Tod Daniels

I totally concur with the previous post(s). ..

Normally the paperwork you are issued (especially from a private thai language school) by the Ministry of Education is addressed to the Thai Embassy or Consulate, (of which there are none inside thailand), and NOT like the paperwork you receive when you enroll for continuing education in a real university which is addressed to Thai Immigrations (which is ONLY inside thailand).

I've tried several times to convert both 60 day Tourist Visas, and Non-Immigrant visas into ED visas at both Changwattana and at Jomtien for people to attend a private thai language school, but no dice. Each time the acquaintance was told to leave the country and secure a Single entry 90 day Non-Immigrant Type ED visa from a thai embassy.

In fact I just looked over the files I have of scanned paperwork from former acquaintances regarding ED visas and ALL of the Ministry of Education paperwork from each school (about 8 or 9 different private thai language schools in all) are addressed to the Thai Embassy or Consulate and not a single one is addressed to Thai Immigrations.

Hope it helps. ..

As was mentioned in a previous post when you EXIT thailand the 90 day calendar for reporting stops. That's probably why Immigrations at the airport took the paper out.

When you ENTER thailand the 90 calendar for reporting starts over again. So your NEXT 90 day reporting will be 89 days from the day you returned to thailand (entering counts as a full day). What day were you stamped back into thailand? That's the day you start counting the 90 days from. It has NOTHING to do with your current extension of stay validity.

90 day reporting and extending your visa every 90 days are NOT tied together at all.

They run under two separate calendars.

Sorry this is long(ish);

First (and NOT to be pedantic but. .. …) I think your nomenclature needs some minor adjustments.

Do you have a Non-Immigrant Type O-A visa? One which you secured in your home country prior to coming here which is good for a stay of a year at a time? This is sometimes called a “long-stay” visa but it cannot be gotten inside thailand.

OR

(a far more likely scenario given you used the word ‘extension’ in reference to your status here and in your previous posts) did you have some other type of visa which you then used to get a yearly extension of stay based on retirement from inside thailand at thai immigrations?

IF you have a yearly extension of stay, it is my experience you will not even be able to apply for and get the receipt from the Labor Office which lets you go outside thailand and get a new Single Entry 90 Day Non-Immigrant Type-O or Type-B visa (both which allow working when coupled with a work permit). And YES like "Mario" said normally you APPLY for a work permit FIRST, get the receipt from the Labor Office showing you applied and use that to get the correct visa. Then with the correct visa in your passport they issue you the work permit.

You could certainly try it, as recently another poster related his story of getting a work permit whilst holding a Non-Immigrant Type-ED (education) visa. He still hasta go to a neighboring country's thai embassy to secure a new Non-Immigrant Type-B or Type-O visa as they wouldn’t change his visa status inside the country, but he DID get a work permit from the Labor Office on an ED visa, something which many thought was not allowed.

In fact, as I have an ‘acquaintance’ in a similar situation; I just made a quick call to Sunbelt Asia (a forum sponsor) and asked their visa division about your question.

They reiterated what I said earlier; that you’re unlikely to even be able to apply at the Labor Office holding a yearly extension of stay based on retirement, especially with the stamp in your passport which says; "retirement" (and quite possibly like the stamp in my passport directly under it which says; "employment prohibited"). They also said they didn’t think an ‘in-country’ change of visa status would work, as you currently are only on an extension of stay and in essence ‘visa-less’ even though your extension was originally tied to a valid visa.

BUT with that being said,

They went on to say you’d have abso-tively posi-lutely NO problem going to a neighboring country’s thai embassy and securing a 90 Day Single Entry No-Immigrant Type-B, or Type-O visa with the letter of intent for employment from your future employer, and THEN you could go to the Labor Office and apply for the work permit. After you get the work permit you’d go to thai immigrations and secure an extension of stay which was tied to the validity of the work permit.

It’s just back-assed-wards or outta sequence to how they normally see it done. The linchpin according to Sunbelt Asia is that you’re currently on a retirement extension of stay.

Again, sorry this was long; hope there was at least information of marginal value in it for you. ..

Good luck, and do let us know how it pans out for you.

As much as I dont care for being called what I fondly refer to as "the 'F' word" in thai ; I have resigned myself to it, and just let it slide like water off a duck's back. In fact, anymore, I don't even give it a second thought.

