costas

Good point Costa- your side made the impossible possible. Amazing result really.

I doubt this crowd will give you much acknowledgement tho  

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oh well,

if they don't they don't,

after all we took it , no one gave it to us!

another three years of boasting will make my 4ths of July

be well

costas

its a year since the impossible was done!

Hi.

I am an Australian with a master's degree in Japanese (language). I am wondering if anyone would know of the chances of getting a Japanese language teaching job in Thailand, preferably in a university.

I am a native English speaker, but for some reason I would feel more comfortable teaching Japanese. It is probably the fact that I studied Japanese rather grew up learning it naturally and therefore know how to explain grammar etc which I couldn't do with English.

Thanks

Bankei

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In the Rajabhat Uni where my wife is working there is a Business English program that includes Japanese and English. The teacher is Japanese.

My guess is that similar programs would be up an running in other Universities, but as to wether the'll have a westerner instead of a japanese I dont know....

good luck

costas

When I shipped my cargo to Thailand, I made sure that I paid door-2-door. That way the Thai shipping agent handled clearing customs. My container arrived at my house unopened.

I have heard a few horror stories from people trying to save a few baht by trying to do the customs clearing themselves.

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same here,

wife's name, (30+) boxes were never opened (and in the inventory it was clear that tapes amongst other things were being shipped)

only had the 50ish videos though, dont know what happenes if you have sh!tloads..

be well

costas

... what doesn't kill you can only make you stronger ...

Those chunks of lamb the Greeks carve on all day to make those Gyros, they're obviously already cured because there's no additional heating / cooking involved, but still makes you wonder .. 

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cured, yes sure they are

they taste bl@@dy good though , dont they

I MISS GYROS

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With lots and lots of Tsatsiki (spelling) Sauce on

Mr BoJ

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we spell it tzatziki,

but MrBoj i am salivating regardless of the spelling

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Thanks for the spelling correction Costas, i wasn't far off eh? What's the name of those other kind, similar to Gyros. Is it Souvlaki (open to spelling correction again). They are absolutely Toptastic

Now my mouth is watering

mr BoJ

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no corrections required Sir,

i hear you can find souvlaki in Bkk but being 550km away i never had the chance!

off to eat nam tok with fried bread and yoghurt and pretend i am having souvlaki...

First my credentials    I have been working as a 'foreign expert' at Chiangmai University for 13 years now going with 1 year contracts.  This is because it is a government university and not private.  However, a year and a half ago the President of the university came to tour our facility including my research project.  My boss, the director, introduced him to me and told him about concerns regarding annual contracts.  No guarantee of renewal and the position suddenly might be closed.

The President offered me a full time staff position on the spot as a Senior Researcher.  This sets a precedence in that creating a new position for a foreigner has never been done (at CMU).  Very long process with all my publications, 12 years of work reports and board reviews.  It finally took place a little over a year ago and work under the same umbrella as the Thais.  The first year was probation where they review your work progress every 4 months with written an oral presentations at the end which the make the decision to make it truly permanent.  Fortunately for me they did.

A private uni has carte blanc on the hiring process.  I was originally asked to work at Suranaree (Korat) as campus network manager and it would have been a permanent position and they pay very well (by Thai standards) in the neighborhood of 60k/month up.

If a gov university they usually have a fixed salary rate for the 3 position types that can be held by foreigners with foreign expert paying the most.  At CMU that would be 27,500 salary (taxable) and 8,000B for housing (non-taxed).

And your field of expertise is important in the decision process, an MBA (for example) would probably not get you far unless you specialize in international banking, something along those lines.  However your field has a much greater possiblity of finding a position (food).  There is currently a lot of focus on research in food safety and nano-technology, both of which I am involved.  My field of expertise is in computers/electronics and particle beam in applied nuclear (particle) physics, so it is very specific and the place I work had the only nuclear research facility in Thailand and were glad to get me.  So it was a lot of luck and a bit of crisma does help (though I sorely lack in the latter)

One thing to note, the Thai government does not allow universities to do research for research sakes but must be able to apply it directly to commercial and industrial applications.  They are trying to reduce importing technologies and be more independent.

You can do what I did.  Just go knocking on university doors and bring your credentials.  They will want your diplomas, CV (called biodata here) and possibly references.  Hoevever if you have a very specific geographical location you are limiting your chances (I know this is obvious, but be flexible).

