phuketsub

It's a balance thing, I think. When I lived in Phuket, I enjoyed the social life of being on a truly mixed dart team, working in a multi-national environment and all that.

But a few incidents put me off. One time as I was walking to work past Bangkok Hospital in Samkong, I noticed a Caucasian couple with a baby in front of Bangkok Hospital. I saw them trying to talk to a tuk-tuk driver, who was literally holding the map that had given him upside down.

At the time, I knew all about the public transport options in Phuket Town, so I offered my help. But not only did they reject my offer, but they were quite rude about it. I guess maybe they thought I was calling their coping/negotiation skills into question. After that I sort of gave up trying to help tourists in Phuket, unless they approached me.

Now that I live in Ranode, where the only other expats are a Finnish couple and a Kansas City Chief's fan, I will walk right up to any foreigner I meet here and introduce myself. And they are almost always friendly back to me.

It seems like NST is big enough to warrant a farang-oriented pub/bar, If someone can make it happen I will be happy to make the commute from Ranode...

God, I feel so embarrassed. Why did I think I needed a non-imm when a tourist visa would have sufficed?..just as it did on her previous two visits!

I think the problem is that my brain just sort of froze, then got stuck in that state due to frustration. Total time lost is probably about 4 hours.

Anyway, the tourist B1/B2 process is now underway and, thank god, I won't need a lawyer. [no matter how highly recommended ????

I plan to travel to the US in June with my wife and daughter, who will be attending high school there and living with my sister.

My wife has been to the US twice during our 15 years of marriage and  don't remember the application process being difficult in the past, but now it seems like a nightmare.

For a start, from what I can pull together from the US Govt Website, it appears that I will need to first send an I-130  Form to the US department of home security in Dallas, since they don't offer the service in Bangkok anymore. 

Additional online sources say it takes 5-12 months!

I really don't understand it...also, I don't understand why she has t apply for an immigrant visa when she has no intention of immigrating there.

I tried to call the embassy, but got a woman who seemed to have a Filiino accent and she told me that it was up to me and I had to do it on-line myself and that she couldn't give me any advice or further information.

God, has anybody else been through this? Is there an easier way?

I am thoroughly frustrated.

Any help VERY MUCH APPRECIATED.

Interesting. I still have a lot of contacts down there though my old line of work. Do you mind if I ask what the nature of your research is? If you don't want to say in this forum you could send by PM. I will try to help you.

Hail

salad

6 hours ago, jsw47 said:

Hello all... Can anyone in this forum recommend a professional Thai language tutor in one of the three provinces of the deep south (Yala, Pattani, or Narathiwat)? I've studied standard Thai for about 1.5 years at my university in the US, but am hoping to improve my speaking/listening through private tutoring and language immersion in the southern dialect this June-August, before I begin my research in Yala later in 2021. Any help or suggestions is greatly appreciated. 

Do you want to learn Southern Thai  (and there are many local variations) or Patani Malay? I think you could conduct research down there just as easily in Central Thai, which is really a lingua franca in the region now.

Circumstances have put me in a large house with plenty of room for farming, but still easy walking distance to 7-11s, post office, wet market and everything else. When I go back to visit some of the places I used to live, like Bangkok and Phuket Town, I realize I would be miserable if I had to go back there.

The only downsides are the lack of eye candy and all the plastic garbage strewn over everything, including what might otherwise be nice beaches.

That makes sense. I guess muscle memory is one of out greatest assets, but only up to a point. I figure my driving experiences here (with all the ghost riding and mayhem) will make driving back in the states seems pleasurable by comparison, once I make the necessary adjustments.

47 minutes ago, impulse said:

It's a US/Thailand treaty agreement, and all states should honor it.   But some cops don't know the law.  At the very least, be able to prove your identity with a passport in addition to your Thai DL.

 

I drove legally on my Thai DL (no IDP required because it's in English already) for 3 months when I first moved back to Texas.  Then, because I became a resident of Texas, I had to get a Texas DL.  Would have been the same if I moved in on a Florida or Oklahoma license.  I'm not sure what would have happened if I went beyond the 90 days...  But I suspect you'll be fine if you're not becoming a resident.

 

Thanks for the useful comment, especially the part about it being part of the US/Thailand treaty agreement.

Did you have any trouble getting used to driving 'on the right' side of the road? I haven't done it in over twenty years and I am a bit worried about that...

Useful, thanks.

Some google research came up with one very useful site, which gives an overview. https://www.usa.gov/visitors-driving

Subsequent research tells me that you only need the IDP for the state of Georgia...In my state they recommend translating the license to English.

Most states will let you drive on a foreign passport up to one year, but it's best to check with the individual states you plan to drive in....

Still, I hope I hope I don't get pulled over in Tennessee....

12 hours ago, Dominion said:

You need to ask for international driving permit with your 5year Thai driving license. Your allowed 1 year with the permit.

Thanks. Is that something I can get from the Land Transport Department?

14 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

Well I have rented a car using my Thai drivers license, if only for the reason that Rentalcars.com often gives better rates if you use your Thai license when booking.

 

So I was able to successfully rent the car from Hertz at LAX, but what happens if you were to get pulled over by the cops, I have no idea.

 

I would suspect that since you are a non resident most States allow a certain grace period for visitors to drive on their home State/Country license it would be fine

That's useful, thanks. I will check out the Rentalcars site, as I am preparing for the Thai to US price shock. [Yes, I know the baht is relatively 'strong' now, but it's still a lot more expensive stateside.]

