safarimike11

On 11/27/2019 at 1:13 PM, FritsSikkink said:

First get your kid to another school asap and then tell him it is against the law to change a contract one-sided and you will inform the labor department.

(assuming that he is a "legal teacher" with a degree and work permit)

On 9/8/2019 at 3:23 PM, moogradod said:

Pragmatic. But you can do one thing without blowing off the other. These well off and overall acceptable farangs are not just waiting around the corner either. But it can work if you are lucky. My wife and me is the very best example. Happy together since 17 years now. But I suspect this is not that common.

 

For the time being some English and MS Office and Typing (I learned 10 finger system some 50 years ago in school and although I got my further edu at both Zurich University and ETH it was one of the more useful things I did ever learn) . And learning languages is extremely useful in particular. Opens up many possibilities. Plus the driving licenses - better to have them than just driving around without - even for a Thai citizen.

 

On 9/8/2019 at 3:23 PM, moogradod said:

Pragmatic. But you can do one thing without blowing off the other. These well off and overall acceptable farangs are not just waiting around the corner either. But it can work if you are lucky. My wife and me is the very best example. Happy together since 17 years now. But I suspect this is not that common.

 

For the time being some English and MS Office and Typing (I learned 10 finger system some 50 years ago in school and although I got my further edu at both Zurich University and ETH it was one of the more useful things I did ever learn) . And learning languages is extremely useful in particular. Opens up many possibilities. Plus the driving licenses - better to have them than just driving around without - even for a Thai citizen.

 

As one contributor has already said on this forum, the ability to communicate in English (as well as an outgoing personality) can get a girl of her age a job in the tourism industry - especially in Pattaya; hotel front-desk comes to mind.

My wife has her son enrolled in a Sarasas school; it is "Bilingual" and not an "International" school; there are over 20 Sarasas schools in the greater Bangkok area and I would recommend them. They used to (up to 10 years ago) employ only Farangs for teaching English subjects but now it is mostly Filipinos, with a couple of token native English-speaking teachers, but I would still recommend them. Matheom (Secondary) is between 35,000 - 40,000 baht/term (2 terms a year).

On 10/12/2019 at 9:27 AM, Don Mega said:

Teenage pregnancy happens the world over.

I may be wrong but I don't believe they teach about "family planning" in Thai schools: at least according to what my wife says.

On 10/15/2019 at 7:11 PM, Liverpudlian said:

Theres no way i can take on an entire familly on in there own home and no way would i be able to move out and take her with me ... they have the power over me as i am n alien.

But seriously, if you are savvy enough ask the question (should I pack my bags?), then you should also be savvy enough to know the answer.

On 10/28/2019 at 11:45 PM, AdolfoSa said:

She told me that. I give her the money and then she told me she took the pill and all ok.
I'm from Spain

Recommend you use Durex in future; I've never had any breaks.

On 11/4/2019 at 11:28 AM, Kenny202 said:

Yeah mine said 5k too. I dont care about the money (not that I think $200 is a fair price to draw up a simple paper that his secretary will do anyway). He said because were not married and I have kids etc need to do. I think overkill. If I have to register it at the amphur I may as well do the will myself, I think you can buy them at the stationary shop

Maybe easier to just get married?

On 11/20/2019 at 4:34 PM, Odin Norway said:

If you really want to help her.Find out what the full amount actually is and pay if of in one go.She can pay you back interest free instead.

And yes the story may very well be true.

 

If you are going up that route, offer them half - as a full and final payment - to settle it, and get it in writing.

On 11/13/2019 at 9:34 PM, KhaoYai said:

Because most tourists up in the arrivals hall would have no idea that they just a few hundred meters away they can get a much better rate from the same bank.

 

I should have known better than to post on this forum!

Don't be discouraged: your information will be appreciated by most travellers; never mind the saddo's sarchy comment.

On 11/13/2019 at 7:37 PM, cmsally said:

For starters missing an objective pronoun (after prepared) and the word population should probably be proportion.

Should be an interesting 120 hrs!!!

Looks like it has been translated from Thai (by a Thai) into English - or should I say Tinglish?

On 11/14/2019 at 11:19 AM, Beggar said:

This guy must have a mental disorder. Such people are a shame for other foreigners. I am upset too if someone doesn't stop at a pedestrian crossing. But his behavior is extreme. 

Guess that's why the (female) driving was "seen smiling".

