Toby Charnaud

[richard]

I met Toby a few times and he was a very quiet and well respected man

So sorry it all came to a gruesome end

He will be remembered affectionately

One lesson for us all to note is the gambling issue. Keep tabs on your wife/girlfriend spending and company. Many can't resist especially when they have a farang paymaster. They then get into borrowing from ruthless money lenders. Who gets the flack when they default? FARANG
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Only two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity

Khun Richard of Yorkshire (Halifax) and Hua Hin (at the moment)

[chelsea]

Where do people get to gamble in Thailand. From what I have seen and read, gambling is illeagle, there are no casinio's, there are no betting shops and a lot of the time, access to O/S betting sites is blocked from Thailand.

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Always Borrow Money from a Pesimist. "They Never Expect it Back"

[Roppongi]

[chelsea]

I have a much better holiday, not knowing where they are
I will aggre with you on the Kick Boxing. I went there last year and was approached by someone there to see if I wanted a bet on the fights on a bout to bout basis.
I nearly accepted, but for once in my life knocked it back, as I thought that it was all very well winning (but getting home without being rolled for your winnings) it was best to refuse.
Also having to explain to she who must be obeyed why I got rolled in a country where there is supposed to be no gambling was probably the most telling factor.

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Always Borrow Money from a Pesimist. "They Never Expect it Back"

[JW]

Good decision mate, gambling here is not a good idea.
How was the Stella mate - mouthwatering i reckon!!

[chelsea]

John, Stella was good, but feel as though I consumed to much today.

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Always Borrow Money from a Pesimist. "They Never Expect it Back"

[JW]

For of us raised a glass for Toby the night it was annouced his murderers had been sentenced, that resulted in a sore head!

[JW]

Typing crap again - It was " A few of us...

[richard]

Maybe moderator you may want to move to another thread but it tells a tale from which many may learn



Perils fail to deter Thai bride boom
By Jonathan Head
BBC News, Bangkok

Lawrence Lynch (right) and his wife Tapanee, along with some Thai clients.
Women pay 400 baht (US$10) to join Lawrence Lynch's agency

The case of Toby Charnaud, the Briton murdered on the orders of his Thai ex-wife, has highlighted the growing number of British men travelling to Thailand to find wives, often arranged over the internet.

The British Embassy in Bangkok is one of the busiest anywhere in the world.

More than 660,000 people from Britain came to Thailand last year, and the Embassy finds itself dealing with those who get into trouble.

It also deals with those who want to get married - it records around 70 couples a week coming in to get marriage documents processed, nearly all of them older British men marrying younger Thai women.

Never mind that the Thai "mail-order bride" has become a subject of ridicule in the UK, parodied in TV comedies like Little Britain and mocked in the tabloid press; never mind a number of recent cases of foreigners in Thailand who were murdered after their marriages to Thai women went wrong.

The number of Thai-British marriages keeps growing, many of them arranged through internet websites, which post pictures and videos of hundreds of would-be Thai brides, from which prospective British husbands can choose a potential partner.

Matt Lucas as Ting Tong and David Walliams as Dudley in Little Britain
In the UK, Thai mail order brides have become a subject of ridicule

Some of these sites have a dubious reputation but Lawrence Lynch, a British man from Kidderminster, in Worcestershire, is proud of the service he offers through a company called Thai Professional Introductions.

I met him in his office in Bangkok on a Sunday morning - his busiest time, he explained, because the women who want to put their faces on the website are free to come in then.

There were several waiting nervously in his lobby, all young.

They took turns to make themselves up, helped by Mr Lynch's Thai wife Tapanee, and then posed in front of a wall-length photograph of an idyllic Thai beach, complete with plastic palm tree.


We've arranged around 750 marriages over nine years, and I can count the number that have gone wrong on two hands
Lawrence Lynch

"The girls pay just 400 baht ( £6; US$10) to join," he said, "but that's a lot of money to some of them."

His foreign clients pay a lot more - £1,650 (US$3,000) - but for that he offers 12 months membership, unlimited introductions to the women on the site, translation (crucial this, as many of the women speak little English) and help arranging hotels, travel, visas and marriage documents.

He showed me another wall plastered with photographs of satisfied customers and their smiling brides.

"We've arranged around 750 marriages over nine years and I can count the number that have gone wrong on two hands," Mr Lynch told me.

Culture differences

But there are yawning disparities that have to be bridged, in age, language and culture.

Most of the men know little about Thailand, perhaps only what they have experienced on a short holiday.

They are drawn by the prospect of a short and easy courtship with much younger and often strikingly attractive women.

The women seem drawn to the agency by a desire for financial stability and what they believe is a more caring attitude among Western men.

Nui, a 22 year-old hairdresser, was typical of the customers in Mr Lynch's office.

"I think Western men are more kind-hearted." she told me. "I don't want a relationship with a Thai man. They are not responsible in helping with children and they are not faithful."

John, a 43-year-old businessman from East Anglia, told me why he had flown out to Bangkok.

He wanted to meet a woman who was serious about marriage, he said, which is why he was using the agency.

He had been married before and described a number of unhappy relationships back in Britain.

"There's this 'lad' culture with the ladies in UK these days. I don't want to be messed about any more. What I'm looking for is how it used to be in Britain in the 40s and 50s, where the family unit supported each other."

Mr Lynch says he screens the women to make sure none has a background in bar work or prostitution.

The men he has less control over, although he believes most of his clients are sincere.

"Any guy can come out here and meet a girl in a go-go bar, because let's face it, a lot of the men who come to Thailand are sex tourists. But those are the marriages that end in disaster."

Some of the couples end up living in Thailand, like Jim, 58, from Nuneaton, and his wife Prapaporn, 30.

Was the age gap a problem, I asked?

"Not to me it isn't and it doesn't seem to be for her either. The only people who have a problem with it are those who aren't in the same boat."

Toby Charnaud
Toby Charnaud's Thai ex-wife is serving life in jail for his murder

Most of the couples, though, will end up living in Britain, where, warns Bangkok-based writer Christopher Moore, author of a book about emotional expression in Thailand, the culture and language gap could put severe strains on the relationship.

"All the building blocks of relationships - the idea of family, friends, love, work - are viewed in a very different way in Thailand. So one of the things the man is going to have to deal with is the importance of family to his Thai wife. It may be she will need to come back to Thailand three or four times a year."

John has spent two weeks meeting women on Lawrence Lynch's books but he is taking his time. He has gone back to Britain and plans to return later this year to renew his meetings with the women he liked, to decide if any would make a suitable wife.

Nui is now registered with the agency and must take her chances with the 1,600 other Thai women there looking for husbands. She says she would prefer an age gap of no more than 10 years but may in the end settle for a much older man.
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Only two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity

Khun Richard of Yorkshire (Halifax) and Hua Hin (at the moment)

[BaaBaa.]

Or delete it because the links already in the thread with the same name as this article which is lazy, stereotypical rubbish.

[richard]

Baa Baa blacksheep

Sorry if my posting got up you nose or some other orifice

My postings are mainly targeted at people who do not live in Thailand but need information. Even living here for 20 years is still tough to come to terms with

My aim is to give the part time residents who come out all the advice I can give as a resident to make their life easier

So many farangs come here and think they know it all and fall by the wayside

Rest my case
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Only two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity

Khun Richard of Yorkshire (Halifax) and Hua Hin (at the moment)

[BaaBaa.]

Fair enough. No problem with that but the whole article is already in a thread titled "Perils fail to deter Thai bride boom" and didnt need to put on this thread.