snuggzzz

Try the Queen Vic Soi 6, they do all inclusive breakfast with all the trimmings plus tea and toast all day long a competitive rate...!!

Highly recommended....

Both the UK and LOS have differing cultural qualities, both terrific in there own way, to enjoy both as the OP is doing, makes the appreciation of each more fulfilling...!!

It is my understanding that the Policeman does not get to keep all the money they extort. It has to be shared with the rest of the pecking order upstairs.

Ol' Bill, always collected, that' why your skint now...........................

Just to give an alternative perspective, have you heard of the West Midland Serious Crime Squad in the UK.

Now that disgusts me.

How Sad, Never mind, |Grow UP

U obviously rennaged on a deal, you perpetrated my Son, in those days, (26years ago), if you did the crime, you served the time, now that U cocked it up, Ur bleating like a lamb that has lost it's Mummy is so Sad...........

Just to give an alternative perspective, have you heard of the West Midland Serious Crime Squad in the UK.

Now that disgusts me.

How Sad, Never mind, |Grow UP

I know it's common practice with hiring motorbikes and the like, but i certainly wouldn't want to leave my passport with someone else. a. you're required to carry it while a tourist in thailand (although admittedly i rarely do) and b. you're not supposed to leave your passport with anyone else anyway; at least that's the case for a UK passport.

I don't know about now but back in 1998 20,000 baht was the going rate for a passport on khao sarn road

I agree with your A+B points. Apart from that most Governments consider passports to remain property of the government and that it's forbidden to give passports away to whomever.

I don't like it either and would never do it; what do you tell the Embassy once the guy/companies says they were robbed or it's lost ?

Tell them you don't do it; they can have a colourcopy but NO original passport.

LaoPo

There is indeed a living in having obtained a 'British Passport', if it is current, it can be used to process money orders and other crimes, plus altered ID; the Passport is then laundered, counterfeited and copies made so easily;

Keep it in your possession, give a copy to anyone that demands it.

Sadly the comments made by many are from those who have only had a couple of weeks in Pattaya and done their years savings, and are now experts on Thai life and lifestyles. If you really want to know , come and live it , then you will know first hand. Those of us who live here and have been here a while , would not want to leave, as we love it here. There are a few problems , nothing really to do with us , its an internal matter where we have no say , yet we all want to give our 20bhts worth of advice , the same as armchiar football critics. We still love our teams , even though we could manage them better , Thailand is no different but still a fantastic country to reside in - come what may .

What a lovely reply, so very apt for many Thaivisa members, especially some overblown moderators...........

Give these guys a break <deleted>, they are here to help you!

The High Profile visibility of the Volunteers goes beyond the 'Helpers for farang stage', there Black uniform shoulder 'Gold' insignia depicts them as Police volunteers, the additions of such things as handcuffs or indeed, (as reported above) batons indicates a Semi-Paramilitary Group; but what are it's remit..?? another indiscretion...(HM) How can it justify plain-clothes illegal operations..?? (apart from grassing -up ex-pats..........) Perhaps an HM1973 Bargaining tool...........

????

In 2007, 2 Russian young women were executed by an assassin, it took the prescence of the Commissioner in overall charge in Thailand's Police to attend Pattaya's Police and inform all the Police management and Officers to effectively refrain from corruption in order to solve it. They did as asked, arrested suspects, and established connections.

Now this same same, Pattaya Police Force get HM effectively to do it's biding through idiots who want to be 'Police' in order to make their life easier, HM then allows his business interests to take over, ie. being first at fatal accidents, road and otherwise, fed to him to show in graphic detail with photos, how their nearest and dearest died.

This is a corrupt practice, endorsed recently when a farang fell over in Walking Street, I witnessed them they saw it, never did see one them rush to assist him or his family, nor escort them back to the Hotel etc., which is this help Group, are they enamoured by HM's connections...??

We all Know HM enterprises, TV, digital and newspapers, and it appears now it's all a sham,

The issue is that the visa is given for 6 months. You have to prove that she will not be a burden on the UK Taxpayer. As the previous reports indicate, get your Bank Statements in order, make sure that your telephone bill or email print out is submitted.

I submitted dated photos of myself with my (now wife's) family.

Letter of sponsorship/guarantor from your parents or on Army headed letter from an Army Personnel Officer would support your situation, I wish you well, Good luck .

Man, I so hate threads like this. Promiscuity has nothing to do with the increasing HIV rates in Thailand. The growth is due to some of the following factors;

1. Young population. (The under 21 year old generation did not have the same education as did the population in the 1990s. The prevention proogram was everywhere 15 years ago. They also haven't seen the horrors of what HIV can do and have been lulled into complacency by the take a pill and you'll be ok fallacy.)

2. Increasing population of IV drug users, particularly in the Bumese border areas.

3. Reduction of medical outreach programs precluding early diagnosis thereby allowing unknowing HIV+ people to infect others.

4. An absence of community activists, particularly in the hardest hit communities. In the west, it was social community groups that pushed the message. Gone are the days when Mr. Condom could walk around handing out goodies. The prudes of Bangkok didn't want to see that again.

If you think Thais are more promiscuous than elsewhere, please get out more. According to surveys it appears that Canada is the world's hotspot of sex. (No I didn't make that up.) The Russians make Pattaya's night crawlers seem tame in comparison and on and on it goes.

Thailand has a crisis with HIV now because the previous governments over the past 5 years cut funding for prevention and education as soon as the cases started to drop. Cuts seem to have accelerated as soon as the military took over.

