bottledwater

Thanks. Im not too familiar with CR city. Is that anywhere near the clock tower downtown? Google didnt help

Hello! Any places in cr city these days where you can have an evening "tea" or "coffee" and hang out for a bit? Thanks!

Hello! A friend has a big above ground cement water storage tank. Ill guess 4 x 4 meters, maybe 1.2 meter deep. Keeps red tilapia in there as pets. A lamyai tree shades the water. Recently there was a big fish die off. Also the the tree has a lot of fruit coming this time of year. 

So a thai worker walking past looked at the dead fish, looked at the lamyai tree and said "lamyai fruit kill fish." 

He seemed absolutely confident about it, like it was a fact. 

I researched this and came up with nothing. I also have a lamyai shading a pond, but have never had a problem.

Anyone on the forum ever hear of this issue? Thanks.

Hello,

I'm hoping some members out there would like to share recent experience obtaining a SETV in Vientiane, or any embassy/consulate in the region for that matter.

Did you have trouble? Did you have many past Tourist visas in your passport? The "usual questions" I suppose.

Also, when you arrived at the Thai border, by land or air, how did it go with the immigration officials? Did they want to see a "follow on" travel plan?

I'm wondering, under the current climate, right now, how long you might be able to stay in Thailand using SETVs from the local embassies/consolates?

Thanks in advance for any input . . . . any positive input

BW

These language visas are used to much as a way to stay legally in Thailand for other purposes then learn the language. With all the tens of thousands language school students in this country you have to seriously questioning the purpose of learning the language. Yes you have a partner there and like to be able to communicate with them or you like to open a business or get a legit job. In Pattaya for example there are a high amount of Russians attending schools. On the side they work as guides, in bars at walking street etc. all this side business will soon make it very difficult for serious students that like to learn the language to get a proper visa the same way the visa runs have affected the land border crossings. It's to easy to get a visa to study in Thailand, most countries would only give visa for 20 or 40 study hours a week, that's including home work. And they would also require tests on the way to see that you are a legit student. Try to study in China, Australia, Philippines and you would see the real world. If you go 2 hours a day 4 times a week and can pass a test I would think you are a legit student. The one that goes 2 times a week and skip classes regularly their behavior will soon contribute to stricter visa rules. I can personally don't understand the desperation to stay in a country that you have to constantly find a way to get a visa. The use of student visas should be solid for seriously students.

This is a rhetorical question, but if foreigners are here on an ED visa and working, why not just walk down walking street, ask a foreigner for his work permit, which needs to be on his/her person, and then arrest them? Why attack the ED visa money making machine? This is rhetorical because I know the answer: this is Thailand.

To be fair, ED visas used to be easy to obtain and extend. Most foreigners I know are too lazy to work, that's why they are here. Now those same people have lives here and want to stay. If the powers that be decided 65 was a good retirement age and not 50, or if they decide people over 65 are a "burden" on the medical system and need to go home (I know that is crazy but just suppose this great country made a decision that was flawed) how many of us would desperately want to stay? Any of us could be the next undesirables . . .

I am wondering, under the current climate how long can one expect to be permitted to stay in Thailand on an ED visa. I understand you need to extend every 90 days currently. Does immigration now have a set "no more extensions" time frame? 1 year, 2 years?

Is there anyone out there who has been at their language school more than say, 1 or 2 years, and are still being granted extensions? I understand this varies wildly based on many factors.

I have friends who want to kick back for a year or so in the LOS, study a little Thai, so I'd like to know peoples current experiences.

Thanks in advance

Maybe things have changed but I dealt with several Saudi embassies (not as a teacher) and they were pretty much standardized. Some took longer than others to process applications.

If you have a proper application, a proper invitation letter and a contract, I don't see a problem. I always used an agent.

Are there agencies in Thailand that deal with processing Saudi visas??

Thanks everyone!

Hi All,

Is it possible for a foreign teacher living here in Thailand to do the (Saudi) visa and required reports (for a teaching job) at the Saudi Embassy in Bangkok?

I was wondering if any teachers out there have had experience with the Saudi visa process and the Saudi Embassy in Thailand.

Thanks in advance,

Bottled

Thanks for the advice.

I had contacted Peter at AA and he got back to me right away both times which is nice. Still looking though, no rush.

I'm American and have no medical coverage back in the USA, sooooo, if you know anything about the state of health/ care/medical costs in the US you know I'm not worried about being "evacuated" back the the USA. Nothing there for the uninsured except bankrupsy (and I AM currently covered in every country on earth EXCEPT the USA . . . .)

Hi, I know there is a similar thread going right now, but its not quite my question.

I'm thinking about changing insurance providers. I'm in my 40's, fit as far as I know and I am in Thailand 99.9% of the time (mostly in CM). I'm looking for insurance to cover a major medical issue, should one arise.

I'm looking at AA Insurance (forum sponsor) and BUPA Thailand so far. Anyone out there have other recommendations for insurance and its ease of use in a CM area hospital?

The other half of this question: What hospital would you recommend going to in the CM area? Accepting insurance is important, cost is important, and not dying in the hospital is important also.

Thanks in advance!

Interesting . . . . . thank you all for your insights.

Hi, I ran across งดงาม (ngot ngaam) in my Manee Mana 2nd grader's book. thai2english.com says it is a commonly used word. But I am not familiar with it, or more likely didn't understand it when someone used it.

