cgphuket

37.000.000THB in cash isn't the jackpot any longer in SE-asia. 20 years ago it could buy you a fake identity and keeping u out of trouble but those days are long gone.

to be arrested soon if not found dead before

lol, its still the ifetime earnings of about 6 people on Thai wages. If its not much, send that amount to me to prove your point.

Last year I went through Nong Khai and met a guy who had just paid an 11 year (yes, really) overstay at that crossing.

I am not sure about this change at Soi 38, but often the Thai traders have established their businesses on land they do not own or have any lease contracts to use,

It is usually that the owners do not require the land for development during these times but when they do require, it is time for the traders to move on. Most often have enjoyed a "rent free" existence for enough time to generate a good sum that should allow them start a "legitimate" business on a legitimate site.

"Rent free"? Where? I know of no outdoor business that does not pay some private person for the right to use public space. If the are on the sidewalk they are paying whoever owns the closest building, if no private owner, they are paying the police. "public" sidewalk space on lower sukhumvit averages 50,000 a month for about 2 square meters, paid to whoever owns the building in front. Not believe? just ask anyone.

I wish Bangkok charged a huge few for driving cars in the city, like Singapore does. Mr. New-benz with red plate and Joe Fortuna could learn to ride a motorcycle and cause much less congestion. Yes, some bike riders are idiots and a hazard, but cars are more dangerous and cause 90% of the congestion.

Give me an Issan girl over a self-absorbed entitled white woman any day. just saying.

There is an international school in Chiang Rai you can try. Some of their teachers have no proper education degree and some have no degree at all.

Visa agents are the only sensible option I can see, who wants to try and be King Canute!

Farangs are not Thailand's cash cows, get over yourself.

Whatever Sunshine. Push us out and yes, there will be a dent in the GDP. You live in La La Land Province? Fine with me. Don't let me interrupt your pipe dreams.

Maybe they wont push out all the foreigners, just you. Oh, the tragedy...

"they were well organized and had planned the crime in every detail." However they failed to weigh down the bags of body parts and let them just float around. Utterly brilliant, Obviously a very clever "foreign" gang.

If a lower primate bites a Russian tourist, is that cannibalism?

Too bad they wernt encouraged to crack down on illegal weapons before this. Thailand: Hub of doing nothing until absolutely required.

"scoured the law books and found an offense was being committed". And which law would that happen to be? Maybe being white in public?

Very sad indeed, regardless of race or religion, our thoughts should be with the family... RIP

Wow, that's the most racist complement I have read this week.

Glad to see poseter holding people responsible for their own actions. Normally its "that poor man, someone must do something to help him!!!"

I want to leave a month early, at the end of this month. My contract says I can leave at any time with pay provided I give em 20 days notice. But I dont trust em, so Im thinking to wait until I get paid and bail. The grades would be in and Id take care of any failures, so I wouldnt be leaving em in a bad situation. Im just afraid if I tell em Im leaving then theyll come up with some goofy reason not to pay me the final paycheck. Anyway, what's your experience with giving gov schools notice? Do they pay you for the final month? Ever known someone who got screwed over in that situation?

My experience is different. I left without notice at the end of October last year. I didn't want to give notice at the end of September because like you, I didn't trust them to pay October. One other teacher was in the same situation and also didn't give notice. You have to protect yourself and don't want to be screwed over. In my case, I was "breaking" a contract, not that it's a big deal of course. My VISA and Work Permit remained intact, the school did nothing, both good until the end of March 2016.

Your situation is much different as you are not breaking a contract. There is not need to give the 20 day notice. It can only harm you. Just ignore the requests, if they come, for duties after you submit final grades. Say you are "terribly busy" as Thai's often do. They understand "terribly busy", and to repeat again, since they don't seem to be offering you a new contract, you are in the clear, gone, no worries. I honestly don't think they will attempt to cheat you out of March's salary. Too much risk on their part as you could certainly go to "Labor Court" in their eyes, despite my opinion Government schools don't really fear Labor Court as some on here claim. At the end of the day, I recommend just being unavailable after you submit your grades and you will be paid per contract for March. Don't put the thought or option in their heads said payment is optional with a notice.

My experience is different. I left without notice at the end of October last year. I didn't want to give notice at the end of September because like you, I didn't trust them to pay October. One other teacher was in the same situation and also didn't give notice. You have to protect yourself and don't want to be screwed over. In my case, I was "breaking" a contract, not that it's a big deal of course. My VISA and Work Permit remained intact, the school did nothing, both good until the end of March 2016.

You can't be serious. The last day of your tenure at this school is exactly the day when your overstay will start. And that has nothing to do if they cancelled your work permit, or not. And they can cancel your work permit without you even knowing it.

If you are not lucky and you have to leave the country, it's possible that you have to pay the full overstay fine, if you rely on that you're okay until end of March 2016.

Would you, for example have to leave to Laos, they wouldn't let you leave, ask you to pay 20 K overstay, get your work permit cancelled first, once the fine is paid and you can find yourself in deep <deleted>.

Happened to a colleague just recently, but we've told her to first get her work permit cancelled, but she thought she'd be smarter.

Wrong on so many points. You have 7 days grace period after a work visa expires. It only is canceled if the school makes the effort to do it, otherwise it just runs out at set time. Most employers cant be bothered to actually go and cancel the visa and work permit unless they are very angry or need to register a new employee and they have a cap on the number of work permits that can be active at one time.

KhunBenq, thanks very much for that information. I am afraid it proves she lied.

For her story to be true, then her licence should have been dated after the 13th January.

Gerry, as I said in the post, I am not bothered about 1000 baht. Unlike you though, I do not like people lying to me. The amount is irrelevant. By the way, what has a 'Ponchon' got to do with this topic?

Thanks again KhunBenq for your help.

80% chance they made a mistake with the date and looked at the wrong form. I wouldnt assume she was lying because of typical Thai government stupidity.

At least they spent the 20k on dolls, before throwing them away. They could have wasted the money by feeding the homeless.

Almost all pharmecies have it, up to 40mg pills. Not expensive.

It would also help if Thai drivers get taught how to make a sharp corner.

Many of them need 2 incoming lanes when they make a Uturn. Anybody with a real driverslicense only needs 1 but hey TIT.

So true,. From an overhead view a Thai 90 dgree turn would look like a question mark. Do they think their steering wheel only turns a quarter turn?

Is he sleeping on the floor, 20 to a room, and eating stale rice? Kinda doubt it.

Usually when you see the cops on "big bikes" near a shopping mall it means one of the royals is going shopping.

sunroofs are now illegal? Thank god they are cracking down on that one. So tired of drivers stealing the sun.

Only in Thailand.

Not really. North Korea is pretty similar.

It's referred to as EAL, here anyway.

Sad when you are perceived as a white face and an expert on all things Western. EAL in a good international school takes its pound of flesh, no six week bit of paper and no experience, the real deal where you are a teacher not a face. Language centres a different story.

You see many committed teachers but lacking system support, you see many 'teachers' in it for the paycheck and no responsibility or duty of care towards their charges. You see many students lapping up the 'entertainer' and hate the teacher who makes them work. The unmotivated students who need a keg of dynamite to get them going.

I'm not a teacher just from observation.

True that some international schools have high standards for their teachers (at least on paper, if they have the degrees they still be drunken psychos), but I know of some international schools that staff Westerners with no college degree and only a 1-month training certificate and pass them off as teachers because they need bodies to fill slots and they work cheap. Some international schools in the North do this.