Penfold's South East Asian Odyssey

Welcome to part 2 of my guide to getting married in Thailand...... Our day started with an early morning taxi ride to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The journey took about 45 minutes, due to horrendous congestion and cost over 250 baht. The reason for our trip was to get the Freedom of Affirmation document and translated copy, stamped and certified by the Legalisation and Naturalisation Division. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, shares it's offices with the Department of Consular Affairs and the full address is 123 Chaeng Wattana Road, Laksi District, Bangkok, 10210. Their opening of hours are officially 8.00-11.30 and 13.30-17.30 Here is a link to their website....... http://www.mfa.go.th/web/2630.php We arrived just after 8.30 and the ministry was already starting to get busy. I dread to think how long the queues would have been if we'd arrived later!!! The Legalisation Department was on the 2nd floor. Upon arriving, I advised the staff on the front desk what I needed,

Yes it's true folks, Penfold is getting married. But, as this is Thailand there are plenty of bureaucratic hurdles to jump through to ensure that everything is legal. It's ceratainly not as simple as going to Las Vegas and paying an Elvis impersonator $20 for a marriage certificate. I can say with great authority that your wallet will be significantly lighter at the end of the process!!! I will endeavour to explain everything in a step by a step fashion, in case any of my readers are considering taking the plunge. However, please be aware that I am writing this from the perspective of a British citizen and passport holders from other countries may require additional documentation and information. The rules and regulations often change, so please double check everything that you will need, with your respective emabssy. Here is a link to the British embassy which will prove helpful for my UK readers....... http://ukinthailand.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/ The first st

The build up to New Year's Eve is notorious for seeing an huge increase in the number of fatal roads accidents here in Thailand and 2010 was no different. There were 3,497 accidents reported between 29th December 2010 and 4th January 2011, with a total of 358 people being killed. But, what is more worrying is that this figure is a 10% drop on the number killed in 2009!!! Here is a link to The Nation newspapers website which gives you a detailed breakdown of the figures. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/New-Year-road-accident-toll-reaches-358-30145722.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Nationmultimediacom-Breakingnews+%28NationMultimedia.com+-+Breakingnews%29 The 2 biggest factors involved in most road accidents in Thailand, are excessive speed and excess alcohol. Thais are bad drivers at the best of times, but add some whiskey into the equation and you have a recipe for disaster!!! The most shocking accident that happened over the festive pe

Koh Larn is the largest of the small archipelago known as the "Near Islands" which include Koh Sak and Koh Krok. It is 8km from the resort of Pattaya, at the South Eastern End of the Bay of Bangkok. Koh Karn is relatively small and only 4km in length. It's quite hilly and reaches about 200m at the highest point and is covered with tropical forests, although a lot of the wilderness has been lost to development over the last few years. The island can be reached by ferry or private speed boat. The ferries depart from Bali Hai (South Pattaya) pier which is at the end of Walking Street and run almost hourly from 7am until 6pm. The one way fare is 30 baht per person and the journey takes about 45 minutes depending on the weather conditions. We took the 11am service, along with what appeared to be the entire population of Moscow!!! The quickest and most exhilerating way of getting to koh Larn is by speedboat. The fare will depend on the size of the boat you hire. To hire a boat