comparison to what I experienced in my childhood in Europe.I generally find there is a lot more pinching, yanking of kids arms and this type of behaviour than in Europe. (I haven't been to America or Australia so only talk about Europe) And this perhaps then means there is more domestic violence.

No age, sex, gender, race, culture or person is not vulnerable to domestic violence - never forget that! This is not a subject you can generalise about, I would dare to say it happens more with men against women rather than women against men, but there's also many men suffering too.

Can anyone tell me about the chances of Suvarnabhum airport being flooded, or if not the actual airport, the roads around that would allow one to leave the airport direction Hua Hin?... Sorry if this has already been discussed on a previous page!

I have friends coming on 8th and 9th November, and need to know whether they will be able to get from the airport down to Hua Hin... Husband keeps saying 'Toll Roads will be fine' but friends are being advised back in the UK to cancel their flights!!!

Thanks :jap:

one more question... forgot... RESIDENCY or THAI CITIZENSHIP, how easy hard is this to obtain? I speak very good Thai and am learning to read and write, I can hum the Thai national anthem, (found myself humming it in England a lot!!!) but as I understand it it's business men mainly that are getting this... About 100 people are granted every year? You have to show that you've been paying tax... Have to have been in Thailand on permanent visas for five years...

Someone please help me to understand all of this, I know there are two things that I'm getting mixed up too, residency and citizenship, so what requires what and which provides what benifits? For example, now planning on having a child here I'm overwhelmed at the the fact I will need to find money (save) in order to pay for birth and all pre birth consultations and afterwards too, and any medical costs, as I'm obviously used to the NHS in England, would residency or citizenship give me access to the Thai National Health system? Would either of those status ever mean I'd never have to worry about a work permit again? I guess I'm dreaming when I'm thinking I'd like to eventually live in Thailand as a Thai, the same as my husband in the UK would eventually have been able to... Any thoughts, ideas and opinions welcome xx

Hello sbk, RueFang, Boo, MisterMan, samran and VitalGirl,

Thanks for all your comments and replies, all very useful at the time! Now... four years on, I have a few other questions, if you wouldn't mind helping me again...

To update you... I did come back to LOS in April 2008 and we got married in August 2008. No, VitaGirl, I didn't have the Thai wedding ceremony yet, that will come later perhaps, but my husband does always boast that he got a Farang wife for as little as 20baht at the local Amphoer! In fact, we went to local Amphuer (Ban Rai) and they didn't have a clue how to marry us... Husband, nearly gave up and decided not to go ahead, luckily calmed him down and we drove to the next Amphoer (Dan Chang) where a high official was there and decided he'd love to marry us. Took about 3/4 hours for them to get all the documentation right, husband nearly walked out again a few times, but in the end we were married!

September I went back to England, (money had run out and husband didn't have great options to take care of me living back in his hometown of UthaiThani), worked my nuts off and brought husband over to Uk in May 2009. We lived in various places, with husband trying out Muay Thai teaching in various gyms around Uk before finally settling in Middlesbrough just south of Newcastle.

In April 2011 we decided to return to LOS and open our own Muay Thai boxing gym in Hua Hin, as my husband had found a great friend and partner and lover of Muay Thai. I was getting incredibly frustrated with life in England anyway, having moved from Brighton in the south, where I had quite a good job, to Middlesbrough, where I have to say I made some great friends but the job and money was terrible! So I was over the moon to be returning to Thailand! Also, it meant that we were able to take over the care of my husbands son, who up until now had been living with his grandmother (my husband's mother), at 11 years old already, we're both very very happy to have him living with us and to try and show him a family he's never had before!

Now we're all here, in Hua Hin, gym's been open since April, doing quite well, we're building it all up slowly. I've just been on my first visa run after three months and was told by a fellow ex-pat that I should be doing the visa extension... I'd completely forgotten!

