shadmo63

Some of the posts are completely speculative, ignorant and irresponsible. TV members are experts in certain fields but for cardiac problems you need a specialist.

OP the only advice you should listen to here is get your ass to a cardiac specialist NOW!!!

Now if your problem was prostate or ED I can't think of anywhere better to get advice than TV!!!!

First of all, if you are looking for similar jobs as you had in Korea, you will be paid half what you were earning. If you are looking into International schools ignore all posters above and your girlfriend. The best International schools hire at job fairs and from overseas. However since your degree isn't subject speficic, you won't have much luck for the best schools. Your Korean EFL experience will not be considered for international schools. Depending on the area you will live in Thailand, your pay will be between 30-40k baht. You will work the same kind of schedules you did in Korea. Teaching in Thailand pretty much sucks.

You are a little old to have no future plan and to make whimsical choices to appease a girlfriend that you don't actually live with.

Teaching in Thailand is a paycheck to paycheck lifestyle. Those claiming to have no degree and 80k baht a month salary are either FOS or extremely lucky. That is not by any stretch the norm.

Your 6k USD savings will last you about 6 months and then you are SOL. Start up living costs are quite high.

Build for a future or live a whirlwind life, that is a personal choice, but you don't really want to be 50 years old with nothing and a few years of fun experiences that will amount to nothing getting you a good job when you are spit out of Thailand.

Come to Thailand with a plan and not by whim.

just about everything in this post is inaccurate - first of all, i believe the minimum salary to be legally paid to a foreigner is 60-65k in order to obtain a work permit. the rest i am not going to bother to address.

have a look at http://www.isat.or.th/schools , the thai school term is starting soon but most international schools are still trying to fill positions for next school year (if they have vacancies) which starts in late august. the 'best' do hire most from job fairs, but if you already live here they do not have to pay for relocation, and there are dozens if not more of international schools to choose from.

I'm sorry, but some of your information is inaccurate. As Zeichen said the average farang ESL teacher salary in Thai secondary system is 30-40K .

If you "believe" but do not know the answer why are you correcting and patronising others?

I agree with you that with the OPs qualifications he should be looking at the much better paying International Schools.

I met a brain dead 150kg yank (with a 40kg Filipino wife, poor girl) with not even a TEFL in HCMC last year making US$1500 a month; food and accommodation is 30-40% cheaper there too. And every Vietnamese Uni student wants to improve their English so private lessons can boost that too.

I have heard of TEFL jobs going in Jakarta for more than that too - you need to get on the web

Thailand is the worst for wages and working conditions in SEA, but you do have a girlfriend here. But you sound like you need to save some dollars.

(Sorry I obviously estimated those weights but if you will just picture in your mind them on their motorbike together!!)

Get on the IELTS/TOEFL/SAT/IGCSE gravy train. Qualified IELTS examiners can boost their earnings by regular testing and exam preparation classes pay well. Not difficult to make between 70,000 & 90,000 a month if you can fit in private classes as well.

Can you tell us more?

Yes good topic thread OP, having hit 50 last year I have started to think about those things too, and it is well worth planning ahead, especially if you have left it a bit late like me. How many stories have I read on here about farang in Thailand topping themselves when they run out of money (and love)? My opinion is you really need to get yourself a nest egg, so you can get to 70. You will need to teach somewhere else to put one together though because 30-40K is just livable for a farang. Vietnam is another option, slightly higher salary and cheaper cost of living. Or back to the mother country for a while. You never quite know how political events will play out in Thailand either, although life usually ploughs on.

I did a Chiang Mai TEFL course late last year mainly to see if I liked teaching, which i did, but have not worked in Thailand. I was given the advice by an experienced Aussie teacher that you really need to make your money at home and then head for Thailand. I have now just started a BEd (secondary maths) full time by distance ed. which will take me two years. Some might think I am a bit old for a career change but I might have to work for another 20 years yet. I want the option of working in Thailand or here in Australia. There are shortages of Maths and Science teachers here too. My plan is to work here and in Thailand and hopefully I can get an International School job which pay a fair bit more than the public secondary schools. Having read a fair bit on forums the Thai public system, apart from paying poorly, does not sound too appealing for a long term gig.

I dont know what your home country is but most of the English speaking countries will give you an aged pension, but the eligibility requirements are always getting more difficult. As I understand it the US, Australia and Canada have pension age of 67 coming in the next 10 years, the UK 68. As every western country has aging populations and less and less taxpayers to support the growing number of retirees things are only going to get harder and harder.

Australia has just started talking about 70 years old, possibly coming in in 2030 the same year I hit 67. The other countries will all follow i am sure. Australia is better prepared than most with a compulsory 9% superannuation system in place for 20+ years now. I know currently if you have worked in Australia for 35 full years you qualify for the aged pension even if you are living abroad. There are some silly rules you have to adhere to like being in Australia at the time you apply at 65. If you are not in Australia at that time you then have to stay in Australia for a further two years before qualifying to get it while living abroad. Currently its roughly $20K for a single and $30K for a couple. Thats about perfect at 48K baht a month for a single; better than a 30K teachers salary. I learnt most of this stuff on the forum here. Cheers.

