prism

Couple of recommendations, check out the Mee Chok Plaza area. Not far from town and has a good selection of restaurants and stores. Also, in town look at the Santitham area. It has a nice village feel about it. Rents will be cheaper than HH, should be able to get someplace decent for 15K baht per month.

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Okay....If your a farang then.

Oh so it does not include non-farangs who are not Thai citizens? Non-farangs like citizens of other Asian, African or South American countries for example?

Keep working on it, but be careful, you would not want to be racist.

Okay...never mind the farang thing then. Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning...

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Thailand rules are based in citizenship or as others have pointed out, the color of your skin.

BS. Totally absurd.

There are a lot of non-Thai citizens with the same color skin as Thais, particularly in the neighboring countries.

There are a lot of Thais with a variety of skin colors which which are the same as those found in non-Thais.

Okay....If your a farang then.

I remember going to Disneyland and they offered 1/2 price for California residents. Along with me were two buddies from Arizona. I paid 12 dollars and they paid 24 dollars. We all joked and I ribbed them a little bit.

I remember when I went to Jr Collage. Santa Monica Jr Collage was free for residents but did have to pay for books. My fellow students who were from other States of counties did not have this privilege.

Not saying I enjoy or will pay many times the gong rate to enter a Thai National park now, in fact I don't think I will. Been to many already and felt great going in paying the "Thai price" showing my Thai drives license. I will not get that warm welcome feeling now and will vote with my feet and not go to any more.

The local discount being offered at Disneyland and other attractions is different than what Thailand is doing. You don't have to be a U.S. citizen to be considered a resident or local. International students can obtain a state I.D. or divers license for example and use it to get a discount to a local park. Thailand rules are based in citizenship or as others have pointed out, the color of your skin.

Botanical garden in mae rim offers 50% off with drivers license ... night safari 60% ... is there a list somewhere of places that offer discounts ?

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Last year I got into the CM zoo at the Thai price showing my Thai DL.

My kids are enrolled in the EP section and will move over to the new Primary international section when it starts. There's a new building being built to house the new primary classrooms. Don't see how it'll be completed by the start of the school year as they are promising. Varee's fee schedules are similar to LIST. LIST is accredited by Western Association of Schools and Colleges(WASC), Varee by CfBT. Seems that WASC is preferable by some of the teachers I've talked to (maybe because they were american). I've visited the LIST campus and the environment there is different since it's exclusively international and the Varee is mixed with Thai, EP and International students. Varee is promising a max class size of 25 students. Varee should have some openings now, when I checked with LIST, they had a wait list.

Varee is a big school so the mornings can be a real crush.

Meanwhile, I found a tourist town with worse nightlife than Chiang Mai. And midnight closing, too.

does it rhyme with "Chiang Mai," or is it the place with the big lake no one dares to swim in? Or did you simply go to a place that applies Sharia Law?

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Several years ago, they had a small but spirited beer bar scene. Went last year, it was just grim. Times change....

Varee Chiang Mai International school.

Don't recognize that as pigs in blanket as I know them.

What I know them to be is a mixture of pork. rice an seasoning , wrapped in a cabbage leave and cooked. Very popular in the US midwest. Sometimes called stuffed cabbage. Does anyone else know pigs in a blanket???

I remember them being sausage wrapped in a pancake at the local Ihop.

I heard there was a golf shop there. Any confirmation?

Yes, a good sized one.

Thanks for the replies.

We paid a visit to Montfort, yesterday. We were informed classes are up to 55! Walking around the campus, we could look in to the ground floor classes & I just couldn't believe the sight of so many students in there!

It's a shame, as the school seems to have a good reputation, the campus & location are great, but that classroom size was a big turn off. His current class size is 28.

Looks like he'll be staying where he is for the time being.

We did enter him for the entrance exam & he passed. My wife spoke to other mothers whose kids entered & some failed, despite making "contributions" to the school in advance of the tests.

Any other options for Thai curriculum with lower class sizes?

The English program at Varee caps their class size at 35. There's a couple of classes that have 36 students though...TIT. The Thai program seems to have similar class sizes but I can't verify that they're capped at 35 students.

There's a wait list for the primary level English program and it might be the same situation for the Secondary level.

If it's in the contract and the owner agrees and signs that contract, then there's only one other thing you can do. Change the locks when you move in. That way no one can enter unless you say so.

And hope you don't have an emergency while you're away requiring entry to your unit such as a pipe burst, etc.

Paid about $55 for 6 hours last December. It's less if you make a reservation. Nice room.

C.M.-Seoul-LAX on Korean Air. one of the best airlines i have ever flown. very comfortable, delicious Korean food, crew takes very good care of passengers. excellent service. layover in Seoul and they give you a small room to sleep a few hours, take a shower....all free and very clean and comfortable there.

My son used that route last year and was very happy with Korean Air.

Only problem was the long wait in Seoul (7-8 hours) and a room there was not included.