As for the position, they may have one open or if really impressed will generate a new position.  Our facility has a position open now as a senior researcher and specifically looking for a farang.  Minimum MSc in a technical field (physics, engineering, etc.).

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tywais,

Thank you very much for a very helpful and useful answer.

I'll probably print it out and head for the presidents' office....

I am unfortunately extremely limited geographically (i.e. Loei only), otherwise there was (still is not filled as far as i know) a position in the Food department in AIT allegedly paying an international salary!.

Since the lot here are of the poor type (...) i believe that i might have to try and sweeten them by getting a proposal or two in, and if the outcome is good i might have an extra chance...and probably correcting the odd abstract here and there

wouldn't go amiss...

thanks again for a very useful insight, give my best to the Food department people(with at least three of them we studied together in Reading)

cheers

costas

PS. would you PM me the three types of positions so that i can be as informed as possible when i have to make my case?)

A University or Rajabhat department head here could offer you a job as a professor in food science, they would need to get authorisation from the relevant Dean to employ you.  Depending on the programmes taught, etc you could get paid more than the foreign language ajarns (you would be on a different scale) and possibly on a longer contract than one year. 

But, the big problem you face is how are you going to perform as an expert in an ordinary Thai Food Science Department?   Can you teach, or advise or research in Thai?  If not, how will the students/academic staff understand you?   There are a few 'international' (ie: English-language) programmes here at universities in the area of hospitality, hotel management etc which you may be able to approach, but they tend to be more on the management, not food science side.   But, it's worth a try if you can talk yourself into a position.   These international programmes pay much better than 25,000 baht a month, maybe 1,000-2,000 baht an hour if you can get on them.

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Thanks very much paully,

i am off to speak with the head of the school and the dean just above her.

As to how, you're right it will not be easy. Luckily the only other PhD holder in the department is my wife, so hopefully this will make things easier. i.e. i write the proposal, get -hopefully- some grants and then with her help , and untill my thai is at a half desent level, i could attempt it.

resources is a bigger problem in my opinion...., i.e can they pay those salaries if an MSc is not up and running?

As for the postgrad studies, that would be in English...

when you say' different scale and possibly longer contract' are you telling me that i would be a civil servant, or a different case of a contract teacher?

thanks again

costas

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If your wife is a PhD holder and is already in the department can't she find out the information you want....and get it straight from the source and not through the grapevine here on TV?

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dont you think that this avenue i would have explored before posting?

my wife just (six months ago) came back from England where she was for the last 5 years studying, but has not worked in a Uni before now....

in typical Thai fashion, nobody in the University knows,

- from the last secretary to the heads of departments, faculties, vice-presidents (all 8 of them) and president- because it has not been done before in this particular Uni...

and since them asking would make some people loose face, i thought i would enquire here..

cheers

costas

PS.

do you actually have any answers for me chownah since i provided you with the info you requested, or you are just curious about me?clearly you must believe that i think with my feet if you believe that i would not have asked my wife....

thanks anyway

A University or Rajabhat department head here could offer you a job as a professor in food science, they would need to get authorisation from the relevant Dean to employ you.  Depending on the programmes taught, etc you could get paid more than the foreign language ajarns (you would be on a different scale) and possibly on a longer contract than one year. 

But, the big problem you face is how are you going to perform as an expert in an ordinary Thai Food Science Department?  Can you teach, or advise or research in Thai?  If not, how will the students/academic staff understand you?  There are a few 'international' (ie: English-language) programmes here at universities in the area of hospitality, hotel management etc which you may be able to approach, but they tend to be more on the management, not food science side.  But, it's worth a try if you can talk yourself into a position.  These international programmes pay much better than 25,000 baht a month, maybe 1,000-2,000 baht an hour if you can get on them.

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Thanks very much paully,

i am off to speak with the head of the school and the dean just above her.

As to how, you're right it will not be easy. Luckily the only other PhD holder in the department is my wife, so hopefully this will make things easier. i.e. i write the proposal, get -hopefully- some grants and then with her help , and untill my thai is at a half desent level, i could attempt it.

resources is a bigger problem in my opinion...., i.e can they pay those salaries if an MSc is not up and running?

As for the postgrad studies, that would be in English...

when you say' different scale and possibly longer contract' are you telling me that i would be a civil servant, or a different case of a contract teacher?

thanks again

costas

Its really difficult for anyone to comment on your post unless  you give a more specific example of the 'specialised field' you have in mind.

