myfriendyou

Well, she is at the top of her class but when she tell me what they learn and about how unruly some classes are (particularly classes run by young inexperienced farang teachers) I sometimes think that there might be a better alternative, i.e. places where the bar is held a bit higher. For example, she is in P6, starting M1 after the holidays, and the English they learn is still "hello, my name is".... Not a big problem as my daugher is fluent in both spoken and written English but it's just a waste of time. Similarly I think science classes are much lacking. They put a lot of weight on stuff like Thai Culture but nil on world history. Stuff like that... Probably not unique for Thailand, and maybe it's just as bad in REPS, but that's what this thread is about

Is she in the Thai program or the English Program at Satit?

Its a wonderful publication, it is the only newspaper my two little house dogs will do their business on. I pick up a dozen at a time each time i pop into the local supermarket.

Can honestly say I've never read it though. Keep publishing guys or my dogs will be lost.

I can highly recommend what I feel is one of the best shops in town for leather sofas. I have bought 1 from them and many of my friends as well. His service and quality for the money is what I believe the best in town and I shopped everywhere.

The shop is called Ultra Lounge and it is located on the corner of Pattaya Nua(north pattaya road) and 3rd Road.Paul Ryan is the owner and his number is 089-2013512...best to call him and make an appointment to go and see him as he isnt in the shop all day. He has made alot of sofas for restaurants and hotels here as well. Feel free to mention my name to him.

Eric

I can recommend this place as well, really friendly guy and good prices

Its wonderful, Parking is terrible, left there after shopping yesterday at 5.30, parked on floor 5 1/2, there was a queue of cars from the floor above me to the exit, it took 20 minutes for the car in front of my parking space to move, the car behind him kindly let me out, it took another 1 hour and 10 minutes to get to the exit on second road.

So from arriving at the car to exiting the car park was an astounding 90 minutes. It is miss placed in my view, if it was on 3rd road or on sukhamvit it would still attract customers.

I would previously drive to Central Chidlom in BKK to get things i couldn't get in Pattaya so would certainly drive to 3rd rd. I could have driven home from BKK in the time it took me to exit the car park here.

The Baht is not strong, the currencies in the west are weak, however the real way to stimulate tourism and exports would be to devalue the Baht. ( I did read somewhere that this was being discussed, don't ask me where as I can't recall where) Along with a 90 day tourist Visa on arrival. 90 days will suffice for most "Genuine" Tourists

Most genuine tourists do not complain at paying a few Baht more than a local to enter a National Park or attraction.

Additionally if a "tourist" requires an extension why not allow an extension of this say for anothe 20 60 or 90 days within Thailand with a rising scale of fee's dependant on the extension period, henerate fees in Thailand not at the Cambodian side of the border.

Don't confuse the 'check, counter check' moves the Soviets and American play to this day with supplying the FARC with weapons to kill civilian targets. This guy is a BAD guy, and the Govt. would not spend their time and efforts going after him if he wasn't.

The only legal asymmetry I can see is that Bout is charged with 'conspiring to kill Americans, conspiring to kill U.S. officers or employees', which further boils down to 'conspiring to kill Americans other than officers or employees of the US government'. So, are you saying that the difference is that those supplying the Afghan Mujahideen in the days of Communist rule were not conspiring to kill citizens of the Soviet Union other than officers or employees of the Soviet government?

Ouch..... A simple Google search will show he violated arms blockageds by the U.N., Blood Diamond trading etc.... not really all that hard.

I think you need to turn Fox News off

Another one is Suk Soi 61, its near the flashy car garage, turn in the soi and about 300m on the right, nice guy good price and great work, he does all the work for the flashy garage as well i think as I saw a couple in there getting touched up.

I had a new tailgate skin new bumper and back end re-paint 9k took 4 days, looks like new. (isuzu)

Thanks for all of the replies, She will submit a new application again next week with additional supporting information.

I will post and let you know how it went.

As all applications are done outside the Uk Embassy,maybe you did not ''''pay enough tea money'''',to the Indian run company issuing the visa now.

You really think UK embassy let's them to issue visas? As others said they just run the application center and embassy is issuing visas.

Actually i find the VFS ladies to be much nicer to deal with than any embassy staff and less waiting in the que. Don't take it on them even if they did turn you down trying to pay them for visa

You are correct even when a visa has been issued or refused it comes back from the Embassy sealed, the VFS staff have no knowledge of the result, I've a;ways found them very polite, saying that the staff at the Embassy when I applied for my son's Visa's and his mothers were always polite and very helpful also.

Thanks Guys

Main reason was no invite letter and no proof of relationship, I didn't address this properly as I live here and as we were traveling together with my son, I did give them around 20 pages of other documentation. I Have the invite letter now and lots of stuff showing us living together.

As all applications are done outside the Uk Embassy,maybe you did not ''''pay enough tea money'''',to the Indian run company issuing the visa now.

VFS do not issue the visa. They do the front office work to make sure the embassy only receives 'complete' applications to make a judgement on. Visa's are assessed and issued by the embassy and then passed back to VFS to hand back to the applicant.

