I always see so many answers for this question of Sin Sot and people tend to judge the action by it's dollar value alone, while the quality of the woman and her family are never really considered. To me this is the real factor. Personally I hate the Sin Sot deal with a passion. And from what I can gather so do most Thai Men, even if they won't openly admit to it in the company of their wives. However, I require my Thai Fiance' and her family to adapt and accept a number of my cultural nuances and personal back ground issues (X wife and child from previous marriage) so I am willing to meet them half way and do the Sin Sot considering she is everything I want and a few things I never knew I liked

However if I was settling for a woman of a lower caliber or from a family that would most likely end up attempting to leech off me, I would not be so accommodating. That said I am deep in the "Normal w/out children 500,000 +" category, however if I were to have settled with a X- Hoe or a woman with children I would not ever pay Sin Sot. For the simple fact that no Thai man would pay sin sot for a hoe, so why should I? Is he better than me? And if she already has kids from a prior marriage then she already got a sin sot. You don't pay twice.

zero - for all the above.

Why would you even consider marrying a hoe?

Why would you even consider marrying a hoe?

Spose might have uses if you are into that sort of thing.

I had replied to this in an earlier thread today on the board but since you want to keep stirring the pot I will be specific:

I was married to my wife for 6 years before we finally had a village wedding. Why did I do it?? It took a while to sink in how important this is in my wife's society. She is from a ethnic group call "Suay" near Surin. They have thier own language and customs that are unique. Nobody knew before the wedding cerimony how much Sin Sot I would give, not even my wife. (She hated that part, but I like suprises).

Her mother had to go to a mahdooh (fortune teller) to pick a date. We arrived a week before the wedding and I hired my regular driver and van in Bangkok for the time, to make pictures and video's and be my translator. (1800 baht/day plus lodging, food, gas and tip).

We 1st went to Pattonam and bought wedding cloths for both of us.....(about 10,000 baht)

Then to Surin and booked hotel for a week.....

To village and make arrangements for wedding and party....(Here you party 1st and get married at the end) Needed to buy food, pigs, ice cooler for beer, talk to Monks at the Wat in the next village to bring BIG sound system to family home., contract Muhlomb music group (marching band) for time just before wedding, and buy presents for each guest. Also arranged an 7:00AM cerimony for 11 monks to bless us prior to the wedding day. A hair dresser that started to do my wifes hair at 4:30 AM on the wedding day.

All the above was proably 25,000 baht (don't remember as I was drinking and parting for 3 days before wedding and people just kept comming).

The wedding: 1500 baht for the hair dresser, a present for the monks 6000 baht, I had 300,000 baht in red (the color for good luck) 100 baht bills. 5000 baht for the marching band (about 25 people playing instruments and drums with a electric keyboard and speakers mounted on a pushcart that rolled along. ). We had the cerimony which was an old couple instructing us in the responciblies of husband and wife, then the flowers, and I presented the Sin Sot which had to verified by about 6 people....1st the money was counted.....and anounced over the loud speaker system so all could hear, then the gold was counted 16 baht, then the wedding and engagement ring was presented along with the reciept of what I paid for it (very important) ($11,855.23), The other jewlery we had bought over the past years at Conburi cosisting of diamonds, rubies, and saphires in 24k gold. Each piece was inspected, the reciept of the cost read, and held up so he crowd could see..

Finally we recieved gifts of money from the guest and good luck strings were tied around our wrists by the guest placing the money under the good luck string.

Then we had to read the pigs head and what it foretold of our future....and went back upstairs inside the house for another blessing from the monks plus I got to give them some more money (2500 baht), and serve them food.

Lastly we went to a little monument and prayed to the ancestors and told them of our marriage. By 11:00 AM were married and thing returned to normal in the village.

Was it a rip off.....well not in my world.....the amount of prestige and happiness it brought to the family was not measurable. As I watch now when we return to the village from the USA my wife prosides over a bunch of people that all sit at her feet and listens to her stories of travels and life outside Issan. I call her Than Puk, as I strole through this little village everybody wai's me and greets me in Suay. It brought what had been one of the poorest families in the village to being the most succesful. (Her mother still prefers to cook over charcoal rather than light the gas stove I bought, but she now leaves the refig plugged in when she leaves).

What happend to the money to the family, well her father was very sick and most went into his health care until he died 6 months later, and then a funeral with about 400 people that came to pay respects. (But the mother had to provide food and drink for everybody). We will have a party next year for her father where I will hire a Lao moolumb group to play and sing, while I get drunk and dance with all the pretty ladies. Not too big maybe 200 people.

So there you go Cpt_M0ney_Sh0t with a detailed account on what I invested into my future happiness.

My wifes attitude (she is pretty outspoken on this) "If Farrang don't want to respect Issan custom then better they just stay in hotel room and chuck wah, and leave Issan ladies alone"

"...people tend to judge the action by it's dollar value alone..."

Actually we judge people by their asking previously answered questions repeatedly.

If Farrang don't want to respect Issan custom then better they just stay in hotel room and chuck wah, and leave Issan ladies alone

:D :D

Am I the only person that is willing to list exactly what was paid for my Thai marriage?

For those that believe sin sot is a total rip off, let me give some perspecitive of a rip-off:

I was in Reno trophy hunting one night when I found this eurasian singer with her own band (Spanish/Okinawin). I took that little trophy and married her....big mistake....2 years later when I decided to divorce her, I drove all night and got to the town she was playing in at 10AM. The desk gave me a key to her room (they knew I was her husband), and I went up and into the room. Up jumps some jerk from her bed and he was going to kick my butt....well I karate kicked him in the chest just to sit him down, but he went through the window. Someone came up and hit me accross the back of the head with a lamp and without thinking I grabbe a fist full of black hair and threw her through the window....

I went down stairs and out into the snow (this was a 3rd story room), and both were laying naked in the snow. I encouraged her to sign my papers.....I was divorced the next day in Reno....

BUT I got sued by her and her friend and they got a 5 million dollar judgement against me....

There was nothing wrong with either of them but a few little broken bones.....

My 5000 acre ranch that was almost paid off went bye bye

Now that was a rip-off..

Sin Sot......nit noy....mai pen rai.

Old Wanderer: "My wifes attitude (she is pretty outspoken on this) "If Farrang don't want to respect Issan custom then better they just stay in hotel room and chuck wah, and leave Issan ladies alone"

Good Luck mate! Sounds you won the jackpot!

Didn't Chuck Wah used to cover sports for the Bangkok Post?