billd766

Just to add my 2 bahts worth which I can afford (just) my wife has gone against the trend of moving to the city and we have moved to the countryside. We have a nearly 5 year old son and I am now retired

We built a small 1 bedroom place (25 sq/m) which she lived in while the 3 bedroom place was built. It was always going to be used for her parents when they wanted to leave Bangkok and relax for the rest of their lives.

My mother in law moved in nearly 2 years ago so she has her own place with TV etc and no skivvy work to do to look after her family in Bangkok which consists of

Father in law

Older brother, his second wife, 2 children from the first marriage and one from the second,

middle brother, his wife and 1 son

younger brother who is medically not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

We give her Mum and Dad 3,000 baht each to live on.

MY choice and that of my wife who never asked me to do so.

The family in Bangkok apart from the youngest brother all work and support each other and their Dad and they are all welcome here at any time for as long as they wish.

We have helped them out financially at times and they have helped us when things got really bad for me.

My wife has 2 x 10 rai of land. We live on one site and my wife has a shop and restaurant on the other site. If any of the family want to come and live here and build a house there is plenty of land to do so.

My wife supports her parents because they brought her up from a baby to a woman and she helps them whenever they need or ask if it is possible. She also respects them as do I though I am actually older that my MIL.

It was my wife's choice all the time in the 16 years I have known her and I support her all the way and I am more than happy to do so.

My wife and her mother keep ducks around our place and though there is about 10 rai the little buggers always crap on the concrete outside the kitchen and the house.

How can I stop them doing it there?

Having spent the last year living and working in NZ I must say it is not a bad place to live in certain areas.

I was not overly impressed with the 8 months I spent in Auckland but Taupo on Lake Taupo in the middle of the North Island is very nice.

The food is OK IF you like pies of many varieties but there doesn't seem to be much in the way of a traditional dish such fish and chips used to be in the UK or hamburgers/pizza and hot dogs in the US.

There are a lot of chinese/vietnamese/Thai/indian restaurants etc around.

It is winter now and when I first got there a year ago my winter clothes were a long sleeved shirt and some trousers and thin shoes. I froze my nuts off as I got caught in a hailstorm going home from work.

I went into the big shopping mall at Sylvia park as soon as I got home and bought thick winter wear asap.

100,000,000 would certainly change my lofe but not my location out here in the sticks of Thailand though I might buy somewhere in Hua Hin or Cha-Am for going to the beach

Throwing litter is part of Thai culture. Kids learn it from their parents and aunts and uncles. It is part of the 'mai pen rai' culture.

Our son who will be 5 in a few weeks has been taught to put any rubbish he generates into the trash bin and we have quite a few around the place. We also have a rubbish bag in the car.

He has been doing that for a couple of years.

Unfortunately his cousins when they come up from Bangkok have to be reminded every time.

If you teach the children from an early age they will learn and perhaps shame adults into doing it too though I am not too hopeful about that.

Back in 94 or 95 I saw the cars of my drools.

It was on Sri Nakharin road in Bangkok.

It was a monstrous great pink Caddy with fins and I would have loved to buy it.

It is a totally impractical vehicle though at the time I could have afforded to run it but I can't really see me steaming down Sukhumvit road in Bangkok then trying to find somewhere to turn it around and park it.

But I still want one

...Some photos of the place...GPS location (on the steps)

N 016 41.487

E 098 31.111

I don't know how to add this information to the google map unfortunately...

You remembered! Thank you very much. I have now added the photo to the placemark information and given you credit for it:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&amp...096e99fdc2c197c

--

Maestro

'Twas my pleasure and from I have seen of the staff up there they seem to be genuinely friendly.

Wife still out though

...I hope to be at the TAk Immigration office in June for an update.

If you have digital camera or a camera on your mobile phone, please take a photo of the building where the immigration office is and post it here. I’d like to add it to the description on the placemark.

--

Maestro

No problem

I went up on Friday 12th June and the road from Tak is a nice pretty drive apart form the broken down trucks usually in the centre lane.

The Immigration centre is past the bridge entrance on the left side about 1/2 way down.

There was parking outside when I was there.

The hours are from 08.30 to 12.00 and 13.00 to 16.30.

I got there during their lunch break with my wife so we had a cheap and cheerful snack about 30 metres from Immigration.

