Eastender

Will be visiting HH with wife, kids and my (Thai) wife's family for a few days in early April . Could be between 6 to 14 of us. Two or three self catering bungalows with shared pool would be ideal, if not a hotel. Preferably budget price, the up country parents wouldn't like the frills of a plush hotel.

Any recommendations?

Thanks, Robin.

Thanks. You mean around the edge of the lake itself?

Guess I'm looking for a soaking, music, fun, but also safe for kids too (5 year old girl).

I will be in Nakhon Sawan city with my family for some of Songkran. Are there any best places to hang out or celebrate, both during the day and in the evening? Otherwise I guess we'll just find ourseves in fron of the Pimarn hotel.

Thanks,

Robin

I've been visiting NS every couple of years now. About 6 or more years back there was a hotel with a very large (olympic size?) pool but that long since closed.

Are there any more hotels or resorts with pools? How about just public swimming pools, preferably open air? If not, it's the Pimarn hotel and a trip to Bung Boraphet lake.

Thanks,

Robin and family

Love it!

To me, it just sounds condescending somehow. Rather like "Thai brides."

I agree and it makes me cringe every time I hear it.

Hernan - I read your post too late, but thanks anyway. I'm back in the UK now. I spent Loi Kratong evening at Bung Borad Phet lake - was quite good, lots going on, but was bloody hot that night.

We also found stuff for my daughter to do, Big C, swimming in Bung Borad Phet lake, going to the aquarium next door, to a nearby temple with lots of monkeys, and chasing dogs round grandmas house the rest of the time.

I will have to catch up with you expats next time, two years from now???

Spanish woman, American woman, but Thai lady??? I'm gald you raised the point - the term 'Thai lady' has always bugged me, and I do believe its just as common outside of Thailand, probably more so and spread about by the internet and TV. Its possibly more commonly used as a collective term 'Thai ladies' than an individual one, 'that Thai woman over there'. And that's why I think the term seems to class female Thais as another species. I had an experience in a bank in the UK when the assistant was trying to say 'your wife' but paused and stuttered and came out with 'your lady' as though the term wife could not be used with Thais? To me the term conjurs up images of submissive dainty ladies dancing in traditional costume, or worse still dating websites to find your 'Thai lady'.

Lets stop using this term. (Though what will we call lady boys - I vote for 'he-shes')?

Thanks for your help guys. Actually, this house is bigger than it looks in the photo, large living room, 3 bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom. Sadly it's in a sorry state and could do with all walls and electrics replacing.

Two questions re. my mother-in-laws house pictured here.

Firstly, we'd like to replace the whole front wall, removing the shuttering and fitting a wooden door and window. This is really just to make it easier to get in and out. We would extend the concrete say a meter in front at the same time. Can anyone suggest a very approximate ball park figure for materials and labour?

Secondly, it was pointed out that some of the internal and external walls are coming away from the upright posts (there are, I think, 4 rows of 4 posts). I had a quick look, but couldn't see how they were supposed to be attached but my wife commented that it hadn't been built well! Any idea if and how these should be attahced? Is it possible to strengthen these by securing the walls to the posts, perhaps with metal plates,or must these walls be rebuilt from scratch?

Thanks for any help.

Thanks to you all for your useful explanatios.

Just curious, has the NSC closed - the hotel on the outskirts with the large (50m?) outside swimming pool? Is it likely to change hands and re-open?

My undestadning is;

gin mai dai = can't eat it

mai dai yin = can't hear it

So why the different word order in these two examples and how can I determine word order for other cases? Is it to do with placing emphasis, with verb acting as noun, or what?

Thanks for any help.

I stayed at the Pimarn last week for 850 Baht per night with breakfast, aircon, fridge, TV and balcony. I was very happy with the room and service. There's a country style bar attached behind which had a good band playing Thai covers.

It's off a main road, on the same side as the Nakohn Sawan park, and directly opposite the main bus station. As said above, it can be tricky to find, but it should be well known if you ask for it.

