Tod Daniels

I believe the US Embassy will be open Monday as it is not a government holiday to my knowledge. It will be closed on the 5th however.

You’re correct; “lopburi3”; here’s the blurb off the ACS Bangkok website’

The American Citizen Services Unit at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok will be closed for staff in-service training on April 28 and 29. Only emergency services will be available on those days. Normal operations will resume on May 2.

To the O/P; sorry if I made the water more murky.

It’s my personal experience at Changwattana, after accompanying more ‘acquaintances’ that I can even remember, who were attempting to do the exact same thing you’re outlining that (and please remember; this is ONLY what I've seen IN Bangkok!);

Sometimes they issue BOTH the conversion to a single entry, 90 day, Non-Immigrant, Type-O visa AND the yearly extension of stay base on retirement at the same time (giving the person actually a year and three months here before the next renewal).

BUT THEN AGAIN:

Sometimes they issue ONLY the single entry, 90 day, Non-Immigrant, Type-O visa AND make the person come back after they’ve burned up about 60 days of the time on that visa. Then they'll issue the yearly extension of stay based on retirement.

Sadly, I have personally seen it go BOTH ways with NO rhyme or reason. The applicants ALL submitted the exact same documentation to the exact SAME Thai Immigrations officer (the one I usually deal with all the time when I go there).

When I questioned her about why she did it one way sometimes and the other way other times; she told me in Thai, and this is almost a word for word translation; “It depends on how I feel about the applicant.” That would lead me to believe there is a GREAT deal of leeway given to the individual officers to make what ever call on it they want to.

What I AM sure about is; your friend could show up without an appointment at ACS in Bangkok and get the letter. Now can they do that in Chiang Mai, dunno, sorry.

While slightly off-topic;

Personally, I don't see why a person wouldn't wanna study the Thai language. ..

I'm far from the “sharpest tool” in the proverbial “shed”, but if I can learn to speak, read, and write Thai, ANYONE can do it too.

The up-side to studying the Thai language IS; unless I'm sorely mistaken, (at last count) there's about 65+ million native Thai speakers here. Practicing your Thai language skills isn't all that hard to do.

Be that as it may and now back ON-topic:

I’m sure there are "private schools" scattered thru-out the glorious "Land 'O Thais" which offer ED visas for studying almost ANY religion that has a church, (or what ever they call the place where they congregate) like; Buddhism, Christianity-ism, Catholic-ism, Mormon-ism, Jehovah-Witness-ism, Seventh-day Adventist-ism, etc. You can also study Muay-Thai, Scuba-diving, cooking Thai food, nearly EVERY foreign language spoken in the world, plus a few other miscellaneous subjects too.

The ED visa category seems to be a catch all kinda thingy based coincidentally around education <- I know go figure huh?

As long as a school is approved by the MOE; they can issue paperwork for an ED visa and subsequent extensions of stay based on study.

Sorry, I dunno what's offered in Pattaya, my experience is ONLY with the Bangkok Metropolitan area.

Good Luck, let us know what you end up studying.

I’m sure you’ll find something which piques your interest.

I don't know if it is the same now but a worried friend of mine was married in a Wat some years ago and was not issued with any documentation, he asked at the time and was told it was the norm. How is he supposed to send documentation that is not issued?

While a little off topic, I'll take a stab at it anyway;

Do you know if he did this here in Thailand?

Unfortunately you can't "get married" in a Thai temple here (monks can't marry people) so he might not actually BE married. Now depending on his current situation that could be good or bad, lol.

You also can't "get married" at your Thai wife's family's house during the big shin-dig which foreigners sometimes confuse with a real marriage, (even IF there are monks there too!) That's JUST the wedding PARTY.

You get "legally married" (in Thailand anyway) by going to the local Amphur with your Thai wife and registering the marriage. I think in Bangkok it costs 20baht at Bang-Rak (where a LOT of people get married as that Amphur is the district of love ).

The foreigner would need a "freedom to marry" document from his Embassy, have it translated into Thai and stamped by the MFA that it's a valid translation too.

