GuestHouse

My wife and I have each made two wills, one each in Thailand, one each in the UK. The assets are contolled under each will according to location. Each will states 'Assets held in (Thailand/UK) are under a will in (Thailand/UK).

The reason is our exectutors in Thailand are not the same executors as we are using in the UK. ( A point worth considering).

As for pensions and wills.

If you have a private, or company pension you should speak to the trustees of the pension regarding your wishes after death. It is normally advised that your pension shall be controlled by a "Statement of Wishes" not a will - Writing your pension into your will can cause problems with, among other things 'Taxes' and 'Legal Fees' . Talk to your pension trustees about this, you could save your family a fortune - or conversly spend a fortune by not sorting this out.

Taxin relaxing laws on foreigner property ownership.

Have you been mixing the cough mixture with the cooking brandy again?

Pigs will fly first - Taxin is a "Nationalist", he manipulates Thai fears of foreigners to maintain control of power, he is not about to start helping foreigners buy up Thailand - NO THAI POLITICIAN IS.

And I'd avoid discussing the point if I where you on the off chance Taxin calls by this way. If ever the idea of modifying laws relating to foreigners and property does enter his head, it is extremely unlikely that it would be good for foreigners.... He might, for example, start a special tax code for front companies that hold land/property for foreigners....

You might well wind up renting your house of the Thai taxman..

Understanding the teachings of the Lord Buddha or any other religious works: following their teachings to the letter is not much use if you know nothing of stress engineering and you want to design aircraft.

I have no problem at all telling anyone "I DO NOT LEND MONEY". I say this right up front as soon as the subject is brought up.

But here's a caution. A neighbour of mine nearly lost everything he had when he discovered to his horror that his wife had stood as guarantor for her sister and her brother-in-law.

They borrowed money, my neighbour's wife singed the credit with her and her husband's house as collateral and the rest was a sorry tale of having to pay off someone else’s loans and a huge set of legal/bank charges.

So it is not just a matter of do not lend money, far more important is...

NEVER STAND AS GUARANTOR FOR ANYONE.

and make sure your wife doesn’t either.

Lending money puts the money at risk, perhaps a risk you are willing to take, but standing as Guarantor puts everything at risk... something many people seem to not understand. And something Thais don't always consider when 'Helping the family'.

"Start up and Stay Up in Thailand" by Roy Tomzawa is a good start, it gives a view derived from people who have made a sucess of business in Thailand, often after falling foul of a few traps.

I'd take a close look at the premiums and the payback if I were you. Most Thai insurance is pretty low payout compared with similar premiums from, say the UK.

Correct, he'll be put in a special animal hold, complete with air conditioning, sound insulation but no trolly dollies.

what else did we lose under thaksin?

Your sense of what matters in life, or so it would seem.

dont change anything, maybe just provide 1 way tickets to all foregners that bitch and moan about this and that isnt good enough and bitch all day how stupid thai's are.

Get those <deleted> out of there, why live in a place that you hate??

It seem you have a few 'issues' here.

I think there are a few other misconceptions about education that deserve clarification.

Firstly Employer Choice, formal higher education has been widely available and taken up in most western nations for at least one generation. It is the norm nowadays that applicants for any professional position, and for a good many non professional posts, will have at least a degree AND experience.

Secondly education no longer stops once a job is found. A significant number of the staff in the people in the office I work (including myself) have recently completed or are currently studying for masters degrees/post graduate diplomas or professional qualifications. People in their 50s are studying part time, people in their twenties are coming out of professional training and going straight back into studies. Education is continuous and parallel with experience.

Experience is valuable, always will be valuable, but for many jobs in today’s economy it is no longer enough.

I believe you're opening was directed at me, GH

No, sorry it was not.

As for experience.

I went to University at the age of 27, having completed a four year technical apprenticeship and five years of work experience.

I entered university thinking that it was going to provide me with the missing qualification and that with my life experience the studies were going to be a doddle.

I recall very well thinking to myself I'm in a room full of kids, when I looked around at my class mates, the majority being 18 years old.

I very quickly learned the difference between 'Training/Experience and Education'.

I just as quickly learned to respect the ability of my younger class mates, they exhibited a flexibility of mind and thinking that was at first remarkable and secondly inspiring.

I've done both, I value both, and if I had to choose I'd say education first, experience later.

