flinc2020

Thanks for the advice folks. Well, if the weather looks promising I may go for a couple of hours each to several spots I've picked out over the next few days. At least it gets me out of the condo.

We'll the boredom of staring at staring at four walls for 2 months has finally got to me, I really need to get out and about. Unfortunately where I live there are few places to go for a stroll unless you want to walk along a main road and choke to death on vehicle fumes. Parks are few and far between here. So, what we do have are a river and several canals and I have rods etc. However, I'm not sure whether sitting on a bank anywhere is permitted. Obviously it is not permitted near monastery/temple sites but what about elsewhere? Any info would be appreciated.

He says a lot of good things, but then so has every prospective potentate here BEFORE they get int power then it's "same old, same old" once their in, very much like the UK! Only difference is that in the UK nothing changes because it doesn't matter which party is in power it's still the same little grey civil servants actually deciding what can and can't happen while they wait for their massive pension at 55. Here, it's the generals.

On 5/21/2020 at 1:37 PM, mehrdad said:

I think you not understand anything ! COVID-19 had dangerous for some old guy more and more ! 
you worry work people ???

this is government job for take care people in state of emergency ..
you want people go work and how can control covid??? 

"this is government job for take care people in state of emergency .." and what a stirling job they are doing too. Millions out of work and unable to get any financial support from their government. Businesses closing down permanently because they can no longer afford to pay the rent/utilities on their premises. Massive queues for free food handouts from charities and charitable individuals. Yeah, they're really doing a great job.

On 5/20/2020 at 10:23 AM, petermik said:

No brainer...get your pension paid into your UK bank and transfer when needed..????

However, depending upon who you bank with in the UK, transferring it as sterling will probably work best. Not tried it with my Thai bank but certainly doing monthly transfers from NatWest to a Chinese bank was an expensive busines. Theres the £42.50 urgent transfer fee, then the cut they take (which I think was about 2%) then the fee for converting to Yuan which was 5% or £5, whichever was higher. Add to that the exchange rate they were giving was around 7.6 yuan to the pound compared to 8.8 yuan at the Chinese bank. I ended up getting the money transferred as sterling then going into the bank in China and doing the conversion there. It was a bit of a nuisance having to make 2 trips into the Chinese bank every transfer but the exchange rate I was getting was much higher and there were no fees for doing the conversion so I ended up sometimes £50 or £60 a month better off!

2 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Hmmm. I think you also highlight another problem. One with "foreign teachers". 

 

You were teaching a wide array of subjects, history, health, science, and literature (was that English literature?).

 

How many degrees do you have and in which subjects? 

 

This is a problem I see here and in other Asian countries I know.

I was teaching a wide array of subjects, from textbooks (American literature as it happens) and no, I don't have a degree related to history, or literature. I do, however, have a B.Sc. (admittedly it's in Psychology) and 23 years in the medical field as a trauma specialist. I taught those subjects because that is what the International School (American based) wanted. The job I went there for was English teacher, only after all the contracts etc. were completed did I find out what I was teaching. To be fair, it was a challenge but one I was willing to go with. I studied the material then created lessons based on what I had learned that would be achievable for the students. If you can teach, you can teach, all you need to do is learn first. 

3 minutes ago, mrfill said:

Whereas we all know a trunk is that long thing at the front of an elephant. And a hood is part of a monk's outfit isn't it?

Oh and don't forget that half way across the Atlantic we forgot how to pronounce the letter Z and that the letter U even exists.......

This problem is not just here in Thailand. I taught in an international school in China where I taught history, health, science and literature but NOT English conversation. That was taught by a Chinese teacher who could not hold a simple conversation in English and operated his class on the basis of speaking Chinese interspurced with a few English words then giving the students a 2 page handout to read aloud. His low level of teaching made my classes far more difficult. If the students (and to be fair many of them spoke better English than he did) can't manage simple sentences in English how are they meant to follow a science or history lesson? Even his handouts were abyssmal. I got into the habit of stealing a copy, correcting it and handing it out during my lessons.

Now, having said that, there is one major difference between teachers like my Chinese colleague and Thai English teachers. Many, if not most, of the Chinese English teachers I dealt with admitted openly that they found holding conversations in English difficu;t and that they had issues with pronunciation. I have NEVER met a Thai English teacher willing to make the same confession. They truly believe that THEY have the correct pronunciation (because they are THAI and therefore never wrong) and it is the native speaker that is wrong. I have actually found myself in a classroom being berated it broken English for "teaching the students bad pronunciation" because I pronounced a word correctly, not the way she did! So, seeing that TV thing, doesn't surprise me that it has government support.