If he's living in Thialand and has been here some years, what visa has he been staying here on?

Thanx "a51mas", that's good to know!!

While OFF TOPIC:

If that's the case I think it's like the word I've heard younger Thais say กุ๊กกิ๊ก.

Thai-language dot com gives the meaning of the word กุ๊กกิ๊ก as "to inconspicuously coo and woo each other".

However, the Thais I spoke with about this told me the first word กุ๊ก has NO meaning. The second word กิ๊ก isn't the standard meaning of a 'casual sex partner' but actually more like the second meaning for the word in thai-language dot com's site, like the sound of two things 'bumping'. I've also seen it written in books and heard it spoken as กุ๊กกิ๊กกัน too.

Sometimes when a person who normally sits with us is noticeably absent from the group, I'd ask where he was. The Thais would "mime" by interlocking their fingers and bumping the heels of their palms together while saying; เค้าไป กุ๊กกิ๊ก-กุ๊กกิ๊ก-กุ๊กกิ๊ก, making that 'bumping sound' which is also very similar to ตับ-ตับ-ตับ-ตับ too.

The big difference is that it was possible to get a non O from Hull by post for anyone in Europe...

Birmingham accepts postal visa request only from UK and to UK.

Are you sure? Hull website has always been saying that in order to get visa you have to be/apply from UK/Ireland..Practice was different though..

Has anyone checked Birmingham if they accept postal applications from another EU country ?

This topic came up last year when Hull was still handing out year long Non-O's like there was no tomorrow.

I sent an email to Hull saying I was from a "neighboring EU country" and wanted a Non-O from them.

They replied it was fine to do that, as long as I allowed more time in the post to/from.

Sadly, now that they've tightened up, I don't think it makes a bit of difference if they DID accept people from EU countries before or not.

I wonder if Birmingham will or not? No matter what their website says, I'll look up their link and send 'em the same email like I sent Hull saying I am from a 'neighboring EU country' and what documentation do I need to secure a year-long, multi-entry Non-Immigrant Type-O visa from them.

Not that I even need a visa, I'm just nosy is all. ...

EDIT: Uhh-Ohh, just went to the Royal Thai Consulate of Birmingham's website and didn't SEE an email addy . Anyone know it?

It's good to see that K/L is still quite 'user friendly' as far as year long multi-entry Non-Immigrant Type-O visas based on marriage to a Thai national.

Some other places sure aren't as accommodating that's for sure.

Glad it worked out!

Good report;

Vientiane (and really about ANY Thai Embassy/Consulate in S/E Asia) isn't all that tough on issuing ED visas. It was where I got mine 3+ years ago, before I ‘retired’, lol. As long as you have the documents from your school and the MOE stuff the school gets on your behalf they seem to fly thru pretty smoothly.

They do only issue single entry ED visas for attending a private Thai language school; so the lady at the counter in Vientiane was correct. You can't get a multi-entry based on the study you're undertaking.

I've only known a handful of foreigners able to get a work permit while on an ED visa and NONE of them were attending a private Thai language school! Those people were attending a real university here in Thailand for a degreed program. They ONLY got work permits issued as part of their internship dealy in their field of study.

Although I highly doubt you'll be successful in attempting to secure a W/P on an ED visa for attending a private Thai language school; IF some way you can, do post back and let us know. ..

While the earliest appointment for ACS in Bangkok when you look online, may indeed be May 4th; if he showed up on the 2nd or 3rd without an appointment he wouldn't have a problem. ACS just processes people who walk in via a numbered queue system.

No matter what the website says; a LOT of people routinely show up there with no appointment booked! I was there last week with an American who had no appointment and he was in/out in about 30 minutes!

Now depending on the volume of people there he might hafta sit a bit, but he'll definitely get his 'verification of income' letter that day, from the ACS (American Citizens Services) at the US Embassy in Bangkok.

I think it'd be worth getting the US letter as fast as he can, AND then hitting C/M Immigrations the first week in May say just before or just after Coronation Day (the 5th).