After lunch we went in and there were 10 or so Chinese so I went to sit down and one of the officers asked my wife what I wanted.

She explained that all I wanted this time was information on what was required for a Non Imm O extension to support a Thai so she wrote down all the information required.

Unfortunately it is all in Thai and she is out today but I will get her to explain and follow it up with a further post later.

From what I saw of the staff there they seem to be farang friendly but I will find out next month when I go up for the extension.

I have to go to Bangkok to get a letter from the embassy confirming my pensions unless I can get one from the British Consulate in Chiang Mai ( does anyone know if this is possible?).

For me it is a 200 km trip each way plus the 800km round trip to Bangkok for the letters.

Some photos of the place IF I can manage to work out how to add them

GPS location (on the steps)

N 016 41.487

E 098 31.111

I don't know how to add this information to the google map unfortunately

Chers

Bill

He's been under house arrest last 12 years....well yes, the US but then... we'll see!

88 Mill. compared to some 76 billion is peanuts!

But it is a start and with a bit of luck other persons will follow him.

I am trying to connect my Garmin 260W to my laptop to see if I can track my route on a map but to no avail so far.

Has anyone succeeded in doing it so far?

Many thanks for those helpful replies.

I was of the opinion I would be OK claiming the married couples pension when I retire.

My wife is also an Irish citizen and has an Irish passport.

I assume for those married to a Thai with ILR in the UK that the pension for the wife stops when the husband dies.

It is my understanding unless things have changed

Your wife will continue to be paid a pension after you die provided she is 60…………..

If you are from the uk and entitled to a uk old age pension you can claim the married mans pension provided you are legally married

She does not need to have ever lived in the uk

It is the persons right to claim for a wife on his pension you can also apply for a national insurance number for her even if she has never lived in the uk she can then claim for a pension based on your contributions for the rest of her life once she reaches the age of 60

Child allowance will only be paid for children living in the uk if they are granted uk citizenship and are legally adopted, you can still claim the allowance even if they return to Thailand

Your wife is your wife they cannot demand where they live just so they don’t have to pay the married mans allowance its not the wife who claims it’s the man who is married if he dies then she needs to make her own claim and is best if she already has an national insurance no

I helped a man who lived in Thailand claim for his married mans allowance 3 years ago and he got it

It took 9 months but they paid the back pay

Hope this helps

When I spoke to the pensions department in April I was told to send my original marriage certificate and birth certificate (I had filled the form in already) but I was in New Zealand until the end of May.

I also asked about a NI number for my wife and they told me to send in her birth certificate as well and once they had it translated she would then be issued a number.

I will call them again tomorrow and ask specifically what they require but I will scan all the important certificates onto my computer then save a copy of that somewhere else, just in case.

I hope it works as I am now 15 days overdue my pension as at this morning.

I would like some information on Nakhon Sawan please. Where do I find the bus station, how frequent are buses to Bangkok or Pattaya and how long does it take. Where can I find a good map of the city, anything I should know before I come like places to go or avoid.

Thank s for any help forthcoming.

If you look into the Central Thailand forum there are a large number of threads about Nakhon Sawan and also quite a few members live in and around NS.

Any idea what phones work on AIS's 3G? I have an N95.

My Nokia 6121 does and I have been using it on 900 and 2100 in New Zealand on the Vodafone 3G network expansion for test calling my field techs.

Haven't found any where in Bangkok yet though I am staying out at Sukhumvit 101/1.

My wife works hard running her shop and noodle stall 7 days a week.

Now I am back for good we both see our son off to school 5 days a week, I meet him of the bus after school and we share looking after him at the other times,

Just like any normal family really

Some people just want things to be negative and will hammer down any positive experience by others.

Ever thought of the fact that this attitude also shows in body language and therefor you probably get the answer and treatment you expect and deserve?

I have been through Thai immigration more times than I can remember and no official has ever said 'Welcome to Thailand' or any such friendly phrase.

I'm not saying it doesn't happen, I just think it is a very rare event.

I would probably stand more chance if I were a 21 year old young lady with a sylph body instead of an aging, beer-bellied, sweating Londoner with halitosis and jam-jar glasses.

