LordHawHaw

One should be very skeptical about comparisons between official divorce rates for Thailand and for the USA, IMHO.

We don't know how many Thai marriages are not officially registered, and we don't know how many of those fall apart.  We also don't know how many officially registered Thai marriages have in fact fallen apart but NOT ended with official divorce.  

What the INS statistics seem to imply -- if you are a bit of a cynic -- is that Thai females marry, go overseas, establish residence, and then kiss their husbands off.  That does happen, but we don't know how often.  We can argue forever about whether it is a cultural pattern.  (I believe it is.)

There are lots of anecdotes out there, but in the final analysis they tell us only that the range of possibilities is wide.  

The wise man plans for the worst and enjoys the best while he has it.

There are many posts on this site about romantic relationships between Thais and farang.  Perhaps there is something to be learned from a reading of all of them...or then again, perhaps each of us has to make his own mistakes!

Back to basics.

1.  What the original poster needs is real legal advice.  He should seek out a good Thai lawyer.  I would begin by asking Thai friends who are in the business world for referrals.

2.  A lot of the advice in these postings strikes me as extremely speculative and without legal merit.

3.  Whatever anyone's motives may be for marriage, the fact is that over time, people do change.  Divorce or at least a loss of marital harmony is a fact of life.  Realize that, and plan for the worst.

4.  Finally, and this is a bit off topic, I seriously doubt that D80 is either a Thai or a female.

Maybe try Kinokuniya (one floor up from the Skytrain entrance of the Emporium complex on Sukhumwit) or Asia Books (same complex, same floor)?  

It might help to have the ISBN numbers, which ought to be on the `net.  Kinokuniya will order books for you.  No discounts on orders.  Good luck.

A strong second to all of Pnustedt's suggestions, if I may.

The more you know about mom, the easier will be your choice of gift, so tell daughter you want to do something that mom will like.  That should lead to a win-win solution.

OK, got it.  I'm not sure about price, but a window unit ought to be about the same price as the unit you describe -- I think.

The problem, IMHO, is that exhaust pipe.  Yes, it's needed.  But I can't recall ever seeing a unit such as you describe; if they exist, they would have to have rather large ducts to carry away the hot air.  Reason: imagine the difference between blowing through a straw and blowing through a tube several inches in diameter.  A larger tube reduces the back pressure and increases the air flow, while a much smaller one literally chokes things.  So your unit would have to have a very large pipe for an exhaust.  We are getting into the realm of the impractical pretty quickly here.

If such units exist, and they may, I would start looking at Lotus  and Carrefour, and then try Central and the upper level of the Emporium complex.  (The latter is at the Phrom Phong station on the Skytrain.)  I believe you will find the best selection overall in those places, so your chances are better.  Smaller outlets?  Sorry, I don't know.  Maybe try Mabunkhrong (which I probably did not spell correctly), at the National Stadium end of the Silom line of the Skytrain -- even though that could be a daunting experience rather like the needle-in-the-haystack search.  

My guess: a small window unit that you move from window to window might be your only recourse.  A bit of a chore, though.

"Swamp coolers" are called that because they add humidity to the air, so the indoors can take on a swampy quality.  Mold, bacteria, dust and other contaminants in the machine can add the aroma of a swamp, as well.  Delightful.  They work best in the (very!) arid desert.  You seldom see them used here because they can turn a room into a sauna.  As for the ice, well, consider that you cannot add cold, according to what the physicists tell us.  You can only move heat.  (See note below if this seems goofy.)  So a block of ice will absorb heat, melt, and leave the room more humid and not one calorie cooler.  Its only benefit: some of the heat in the air is trapped in the water -- but that's temporary, as it is free to recirculate!  You have to move the heat OUT somehow, and a true AC unit does that.

Sorry I can't send you to exactly the right store.  Maybe someone else knows the best place to shop, and will post its location.

