The Oracle

23 minutes ago, gargamon said:

45 for me, except I did Cambodia first.

47 for me, six years after retirement at 41.

I worked for various government departments, educational institutions, and industry bodies across Australia in the areas of project coordination, policy development, compliance, course writing and auditing, IT management, and as a security and threat analyst.

Basically, if it needed lots of documentation or processes whittled down OR created for efficiency and increasing productivity, I was your man.  

I now live on a massive rice farm with two dogs four hours to Khon Kaen or Bangkok, five hours to Pattaya, six to Nong Khai., and seven to Chiang Mai.

Been coming to Thailand for fourteen years, lived here just over eight.
During the touristy time, neither my (now ex-) wife nor I had our clothes ironed when we dropped them off at the laundry; just washed and folded.
Even in the last eight years - I rent a floor of a house in a village -  the only ironing going on in this house was done for and then by, the landlady's daughter.  Her school uniform.  That's it.  As she moved to the city for her schooling, the daughter took the iron with her.

I make a point of buying clothes that do not require ironing.  Having done my own ironing for decades for school, and then for work until I took early retirement, why would I bother?

I would go Honda as they are, by far, more common as a brand than any other.  A lot of the parts are interchangeable not only between years and iterations of a model, but often between models as well.

You don't say where you are but in my personal experience living in The Bowels of Phetchabun Province, more common replaceable parts such as chains, lights, indicators and so on are more likely to be actually held in stock in the local mechanics workshop.  Especially for Honda Waves, as there are substantially more of those (and their predecessors) than anything else. 
However, out of my nearest two towns - Bueang Sam Pan (16km south) and Nong Phai (12km north) only Nong Phai has motorcycle dealerships:  Honda and Yamaha.  (BSP has Nissan, Toyota, Hino, and Kubota dealerships).
The biggest plus, however, is almost EVERY 13 year-old boy, mechanic, or backyard bloke with a set of spanners, knows how to work on Hondas - especially Waves and Clicks.

My Landlady bought a Honda Scoopy-i when she returned from Hong Kong in 2007.  Still going and gets a roadworthy no worries (okay, the speedo cable seems to have given up the ghost about four years ago but considering it's only used in the village and the once-a year ride to Nong Phai, who cares?)  She is considering buying another next year.
I haven't rued my purchase at all.  I wanted a bike with gears so I bought a the top-specced Honda Wave-i 110cc with mag wheels, discs, and electric start.  Landlady's daughter learned to ride on it, too, and often borrowed it to ride to school (12km north) on days I was on a driving holiday or overseas.  She actually bought her daughter a Wave last year, as well, when she turned 15.  She pootles around Phetchabun City where she now goes to school, and rides the 90km each way home for the weekend.
None of them have missed a beat.

Only real "expense" has been a new battery after four years, and two new tyres at around 15,000 (before last wet season) - and many new inner tubes. 

A normal, 4000km service is so cheap that I've forgotten how much.
Considering I only pootle around the village to the market / 7-Eleven 3km each way on it (I have a car for anything requiring me to go on the main road) I didn't even service it annually.  BUT for my last service (it needed a mandatory registration roadworthy check as it was over five years old) at 17,600km, they also gave it some other bits and pieces - it also needed the scheduled chain replacement and I think that cost an extra 800 baht.  All in, I think it cost around 1700-1800 baht, including the rego fee.  A normal service is usually (maybe?) 300-400.

Or, after warranty has expired, just give it to your local "mechanic" for the oil change every 4,000 kays and a replacement chain every 20,000.  Just remember an annual roadworthy test (which is basically a service with a checklist) is required for road registration after a bike hits five - although some of the Frankenstein's Monsters I see blasting around here with four schoolboys on it wouldn't pass an emissions test, let alone a roadworthy.  LOL

Good luck.

Well, Sommai obviously had a grievance.

Depends on the "field of opportunity" from which you became an item.
Even then, I'd be cautious.  As should she;  it's not as if foreigners don't have the possibility of being riddled as well.
Sure for contraception, condoms, The Pill, IUDs, Dams are all highly effective.  The Rhythm Method and "pulling out" are the Worst Possible Options. 
A vasectomy WORKS; it's hard for sperm to travel through three layers of tissue after the tubes gave been cut, the ends cauterised, and then relocated between a layer of non-participant tissue. 

