Advice, friends, and Business

I am currently living in Cape Town SA although my entire family is either in New York or London. I visited Thailand for the first time in 2009 for songkran and have been back 5 times since. I absolutely (like most people) fell in love with the culture, the people, the shopping, the food and landscape. I am a senior manager in my company which is an international company and i based here in SA. Unfortunately my company does not assist with international transfers and as such i have to plan and make my own way to the land of smiles. i have enough capital to invest and support myself and i am looking for advice or opportunities that perhaps i can be introduced to. I have a beautiful Thai girlfriend and once i am established there i am hoping to marry and settle down. I am looking forward to my move but need to still negotiate all the red tape, so i will be meeting an attorney in April when i am next back in bkk to assist me....
I can speak English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Thai and i would welcome the opportunity as mentioned for some advice or assistance to steer me in the right investment direction......cheers

Most important advice I can give, do not invest any money in Thailand you can not afford to lose.

Thanks, does this include franchise or existing proven businesses?