I am seperated from my kids....long story and no need for explanation apart from the fact that i am not allowed to contact them.

I dislike asking people for favours but sometimes i need to do it.

I know a 44 yr old thai woman who lives in same town as my kids. I met her via the internet over a year ago. Told her about the situation i am in and we chatted a little via fb. When i was in February in Thailand i met her for 2 hours whilst drinking coffee, which she paid for, at Central.

In july, at my daughters birthday i asked her, reluctantly, if she could buy some presents and give it to them at their school. She did. By the reaction of my daughters she realized that i did not make things up regarding ...the situation.

Since that July we hardly chatted or contacted each other. This week i contacted her and asked, reluctantly again, if she was willing to buy some presents for my children. She responded by giving me ideas of what to give them. This as she has a daughter of similar age as mine. She sent photo examples via fb, as well for my son. Okay i wrote her. She said she was very busy but that after coming back from work in BKK for her boss that she would buy the gifts.

This morning when i woke up i saw a photo on fb with my kids holding the very nicely giftwrapped presents. In fact i saw 4 photos, 1 of each child and 1 of them all together. Seperately she had sent me photos of what she actually bought for them. The bill too ofcourse...lol.

I was overwhelmed with joy after her act of kindness that it brought tears in my eyes. A woman i hardly know willing to this for the kids and me.

IMO she is a true class act and it shows that decency, humanity and empathy is still there.

Thanks Miss P, you have given me the best Christmas in many years !

Very refreshing and heartwarming story to share with us at Christmas time. Kudos to Miss P.

great story mate,, im glad for you i really am, i know your story mate,

just shows that not all thai ladys are bad, but deep down we all know that,

i really am pleased for you,

im n ot with mine but at least i can speak on skype,

merry christmas

A story which, I am sure has touched the hearts of many here.

Thanks for sharing ...

.

Wonderful, benalibina.

Someone cares!

Merry christmas!

Good story for Xmas, thank you.

There are many good & honest people in this world but human nature is that we mainly remember the bad people we come across and forget about the good ones.

OP I hope you have a wonderful Xmas as Im sure your children are, even though you are not together.

In general many dont give a sh*t about you here BUT occasionally a little gem appaers.

I have the same in the village near me, when they want something and you go and help out its all happy smiles bullshi* BUT when we asked 3 of the locals who we helped BIG TIME involving lawyers if they could spare 1 hour to water my trees ONCE whilst I was away for 3 days the excuses given were astounding................. "My Wife can only work with me" followed by 2 others saying BUSY and BUSY.........yet I know for a fact they freakin aint and live no more than 500 metres away.

At the time I was hunting for staff, had a big banner in a couple of places and got phone call someone applying, they turned up with "a friend", long story short they were unsuitable but the friend said she would water the trees and not worry having to pay her.

We went to her house and treid paying but she wasnt having it, I gave her a box of chocolates from Singapore, seems she is intersted in trees also so we had something in common, she chatted for about 45 minutes and said at the end "dont worry you and me are family" to my Wife and "can do it anytime"

She actually live about 2 km away unlike the neighbours who couldnt who liive real close.

My opinion of Thais in general is like this, a sea of shitty selfish, take take take people with about 25% being decent hard working who prop up the other lot in many cases.

In general many dont give a sh*t about you here BUT occasionally a little gem appaers.

I have the same in the village near me, when they want something and you go and help out its all happy smiles bullshi* BUT when we asked 3 of the locals who we helped BIG TIME involving lawyers if they could spare 1 hour to water my trees ONCE whilst I was away for 3 days the excuses given were astounding................. "My Wife can only work with me" followed by 2 others saying BUSY and BUSY.........yet I know for a fact they freakin aint and live no more than 500 metres away.

At the time I was hunting for staff, had a big banner in a couple of places and got phone call someone applying, they turned up with "a friend", long story short they were unsuitable but the friend said she would water the trees and not worry having to pay her.

We went to her house and treid paying but she wasnt having it, I gave her a box of chocolates from Singapore, seems she is intersted in trees also so we had something in common, she chatted for about 45 minutes and said at the end "dont worry you and me are family" to my Wife and "can do it anytime"

She actually live about 2 km away unlike the neighbours who couldnt who liive real close.

