Ajarn

Actually, the SW Monsoon hits CM in May, shortly after India and regions....And slowly moves south, with the end of the rainy season in S. Thailand being November, vs Sept in CM.

And, yes, it does get cold in CM for a few weeks each year- not during the day so much, but step outside around 4am naked and you'll feel it, for sure

Too bad it's only for a few weeks, sometimes as few as 3....Not that I like being cold and naked for too long, mind you.

Since the weather works pretty much in 7 year cycles of dry/wet years, anybody know if we're due for some drier years ahead now, or some wetter ones?

And not one day of rain yet this month, right?

I think Dick Clark reacted the same way I would to being ambushed on film....Same with Charlie Heston. I think he showed class, frankly. He (CH) tried to discuss the issues in his home, on camera, and offered his personal reasons why he disagreed in a completely reasonable way, in my view. Moore pushed hard for the camera only....He never really talked with CH- he talked AT him. And the photo of the dead kid he placed in front of his house reminded me of the anti-abortionists with their protest placards filled with pics of baby pieces...

By the way, I completely support his cause, and I'm glad he's around because he has been very effective on a number of fronts...But, like I said, in my opinion, some of his stuff is over the edge of decency- no matter what your cause.

Check 191 Magazine for some shocking death photos.

Interesting that he got KMart to get rid of all their firearm ammunition, but I think Michael Moore acts the Buffoon too often...

> The only thing I'd think twice about is trekking now.

I thought you also thought twice about trekking at the best of times?

Cheers,

Chanchao

Yep, twice is more than enough for me, even in the best of times

My school is taking out taxes as well. but it does seem excessive. 1700 baht per month..

Does that sound right to you guys?

Greg

Maybe not....Income and SS come up to about 10% it seems. Since your school pays quarterly, I think, they will naturally take out the max, just in case. You only pay once per year, so it's much simpler that way to pay the exact correct amount. each time...

Erm my understanding is that, by law at least, if you pay its illegal at any age - just not actively applied.

15 with parental permission, and 18 for free will is what I undetsand too (from above).

You're right about the age...

http://www.ageofconsent.com/thailand.htm

Interesting wording in the law, seems to leave the law a bit unclear on the legality of prostitution over age 18....

Section 8 of the " Prostitution Prevention and Suppression Act " states

" Whoever, for sexual gratification of that person or of the third person, commits sexual intercourse

or any other act against a person who is over fifteen (15) years but not yet over eighteen (18) years

of age, with or without his or her consent, in a place for prostitution, shall be punished with

imprisonment of one to three years and a fine of twenty thousand to sixty thousand baht.

My understanding has been....

16+ if for free

18+ if for pay

AUA for 3 courses in 6 months (10 hours of class, another 20 of self-study -every week!), then real-life after that. AUA is great for laying a good foundation for future learning. I was lucky to have a teacher who spent a lot of time pointing out the Thai logic and the history/origins of vocab and expressions-invaluable to later learning.

Of the farangs who've been here as long, or longer than me, the difference in their Thai ability normally equates to their wife's command of English (or whatever your native language) . Friends with wives who speak English well, usually don't speak Thai very well- if at all. I believe I learned more quickly because I was single for the first 9 years, and I didn't know many Thais who could speak English. I was highly motivated...

I've also heard the comment quite a few times from Thais that it's obvious I went to school to learn Thai, rather than from BG's... This is another way to categorize farangs, it seems

you might wake up in the middle of the night to find the boy going through your luggage and personal belongings. Do not be alarmed. He is not trying to steal anything. That is merely Thai curiosity

Do not ever touch any Thai person, including children, on the top of the head. A little leeway is given for bedroom activities, but even then try to avoid it.

I'd suggest this one is outdated, and should be relegated to the dustbin. Firstly, how many of you EVER go around touching heads? Where I come from, you'd get your butt thrashed pretty quick!

As for kids, I see thais touch kids heads every day....Teachers gently guide the little ones that way, and people lovingly, jokingly touch the heads of others in exactly the same way as I remember in my home culture.... Of course, nobody touches a monk's head, but only a visiting village idiot from (insert country of your disdain) would need to be told that- Though monks commonly touch heads, just like priests, or whatever.

Like I said, outdated....

I haven't paid university teacher taxes for a few years, but the last time I paid just over 1200 baht for the year @ a standard govt. 'Ajarn Piset' salary of 17,000 + 8,000 housing...Is your salary the same?

Do you teach in a government university? Since the new wage guidelines for one-year stamps has come into play, are farang university ajarns still getting the one-year stamp from immigration?

Yes, I and a colleague obtained a one-year extension without any problems (I work at a government uni). We didn't have any tax deducted or have to pay any tax, but Social Security payments are deducted from the monthly salary. It's also quite useful to remember that the Social Security payments will cover a couple of trips to the dentist for basic work, you can claim the money back afterwards.

Finally, they've now raised the basic uni salary by a "whopping" 600 baht a month from April this year

Actually, I misquoted the salary...It was 17,500 +.....I hope that your extra 600 baht is still above that By the way, that salary was at that level since 1996...

