ice1318

The police may have been inept, not in the detection, but in the bail process.

“The brother claims he did not want the couple’s assets. He claims he sold the pickup only in the hope of funding their escape,” 

You have to think this is where the bail money came from.

Save for the couple themselves, her family were poor.

Surely, when processing an offer of bail the authorities have to look into the source of the bail funds.

Possibly deposited with the family the day before?

They seem to have been awfully eager to accept the bail deposit.

Ask yourselves where does a forfeited bail bond end up?

Anyway, thankfully he didn't end up getting away. The police solved the case and apprehended the mastermind.

Is it really the case that the effectiveness of a usufruct has never been tested in a Thai court?

I suppose it is probably right as, had it been successfully tested, the result would have heralded and trumpeted

across the media.

But what about outside the courthouse? Given that this device has been partially or wholeheartedly recommended

to farangs for many a long year I would guess there must be many thousands in existence. Surely not all of the

relationships have proven successful.

Has no one ever benefited? Whether that means being allowed to stay put or negotiating some monies from a sale.

Has anyone been brave enough to face down the brooding packs of ex wife / gf families post break up.

There is a farang builder in Kranuan itself called S L Young. Their office is across from the main police station.

Noticed in one of your posts that you are building on farmland. If you are looking for security, from reading the

Real Estate sections I believeit's the case that you cannot have a lease or usufruct over such land.

Perhaps as the Thesaban have granted your wife / GF building permission that acts to change the farmland to residential?

Maybe it's not a worry in any event.

Good luck

.

Thai Airways mightn't be the only stupid party involved. Why did British firm disclose the identity of their client? Just keep quiet, pay the price and take delivery. Presumably unaware of the long-standing Thai-Saudi rift? Surely not? Anyway, bang goes their commission.

Working in Saudi at the moment, petrol price GBP 0.10 / $0.15 a litre.

The law firm Siam Legal advertise an "economy package" to set up a Thai Company for 63,000 baht but I think their nearest office to you will be BKK.

Isaan Lawyers in Korat are more convenient and I'm pretty sure will be cheaper. I am not aware of law practices, other than Isaan lawyers, in Isaan who

have foreign lawyers.

Setting up the company is the easy bit. Can't imagine the authorities would allow the business to be in your name unless you apply for

a Work Permit. True, the lawyers will be able to obtain a WP for you but there are numerous hurdles to then clear, not least a paid up

capitalisation of 2,000,000 baht. Whatever business you have in mind would have to be proportionately profitable to tie up that amount

of capital.

This is one of those subjects were it's embarrassing to admit that you don't understand so when it comes up I just nod and make the right noises.

Seems to me that the Bill proposes to free all those currently held pending trial in relation to political violence and disorder from 19 September 2006 to 10 May 2011.

Doubtless the vast majority of those locked up are innocent with a small majority being responsible for inflicting the physical violence.

I presume that the issue is that freeing everyone isn't acceptable to a number of people. The guilty shouldn't be allowed to walk away unpunished. Keep all those suspected locked up until things become clear. That would be understandable for a number of months. The problem being that the authorities haven't the evidence to differentiate as to who did what and if they don't have that evidence now, some 2 years on, they're unlikely to ever have it. So why not be honest, recognize the situation, accept it ain't going to change and proceed with the Bill.

I'm sure that there are those who would disagree, especially those personally affected.

One thing I most definitely don't understand is how Thaksin enters into the equation. This is a Bill relating to political violence and / or disorder. His convictions, in absentia, were of a financial nature.If I've not followed developments with the Bill (entirely possible as I'm often abroad) and it now has a ridiculously broad scope ie anyone guilty of a political offence or a charge that he or she claims to be politically motivated then that makes sense.

Over to you.

Is there any amongst us who settled in Isaan, or knows of another who settled in Isaan

for reasons other than their Thai wife / GF. I appreciate once here you may have come

to love the place, people, customs etc...... there must be the odd exceptional character??

This is the time when Thai politicians - those at the top - should be looking at

the bigger picture.

Realising that the world's eye will on reaction to the court verdict they should

be stressing that court decisions have to be accepted. This is the way

civilised nations behave.

However, being more interested in self-serving vote gathering there appears to

be complete silence.

I'd stress this relates only to the politicians and not political journalism

see "ICJ decision deserves respect" Bangkok Post 17 April.

Wise choice.

The key is whether the teachers are qualified teachers ie have a proper teaching degree and an

educationalist background from back home. In KK , KKVS excepted, I can guarantee you that

virtually none are.

I read that the Thai driver was accepting responsibilty for the accident.

He was reaching for something on the car floor and took his eyes off the road.

He isn't attempting to allege any fault on the part of the unfortunate couple.

Transam,

I can understand that. I suppose the monks are just blessing the couple. Nevertheless, there are plenty of farang

who believe that the village ceremony is a marriage / wedding albeit not as recognised as the Amphur civil

marriage ceremony. Occasionally they'll go through the village"ceremony" only and spend the rest of their

lives thinking they are married. But hey ! if it helps in anyway to keep couples together (and gives the locals

a party to remember) long may it continue.

