Vintage_Kwai Posted January 17, 2012 Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 Mekhong, thanks for the heads-up. Points valid and well taken. I already have PR and have had this for almost ten years, so immigration visits are done by myself. The officers are familiar faces. Don't think retirement visa necessary in view of PR status as length of stay is open-ended. Also have the kids to think about so don't think I'm going to get thrown out just yet. Both families are close as well so don't think it will happen. Also on the wrong side of 50 so will probably croak before I get thrown out. Cheers VK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Munchmaster Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 ...Longterm, I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do to fill in the days... As LOS and particularly Bangkok are very high on The Munchmaster's list (currently a list of two) of places to retire to or at least slow down in, although probably not for a wee while yet, I often think about exactly the same thing, i.e., what the feck will I do with all that free time? Bars, particularly ones in Bkk, do have a very magnetic effect on me, day or night, and once in I am very difficult to dislodge, unless for the purposes of relocating to another bar, so I suspect that if I didn't have other activities to occupy my time then my retirement might end up being quite short! Daytime is less of a concern as I like to play the occassional round of golf (although it always includes a few beers), I like to get out and about with my camera (although rarely do on my visits to Bkk due to the aforementioned magnetic effect), some of my mates are into cycling so I could join them occassionally, etc, etc. However once the sun is over the yardarm what the feck is there to do in Bkk other than go to the bars? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted January 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 I suspect that we both need an indoor hobby that doesnt involve women or alcohol. Er, hang on, I dont like where I'm going with this .... Having spent a lifetime in front of one computer screen or another, I long to get away from the bloody thing, but as soon as you step out into the heat you start spending money. Pocket billiards is great, but even Fiery Jack couldnt do that for 12 hours a day (at least I don't think he could ..) I guess we will simply have to count our blessings, particularly waking up and hearing rain thundering down outside at 7am on a Monday morning. Not to mention seeing some poor sod saying his goodbyes as he prepares for the taxi back to the airport - that's got to be one of the big 'thank you, Jeebus !' moments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekong Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 Mekhong, thanks for the heads-up. Points valid and well taken. I already have PR and have had this for almost ten years, so immigration visits are done by myself. The officers are familiar faces. Don't think retirement visa necessary in view of PR status as length of stay is open-ended. Also have the kids to think about so don't think I'm going to get thrown out just yet. Both families are close as well so don't think it will happen. Also on the wrong side of 50 so will probably croak before I get thrown out. Cheers VK VK If kids are involved in a divorce and the foreigner is the registered father on birth registration certificate then Non imm O is still reissued on the basis of caring for family, in my case we had no kids. I have a friend who's wife passed away many years ago yet he kept his non Imm O and Work Permit due to caring for his son Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted January 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 97 weeks, but who's counting ? Sigh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave32 Posted January 20, 2012 Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 However once the sun is over the yardarm what the feck is there to do in Bkk other than go to the bars? Look at it like this MM, in most places the question is: "However once the sun is over the yardarm what the feck is there to do" ---> being in Bangkok and able to take advantage of the nightlife isn't in the equation. I mean sometimes I hate going to bars thank you very much, but --> whatever Bangkok is, I haven't found it dull yet. OK - maybe sometimes, yeah. But there's a history and a million stories going on around you at any given moment, and there's a certain allure -- beyond all the bullshit. And even the bullshit has an allure. In BKK -- It hasn't been an issue staying interested in what was around me. The idea of having a year to explore with no agenda or structure is... something I want. Wake up, experience life whatever it may be that particular moment or day. Period. But my thing is a one year experiment. And there will be some structure as it's made possible via one of the much-criticized education visas, so some chunk of resources will be devoted to learning the language. Past that.... as Confucius once said: Fuck it. Lets get cracking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted January 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Yeah, I briefly toyed with the Ed Visa thing - still havent ruled it out - but it would seem to 'imprison' you in Thailand for most of that year. I'm quite interested in what coss is doing - living on the cheap in Laos (GF notwithstanding) and doing naughtyboy visa runs into the LOS. My experience has usually been the opposite - the visa runs being the boring part Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 I used to love my Lao visa runs, get away early to catch the train at Nong Khai, down to Khon Kaen to the Lao consulate, hang around the markets for a few hours while the visa is processed, then train back to Udon for a night out. I used to take an extra day and have a night out in Nong Khai on the way but it made for a spectacularly dismal journey the next day so I gave it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted January 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Udon isnt a total backwater, even if the Farang bars are a tiny shadow of what you might find elsewhere. When I was there in 2008, GTG and her friend took me to see a Thai rock band (ok, more 'pop' than rock, but at least they could play their instruments). The Thai audience was mostly hysterical girls who clearly wanted to do more for the band than polite applause, although this was probably aided and abetted by the fact that you had to buy a bottle of JW Black just to get a table. You can still get pissed while watching a band in Oz, but its a lot rarer than it was in the 80s and definitely not with 'big name' bands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Munchmaster Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Udon isnt a total backwater, even if the Farang bars are a tiny shadow of what you might find elsewhere. Sounds very appealling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.