kolasaab

I like the ones that say yes

I was quite surprised to hear that Boris banned tube-drinking. I was never aware that it caused huge problems, or any more problems than drinking in the street. Whenever I was on the tube there would be officeworkers drinking on their way out to a club, which doesn't undermine society in my book.

People rebelling against more and more nanny-state rules..

You were not aware that drinking on the tube caused huge problems.

So, the Met Police, the Transport Police, the Rail Union and the Mayor must be wrong then.

Wrong or right....they are still bl**dy facists running the UK at the moment.....just another step closer to the complete police state, any excuse for another law or another fine..

Or another tax

What Do Other Expats Do That You Hate?, What makes you SICK?

Hmm, How about that ones that open posts in forums just to generally moan about other people and what they do and what they say and how they do it.

I agree, sad

Ok guys i am planning to bring my teenage kids to Phuket in July for 2 weeks vacation. We were there for the past two years running and we had a great time and we the local Thais were great, even the tuk tuk drivers.

Have things really changed that much and should i be thinking of going elsewhere if things are really this bad?

Cheers, Rick

I was in patong a few months ago for 3 weeks and like you had a great time and i found the locals to be friendly. If you are out in the early hours of the morning then things might get a bit dodgy as in any where in thailand , wrong place at the wrong time

hello, ive been to phuket(patong) and koh chang, If you like peace and quiet then its koh chang,most of the island is national park(jungle) with a stip all around the out side which is touristy, the beaches are nice when the tide is out(hardly any when the tide is in) I went there in december an the weather was really nice (not to hot) I went to phuket in feb and it was very hot, lovely beaches and more night life. personally i like both koh chang and phuket

I have a friend (thai) who wants to study massage, how much would it cost to go and study massage?

And after the study, is it hard to find a job, or do you think it will be easy to find a job?

And finally, what about income, i know it will probably not get her rich, but i just want to get an idea, what a regular salary would be.

My gf did a course in pattaya, dont know how much it cost. She earns 8 to 9000 baht a month average over the year and i would imagine your friend would get a job fairly easy in the tourist areas. If she becomes realy good, customers will come back and ask for her personally, which will be good for her and the parlour ( more money for both)

This thread and this one ( http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=173325 ) = Dump her.

You know it makes sense.

Already done

good for you, you seem a descent bloke, there are plenty of good thai ladies and i hope you find the right for you

from uk and it is <deleted>

when i lived in the UK i never knew another person that did not want "more" or want to be better than the house next door. No-body has enough money, food, a big enough house or car etc. etc. It is hard work for anyone striving for things they might never attain to find something to smile about.

In Thailand most locals are fully aware they have all they will ever have and unless they, (or another family member), wins the lottery, the rest of their life will be spent the same way. So they are not miserable about not having enough and concentrate on making the most of what they have.

I agree, i think true thai people find happiness within themselves, they dont look out side of themselves for a fix, they accept themselves and everything around them as it is and get on with life.

Do not know about the Government being silly, but when The Thai Government get wind of what the UK Government announced yesterday, it will be the end of the end for all 3G mobiles. The UK Gov, in their wisdom, have announce a new law that all mobiles that take pictures/videos will be banned , as they have been used by thugs to take pics and footage of beatings of both adults and youths.

Thats news to me, and im in the uk and read the news and watch it on tv. so, i dont know where you heard that rubbish

My tgf likes to watch football and she laughs and cheers when players argue and push each other around not when a goal is scored

The top floor of mike shopping mall

I'm seeing something different here. I'm seeing your problem, not his. Your looking for a way to diminish your guilt. I know you want to be your brother's keeper and all, but trying to take the blame for others mistakes is a bit vain.

Just be a good friend and help him pick up the pieces when the time comes. No blame, no I told you so. Just be there if he needs a friend. People are responsible for their own actions not the actions of others.

Just my two cents worth.

i agree, good advice

Does anyone know of a Thai chat room where you can communicate with Thai women without having to pay fees? There's plenty of sites that advertise as "free" but as soon as you want to send the lady an email the agency wants an up front fee. I'm going back to live in Thailand shortly and thought it might be a better way to go than just meeting bar girls.

Try the ladies that work in massage parlors( not boom boom ones) have foot massages, then you can talk to them. I have met some really nice ladies this way

koh chang, koh samed, phi phi islands

Personally, I find Thailand a difficult country to spend my money in. No, really. I have a policy of not spending my baht anywhere where I'm pestered, pressurised or cajoled into a transaction, even when it's a bargain and to my detriment. This means I spend 99% of my time looking for the 1% of shops, restaurants etc that leave me to browse in peace. I can't stand the "wellllcome" refrain. I can't stand the "hello sir, how are you" bull. I get fed up with waitresses leaping on you as soon as you even slow to catch a glimpse of a menu. I tire of having a shop assistant hovering on my shoulder as I peruse the goods or waitresses that wait expectantly while I try to find something to eat.

