simon43

Let me just say that I had about 6 teaching job offers from international schools in Myanmar (120,000 THB, every school that I applied to made me a job offer), one job offer from a school in Cambodia (100,000 THB, I only applied to one school), and absolutely zero interest from every school in Thailand that advertised for teachers - not one of the 50 or so schools that I applied to replied to my email... I'm 63 years old. These were not international schools, they were low-paying government and private schools, circa 30k - 40k per month. Since it is proving difficult to return to Myanmar (business visa problems - they won't let me back in!), I've decided to go and relax somewhere in Thailand and forget about teaching in this country - ageism is alive and kicking here ????

Now I should actually be teaching at a school in Yangon (Myanmar). That's where I was until a few weeks ago. But I came back to visit Bangkok for a few days and then I couldn't get back to Myanmar! The military junta won't give me a entry visa to get back into the country! So I can't go back..... Friends and family in Thailand have also asked me not to go back anyway, because of the increase in violence, shootings, bombings etc. So, having considered all things, I've decided that my inability to return to Myanmar is maybe some kind of message to tell me not to go back! But where to live in Thailand? I spent several years living in Luang Prabang (Laos), so I like the hills and mountains. Unfortunately, I also can't go back to Luang Prabang, because my (totally legal) amateur radio activities upset the local police chief, who did not appreciate a foreigner operating a radio transmitter on his patch! I have no such problems in Thailand - I've been a radio ham in Thailand for 20 years. So what better than to rent a nice, Thai-style house in the rural Golden Triangle, and relax with my radio hobby ???? But I need to find a house with a big garden, just outside the town of Mae Sai. Of course, I can pass the word around, drive around the area etc. But does anyone know of an agency that might help, or a local individual who could (for a fee), do the leg work to find a suitable property to rent? I'm collecting a rental car in a few days from now (I'm in Pattaya). After loading up the car with my radio antennas, ham radio rig and 24 bottles of M150, I shall make the long drive up to Mae Sai ????

Ha! Amazing Thailand. A nutter who shouts 'bomb' is allowed to go home. He should be locked up for a long time.

My mad ex was great at walking on my back for massage - it really helped to alleviate my lower back pain. However, she weighed 33 Kg. I wouldn't want any of the fatty girls in the massage shop to do that!

Personally I think the old dodderer pooped his pants - Xi couldn't stand the smell and ordered him removed. I'm off to buy shares in 'Certainty' ...

Yonks ago I was a tourist police volunteer in Phuket. A Swedish tourist asked me what my job entailed "To protect you from the Thai police" was my reply!

Small town, big town or whatever! Sometimes I think the majority of this forum members are senile.... completely sidetracking the OP's questions.

In deepest Laos, the light-controlled LED streetlight outside my house caused a buzzing interference on my amateur radio rig. So in the middle of the night, I put up a ladder and cut the 220 volt wires to the lamp..... problem solved! But 6 months later, the local electricity company knocked on my door and politely asked what had happened to the streetlight wires. I explained that I saw a large owl get tangled up in the wires, and its wings broke the wires!

"repair it properly" is a phrase that doesn't exist in Thai language...

What's the big deal? A bit of sand and cement will soon fix it....

I suppose it really depends on your age. I never taught in the UK, never did an Education degree, never got a teacher's licence (QTS). Some years ago, I did consider going back to the UK to study for a PGCE and to obtain QTS. But I decided against this because I was already 50 years old and never had a problem to obtain reasonably well-paid (100,000 THB net/month) teaching jobs. For the past 2 years (Covid), I have been teaching online for a similar income. I have been looking at teaching in-class again for a couple of years until my pension kicks in. But then I looked at the future online lessons booked with me and see that parents/students have already booked and paid for lessons up to April 2025 (2 months before my retirement date!). So it makes just to keep teaching online ????

Not any more ????

Not if you have started to eat them...

Maybe it's time for me to update my avatar image. Hmm, perhaps not the one I use on TD! Oh - I just remembered that I have updated the 'rude' Smurf on the other forum!

I saw a step-down transformer explode in Phuket many years ago - sounded like WW3 had started!

Hmm, perhaps he just wanted to show you the knife that he was proud of.

Is what farang city? Lamai or Burma? The answer is neither ????

I recently stayed there for 3 weeks. Rented an air-conditioned little house for 400 baht a night, 200 metres from the beach. Very quiet, few tourists, beautiful beach, many shops, bars and restaurants open. I had a nice time. Now heading back to Burma, if they let me back in!

I was born and bred in Leicester, used to play in Spinney Hill Park. I remember as the Indian community grew, mostly clothes, food, newsagent shops, that sort of thing. Hard-working, and rarely any problems between these immigrants and the indigenous white community. Then the muslims started to move in and the city went to sh*te....

Make mango marmalade or jam??

See my above comment. The Myanmar UN representative is nothing to do with the military junta - he bravely condemned the coup when it happened last February.

I bet the Myanmar military junta are p*ssed. While they are busy buying weapons from Russia to kill innocent civilians, their UN representative voted to condemn Russia, (because the Myanmar representative is from the real government of the country, and the junta have been trying to replace him with their shill, to no avail).

Standard fire escape doors only open from the inside - someone trying to open the door from the outside is unable to do so. Although this is definitely 'after the horse has bolted', at least something practical is to be implemented. One cannot eliminate all possibilities of a tragic event like this, by making the school secure, it should help to minimise the possibility. The school doesn't need to look like a prison. Every door except the main entrance should only be openable from the inside. The main entrance needs to be securely locked and access only given to students and staff, no access for parents or workers etc unless accompanied at all times. It's not rocket science...

I agree with you. I was consulting ancient Dr Google pages which didn't mention MRI scans! My doctor said that we need to clear the bacterial infection first, then check the PSA again, then decide what to do next if the PSA value is high or normal (for me). My PSA value has been about 5 for the past 8 years, which is about normal for a man in his 60's with BPH. If my PSA comes back as 7 or higher for example, then we need to investigate more. But so far, I'm encouraged by the results of the DRE today.

Update: I visited the urology specialist today at Bangkok Hospital, Pattaya. Tests indicated that I still had bacteria in my pee, (possibly from the bacterial bronchitus that I had a few weeks ago or from a UTI or prostitis, even though I have no symptoms of prostatis, other than my usual BPH symptoms). Anyway, that bacteria will definitely cause an increase in PSA. So I've been prescribed antibiotics to sort out the bacteria infection, and then another PSA test will be performed. Additionally, the DRE test that the doctor performed was encouraging. An enlarged prostate for sure, but a rubbery texture and no hardness. But even if/when the new PSA is lower (my typical PSA value for the past 8 years has been around 6, with no change), I think it would be prudent to have a biopsy or MRI etc to check that nothing is amiss. My medical insurance will cover any necessary outpatient and inpatient tests and treatment for prostate cancer (I checked the policy!).