What does your gf or wife think about Falang land?

Beer Monkey, don't know if this was first, but very early in Thai history with west, got this from Wikipedia
"King Narai's reign saw a major expansion of diplomatic missions to and from Western powers, most notably France, England, and the Vatican. Missions were also sent and received from Persia, India and China, as well as other neighbouring states. Another notable feature of Narai's reign was the unprecedented influence of foreigners at the Siamese court, embodied in the meteoric rise of Constantine Phaulkon, a Greek adventurer who would eventually hold the modern equivalent of the post of Prime Minister.

King Narai especially sought to expand relations with the French, as a counterweight to Portuguese and Dutch influence in his kingdom, and at the suggestion of his Greek councillor Phaulkon. Numerous embassies were exchanged in both directions. A first Siamese ambassador to France was sent in the person of Phya Pipatkosa on board the Soleil d'Orient, but the ship was wrecked off the coast of Africa after leaving Mauritius, and he disappeared.[2][3] A second embassy was sent to France in 1684 (passing through England), led by Khun Pijaiwanit and Khun Pijitmaitri, requesting the dispatch of a French embassy to Thailand.[4] They met with Louis XIV in Versailles. In response, Louis XIV sent an embassy led by the Chevalier de Chaumont. A second Thai embassy to France was led by Kosa Pan in 1686. "

1680's..that will do for me.
Nice one Stan.

My TW likes it here in Michigan. She likes to see the sights as she says,and loves to go fishing especially in the winter on ice.When spring arrives she is out working in her garden planting veggies and flowers. She has met several other Thai ladies that have lived in this small town for a number of years so she can get together for a gossip now then and make some Thai food for them to enjoy .Sometimes I get the feeling that she wants to stay here instead of going back to Udon. I just tell her it's up to you.

My wife LOVES it here in the West! She got her first ever Visa allowing her to leave Thailand in 2006 -- her dream! -- and arrived here in Canada on May 10 of that year.

Sure, she's been back every year since -- even though I haven't been able to afford to go, too, since my last visit in 2005 when she and I married. But her mother and her two sons were there -- at least, until her visit last year. We had finally gotten her boys approved for Visas, so Jack returned to Canada with them last September. (I was "inspired" to commence a blog that month that I have haphazardly maintained: http://siamlongings.blogspot.com. Initially, it was intended to be something of a family album; but it didn't take too long before I started using it as a medium to bitch and complain whenever the mood struck.)

So here I am, facing my 60th birthday this coming October 11. My dream for the past decade or more was that I'd Retire at the end of this year, and go away some place inexpensive that would make my government Pension livable. You see, I'd still have to work another couple of years at least to finally have that Pension achieve $2,000 per month; but had I been unencumbered now, with whatever the Canada Pension would add to this -- plus any Old Age Pension by the time I'm 65 -- I could have been free.

Not so with a Thai wife here, and her sons aged 11 and 14. I need a decent full-time Salary.

Jack -- bless her -- says that I can still Retire. But the reality is against that. Her part-time earnings at the Thai restaurant she works at couldn't even comfortably support her.

She speaks of us returning to Thailand at my Retirement, but she also would like her sons to get through school here, and then be old enough to decide for themselves what they want to do with their lives. Remain in Canada...or return to Thailand, and take their risks there, as in poor-paying employment opportunities, the possibility of mandatory military service, and so forth.

We're even buying two rai of land in her Nong Soong village later this year -- she will be going back in September or October to finish this purchase. At this juncture, it isn't likely the boys and I will also go, unless a financial miracle thrusts itself upon us. The entire purchase is being done on my line of credit.

Further illustration of Jack's adaptation to Canada is that she got her driver's licence a few weeks ago -- she'd only ever driven a motorbike in Thailand. She tried for a learner's permit a dozen times here before finally scoring high enough for the permit, yet somehow she got her actual driver's licence on one attempt -- that blew me away!