Well you were fairly close in your description except that I am fat (too much food in NZ) but don't drink beer, sweating after a 12 1/2 hour flight, I do wear spectacles but not jam jar style, no halitosis and from Poole in Dorset 65 years ago.

On the other hand I was polite, as well dressed as I could be after a long flight and very happy to be back home in Thailand .

Oh also I think I had a positive attitude but that is me most of the time.

Some people just want things to be negative and will hammer down any positive experience by others.

Ever thought of the fact that this attitude also shows in body language and therefor you probably get the answer and treatment you expect and deserve?

Oddly enough I was expecting more negative replies.

As you say be positive, friendly and polite and som nam na.

The same for a negative reaction.

I arrived at the airport on Tuesday 26th May around 8.30pm on TG 990 direct from Auckland, New Zealand and the flight was around 60 to 70% full.

The flight was actually 30 minutes early and I slowly walked up to the Immigration desks.

There was a nurse handing out the check lists if you didn't get one on the flight.

When I got to the desks the guy at the front said take any desk, I went to the desk which was empty, the guy check my passport and visa, said welcome to Thailand and I went off to baggage claim.

My bags were through in around 5 minutes, customs were not bothered with me but I had to wait 15 minutes for my brother in law to pick me up as the flight was early.

It was nice, simple and uneventful.

No problems or hassle at all.

Much better than Sydney, Auckland or London the last time I was there.

So thank you very much Suvarnabhumi for a pleasant arrival.

:D

Its a status symbol to have a thai wife. You have to flaunt it

It is? I guess if you bagged a hi-so chinese from an influential family. I can hardly see having a country girl with nothing more than a good heart is something one wants to flaunt. One never knows if they married you for your life insurance proceeds upon ones demise.

How I hate generalisations.

My wife is a city girl and not a hiso.

I know that she didn't marry me for my life insurance proceeds, she married me because I have a good heart.

I have known my wife since 1993 when I was still married in the UK.

I divorced my UK wife in 1999 and married my Thai wife in 2000 and, no she never asked me to marry her.

Now we live out in the sticks with a much nicer way of living and we are content with each other.

yes bilL good for you. But i really hope you looking at the busniness realistically. When you say as you see it it is a good thing ,that worries me.

Does it really make money? Would a business consultant say you got a winner? It would make no sense to leave your missus a losing operation if you love her,

If all you want is for her to take care of herself when you pass, just buy a healthy life insurance policy! Kindsa weird wanting to leave your wife a lifetime of hard work.

Of course I am looking at the business realistically and why should it worry you as it certainly does not worry me.

Of course it makes money. I actually see cash at the end of the day.

Why on earth would I want to spend money on a business consultant who probably knows all about business and not a lot about people. If I did then for the cost of his "expertise" would cost several months profits to tell me that the business makes a profit. I KNOW that already.

It is not a lifetime of hard work if you enjoy your work.

Also when I die my wife is entitled to 50% of my pensions as well.

At the end of the day it is HER choice to do what she wants to do, my job is to help her.

How much life insurance should I be able to get as a 65 year old?

1 or 2 million, 5, 10 or whatever?

It is better to leave a profitable business rather than money.

That is my thoughts anyway.

i dont get it from a husband and wife thinggy!

you 65 and your wife is 35(im guessing)

running a business takes a lot of work and time. Dont you want to spend your remaining days with your wife?

Obviously money is not an issue in your case, enjoy your wife, dont let her slave over a business, she deserves better.

ps. STILL DONT KNOW WHY POST PERSONAL INFO EVEN IF ANONOMOUSLY .

Actually my wife is 45 this year.

As of tomorrow when I come back from NZ I will be with my wife and son.

I don't make or let her be a slave to HER business.

It is HER choice and HER life. If SHE wants to give up tomorrow, SHE can.

If SHE wants to work then SHE can.

I will always support her whatever HER decision will be.

Not my decision, not your decision or thoughts, but HERS.

The old Thai saying, up to her, not me, not you, not anybody else.

My wife.

yes bilL good for you. But i really hope you looking at the busniness realistically. When you say as you see it it is a good thing ,that worries me.

Does it really make money? Would a business consultant say you got a winner? It would make no sense to leave your missus a losing operation if you love her,

If all you want is for her to take care of herself when you pass, just buy a healthy life insurance policy! Kindsa weird wanting to leave your wife a lifetime of hard work.