That is correct they just send them on to the Embassy.. so any info on my original question much appreciated

Hi All

My Girlfriend of 4 years was refused her UK Visitors Visa today, Some Background:

I live in Thailand and have for 11 years I have a Non immigrant B visa

I have a 8 year old son who lives with me, his mother is Thai, and now lives abroad.

He Was issued his Visa (2 year visitor) it is his 3rd Visa

We were all traveling together

I did two applications previously for my sons mother and she was issued the visa on both occasions, I prepared the documents, she applied.

I own a business in Thailand as a share holder, however do not work so do not have a business.

I am 48 She is 30 this year

My GF has lived with me for 4 years.

Refusal was based on the fact she did not prove a substantial relationship with me, a letter from my father inviting us to visit was late arriving so was not included in the application, I had rescheduled before so could not reschedule again to wait for the letter.

It is not a problem to show our relationship and the fact we live together.

I would like her to re apply with the letter inviting her to visit my elderly father, so my question is how quickly can she do this, or would you suggest an appeal?

They did not even ask for an interview which I find strange.

Advise appreciated we wish to travel in March

Thanks

Rob

really sad for the family and the poor little kid who was probably bored and unattended

"Probably bored and unattended" ?????????

Rather silly statement to make. Parents were in the room, so the unattended part is wrong.

What do you base your other assumption on?

Looks like you used to work for the local police who tend to make sweeping generalisations like this?

Have some compassion for the parents

Yes they were in the room but were asleep according to the original post, in my book asleep while your child is awake and you have not entrusted anyone else to take care of them is unattended, only the parents know if they did not take enough care to avoid this happening.

A simple 20 baht lock attached to the doors when you sleep however would minimised the risk.

I was not there, so cannot say who was at fault however it is certainly not the fault of the Thai Government or the Condominium builders as some posters are implying.

As a parent I am astounded that every one starts to blame the condominium, life is full of accidents waiting to happen, a parents job is to ensure as best they can that they do not happen, sleeping while your children are awake in a high floor apartment with an open balcony door is not doing your job as a parent.

I feel for their loss but I feel more for the little boy who's life was cut short at only 6 years old.

Couldnt agree with you more Aquanauts!!!

Another example; A few weeks ago I was having my lunch at the same food stall in S/Pattaya

You know the usual chicken fried rice ect. The cost was about 30-40 baht depending on what

I was buying. However I was paying with a 50baht note and letting them keep the change.

So what I thought only 10 or so baht.

Anyway the last lunch I had there cost me 40baht but I only had 30 baht on me. I promised

the lady I would return the next day with the extra money. Her reply was "you no have money

you no have food" I thought gee thanks hey after all the tips I gave you, you have now lost a

customer that provided you with 200-300 baht a week for the sake of 10 baht.

Iam sorry I cant see the logic in that.

Why would you even leave the house with only 30 baht let alone try and buy a 40 baht meal with it!

I Just dug out the ad for Cafe Des Amis Menu looks good, would love to hear any reviews if any one has or does try it, I might try it myself this weekend and will let you know if I manage to get down.

I have had the brunch at Manhattans and would recommend it for value and menu.

Matahari and Mantra you wont go wrong either.

Cafe Des Amis-Great food, nice decor, friendly staff and the owners a great guy (name Blue)as well. the menu is not huge but all fresh and very well cooked. I have beeen there about 12 times with family, friends and alone and can not fault it.

Mata Hari is also a top class meal and Louie is a great guy/friend

manhattens is a suberb steak, but just on the pricey side but no question, on quality!

Thanks Lemel

I will try Cafe Des Amis tonight, always good to find somewhere new, anyone tried La Luna on third rd yet? I've heard some good reports but yet to have a taste myself.

I Just dug out the ad for Cafe Des Amis Menu looks good, would love to hear any reviews if any one has or does try it, I might try it myself this weekend and will let you know if I manage to get down.

I have had the brunch at Manhattans and would recommend it for value and menu.

Matahari and Mantra you wont go wrong either.

On the strength of media's posts I have just tried wow online. Ordering was easy, I was called back within seconds for address confirmation that took around 30 seconds, so literally within a minute of clicking send my order was being expedited...good show. Cost was, chicken biryani and onion baji = 240, + 10% service = 264 + 60 delivery = 314, so 340 gets me off easy.

By contrast, yesterday I used door2door, also for the first time, chose my order online and then called it through to an operator that understood English well enough for me not to have to repeat everything more than once. My order, at 215 bt, arrived 50 minutes later, which is fair enough because they did specify within an hour, but having paid with a 500 I was surprised to receive only 115 change. I did the math again, then checked the printed receipt, but it was far too feint for me to read!

Another 20 to the delivery kid, because after all it wasn't his fault, and I later called door2door to query the charge, having been here long enough to realise the futility. Their lady patiently ran it by me...215 for the order, 70 for delivery = 285, plus 10%, and we agreed on 314. Then, when I asked where the other 71 baht came from, she suddenly couldn't speak English well enough to communicate, and started explaining whatever it was in broken English, asked me to wait while she consulted, didn't return for a couple of minutes, at which point I realised it makes good sense to sign off and put it down to experience.

