phuketsub

On 11/11/2022 at 6:01 AM, VinnieK said:

Narathiwat?

Sure....and the season lasts longer the further south you go. 

Don't despair..another two months to go.????????

The dry days are glorious though.

What happened to Narathiwat's weather radar?

Thanks Stocky. Useful, as always!

I notice the SatingPhra Weather Radar has a security glitch, so you have to go into advanced mode to see it. Big Government at work. 

1 hour ago, BostonRob2 said:

Thanks. Funnily enough it was rather "fowl" - I was very lucky overall and should have won far more easily if I hadn't made so many crass old man errors! I played tens of thousands of online games in the noughties but have quit that to concentrate on playing solo otherwise I'd look you up for a game. Online play can be detrimental to my thought processes and I also got tired of being called a cheat and even less savory names. You're in Phuket? We usually have a tournament there at Jung Ceylon, why not look in the next time. You'd be glad you did. Playing online I would suggest you also try isc.ro where the standar of players will be generally higher than scrabble Go. 

 

Sincerely,

 

Rooster

Thanks and Congrats Rooster, 

I am in Songkhla now, but was a long time resident of Phuket working in the media there. 

However I can get over there for a Scrabble tournament. I have never actually been in one. Is there a website or something where the times, dates and guidelines are available? Thanks again. 

Congrats to Rooster. Far from a fowl performance.  I play on the 

ScrabbleGo App (AWS: 22, id 117203430) ...Classic Mode if anyone is interested. None of my current regular opponents are Thai expats. 

Not that it is any consolation, but please note the double-parking and traffic problems are just as bad as ever...it still baffles me as to what is fueling it, given the overall economic decline. 

Just a heads up to anyone who needs to renew a work permit: the provincial labor office has moved to a new location, just up the street from the ferry docking area, from its old location near the BP Hotel at Samila Beach. What got me the most is that at the old office, which is now chained up, they didn't even have a sign to let people know to where they had moved. I got the precious intel from a group or tuk-tuk drivers nearby. Just an FYI. 

useful info, thanks 

On 5/27/2022 at 2:46 AM, Jingthing said:

When are they going to drop those infernal and largely useless temperature scanning thingies?

I had to buy one to reopen my school. They cost 1700 baht; cheaper than I expected but still a complete waste of money.

They finally let me reopen my school, but it is frustrating trying to teach kids who are muzzled up English because you can't see their mouths move...this will be a huge step forward. Strangely, most of the kids seem quite happy to wear the masks...not the same for their teacher, though!

I find one of the best ways to keep students on their toes is to 'randomly' throw out questions for them to answer. I used to give them all a little piece of paper to draw from a hat until I discovered this sight: www.random.org

Just assign each student a number at the beginning of class and let the chips fall where they may. 

It is probably one of my most used online resources for teaching and thought other teachers who weren't aware of it might benefit. Have a nice day.

23 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Well,

 

aa. If you are too poor to actually travel to other countries, then you might still be able to visit Disney's EPCOT Theme Park, where you can travel the world just by walking through the exhibits, within about an hour.

 

bb. Or, if you have a bit more money, then you might be able to travel, as a tourist, to places like Thailand.  And, during your visit to Thailand, you might be able to see this land in the same way as you might see the Thailand exhibit at the EPCOT theme park.

 

I am not sure how much clearer I could be.

 

cc.  What I suggested is that tourists, in many cases, treat foreign countries as oddities.  Tourists treat real countries in almost the same way they might view exhibits in a theme park, such as EPCOT center.

 

dd.  Maybe this is why tourists are viewed with distaste, by most.  And, it is only the money of the tourist which makes the tourist slightly tolerable. 

 

 

OK.

 

NOW, do you get my meaning?

 

Hope it is crystal clear.

Yes, I get your point; though at this stage nothing is crystal clear. As for profound insights, I don't have many, but one thing I have learned along the way is to steer clear of people who think they know 'the truth'. I just try to enjoy the show.

3 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

So, after 33 years, other than this topic, what is your most profound thought about your experience, so far?

 

You came to Thailand in 1989.  And, I first came to Thailand in 1971, although I wish I had come earlier.

 

I would have preferred to come to Thailand in 1961, for sure....  Maybe, if I had done so, then I would be far more fluent than I am now.