I'd be more concerned about STDs/STis, some of which can only become active years later, if ever.  Such as Human  Papilloma Virus (HPV) or Herpes Simplex Virus 2 (Genital Herpes) these can lead to serious reproductive issues.  As can the easily treated Syphilis or Gonorrhoea (the Clap), and Chlamydia.

When deciding on *whatever* your decision is for the long-term, BOTH of you get tested for a full panel.  Just in case.  There's no blame.  Just better to be safe than sorry.

And stock up on the antibiotics.
 

On 6/26/2024 at 10:56 AM, Rachel2023 said:

While I was whining about how hot it is in Bangkok (so hot), I started to wonder which city in Thailand has the best weather. I'm looking for comfortable temperatures and less humidity. Any recommendations or personal experiences please?

Unless you can afford Khao Kho, which is up in the mountains and is very mild, avoid Phetchabun Province.

The weather is great for 48 weeks of the year BUT...

I live about 80km south of Mueang Phetchabun - Khao Kho is about 40km north of M.Phetchabun. 
I enjoy:
Mild "winters"- down to about 13 overnight to generally 28-29 during the day. It's a short winter, thoug, maybe five or six weeks.
Stinking hot in the build up to the rainy season (three weeks steadily over 40 degrees with a four-day streak of 45+) for the month of April-May.  It was, admittedly, abnormal but these extremes have been getting longer generally over the eight years I've lived here.
The rest of the time outside the extreme heat and the chilly December, it isn't too bad.  23-28 overnight to 32-36 during the day.  
As you know it is currently the rainy season but we're having quite a mild one this year, only raining five nights a week, and rarely a shower during the day if it has not rained the night before.

BUT - and it is a big "but" - the infrastructure in this province is woeful; you're four hours from anywhere that sells passable foreign food (apart from KFC 15km, Pizza Hut 90km, or Pizza Company 80km which aren't "food" in this sense).  The bus service is slow and, while buses leave several times daily, the distances to Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, take five and six hours respectively, while Mueang Phetchabun to Don Muang airport will take you around six-and-a-half hours.

If you like swimming and/or beaches, you're out of luck.  400km drive to the nearest beach and that's Pattaya.  And that's a s  hol e.  There a few reservoirs and a couple of swim resorts near me that you can go into but I tend to avoid e.coli nexi 🙂 

Also, due to the unique topography and location of this province all the burnoff smoke from the Isaan/Esan provinces misses us and heads west and north of us so, except for localised burning off - the majority of which whisks west immediately, we don't get any Air Quality Index warnings.

To *live* here and maintain your sanity you'd need a car or speak Thai, or have a partner, or find some pocket of foreigners - there some, I think in Winchianburi, a town another 45km further south from me - or a mix of them all.

I moved here, single, to get away from everything and it worked really well.  FOR ME. 
I used Google Translate and my landlady to learn Thai; I bought a car after being here for 18 months, and have since travelled all over the country solo.

Overall, though, you're better off down near a tourist area but away from the hubub - The "Dark side" of Pattaya or even Rayong, Phang Nga instead of Phuket; Cha Am instead of Hua Hin;  for inland: Nongbua Lamphu instead of Udon Thani or Khon, for example.  That way you can experience cleaner air but still maintain proximity to whatever your native language is and be also affordable.

No place in Thailand has perfect weather.  But here?  and Loei?  It gets pretty close.

If you're using a foreign bank debit card, why does the "Issuing Bank" show, "BAYA"?
BAYA is the code for the Bank of Ayudhya, better known as "Krungsri" (or "The Yellow One" for newcomers and and tourists)
Thai banks (generally) don't charge customers of other banks for using their ATMs.  They also don't - because they can't get the information from the owner's bank - display the account balance.

It's not your slip.
 

