survivingthailand

That plate doesn't look greasy enough to be authentic. Oh well, I'll give it a try anyway. It couldn't be worse than the other Mexican food restaurants here.

I guess a better question would be. Does anyone have experience flying with animals within Thailand? What's the procedure and which airlines offer the service?

How are you going to travel?

Car or plane. I would prefer to take the cats by plane, but I can't find an airline that flies direct and allows pets. I'd rather not take them in the car as it would be a 20+ hour ride and that would totally stress them out.

This is probably best over in the pets sub forum. So, let's move this topic over there. OK?

Thanks, I didn't see a pets forum.

Within the next couple of months, I will be moving from Phuket to Chiang Mai. What would be the easiest way to transport two adult cats between the two provinces? Thanks for the help.

So what I'm getting is that there probably aren't any music schools in CM that can offer me an ED Visa, as was the original question? I figured as much, but I'm still hoping someone pops in here that knows of such a thing. Wishful thinking I guess.

I think the idea of studying in an international program at a good university is the best option. Although, the shiite really hit the fan at CMU LLI a few years ago, but they would be the first to tell you that it really wasn't CMU, just their Language Learning Institute located on the CMU campus. I've always heard good things about AUA, and Whalen seems to have some integrity, too. Others have tried paying to volunteer, to get a visa, and this too is a big grey area, as you actually need a work permit to volunteer. Carry a couple of thousand in 20s on you, in case you wind up in IDC, the guards won't have change for your food delivery..

I heard that about CMU.

Has your schooling included learning to read and write Thai?

That was the first thing that I learned, against the "wisdom" of my first school.

You can always study Thai at Payap University for a Bachelor's degree. Then minor in Chinese. Unless you think that is more study than you really want.

I've already been to Uni twice in my life, I don't think I could handle a third go of it.

I've done the ED visa thing as well, however my "school/education" experience has been unique. PM me for further details

PM Sent

I never did the language visa either. The schools were just too wishy-washy (except AUA and CMU which looked really good) and I did not want to do the mill where you pay and don't have to really learn etc. I even sacrificed my 50% deposit once and never returned for the classes. In the end I just got lazy and did the tourist run around for quite some time.

Another thing you should ponder is whether the Thai language is something you can take with you if you leave. It's a lot of time at the school 3 days a week.

There are signs up all over recently for a 'hand-to-hand combat training' for the ED Visa you may want to consider. CM is a small town so it likely qualifies and no problems getting the visa.

That's something to consider, do you know how many hours a week the combat training is? For the language Visa, you are only required to attend class a minimum of 4 hours per week, so it really isn't that much time if you do just that. Although you'll never be able to learn Thai if you only study for 4 hours a week.

I'm in Phuket right now and I know the Muay Thai gyms here offer ED visas, but they also require you to participate in actual fights, which I don't want to do, and the required training is like 6 hours+ per day, 6 days a week. Not something I'm real keen on committing to.

If you truly want to master the language then study at one of the major universities. The so called language schools are mostly crap. I started with those aswell but was annoyed by the constant change of teachers, cancelled lessons and pure incompetence of the staff so I ended up doing 2 years at Thammasat. Definately alot better. This was long ago though but I assume they still offer the thai programs there.

Do the Universities help with the Visa's? I was under the impression that you were on your own when it came to all the paperwork and such. And if not, how difficult is the actual paperwork?

Guess, in the interest of helping, there's no use in asking you a question.

Ditto. I was going to ask him what browser he's using, and then thought.......<deleted>? He can't reply.

Anyway, if the OP is reading this, use a different browser and see if that helps.

It suddenly seems to have rectified itself. I couldn't use the reply function all morning, now suddenly it's there.

I had the same issue last night and this morning. Same as you, it seems to have fixed itself now.

You obviously still have a keen interest in improving your Thai so even though you say you don't want to continue with a "learning Thai" visa I will post this anyway ......... I study at Easy Study Thai Language School in Chiang Mai and I would thoroughly recommend it. They cater for all levels, up to advanced Thai, and the teaching is excellent. Beginners can learn phonetically if they choose but everyone is encouraged to learn to read and write the Thai script. You can also learn some Lanna Thai if you want as all the teachers are local

Understand you've had bad experiences in other places, I went to a terrible Thai language school in Bangkok for 3 years and learn next to nothing, but I can assure you this is a really good school where you will really improve your Thai language skills.

PM me if you want to know more.

I'm sure that I will end up continuing with the language visa as it is the easiest and cheapest option, I was just hoping that someone had any alternative experiences.

Thanks for the school recommendation, I'll be sure to check it out. Does that school provide a visa, handle all the paperwork, etc? My current school I've had nothing but issues with visas lately, it's been a bit of a nightmare.

here's a pretty good article with some decent links

http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/living/articles/livingin-chiangmai-thailand.shtml

Thanks, but all the ED links I could see there were for language schools.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

what's your year budget for school/program costs?

