BlackArtemis

If it's any consolation this is not only a farang+thai scenario.

A previous Thai male work colleague was given a sum of 3 million baht to marry his GF.

He walked.

Sometimes this is the intent. I had friends (both Thai) and the girls parent's hated her BF, so they put a huge price on the sin sod to discourage him.

I think you may be giving them too much credit - but either way it worked (and probably much better in the end for him).

Nah, for her. He turned out to be a cheating schmuck and the parents never liked him, even stated to her why they asked so much.

Are you asking about getting a degree in thailand before you go to canada ? If you are why waste the money and time ? It would be better used for the expenses of getting her into canada and letting her study there.

A valid point, most western countries don't recognize Thai degrees (for good reason).

Exactly, they often use wes .org to look at your degree. I highly doubt any classes from my wife's masters program at Payap will help towards her new degree here in the US.

when she buys me something and uses her money.

This is a forum for people in Thailand - not Fantasy Island!

As those rapping chaps say "keep it real".

Nah, my wife has constantly offered to drop the $$$ needed to supercharge my Mustang. I told her I would rather see her use her money to buy things she or both of us can enjoy. So she decided to pay for tickets back to Thailand for the summer.

Not all Thai women hit you up like a bank.

I was going to say "be intelligent".

I_F: I understand your point- and it's one of the reasons I am glad I am not a teacher in the US. They have the least support (depending on location and local economics) of almost any teachers in the English-speaking world. That doesn't mean it's the way things should be, either there or here. Society is lucky that people like your Mom were willing to be teachers in such unfavourable and poorly compensated situations (and it may say something about why education doesn't work on a shoestring, either there or here).

Jim: Another point of jealousy I have encountered is the 'long trip home' jealousy- again, you can point out that if they lived and worked so far away, they'd want to go home to their families occasionally, too- it's not as if you can take an overnight train and spend the weekend.

Yeah, but in the US we get IEP's and 504's. In Thailand you get "Poom can't be autistic, his family is Hi-So!!

I'm sorry, What I meant to say is that if her English at the level required to pass the tests tests, she should study it while in Thailand. Then she could do a 2 year program in Canada. In the US a 2 year program is super cheap, like a few grand a year. In fact my state university is only $10,000 a year. Waitressing and an expectation of a 40K/year doesn't make student loans too worrisome.

I would have her take one f the tests now, like an IELTS, TOEFL, etc and go from there.

Again, while the US and Canada are similar, I am only able to base my thoughts off what I know.

My wife also said a lot of teens were having a go at recreating Initial D.

(An anime about drifting down mountain courses)

If it's any consolation this is not only a farang+thai scenario.

A previous Thai male work colleague was given a sum of 3 million baht to marry his GF.

He walked.

Sometimes this is the intent. I had friends (both Thai) and the girls parent's hated her BF, so they put a huge price on the sin sod to discourage him.

My Father and Mother in Law expected no sinsod from me. However I/we were expected to pay for the wedding. So the wedding was paid for and everything is great. Haha despite my wife working here in the U.S. her dad still asks her if she wants him to send money to her, daddy's girl to the end.

What is her prof. in English, can she pass an IELTS?

In the states you have a 2 or 4 year option for nursing, you can also work as an aide during this time and make decent money. Upon graduating a 2 year degree it is not uncommon to see pay of about $20-22/hr. While our standard of living is similar, I do not know how this would work out in Canada's healthcare system.

A 4 year program begins to open more doors and can be done after a 2 year program.

nursing is a field that is always in need and always pays well, but it require a strong desire, it's not a choice casually made.

Anything accounting or typing based, she will have to meet standards in those fields.

Waitressing can bring in decent money. My wife did not want to do this. But we agreed that she works while I finish my second degree and now soon she will go for her MS ED.

In a highly populated area, such as D.C. it is not uncommon for a waitress in the restaurants to walk away with 300+ a good night.

The added social circle and access to Thai food is also a bonus.

I also have Thai friends who run food trucks (think sausage egg and cheese on bagels etc) outside of a university and bring in more than the Professors working there!

Perhaps you can find other Thais in the area who can give suggestions.

Good luck to you and your wife, it can be a tiring process to figure out a new life in a new land.

A hike up Doi Suthep.

What exactly does this entail? Do you mean a guided hike with a tour leader organised by a local organisation, an easy jaunt up one of several little paths starting from the road up to Doi Suthep, or do you really mean what you say; "a hike up Doi suthep" as one might say in the UK, "a walk up Snowdon"- all 1850 meters?

It depends on what they want. I suggested this prior to knowing there were 12 year olds.

Many people simply walk along the roadside, like all the CMU freshmen.

Links to dating sites are a no no....

Because it's against forum policy, or because we don't want to create competition for all the banner ads!

One of the first things we did as an exchange student was a photo scavenger hunt. We had to get photos of certain things like your group of 6 all in one tuk tuk. Or a member eating fried insects, a quick video of one of us ordering fruit in Thai, etc etc. Since you have younger kids, this could be limited to someplace like Sunday Walking street, or even something more closed off like the zoo, or a mall.

How many people, how many days, and what age group.

For team building there is a ropes course, Flight of the Gibbion, if I am not mistaken (someone correct me if I'm wrong please)

A hike up Doi Suthep.

Other things to see are elephant camps

Kontok dinners

ETC. I am sure other people will chime in with plenty of ideas, especially once we know more details.

