Peripheral

I am going to Nakorn Ratchasima (Korat) for the three days of Songkraan. Anyone know of any gay spaces there?

Heh... I just figured you were writing to him as "Raymond" the whole time, so that you *are* the other guy he's dating.  Still, a bit of a waste of time.

Though I can understand your initial reaction- this happens to all of us at least once out here.  You learn the signs, the questions to ask, and what types to avoid.  Then the dating world seems less easy for awhile- until you get to know more people, and then it gets easy again- and then gets hard again- and so on!

That's the rollercoaster of Thai life!

"Steven"

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Well, not a waste of time exactly. I got to practice writing in Thai.

No satisfaction, though, as you predicted. He reckons now that he knew it was me who was sending him the e-mails (from Raymond). Yet he went to the airport to meet him....????

Just no point trying to reason over this.

At least I can say cheerio without too much guilt but the trouble is, I don't really want to...

But I am going to anyway. I'd be mad not to.

I will be arriving in Bangkok in February for a holiday/work-searching expedition. I have just finished my CELTA (got a grade B, Wahay!) and now I have to put this experience behind me.

My next post will be on the teaching part of the forum and hopefully I won't be posting any more stories of woe on this section.

Anyone know the Manhattan or the Woraburi in Sukhumwit?

I am looking for clean air-conditioned, with en-suite bathroom but no frills (and no cockroaches, prefereably!).

Thanks.

The fact that you passed it will already be enough. But if you aren't a native speaker  I would highlight it. Extra proof that you are capable indeed. Even though you aren't a native speaker. I am going for the CELTA or TESl next year as myself and hope to get a high score as well!

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I am a native speaker. However, one of the tutors on my CELTA course said that some non-native English speakers do better on the course than native speakers. This does not surprise me, because they would have had to learn all the grammar rules whereas native speakers don't.

I am learning Thai at the moment. I have a Thai friend who is helping me. She has lived in Ireland for years and speaks fluent English. She is very good at helping me with translation but if I ask her to explain anything about grammar, she just doesn't know.

I would prefer to learn Thai from a native English speaker who had a good grasp of Thai because he would have had to learn all the stuff that I am trying to learn now and would be able to explain difficult areas of the language, having had to learn it himself.

I have just finished a CELTA in Ireland and been granted a Grade B which I know is very hard to achieve (it was for me anyway!).

Will this be worth highlighting in my job applications? Do employers take any notice of grades or are they just looking for "pass" and paper certificate?

I have been told I have neat Thai writing skills,

This due to the fact I didnt learn from the net but from a real teacher.....when I made errors, they were corrected and explained to me. I was then shown how to write the character properly.

In time like all, I took short cuts based on how I saw other people write...but this has not lessened the readers ability to understand my writitng.

Persist and where possible ask for corrections.....any learning is better than no learning......and practise....

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I'd be curious to se an example of your handwriting. Any chance you could scan one?

I am coming to Bangkok for 28 nights in February. I am looking for a cheap hotel (not more tan 1000Baht per night).

I shall using it as a base while looking for a teaching job, so I really need it to be on a Skytrain route (preferably Silom, Sukhumvit or Siam areas).

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Is there a thread that explains how much tax we might have to pay in Thailand?

I got a B.A. from Cambridge over 20 years ago. Cambridge University automatically offer an M.A. to their graduates 12 months later. I never bothered to collect it because it is really worthless.

However, I am just finishing a CELTA with a view to teaching in Thailand. Do you think this M.A. (I can still have it if I want it) would carry any weight in Thailand? Would they just take it at face value as an M.A. in the subject which I "B.A." ed in?

Thanks.

Strange place to go looking for non-Asians, Asia.

Still, I don't like the old "girlie" style myself. The Thais seem to be very open about their sexuality - in Bangkok, anyway -, I have even seen schoolboys in uniform acting openly "camp".

I must say I don't like it though.

I prefer ordinary guys behaving in reasonably ordinary ways.

Maybe that's why I'm so lonely!

Gay Tolerance is great I do agree and its a model for the rest of the world. I just seem to notice more gay male wait staff than other professions I encounter on a regular basis.

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You have never noticed predominance of gay men working in bars in England or wherever you are from?

I would suppose it's because it's a good way of meeting people.

But I agree with your other responant that in Thailand (and I have only been there on holiday, I don't live there), there are openly gay people in every walk of life and nobody seems to give a shit.

Nice.

I cannot help wondering if Jogsy has now returned from Thailand and what transpired while he was there.

Any news, Jogsy old boy?

CLICKER - Yes, I agree with most of what you say. I think maybe I was just lucky.

A good friend of mine tried to get his girlfriend (now his wife) a tourist visa to Ireland about a year ago and failed. He earns twice as much money as me so I don't know how much that affects things. At the time I knew nothing about the visa situation and I thought she must have a criminal record or something. My friend was totally gutted and it took ages for an explasnation for the refusal to be given.

In my letter of invitation to my friend, I gave no hint of romantic entanglement. I just thanked him for showing me around Thailand (again) and for helping me improve my Thai language skills. I then offered to accommodate him at my home for the duration of my three week (fictional) summer holiday from work in return.

I sent a letter from my employer confirming my salary (easy for me as I work for my sister and do all the admin - i.e. I wrote the letter myself) and sent bank statements backing this up. That was all.

I must say I think it is disgraceful that so many people are refused tourist visas - very insulting to the applicants and very embarrassing for their sponsors (me and you!). I was ready to create an almighty stink with my local politicians if my friend was refused (as I assumed he would be). It was not necessary but I still think that everyone who has had a friend refused should do it and maybe it would have some impact on the way our overseas friends are treated by people who are employed and paid by us!

Hi just a quick question

has anyone ever tried to bring their Thai Boyfriend to the uk for a holiday, if yes could you give me some info on how to go about it.

I recently wanted to bring a male friend to Ireland for a holiday. I looked at the posts on this website and concluded that it was going to be a waste of time because my friend works in a bar, earns about 6,000 Baht per month, owns no property, has no savings history et cetera.

I told him to apply anyway. The visa was granted in less than two weeks, even though I was told by the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin that it would at least 6 weeks.

He was granted a 3-month visa valid from 1st August to 1st November. I do not think this allows him to stay 3 months. I think he can stay for 4 weeks within that 3-month period.

I do not know what exactly we did right but if anyone wants to know what we did - or did not do - I would be happy to help.