Eddy B

Alchohol is a factor in many accidents but also stupid driving/riding of vehicles. Until Thailand brings in a proper driving teaching school, that teaches the youngsters how to drive/ride plus the rules of the road things will never change.

I also use Nan Immigration for extension for marriage. I knew that account amount had dipped just under the 400k 2 months before but was refilled with not enough time before my extension in December but I had to go regardless. I showed them all my paper work including the bank book and letter from the branch manager. Everything was fine apart from the bankbook. They did not ask for any ATM slips once, but the two main officers basically said that they could only give me a 2 month extension so that the money would have time to mature for that period. So in Feb I will have to take the lovely 3 hr drive back to Nan and apply again, all the kept saying to me and my wife was that the amount of 400k needed to be in the account for 2 months before extension application and I was short so they gave me the best they could offer. However my friend who is retired and also has to go to Nan does need to either have his money in an account for 3 months or proof of income from abroad before applying for the retirement extension. I am not saying either party are wrong from the above posts but maybe it all depends on the officer who deals with your application but this is what they said to me.

I would like to see how a teacher with a degree or one without, would deal with a class of 40 students. Say Anuban, pratom or highschool classes. Without a Thai co-teacher/help and make a lesson work?

I think his question is part of the research so he knows the answer. Problem is - sometimes you ask and they might say "no bus" hoping to get hired for a private transport. Better to have multiple answers to find the real truth.

I arrived early about 7am in the morning there were buses going to Nong Khai on an hourly basis. They were the shabby disco/karaoke buses but who cares. Plus the frequent stop as well as a stop so everyone could have breakfast but for 30 baht it will take you almost to the border. From there you will need to jump into a songtow or tuk-tuk to get to the check point/immigration office. So expect to pay at least 150 from the bus station to Immigration office/check point. Good luck!

I arrived at the station and just asked the guys hanging around is there a bus to Nong Khai in Thai. They said yes. I took the bus, which was slow and stopped all the time, but I arrived about 50 minutes. There are people always looking to make money of you for something you can do yourself. Such as filling in the forms for the Loas visa and in Loas the Thai visa. Keep your hands in your pockets and just do it yourself...........saves money for whatever you want

What a shambles! This is why you should be able to go to any Immigration office regardless of where your staying! Same as police stations and hospitals. The brain-fart of an idea to regionalise Immigration offices is a farce!

But it's far better than requiring those of us who live out in the sticks to have to troop to Bangkok every time we need to submit a 90-day report or apply for an extension of stay, do you not agree?

AFAIK Thais needing immigration services in the UK are obliged to troop to Croydon even if they live in the Shetlands!

Maybe thats because the UK has gotten so tightassed they are not opening offices for overseas immigrants. But in Thailand they are all over the place! Look it up. :-)

I am well aware of the plethora of immigration offices in LOS, thank you very much.

The key advantage of immigration office regionalisation, as I see it, is that one is not normally expected to travel a vast distance to one's designated office. Were immigration offices deregionalised along the lines of your suggestion, I am sure that the closure of all those offices outside Bangkok would soon follow before we expats could fully enjoy the "fruits" of dealing with any office of our choosing - meaning that Thailand would then follow the UK's lead in "tightassery" as you so eloquently put it.

In your reply to Sceptic11, you complain about having to travel 240km to your designated office. But how would you feel about having to travel a lot further from your northern abode to Bangkok each time you needed to file a 90-day report or apply for an annual extension of stay?

Or do you really seriously expect Thai Immigration to let us expats get away with having our cake and eating it?

As a surprise to you and many others; maybe we in the north of Thailand and not living in the hub of plastic Thailand. We do not have to go in person to report our 90 days, we use something slower called EMS mail service. Sceptic11, I doubt he knows what he is talking about, after all he is SCEPTIC!

What a shambles! This is why you should be able to go to any Immigration office regardless of where your staying! Same as police stations and hospitals. The brain-fart of an idea to regionalise Immigration offices is a farce!

But it's far better than requiring those of us who live out in the sticks to have to troop to Bangkok every time we need to submit a 90-day report or apply for an extension of stay, do you not agree?