This would buy him time should they require 'additional documentation' for anything.

Different Thai Immigration offices (and even different officers IN those offices) can be quite persnickety on what they want.

Right now he's looking at a 'two step process', getting a 90 day Non-Immigrant Type-O Visa and then applying for a year long extension of stay based on retirement.

Some Thai Immigrations offices do them both at the same time while you're there, other offices will issue you the 90 day Non-Immigrant Type-O Visa and make you come back when you have about a month left on it to then apply for the year long extension of stay.

If they do the second way I outlined, he'll most likely need ANOTHER verification letter from ACS; as Immigrations keeps the original one.

That’s the best I can do, but I’m SURE he can just show up at the US Embassy here in Bangkok without an appointment and get the letter next week any day they’re open.

P/S: One last thing, as he's NEVER applied for a Non-O or a yearly extension of stay, (although I could be wrong on this ) I think he could go to Changwattana, right after he got the letter from the US Embassy and do it there. It might even be easier than Chiang Mai Immigrations.

It would appear the Korean Version I posted uses different lyrics than the original song;

I think these are the 'real' lyrics;

ไปเที่ยวกันไหม จะไปก็รีบไป

ไปกับพี่แล้วสบาย เดี๋ยวพี่พาไปกินตับ

ตัวพี่ชอบกินตับหวาน ส่วนตัวน้องนั้นชอบทานตำไทย

ตำมั่ว ตำซั่ว ตำแตง จะมัวออกแรง นั่งตำทำไม

ตับหวานน้องสนใจไหม ตับหวานน้องสนใจไหม

ตับหมูตับไก่อยากให้น้องกินตับ ตับตับ ตับตับ ตับตับ ตับตับ

ตัวพี่ชอบตับกินเด็ก เฮ้ย! พี่ชอบให้เด็กกินตับ เฮ้ย!

กินตับมาตั้งแต่เด็ก ให้แร่ธาตุเหล็กน้องคงเข้าใจ

ของหวาน ของมัน ของคาว ไม่เอ้าไม่เอา พี่สะบัดก้นใส่

ถ้าเป็นตับล่ะพี่ยอมตาย ถ้าเป็นตับล่ะพี่ยอมตาย

ก่อนนอนครั้งใดต้องได้กินตับ ตับตับ ตับตับ ตับตับ ตับตับ

ไปเที่ยวกันไหม จะไปก็รีบไป ไปกับพี่แล้วสบาย เดี๋ยวพี่พาไปกินตับๆ ๆๆ

ตับตับ ตับตับ ตับตับ ตับตับตับ ตับตับ ตับตับ ตับตับตับตับ ตับตับตับตับตับ!

ไม่ทานไม่ลองไม่รู้ตับไก่ตับหมูน้องจะติดใจจจจจจจ

ไม่ต้องเหนื่อยเพราะพี่ทำให้ ฝีมือผู้ชายไม่ตามกระแส

รับรองอร่อยแน่ๆ รับรองอร่อยแน่ๆ ขนาดตุ๊กแกยังต้องกินตับ!

อาหารที่มีประโยชน์และไม่มีโทษประโยชน์นับพัน

กินได้ทุกวี่ทุกวันขอให้บอกกันตับหวานจัดไป

คนอื่นขอกินไม่ให้ให้น้องทรามวัยกินได้คนเดียวว

-โอ้ย อร่อยจริงโว้ยยย อยากกินตับ-

ไปเที่ยวกันไหม..ไปเที่ยวกันไหม

เดี๋ยวพี่พาไปกินตับ!

There are enough videos on YouTube of this song by searching "กินตับ". One was from a comedy show which seemed to indicate the term carried some homosexual connotations, but it could be just that show!

Personally I like the Korean version WAY better , but can't find the lyrics to it. As it's not a "karaoke version" I can't type 'em off the screen either

I'd also like to know if it does carry any 'gay' connotation as I'd hate to say in mixed company and have it mean I was "pitching for the other team", lol

I seem to be running into more and more students who've enrolled in a private Thai language school AND received year long, multi-entry, Non-Immigrant Type ED visas in their country BEFORE coming here.

