PeaceBlondie

we will be flying ba to bangkok next month (using airmiles).  we want to end our journey in chiang mai.  if we buy our airline tickets from bangkok to chiang mai in london they cost much more than buiing them in thailand.

how can we book return flights from bangkok to chiang mai and collect them at bangkok airport on arrival from london for use the same day?  is electronic ticketing a possibility?

thanks for all help.

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You can buy your ticket online as stated in the previous post.

I would recommend TG e-ticket.

This will enable you to check your luggage through all the way to CM and go through immigrtaion and customs in CM and bypassing the queues in BKK and the long walk to the domestic terminal.

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Hope you have better luck with the online TG website than I do. I never can book nothing never, so I just ride over to the city office. Maybe I'm just a Luddite.

I'm lucky also in that I may be the first farang ajarn in memory, so they probably cut me some slack and respected me. And it wasn't my first school in that province. Some kids just don't show enough respect.

If you're not causing the problem (and if you're not following in the troubled wake of some real loser farang ajarns), then it's the fault of the kids, their parents, the other ajarns, the monks, and all Thais in Thailand. Mai bpen rai.

Oh, one more thing. Yesterday was a full moon, and the kids were playing Monday Fool's Day all day with many ajarns, thai and farang alike. So when my MEP class wouldn't shut the f--- up, I yelled loudly through a microphone, 'BE QUIET!!'. Then I told them they were bad Thai children, not respecting an ajarn, and shame on them for having to be told by a farang how to be good Thais. After I told four Thai ajarns about it including my boss, I decided it's not my job to teach Thainess to Thais.

I get waiied just walking through the halls or across campus, without even looking at the more respectful teenagers. And if I look 90% of the students straight in the eye, I get a wai every time. All ajarns or student teachers meeting me for the first time give a wai upon introduction, and expect one in return. We're inconsistent among the faculty, though. Any wai gets returned.

But then, I'm two years older than anyone else on campus, so maybe I get more wais because of my age. As for the secretaries I work with all the time, on campus - no, that would interfere with their work too much.

Only occasionally do I see an ajarn return a students' wai, and that would be when the student does something special, like to give a present to the ajarn. If one teacher wais to another teacher, it gets returned. Of course, I always wai the Director, etc.

I think I got a wai from the waiter once in a gogo bar because he knew I was an ajarn....trouble is, he called me that, out loud!

Got a flat on my front tire last Wednesday (late model honda CBR150 sportbike). The local Honda dealer got it fixed in less than 40 minutes and charged 100 baht. then we went to Chiang Mai and the dealer installed an all new rear tire (okay, it's small, but it's tubeless and state of the art), changed oil, washed the bike, and adjusted the chain as well as checking all the lamps. Total: less than 800 baht, and it was ready in a couple of hours.

Mechanics labor in Texas: at least 2,400 baht for motorbike, per hour; probably $100/hour now for auto dealer. Cheapest tire, installed: 3900 baht.

Apples to oranges, of course, to compare my 150 to a new motorbike in America. But the Suzuki 500 in Texas, year 2001, had to have a 1,000 kilometer checkup, and the warranty didn't cover it: 2,300 baht. Here, it's free.

I teach at a huge co-ed govt. secondary school where the anthem is always led by one GIRL. It was originally an all-girls school. The formerly all-boys school across town, where I taught last year - I don't remember, but I think it was usually by one GIRL. And they allowed obvious ladyboys to raise the flag.

does that make me any less lovable???

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Well... I will admit to sometimes being a thief... . But, am honest enough to admit that.

My old dad used to say, "You can sometime trust a thief, but you can never trust a liar."

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I worked with a man who said, "My Daddy always told me that if I man would lie to you, he'd also steal from you, because dishonesty is dishonesty."

But I think you're right, Ravisher: lots of fairly honest people will lie a little or steal a little, but not both, or not much.

It reminds me of that old joke most of us have heard long ago.

Hollywood reporter is interviewing a minor star who hasn't made it to the big time yet. "So, would you star in a leading movie and get a million dollars, if you only had to sleep with the movie producer one time?"

"Urm, well, if he's good looking, and didn't hurt me, just one day....yes, I guess for all that."

"Oh good, then! Will you sleep with me for ten dollars, now?"

"What do you think I am, a cheap whore?"

"Oh, we already established WHAT you are. We're just haggling over price."

I forgot to save my response, but I emailed them a rant, also. Oppresively hot classrooms, huge class size, rote learning, crappy Q&A tests, cheating and copying are rampant, no original thought, lecture method, etc. I finally said that the uniforms were nice, though.

