mogy

Schools change and people change. For those of us that are interested it's good to get new opinions on these places. There's no-one forcing anyone to open a link that has a heading they may not be interested in - just scroll on. It's not taking up too much cyberspace either.

I don't understand why people don't search the forum for past discussions. The subject of international schools has been raised so many times already and all the pro and cons discussed ad nauseum.

The 1st 4 words of your comment say it all....

I am from Dublin but would rather watch paint dry than watch GAA football .

now you need one for renewal as well - in Rayong labour department.

Since when did you need a medical certificate for a work permit ??, been here nearly 8 years on a WP and never done a medical, or does this come into force after a certain age ?

Mai roo, but when I got my first WP about 3 yrs ago I needed one as well, no dependant on your age.

For the renewal you probably do not need it.

Thanks for the details. Does anyone know if the 'non-reactive' test is referring to HIV or drugs or both ?

The purpose of this post is to inform about what took place during a January 2011 Medical Certification exam (required for a foreigner - English teacher - to work in Thailand).

There are many clinics around BKK with the ubiquitous green signs out front: Chose a clinic based on convenience (i.e. I could walk there in less than five minutes):

Nurse directed me to the Dr.'s office.

Dr. required passport and handed over a blood work-up form; told to go the the blood lab on the second floor.

Blood lab: wrote name and particulars on the work-up form. Nurse used a pin (innocuous) at the end of a finger and a tiny glass tube that the blood flowed into. Ten minute wait and the form was handed back noting "Non-Reactive" on the paper.

Returned to the doctor: nice conversation and 2-3 minutes of blood pressure and listening to lungs/heart and the certifcation was signed (the doctor had even been so kind as to fill out the certification form while the blood test was being done).

Entire length of time in building was less than twenty minutes and almost a walk in the park (i.e. not a negative experience).

Cost:

Blood test - 150B

Doctor's signature: 400B!! (50B was paid five years ago; not sure if "white-boy" prices were being invoked here.)

A lot of money paid to a clinic that was meant for financially disadvantaged.

oh dear......

The government really need to crack down on this. These Thais are taking money out of the economy and putting it into foreigners hands.

Maybe they could do something at the airport like they do at the bank. You have to prove where your money came from when sending or spending it abroad. If it's money directly from a foreigner then you're allowed to leave. I think they could relax the rule for showing your work permit if you're a national.

I hope this is sarcastic.

aren't you the man.....

Hi Non-golfer.

If only it were that easy. I would love to be able to hop skip and jump too but I'm afraid the metal joints are past their sell by date now but I still love to see that little white ball screaming down the fairway, sometimes 200 or more yards. I guess you're not a golfer, so you'll probably never understand that feeling when the ball makes contact with the centre of the club and without hardly any effort it flies almost out of sight and you're left with just a short chip to the green and a birdie or even an eagle is within your grasp and then you muck it all up and shank it out of bounds. Do you know what I mean. No I didn't think you would. I bet you wish you hadn't asked now..

Now, is there anybody out there who wants to make a sensible suggestion??????????? Ah well, never mind.

I play off 14 fat boy, 200 yards, that's about a 6 iron for me - lol.

JH

Thanks. Any further directions ? I've tried looking on google earth for park/lake in the Sriracha area but no luck.

There is a big park in Siracha with a lake.

Thanks for the replies.

I guess it's more a nature reserve than a 'park' in the western sense of the word I'm looking for.

The place on 3240/331 looks interesting Rimmer.

And yes anywhere within about an hours drive from Mabprachan area would be good.

Looking for locations/names of some natural parks or areas that are good for cycling with kids or walking with dogs anywhere within about one hundred km from town.

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

just make sure Darrel is there first....

My kids love running up and down restaurant aisles screaming. Reckon I will give the Hilton a try at a paltry 300 baht a pop. I can take the kids there every day

What we have to look forward to:

Comment from lead-red-economist Suchart last week in BP regarding the budget and how they planned to fund all these election promises -

BKKPost Rep: 'When would Pheu Thai be able to set a balanced budget?'

Suchart TT: 'A balanced budget? Let's not talk about that. What's the point?'.....and then.....'.yeehaww!'....or something to that affect, he didn't but should have attempted to holler....

If there's a replacement, let's hope for Korn. One of the most switched-on finance ministers we're had here for a long time - and pretty good with the foreign investment community, too. Fluent English speaker and one of the more trusted Dems.

There is a good one in Naklua. If you're coming from North Pattaya down through the town and turn right onto the street with the Post Office. Keep going towards Sukhumvit road and the flower shop is just after the pizza place on the left hand side of the road - about 200 meters from Sukhumvit.

and to respond with 'don't know'....

Is this what Thai Visa has been reduced to? Somebody driving home sees a car with two flat tyres parked at the side of the road and wants to start a thread to find out what happened! Ye Gods. <deleted> get a life. No wonder all the interesting posters have disappeared. Pathetic!

I think there's many on this thread who need to heed your advice and get outside for a bit......