Money isn't really an issue. I think I'm spending around 30k a year now for language lessons. I'd like to spend around that, but I understand that specialized training is typically more expensive.

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I've never seen Everclear, but I've seen Absinth. Not the real stuff that makes you hallucinate, but I think it's 160 proof so pretty close to Everclear alcohol wise.

Flea bomb for the house, should take a couple of hours. Frontline on the cats every month, it's about 200baht per application so it can get expensive if you have a lot of cats. As for the litter box, you should be scooping it everyday and changing the cat litter once a week or so. If you do that it shouldn't smell at all.

I have done the whole ED Visa thing for a while at local Thai Language Schools, and I'm kind of fed up with the whole thing at this point. The group programs I have gone through cater to absolute beginners, but once you begin to gain a bit of competence in the language, there is nothing beyond the basics. I have tried private lessons with very little success as the teachers have an extremely high turnover rate and when I manage to get a single teacher for a somewhat extended period of time, their ability to teach is less than desirable. At this point I can communicate in Thai at a reasonable level, but 90% of that I would attribute to my private study and not the schools at all.

I will be moving to Chiang Mai very soon and I am looking for some alternative to Thai Language Schools in order to maintain my ED Visa. I've read that you can potentially get an ED Visa for a variety of activities, including Muay Thai, Cooking, Massage, Yoga, and Learning a Musical Instrument. However, finding a school that offers such a thing is another matter. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with a non-language oriented ED Visa? I would really like to learn guitar more proficiently, so a music school that is certified by the Board of Education would be great. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Steak Rawai (on the Sai Yuan Road in Nai Harn near to where Don's Mall used to be)

Has anyone tried this place? If so, how was the menu-extensive and expensive? Just wondering if it's worth a stop since I pass it nearly every day. Thanks.

We went there one night when our power went out. The place is owned by a nice Thai couple who speak pretty good English. I had the burger, Fan had the steak. Everything was cooked in a pan not a bbq, so that was disappointing. The burger was okay but was loaded with mayonnaise. The steak was pretty tough like a typical Thai steak. I don't think it was very expensive, but I don't remember the exact prices.

Hi Mike,

I'm headed for the states on vacation in September, and due to the massive portions of food there have to do crash diet now so am staying away from western cuisine. But when I get back I will for sure come in as I am a big fan of Fan, great personality, also hope to buy Amyb some breakfast or lunch too.

Best of luck with your operation, HEY everybody on the Forum, go give Bamboo Cafe a go!

Cheers on this sunny morning (really nice out after the big rain, no?), GOM

Have a nice trip to the states. Funny, I don't think I know anybody named Grumpyoldman living in Phuket.

Kallots......

Location Please.....

Any of these places open at 6am or 7am ????

Most places i've seen in Rawaii open 9am or 10am kinda late for my breakie ....

Thanks

The staff at Bamboo Cafe usually open the doors around 7:30am, I'm sure they won't mind cooking you breakfast if you don't mind sitting there while they setup. Officially the restaurant opens at 8:30am. Just don't expect to see me until 9:00am at the earliest, mornings don't really do it for me.

hmmmm............I think Mike got wind of the thread. Welcome to the Forum, Mike.

Thank you for the welcome.

A customer mentioned something about it to me yesterday so I thought I would check it out. I know a lot of people are turned off by Tom (with good cause), so I just had to set the record straight in regards to him having no ownership in the Cafe. A lot of people have told me in the past that they would love to come by the restaurant, but refused to come because he might be there. He is no longer affiliated in any way with the business and I made it clear that he was no longer welcome here.

Now that the confusion is cleared up. I mentioned this thread to Fan and she was very excited that people were saying good things about here restaurant, she takes great pride in her little business. Hope to see more of all of you soon.

Regards

grumpyoldman, i am not sure if "mini-mouse" invested or not...he gave me the impression that it belonged to him. either way, i wasn't looking for an argument. i know of the waitress from don's and i know the boyfriend from california...and again, i was under the impression it belonged to the yoga company. anyways, thanks for the clarification. i don't stop there often, but i have enjoyed the food at that place.

yeah, that guy is a bit of a talker, but back on topic, yes I have heard that the food there is quite alright. Cheers, GOM

I gather Mini Mouse is Thomas an American T*** of the Highest Order

Bamboo Cafe is owned by Fan, who was the former waitress at Don's. Another former waitress Bang, is a cook there. Thomas' Absolute Therapy Company rented the room from Fan but he never owned anything. His company is now closed down to the best of my knowledge. Either way, he no longer patronizes the Cafe.