Hey, Brits: this is about the third really crappy BBC educatonal post we've seen in several weeks. One survey by the UK ministry of education said that class size doesn't matter. Another said Blacks get higher marks than native English. I think there was another that made no sense, either. Is it the editorial staff at BBC that's writing with both eyes closed?

I don't know other countries' laws, but when you enter the USA (probably as a citizen or alien), they ask you how much you're bringing in and then warn that it's not illegal to bring in more than $20,000. But it's a crime not to DECLARE it. When you declare more than $10K, they probably send a CTR (Currency Transaction Report) to the IRS, which may later track it against your reported world-wide income.

I'm with you guys. Perhaps because I didn't come out until I was about 42, I've never been able to tell. Maybe I refuse to develop my gaydar, or admit I have any gaydar, because I'm always ranting against stereotyping.

I was thinking yesterday that every one of the hundreds of teenage boys at my school either looks, walks, or talks gay. But less than 30% are, maybe only 15% (and we surely can tell who the radical femme types are).

I don't put a candidate in the "most likely is gay" category until it's obvious. For example, when he's strutting around a gay gogo bar like the most outrageous movie star and touching customers on their crotches.

Steven's got the point right, but I'll tackle the related question, whether or not this newbie is a troll.

Does teaching in Thailand improve one's competence as an ESL teacher or as an English-speaking teacher of other academic subjects?

Sometimes it does, sometimes not. If one is quite inexperienced when they get to Thailand, almost any experience should improve the competence and expertise of a conscientious teacher. But too many years doing little more than teaching beginner classes of 60 (or in a language school, countless temporary short classes of 8) might tempt the teacher to develop bad habits.

The same could be said of almost any occupation in any country.

To the point that was singled out by Lost gold: less than 20 hours of high-quality teaching under poor conditions will not turn a Thai from a total neophyte into a polished speaker. Language acquisition and fluency require hundreds of hours of good instruction, and few govt. or language schools provide that. Besides, the Thais have little or no valid system for accurately measuring language proficiency - their tests are crap. And the busy teacher may not be a totally accurate judge of improvement, either.

Fairness is the topic. Maybe fairness is like some high court once said about pornography: "I can't exactly define it, but I know it when I see it." But in fact, everybody's definitions vary and change. Likewise with fairness.

In my career at the Internal Revenue Service, we were often told, "That law - or your application of it - isn't fair." Westerners are infused with the notion that everything should be fair. I think the world should be fair, by my standards. But the Internal Revenue Code is one of the few laws in North America (I discussed this last night with a Canadian lawyer) that isn't fair, doesn't have to be, and the hands of the courts are tied.

Yes, we want fairness, and it's very strange to live without it. We should work to make the life more fair (whatever that means). And I'm glad I don't have to administer a patently unfair law any more.

Have a fair day.

Well, another 30 days with 'Pacific Net' and their 349-baht card goes by today, and we'll just buy another card for 30 more days. Boyfriend says that [even though the local boy-telecommunications multibillionaire is Prime Minister] Chiang Mai has only had much internet usage for about two years (large scale), so they're still in the Dark Ages of telecommunications.

Even meadish sweetball's fair description of where the True offfice was, didn't make sense to a 36 year resident of Chiang Mai. Nobody seems to know much. Oh well, maybe in year 2006.........meanwhile, thanks to one and all for your attempts. I guess we're just not ready to drive fast on the information supersoi.

Okay, maybe all of the following has already been said on this thread, but count it as my end-of-year rant:

Native speaking programs such as MEP or EP require much more advance planning, and far more coordination between departments, administrators, etc., than a regular program in a Thai school requires. This is due in great part to the foreign teacher (‘farang’). Most farang teachers are verbally oriented, and they expect to be actively and productively involved in two-way dialogue with their boss and their co-workers, as appropriate. Their opinions may be wrong or unwanted, but the farang want their written or spoken words to be read and heard (such as these words here). Due to cultural differences and language barriers, the school won’t get its money’s worth out of the farang’s salary if the school doesn’t communicate regularly and in a meaningful way with the teacher.

The following examples of communication should include the principal people involved in the program, including departments other than the Foreign Language Department, on up to the director and assistants.