Note: so it sounds as if I am saying that when you put ice cubes into room temperature water, you do not cool the water, right?  "Adding cold" is in fact impossible, but it sure looks as if you can do it, I agree.  What happens is you redistribute the heat that is in the water by allowing it to flow into additional mass.  You do not decrease the quantity of the heat in the glass one bit, not even a single tiny calorie, when you add ice -- you spread that heat into a larger mass.  Think of it as thinning the heat out by giving it a chance to move into new territory; the water loses heat to the melting ice, which becomes warmer.  The more ice, the lower the temperature falls, because you have added a lot of mass to the mix.  (Temperature is not a measure of the quantity of heat present.  It is a measure of how high the existing heat is.  Calories tell us how much total heat -- energy -- is present.)   No heat leaves the glass.  This is a bit counter-intuitive, eh?

May I pin you down a little bit?

Are you planning on putting a true AC (refrigeration unit) on a rolling table, and moving it from place to place in your home/office?

Are you looking for what we in my home nation call a "swamp cooler," one of these things that is basically a fan in a box with a kind of wick or sponge that is soaked with water and through which the fan blows?

To answer your question, maybe, I think I recall seeing a number of units in Central.  Maybe they have something that will meet your needs.

Comment: both of the options I mention above have serious drawbacks.  Maybe you want a small window-mount AC unit that you can, in theory at least, move from window to window as needed?

Bad disease.  When in doubt, seek medical advice.  Don't be afraid to go back for more the next day!

Case in point: a Thai boy I knew, about three-four years old, had fever and flu symptoms.  Boy, was this poor little tyke sick!  I took him and his mom to Bumrungrad Hospital, the kid was seen, given pills, and sent home.  Diagnosis: "flu."  He got sicker.  The next day, his mother, without my knowledge, took the boy to a little clinic somewhere, and the doc there scraped the boy's arm sharply and showed mom how the blood was literally bursting out of the capillaries.  Ugh.  More pills, and then home, where the kid was really, really sick for a couple of days.  It was horrible watching him suffer!

I was outraged and stormed into Bumrungrad wanting to know what the hel_l they thought they were doing, why their expensive care was so useless, etc etc.  They would not meet with me face to face, but put a physician on the telephone to me (!) who told me that hemorrhagic fever is hard to diagnose, and yes, it could be that one day in the progress of the disease would make the difference between knowing it was Bad and thinking it was just flu.

What does a layman say to that?

Moral of the story: boy, does this disease ever make you sick, and you better keep after the doctors if you think you have it so you get the right treatment.  Don't be shy about going back!!

Oh, yeah, one other moral: if you get mad at the Thais, they don't want to be in the same room with you.

What follows is based on my personal experience, so don't take it as comprehensive.

My view: "luck," good or bad, has nothing to do with it.

1.  If you receive mail from overseas, AND if you live in the general Sukhumwit corridor, the chance that even a regular letter will reach you is about 15 to 25%.  Parcels, journals, magazines, anything that looks as if it MIGHT contain something interesting or possibly valuable have no real chance of survival.  Unless you do some sort of a test -- which I have -- you won't know about letters you never got, so you may believe that you are having better "luck" than you actually are.  The facts are grim, and probably worse than you realize.

2.  Mail from within Thailand has a better chance of reaching those who live in the Sukhumwit corridor than does mail from overseas.

3.  Wherever you live, journals and magazines are highly unlikely to get to you from overseas.  Maledicta, a journal I enjoy, has stopped shipping to Thailand because of the high losses.  

4.  Asking overseas correspondents to register letters is a total waste of money.  Their chances of getting through are no better: this "everyone who passes it on must sign for it, therefore it won't be stolen" line is just that, a line.  Don't believe it.

5.  Wherever you live, it is a bad idea to try to send small items out of the country in an envelope.  I don't know about parcels, but a friend shipped a lot of stuff via DHL from Bangkok to an overseas destination, and it worked beautifully.  UPS, by the way, will deliver letters within Bangkok, but outside that area, it puts them in the regular Thai postal system and they take their chances.    

My experience with outgoing mail from Bangkok is limited -- but it seems irrational to expect that letters headed overseas are not subject to hasty inspection by the thieves.  I had good results with ordinary letters mailed from a northeastern province, and equally good results when I lived outside the Sukhumwit area -- BUT, and here is the important qualifier, any hint that the letter contained more than a couple of sheets of paper put the message at serious risk.

