rhaugland

The Starfish Country Home School is seeking a full-time Web-Site Designer and Webmaster to develop and administer a new Web site for FREE dissemination of our outstanding curricula for learning to read Thai and English and for early childhood education in math and science. The Target audience includes both non-Thais wanting to learn to read Thai and Thais wanting to learn to read English. This will be particularly useful for home-schooled young students. The Starfish Country Home School has the record of being perhaps the best Thai school in Chiangmai Province.

We can offer a good salary, free accommodations in a new private air-conditioned room and free food served communally. The rural facilities are modern and we have swimming pools.

Experience in Website development is essential and ability to both speak and read Thai would be highly beneficial.

This is intended to be a multi-year position. We will provide work permit and visa assistance.

2015 Annual Letter of the Starfish Country Home School PDF.pdf

This is as close as it gets

http://www.homeschoolnetwork.org/

If you are near Chiangmai you can contact me too about possible FREE options at the Chiangmai Starfish Learning Center in the city

The Chiangmai Starfish Learning Center in the city of Chiangmai is a project of the Starfish Country Home School Foundation (www.schsf.org). It is offering totally free bilingual Thai and English classes and math for preschoolers from 25 April 2016 for three weeks. In addition to full-day classes, they will receive food, snacks and can go swimming in the swimming pool.

Leaflet_Summer Program_English page 1_new map_3.pdf

Leaflet_Summer Program_Eng_page 2 Final.pdf

Leaflet_Summer Program_Thai page 1_new map_3 (1).pdf

Leaflet_Summer Program_Thai page 2_new map_3.pdf

The Chiangmai Starfish Learning Center in the south part of the city of Chiangmai is a project of the Starfish Country Home School Foundation (www.schsf.org). It is offering totally free bilingual Thai and English classes and math for preschoolers from 25 April 2016 for three weeks. In addition to full-day classes, they will receive food, snacks and can go swimming in the swimming pool. Enrollment is limited to ~15 students per class.

If you (or others) contact me directly, I can provide limited free access for non-commercial use to the early childhood bilingual education curricula that we have developed at the Starfish Country Home School Foundation programs in Maetaeng, the city of Chiangmai, Bangkok, Chiangrai and Samut Sakorn.

Teaching the English Reading Books (English) WM PDF.pdf

Does anyone know where in Thailand, preferably in Chiangmai, one can purchase a croquet set? I have the perfect lawn for it but no set.

Thanks

From this site:

http://www.khaosanroad.com/thailand_visa_issues.htm

It says that non-immigrant "O" or "B" visas can be issued in Bangkok without travel to a foreign country. It sounds like if a person has a tourist visa issued by a foreign Thai Embassy (or Consulate?) that it is now possible to convert that to an "O" or "B" visa in-country. Is that correct? Does this also apply to a simple 30-day tourist visa issued on entry? Has anyone been doing this successfully?

It may be buried in another thread but are people who have had a sequence of 30-days tourist visas now being barred at the Thai border from re-entry or does the 3-month total limit start as of visas issued after October 1?

Thanks

Question: We have heard that there will be a 3 month visa you can buy here in Bangkok. Is this a new rule, if so when is it in place, is it already in existence, can you explain?

Police Major Suppachai: It is not a new visa, it is a new regulation for foreigners who don't have a visa, but visa extension, it means you can apply for a non immigration type B and O at the Immigration Bureau.

Question: In Thailand right?

Police Major Suppachai: Yes. But it means that you have to have at least 3 weeks, I mean visa. It means when you come in right, you have 4 weeks. In the first week you have to contact immigration, in Bangkok in Suan Phlu and submit the papers that you want to change your visa. You have to have a visa. Before we could change the category of visa from tourist to non-immigrant, but this time we can issue the visa as well.

2. Persuade foreigners that are on the incorrect visas or stamps to correct their paperwork in line with the law. By making the trip to an Embassy, Consulate or Immigration office necessary within 90 days from 1st October 2006, it is hoped that foreigners who are disrespecting Thai law rectify the situation by applying for the correct visa. To aid this, Non immigrant B and O visas will be issued inside Thailand at the Immigration Office in Bangkok. IMPORTANTLY, to apply you have to have at least 3 weeks remaining on your current stamp and obviously the correct paperwork. The visa needed to apply is yet to be clarified.

My people east of Maetang about 30 km north of Chiangmai report that the water is rising again and they have abandoned the place. Last time (August 13 or 14) we got about five feet more water after we left. Does anyone have an update on the status?

