BugJackBaron

Yep, it's 10 Baht unless you go far as Central on 2nd. There really should be clear signs

on these buses saying exactly that.

One thing I still sometimes see is when I give 20 Baht they wait to see if I want

change - and when I don't move they give it. Darn, he's not another dumb tourist!

It's interesting to note that on select streets in Bangkok they have these baht buses too and

the fare is 5 baht for short destinations. So in my view, 10 Baht is more than fair.

This is all well and good in theory, but I would rather judge each place

on a case to case basis - not on who the owner is.

Case in point, Farang food is sometimes better in farang owned places but not always.

It has been noted many times that the quality of farang food in Pattaya is low even

though many of these places are foreign owned.

For example, Seabreeze, which is just off soi boukow offers pretty good fish and chips for 110 Baht

and is Thai operated!

A crappy foreign owned fish and chip shop by jomtien complex, by contrast, charges 3 times the price.

The sign, red, yellow or green in my experience isn't as important as the number of seeders..

Even with the red sign I have still had uber popular shows like House and CSI download in an hour or less

at various wifi spots across the city.

Of course green is best....

If you are new to torrent some tips to help you

1. DON"T download .rar files

2 CHECK the files in the torrent before you download the .torrent

3.Don't download the first torrent you see . Check if there are any other related torrents with more Peers . Most sites let you sort the torrent list based on the number of leechers or seeders.

4. Most fake torrents have more Seeders than leechers ex: 3256 seeders : 80 leechers

5. Download and install Peer Guardian to block black listed ip . Link

6. Use your Common Sense and you will be fine .

I don't share the worry about .rar files, the few movies i got that way were the real deal.

Not sure why they bother with the format though..

It may depend a lot on what you download and from where. Piratebay and cinemageddon have yet to fail me.

We employ Physics, Biology and Chemistry, Advanced Math as well as other subjects teachers. They earn approximately the same as the English teachers. A few of them may make 1,000 baht more a month, but that is more by virtue of being in a better negogiating situation at the time they were hired.

There are a lot of Filipinos and Indians who have science and math degrees. As far as native speakers go, there is actually a fair number of engineers who fill the requirements as well.

If you want to teach physics--or if you want to learn physics--do so. But if your plan is to get a lot more money, you may end up disappointed.

explain this ad from lovely ajarn.com then

[www.teflasia.com/ajarn/browse_jobs/Thailand/94239.html"]http://www.teflasia.com/ajarn/browse_jobs/...land/94239.html[/url]

in case this post gets moderated , ESL job is at 30K, Physics at 50K at an international school on Sukamavit in Bangkok.

Is it possible? I am tired of the low ESL salary they pay here. I studied some physics in uni

but got a BA in Philosophy

I have found some correspondence schools but all seem to want you to live in the US or near Britain.

Any that will take expat ESL teachers living in Thailand?

Not sure what it is like now but the one time I did go Chiang Ria about three years ago I had a great goat meat meal in an Italian restaurant in the centre of Chinag Rai. Mind you, there were plenty of tourists at that time.

Chiang Mai had plenty of Farang style restaurants too - sometimes with better quality and usually cheaper than those in Bangkok Hopefully, this hasn't changed...

Having skimmed through this thread, it seems to me to be much ado about nothing. You're probably right.

Firstly, as LaoPo points out, the story was in a downmarket tabloid and not touched by the serious press, so there is probably only a shred of truth in it. If as much as that, even.

Secondly, as has been also pointed out, it is highly unlikely that any teacher with even half a brain would expose him/herself to the obvious ramifications of that kind of an exposee. Oh, but they would. That's EXACTLY the problem - if the story is true. They (we) do expose our inadequacies and invariably to the cost of others (particularly those in our care).

And thirdly, and most pertinantly, so what? So a whole basket of "what's" Care of another person's children being just one "what".