Btw, I'm not sure if others noticed the sneaky baht-grabbing methodology, but door2door add their 10% service charge to the order + delivery, while wow's 10% service charge is on the order alone, with delivery added later. This effectively has door2door's charging 77 bt for delivery, not 70 bt. For my part, I would rather give 100 bt to charity than be blatantly ripped off in a sneaky manner for that 7 bt, so they've lost me and through the best form of advertising, word of mouth, those I know, for common theft.

Next, my wow order arrived within 30 minutes, a pleasant smile from the lad and off he went...at which point the letdown arrived, a few soggy and cold, deep fried and oil steeped onion rings pretending to be baji, and the equivalent of a glorified kao pat gai. Can't blame wow for that and I shall use them again, but as a side issue am still on a quest for that elusive, fairly priced decent Indian meal in Pattaya...any offers?

Ahaar from door 2 door is a good Indian, I've used door 2 door for a couple of years now and I've never had a problem with their service, i reckon you should have waited because I know for a fact that they take problems like this seriously and the owner has discussed with me before how important it is for him to get feedback so he can fix problems.

I've used WOW twice and I have to say that the service was OK but the food not always up to scratch, it sounds like you had the same Indian as i did which went straight in the bin.

Another thing i'd say about door 2 door is that they actually make sure the food is good and any times i

How do you think they do this, you think they check every order before its delivered? come on!

Mantra / Rhuen / PIC all ok.... Course they are geared for tourists as thats where the £ is.......

I think you should never criticise unless you can bring a better example to the table.... So for those who comdemn where is better where the man can get authentic Thai at the propper strength flavour etc?? As I wanna try it too

For Thai, Issan, Vietnamese, Chinese & European fare, try Vientiane Restaurant towards the Sukhumvit end of Pattaya Tai Road, right side as you head towards Sukhumvit, off Soi Korpai 1.

Great if you like sitting in a room the size of a bus station with bus loads of Chinese tourists

YES Fench (BISTRO) food is exactly what I am looking for, NOT Tourist Thai. I huess I should have been more specific..

I will check all of these places out, Auboncoin sounds good IM looking for something Cosy and with a nice ambiance.

They are here for a few weeks so i will have time to take them to all the places mentioned on here, but not Touristy ones.

Thanks

I saw this place advertised recently Cafe Des Amis its on the Tappaya Rd I recall from the ad.

I will see if i can dig out the contact details later for you, it was in one of the local newspapers I think. I haven't tried it myself.

I can also recommend Au Boin Coin I have been there many times Jose is a great host and chef.

NO chance that the airport will open any time soon. Not enough to appease the PAD, I'm afraid. They want much more than this.

I wouldn't be so sure, I have friends in BKK who have been told their china air flight will leave tomorrow without fail

but from which airport?

Nothing will be flying out of the bangkok airports for a minimum of 7-9 days (2 days clear up and 7 days to re-certify the airports)

New airport, I will confirm that they have flown tomorrow if it happens

NO chance that the airport will open any time soon. Not enough to appease the PAD, I'm afraid. They want much more than this.

I wouldn't be so sure, I have friends in BKK who have been told their china air flight will leave tomorrow without fail

He should stand down, and then a real election monitoring Committee should ensure that the next elections are not purchased as the last two were, this would ensure that no one has cause to protest that there is an unwanted government in place.

I know its not a likely that a fair election without bribes and payments will take place here, but its an ideal situation, maybe Thailand is just not ready for a real democracy yet, evolution is slow and cannot be rushed.

The last trouble and coup has a much less damaging effect on Thailand than this has had, the real effects of this and the bad exchange rates will be seen later as I cannot see people making advance bookings to come to TH.

Remember lots of people had booked before this and I doubt canceled and its still bad, imagine what it will be like when next years reservations don't materialize.

CAT will leave a standard black box with 2 wires and an earth, just run a standard 2 core telephone cable into the house (beige with a red and green wire inside) heaviest gauge you can find. Terminate inside the house with a standard telephone socket and then just plug a phone cable from that to your modem. 500 baht to the guys who come to connect you will normally get them to do it for you if they have time. No splitter required as its ADSL only with CAT. Service and after sales service is good, I've been with them 2 years almost, they even contacted me a week in advance when they were planning to move a cable and i would loose service for half a day.

I'm 30 and she is 27, she works and is a university graduate from a wealthy family!

She's her own women when it comes to the family pressuring her for kids (thank God!).

No kids (either of us) from a previous relationship.

She is currently undecided on the kids question. But I know it may arise in the future.

Sorry if the poll is skewed but I've presented a broad brush for the sake of brevity from a red-blooded mans perspective.

A sounding board of different answers is welcome though

I know how you feel currently, I had 39 years of feeling the same until an accident caused a pregnancy, we talked things over for a while and I now have a 9 year old son, something I would not change for the world, if you are financially secure you can still lead a good life and be a good parent, this is one of the advantages of living here in Thailand,

My advice, never say never