For example...if your specialty was designing rocket motor vibration isolators then there probably would be no need for you anywhere in Thailand since there is no rocket building going on in Thailand.

How could anyone possibly tell you how much you might get paid if you don't give us at least a hint of what it is you intend to do?

In short...your post is a mystery.

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hi chownah,

apologies,

my questions were not 'field specific' but if you think it makes a difference:

i am a food scientist with three years postdoctoral experience working for the british goverment. There is a Food Science department in almost every Uni in Thailand, so i am glad i moved on from those isolators

I intend to do research, on a basic level at first and then hopefully get it up to a higher standard, plus establishing a postgraduate program (MSc at first and possibly PhD later).

First i am interested on how those positions are created.

Then I am wondering how the positions of expert are paid,

is it on a pre-established scale ,

is it negotiable and totally open,

that sort of question.

Since i have now idea i did not know that the field of expertise would be crucial, but if you say so..

Maybe now that you know the field you can offer some answers or do i have to show my CV?

cheers

costas

... what doesn't kill you can only make you stronger ...

Those chunks of lamb the Greeks carve on all day to make those Gyros, they're obviously already cured because there's no additional heating / cooking involved, but still makes you wonder .. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

cured, yes sure they are

they taste bl@@dy good though , dont they

I MISS GYROS

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

With lots and lots of Tsatsiki (spelling) Sauce on

Mr BoJ

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

we spell it tzatziki,

but MrBoj i am salivating regardless of the spelling

Hi all,

I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has first hand (or ear) experience or knowledge regarding the procedures involved for one to be hired by a Uni or Rajabhat as an expert.

I do not talk about teaching English, but rather a very specialised field.

Firstly, do you know the requirements (if any) the Uni has to meet for such a position to be created/established?

Secondly, do you know the requirements the person would have to meet in order to get such a position?

Thirdly, would such a position get me out of the consecutive one year contracts and put me in a more 'permanent' status?

And lastly, how would the salary of such a position compare with the English teacher's one (currently at about 25000)?

Any information - answering those questions or more general- would be very much appreciated.

be well

costas

... what doesn't kill you can only make you stronger ...

Those chunks of lamb the Greeks carve on all day to make those Gyros, they're obviously already cured because there's no additional heating / cooking involved, but still makes you wonder .. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

cured, yes sure they are

they taste bl@@dy good though , dont they

I MISS GYROS

Yeh I get the point, As many of you are out there on a shoe string

we have established that you are loaded, well done

and cannot beleive such a story please think of a mistake you have done in your life, I dont intend making it again

and shall just taste the delicaces of thailand, I happen to love los and can really say the people there are the most friendly in the world,

8 times a years , three days at a time, spending 2500 squid a pop? i'd be friendly

I will not bother you with more stories here,

i thought this was a site for info and help for expats, seems you only respond with below the belt remarks,

it is, you have 8 pages of answers, what DO you want?

thanks to mp5 for your info on customs,

in my case it was a bit late, i am now back in blighty and will look forward to my next trip to los in sept.

we'll be here

P.s any one wants to see receipt is more than welcome and if you are in phuket area and want to verify my (trolls) story of going to bkk in tuk tuk goto christian massage in pattong, so its on your right hand side and walk around 100 metres so lami inn is on your left, there is the bunch of drivers there who all know the story as it was a crazy one and i believe we are the only ones to have ever done it.

Kind regards

i am as i type boarding a tuk tuk from Loei to go to phuket in a record time of 27h 45 mins, stil waiting for the scan though....i bet i'll arrive to phuket fatser.....

When I see the Issan eateries on the street they hang the beef proudly out on display in the hot sun with flies crawling all over it. Question... has this meat been specially cured in some way that it won't be loaded with bacteria by the time it reaches my plate? I don't believe the cooking process is gonna kill all this bacteria. Why hang it out, why not put it on ice or in a fridge? Please set me straight.

Secondly, I see them handling filthy things like money old rags etc and then go and scoop out sticky rice with their bare hands. I don't know, I'd prefer they use a spoon or somat. I guess most Issan eateries are like this....? Does it bother anyone else? Just the sight of it kind of puts me off my food.

p.s. whats the name of the beef ("neu" right?) cut into small strips and served with that hot sauce? Last time I tried to get it she gave me minced beef with all sorts of unspeakables lurking within.