You should be liable for at least some income tax.....And you have to file, anyway. But, if you got your extension, I'm assuming you're kosher, since immigration requires your tax receipt before processing your extension....

Good answer Mango, but from what I understand in Chiang Mai...Police and local mafia are mates....or at least talk to each other.

The Chiang Mai Mafia is not what it once was after it's head became a Senator and his right-hand man, the enforcer, was sentenced to death recently.... Historically, police and military have always clashed, and rarely cooperated. Currently in Chiang Mai I don't believe there is any kind of organized Mafia- just the normal corruption antics of the cops... The Night Bazzar, for example, is run openly by the Tessabaan now, and the strong-arm military antics of old are long gone.

Also, the cops do have an optional 'security service' similar to what Mango described, but they sign in only twice per day, using the 'klong daeng' that you see outside many homes and a few businesses. No set fees, but 500 a month seems pretty standard around here...

Personally, I'm more concerned about the farang mafia from Pattaya moving to Chiang Mai....

Can't anyone keep a secret in this country or what !

He is not sleeping well lately, I'm sure of that....

My bet is no coup at all. 20 to one against...what is your offer to bet ?

I would bet that if there is a coup, it'll be successful.....Look to some of the quieter opposition players in the background, like Gen Prem. I think the strongest roots of opposition are connected to him, or vice-versa

The only thing the article left out was the usual publicly-announced starting and stopping dates for this crackdown....

We were thinking of coming up for a visit but are not sure of the weather conditions in Oct.  Is it rainy there now?  If so we will come another time.

In my experience, October is sort of a transistion month. Last year, there was rain well into November, but September is the historical 'last month' of the rainy season....The year before that, the 'cold season' lasted about three weeks... I sense we're headed into another 7-year cycle of longer rainy seasons, but my crystal ball is clouded...

I'd say don't sweat it, even on a bike... The only thing I'd think twice about is trekking now. Pretty slippery yucky mud around here. When it does rain, it usually only lasts for a few minutes... All along the roads all over the north are Salas, for travelers to rest in, many of them big enough to role your bike right into. You can meet some very interesting folks during a down pour- like the 15 little neens (pre-monks) halfway through their walk from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai....most of them barefoot.

I'll buy you dinner at any restaurant if, after coming here in October, you feel disappointed in your trip to the North because of the weather....Seriously

Accuse the police of corruption, run for governor, then go on the celebrity circuit and get rich winning game shows

Hi Jowels:

Let's look at each of your issues in turn:

I'll wager no falang has succesfully claimed it though.

You're right. From my review of the new regulations, along side those of Thai immigration law/rules, it would appear to be neigh on impossible for a farang to claim unemployment benefit. That said, the regulation also includes certain quirks which would assist those of us who have Thai partners.

...

just to try to be crystal clear on this, farang's may find it impossible to claim

unemployment compensation(even if they get a PR?); but

what about the social security pension and healthcare benefits for

farang teachers(would think its the same for farang non-teachers also)?

Thanks.

phormio, I've never used the pension (nice about the lump sum, too), but I have used the healthcare side a couple of times as I've mentioned....They seem to be able to do a lot, including major surgery but no dental. As for the benefits, I haven't seen anything written to distinguish any group...I even read that non-taxpayers can alo be eligible, but no details...

Just like to add that I live here in Liverpool, and the Bigley Family have been on the television here almost everyday, with no mention from them whatsoever of his Thai wife. No mention on the local news either, just a small mention in the 'Liverpool Echo'(Liverpool's equivalant of the BKK Post). The family have mentioned all the "OTHER" members of the family apart from the Thai wife..........strange hey?!?!?

Perhaps it is not a formal marriage at all.

My guess would be that the marriage is legit, but the ex-wife and others are too ashamed to talk about it. Guess I might not want to, either... And some may feel that mention of such a situation might take away some of the public support for Mr. Bigley, like some thinking that he 'abandoned' his family for her, and it has happened plenty of times in other families, na'?

Thanks, Sumitr Man.

Yeah, it says 4%, but that's outdated, it seems. Jowels seems correct....No mention of employer and government contribution....And all the links for unemployment information are dead links.

But, this is quite interesting.....

Social Security Fund Benefits

1. Sickness benefits consist of medical treatment free of charge at the

registered hospital and cash benefits due to sick leave. (see details below)

2. Invalidity benefits consist of medical treatment and cash benefit.

3. Death benefits consist of funeral grant and survivors allowance.

4. Maternity benefits consist of cash benefit and lump sum for delivery.

5. For child allowance, monthly allowance is paid to the first two children

of the insured with under 6 years old.

6. Old-age benefits : lump sum or pension. The insured person will

receive old-age lump sum benefit or old-age pension benefit.

For the first four benefits SSO extended the duration of coverage for 6

months from the cessation of being an employee.

^^^^^^^^^^^

You will receive medical treatment free of charge in the registered

hospital or in the network of registered hospital and also receive cash

benefits at the rate of 50% of wages at the duration stated in medical

certificate up to 90 days on each occasion and not more than 180 days

in calendar year except for chronic condition when benefit may be paid

for 365 days.

