Callmeishmael

You can mention to any conservative Thais you know that this is the first step toward joining NATO. Then have fun watching their heads explode!

Let me add a contrary comment... Learning to read Thai was difficult, but it has really helped me to understand Thai better. Reading menus, street signs, signs on the storefronts, etc., really helps in everyday life. Also, Thais are really impressed by foreigners who can read a bit of Thai. Thai is a mostly regular language, and being able to read words helps with pronunciation. As for Bangkok or Chiang Mai, if you are planning to retire to a small village in the north where everyone speaks Parsa Nua in their daily lives, learning the northern dialect would probably be more useful. I doubt if the teachers at a Chiang Mai language school would teach you the local dialect, but you would hear it in shops, restaurants, etc. The opposite is true in Bangkok. While many people in Bangkok are from different parts of the country, they all speak central Thai to each other unless they are talking to someone from their hometown or province.

I had a similar problem many years ago back in the states. Try having someone turn the key while you listen under the hood. There is usually a relay switch that will click when it engages (or doesn't engage) the starter motor. It will probably be a small plug-in plastic module that you can replace for a couple of hundred baht. In my car it was located close to the battery.

I know that this is just anecdotal, but so far this morning a neighbor two houses down was hospitalized and a teacher two floors down was just diagnosed with covid. During the previous waves I didn't know anyone who was sick, but this time it seems like I am surrounded by people catching it!

Private schools can choose to join social security or can opt out and give their teachers some other kind of Health Insurance. If you are paying for social security you can use it at a Government Hospital to cover any health problems. Days off and social security are separate issues.

30 days paid sick leave is stipulated in Thai Labor law. However, if you do take anything close to that amount you can expect the have a very bad annual review and will probably not get renewed for the following year (if you don't just get fired mid-term!). There are, however, two exemptions to that law: 1) Agricultural workers as mentioned above and 2) Teachers employed by private schools, who terms of employment are covered by the Private School Act. Now, according to the Private School Act, the terms of employment for teachers at private schools should not be inferior to those at government schools, but in practice they often are. Teachers who were fired for things like excessive absence have tried to sue their employers with mixed results. Section 86 is the one that specifies that Private School employees are not covered by the Labor Law. Private School Act 2554

My wife has been following this too... Her contribution is that the police say that her leg was hit by a propeller and she bled to death, she did not drown!

Just buy her a good helmet and promise her some treat if she wears it all the time.

Technically, this is required for all K-12 teachers, but enforcement is lax. The procedure for getting a criminal check will vary depending on your nationality, but usually starts with getting fingerprinted at the Pathumwan Police Station. The report is usually good for about 6 months, so make sure that your timing is correct. Instructions from the US Embassy if you are from the US.

I suspect that the court meeting again on April 1st would be more appropriate.

After about 8 years of teaching with a waiver, I was given a 5 year license at the age of 60. I will by trying to renew it next year!

The was a link in the old Kurusapa page to a list of approved universities by country (except for the USA*). I couldn't find it recently, but I don't read Thai very well, so it may still be there. Get a friend who can read Thai fluently and they should be able to help you navigate to that page.

Though the daily cases have skyrocketed, the daily deaths have barely moved. They averaged about 15 per day and few weeks ago and are now averaging about 20/day. (Pic captured from worldometers.info)

The sooner this lot is gone, the better!

I don't see a thread for today's (Sunday) figures, so here they are: 10,879 PCR 4,632 ATK 30 Deaths

That ended decades ago. Foreigners can buy up to 1 rai of land if they make a governmetn approved investment of 30 or 40 million baht (I don't remember the exact figure). There is also the rather dodgy 'company buying land'. But if the company is non-trading and was only set up to purchase land to build a house on, the Thai government can seize the property at any time (though this is rarely done).

Are there really 23000 people applying? Or are there about 1/2 that many because the system keeps losing their registration and making them sign up again?

Wearing masks is becoming a social norm. I suspect that soon people who are 'polite' will be those wearing masks, while people who don't wear masks will be considered to be 'rude'. ????

Everyone loves a Field Trip!

It's the same in the US and I'm sure that it's the same in most Western Countries. Thailand needs to put aside this flawed interpretation of Buddhism that puts some animals above humans.

I see quite a few people saying that the dog should be euthanized or that he should not reach his second birthday. This, of course, would be the automatic outcome of a dog seriously biting a human in places like the US, UK, Australia or even France. However, I would be very surprised if this happened in Thailand. In a case like this, the owner will probably have to pay the hospital bills, but that will be all. Thai vets will not put down dogs for almost any reason, the police might write up a report, but they will not take any action. No city authorities will do anything about what they perceive as a private matter. If the owner or anyone else shoots or poisons the dog, they will probably get jailed or fined! In Thailand, the only reaction to a dog attack will be twittering by 'outraged netizens'!

The Economics Party had 6 seats, now they will have 24. I think it's more a case of Thammanat taking over the party rather than joining it!

In addition to the basic requirements or permanent residency - 3 years of paying taxes on an income of at least 40K - there is also a points system. You get points for owning a business in Thailand, employing a certain number of Thais, having Thai children, being under 40... While I meet the basic requirements for PR, I am in employee, not an employer, I have no children, I am over 60... I simply do not have the points to qualify for PR. Back to the OP, the real problem with my marriage visa are the random changes in how the requirements are interpreted from year to year. For example, one year I printed out a Google Map showing where I lived. I was told to draw a map by hand and include the location of the local police station. The next year the hand-drawn map was rejected and I was told to give them a Google Map! Every year my extension is approved, but every year the requirements have some random petty change!

A few posters on this thread have mentioned stop signs. Honestly, how many stop signs have any of you seen in Thailand? In almost 20 years of driving here, I can only recall seeing one - and that one was incorrectly used - it should have bee a yield sign as it was a place where two roads were merging. Most Thais simply don't know how to use stop signs, which means that they don't use uncontrolled stops correctly. I'm not Thai bashing here, I'm just pointing out the fact that driver training is not done properly here.

I did this accidentally a couple of passports back. The problem was that my passport name no longer exactly matched my name on my university degree and on other important documents. I had to get a copy of my Birth Certificate and get a new passport issued with my full name before the TCT would issue me a Teacher's License.