joklaweil

For people who don't know the link now, they can get it on the geocities page - there is even a link back to ThaiVisa, but I'm sure nobody will ever use it!

I had people even calling me to ask what I mean; simple as that: in the TV systen the word "Korat farang" without the free space = Yahoo. Hooray! We are the World, Thai Visa's still here only!

For people who don't know the link now, they can get it on the geocities page - there is even a link back to ThaiVisa, but I'm sure nobody will ever use it!

Cannot edit my post anymore, so I have to correct and supplement:

The webaddress of the multilingual (english, french, german and spanish) webboard is

http://www.yahoo.com. It is supposed to be a forum for the Korat farangs of all languages. No interpreters necessary!

The webaddress

http://www.geocities.com/korat_th is supposed to be a directory of Korat with Google placemarks for downloading etc. It has links to the Issan Forum of ThaiVisa and to yahoo.com.

Let's all work together!

There is no reason why we should miss any of this just because of petty feelings of people who don't seem to understand the situations of farangs in Thailand:

We're all sitting in the same pot!!!

Thanks a lot, ThaiVisa moderators - for putting a tag in the system to chang the link to the great website in the second lagest city of Thailand to Yahoo! We really appreciate to be compared to such a big enterprise!

Can you put tags on the Yahoo webboards to change the links there to ThaiVisa?

Now, keep on playing, children!

I connot edit anymore, so:

The still young facility Google Earth is of course not perfect yet, but it's amazing: so let's just make the best of it!

Even in the image of highly developed countries like Germany there are locations where you cannot recognize villages that've been there for a couple a hundreds years. I think we for now should be grateful for what is there on Google Earth now. Remember, it's an image of the whole world!

The downloading service on http://www.geocities.com/korat_th/Placemarks will remain but not be updated anymore, since thanks to the initative of SportRider there is a much better facility http://www.yahoo.com.com/board/index.php/topic,16.0.html from where placemarks can be viewed on a list and opened or downloaded according to one's needs.

http://www.yahoo.com.com/board/index.php/topic,10.0.html is the location where you can post a message with supplementing placemarks made by you. Please give a short explanation about the place and its significance. Thank you!

The former facities are operated by the Korat Expats Club as a community service. Anybody's collaboration is appreciated.

An iniative four month to go! We still got to fill a lot of space on this - and - I suggest, the yahoo.com forum for the KEC.

What is just most different between us and the Pattaya farangs is the marital life. They are most bachelors with a new girl to catch every few days, i. e. lotsa time to sit at tables or bars. We not only live in condos but houses and gardens to take care of but especially families, who like to have us around for the day or evening. Besides that we live far apart and not just on top of each other. Sure the Pattaya farangs need club life - what else have they got?

So I think it is not desirable to copy them in any way: we gotta find our own way!

It is certainly important, that we discuss issues and get to know each other before a meeting. Otherwise there will be zero outcome, because there'd be too many fundamental discussions.

And if you expect a leader or president to emerge from a first meeting, you're dreaming. That's impossible! Our differences are too big. A leader or president would be somebody who has the others' trust. How can you trust somebody you meet for the first time?

And even much more important is the preparation of a meeting, to make sure, not just the one guy who wants to be leader shows up?

If somebody wants to call upon a meeting, just go ahead! Do like with the poll.

There were so many attempts of this before. Do they have to go and end all the same way?

Guys, get a grip!

This is not about separatism, this is supplementation. Of course it has to grow slowly. But within the "establishment" Korat farangs are looked down upon by too many who just prefer rather to spoil than build up.

What are you, "the establishment", afraid of loosing?

Tyler2uk: It's not my site. I only suggested it and think it is something great to venture upon, especially without any business interest, because it is needed in Korat - it is a commodity of convenience. - and of course it will be a struggle. But you depicted the situation yourself. We gotta find a way out of it. This site is a beginning, and it certainly is woth ist!

Cannot edit my post anymore, so I have to correct and supplement:

The webaddress of the multilingual (english, french, german and spanish) webboard is

http://www.yahoo.com.com. It is supposed to be a forum for the Korat farangs of all languages. No interpreters necessary!

The webaddress

http://www.geocities.com/korat_th is supposed to be a directory of Korat with Google placemarks for downloading etc. It has links to the Issan Forum of ThaiVisa and to yahoo.com.com.

Let's all work together!

There is no reason why we should miss any of this just because of petty feelings of people who don't seem to understand the situations of farangs in Thailand:

We're all sitting in the same pot!!!

I'm surprised about the support of this topic.

When I suggested somebody to open a webpage to support the purpose of the Korat Expats Club, the posting remained. But when a TV-reading farang gets convinced of the common benefit of our project (which holds a record on the hits on the Issan Forum of TV) and follows my suggestions and does just that (without being any competition to or drawing business away from TV at all) to supplement the activities of TV for the Korat Expats, the link www.yahoo.com.com seems to become inconvenient and gets removed.

Is that censorship? I always appreciated free press . . . I still like TV and put a link to the Issan Forum on our webpage-in-progress about the Korat People's Dictionary on

http://www.geocities.com/korat_th.

Can Fairness prevail?

The Korat farangs need yahoo.com.com as much as ThaiVisa.com!

Sorry to hear that!