1 hour ago, mrmicbkktxl said:

Hi is 400THB withdrawal fee normal?Normaly I pay 220THB with a foreign Visa debit card

How often?
Every meal, every day. 
I do th vast majority of the preparation as my landlady works.  Her daughter is The Officer in Charge of somtam, namjim seafood.  I love a laab, and cook the pork belly for my favourite phad gaprow moo grop.  Breakfast is generally something from the morning market.

Maybe once a month I'll buy a half-loaf of bread and make myself some poached eggs on toast, or toast with Promite or jam for a few breakfasts, just to mix things up a tad.  Once every three or four months I'll buy some red wine and a packet of spaghetti from the nearest Lotus and make a Bolognese ragu.
 

When I travel to a tourist area (I'm between four-and-a-half and five hours' drive from anywhere that sells proper foreign food) I usually get some Italian or German food into me.

I had a crack at all of them over the last twelve years or so and settled on Leo.

I found that the other two most popular beers, Singha and Chang are, respectively,  too heavy and too gassy for me.
The others are average at best.  Including a few that aren't listed like "My" beer and some of the wheat and fruit beers.

However, for the last eight months or so, I honestly don't know how long it has been - maybe a year, I have been giving Leo No. 8 "Strong Brew" a decent flogging, eschewing the prime Leo unless suppliers are out of stock. of the new kid on the block   For *my* taste, it is one of the best lagers I've had.

On the rare occasion I'm in a city with a pub, I'll drink either the "normal" Leo - haven't seen Leo "Ber Paed" in the few places I've been - or the locally brewed Heineken.

7 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

I guess this is your mindset has to be tested, e.g. I have been on the marriage extension 5 years, 1st year IO pushed us to go for the retirement route upon our application for the marriage extension, however I made sure the next year we received what I originally applied for, the marriage extension, and ever since that time, they keep changing the rules, although I have always had the ace up my sleeve with additional docs etc, but the last one broke the camels back so to speak.

 

After returning to collect he marriage extension on the day they said to, i.e. clearly stamped in my passport, they said they didn't receive it and that they would call me when they get it. I just drove an hour 20, so had to drive and hour 20 back home, and of course as soon as I got home they called me, ok, you can come back now, yeh right thanks, I did the next day, so I have put the 800k into a fixed account and will apply for the retirement extension next year, so over the changing of rules and their reluctance to do their job, guess the marriage extension being checked by an external division means they have to cross their T's and dot their i's as opposed to issuing the retirement extension on the spot without anyone checking the paperwork.

 

I can't say that I have experienced anything like the above, maybe it has to do with me being married to a Thai and I'm always smiling to those who pass me in the village, at home in the front, or in the street or at a shop, store, that said, I don't expect Thai's to be friendly to me, took me a while to get used to even my sister in-law who comes over for 5 minutes a day to sponge off the Mrs, not even a hello or acknowledgment that I'm there, and I discussed this with the wife who assured me this is how Thai's are, they don't greet like foreigners greet, she spent 9 years in Aus with me so she knows how we greet, and being European, she would always cringe when visitors would come over and kiss her on each cheek, I would laugh ????. So I make it a point to always go to where my sister-in-law is and say hello, say her name and how are you, she will reply with er, ok, that's the best she can do with a smile, so no skin off my nose, as for the in-laws when I see them, it's the chin up and the chin up back at me with a smile, I also make some jokes with hand gestures or other and they laugh, probably think I'm a dipstick, but always get them to smile.

 

I sense the shyness, and perhaps the uncomfortableness of most not being able to speak out lingo, or know how to greet us, but a smile or a chin up does go a long way, that said, I am sure their is some jealousy and that comes with the lack of education in my opinion, not forgetting it is part of human nature for some too.

 

I have been here about the same as you and sure it got hard in the beginning but I am right at home now, and do my absolute best to drop the ball when they throw it at me, i.e. I won't play the game, I don't want to, so each time the ball ends up on the ground, I don't let anything get to me anymore, all I have to do is think if I had to go back to where I came from and I start to feel as if I want to vomit.

 

Thailand is not perfect, but it is very affordable for me and my family, I have no neighbours too close around me, lots of greenery surrounding us, nice big comfortable house that I can sit in all day without feeling the heat most days until really hot summer days.

