A visa run
Dear Hillary,
I’m here on a retirement visa but I’ve been offered a part-time job managing my local bar while the owner goes overseas for a month. Do I have to give them my passport and visa, or am I ok with the visa I’ve got at present. I would like to run the place (I ran a pub before in the UK) as it’s a bit of fun.
Geordie
Dear Geordie,
I’m the wrong person to ask, my Petal. Broken hearts don’t need a visa! Changing your status can be a problem I believe, but you should ask a visa agent, not me! And be ready to fill out your forms in triplicate, that’s a good lad.
Another 50 G’s down the drain
Dear Hillary,
I’ve been living here for five years and in that time I’ve had a couple of live-ins. All seemed hunky dory at first, with the girl making sure everything in the condo was fine. Got rid of the maid that used to come each week as the girl took charge, and I was happy enough with this. Life soon became a bottle of wine every night with our meal, all very sophisticated but then became a bottle for her during the day and another shared with me at night. You can see what happened after that. If I came home early for any reason she would be entertaining her friends, drinking my wine, and it just got worse from there. “Wife” Number One was chucked out, and she left quietly, after 50,000 baht came her way.
I promised myself I would be more savvy and when Number Two arrived with two suitcases I was sure I would be ready. Laid down the ground rules and everything was agreed to. I’d drop by the condo unexpectedly and she would be reading a book or watching TV. Good as gold. Then she started to spend some time away visiting her girlfriends. Then she would take trips up-country every month. I was starting to get suspicious, and when she would come back two days late I was very suspicious, and when I found plane tickets to somewhere else up-country, that was it. “Wife” Number Two was chucked out, after another 50 grand changed hands.
What should I do now, Hillary? I’m getting tired of coughing up 50 G’s every six months. How do you recognize the honest ones from the gold diggers?
Walt
Dear Walt,
You certainly have been having an unlucky time with your choices of “wives”, haven’t you, my Petal. Mind you, this is what can happen when you take in a “mia chow”, literally a “rented” wife. Your live-ins are not based on love, or even any real emotion. It’s a straight up fee for service. And you get what you pay for, and I don’t think you have been paying top whack. I will also guess that you took these women in without really knowing them at all. “Courting” is done to find out what kind of person she is, and it has not been done, has it? I think you have to go a bit slower (make that a lot slower) and perhaps only employ the next one two days a week for a couple of months, so you get to know her a bit better, before leaving the door (and your wallet) open.
A wife’s duties
Dear Hillary,
Just how much should a husband put up with? My Thai wife (though we’re not officially married but been together for six years) is starting to get quite lazy. When I come home from the office, she will be watching TV or on the computer and will still be in her PJs, dirty dishes in the sink, floors not mopped, clothes not washed. I’m having to take my shirts to the laundry close to work myself. The relationship is starting to be a little one-sided if you ask me. What’s the next step?
Paul
Dear Paul,
Have you sat down with your wife and discussed this? After being together for six years you must have a reasonable good system of communication by now. Mind you, the duties that are left undone are really those of a maid – is this what you expect of a wife – home duties and humping later? You must be bringing in a good salary; get a maid and then encourage your wife to do something creative to fill in her time between dinners. One last point, Petal. Is your wife drinking during the day? Alcohol problems can sometimes show up like this.
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