fire and ice

Its a satellite.

The problem is nothing to do with white teachers. The majority of Thais are taught by Thai teachers who are afraid to speak english (even if they could), and use Thai 95% of the time. I'm still astounded that the average government school graduate can say barely more than hello, even after 12 years of learning english. There are plenty of excellent speakers of english here, educated in private / international schools / overseas, but they are in the vast minority of all citizens.

This gets to the heart of the problem with Thai teachers passing on the bad English they themselves were taught. I taught for quite a few years including university level and soon stopped being surprised at the stories the students told me of how they had learned, or not learned , in High School.

Most had never really put a sentence or two of spoken English together in class as the teacher couldn't handle it and the students knew it.

I know quite a few people who have a BA in English but from their spoken English you would never believe it.

THE #1 most common one is calling milk "mel" - Thais are perfeclty capable of pronuncgin milk reaosnably well but some text book from 10,000 years ago transliterated it as "mel" and its been copied infinitum.

The US economy improvement is an illusion. The Fed has pumped enormous amounts into the banking system at 0% and the banks are investing in the stock market which pushes stock prices up, thus the "improved" economy. When the Fed draws that money out then everybody needs to run for their lives! The Fed chairman will retired before he has to do that. The next guy will truly suffer. So when the Fed chairman announces his retirement, you know it's coming.

No to mention extreme infaltion on the horizon as a result of a LOT of "money printing" (aka quantitative easing)

But it happened in CALIFORNIA, which has some of the toughest gun laws in the entire United States! Can't keep a quitter from quitting, a loser from losing, or a madman from doing harm.

Absurd point, it merely means Califirnia has only 99% the loosest gun laws int he world. As oppsoed to certain other states whch are 100% the loosest.

IN reality the whole gun issue in the USA is a case of its hard to fix it now by chnagin laws etc as there are too mnay guns alreayd out there.

In my case my wife is just absurdly slow at walking- the further we walk the further she lags behind and she moans at me that i dont walk slow enough!! (we live in Sydney BTW). Even my 3 year old keeps up with me (when im attmeptiung to walk slowly) and complinas mummy is slow. Our 9yo walks at my full pace wiht me and complains that mummy is slow.

Whilst its very unwise to upset the offical.

The actual legal side is that any official (in any country) who acts for personal gain (ie: refuses something beccuase htye see it as revenge for being insulted) is commiting currupption. Curruption does nto have be a monetary gain - ANY perosnal gain from a Government position is potentially curruption.

I realsie the reality is different but if an official acted like this in the west they would be in serious trouble regardless of the client's behaviour - they are not a law unto themselves and I am sure their immigration act etc does not specify anything can be denied on a basis of "they upset the Govt official".

Lantau Island has the world's largest outdoor Buddha, covered in gold at Po Lin Monastery. You can drive, or take new gondola, or take a boat. The gondolas are new and they've built a little 'village' of shops at the top. Pretty commercial, unfortunately. In the 'old days', you had to take a boat to Silvermine, then a bus. It made the whole journey more of a 'pilgrimage' but the gondolas are faster and the ones with the glass bottoms are pretty cool.

BTW, if you take the boat, when you land, you are very close to Tong Fuk Beach, (I know, I know.. choice of name). The village has holiday rentals and, while there's not much to see there, it's a major cable-head for undersea cables, part of Fiber Link Around the Globe (28K Km). so there's a good chance some of your internet traffic goes through that tiny building!

Back to Po Lin. Be sure to pay the (small) additional fee to go inside the Buddah and see the shards of his remains. The hike up to the top is worth it. (ice cream and cold soda machines at the top). Also, the vegetarian restaurant at the base has good food.

Other things to do in HK; if you're so inclined, the Tea Museum, HK Zoo and Arboretum are all close together. The arboretum is really nice and I try to visit it and the zoo whenever I take someone new to HK. The zoo isn't as nice as Singapore's, but still good.