 

I guess what I'm trying to say, it's all about the mindset, and if you can't get to it, then you will fail, for me, I have found it and that has made a huge difference for me, in other words, not interested in who, what, when, it's me, my family and what happens within our boundaries, so I won't allow the mind to upset me because some Joe wants more paperwork or I have to do a 90 day online report, I just accept it's not perfect, neither is Australia, albeit it more prettier, but also a Nanny State and an expensive one at that, I mean who pay $5 for iceberg lettuce.......crickey, if you think the grass is greener back there, good luck with that.

I was giving advice and a warning to a guy on how grotesquely inept the bureaucracy is in comparison to Australia  One gets to learn to live with it but if Chris is coming here to retire, I wanted to warn him not to expect a level of service based on efficiency.  Or logic, for that matter.

My mindset is fine.  I don't care about 90 day reports or all that - I'm not in Bangkok or some province with a huge foreign population so I have to queue for hours to prove I'm still alive and give someone a job.  I mean, for my two first visa extensions (yes, visa extensions, not extensions of stay, I was under 50) I had to drive almost three hours to another province because this one didn't have an Immigration office.  It was what it was.  Now it's an hour up the road; maybe a five minute wait; ask the guy how his daughter was going in uni (she's graduated now) get some stamps; go to Makro for some cheese and salami; and back home.

The ridiculous bureaucracy surrounds the complete lack of critical thinking in education.  There's no written procedure for a foreigner renewing their driving licence but there IS for applying for one.  I went through the whole Certificate of Residency thing three times in five years (2-year licence, 2-year licence, 5-year licence) because they don't recognise their own driving licence - issued at their very office, the scan of original photo for my 2017 licence was on their screen - as a form of identification.  Or trying to get a Yellow House Book to then get a Thai (foreigner) aka "Pink" ID Card. "Sorry, you need to be married" because she couldn't find how to do it in her binder - she'd been at the Amphur for three days so she made it up.

No, that's just laughable.

The issue here is that after the initial three months or so in 2016 when I was stared at, things were great for years.  I was invited to weddings and ordinations, I attended funerals, retirement parties, Songkran ceremonies at the river, and so on.  Just a regular member of the community. The closing of the borders in March 2020 affected us little.  However, the shutdown of entertainment in April 2021?  People that had been away longer than I'd been here came back, bringing their disdain for the sex tourists and ignorant expats from Down South back.
And I'm the only foreigner for at least 40km that I know of so all the "dirty foreigner brought the virus here" <deleted> was rehashed.  Very late year and about six weeks ago, we had two covid-related deaths.  I was blamed by some woman with three-inch black-rooted blonde-dyed hair-gone orange with a thigh and a shoulder tattoo - in a 7-Eleven - that I had brought the virus to the village and killed the woman.  Of course, she was yelling this in Thai and she assumed that, like most foreigners I've met here, I was too lazy to learn the language to understand her.

And, while you may be "married to a Thai" it means very little to Thais.  I'm not married.  But I speak the language - I don't rely on a filter of what is being said to, or about, me.  I have been talking and cruising the morning and afternoon markets solo for six years.  I've been invited to stall-holders' children's weddings  (sure, probably in some way to get 500 baht in an envelope) but they went to the effort of giving me a printed invitation.
I was welcome here.  I assimilated.   There are no bars, restaurants, or pool halls.
It's a working village.
However, I do rent out half a house with the (head of the family) owner of a 4700 rai (yes, two zeros) rice farm with some portions (probably 50 rai or so, total ) set aside for pet projects like cucumbers and taro. I think one cousin may also grow 20 rai of corn.

What my point is, I have been outside the bubbles most foreigner create for themselves and travelled the country extensively.  Although born in Australia, I grew up in a developing country before returning.  There's no "socio-economic shock" for me.

And, as to your final point, I never said I was going to back to live "where the grass is greener" in Australia so I don't need luck.  I'll probably end up in Cambodia near the Thai border or in Laos.  But a holiday in the UK and Europe followed by a visit to Australia for the first time in three years is next.

17 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

Hey Chris, straight out of Sydney in 2015.

 

So from my experience, also married to my Thai wife 15 years, it goes something like this and sorry, it is long, but it does cover things others might not have picked up.