OCD?

What I find interesting is that it's a relatively recent law- it's not something that existed for centuries and centuries, and it's only really in the 21st Century that accusations of it and court cases started flying about (an increase of over a thousand percent or something from previous time periods). Well

The law has been around for a long time it is just that over the last 8 years or so it is being used as a political tool.

Bill Gates worlds richest man? Don't think so, Jacob Rothschild is worth between 300 to 500 Trillion!

Seems like a ridiculously high figure given that world GDP in 2012 was $85 trillion. Can not even find him on any rich list. $5 billion is all I can find

I believe the CPB does a lot of philanthropic work.

You absolute la-la. 25+ years ago every dunny right through asia was like that. There's a certain sort of cleanliness with a dunny where only your feet touch anything. Just like there's a certain sort of cleanliness with the now popular bum-gun.

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"This is certainly not true. Siam was much bigger and parts of Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia were Thailand, or Siam."

Sirchai you and your map are only correct for one point in time (some time during the 19th Century). Aussiesteve63 is correct.

I am no expert but the borders and powers of Ayutthaya, Lan Xang, Lanna, Vientiane, Angkhor, Siam and numerous other regional kingdoms have been moving back and forth and waxing and waning for a millenium and beyond. Power here. Alliance there. War here, war there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lan_Xang

Quite clearly almost the entirety of Isaan belonged to Lan Xang in the link to this map of SEA in 1400AD above

Do you know of the Mandala system of power and influence? Wikipedia - "Empires such as Bagan, Ayutthaya, Champa, Khmer, Srivijaya and Majapahit are known as "mandala" in this sense." Basically it means that close to the centre of power or capital of the kingdom there is strong influence and loyalty, but moving further away there is lesser and lesser influence and loyalty to the central power or King.

The modern borders we have were much more loosely defined or adhered to in times gone by. There were no surveyors or GPS systems back then.

Had a haircut and shave at a (mostly Thai only) barber in Chiang Mai couple of months ago. Now I don't have the thickest beard on the planet but it was absolute agony - for him and for me, as he went through two blades and kept disappearing (for a rest I reckon). He wasn't a young man (50's) - you would think he would have had some farang experience by now. Never again. I'll do it myself.

casualposter said:" Why not discuss the impact which Arabic and Persian culture has had on Thailand. "

Does anyone know if the once powerful Bunnag family has influence in modern Thailand?

"Ridiculous title to a ridiculous topic.

We are sharing this planet, exchanging ideas and ideals.

Look at any place on the planet and you will see the exchange."

Not rediculous...Thailand is great at taking, and not giving.

Check your history...'Muay Thai' is really 'Muay Khmer'...case in point.

Yes the word "steal" is a little bit harsh in the OP. Have the west "stolen" yoga from India too? And Christianity from Israel? Yes "borrowed" is a better description.

"Thailand is great at taking, and not giving. " - extremely ignorant and unnecessary comment IMO. You have to wonder what the <deleted> the Thai bashers on TV are doing in Thailand, if they seriously hold some of the opinions they espouse? Just go home if you dont like the place or its culture!! I suppose you would also think Thailand should give Isarn back to Laos? Just my opinion but Thailand has given the world the best cuisine ever invented. Khmer food? Very average, and what is good seems to have a Thai influence.

They still use a number of Brahmans to perform holy cleansing rituals at the Thai Kings coronation ceremony as was also done in the Ayuthaya Kingdom before that, from which modern Thailand (Siam) copies most of its rituals. Not sure but I figure the rituals of the Khmer kingdom must have been copied from some early Indian kingdom before that. I saw a video of a Cambodian Kings coronation from last century and many parts of the ritual were exactly the same as a Thai coronation. Obviously all these Kingdoms have similar history and are rooted in Hinduism overlain with Buddhism and all this comes from India. And Thai, especially in the religious sphere, is full of Sanskrit and Pali words which they stole too.

If the OP wants to get pedantic it could be argued that India didn't exist back then as it is a modern British creation within the last 400 years as before they united the subcontinent there were just many kings and rajahs and shahs and emperors controlling many different smaller kingdoms etc.

"What is the best translator on the web?"

Don't know but Google translate does a pretty good job for me.

I also like iPad app L-lingo for learning Thai - I think you get 5 lessons for free then another 60 for $15 then another 40 (on pc only) for $10 a month. This will get your vocab up to say 1000-1200 words or so I reckon. And if you select to use Thai writing in the settings you can improve your reading. I knew the alphabet before starting and had a fair bit of basic vocab. I dont know how an absolute beginner would go.

There is an iPad only free dictionary produced by thai-language.com which i find useful too. Very comprehensive and gives words in typical sentences and breaks down each word/sentence and explains the terms used, even including obscenities if you're interested.

There are an awful lot of speaking apps and dictionaries to choose from, so I'd be interested in others experience too. I am not sure where to head now I have finished L-lingo's lessons.

Even after two years here in the small town of Rhek Thum, when walking, people still "eye" me.

"Look, look, farang, blah, blah, woof, woof …."