Does anyone really think that 16 - 18 year olds would be corrupted by seeing a live sex show? Corrupted? No. Affected? Probably/Maybe. I took my own 18 yr old daughter to Patpong loads of times. Not to see the "ping-pong" shows, but just for fun. She loved it! We had a great laugh! Agreed, I took my 18 year old daughter there, too. It's a jumping place! In fact if she'd had her way, we would have gone to those upstairs "ping-pong" shows! And I might well have taken her, were it not for the flashing neon "RIP-OFF" signs that seemed to float around the heads of all the hustlers. Good for you that you saw the signs, but I can assure you that if you hadn't you would be singing from a different hymn-sheet.

Patpong upstairs shows are not a good idea. One thing for your daughter to go and be amazed, titillated, outraged or disgusted in the company of her friends and contemporaries - with whom she can talk. Quite another to go with her father.

I talk from a position of experience.

The sight of a past her sell-by date female inserting various objects into her vagina within 3 feet of where you sit sipping a cool drink and feigning indifference is neither erotic nor educational.

It is certainly something that I would not dare allow another's child, under my care, to see - and neither should anyone else dare allow my child to see, whilst under their care, also.

Why not? Educational as in learning something about how some people live and work itn another culture. As in reflecting on the differences between the culture, religion and history that allows such practices here? As in thinking about cultural relativism?

Could be educational in the best sense - getting students to think for themselves!

Lots of unimaginative prudes here.

I guess it is time for you to head back to Australia if you are not already there? Thailand is much cheaper to raise a family. You can get taken advantage of anywhere,not just Thailand. People that do get taken usually have poor judgment so they tend to screw themselves no matter where they live.

If you are buying mostly falang food then of course you are going to pay out the arse. I admit that to own a car is expensive here, but no more than my home country. At least I can tool around on a cheap motorbike to save putting gas into my car, and often times it is much more convenient.

Im trying to compare Farang lifestyle in Thailand to farang lifestyle in farangland.

What is a "decent Hotel"?

Bangkok if you know where to look gets a single traveler a clean quiet room right in Nana for 600Baht

Chiang Mai 300 baht.

Canada, for a single backpacker 1200 baht will get you a room in a fleabag dive

So, I'm calling BS on this.

For western food, well some things most of Asia just doesn't do well..cheese and steak come to mind so yes

imports will be expensive..

It seems the OP is just upset that he can't find anywhere to listen to the particular sort of music he likes.

If that's the case he should start a night somewhere playing it. There are plenty of venues in BKK that will let you come in and do night.

It's certainly true that Thailand isn't as musically diverse as the the UK, USA or Europe. That said if you look about there are people doing electronic, indie, alternative etc in BKK. I think the OP needs to get out more and dig a bit deeper.

The other thing to bear in mind is that Thai music tends to be more about entertainment than art or creative expression. Most Thais want to be able to sit with their friends and a bottle of whiskey singing along to songs that they know. This is Sanuk

It is total crap.

What I find interesting about it is that it reminds me of the horrible music in the 50s in the USA........Dorris Day and "How Much is that Doggie in the Window" stuff.

It is singalong crap.......sweet and mindless crap.........nothing deep.......nothing that makes you think (maybe that is one reason for it........they don't have to think and don't like thinking).

Perhaps, just perhaps.......we will see a Dylan-like figure emerge in Thailand followed by an explosion of creativity. That would be great. For now. it is total crap......even some of the songs that are supposedly good are rip offs.......I heard one the other day and thought, "Santana riff." Stolen.......

A truly original song.........a truly original artist who channels songs........taps into something new (hard to do these days)..............I have never seen or heard one in Thailand.

Having said that, what do we now have in the USA (for the last 20 years): Crap...........sometimes called Rap.

I heard Van Morrison in an interview the other day..........he was asked what he listens to and gets inspired by today. He said that the current music scene offers him nothing new........it has all been done before.......he no longer listens to it.

He went on to say that he is listening to the old songs that stimulated him in the first place........guessing some old 50s and 60s tunes given his age.

Anyway..........I think I would like to see some creativity.........something new.

And it frustrates me that Thais are so opposed to anything new.

What's wrong with "how much is that doggy in the window?"

And though I originally thought I hated rap, I have to admit that there is some good stuff there...even ice T!

And by the way I am from a generation that grew up with the beatles.

Thai music from the north is often sentimental, just like country music in the west. I actually believe they have a lot in common.