When I was at another private Thai language school yesterday, I met a Canadian guy who’d done this too. (FWIW: Yesterday,I was at 3 different Thai schools and an English language school for Thais too ).

Even though the Canadian guy paid for just 6 months of study at the school he enrolled in; he received a year long visa from a Thai Embassy/Consulate in Canada. Why did he get that? He said it was because that was what he ASKED for when he sent in the paperwork from the school/MOE, his application and the fee for a visa to the Thai Embassy!!

This seems to be a far better way to go IF you can do it. The 'traditional way' is quite labor intensive ;

• enrolling in a school after you're here
  
• traveling to a neighboring countries Thai Embassy or Consulate
  
• receiving a single entry 90 day ED visa
  
• going to Immigrations every 90 days to secure additional extensions of stay

PLUS, you may need to leave so add in the cost of a re-entry permit (which is only good for the current extension of stay), not to mention the 90 day reporting you hafta do too.

Holding a year long, multi entry, Non-Immigrant Type ED visa and border running every 90 days would allow a student to stay here nearly 15 months (if they 'ran-4-the-border' just before their visa's expiration date).

They can come and go from Thailand as much as they please; each time they re-enter they receive a 90 day permission to stay stamp and they don’t hafta report either. Financially, it’s a wash to do border runs or extensions of stay. From Bangkok the price currently runs about 2K baht by the major companies doing visa runs. Extensions of stay are 1900 baht plus travel expenses to and from Thai Immigrations at Changwattana.

Anyway, it seems this could be good viable option for people looking to stay here a year. Especially given the 'tightening up' of the issuing of Non-O visas by various Thai Embassys/Consulates. ..

You don't mention your nationality and that would sorta help people figure out if you’re from any of the countries which DO get a 'real' “visa-on-arrival” or if you just arrived by air and got what's called a "30-day-visa-exempt" stamp.

Concerning your situation, how you actually entered doesn't even matter really, as your objective is to stay here another 90 days, .

As you mentioned, you have a 'cheap ticket' booked to Cambodia already. Why not go to the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh and get a single entry Tourist Visa? That would be good for 60 days in Thailand and you can extend that stay inside the country at any Thai Immigrations office for an additional 30 days. This would give you the 3 months you're wantin' to be here.

True you'd lose what ever days you had left on the original 30 days you were given when you first entered Thailand, but still you'd get almost 90 days here when you returned from Cambodia.

Good Luck. ..

P/S: You could also just stay here for 30 days and when you've got a few days left go to Phnom Penh to get a single entry tourist visa.

That'd save you some money and still give you 90 days. 30 from when you first came in and 60 on the tourist visa. Plus you could still get a 30 day extension IF you decided to stay longer. So doing it that way you could stay almost FOUR months!

I asked some Thai 'kids' (under 25) who sit and drink in front of my apartment and they told me it's slang for "Are you horny?".

They said the phrase you were asked หิวตับมั้ย is a word play on a Thai song called appropriately enough; กินตับ.

Even though the dancers are all Korean; here’s the best version of the song I could find which conveyed the meaning of chant; ตับ-ตับ-ตับ-ตับ:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVfkP1FQKHc

Anyway,that's the closest I can come to findin' the real meaning for you.

Hope it didn't muddy the water. .. .

As an aside to this thread; I was at a well known private Thai language school last nite ‘observing’ some classes (like I often do ).

A brand new student had just arrived from Germany to start school. In our conversation during break; he told me he'd paid his tuition and had the documents sent to him from the school and the MOE asking that an ED visa be issued. He showed me his passport and he received a year long, multi-entry, Non-Immigrant, Type ED visa too!!

It would seem enrolling in a private Thai language school prior to coming here and securing your ED visa in your home country can sometimes yield better results than tryin' to do it once you're here in the neighboring S/E Asian countries Thai Embassies/Consulates.

