nidnoyham

Got a 2 month visa for GF This i'm sure only because of contact with my daughter, proved through photos and stuff. For those considering doing the same, a few pointers. I recomend being close to embassy, Holiday Mansions hotel is opposite, and ver nice too. Embassy opens at 0730-1000 for visa application, Mon-Fri. On entrance you will be searched and given application form, as many as you need, I used 3 before I got it right, when filled in you take all relevant documents,( these should be photocopies of ur passport and bank statements etc, they keep them on file so you still have the origionals ) to a desk through a turnstile, when checked you are given a number which is used to tell you your turn in the office, a bit like Argos, your GF- not you, will be interviewd while they look at the paperwork, then you wait at the pay desk for your number to come up and you pay 2520 bht (non refundable ) the cashier will give you reciept and a pink piece of paper telling you of any further docs you need , I needed my daughter passport copied, luckily I had it with me. then you will be asked to come back in afternoon 1-330 for 2nd interview, and decision. it was a long hot day I tell you. If I give you any tips it would be to take a letter from you as sponser, bank statements, 3 latest wage slips proof of your accomodation, building socty statmnt and be as honest as possible, without mentioning Pattaya ! Good luck

Just got a letter from LloydS TSB, telling me that in future my card will have a PIN to use with each purchase, alongside signature. Apparently this has been in use in France for 10 years and cut fraud by 80% You have to ask why it has taken 10 years to copy such a good idea. My local shopping centre has a thumprint scheme, but I have only been asked by one shop (Argos) to participate, or did it go to a central computer ?

Valentino, you are right about the ones looking for love meeting the bad ones. A work mate of mine married one, once she had the British Passport she was off with a new man, leaving her husband to bring up her 2 Thai kids in England. He now as a baby by another TG who demands £200 on a regular basis, he is a smashing bloke, would never pull in U.K, But these girls seem to have an instinct for a sucker, like an animal can detect fear, they pick up on a fool and his money- strange isn't it ? Luckily in my later years, I do my thinking above the waist, thirty years too late but there you are,

Chris, no candy. But a nice line in Bananas & Coconuts, perhaps it was when she was putting out the fruit she happened to put a Banana between 2 nuts and that gave her the idea of working in Pattaya. Anyway we get on fine and the ballance of power lies in the fact that we both acknowledge that she need me more than I need her. Having seen how poor her family is, I can never believe it is not my money that is number 1 and me between 2 and 10 somewhere.

My GF is coming to England next monthfor 8 weeks. Anyone got any idea about health insurance for foreign visitors ? I suppose the travel agent in Pattaya where I bought the ticket could help, but just wonderd if anyone has done this before.

Peteboy, Asking someone to investigate a bar girl, is like asking them to go into a lions cage to see if they bite! Asyou say you already know the answer. Asking a bar girl to wait for you, is like asking a petrol station to close when you have filled up and not open till you need more gas. they are in the business of serving the public, thats you and me son. I have a TG have known her for 18 months and now she lives at home near Pitchet- or does she? As long as she is waiting for me at the airport it doesn't matter to me, we still enjoy each others company, and she is coming to England next month for a visit. The third time we met at the airport, I asked her a question and got a reply in German, now I could have got the hump, but I teased her about it instead,that actually made us closer together, she likes to think that I am not trying to stiffle her, or her income. We are now very close, but if I had her investigted in the first place, we woud probably be apart, lf you love something let it go, if it comes back its yours, if it doesn't, it never was.

Captain C Good luck with te EVA U.G I work for EVA handling Co & on first name terms with the staff but did not get u.g on my trip last month, if you stand at either the Thai ( we handle them too) or EVA ticket desk for 10 mins you will get at least 1 reqest for u.g for various reasons i.e " I have a note from my doctor that I have d.v.t " Or I got one last time because you were full. The Thai has been going out somedays with 300 empty seats on the 2 flights lately. Not sure about the EVA, but my workmate went out last week and had 3 seats blocked off to himself, pehaps flying to TPE is not in demand due to the SARS caper.