If I'm in an area with a heavy tourist concentration and hear it I will prick up my ears and listen quite carefully to what precedes or follows the word when I hear it, especially so if it's in reference to myself.

Now when I am up-country where foreigners are fine as frog hair, or thin as hens teeth, it becomes a non-issue and is used more like a 'category' to 'file' the various and sundry colored human beans <sic> in.

Most times, it's certainly not a meant in a denigrating tone by any wild stretch of your imagination (no matter how paranoid you might be about it!). I honestly believe the word itself is ambiguous and carries no implied meaning either pro or anti foreigner. Like I said, its just a way the thais can shoe horn similar looking foreigners into neat cubby holes based solely on appearance without spending undue time parsing out what country you happen to come from.

It's the context it's used in as well as what modifying words are used in conjunction with it that can morph the meaning into something less than a glowing reference.

I also wouldn't use a flippant answer like you suggested or any other catchy yet equally sarcastic 'put down' you may think up for that matter. It is my experience, unless you can carry on at least a semi-coherent conversation in thai; engaging the thais in any discourse about the political correctness of the word will leave you holding the short end of the stick.

You're unlikely to change the average run of the mill thai mentality when referencing white skinned foreigners here seeing as last time I checked, (which I do periodically) the odds are stacked against you about 64+ MILLION to 1.

Dont sweat the small stuff. My personal advice is; deal with it or carry it to your grave.

Last month on one of my many sojourns to Changwattana I had 7 different passports from acquaintances which needed their 90 day reporting paperwork turned in (none of them mine! ). Of the 7, 5 were late between 10 and 30 days .

All I usually do is include the 2000baht fine inside each passport which is late for reporting along with the completed TM.-47.

As the 90 day reporting doesn’t hafta be done in person, I've never had a problem late reporting for any acquaintances, either on time or late.

FWIW: the runner which Bumrungrad Hospital was out there too and he had a veritable stack o’ passports to turn in for 90 day reporting. I also noted some in his stack with 2000baht tucked inside the passports, evidently for late reporting as well.

Again this is ONLY my experience out at Thai Immigrations in Changwattana, and if you are compelled to use another immigrations office your mileage may indeed vary.

Can't you just go thru Thai Immigrations here with your US passport and stamp out, then enter China on your thai passport which has the visa?

I know all too many half thai/ half US people who fly outta the US with their US passport and enter thailand on their thai one, and just do the opposite when they leave, so it hasta work.

When you check in at your airline counter show your thai passport as it's got the Chinese Visa in it. When you go thru the thai immigrations check point stamp out in the US passport. You said you've got a year extension; hopefully you've got a re-entry permit too to keep your extension of stay alive when you leave.

Maybe I'm out in left field on this but I think it is a viable solution, and believe it’s done routinely. I doubt thai immigrations would even have half a clue about this and any answer you’d get might or might not be the actual answer.

While I am NOT advocating this , as I think it takes some creative license with the letter of the law, another option would be to just leave your US passport here, and use your thai one only. After all you’re thai, and going to China as a thai on a thai passport. In this instance, who really cares if you also hold a US one? For all practical purposes your US passport would show you never left thailand, as all the stamps would be in your thai passport. Again, and for the record I am NOT advocating this route only offer it out as a maybe type of option. I think it's more a maybe NOT than a maybe so one.

I believe you could go to Vientiane Lao PDR, and quite easily secure a single entry Non-Immigrant Type B visa with the appropriate paperwork (which you seem to already possess). Then when you've got about a month left on it, go to your assigned immigrations office based on where you live. You say you’re in Nakhon Ratchasima (aka Korat), and they will most likely give you the balance of the year as an extension, again with the proper documentation.

If you go this route, make sure after you secure your extension of stay you purchase a re-entry permit too. If you leave the country during the rest of the year without one, it'd cancel your extension of stay and you'd hafta start over from square one again.

Although I could be wrong, I doubt seriously that you'll be able to secure a year long multi-entry Non-Immigrant Type B at any thai embassy in S/E Asia, but, as I said I could be wrong. (Of course securing that type of visa would necessitate visa runs every 90 days too, where a yearly extension of stay will not).

I'd make a quick call to Sunbelt Asia (btw, a forum sponsor), and talk to the people in their visa department. They're pretty sharp cookies there and answer visa questions for free. I've picked their brains on more than one occasion and never gotten spurious answers from them.