Thanks

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i thought i was the only one minding the ways of the eateries here.......

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS. there will be shitloads of bacteria, and the fact that they are allowed to multiply in their absolutely ideal conditions for a few days, will do you no favors....

however, be it the chillies or the totally accustomed stomachs around here, the Thais do seem to have less than their fair share of food poisonings and the such....

cooking at high temps will get rid of most bugs as other posters have indicated, HOWEVER, its not just the temp that matters is the time AT this temp (basic idea behind the processing involved in UHT treatment, pasteurisations, canning etc)...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

i draw the line however when they reduce the amount of meat in my noodles cause the ants in the soup compensate for it................

be well

costas

here is a small selection of the trolls' previous posts.....

'I once did phucket to bangkok in a tok tok, not a pattaya one either a proper little red honda type with 5 of us in it, we had 2 drivers in front and with no sleep it took 28 hours ....'

'I visit thailand around 8 times a year and spend at least £2500 on each visit....'

or maybe he's not a troll

You guy's are puny litlle blokes....

 

Weighing in at 128kg for 1.82 meters

DARKNIGHT

My wife calls me "bolleke" which means ball in dutch. 

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1.92m 130 kg,

hoping to get taller :-)

and i dont drink....

I have an observation thats a bit relevant to the discussion..

I was in the olympics last year and watched some Thai weightlifting, when Thailand got a gold.

I was amazed to see that the Thai people when supporting their team

shout: "Thailand" and not "prathet Thai"

to the best of my knowledge, when one supports their country , they use their own language/name

we call ourselves hellas, the italians shout italia etc

i have never heard of anyone shouting their country's name in a language that will make them understood by the opponents (english shouting Inglaterra when playing in Spain etc)

are more people doing this?

cheers

costas

in terms of labelling , you are absolutely right, it is an era behind western europe...

standards have to be applied throughout the food producing chain if it was to be possible to have labelling such as you require...and we both know that this is not the case in Thailand....so if the farmer uses shitloads of chemicals, and this information is deemed as not important by him when a sell is on, then this information will not go further....no feasible way to check .....perhaps in big farms with established ISO systems etc you could trust them, but without i very much doubt it.

as for the various nitrates being added to meat to make it redder, i think it is standard practice everyhere, but i believe that in the EU the amounts are regulated

hope it helps

cheers

costas

There are many different kinds of mushrooms available in the local fresh markets. Every time my girlfriend brings home any kind that I have not seen before it makes me nervous. Has anyone heard stories about any of these being poisonous? 

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I dont think you need to worry about the mushrooms as such being poisonous, Thai people are not that keen on trying new or unknown things anyway so I think your missus will know what mushrooms she brings home...

IMO though, what is a consideration, as with all food here, is the use of pesticides, artificial colouring agents and potentially harmful GMO technology - it is very difficult to assess what food is safe and what isnt.. the vendors are very unlikely to tell you about pesticides.

Would be interesting to hear from somebody who has some hard knowledge about food safety here.

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Hi meadish,

i'll reply as a food scientist and ex-worker in a research centre that made GM manipulations.

To start with, i have not seen a single Thai food establishment that would meet European regulations regarding food safety. There might be a few scattered around the country, but up around Loei, certainly NONE.

so every time you get food from a stall, you have a choice.

Regarding pesticides, the use might be a bit too liberal for european liking, but i am not sure that you should worry too much about it. At the end of the day, you have to eat s@itloads of chemicals to have more than an upset stomach. However, you only have to have a couple of those stirfried dishes from a street vendor, that passers by choke from (due to the oil used overheating excessively (sp?)) and your intake in carcinogenic substances is really high...

another concern would be not so much the artificial colourings (which tend to be on the safe side, -assuming we are talking imitations of the natural stuff, not paint...) but the unbelievable use of MSG.

with regards to potentially harmful GM technology, i spent three years of my life assessing those, and i can safely say, NOONE can tell whether it is harmful or not. The time scales employed in such assesments are irrelevant to the real problem.

I can certainly tell you that GM wheat is fine and looks and feels and tastes like the non GM, cause i checked it, but cannot tell you eat GM wheat for 20 years and there will be no problems..impossible.