I better get to Lotus! Or it'll be a boring weekend lol

Do you get bored when not drinking fermented sugars? Too bad for you.

I go outside to appreciate nature. You might try it - to alleviate boredom. No mind altering drugs needed.

Plus, if you quit drugs, then perhaps your body will be better able to create its own natural drug.

Similar experience. They came to the house, did a quick evaluation and returned with the parts a few days later - fibre optic connector broken due to poor installation. Even though I had misplaced the warranty slip they were able to trace the serial number of the tv through the shop records without any hassle and there was no charge.

Samsung will come to you, evaluate, and then return with parts needed. After they evaluate they will re- assemble until they return with part/parts.

Service call is very reasonable, and parts aren't priced too badly.

This was my experience with my Samsung.

Anyone ???

Hi Dumball,

Interested in your comment about the land area becoming a right of access property and understanding if this actually does apply in Thailand or not ? I don't see any answers in this thread about this.

We have a similar situation where our sub-plot is not fenced off and there are 2 houses using it as a short cut access route to their house - instead of going around the full perimeter of the overall plot..

If anyone knows if right of access can become an issue in Thailand I'd appreciate any input.

Thanks

Normally , permission to access across your property becomes a right to access after a certain period of time making it almost a public fairway , I do not know if that applies in Thailand , make sure they access along the edge of your property just in case or you could finish up with a divided property .Not sure about this but posted anyway , do a diligent check .

Here is the definitive answer. I went through exactly the same situation. EXACTLY. After I called a few folks at the embassy, twice I got someone who simply did not know and gave stock answers like "we are very busy this time of year...." or, "keep trying, new slots will open up...", etc. I tried telling them that nothing was availble for the next 15 years and the unlikelihood and ridiculously high probability of that NOT being the reason but......Bottom line, there are many slots available! The system you are trying on has a problem, you have to keep talking to someone who won't give you the stock replies. The schedule will be repaired once your complaint makes it high enough and you get hold of sympathetic embassy personnel. THERE ARE SLOTS AVAILABLE. PLENTY! Call the embassy. Once somebody gets the message enough, they will contact their internal IT personnel and the magically the site will be repaired.

Who are you calling? I too have be trying but have not found anyone that really cared...even went to the embassy and was given the stock answer, slots will be opening next week, well it is next week and nothing so far, and how a month came on already full???? Please tell us who you are talking with.....thanks

Same boat here. We've been calling for over a week already and the answer is to just keep trying. They also inform that it's not possible to book a date further than the ones that are visible online - which is now up until end of May. Was watching the online section since the last week in March when it had March/April visible. So waited until the last working day in March and began checking the times every few hours. The timetable changed over in the middle of the night and bright and early the next morning we had April/May up and all dates full for May.

I find it hard to understand how the dates for May can have been filled up so quickly in a few hours. This leads me to think that the line they are giving is rubbish and it is possible to book a few months in advance. We're not leaving until October so we're luckier than some I see here but it would still be nice to know what other number there is to call ....

Everyone I have spoken to that got a visa to the US say it takes about 2 or 3 months to get appointment. As for the web page--My Thai wife is also trying to get US B2 visa and she sees the same page and dates---either they do not update that page often or they open all the appointments for the next month all at once?????. Have not tried the phone--I thought that was a pay service??

The appointments page was updated yesterday and now has May - all fully booked.

Hi Michael,

The numbers are not similar.

We purchased the PIN online with credit card and it is in the following format WB123456789

2 alpha's and 9 numeric

Now I'm wondering if by purchasing online you are only allowed to make the reservation online and by purchasing the PIN in the post office you are only allowed to make the appointment by phone (?????)

That brings another issue since when checking online it only gives the months March and April which are completely booked out. No option to check May/June - see attached.

Any further advice is appreciated.

Hi,

My wife is applying for a visa for the US and after purchasing the required PIN we received an 11 digit number that has 2 letters (W and B ) at the beginning of it.

The problem is when you call the embassy phone number for appointments it requests you to input the PIN - does anyone know how to input the 2 letters at the beginning of the PIN ?

We have tried using 9 (once) for the W and 2 (twice) for the B with no luck.

Any advice is appreciated.

Why would there be a 10 year time limit on "the list" ?

- Because it's in the nature of Thai hearts to forgive.......

Investigated with someone working in immigration and they said that now that they have started taking pictures at Bangkok airport they are able to identify people. He says if you've been put on the list the chances are you'll be nailed at some stage. The face recognition technology is in use and is working he says. Using any other airport other than Subharnabhumi is another option (no camera's) until the time limit on the list runs out (10 years??). I recall the time limit is 10 years. Can anyone confirm ?

[ I hate soap operas but don't hate my mum.

heeheeeeeeeeeee

Try this........it seems that Muang Chonburi has a store.

http://www.swatch.co...op/locator.html (it's in Thai, but understandable)

I know there used to be one at Big C central festival North Pattaya, but they may have been moved to Central Beach Pattaya.

The one in Big C is just about still there. He's closing down and has about 10 watches remaining. Couldn't find any in Central. Thanks for the response.