I am back in the States but people at my place report that the water on the Mae Ping started to recede by 9 PM. It is located near Maetang perhaps 30 km (by river) north of Chiangmai, ~25 km south of Chiangdao. Last time we had a flood about five feet higher than the ground area around the houses, which were flooded inside. The area was reported to have not flooded for >40 years.

It is apparently not raining there now so if it continues to not rain then we, including all of Chiangmai night market, should all be ok this time.

Yesterday we were told by a Chiangmai legal group (ICO Thailand) that it was necessary to pay a salary of 60,000 baht a month to an essentially "unpaid volunteer" at our project, which is a registered Thai foundation that sponsors a residential school and children's home. I know of several other organizations that have farang volunteers, most of whom are either unpaid or receive FAR less than 60,000 baht a month and some of whom have work permits either through that organization or through another NGO. Moreover, I doubt that any international schools pay 60,000 baht a month to anyone in this situation either.

Also, we were told that, because our organization has been newly approved, it could take some years to get any permision for work permits.

Neither of these pieces of advice seem to agree with what I have heard from other charitable organizations. I know that it is PRESUMABLY necessary to have a work permit even as an unpaid volunteer and I would like to act legally but this is outrageous.

Thanks for any help.

On the positive side, what I noticed when I came in January 6 is there is no card to fill out declaring duitable goods to be handed in after baggage.

Hotels in Phuket and surrounding areas

For those of us who still plan to come to Phuket soon despite the damage, this site lists the status of hotels there by a color code:

http://www.phuket1st.com/

It is difficult to say whether their listings are at all accurate, however, or overly optimistic or just plain false.

I am seeking to buy at least 10 rai (optimal 15 to 30 rai) of wooded land in Kanchanaburi province to start a bilingual school and orphanage. MUST have a valid land title. Any direct leads or referrals would be appreciated.

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...and you can bet that the pricing of the combined visa for the region will either gravitate toward the Thai price or escalate even higher. Can you see the Thai's sharing their enhanced visa revenues with the other countries?

I, for one, would be much more likely to visit the other countries if they were included in my multi-entry Thai visa. Who knows if it will happen but it is good they are looking at it. The first non-regressive/oppressive visa idea to come from these folks recently.

I could live without going to Burma anyway if they reject the idea.

Also a further blow to the visa agents.

I now have my one-year, multiple entry Thai retirement visa (I am 60) issued recently in BKK at a cost of 3800 THB after coming in with a visa issued in the US. I will have to be in and out of the country relatively frequently because I am still consulting part time (or at least paid to do so and to not compete with the company that bought mine). However, I do not yet have a "permanent" Thai address. From what I understand, until I have an address, I cannot open a bank account or meet visa reporting requirements. A high bank balance and monthly income is not a problem for me. Thus, a couple of questions:

1. How do I meet the reporting requirement? Is being stamped in and out at the airport sufficient or do I still need a formal address? What if I am out of Thailand for over a three-month period? Do I still have to "report" and, if so, to whom, where? I am currently out of the country again but will be back again in December and again in January for two three-week periods. I may extend the January trip to a couple of months, however.

2. How do I establish an address if I am traveling within Thailand? I expect to eventually settle in one place for more than a couple of weeks. Can one use a hotel/resort/guest house as an address (let's not get dirty and call this a 'short-time hotel'!). Can I just lease an inexpensive place near BKK airport that I don't use much and call that "home" but actually be traveling much of the time in and out of Thailand? I could use it to store my stuff and when traveling, at least.

3. Does a bank really require a formal address? Is that for mailing purposes or a formality? Are Thai authorities ever going to come over for supper and check that I am home?

4. Can the 800,000+++ THB be in any bank or only a government bank? Does one have ready access to that money or is it stuck at essentially no interest? I read that there is also a maximum that can be denominated in THB because of recent currency speculation. Is that real? How much? Or is there a way around that (beyond buying a condominium etc).

5. Does an auto constitute an "investment"? Can one buy an auto on a one-year visa without a permanent address?

6. I have what may be a new reason for the "necessity" of being in Thailand: the US IRS requires on-site auditing of programs to which one gives funds (I have a private foundation that funds programs in Thailand and elsewhere). Seems like a better reason than "escaping from my wife" and "I like it hot."

Thanks for any responses.

I believe that I read that a work permit is required for a position as a volunteer in a school, even if it is unpaid. I expect to soon have a 1-year retirement visa. Is there a prohibition against being a volunteer under these circumstances?

Thanks