Chaam local

I live nearby and yes it's still up and running. I've just been there once for dinner (not into fishing at all). It's open from 9.00 to 22.00. I don't think they have any bungalows. I'll check further when I have the time. Cheers.

Children come to your house and you have to reassure the dog? There is something seriously wrong there. I don't know much about dogs, but I know enough not to trust any "words of assurance" from their owners...

The only way to go is to learn the Thai alphabet. It's not that difficult and it saves a lot of hassle regarding transliterations. Go for it, you won't regret.

I was just reading a topic opened by Neverdie on the same subject, but the topic... 'vanished'.

The popup didn't, though.

Maybe she means the passport must still be valid for longer than 6 months before you leave the country. Like the passport expires on Aug 15, and you had until Feb 15 if you wanted to go abroad with this passport. In this case it's better to apply for a new one, then have the visa put on the new one.

CHdiver that's the way it always happens here, it's not OP's responsibility to try to change that. Where I come from, the police probably wouldn't have cared at all, the parents wouldn't have bothered to come and pick up their offspring at the station, the changing of the windscreen would have taken three weeks... and a lawyer would have advised the minors to file a complaint against OP for assault!

Bearing in mind my Thai ability, would it be better to continue using English with my wife and then when I get to a certain level, changing to Thai or continue using English? If I chose English with her full stop then I guess my Thai would improve whilst talking to others. My other thought is that her English is very good and I think it would be good for her to continue to learn. What do you think?

I think it depends on your wife. How does she react to your learning Thai? Is she interested in your progress, is she willing to help you, does she try sometimes to speak Thai with you so you can practice? Or maybe you are closer to situation B: she doesn't seem to care much, she always speaks English to you (using Thai only when she doesn't know the equivalent in English), and she doesn't show any patience when answering your questions concerning Thai language.

If you are in situation A you're very lucky, as situation B seems much more common (plenty of reasons for that). Personally I was lucky that my wife didn't speak English when we met, and I could already speak some Thai. But even though, she didn't help me much and once she even said it was a pity that I didn't speak English to her. So I taught her some French instead, and sure enough she fell asleep in a middle of a lesson (which was to be the last lesson, lol).

Congratulations on the way you handled the whole situation. Maybe you just saved somebody else's life.

You shouldn't force yourself to speak Thai with your son or ask your wife to mix some English. English is your mother tongue so English will be more natural for you, and it's important for a child that the same person doesn't mix two languages. In other words, his mom can speak to him in Thai, and you can speak to him in English, wherever you are. Your son will quickly understand both languages. The 'English in the house and Thai everywhere else' solution can't really work, because practically it's hard to draw the limit (what if you are outside but only between the family, or what if you have Thai friends coming to your house, etc.).

Whether you use Thai or English with your wife is your personal choice, but it will probably be less confusing for the child if you choose one language and stick to it, rather than this horrible pidgin that some couples like to practice (broken English with a few Thai words thrown in).

In my case I always speak to my 3 yo boy in my mother tongue (which is French) and I speak Thai with my wife. I only speak Thai with my son when there is a general discussion and I don't want to exclude the other people around. My son now understands French and Thai perfectly, but he also knows I understand Thai, so until recently he always spoke to me in Thai. What I did though, is that I made him spend a lot of time with French people (family, friends coming to visit) and he began to speak French with them, as he realized that they didn't understand a word in Thai.

I hope it helps

Unfortunately like you say, it doesn't really say anything about a passport renewal. Anyone got a clue?

I think it's because an e-passport can't be extended or renewed. You just apply for a new passport. So it looks like you need the mother's consent, or proof of sole custody.

Is my son really going to lose his Thai citizenship, his birthright, because of this?

No, why should he? Travelling documents and house registration are not required to prove Thai nationality, only the birth certificate is.

Good luck.

Maybe this small but useful list can help:

http://www.expatmotors.co.th/phrases.html

Cider... sounds like good news!

Any chance for the locals to buy direct from factory?

Good luck and welcome to Cha-am.

There is a Tesco Lotus Express (near the fresh market) and on the beachfront there is also "Cha-Am ram leuk" (Cha-am memory) which is well stocked.

You can also buy sausages ham etc. from some restaurants like German Food House (soi bus station).

Hmm, that's about it I guess. Okay is indeed your best choice for imported products.