Face it the worst you’ll get by applying in your home country is the single entry ED visa which people receive nearly 99.99% of the time in S/E Asia, anyway . You’re certainly out nothing by askin' for a year long multi entry ED visa!

I imagine it'll be a fairly straightforward process seeing as you'll be showing up at Thai Immigrations "VERY" pregnant! I'd ask your doctor if he'll just put in 90 days as the amount of time you're requesting; as that's the max you can get for each extension based on inability to travel due to medical conditions. It’s totally up to the Immigrations officer how long they’ll give you an extension for, but you’re out nothing by tryin for the maximum time allowed.

You DO hafta do this BEFORE you start overstaying. You can't just show up at Immigrations after the fact with the letter and think you're gonna skate without paying for overstaying, as that plan of action doesn't seem to work out all that well.

While at Changwattana the other day accompanying an acquaintance who was sorting out an overstay (for other reasons); The person immediately ahead of us in the queue was trying to get out of paying their overstay fines by providing a letter from the doctor and hospital stating they were unable to travel out of the country due to medical reasons when their visa expired. They argued quite unsuccessfully that was the reason they were on overstay. The Immigrations Officer countered right back with; IF you knew you were going to be unable to travel BEFORE you went into the hospital, why didn't you come here FIRST and get and extension of stay??" The person ended up paying for a 20 day overstay, but they sure didn’t seem all that happy when they left.

A coupla months ago I accompanied an 'acquaintance' who was here getting some EXTREME dental work done at a well known hospital in Bangkok (and a face lift too !). They received a 90 day extension of stay based on their "inability to travel" during their procedures without a hiccup or hitch in the process.

I doubt you'd hafta see the doc at the Immigrations Office; as the officer handling your extension certainly can’t help but notice you're about to 'pop'.

It's true MOST hospitals (especially well known ones which cater to foreigners) have a liaison office which deals with Thai Immigrations for situations like this on a daily basis. Some hospitals do such a high volume of this type of extension that Thai Immigrations sends an officer to the hospital to deal with it!

Good luck,

(Sorry for the long post, hope it helped some. ..)

There is certainly no shortage of English language programs taught by foreign nationals in the greater Bangkok area. Finding one which has a teaching staff of Thai nationals isn't that hard either. The problem is weeding out the ones which provide quality English language learning from the ones that don't and that can be quite hit-or-miss.

A very good school that immediately comes to mind is one I know which has teachers who are Thai nationals who speak fluent English (and Thai of course ), AND which also has native English speaking foreigners who speak fluent Thai too! (I mean how cool is that?) That way they can explain the “why” about the English language IN Thai so a student understands better how the English language goes together and how it differs from Thai.

The school I’m thinking of is called the “Chris English School”.

It’s founded by a half Thai half British guy named Christopher Wright. His catch phrase for the school is “Learn English the Wright way” <- you gotta admit, that IS pretty catchy huh?

He’s actually known to almost every Thai as “Chris Delivery”. He even has a television show (by the same name) on every Friday nite which teaches English to Thais using skits with famous Thai actors and singers.

He’s one of the most enthusiastic energetic and outgoing private language school owners I’ve ever met. He sincerely wants Thai people to learn English and has really put a lot of time into coming up with ways that English will ‘click and stick’ for Thais learning it

His school is located in the (newly rebuilt) Central World Plaza, so it’s easy to get there from the Sky Train. They offer a WIDE variety of English programs depending on the level of English and the objectives a student has.

I know a few Thais who’ve attended it. They say it’s great, really interactive and really interesting and their English skills went up markedly!

Face it learning a foreign language is hard enough on a person, (I can attest to that in my endeavor to learn the Thai language ). Any place which makes the learning interesting and where the language actually sinks in is a plus!

Here’s their website;

Chris English School

Good Luck. ..

Oh BTW: I’m NOT affiliated with ANY private Thai or English language school in Thailand. .. I just offer out what I’ve found thru poking around at the various schools.

“sbk” you are right.

I stand corrected and I totally understand how my post may not have had the relevance to someone in Chiang Mai when my experience is only from their Bangkok branch.

