BlackArtemis

Anyone have their operation hours?

They book appointments from 9am till12:30 & 2:30 till 7pm

Monday thru Saturday

Thank you, I am so busy during the week and I have been spending my weekends outside of CM.

Hurt myself lifting awhile back and my hip flexor / groin has been killing me as of late, despite not lifting on it...

Anyone have their operation hours?

+1 on starting strength, I upped my lifts by 20kg in 5 weeks. Granted I got a little cocky and tweaked a muscle and can't do squats for awhile :/

I wish Thailand could put out a "welcome to Thailand" Pamphlet for hotels/hostels/airports/etc and address these problems, because when I end up talking to some tourists about things, like dress, most react well, never knew it was wrong (really though?) and even make an effort to reverse what they were doing.

Actually, such a pamphlet does exist. It has for many years.

Never saw one, seen a few posters at a handful of temples.

When i came to study here my Profs gave us a huge packet on culture, what to do and what not to do etc. We arrived having a bit more than the basics down.

As a younger guy, 30, I still jaunt off to a country here and there and do the same. There are tons of great people "backpacking" or traveling. However, as an Expat there are things that truly bother me.

These issues center around lack of respect for the culture.

The shirtless people in Chiang Mai, I understand if you are on the beach, but we're a ways away from one.

Improper dress at temples.

Drunken misconduct (I frequent Zoe's area on occasion and see lots of trouble).

Smoking on walking street and in the temples (Sundays)

I would like to let this roll right off my back, but how they act has a long term effect on me. They might just get dirty looks for the few days, but I have to deal with their created stereotype each day.

I wish Thailand could put out a "welcome to Thailand" Pamphlet for hotels/hostels/airports/etc and address these problems, because when I end up talking to some tourists about things, like dress, most react well, never knew it was wrong (really though?) and even make an effort to reverse what they were doing.

On a side note, just because you are traveling, it doesn't mean you can't pack a pair of jeans and at least one button down and some shoes. Showing up to a bar in your boarding shorts, Chang Beer Singlet, and flipflops is pretty bad, hilarious when you try it at places like Warm Up.

I have been blessed to find a job where the food is AMAZING, they have prepared atleast 50 different dishes in the past 3 months. I, like most of the others have gained a bit of weight due to seconds and thirds. Free breakfast and lunch that tastes great? yes please.

As for around town, Lemon tree will always be a favorite. Chiang Mai Rote Yiam beef noodles is my favorite noodle shop, the best babin can be found at suriwong bookstore. Why is that dessert so hard to find?

I also enjoy eating at Na Naw and Lang Maw

I'm looking at CB550's or 650's as I want to make it more of a Brat style bike. Already have 1 illegal bike, so an SR400 is out.

Thought I would end up with a CBR250, but it's just ugly, the older 150's are much nicer looking, but I don't see myself as a sportbike OR cruiser rider, so I plan on my first bigger bike to be as mentioned above.

Yes, buy it in the US

I bought 2 jackets, a helmet, gloves, pants and shoes (all vented leather) and a rain suit for like $800. Brought it all here in April, for something similar (mine are all cortex, not something like Alpinestar) I might be looking at 70,000Baht and not 24,000.

Now, If I can stop messing around with monkey bikes and buy something large enough to justify wearing the leather hahaha

I convinced my Niece when she was 4yrs old that the Castle belonged to "Jaoying Gat Luang" Having her tell the story to the rest of the family was hilarious and still is a running joke between us all.

Santitum is changing and has been for years. But it used to be a very sleazy run down place.

I believe all the students from CMR have helped turn it into an up and coming trendy area.

CMU has Nimm

Payap has JJ

CMR has Santitum

Had it in 2008, did a week at Ram.

Sucked, but I made it.

"4. Is there any tips in terms of etiquette as far as interacting with the locals? What should and shouldn't you do in your experiences?"

You should expect that some local Thai women will attempt to "steal" your boyfriend from you. Probably many. How you handle it is up to you. If this happens, do not take the law into your own hands. You may have to ignore the "politeness" recommendations in the guidebooks and make it clear that he is yours.