 

1} Don't tell the banks you are moving overseas, just tell them you are going on an extended holiday and make sure your cards have at least 2 years on them before the dates on your cards expire.

 

Make sure the bank makes a note that you will be overseas so you can access your account and make transactions, they will need your mobile number to be able to send you a code each time for certain transactions, so make sure you get that right first up.

 

Have more than one account in Aus and also set up a Wise account for any future fund transfers you want to send her to Thailand, i.e. from your bank in Aus to your Wise account, then onto your bank in Thailand, note Wise will charge you if you leave more than the threshold amount in that account, I think it's 20k and they charge something like 1.65% a month, yes a month, so only put money in there when ready to transfer to your Thai account.

 

2} Retain an Aussie address and make sure everyone has it, banks, Medicare, etc, an address like a good mates address and a PO Box for all your mail to go to, your mate can have a key and you can make your annual fee payment online provided you register and provide your email address, also get your mate to be a signatory with the post office for any parcels that may come your way while you are over here.

 

3} I return every 2-3 years, note, don't go over 4 years, I haven't gone over 4 because you will will need to use your Medicare card before the 5 year mark otherwise they will cancel it and for you to get that card back, you need to re-establish your residency, and that can take up to 6 months living in the land of slavery.

 

So make sure your Medicare has at least 5 years on it before you come, you can say you lost it and they can send you a replacement before you leave, remember to tell them of your new address, i.e. your mates address and your PO Box.

 

I once renewed my card from here online as it was about to expire....lol, I said I lost it and they sent me a new one to my PO Box and I picked it up from my mate when I went back and used it to see the Dr, the 5 years starts again each time you use it.

 

4} Vodaphone have a $20 365 day recharge card where you can use that for the banks to send you the code to, that is what I do, make sure you turn on roaming and make a note when to renew the $20 365 day card online and you will be fine, remember to put on roaming and have it charged daily, whatever you do, don't answer it if it rings and don't make any calls from it or you will run out of credit real fast....lol. There is no charge for reading your text messages that the bank sends you with their code for you to use.

 

5} Let the electoral roll know you won't be voting unless you intend on keeping your Australian Residency for tax purposes, otherwise you can't vote as a non-resident and if you are going to be a non-resident for tax purposes let them know otherwise try getting out of the $1,000 fine for not notifying them, I went through this, fortunately they tried it on me, but I had copies of everything, so stuck it right up them.

 

6} If you have a property, talk to your accountant as there have been some recent changes to the tax laws regarding Capital Gains Tax and that may cost you more than you think, trust me, it's very ugly.

 

7} Renew your drivers licence because you cannot renew it from here online, although I do believe different states have different rules, in NSW you can't, so make sure you get as many years on it that you can, it all depends on your age, under 44 is 10 years, over 44 is 5 years, again that's for NSW.

 

Next will be to get your Thai drivers licence here, pretty straight forward.

 

8} If your on any prescription meds, get 12 months worth if you can as they are expensive here compared to Aus

 

9} I did mention to you to talk to an accountant regarding property, if you don't have any, but have super or money laying around, you want you accountant to tell you how best to invest so you earn some $'s on it, if you retain residency, you will pay tax, if you become a non-resident for tax purposes and invest it in the ASX you won't pay any tax on fully franked shares and there is no Capital Gains Tax, so you may want to cover this area

 

10} If your not old enough to get the pension, you would be aware that you need two years in Aus to make it portable, i.e. to receive it here, i.e. if your looking to receive the pension in a few years time. If your already getting it, disregard what I said.

 

11} Cost of living all depends on how many of you there are and who you want to support, if it's just you and the Mrs, you should be ok on 50k baht a month, eating good foods and imports excluding any holidays, and private health cover policies. This will assume your house will be debt free and your car paid off.

 

11} Others might have mentioned private health cover here is expensive and goes up with age, so if you do decide to get one, maybe look at one that has deductibles, the higher the deductible (you pay) first in the event of hospitalisation, the lower the policy.