Before classes begin, the native teacher should receive the following. It should all be written in clear English for each segment of the teacher’s assigned work. Farang are usually very serious about their professional work, and they think it’s good to be well organized:

A. A full one year course outline, with dates that are accurate within seven days. When do classes start and end in each semester? When are the teacher’s long holiday periods, mid-term and end-term exam dates? The farang probably has to schedule visa runs, family visits, etc. that a Thai citizen would never have to do. Farang must do this, and it requires precise advance planning. Don’t be surprised if the farang is inflexible about this; it’s more important than Thai food.

B.Names, nicknames, and phone number(s) of the Thai teachers that the farang needs to be in contact with. Each semester, provide an accurate academic schedule of these teachers (including times and room numbers, of course).

C. A curriculum or syllabus that clearly describes what subject material must be covered, and what things will be covered on the final exam for that subject. It must be in clear English. It cannot be in Thai, or some crazy attempt at translation.

D. Textbooks and workbooks for the entire year that will be issued to the students. Also, any teacher’s books that are in English.

E. For entire year, or at least for one month in advance, student worksheets that students will use in class. Don’t expect the farang to help you translate next Monday’s worksheet on Friday.

F. Job description that explains what the foreign teacher does or doesn’t do. To whom he reports (bosses). Who to go to with problems (yes, farang will come to you with problems because they think that’s how problems are solved. You can’t change this cultural tendency; it’s hard-wired into farang brains until they die or get Altzheimer’s). Who to call when he can’t get to work today. Who to ask for a day off, such as for a visa run because the school didn’t help him to get the proper documentation (yes, it’s the school’s fault sometimes, and the farang expects you to openly or silently admit that).

G. Emergency data: what to do if the building is on fire, or Pongsakorn jumps out the third story window. How to handle extreme discipline cases (which Director or Assistant Director gets to explain to Nattaphon that he can’t undress in class? Where is that administrator’s office, and his mobile number so he or she can come get Nattaphon?). Where the clinic is. Where a farang teacher can urinate or defecate, preferably with a Western, sit-down toilet.

H. An explantion of the teacher’s scope of professional responsibilities – what he will or won’t be blamed for or praised for. Farang expect you to tell them when they do good or bad, what’s important (such as eating at faculty luncheons) and what’s more or less mai bpen rai (academic standards?).

I. Information about supplies. Chalk, whiteboard markers, paper, computers and printers that actually work most of the time. Where to get more. What to do if there aren’t any. Seriously. Really, farangs don’t take the same things as “mai bpen rai” as you do.

J. Start your contract negotiations for the next school year before the current term ends (such as late January if the new term starts in mid-May). The farang gets nervous, and will find another school if you wait too long. Foreigners may expect some improvements in their contract if they’ve done a good job: a small salary increase; twelve months’ pay instead of ten; reduced contact hours; or being promised they’ll have significant input into certain phases of the program. They may expect teacher’s license, work permit, and the right kind of help to get the right kind of visa. Don’t treat British and Canadians as you might treat illegal Burmese or Laotians.

K.Finally: if your school thinks the above suggestions aren’t serious or important, and your response amounts to ‘mai bpen rai,’ your EP or MEP will fail, and it will be YOUR fault, not the farang’s fault. And before you say, "This is Thailand, not the West, look at what the letter "E" stands for in EP and MEP. It's a bicultural and bilingual program, not just Thai-Thai. Thank you for your attention.

WHO's best-case scenario: 7 million deaths worldwide. Worst case: 100 million deaths, three BILLION people get the disease.

Not small numbers.

Well, I wrote in haste and apparently we can't edit our posts in this forum. Anyway, I'm not in love with longterm monogamous relationships in the first place. So if boyfriend said he also had a girlfriend, I'd think about it.

I'm sure you could fake a transcript more easily than faking a diploma. Most of the transcripts from the 8 or so universities I've attended don't look real.

Bunnysgal, I thought you were confusing me before with the phrase "he has a diploma but not a degree." In North america, both secondary 'graduation' and university 4-year graduation result in the issuance of a diploma, but it's the uni one that says "Bachelor of ---" after 3.5 to 4 years of study that really counts.

The conventional wisdom for over 100 years has been that if you're well on your way to a university degree (a BA, BS, or B.Ed), try to finish it. Oh well, if everybody says that, maybe it's wrong. No, in the field of education, that degree always makes a big difference.

I wanted to study the christian ministry of education; they said I had to have a BA/BS to go to graduate seminary. When I wanted a good job in the national govt, that BA was my ticket straight up the career ladder. When I got to Thailand, that ancient BA was my ticket once again. Many times, the employers don't care your major was in the ornithology of the Hebrides; they just want a bachelor's.