I have actually handed my camera to a few idiots people. Then they looked away.

Do you really live in Rhek Thum?

Oh my god... this almost makes me ashamed to be a Farang.

This DOES make me ashamed to be an Australian

The main reason that the Democrats do not win at the polls is because they do not promise everybody riches with unethical, immoral and unaffordable populist policy bribes!!

Whoever wins the election doesn't matter to me as our school runs the same whoever is in government. If, after the essential reforms (even Yingluck, for that read Thaksin) realises that the people will settle for nothing less than major changes (to outlaw or more realistically, diminish corruption) to be put into place - then the Democrats are much more likely to form the next government and the country can be ruled with competence and honesty.

All PTP do is garner votes from these idiotic scams of theirs and then proceed to abuse them by creaming off a good percentage to enrich themselves. No wonder they wanted less transparency and less obstacles put in the way (in the form of checks and balances) as that would make it more difficult to steal the money!!

^{The main reason that the Democrats do not win at the polls is because they do not buy vote.}

The Democrats won't win until they provide a realistic alternative that appeals to a majority of Thai voters. How is it possible for the current government to stay in power when so inept, corrupt and incompetent? 1. Because the opposition are just as inept, corrupt and incompetent, and 2. In a democracy you always get the government you deserve.

"The best argument against democracy is a 5 minute conversation with the average voter." - Winston Churchill

So, what's wrong with a bit of punishment? We've all gone through it and it has made (the most of) us into upright, honest and good citizens. I'd congratulate any teacher in Thailand (on any other country for that matter) for teaching my kids a bit of discipline.

Why have we gone soft in the West?!

Oh djayz you just lost me. I will not be taking any advice from you again that's for sure. My two daughters 21 and 16 have never been hit by me, there are so many other ways to keep them in line. I went to catholic boarding school and was thrashed, usually for smoking, countless times by chain smoking frustrated old pedophiles. A lot of good it did me, I hate the church and I have just given up the cigarettes after 35 years.

Boon = merit or sacred, tam boon = make merit

Anumothana = to say amen or rejoice with or congratulations

Don't know any details but gf's parents successfully grow Japanese rice in Mae Suai, Chiang Rai. In so doing have avoided any rice pledging scheme problems.

How bloody sad is that story? Six months ago this country was the envy of most of the region and now? Yes I know the "man from Dubai" chanters will try and say the rice deal was the turning point but the simple fact is Thailand would have moved past that. What's destroying this country is the rogue Suthep, his puppetmasters (who all have their millions offshore anyway - this is about power not money) and those who are dim enough to support him. PDRC flagwavers can - each and every one - say proudly "I did my little bit to destroy Thailand".

Suthep?

What about the man in Dubai?

Suthep did this not the guy in dubai. You need to get the facts straight.

Nope, he has HIS fact straight. Not everybody does though. The man in Dubai is the one who makes it possible for Suthep to be what he is. Abandon the shins (a common sense solution if there ever was one), and the wind goes right out of Suthep's sails. Nope, the man in Dubai did this. Get YOUR facts straight before you start flailing at everybody else. (But too late for that I guess...)

Both sides are as bad as each other and all contribute to the problem. So you're both right.......or wrong?

These comments support further the argument to avoid buses all together and to take the train when circumstances permit,

Mate, the trains in Thailand are just as dangerous. There were at least a dozen derailments last year. Fly!!

A moment's contemplation might reveal what nonsense that is. Do you seriously think that the number of people killed or injured in Thai railways comes anywhere near to the carnage on Thai roads?...or even buses alone?

Did I say anything at all about the number of people killed or injured? No Mr Nonsense I said the trains are just as dangerous as the roads.

Total deaths and injuries is not a measure of danger/safety, total deaths and injuries per km travelled is. My point is that on a person km travelled basis Thai railways are unsafe. There are only 4 major lines and they're averaging 3 or 4 derailments per line per year at least over the last couple of years. You do the math. On a person km travelled basis flying always comes out the safest way to travel, even in the west where road carnage is at a relative minimum. I am sure that would be the case, even including planes that just disappear. Why don't you contemplate that for a moment?

"Mate, the trains in Thailand are just as dangerous" - done the math - No you are wrong.

What incredible arrogance!

These comments support further the argument to avoid buses all together and to take the train when circumstances permit,

Mate, the trains in Thailand are just as dangerous. There were at least a dozen derailments last year. Fly!!

A moment's contemplation might reveal what nonsense that is. Do you seriously think that the number of people killed or injured in Thai railways comes anywhere near to the carnage on Thai roads?...or even buses alone?

Did I say anything at all about the number of people killed or injured? No Mr Nonsense I said the trains are just as dangerous as the roads.

Total deaths and injuries is not a measure of danger/safety, total deaths and injuries per km travelled is. My point is that on a person km travelled basis Thai railways are unsafe. There are only 4 major lines and they're averaging 3 or 4 derailments per line per year at least over the last couple of years. You do the math. On a person km travelled basis flying always comes out the safest way to travel, even in the west where road carnage is at a relative minimum. I am sure that would be the case, even including planes that just disappear. Why don't you contemplate that for a moment?