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Posts posted by Gsxrnz
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Last time we heard about cleaning the immigration status of illegal workers, it was about the Cambodian nationals => they went back home but Thais realized they badly needed them => Cambodians came back.
Same story here? No => Thais DON'T NEED English teachers from abroad because millions Thais speak a perfect English and can teach to the children.
Wrong
Millions of Thais do not speak perfect English. Maybe a few thousand do.
sarcasm-
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The Thai students in Nakon Nowhere or even Bangkok attending government schools are not the future business leaders or movers and shakers of Thailand.
It could be argued that putting resource of any kind into teaching English to prospective farm workers, labourers, 7/11 shop assistants and armed forces cannon fodder is basically a waste of time.
Rest assured that the children of the ruling classes and upper middle classes will be receiving appropriate English lessons from fluent speakers at expensive private schools either in Thailand or abroad. There are at least 20 Thai students enrolled in my former small town high school in New Zealand , paying big fees for a western education - I'm sure they all come from Nakon Nowhere and are the children of farm labourers.
That's just the way the hierarchical system works in Thailand, and the ruling classes (Red/Yellow/Military included) don't want to see that changed any time soon, despite ASEAN.
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You say "Her voice changed to a high voice and her eyes went weird and I guess she acted like a little girl although in total control."
That's about normal around my house.
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Isn't it obvious? The "loudmouth falang" speaking loudly in Thai was more than likely Amurcan.
Here we go.
It was a tongue-in-cheek flip comment by me.
I nearly typed "Aussie" instead of Amurcan because Kiwis can't resist a shot at the West Islanders, but I was probably influenced by two Americans I encountered on a recent flight from Sydney sitting two rows in front of me.
They were asked by cabin crew to please lower their voices as they were disturbing other passengers. This prompted a loud 90 minute discussion between them about "why does the rest of the world think Americans are loud when clearly "we" are not". It was actually quite entertaining.....but a little loud.
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Isn't it obvious? The "loudmouth falang" speaking loudly in Thai was more than likely Amurcan.
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I have an image in my mind of somebody lighting a few candles as an offering to Buddha adjacent to a tonne of fireworks.
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They can write whatever they want into the constitution.
Having the will, desire, and mechanism to enforce what's written is another story entirely.
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For God's sake don't dye a moustache or your eyebrows. There's a bloke around here that dyes his hair, eyebrows, and moustache jet black.
Looks like a reject from The Muppet Show.
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As an animal lover, I'm deeply concerned for the wellbeing of the cat.
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If I had a choice of riding in a Suicide Van or slamming my private parts in a car door, I'd opt for the latter.
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They forgot to mention the rate of re-offending by those convicted.
The death penalty is 100% effective at preventing re-offending.
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Several factors will delay the inevitable bursting of the condo bubble.
1. The recent weakening of the Baht is making it a little more affordable for foreigners to buy compared to the last couple of years. This has/will hold up the sales of new condos to some extent for a limited period.
2. The weakness of the baht also makes it less attractive for foreigners to sell existing condos, particularly those that may want to convert their baht to their home currency. Foreigners (in general) measure their condo value in their home currency as opposed to the Baht price they paid, therefore lessening their willingness to sell, and also seeing them asking a higher price to give them the home currency value they "need" irrespective if they are going home or not.
3. Their is definitely an increase in the upper-lower and lower-middle classes in Thailand that are beginning to impact slightly on the condo market, particularly in the tourist areas. While this is not impacting on the 49% rule, it is fuelling developers into taking a bullush and long term position on building condos. They use the foreign 49% to fund themselves initially, expecting that in a 5 to 10 year period, the Thai 51% will eventually be taken up at prices that compensate the developer for the time value of money.
4. The Russian influence has also held up prices as they are new to the market and holding up the sales figures that might otherwise have fallen over the last 5 years. This demand is also contributing to developer expectations and encourages them to maintain the stock level at bullish levels. The developers are expecting considerable increases in the Russians purchasing condos.
5. The "asian" perspective of value will always hold prices up, despite the reality of the supply demand curve dictating that prices should go south. Thais are extremely reluctant to sell anything for less than they paid for it, and once they have a fixed idea of value in their heads they will rarely deviate. They have relatively no idea of the time value of money. This artificially holds up prices even though sales may be relatively depressed. It totally screws the supply/demand theory of pricing and production.
6. There is little doubt that there is a fair proportion of dirty money being used to build condos. They don't therefore care about the time value of money, nor indeed do they care about recovering their investment in the short term.
Just my opinions - but the bubble will burst eventually
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At the Hospital on Soi 4 Sai 2 Pattaya, they have a large glass/plastic sheeting ceiling that covers the reception area and is fully open to sunlight allowing it to light the whole area. Thay have recirculating running water that cascades slowly down the sheets of plastic which appears to be on a timed pump or possibly a thermostat as it is not constantly running.
I've often wondered if this could be used to cool a house ceiling cavity over tiles in conjunction with the usual insulation methods.
Just a thought.