A Carrefour would have been so much better! If you have been to Carrefour Rama IV, you will know what I mean. There is already a Big C in Phetchaburi and I agree with hhfarang, it's nothing much than Tesco, which is already nothing much in itself.

There used to be a Thai Red Cross clinic in Bangkok (close to the Snake Farm) that did anonymous HIV checks for 200 baht. Last time I was there it was more than 7 years ago, for fresher info just do a search or ask on the Bangkok or health forum. If it's still there, it's worth a trip to BKK.

I don't understand Why would anyone that has been to Phuket, ever go again? Do enjoy fighting off scammers? Just like being overcharged for anything and everything? Maybe you like the feel of people grabbing you and trying to pull you into a restaurant, massage parlor, shop house, bar, or tuk tuk? Could it be you just like dodging motorbikes doing 30 kmh down the sidewalk? Wouldn't it be easier, and more fun, to maybe,,, try someplace else?

I was thinking just the same, I don't see the point of getting scammed everyday, spending time documenting it and going back again and again just to get some more. Just the tuk tuk mafia is enough to keep me far from this place.

Thank you, that's the one!

Some are funny (ยืมวันนี้คืนชาติหน้า - yeum wan nee kheun chat na). I used to know a funny one but can't remember the exact phrase. It was something along the line of spilling beer out doing more harm than having the wife dead. Anyone can refresh my memory? (Can't ask my wife, lol)

By the way Lost in Los your transcription is quite painful to read. Tip: don't bother with the : and - and bp and dt... better just learn the Thai script!

My 2 cents: new cars are not heavily discounted, Farang or police or whoever. You can get free stuff (one year insurance and all kinds of gadgets), but you'll never get a big discount. Last time I bought a car, the more I tried to discount and the more the dealer was adding various fees. So from a 800,000 price (say) we went to 835,000, then he gave me a generous discount of 35,000 and we were back to square one. At the end I think I managed 5,000 more discount, but I'm not sure you can get more than that.

I don't know about 1 yo cars but it's not a typical Thai market and they are probably nearly as expensive as brand new cars, so I wouldn't bother.

We apologize for the inconvenience (khaw aphai nai kwam may saduark).

Then, word for word: Work dig to place/lay pipe ahead (ngan kroot wang tho krang na)

Please be careful.

Landmark sounds great, thanks for the tip!

I guess I could also park at the Ambassador? Soi 11 then exit soi 13 and back towards Asoke without a u-turn to make, it's quite convenient.

I'm looking for a place where I could park my car in Bangkok for a few hours at night. Central if possible (Sukhumvit), or just about anywhere. During the day I usually leave my car at a Tesco Lotus somewhere or any other shopping center, but I need to find places that open 24/24. Thank you for your help!

I know a couple of people who have had babies at Petcharat Hospital in Petchaburi. They seemed to be satisfied with the OB services there. That's about a 45 minute drive north of Hua Hin.

You can add me, my daughter was born at Petcharat. It all went fine, nice room and everything. Our son was the expensive one in the family, as he was born at Samitivej hospital. Of course both hospitals can't be compared, but we already knew this when we made the choice to move from BKK to Cha-am.

So you're at war just for a beer? There are plenty of places where Thai male customers are not welcomed, usually you just take a look at the place and you can tell. Saves a lot of hassle and embarrassment when you are with Thai friends. There are reasons too, one of them you've just given proof of, but another reason could be to make sure Somchay doesn't barge in all Pattaya or Patong bars to hunt down his ex Noy.

Now if you ask me I think they should allow Thai customers, but have a dual price system, like 800 baht for a Thai when it is 80 baht for a foreigner. Of course 80 would be written LXXX, for the sake of losing them...

I do not give a f*+@k about being thought of as rude as it seems the only way of communicating to a 'breed' (taxi/tuk tuk drivers) who could teach us all something about being rude and obnoxious.

Same here, my first weeks in BKK I was all smiles and "sawatdee krap" when getting in a taxi, but I never got any reply. So it became "Pai ...", "chai meter duai krap" and that was all. I used taxis in BKK several years and I had all the bad experience you can imagine, including having to jump out of a moving taxi after the driver had agreed to turn on the meter but was eventually acting like the meter was broken. Then I bought a car and it was such a relief not to have to depend on moody taxi drivers anymore!

OP seems to have disappeared after he realized he made a fool of himself...