The room is about $16 or $18 an hour with a 6 hour minimum. I was not feeling well when I flew over in August.

the room is free if you are flying first class. Which I am not. Would be nice if they had a premium economy like EVA. Eva is about 11 to 12 hours to Seattle from Taipei. Been awhile. I understand your wanting to minimize the air time. I always wish they could stop some where for a coffee break.

I know it doesn't feel good when you come from a different system, but for 200 baht? You could have offered 100 baht and both had a laugh. Or, stood on your principles gathered from living somewhere else. But you live here now. Go with the flow or go against it.

ps last time in USA it cost me $150 for going a few MPH over the limit at 5 am with nobody on the road but a cop hiding behind a sign… neither way feels too good but here it is far less expensive...

Good luck.

Two reasons I like to pay on the spot;

1) The fine is usually less then if they have to write you up.

2) the infraction doesn't go against your driving record.

Another gem buried in the 864 pages of the bill is a provision that allows the government to revoke your passport if they believe that you owe more than $50,000 in federal tax.

There will be no judicial review, and no due process. You don’t get to go in front of a judge first to have a fair and impartial hearing over whether or not the government’s tax allegations are accurate.

The language in the law is very clear: they can simply revoke your passport if you owe them money in their sole discretion.

Once the law is passed, this would go into effect on January 1, 2016, and they claim it will generate $40 million per year in tax revenue.

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This is the third time its been included in bills, and been removed before passage both times. Maybe it will get through this time??

Are you a U.S. citizen registered to vote? Maybe write your congressperson, the vote is next month. Make your voice heard. I'm not against going after tax cheats but between this and the FATCA act, ordinary Americans living abroad are being severely impacted by these new regulations that keep coming.

How would a visa agent make the job easier ? The officials are still doing the same process.

Because the paper work is prescreened & verified and in order.....There's no hit and miss at the immigration office - no go back and get this - no go have copies made of this - no this is the wrong form go back and get the right one and fill it out then come back...Those are big time wasters for everyone → my guess absorbing as much as 35-40% of an immigration agents day.....

With paperwork in order and streamlined track record the agent can probably skim and approve/move 10-15 sets of paperwork via an agent in the time it would take to babysit one poorly organized applicant.....The job of the imm officer didn't change but the office efficiency did → even to the small time saving of waiting through the queue up and call up time lag....

Basically a win win for everyone....If you could process 30-45 sets of clean paperwork versus stuggle through 3-4 disorganized foreigners of many languages and attitudes what would you rather do??

We are an an English forum....There are what 150? different languages and 200+ different countries they also have to encounter/deal with.....Much better to have it sorted, prescreened, and correct from everybody's viewpoint....

Most of the folks that tied up the time at immigration when I made the visits were NOT first language English speakers....They ran the gamut from the quiet and respectful, to the docile that had to be led - to the loud and pushy @$$h*les.....I no longer wish to put up with that BS → and neither do the immigration people....

That's why - among many levels - using an agent like TVF can be a worthy benefit....

I find it interesting that other Immigration offices use smiley interns at the front desks to scan through your documents, copies etc and organizes the applicant so they are ready to be seen by the I/O. I can afford to hire an Agent but the process of retirement renewal in the past has been so easy. I'm glad that ATV is available though in case I desire to use their services.

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And queue time...

Picked some visitors up last week from the airport, they landed at 5.20 pm but did not come through customs until 7.10 pm 4 flights international landed within 30 mins.They said it was total chaos with only 5 stations open.

The main problem was the arrival cards, most people had not filled them in , perhaps they should be in several languages.

Or have an agent in front of the queue area checking their arrival cards. If card is incomplete, make the arrivals complete it before queuing.

My absentee ballot instruction says I can do this. It's only slightly out of my way. Has anyone done this? Is it as straightforward as it should be? Anything I should know? Thanks!

I have. Just drop it off at the security booth or inside during citizen services hours.

Can you get inside? Last time I went I couldn't get in the door without an appointment.

My absentee ballot instruction says I can do this. It's only slightly out of my way. Has anyone done this? Is it as straightforward as it should be? Anything I should know? Thanks!

Funny how traffic flows so much better at 1001 & 11 intersection, now that traffic lights have gone & we have a roundabout in operation while they build the underpass. Just leave it that way & save a heap of money

The ones at Meechok Plaza are gone,its a pity as now a small delay while

motorists put the car in gear and pull away,have you noticed how slow they

pull away on green, but fly through when its orange.

regards worgeordie

I miss them too, but the new system with the sensors embedded in the roadway before the lights somehow makes the timing of the lights a lot better.

Received my 90 report today. Report mailed on Aug 24, processed Aug 25, return sase mailed Aug 31 and 90 day receipt received today. Used EMS both ways.

This is the reason I carry 1st class insurance when I drive. It could happen to me and I'll shoulder the blame no mater who's at fault.

I drive and I ride, tragic story for those involved.

A bit far from you but you might look at the "New San Sai" course near Maejo. Not really new but it's a cheap 9 hole course that's suitable for duffers. There's a pro named Tommy that speaks good English. He might be able to help you get that wickedness out of your slice.