Village Life

I haven’t seen much evidence of a Thai community in Chichester  and was expecting to be reminded that I am ten thousand kilometres away.

But I ate myself to a standstill at the Chichester Thai Festival.

Still no dry curry.

But there was papaya salad, logan juice and the coconut desserts you get wrapped in banana leaf. Mu ping, fried banana and crispy pork.

Khanom krok, nam isan, sai krok isan, and the Chiangmai sausage.

Thai dancing and a young male vocalists who switched easily between between Thai and English who sang exceptionally well.

Stalls selling Thai food products including bamboo shoots, durian and sataw. Others displaying clothes and other typically Thai goods.

Traditional Thai massage

And plenty to keep the kids occupied whilst Mum and Dad relax with an ice cold Singha beer.

My Dad has been working in the UK for the last eighteen months.

A lake surrounded by mountains. Peace, tranquility and healthy living at Phuu Fa Nam Organic Farm.

Tucked away on the back roads is an organic farmstay in Suphanburi. A working farm supplying organic produce to markets in Bangkok.

The Chaloem Rattanakosin National Park is one of those special places where you kick off your shoes and simply relax.

The main attraction that draws visitors, besides the locals with whom it is popular, is a hike from the Tham Than Lod Noi or small cave and a steep climb to the Tham Than Lod Yai cave. Where Yai is big and its not really a cave. More of an arch. What used to be a cave a long long time ago.

It’s stunning. It’s also exhausting. Especially if you have kids in tow.

Which is when the water and rock slide makes a lot more sense.

They will spend hours clambering up and down, then up those rocks again. While Mum and Dad relax over a prepacked lunch.

There is a restaurant area at the Visitor Centre. But its a bit hit and miss as they only open when its busy and are usually closed during the week. Early on there was also a small restaurant at the gate which used to serve the most delicious som than thai, larb and Thai omlette.

There is a camp site with ablution and cooking facilities and I think you can hire tents. But we always used to book Parks chalet. They are reasonably priced and comfortable.

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It took a while to clear the stumps left over from the sugar cane. But eventually managed to some semblance of order in the vegetable garden.

I had almost given up on local beef until a chance encounter with an unreasonably tender sirloin steak at the Camp Cafe in Kanchanaburi gave us every reason to drive down to Kamphaeng Saen.

Kamphaeng Saen is home to the Kasetsart Agricultural University where they breed a sell KU Beef.  You can buy frozen meat retail from their shop on the campus as well as in bulk. Although for some cuts you need to pre-order.

There is also an onsite Steak House for potential clients who might still be a little sceptical about the quality of what is the best beef I have found in Thailand.

 

150 pounds Isle of Man or Southampton selt.languagecert.org/?exam=6B5AB3D856F44D04A5928D33A1631409&country=50EB9A019EAB4678AE83D2DA8A4EC680

We booked with Trinty College London and did the test in Portsmouth. Relatively painless besides the exam fee and the revision packet I bought which was not used.

Twenty four hours later we got an email to say it was a C pass and we wait for the certificate to be validated and sent. Next will be the visa application and hopefully another two and a half years to address grammar mistakes.

 

Got of to a bad start as usual. I searched for:

Further Leave to Remain visa in the UK

which did take me to the government website. But not the information I needed. After a few more dead ends I finaly got to where I wanted to be.

https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spouse

To apply both partners need to be 18 or over and must intend to live together permanently in the UK. You must be able to prove you’re in a civil partnership or marriage that’s recognised in the UK or that  you’ve been living together in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply.

You also need to prove you:
• have a good knowledge of English
• can financially support yourself and your dependants

To prove your relationship send evidence that:
• confirms your relationship with your partner – for example, that you live together, share expenses or are married or in a civil partnership
• is less than 4 years old

Documents from the government, a bank, landlord, utility provider, or a medical professional. Things like:
• a marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate
• a tenancy agreement, utility bills or council tax bills confirming that you live at the same address or pay bills together
• a bank statement from a joint bank account, or confirming that you live at the same address
• a letter from your doctor or dentist confirming that you live at the same address
If you do not have any evidence that meets this criteria, there is other evidence you can provide instead. However, it’s less likely that you’ll be given a visa in this case.

You can stay in the UK for 2 years and 9 months on this visa.

You’ll need to prepare information and documents to provide with your application which you submit online whilst in the UK.

You can add children to your application as dependants if they are under 18 when you apply, or were under 18 when they were first granted leave and they do not live an independent life. A child is living an independent life if, for example, they’ve left home, got married and had children.

The earliest you can apply to settle in the UK (called ‘indefinite leave to remain’) is after you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years continuously on a family visa as a partner.