AFAIK Thais needing immigration services in the UK are obliged to troop to Croydon even if they live in the Shetlands!

Maybe thats because the UK has gotten so tightassed they are not opening offices for overseas immigrants. But in Thailand they are all over the place! Look it up. :-)

What a shambles! This is why you should be able to go to any Immigration office regardless of where your staying! Same as police stations and hospitals. The brain-fart of an idea to regionalise Immigration offices is a farce!

And your home country has a wonderful administration ?

Absolutely no complaints ?

Wish I lived in that place

Care to tell us where it can be found?

Please remind us about the American Government Shutdown Fiasco !

I live in the north where there is a nearby Immigration office, only 100km away but I have to drive for over 240km to go to my designated Immigration office. Now, why is that not a backward thinking situation? Now talking about the American shutdown I have nothing to do with or careless as I am not an American citizen.

What a shambles! This is why you should be able to go to any Immigration office regardless of where your staying! Same as police stations and hospitals. The brain-fart of an idea to regionalise Immigration offices is a farce!

The last time I changed English currency they would not accept the 5 pound notes, only the 10, 20 and 50. I also had a problem with a 10 pound note that also had been writen on and they would not accept it where I lived at any bank so I gave it to my sister in-law to take to BKK and it was accepted with no problems. I guess where I live they do not often see foreign currency so where not willing to take the chance, but BKK should be used to seeing all types and kinds of currency as it is the Hub of whatever.

He surely had her in a head-lock from behind so that his left arm was across her face and when he shot her that how he got the gun shot wound. I hope he is strung-up in hemp for this complete act of madness that happens all the time in Thailand. RIP for the young lady and condolences to her family for this pure act of barbarism that the BIB usually always shows.

I expect to see the tourists and ex-pats being stung with increases for visa's, re-entry permits and the healthcare scam....oops sorry I meant scheme. The thai's and us ex-pats living here being hit again with an increase in petrol/gas/alcohol/cigs/general food and electric just to cover the PTP's F%^k-up over the rice scheme.

When Immigration came to inspect myself/wife and house we had everything they needed. Plus in a brown envelope 3,000 baht we were told was the norm for such visits. I was disgusted with this but I had to bite my tongue as this is suppossedly normal to happen. The funny thing was I can understand some Thai, the Immigration officer was making jokes about me not being able to speak alot of Thai. My witness who is a retired teacher and my ex-boss who can speak English then asked him why can he not speak English as he is an Immigration officer. All I can say is he shut up very quickly and left with a big wai!

BS ---------you just made that up !

If I am "mistaken " then you had better name the Immigration office and the officers involved !

No BS. When we were at the immigration office in Nan, the female officer who processed our documents said to my wife in Thai " have 3,000 baht in an envelope for the officers that will come to do the house check". I asked why and she said it was for petrol/food allowance. I was not impressed with this but this being TIT I complied relutatly. I am not the only farang that this office has done this to. I have no reason to lie about something that has happened to me just for shits and giggles!

When Immigration came to inspect myself/wife and house we had everything they needed. Plus in a brown envelope 3,000 baht we were told was the norm for such visits. I was disgusted with this but I had to bite my tongue as this is suppossedly normal to happen. The funny thing was I can understand some Thai, the Immigration officer was making jokes about me not being able to speak alot of Thai. My witness who is a retired teacher and my ex-boss who can speak English then asked him why can he not speak English as he is an Immigration officer. All I can say is he shut up very quickly and left with a big wai!

Sex education in schools is the answer! Also parents doing their job of educating the kids at home about how sex has repercussions for their future. I don't understand how a Thai parent is so worried about losing face to just talk to their child about sex and safety. No wonder there are so many young kids F&^ked up in this country because they were not taught sex Ed. So sad that in this time a people can be so backward yet think they are smart and not a 2nd world country.