Their main number is; 02-642-0213, and the main office is located on the 26th floor of the Fortune Town Tower on Ratchadapisek Road by the Rama 9 MRT station.

Actually when I was out at Changwattana a few weeks ago with a group of 'acquaintances' who were extending their Non-Immigrant Type ED visas for another 90 days as they attend a private thai language school; I ran into a foreigner dressed in those orange colored thai monks robes out there also extending his ED visa.

To say I was shocked was an understatement, so much so I went up and spoke to him. He was an auzzie and looked to be in his mid 30's. He said he was studying buddhism at a well known temple (dunno the name sorry). He also said he had no problem getting a 90 day Single Entry Non-Immigrant Type ED visa in Vientiane nor any problem with immigrations extending it every 90 days. I don't know why he didn't get a years extension as I didn't ask him about it.

So yes, it is indeed possible to get an ED visa for the purpose of studying buddhism here. Now whether you'll get a years extension or hafta extend your permission of stay every 90 days, I dunno. ..

The operative phrase in the entire piece of Puea-Thai political propaganda is;

"if the opposition Puea Thai Party wins a landslide election victory and forms a one-party government.

The linchpin in who gets to run the government is the faction of MP's controlled by banned politician Newin Chidchob currently run under the Bhum-Jai-Thai Party (roughly translates as; Thai Pride Party). What ever side they back, invariably gets a majority of MP's in the lower house and with that the right to form the government via a coalition.

It is nothing but wishful thinking on Puea-Thai Party (roughly translates as For Thai Party) that they could win enough MP's as a stand alone party to form a government.

Even in the elections held after the coup TRT/PPP or what ever incarnation was in effect at that time and resulted in Samak and then Somchai being P/M, they still couldn't garner enough MP's in the lower house to run a one party government, and relied on smaller parties to make a coalition.

I totally concur this is nothing but a well choreographed piece of propaganda designed to further distance the PTP from the recent news which paints them in much less a glowing fashion than this piece of fluff.

No, of course you didn't cause any 'inconvenience'.

I sincerely applaud anyone's effort to learn this oh-so difficult language.

I was only pointing out that some of the questions may have been asked previously on this forum, or a quick perusal of either thai-language or thai2english might yield the answers you seek.

I certainly don't want to dissuade you from posting or scare you off the forum. I find the answers from the more learned posters on this forum to your queries of interest as well.

Keep at it, KEEP posting, and DON'T let anyone piss on your parade (especially me!! ).

Sorry this is long. .. Deal with it. And NO this is not a slag fest about thai tradesmen, as I have morphed into a kinder gentler Tod than my earlier posting penchants, although my penchant for bloviation has not diminished.

In some of my endeavors here in the glorious "Land 'O Thais" I have had the occasion to use thai tradesmen in electrical, welding & building/construction.

The only one which exceeded my expectations was the welding one; where some tricky TIG (heli-arc) welding was required on aluminum. This thai welder knew his stuff and had excellent equipment. Then again maybe that's because I went to vocational school in the US as a kid and took every sort of welding there was at the time, so the thai welder and I hit it off almost immediately.

In the other trades; it became clear almost from the start, that unless I was there every second of every hour they worked they'd take the easy-out or short cut rather than doing it right the first time. On more than one occasion I forced them to tear out the sub-standard work they’d done that day and redo it. This is not a slam to the thai workers ability or their attitude, but more against their foreman who allowed sub-standard work to be the norm. The workers were more than happy to do it the correct way once it was pointed out that was the way it had to be done.

Finally I got so exasperated that I devoted ALL my time to supervising the work. Initially the thais were less than thrilled with a foreigner hanging around and watching their every move, and in fact were rather sulky for the first week. However, once they saw I wasn’t gonna leave, and actually knew some short cuts to what they were doing they lightened up. Some of the things I showed them, they took to heart and are probably still doing it that way. Plus the finished work came out incredible. The tile worker took pictures of the one floor I had laid in a condo which ran diagonal to the room with contrasting border tiles and now it’s the background on his business card!

Tile, wood flooring, re-wiring, re-plastering walls, hanging new ceilings & doors, trim and moldings etc, all were finished not only on time, but on the pre-agreed budget too. Like I said, this was only AFTER I started over-seeing the work every step of the way, every hour of the work day. In fact because I was there so much that the thai 'foreman' of the job wouldn't even show up any more; although he did show up at the end of the job to try to get his salary. I took his price; calculated it out by the day, deducted the MANY days he wasn't there, and paid him that amount. He was certainly less than a happy camper, but all he really did was point, yell, and drink himself into a stupor each day. In my book; if you don't work, you don't get paid.