I have no information about the reliability of the EMS service.

Overall: for letters -- simple, ordinary letters -- I think your chances of getting them out of Thailand and of receiving them from overseas depend mostly on where you are located.    

Your mileage may vary.  

I tell friends overseas NOT to send me snail mail.  E-mail is the best (if not the only!) way for them to contact me, IMHO.

Can't resist.....

Once years ago in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, I checked into a decent hotel and was happily showering when I opened the second door of the shower, wondering why there were two of them...and almost fainted.  Yes, I was looking out a totally unprotected, full-length sliding (translucent) glass door....with a plunge of many stories a step away.

Here in Bangkok, I used to live in a small place that had a balcony.  Tiny people, four and three years old, were visiting.  It soon became obvious that the youngest, a boy brimming with a premature case of hypertestosteroneism (yes, I made that word up), was not afraid of heights, and fitted easily between the safety rails.  (Not allowed by the building codes in my home nation!)  I went immediately into Super Nanny mode.  The poor kid was upset that I would not let him approach the railing from then on....

My casualties so far: one expensive shirt, carried away on a gust as it was drying, and a pair of nail clippers (I'm clumsy).  Everything else that has taken the great leap was thrown.....

Your stories eagerly awaited.

As for how the older man got the younger girl....gee, you don't read this forum completely, do you??

My first reaction was to want to know why the moderator deleted the name of the outfit you are looking for, as I take "TEFL" to be a generic term, and not a specific school.  Was I wrong, and is "TEFL Institute" the name?

Maybe you could try again, and give us the URL in the text of your message (if there is not a rule against that, too), or better still, make sure we are clear on the exact name of the school you are asking about.

BTW my limited experience with schools here tells me that things could be a bit better.  I asked a rep at BCC whether his course showed us how to teach based on the traditional model (paradigms, explanations, exercises) or the assumption that language is learned the same way by humans of all ages (inductive formation of speech habits based on repeated examples, less or no reliance on grammar charts and the like), and his non-response was that graduates of BCC teach in a "student-centered" fashion.  I did not enroll.  There may be a good institute out there, for all I know.  Others can help you, I suspect, so please try again.

This has never happened to me, but your post brought a grin.  Thanks!

May I add a few comments?

I just LOVE.....

...standing in full view of several clerks, all of whom find ways to avoid seeing me when I am perhaps five feet from them, looking right at them with raised eyebrows (expectant mode).  Unfortunately, I usually use these circumstances as opportunities to try to break the record I have already established for the longest time spent waiting quietly to be noticed so I can give the store some money.  Instead of doing the reasonable thing, in other words, I remain silent and still, occasionally looking at my watch.  Bad idea.  You can get old and frustrated that way.  The Thai IGNORE gene is dominant.

...being waited on by someone who knows absolutely nothing whatsoever about what is on the shelf, or what particular item I might need...and has no suggestions about where I might find it, as well as no motivation to see whether there might be something in stock that I would buy.  Well, that happens elsewhere, too.  I was in this store in London, see, and....oh, never mind.

...being told on the telephone that a line (a specific brand name) is in stock, and arriving after a long trip to find that I am viewed as totally loony because I ask about the brand I want.  You know the "When WILL this Bozo go away and leave us in peace?" look.

...being sold a water filter, complete with paper filter insert, and then finding that not only does the store NOT stock replacement filters (yes, they clog up with dirt, and you have to replace them, so there is a market for the product), but they darn sure are NOT going to order them for me, and they think I'm completely crazy for asking!  (Three cheers for good ol' Makro.  I never did check to see whether they also market razors but no blades, fountain pens but no ink, etc, etc....)

Well, almost all the time shopping in Thailand is a pleasure -- an interesting and even enjoyable experience.  I suggest that if Robinson's provides the Keystone Kops service described above by Luna, Central is always ready to take our money, and very efficiently, too!