Now I'm on this forum for advice again,... I know it's easier for Farang women married to Thai men, but how much easier? I'm going to pop down to my local immigration and ask them what's needed, but I thought I'd ask here as well, especially as people like sbk and VitalGirl seem to have been married for years and therefore have experiences and knowledge they can share.

The things that we don't have or concern me are... Phuyai... would have to try and find out who on earth this is first... Is this still necessary? Secondly, income proof, sbk, you mentioned (I think if I remember rightly) tax income receipts or similar, we don't have any of that yet, the most we can show at the moment is husband's Thai bank account where a minimum of 20,000 thb is going in every month. Do we have to prove income or is this not necessary?

Also, is working any easier with this visa status? I have a possible option for part-time work as English teacher and would like to know whether my visa status makes this any easier in anyway? I have heard that a company employing foreigners married to Thai's will only need two Thai's per work permit rather than the usual four or six for foreigners NOT married to Thai's? This is a good selling point for myself to companies surely?

And then finally, we're planning on having a baby soon... in the next year, and any advice on what to do and not to do in Thailand re having a baby as a foreign woman would be much appreciated. I'm living in a dream I know, but I'm planning on a natural water birth, which I know will be tough to arrange, but I can dream! It seems Thai's all want cesaereans these days, but for me this is an absolute LAST option!

So lots of changes over the last few years, lots of plans for the next few years and lots of advice needed as always! Hope you're all well! It would be great to have some kind of women married to foreigners club that met up once a year or so, for gossips and chats and moans about our wonderful Thai partners and the enlightened views of all those that judge us! lol Yes MisterMan, I think it takes a certain kind of woman to marry a Thai man, as the frowns and quizzical looks you get at times have to be amusing rather than hurtful in order to stick it out! But I love it! To be different is to be free!

There has not been any report of it being closed.

Thanks!

Anyone know if the Mae Sot border crossing from Thai to Burma is open? I'm off to do visa run tomorrow but have left plenty of days in case I can't actually cross there.. I have a Non-0 1 year multiple visa and just need to cross the border and get back to activate next 3 months! By the way I'm talking about Mae Sot next to Tak, just north of Kamphaeng Phet...

Any knowledge on this would be greatly appreciated as if I can't cross here I'll have to go to Rayong/Ranong (I can never remember which one it is but the one nearer Bangkok anyway!) But its just Mae Sot is closer to where I am than Rayong/Ranong!

Thanks alot in advance!!

Why is it not working today? it says 503 service unavailable!... I love the sound of it, is it not working anymore or is it just my stupid computer?

Hello Ladies... Here to pick your wise brains!

Who knows about the steps involved and what documents and proof of income (and how much it has to be) are necessary for obtaining a Non Imm O Visa for a British woman marrying a Thai man?

Planning on marrying my boyf after 3+ years of being together on Koh Samui and trying to figure out what's best visa wise. A little dicky bird told me that our Thai husbands have to declare less than the 40,000 THB income that a Foreign man has to declare when marrying a Thai woman and applying for the Marriage visa?... Can anyone confirm this? I seem to remember it was around 25,000 THB... (A lot of Thais are baffled with my choice of husband as he only earns a minimum of 5,000 THB a month (more if he can get private tuition, he's a Muay Thai boxing instructor) as they typically believe that such etheral white creatures as ourselves should find the richest (chinese) Thai bloke and get together with him rather than marrying for love, but hey, its a little harder of course, but I think i'd find it a lot harder to live with someone I didn't love!!)

I'm currently in UK visiting family & working for a few months as haven't been 'home' in over 3 years but will return by April afterwhich we want to 'Thai' the Knot. Obviously I'm also looking for work (was previously well employed firstly teachin english for 6 months, then real estate for 2 years and finally writer/journalist for last 8 months) but this could take time and I'll bring sufficient funds to not have to worry about finding working quickly. Obviously once working again I would change to Non Imm B visa and get a work permit via my employer but prior to that I was thinking as we're getting married anyway, might be easier to get Non Imm O rather than mess around with the tourist visa.