I think it is telling that many people who lack a formal education beyond high school and who then argue that education is overrated, do so in terms of work, pay and promotion. This, to me, demonstrates the misunderstanding they have of the value of education.

For me, University was an opportunity to meet and mingle with a lot of very bright people with a lot of very different and interesting ideas.

Now you might say you can do that away from education, I disagree. University offers a high density of people with ideas and discussion on those ideas.

Central to this is the learning how to research and analyze ideas.

Yeh, the university of life will teach you lots, it teaches everyone lots – Including people who have already got a formal education.

The reason education matters, is because it does make a difference, a young person can, if they take advantage of what is to be learned in university, gain insight and a real step up in they way they look at the world and understand its workings.

They then go into world to get that self same “EXPERIENCE” that everyone else gets, but with the right tools to make more of it, should they so wish.

I'm an engineer, I have formal education in engineering, but I also studied History and Politics to degree level - I did so because I wanted the tools to understand and the most reliable way to get them is through education. Much of the lessons experience offer are in truth 'practice' and at worst 'predjudice'.

It is probably a good idea to take claims of educational levels, like claims of salary levels and claims of amounts made on the stock exchange with a large pinch of salt.

As for the value of education, well we can debate it, people without formal educational qualifications are perhaps more ready to cast doubt on the value of education.

But I look at this way, looking forward at 18 years old education is a must, looking back from say 40 years old, education may seem to have been a waste of time.

But when making the decision for others, in particular my own children, I shall encourage them and support them in getting the best education they can.

It's about a lot more than the financial rewards education might bring.

So, he resigns when he gest caught out, rather than resigning when he makes the decision not to do the job for which he was elected - having put himself up for election.

Australia is better off without him.

There needs to be an attitude change and that will only come about when Thais start to openly discuss this issue. As in the west, it would be a great help if a few well known women were to stand up and champion the cause, go on TV, in the Press and talk about how they have had their tests and why they think it is important - Role Model for the rest of Thai women.

As it is they are too busey promoting vaccuous life styles and trying to keep themselves in the public eye for equally vaccuous reasons.

When my UK ATM card was 'swallowed' by a machine at the Kasikorn Bank, I asked for it to be returned, they told me that bank regulations do not allow this and that it must be returned to the UK issuing bank.

I got a receipt, faxed the receipt to my UK bank and received a replacement card within the week.

No strutting around the bank upsetting the staff, no demanding hassle. Simple good manners and following procedure.

There is more to Karma that what happens to you.

At some time we all need to experience Thailand in our own way, have the freedom to come and go as we please, eat where and when we want, take off and explore.

If that doesn't happen or is being prevented from happening because of Thai friends/family 'taking care of everything', then at some time you'll become totally dependent on them, hopelessly lost if someone else is not sorting your life out.

Make time for friends and family, keep the rest of your time for yourself.

It seems to me two things are going on.

Firstly who are these 'Friends' and who invites them along. If it is your Thai G/F then you are witnessing her using your money to benefit friends - She's currying favour (pun intended) with your cash.

Secondly, the failure to thank you, is simply ill manners, and it has nothing to do with the background of the Thais, it is to do with how they are viewing you. Everything in Thai society is based on 'relationships/class - actual and perceived'. This treatment and lack of manners is a window into how they perceive you.

I have seen exqusite manners from Thais of all backgrounds under similar circumstances where someone is treating them to a meal.

What you are witnessing is your g/f freeloading on you and inviting people she wants to keep favour with to the trough.

This is an example, pretty depressing really given that general price inflation is around 7%

Kasikorn Bank Intrest Rates

Best Supermarkets have a surprisingly good selection of red wines, but as elsewhere in Thailand, the prices are outrageous. If you can get a trip to Laos there are some bargains to be hand.

As I'm in Rome right now I feel rather spoiled, I can pick up fabulous wines from the wine store right next to the exit from our courtyard. 8 Euros gets something to die for.

Since I spend all my time on assignments overseas, usually one or two years in each country, the only improvement I would bring from Thailand to any of these places is my Thai wife, I do take her with me would not travel without her.

Great quick thinking by the taxi driver.

He should be aquitted on the basis of self defense.

If you could import one law from back home into Thailnd (complete with it's enforcement)

Or one social attitude from back home and instill it seemlessly into Thais

What would you choose and why?

Here we go again...

I did a SWIFT transfer from my Italian bank yesterday.. the charge E12 (GBP8.00).... From what is said above, once again... Rip-off Britain