terrier123

Can you buy a heater in KK then? I had mine brought from UK 3 years ago and used it 2 hours last night; last Wednesday for 5 hours. Nak Phanom is far colder than most places.

When faced with all your inevitable situations, I think about a friend's attitude, and I quote. "The advantage of being financially sound is you don't worry when tuk tuks, stopped by the BiB, restaurants overcharge etc as it's still cheaper than the UK".

As for me being poor as a church mouse. I have to look around markets to save a few baht, never take a tuk tuk and check every bill before paying.

I just got back from the US and a friend of mine has one of these on his back porch. It is store bought...about $250. But fantastic. I'll be watching this for some good replies!!!

so will I -- and 10,000 other members

Do you want to park your car at the border (Chong Mek) or leave your car somewhere in Ubon?

Well we were thinking of Ubon as I didn't think there was any parking at Chong Mek. Either is fine I'm just concerned that the car is safe. I'm sure the insurance would cover it but I could do without the hassle.

Forgot to mention it's for 2 days.

Or you can go to Mukdahan, park on the bridge and take the bus across to Savannakhet

I've seen a few new guys around town with Honda Phantoms & 1 Steed. Anyone interested in joining a few of us Phanton owners on weekend rides please email me direct

The yellow bus from Mukdahan goes

to Rayong, not Hua Hin. Sorry.

There is now a yellow bus,same company, that goes from Mukdahan to Hua Hin. Not sure of the timetable.

Since they started the Pattaya service about 4 years ago, the yellow bus company has had an office on the far left corner of the bus station. Whenever I went there they had timetables and staff with a little English. Must be easier to take a walk over there and all your questions will be answered ?

If you can, I would suggest waiting until the 2nd week in the New Year as all parcels are being stock-piled due to bad weather and the holidays. TNT have just emailed me that a package from Europe which should be her 2 days ago, will not arrive until 4/January earliest.

We buy the big tanks and decant into litre and half bottles. Every 2 months we use a mixture of dish washing up liquid/baby bottle sterlizer to clean them out then give a good rinse.

Bottles always come out sparkling and no algae

Thanks Don.

When they come at that age to nuter them , I will give her a call, or go see.

Thanks again

I see someone answered you from Muk BUT if you live in Nak Phanom there are about 6 vets around the town. The 2 newest ones are both in my area. I take my Rotweiller to 08 6324 9923. If you cross at Thanon Nittaya, the Sri Thep hotel and cinema are on your left. Go to the first lights and take a left -- my vet is on the right 50 metres along that short soi; just before the big body/car repair shop. If you turn right at that garage, go about 400 metres and there is a brand new at the top of our Soi. Locals say he's very good and I may try him out for my dog next time she's a bit off.

I am trying to show you some courtesey BUT ..... have you just arrived here?

As many others are saying, if you admit to speeding then pay the fine. You were not on the autobahn but in Thailand.

As many 000's of others, I have had to pay when under the limit so pay up

I hope he takes a refresher course in English before he goes. One of his great failings is his inability to communicate in English.

You beat me to it. I remember seeing him being interviewed (in English) for a French channel. The poor guy asking the questions obviously didn't understand one answer and just moved on to the next question once Mr.T paused,

Incoherent at best.

bad luck to whistle after dark -- I believe

if it's not too far for you, the International Hospital in Mukdahan has this service, My friend went there on Friday and it cost him only 1,000 baht. Japanese Doctor who speaks excellent English I understand..

I think it's about 3 hours to mukdahan from Sisaket so not too far, cost seems very good too. Do you know what kid of tests your friend had done and how long it took for the results. Also do they have their own lab or do they send specimens away. Sorry about these other questions and I understand it is not you that went through the prodedures. I just want as much info as I can get

Cheers for the fast reply

Neil

I think Udon sounds a better deal and closer for you too. Mukdahan did all those tests listed and results within an hour. I think it's known as part of the Dr. Hahn(?) Group but I cannot find the web-site I previously used. Tel. no is 042 633301

if it's not too far for you, the International Hospital in Mukdahan has this service, My friend went there on Friday and it cost him only 1,000 baht. Japanese Doctor who speaks excellent English I understand..

look back and there are treads on this but l cannot remember which ones.

Here is something l have kept maybe it will help. My wifes name is Oon.

Information :- For People to help Oon with a Widow pension etc.

