grtaylor

Actually a lot of the "expat" type Christmas events, carol concerts, parties etc. etc., tend to happen before the international schools close (my school: 12th December), as many expats with kids tend to go away for the holidays.

So what if you scrape all your money together to send them to Prem or Grace et al.. And then what when they get out of there.. They will find they can't even get into CMU or Chula in Thailand because nobody ever bothered to teach them the basics of what Thai schools teach (language and their version of Thai history.. Not saying that knowledge of their version of Thai history is worth two rusty satangs, but you need that to get into mainstream higher Thai universities.)

Nonsense. Many non-Thai speaking students from my school in Bangkok have gone on to Chula or Thammasat or Mahidol all of which run international programs taught in English.

Some schools have American accreditation by WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) or NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges), and European Accreditation by CIS (Council of International Schools).

Most are members of ISAT (International Schools Association of Thailand) http://www.isat.or.th where you can do a database search for schools in different areas of the country.

The word "International" in a school name can be misleading. I guess, technically, it means a school which does not teach the Thai National Curriculum, but another, such as the English National Curriculum, or American curriculum, or the curriculum of the IBO (International Baccalaureate Organisation). Having said that, many schools which claim this title have a very high percentage of Thai students.

Many of the international schools regularly have students getting places at prestigious colleges world-wide.

Schools which teach the Thai Curriculum in a mixture of English and Thai are generally referred to as "Bi-lingual".

Cheers,

Graham

Just out of interest, who are the 2 European ladies with the title of Khun Ying?

Simon

One is Khunying Finola Chatamra, an English lady married to a very eminent Thai gynaecologist, Dr. Kris Chatamra.

I don't know who the other one is.

Interesting, I never knew non Thais could get it.

My American friend got the Knight Commander of the Exalted White Elephant. I don't know of any other foreigner to get this one. In '97 during the financial crisis(thank God for it as I'm geting 52 baht to the pound now instead of 37), when the banks were refusing to change large amounts of cash, he went back to the bank with his award and they changed the money immediately. Pretty useful for getting of with traffic fines too

Kurt Wachtveitl, GM of the Oriental Hotel, has the Order of the White Elephant (4th Class), and I think that Father Joe Meier, of the Human Development Foundation has it also.

Just out of interest, who are the 2 European ladies with the title of Khun Ying?

Simon

One is Khunying Finola Chatamra, an English lady married to a very eminent Thai gynaecologist, Dr. Kris Chatamra.

I don't know who the other one is.

I do alot of cooking and I prefer to cook with Non Iodized salt. But i have not been able to find any Kosher salt or Coarse Sea salt.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Never understood this. I thought "Kosher" was to do with the way animals are slaughtered, and not mixing meat and dairy. What has that got to do with salt? . . . . .

I agree...sounds like a misapprehension of the concept. It never ceases to amaze me what different societies or people believe in and the ends to which they go to do things - supposedly - the "correct" way. Most of it is a load of drivel in my modest opinion......

agreed . . . . .

I do alot of cooking and I prefer to cook with Non Iodized salt. But i have not been able to find any Kosher salt or Coarse Sea salt.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Never understood this. I thought "Kosher" was to do with the way animals are slaughtered, and not mixing meat and dairy. What has that got to do with salt? . . . . .

I took mine (seven years old) to a good dry cleaners two weeks ago, and they made a fantastic job of cleaning them. They came back with all the pleats still intact, and looked absolutely like new when I hung them back up. Total cost for six windows, and one large set of patio door curtains - 3,000 baht.

G

Name and/or address of said establishment, please!

Well, I'm not sure where you are, but my house is in Pattaya. I took them to a place which I think is called Express Dry Clean (something like that), in South Road, just down towards the third road lights from the Mosque.

Cheers,

Graham

I took mine (seven years old) to a good dry cleaners two weeks ago, and they made a fantastic job of cleaning them. They came back with all the pleats still intact, and looked absolutely like new when I hung them back up. Total cost for six windows, and one large set of patio door curtains - 3,000 baht.

G

Liver cancer is a horrible way to go. Nobody deserves this type of fate. It's shameful to see how people on this forum hide behind a screen while throwing daggers with their keyboard at someone who is destined to suffer dreadfully.

Agreed - my father died from Liver Cancer . . . . . .

G

I have nothing against non-degreed teachers per se, but I do against people that commit fraud. Lots of good folks without a degree who are enthusiastic, hard working and willing to learn. Also quite committed. At least I know what I am getting.

One of the best teachers I ever worked worked with - fantastic with KG kids, and really good on the whole dyslexia testing and identifying situation, had not a single degree or certificate to her name!

I guess, with today's obsession that certificates prove you are a good teacher, she wouldn't get a job . . . . .

