Pon's New Shop

Well I haven’t had the urge to write for a while. Somehow, without anything particularly exciting happening, I have felt quite busy. It has been nothing too demanding. I certainly couldn’t complain that my life in Phuket is stressful. It has all been easy stuff. A few odd jobs, a few chores, take care of the kids, play football, golf, swim, exercise, computer, etc.

Well come to think of it, I did have a computer hard disc crash. That was frustrating as my last full back up was 3-months ago and when I looked at it, it turned out it had not completed so I did not even have everything from 3-months ago. Lots of little things worked against me in my efforts to recover my data. The main thing was it looked like I had lost 4-months worth of family photos.

I had just about given up on the possibility of ever recovering the photos when I had the bright idea of scraping the memory card from my digital camera. The photos had all long been deleted from the memory card but with the right software, you can still recover deleted files from the card. So that is what I did and to my relief it scraped off the majority of my lost pictures.

So there is a lesson for everyone – make sure you keep regular back ups of the important stuff on your computer.

A month ago my wife Pon got the urge to open a small restaurant. It is just a Thai style food place in a shop front on the local estate. These sort of places will never make a lot of money but she is not really doing it for the money – she just likes food and chatting. Most Thai women like food and chatting.

These little Thai restaurants don’t make much money but they also don’t cost much to set up. She rents the shop for 2000 baht a month, she spent a fair few thousand baht fitting it out and that was it, she was open. She sells somtam for 30-baht and other Thai dishes for 50-baht. Everyday her friends and assorted local characters drift in and out. It is all very informal. Her friends might help with the cooking, bring food of their own or a few drinks. It seems like every few day, the evening develops into a general boozing session.

It is more of a social affair than a business enterprise. Still she is taking in more than 1000 baht a day which is good for a small Thai business. I’m not sure how much of that turnover actually turns into profit. Pon can’t be bothered to keep accurate accounts of her expenses and income.

I just pop in for my evening meal and occasionally join the locals for a few drinks. It is very handy having a restaurant in the family. I pre-order whatever dish I fancy – somtam, tom yam goong, grapow gai, gaeng keeow wahn, etc, etc, so many good options to choose from.

Well I better make full use of it while it is there. If I know my wife, it will be closed in a few months and she will be ready to move on to her next hobby.

Marriage Visa Extension

We have been back from our travels for a couple of weeks now. It was a good little trip. Ben now fancies himself as quite the little 5-year old daredevil. His antics this trip included paddling a kayak down rapids, driving an ATV and he even did an army parachute cable jump. He has been watching the X-games and his new ambition is to be a speed rock climber. It is all a far cry from when I was that age and all we had was football in the street.

Anyway, I am feeling quite pleased with myself because I have finally sorted myself a proper 1-year extension to my visa. I have lived in Thailand for 8-years now but strangely, I have done the entire stay using what are basically short-term visas. Yes, these visas did include 1-year multi-entry marriage visas but even these still mean you have to leave the country every 3-months. Perhaps what is even more strange is that I was quite happy to accept this arrangement.

For anyone who is unaware of Thai visa regulations, if you want to stay in Thailand long-term without doing regular visa runs, then you have to apply for an extension of stay. Firstly, you get your marriage visa (or business visa, education visa, retirement visa, etc) from a Thai consulate outside of Thailand. However, these visas really only allow short-term stays of 90-days (I think it is 1 year for the retirement visa). To stay longer than this you have to go to an immigration office and apply for an extension of stay. You have to meet the various regulations and criteria, which vary depending on what type of visa you are extending.

I always knew I could apply for a 1-year extension to the marriage visa but I could never quite be bothered with all the paperwork. I was happy to take my family for a trip every 3-months and hop over the border. Then every 15-months I went to the Thai consulate in Penang to get a new 1-year multi-entry visa.

