ThaisGood

When we first married 15 years ago and moved to USA I was told by various people that within 2-3 years my wife would be "Americanized".  Well I never thought of her as Americanized.  She's Thai all the way but she loves a lot of things about this country.

For various personal reasons I am pretty determined that we all move to Thailand, with our 3 kids, for 6 months+.   My wife says, about this plan, "I don't know Thailand any more".  She seems to be disillusioned about Thailand.  She reads Thai Rath online and must focus on any bad news.  She is really negative about her country's safety.  Our daughter, who is nearly 15 and has all of the classic Thai/Farang good looks, is probably going to attract the most attention, but I say "so what".   My wife thinks our whole family is going to be miserable if we go to Thailand, because of these safety concerns.  

My idea is to settle in an area with some international community, such as Pattaya region, so our kids will have others to socialize with.

Not too long ago I took our daughter for 3 weeks in upcountry Thailand.   We rented a motorcycle and stayed in little resorts and just had a great time exploring.   As it is now, the same as when I lived in Thailand 20 years ago, I felt sabai all the time and never worried about my safety except for of course driving carefully to avoid accidents.  A few days after we started this trip, my wife on the phone said she was frantically worried about us in Thailand and could hardly sleep.  She was convinced someone would kidnap us, or jump out from behind a tree and steal my gold necklace, or just kill us for any reason.  It just sounded insane to me, and I mentioned it to my wife's family in Thailand.  They think it's not necessary to worry like this.

Any advice on how to discuss with my wife these issues.  She seems to be warming up to the idea very slowly but the bizarre safety issues are always on her mind.

Hello.  Sorry if this is a common topic that has already been discussed.

Assuming a person enters Thailand with a Non-Immigrant B visa (business), 12 month, multiple entry.

I think I was told by a person at the Thai consulate in LA that with this visa, one does not have to leave Thailand every 90 days, but one must appear at an immigration office within Thailand every 90 days.  Did I misunderstand something, or is this the case?  

I believe I read elsewhere that with this visa, the person still must leave the country every 90 days, even if it's just for a "visa run" across the border and back again.

Thanks for clarification!

ThaisGood

Hello.  My wife of 15 years is Thai and our 3 kids have Thai passports.  As a family we've never resided in Thailand, but over the years we've made plenty of visits.  Our kids have basic Thai language skills, and I know Thai fairly well because I spent years as a kid there.  I am farang but I think my own visa issues for staying in Thailand are under control.

Now we are planning to move to Thailand early next year.  The plan is to close up our house here, and go stay in Thailand through end of summer 2012, maybe longer if we can swing it.  

Our oldest child is in high school here in USA, we have a middle schooler and one in elementary.  

I wonder if anyone can give advice concerning renting a house.  We have family in Kanchanaburi but we don't need to be in the same area.  I'd like to avoid Bangkok.  I want the kids to go to an international school, one with a reasonable tuition.  What can we expect as far as school tuition goes?  

I was thinking that Pattaya has an international community (?).  I do prefer a quiet highlands area such as Mae Hong Son, Chiang Rai, etc, but I wonder if there are going to be schools for the kids there.  

Any suggestions about where to stay, how to find a place to live, and anything else is highly appreciated.  Thank you!

ThaisGood

Hi.  20 years ago (time flies!) I rode a motorcycle up to 3 Pagoda Pass and went into Burma.  There was a very small checkpoint and I think they might have charged a bit of money to enter, I don't remember.  My friend and I rode into Burma for an hour or so and then turned around and came back into Thailand.  It was really hassle free.    

Now I am interested in doing the same trip.  I have US passport.  I read that they give a 24 hour visa at the border pass, so I can go and come back within 24 hours but longer than that is not allowed.

I would really like to enter Burma and stay for two or three days, but I wonder if it will be difficult to return back into Thailand overland. Perhaps I can get a visa at the Burmese embassy in Bangkok?

Another question: how easy is it to hop on a flight to Rangoon from Bangkok?  Approx cost?  Visa needed in advance of flight?

Thanks in advance for Burma travel info.

Hello.  Sorry if this has been asked already.  I want to know what the spot price of pure gold is in Thai baht.  

Assume I have a 10 gram bar of gold, Credit Suisse assayed gold bar.

I saw this in today's newspaper:
"The Gold Traders Association this morning announced the buying price at 19,419.96 baht per baht-weight for gold ornaments and 19,700 baht per baht-weight for gold bar."

What exactly is baht-weight?  I think one baht is 15.244 grams, however that is 96.5% pure.  The real amount of pure gold in one baht gold is 14.7 grams.

I am just looking for a calculation that will explain the spot price per gram of pure Swiss gold.

Thanks!