BTW am I alone in thinking that Lotus manages to make check-out into an ordeal, while the tiny mom-and-pop stores make it actually fun?  (I like to have a laugh with the locals, and they always get a kick out of my version of their language.)  What a pity that Lotus has forced smaller, nicer, friendlier outfits like Food Lion to close their doors.  It seems to me that no one who works in Lotus enjoys the experience....  Anyone agree/disagree?

What a magnetic topic!  Everybody has an opinion...

Briefly:

1.  Suicide was mentioned.  Female suicide, whether merely threatened, attempted or successful, is a relatively common phenomenon in Thailand.  I suspect Thai culture is responsible for this pattern.  Take the girl out of the country, and she's still a Thai.

2.  The fact is that Thai females are far more likely to expect their (presumably wealthy) husbands to support their extended families than are females from a Western European culture.  This is a clear pattern.  

3.  Exceptions exist.  There are always exceptions.  That does not change the fact that the patterns describe the behavior of most, or many, of the people who share a culture.  Citing several exceptions does not refute the pattern.  A cultural pattern need not describe the behavior of most of the people -- it can be an accurate way of understanding an aspect of the culture, as long as it is qualified with such phrases as, "A large minority...."

4.  We talk a lot about bar girls as if they were somehow distinct from girls who do not work in bars.  Yes, working in a bar probably does change a girl, and yes, those who gravitate to the work probably are predisposed to it by temperament, to some degree.  But there is one underlying fact: many of the behaviors of Thai bar girls are Thai behaviors, period.  How many?  My guess is most, and very probably all the significant behaviors.  I feel that Thai bar girls are Thai girls, and that it would be very hard to make the case that they are genuinely distinct in attitude, values, opinions, responses from Thai girls who do not work in bars.  Yes, we could debate this, but it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to bring genuine evidence to bear on the topic.  (By genuine, I mean non-anecdotal.)

5.  The influence of Buddhism and Buddhist thought on Thai culture is often overstated.  Thai religious practice is composed of three elements: animism, Brahmanism (Hinduism), and Buddhism.  It makes about as much sense to talk of Thai culture being essentially Buddhist as it does to insist that Thai culture is essentially animist.  Much of what Thais believe literally contradicts the teachings of the founder of Buddhism; how pervasive Buddhist thought is in Thai culture is another topic that could be debated to little effect.  I don't want to get into that trap, but it is safe to say that when we attribute Thai attitudes to Buddhism, we often exaggerate, overlook, and misunderstand.  All predominantly Buddhist nations are not alike.  Much of the patience and serenity we Westerners THINK we see is not what it appears (it can be just tightly-gritted teeth and a silent vow to get even), and where patience and serenity actually exist in Thailand, they may or may not be due to Buddhist influence.  This is a complex subject that has often been dismissed with a simple answer.  No, I won't be drawn on the issue!

6.  Everyone has an opinion that expresses genuine experience, reflects sincerely-held values, and makes a certain amount of sense.  Read them all to get a view of the complexity of the subject!

Sorry to be so tardy...but perhaps others will benefit from this response.

Songkhla has a long, clean, safe beach, very nice surroundings, and a decent hotel can be had for about 400 baht.  Beautiful trees, great seafood.  No place is perfect, and the beachfront hotels are expensive, but grab a "taxi" from your inland hotel (try the Royal Crown, the locals will know where it is, I think) and walk along the endless beach at sunset.  Pattaya is nothing like this!

Further on how to study Thai:

1.  Caughtintheact's tips are 100% correct.  Especially the idea about learning how to read Thai.  Writing it is a bit harder, but sounding out words that are spelled in Thai characters is very helpful.  Don't be scared of the huge, odd alphabet.

2.  Getting a Thai BF is no way to learn Thai.  Right again!

3.  As you go, repeat, repeat, repeat, and then do it all over again.  Endless repetition is the only way to put the words where you need them: on the tip of your brain.  Intense, brief study just before you go to sleep fixes data more firmly in your memory.  Use flash cards (Thai on one side, English on the other) to test yourself; as you learn words/phrases well, you can throw the old cards away and concentrate on the newer and more difficult ones.  Flash cards allow you to practice while waiting for buses, food, etc.  A small tape recorder can help you: make a tape in which you say the English first, pause several seconds, and then say the Thai.  Set the tape aside for a day or two, and then use it as a test: after the English, supply the Thai, and wait for the correct answer.  