 

I am sure you will work it all out when it comes to building, just remember, the golden rule, only invest as much as your prepared to walk away from, I say that with respect to your wife. You see a lot of guys lose a lot of money here because they wear their hearts on their sleeves and trust their wives with their finances, huge mistake in my opinion, love is one thing, finances is another.

 

Anything more you need to know, let me know and best of luck on your new home, sooner or later you will find out how much the Australia you left behind will hate you, because you escaped the slave trade IMO.

 

 

 

 

Great advice.

And one more bit to add to it.  Be prepared for bureaucratic stupidity and inefficiency.  The rules were made when Thailand was dragged kicking and screaming out of the 14th century in the 1960s and 70s.  And nothing has changed except since around 2014 on how to get more money from the filthy foreigners.
The things you have to do here are mind-blowinging inefficient and double, triple, even quadruple handling a sheaf of paper you could trip over only for it all to be entered into a computer as well and then have a hand-written carbon-paper receipt given to you.

I've been here full-time six years; the last three as an O-A (I'm 53) retiree.   With the massive changes to health insurance premium costs, the 800k lying useless in a bank account until I die, and the ever-increasing requirements to stay here, I'm pulling up stumps at the end of the year.  I live comfortably, have a car, motorbike ( I rent my accommodation) and multiple TVs and computers along with my furnishings I brought from Australia.

Been coming here since 2010 but I moved to an isolated place very similar to the "10km from Roi Et" except I'm "80 km from Phetchabun".  I'm also a beer-drinking Australian.  But here?  No English.  No other foreigners.  Which WAS good.  Now disgruntled ex-employees of now-bankrupt foreign pub owners are returning, bringing their bigotry with them, and the belief that all foreigners are the cause of The Plague.   The village's perception of me has changed to an uncomfortable level of disquiet and distrust because according to their returned daughters I (being the sole foreigner) am to blame for everything since January 2020 and their loss of job.  I won't put what I've been called (I speak Thai although the women and men returning from Down South don't know that) but it is getting bad.  
I've been threatened with a machete, and had a mango thrown at me by some bloke telling me to, er, "go away with much haste you undesirable person"   in a quite impolite manner ????
Along with the continued blame-shifting on TV every night at 1800, the poison is seeping, albeit slowly to this once quiet haven.
I'll be making the most of my car over the next six months to see as much as I can an especially get to Chiang Mai again and to drive down toward Phuket.

I spent a lot of time, money, and emotion here but I'm not going to die of old age here as I once thought.
 

Hello.
Your expectations of what you want to get out of learning Thai will put you on different paths.
I used Google Translate for nouns to begin with.  I had the hello, thank you, numbers, days of the week, some basic foods and so on learned before I moved here.
I live (alone) in a village where the only English spoken is "Hello" when they answer the phone.  My nearest English-speaking friend is a five-hour drive away. 
So, needless to say, when I arrived here in April 2016, I had a very sharp learning curve.  Added to that the fact that I'm "hearing impaired" (bit PC, I'm deaf as a post in my left ear and my right ear is pretty much stuffed as well so I lip-read a lot).  I can't read Thai.  The last two years with mask-wearing has slowed my learning as well.
And I live in a fairly low-educated area as well.  Up until about ten years ago, it was rare anyone did past year nine high school.  The primary school up the road has only been there for fifty years.  My landlady's three eldest siblings (59,57,56) never went to school but learned to read and write from their father - their mother couldn't read or write.

The main issue with learning from a language school is they will teach you how to read and write as well.  Something that, seriously, will eat into the verbal learning which is far more important.  If something is written in Thai, I can ask someone what is says.  I know my car's and motorcycle's number/registration plates, though.

Now, Chiang Mai or Bangkok?

First, be clear:  you want to learn Central Thai - the language taught at Thai schools, the "national language", okay?
A person speaking the local dialect in Chiang Rai won't be understood by a person in Phang Nga.  Similarly, Lao is spoken quite widely, especially across the north and the NE (Isaan/Esan) down as far as Nakon Ratchasima (Korat).

You want a Central Thai language school.  Everybody speaks that.  It's also what the vast, vast majority of Thai Language Schools teach but you must be sure.  Additionally, although Thai is a purely tonal language, regional accents do exist so getting a teacher from the provinces around Bangkok might be better - or one with extensive experience if they're from elsewhere - especially if you can get a teacher with business experience.