Food: HK and Singapore seem to be rivals for best food in the world. Pretty much any cuisine you want. I could go on and on re/this topic. :-)

Okay.. the Peak. Take the cable car to the top of Victoria Peak. There are shops, of course, a nice view and an excellent ice-cream shop. (detecting a theme here?). The bottom of the cable car isn't far from the zoo, etc. and also not far from Hollywood Rd. where there are antique shops and one of the oldest temples in HK.

Come down from the Peak (taxi) going the other way, down to Stanley Market. A rabbit-warren of stalls with great bargains. Negotiating is part of the process. Just off to the right (facing the water) is the Smugglers' Inn. (a farang style bar, where both my children had their first legal drink!)

Taxi return, but this time, come back via the tunnel and go by the race track. You'll see some nice houses and an unusual building (huge) with a big square hole in it. The hole is for Feng Shui.. so the building doesn't block the energy flow down the hill. I've heard that the hole was an afterthought but it seems like that would be bad engineering so probably not. (now if this were in LOS, I'd believe it!)

I think someone already mentioned the night-markets in Kowloon.

Enjoy! Just thinking about this makes me wish I were there right now!

My wife & I found the giant Buddha & gondola to be the most overrated boring pointless day wasted - utterly uselless - all the way to the top & there is NOTHING there worth seeing. its barren, bleak & the giant Buddha was BORING. Evryone seems to go there because its supposed ot be good but its not.

By contrast the Cable car to Victoria Peak was a great outing.

One of the best things we did was to find (have to look) for a fluent english speakign taxi drier and got him to drive us all over HK Island.

Star Ferry was worth a trip too.

Publc transport is awesome & the streets are nicely planned out with a "feng Shui" feel to them.

The food in HK is rubbsih!! Don't listen to any PR bull*** about HK food being great. Food in Thialand is in a differnt league. How anyone can rate HK or SIngapore food after being in Thialand is beyond belief. We found food to be rubbish almost everywhere and often resorted to eating 7-11 snacks. We found only 1 or 2 decdent places to eat in a week. Afterwards people cited to us "Oh but you have to know where to go" - Well if you "have to know" then that proves ts crap! If you dont trip over great food then its hardly a great food city is it!??!? (Singapore was easier to find okay food but regualr food there was nothing special albeit great value).

In general "teaching" discipline is beneficial to the recipient only as much as it invokes self-discipline.

The idea of discipline in order to create obedience is the harmful form (or more accurately the harmful by-prodcut).

In practice any model attempting to "teach" discipline will effect both ones self-discipline and level of obedience, but how much of one and how much of the other is the key to it.

But a lot of what is mentioned in the article as occurring at Thai schools is all about swaying obedience not self-discipline. Just look at the results:- Thailand is a nation of mostly very very lazy people with relatively few having any self-determination.

Nooooooooooo ! I will be sad I did some of my best work there . One time I met this girl from Germany there and we ...... Ok maybe a story for a different forum

..let me guess, she didnt shave her legs?

I agree - Thais start sending their kids way too early to get a "head start". I would recommend no earlier than five.

I would actually avoid sending them to school at all in Thailand if you can possibly avoid it, unless you can afford the B600,000 per year the dozen or so good international schools charge. In the early years home-school them, hire a private tutor if necessary.

When they get to the age where you begin to think they really should be in school then move back to your country or someplace with a decent education system.

The best in the world IMO is Finland, and they start at seven. Finn kids also spend much fewer hours per day at school than in countries with bad school systems.

Of course they should learn to "socialize" with other kids - playgroups, gymboree-type schools etc.

And there's something to be said for them learning to take orders, work in unison, stand in line etc but too much of this too early definitely stifles creativity which is what really should be emphasized at that development stage.

Don't know if there are any Steiner schools here, but many claim to be based on Montessori, which would at least be better than the standard Thai-system garbage.

