Eneukman

If you're coming for an extended period, I would suggest that you obtain a multiple entry non-Immigrant O visa. This visa allows you to stay in Thailand for up to 90 days at a time. A short extension can be granted by the local Immigration Office but when that runs out you MUST leave the country and come back in. The consuls in Hull and Cardiff are recommended as being friendly and efficient. I applied in person at Hull last week and from handing over the paper work etc, it took a mere 15 minutes. Some information can be obtained here - http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/visas.htm Also, as BigD says, check out http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?act=portal They'll be able to give you more precise information. Alan

Sounds like a good one for What happened next? on Question of Sport I did once hit a 3 wood about 100 yards towards the hole before the wind blew it back 50 yards towards me . A few holes later all four of us were hitting 3- irons at the shortest hole on the course at a mere 130 yards - such was the strength of the wind! Alan

I'll be renting a condo in Pattaya shortly until I decide exactly where I want to settle permanently. As described above, there are difficulties (though not insurmountable) in foreigners buying a house in their own name. I would recommend joining the thai visa forum and asking the same questions there. http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?act=portal Alan

Doggie, you haven't seen me play! I have at least once managed to finish FURTHER from the hole after my tee shot! All I did was to hit the ball with the toe of the club, the ball went right, hit the tee marker and went backwards! I was using something like an 8 iron at the time! Alan

Congratulations, Steve - I'm sure you two will be very happy together. When do you plan on getting married? Are you planning on living in Thailand or Australia? Doggie, if you're absolutely desperate for players, I could perhaps be persuaded to play my first game of golf in about 25 years. My game can't be much worse than it was all those years ago, though my expert touch on the greens will doubtless have deserted me. The one and only time I played the Old Course, I almost holed from just off the putting surface on the 5th. Fortunately, my putt hit the pin otherwise it would have gone at least 10 feet past and then on the 8th, I was on the putting surface but some 90 feet or so away from the pin. I got down in 2, whereas my playing partners both of whom were much nearer 3 putted. Alan

Rawlins, I'll be there in 2 months time. My plan also is to stay in an hotel for 4 weeks or so until I find somewhere to stay. I'm looking at staying at View Talay which is pretty close to Jomtien but on the baht bus route - so no major problem getting to where the nightlife is. It's up to your personal preference, but I would rather stay a little bit away from the action. I've seen one-bedroomed condos in View Talay at around 18,000/20,000 baht per month plus they do have a decent sized pool. Alan

The US Masters has got off to a rather belated start due to thunderstorms. Jack Nicklaus is out on the course at the moment playing in his 45th Masters and not doing too badly. Sadly the same can't be said for Gary Player who is something like 10 over after only 7 holes. Any bets on MIckleson retaining the green jacket or perhaps on Tiger Woods winning it again? Alan

I have to go along with the others here. However, to find what you want it seems to me that you need to get a large group of people to go to a restaurant (chosen by your tg of course ). That way, you'll be able to get a choice of more dishes. As jambo says, be prepared for your lips, tongue and throat to be on fire! Alan

100 baht to the £ would be very nice, especially for those who are already retired in Thailand or for those planning on doing so in the near future. Somehow, I don't see it happening in the short term. Alan

You mean he didn't bribe the right person? Alan

Freudian slip here? Didn't know that April now had 31 days.

Richerts, you'll need to open an account with the Nationwide. You get very close to the true market rate plus no charges. Alan

That'll be never then Tabmule - as I don't have any kids Maybe by the time my great-nephew is old enough to play for his country though. BTW, he's not quite 2 years old. Alan

Tabmule, we Scots are getting used to not qualifying for the World Cup and European Championships these days. . There's always the 2008 European Championships, though there is still an outside chance that Scotland could finish 2nd in their group. I do seem to recall, however, that England failed to qualify for at least 2, if not 3 World Cups in succession not so many years ago. Still, unless they fuck up against Poland (hmm ....... this has happend before Alan