This clearly stinks of a cover up for the reds(UDD) against the protesters. What a pile of BS

Go to Vientiane Laos. Entry to Laos is 1,500 baht, Thai tourist visa is 1,000 baht. He will need to hand in his application in the morning and pick it up the following day after 12pm(noon). Hotels will cost between 500 - 800 baht for the night. Food prices are about the same as Thailand. All together I think 8,000 baht is a good amount to take to cover all costs to be safe including taxi's and buses.

To the OP: No wonder farangs get treated so bad when others just pull this kind of stunt. You should have gave them at least a months notice and not jumped boat. Some of us really want to land a job here and people like you F&*k it for the rest of us. I hope they cancelled your workpermit and that you will get stung with a fine. Maybe this will make you think before you do stupid stunts like this in the future!

Every class, indeed every student, is motivated by something different. E.g. Some want good grades, some want attention, some want recognition from the teacher and some don't want anything, but will work to avoid punishment. But even different punishments have significantly different effects on each student. I still have trouble with some of the students in the class I mentioned, but through understanding a little about what motivates each student I can usually get them to learn a little. It's definitely easier in other classes though, where 90% of the students are motivated by the same thing. Learning all of the students nicknames did help a lot though, as being able to call out their name is a quick way to get their attention and correct their behavior. Likewise clamping down on discipline during the first week via a slightly over the top punishment works well with initially stamping your authority. But I don't know if either of those would really apply to a few days in an English camp. English camps I tend to just roll with it and focus on letting them enjoy the activities.

I totally agree with what SlyAnimal has written. Get to know the students by nick name, get to know what the individual students are interested in and try and mix it in with classroom lessons. Most of the guys especially like football/soccer, so I usually have some banter about the teams and who won or lost over the weekend. Girls are more interested in fashiion or celebs, so I sometimes spend a few mintues at the weekend looking through my wifes mags to keep up to date on the lasted news. It's all about making a connection thats friendly but also shows that even though I maybe 20 yrs older than them I am still in the know and not a complete fossil in their eyes. That way you can do a warm-up exercise at the start of class and it gets them talking without even thinking about it.

I had a similar experience. I have two papaya trees growing in my front yard. Now the house next door to me is vacant and no goes there but about 2 weeks ago a generic crazy person in the soi........we all usually have one if you live in a rural town started crashing/relaxing in this houses area. Hopefully not for taking drugs! As soon as see hears me and my family stirring in the house she runs away to her mums house up the soi. Anyway, back to my papayas. I was told by my very good friend that if I watered them naturally; i.e. piss at the base of the tree the papayas will flourish. Now I don't like papaya but my wife and her family love them so as a doting husband I would piss on the trees in turn daily. Last week the taller tree (6ft high) was prime for picking but we were busy that day. In the morning 2 of the biggest/fattest papayas were gone and the overgrown grass on the vacant house was flattened. I hope that the crazy soi bi%^h chokes on my piss enhanced grown papaya seeds. All joking!! This did happen, I was just surprised that someone would do this so openly and without shame. After 9 yrs of the LOS I am still surprised by peoples actions. :-)

25K as a salary for a teacher is terrible regardless of where you are in Thailand. Petrol, cooking gas, housing and food prices have increased and will continue to all over the country. Does the school offer housing allowence, relocation help, visa payments, health/accident insurance or does the applicant also have to foot the bill for all of these also? If they do, it's not a good deal. Thats my thoughts, when I first came here in 2005 I got 35k a month, after 3 months half my airfare repaid, 3,000 a month housing allowence. Money back for visa runs, including food and hotel room for the night and travel costs. Free insurance not the general social security. 10 days sick per school year, 10 days business a year and 10 pays personal. And all this for 20-21 hours a week. No schools match this now, they are squeezing as much money as they can out of the foreign teacher.

The kids do make it sometimes feel like it does not matter about the salary but when you need to pay those bills it does matter at the end of the day.

Money back for visa runs??? You must be working without a work permit. When I was teaching I had a WP, and certainly never had to do visa runs.

When I mentioned visa runs(extentions) I was talking about yearly renewals to Immigration, not jumping over the border every 30 days. So yes I had a work permit all the time, no I was not working illegally.