Dear Hillary,
I have divorced my wife. We have been living in Pattaya for more than ten years. Before the divorce when my wife had a problem with me she would she would take our son out of school and take him to her village (800 kilometers from Pattaya) with complete disregard for our son’s education. I have just paid B.50,000 (1st semester) plus clothes and school books. Once again she has taken him out of his English-Thai school and taken him to the village on a permanent basis. He has been going to the same school from the age of five. He wants to stay in school but reluctantly goes with his mother. Before boarding the bus to Ubon he told me he wants to stay in school in Pattaya. The boy loves his mother and if the mother loves the boy she should consider what is good for the boy. She is doing this to hurt me. In Europe or the USA she could not make a move like this and put the boy 800 hundred kilometers from his father. What can I do?
Depressed Henri

Dear Depressed Henri,
You have every reason to be depressed, but the situation does not mean that you have lost your son, or that he has lost his education. This is a problem for a Thai lawyer, one who understands the predicament. Don’t imagine that because you are a foreigner that you cannot have shared custody, or even total custody. The courts will look at what is best for your son. Best of luck.

Dear Hillary,
We’re always being warned about bad behavior by Thai people to farangs, what about when a seemingly above board, foreign owned property company massively rips you off?
I’m based in England because I can’t afford to live here full time yet; in January 2012 I was approaching 65 and stuck in ice cold England, wondering how much longer I had left in this world. I decided it was time to take some firm action by investing in a studio flat here in Jomtien. I’ve stayed at Majestic Condos a lot and thought I’d buy a room there; I began a search on the internet and after a short search I found a room for sale that I could afford on an easy payment plan. I was able to put half the cost up front: GBP equivalent of 425,000THB. By scrimping and scraping I was able to pay the balance off 1 year early, and I’ve come over to do the title transfer. I have been scammed by their selling me a condo in Thai company ownership name and it seems I’m a 49 percent shareholder in my own condo. I’ve been told that I won’t be able to sell it because it’s in a company name. My only option is to either live in it or rent it out when I’m back in England.
I think you should highlight my plight Hillary to make other potential condo buyers aware of this potential pitfall between Thai ownership and foreign ownership
Phil

Dear Phil,
I have had to shorten your letter somewhat, sorry, and I have also omitted the RE company’s name, as I am only getting one side of the story, and it is unfair to publish without the other side of the argument. You are another person who needs to talk to a good Thai lawyer, not Hillary, to find out your options.

Dear Hillary,
I have been reading your column on dating and have enjoyed it very much. As I am going to be there in December for the first time I am writing. It seems that everyone I ask (single men like myself) talk about being at the bars as the way to meet the working women of Thailand. While I realize this is not the only way I do have a question. If one is not a big drinker will I offend if I do not drink a lot or wish to leave to go see music, movies or see the country.
Robert

Dear Robert,
I can assure you that the ladies from the bars have not the slightest interest in how much ‘you’ drink, only in how much ‘they’ drink, while you are paying of course! This is because they receive a percentage of the cost of the ‘lady drinks’ which you will find are more expensive than yours, while they get nothing from the price of your drinks. It works like this, since you have not been here before, Petal. They generally receive a small wage (or retainer), and then their lady drinks percentage plus a percentage of the so-called ‘bar fine’ which is what the punters (like you) pay for the honor and glory of taking one of the blushing young ladies away from the bar to see music, movies or the country. Anything else is a private arrangement between the lady and the customer, as you have to realize that there is no prostitution in Thailand, because the statute books has said so since about 1966. While you are paying for things, you will not offend, however, when the money bin gets dry, you can expect to be left for someone with a fuller wallet.