Lawnmower

Sorry haven't got the hang of the quote thing yet...this bit was from Rumpole

Irrelevant. You're not Thai and never will be. This will be made abundantly clear at every available opportunity. You do not have any of the support systems which the Thais have and will find it virtually impossible to obtain mortgages, credit etc. Thailand is hardly unique in paying expats more than locals, but one of the main differences is that in Thailand, the salary offered to a highly-qualified and experienced foreign teacher would probably be about the same as yours. Little wonder that few are tempted.

and this from me...

The fully qualified teachers in the international schools must be earning alot more than everyone in the bi-lingual or government schools. Are you just referring to universities ?

What are the beaches like in Hua Hin ? Are they busy, clean, have good water, beautiful etc ?

When we head out to our house in Petchabun at the weekend, most of the women (but not my wife) are to be found playing cards or high-low. The local police let it go as they get a percent of the pot or are related to the host. Occasionally other games are busted though and i've seen old women clambering over fences etc. to escape a raid.

The only problem i have with it, is that the games -" bok ding" and high low are so simple and boring. I don't understand how they play for so long. More of a social thing i think.

This is true Tokker.  Having looked at jobs etc I am quite astounded to see such relatively low paid wages of the Thai people.  If some can survive on 5000/m then 30k/m plus should be a plenty?  I've read many posts here and elsewhere (usually teachers...) complaining on how little they get paid.

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We lived on 30/40/50 thousand a month for a long time living a good life with many holidays around Thailand. However, when the first kid got to school age things got tighter. With a second on the way we will be relocating to the UK for a few years. It would still be possible to live here but it would be living a totally thai style life ( thai education, no uk hols etc) . As the kids are half Thai, half Ferrang we don't think that's appropriate.

Ideally, we would both like to stay in Thailand but both agree that we can "sacrifice" a few years to better our lives when we return.

What is the average wage for teachers in International schools ( British system) in Bankok ? I am thinking it would be between 100-150 thousand a month with other benefits for fully qualified teachers from the UK. Can anyone confirm ?

Why Thailand is good for me:-

1) The care and consideration Thai people show to you, when you live and work with them.

2) The fresh food. All the food has either being killed or picked recently. Unlike, the goods found in the UK which have probably been frozen for months.

3) Getting on to some of the smaller islands where you are unlikely to see more than 10 to 20 people in a week. This is how to relax.

4) The unpredicatability of life. The surprises Thailand throws up make life that little bit more interesting. Rules and routine are best left in the boring western world.

5) Getting into the countryside during the rainy season. Beautiful views, dramatic weather and friendly people.

6) The positive attitude towards life that most Thai people have.

There's many more reasons and i agree with all the posts so far. Try it and see.

Is free education for teachers children a standard benefit (?) of most private/intl schools ? I know my school does, but wanted to know about others for future reference. Any ideas ?

Undecided. Sounds like i'm in a similar boat as you were before. With a second child on the way, we are considering a return to the UK for a few years. As you described, money is obviously easier to come by in the UK and education will be of a higher quality. However, the thought of returning to the world of finance and the predictability of life over there, is putting me off for at least a few more years !! If i can find a way to avoid it i will.

I haven't used the internet site for well over a year, but when i last used it they wouldn't accept my Credit card. They claimed that their systems were unable to process with "foreign credit cards". I don't know if this has any truth or not but i had to pay at the airport in the end.

If you arrive in the morning you have to get to the embassy before 12. The visa will then be ready for collection in the afternoon of the next day. They do not accept any visa applications in the afternoon.

Arrive and go when you can, Penang is rubbish.

Yep, depends where you are. My garden in southern Petchabun province is green at the moment. We are not watering either, just relying on the rain which arrives every couple of days or so. Most of the plants sprang into life when the rains started.

I know this is a common scam, but just a warning.

My brother and family were recently out to see me in Thailand. On their return they found a number of fraudulent entries on their credit card statements. The only place they used the card before the entries, was a shop called SKD suits in MBK, Bangkok.