Now did I pay more than a thai would pay for similar work? In all likelihood yes, but I don't believe it was that much more. The big question is; was the quality of work I had done to a higher standard than the normal b/s quality I see every day wandering around bangkok? That answer is; 100% YES!!. And NO I’d never ever contract with a foreign owned company for ANY job here, and I had about bids from three foreign owned ones. Actually I did steal, errr, I mean borrowed one of the foreigners tile layers; as he had his own wet saw instead of that b/s hand held grinder they use to cut tile.

3 years on living on the ground floor of a flood prone area, and the wood floors have been underwater too many times to count, yet not a single plank or parquet has warped, came loose or popped up. The tile work I had done is still pristine; although I was unable to find anything other than that b/s tile grout they sell here so I hafta re-grout the floor tiles in the bathroom every once in a while. Still the tile is firmly stuck down, none has chipped, cracked or broken out, so that's a plus.

I concur the reason the quality is so iffy is there are no vetting processes in being a tradesman here. It would appear that any Tom, Dick or Somchai can be what ever they want to be simply by possessing basic hand tools, making business cards, plastering up stickers or painting the side of their truck with their field of alleged expertise.

FWIW; I haven't really had any problem with the quality of HVAC tradesmen here as it's mostly installed by the company you buy the units from.

"ChAoS87" I know you are a 'newbie' on this forum (with only 23+ posts) ,

BUT, I hafta ask you; are you using ANY of the FREE resources available or just asking whatever question you wanna ask?

There are TONZ of free "learning thai" sites on the internet, (that will teach you b/s thai and give you the meaning of thai words)!! Use them FIRST, then ask a question.

Believe me, I am NO thai language pundit but some of the things you ask are tooo far out there to even answer.

My humble advice; Research FIRST, ask AFTER!!

That's my motto, among several..

As was pointed out to me by "DavidHouston", I misspelled the word ประเภท, although I believe the link I provided actually has the correct spelling

it should be

ประเภท - type; sort; category; kind; class; variety

It would also appear that the bulk look up I linked to doesn't work. If you go here:

http://www.thai-language.com/dict scroll down to the bulk look up and type in อย่าง ชนิด ประเภท แบบ it should work

Sorry about that. ..

This is what I gleaned from a new program (which coincidentally I won by submitting a comment about it on the poster known as desi's website "Woman Learning Thai & some men too!). It's a program put out by Benjawan Becker called English-Thai Thai English Dictionary and actually is pretty darned good, although the definitions are less informative than say either the thai-language or thai-2-english websites.

(Shameless commercial plug for desi's site is finished.. .. Please continue reading for your answer..)

It would seem these words are all used for different things. It would appear they are in the most general sense classifiers which denote a style, specification, model, or a sense of commonality in the group being discussed.

อย่าง - kind (sort, type, category)

ชนิด - kind (sort, type, category); sort (kind); species (type, kind); type (kind)

ประเพด - for kind, type sort, category

แบบ - form (structure); pattern (model); type (pattern style form)

Plugging the words into thai-language-dot-com under their bulk look up feature yielded these results;

http://www.thai-language.com/?blu=zcLo0qcgqrnUtCC7w9DgwLcg4bq6KA!!

You can click on any of the words to get more in depth meanings and example sentences of how they're each used.

Unless I'm mistaken, the current colloquial way to ask what kind of 'style' of a man or woman you like is to use a short bastardized version of the english word "specification", as in the word "spec" (สเป็ค). It is all too common in everyday thai. Please note that due to the thai penchant in using their pronunciation rules when pronouncing engrish words, it is not just a single syllable word like in engrish but more like 'sa-bpec' because the character ส carries an inherent short 'a' sound making it pronounced more like this; สะ-เป็ค

You sentence would be something like this; คุณ ชอบ ผู้ขาย สเป็ค ไหน

It's also used to talk about specifications of a wide variety of things especially in moto-cys, cars, in regards to engine, tires, tricked out stuff, etc.

Hope it helps. .. Sorry its long. ..

Just FWIW; more people than you can shake a proverbial stick at get married at Bang-Rak (บางรัก). Most every foreigner I know married to a thai in Bangkok has been married there. They're even open extended hours on Valentine's Day as they are swamped with people wanting to marry on that day!

