richard_smith237

A perfect example... a humdinger of fookwittery !!!!!

My son goes to a top international school in Thailand - I agree with everything you have written. That said, teachers at the top international schools are also under the microscope, high standards are expected and their performance as teachers is monitored closely. I also consider it my role as a parent to ensure that my son understands the standards expected of him while at the same time giving him the freedom to make his own informed and educated choices. I know a number of teachers at International schools here, some at the top International Schools, some at Mid-range international schools and some at Schools I’ve never heard of. The standards of those individuals differ, those at the top schools are rarely joining late for a beer after football on weeknight, whereas we see those at the ‘lower-tiered’ schools often staying late and calling in sick the next day etc.... the behaviour is notable. To a T, all the teachers I know who work at reputable internationals schools here find the actual job of teaching in a classroom far easier here than in the UK where discipline is often an issue. Teachers at the reputable internationals schools here do no need to be disciplinarians for the reasons you [Gecko123] highlight, they can spend quality time actually teaching, they are also provided the tools required that international school fees bring to a school. Are teachers at internationals schools better teachers ?.... (which seems to be something some may allude to as pointed out in your post), no, I don’t think so, but its easier for them to do a better job of ‘educating’. An excellent teacher will be an excellent teacher at whatever school they are at. Meanwhile those who are not at the top of their game are likely to find it easier at a renowned international school than at a government school which faces many of the issues you [Gecko123] highlighted. Teaching is a calling, many are natural born teachers and those who are find little need to discipline children, in many cases their presence and enthusiasm is sufficient. It seems to the ‘poorer quality’ teachers who lack the skills to engage children and students, they end up resorting to desperate methods because they lack the skills otherwise.

Agreed.... but thats at the local immigration office. Immigration at the airport have no interest in TM30 or 90 day reports and thus have no interest in your address or where you’ll be staying unless profiled and singled out for further questioning - which IMO is extremely rare (never happened to me or anyone I know), but reports on this forum suggest some are stopped and asked questions (maybe visa runners etc).

The answer is obvious a big fat no.. Immigration never ask for proof of accommodation. It is only requested that you list your accommodation on the TM6 form, which, if the news is correct has been stopped (but there is conflicting information on this). Immigration couldn’t possibly check the accommodation details of everyone, so its a non-starter. But, if stopped and questioned (for whatever reason) you will obviously need to prove an honest and clear answer - at this stage you are being profiled and if they doubt your response they can double-check if they so wish. For many of us, there is no hotel or booking, we simply go home. If pressed I have a copy of my Tabien Baan (yellow house book with my name in it) which shows my accommodation). But many won’t be travelling in with proof of their rental agreement or home ownership etc...

Ah... the good old fashioned seatbelt reply...... as in “I never wore a seat belt in a car and I’m ok”.... Times were obviously different back then... but that doesn’t make hitting children right or any more acceptable, we (as a society) know better now.

Wrong... Not every country. Wife had 3 months left - Travelling to Japan Thai Airways wasn’t sure if it was ok, I quickly checked the regulations, Japan has no such 6 month stipulation. Airline supervisor checked, check-in made us sign an affidavit just incase then had no issues with us travelling. They told us that if it was a flight for Singapore then they would have rejected travel as Singapore does have a 6 month passport validity stipulation. Thus: its a requirement for some countries, not others.

They couldn't answer my question about leaving the UK on a Thai passport. UK Immigration doesn’t check passports upon departure.... (just a cursory ‘flash’ of ID page at security) - so the validity is a non-issue. For Airline check-in your daughter will show her Thai Passport anyway to show she has permission to enter Thailand.

You have to book when you are in the UK (otherwise the’ll tell you to get an emergency travel document)... BUT... (a Big But).... Make sure there are appointments available - since Covid the HMPO has gone down the drain.... massively under-staffed with so many throwing sickies !!... So, don’t be surprised if you can’t get an appointment - In which case: Just use the Thai Passport to return, then apply for the British Passport from Thailand (then it doesn’t matter if it takes 12 weeks or so).