However, this all changed on my last trip to Penang when they said they would only give me a single-entry 3-months. Now my hand was forced. I either had to go to Penang every 3-months which really would turn into a major chore, or I had to do the 1-year extension. I started gathering the paperwork. I spent some time researching the required paperwork (http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/ is a great source for up to date visa info).

Currently, the main requirement for an extension to the marriage visa is to either show 400,000 baht in a Thai bank or an income greater than 40,000-baht a month. I was going to apply on the income basis. My income comes from renting out my flat in London. The evidence the Thai immigration office wants is a letter from your embassy confirming the income. So my first step was to send the rental receipts to the British Embassy in Bangkok and request the letter, duly returned for a fee of 1,868-baht.

I then gathered up the rest of the required documents. These include the obvious such as passport, marriage certificate, children’s birth certificates, wife’s id card and tabien baan (originals plus 2 copies of everything). Also required is your Thai bank book (plus 2 copies of every page), even if you are applying on the income option.

One other slightly odd requirement mentioned is family photos and a map to your house so the immigration officers can make random checks on the authenticity of the marriage. It turns out different immigration offices have their own interpretation of the rules and the Phuket office do not require this.

So with wife in tow, we went to the immigration office and made the application. They were too busy and told us to come back next week. We returned the following week and made the application. There was one problem with our paperwork. We had the original ‘kor ror 3’ marriage certificate when apparently what we needed was the ‘kor ror 2’ marriage certificate. Off we dashed to our local Amphur office for the correct certificate. An hour later and finally the application was completed. You get a 30-day ‘under consideration’ period and then you go back to find out if the extension has been granted. I had met all the requirements for the extension but you still worry whether the application will be accepted.

So 30-days later, we returned to the immigration office. This time it was very quiet. We went straight to the desk and the officer took my passport and disappeared with a mysterious expression on his face. He returned with some paperwork, perused it, looked concerned, sucked in some air and shook his head. Then suddenly stamp, stamp, stamp in my passport, a big smile and he returned the passport. They were actually very pleasant through the whole process.

So fantastic, no more visa runs for me. You do have to go to the immigration office every 90-days to confirm your address but that is a lot easier than leaving the country every 90-days.

School starts again next week.

Koh Chang

After a week in Nakhon Nayok I had passed my 'out in the sticks' threshold and it was time to move on. It was a good stay. We did songkhran. I filled in a couple of days by checking out the local golf course. Royal Hills is a very nice course with a good range of facilities. The place is a very nice addition to my entertainment options while I am on 'sticks' duty. They even have UBC so I can get my Spurs action with English commentary instead of having to drive into town and watch it in the local music bar while the band insist on playing Hotel California because a farang is in the bar. This week, even Spurs didn't let me down. They got a 1-0 win over Newcastle that puts us firmly in the hunt for European places. It is strange that a football result actually affects my mood but it really does. I have had an extra spring in m,y step for the last couple of days.

So it was time to move on. We have driven to Koh Chang in Trat. I like Koh Chang. It has certainly developed a lot in the last few years but I think it still retains a bit of a laid back, beach-bum feel to it. It does have fantastic beaches. The prices are obviously a little touristy, but only a little. It is all still much cheaper than Phuket.

We have a nice big bungalow in the trees by the beach for 800 baht a night. The resort sells big bottles of beer for 80-baht, a good bowl of Tom Yam Goong is also 80-baht.

There are plenty of bars and restaurants around. Certainly no problem finding the football here. Basically, they now have everything you need but still at reasonable prices and with a nice laid back feel.

The island is developing rapidly, even from the last time I visited two years ago. There are lots of new resorts and quite a few of the old back-packer huts have disappeared. You can't stop development but hopefully they will contain it and maintain the nice relaxed atmosphere.