However, most everyone I've run across here gets divorced out at Bang-Jak (บางจาก).

Might be handy to know for future reference, I dunno really. ..

The actual "document" I signed of the advise of the need to deposit 800 000 in my account for my next extension - appeared to be "a copy of a copy of a copy" - in other words - not printed - poorly copied - but in good English. It was without any official letterhead on top. I did not receive a copy of it myself.

I also question the validity of this "document". My income "verification" is ofcourse just a simple statement signed by me and verified by the US Consulate. I intentionally only declared an income large enough to satify the Thei Immigration requirement.

For next time I had intended to just supply more income verification - in case asked for.

I would be very interested in comments and other people experience - advise etc..

Did the immigration officer actually state that the next time you would need to have THB 800,000 deposited and could not no longer use your income?

It sounds to me like maybe this documents is something they have started asking everyone to sign, so that you know your cash deposit needs to be seasoned just in case you would want to use bank deposit the next time you apply. Obviously I'm just speculating here and I could be completely wrong, but it sounds unlikely that they would know about upcoming changes that has not yet been published.

Sophon

No, the Immigration Officer did not actually tell me that I had to have THB 800 000 in the Bank - but rather he gave a form to sign which stated that.

I now believe - as Lopburi suggested - that this was a mistake (or at least inefficiency) - I should not have received this form since my application was based on my monthly income.

As I stated before the form was a poorly copied form without any official letterhead.

Sorry to nest all the quotes, couldn't figure out whose were whose...

I just went out to Changwattana and helped with an extension of stay based on retirement last week for yet another acquaintance. They still have these three documents that you sign at the end but can't get anywhere except from the officer at the desk where you do your extension. (Meaning the Information Counter out front when you first enter the Immigrations doesn't have copies).

They are copies of copies of copies. Any time an acquaintance has used the income verification route (or letter of sufficient funds from their country's embassy) the Immigrations officer has had me write the engrish words; "OR PENSION" on the one which I have titled "Financial Notification", and yes it is also the one with NO official letterhead or thai on the entire page, unlike the other two which are labeled in thai on the top right corner.

FWIW: Here’s the three documents, which I have on file. .. Sorry they're PDF format. AND they may or may NOT work anywhere but at Changwattana in Bangkok.

Financial Notification.pdf

Statement.pdf

Terms.pdf

Will people stop at nothing to boost their post count?

Actually in looking in my online slang dictionary; I think in the title of this thread, the O/P might have possibly meant "peeps", as in somewhat antiquated slang for 'people'.

Then again he could have meant "peps"; dunno the meaning of that one though.

I see I must print an addendum to my earlier post. (Actually I thought to myself when I first posted, if anyone was gonna comment on this, it would be the poster known as "kriswillems"). In reality, I do know several people who attended every level of a Union based thai language school, as well as took the prep-course for the government proficiency test. They can read, write, converse, (one guy I know is even wicked fast typing SMS's in thai thru his antiquated mobile phone, no small feat in and of itself!!).. FWIW the three guys I know all passed the proficiency test several years ago when it was still being given (not to be confused with the test currently given which only grades you against who ever happens to sit the test when you do).

What I was referring to are their “crash programs”. The schools I've re-conned really hard sold those, mostly due to price point or hours in class. I dunno about their 'full on' courses as they never talked about them to me.

Apologies must go out to "kriswillems" and anyone else who took a Union based method to learn thai. If it work(s), work(ed) for you, great!! It is good to hear you wouldn't accept the karaoke engrish books and made them provide them in thai.

When I attended ONLY the teacher’s book was in thai, and she wouldn't let me copy it. I even went so far as to meet with and talk to the owner of the school to voice my displeasure. FIVE years on, when I entered that school, I was treated worse than a soi dog. (I happened to do just that last year to ask about their conversational thai course). I guess it's not just elephants who never forget, it can be thais too. (Then again I am all to easy to identify. I even go so far as to say; you may not remember me, BUT believe me when I say; you'll never forget me )..

I doubt the new computer system theory, chances are that someone told on him.

being that the OP and some other friends know of their blacklist status. he might have been shagging a much more brighter broad than many of his friends on no list.

I have come across a number of farangs here who love to tell their secrets when they have had a few bevies.

<SNIP>

Of course it is conceivable that some whiz kids in immigration got their act together, but far more likely to be a careless word in a bar, IMHO...

