Rags

Darknight

You must be knackered after all that deleting - although I must admit that it was great fun watching it happen in real time....

We have previously used Rama Gardens, and found it to be convenient and of a reasonable standard.

It has the feel of a convention type hotel, but they did used to provide a free airport pickup and dropoff service.

Rags

Yep, I was just preparing for my daily dose of 2bangkok and got the same message.

The site usually contains a good range of material from the local press that is not normally accessible to those that cannot read Thai - maybe that is what has got CAT so worried

If it's an April fool, then its a bit of a strange one....

Bizarre

Has this rambling / schizophrenic article been included in the printed version of the Nation as well....???

How did you guys get on....?

Rags

hello, it's most likely too far for you to travel but ... www.montessoripattaya.com

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Thanks Jennscoot,

I checked out the website and it does look like the sort of thing we are after, but as you mentioned it is unfortunately a little too far away for us.

Neeranam,

It is interesting to hear the views of someone in a similar situation.

Moving slightly off topic I know, but out of interest how do you respond when your child is speaking with you and identifies something correctly in Thai e.g. "Daddy Rott" - do you respond in English saying "Yes it's a car"...? To my way of thinking there is little else you can say, as they are not wrong in their statement, but it does appear to blur the lines a little between Thai and English...

Rags

Yep, I think you are right about the choice of forum section - not the level of response that I was hoping for.

As I mentioned in my original post, I didn't place the query in the Teacher's forum as I thought it would go unnoticed by the majority of parents, as it turns out it appears to have gone unnoticed by both sides ...!!

Anyway, thanks for your response.

To answer your question, I am English and my wife is Thai. Our son speaks both languages to a reasonable level for his age, although whilst I am at work the balance tends to swing in the Thai direction.

We are keen that he continues to speak both languages, however if one language has to become dominant then we both want this to be English - hence the idea of placing him in an English nursery school at a relatively early age.

Unfortunately "having too much money" is not a problem for us , so we are still considering our options. As you suggest, maybe expanding my bedtime reading routine together with the "Smart Kids" idea might be a good compromise without costing a fortune - I will check out the programme at Central, Bang Na.

Does anyone have experience of "Smart Kids" or similar centres in the Bang Na area?

Thanks LivinLoS.

The info I have received from True, suggests that they provide one of the following ethernet self installation modems (USB?) with LAN card free of charge:

ASKEY-Ale070

ZYXEL-Prestige 630

BILLION-Bipac 7000

If a USB modem is not the best way to go, is it worth paying extra to get an ADSL modem/router considering I am only connecting to one PC? If so any recommendations?

I am also looking at signing up for a True Hi-Speed package, and was considering the 2560/512 Kbps option.

As mentioned above the packages do currently come with a free modem worth about THB 1,800 (special offer until 30 June 2005). However, I recall reading somewhere on this forum that if you upgrade to a "router" rather than a USB modem, then there are added benefits such as better connection or a built-in firewall.

To be honest I am not 100% sure of the difference between a modem and a router, and would appreciate it if someone could clarify this for me and advise if there is any benefit from upgrading for the average home user?

Thanks

Rags

I thought about posting the following query in the "Teaching in Thailand" section, but have placed it here as I would appreciate feedback from both teachers and parents!

My wife and I are looking for an international (English) nursery school for our 2 1/2yr old son. We live in the Bang Na area, and are currently considering either Charterhouse (Srinakarin Rd) or St. Andrews (Sukhumvit 107).

To be honest these schools are already more expensive than we were anticipating, but if we do not hear any horror stories, then we will probably be selecting one of them shortly. By the way we have already excluded Bangkok Patana as the term fees and 'joining fee' quoted are way above our budget!!!

Any comments on the standard of teaching in these schools, or recommendations for other schools in the Bang Na area would be appreciated.

Thanks

Rags

Hi guys

I am also considering the jump from PC to Mac, and was wondering if someone could explain how best to compare the processing speeds for a Mac and PC?

I understand that the two systems work in very different ways, and was therefore wondering if there is a 'rule of thumb' that will tell me roughly how the speed of a Mac at 1.4Ghz would compare to a PC at say 2.6Ghz?

Thanks

Rags

I am a British guy married to a Thai lady, and am currently living in Thailand on an extended Non-Immigrant-O visa (based upon supporting my wife and child). After being employed in Thailand for a number of years, I am looking to set-up a company that will allow me to legally undertake some consulting work in Thailand, to fill in the gaps between “proper” salaried positions.