4.  The book caughtintheact suggests is a classic, but my version of it contains some errors in English, and I did find that the entry for "to go" is the Thai word for "German."  I have to assume that the sloppy presentation of the English indicates errors in the Thai, as well.

5.  Tones are the hardest part of Thai.  When getting help from a local, beware of total confusion: your helper will repeat the words in more or less random sequence, and you can quickly lose track of which tone is being produced, so you are not learning anything.  Suggestion: write the word pairs or triplets or quintuplets down in Thai, and ask your informant to say only the word to which you point.  That way, you can focus on the tone without losing track.

6.  More on tones: this will take some work, but go through whatever text you have and make a flow chart to guide you in understanding from the written Thai which tone is indicated.  Start with the three classes of consonants (don't get confused into thinking that their names in any way refer to the tones!), add the diacritics (those little gizmos that go above the line) so you know how the tones are modified when the diacritics are present, and add the letter H, which also shifts the tone.  Your resulting flow chart should then conclude with information on the role of abrupt endings and long and short, open vowels.  It will all fit on a single page, and can help you read Thai correctly, so you will know the exact tone each word has.  Unless the Thai word is not spelled correctly!  It took me quite a while to figure out my own flow chart for tones, but you ought to be able to do it much faster now that you have the idea.  If you want more specifics, send me a personal message and I'll be more descriptive, or mail you a copy of what I managed to put together.

7.  Never assume that your Thai source for a new word is pronouncing it coprrectly, or is spelling it correctly.  Write it down in your little notebook, and then check it in your best dictionary.  You will get the occasional surprise!

8.  You are not a "falang," the weather is not "lawn," and "what" is not "alai."  Thais are fond of putting an L sound in where it simply does not belong, and in spite of this widespread usage, the fact is there IS a perfectly good R sound in Thai, and it needs to be used.  Use it.  Just because some Thais, or even most Thais, make errors in their own language is no excuse for you to follow suit.  Be precise, be accurate, show respect for the language you are learning.

9.  Multiple systems for writing Thai words in the Roman alphabet are a disaster.  What, for example, is a "chang lek"?  A small elephant, or an iron worker?  And what, exactly, is a "klong"?  A canal, a box, or a camera?  Why oh why does anybody use the "g" as an initial consonant with the initial sound of "k" in English "keep, key" or "c" in "control"?  Why use the entirely unnecessary "kh"?  I have no answers.  So formulate your own way of writing Thai in the Roman alphabet, and discard that technique as soon as you can, namely, as soon as you can write in Thai and read what you wrote.

10.  Beware the "help" available in the news media.  I was stunned to read not too long ago in a local paper that "The Thai language requires a vowel between all consonants."  This is pure rubbish, as I reminded the author of this "advice" in a message that provided numerous examples that show that his "rule" is totally incorrect.  Be skeptical, check what you are told, never assume.  And that includes what I have written here!

Good luck.

Some years ago I took a course at the Union school, which is cheek-by-jowl with Patpong.  At least it was then.  Try calling 02 233 4482.  If they have not moved, they are still in the CCT Tower on Suriwongse.  I won't speculate on their prices now, but they won't be cheap and there are NO refunds, so be sure before you commit.

Union is known, more or less, for training missionaries.  They also have something of a nasty reputation in some circles for being domineering and strict.  My experience was that the classes were overly difficult, and I puzzled over how it was that I was just getting by even though my every waking moment was dominated by study and classwork, while others in my class seemed to be doing just fine.  The nasty little secret: a lot of repeats!  People fail and return to do the course again.  The teacher winds up teaching to the best students, which is rough on the rank beginners.

I also have reservations about the teaching techniques.  But some students loved the course, so my opinions are not important to you.  (If you want specifics, I'll supply them, though.  Just ask.)