I didn't even think to warn him about possible fraud if he used the card, but i definitely will for anyone else that comes.

Never heard of an Argentinian restaurant outside of Argentina (apart from Puerto Rico it seems). Personally, i think most of the food is pretty poor, except the steaks which are superb. Argentinian steaks are often quoted as the best in the world and i would have to agree. I've had no meat anywhere that comes close to the flavour and texture.

Mine strectches back to the old raving days. Apparently, my dancing style resembled somebody manually starting a lawnmower !! My mates started calling me it and it's still stuck.

I agree with whoever said fashion island, definitely the best selection i've seen. It has alot of the older movies which i haven't seen anywhere else.

Fashion island is on Ram inthra, about Kilo 10. The cd shops are on the first floor at the far end near Big C.

No problems at all. A few drivers have tried the old no meter trick but never suceeded.

They generally attempt to talk when they realise i can speak a little thai and have never tried to do a round about route.

They don't bat an eyelid when we are eating whatever food we want in the back, or my son is shouting in their ears and they've handed out many a plastic bag when my wife was suffering from morning sickness.

You wouldn't see many taxi drivers in the UK putting up with this.

I spend the week days in Bangkok and the weekends in a house we built in a small village in Petchabun province. I know Petchabun's not Isan but it's considered the boundary between the northern and north eastern cultures. Village life however does seem pretty similar. Entertainment is mostly of our own making. Relaxation is pretty important but as i'm thirty i need more activities to fill my time. Apart from Chang, hammocks and gambling we like to get out into the mountains, go mountain biking or spend time landscaping and designing our land. It's a perfect escape from Bangkok. Unfortunately the schools aren't up to scratch for our children otherwise we would be there full time.

It's been raining every day (big downpours) in Southern Petchabun province ( Shi Thep area) for about two weeks . I thought it was raining most places now. Is this the case ?

When we have visited the UK it was as if we were invisible. Walking down the streets or in bars no-one even looked twice. Inter-racial relationships are so common and we are both of the same age that there was nothing to make us stand out. We feel we get far more funny looks in Thailand.

All my family and friends accept us completely, any questions and comments have been purely out of interest. Most of them have visited us in thailand over the last few years. My mum should be an agent for TAT the amount she talks about here !

OK - no problems with it, but there are many nicer hotels in Bangkok in the same price range.

My school brought this up a few months ago and i posted on TV at that time. No-one knows anything about it.

My school tried to enforce it for awhile turning down quite alot of people for this term as they didn't have these qualifications. However, in the last week they've had to do a u-turn to fill a couple of places. Typical and exactly how everyone predicted !

As Peaceblondie says, bi-lingual schools and ELP's can't afford to pay the wages that people with these qualifications command.

He worked at Ramkhamhaeng University's demonstration school (whatever that is ?).

Hi,

The ferry operators stop all boats to the Similian and Surin Islands between May and October for the rainy season. The seas are simply too rough to risk. I'm not sure about private dive operators but presume it would be the same.

A friend was there a couple of weeks ago and he said the beaches were nice, water clean etc but on the bad side theres loads of building and theres a massive pile of uncollected rubbish and debris at one end of the sand bar.

Go to Koh Lanta and visit on a day trip i reckon.

1) All the development in Koh Chang over the last year or two.

2) Cars in Bangkok

3) All the idiots at the UK embassy, who haven't filled out their forms correctly or bought the right information, making what should be a ten minute wait into two hours.

True, we are quessing. Seismologists are also pretty much quessing.

Earthquakes have happened in Indonesia for a long time and will continue for a long time in the future. There can be no denying that more will occur. However, an earthquake that will trigger a tsunami with the same impact and to the same area is pretty unlikely ( not impossible) for a long time. Stress will remain on the fault but as the data shows the location of the earthquakes constantly changes in the area. Thus, the effects of an earthquake, however big or small, will change.