 

Here is a profound thought for you:

 

During the past several decades, probably beginning around 1970, the culture here, just as the culture in other Asian lands, has been evermore diluted by gradually increasing tourism, but even more by television and other types of media.

 

Even in 1971, there was still an extensive amount of western influence in Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, etc., etc., etc.

 

So here is a profound question for you:

 

Just how far back would you need to travel, in time, in order to find an unadulterated, pure, culture?

 

The answer is, of course, there is no such thing as an unadulterated culture.

 

You just need to choose your time and place.

 

As for me, I might like to choose Hong Kong and HK Disneyland.

 

Hong Kong Disneyland is my idea of an ideal Asia.

 

Any more profound thoughts, my friend?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like the concept of 'unadulterated culture', which makes me think of a barren petri dish bathed in preservative. I don't really get the Hong Kong Disneyland reference, though. Maybe you could explain. 

1 hour ago, Peterw42 said:

As others have touched on. These guys that wallow in a state of victumhood, are the very guys that created it. They come as 2 week millionaires, splash the cash around, pay double the taxi fare, tip a waitress half a days pay, pay more than western prices for good/services, label anyone not doing the same as cheap Charlies.

Then they move here and wonder why everything is 2 week millionaire pricing.

I think you're right...Living here hand-to-mouth for a long stretch seemed rough at times, but actually paid off in the long run. Also, Thais are mostly helpful and supportive when you're just scraping by...and that includes bar girls, at least in my experience. 

13 hours ago, CrunchWrapSupreme said:

Indeed. One must watch out more for the other farangs. They're the real snakes in the grass. Especially as a teacher, if you have the misfortune of working under another farang. They'll totally throw you under the bus. They've become their Thai bosses' obedient lackies, emasculated, castrated, hehe, so they must do something to soothe those bruised egos. They very well can't bite the hand that feeds them, so they go after the only ones they can, other farangs. Truly some sad sacks.

Yes, that is a good point. I have come across a number of very shady and untrustworthy farangs here. Most are fine, but the some who get to minor management positions can turn for the worse.

Has anybody ever been to this Hala Bala Wildlife Preserve on the Malay border in Narathiwat? I have a plan to go with a keen birdwatcher next week and would like some advice.regarding accommodation, what to see/avoid doing, etc.  They say it is the 'Amazon of Asean'. Hmm...

The TAT is organizing a distance swimming event called the Singora Lake Swim on the 15th of March. 

There are only three days left to register for the event, which will have both 2km and 5km swims. 

I came across this last night as I was drinking beer and was initially stunned that anyone would swim in Songkhla Lake. As a lifelong ocean distance swimmer myself I had some immediate concerns about the quality of the water in Songkhla Lake as well as the currents therein.  

So I left a message for the organizers and was actually pretty surprised when they answered and asked me to  call them back this morning. 

I spoke with race organizer Anusit 'Golf' Sukprasert, who assured me that safety was a primary concern for the organizers and there would be safety kayaks and vessels in position to help any swimmers throughout. Also, every participant would be required to pull along something known as a 'safety buoy' as well. 

Asked about the water quality he told me that he had already swum the course on his own. He said he worked for a private organization that had already organized similar events in places such as Phuket and Chumphon. 

The even will start at the Red Mill in Songkhla's Old Town area, where there will be related events over the entire weekend including a safety clinic for participants on Saturday morning, the day before the actual swim. 

He said that fewer than 100 people had registered for the swims, which have registration fees of just over 1000 baht, which will include t-shirts for the first 300 finishers. 

Anyway, the even does appear to be pretty well organized. I am still undecided on whether to take part or not. There is a lot of info available at the facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/singoralakeswim for anyone else who might be interested. Most of the info is in Thai language only, however. 

But if you have questions the organizer K. Golf speaks English very well and can be contacted by Messenger via the facebook page. 

4 hours ago, mrwebb8825 said:

and parts of the body as I learned from a British Lady coworker. Seems Americans keep our "fanny" in the back and everyone has 1 where as in England... 

As for teaching Time in primary school here in Thailand, I (used to teach, 21 yrs, now retired) taught analog and digital combined as Thai time appears to be based on the military 24 hour clock hence hearing "21 o'clock" a an answer to 9pm.