From previous posts I understand that as I am married to a Thai, the requirement for obtaining a work permit is simply 1M Baht of registered capital (and no need for 4 Thai staff – real or otherwise ). Based upon this understanding could anyone advise me on the process and the “ballpark” figures (lawyers, accounting etc.) to setup and to maintain a business that will purely be used as a vehicle for me to legally work for other companies on an ad-hoc basis?

I am thinking of using the study in my home as the registered office, as I have no plans to turn this into a major moneymaking scheme, or to recruit any additional staff. Just a means to an end!

Advice and suggestions on the above would be gratefully received.

Cheers

Rags

If you already have a long-term extension of a Class O visa, then you can get a work permit that matches that term of validity.  To sponsor your work permit, the  employing company needs only 2,000,000 baht REGISTERED capital per work permit sponsored - or 1,000,000 baht for each work permit sponsored for a foreigner married to a Thai.

My company would be happy to assist you with obtaining the work permit.

Good luck!

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

Bangkok

[email protected]

www.thaistartup.com

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Hi there,

Sorry for hijacking this 'company related' thread, but I am interested in Indo-Siam's above response regarding work permit requirements.

I too have a Thai wife and an extended non-imm-O visa, and I would greatly appreciate clarification of the requirements for obtaining a work permit as an employee of a local company.

Is the above mentioned reduction in registered capital (from 2M registered capital to 1M) the only benefit afforded by the non-imm-O as opposed to the non-imm-B...?

Regards

Rags

i sometimes say  poot paa-saa Thai mai geng reng khrap its like a joke at the same time saying that your Thai is not healthy, whenever i say it they always seem to love it. NB i have found some people dont understand this is you being funny at the same time and try to correct you not to say the reng but always works with office people.

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I occasionally answer with "Poot Paa-saa Thai Ngu Ngu Blaa Blaa" which the Thai's always smile at - I was told that "snake snake fish fish" in this context is a Thai term for very very little - a very informal saying and apparently a very unusual one for a farang to use!!

Is this right, or are they smiling at me for a very different reason... ...!!!

Rags

The rules are clearly explained above.

You need a non-immigrant visa and a valid IDP, otherwise full test.

(Add , of course allthe other papers and copies shown in Thai Visa main site)

I still would go with all the papers and photocopies and ASK. Was your IDP for 1 or for 3 years? (Germany issues both and not clearly show expiry date.)

Don't mention, just let them study all the papers. If failed, can't be helped.

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Last week I successfully obtained my Thai license from the main centre in Bangkok. I had everything except a valid IDP, but for some reason did not have to take any driving test or written exams - only the colour blindness, depth perception and reaction test.

I guess this was the exception that proves the rule, or maybe it was the combination of lots of smiling, a UK passport and an expired IDP from 1995!!!!

Rags

Definitely agree with all of the above.

Although for me the thing that is even more irritating than salespeople not knowing anything about the electrical applicances they are selling, is when you are happily reading the labels yourself and they proceed to read every bullet point on the label as if they are imparting some great wisdom....

....this is a Sony Sir....

....yes I know, it says here.....!

....100 channels Sir....

....yes I know, it says here....!

....etc.......

Thanks Lopburi3.

Yes, I will be supporting my Thai wife and our young son.

I appreciate what you are saying about there being no hurry, and I am already able to arrange money transfers via internet banking. To be honest I am just trying to be greedy and time the transfer of funds to coincide with the most favourable exchange rates - a trick which I invariably fail to pull off...!

Cheers

Rags

I am planning to transfer the THB 400K that is required for my 1yr Non-Imm-O extension, to my Thai bank account before I arrive on my initial 90 Day Non-Imm-O visa.

Does anyone know if the timing of this deposit is likely to create a problem?

I am assuming/hoping that as long as one can prove that the money came from overseas, and that it is in the bank on the day you apply for the 1yr extension, that it should be acceptable....!

Thanks Axel

Just to clarify - If applying on the basis of the initial 3 month Non-Imm-O visa, the Thai Driving License issued should actually be valid for 1 year - correct?

As for the colour test, I think that I will try my luck and smile a lot in the hope that they will accept the British License in lieu of the IDP

Rags

I will shortly be arriving in Thailand on a Non-Imm-O visa, and currently hold a British (EU) driving license but no separate International License.

I will definitely need to drive whilst living in Thailand, and would appreciate clarification regarding the requirement for a Non-Imm-O visa in order to apply for the Thai Driving License.

Am I right in thinking this must be an extended 1 year Non-Imm-O visa? Or are you able to apply immediately upon arrival in Thailand whilst holding the initial 3 month Non-Imm-O visa?

Thanks

Rags