Of course I am looking at the business realistically and why should it worry you as it certainly does not worry me.

Of course it makes money. I actually see cash at the end of the day.

Why on earth would I want to spend money on a business consultant who probably knows all about business and not a lot about people. If I did then for the cost of his "expertise" would cost several months profits to tell me that the business makes a profit. I KNOW that already.

It is not a lifetime of hard work if you enjoy your work.

Also when I die my wife is entitled to 50% of my pensions as well.

At the end of the day it is HER choice to do what she wants to do, my job is to help her.

How much life insurance should I be able to get as a 65 year old?

1 or 2 million, 5, 10 or whatever?

It is better to leave a profitable business rather than money.

That is my thoughts anyway.

Get real folks.

Seems a lot of these gf's businesses make money because startup cost were ZERO. fARANG is the same ole money bags man.

I could make money running an airline if startup costs were zero.

If buying business is for girl to have something to do, thats one thing . But to deceive yourself into thinking that they actually making money is delusional.

Business is not that easy!

And yes there are prolly a few exceptions, those that make real profits.

Actually for most husbands and especially me the start up costs are NOT zero.

Though I earned the money it is not MY money, it is OUR money.

Just the same as when I was married in the UK, I earned the money but it was OUR money then.

My wife is actually making real money as I see it at the end of the day and she keeps the profits to re-invest in more stock for her business.

I agree that business is not easy especially nowadays but she is in business for the long term to make a living and a future for herself and our son for when I die. She has been cooking as a business on and off for more than 12 years both in Bangkok and now upcountry where we live so I don't think she is doing it just for something to do.

Thanks to everyone for the comments about my wife earning "only" 125 baht an hour.

During those 4 hours she works dam_n hard. What I amy not have mentioned is that the place is open from around 8 am till perhaps 8 or 9 a night.

She also makes a profit from the shop as well.

She is not tooo keen on keeping books though.

Back in December 2008 my wife wanted to start a small shop and noodle stall on her land opposite a small village.

It cost us about 100,000 baht to build and I thought the restaurant side was far too big but being a fairly wise husband and making my views known (and being told to keep my nose out of it) I let it run its course.

She is making noodles from around 10 am and is usually sold out by 2 but there is other Thai food as well. She had a friend working with her but that failed and she now has a (retired?) katooey working and that is going very well.

She is turning over more than 1,000 a day and probably making over 500 a day in profit and I am the one looking a little silly but very proud of her.

This is bringing out the relics.

I'm just an average member, in all sorts of ways.

It's interesting to note that TVF went from zero to about 7k members in the first couple of years, then has averaged about 10k new members per year since (although I would expect that growth curve heavily backweighted during the last couple of years.

I remember when it was just me and another guy (long since banned) from up in the Phetchabun area. Now there are many. The Central Forum has gone from little used to frequently used, which is nice. Ramdom Chances is another "oldster" from the Central Forum, and the only other TVF'er to visit my house, but I'm not sure where he's gotten off to these days.

Hi Spee

I joined about 3 months before you and I live in Central and I will again next week after a year in NZ.

LAst I heard from RC he was contracting in Saudi. That was the early part of this year.

driving on Sukhumvit road, the buses have the constant, silly and annoying habit of going from the middle lane to the left lane. i don't get why they do not just drive in the left lane. so they are often in a situation where part of their rear end is still in the middle lane while they wait to turn into the left lane. i stop, preparing to wait for them, and its pretty consistent that i get beeped at by those behind me, probably 9/10 times, which suggests to me that I am probably wrong. they want me to drive into the right lane to pass, but you still have right lane traffic. i suppose i can just stick my nose into the right lane and make someone in the right lane stop, but i'd rather just wait the 3 seconds and stay where i am.

I don't drive much in Bangkok now but when I did and this happened to me I used to open the window, raise the middle finger only and comment loudly on the drivers parentage and soi dogs.

I did mentally apologise to the soi dogs though as it was unfair to them.

My wife won't let me play like that any more for some reason.

A family member brought some mangoes back with them from Oz. Another family member liked the mangoes so much they kept the seeds and planted them. I think they managed to get about 3 plants per mango.

Thank you for that information.