ohtx2000

I must give 30 days and I'm only staying for 2 months. I would like to move on, but they will get me with the lack of notice.. I guess I'll just have to tread lightly and hope nothing else breaks..........

Pornpanasap Residence, Sukhumvit 81, near Onnut station. This is a new place that looks nice from the outside. The nice receptionists reel you in and attack once you've signed the contract. Expect to pay out the nose for things you never dreamed of.........

STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!! Why? I've lived in SE Asia for going on 8 years now and I still can't believe how rotten, immoral, and money-hungry this owner is.

And I've only been here TWO WEEKS!

I had a chair literally fall apart while I was sitting on it and I reported it and was asked to pay 500 baht

My friend parked a car in the local lot while visiting me and was charged 150 baht for 3 hours. No one told us there would be a charge.

The bed consists of only a box spring and no mattress (you're expected to buy that)

This is only after 2 weeks mind you. I must reiterate that I have been in Thailand for over 3 years now and have had very few complaints.

My advice is to stay away from this place to avoid unnecessary stress in your life.

I have used AA many times over the last 5 years and I can honestly say that I have only had good luck with them. Yes, there have been delays many times, but I consider that part of the reason why the ticket is low cost. This is a bus in the air. Get on and get off at your stop. Miss it and you must take the next one. No refreshments served. Simple. Why make life difficult?

ban smoking in air-conditioned pubs, discos and clubs from February 11, Metropolitan Police Friday had all of Bangkok's 88 police stations ready to arrest and fine any rule breakers.

Country's 1st-priority task - and nothing is more important than THIS, indeed......

THIS is VERY important! Lungs are affected. Get a life. Or better yet, keep smoking and die early and do us all a favor. But don't do it in a place where you can affect so many others who wish to and deserve to live longer.

In Queen Sirikrit Park next to the emporium shopping mall, there are outdoor basketball courts.

Royal Benjasiri is actually next to emporium. Is that the park you mean?

Upon further analysis and after learning the actual costs involved, I've determined that your studies at Callan will cost you about 41,400 baht for the entire year. (assuming flight, hotel, and general expenses equal 4,000 baht and the intiial visa fee is 2,200 baht) plus the three payments to the immigration office in bkk of 1900 apiece.

If you opted to get a two month extendable visa every three months, the total cost for the year would be 28,500 baht (4000 X 4 + 1100 X 4 + 1900 X 4)

Therefore, total addtional cost for the Thai education is 12,900 baht (give or take based on your method of travel and expenses incurred in whatever country you choose to make your visa run).

If you really want to learn Thai, this is quite a bargain. If you don't, it is not a good deal. It is cheaper for you to make the visa runs if the time involved fits your schedule.

Another thing to consider is that I have assumed a single entry permit which means you cannot leave the country for one year without paying more. For some, myself included, this is a negative. Leaving Thailand occasionally is therapeutic for some. You also must pay the bulk (85%!!) of your fees up front for the Callan option. So interest you could have earned on that money is lost and not figured in to this calculation.

Bottom line: Study Thai with the Callan method for one year at a cost of about 1000 baht per month.

On a personal note, I will NOT be going down this path again for my visa because I don't particularly care for the Callan method. With all due respect to Mr. Walen, his advertising was misleading as well.

Good day mates.

As a recent poster pointed out, I did have problems in Singapore and passed along those comments to fellow readers so they might possibly avoid a similar occurence. After this Singapore problem, I investigated other options and came upon Callan. I am flattered you took the time to check out my past posts! Thank you for you interest in my otherwise uneventful life.

The purpose of my original post was simply to pass along comments from myself and others who are taking the class. I stated facts and ended with "the jury is still out".

I have since apologized for my harsh remarks and poor wording and further detailed my main concern of misleading advertising with regards to the costs involved.

Mr. Walen is not a bad person and I think his heart is in the right place. He tries hard to make everyone happy and often sits in on classes himself to get direct feedback from students.

I appreciate everyone's comments. I have learned a great deal from you.

This has been a highly informative posting. I must admit I am a bit shame-faced after reading all the replies. I admit to being a bit hasty with my words and criticism. I especially thank Mac Walen for his resonse.

For me, the bottom line is truth in advertising. One year means one year. When I signed up for this course, I was given a total cost of 29,500 baht for a year's worth of courses. Along with this, I would receive a one year Ed visa which I knew I had to leave the country to obtain. No problem with that. The part that was not clear is the additional fees that I must now incur every 3 months (5700 baht) to make the Ed visa work out to one year.

To make things clear, Callan / Walen is offering a year's worth of Thai lessons and a one year Ed visa (renewable every 3 months in BKK) for a total cost of 35,200 baht. 29,500 baht of this must be paid up front to secure the necessary paperwork for the visa.

Is that so hard? I am not saying that Mac Walen is trying to trick anyone, but is it not obvious how misleading the original advertisement is?

To be fair (and this is arguable), since I paid for 1 year of classes and thus basicall signed a contract with Callan for that period, I should not be liable for any additonal costs that come around due to changes out of my control. Now, I don't think Callan needs to be solely responsible either, but as a minimum, this addtional 5700 Baht fee should be split evenly since neither party could foresee the Thai governement's actions (quite impossible!!). Isn't that the fairest thing to do?

Am I wrong about this? I appreciate your feedback.

First of all, this is supposed to be a Thai language school. It is not. It is a Thai national standing in front of a bunch of begiinners in a cramped room with no whiteboard reading thai text from a worthless book. The Thai national just reads exactly what is in the book and you answer what is in the book. No improvisation, or extra questions, PLEASE! That only throws an unnecessary wrench into the mix! Learning is not the objective. Getting through 20 pages of text is.

Now about the "one year visa" that is promised and that you pay 29,500 Baht up front for. I was there not even 3 weeks and I was toldW that I would have to pay an additional sum every three months. That would be 1900 baht. When I signed on, my understanding was that

Walen would cover any costs for one year. Who knows what will change next?

Be careful with this option of visa extension. The jury is still out,but I can tell you the learning method sucks and school seems a bit fishy with all the rule changes and extra fees that keep popping up.

i have also been shut out of singapore after 4 2 month tourist visas were issued. The last time they wrote a lengthy note in my passport that I should get the proper paperwork if I plan to work in Thailand. They went on to say that the Singapore office will no longer issue me a tourist visa.

So, yes, this is happening.

and how much will i have to pay once I arrive in Singapore (or wherever) to get the ED visa? Is this a multi entry/exit visa?

it sounds good, but i do think there are some other hidden fees here.