Goinghomesoon

We leave for our first Australian holiday next month. My man is really nervous but it helps that he knows another Thai male (Mr RueFang) who has successfully made the move. From other holidays together I know the first things packed in his suitcase will be his sketchbook & pencils and his camera.

The BAMBI group arrange a huge garage sale once or twice a year and you can get great secondhand stuff for kids, everything from clothes and toys/books through to furniture items. Check their website.

Well here are my strappy gold numbers....very comfy and only $8, what a bargain. There's really not much to them but they stay put on my feet and I can stand in them for hours.

Oh, I love shoes. I focus a lot of energy on my toes cos I'm generally too large for any of the itty-bitty clothes here. So to Klyph's question, last night I had a pedicure and then went to Sky Bar for drinks with friends. You have to wear a shoe to suit the occasion, right? So I broke out my stiletto-heeled gold strappy sandals bought for $8 in Cambodia. This afternoon's book shopping at Emporium will see me in my trusty 199 baht heels from a shop in Silom - since I own three identical pairs I'm not yet sure which colour. Embarrassed to say I only own 2 pairs of flat shoes...

We also looked at them, the upside is that they come with a very detailed installation booklet with clear illustrations as well as written instructions. The reps are very keen to sell and when we called the company for info the staff were very well informed and able to answer my partner's questions. Like Rimmer ultimately we liked them a lot but they were expensive for our little holiday home and it seemed finding someone in our rural area to fit them properly would have been difficult.

We need to take MIL to an eye specialist as she is losing her sight and we want to see if it is something operable like cataracts. The nearest big hospital would probably be in Udon Thani. Does anyone have any experience of a good doctor there?

Quote - Farang girls with Thai husbands are like hens teeth!!

I see a few couples around Bangkok. But when we are upcountry near Nong Khai we are quite the rare attraction. I don't mind too much but my Thai hubby-to-be doesn't like the old widows that gather around cackling, drinking rice wine and laughing at my pathetic attempts to speak Isaan. He took particular offence at one woman's attempt to feel my 'nom yai' and now we stay at his sister's house a few kilometres away. Ah, Thai family politics

Mssabai are you in Samui? I believe Suan Saranrom psych hospital in Surat Thani has outpatient diagnostics, treatment & counselling available.

7keys that shop has been there forever and they are always busy. I used to go there around 15 years ago when I was living in the region and took regular trips to Bangkok. I always got a great short cut and colour there and they were really friendly, so I was glad to see they are still doing good business. I haven't made it back there this time because SiriSheen is closer to my home but that's another quality shop.

My Thai partner has a very interesting diet. I saw him eat 14 eggs last week (2 every day for breakfast). I'm sure there were more I didn't see. He abhors vegetables and picks them out of his food. He loves pork in all incarnations and 9 out of 10 meals he eats have piggy bits in them. He doesn't like sweets but douses most things in seasoning sauce so his sodium intake is probably off the chart. Understandably he has had digestive issues his whole life On the positive side, after seeing me lose a bunch of kilos over the past few months he now wants to eat better instead of relying on laxatives. But he really has no idea where to start.

He is not able to read English well. Does anyone know some good Thai websites I could load up for him to browse.

You might also want to consider what type of document would be acceptable to NZ authorities if ever required. For example if you needed to get another NZ passport for your child and the father would not agree? I am not suggesting this is the current scenario. But things might change and it pays to know where you stand. Would a court order be the only acceptable custody document to NZ authorities or would a parenting agreement or an amphur-witnessed document be adequate? If you returned to NZ would you need to go to court again to get a NZ-issued custody order. Or will they recognise an overseas ruling?

I'm interested, anyone else?

Rue and Mr Rue left Thailand for their new life in sunny Brisbane a couple of weeks back.

Anyone know if a process even exists for this? Lopburi? Samran? I'm about to go through the same with my Thai partner formally adopting mine too. We run into dead ends everywhere we ask. I'm a bit scared that if something

Nope poshthai, I didn't say *all* farang men, I made a hypothetical "if" statement.

Personally if I had met a farang that rang my bells I would have been happy. It just didn't happen that way and I ended up with a Thai man.