Reference post 118

Yeah pretty much.

Not that I want to get involved judging the OP. I could be totally wrong. But it would seem pretty

strange that if these assets exist and if the OP has the intention to pass a sizeable share onto

Thai GF that he hasn't to date mentioned this.

I mean the whole thread is centered on whether GF is being reasonable or not. Surely in the

early part of this thread he'd have qualified himself by saying words to the effect

"she's asking for x..........despite the fact I'm going to ensure she is long-term secure by way of......"

Maybe I missed something. Maybe the OP can clarify. If he takes the view that this has gotten a little

out of hand, that it's his own business I'd respect that too.

I know it's an uncomfortable practice for some, but has any one actually done the math on this.

Apologies in advance if I've missed certain details as I 've only read the thread quickly.

I'm assuming the OP is 66, the thai GF 46 and her request is for 10,000 THB a month.

(1) Assume she outlives her other half by 20 years and

(2) Assume by time this occurs when she is in her 50s/60s

and therefore is realisticallyno longer able to work and

(3) Assume she requires 5,000 USD a year.

Hey, she needs 100,000 USD. Not overnight but over an extremely lenghty period.

100,000 X 30 = 3,000,000 THB

10,000 THB x 300 months = 3,000,000 TB

300 months = 25 years.

Well, what do you know ! She'd only have to wait until the OP attains the sprightly age of 91.

No wonder she wants to get this into motion asap.

To take the OP out of this equation and sustitute a hypothetical couple who are in an already

long established relationship and the couple are intent on a future life together personally I'm

all for the hypothetical woman. Don't think it's unreasonable at all.

PS Even if my assumed facts are wrong just look at the illustration to get a good idea of financially

what's required in this type of scenario.

From what I understand a village "marriage ceremony" isn't a marriage at all. Bhuddism considers marriage a purely secular matter and nothing to do with religion. The monks are not marrying you officially or unofficially they are simply giving you a blessing. Presumably they are blessing the civil marriage that has already taken place. Think in this case the details have been trashed out in advance by the family and relaid to the "official" who is simply reiterating this in front of as many witnesses as possible to make old Fredrik feel morally, if not legally, obliged in the event of things going pear shaped.Can't blame 'em for wanting to do their best for one of their own.

It beggars belief that the government is trying to spin this as if Thailand somehow holds the moral high ground.

Paying too much attention to the parties bickering seems to have overlooked why the ICJ hasn't as yet (15 months on) been

able to give the Interpretation requested by Cambodia.

I can only comment on Nong Khai / Vientiane.

Nong Khai has no real individual stand out features but has a pleasing and tranquil

atmosphere with plenty of shops,restaurants and bars scattered on or close to the

(relatively) newly landscaped river front which is most impressive.There are a smattering

of backpacking farangs,mainly French, but not enough to be off putting.

The real gem is Vientiane 20 kms from the Laos end of the Friendship Bridge. A decent amount

of old French Architecture survives and there are the Embassy buildings and boulevards.

Laos silk is a major selling point

as the Thai women seem hold this in high regard (not that I'd have the foggiest). Both at

the bridgeside duty free area and throughout Vientiane itself in the wine caves there is a very

respectable selection of French wines. Mustn't forget the freshly baked french loaves and

baguettes available at the bakeries and eateries. Nor,.if you like a beer, can you miss the Beer Lao

which is definitely superior to it's Thai counterparts. As with Nong Khai the place is peaceful

and slow paced. The people are friendly,polite and perhaps a little shy which adds to their charm.

A few years back I did the Mae Sai / Tachileik equivalent. Mae Sai was so notable as to be non existent

in my memory and Tachileik I found to be extremely rough and ready. Lots of rushing about.Upon arriving

on the Burmese side of the border myself and those with me were plagued by touts enquiring if we wanted

any drugs and / or porn.

Cheap yes.Functional yes.Pleasurable no.

If you had it in mind to try Nong Khai / Vientiane option - which I would recommend - then $35

isn't really that expensive a price to pay. It's certainly not significantly out of line with the fees you'd

be charged for Cambodia or Vietnam. Burmese fees are an exception.Obviously if you stayed for

a good few days -which if hypothetically you were to travel the distance from say Chiang Mai area you

presumably would do - then you'll get more value for your fee and indeed a better experience of what these

towns have to offer.

Not wishing to put a damper on things but the Financial Ombudsman Service

only regulates UK banks,building societies etc... and won't have any jurisdiction.

I'm suprised they've agreed to look into the matter. Perhaps the best they could

do is let you know how you stood if the same scenario occured in the UK. If this

was helpful to your cause you could then pass that on to the powers that be

within Bangkok Bank. They certainly wouldn't be bound by it.But discretion may

be exercised in your favour if only to avoid bad PR.

Good luck.

I live between Nam Phong and Kranuan just North of Khon Kaen.

In my village and the surrounding villages I agree Leo is the people's choice.

Not a bad drink. Better than the opposition and I've tried them all in

some quantity.

I avoid the Ice by just drinking quickly. I've never been one of the "school of

slowing down the rate of inebriation".

However,both Thais and farangs living in Isaan are missing a trick..

