bubblehead

2 hours ago, mercman24 said:

if he was the village head surely some thai would have known this, ??

We live in a gated village. This guy apparently was head of a whole district covering many square miles and many other gated villages.

None of the neighbors have seen him before.

My son and his friend don't look 100% Thai that is the reason he detained them.

16 minutes ago, Gracas said:

So this man was the Thai version of the UK's Ronnie Pickering.

Lucky you were not at home.

Yep sounds about right

14 minutes ago, Traubert said:

Before taking all this nonsense advice most of which will only serve to make things worse, i.e. creating a local enemy, ask the local copper who this bloke is and how much weight he carries in local policing. Better still, get your missus to find out.

 

As people on here like to make crap quotes, here's one, 'know thine enemy.'

It turns out he is some local head of something or other. It appears he was drunk and giving it the big "I am".

It is highly unlikely we will be hearing from him or seeing him again, that is not my concern.

He never suffered any "loss of face" from what I can gather. He asked for ID and passports and was shown them.

He then pi$$ed off on his merry way to harass somebody else.

It is the whole manner in which this happened that annoys me.

Imagine pulling a stunt like that in the UK!

10 minutes ago, pgrahmm said:

Anybody think to start taking pictures of the guy in case future action is required? Hard to imagine nobody did..... 

I'm not sure how I would have handled it either if it were my child....

Video or pics along with a demand for his credentials coupled with direct questions might have stood him back on his heels a bit.....Done in a directly nice way.....

 

Now, he may feel emboldened.....

Good point.

No video or pictures taken unfortunately.

My son and his friend (both 15 years old) were cycling outside our village on a quiet lane. It was about 7pm, it had just got dark.

Out of the blue a stranger on a motorbike tried to stop them.

They thought he was some kind of nutcase so swerved around him and tried to get away.

My son's friend got caught, he grabbed him by the arm and wouldn't let him go.

My son went back to help his friend and this stranger started asking them all sorts of questions like where they were from, where they lived and what nationality they were. etc.

They are both half Thai and half European.

They explained to him in Thai that they were Thai with European Dad's.

This guy was having none of it and told them that they must show him where they lived.

All this happened outside a little Thai owned shop. The lady there sees them everyday but said nothing and never intervened.

The guy then escorts them to our village (about 50m away). My son said the security guard at our village was no help. He let this stranger in and offered no assistance.

At our house the stranger announces himself as the district head and demanded to see some ID and passports.

The wife called the neighbors out for some moral support. Half the street came out and they all stuck up for my son and his friend.

The wife produced the ID and passport for my son. My son's friends Mum came with ID and passport for her son.

At this stage the stranger had already called the police. A policeman came who happens to be the same policeman that checks on our village daily.

He took the side of this stranger and said our sons should not be out riding their bikes after dark. He said there was a lot of drug addicts about and it was dangerous.

The stranger kept saying they tried to get away. When I told them to stop they should have stopped.

The wife and son both say this man appeared a little drunk. At no stage did he show any ID but the wife thinks the policemen knew him.

I was out at the time, which probably turns out to be a blessing in disguise. I am not sure how I would have reacted to all this.

Our sons have been riding their bikes on that lane for the past 8 years.

On 6/11/2019 at 5:10 AM, richard_smith237 said:

 

Mileage varies and there are those who are able to do life much more frugally and 'go native'.. but for someone making a true evaluation it depends what lifestyle they are after here and what standards they expect for their children. 

 

1) Schooling - International School Entrance fee's: 200-250k Baht entrance (one off payment)

2) Schooling - International School Yearly fee's: 500-600k baht per year

3) Healthcare - Medical Insurance:  100-200k (for a reasonable Policy for a family of 3-4)

4) Travel - Yearly flights back home: 120-180k (for a family of 4)

5) Transport - Car: 1.3 Million Baht for a CRV / Fortuna etc  (Honda Jazz / Mazda 2 about 600k) - On the other hand Taxi's are very cheap.

6) Supermakerts - Variable 15,000 baht per month (western items are more expensive)

7) Eating Out - 20,000 baht per month at restaurants (if eating out 4-6 times per month)

8 ) Rent - In Bangkok 50,000 - 200,000 baht per month / Outside of Bangkok: 15k to 50k per month (this is very much area dependent) 

 

Explanations: 

1 & 2: Local schools are awful and do not compare to Schools overseas (some will argue otherwise but they are trading their children's education for their weekly Rub'n tug or access to cheap women 1/4 their age).

2: The best international Schools are in Bangkok. Prices of living in Bangkok are generally higher than elsewhere in the country, but the standards of education elsewhere is poorer (Good Schools: NIST, Bangkok Patana, Harrow, Shrewsbury, St. Andrews 71)

3: Healthcare - Local health care is ok, but its worse than the UK NHS. You can end up waiting a long long time for a non Emergency procedures (like the UK). Healthcare at the Private hospitals is expensive, you'll get faster treatment, better facilities, many of the Doctors in private hospitals also work one or two days per week in a government facility (there is good info on ThaiVisa.com about which Doctors are good at which procedures etc - in BKK especially).

4: Travel - only a concern if you are going to travel back regularly but it adds up especially if you are going to travel back more than 1x per year. 

5: Transport - Taxi's are very cheap (in Bangkok) - but how old are your kids (need a car seat?), driving in Bangkok is ok. A car is not a necessity in Bangkok, its a 'nice to have' item rather than a 'need to have' a car makes life easier... especially for a school run, supermarket run and getting out of the city for a short break etc..  If living outside of Bangkok a car becomes somewhat of a must unless you are looking to live in the center of a town. 