A good set of answers so far... You can get the Thai Passport in one day - make an online booking rather than turning up as the queue is a long one (they have a passport office at Seacon or at Lumpini MRT). You can (or could up until Covid) also get the UK passport in one day while in the UK. You have to call up for a booking and state that you have a flight out etc. You’ll pay a premium (cost is £177) for the one day service and have to go there in person, drop off in the morning and pick up in the afternoon. https://www.gov.uk/get-a-passport-urgently/online-premium-service

Why singling out the British ???..... I think when generalising the is a trend of many counties where many of their nationals seem to have ‘anti-mask’ opinions.... some seem to have more people who see themselves as protesting free-thinkings who are not taken in by mainstream media and question everything... unfortunately that means they question the science too !!! Unfortunately, some of the masks rules also went and still go too far... on the beach for example, and whenever outside also while riding a motorcycles etc... in a car with the same family members... its just ridiculous... Conversely, wearing masks on a flight or on the BTS or in a Taxi is a perfectly reasonable requirement at the moment...

I remember being in Scratch Dog.... (15 years ago or so at a guess (for you oldies & millennials !!! its was a club under the Windsor hotel on Suk Soi 20)... Crowded... We found an area near the fire escape. I deliberately leaned against the fire-door bar, which opened the door. I nearly got kicked out - but I felt better. I recall at a similar time there was a club up on the 4th or 5th floor.. only one way in and out, a narrow stair well... that stairwell was crowded going up to the bar. I refused to go in, friends objected and wanted to go. I didn’t care, I was happy to go home instead - we went elsewhere. Levels on Soi 11 used to seem risky, at least it was open air for a lot of it, but it was accessed via a lift - I don't recall seeing the emergency exits, but being a hotel there must be some... erm.. right ?? I imagine there are so many places which fail at the very first steps of fire safety - its fortunate there are not more incidents.

It would make for an interesting study as the choice to wear a helmet for safety reasons implies an understanding of risk, someone with a better understanding of risk may ride more safety. Thus: In countries like Thailand where helmet wearing is more of a choice than it is enforced It is possible that there is a correlation between helmet wearing and accident rate. Thus, in many cases, particularly self caused accidents, whether someone is in an accident perhaps has more to do with mindset than the actual wearing of helmet. Then there could be the opposite effect whereby if someone is wearing a helmet or even all the gear, they may ride more assertively and perhaps this places them at greater risk of an accident. Then there is the type of motorcycle one is riding, a large more expensive bike is more noticeable by other traffic and is often ridden by more experienced riders where as any newbie gets on a scooter. Once the surface of this subject is scratched the relationship becomes multifaceted..... But, as far as helmet wearing goes... its clear that someone who doesn’t wear a helmet believes an accident won’t happen to them...

Statements such as this is why this thread has degenerated into an argument about how many Thai’s were actually wearing masks before Covid-19... when people make sweeping generalisations such as ’no one wore masks....’ or something similar... A minority of Thai’s have been wearing masks for decades against pollution, we would see some pedestrians or motorcyclists around wearing a mask... but certainly not the majority, not even close. The reason the majority people are now still wearing masks in Thailand is simply because of social conformity. There may be some who continue to choose to do so because of air-polution, but the vast majority continue to wear a mask simply because its ’still the done thing’. In other countries such as Japan, most wear masks for hygiene reasons out of social responsibility, i.e. whoever anyone has a cold, even minor, they’d wear a mask. Additionally, it was never uncommon to see Japanese wearing masks on flights as a form of protection. Tokyo is an incredibly clean city, air pollution is very low - this is not the reason some wear masks. In China, Yes, Air-polution is a significant reason people would wear masks.

Agreed... So.. how many hospitals and hotels are also using this cheaper material ??? (this is like Grenfell disaster - poorer cheaper materials and somewhere someone made the choice to go cheap) And really, in any industry, when the ‘lowest bidder’ wins, who is going to go for the more expensive option when it impacts the bottom line unless the decision maker themselves are potentially in the firing line if something later goes wrong ? So... Is Thailand now going to inspect all public places to make sure they are not using similar flammable material ??.... and then force retrofit on those which are not ???.... .... Of course, not silly question.... But, there will be a lot of announcements !!!

....otherwise known as the ‘involves a bit of effort’ basket !!!!