Back to Nakhon Nayok

It is time for our annual trip to Nakhon Nayok. We normally take our time driving up but this year the timing was so close to Songkhran that we just got on with the drive. As it turned out, we timed it perfectly. As we drove north from Phuket towards Bangkok, we had nice clear roads while all the way there were traffic jams on the other side of the road heading south. The traffic was heavy as we bypassed Bangkok but we soon found open road again and reached Nakhon Nayok in record time.

The weather was fairly crap for the whole trip and there was a full on thunderstorm as we arrived. It seems like the rainy season has arrived early this year. This is a shame as half the point of Songkhran is that it is normally the hottest time of year and a perfect time for a good water fight. There is not much point in having a water fight during a rain storm. Well fortunately, today is Songkhran proper and the weather has cleared here just in time. It is a nice sunny day outside and the water fights are in full swing.

Nakhon Nayok is still the same. Everyone is very friendly. There is lots of good food and it is all very picturesque. Lots of people come from Bangkok every weekend to play in the rivers and waterfalls and there will be more than normal for Songkhran.

We normally make this a 2 or 3 week trip but we have got here so quickly that I don't know what I will do to fill the time. I enjoy taking it easy in Nakhon Nayok for about a week but then the novelty wears off and I want to move again. We will need a plan to fill our time.

Koh Racha Islands

I do like a trip to a nice island. If it has a good beach and some decent snorkeling then that is ideal. Hopefully, it will not be too crowded but will have a few restaurants and bars. All the better if we can stay for a night or two to really chill out and appreciate the place. So when a few of our local Thai friends invited us to join them on a trip to Koh Racha, I was more than happy to accept. A couple of them work for one of the major hotels in Phuket and they had a very good deal on a speedboat tour and bungalow resort.

There are two islands, Koh Racha Yai & Noi. They are a fair distance out from Phuket and it takes dive boats well over an hour to get out there. Taking the speedboat really makes a difference. We zipped across from Chalong pier in half an hour and moored at the pier in Patok Bay at Koh Racha Yai. There is a great beach in this bay. There is also a posh 5-star resort and a handful of shops and restaurants.

I have visited Koh Racha a few times before on diving and fishing trips. Obviously, this involves spending most of your time on the water so I had never really had a look inside the island. Looking from the sea, I always assumed there was nothing much within the islands except for jungle. I was therefore quite surprised when our bungalow resort picked us up from the beach (with a tractor and trailer) and whisked us into the island. There are tracks and pathways around the island. Along the tracks are a few rustic little bungalow resorts, restaurants and coconut plantations.

Our bungalows were at the Raya Father Resort. It has pleasant little bungalows for 1000-baht a night (unless you are getting a special deal like us). There is a restaurant, internet shop and a little garden. We settled in and then went back to Patok Bay where our speedboat was waiting to take us for a cruise around Racha Yai. There is some great snorkeling around the Racha islands and we even saw a dolphin jump out the water.

After the cruise, our resort provided lunch (all included) and then we wandered across to the island’s other major beach in Siam Bay for the afternoon. It is a beautiful, quiet and laid back beach. We spent a lazy afternoon swimming and sleeping. We spent the evening at our bungalow resort eating and drinking.

It is all just the sort of stuff I like from an island trip. Good beaches, good snorkeling, friendly locals and relaxing evenings by the bungalow supping a few beers (well quite a lot of beers).

The food and drink prices at the outlying islands are generally a little higher than on Phuket, as they have to bring everything out by boat. We did a trip to Coral Island a few weeks ago where they were massively overcharging and we won’t be going back to that beach again. The prices at Racha Yai are what you would expect to pay at the islands and are reasonable. The Racha Islands are a good option for a few days island getaway.

School Holidays

The main Thai school holidays have started. They last for two months from the middle of March until the middle of May. It is the hottest time of the year and it also covers Thai New Year. So every day Ben and Jenny are scrambling around the house from morning to night. I had forgotten how peaceful it is when they are both at school.