Normally I hear สวย (suay) all the time for beauty. It would be nice to have an alternative. Is งดงาม really that common? and if so, when would it be appropriate to use?

Thanks,

Bottled

Thanks guys!

I think I get it now. I need something to amplify the signal/sound coming out of the audio outputs. I suppose a headset with built in volume control would be the easiest solution at this point.

Do they sell wireless headphones in Thailand? I had a pair in the USA but the power for the plug in charger was incompatible here.

Thanks again!

Jason

Hi,

I have a new Toshiba flat screen TV, bought here in Thailand. I want to be able to use headphones when watching TV at night. There is no "regular" head phonejack on this TV so I bought a wire that plugs into the right/left external speaker output from the TV and has a female connector for headphones at the other end.

The problem is the internal speakers do not turn off . . . . . which defeats the purpose of headphones. In addition, the headphones work, but at one steady rather quiet volume. The volume of the headphones won't go up or down, no matter how loud the volume control is adjusted to.

Anyone know how to disable the internal speakers and enable the external ones? I kind of thought the tv would do this automatically, but it doesn't.

Thanks for any ideas!

Bottled

Because its better than every other place I have lived . . . . . so far

Thanks for the very clear answer!

Sorry if this is a dumb question, I can't seem to find any relevant threads.

If you are teaching ESL at a University here in Thailand, are you required to have a teacher's license as set forth by the TCT? A Thai Colleague of mine thought that University professors/lecturers were not regulated the same was as say a Mathayom teacher would be.

Again sorry if this is a stupid question, but thanks in advance for any insights,

Bottled

I have heard that a foreign woman marrying a Thai man can get Thai citizenship.

And I have a foreign friend whose Thai wife passed away. He was given one year by a Thai court to divest himself of the property. The judge was ok about it (as ok as can be when forcing someone to sell his house). I got the impression the court might grant an extension if the widower needed it. Probably up to the judge . . . . .

Did Thai immigration warn you of this before you exited Thailand or did they deny your (re) entry?

To follow up on some questions and still in the spirit of the OP's original post:

Closing times: I was in Yellow about the first weekend in July. The shutters on all the bars went down at the same time, I forget if it was 11:30 or midnight. There were people mulling about in the soi for a while but everything locked up pretty quick. But closing times around town do seem to be slowly pushing back, that is the feel anyway. Last week in Santitum, they were dragging the benches in at 12 midnight.

And about Santitum, it is a neighborhood, there are scores if not a hundred places to get a drink, no way you could lump them all together. Yes generally a younger crowd, in some places very young, 18 or 20. But there are a few spots there and around town that have (Thai) customers in their 30s and 40s and up. Not much English spoken at any of those places. Don't plan on chatting up any Chang girls if you don't speak Thai.

And there are a few places around town that are still open all night . . . . but maybe they don't want to be mentioned . . . . .

Good luck and stay safe out there!

Well, I happen to have wondered around quite a bit all around CM. Loy Kro (never sure how you spell that) is what it is. Probably cost you 120 baht for a big leo at most of the bars there or in the boxing stadium You can buy a girl a drink for 150 baht. You can get cheaper than that, but that is what you should expect.

The catch 22 being that if your not going to buy a girl a drink, they usually won't talk with you (for very long) and then there really is no reason to be there paying 120 baht for a Leo and sit by yourself . . . . . . so that is 270 baht a round if (big if) the girl has some "class". If she doesn't she will slam her drink while your Leo is still filled to the neck and want another one and if she doesn't get it . . . . your drinking alone again.

Another option is the group of bars/clubs sometimes called "Yellow bar" or "Yellow in Zowi" I don't know how they spell zowi . . . Slightly cheaper than LK. its down from the UN Irish on your right if your walking AWAY from the mote. Lots of tourist backpackers: just ignore them because they are ignoring you and the Thai girls, most of the hippy backpacker guys are focused on the hippy backpacker girls and then there are Thai and expats on the periphery, like two separate worlds co-existing. I've met Thai girls there ranging from English teachers to the girls from Loy Kro. But there is no extra charge for a lady drink, if you choose to buy one. This place used to be more late night but since the coup it is open earlier, and now shuts down at midnight.

Enjoy!

Well at least this will finally resolve the issue of all the workers from Myanmar working here without a work permit! And that is, after all, their primary stated goal: working without a visa! I've never seen any Myanmarians . . .Myanmarites . . . .Myanmese . . . . . whatever: Burmese, on the visa run bus, but they must have a special bus.

I have the utmost faith that the authorities would never devise an enforcement scheme that specifically targeted western foreigners. And I will be shocked, shocked if anyone disagrees with me!

Someone already mentioned this and I'll second it: think about renting a car AND a driver.

It might not work with what you want to do, but there are Thai out there willing to drive you around in their car for the same (or even less) then the car rental price. That way you can sit back and enjoy your family and the ride.

You could post an ad right here on TV looking for a car and driver. Also as someone else said, be firm, you want to go where you want to go and stay as many hours as you want. If they don't like it, don't hire them.

Good luck!

Does this thread still have a bit of life in it?

Well, from what I remember of Scott's bar, the expat community of Kalasin seemed to be throwing them back quite liberally.

Now that might just be a delusion brought on by all the beer I was drinking trying to keep up with them . . . . .

I saw a notebook battery shop in Pantip plaza. And by the way I bought a replacement battery for an Acer laptop in Computer plaza (ground floor) about 1 year ago. Knock on wood but I never had a problem with it, and I'm using it right now in fact.