Additional help can be got from http:// www.thaivisa.com/

The Pension people in Newcastle are too fond of telling people here in Thailand that neither they nor their Thai wives are eligible for various benefits. This simply is not true.

Provided you are legally married (in Thailand or elsewhere) when you die (assuming you go before your wife) she will get a £2000 Bereavement Payment; plus either a bereavement benefit (similar to the former Widows pension) for a period of 1 year only, or if she has children under 20 and still at school a Widowed Parents Allowance which provided you have paid sufficient NI contributions could be as much as £97 a week.

She will also be entitled to the UK state pension for herself at some time between 60/66 (depending on her present age)

This is fact. Do not accept what the Pension people tell you.

It matters not whether she is a UK citizen. nor whether she has ever set foot in the UK

The trouble is that when you die leaving a widow, she has little idea of what she is entitled to, and if she eventually has contact with the pension service and they tell her there is no pension for her of course she will accept it.

Since you are not yet at pensionable age, you will only need 30 NI contributions to secure your full state pension.

But as you say, to enable your wife to receive full bereavement benefits (should they be necessary) you must have the full 44 payments. If you don't pay any more NI contributions, then you wife would likely receive approx 80% of the rate at the time. It should not however affect her own state pension when she reaches retirement age.

As to will help all the Widows when it comes to claiming, this is something being worked on and as they say WATCH THIS SPACE.

This is an online form for claiming Tax back from the UK

The UK international tax people I call are on (008) 44 191 218 7777 if that helps anyone.

She can claim a one off berevement allowance of 2000 GBP. She needs to apply for this allowance within 12 months of the death of her husband. If you go onto the direct gov website and search for berevement you can download the application form. You can complete the form on her behalf. She will need to enclose her original marriage certificate, her husbands death certificate, and if she has been married before she must enclose her divorce certificate. All of these doc's must be accompanied with a certified English translation. Send them by FEDEX. Once the claim has been rubber stamped they will post back the documents by registered mail. The claim will take approx 4 months to process. They will send her a UK Sterling cheque for 2000GBP.

With regards to a UK state pension. Her husband must have been 65 years + old when he passed away and have been in receipt of his state pension. She must be at least 45 years of age when her husband died. The state pension is paid on a sliding scale dependant on her age. At 45 yrs old she would recieve 28 GBP per week, increasing with her age to 90 GBP per week when she reaches 60 years of age. If she was not 45 years old or older when her husband past away she will have to wait until she is 60 years old to make a claim. If she remarries between now and her 60th birthday she will receive nothing. Again, the application form can be found on the gov website.

A widow, 45 or over (WITHOUT CHILDREN for whom she could claim Widowed Parents Allowance) can claim the bereavement allowance which is payable for just 1 year, at varying rates depending on her age and her husbands NI contributions. After 1 year she must wait till she has reached state pension age before she receives more money.

May I just add that when claiming bereavement benefits, it is NOT necessary to request a NI number. The benefit people will do this themselves, which then enables them to make payment.

They do not notify you of the NI number, but it can be found on bank statements if the payments are made to a UK bank account.

There is one thing knowing what's available and another making sure our wives know about it and can claim it when we are gone.

Together with another Brit (ex Bank Manager) we have established PRAKHONCHAI FINANCIAL SERVICES which assists farangs and their widows with regard to UK pensions. We fight the system that says Thai widows cannot have and we have won every time.

What we are wanting to do is to establish a system where we are able to find out about new widows, and at the very minimum offer advice, which perhaps a family member can follow up on. Otherwise for a small fee we will deal with the whole procedure and ensure that all bereavement benefits are paid.

We have also had success re UK probate, where a foreigner has died with money in the UK, with no will, and that of course belongs to his widow. It takes a lot of time and negotiation but at the end of the day it is very rewarding when we see the widow finally receiving her money. The last one received well over 2 million baht!

Clearly Thai Visa would not allow us to mention our service, but since word of mouth in the lower Isaan area has allowed us to help people up to now, perhaps that is the way to go.

If you have any ideas I would welcome

Unless the rules have changed regarding NI credits since 2006, I don't think you're right.

I'm looking at a letter that I received from HMR&C dated 31st July, 2006 sent to me at my address in Thailand.