SOOOO, being the enquiring mind that I am (read, a nosy person ); I called the PRO Language branch in Chiang Mai and spoke to the director of the school just now. They said they use the exact same course materials and teaching methodology that they use at their main school in Bangkok.

As I happen to have a few ‘borrowed’ copies of several levels of PRO Language’s textbooks; I asked him the titles specifically and he said they were the same titles.

I hope it sheds a little more light on what they offer up there and lends at least some credence to my O/P.

From now on I promise to do my 'homework', before I post about schools I haven't personally visited. Thanx

Great news for the student!

I’ve probably met 10 or 15 students who’ve enrolled in various private Thai Language schools here in Bangkok while they were still in the US, and Canada..

The schools emailed / faxed the support documentation from both the school and MOE to the students so they could secure their visa prior to comin’ here.

Each of those students applied for and received a year long multi-entry Non-Immigrant Type ED visas. If I remember correctly, I even saw one issued from Hull for a UK guy (but it was over a year ago, so I’m not quite sure).

I think the consulates and/or embassy’s in UK, EU, the US or Canada have a LOT more latitude on what they’re gonna issue a student as far as a non-ED visa.

S/E Asia is pretty tight and most students ONLY get a single entry for attending a private Thai language school when they apply in neighboring countries.

Converting the Danish Krone into Thai baht shows that visa cost the student about 5300 baht or about $175 USD.

That’s FAR cheaper than getting a single entry ED in a neighboring country for 2000baht and then doing extensions of stay at 1900 baht a pop for the rest of the year. Plus the student has unlimited re-entries too!

Again, really great news!

Kudos to both the school and the student for going that route!

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you this BREAKING NEWS BULLETIN:

I just walked past the White Lioness on the way back to my apartment this morning.

The Thai workers there told me TODAY is the ‘grand opening!!

Might be worth a swing by to check it out, then again, depending on your personal penchants, it might not.

FWIW: they really DID sink a HUGE “pile ‘o baht” into the build out, renovations. It sure is a looker of a club, errr, go-go bar, errr, what ever it actually is.

Let’s just leave it at IT LOOKS REALLY NICE!!.

FWIW: I’d also like to recommend to anyone interested in learning the Thai language to head over to Language Express and at least check ‘em out.

Heck why not take a free lesson or three. I mean free means FREE, right?

You’re only investing your time and who knows you might learn some Thai too.

Really, IMHO; it’s a good school, with good materials, at an easy to get to location in Bangkok. You can't miss it looking at the south side of Sukhumvit Road from the Ploen Chit BTS station, as Language Express takes up the ENTIRE frontage on the ground floor of Mahatun Plaza.

As a previous poster mentioned; there’s a coffee shop inside the school with plenty of (foreigner sized) tables ‘n chairs in the student lounge area to kick back and chat with other Thai language learners before and after class.

Really, seeing as they’re doing the free offer again, I might even see if I can take ‘em up on it (again) I really enjoyed it the first time around .

I'd say; "Call NOW !! Operators are standing by to take your calls !!", but in reality the people that answer the phone sit; so that's not an appropriate catch phrase, lol.

You know I hadn't really had the chance to see this in action until the other nite on someone's laptop.

While it ain't the slickest set of programs out there; it wasn't designed to be a one click open everything up type of dealy. I think this was by choice to prevent someone from just ripping it and offering it on a free download site.

Once you get everything you need open for your lesson; I hafta say it runs pretty darned good. The developer invested a LOT of time into it, and from reports on T/V is pretty good about getting back to people and resolving problems/complaints.

Unfortunately, the biggest problem with ANY 'self-study' material usually lies with the student's motivation ; very rarely is it directly related to the material being used .

Now is it worth what they sell it for? I dunno as I worked thru a coupla lessons the other nite.

The thing that threw me early on was the near complete absence of personal pronoun usage when speaking in the first person! It is understood by every Thai present that the speaker is making the statement them self so no pronoun is used as its unstated in spoken Thai. I've found the use of nicknames when speaking in the first person far more common than using personal pronouns, but I've also heard ตัวเอง and even just เอง too.