My opinion of Thais in general is like this, a sea of shitty selfish, take take take people with about 25% being decent hard working who prop up the other lot in many cases.

I'd sure hate to see the world thru your eyes

In general many dont give a sh*t about you here BUT occasionally a little gem appaers.

I have the same in the village near me, when they want something and you go and help out its all happy smiles bullshi* BUT when we asked 3 of the locals who we helped BIG TIME involving lawyers if they could spare 1 hour to water my trees ONCE whilst I was away for 3 days the excuses given were astounding................. "My Wife can only work with me" followed by 2 others saying BUSY and BUSY.........yet I know for a fact they freakin aint and live no more than 500 metres away.

At the time I was hunting for staff, had a big banner in a couple of places and got phone call someone applying, they turned up with "a friend", long story short they were unsuitable but the friend said she would water the trees and not worry having to pay her.

We went to her house and treid paying but she wasnt having it, I gave her a box of chocolates from Singapore, seems she is intersted in trees also so we had something in common, she chatted for about 45 minutes and said at the end "dont worry you and me are family" to my Wife and "can do it anytime"

She actually live about 2 km away unlike the neighbours who couldnt who liive real close.

My opinion of Thais in general is like this, a sea of shitty selfish, take take take people with about 25% being decent hard working who prop up the other lot in many cases.

Thanks for your thread-killer post on the OP's feelgood Christmas story. He posts about finding a remarkable and selfless soul that is making a broken family almost come together for the holidays. You post about some bloody trees

I hope your very, very important trees manage to get by, surrounded as they are by such selfish and indolent people.

Edited December 26, 201411 yr by NanLaew

This is very sad for the children involved.

Who paid for the presents and why could not benalibina give the presents to his children himself or even post them to his children?

True there are some wonderful, sincere and genuinely good hearted people out there, but in situations such as this my heart goes out to the children. No matter which parent is at fault, one or both of them, they should love their children more than they hate each other and make compromises for the benefits of the kids.

benalibina:

I too have been touched by small kindnesses from Thais this holiday season.

Your children may not be able to appreciate how much trouble you went to in order for them to receive their Christmas gifts this year, but I'm sure receiving them must have meant a lot to them and that they won't soon forget that they were remembered by you this Christmas.

Nice job.

In general many dont give a sh*t about you here BUT occasionally a little gem appaers.

I have the same in the village near me, when they want something and you go and help out its all happy smiles bullshi* BUT when we asked 3 of the locals who we helped BIG TIME involving lawyers if they could spare 1 hour to water my trees ONCE whilst I was away for 3 days the excuses given were astounding................. "My Wife can only work with me" followed by 2 others saying BUSY and BUSY.........yet I know for a fact they freakin aint and live no more than 500 metres away.

At the time I was hunting for staff, had a big banner in a couple of places and got phone call someone applying, they turned up with "a friend", long story short they were unsuitable but the friend said she would water the trees and not worry having to pay her.

We went to her house and treid paying but she wasnt having it, I gave her a box of chocolates from Singapore, seems she is intersted in trees also so we had something in common, she chatted for about 45 minutes and said at the end "dont worry you and me are family" to my Wife and "can do it anytime"

She actually live about 2 km away unlike the neighbours who couldnt who liive real close.

My opinion of Thais in general is like this, a sea of shitty selfish, take take take people with about 25% being decent hard working who prop up the other lot in many cases.

Thanks for your thread-killer post on the OP's feelgood Christmas story. He posts about finding a remarkable and selfless soul that is making a broken family almost come together for the holidays. You post about some bloody trees

I hope your very, very important trees manage to get by, surrounded as they are by such selfish and indolent people.

I aint a Christian if that helps you.

Please let me know when and where I can post next time...............Im all ears

This is very sad for the children involved.

Who paid for the presents and why could not benalibina give the presents to his children himself or even post them to his children?

