Girlfriend Granted Uk Tourist Visa, Shes Going To Get Bored Whilst I'm At Work? .

[RAZZELL]

The absolute must is Skype World.

Calls to landlines and mobiles in Thailand for less than a tenner a month. If you have a mobile with decent data connection she can chat away using data.

My wife uses it on the train to and from work.

Essentials - rices cooker, asian food store, decent computer/internet package, mobile phone.

In the first week or so go and buy some "uk style" clothes for her somewhere like Uniqlo or Zara which have small sizes. Also, take her to the local Thai restaurant/Temple. She'll like a good old natter might want to eat som tam!

Don't know where you are in the UK but the Temple in Wimbledon is great on a sunday morning with the free lunch about 12

All the best and good luck!

RAZZ

Edited May 20, 2013 by RAZZELL

[tw25rw]

Bookmark this link and she'll never be bored: http://www.thaitvnow.com/

It can break up a bit, but she'll get all the soaps and other late night trash TV..

[beano2274]

My wife just visited me in Germany with her Mum, I had to work all day, so she bought a German Rail pass, everyday she went on a train with her mum and travelled somewhere different, she had a tourist book with her and just went. Maybe something worth looking into if they have in the UK

[visatroubles]

Skype, you tube for watching TV and Thai TV now app which is ok and you can get genuine Thai food stuff off amazon like mama and ingredients and a rice cooker would be a good start.

[tw25rw]

Yeah, a rice cooker. I still have her little 'kitchen' in my bedroom. Prepare for some high heating bills as well.

[raven0099]

Yeah, a rice cooker. I still have her little 'kitchen' in my bedroom. Prepare for some high heating bills as well.

Your damned right there, it didnt take my missus long to figure out how a thermostatic radiator valve worked , came home from work one day and nearly passed out with the wave of heat that hit me when i came in the front door !

[Somtamme]

Totally agree and would add, you'll need to consider getting two laptops / iPad and a Skype subscription. Try logging into iDOOTv too. We live in a small country village too, but my wife soon adjusted and registered at the local college to learn English, this introduced her to new Thai friends too. Eating out also comes as a bit of a shock, and typical English food whilst exciting at first soon may become a little boring and without so many side dishes like in Thailand. But it's really about all the little things which really matter, difficult to explain......but wish you all the very best, have fun....!

[Mosha]

Why doesn't she get a Thai driving license before she goes& use that one in England?

She can not fail it for goodness sake & she can't loose points when she breaks all the rules as she wont have a clue anyway !!

The UK traffic violation fines will probably be cheaper than getting a taxi everywhere.

Food for thought.

There was a guy on here who let his wife drive in the UK for about 15 minutes in the UK before booking lessons.

[bobrussell]

My wife drove my car for no more than 10 feet before being sent off for lessons! Not even 15 minutes!

I don't have a clue how the Thai driving test works but she was a danger to herself and everyone else!

If people get into trouble they cannot get points on a non-EU licence so everything has to go to court. If found guilty this may have implications at a later stage if applying for ILR or naturalisation.

Not worth the risk unless already an experienced driver IMO!

Edited May 22, 2013 by bobrussell

[wazzi]

I also had this concern as I live in a very small rural comunity, I took as much time off as i could in the first two weeks and spent every weekend going somewhere nice, I was lucky i had a Thai shop an hours drive away and good friends who own thai restruants, It also helped that she had reasonable english and a lot of exposure to western culture from working in Bangkok hospital, Also a friend(retired english teacher ) gave her an english lesson for tw hours once a week.

The saving grace was having a garden and the first three weekends were spent building a vegetable garden and she was instantly busy for a few hours each day. we now have a mini thailand garden wise, which really helps with the food situation, She is a good cook and green Papaya and Mango is readily available when we go to the Thai shop, The few Thai People around (within an hours drive ) were great and made her very welcome. Also agree about Skype , internet and cheap phone calls, we also use Lebarra.

so far so good, After 4 three month trips we are now married and live full time in Australia. Visiting Thailand twice a year

[Waterloo]

My wife drove my car for no more than 10 feet before being sent off for lessons! Not even 15 minutes!

I don't have a clue how the Thai driving test works but she was a danger to herself and everyone else!

If people get into trouble they cannot get points on a non-EU licence so everything has to go to court. If found guilty this may have implications at a later stage if applying for ILR or naturalisation.

Not worth the risk unless already an experienced driver IMO!

To be fair to the wife she was very competent from the get go (lot of bkk driving experience), still didn't stop me being very nervous when she took my pride & joy out on her own for the first time.

[toddmeister]

Having access to a decent asian food store is probably the #1 most important thing. Sign up to www.mydootv.com it's only £21 for 90 days and she'll have more than enough Lakhorn to keep her busy. If she's anything like my Mrs she'll sleep until lunchtime anyway, so it's only half of the day that she'll have to occupy herself. Chatting to her mates on facebook will easily fill that time alone

[TCA]

Good luck and tell her to bring all her favourite foods in her suitcase.

What are the regulations as to what kind of foodstuffs can be brought into the UK?