As we all know rules now state we can only stay in Thailand for 3 months on tourist visa, I think I still know of people on Koh Samui who can 'work it' to allow you to stay longer, my little sister stayed for a whole year and never had any problems, but those things do make me nervous as it really can't be 100% kosher can it!?!

Anyway, been reading lots of posts in various topics, seems we have some very experienced Western women who've spent long periods of time in Thailand, and so I thought i'd ask for your advice in the matter.

I noticed some of you were able to bring your husbands back to the Uk for a while prior to returning to Thailand, one of you seems to live in Israel now. I thought I was having a hard time of it in Thailand after 3 years, but having returned to the UK now for the first time in a long while, I really could slap myself for all the complaining I did because life is just as hard here for different reasons and it just depends which 'hard' you want to take on I guess! I've decided that for the time being its just way too hard to even consider bringing my man back to UK, I would like him to make an informed decision on whether we'd like to move to UK and have been informed that tourist visa is out of the question, so we've decided to stay in Thailand for the time being.

All ur advice and tips and knowledge would be most welcomely received!

Thanks a lot,

Hello All!

I'm sorry if this has already been discussed, do point me to the relevant posts if it has, but as much as I find this site very informative, I also find it very difficult to navigate to the correct info, so I'll try this way first!

I want to know what steps one would have to take in order to apply and get the 'O' Marriage Visa. I have heard that as a female westerner marrying a Thai man we actually have to declare less than the usual income of either 40,000 THB a month or 400,000 THB in savings... Can anyone confirm this to be true? The below is all I can find at the moment... My fiance earns very little at 10,000 THB a month maximum, but our combined income is a lot 'rosier'! I will be sending my earnings in the UK (where i'm currently visitin relations & workin for 3 months before returning to Thailand) to our joint account shortly to assist the process and surely they only want 3 months bank statements... I will be seeking employment in Thailand again, but I don't know how quickly I'll be able to get that sorted and so plan to bring enough money to be able to stay until such point as I have found a good job again, in which case I would then change to Non Immigrant B anyway, but was thinking as we're getting married anyway, might serve me well to be on the 'O' visa until such time as I can get work rather than the tourist visa, as that would surely only last 90 days anyway...

Any thoughts anyone? Or suggestions... comments... anything? All info on the net is always about Foreign men marrying Thai women, I know its the norm but its very frustrating not to find info on the other side of the spectrum so to speak, so any helpful comments much appreciated.

• Application Form TM.7.
  
• Copy and original of passport or substitute document.
  
• One 4*6 cm photo
  
• Marriage certificate
  
• 1,900 Baht fee
  
• If an alien is the supporter, he must submit financial evidence, proof of employment, work permit and tax receipts.
  
  

thanx for all the advice,

but i have the same problem with my terrace and the cleaning water will go either to the pool or the garden. how will it damage grass, flowers and so on or destroy the poolwater. i don't want to loose my flowers or have to empty my pool and refill.

any suggestions or experience??

thanx

I find the whole system very frustrating as you can't build it to look at people's situations individually! I'm a british girl who's lived and worked in Thailand nearly four years with Thai boyfriend over the last three. I speak very good Thai and boyf speaks quite good english, although I wouldn't know how to grade it. We communicate with English and Thai together and most people don't understand us! I found learning Thai really easy as I was here in the country and was surrounded by it, had I tried to learn in England it would've been nearly impossible without tutoring, and I learnt my Thai without a single lesson! The current set up of applying for settlement visa once married and then allowing the spouse to settle in England for two years prior to having to sit the Life of Britain test, which surely requires a certain level of English, is fine and makes sense, the spouse has had the time to learn English a lot quicker by actually being in the country. I wonder what level of English this will turn out to be that they have to meet. I just find the system so utterly dissappointing for genuine cases of people who simply fall in love and want to take their husbands home to live with them in England because Thailand makes it so hard to live here for foreigners unless you're blessed with unlimited funds and patience with visa runs! Naiive as it may sound, I'm very dissapointed that this is so difficult! A disallusioned world citizen!