I set up the first page with links to this forum, pics and maps plus yahoo.com.com.

http://geocities.com/korat_th and called it "Korat People's Directory"

There's one problem though: at present Yahoo file manager does not support .kmz files (Google Earth placemarks) for uploading. Maybe I'll find a way around somehow. But at the moment you can receive the already existing placemarks via email. The list is growing.

And you made a very important point, too: to be sensitive of the mutuality of contact interest. Some of us just like to be left alone due to personal experiences etc. So in our approaches of each other - whether it is in a coffee shop after seeing each other for some time or by scanning a member directory on the internet for Korat farangs - we should respect others contact fears and not be obtrusive.

How could the ladies dare - with the competition they see!

The provisional frontpage is there: Tell me what you don't like - or maybe even like.

The website

is a place where you can send placemarks to - and of course suggestions and comments not to be published on the website only for improvements and corrections.

If anybody is seriously interested in participating - how about Buadhai? - I'll give him the password for administrator access to the site and the email. PM me in that case or send email to the site.

Don't waste your time by calling up the webpage now, only says not done yet. I'll post a message here when it is finished. There's a lot of collecting information and editing to do. Like Rome - not in one day!

I wasn't aware that buadhai already had initiated this. A good start.

But the problems are, that there is no fixed place for finding the database, no catalog of contents and no possibility of just downloading one specific file. Furthermore they should be edited by somebody from time to time to select the best file. And especially there should not be only places of interest but marks that can be used to explain somebody the way to a certain place like intersections and turnoffs.

Also of interest were the names and locations of shops other than supermarkets.

Did somebody subscribe to the next higher Google version that allows the marking of paths?

If we work on it, we can improve it to a good system that makes our life out here easier.

The Image of Korat on Google Earth is one of the clearest that is. But unlike western cities there are no street names or names of places. So Google Earth is only good for recognizing places and being happy about it.

If you have a friend who sends you the placemark of a location you need to find, you're off good. Why should we - the Korat Farangs - not map the place for ouselves and our kind?

All we need is a not so big database where people, who identified a place, can upload the placemark to; and from where people who need to find the place can download it for use or their own database.

So I suggest to the moderators of the Issan Forum to establish a fitting base and try to regulate it a little - like spelling rules and placements of placemarks. It would not only give people fun to map the place but especially help people to find their way around.

Guess I should relate how I got to ThaiVisa: A couple of weeks ago I was looking through the Yahoo Member Directory, playing the search function with "Nakhon Ratchasima". Lots of members, thai and foreign turned up. I clicked two whose online status for messenger was lit.

One was a philippine teacher in town with whom I chatted about raising pets.

The other was an australian electronics engineer living in town. We chatted about Korat and the internet possibilities here. He referred me to one of his articles on ThaiVisa. We exchanged messenger contacts and occasionally chat about anything. Once we met in town.

BTW way he suggested to consider "Kitsada Gardens" as a meeting place for the Korat Expats Club.

Klaus

Conformity is not something you can create among farangs of many different nations, life situations and ages; you have to investigate its existance, find the common factors and build upon them! Blind actionism is what usually drowns projects like this. ". . . and then everybody is just disappointed about the 'non-cooperating' others." Beware!

I think Dutch made a good start, and we should follow his example. Nothing comes from jumping at the big gathering with only one or two people having the same opinion to start with. Let's find out about each other first!

There are an increasing number of farangs in the Korat Province,whether or not the old stagers like it and it may be time to start an Expats Club. Could be an informal meet at a local watering hole or hotel. Most don't need reminding of the Pattayaexpats Club success and the obvious need for an information based and communication linked centre. Has anyone settled here thought of getting involved or is staying incognito part of the attraction?

One important question raised but not discussed yet is the purpose of a "korat Expats Club" (KEC).

The heavily discussed question where to meet depends on what to meet for.

A majority of those only 13 people who voted, in my opinion stated through their vote, that they are not in favour of the "roundtable", which would require a table, no matter what shape. I think they are rather looking for the possibility of meeting and getting to know other farangs in Korat to establish a "colonial social life" here. That is also how I understand K. C.'s first posting.

Maybe there is an alternative to the endless discussion of a meeting place first.

.The purpose of a KEC is too "futuristic" to discuss on this forum though I am sure everyone has some idea in his head. The Chat is also not the place where to achieve something productive, since there is no "Korat Chat", yet. Maybe we should start to establish personal contacts via a messenger, so we can get to know each other and exchange ideas personally instead in the forum. We can relieve our fears of the others - which everyone of us undoubtedly has. We could get to know each other at least already a little - when we feel like and there is opportunity. I suggest using the Yahoo Messenger, set up contacts to and with each other. If it is getting too much for one, he can hide through the stealth settings or even delete the contact.

I am convinced that gives a KEC a much better chance. PM, e-mail or ring me, if you have questions, though I am not an expert.

Klaus

We should at least give him the chance of writing his thesis (about Korat). Against all odds maybe he passes then.

No comments vecessary I guess.

I suggest Stickman to take a second trip to Korat, this time not party only, so the vision doesn't get blurred too much and he doesn't see alcoholics and teachers only . . . and then maybe write about the beauty of Korat, nobody asks him to rewoke what he might have perceived wrong. But there's a lot more . . .