If you visit AUA on Ratchadamri (02 252 8170) you will be able to sit in on a class to see how they do things.  I don't think Union allows that!  My choice of Union over AUA was made on the basis of the teaching techniques used at the time.  AUA refused to let students speak, or try to speak, Thai for over a year, during which they simply built comprehension.  An unusual idea, based on the first year of life of a child, and therefore, IMHO, unsound.  Age-appropriate instruction is a better idea, as I see it.

Unfortunately I cannot suggest either of these schools unreservedly.

Union will motivate you, I believe -- it motivated me because I was terrorized by the classes and did not want to waste my nonrefundable tuition!  That's hardly a recommendation, though.  AUA struck me as downright goofy, and the class I sat in on, though it was the first session of an introductory course, left me totally confused and pessimistic.  

Sorry to be so unhelpful.  Go and check out both places for yourself.  It has been a while, so maybe things are better now at both of them!

BTW. there are some truths you cannot avoid in your search for help with Thai:

1.  Just being a native speaker does NOT qualify anyone to teach his language.  Not at all!  This is true for English, as well -- being a language teacher requires training and dedication.  

2.  You need someone who knows what it is to teach Westerners to cope with those five tones.  And the tenses in Thai are a puzzle that requires a good teacher.

3.  Motivation can be helped by a class or a teacher, but ultimately it comes from within you.

4.  Thai is not easy for Westerners, and the older you are, the harder it is.  You will forever speak with a thick accent.

5.  Lots of "schools" exist.  Some of them must be good!  Ask whether you are permitted to sit in on a class before you pay your money.

Sorry to be snotty about it, but "Who are you, to demand to see my passport/work permit?" is NOT the correct response.

As I said, you never know who is asking.  In this case, the fellow was arrogant and pushy and cocksure enough to walk up to a stranger and start throwing his weight around.  How many Thais behave like that??

Answer: the ones who have clout.  Everybody else is polite and nice and deferential and could not care less about a stranger's passport or legal status.

Not even the thugs and pickpockets here act like folks who have political power.  And telling someone to hand over his ID is the act of a politically powerful person.  Sure, he could be bluffing, but do you want to risk it?  He is already ticked off for some reason, remember, so why in the world do you want to antagonize the fellow still more?

As my sainted momma used to tell me, "Sonny, it's not what you know, it's who you know."  I think she knew something about how most of the world works, and that sure includes Thailand.  As soon as you give the wrong fellow trouble, you risk getting trouble back, right in your teeth, ten times over.  So he's not a cop.  So what?  His brother is a cop, or a guy he knows is a cop, and that is what makes things happen here: connections.  People who owe you favors.  

Remember that empty lot on Sukhumwit that used to be jammed with small businesses, the ones that were literally torn to shreds one night?  Connections did that.  Remember all the....but you know the stories.  Things happen, all sorts of things, because people know and make use of connections to "influential figures."  Do you want to take a chance that the guy you talk back to is not an "influential figure," or does not know one who owes him a favor?  Again, most Thais are very polite all the time, so what does it mean if you run across one who acts as if he owns the section of town you are in?  It means he probably owns the section of town you are in, and he owns the police there, too.  

Discretion is the better part of valor, especially when you are not on your home turf.  IMHO.  Take your chances if you want.....I'm not trying to be argumentive, I'm trying to pass along good advice.  My momma had good advice for me, quoted above.  And it was my daddy who told me, "Son, never get into a spray with a skunk."

I see you did not get any replies to your list of complaints, until I came along.

Your objections to life here, and to the policies of the police and government, are not unique.  Variations on your theme appear in the English-language newspapers daily.  We all know the story.

This is not your (or my) home country.  We don't vote here.  We are guests.

You would do well to keep those things in mind.  And when you no longer feel welcome here, leave.  From wherever you are, launch whatever crusade you want to correct the wrongs you perceive; lecture, scold, demand, protest and in general be as noisy as you want.  As is your right.

Until you leave and begin your activist's career, you are, however, a GUEST here.