In one way, I look forward to the school holidays because school days are a bit of an effort. We need to do the bedtime routine and get the kids to bed early the night before. We need to get up early, cajole the kids through the morning routine and then get them to school. We need to pick the kids up in the afternoon. It is all a bit limiting on what we can do in the day. Now the school holidays have started, we can do whatever we want.

On the other hand, after a couple of weeks of school holidays, I start to miss the order and routine of school days. During school holidays, we often get lazy about putting the kids to bed. It is easier to let them play until they are exhausted and fall asleep. They are remorseless and play all day. We have to try to keep up, control their exuberance, referee their little quarrels and generally limit the damage. It is great to see them so active and happy but it also leaves us feeling quite exhausted by the end of the day.

We haven’t done anything special yet this holiday. At the moment, Pon is suffering from tendonitis in her shoulder so she is a bit limited in what she can do. We go for the odd trip to the beach, park or a restaurant.

This is also the time of year we usually do our annual trip to Pon’s home village. We drive around, find a few nice spots to stay between here and there, spend a week at the village and then come back. As pon is currently suffering a little, we will give it at least another couple of weeks to clear up before we think about going.

Phi Phi Islands

Last weekend a gang of us spent the weekend at the Phi Phi islands. It is funny that somehow, with such a beautiful place only an easy boat ride away, that I have only been out there a handful of times and have not stayed overnight since my first visit to Thailand 9 years ago.

Well this weekend everything slipped into place for a trip away. We had a few friends around who were free for the trip so 11 of us set out for Phi Phi. You get the ferry at Rassada Port, which is the other side of Phuket Town. They leave about 8:30 in the morning and the return fair is about 600-baht.

Phi Phi has changed a lot since the first time I stayed and jeez, Phi Phi is busy. With the rest of Thailand suffering a tourism downturn, I assumed things would be relatively quiet at Phi Phi. How wrong I was. Phi Phi seems to be immune from the credit crunch. There are at least a dozen ferries doing the return trip daily from Phuket and also from Krabi and Ao Nang. There are dozens of speedboats buzzing day-trippers around the islands. Maya Bay (made famous in the movie ‘The Beach’) was crammed.

Still there is no denying the beauty of the place. The limestone cliffs are stunning and at this time of the year, the sea is flat, blue and inviting. There are some good diving sites and some of the snorkeling is quite sumptuous.

The ferry docks at Tonsai Bay. I saw this area not long after the tsunami and it was flattened. You would never know now. There are two bays here that almost meet. They are separated by a sandy plain only 200-meters wide. This entire strip of land has now been developed with hotels, guesthouses, restaurants and bars.

We wanted some cheap beach bungalows, which we thought would be easy enough to find. Well it wasn’t that easy. We found a few basic bamboo huts starting from 800-baht a night but we ended up settling on some slightly plusher bungalows for 1,500 baht. They were next to the beach (the one opposite where the ferries land). This area also seems to have become a bit of a party area for the young crowd. They have nightly beach parties with disco music and spinning flame sticks.

In the evening, we looked for a relaxing restaurant. Every restaurant was full, they are all doing great business. We finally found a place where they could squeeze in 11 people and had a decent meal. Then we drank beer on the beach while watching the party revelers and the spinning flame sticks.


The next day we hired a longtail boat to look around Phi Phi. It was a lovely trip. We visited Monkey Beach and despite the number of people, we still found a couple of isolated coves that were beautiful and quiet. We found some lovely snorkeling. Ben may only be 5 but he wasn’t going to be left out so he soon had his life-jacket and mask on and was swimming amongst the fish.

We all thoroughly enjoyed the trip although it wasn’t exactly what we had expected. Phi Phi is certainly changing. There are more 4-star hotels and less backpacking accommodation. It seems that Phi Phi is going a bit more up-market. There also seems to be a large young party crowd. In fact, there is quite a crowd, full stop.

Despite the crowds, Phi Phi still has a lot to offer and I hope it will not be another 9-years before we go and stay over again.