On 9/15/2019 at 6:03 PM, giddyup said:

For a start I avoid mirrors at all costs, but I also try not to think about death being just around the corner, it's inevitable anyway and can only cause major depression if you become too fixated on it. At 77 I worry more about being sick and infirmed rather than actually dying.

Age now 64 - just. Arthritis started creeping in 2-3 years ago. I use 2 private hospitals (private insurance only covers me for in-patient, so I tend to remember the very few times a year I visit as an out-patient) and each one has an excellent orthopedic surgeon. I was having trouble with the flexibility of my shoulders 3 years ago and he suggested 2 different exercises: 1. One arm straight up, grab the elbow with the other hand and (bending the arm) push it down behind your back till it hurts; ditto other arm (50 repetitions in each every morning under a hot shower). 2. Bend one arm across your face, put your other hand on the elbow and push the arm back into your face till you feel pain in your shoulder (50 repetitions etc. as above). Took a few weeks, but shoulder flexibility returned. Needless to say, if I miss a day, I do double the next day.

On 9/17/2019 at 11:36 PM, rasg said:

You will have to address all of the refusal points in the letter as part of this application.

 

The lease could be part of her reason to return but not the motorbike. If somebody is running the business in the normal way, I'm not sure it will add to her reasons to return as she won't have to rush back to run it. Having kids back in Thailand isn't a reason to return as so many Thai woman work away from home. In your shoes, I wouldn't supply your wife's bank details. Just tell them she only accepts cash and it isn't banked. UKVI are really good at unpicking figures from bank statements and it's a very common reason for refusal.

 

If only 8-15K is taken in the business and she is paying somebody to run it, is she making any money at all from it?

 

I wouldn’t use an agent at all unless it is OISC accredited. You can do it yourself with help from this forum. A settlement visa is far simpler to get than a vist visa. No reason to return needed.

 

 

(Seriously) This forum is a good source of advice. (Joking) With regard to the weight of the motorbike, the record number of people on one motorbike I've witnessed was 5: Pattaya Songkran 2006.

On 9/21/2019 at 5:51 PM, spidermike007 said:

I know it is a small thing. But:

 

1. I bring re-usable bags with me every time I go shopping. I use the larger shopping bags I buy in the US, which are made of recycled materials. Most of the clerks have to be dealt with. Even when they see my bag, they still start putting the stuff in plastic. I always mai sai toom. No plastic! Then they start loading up my bag. Most look at me like I am from Mars. Do I care? Not one iota. About 1% thank me, and get it. Not many do. My Thai wife does not like bringing the bags to the store. I force her to. By now, she expects it, and sometimes even asks if I have any bags in the car, or on the motorbike. Same with the water bottles. It used to embarrass her. Now, it is second nature, as I have been doing this for so long, she expects it. So, if a Thai can be conditioned to follow these simple principals, then anyone can.

 

2. I bring a bottle of water with me, every time I go to a restaurant. I refill my plastic bottles from the 20 liter bottles at home. It is easy. I never buy bottled water at a restaurant. This saves 300-600 bottles a year. I use a plastic bottle dozens of times. I never get any flack from the restaurants. Only once did someone say something to me. She said you cannot bring you own water. My response was if you serve the water in a glass bottle, and I do not have to consume a plastic bottle, I am happy to pay for that. She was lost. I told her to leave and get me my food. She went away. 

 

We simply cannot say we are concerned about the environment, and then do nothing about it. Action demonstrates commitment. Lack of action demonstrates nothing. 

 

Lastly, restaurants can demonstrate their commitment, by serving drinking water from the 20 liter bottles. It saves alot of plastic. They lose a small amount of revenue, by not selling thousands of bottles of water. But, their operation is still profitable, and they are making a real difference. There really is not need to be consuming water in plastic bottles. At least not often. There are alternatives. Those damn bottles are a real culprit, when it comes to fouling the environment. What can we do, if we say we care?

On the subject of plastic bags, I bought a single item from Homepro (upstairs Bic C Pattaya klang) and the check-out girl was asking each customer if they wanted a bag which was 1 baht extra; the guy in front of me said no - as did I. I also read on the Thaiger website a couple of weeks ago that Seven11 was making a big noise about saving vast amounts of plastic bags, but I don't know as I rarely use them.

Answers:

1. (seriously) Learn Thai.

2. (realistically) Smile and say: "ror gon" ("just moment"); works for me.