True there are some wonderful, sincere and genuinely good hearted people out there, but in situations such as this my heart goes out to the children. No matter which parent is at fault, one or both of them, they should love their children more than they hate each other and make compromises for the benefits of the kids.

mr beetlejuice,

its a long story that some of us older members know about,

but benalibina, isnt alowd to contact his children and they are being turned against him,

so he has gone out of his way by contacting this kind thai person to get some presents to them,

and im sure they he will pay for the presents,,,

merry christmas,

jake who allways tries to look for the best in people

OP, Thank you for sharing with us this heart warming story about the good Thai Lady.

Although I was saddened to hear about the situation with your kids.

But, yes I have met a lot of Thais that have gone out of their way to help me and my wife as I have met many people that were helpful to me in the countries I used to live.

Humanity is still here and will be here for ever.

It's up to us to open our hearts and appreciate the kindness of others.

I have seen some very nasty break ups of parents with some mothers/her family going to extremes to make the chldren dislike the father. One I knew of would scrutinize everything addressed to the kids then if it was sent from their father it would be would toss it in the rubbish rather than let the kids have it. To read the op it is great to know that some people are prepared to help others get past this, many fathers have lost out badly over the years.

This is very sad for the children involved.

Who paid for the presents and why could not benalibina give the presents to his children himself or even post them to his children?

True there are some wonderful, sincere and genuinely good hearted people out there, but in situations such as this my heart goes out to the children. No matter which parent is at fault, one or both of them, they should love their children more than they hate each other and make compromises for the benefits of the kids.

mr beetlejuice,

its a long story that some of us older members know about,

but benalibina, isnt alowd to contact his children and they are being turned against him,

so he has gone out of his way by contacting this kind thai person to get some presents to them,

and im sure they he will pay for the presents,,,

merry christmas,

jake who allways tries to look for the best in people

Sadly, and here is my point, that what the children really want for Christmas is their parents. Back in the UK many years ago my first wife after we divorced used our child as a weapon against me and back then I found myself up against the UK completely uncompassionate legal system where 99.99% of the time the mother holds all the trump cards. The ploy is that the longer the mother can keep the father away from the children the better chance she has of poisoning the children's minds against their Dad. It is like someone who has died and accused of something but unable to defend his/herself because they cannot be on the scene. Later on as our child reached adulthood sadly the bond between father and child was lost, I was considered more as an Uncle Daddy rather than a parent, so I do speak from experience. This is what happens in the cases of absent fathers, no matter what gifts they send to their children, because in these situations, absence does not make the heart grow fonder.

Harsh and unfair, but that`s the way it is.

Edited December 26, 201411 yr by Beetlejuice

i had just the same as you in the uk,

me and my son are still very close, but my daughter hasnt spoken to me for about 7 years,

i still tell me son to tell her that i love her, but, i dont have to explain you know how it is,

funny thing is it was the ex wife that had the afair while i was working in dubai,,lol,

thats 20 years ago, plenty of water gone under that bridge,

but i do understand the feeling inside when you cant see your children,

In general many dont give a sh*t about you here BUT occasionally a little gem appaers.

I have the same in the village near me, when they want something and you go and help out its all happy smiles bullshi* BUT when we asked 3 of the locals who we helped BIG TIME involving lawyers if they could spare 1 hour to water my trees ONCE whilst I was away for 3 days the excuses given were astounding................. "My Wife can only work with me" followed by 2 others saying BUSY and BUSY.........yet I know for a fact they freakin aint and live no more than 500 metres away.

At the time I was hunting for staff, had a big banner in a couple of places and got phone call someone applying, they turned up with "a friend", long story short they were unsuitable but the friend said she would water the trees and not worry having to pay her.

We went to her house and treid paying but she wasnt having it, I gave her a box of chocolates from Singapore, seems she is intersted in trees also so we had something in common, she chatted for about 45 minutes and said at the end "dont worry you and me are family" to my Wife and "can do it anytime"

She actually live about 2 km away unlike the neighbours who couldnt who liive real close.

My opinion of Thais in general is like this, a sea of shitty selfish, take take take people with about 25% being decent hard working who prop up the other lot in many cases.