Lol. New to Thailand? Thai do whatever they want and let you think they did whatever you want to think they did. "Did you do it?" Yes. "But it's not done." No time yet. "You just said it was done." Correct. "So, which is it?" Already told you (bawk laeo). No Thai was ever afraid of wearing or not wearing a mask. Unlike some who seem terrified of masks. This is part of the enigma.... I think it can be agreed without the pathetic tit for tat when using ‘all or no-one’.... few wore masks before Covid, many do after Covid.... Why ???.... Are they doing what they are told ??? IF so, why don’t they all do what they are told and wear a helmet ??? It seems each issue is dealt with differently here... Mask wearing, everyone does, so everyone does - its almost a self-perpetuating level of conformity. As far as helmet wearing.. .many don’t because many don’t... thats also self perpetuating conformity. In main built up areas more people wear helmets (i.e. Silom, Sukhumvit etc) but outside those areas helmet wear drops way off... but mask wearing doesn’t.... An enigma indeed...

You went out on a limb alright... .... The ‘you obviously don’t live here’ type of response from the same un-orignal ‘if you don’t like it...’ response.... There is nothing in any of TR’s comments which highlight a lack of familiarity with living in Thailand... your comment is just an unintelligent attempt at ‘point scoring’.... Debate the debate instead of attacking the person to attempt to score a point...

Bangkok actually has a very good flood defence system in place. It is well protected against floods from ‘outside of the city’... The issue is of course, money and litter... the equipment needs maintenance, drains clog up with litter. But there is a greater facet at play - The actually amount of water falling within Bangkok in a very short period of time. The average annual rain fall of Amsterdam is 850mm in a year. Bangkok received 132mm in one night (22-July) - drainage is completely different undertaking, the amount of water is almost an impossibility to handle when the city is on or slightly below sea level. Combined with a high tide, drainage to where ???? KL has an amazing scheme - The Smart Tunnel (Strom Management and Road Tunnel) which is closed in periods of high storm flow and the tunnel is used to take excess water before it is later pumped out once rains and storm run-off subside. So... no, don’t ask the dutch.. Ask the Malaysians, they are next door, they have experience in dealing with volume of water which is not encountered Europe.

This username answering this question...

The issue remains.... endemic corruption... Any inspector can be paid off. Until there is a complete cultural shift towards a greater acceptable for the need for proactive safety and making owners fully accountable, there will not be any improvement, there will be no change. As always, these announcements are simply knee-jerk reactions... proactiveness is not a thing in Thailand, proactiveness is considered as people making trouble. Just look at pedestrian crossings... 7 months ago a Dr was killed crossing a pedestrian crossing. There was huge media attention (if you’re not familiar with this story you’ve been hiding under a rock).... there were announcements, lots of talk, lots of criticisms, crossings were moved, crossings were painted... a couple of pedestrian bridges were built.... ..... And now ???.... nothing, cross the road and its the same as it ever was, drivers do not want to stop at a pedestrian crossing to allow a pedestrian to cross.

Getting upset on a forum about an automatic car... What a child.. ???? I’d respond to content of your post, steep hills etc... but I really have no interest in entering a discussion with a fool...

Fair point... but its hardly terrain an automatic is unable to handle, particularly as all automatics can be ‘locked in gear’... Thus: IF the Op was asking for a 4x4 which may better to drive such hills in the wet etc, then that would be understandable. But, the Op is simply asking for Manual over an Auto.... terrain was not mentioned... its just a simple preference... An Auto or Manual makes no difference in Samui... Its not as if he’s going off-roading or racing...

And in a ‘tit for tat’ response South Koreans who are frequent and repeat visitors face a hard time at Immigration when entering Thailand..... ... this has been going on for years... South Korea deporting Thai’s suspected of illegal work. Thailand deporting (or refusing entry) to South Koreans suspected of illegally working as tour guides and within the tourist industry.

Maybe a valid point..... I’ve noticed recently that I have a tighter chest, then when I’m away from Bangkok that’s noticeably less.... The difference is subtle enough not to really notice until I think about the effects... ..Thus, I may actually start wearing a mask on my motorcycle... I hate them as they make my face shield steam up... but perhaps there is a better way around that.

You could have wrote that far more efficiently... “give me a farm girl any day” !!!