I must wholeheartedly concur that is FAR more likely he was ratted out by a "friend" or co-worker after imbibing a few too many. Don’t forget the old WWII adage; “Loose lips, sink ships!”, as it totally has relevance here too. I've only been here a while, yet the things I've overheard people say when they were drunk has been, well it’s been mind-wobbling .

I sincerely doubt it was thru any great cooperation between either the different thai government agencies (because they fight like cats & dogs over info sharing, although in their defense they are getting better) or by an accommodating first world country who happens to share their intel with thailand. As far as facial recognition, mmmm, maybe someday, but not today I'm afraid. Although as cheap as that type of software has become I am sure it’s on the horizon. ..

FWIW, thailand is building one hellova data base at Immigrations, both when you enter the country and when you apply for an extension of stay, (as well accruing a pretty impressive collection of index fingerprints too)..

I love a bit of nguu nguu plaa plaa action...

Literally it translates as snake snake fish fish... but it is baby talk like poo poo or tum tum...

Thanks for that explanation, and this is one of the confusing things about the Thai language, meanings can change depending on different situations I find.

I had nguu nguu plaa plaa explained to me by a Thai, and he said it is meant to describe someone who tries his hand at everything but isn't very good at anything.

Sorry to burst both your bubbles there 'Thaddeus" and "Daewoo", but actually if the truth were to be told (and it is because I'm telling you now), the phrase 'snake, snake, fish, fish' (งู ๆ ปลา ๆ); spell it in engrish how ever you want to do in karaoke engrish, is a VERY common thai idiom. It means; not proficiently, or not to a high level of competence. It is most often used when referring to a thais ability to speak engrish, or a foreigners ability in speaking thai, but can be used to denote anything which someone isn't very proficient in. It is neither baby talk, nor denotes a "jack of all trades master of none".

Interestingly enough the phrase 'banana, banana' (กล้วย ๆ); again, use what ever karaoke engrish that floats your boat, means; something which is done effortlessly, or without thinking, kind of like the idiom 'a piece of cake'.

And now back to the ever informative and meaningful thread of what NOT to do while living here in and amongst the thais. ..

I think once 'saraburioz' (which I guess means the auzzie in Saraburi Province) gets done with this series we will all be better for it. Perhaps he can compile all the common "fox-pawz" <sic> (faux pas) foreigners can fall into here and come up with a nifty handbook called "What NOT to do in Thailand". By the sheer views on his topics he seems to have a ready made market of avid fans.

FWIW: doubling adjectives or descriptive terms in the thai language is so common as to be a non-issue for anyone who even knows a smattering of thai. It's actually called mother language interference; when language rules of your mother tongue are used in speaking a dissimilar language. Thais use it when speaking about possessive's too, 'mother me', 'sister me', 'friend me' because in thai the possessive word comes AFTER the noun not before it like engrish.

Native engrish speakers also suffer from this affliction when constructing sentences in thai using engrish sentence word order, as the words are outta sequence when translated directly into thai. A normal thai hearing a foreigner speak this way would hear it as just plain gibberish with no meaning.

IMHO; about the only thing worse than foreigners who use word doubling, are ones who speak either baby-talk thai-engrish to their significant others or the ones who speak two words in thai, then a word or two in engrish, then switch back to thai; due to either a lack of thai vocab or too much time spent in questionable areas of bangkok.

And now back to this thread already in progress. ..

Another option although admittedly off the O/P’s topic is to take a train from Hua Lamphong (the train station located at the last stop of the MRT (subway).

IMO it's a far nicer ride out there via train than by bus, and just as cheap if not cheaper.

On the weekends it can sometimes be tough to get a third class (the cheapest) ticket as it's a MAJOR destination for thais to go on a day trip.

In my re-con of the various and sundry private thai language schools scattered around Bangkok, I've toured more than one school which uses the original Union School’s Methodology. In fact, most schools which use this method only change the cover of the text book to denote it's their school. I've got three or four module one text books from various schools which use this methodology, and they are word for word, page by page exactly the same. Unless I'm greatly mistaken; this is an OLD method originally designed to teach missionaries who were comin' here to the glorious "Land 'O Thais" to convert the thais to christianity.

Most if not all the Union based schools are owned by original group of Union teachers; who were at the time of its inception young, but are now not so young. This group of original core teachers all broke off to open their own schools.