My guess is this will be your number one issue.

Wow really that is so weird 0_0

What kind of things do they try to do? I could see that bugging me but he is an incredibly faithful person, I'm not too sure how I'd react in a situation like that. Maybe I'll just permanently hang off his arm to let them know he's taken? That's just...so strange.

Taken doesn't mean anything here, cheating is VERY common. THey even have a word for "The person your screwing who isn't your BF/GF" which is gik.

I highly doubt anyone will be trying to take him, easier to find a single meal ticket

But do be careful with your first friends, you are coming here blind, I think that more than a few of us can say that some of the first friends we made here turned out to be the types of people we stay far away from now.

I think if you guys can manage to make 60,000b between the two of you per month, you will be fine. You won't save much money the first few months, but once you get things sorted like scooters or a car, you can easily live on 30-40k a month and save the rest.

I have the week off as it is halfway through the term, but this is a school holiday not a government one, all the other schools are open.

When I think of graphic design and web development and I hear your need for steady, fast, internet, it leads me to believe that you will be working over the internet from Chiang Mai.

Is this correct? Because then you would be without a work permit. Tons of people work that way, just don't blab about it.

But without the workpermit, there will be no Non-Imm B visa, so for you to stay here fr that 3 years or so you will need to join a Thai language school that will provide you with the education visa to allow you both to stay long term,

If you have the work permit thing sorted out, disregard the above.

I would also say that living closer to town is much more fun when you are in your 20's and since you are new to the city, country, language, and culture, it might be good to get a handle on things in a bit more urban setting before going off somewhere and being the only white people in the area. Before you have to learn about dealing with neighbors and issues like their dogs (many topics about things like that in the CM forum)

Then once you have a handle on the language and culture, move out where you might be speaking Thai 80% or more of the time.

If you are stuying it daily, you will pick it up fast. Took me a year to feel comfortable but I never had the time to actually learn Thai formally other than a semester abroad years ago. You might reach that level in 3-4 months.

Goodluck!

Most Filipinos will end up working in government schools along side native speakers with unrelated degrees. Often the Filipino will have a Bachelors or Masters of Education and years of experience teaching in the Phillipines.

I can assure you that before I gained a few years of experience and finally went back for a degree in Education, many of the Filipino teachers I knew were much better educators than I was, but hey I'm white, so in Thailand I'm the better choice...

Many times we tend to connect a thick accent to the idea that someone is not proficient enough in a language, this can be far from the truth.

Would you have written the same post, being an colored American? Of course not.But now it's not about being white, it's about the quality of teaching English here in LOS.

The question was obviously about English teachers from the Philippines.

What many people in LOS do not understand is that even garbage collectors in Europe are making MUCH more money than a real teacher in the Philippines.

The average salary for a real teacher in the PI's is around 7,000 baht.

People in my origin country receive more money from the government if they're just too lazy to go and do a job. Plus getting an apartment for free, etc....

I haven't seen the well qualified teachers from the PI in almost eight years, and I don't care where somebody's coming from, when doing a good job.

My uncle was an English teacher and then the principal at a high school in Germany, there was neither a Brit, nor a Filipino. He taught English for 28 years and he's good.

What I'm trying to say is Thais should send their guys to places where they really learn the language, staying a few years in an English speaking country wouldn't just change their command in English, but also their attitude being afraid losing face.

With other words: They don't really know what they do. And I'm not religious.

Are you saying that Thailand cares more about having qualified teachers over whether or not someone is Farang? Because I would like to point out the vast majority of teachers working for 22-30k/month are recent college grads with no experience and often an unrelated degree. I would say the "We have farang native teachers to teach you child English" ranks hirer than "We have teachers who know the ins and outs of grammar and can teach phonetics".

I know that jobs in Thailand is a pay increase for Filipinos, despite enjoying teaching at Universities back home, 2 of my friends came here to teach at a government school and make more money than in Manila.

