rott

Slavery to us today is unthinkable, but a few hundred years ago people thought differently, and I seem to remember that the (devout) Roman Catholic

countries were not behind the door in this.

And you're not bigoted garro??

Regarding integration; the last time I looked Adams, Morrison and McGuinness were all

Scottish Protestant names.

Pots, kettles etc.

L.O.L.

rott

FAO PeaceBlondie mainly,

Just curious, after the previous speculation was May 2007 recruitment

any different to previous years?

When it came to the crunch did the consulates refuse visas to people

without degrees or police certificates, and did the possibility of this reduce the number of applicants at all?

rott

I've spoken to people who've done it and I'm also considering it.

Try websites ''seat 61'', and ''Real Russia''.

Not impossible, Eurostar to Brussels, Brussels/Cologne/Moscow.

Trans-Siberian/Manchurian to Beijing. Beijing/Hanoi.

Backpacker bus Hanoi to Vientiane.

I suppose it takes a bit of sorting and a load of passport pages used for visas.

If you do it why not run a thread.

Best of luck.

The Q bar and Bed are right outside my condo door. both places are hopelessly lame. I'd rather get hit by a Mack Truck than listen to offensive hip hop trash. Try Woodstock

Yeah! Empty expensive burge joints in Thong Lo rock! You've got your inger on the pulse, dude.

Used to enjoy a few in Woodstock when it was in Nana, tried the new place once and that was enough. Bobby's Arms also deserted.

What's Jools like now with the new regime?

Sorry, perhaps i should have started an old gits thread.

Well ! I do not think what you said is right . In todays world we are all citizens of the world first. If we start narrowing down our vision then definately one cannot hope for widening horizons and learning and sharing and contributing for the cause of quality education. I am possitive that very soon I will make it to Thailand with the help of well wishers and teaching fraternity at large.

Sorry chum, in todays world we are definitely NOT all citizens of the world first, definitely not in Thailand and definitely not in India.

A piece of constructive criticism:- perhaps a closer look at your second post will show why a native speaker is preferred.

Compared to a teacher's pay in the 'west' it's low pay, but compared to

(or with) the average wage paid to a teacher,nurse or policeman in

Thailand it's not to be sniffed at.

Have just tried www.raimonland.com/bbl/ and google blanked me.

Are there clean/air coned rooms in the 500 baht range? Looks like I'll be heading over at the end of the month...

Tight git. It's Singapore not Surat.

You might just get a dorm bed, try 'Hostelbookers', or some backpackers sites

Similar to above, try Geylang Road Lorongs 12 to 22 (Lorong=Soi)' many

Hotel 81 and similar at approx £20 per night. Not exactly close to the

Thai Embassy but all local transport bus/metro/taxi is cheap and efficient.

Try the Hotel 81 in either Lorong 12 or 18.

Be warned Geylang is the local 'red light' area, but no problem andthe above hotels are O.K. and well run.

Are there any navigable inland waterways - lakes/rivers/canals in Thailand where cabin cruisers or dayboats are available for hire, or even

for sale?

Occasionally I get the urge to go tooling about in a small boat on slow, safe water.

Any and all info. would be appreciated.

I'm sure Sunbelt are O.K., alternatively you could try Bob Clapham a

London guy who I've heard good reports of.

Don't just have his details but seem to remember he's up around the

top end of Soi !7 somewhere.

Just to add to my earlier piece, I am keen to buy a condo in Thailand, but am hanging back mainly because I see an illiquid market where I feel properties can take years rather than months to sell.

A secondary reason is a lack of confidence in the future attitude (of whoever is in government) towards farang residence visas and property rights.

Troubles in the South, while being a very real and serious problem,

currently would rate somewhere behind the perennial question of the

possible price crash and is it or isn't it an overpriced/oversupplied

market.

Whilst pondering the above and wandering the internet I became aware

of the surprisingly low prices of property (oh alright, 'real estate') in

the USA compared to the UK, and to an extent Thailand.

In the meantime rental and casuai accommodation prices are low,

so who's rushing.

One point I've only just realised is that condo's in Florida can be cheaper than Thailand.

Difficult to compare like with like by just looking at the internet, but there looks to be plenty of choice under £50,000/$100,000.

No doubt some of our American contributors can say whether I'm talking sense or not.

Sukanyacondo, thanks for your info, I'm glad you replied - otherwise I'd be getting paranoid.

I'd hoped for an informed response from some of the regular contributors, but obviously the phrase ''lower priced condo'' on TV is the equivalent of saying ''toilet'' in SW1, or farting in church or whatever.

All the best

rott

Beardog, thanks for that, you confirm what I had been thinking.

However I don't see much evidence of people cutting prices to offload

properties, neither have I seen anyof these 20% discounts that are

mentioned.

''Can Falangs really be that poor/cheap?''

2 years ago in Pattaya one character was advertising for a fully furnished room, MAX. 4.000 per month inc.water and electric, t.v. etc.

and the owner to sublet when he was awy for a few days.

Plenty of skint members about.

Anyone with knowledge or experience of the more 'workaday' condos

in Bangkok, e.g. Omni, Saranjai, Ruenrudee (Suk. Soi 1), Withayu, etc.

For re-sales are they likely to move reasonably quickly or sit on the market for a while, and do they have decent occupancy rates as rentals?

I have noticed mixed comments on other threads about the juristic persons/management attitudes.

Yes I am a bit of a cheap git, and yes I am picking people's brains, but other similar threads only seem to relate to top end developments,

and are only of academic interest to me and my ilk(semi-permanent

residents).

Anything is possible. Forty years ago, did you learn grammar and syntax? Have you honed your language skills since then? Can you still run circles around a teacher who just sits in a chair reciting platitudes and vocab words into a $20 sound system? Can you make jokes and remember students' names?

Are you genuinely interested in teaching EFL in Thailand because you think you'll like it, or will it just buy you some booze and some off fees? Have you shown yourself that you (still) have what it takes to overcome obstacles? Can you stand the heat, literally and culturally? Then, welcome to the club of older teachers in Thailand who enjoy the job.

Good luck; it's a tough row to hoe.

Many thanks to all who replied to my query.

Fortunately your opinions and information are far more positive and encouraging than I had been expecting, so it's looking like a 'goer'.

The jobs mentioned seem roughly as good as I had been hoping to

be offered, though a 3,000 strong school in a 'small' town is probably more logical to you than me at this stage. I have spent many a pleasant evening under the Nakhon Sawan skies so it wouldn't come

as too much of a shock.

Pity I didn't think about it years ago, at the moment I have about 4

months to do in London so I'll be planning a TEFL course for later inthe year.

Again thanks to everyone, your efforts are much appreciated.

rott

Is it really possible at age (approx) 60, without a degree or teaching

experience, (''O'' level English 40 years ago!) to just do a TEFL course

and get work as a teacher?

Obviously nothing is guaranteed, and employers would give preference to experienced applicants, but does it happen?

Sorry if I caused confusion by posting this in the wrong place yesterday.

No teaching experience or degree, ( ''O'' level English a long time ago ), wouid

a TEFL certificate really get me a job?

Any advice appreciated.

Anyone know roughly how many condos there are in bangkok and pattaya,

how many are on the market at any one time, and a mean average of how long they take to sell?

Does anyone know roughly how many condos there are in pattaya/jomtien, and how many are on the market at any one time?

On average how long are they on the market for before selling?

Same for bangkok.