I have seen that most also run the same promotion/program, either 60 hours for 6,000baht, or 80 hours for 7,000baht. They go thru a module in like 20 days. This means they are very FAST paced classes. Little if any time is spent on review of the previous days vocab, and it is up to the student to retain, and remember the material covered in a previous lesson.

The text books are only in english and karaoke thai, (phonemic transcription; representing thai words/sounds using the english alphabet, a mixture of backward written english vowels, along with some squirrelly superscript characters to denote toning). As the sentences and vocab are not written in thai (until Module Three I believe); practice outside the classroom with any 'run-of-the-mill' thai is difficult at best. Most thais I've come across (and I've come across a fair few) can't read karaoke thai unless they’re already familiar with teaching this method. The teachers in the classes ONLY write in karaoke thai on the white boards too, so until you go thru a few modules you're not even exposed to anything written in actual thai.

When I first washed up upon these shores, I took one of those crash courses at an unnamed Union based school. The class was filled with foreign missionaries, Korean and Japanese housewives whose husbands worked here. It was far too fast, taught far too few high value thai words. It spent way too little time on review or proper sentence constructs in the thai language, making any vocab you did learn worthless as far as using them in another sentence other than the one we were taught

It is my humble opinion that these 'crash courses' actually provide very little measurable 'bang-4-the-baht'. in terms of either retention of vocab or anything more than a very rudimentary grasp of thai sentence constructs. After Module One, a student is unlikely to come out of there being able to do more than parrot out more than the tourist phrases found in the Lonely Planet or Rough Guide.

I think it is much more advisable to under take the module(s) like the poster known as ‘SoftWater’ mentioned in the previous post. Spread it out over a longer time period in a one-on-one teaching scenario. Allow ample time to review previous vocab and give yourself plenty of time to practice this vocab outside the classroom as an adjunct to your lessons.

I stand by my original assertion that before ANYONE who is contemplating attending a private thai language school hands over a single satang, to sit a free lesson or three to see if their methodology ‘clicks’ with your way of learning. What I think sucks, you may think is the cat’s meow, and vice versa.

WARNING: Please remember these are my opinions ONLY. Despite my somewhat critical observations, they are neither for nor against any particular school or any particular school’s methodology. You mileage may and in all likelihood probably will differ from mine.

There are quite a number of pretty good pet shops up near Jatujak.

If you take the MRT (subway) to the Kampaeng Phet exit and go out on the exit labeled "Farmers Co-op". Behind the GIANT Farmers Co-op fresh market there is a soi filled with pet shops.

They sell all manner of pet supplies, pet foods, medications, grooming stuff and pet accessories etc. While I didn't specifically see leather leads up there this weekend, they do have various lengths of nylon ones.

The big chain Manoon's is up there too. Most have free delivery if you make a minimum purchase as well.

FWIW: Several years ago I was enrolled in a private thai language school for the standard 180 hours (lessons, or what ever you wanna call 'em) per year. I attended class religiously for the stated Ministry of Educations minimum of 4 hours per week.

Now doing even rudimentary math a person can see that at 4 hours a week the lessons/hours run out after 45 weeks, leaving a short fall of 7 MORE weeks until the full year is up. However going to immigrations I still got my extension of stay for the full 90 days even though my classes had actually ended the week before.

Have your friend contact the school he's attending. They'll most likely give him the supporting documentation from both the school and the Ministry of Education to continue his visa until the years up.

So yes, he should get another 90 days. Although this being thailand, and you not saying where in thailand he's actually attending school nor named the school; your friends mileage may indeed vary.

However that is my experience. ..

It is my experience that 90 day reporting, AND flyin' either in or outta the country are "whores of a different color", errr (SORRY to the Modz, please don’t ban me!!) I meant; "horses of a different color" .

At Suvarnabhumi there is NO 90 day reporting desk, nor do they care if you have EVER reported in thailand, as that is NOT their job. Immigrations at Suvarnabhumi either stamps you in or out of the country (and IF you have an OVERSTAY), nothing MORE nothing less.

As an aside; maybe you should take the 90 day report slip outta your passport. Just in case it is now different.

Personally I have never seen, nor heard of a single person 'flagged' at Suvarnabhumi flyin' outta here who either did or didn't report EVER!

They are two different entities entirely, although BOTH are run under the "thai immigrations" banner.

Then again my experiences may run counter to yours, please take care when following my advice.