Again, not always that bad.

I think some old foggies out there need to open their ears up a little..

Don't think it has anything to do with Western fast food. The amount consumed by the average person is not enough to explain it. Virtually no one eats at McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC, etc 3 times a day like some obese people do in the US. People just have a lot more disposable income and are more likely to have sedentary jobs and lifestyles as compared to the past.

Why do people assume all "fast food" is Western. At the food court of Tesco

I saw many pseudo Thai places - cheap but obviously processed(oily, sugar based)

junk being served there.

Talk to people living here for many decades and they will often tell you

Thai food has gone downhill unless it is home-cooked.

It is probably a combination of sedentary life style and diet though I would

say most Thais I see are still slimmer than Westerners(especially women) and

if you look at old photos (or statues) you can see the occasional pudgy Thai child there too.

No surprises then. I have given up trying to find a proper burger in

Thailand - or most of Asia. Let me know if they ever import real Alberta beef here.

If I want good(but not great) and cheap value for money I would still

go to Tips on Pattaya beach road.

I tried transmission as well yesterday. Even though it has at least some options, it is still way behind uTorrent.

Plus: much too many electrical words you are using. Let me try to get a grip of what you are trying to convey...My linux comes with a certain package of whatever software that runs somewhere in the background and does things I don't want/need to know about.

Certain programs such as Qtorrent are not supported by that bundle and I have to install additional stuff on my comp. That's what I did and under Linux Mint it was not a big deal - after I found out where to click.

Will have a look at Azuerus and report back.

I'm curious as to what Transmission lacks. Basically as long as I get the maximum download spead

without eating all the cpu time, I am happy.

I believe the closest thing to utorrent on Linux is rtorrent.

It is text based but to me that is nice as it can run even if X windows is not started(or has crashed)

Best bet for raw goat milk(would love to try some myself)

is probably to get to know a goat farmer and then squeeze it

yourself

I find the processed stuff in Tesco etc OK though.

For many goat milk is much more digestible than cow milk.

Why not drink cider proper tramps juice in the UK?

You're clearly out of touch with you Tramp friends if you think cider is Tramps juice.

The choice of Tramps in the UK is normally Sherry or Special Brew -there are a number of these, not just Carlsberg. If a Tramp is going to get onto the Cider he may try a drop of White Lightning or Natch, but really Cider is not the choice of Tramps.

Okay, I'm off to the local park bench and get smashed on my bottles of Chang, will you be there again today Sanook?.

What happened to Blue Ocean - Tennants Super(this tramps choice). Not much difference from Chang. I used to drink 4 large Changs before going to the bar - horrible stuff but did the job. I have no idea why a non-alkie would drink it.

Cheapest beer for cheap Charlie?

Some thoughts:

As a tourist I spent my first week or so in Bangkok and Pattaya and then the rest in the North.

Noticably cooler in Chiang Mai and area where it is only unbearably hot between noon and 5 pm

So as a tourist I would read papers in coffee shops in the afternoon and explore in the morning.

Much less humidity too. At night it is actually cool - at least during the cool season(in the mountains it

can even be really cold at night)

Bangkok is apparently the hottest city in the world. If you are wearing a suit and tie and, say,

teaching English, you may find yourself sweating like a pig by the time you get back to your

home at night. It is hot and humid even in the evening.

Pattaya and Phuket are similar but you get the cooling effect of the sea breeze there which

helps somewhat.

Yes you can acclimatise to a certain extent but be aware that even Thais complain about the

heat - just as Canadians do about the cold and snow.

Any website with official information will probably be in Thai only.

Here's the deal. You catch a bus on Sukumavit to Bangkok it will be the MILK RUN.

Yes. It will go through Sriracha and stop at every little pitstop in between.

They stop to let customers on. The buses here are a different company from

the faster non-milk-run buses you can catch only at the offical bus terminal on north road.

By contrast, both bus companies leave from Ekami station in Bangkok to Pattaya.

The price is about the same.

Yikes, both are mediocre by western standards and darn expensive tourist traps.