Some people have a tough time finishing their bachelor's degree and want an excuse to get an easy way out. Make him stay through to the end. Don't marry a quitter.

As Ajarn points out, there are two things that men will exaggerate: their money and the size of their organ. And I don't mean their Hammond electric organ.

I'm not gold, but I'm silver on two fr.fly. programs, and I like Thai Air. You pay a bit more, but get better service than the US airlines, or some Asian ones.

But I cannot make sense out of their cruddy website; never make reservations there. Always go into their own city office (much better reservations staff than at the phone center). I had a big problem last month for a January 3 flight, and the lady fixed it by selling us a business class seat instead of economy when I said I was willing to pay 1,000 baht more (and I would have slipped it to her as a tip).

I couldn't believe the flight Singapore-BKK last year. They served jumbo shrimp with marinara sauce, and it wasn't spicy! I like the way they handle incoming flights to BKK and speed you through Don Muang to Chiang Mai without going through customs, and without losing baggage.

You pay a bit more, but I don't trust the new cheapy airlines.

I searched using the search feature and couldn't find it, so here goes.

If I leave BKK or Chiang Mai the first of April and stay gone 4 to 6 weeks, can I fly around the world on one open ticket, either westbound or eastbound? The must-see places on my itinerary are Ireland (Shannon), Atlanta, Houston. Would like to see Australia/NZ, Spain, South America.

What are the pros and cons, restrictions, etc.?

If I found myself seriously competing with a WOMAN, I'd walk out. The fact that my current boyfriend still had doubts, and doubts in that direction - it's over. Not that I walk out easily or give up easily, but that's no competition I'd care to compete in.

Just as I stopped acting straight, my wife fell in with a total loser. I said, "Go for it, babe - all he's got is length."

Trying hard to agree with everybody here: CELTA's famous, and the other courses (taught from Thailand) aren't. But I have to suspect that not all CELTA's are created equal, even though they try to maintain standards. The course (I'm making this up) taught by Carlos y Maria in Madrid in 1984 may not be as good as the one taught by Cedric and Hermione in London in 1994, and for all we know, the one taught by Buddy and Jo Ellen in Saigon in 2001 might have been the best. Except for those courses in Thailand that were taught.....but we don't know about all the others.

C'mon, guys, all other things being more or less equal (which they never are) I would think my ancient unrelated BA, and my $1,050 TEFL certificate from 2003 in Thailand, are only the beginning. Two to ten years teaching EFL at increasing levels of competence and at better schools - and a really good personal interview, maybe some recommendations by the grapevine - those things will get me a job at 200,000 yen in Tokyo, even if my competitor just finished Oxford (Hons.) and CELTA (London) but hasn't taught Asians yet. Except, of course, that I'm 62 years old and insist on the pony tail.....better that I stay where I am.

Thanks to advice like Steven's, I was forewarned to expect ignorance. My first school specifically said I was on my own for things like visa, work permit, or teacher's license. In other words, they wouldn't lift a finger and I wouldn't get any. Next school (same province) was glad to hear that I didn't expect such things, because they had no idea how to obtain them, no matter that I provided the detailed list. Seven months later, when my mate requested a TL, they decided govt. schools don't need TL's, but they'd help us get WP. She drove us to the Labour Dept, where they hadn't the first clue as to how to get WP for teachers. Never had done it, and the province claims a history of more than 500 years.

So, if they say, "We'll get you blah blah blah," and you're being interviewed on the premises, ask to see the file of the prior farang who were issued visa, TL, or WP through their help. It should take ten, at tops maybe 25 minutes to bring you the file. So, if they don't show you the file within 25 minutes, there is no file. They're lying. Run as fast as you can.

You bumped that up just in time. Just yesterday, I was getting serious and professional about teaching English and Math in Thailand, and I got very frustrated (tempted to walk out and not come back). But then I told the boss at 4:30 today, calmly and with a Thai smile, "We're not serious. We don't really teach. Students don't learn. Their grades don't matter. They copy and cheat anyway. The school doesn't plan ahead. We are seldom informed properly. Class sizes are impossibly large. Nobody cares about teaching. If you want a White clown again next year, I'm available half time. I learned how to play this game. You know I will do my best but it's just make believe. Thanks, boss."

I'd like to say I'm the best farang they ever had, but they claim I'm the first. I spoiled 'em already - the director thinks he can get some agency in Bangkok to send a dozen just as good as me, to come way out to the province, with a phone call.

Bring in the crowns.