I understand that people might feel they have to be cautious cause they donmt know what the manipulation entailed, but on the other hand, there is yet to be hard proof to support this stance or the opposite for that matter..

summing up, if you want to enjoy your food, dont be concerned about those issues....

if you want to eat no chemicals, no artificial colourings, no GM anything, then i am afraid you're facing starvation. No soya in the world is left unGM, rice is heading the same way along with maize, and wheat is not far behing.

sorry if the picture is not too bright, if you wish more details about any of that, please PM me.

cheers

costas

does anybody know of any good real estate agents in the Loei area?

Roscoe

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hi roscoe,

to cut a long story short, there are n't any, good bad or otherwise....

sorry (as i am walking to find more houses to look at...)

costas

We must have in here

NamTok

(even as i order it, mai sai prick.....)

Here in Loei province tobacco is in huge bags at the fresh markets. There are many different cuts and kinds. I buy a light golden colored fine cut and find it makes excellent cigarettes. Ten baht buys a plastic bag full that would last a heavy smoker a couple of weeks. If you know what a Bugle Boy or Top tobacco pouch looks like, ten baht worth would fill it several times.

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and how about papers that actually have gum on them?

cheers all,

the account is in Loei branch, so no bigshots are involved...

the local branch was totally ignorant of the situation, took 2 hours to find out why i cannot use my card...(did not try to go over the counter, as i was more interested in restoring the card...)

after that,

the bank was absoluitely certain (spoke with Bkk, i suppose, 3 times) that a letter from immigration is required....Luckily we have good relations with immigrations and got them to speak directly, thus releasing the account on the word only of the immigration, but with a severe warning 'DONT DO IT AGAIN" sort of thing, and bring the letter first thing monday..........when enquired they said that they had too many cases of farangs taking the money out as soon as the letter was given and thus they try to 'protect ' their interests.....

had to go to hospital and tried to pay 10k with the card only to find that i couldn't....luckily thee wife had her card with her......

anyways, i suppose TiT...another piece of paper to dig out once a year.....

as for changing bank, i would wholehartedly, but since now i am unemployed, and the chieftains in the town' various banks say i need a WP to open one, i guess i am stuck....

cheers

costas

Hi all,

yesterday i went to extend my stay based on marriage, and got my second 'under consideration' month.

No problems thus far, BUT :

Bangkok bank decided to freeze my account (used for this extension) till the visa is approved...

Is this common practise? They require a letter from immigration to prove that i used the paper they gave me (the immigration have not heard of it either.....)...

To my response that if i have a stamp in my passport its cause i did use your paper, i received a smile.....

To my question, since i have a visa for supporting my Thai wife how am i suppose to support her if i can not use the money in my account, i received another....

has anybody experienced something like this?

cheers

costas

I just went through the most painful experience of my entire lifetime. I went to the Loei hospital to have a doctor look me over to decide if it was my tooth or something else. The doctor told me that he was pretty sure I had an abscess and it was making me sick. He told my girlfriend how to go to the best dental clinic in Loei. The hospital has no dental clinic. When I had to go from that clinic to another clinic to have an x-ray I knew I was in trouble. I took the x-ray back to the dental clinic and he told me I had an abscess and that he nor anyone else in Loei could treat it. He said it may be possible to save the tooth if I hurry to Bangkok but he wasn't sure. I really was a pretty sick puppy and couldn't see trying to go to Bangkok. I told him to just go ahead and pull it. He shot me with the Novocaine 5 times and I still had a lot of pain. Then he proceeded to pull the tooth while it was still hurting. NEVER in my life have I had that much pain. If I had had a gun I would have shot the b@stard first then myself. He blamed the tooth because the roots were hooked and there were four of them. I'm not ashamed to say that I'm sure they could hear my screaming from across the street. Now four hours later I think I'm going to live but I'm still not 100% sure.

The only good thing is that the doctor at the hospital charged me nothing. The x-ray cost $1.50 and the dentist charged me $24.00. He said it is normally much cheaper but he had a difficult time getting all the broken pieces out. If that was the BEST clinic I'd hate to see the worst!

I'm going to try to get drunk and see if I can sleep tonight. I haven't slept the past two nights. Never again! If I have problems in the future I'll be heading for Bangkok.

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sorry about the whole adventure Gary,

could you tell us which one you went to so that he'll be avoided in the future?

cheers

costas