[fatboy26]

With respect, why have many of you assumed that she is completely mon-cultural, solely because she is Thai?

I'd be in trouble with my wife if I had assumed that she would need to have Thai TV to be happy, or somtam to be content, or that she would sleep half the day to pass the time like a puppy until I returned? And why would she need a temple or a Thai restaurant to natter with her own countrymen?

Maybe she wants to experience Brit culture, watch our soaps, eat and learn to cook some pies or be up with the dawn chorus? Maybe she'd prefer to visit a cathederal and spend some time nattering to the locals and learning their ways? It seems a tad unfair to think that she is a delicate little flower who won't be able to manage or appreciate her surrounding to the full, and - more importantly - will not want to and will need just Thai influenct, doesn't it???

I think it I insisted on all the trapping of home as indicated above, whilst in Thailand, my Mrs would be left rubbing her head as to why we are in Thailand.....and vice versa in the UK.

Just my take on things - maybe the OP needs to consider she may want to live, feel and experience GREAT Britain.

Edited May 26, 2013 by fatboy26

[7by7]

Good luck and tell her to bring all her favourite foods in her suitcase.

What are the regulations as to what kind of foodstuffs can be brought into the UK?

Bringing food, animals or plants into the UK

[TCA]

Good luck and tell her to bring all her favourite foods in her suitcase.

What are the regulations as to what kind of foodstuffs can be brought into the UK?

Bringing food, animals or plants into the UK

Thanks. I subsequently found this link and was surprised at how unrestrictive it was. I thought I'd find options restricted to at least canned or packeted brand name products. Reading that you could bring in nam prik in a bag from the market.

[dave25]

I think she'll. have a great time . My gf loved uk. We were in same situation as you guys . I'm hoping to get my gf tourist visa to oz now, but warmer for her and me .. Lol

[bkk_mike]

I'm going to repeat what others said.

mydootv

It works on some internet TVs (I think LG and Samsung Smart TVs handle it, but for instance, the Sony smart TV and an LG Bluray player don't - i.e. You need to double-check the device has a proper web browser). Or obviously it will work on a computer or iPad, etc.

If it doesn't work on your TV, you can get boxes that it works on (they sell a Roku player on their website, but charge extra to use it, so I ended up getting a G-Box midnight android TV thing from Amazon for our non-smart plasma when I found that the LG Blu-ray wasn't as capable as the LG TV in the other room.)

(It also gives you things like iplayer, so isn't just for Thai TV).

If your girlfriend cooks, you'll need a rice cooker for a start, and need to find a shop where you can buy Thai (or Chinese) foodstuffs. (Be prepared for her surprise when she finds out how much more expensive Thai rice is than the Indian and Vietnamese rice sold next to it.)

Our place is in London, so we're spoilt for choice for the basics, although she does go to a store in Earl's court for some things that are specifically Thai, (It's the shop she used to rent DVDs of Thai TV from until she got mydootv).

Edited June 2, 2013 by bkk_mike

[theoldgit]

A number of posts, and a reply, that might be considered offensive have been removed.

This forum is an English forum, if English isn't your first language please be careful what you post as you may say the wrong thing and cause offence.

[Jay Sata]

I'm amazed anyone would suggest his wife or girlfriend should watch Thai tv. It has to be one of the most banal past times on the planet with mostly rubbish soaps.

My wife's English benefited from watching UK tv when she first arrived 13 years ago and that was when she was not busy in the home or garden. We've always avoided the Thai enclaves and just lived a normal life. The same goes for me when I'm in Thailand I avoid all the expat stuff.

When in Rome etc.

I know a couple of people who broke up because the wife spent all day on the phone, computer or watching Thai soaps.

Edited June 10, 2013 by Jay Sata

[bifftastic]

Quite why anyone would be 'amazed' (really? You found that 'amazing'?)

by the suggestion that someone visiting a country might like to watch tv from their home country.

How would that be a bad thing? Apart from the questionable quality of Thai soaps, or indeed all soaps, it can be quite comforting to watch the news from home, see a movie or two etc.

When I visit Thailand I occasionally watch a few British tv programmes on my laptop.

Have I inadvertently put my relationship at risk by doing that?

[David48]

I've just PM'ed the OP and asked that he drop back and regale his experiences.

[theoldgit]

Unbelievably stupid comment removed.

[toddmeister]

I know a couple of people who broke up because the wife spent all day on the phone, computer or watching Thai soaps

Surely that says more about the state of their relationship than it does about the quality of Thai TV? Did they ever consider why their wives were spending all day doing that and not spending time with them?

[krisb]

If she wants movies in Thai....here!

http://freemovie-hd.com/

[theoldgit]

Another stupid post removed, if you have nothing sensible to say please don't post.

[Basil B]

I think the first thing the OP needs to do is put himself in her place, I remember a trip to my ex GF's village, transport was arranged by a relative of hers, once in the truck I realized that until I returned all events and itinerary were totally out of my control including the duration of the trip, everybody was kind to me and it was a great experience, but still there were times I wish I was not there, and plenty of boredom.