Transfer visa to UK Passport in London - Timeframe?

[n210mp]

What used to be a shopping trip into Pattaya's Big C on Klang seems to have become something of a "Pattaya day out"

Which I compare with an "Oldham day out".

The only difference seems to be that in Oldham in company with others with little or nothing to do with their time I went into an ambience of warm heated air so different from outside in the damp cold and depressing township.

In Pattaya I find that I am in a similar company where the need to escape the heat and humidity outside leads us to sit on the chairs in the food hall sipping coffee for me or beer for others whilst just "people watching"

My excuse for being there is that I am waiting for the Thai lady wife to do the shopping but if I wasn't married to her I think that like a lot of other middle to elderly aged men I would still want to go and just "set a while" and watch the people doing their own thing.

Its amazing and sad at the same time for me because being an ardent people watcher I try to work out just what is going on in the lives of the people that I am watching.

Amazing because of the variety of men and women who are at one point or another on the curve, you know the scenario, where the older man is obviously a newbie and the young girl he is with is mentally at least ten years older than him. They are usually pushing a trolley loaded up with all the basic essentials when shacking up together in the early stages.

Then there are the ladies who seeing an older Farang sitting alone make the "Thai eye" contact, just long enough to maybe get a smile as a starting point for a relationship or eyes turned away, in other words a knockback and then after a knockback they move on searching the halls for another friendly elderly Farang face.

Middle aged and elderly Farangs are now the target for a lot of the Pattya ladies who are looking for some one to take care of them and why shouldn't they be, the old boys usually have a nice pension, a few quid in the bank and ttreat theri little darlings like a Queen ( well most of them I think)

Sad because f you look a little closer at the many Thai people who shall we say are at the bottom of the thai social structure and go to Big C for a Thai Pattaya day out , you can spot them as sadly looking entirely out of place in this westernised sales cathedral with so many from their point of view luxury goods but way beyond their wildest dreams in actually having the money to buy anything

There is another sad scene that also gets to me a bit and that is the diminutive old Thai lady who must be well known by many of us on the Pattaya forum .

This lovely old survivor is thin as a rake and maybe just about 5 foot tall probably weighs in at 35l kilos.

She surreptitiously meanders through the tables in the food halls and now and then sits at a table where food has been left by people and digs in, prior to that she will have already found a half consumed drink to go with her next bit of food

I have also personal knowledge that a few Farangs actively help out this old lady by giving her their food cards that may have a little credit left on them

Any way this is an abridged version of the post that I lost yesterday and Faraday and rocketboy BKK I hope it was worth the wait

[Seann]

Time is a flat circle.

[giddyup]

Time is a flat circle.

Time is a traveller.

[toenail]

I suppose if you were not sitting idle in Pattaya during your retirement years, you would be the same in your home country (England) people watching. The difference is at least you are treated with respect here whereas, back in some Western countries you are generally left aside like a cookie crumb.

[n210mp]

I suppose if you were not sitting idle in Pattaya during your retirement years, you would be the same in your home country (England) people watching. The difference is at least you are treated with respect here whereas, back in some Western countries you are generally left aside like a cookie crumb.

Hang on a bit toenail owd lad, I dont spend all my time sitting idle in Pattaya, I rise at 5 0am out on the MTB bike at 5 30am around the lovely lake Mabrachan every other day with my mates Tony 75 years and young Ozzie Rob only 65 years old for a 30/40K ride.

Its only when I go to Pattaya for the Thai version of the "Oldham day out" that I take time to watch, admire and generally procrastinate for a little while.

As far as being treated with respect here I am not so sure about the accuracy of what you say but then again in the UK maybe I would be sitting in the front of the fire waiting for it to stop raining eh?

[n210mp]

Time is a flat circle.

Time is a traveller.

Time is a flat circle.

Time is fast whatever it is.

When I was below 50 years of age the time was hardly noticeable, the years seemed to have more months than 12 now the years seem to have only around 6 months

Does time accelerate after 70 years?

[i claudius]

What used to be a shopping trip into Pattaya's Big C on Klang seems to have become something of a "Pattaya day out"

Which I compare with an "Oldham day out".