Am I alone in thinking they'd extract more cash from us if they'd give us a little more space to shop in peace? Or maybe people actually like this level of service and it's an effective strategy?

i am same as you, there are a lot of shops where i would like to go into and browse, but i know the look they give you as your about to enter so i dont bother, i think they would sell a lot more stuff if they didnt keep hassling you

In my opinion it's one of the most beautifull pieces of Thailand [allthough you have to search for nice spots more and more...]

yes, i agree

Agree with the statement about Thaksin... how the heck does his family and himself get to stay in UK when perfectly legit Thai/UK families don't?

Because he"s loaded

Sorry about your TB, we got a shock when my grandson was diagnosed with TB in germany 5 years ago, as far as your son is concerned, even as an old codger I think his thai heritage is very important,As a very young man I was sent to north eastern thailand, in the days of not many roads no running water, and 100 kms north of bangkok , all creature comforts ended, for 3 years I ate ,slept and breathed Thai , it was anexperience that changed my life, no matter where I travelled in later years, I was always drawn back to thailand, and so I made many thai friends everywhere in the early 90,s, we bumped into a 16 year old asian boy in farnborough hampshire, he was wearing a chain and amulett, so I greeted him in thai, to which he replied I dont speak thai sir my father has banned everything thai from our home,we invited him to come along to our home on monday evening to meet up with other thai,s at our little thai club,he became a regular visitor and over the years we got to know him and his mum very well, to watch this young man blossom from being just another child of mixed race in UK into a young proud thai gentleman, now employed by BA as cabin crew, and teaching his children the thaiway of life Nignoy

Thats a really nice story!! i admire you

Hi guys I have a question which is the most crucial of all plans I'm making

Short story

Left school with no qualifications. Made an 'arse of things from ages 14- now really. been homeless in 06. ended up saving up to go to india to go travelling for 4 months. liked it. came back early 07. was homeless for a bit again. got a council house. for the last year since being back ive got progressively more dissalusioned with working in a job i hate, had about 15 jobs and im 21. and half of that time ive not been working! most ive stayed in a job is 2 months.... This is not a suddenly got back and need to quickly go back to "forget about my problems". Ive been frustrated with what happned earlier in my life for years and am getting more frustrated and dont seem to be able to keep a normal job for very long, or enojoy college (tried twice).

This is the reason I intend to take a loan from the bank and take it out and get a flight to asia, probably starting off in thailand or india. I do want to pay it back just not the structured way I agree with the bank. So I'm not talking fraud of 50k but enough to let me live well in asia for a good few years with a few k to import things back to the UK at the end so I'm not fuc_ked when I'm back (if i came back with nothing to my name and no bank acount) and help re pay the loan back

My question was where could I store most of my money in thailand/cambodia/nam. I dont need to mention why I shouldnt be carrying 5k+ in cash in my moneybelt, the whole lot. But where could I store this cash in thailand? could I set up a bank account? would that be risky with my UK bank being able to find out? what about in the airport locker? in a safe in a hotel? but what would the proof be if they stole it? what would be a safe (preferably safest) way for me to store money out there and enable me to either come and collect sums when I run out every few months, or in some kind of untraceable account.

I want to come back to scotland. but I've got nothing to lose other than the having no bank account when I'm back. and to pay it back as soon as possible. so its not a gigantic fraud but something the bank would not agree to if I told them the truth

I hope someone can give me some advice on what do do with the money, I would be exreme greatful.

thank you

you would have to have a very very good credit rating to borrow 50 grand from any bank in the uk, and there not stupid!!! even if you did get away with it, you will be looking at a long prison sentence when you get back, is it kilarny prison, glasgow???? not a nice place!!!! The uk government comes down HARD on frausters!!!! good luck

Hi all, I would like to get some opinions about this situation I'm in. I've read the other posts about this but didn't see a similar case.

I've been dating a Thai girl for the past 1 year, a late 20's (I'm mid 30's), university graduate with a decent office job. Originally from Phuket but living with her parents and sister now in Bangkok. We've started talking over the last couple of weeks about possible wedding and the issue of sinsod came up. After a few discussions and her talking to her parents to "feel the ground" it turns out they want to put on display 400K and return back to me 200K. The family isn't rich, normal working class and both retired. She's never been married / no kids. I myself am not rich either, I've got a small business that's making a decent living but not large amounts of extra cash.