Thanks for your thread-killer post on the OP's feelgood Christmas story. He posts about finding a remarkable and selfless soul that is making a broken family almost come together for the holidays. You post about some bloody trees

I hope your very, very important trees manage to get by, surrounded as they are by such selfish and indolent people.

I aint a Christian if that helps you.

Please let me know when and where I can post next time...............Im all ears

Apparently all ears.... no brains. What's religion got to do with this ? Christmas presents, birthday presents, presents for no reason .... just love.

Some people have NO idea.

Just sayin..... Cheers..... Mal.

Despite a few strong words this thread has a good vibe.

I'd like to add that carrying the burden will make you stronger and better equipped to make something beautiful of your life.

Merry Christmas

Despite a few strong words this thread has a good vibe.

I'd like to add that carrying the burden will make you stronger and better equipped to make something beautiful of your life.

Merry Christmas

How very true...Good post Dancelot.

In general many dont give a sh*t about you here BUT occasionally a little gem appaers.

I have the same in the village near me, when they want something and you go and help out its all happy smiles bullshi* BUT when we asked 3 of the locals who we helped BIG TIME involving lawyers if they could spare 1 hour to water my trees ONCE whilst I was away for 3 days the excuses given were astounding................. "My Wife can only work with me" followed by 2 others saying BUSY and BUSY.........yet I know for a fact they freakin aint and live no more than 500 metres away.

At the time I was hunting for staff, had a big banner in a couple of places and got phone call someone applying, they turned up with "a friend", long story short they were unsuitable but the friend said she would water the trees and not worry having to pay her.

We went to her house and treid paying but she wasnt having it, I gave her a box of chocolates from Singapore, seems she is intersted in trees also so we had something in common, she chatted for about 45 minutes and said at the end "dont worry you and me are family" to my Wife and "can do it anytime"

She actually live about 2 km away unlike the neighbours who couldnt who liive real close.

My opinion of Thais in general is like this, a sea of shitty selfish, take take take people with about 25% being decent hard working who prop up the other lot in many cases.

I'd sure hate to see the world thru your eyes

Most posts are of similar quality

In general many dont give a sh*t about you here BUT occasionally a little gem appaers.

I have the same in the village near me, when they want something and you go and help out its all happy smiles bullshi* BUT when we asked 3 of the locals who we helped BIG TIME involving lawyers if they could spare 1 hour to water my trees ONCE whilst I was away for 3 days the excuses given were astounding................. "My Wife can only work with me" followed by 2 others saying BUSY and BUSY.........yet I know for a fact they freakin aint and live no more than 500 metres away.

At the time I was hunting for staff, had a big banner in a couple of places and got phone call someone applying, they turned up with "a friend", long story short they were unsuitable but the friend said she would water the trees and not worry having to pay her.

We went to her house and treid paying but she wasnt having it, I gave her a box of chocolates from Singapore, seems she is intersted in trees also so we had something in common, she chatted for about 45 minutes and said at the end "dont worry you and me are family" to my Wife and "can do it anytime"

She actually live about 2 km away unlike the neighbours who couldnt who liive real close.

My opinion of Thais in general is like this, a sea of shitty selfish, take take take people with about 25% being decent hard working who prop up the other lot in many cases.

Thanks for your thread-killer post on the OP's feelgood Christmas story. He posts about finding a remarkable and selfless soul that is making a broken family almost come together for the holidays. You post about some bloody trees

I hope your very, very important trees manage to get by, surrounded as they are by such selfish and indolent people.

I aint a Christian if that helps you.

Please let me know when and where I can post next time...............Im all ears

You ain't much above a zero here today with your grinch post.

What a bittersweet story.

Do they know the presents are from you? I hope so.

I am sure when they are grown up they will come back to you and realize they were being manipulated by their mother. Just hang in there and have a Merry Christmas. 2015 may be a good one!

They will probably end up hating the family members causing all this trouble. I am sure this story will have a happy ending for you!

Edited December 26, 201411 yr by EmptyHead

In general many dont give a sh*t about you here BUT occasionally a little gem appaers.