Absolutely right DaoDao. If I had a big fat sweaty farang husband noone would ask me to explain the basis of our relationship. So why should I have to explain a husband that's not-so-big, not-so-fat and not-so-farang? Yawn...

Cafe Siam in Sathorn area is great, we went there for Valentines. Old house in beautiful gardens and very romantic. Not near the water but it's a lovely setting, just remember the mosquito spray if you down outside.

I suspect the answers to some questions, such as foreign citizenship & passports, will depend on your nationality.

Issues such as custody are regularly raised in the Family & Children forum, maybe you could have a look there.

As far as I understand, a father can be listed on the Thai BC without being present. I had a friend come from Cambodia to give birth and her hubby didn't make it here in time. He was still listed on the certificate as the father.

How Much Pension Is Paid While I Am Absent From Australia?

www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/ea3b9a1335df87bcca2569890008040e/0b3ab8709f584572ca2571c40078d197!OpenDocument

If a pension is paid under a social security agreement, the rate outside Australia is governed by that agreement. For most agreements this means a proportional pension rate applies immediately after departure.

If a pension is payable long-term while absent from Australia it will generally be paid at a proportional rate. A proportional rate is paid based on a pensioner's 'Australian working life residence'.

'Australian working life residence' is the period of residence from age 16 to Age Pension age. A person need not have worked or paid tax during this period. All a person needs to have done is to have been an Australian resident.

A full means tested pension can be paid if a person has Australian working life residence of 25 years (300 months). A proportional pension can be paid for lesser periods.

For example, the rate of pension for a man who lived in Australia for 20 years from age 50 to age 70 would be based on Australian working life residence of 15 years (180 months) from age 50 to age 65 (Age Pension age). He could be paid 181/300ths of a means tested pension outside Australia - the extra month is added to all calculations.

From Centrelink's site:

www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/payments/age_residence.htm

Residence requirements for Age Pension

To lodge an Age Pension claim you must be an Australian resident and in Australia on the day that you lodge your claim.

To qualify as an Australian resident you must be living in Australia as:

• an Australian citizen, or
  
• the holder of a permanent resident visa, or
  
• a New Zealand citizen who was in Australia on 26 February 2001, or for 12 months in the 2 years immediately before that date, or was assessed as "protected" before 26 February 2004.
  

To be paid Age Pension, you also need to meet the 10 year permanent residence requirements, unless:

• you are claiming under an International Social Security Agreement, or
  
• you are a refugee or former refugee, or
  
• you were getting MAA, PA, WA or Widow B pension immediately before turning Age Pension age, or
  
• you are a woman whose partner died while you were both Australian residents and you had 2 years residency immediately before claiming Age Pension.
  

Kakao on Sukhumvit Soi 24 is great. I do not like sweet chocolate and they have a nice range of bitter dark. Their hot chocolate is literally that...melted chocolate and delish. You can buy just 1 choccie to have with your drink if you wish and they are served beautifully on china dishes. Of course they also have the gift boxes etc. It's a great place for afternoon tea with visiting [sweettooth] relatives from home. They have a website, search for Kakao Cafe.

Ah, Silom/Sathorn is my area. V9 is great for a girls night out, although pricey. The Irish pub on Convent is more casual but a nice mix of young and - ahem - more mature people! Lots of groups out having fun there. Coyote's girls night can be good and they have 2-for-1 margaritas from 5-7pm at their Convent Rd place, which makes it pretty popular for a post-work-pre-dinner drink. Tawan Daeng German Beer Hall on Narathiwat is the place my Thai and farang female workmates head to as a group at least once a month.

It's part of my daily routine to lose something, generally my car keys. Then I rummage around on the verge of panic for a minute or two before finding the missing items and holding them aloft with a triumphant yell. So it pains me that my Thai partner knows where everything is. I think I need to send him to boy-school so he can learn to lose things like most other men I know.

I bought some at my local Tops a couple of weeks ago, it was in the section with all the sauces and stuff, just one little jar all on it's ownsome.

Ha the nationalism thing is so true. When I first started dated my hubby-to-be he was clattering around with some pots and pans in the kitchen. In passing I said "gosh you are very loud". He stopped and stared at me, puzzled "Why you think I Lao? I not Lao, I THAI. Jing-jing I THAI not Lao!" Too funny