Dont know about the Aussie system mate, but I was at the Brit embassy in April and met a Thai Lady married to an Englishman, she had been refused a U.K VISA. I read the letter of refusal from the embassy. Basicaly she had no pictures of her wedding, her husbands bank statements and payslips were 6 months out of date,there was no proof of the length of their relationship; i.e letters phone bills to Thailand, and they didnt think she and he would stay together. I spoke to him on her phone and he had been to embassy in London to supply all the docs needed and they were supposed to fax them to Bangkock. So DONT GET ANGRY, I saw some bloke swearing and getting upset, and thought - You are doing no good like that mate. If you have heard nothing for 7 months you should get in touch with your nearest embassy visa department . Good Luck

This topic has been moved to [link=http://www.freelancerbar.com/cgi-bin/yabb//YaBB.pl?board=offtopic;action=display;num=1051945746;start=0]Off Topic and General Chat[/link] by PattayaPete.

Thanks for your idea about the condo sharing Papa, I have to confess the origional idea was to get cheap digs at my freinds place, he has since bought a plot of land near the border with Burhma about the same latitude as Pattaya, but now that retirement is just around the corner, a sort of share a condo is an idea. One of my workmates who has a Thai baby is leaving in May with the idea of retiring to LOS and renting, maybe I could buy, rent to him and go there during the winter- hmmm you have got me thinking now-well done!

Thanks eyenitnoy fot the websites, the Airline I work for is going tits up, so many of us LOS regulars are looking at retirement this year, with an eye to buy a gaff in the sun

Have just tried the Foreign Office web site ; www,fco.gov.uk and printed out the relevant form. Has all info for visas to U.K including a guide to sponsorship. visa cost £36. Hopefully I can go well prepared, but we are talking civil servant here, so I may have to bite my tounge a bit if he/she gets a bit supercilious on me. :-X

Going to have a pop at a UK visa for the girl freind, end of this month, so will need to stay in BKK fr a night or 2, anyone done it before ? Know a hotel nearby thats O.K ? Am taking letters/ photos/ etc A bank statement, proof of ownership of my house, 4 wageslips, last years P60. The pics are of me and her kids, my daughter and her kids/ her as well all of us. I know I asked before in this forum, but if anyone has done it recently, can you let me know how it was, it would be great if I could get it right first time. its a bloody long way to go back for the sake of a peice of paperwork. > Cheers George

Yes life does start early in the country, I remember the local temple bell being rung at 4 am, this started all the dogs barking, it woke the cockerals up, the ones under the house, No wonder they sleep all day ! I am going to try to get my ladyfriend to the U.K this year, let her have a look at my neck of the woods, hope the British Embassy give her a visa. cheers

Are you back Phil ? How was the trip, would you do it again ?

Phill, be prepared fora bit of a culture shock, my friend lives near Pitchit 5 hrs by coach out of BKK. you will probably be the only Ferang for miles, get used to kids staring at you. My lady's housa consists of a wooden/coriogated iron shack on stilts. one big room with no furniture but T.V & fridge, at night the beds & mosie nets come out and the family kipdown together. I feel it is a test of your character to invite you to stay the night with them, you will probably have bed alone or with GF. they will not mind if you go to htel, but will be very pleased if you stay with them, you will get an insight into the cultural difference between you and a Thai lady, another test of faith. The problem is we Ferangs need something to ocupy us, but the Thais are happy to do nothing but sit/lay/sleep during the hot part of the day, hardly anyone will speak English, so it is a bad place to have a row with your GF. Most of my friends who have done it say 2 days is about as much as they can stand before they want to get the coach back to Pattaya. But do go, you will appreciate your lifestyle more and lookat all the girls in Pattaya in perhaps a different light- I do. Have fun, they are lovely people- if you dont mind watching cockfighting! Cheers George

To all who are worried about theft from their baggage by airline staff. As someone who has worked in Airline baggage handling for more years than I would like to admit, may I assure you that the largest majority of Baggage Handlers are honest, decent people who are not willing to risk their job for a few easy pounds/dollars, however I can only speak as I find in the U.K. In the far east and other places the risk is more balanced with reward for goods stolen having more value. You will have to rethink your baggage packing in future. I have said in this forum before, if you wouldnt post it dont pack it! get a maximum sized carry on bag for all items such as cameras/ video and any gifts you are taking for your TG, choose small gifts that can be kept with you, no matter how embarrising they may be! You could also try using a decoy item, such as a jewellry type box, taped up to prevent inspection, with a few small pebbles in to rattle, and give wheight,this may convince the thief that he has hit the jackpot and leave everything else alone, I know it sounds a bit naff, but if it works once it would be worth packing it for every trip, and you might get a bit of a grin out of it ! Many of my workmates who travell to LOS reguarly, just take a small carry-on bag for everything and buy Tshrts and stuff there, when they finish with them they give them to GF or hotel staff for familly- could be the answer. Gentlemen, this is never going to go away, people checking in for the moon will have the same problem! Cheers, GC