Our favorite "game" was me drawing blank clocks (round and rectangular) and writing the time and then reversing it by drawing the time and having the student write it. Took generally 10 minutes to set up and run through every (or every other) morning and made for a nice eye opener for the day's lesson.

I've done the clock drawing game as well. I had two stints working at Rajabhat and the second time was 'tourism' majors, mostly students preparing to be tour guides. I was pretty shocked that none of them were competent at telling time. Fortunately, the course allowed me to set up my own curriculum, so that I made that a top priority. There was a big analog clock on the wall, so every five minutes I would draw a name at random (50+ students, if they all showed up) and ask them 'What time is it?' I think the fear of possible embarrassment motivated them to get competent at it. 

I have been teaching here on and off for 30+ years. I started out of necessity, then got fluent in Thai and worked in the media for many years, but I continued teaching on the side to motivated students. Then the media just sort of died out, and I went back to it -- not really out of financial necessity, but because I enjoy it and, let's face it, if you do something for that long you tend to get better at it over time -- even if you don't have a TEFL certificate to show off. 

My little school here in the south has been closed since April (you know why), but I still have all the students I can handle online. At least it keeps me fairly accurate in trying to keep track of what day it is. 

One of the things I have experienced over the many years of teaching is how it is looked down upon by so many with 'real jobs' (including time share hustlers and other scam artists). When I started working in the media doing investigative journalism and writing editorials, I thought that would be my 'life's work'. But over time the media outlet I worked for sold off their archives and much of that now rests in unsearchable .pdf files that will never be read again or used as research. (Thaiger, please take note)

On the contrary, some of the students I taught as kids decades ago are now grown up and doing well in their various life pursuits and keep in touch, making the teaching experience more gratifying in the long run by far. 

Anyway, I count myself as extremely lucky to have been able to get by here on teaching for so many years. It would never have been an option if I weren't a native speaker with a strong interest in languages, so I feel like I am eternally grateful for that. I'd like to keep on doing it as long as I can. 

Anyway, sorry for such a long post...that's just the morning coffee at work. But I would like to hear from other long-time teachers who are winding down their careers or considering retirement. 

17 hours ago, MarcelV said:

My well-off, homeschooled students in Narathiwat certainly had difficulty telling the time as well.

Maybe you and I are just getting old.

I know I am!

12 hours ago, blackprince said:

Don't Americans usually say 15 after, or a quarter after, rather than quarter past? Ditto (in reverse) with quarter to. Not that we need to emulate Americans of course, just that it's better to standardise imho.

 

Consequently I've come to the conclusion that 3.15 = three fifteen or 2.45 = two forty five etc. This is also the simplest way to tell the time in Thai too, so it's the easiest  method for Thais of all ages to pick up, and suits British, American and other native forms of English.

 

But thank Buddha that telling the time in English is less difficult than the traditional Thai way of splitting the 24 hours into 4 segments.

 

PS I've never actually seen two fifteen for example as exclusively analog, but I see what you mean.

 

 

I agree that standardization could be helpful. Image how much easier what the world would be like if all the countries drove on the same side of the road, for example. 

As for the difference between Br. E and Am. E, telling time is pretty much the same, except that Americans are more likely to say "three-thirty" than 'half-past three' and they also tend to drop the indefinite article for "quarter past" and "half past". But those are just minor differences and for the most part we remain very mutually intelligible in this area, unlike in other realms such as describing parts of a car.

On 11/25/2021 at 12:19 PM, MarcelV said:

We're teaching online.

I am in Songkhla and my little school has been closed for months. I started doing some teaching online, but just small classes on Skype...what do you think is the best app for teaching online?

I am an English-language teacher, currently teaching mostly prathom level students. 

For many years I put a priority on getting kids able to 'tell the time' in English: 

'2:15=Quarter past two', '9:50=Ten to ten', as based on the analog clock. 

But since the main point is to get the kids to be able to communicate effectively, I have been wondering if all that is useful anymore given that the majority of clocks seem to be analog these days. 

The issue raised itself again when I was recently talking to a friend back in the States who said that even 

his two teenage kids there had trouble talking about time in the analog way, but rather just read it off the clock:

2:15= two fifteen, 9:50=nine-fifty. 

So I guess I am just wondering if anyone else on this topic on a very rainy day down here in Songkhla...