I have the same in the village near me, when they want something and you go and help out its all happy smiles bullshi* BUT when we asked 3 of the locals who we helped BIG TIME involving lawyers if they could spare 1 hour to water my trees ONCE whilst I was away for 3 days the excuses given were astounding................. "My Wife can only work with me" followed by 2 others saying BUSY and BUSY.........yet I know for a fact they freakin aint and live no more than 500 metres away.

At the time I was hunting for staff, had a big banner in a couple of places and got phone call someone applying, they turned up with "a friend", long story short they were unsuitable but the friend said she would water the trees and not worry having to pay her.

We went to her house and treid paying but she wasnt having it, I gave her a box of chocolates from Singapore, seems she is intersted in trees also so we had something in common, she chatted for about 45 minutes and said at the end "dont worry you and me are family" to my Wife and "can do it anytime"

She actually live about 2 km away unlike the neighbours who couldnt who liive real close.

My opinion of Thais in general is like this, a sea of shitty selfish, take take take people with about 25% being decent hard working who prop up the other lot in many cases.

Thanks for your thread-killer post on the OP's feelgood Christmas story. He posts about finding a remarkable and selfless soul that is making a broken family almost come together for the holidays. You post about some bloody trees

I hope your very, very important trees manage to get by, surrounded as they are by such selfish and indolent people.

I aint a Christian if that helps you.

Please let me know when and where I can post next time...............Im all ears

Apparently all ears.... no brains. What's religion got to do with this ? Christmas presents, birthday presents, presents for no reason .... just love.

Some people have NO idea.

Just sayin..... Cheers..... Mal.

Thanks for the insult, he mentioned CHRISTMAS, last time I checked it was some fruitcake idea there is a god.

The point being its an open forum and if you cant give your opinion it should be stated in the rules of the forum..........it aint, I posted, you dont like my opinion tough.

I suppose you want everything in the forum to be "happy smiling" ho ho ho bloody ho

Well at least thats Thai I suppose.

On top of that I was showing MY experience of Thais that I find most selfish as the OP was discussing that he found a "gem" to which my reply was YES there are some but its a minority in a sea of selfishness.

CLEARLY some of you dont understand my reply

So here oh yes its a lovely story but it aint ALL like this at all, my post said that.

In general many dont give a sh*t about you here BUT occasionally a little gem appaers.

I have the same in the village near me, when they want something and you go and help out its all happy smiles bullshi* BUT when we asked 3 of the locals who we helped BIG TIME involving lawyers if they could spare 1 hour to water my trees ONCE whilst I was away for 3 days the excuses given were astounding................. "My Wife can only work with me" followed by 2 others saying BUSY and BUSY.........yet I know for a fact they freakin aint and live no more than 500 metres away.

At the time I was hunting for staff, had a big banner in a couple of places and got phone call someone applying, they turned up with "a friend", long story short they were unsuitable but the friend said she would water the trees and not worry having to pay her.

We went to her house and treid paying but she wasnt having it, I gave her a box of chocolates from Singapore, seems she is intersted in trees also so we had something in common, she chatted for about 45 minutes and said at the end "dont worry you and me are family" to my Wife and "can do it anytime"

She actually live about 2 km away unlike the neighbours who couldnt who liive real close.

My opinion of Thais in general is like this, a sea of shitty selfish, take take take people with about 25% being decent hard working who prop up the other lot in many cases.

Thanks for your thread-killer post on the OP's feelgood Christmas story. He posts about finding a remarkable and selfless soul that is making a broken family almost come together for the holidays. You post about some bloody trees

I hope your very, very important trees manage to get by, surrounded as they are by such selfish and indolent people.

I aint a Christian if that helps you.

Please let me know when and where I can post next time...............Im all ears

You ain't much above a zero here today with your grinch post.

You need to buy her a gift I think.

We had Xmas night on 26th because the children were at school. They are not my children but the 2 daughters of my wife, I treat & love them as if they were mine.

We had a wonderful time watching the look on the children's face. Xmas is for children and the spirit of giving not receiving.

While enjoying the children's excitement as they opened each gift, I thought of you (OP) and just hoping you get through Xmas without the little ones.