I did a bit of research online about this before they came up with the figures and they kindda surprised me, I was expecting maybe half of that. So I told her I'm not able or prepared to pay this amount at the moment and it sounds too high to me. She took it quite badly, saying things like she already negotiated down with them as they wanted more, that I don't respect the culture, that her parents deserve these amounts for taking care of her, that I just wanted to take advantage, that normal Thai guys are able to pay these amounts so how come I won't and other stuff like that. At the end I said I'll need to think about it and I can't reply either way on the spot but she already got into her mind that I don't and won't pay anything (I admit I do find this custom very difficult to stomach but I told her I will pay some amount but not this amount). It had a bad effect on her as she was genuinely crying her eyes out. She then packed her stuff from my apartment and left saying she won't be able to stay over and I can have my time to think about it. It looks like it may be a deal breaker.

Besides this incident the relationship has gone extremely well, we spend a lot of time together and seem compatible in every other sense. I've met her parents several times and other family members and have always gotten along great despite language barrier. I'm worried I might be making a mistake both handling the situation and in my attitude towards it.

Would really appreciate some advice on this.

Hi when i spoke to my thai lady friend about this sin sot stuff, she told me that when her son got married last year she and her son negotiated with the inlaws a sum of 90,000bht and he"s got a fairly good job in bk

There is a story on stickmans bangkok written by a thai/american guy called "why i never married a thai" you might find it quite interesting

Hi all, I would like to get some opinions about this situation I'm in. I've read the other posts about this but didn't see a similar case.

I've been dating a Thai girl for the past 1 year, a late 20's (I'm mid 30's), university graduate with a decent office job. Originally from Phuket but living with her parents and sister now in Bangkok. We've started talking over the last couple of weeks about possible wedding and the issue of sinsod came up. After a few discussions and her talking to her parents to "feel the ground" it turns out they want to put on display 400K and return back to me 200K. The family isn't rich, normal working class and both retired. She's never been married / no kids. I myself am not rich either, I've got a small business that's making a decent living but not large amounts of extra cash.

I did a bit of research online about this before they came up with the figures and they kindda surprised me, I was expecting maybe half of that. So I told her I'm not able or prepared to pay this amount at the moment and it sounds too high to me. She took it quite badly, saying things like she already negotiated down with them as they wanted more, that I don't respect the culture, that her parents deserve these amounts for taking care of her, that I just wanted to take advantage, that normal Thai guys are able to pay these amounts so how come I won't and other stuff like that. At the end I said I'll need to think about it and I can't reply either way on the spot but she already got into her mind that I don't and won't pay anything (I admit I do find this custom very difficult to stomach but I told her I will pay some amount but not this amount). It had a bad effect on her as she was genuinely crying her eyes out. She then packed her stuff from my apartment and left saying she won't be able to stay over and I can have my time to think about it. It looks like it may be a deal breaker.

Besides this incident the relationship has gone extremely well, we spend a lot of time together and seem compatible in every other sense. I've met her parents several times and other family members and have always gotten along great despite language barrier. I'm worried I might be making a mistake both handling the situation and in my attitude towards it.

Would really appreciate some advice on this.

Hi when i spoke to my thai lady friend about this sin sot stuff, she told me that when her son got married last year she and her son negotiated with the inlaws a sum of 90,000bht and he"s got a fairly good job in bk

I dont if this has been discused already on here but it is something that has puzzled me lately and i was wondering if any of you could throw any light on the subject.

I was in samui last april talking to 2 guys who own a bar/rest/accomadation. I said to them , can you work here on a retirement visa and both said yes you can. Anyway i thought it sounded a bit dodgy/ illegal and thought no more about it. In nov i was at a ex-pats meeting in pattaya and talking to the audience was a guy who owns key visa co in jomtien and he talked about getting a work permit on a retirement visa. All the people in the audience looked at each other and one guy put his hand up and said, I didnt think you could get a work permit on a retirement visa?? and the guy said yes you can and in fact its the easiest way to obtain one.

I know its says on the visa site that you are not allowed to work on a retirement visa but well im confused???

I did try to speak with the guy afterwards , but thats for members only.

so, what do you think???

Hello, i am a regular visitor to thailand and i always take about £50 in thai baht and the rest in £200 pound sterling travellers checks, my bank, lloyds tsb dosnt charge for travellers checks and the charge for cashing them in thailand is about 30bht per check

Sheesh, I think it may be safer for me to stay in Afghanistan, rather than return to Thailand for my next holiday ! My fellow countrymen seem to be dropping like flies over there right now.

By my count, 5 dead (2 shot, 1 motorcycle fatality, 1 pool-side accident and 1 "natural" causes) and 4 injured/wounded (2 shot, 2 motorcycle accidents), all in less than 8 weeks !

(and the Brits think Thailand is dangerous for them !)

(note that a CanWest news article only mentions 5 Canadians killed or injured so far this year, when in reality it is at least 9).

I think the brits think that britain is dangerous for them