I have stayed at the Pimarn in Nakhon Sawan.Difficult to find if you are driving.The reception area and the rooms are a bit ordinary but the rooms are very clean(even if the carpet was a bit wavy and lots of stains)We booked 2 rooms and both were the same.However, for the cheap price the buffet breakfast was excellent and in general its pretty good value for money

Yeh, went up to that temple before - worth a visit again. Anything else? Any zoos, animal places, kids play areas?

Well, been there a few times and visited Bung Poraphet lake (spelling?) and the aquarium there, and a temple out of the city over run by monkeys. Are there any other places worth visiting with a 3 year old daughter?

Thanks.

I'll be visiting Thailand from the UK with my wife and daughter next week. We'll be in Nakhon Sawan for some of the time staying with her family in Tatago, and maybe a few days in the city itself. I'd like to meet other farang, just to get a feel for farang life in the city.

Is there a particular restaurant or bar in the city where farang meet up? Do people still meet downstairs in Big C? Is the bookshop, mentioned in another thread, still going? How can I find it?

Thanks,

Robin

Thanks very much to all of you for your replies, its much more useful to hear things put in terms of what a salary can get you instead of just figures. OK, it's not exactly what I wanted to hear, but very sobering. It has helped me to put things in perspective and already decide some future options.

Thanks again and sorry it took so long for me to reply.

Robin

Hi,

I've read through some posts here which have given ideas of salaries but as it's been so long since I've lived in Thailand, and my circumstances have changed, I would like to know how such a salary translates into lifestyle.

First a little about me to estimate what salary I could get...

I hope to teach secondary school age or older.

I'll be approx. 50 years young when applying - 5 years from now?

I presently have;

A diploma in English Language Studies (recently gained from the British O.U)

Will soon also have a BSc degree in mixed subjects (from the British O.U.)

I also have a TEFL in English and a years experience of teaching English though it may be difficult to verify - was for a small language school in BKK.

I have a (Thai) wife and daughter, we would probably settle in Nakon Sawan.

My thoughts are; on my expected salary (30K TO 35K ????), could we say pay a mortgage, send our daughter to a better than average school, have a car, live a comfortable lifestyle, and the BIGGIE - at the end of all this could we save to fly the three of us to the UK say every two or three years to see family?

My wife could also work and given that she speaks pretty good English could perhaps put this to use as a hotel receptionist or similar? Would it be necessary for her to work to achieve the above lifestyle?

Thanks for any help,

Regards,

Robin

Thanks for the replies.

Sometimes it's OK for say 30 mins, other times stopping every minute. That made me wonder whether it was server related. But it doesn't seem to be time of day related, even for the UK based server. Task manager shows CPU at 25%.

I will see if I can get improved bandwidth.

It would be good to hear from others using the same TV services.

Cheers,

Robin.

My wife watches streaming Thai television from the UK using two websites, DOO TV (UK based server) and BBTV Thai (Thailand based server?). Both often suffer start stop problems as it appears something can't keep up. Stuff like You Tube is fine, though usually of lower quality. My broadband connection is 2Mb though measures a little higher. CPU is a little below 2GHz and RAM is 1Mb. Before forking out some money on the PC I'd like to get a good idea of whether the main bottleneck is the PC, the broadband speed, or their server.

Has any body had and solved similar issues? I've put this on the General branch assuming more UK based Thai TV users may be looking here.

I don't believe how some have led such a sheltered life in Thailand. Even as an English teacher I was using squat loos with buckets to flush. We use pumped up pond water to shower when I visit the in-laws.

Thanks for the detail guys. That was very helpful.

Just planning ahead for the big move some day..

What are the choices of school and their associated costs? I'm thinking childs age 5 to 18 here. i.e., are government schools free for certain ages, if so what ages, if not what costs? Are international schools taught in English only, or English / Thai mix?

Thanks,

Robin.