Merry Xmas mate & I just hope the next one will be better for you & the little ones.

Thanks for the insult, he mentioned CHRISTMAS, last time I checked it was some fruitcake idea there is a god.

The point being its an open forum and if you cant give your opinion it should be stated in the rules of the forum..........it aint, I posted, you dont like my opinion tough.

I suppose you want everything in the forum to be "happy smiling" ho ho ho bloody ho

Well at least thats Thai I suppose.

On top of that I was showing MY experience of Thais that I find most selfish as the OP was discussing that he found a "gem" to which my reply was YES there are some but its a minority in a sea of selfishness.

CLEARLY some of you dont understand my reply

So here oh yes its a lovely story but it aint ALL like this at all, my post said that.

No, your post was all about your bloody trees.

Maybe your neighbours have problems dealing with an atheist in their midst? I haven't a clue how they worked out that you don't believe in Buddhism either but I get the feeling you make sure that everyone knows your opinion.

Then again, maybe they just don't want to water your spiritless trees.

Thanks for the insult, he mentioned CHRISTMAS, last time I checked it was some fruitcake idea there is a god.

The point being its an open forum and if you cant give your opinion it should be stated in the rules of the forum..........it aint, I posted, you dont like my opinion tough.

I suppose you want everything in the forum to be "happy smiling" ho ho ho bloody ho

Well at least thats Thai I suppose.

On top of that I was showing MY experience of Thais that I find most selfish as the OP was discussing that he found a "gem" to which my reply was YES there are some but its a minority in a sea of selfishness.

CLEARLY some of you dont understand my reply

So here oh yes its a lovely story but it aint ALL like this at all, my post said that.

No, your post was all about your bloody trees.

Maybe your neighbours have problems dealing with an atheist in their midst? I haven't a clue how they worked out that you don't believe in Buddhism either but I get the feeling you make sure that everyone knows your opinion.

Then again, maybe they just don't want to water your spiritless trees.

No the story was in response to a "gem" in the Ops post

You have no idea of the full story here, in fact No Im gonna tell it.

Three neighbours dislike another neighbour, he stole land off them, he did the same to us, they came to us and pleaded pls dont let this guy cross your land to get to his as he has no access and all three denied him access due to his previous thefts.

Ok we said. as he had also lied to us when we bought our land shifting the boundaries by some 5 rai then telling us when he wanted access that yes he had stolen it but would give it back for access.

Now he also doesnt like them.for obvious reasons

One day one of these neighbours cut back some of his mango trees overhanging their land, the "nasty neighbour" then calls the Police who get the other neighbour,summoned to the Police station, the law states you have to notify your neighbour to cut his trees down himself and if no response after "sometime" you can cut them. But no notification = big fine and the neighbour was asking for 50k and none of them have much money

None of them knew this we had to get in touch with our lawyer to clarify what he should have done.

In the end we told them to say they had hung a note on his trees and got no response so cut them.

We had to drive this guy to the Police station some 10 miles away as the tree neighbour didnt go to the local police but one much farther away. My Wife used a good half day on this taking him and a few hours getting the correct answer.

None of these neighbours helped us when we asked for 1 hours watering.

I live 300 metres outside the village with no direct neighbours next to me ie living there.

The post was about someone who did a good deed and ive found its a small minority, even my Wife says it never used to be like this, Thailand HAS changed, her words, its just self self self money money money, she said neighbours would always help you years ago never any payment involved..............thats GONE for the most part.

Religion pahhhhhhhhh cause of many problems worlldwide, incredible billions "believe" YES ill tell everyone just like Religion tells me to "believe" have faith" provides ZERO proof you dont need any religion to be a decent person religion provides nothing except fodder for the sheep and worse still I MUST respect it. No Thanks

The nieghbours have no idea Im an Atheist

As for trees having spirits

Edited December 27, 201411 yr by kannot

Humanity may have to start breeding for emotional intelligence ( empathy, etc), because despite the fact that technology is advanced, socially - humanity is IRONICALLY largely still in the Dark Ages..

Computer programmers may be brilliant, but empathy may not be their strong suit in terms of passing on genes..