The issue of degree versus non-degree has been discussed lots, and the general consensus among those without degrees is that non-degree teachers are somehow better - seems like reverse-snobbery to me, but there you go. Anyway the discussion is about fake degrees and I wonder if people are willing to lie about their degree what else are they lying about?

I have no axe to grind on that - I have a degree and certification. I guess the point I am making is that experience, references, and appraisal reports which show that you can do the job effectively, should be more important than whether you have a particular degree or not. On the other hand, to return to the topic, these are probably even easier to fake . . . . .

I have nothing against non-degreed teachers per se, but I do against people that commit fraud. Lots of good folks without a degree who are enthusiastic, hard working and willing to learn. Also quite committed. At least I know what I am getting.

One of the best teachers I ever worked worked with - fantastic with KG kids, and really good on the whole dyslexia testing and identifying situation, had not a single degree or certificate to her name!

I guess, with today's obsession that certificates prove you are a good teacher, she wouldn't get a job . . . . .

However, some are less easy to spot as fakes. A farang friend of mine teaches at a bilingual school and is often asked to review the qualifications of applicants. He was shown one from the "University of Leeds", which does exist, in West Yorkshire, UK, and is a highly respected institution.

However, the certificate was, to him, obviously, a fake, as he himself is a Leeds graduate, has a real one and knows what they look like. The Vice-Chancellor's names was wrong, and the certificate had all that flowery language which you never get on real British degree certificates, "The Board of Regents by the authority invested in it, does with these presents invest xxxxx with the all rights, privileges, and appurtenances . . . . " etc.

Also, many fake certificates are of too high a quality for the time they were supposedly granted. My pre-computer degree certificate (1976) has my name typed on it with a type-writer, and the Vice-Chancellors signature is a rubber stamp!

G

The title is usually stated in English as governor, but some media outlets use the term mayor.

The BBC probably used "Mayor" as that is the term familiar to people in the UK. The only places which have "Governors" in the UK are schools (Board of Governors) and prisons!

G

I am curious to know what people's experiences with international school teaching in Thailand has been. I teach at one in Chiang Mai and I find my job delightful. In the USA I literally left teaching due to the horrendous conditions and did other work. Moving here I did the usual teaching other kinds of schools and so know the debilitating conditions that can exist in many Thai schools..........admin nightmares, lack of work permits, low pay, huge classes. My last few years have been in direct constrast to that. I am 57 and have no age perception probelms at work. Small classes and interested students. What I consider to be pretty reasonable pay, vacations and benefits though some others, mostly directly here from western countries feel its not enough. It affords me a fairly comfortable lifestyle to the extent I have purchased a car and am buying a home strictly on local wages. I feel very fortunate. Of course there are probelms in any school and no job is heaven...........I mean thats why they pay us to do them..........but what are the experiences of others? I havent seen much in this forum on this topic and so am curious. THANKS>

I have also made the move to one of the top tier international schools and it is a whole different world. A very nice one and I echo most of what you have written. Students are attentive and interested in learning and seem to understand the importance of a good education. Salary and benefits also fall into the "whole different world" category and age is not a factor whatsoever. The only regret I have is that I did not do it sooner.

I would like to interview some of the top tier international schools in Thailand for my daughter to attend. Looking for an English language curriculum in science and math as well as a thai curriculum.... Chiang Mai, Hua Hin , or others would be

viable however not interested in BKK or Pattaya.

I also would like to know which schools are the top tier schools in Thailand and which are the best? I will relocate to the area once I decide on a school for my 3 kids. They are currently going to a bi-lingual ashool which is OK but all the other kids are Thai so their language skills are not developing adequitely. I know they are expensive.

Where are you living now?

I expect the content of the courses is demanding, but because of the "no-one fails" system which I'm advised operates at all

education levels, your degree won't get much if any recognition I think.

Not true - I did the Graduate Diploma in Education at Assumption University, and quite a number of people on the course failed . . . . .

G

My international school requires a degree (minimum BA, BSc or BEd) + national certification + a minimum of two years experience in a "real" school, i.e. not a language school. ESL teachers, in addition, are required to have an ESL qualification.

Basically, you need to have the qualifications which would allow you to teach in your home country. State Certification for the USA, PGCE for England, etc., etc.

G

What about getting the raillink to the airport, not the BTS!

I wish you good luck, taxi for you!

Err, most of us will have to get the BTS in order to get to the airport rail-link . . . . .

Glad to hear you guys have had good experiences there at Bumrungrad.... If you had a particularly good experience, you ought to mention the doctor(s) involved and their specialty....since who you get/have as your treating physician/surgeon makes a world of difference between good and bad....