Has anyone you know ever gotten sick leave this way, assuming their job didn't offer that, or they ran out of sick days?

And a big thanks to the Thai goverment for doing pretty darn good job at making all this information available in English on the internet

It's hard to keep up with it because it comes in and out of style so frequently.

I have noticed that when my mom was in her 20s during the beatnick craze,

'cat' was used for a man. "He's a real cool cat." Now 'dog' is commonly heard amongst the youth, "Yo, wuz up Dog!", meaning, "Hello, my friend, what are you up to?" Fun stuff language is; always twisting and changing. I've even noticed that Thai is becoming more slangy, especially in Bangkok. have you ever heard a young teenage girl say, "Werrrrr," or something like that. I think it means something like, 'Duhh, that's stupid.'

I vaguely remember 'cool cat', but it was soon replaced in my psyche by 'groovy', then 'farout', followed by 'cool' again....

As for 'wuz up dog', I wouldn't try that in Thailand!

Reminds me of the two sons of an old Thai friend of mine named 'muu' and 'gai' (pig and chicken). When they were getting ready to go to Elementary and High school in the States, I strongly suggested they change their nicknames in America, or study up on Muay Thai before leaving...

Re one-year visas. Nobody I know has encountered problems. Aren't teachers exempt from the new minimum income criteria? Please correct me if I'm wrong

Yeah, I don't know for sure, either. The regs are pretty new, but there's always a bunch of university teachers in there at immigration around the beginning of the first term, so I'm just waiting for some confirmation from someone...

In the link, I only saw income tax (mostly 5%) rates, not SS rates...Any idea where the new SS rates for all 3 parties might be found?

Tom yam kung (with added coconut milk)

I've never seen tom yam of any kind with coconut milk. In fact, I don't care for tom yam because it's usually too sour for my taste, and I sometimes get a little tummy acid going, so I've avoided it for a long time... The addition of the coconut milk sounds like the perfect balance for my tummy.... But does that make it too similar now to tom ka gai I wonder... So, meadish, what do you think of the relative differences in using/not using coconut milk in tom yam?

I'll cruise by and check the parking situation...

A hilltribe villager in Chiang Mai has died in a new suspected bird flu case while two others are being treated for pneumonia, deputy provincial governor Kwanchai Wongnitikorn said yesterday.

Blood samples have been taken from all three and sent for lab tests in Bangkok, he said.

The hilltribe patient's death was reported by Mae Chaem Hospital. The other two hilltribe villagers are being treated at Fang Hospital.

All schools in the province have been instructed to warn their students to avoid close contact with chickens.

Poultry farmers in the province have taken steps to protect their fowls from the spread of bird flu. Oonruen Tonsak, chairman of the cooperatives of layer chicken farmers in Chiang Mai and Lamphun, said the measures taken included a switch from open-field farming to a closed system.

Mr Oonruen said there was no panic among the local people and the prices of chicken meat and eggs have remained stable.

However, he said a number of small-scale farmers had to give up chicken farming because they did not get any help from the government.

Mr Oonruen said he himself had applied for a 5-million-baht loan under the government's rehabilitation scheme but received no reply.

The Public Health Ministry yesterday added a 13-year-old boy in Chon Daen district of Phetchabun to the list of suspected bird flu patients. He was known to have played with chickens at home before coming down with high fever. All but two of the chickens had since died.

The boy was administered with a special medication to stop the virus from spreading to the lungs.

Health officials in Zone 2 covering five provinces of Phitsanulok, Tak, Sukhothai, Phetchabun and Uttaradit met yesterday to discuss measures to contain the spread of bird flu.

Health volunteers were sent out to check households where chickens died and look for suspected bird flu patients.

In Kanchanaburi province, livestocks officials ordered two farms to cull all their remaining chickens after bird flu infections were detected.

One of the farms is located in tambon Tha Muang, Tha Muang district. A total of 36 chickens had died in four days at the farm owned by Boonruey Khumpan.

The other farm, owned by Duangporn Nutnate, is in tambon Wai Niew, Tha Maka district. A number of chickens at the farm have died since the first bird fell on Sept 29.

Authorities in all 13 districts of Kanchanaburi have been placed on high alert for a possible outbreak of the avain flu.

Meanwhile, the government voiced concern over Hong Kong's travel advisory for all air travellers bound for Thailand to take precautions against the bird flu outbreak in the kingdom.

Disease Control Department chief Thawat Suthrachan said the warning in pamphlets distributed at Hong Kong International Airport could cause misunderstandings and overreaction.

Although the warning was not worded in a way that persuaded travellers to stop visiting Thailand, it could cause them to misunderstand the flu situation in the kingdom, he said.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry would be asked to explain to Hong Kong authorities what efforts the Thai government was making to eradicate the virus and measures already in place.

Dr Thawat said the bird flu scare had caused neighbours to stay away from the cremation of a nine-year-old girl in Phetchabun who was killed by the virus early this week. The girl was the country's fourth confirmed case of human death from bird flu since the virus re-emerged in July.

He said people should not panic since there was still no confirmation the virus could jump from one human to another.

Bkk Post