Beer Lao ! Think the original post would have to be retitled if it wasn't for

government policy prohibiting import (at least that's my understanding-

perfectly willing to be corrected on this if someone knows better)

I live between Nam Phong and Kranuan just North of Khon Kaen.

In my village and the surrounding villages I agree Leo is the people's choice.

Not a bad drink. Better than the opposition and I've tried them all in

some quantity.

I avoid the Ice by just drinking quickly. I've never been one of the "school of

slowing down the rate of inebriation".

However,both Thais and farangs living in Isaan are missing a trick..

Beer Lao ! Think the original post would have to be retitled if it wasn't for

government policy prohibiting import (at least that's my understanding-

perfectly willing to be corrected on this if someone knows better)

Often the Embassies of the countries you are destined for require a Thai Police check which is reasonable enough if you've spend

a considerable amount of time here.

This was my recent experience from January of this year.

You have to attend the Royal Thai Police HQ on Rama 1, Bangkok. The nearest Skytrain is Siam Square.

I initially tried in Khon Kaen and was advised this was only possible in Bangkok. Fair enough.

The service is free.

When attending please be aware this HQ is a sprawling place and whilst I found all the Thai police to be helpful many couldn't understand what I was asking for. Asking for a criminal records check won't do it.Repeat the words "Police Clearance" as often as possible and hope for the best. Better still be organised (unlike myself) and bone up the Thai vocab.

Once you enter the office

(1) complete an application form

(2) provide your passport for inspection

(3) have your fingerprints and photograph taken there and then

(4) confirm the country you are going to work in.

A previous post I had read said that you had to provide photographs. You don't.

The same post said that you could pay a fee and the police would expedite the search. You can't.

They normally advise you to return 2 to 3 weeks later to collect

Collection was painless and took 10 minutes. Ultimately you get a certificate that says you have been well behaved and this addressed specifically to the Embassy of the country you are going to work in.

One other great tip is to double check you actually need it. Don't rely on advice from agents or well meaning third parties. Saudi Arabia where I'm on route to does not require a police check!

Good luck.

Civilised nations do not shoot protesters!!

I understand the pros and cons. But do not shoot protesters. You're going back into the dark ages.

Many (probably most) army people in BKK puke at the thought of what they are being asked to do.

Do you honestly think the Redshirts are being overly violent ??? There were a 100,000 of these people not so long ago. Think of the mayhem they could have caused. They didn't !!!

Sure if the army shoot real bullets into you, you are going to be pretty angry.

Vested interests don't care a toss.

On the one hand to have been out of the public gaze for, let's face it, an extraordinary

lenght of time has to have alarm bells ringing.

I take on board an earlier post which said he will be refraining so as not to inflame

an already delicate situation. But does that really stand up to scrutiny? This is a time

more than ever before when his people would looking for his support and encouragement.

Okay he doesn't have to go overboard just a short skype message. If he has the time to

be twittering (and let's face it that could be anyone) then he could oblige on skype.

BUT surely his death would be deflating news in the extreme for both his supporters and

the Redshirt movement. If so I can not believe that the Government with all

it's Intelligence resources wouldn't have made it their business look into this and if true

trumpet it for all to hear.

So! No news is probably good news for Mr T. That said, if alive, I think he must be in a seriously

bad way to be limiting his imput to twitter.

Apologies lonexpat!

I did not ask the question wishing in any way to disparage the TEFL qualification. I have already taught in Thailand and I do have a TEFL qualification. I know that to many people it can be of great assistance in providing a grounding as to how to teach and to provide a confidence boost when getting started.

The question was meant to ask whether the Thai Authorities (MoE / MoL) give any credit for having a TEFL.

The answer seems to vary region by region.

However, if you hold a TL ( together with degree) then Nationwide you are guaranteed a WP.

Should people therefore be looking to obtain a TL rather than a TEFL is they want to guarantee themselves a WP.

I note that no one from a TEFL organisation has taken the opportunity to contribute !!

Having read endlessly through posts on the Teachers Licence

requirement or Licence Waiver I am left asking myself why bother

with a TEFL (to include TEFL, TESOL, CELTA,ecetera...)

I always thought that (assuming you don't have a B Ed) a combination

of TEFL together with Degree and to all intents and purposes you would

be approved for a Work Permit.

That is the way TEFLs are marketed by the multi national corporate

TEFL providers "...complete our course and your teaching job will follow".

Seemingly not so. For TEFL now read TL.

Now it may well be that the Authorities will look more favourably upon

a Work Permit application if you have a TEFL but if that is written down

somewhere I haven't seen it. Could be that I'm wrong on this.

What I find most frustrating is that the TEFL providers are silent on

the issue.Why? They are aware of the TL development and the potential

damage it is doing to their market. They are multi million pound businesses.

They will from time to time employ/engage lobbyists and will be "in the know".

Always accepting that this isn't their country and they need to conduct

themselves diplomatically but if there is definite value to the Thai MoE in an

applicant holding a TEFL can they please come forward and say so whilst

at the same time being specific.

There must be TEFL co-ordinators out there who could offer a comment.