The funny thing isn't the faces, but after reading a bunch of the profiles you realize it's all the same format. It realy seems like the website just has a Mad lib fill in for them.

Hello, my name is __(name)___ and I want to meet a __(adj)_ man from the ages of __(number to number)__. I am a ___(adj)__ girl who likes to __(verb)__

Write soon Ka!

I have not gone out and bought any for myself nor do I foresee myself ever doing this in the future.

I’m absolutely certain that nobody here has bought or been given a Thai amulet - One does not buy them, one borrows or rents them, amulets are not given, they are lent (The difference arises from the belief in the transience of things and people) but then a small point which I'm absolutely sure all these badge wearing oficiados of Thai culture understand.

Going through the Bamboo curtain is not an indication of understanding or being sensitive to Thai Culture

As I said I was given them, so I did not know about this. Thanks for that, learn something new everyday.

I have one that a friend gave to me and I love the way it looks.

I have another that my father in law gave to me which is very rare.

I have not gone out and bought any for myself nor do I foresee myself ever doing this in the future.

Funny how many people look down on others for such a small thing. So go ahead and ignore me if you ever see me and I have one on. Because you are doing me a favor, because while I have something that visably warns you about the person I am, I have no way to tell that you are a bitter pathetic asshol_e.

Well good luck with the search!

BTW, Sut-Yot is one of my favorite expressions.

I had originally tried to study abroad in Japan, scheduling conflicts. Then i signed up for Korea, but not enough people were interested. So as i sat in my last semester some profs came in talking about Thailand, didn't need the credits, but I said screw it, 4 months in Thailand sounds great.

Came home, graduated with a degree in family psych and promptly moved back to Thailand to teach. Now I am in the US studying Biology Education while my wife (Thai) begins her MS ED Early Childhood education degree.

Honestly, if I didn't make it to Thailand, I would just be another one of the masses, the overweight, depressed sods working in the US rat race.

Now I have a goal to work towards, a career I love, and wonderful wife with whom I can return with to a country we both love.

I breezed through the posts, so please correct me if I get something wrong.

But any company taking 50% of the salary is ludicrous! I think it's better to get out there on foot and submit CV's in person, or strike a deal with the school, pay you 45K and no 3rd party.

30K/month in Bangkok is going to be tight, especially since you are getting 30K for 24hrs of work, plus gate duties etc. I made 5k less a month for 15hrs, no gate duties, and in by 8 out by 3 in Chiang Mai.

if you were getting the full 60k I would say the work load is a breeze for the pay.

and stay far far FAR away from anything involving Ramkanghaeng.

I'm already considering moving to Cambodia to escape this nonsense! I mean Cambodia has about everything Thailand has, but in Cambodia all pavers are firmly set in place. I'm serious this time, I am thiiiiiiis close!

P.S. I hear that loose pavers are at their worst in the months of Feb-Mar, is this true?

Do you feel this is a recent trend? I never really experienced any of these things in the years I spent in CM. But I have been out of the country for a year. When I visit this summer I am wondering just how many of these situations I will find myself in.

All the carts/shops behind CMU, Busaba is my favorite.

At the Prasing Post Office there is a great Kaow Ka Muu shop at night, during the day hit the intersection of the police department and brownie house internet cafe (the one that had the alien scrap statue). close to the cafe is a great Kaow Ka Muu shop as well.

My favorite BBQ chicken in down at the T intersection of Ratanagosin.

next to DK bookstore there is Kin Kai, which I think is the best fried chicken in CM and they share with a great Thai food restaurant. Their "Ka-na muu glarp" is awesome.

For kaomun gai, I like kaomun gai Nantaram, on nantaram road, but they also have a branch in robinson's food court.

For snacks, Suriwong has great Babin, Kanom krok, and bacon wrapped hotdog bits.

dam_n I sound fat.

I agree with th above, you need hood pins for a carbon fiber hood, unless you don't like your windshield and would like to have it smashed in.

What engine is in the city, the 1.4, 1.6, or RA18?

The above website seems to be tack on BS and not real performance. If you are out of warranty, you could always go the tried and true B16 and turbo swap :shrug:

Only been charged differently once in Chiang Mai, Doi Suthep, one time of many visits.

I have been to both Mandalay, Fabrique, most of the Thai clubs in fact, Night safari, the zoo, national parks/ camping etc.

Mostly I go to warm up. Only 5 more months till I am back in CM and my wife and I are really looking forward to Warm Up!

And yo, Gotlost: Not every bar serves every type of liquor, If I want to drink something different that night I have no qualms about corkage fees. I would think the opposite of people who bring in something nicer than "El Toro" haha.

Most people that bring their own bottle are bringing El Toro or 100 Pipers and are Cheap Charlie's. You don't see John Walker Black or JD.

No no no, most people bring a bottle of Black or JD, but have 100 pipers inside of it, or mekong!

It's funny to see the "presentation" of the black bottle coming out of a box so beat up it's almost falling apart.

There used to be an awesome pub where (gah can't remember the name, that newish club with neon flowers on the wall is near the Dunkin Donuts on HK and canal rd intersection) Anyways this club "Chalom Buri", they would write your name on your bottle if you were not finished, they also gave a free bottle of 100 for the first 10 tables. Probably why they had to close, saving the bottles and giving it away for free had to add up.