alien365

I'm visiting CM for a week or so and am quite bemused by the motorcycles here. On a dual carriageway or the outer ringroad they always ride in the centre of the 1st lane or on the right hand side of it, forcing all cars in to 1 lane otherwise you would risk knocking them off. Why dont they drive in the clean hard shoulder? In all over provinces ive visited so far and my current nakhon nowhere thats what they do, hence my surprise here.

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Some schools will only employ through an agent. I worked for the local agent in my 1st year. Many other schools she provided for needed teachers and we were given a referral fee of 5-10k. I am not a fan of agents in general but mine was very helpful, if the school refused to buy us basics to make teaching materials my agent would buy. The starting salary was better than what i would be able to negotiate, wp and visa paid for. Just a word of warning try to make sure the school offers a 12month contract. 3months with no pay (bear in mind your work permit states you must not work elsewhere) can be very difficult

I live in nakhon pathom and of the 2 years i have been here i havent seen any rubbish, litter or dumping. The only problem is the dust and small rocks on the roads near building sites coming from the trucks but its been a privilege to live here so far.

I hope the guy gets what he deserves. If he did kill her then let him rot in prison, but if he didnt I hope he is allowed to prove his innocence rather than just having it pinned on him

My two cents to this story is that she is a government spokeswoman for the pm, walking into a protest site when people are protesting against her party which is clearly putting herself in danger. If there was a protest to kick farrangs out of thailand would i walk through their protest area? Of course not because i would be a target, just like she was, so why put yourself at risk?

A person who stops to treat another person after a medical emergency or accident can be held liable unless they possess "first responder" certification, it's for that reason that lots of people stand around watching as people die following accidents. Perhaps the issues are related, fear of reprisal, fear of liability?

Are you sure of this? Also, in most countries if you stand back and witness a crime and do nothing you can be charged. You can claim that you would place yourself in physical danger by helping however.

Yes, I'm certain.

Agreed in the uk its the same. I wrote a message but as a newbie i screwed it up responding to quotes. In summary if someone tries to help but they dont know what they are doing you can claim from them. Imagine someone paralyses you for life for trying to help after an accident. I used to gather information to defend liability claims so i was familiar with this until 2 years ago in the uk

Been there once, tried to help and was immediately surrounded by a dog-pack of Thais, Will never ever meddle again in Thailand.

This is why ive been told never to step in, being a farrang, it doesnt matter if you are right or wrong, you will be set on by the 'macho' Thai men who will side with their own. If I was a British Bruce Lee I would take the challenge but I'm not.

I think (but not sure) you can apply for a retirement extension subsequent to the death of your wife. This would be done at your normal immigration office. You will need to ensure the correct financial requirements are met of course.

If you (in the name of your spouse) have land then it must be sold/given to a Thai national within one year.

If you have a usufruct agreement on the land document then that is transferred with the sale of the land and you are then entitled to live on, and enjoy the land until the usufruct time expires. Having said that you would then be at the mercy of your inlaws, new land owner and other villagers good will. You could find that to be in short supply. People can get very grumpy when inheritance issues etc. are raised.

Thanks for mentioning the usufruct, I had never heard of it before but after a search on the net it sounds very usefull for the future.

200 baht is quite alot of money if you are working in Thailand, i get fed up of the assumption that us foreigners are rich. Many of the locals earn more than i do, better cars, bigger houses. Its difficult to live on budget, or saving money when things can become so expensive for the farrang. I wont be getting a pension from the uk or thai government if i keep working here so i have to watch the pennies. No buying gold or donating my salary to the local temple here.

Looks like you freely choose to live a life of semi-poverty in Thailand. Why?

1st proper time posting here so not sure if the reply comes up properly. In terms of why, i guess money is tough at the moment with set up costs, been here a year so lots of one off's needed buying.was teaching efl in the uk but government pulled a lot of funding so decided to try here. I love the uni i'm at right now but i would earn more teaching kindergarten or at other schools. Choosing to do what i enjoy but have to keep an eye on the future too, just being realistic. Nobody is going to give me any money if i choose to stay here long term. Thailand is great though, the locals can be nice (as long as they dont just think of me as a cash machine), great weather, scenery;things are always a bit crazy but that keeps it interesting, never a dull moment. Even in semi-poverty here, at this moment in time, its better than my quality of life would be in the uk right now.

200 baht is quite alot of money if you are working in Thailand, i get fed up of the assumption that us foreigners are rich. Many of the locals earn more than i do, better cars, bigger houses. Its difficult to live on budget, or saving money when things can become so expensive for the farrang. I wont be getting a pension from the uk or thai government if i keep working here so i have to watch the pennies. No buying gold or donating my salary to the local temple here.