Grow up.................!!!!

It costs £33 and once passed is put on the file for your wife to apply for ILR.......

Not being 'piccy' about this, but you don't mention where the 'Rodent Restaurant' is.......................

I called my wife 'Kong' as a joke......... the fat lip says it all............

I am a UK barrister and, although I uphold the rights of gender equality, freedom of expression, family & privacy in England, (i) Thailand does not have the same laws as most farang countries, (ii) UK schools/ colleges/ universities often have strict rules which are not consistently applied, (iii) much of the Thai populace disapprove of such fashion statements as incongruent with its conservative traditions and, (4) there is a genuine fear amongst the public that appetising attire directly leads to an increase in the occurrence of sexual assault and rape.

More fundamentally, how does it improve a student's education? Instead, it is open to speculation that attentions will be distracted and discipline undermined - something many expats moaned about as declining in their own countries before moving to LOS!

Did someone break wind.....???

Thank you to those contributing to this thread, it is good and enlightening as well as informative.

I do not wish to be to the purveyor of bad news, but reported recently in the Papers, the Labour Party have just been refunded £4.5m by HMRC , which has upset many, as the rebate is taking 12-18 months to be paid to normal people..........

OMG now what do I do with myself in my free time? is it ok if I get my wife to do it for me or is that still considered wanking?

Looking at this through the eyes of the Doctor and considering all medical and scientific advice, is your wife able to do this in the rhythm method ?? but your answer is : y= x - 2 + C2 x 69 = No it's not, so long as it is in daylight with a High Pressure front moving in..... don't forget the whistle test..!!

I see it all the time. All the hard working, very poor Thais are lined up manning their corn/noodle/fruit/ice cream/coffee/shoe repair/som tum/phone holder stand and then a beggar walks through, stops in front of each of them and asks for money. 75-80% of them then give it to him, so this beggar probably makes 10 times more in a day then they do. Why oh why?

Most Thais are Buddhists. On one level, giving alms to beggars is a way of making merit and ensuring a better rebirth. On a deeper level, Buddhism is about cultivation of the mind and generosity/compassion is a key part of that. So it doesn't matter if some of the money goes to the beggars' controllers or the police who allow them to stay in prime locations - the benefit is derived simply from the act of giving to help someone else.

My Thai wife believes this is indeed the case, she also does so in the UK. Christians are also taught to be charitable, however, commercialism and exploitation is the downside, the upside is that if the person is genuine, you are able to enrich his/her life, he/she will either spend it on food or drink or accommodation, it gives them another day to survive and contemplate their future. I have met a few 'real' beggars/tramps/alcoholics/drug abusers, mostly, in the UK suffering from mental health problems through relationships, business etc.

One Christmas day I met a 'Gentleman of the Road', he asked me for a cigarette, he stank of urine and body odour, the belt on his thin coat was made of string, his shoes were worn through, with plastic bags poking out of the seams. He had a scarf wrapped around his head covering his ears and was shivering, this was at Bank Underground Station. It was Christmas Day 1972.

He was surprised when I gave him a cigarette, when his eyes focused he saw the cigarette and eloquently replied 'thank you Sir', the day, the circumstances led us to talk, I acknowledged his maturity and experience in life, he likewise thanked me by opening up as to why he had slipped into this life.

He produced his discharge book from the RAF together with his flight log which showed the missions he had completed in World War 2 as a flgt Lt. pilot,he opened a business however, over the years a rapid decline in his domestic and business arrangements led to him being there that day. I gave him the packet of fags.

Many destitute and hungry people all over the world rely on such charity, as they say 'up to you'...!!!

........right

......I'm with you...........

A friend lived here for some time, however, due to the downturn in tourism he was laid off returning to the UK. He visited family and friends, worked as a cabbie, however, the draw of Thailand pulled and he has returned, but on a semi-permanent basis until world economies brighten up. He's got an 'O' Visa, but reckons on spending 3 months ( the low season in the LOS) in the UK.

That I feel is a reasonable strategy, you never fully explained what happened to your possessions in the LOS. I would be interested to know..??

While we were there, 3 of us got pulled over by the BIB, on a registered and insured bikes, doing the speed limit, with a helmet and an international license, He walk around for 10 minutes wondering what to charge us with, then said we have to go to the police station. I said how about I give you some money, he said OK 200 baht each, I said 200 baht for all. He took and we left. Later one m8 got his wallet stolen, the BIB wanted 500 baht to investigate and issue a report.

And thats exactly why he expected money...dummies giving him money for nothing!!!

What a heart warming reply, well done 'PatinBKk', please, please let us know how you would have dealt with it..??

The alleged over intoxicated comments made on this thread is laughingly insincere, this poor bloke whatever his condition needs help, whether self inflicted or not.

With the original report of an attack, has anyone looked into the circumstances....??

Eve said to Adam,

if you eat this apple,

sooner or later......................

Congratulations on getting money returned, I hope the process for yourself and your wife doesn't take too long, good luck

I wonder why the Visa was refused before; the Visa, like any other is for a 6 month period. I would presume that the 'refused' Visa will throw up on records as to why it was refused, it is not a good idea to mislead about your g/f 's length of stay; make sure your application is correctly filled out with plenty of evidence of your relationship, length of time, photos etc., plus where she'll live, and most importantly, that she will not be dependent on Public funds.

To this end,it's best to show your bank statements showing adequate funds to support her, plus if she shows money in her account it will indicate that she has sufficient funds to return home.