I need to go back to the US for a few months to send my daughter to high school in Tennessee. I have been here over 30 years and my Massachusetts driving license is long-expired.

I think I remember hearing that you could drive in the US on a Thai driver's licence.

Has anyone tried this and did they experience any problems? Any advice or recommendations would be much appreciated.

[Hopefully I won't drive on the wrong side of the road!]

2 hours ago, Stocky said:

It's always been popular at weekends and public holidays for Thai families as a good day out, but it's become a popular destination for Malaysians too. The last few trips we've made I've noted the increasing number of Malaysian families. Thai families are usually found picnicking under the Casuarina trees along the beach front; the town's cleaners do great job of clearing up after them.

I used to walk the length of it just about every afternoon as the sun was setting...the amount of garbage left behind was always stunning. Half-eaten meals, diapers filled with excrement, used syringes -- you name it, it would be left behind.

The other drawback was constantly being accosted by schoolkids who were assigned to 'interview a foreigner'...I wouldn't mind once in a while, but there are so many schools in that town it used to get overwhelming. Anyway, Happy New Year Stocky!

I was in Songkhla Town in the lead-up to the New Years and was stunned not only by how many tourists there were, but also by how much they had extended the once-eroded strand back into the the sea by backfilling. There were hundreds of pickups parked out there as well, which leads me to believe that the concept of dune formation and beach fauna playing a role in erosion prevention has not quote caught on here...I didn't get any photos, but will try to find some next time I am down there.

My wife started smoking about 10 years ago just to spite me, and subsequently became a heavier smoker than me, who is perfectly fine having one after dinner...maybe a few more if I am drinking. A few months ago she had a very serious lung infection and ended up in the hospital twice, so we just made a pact to end it. Even though I was only smoking one a day, I am still surprised at how powerful the craving is after dinner....I totally agree with the initial post that smoking tobacco is the dumbest habit imaginable.

I just came across this thread with a semi-hangover on New Years Day. It's nice to see that so many others not only grapple with the same issues, but can express their thoughts on them so well.

For me the turning point came when I found out Santa Claus didn't exist, then the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy and all the others just fell like a house of cards. But I wasn't allowed to discard the Trump Card (Jesus) from the get-go. The brainwashing was just too strong.

This all happened as I was being raised a strict 'you'll burn in hell if you don't confess' Catholic. I was also forced to be an alter boy in the Archdiocese of Boston back in the 70s. Talk about creepy. Perhaps I should just consider myself lucky I was never molested.  But my experience as an altar boy came to a gratefully early end when I passed out on the altar during a mass.

My parents (mom was the religious one, dad always just tried to make her happy) said it was because we had to rush to church and skipped breakfast that morning. I felt it was out of sheer boredom. In retrospect maybe there was stress involved. I was deeply nearsighted, but they wouldn't let me wear my glasses on the altar because they said it didn't look good.

Altar boys have certain tasks, such as ringing the bells at certain times while the priest is blessing the eucharists. Obviously this was stressful because I couldn't see what was going on and I couldn't catch eye signals from others if I screwed up. Another task was standing next to the priest as he gave out communion in the unlikely event that it should somehow (and God forbid!) fall to the floor. If one of those wafers his the pavement, I was going to burn in hell.

Around the same time I was also beginning to confront the priests with my reservations.

I was also forced to go to Sunday School, where we were taught by 'laypeople' in small groups. I felt like the texts we were given were an insult to my intelligence, and the fact that nobody would listen to my questions, let alone give them reasonable answers, was deeply discomforting. 

One day the priest (one I had done masses with) peeked his head into the classroom as the teacher was going on about the importance of the Eucharist and communion. When I said 'but the Eucharist is obviously just a symbol representing the body of Christ'...he came back with the dried-in-cement Dogma about you having to accept that it is ACTUALLY the body of Christ.

So I pointed out that the idea of eating human flesh was clearly revolting and that, as an altar boy, I knew for a fact that all the eucharists were sent to the church from a company in Fall River (a city in Massachusetts) because I inspected the bag they came in. At this point the layteacher got angry at me and interjected. All the other kids line up with her against me. I don't think I ever felt the power of the brainwashing any stronger than that morning.

My wife and I run a small English language school down here in Songkhla and every year I get roped into giving a Christmas presentation to all the students, from age 4 up to adults. So I threw together a small powerpoint about my experience.

All the kids really just want is to get involved with eating sugar and getting gifts so it quite literally falls on deaf ears, but at least if forced me to go back through my difficult relationship with religion and made this thread especially particularly interesting for me.

Anyway, Happy New Year to all in this thread! Now back to work...

I have to emcee a big Xmas party for little kids tomorrow (totally against my will since I am not Christian, but the School Director (my wife) sees it otherwise)...

Anyway, I need a few good animated videoes. I have the all-time classic The Grinch That Stole Chrismas locked and loaded. I just need one more. I don't want anything over half and hour, preferably with simple English.

Any recommendations much appreciated. Merry Xmas!

 not even a mention of the fact that this takes place every year during the monsoon season?

Why not quote someone are back it up with some figures?

On 12/7/2019 at 9:57 AM, Stocky said:

It's not the rubberised tarmac the government has been touting as a solution to the low rubber prices? Would make some sense in that it would absorb a little of the impact from the waves.

Hmm...that's interesting. I wasn't ware of that, but I'll try to look into it.