On 4/16/2020 at 9:09 AM, Tagged said:

I want something in the bedroom, and thats where we have used the Black hole. We do have mosquito protection on doors and windows, and we catch some of those gets trough. 

 

Anyone experience with the one from powerbuy? 

 

https://www.powerbuy.co.th/en/mamaru-เครื่องใช้ไฟฟ้าขนาดเล็ก-mosquito-trap-1800-3000v-mr-q416-225961

 

 

Lazada x 6 times more expensive

 

https://s.lazada.co.th/s.YO1s0

 

 

and many alike these ones 

 

https://s.lazada.co.th/s.YObgc

 

Something I found effective in my b edroom in China was the "Black Trap". Apparently, certainly mosquitos, are attracted by the colour black so when I made this I wrapped the entire thing with black electrical tape. Easy to make and proved far more effective than the blue light bug zappers and less smelly than the spiral repellant wicks.

https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Plastic-Bottle-Mosquito-Trap

Well Big C in Thanyaburi is finally selling again! For now....

"The victim was a popular man with his neighbors and his death was bad for the image of Thailand said 77kaoded, thus prompting a full police investigation." Hmmm, reads wrong in my mind. What they're saying is, "Oh well, a dead farang, so sorry. Oh wait a minute, it's not doing our county's image any good....INVESTIGATE IT!!' More concerned with image than the sad and cruel death of an old man.

You see, youre all reading this story wrong. The original article actually has a POSITIVE spin if you look at it from the right point of view. 

The reason for a "contingent" of Imm. Officers making the arrest is because they look better in their new crisp uniforms and imageis important in this casde because, in a nation of 70,000,000 people they have finally tracked down the ONE non Thai who drives recklessly. It's been a long hard process involving many man hours of editing CCTV footage and speed cam files but they have finally managed to find a farang to charge so they don't have to bother charging Thai drivers who can merrily go about their business. Because, after all, we all know one farang arrested is worth 1000 Thais.

According to something from OBEC the new school year will be:

Term 1 - July 1st to November 30th

Term 2 - December 1st to April 30th 2021

Next school year commencing 15th May 2021

Any schools wanting a break between first and second terms can make up the days by opening for classes at weekends and during national holidays.

No official confirmation of the above as yet but it looks like it's going to be a long stretch for teachers. 11 months with only minimal breaks for national holidays in between (bear in mind Songkran still hasn't been given a date yet so a few days off then one supposes.)

6 hours ago, actonion said:

Reinstate the alcohol ban  because some broke the curfew law ?... these people will always break the curfew laws  no matter how long the alcohol ban is...

Although, if you read the OP, some of those apprehended were in Pathum Thani which still has the alcohol ban in place. So ban or not they are going to find some way to obtain alcohol, drugs etc. and congregate. So why bother with the ban? My fear is that the idiot running this province sees the article and decides to punish everyone by extending the ban beyond May 31st.

Hmm, Big C here is making a big thing about online shopping to reduce the number of people milling about the store. I'll have to check their site out and see if you can select which store you want your purchase delivered FROM so I can pick one from outside Pathum Thani and order a couple of cases of beer! ????  ????  ???? 

5 minutes ago, SteveK said:

The Thais are only panic buying it to sell it to farangs at a markup.

Ah, of course, Thai "Fair Trading Policy". Maybe that explains it, the Governor of my province must run the Grab franchise here, that way he can reap the rewards of the desperate, non vehicle owners like me, needing to pay 500+ BHT each way to go to Nonthburi or Bangkok just to buy a case of beer!!

Yeah, my rental expired on April 30th and I had asked about starting a new rental contract and there was no problem at all. (Nor any discount for not being able to use what facilities there are either.)

Glad some of you have been able to get resupplied. Where I am we are still banned (a 50/50 or even 40/60 split between provinces lifting the ban and not I could understand but a 4/73 split is hard to fathom!). Of course, to rub salt in the wound my local Big C still has all their stocks of BW&S out on display and have even been considerate enough to put some in the chiller cabinet, for those who prefer not to be allowed a cold beer at the ned of the day. One thing that did annoy me about the lifting/not lifting of the ban was a headline in a newspaper which read: "Booae is back on the shelves in Thailand from Sunday, May 3rd to the relief of many thirsty foreigners." It was the last 2 words that annoyed me. There have been loads of videos across social media showing the mass panic and rugby scrum approach to buying booze in the shops here when the ban was lifted and I couldn't spot a farang in any of them! So why use a headline that gives the impression the ban was lifted purely to keep the foreigners quiet, not the 10,000,000 or so Thais who descended on the shelves like a piranha feeding frenzy?