The only difference seems to be that in Oldham in company with others with little or nothing to do with their time I went into an ambience of warm heated air so different from outside in the damp cold and depressing township.

In Pattaya I find that I am in a similar company where the need to escape the heat and humidity outside leads us to sit on the chairs in the food hall sipping coffee for me or beer for others whilst just "people watching"

My excuse for being there is that I am waiting for the Thai lady wife to do the shopping but if I wasn't married to her I think that like a lot of other middle to elderly aged men I would still want to go and just "set a while" and watch the people doing their own thing.

Its amazing and sad at the same time for me because being an ardent people watcher I try to work out just what is going on in the lives of the people that I am watching.

Amazing because of the variety of men and women who are at one point or another on the curve, you know the scenario, where the older man is obviously a newbie and the young girl he is with is mentally at least ten years older than him. They are usually pushing a trolley loaded up with all the basic essentials when shacking up together in the early stages.

Then there are the ladies who seeing an older Farang sitting alone make the "Thai eye" contact, just long enough to maybe get a smile as a starting point for a relationship or eyes turned away, in other words a knockback and then after a knockback they move on searching the halls for another friendly elderly Farang face.

Middle aged and elderly Farangs are now the target for a lot of the Pattya ladies who are looking for some one to take care of them and why shouldn't they be, the old boys usually have a nice pension, a few quid in the bank and ttreat theri little darlings like a Queen ( well most of them I think)

Sad because f you look a little closer at the many Thai people who shall we say are at the bottom of the thai social structure and go to Big C for a Thai Pattaya day out , you can spot them as sadly looking entirely out of place in this westernised sales cathedral with so many from their point of view luxury goods but way beyond their wildest dreams in actually having the money to buy anything

There is another sad scene that also gets to me a bit and that is the diminutive old Thai lady who must be well known by many of us on the Pattaya forum .

This lovely old survivor is thin as a rake and maybe just about 5 foot tall probably weighs in at 35l kilos.

She surreptitiously meanders through the tables in the food halls and now and then sits at a table where food has been left by people and digs in, prior to that she will have already found a half consumed drink to go with her next bit of food

I have also personal knowledge that a few Farangs actively help out this old lady by giving her their food cards that may have a little credit left on them

Any way this is an abridged version of the post that I lost yesterday and Faraday and rocketboy BKK I hope it was worth the wait

I am one of the guys who gives her our card ,also slip her the odd 20baht note,when we have had our lunch

[Suradit69]

She surreptitiously meanders through the tables in the food halls and now and then sits at a table where food has been left by people and digs in, prior to that she will have already found a half consumed drink to go with her next bit of food

The last time we ate at the food court on the lower level of Central Festival some farang sat at a table near ours and before we got more then a couple of metres away from the table after finishing, he had taken a seat and was scarfing down the scraps on our plates and the remains of our drinks.

[onemorechang]

She surreptitiously meanders through the tables in the food halls and now and then sits at a table where food has been left by people and digs in, prior to that she will have already found a half consumed drink to go with her next bit of food

The last time we ate at the food court on the lower level of Central Festival some farang sat at a table near ours and before we got more then a couple of metres away from the table after finishing, he had taken a seat and was scarfing down the scraps on our plates and the remains of our drinks.

Did he have and gold glitter funny hat on ?

[crickets]

I hate the foodcourt there. Some really depressing farangs. Everytime i go there i remind myself to never end up like one of them.

[n210mp]

I hate the foodcourt there. Some really depressing farangs. Everytime i go there i remind myself to never end up like one of them.

Hate!

such a strong word but I wonder what the farangs sitting there when you appear think about you.

Never judge a book by its covers, there are some very nice people who, like me sit around waiting for their spouses to finish their shopping.

There are days when the French seem to be in the majority, other days it could be the German contingent but all in all apart from the French being a bit arm wavy and loud I have never seen any farangs that I consider to be depressing

Now if you are talking about some of the few that are obviously down at heels and looking a bit distressed I still wouldn't wish to draw any conclusions as to their characters

It could be that I am drawing wrong conclusions about what you are saying, maybe you could elaborate on what make in your eyes a depressing farang?