Good value for the money? To tell the truth, it's really hard to get quality beef in Thailand

let alone Pattaya. Some import stuff is good but always costly.

Not good economics?

I see less customers everywhere.

Have you been to Central World and and the like lately? The restaurants are often packed...with Thais, not farang...sometimes with lines out front.

I actually think most shoppers anywhere in the CBD have gravitated to Central World and Siam Paragon simply because the Skytrain makes it convenient.

RE the line ups at Restaurants, only Fuji.

No, not just Fuji.

Well as a regular patron of Siam Paragon I can say that the Japanese places seem to have the most businessa

as they offer a more or less tasty meal at reasonable prices

whereas the more expensive but tastier Pi-Pi is at best 25% full. Same with the new fish n chip place.

Also keep in mind that many asians their are not Thai. The Thais that patronize such places are clearly in the

top 10% of the income bracket of Thais. Perhaps the top 10% of the population.

You may want to look at the "lonely few" at the far end of Siam on the first floor. The high class restaurants

seem never to be full(with or two exceptions)

From what I remember as a tourist here last year it is down down down.

It i

I just subscribed (yesterday) to 3G with AIS in Chiang Mai to try how it works. Got the nokia e52 and connected via bluetooth with my laptop (easy with PC Suite from nokia). Mostly I am using it to check my e-mail directly on the phone.

The plans offered by AIS are per volume not time. I think if you are quite heavy internet user, 3G is still quite expensive. 100 baht/ 500 MB. This can be good for quick e-mail checking though. Don't really know how long will the package (500 MB) last. We'll see in couple of days

So it would be too expensive for high use bittorrent pirates like me.

Rats.

I've been meaning to post this for a while but too busy with work.

So a couple of months ago this MEDIOCRE electronics giant

from Korea which does nothing but SPEND ON ADVERTISING.

seems to have somehow bought their way into placing a huge sign

over walking street saying "Samsung".

Is money the only thing these days? Why no outrage over the desecration

of the beautiful walking street sign?

And on top of that they started showing videos promoting Korea!

Unbelievable. A country most tourists go through in a day.

I'm somewhat amazed noone commented on this sooner.

(mod please correct spelling of "walking" in title of post if possible)

My criteria are

(1) PLUG! This excludes Coffee World which stupidly pulled the plug, so to speak,

on the free plugs in their SALA DAENG location. Official reason: fire safety.

Ya right.

(2) No throttling. We want that maximum torrent speed!

(3) A pleasant environment to browse

In my experience the best area is .....SALA DAENG

The best place in Sala Daeng is Mimis or Ubuntu cafe

Both offer plugs and have great bandwidth

Honerable mention: Coffee Society.

Many plugs both and outside and I think is 24 hours too.

Somewhat limited torrent speeds.

Next best is Nana

Mangos pub (next to the White Orchid hotel) has great value.

Good speed , good food and cheap beer Lao!

You don'y get dummy awards go to: Mezzanine in Victory Monument for pulling

the service and Coffee World in Nana and SalaDaeng for

limiting their service.

What do you think of this list?

Hey dudes and dudettes. I was walking through the new IT mall

"Digital World" (across from Siam Paragon) and some

people were demonstrating the NEW 3G system.

It will be offered at first in the Siam Paragon area only.

You use a simple USB device(not much bigger than a usb stick)

to connect.

Does this mean the end of dominance of Wi-Fi? Will we be able to connect

our laptops anywhere?

Stay tuned and find out!

Just imagine that! A part of Thailand that has no Starbucks, Coffee World or Burger King! How outrageous. What is the world coming to!

Yep I have no problem with that actually, but you have to admit it's strange to have

a market as big s VM with none of these. It does after all have a mceeDee and many crappy

western chains so you cannot say it

is really a pure Thai area anyways.

It seems that despite a bevy of expatriates living in the area it has become less

interesting recently. Many cool Japanese places have boarded up and even

thai restaurants that were popular sit empty. The free wifi places have closed this service.

Some western food places on a popular street have gone down in quality since their western owner sold out to Thais.

But VM has always been on the edge - No Starbucks, Coffee World or Burger King - like in truly upscale places.