Seems there are a few here who are of the, not incorrect might I say, opinion that if you break the law you must face the consequences. I am fully in agreement with that. It has been widely publicised for weeks now that the beaches are off limits so going onto the beach is a breach of the law and therefore punishable by law. However, we're not talking about Pablo Escobar here, this is an 80 year old man who went for a walk in the wrong place. He is hardly a "flight risk" so do what a normal and decent police force would do. Take him to the police station and charge him then release him on his own recognisence until his court date. If, and it's a big IF, the policy is on the spot fines then a receipt should be given along with copies of the charge sheet etc. Not allowing the person to have copies of any paperwork when being told to hand over 50,000 BHT does not just sound 'dodgy' but criminal. As for the 2000 BHT for escorting them home when a letter from the police (they were in their staion after all so would have access to such an item) would suffice, and again, no receipt, is far from right or legal.

9 hours ago, phantomfiddler said:

May I point out that on any normal PRE-COVID day in U.S.A. an AVERAGE of 8,500 people die, every winter day, (and around 7,000 per day in the warmer months) mainly of course from respiratory ailments. I believe this to be the most gargantuan hoax ever perpetrated on the human race, and to call it a pandemic verges on the criminal. The Black Plague WAS a pandemic, killing 50% of the population in Europe at the time. This load of spin invites a comparison between 50 and 0.007% !

You cannot compare the Black (Plague) Death with Covid 19. At the time of the Black Plague medicine had not even reached it's infancy. Bleeding was the 'cure all' for any ailment. Mass media did not exist so there was no way to effectively warn and educate the masses. Housing, for those that could afford it, was woefully poor and offered no safe haven. Also, Bubonic plague was a bacterium that needed the presence of a carrier to help it spread, not a virus capable of being passed by contact and surviving on surfaces for hours. Were you to release Covid 19 in the 14th century it would, most likely, equal if not exceed the death rate of bubonic plague.

8 hours ago, BobbyL said:

Bizarre and unnecessary power trips as usual here.

 

So I take it someone living in Pathum Thani can just drive to Rangsit or Bangkok to get their beers? 

No point going to Rangsit, its in Pathum Thani and dry. Getting to Bangkok is a better option if you have your own transport. Some of us don't and as much as I would like a beer the idea of pating 1000BHT + on top of the cost of the beer just to get a car to a 7/11 or Big C to buy a couple of cases doesn't really appeal (although, I have a mate in Nonthaburi ...I wonder how much Grab delivery would be?? ????  ????  ???? ). If they HAVE to ban it (though heaven knows why they would feel they 'have' to) I just wish they would order the supermarkets to remove it from the shelves. I'm pretty sure it comes under the heading of "cruel and unnecessary torture" to leave it all out on display! At my local Big C they even have the usual 6 cans and 6 bottles of each size in the chiller cabinet at the end of the fruit and veg aisle for christ sake!! What are they keeping it chilled on the shop floor for??? 

1 hour ago, bontang said:

 

May be suitable for higher education but for the rest.... It is hard enough to keep the attention of students in the 11 - 18 age group when they're in the classroom, not a hope online. As for the younger ones, especially in schools like the one I've been working at, I'm not sure their families would have the wherewithall to be able to afford laptops/PC's, cameras, headsets etc. even if the kids genuinely wanted to learn. Again, the rich few in power thinking everyone is in the same priveliged position they are and to hell with 90% of the population.

43 minutes ago, Ricebarnandrooms said:

Brilliant 555

Some of us did stock up, FOR A 10 DAY LOCKDOWN!! Now, where I am they have extended it again until the end of May. So planning ahead can only work if the people whose plans you are planning for actually have a coherent thought that lasts more than 24 hours. And that'll never happen here!

8 minutes ago, flinc2020 said:

Doubt it, I'm in Thanyaburi and the alcohol section is still taped off with signs saying "To comply with government policy the store reserves the right to stop selling liqour and alcohol mixers of all kinds."

Guess we have a governor with his head farther up his ass than most. If Pattaya, one of the major sources of Covid 19, can sell why the hell can't a province that's only had 39 cases since the start of the pandemic? ( Barring, of course, the dozens they are likely to find when they test the inmates at the detention centre along the road from me.)