Thankfully, going on six years here and I've NEVER EVER had a Thai point their finger at me (and would certainly ask 'em in Thai why they would do such a rude thing), if they did.

Now of course it goes without saying, MANY times I have heard Thai people use ultra colloquial personal pronouns ฉัน (even spoken by male speakers), เธอ, กู, มึง, and even the occasional มัน too. However this is usually observed among a very tight-knit social circle of close friends and NOT used if "outsiders" are present.

Nor have I heard, when sitting with my Thai close friends, people referring to themselves or others as "this" and "that". I'm not saying it doesn't happen, only that I've NEVER heard it.

If you encounter people you're not familiar with speaking to you in this manner; well, you're clearly runnin with different herd 'o Thais than I typically encounter.

As has been mentioned; PRO Language has a branch in Chiang Mai. I haven't been to that specific location but I HAVE been to the one in Bangkok.

They have a good program with MANY levels and choices depending on what you're wanting; be it strictly conversational Thai or speaking, learning to read and write too.

A coupla weeks ago I just sat about 4 hours of class time in various levels at their TImes Square location here in Bangkok. They teach good high frequency vocab, "phrozen-phrasez" (things you say all the time), and word substitution drills to learn sentence constructs.

If Chiang Mai is run anything like their Bangkok branch, I think you'd be fine there.

Here's their website;

PRO Language

Payap University is a "real university" and as such their course can't really be compared to the private Thai language sector. That's like comparing apples to oranges. I'm not saying the private Thai language sector isn't good because there are certainly good schools out there, only that they ain't "real universities" and usually cater to a different demographic.

Although I've never attended Payap, reading reports from people who have, it looks like a high quality very intensive course.

Here's their website too;

Payap University Intensive Thai Program

While OFF-TOPIC:

I thought I'd at least back up my claim as far as the talent (or lack thereof) by showcasing บลูเบอร์รี่ อาร์ สยาม and their "hit song" ชิมิ ชิมิ;

Here it is for your viewing pleasure;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsYtCzuPFOg

They would also appear to fall somewhere into the same ส.ต.ง. demographic. .. I think the 'out-takes' at the end of the video are the best part of the whole thing!!

I've sent more people than I even remember to both the service asked about by the O/P

Claudio - Thai Visa Service

and to this one too;

Phillip - Quick Thai Visa Run

I've never had someone call me back and tell me either service didn't meet their expectations. Both are run very professionally.

I've also never heard of their mini-vans breaking down halfway to the border and waiting in the middle of nowhere Thailand for another one to 'rescue' you, like some companies.

Its a lower class colloquialism for isn't it... Or in London Speak "innit".......

I really don't think you could shoe-horn ใช่ป่ะ into a "lower class colloquialism" by any wild stretch of the imagination. ..

By its very definition "colloquial" means: "used in or characteristic of familiar and informal conversation". This would seem to negate ANY distinction based simply on class. I believe it is much more a "contextual" thing based on the degree of familiarity the party's engaged in conversation have with one another.

I've met many hi-so Thai Uni-gurls who were all too full of themselves as far as where they stood "class wise". They routinely use ชิล ๆ, ใช่ป่ะ and ชิมิ in speaking with their friends.

FWIW:

ชิล ๆ is used a LOT by mindless Thai Dara’s in television interviews here to show they can “sa-peak inter”. These girls usually fall into the ส.ต.ง. category. That’s สวยแต่โง่ = beautiful but stupid!

ชิมิ is the morphing of ใช่ไหม made insanely popular by a group of less than marginally talented thai-gurls called; บลูเบอร์รี่ อาร์ สยาม (Blueberry Are Siam") .

I'd hafta say [/u]NOPE[/u] it’s definitely NOT a class thing or an educational thing, BUT a term used in a particular circle of acquaintances with which the speakers are on very familiar terms.

And thus ends my dissertation . I will vacate the soapbox now for the next respondent!