If "guys" refer to students, then it is quite cost prohibitive for Thai's to send their kids to study over seas, though the ones that can afford to do so do,

If you meant educators, there are small programs to send teachers to Aus and NZ for seminars, but that's about it. Again the government doesn't see it as cost effective. Furthermore, many Thais who are highly educated and fluent in English scoff at the crummy teachers salary and take on a career they can earn better money in.

Also, about your post about it being sad about the example of native teachers not planning their lessons as well as their Filipino counterparts, at that school (and my old one). You already stated that teaching here is a raise in their standard of living. A westerner most likely does not see 25k/month as a serious lifetime commitment and would be more inclined to slack off. Furthermore, with their lack of an education degree, I doubt they have ever made more than 5 lessons plans, let alone a unit plan with Standards and objectives, prior to teaching. Does this justify their actions? No.

I will agree that there needs to be some change in the system and not every case is the same. But really, I doubt anything will change and Thai's will have to keep doing what they have been doing for a proper English based education, Go to a high end private school, international school, go abroad, or tons of private tutoring at a reputable place.

Maybe one day they'll realize that age, sex, and nationality doesn't determine one's ability to teach.

Also, due to the nature of the internet we can not always tell the intention and emotion behind posts. This is not a "wll, you're wrong because..." just more of my own experience teaching in Thailand.

Most Filipinos will end up working in government schools along side native speakers with unrelated degrees. Often the Filipino will have a Bachelors or Masters of Education and years of experience teaching in the Phillipines.

I can assure you that before I gained a few years of experience and finally went back for a degree in Education, many of the Filipino teachers I knew were much better educators than I was, but hey I'm white, so in Thailand I'm the better choice...

Many times we tend to connect a thick accent to the idea that someone is not proficient enough in a language, this can be far from the truth.

Wouldn't be interested in living there, but if you managed to find a legal way to sell organic fruits and veggies and more importantly, grass fed / free range meat, I would most certainly buy it.

Sad to say, but highly aggressive. I feel that living here has shown me that the best defense is a good offense. Working brakes and a proper helmet are a must though >_>

Is it good that I speed around cars and cut them off? No, but I would rather be the one doing it than it happening to me.

My pet peeves are people on their cell phones or those listening to music on a scooter.

Anything, as long as your wallet holds out.

Cars that I have considered

BMW E30's with 1jz, SR20DET, 1UZFE

Toyota Celica (first gen) with the above options

The old Datsun 120's, 510's and 620's can fit SR20's and I think the 510 can handle a 1uzfe

Ke30's can fit a 4AGE

So can old Mazda 323's

Quite a few modern Japanese sports cars like an MR2, Celica, etc can fit a 3gst

Older jags can fit a Chevy 350, good luck finding one and affording it.

As for worth it? That's a personal opinion. You will never get close to what you put into a modified car. Building cars is a money pit, a very very fun money pit.

Other than co-workers and their farang friends I don't.

Not because I dislike them/us, but I don't go out of my way to befriend people based on where they're from. I also feel it is a bit of a hassle as so many are tourists, but even when I meet some nice Farang I don't over emphasize the need for being friends, if we click, we click, if not, oh well.

There's a new supplement shop up on 3rd? floor of KSK near central on the way to sportsworld I believe, if not, try second in that location. I didn't compare prices.

Datsun 620 >_>

That should say "Andy" not Any

There are more "for tourist" places around.

For most Thai's who train Muay Thai it's a profession, not a recreation.

Also, Any put it. "We train you to fight here, whether you do or you don't is up to you, but there is no difference in the training".

I didn't feel exhausted from 5hrs a day, I felt better than ever did. I went from running 3km up Doi suthep wheezing and using my inhaler to 8km with out a single puff in 2 months.

I prefer writing unit plans and setting the unit objectives and standards. Then focus on each lesson.

But honestly, if you don't have time, then you don't have time to be a teacher.

The Olympics are coming up, use that as a jumping point.