Just my oppinion as someone who has lived thru terrorist threat - Valentino, it is not easy to be impartial to terrorists when you and your family are just bomb fodder for their cause, there is no justification for mass murder, even if the killers feels justified in their actions. Madwizard - I was working in the area the Lockerby bomb Pan Am 103 was loaded on that day , we were all interviewed by Special Branch, and all our financial accounts inspected, a work mate had just taken out a new mortgage and had a second interview at his home to explain how he was going to pay off the loan. So delving into peoples bank accounts etc is not new, we are all a bit nieve about the power of Big Brother. Just have nothing to hide,if thats possible !

Well done Lads, its good to hear your positive replys to my question. As a Londoner who works at Heathrow Airport, I and thousands of others, have lived under a terrorist threat from I.R.A & other outfits for over 20 years, I admit to not taking my family to London as much as I woud like to have, but with bombs at Harrods/ Pittza Hut/ Hyde park and Horsegaurds etc, I was not willing to risk it, but that is the point, this filth would happily blow my kids apart, and not even give it a second thought . Now I realise what I missed when they were young, and how these people controled my life, but seing a car cordoned off and wondering if it is going to explode any second does have an affect on you at the time. I will not let it happen again, if a terrorist is going to kill me I pray I get a chance to kick him in the bollocks first .

Our visit to LOS was a great success. Lucy got VIP treatmenr at Alkazar, use of the PR office for interview, cold drinks and an interpreter, 2 ladies gave their views on what they do and why, they posed for photos with Lucy, who had only been in the country for 11 hours and was a bit aprehensive at first. She also recieved a folder containing a programme, history of the company and other information, she was very impressed by the whole thing. A thank you to Cheshire Tom for the e-mail idea and I was on my guard not to stare, but 1 of them was 'king gorgeous- sorry chaps but she was ! Reminded of a saying an old sailor I used to work with would quote to the new lads- " Its a round peg for a round hole, if you were meant to fuck women, you would have a dick the shape of a frying pan" Lucy of course loved LOS went to a Festival and funeral on the same day at the GF village, was the centre of attraction with her pink hair and loved it. She was very immpressed by the FLB bar, her favourite in Pattaya, thinks the Ugly Brothers rule as musicians, pity she didnt bring her trumpet ! Thank you to all of you who gave us advise. Back in February for a few birthday celebrations

Thanks Ally, I'll remeber that. I'm 55 and still learning about the world, perhaps I should consider going to Uni' myself, I reckon I could handle assignments like this- piece of cake. Now lets see, theseis on the lives of Go-Go dancers, yeh sounds good to me. Cheers !

Come on PAULC You couldn't make it up ! I have had enough stick from my work mates,don't join them. If you could be at Alcazar 31 OCT 1800 Lucy would probably enjoy the company ! The Marketing Mangers name is Noy. See you there

Cheshire Tom. Have contacted Alcazar via your e-mail address-thanks for that. Lucy has appointment at P.R office 31Oct with regarding interviewing the performers. Oh yes have asked a Thai person the meaning of the word Katoey, and after thinking for a while came up with Poofter, so that is not a word we will be using Thanks again mate

Bali- Manila-???? I have heard that the Thai army is taking a higher profile in tourist areas. Anyone seen soldiers in Pattaya ? Do you think that Walking Street may be closed more to motor traffic than it already is ? Will those T shirts with Osiee Binliner disappear from the shops? Will our aim at his picture on the urinals at FLB be more accurate from now on ? Its a poser isn't it ? :-/ Sod 'em I'm still going !

You are right about those tiny padlocks Alan. But size insn't everything, we used to be able to open the older Samsonite cases with a metal nailfile, even though they had several different keys ! Casual theives are generally lazy, so a lock is a visible deterent, or a strap, take a leaf from the Asian traveller, their baggage has several yards of rope around, but the best policy is to have nothing of value inside your bag. Remenber, if you wouldn't post it, don't pack it.