Not really much more I can add to the sentiments that others have expressed much better than I can. It is always a real tragedy when someone so young dies like this. My condolences to Om's family and all the staff and friends at the FLB. Hopefully, this just sad accident will dissuade a few people from hiring or buying motor bikes when in Pattaya. Alan

A much improved performance from Scotland tonight, only losing 2 - 0 to a superior Italian team whose goals both came from free kicks. Some hope for the future. Alan

I hadn't realised this before today but the reigning home football champions are none other than Northern Ireland. Unfortunately, like Scotland, they have since lost their way since then. I only watched the first half today and England were so superior in every department that it was a major surprise that the first half was goalless. England were expected to win, and to win comfortably, so the end result of 4 - 0 is no real surprise. England should win comfortably on Wednesday night, Poland having just thrashed their opponents on that night 8 - 1! Scotland have shown a vastly improved performance tonight and have just lost 2 - 0 to a superior Italian side, with both goals coming from free kicks. Still, it was an encouraging performance with some hope for the future, though fuck all chance of qualifying for the World Cup in 2006. Walter Smith should now concentrate on building a team that can qualify for the European Championships in 2008. Alan

If that bastard Vogts had still been in charge I'd have said that I had more chance of winning the jackpot outright on a triple rollover lottery than of getting even a draw. However, now that we have a Scot back in control I somehow think that the result will be yet another heroic defeat. At least, I am expecting a much improved performance though I doubt whether we can pull off a win. However, fingers crossed. Alan

It's many years since I've used Terminal 3 and then I did walk from there to Terminal 1. There is now a shuttle bus seervice between Terminals 1&2 and Terminal 3, but so long as your incoming flight is on time, you shouldn't have any problems. Terminal 4 is quite a bit further away and only takes me half an hour with hand luggage only. Alan

Eureka! I've located the original topic, but as it was posted in the members' only section,you may need to become a member to read the posts. Here's the link though. http://www.pattayatalk.com/forums/index.ph...0&hl=learn+thai Alan

I seem to recall that the Pattaya Language School (or Pattaya School of Languages) is very good. I think it's on North Pattaya Road close to Sukhumwit Road, but I could be totally wrong here. Not sure about the cost but don't think it's excessive. A similar question was asked some time ago and I thought I had saved the answer on my PC but if I did, it's well hidden! Alan

Danny, I've just looked at the ad in the Sunday Express and in tiny writing it says "works with AOL when using an alternative internet browser". I wonder therefore if I sign on to the internet using AOL and then use Internet Explorer, would that work? I don't know which company is more incompetent, AOL or Telewest. Alan

I understand your logic, marleyboy but my need for income is greater than my need for the capital. I have still to check out the tax position for my pension, and that will have a bearing on my ultimate decision. For example, if I can get the pension paid without deduction of tax in the UK and not have to pay tax on it in Thailand (now that WOULD be nice ), then I would almost certainly take the cash. If, on the other hand, it's better for me to pay income tax on my pension in the UK, this would reduce the amount of pension actually lost to about £1,250. Investing the cash in the stock market, I could fairly easily get a yield of around 4% to 4 1/2%, slightly less than the pension I would be losing. The other point I need to consider is what will rise at a faster rate - investment income or my pension? A large part of the increase is "discretionary" - in other words the Trustees will try to keep the rise as low as possible. Hopefully, the value of my investments will rise in the longer term, which is something else to take into account. Ah, decisions, decisions Alan

Thanks eltilza, Broadband is available where I stay but as I use AOL for accessing the internet I can only use their broadband service if I have a BT telephone line. Unfortunately, my telephone service is provided by Telewest and as AOL and Telewest won't talk to each other, I'm snookered. I've just had a quick look at OnSpeed's web site and they claim that it will work with any internet connection in any country. I'll report further on it later in the week or next week once I've had a chance to test it. Alan

In today's Sunday Express, there was an advert form a company. OnSpeed that claims to be able to provide you with a piece of software that will speed up considerably the time it takes to open web-sites etc. They charge £24.99 per annum. Has anyone tried them and if so what are your experiences? I'm tempted to give them a try and if it's useless then I'll just write off the £25 charge. Alan