The key criteria for me would be that the school is actually run in all pedagogical matters by a westerner, Thais will usually hold the purse strings, but in no circumstances should the western teachers day-to-day report to a Thai "educator".

I have no idea about Finnish schools per se, but Finland has serious deep social (cultural) issues that damage people in a deep way. Psycologically they are really screwed up - burying all emoption unless blindly drunk and they also have the worlds highest suicide rates as a result of this. Just go there and wlak about in public for a day and you will see what i mean. They work hard and have a good econony but they are seriosuly screwed up emotioanlly. I wonder if their schooling is all tied in with this? Before I went to FInland (backpacking about Europe) all the Swedes told me that Finnish people were strange/screwed up. I had assumed it was merley national rivalry until i got off the boat. Helsinki is like a city of the walking dead and its architecture matches people's persona.

Thailand is a poorer country than most farang countries- makes 100% sense that they would try to charge extra for tourists. Getting boycotted by a handful of stingy/miserly farang tourists is going to have zero impact.

Rubbish, the #1 reason tourists come to Thailand is BECAUSE it is cheap - if it were as much as western countries then they would not get anywhere near as many tourists.

Just look what happend to Euopean and USA/Canadian tourism numebrs since their currencies plummeted. Likewsie the # of Aussies to Thialand has skyrocketed since the A$ pas been high vs the Baht.

Trying to charge what people pay at home is abosurd.

To have a college degree they must have studied in the USA or Canada, I dont knwo of any other country that has "college" degrees.

Id go to head office even if you dont live in Bangers and need to fly there.

Teh fact the branch staff wer ento only unheloful but seme to have directly stolen your counter deposti infers the branch staff are the culprits.

Most tourists from the west who DONT freqnent girlie bars have NO CLUE what is all about - most will even sit at a beer bar in (say) Phuket and dont even get it that the women are up for rent. Less likely at a beer bar in Bangla but the quieter ones near their hotel will not get suspected. They usually only suspec the agogos which are few & far between in Phuket.

If he really cared baout THialand he woudl provoe it by serving time in jail and then see about a return to policitcs.

Look at Mandela & Suu Kii as exmples.

Why woudln't he do that? The answer is obvious.

It is a bit aggravating to go into a restaurant and be handed a menu with over 200 items on it and have the waiter standing there waiting for you to order. They do it to everybody, both Thai and Farang. I just ask them to give me some time to look at the menu and will call them back over when I'm ready to order. Works fine for me with no problems. Hasn't anything to do with tips so I don't know how the thread got of on that tangent so fast!

This has nothing to do with Thailand - try walking into ANY KFC McDonald's Subway etc (anywhere on the planet) and within 1 nanosecond they ask you repeatedly what you want (insisting you stop looking up above their heads - as if that is weird to them) and as if YOU are the one not "switched-on" as to what is taking place!!

f they had ANY brains they would have a better job.

Maybe it's because those places are fast food restaurants

Fast once you order, not "Im too stupid to realsie you have not yet decided what to order (within a nanosecond of wakling in the door)". Obviously I mean when there is no queue or you'd have already looked at the menu board while waiting.

Where does someone so naieve get that much money in the first place? Inheritance? Lottery? Is this why you were his friend ??

What house in Thialand costs $600,000 ??

Girl #2 coudl be prosecute for fraud - yes Thialand treats fraud as a crime. ....If you lie to extract money form someonie then its criminal fraud. What else do you think "fraud" is?? Why does no one even at least mention the ooption of going down this legal path?? Sick bufflo stories etc are all potential criminal cases. If cops don't want to act then go through a Thai lawyer who can force the cops hand. If you have emails etc then you have evidence. Chances are greater they will suddenly want to pay you back rather then go to jail, but even if you land them in jail at least youve gotten your own self respect back.

There are houses worth more then that in Thailand.

and you really know very little about thai lawyers and the thai police don't you, your funnier then my friend.