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Got two food stories in line with the OP.
Once ordered an English breakfast and the menu offered jam or marmalade for the toast. I ordered the marmalede. The meal arrived with jam - oh well, not a problem. I'd no sooner downed a mouthfull of sausage when an omellete arrives. I didn't order this says I. "Yes you dit, you order armalet." Truly a Thai moment.
Second case was in a mall at a steak restaurant. Three of us (all falangs) and the serving staff had zero Thai. No probs, my mate and I reckon we can use our various levels of Thai to get through this. He has a wide vocab but is tone deaf - I can wing it on the tones. We each order a steak dish on the menu and we all also ordered side orders of onion rings, a baked potato, and french fries. We used the point and shoot method on the menu but had to elaborate about the side dishes.
Our meals arrive, but missing the side orders. Never mind, we're hungry and running late for an appointment. We each had a mouthful of food when suddenly, three more plates arrive - the same steak orders, but complete with the side orders. So we now had six meals for the three of us. We explained and suddenly they understood. To be fair, probably our fault for thinking we're too flash on the Thai - I think we said laew-gaw and dooay to much.
They didn't charge for the extra food but we saw them tucking into the food as we finished our meal.
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Being "stuck" (in every conceivable context) is merely a state of mind.
Anybody can get unstuck whenever they choose to, but usually they're so masochistic they find a million reasons to maintain the status quo.
They will choose to stay stuck until they reach a crisis point and then typically will make bad and often costly decisions.
Not a great recipe for a happy and succcessful existence.
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So where are all the women in the photo, looks like it was a gay sex party or did they just arrest the guys
Nope. "....15 men and 7 women, who all later failed drug tests, were arrested..."
I too, was a little concerned about the disparity of female party goers vis a vis males, but then it's a little unclear as to how the BIB attributed sexuality to the ladyboys.
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She sure got the trifecta.
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Nuh - a copper's missus probably managed to pick three up and down and got stiffed on the 28K Baht payout.
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Hows that old sayin' go - "If I had 50 satang for every time I've been ripped off for 50 satang, I'd have enough baht to buy a
condominiumcontraceptive."-
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A benevolent dictatorship is superior to a corrupt democracy.
I agree, but unfortunately the benevolency of a dictator is often in conflict with the absolute power corrupting absolutely theory.
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2nd dentist confirmed it was not cracked. They did the same test, for free.
Um.......why did you believe the second dentist made the correct diagnosis when he/she totally contradicted the first dentist's diagnosis?
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So now you have the dilemna of not knowing which of the two dentists (if either) are giving you the correct information/diagnosis.
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The heavy ceramic sink had crashed to the floor.
Off-topic (slightly): Be very careful with hotel ceramic sinks/basins. The wall fixings may be strong when the unit was initially installed, but those fixings are notorious for coming loose, with the result that you'll pull the unit right off the wall! (I know - I have done this).
[DIY builder tip #128):
The basins in my hotel businesses are fixed with 6 inch long bolts that go right through the supporting wall to the exterior of the building. You would have to pull the whole wall down before the basin falls off that wall...
Considering that the cinder block walls between the piles are usually erected with crappy mortar and sans rebar, I'd have thought your walls would be coming down on a regular basis.
I watched a condo being built and on the third floor the "bricklayer" must have lost the plot and didn't set the wall back about a foot from the face of the piles as on the other floors. A month later I saw them remove the wall from the inside.
They removed alternate bricks at the top with a sledge hammer and then as I was casually sitting by my pool having a smoke, I saw the wall fall out in one piece - In the hole that was left were about a dozen Cambodian labourers who had basically formed a scrum and pushed it out. Made a helluva bang - luckily none of the Cambodians followed it down.
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Once again I find myself living in a different Thailand to many TV members.
Daily, I receive acknowledgement from strangers for opening a door, making a gap in the traffic, standing aside to let someone pass and similar such acts of common courtesy. Maybe some of you guys don't see (or don't want to see) the deference that is offered - the nodding of a head or a quick smile, or even a full fledged dip if the generational gap is significant. Sure, not 100% of the time, but no less frequently than I would expect at home.
As to specific payback, I could list dozens of situations where we have helped others in minor ways and been rewarded with favours or gifts that meet or exceed the help given. And made some very good family friends in the process.
The latest that happened just yesterday was receiving a box load of vegetables from a very remote acquaintance because she needed a lift to the bus station with her luggage two weeks ago and I just happened to be going that way. On her return she makes a point of bringing us the box of veges at some cost to herself in terms of time and effort.
It's not so much you live in a different Thailand,more like a different planet,what are you on,and where can i get some.
I rest my case.
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Visa crackdown: Is this the end of the road for unqualified ESL teachers in Thailand?
in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits
Posted
Thailand is looking to become the next "call centre" hub of the world.
The ability to speak English with an Indian or Fillipino accent is a pre-requisite.
And when the staff get sick of answering phones all day and want a career change, they'll slide easily into the 7/11 shop assistant roles.
I can see heads wobbling already.