Oh, let me tell you a little story: an expat I know here has long years in Thailand, and knows the ropes.  He told me that one day he was in a restaurant, chatting with the locals, when a Thai at another table took an interest in him.  The interest was NOT friendly, as was obvious from facial expressions and body language.  Finally the unhappy Thai got up, walked over to my friend's table, interrupted the conversation, and said, "You got a work permit?"  "Yes," my friend said.  "Lemme see it."  My friend hauled out his passport (always carried!), and handed it over without a word.  The Thai examined it carefully, and then with a snort of contempt tossed it back on the table (very rude not to hand it back).  And walked away.

The moral of the story: we are GUESTS here.  When asked, we answer.  You never know who is asking.

If you don't get the point now, you may at some time in the future.

The quick answer to your question is Yes.

You will find that the cost of things here is probably not quite the same as what you are used to, and that depends, of course, on two basic factors:

Where you are from, and

How you travel and where you stay when you travel.

You don't say anything about either, so specific information is hard to provide.

Generally, my observations about costs here are as follows, and you should keep in mind that I am reacting to my personal perception of expenses in the USA:

Food is cheap, travel is inexpensive, lodgings are inexpensive to reasonable, cars are expensive, TV's, stereos, most home appliances are expensive.

That is a very quick and very subjective survey, with lots of things to irritate the nit-pickers.  Cars, for example, are not expensive here if you buy a pickup truck, but I would not want a Thai pickup any more than I would want a lobotomy.  Imports generally are expensive, and luxury imports are outrageous (decide on what you want and then go to Hong Kong to buy it, if you want luxury goods).  Medical care, even the most expensive, is laughably inexpensive here.  

How you travel determines what you pay, as always.  Buses are cheap, absurdly so; I hate them, so they don't often figure in my plans.  The trains are better, if slower, but they don't go very many places.  Air travel is not cheap, but then distances are not great, so you will be able to afford to make the occasional flight.  Hotels can be really inexpensive, and even the pretty good ones are my idea of a good value.

From your location, you can get to Bangkok cheaply, and by train from there to Chiang Mai and Hat Yai without breaking the bank.  Second class is the hot tip for those on a budget.  Short travel distances mean buses, so try to get the first class of service, and hope for the best (my prejudices are showing).  Sometimes you can hire a car and driver for a day in an interesting area without feeling too much economic pain.  

Buses: a lot depends on how young you are, whether you are able to sit in a cramped seat on a bus with no toilet for prolonged periods, how patient and tolerant you are, and so on.  Thais are smaller than Europeans, or at least the folks who design trucks and buses think they are, so a lot of seats are not generous.  Wow.  The lower the class of service, the more the pain, which is a rule that is often but not always true.  Personally I don't view travel as a requisite character-builder at this point in my life -- I'm not a work in progress any more -- so I pay the small surcharge for the best class of service available, and hope to get my money's worth.  Sometimes I do.  

There are so many variables in your question that I'm not surprised that I'm the only one foolish enough to try to answer it!  Over time you will get a feel for things, as you try your wings.  So yes, you will be able to travel in Thailand on your budget, and pretty comfortably, I'll bet.  Your greatest problem may well be that you don't have enough time to do what you want, while your funds are adequate for most moderate purposes.

Prices may not be all that attractive for used gear!  By all means have a look at the new stuff, see whether you want to pay the premium for a warranty, etc.  BTW the Sony people here are very good at warranty and non-warranty repairs, so that may be worth the higher cost to some folks.  

For new stuff, the tip is that all the good brands, such as Sony, Panasonic, Philips (and as opposed to the "Where's this thing made??" brands) are the same price, whether you buy them from a simple shop or a fancy mall.

Refrigerators are not very expensive new, IMHO.  Have fun.

Back to (expensive) Bumrungrad!  Did you go there?  I thought I saw electric scooters there; I could be wrong.  Did you ask them where to buy the mobility scooter?  I expect they may know.  

How about asking physicians who have patients who require scooters?  Maybe you can do this via e-mail.  Look up hospitals (such as, here I go again, Bumrungrad), send a message to the patient services people there, ask for help.  If ignored, ask again.

No, I don't get kickbacks from Bumrungrad, and yes, it is an expensive hospital, as hospitals here go.  Still, I think they have just about everything, or should be able to point you in the right direction.