Yes there are SOME houses worth more than this but less than a fraction of 1%

And I said why does no one even bring up the option of fraud. I didnt say it was practical etc, but no one ever suggests it or says "why not?" - its as if no one on Thai Visa relaises what "fruad" is & it does nto occur to them. Evenryone seems to talk & type like they think its ***legal*** to lie to extort money from someone. It may be highly impractical trying to take action but it still warrants discussion.

Where does someone so naieve get that much money in the first place? Inheritance? Lottery? Is this why you were his friend ??

What house in Thialand costs $600,000 ??

Girl #2 coudl be prosecute for fraud - yes Thialand treats fraud as a crime. ....If you lie to extract money form someonie then its criminal fraud. What else do you think "fraud" is?? Why does no one even at least mention the ooption of going down this legal path?? Sick bufflo stories etc are all potential criminal cases. If cops don't want to act then go through a Thai lawyer who can force the cops hand. If you have emails etc then you have evidence. Chances are greater they will suddenly want to pay you back rather then go to jail, but even if you land them in jail at least youve gotten your own self respect back.

As 99% men will be answering the survey, to really "qualify" we would all have aged 10-15 years in the process.

Natually the ladies will find us less attractive and therfore will be less inclined to be friendly to us!! This quesiton is loaded.

Commander-in-Chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha has requested the public to

stop fueling criticisms and leave the case to be investigated by

Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and the Thai court.

Yes we all know whay this is mausing

He added

that the army has already stopped using the devices for 2-3 years.

However, he admitted that some military personnel still use them since

there is no other alternative instrument.

why not tell the soldiers ot use their feet? That way they would not take such a stupid risk in the first place (instead of telling them "this heap of junk will protecct you" )

.....hang on they have their amulets so they are already safe!! What was I thinking!!

maybe the tuk tuk mafia are trying to ensure now that everyone uses their "services"?

The article in mentioning comic book heors is mixing up the term "hero' with the tems "super hero" and "action hero" they are not the same thing. No one refers to superman as a 'hero' but a 'super hero' - a 'hero;' is always a real person (although to be picky sometimes the tag is attributed to a dog/horse etc)

It is a bit aggravating to go into a restaurant and be handed a menu with over 200 items on it and have the waiter standing there waiting for you to order. They do it to everybody, both Thai and Farang. I just ask them to give me some time to look at the menu and will call them back over when I'm ready to order. Works fine for me with no problems. Hasn't anything to do with tips so I don't know how the thread got of on that tangent so fast!

This has nothing to do with Thailand - try walking into ANY KFC McDonald's Subway etc (anywhere on the planet) and within 1 nanosecond they ask you repeatedly what you want (insisting you stop looking up above their heads - as if that is weird to them) and as if YOU are the one not "switched-on" as to what is taking place!!

f they had ANY brains they would have a better job.

A waste of time and money , the Generals don't want them and they don't want to be there ,time for the government to overhaul the military , tradition is one thing, this out of date custom, interfered with the son's Uni education, so much so that he stopped three language studies, as the Army couldn't provide that in their system, he could be now working International at an embassy , as an interpreter , mind you he has a great citation from the UN for the time in Timor , when he and the mad Major got into a fire fight, he put it away and i have never seen it since.

Actually for a nation of lazy people where laziness is THE penultimate problem for Thailand (ie: its the cause of corruption and most other problems). Military service for pretty much all would really improve things, There is nothing like boot camp to wash the laziness out of people.

I know this sounds crazy. But, I think if NK starts something, China will jump in to help stop them.

I think you are correct. A tacit agreement will be made with China that the South an USa do not approach any buffer zone the Chinese set for its border. China would invade and secure a large swath of North Korean territory. It would most likely annex a large part of North Korea.

I think China would "help" also - but if I was a South Korean Id be far far happier if North Korea was annexed and run by China than retaining the lunatics currently in charge!! Obviously not as good as the South taking charge but about 90% as good when compared to have horrible things are at present. At least Chinese rule would give people sane and reasonable lives.