51 minutes ago, White Christmas13 said:

no there are not

Sounds great

6 hours ago, Percy P said:

But in England you have 3 days to produce your DL. Its not necessary  to carry your DL with you.

England? Where's that?

18 hours ago, emptypockets said:

Why didn't you simply show him your license?

Easily fits in a wallet, glovebox or even wedged above the drop down sun visor gizmo.

Maybe I'm missing something here - not an unusual occurrence - but why would anybody drive (in any country in the world) without carrying their driving licence?

14 hours ago, swissie said:

There are so many angles to Thai-Ego's and Losing Face, for simplicy's sake, let's reduce it to Farang/Thai relationships.

In Thailand a family is not a debating-club. "The head of the household" calls the shots.
Farangs in a relationship are well advised to imitate Thai-Husbands. (I call the shots).
This concept, imposed firmly from the very beginning, Thai ladies will accept this without much opposition.
Trying to involve a Thai-Lady into any "decision-making-process" will only produce a lot of "up to you" responses.
Or the other extreme, when a Thai-Lady realises that the Farang is not willing (or capable) to be "the captain of the ship", she will grab the helm. With predictable results.

I think the use of "reverse psychology" is a useful tool here (as is probably the case everywhere).

Example 1: My wife wanted to (and actually asked me) have her nephew - male then aged 16 - come and live with us while she was putting him through college; although I wasn't thrilled by the idea, I agreed. Conclusion: He didn't come and stay.

My wife rents out the townhouse we previously lived in (which I obviously bought in her name). She doesn't bother with short-term rentals: only minimum one year, providing one month's notice before moving out.

After 9 months, the Thai tenants informed my wife that they would be moving out at the end of the month, but only gave her 6 days notice, so she said: "no problem, you will lose your (2 months deposit) and she put up the "House for rent" sign shortly afterwards. Conclusion: they are still renting the house.

Just now, safarimike11 said:

Maybe not much help on your questions, but when I renewed my passport here, I just kept/carried both until my next 90-day when they transferred to Retirement extension (originally converted from a Non-Imm. A visa) from the old passport to the new passport. I don't know about the question about going overseas as I didn't need to do this in the period between the renewal and the "next" 90-day.

(the retirement extension)

Maybe not much help on your questions, but when I renewed my passport here, I just kept/carried both until my next 90-day when they transferred to Retirement extension (originally converted from a Non-Imm. A visa) from the old passport to the new passport. I don't know about the question about going overseas as I didn't need to do this in the period between the renewal and the "next" 90-day.

36 minutes ago, Almer said:

Bit of a joke really, i have to go to govt hospital (excellent) every 2 months and when paying i don't  see  anybody else flashing the cash, so if like many claim that we are not wanted here that is a bit less in the hospital safe. Nothing makes sense to me, whilst i understand that a government isn't an insurance company why not at visa renewal have an option, prove your own insurance or pay a gvnt charge say 50,000baht and get access to care the same as thai residents, some are saying the 800000 is enough for a health guarantee that is fine but if you break into it for an emergency in the seasoning period and cant replace it your in trouble at IO.

I see in another post earlier that your passport is your guarantee and with a joined up computer system IO at visa renewal would be able to collect ir no renewal,  please don't start screaming at me these are only thoughts to a solution that isn't going to go away.

I've just figured out that "IO" is Immigration Office.

19 hours ago, Morakot said:

In most countries old age pensioners pay less, in Thailand they will pay more!

It seems that this country, or the people who run it, won't be satisfied until all the Expats leave Thailand and move the one of the three welcoming (truly welcoming) countries to the east; first you have this ongoing TM30 BS - which is totally unnecessary and should be done away with, then you have the strength of the Thai baht which is hurting European and Australian Expats in particular and now finally this "Two-tiered pricing" government hospital BS, for which retired Expats have to pay the highest rate.

On 8/31/2019 at 4:48 AM, RichardColeman said:

If everybody was integrated then maybe, BUT having cities full of unintegrating ethnics, foreigners and muslims has destroyed the UK I loved. I'd like to think that all us farangs would mix with anyone of any race or sexuality or religion - but it does not work the same way for some races and religions. So multiculturalism only works when people are willing to integrate - which is not happening and we are called racists when we point it out ! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ask Angela Merkel about the recent Measles epidemic in Berlin and see what she blames it on.