Vietem

3 hours ago, brianthainess said:

Isn't it a benefit by not losing a whole page of your passport ?  it is also a benefit if traveling to Cambodia as you only pay the official fee and not one made up by their immigration.   

I still got a sticker in my passport, an in and out stamp and a ‘used’ stamp on the sticker, which totaled half a page. Like I said, time-wise it was just the same.

I went Nong Khai to Vientianne the other week. I got an online visa, thinking it would be quicker (you print the visa letter at home after uploading passport details and a JPEG photo), but I still had to hand my passport in at the window and wait like everyone else. It was also $50, so more expensive and no real benefit time-wise.

1 hour ago, n210mp said:

Mabrachan reservoir up Soi Siam Country club road, never seen it so empty 

There was a particularly severe drought a number of years ago which was worse - although we've still got several months before the rains come (I can't remember the year - perhaps 10 years ago). At that time you could see the hummocky bed of the main reservoir. They then dredged the part that you have photographed and connected to a reservoir near Sri Racha to pipe water down from there when needed. Or so I thought. It sure is looking bleak at the moment.

I worked in Ho Chi Minh City for ten years. My Vietnamese colleagues referred to the city as Sai Gon. They weren't making a political point or longing for bygone times - most weren't born till after the troubles - they were using the city's common name as locals do. When I got in a taxi, I could have said, Quan Bay, Quan 7, District 7 or Phu My Hung, and got to the same place. Just a name to communicate a destination. 

Bangkok Bank Cycle Fest 2019, Siam Country Club, Pattaya. These guys, and gals, were shifting. Was tempted to enter 62 km over 45 race. Just as well I didn't - winner averaged 36kph with plenty of hills too. First over 65 was two minutes behind that. Next year maybe... Pictures here from the team time trial. These folks were belting along too, despite the 33c heat.

Just to lighten the mood a little. Any additions?

If they advertise in the TES then most applicants will likely be from the UK, although anyone can apply, and many non-UK based teachers will respond to the online advert. I would guess that the most important criteria for interview selection would be familiarity with the curriculum, and the ability to deliver it and assess student progress using the most up to date methods. So, in answer to your question, it is less to do with employing only one nationality and more to do with matching suitability to the role (which could be any nationality). This is the same for all the bigger international schools. As for hiring locally, again, how up to date are the applicants, and how familiar are they with the job spec and requirements? If they are already working at a similar-curriculum school in Thailand then they may well be a strong candidate. There will be hundreds of jobs advertised here every week:

https://www.tes.com/jobs/browse/international

This is quite a while ago. Cycled from HCMC to Thailand, via Cambodia (and PP to HCMC a couple of years before). The main highway to-from Phnom Penh wasn't metalled the first time, so it was a bit of a slog; second time round there was a road, as opposed to compacted and pot-holed shale. The crowd pictured below is for the ferry across the Mekong at Neak Loung. The hovercraft from Sihanoukville to Trat was dreadful, with summer monsoon seas ensuring that everyone was sick as a dog. The old rust-bucket stank or diesel, which didn't help - not sure if it still runs? It was also scary to think that even twenty years before this trip, foreigners had disappeared on the trip between Phnom Penh and Kompot - even being abducted from the train.

On 10/5/2019 at 1:15 PM, StreetCowboy said:

This week's going to be quieter.  I managed to meet my "cycling twice a month into the office" target for September, and so far once in October.

 

Today was a local hills day, over the hill behind the village, up past the office, through the golf course, up past the Science Centre, almost past Sid's on the hill - that's where I lost the New Boy, down past the client's offices, that's where I'd realised I'd lost him, but he turned up a few minutes later.

 

It was my fault, really.  He'd been waiting at the top of Science Centre Hill, but I was too tired to apply the brakes, and my momentum took me past him, then down a gentle slope, gathering momentum and into traffic, concentrating on keeping pace with the cars and not running into them at the speed bumps, down to the next junction, clear of the traffic, looked over my shoulder ... empty road!

 

Anyway, he turned up a few minutes later, past the client's offices, past the Sultan's back entrance, Strava says 70 kph down towards the highway, but my odometer said more like 65, up to the front entrance of the National Palace (I should've  stopped for a photo there - that's the only bit of the ride you've not seen before), over the flyover, back up the hill we'd just come down - it's slightly steeper and higher on the way back due to a fly-over to get across the road, back to the Sultan's back entrance, down Science Centre Hill, up the Sprint Highway, through the Time Tunnel, and back to Devi's Corner for roti.

 

That's where  I took a tumble.  We'd cycled across the road, using a pedestrian crossing, I'd put my foot down to get up the kerb, didn't need to on the other side of the path, had to wait for cars to clear - they took longer than I expected due to double parking, and I over-balanced.  And I didn't even have the excuse of being clipped in.

 

Other than that, a lovely ride, plenty of variety, and over 60 kph down from the Sultan's Back Entrance, down Science Centre Hill but couldn't get 60 through the Time Tunnel.  Now the bike is going into the shop for a mid-life overhaul.

I’ve only reached 70kph coming downhill once. It was on Highway 13, cycling from Luang Prabang to Vientiane - I was riding a Scott hybrid, 700c, 25mm tyres. Anyway, as much as it was an absolute thrill, it occurred to me that I’d have been total minced meat if I’d have come off. It was in the middle of nowhere too. I doubt my three sticking plasters and mini-iodine would have got me going again either. I tend to apply the brakes now, as a matter of course. Narrow, slick tyres don’t leave much margin for for error. A lizard sunning itself is all it takes. Highway 13, if you get the chance, it’s very picturesque.

On 10/21/2019 at 11:08 AM, Vietem said:

The new track round Mabprachan is great. Hardly anyone there in the mornings, but loads in the evenings, both cycling and running/walking. The circuit is about 10 kms if you go round and across the dam. Or just go up one side, then back and up the other side and back, making about 16 kms. The surface across the dam isn't as smooth as the track - it is okay though even for a road bike.

I went round last night just before dusk, with it being very dark by the time I finished up. Whilst it was great to see so many people out on the track, it was actually dangerous to go round at speed. Folks were taking selfies, wobbling two on a bike, walking the dog, kids doing u-turns in the middle of the track, and so on. No problem with all of that - it is marvellous to see so many exercising - but best choose a different time if you want to push yourself. There is also one 100 metre section coming down the hill, that has no lighting at all - watch out for that!

Fantasy was a good place in 1982 - on the right before Simon Cabaret. Also, the Bangkok-Pattaya bus used to drop off on Beach Rd, where a heap of hotel guys were waiting to whisk you away. Jomtien had no high rise back then either.

Wiang Kum Kam, Chiang Mai