6: Supermarkets - Food can be obtained from the markets etc and much cheaper. Normal items are similarly priced to the UK supermarkets. Items considered luxuries (cheese / Wine etc) are vastly inflated. 

7: Eating out - Is variable, it can be much cheaper or more expensive than anywhere. Basic restaurants are incredibly cheap and a decent family meal can be had for 1,000 baht, a quality 'higher-end' family meal may cost around 5,000 baht+ and more if ordering wine or a good few beers etc (again, this is highly individual and dependent on where / what you want to eat). 

8: Rent - A decent house in Bangkok costs anywhere from 40,000 baht per month up to 200,000 baht per month - it depends what you want. A crappy aging town house can be found for 25k per month. Rents outside of Bangkok are much cheaper and a rather decent house can be rented for anywhere from 15k in the sticks up to about to 50k per month for a decent house in a town area such as Khon Kaen, Chiang Mai or Hua Hin etc...  (this is very much area dependent). 

 

 

There is another thread which ran recently and discusses budgets (with a vote) many people can and do live very frugally, but the moment we live to Westernised standards (and forgo the 40 baht street noodles, drive instead of using the 2baht bus service etc) and aim to live life with the levels of comfort we'd expect back home, life in Thailand can become fairy expensive....  its common for a family of 3-4 to live on a budget of 200,000 baht+ per month when living a lifestyle which more closely resembles Western standards.

 

Great post which I can relate to.

You hit the nail on the head!!

All it takes is a couple of kids at a private school, a decent house and car and before you know it you are pushing over 200k a month.

Thousands of expats are in that position.

Nothing wrong with that.

Here we go then, monthly:

School: 91.000

Mortgage: 47.000

Medical Insurance: 16.000

Eating and drinking out: 60.000

Electric: 4000

Phones: 4000

Car: Paid for

Maid (part time): 5000

Holidays: 30.000

Up the Village: 10.000

Other bits and bobs: 20.000

He was obviously not connected.

Rent a ticket on onewayfly.com

19 euros and they cancel the ticket for you

Best option for traveling to Thailand with a one way ticket

Covers you in case you are asked at check in or Thai immigration

Would he have paid 45 million if he had killed 2 foreigners? No, the families would have received nothing.

The only reason he has been stung for this amount is because the guy he killed was a senior police officer.

1 hour ago, homemade514 said:

i went end of january, all good.

Thanks did you need the original Marriage cert, house book and ID card.

Do you need to show money in the bank?

1 minute ago, ubonjoe said:

There is no visa called a marriage visa. You can apply for a multiple entry non-o visa based upon marriage to a Thai in HCMC.

Marriage certificate plus a copy, copies of your wife's house book registry and ID card signed by her. Your wife will need a to write a short letter requesting you be issued the visa.

The fee is $200 US.

Thanks Joe. Great info!!!

Anybody have any recent info on Marriage Visas in HCM?

Are they still issuing? What are the requirements?

Many thanks.

On 1/25/2019 at 4:05 AM, SuperTed said:

I know it is not what you are looking for, but United World College in Singapore is 100% worth the sacrifice - look at the college acceptances and the IB scores. AND it gets your kids away from the pollution, as well as the very real dangers to teenagers in Thailand of drugs and motorbikes. Make the Sacrifice, take a 15K a month flat, and give your kids the best education.

Looks like a great school. It would cost upwards of 3 million baht a year including accommodation. On top of that a car is double the cost of Thailand. Very expensive, I think these schools are designed for the expat population working in Singapore when the company pays (probably at a discounted rate)

17 hours ago, simtemple said:

A cruel and unusual punishment. Clearly slave labour is widely accepted in Thailand.

I have worked in sewers doing surveys on the tunnels. As well as the expected, dead cats and dogs were also the norm.

Not the best pay in the world but it gave me a great stepping stone to a better job and career.

I wouldn't say it is a cruel punishment.

At the end of the day it is a job that has to be done.

From my experience I think it would be fair to give them a day off their sentence for everyday worked.

I would move away for a couple of months every year but I have kids at school in CM and the holidays don't allow for this.

There is the option of moving away completely of course, I have considered this.

On 2/27/2019 at 1:02 AM, Snow Leopard said:

Don't get me started on airports and travellers. I am sure that 90% of people check in their brains along with their luggage when making a trip through an airport. 

 

• Standing in groups of 10 on a travelator moving at 2km/h so no one can get past. Normal walking speed is roughly 5km/h. 
• Waiting 10 minutes in the security check line then once at the machine start removing their clothes and taking out a 10kg of metal objects from their pockets. Then still leave something on them that beeps 5 times. 
• After getting on the plane then take 10 minutes to decide where their seat is actually located although it printed out for them on the boarding pass. At which point they then act like they are choosing furniture for their house. 
• Arrive at the immigration desk and then start filling out the form. 
• Getting on the plane with 10 pieces of hand luggage and 15 duty-free bags and then take up all the overhead space available within a 3km radius. 
• The TSA in the USA. Their intelligence and IQ is lower than people who work in Walmart. 

Just a few for starters. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first one is my pet hate

I can transfer up to $50,000 a month or up to $250,000 a year from my Bangkok Bank account to my HSBC account in the UK.

I told the bank it was salary repatriation and they sent the forms to Bangkok for approval. It was approved.

I was never asked for a work permit (I don't have one).

The way I see it I was lucky and slipped through the net. This was 8 years ago and I have been moving money across via internet banking ever since.

Worth a go, they can only say no.

7 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

Yes, I know that, so, as I said, she has not been granted bail as someone was claiming in his attempt to ridicule the Thai legal system.

The fact that she is having a "bail hearing" is enough to ridicule the Thai legal system

I have traveled abroad on a number of occasions with my son who is under 16. Never had a problem