And now she's even got a car -- we bought it July 4th. I believe it's a 2003 Mazda. The owner had wanted something like $3,400 or $3,500, but she got him to agree to take $2,900 when she spoke to him over the phone.

I'm not car savvy, but a couple guys we know who are conversant with motor vehicles agreed that she got a good deal once they checked the vehicle out. To get her registered with the car, plus some plates and three months of insurance -- another $905. Again, it's all been done on line of credit.

Yet more proof of her settlement here is that she wants to get one of her two sisters a Visa to come here in the next year. It would have to be on a work permit basis, but the Thais are adept at pulling this off because of the specialization of Thai restaurant cookery. And this sister has owned her own such business in the past in Phuket. Incidentally, as of this year, the sister has a baby who would also have to come.

The ol' household could be getting pretty full if this all plays out.

So yes, some Thai gals do damned nicely out of the homeland. Jack had never crossed her country's borders before -- the best she'd ever done is straddle the Thai-Laos border on the Friendship Bridge or some such place back early in this decade before she'd ever met me. She told me that the experience was important to her at that point in her life -- she was in her late 20s, and it was the first time she had ever set foot outside Thai territority.

She actually got to visit Laos for real a year or two ago on one of her visits back to Thailand. She and a friend crossed over and spent a few hours there, just long enough to have a meal and check out some shops and sights.

By the time I met Jack in early 2003, she had a fair command of conversational English, thanks to two Americans she met early into this decade when one of them was getting married -- both of these guys took to her because of the aid she gave them in everything involved with that wedding, so they later helped fund her for some English schooling in Udon Thani. I mentioned it in a 2006 thread when I posted about Jack getting her Visa (http://www.udonmap.com/udonthaniforum/visa-at-last-t1300.html). To recap, while I was surfing for some Thailand-related photos to add to a file I used for a screen-saver, I stumbled upon a Web site belonging to the guy who had come along to Thailandin the role of photographer for his groom friend. A collection of photos he had profiled included a few that I quickly realized were of the lady who was now my wife. So I got in touch with him. It developed that both he and the other American had always wondered on Jack's fate.

If I'm going to get to Thailand before I'm too deep into my 60s, then I'm convinced I'm going to have to figure out how to make some sort of living via the Internet -- I've been trying the lotteries regularly since the late 1970s, and only ever won $1,000 as my top prize -- so that hasn't worked. And what bloody use is Retiring now if I'll need to work a second job part-time? It still won't allow me to go anywhere for long. I want to be able to get out of here and live abroad while I still have enough vigour to make it fully achievable.

But this post is about the adaptation of a Thai wife abroad, and I wanted to show that a decent and basic country girl can do quite well once she gets the opportunity. Jack has lots of Thai and Lao friends she has gotten to know over here; and because of her extensive collection of contacts, just last night she, I, and another Thai/Farang couple attended an anniversary party of yet another Thai/Farang pairing, and there had to have been a dozen similar couples in the broad mix of attendees.

Between the babble of Thai and the welcome sight of so many beautiful, friendly Thai and Lao ladies parading about and arresting the male eye, it was almost like experiencing an evening in Thailand!

"What does your wife think of Farlang Land"

Luckily..... Not-a-lot! ...... She's been there, done that, and happier in Thailand!
Says a lot for the UK

Garnet wrote:So here I am, facing my 60th birthday this coming October 11.

Looking good at 60 though Garnet.

You've always been too cool for words, Beer Monkey!! It's no wonder whatsoever that you're so generally popular on the Forum.

So...thanks, my friend!

Garnet wrote:You've always been too cool for words, Beer Monkey!! It's no wonder whatsoever that you're so generally popular on the Forum.

So...thanks, my friend!

Garnet,You'll have BM's head ( The one on his shoulders ) Swelling up even more,Watch it,Please !!

Well Nitaya is counting the days now until we go back,She can't wait.....Mind you she's got a few quid in the bank over in Blighty.....So I think I will let her buy the when we get back.....555