Don't learn from a foreigner;  their native accent will skew their tones and you end up learning their bad accent as your own.

Now, back to the reason why you want to learn Thai.
If it's because you want to retire here in the future, you'll lose your knowledge as time goes on when you go back to your home country after your year here.  You need to speak it daily.

Do you really want to spend a fortune going to school every day for a year to learn a language pretty much no-one outside Thailand uses?  You'd be better off with a phrase book and bussing around the country learning as you go with Google Translate.

YouTube has a few channels but unless English is your first language - the teachers mostly teach/translate in/from English - then it's going to be hard because their accents can be quite strong.

Again, don't learn from a foreigner.

Anyway, Chiang Mai is cheaper and prettier than Bangkok even if over the (Western) New Year, the air quality is often the worst on the planet.

Dabble a bit with Google Translate.  Look at a few YouTube channels.  Get a feel for it.  You'd be better off coming over here on a 60-day tourist visa and see how well you've done with those methods first before getting an Education Visa and forking out thousands of dollars/pounds/Euros/whatever to a school where you'll be cooped up inside learning how to read and write and missing out on what the county offers.

Learn on the go.  Learn the popular food names.  Numbers.  Colours.  Basic phrases.  Names of fruit and vegetables. 

Because, seriously?  Local markets don't have any signage anyway; street names are written in English as well; and if all else fails find someone under twenty - twenty five years old; they'll probably remember enough English from school to help you with the basics.

You can always learn to read (and maybe even write) later after you know what all the sounds are.

Best of luck. 

4 hours ago, ChrisKC said:

Well, I have sympathy for the OP: after all, B2 is B2 and it all adds up (he said with just a hint of sarcasm) but...

 

For the last year I have been buying Leo Strong Brew, for me at least, better than Chang and Leo tama dar!

 

Big C - B52 for the large bottle - I bought three, only two hours ago. 

 

CHEERS!!

An absolutely *cracking* beer. 
I tried it when it came out and haven't looked back.  It's  55 baht per bottle where I am (a five baht discount on the original Leo to stimulate sales ,I assume) but I buy it by the box at 585.

We still going on about strawberries as a sign of economic health?

Bought this 600g punnet half an hour ago from the local morning market.  Eighty baht.  Taste the same as the ones I used to eat from my backyard in Australia.

There were punnets of "jumbo" ones but, even though they might be sweeter, they looked a tad over-ripe and not last long in the fridge.

The hospitals issues the certificate The Thailand National Certificate of COVID-19 Vaccination under the auspices of the Department of Public Health, the symbol of which is on the certificate.
MOPH is the Thai national health authority.

4 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Link - There will not be a karaoke service, dance floor, promotion and alcohol for the customers who share glasses.

 

Not being a visitor to nightclubs and bars anymore, it is common two people go to a bar and order one alcoholic drink and two straws ? 

Yes, it is common in many places not frequented by foreigners.  A group will buy a bottle of (usually blended) spirits and use just the one shot glass between them.  Even in Hi-So places - although it wouldn't be Blend 185, Hong Thong, or Sang Som, it would be Johnny Walker or Jack Daniel's.  It is rumoured that is how the Thong Lor outbreak which caused the third wave started:  customers and hostesses sharing glasses.  But I don't put much weight into unsubstantiated speculation.

Also Bucket Drinks in the sports and themed bars which cater for the Shorts, Singlets and Thongs/flipflop Brigade are often shared.

Sure it wasn't a leech?  (Or "pleeng" in Thai)   ปลิง

They can be small, flat and grey.  Or enormous and black.

40 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

If you get an OA in Australia, won't this be a multiple and enable 12 month permissions. With a total potential of nearly 2 years stay in Thailand.

Sorry, yes.  I don't know.  The information contradicts itself.  On "document required form" form it says OA Visa $275 and on the actual application form itself Multi - Retirement Only $550.  An dit quotes Multiple Entries $275.

My main concern is the "Departure Date" and itinerary requirement.
I may just get all this paperwork together and try to change the type of visa when I'm back next month.