I quote;

Thank you for your letter dated 04/07/2006. I can confirm that voluntary contributions have been paid for the full period 07/04/1996 - 08/04/2006 (10 full tax years). As you will be 60 years of age on 13/10/2006, your account will be awarded with auto credits from the beginning of the tax year in which you turn 60, (09/04/2006) to the beginning of the tax year in which you turn 65, (April 2011) as long as you do not qualify to pay Class 1 contributions, while working for an employer or working in a self-employed capacity, for any period.

A full 5 years of auto credits will contribute a further 5 years to your final Retirement Pension (PR), I hope this answers all your queries.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs C. Hymers

Self-Employment Services

As I've been living in Thailand since 1995 it would therefore appear what you say is incorrect that one has to be living in the UK to get NI credits.

You have certainly put a lot in your answer to the original poster BUT, are you sure of these facts and

have you taken into account the pensions re-shuffle in last week's budget? Just one another question reference the contact number for having Tax refunded -- do you mean for the widow or yourself as it is well documented in many places that UK sourced money will FOR EVERMORE be taxed? I have other points to raise which I will email you tomorrow after reading other replies.

I just googled Na Thom and it shows you in the North East corner of NP Province -- is that where you are.? If so, there are quite a few ex-pats in the Sawang Deang Din area and I have a friend in Si Songkhram. Other than those 2 places I imagine you'll be very much alone up there but surrounded by plenty of waterfalls and interesting places.

Sorry, I should have been more specific. I am in Nakhon Phanom province, in Na Thom (Moomon, I'm told, but I haven't yet been able to find it on the map). I haven't asked around much, but given the distance from anything anyone would actually want to live near, and the fact that most of the children here have never seen a farang, I am guessing one so inclined could pick up "huge tracts of land" for relatively cheap. I'm also not sure about flooding here, but there are quite a few medium-sized rivers and lakes within a few minutes' drive, and the landscape is as flat as a pancake, so I can see the potential. A good friend just lost everything (house washed away) in the central Vietnam flooding, so it has put the fear into me. I should probably just ask the lady to ask the old man and stop bothering the forum.

EDIT: Are there any farangs around here? It's a great adventure living in a tiny village in deep Isaan, but it gets a bit lonely.

Nakhon Phanom is a big area but there are plenty of foreigners around who would give you details where floods and where doesn't. Get your lady to ask at the local water authority in Bang Nong Seng. Strangely, along the river where prices are dearest, there is no flooding; but go a few sois west and into the town centre, the drains sometimes just back up in the heaviest downpours. If there's no urgency to build, wait until next rainy season and drive around.

Land prices near the river are through the roof because of the new bridge; but go a few miles out and there is still plenty at reasonable prices.

thanks for all your answers -- he should get something from all that info

Conflicting replies on previous forums. My friend cannot book online so can anyone give me up to date location of any AirAsia booking agents in Pattaya?

Many well written and interesting comments from obviously well read people BUT, how many have seen the (once Mighty) Mekong in full flow?

I have seen it in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and so thankfully live on her Isaan banks. 5 years ago we saw a magnificent high river which, according to the locals, the likes of which had not been seen for 40 years or more. There was no flooding on the riverside only a little inside the town. When I first saw it near Ubon 9 years ago tomorrow, it was tremendous with trees and wooden houses being carried along in her relentless path. Only 3 moths ago the Mighty Mekong was reduced to a trickle because of China's dams. Locals depended upon the River's moods and still do.

Mae Nahm Khong is a beautiful lady and should be shown respect and love.

It will have to be a force bigger and stronger than she to prevent more damage and pillaging to her soul and the people who love, trust and depend upon her for their sheer existence.

Unfortunately, it is entirely up to the (whichever) Thai Government to challenge any further plans from whatever country to drain these valuable resources.

Amen

It's 5 years since I last went to the Savannakhet Thai Consulate Office and believe it's changed location a few times. If anyone's been recently, can you please give me directions and/or if the bus takes you directly there....

Tx

if your contacts in Vietnam and Cambodia have Skype/broadband then you can have a video link free. I use it for Canada and Uk every week. On Skype you only pay for using the system to make phone calls.

And of course the main qualities for belonging to the elite type 3 are -------- humility and tolerance of others.

Just let people get on with what they are happy doing and YOU do your own thing.

Or if you want true love and affection in Thailand -- buy a good dog

OR -- naff, but right for here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4RC6-meKLA&feature=related

How many more can we squeeze in?

My understanding is that the Thai flag should be bigger than any other -- but, I may be wrong