Totally agree, here's my ten baht's worth:

Dr. Arram, Cardiologist - he was not my preferred choice at the outset but as I got to know some people at Bumrungrad I found out that the OR Nurses all reckon he is the one they trust, recommend and would use if they needed cardiac work performed. Can't get much better than that in my book.

Dr. Viroj Chodchoy, Urologist - I did not choose him, as I arrived at the hospital without an appointment. Luck was on my side, most definitely! Much the same as above, all the other staff have the utmost respect for him. I have other friends who have been his patients, and all speak equally highly of him.

One morning I woke up unable to move without extreme agony,muscle spasms, and my legs were practically numb went to Bangkok Pattaya and the doctors said I had a back strain due to my deformed spine and to simply rest, three days later woke up in the middle of the night in extreme agony, muscle spasms and decided to go to Pattaya International spent three nights there simply taking painkillers. Both times sent home in an ambulance as neither knew what to do, had the same spinal x-rays at both. And the amount of problems we had with the cashier's there and payment too much to go in to just now.

Then decided to go to Bumrungrad, had them send me an ambulance to Pattaya cashier told me not to worry about payment as my case was emergency they will come and see me later on.Anyways, within the following 24 hours they found out I had multiple fractures in my spine, long story short yes it was expensive(however the daily room cost was less than both the Pattaya hospitals)but I was diagnosed quickly and all my doctors spoke fluent English and I am now fully recovered. I now make monthly trips to see their rheumatologist and eye specialists.

For me I would not consider anywhere else now.

A friend of mine went to Bangkok-Pattaya with a "sore" patch on his face, above his cheek. The doctor there diagnosed it as a insect bite, and gave him some cream for it. He was not happy about this, so eventually decided to go to Bumrungrad, and get a second opinion. It turned out, after a biopsy, to be skin cancer . . . . . He won't go back to Bangkok-Pattaya again.

I have been treated at BIH over the last 2 years for superficial cancer of the bladder, and could not have had better care or treatment anywhere. However, its not cheap (by Thai standards), but fortunately the insurance is paying.

G

Get a new UK passport here and you will have no problem.

If you get a new passport issued in Bangkok (FOC), then the pages with valid visas and stamps will be folded in and the whole top right corner then cut off the passport. Those folded in pages are intact and thus still valid.

You can then go to the immigration dept who issued the extension and get both the stamp and extension transfered to your new passport.

Don't know what they do in the UK if you still have valid visa(s)/re-entry permit(s) in a passport that is replaced.

Exactly my point.

G

At about 4 PM today on Silom Soi 4 the former Roxy Club, Icon for some and Rome club for the nostagics, has collapse. The 4 stories, front part, went down on the street. No casualties, thank God.

Luckily it was in the afternoon otherwise it would have been a lot worse had it happen in the evening.

The electric supply has been cut off on that side of the Soi from Balcony to Noriega.

The sustaining wall between Roxy and Balcony has been severly dammaged.

Both venues are out of bound until the structural engineers have evaluated the security factors.

Former Roxy was undergoing renovations at the time.

is this anywhere near convent rd?

Soi 4 is the opposite side of Silom, almost directly opposite Convent.

G

BBC Model B Micro - 32Kb of RAM, and a cassette recorder for your programs. This was when the DoE gave a free computer to every school in the UK! It was sometime in the mid-80s, before 1987, but not sure of the exact year.

G

I have a 1 year extension that expires on the same day as my passport next May.

I am due to go back to the UK for a few weeks soon so would there be any problems if I got a new passport whilst there and arrived back in Thailand with it plus my old invalid book which has my visa in it.

Would they transfer the visa at the airport or ask me to go to Suan Plu and get it done or worse give me a hard time about haw long they would let me stay.

The alternative is to get a new book here but I have been told it is better to have a book issued in your home country for some reason.

Any advice gratefully received.

My gut reaction is that you would have a real problem, because your old passport, and therefore the visa, would be invalid.

The first time I renewed my passport here, for some reason, nobody told me about visa transferal. The next time I left the country, with both passports, the immigration official told me "you have no visa for Thailand - you are here illegally." I pointed out that it was in my old passport, and he told me it was not valid as the passport had been cancelled. After quite a bit of arguing, he let me go, with a hand-written note in my new passport.

When I last renewed my passport here at the British Embassy, they were careful, in cutting the corner off the book, not to cut it off the one page with the visa, so that one particular page was still valid. I think you'd have a problem persuading the people in the UK to leave one page valid like that. I believe the transfer has to be done at Immigration, and that you now need an official letter from the embassy asking them to transfer the visa.

G

Was in Langkawi, Penang and KL in April this year, and used my (4 digit) SCB ATM card in all three places - no problem anywhere. . . . .