Goinghomesoon

A temple may help if he needs detoxing. But he may have a mental health issue from previous drug abuse and may not currently be using (as in the case of our family member). In which case I doubt the temple would be much use.

I wonder why the police do not send him away to a mental hospital. \

As we discovered with one of my in-laws (a former addict with ongoing mental health issues) it is extremely difficult to get a person admitted to a hospital here for psychiatric treatment even when they are out of control and violent. Hubby and his relatives were told repeatedly by social workers and doctors at a number of hospitals in Bangkok and Khon Kaen that drug-induced psychosis and any injuries resulting are not covered by the 30 baht scheme as they fall in the "self-harm" category. Also in Bangkok I believe there are only 2 government hospitals with specialised facilities to hold violent psych patients and it can be very hard to secure a place.

Ultimately we managed to get our family member treatment at a government hospital. They had no psych ward so he was tied to a bed in the orthopedic ward for a couple of weeks until his medications started to take effect. Must have scared the daylights out of the other patients as he kept insisting he was a doctor and was going to heal them all by using his magical powers on them when he was untied! He is still paying off that hospital bill. In the second event he actually attacked and injured one of our labourers, claiming he was a giant man-eating lizard and we needed to be protected. Even with 2 police officers insisting he be admitted for assessment, the psych hospital (this time in Khon Kaen) would not accept him until relatives came up with a THB10,000 downpayment against treatment costs.

I imagine the man you are talking about may not have relatives nearby, or perhaps does not have anyone who can advocate for him with the health care system.

I have been looking for a big wall clock with Thai numerals for a couple of years now, to no avail. The style I am looking for is an extra large circular clock so I can use it as a major focal point on a wall, as well as a timepiece. I've been to the shop in JJ Mall mentioned above and they don't have anything BIG. Maybe I'll buy an English one and then paint the Thai numerals on the dial.

I was just thinking the same as I was packing some winter clothing into boxes to be stored until we next go back home. My Aussie 12s and 14s are often the size of a Thai XXXL or even larger!

Unblocktheplanet thanks for the tip. Walked past Dosa King yesterday and decided to have lunch there - was very impressed by the staff and the cleanliness as well as the fantastic food. For under 300 baht including a drink I was stuffed to the gills and could barely waddle out of there! Their menu is extensive so I'll have to go back again to try some different dishes next time.

Just to add some up-to-date information. DSDW did not accept any new adoption applications in 2010 and have announced they may not accept any in 2011 either. Their reasoning is that they have a large backlog of waiting families and don't want to take any new applications at this time. Back in Jan 2010 the backlog was rumoured to be between 800-1,000 waiting families.

TodD or others, do you know if we can follow the same process to get an Extension of Stay on a 3 month single-entry ED?

Despite having documents from daughter's international school confirming enrolment for the next 4 months she was only issued with a 3-month visa marked "enter before 27 May" and got a permission stay until 31 May stamped in her passport on arrival at Swampy back on 3 May.

I actually spend quite a bit of time in PP so maybe that's an option. Thanks Sheryl!

The above website now links to a different company and lists two practitioners in Thailand (one in Samui, one in Bangkok). Does anyone here have any actual experience with either? According to their website they can work with you over the phone too. No judgements necessary please, just looking for recent information on anyone using such a service in Bangkok.

We used one of our vouchers today and it comfortably fed two adults and a teenager for lunch. We each had large sized mains (chicken enchiladas, chicken burritos, carne asade plate) plus non-alcoholic drinks a shared dessert afterwards. The service was great - to be expected though as we were the only ones in the place until about half-way through our meal. It was a really nice meal and a good deal.

Flew out last Saturday 5pm and back in yesterday (Thurs) 6pm. Going out the queues were long but not out-the-door-crazy. We had arrived 3 hours early just in case. As it happened we ended up with plenty of time to have a leisurely lunch inside before our flight. Coming back most counters were staffed and all only had 2-3 people queued up. Wewere so quick we then had to wait 20 mins for our bags to come on the carousel.

Not sure about Pattaya but we bought ours in Bangkok (near Chinatown opposite the Merry King department store there is a whole street of shops).

Just got my first single-entry Non-O (based on marriage) USD 65 in Phnom Penh. Applied Monday morning & was told to come back Tuesday to collect between 3-4:30pm. There were only a handful of applicants in the embassy Monday morning when we were there.

Great to hear you are going okay

I'm guessing Jorge will get a bit business from the current TikTokThai deal - you can buy 10 vouchers so that's plenty of repeat visits if people buy the maximum number allowed.

Once your child takes your nationality then he/she is no longer considered stateless. Will be interesting to see what type of visa he/she gets if you want the child to stay here long term.

Hate to tell you, but it's not just the men, guys! I'm a woman and surprised at how many Thai ladies don't wash their hands after exiting the toilet cubicles. I've seen it everywhere from service station toilets up-country through to SIam Paragon.

We got our Sor Por Kor 4-01 today after waiting several years (father in law had a bit piece of land allocated 35 years ago and 3 years ago commenced the process of splitting this up between 7 children). Husband was of the opinion that eventually the SPK4-01 would transfer to a chanote but reading IssanLaw it appears not - has anyone actually experienced this?

Sor Por Gor 4-01 (S.P.G.. 4-01), is an allotment of land from the Land Reformative Committee, and under no circumstance may this land be bought or sold. It confers the right to occupy only and be transferred only by inheritance. It seems that the land may be used for agriculture only

So I suppose at least well known restaurants are non-existant. Food is actually only part of the reason to go, the other being able to find local khmers (my gf is khmer). Is there any place for khmer-town around Bangkok?

There is a small community of professional expat Khmers, for example I know some working for international hospitals as Thai-Khmer interpreters, as well as some working for UN agencies and NGOs. I've met a few expats with Khmer wives in town too. But I don't know that there is a single Khmer gathering point though. (Of course there is also the whole huge illegal worker population but I'm guessing you weren't looking to connect with them.) As far as Khmer restaurants, I wish i could help. Have lived here 4 years without success...we are good friends with a Khmer family and they cook for us. I lived in Cambodia for several years in the 90s so developed a taste for the food then. I love Thai food but the effect of the constant assault of flavour is totally different to the delicate balance in well-executed Khmer food. A good "somlor m'cheu" soup is outstanding and I think Thai hor mok is rather rubbery compared to a good Khmer amok. It's just a totally different experience. Let me know if you find anywhere good!

They also have ballet classes at VIS after school (you asked about classes around Nong Khai in a different post).

Friends had their half Lao-half farang kids at the International School in Vientiane (VIS) and were pleased with the primary school level. They were less happy with high school and moved their high-schooler to boarding school in Thailand. Eastern Star Bilingual has a new campus but I don't know much about the teaching standards.

Contact the Rh Negative Central Blood Register and see if they know how to arrange it from Bangkok. It's maintained by BNH Hospital in Bangkok but a public service available to all. Website is www.centralbloodregister.com/

Yes if she is somewhere near a Central store she should be able to get fitted at Marks and Spencer there. They have western sizing, so should match anything available in the UK.

edit...weird stuff appearing in my posts!

Ah yes, well kids visa can be gotten here, but I'm switching to a spouse visa based on marriage to Thai hubby and was told I need to leave the country and apply from outside Thailand. Gosh I hope that's true as I just booked my ticket!