Tons of questions, few answers, I see.

Visa: a friend from South Africa lives in the south, goes every month to the Malaysian border and comes right back.  He's a 30 day tourist, period.  Lives in a house he and his girlfriend bought.  He has done this for years and there is no end in sight.

A work permit is not easy if you want to work in a pub!  You have to invest in a Thai business, which can be arranged (boy, can it ever!).  I was advised seriously by a local man who is experienced in such things NOT to do it, as it means you incur liabilities that do not exist under US corporation law.  I suspect Irish law is similar to US law as regards liabilities.  Be careful.  You are in a nation that has no tradition of common law and takes a paranoid and predatory view of foreigners.

Marriage here can get you a Non-Immigrant "O" visa.  That may be helpful.  You must register at an Amphur (spelling?) office to make the marriage legal.  I am informed that your wife may now own land, which is a new development that I am not sure I believe to be true.  Keep in mind that some farang registering marriage officially have in past years reported serious foot-dragging at some offices, and that you may register at any office in Thailand, regardless of where you were married.  If stonewalled, go elsewhere.

Seriously suggested: read ALL the other posts regarding marriage, girl friends, dowry, and so on that you will find on this site.

Second very serious suggestion: go back to the above sentence and READ IT AGAIN.

In view of your financial circumstances, your best bet is to stay until the money runs out, have a good time, enjoy life with your enjoyable girlfriend, and then go home, where you can make a living.  IMHO.  You can always save up, come back, get another enjoyable girlfriend, and so on....and on.

In general, I think most experienced farang here would advise you to go slowly, keep your money in YOUR hands, be aware of the fact that you are viewed here as very wealthy and that you will come under pressure to be generous, and try to establish candid communication with your girlfriend.

A prolonged stay and even Thai residence are possible, but certainly easiest for those whose financial resources are, frankly, greater than yours as you describe them.  Personally, I would not attempt to get any papers or status that are obtained through the use of "tea money," as that merely leaves one vulnerable to extortion.

Good luck.

There's a second-hand store in Phra Khanong.  Here's how to find it:

Get on the Skytrain, Sukhumwit line, and head toward the On Nut end (unless, of course, you get on at On Nut).  The Phra Khanong station is the last one just before you get to the end of the line at On Nut.  Get off the Skytrain at Phra Khanong on the odd-numbered side of the street.  (That is, sois on one side of Sukhumwit are all even-numbered, on the other odd-numbered.  If you are headed toward On Nut on the Skytrain, the odd-numbered side will be on your left.)

Leave the train station at Phra Khanong and walk back toward the Mor Chit end of the line (that is, in the direction from which you came).  Within a few meters of the station, you will see on your right a store selling ovens, kitchen equipment and so on; it has "Smeg" on its signs.  Walk to the entrance to the parking lot that serves this store -- the entrance is right next to the store -- and turn right.  Walk past the store and the now empty Food Lion building, and when you come to the corner of the building, make a 45 degree turn to your right.  Just ahead you will see another row of shops.  The first one is a beauty salon, and right next to it is the second-hand store.

The store has TV's, DVD/VCD players, computers, a Xerox machine or two, some cameras, stereos, printers, and a few other things.  Sorry, I don't recall refrigerators!  But then I'm not interested in them, so maybe I just ignored them.

I can't advise you on prices.  Sometimes this store seems a bit high on some of its items, I would say.  At least this will give you a benchmark.

Maybe there is something in the weekend market area, out near the Mor Chit end of the Skytrain??

Agreed!  "Seven percent of the people in western Europe wear shoes."  That's a fact; there is, however, another 90+% who also wear shoes....

IMHO the Thai newsstands and bookstores could not exist if this statistic were true in Bangkok.  Lots of newspapers here, tons of magazines.

So, as a guess, I would say the statistic deals only with the millions of rural folks who have no or limited access to magazines, books, and newspapers, and have little use for them in their daily lives.  That would make it a dishonest statistic, or at best inaccurately reported.  

I'm very skeptical of the accuracy of the claim.  There is too much we don't know about how it was researched and calculated.