losworld

I'm having major problems with my son at a big international school in Chiang Mai. They failed him last year so when I got back here I tried to see why. Turns out he can't read or write properly yet. He is 13. All the school was interested in is that he must do his homework. I asked how he can do his homework if he can't read?

I get a phone call this morning. I cut his hair last night, short but apparently it's not short enough for them. I had to ask, I never get contacted by the school about the fact he can't read or how he is failing and what can we do about it, no. I get a call about his hair is 1mm too long. Hair police.

No one is interested in helping you help your child. I think he may be dyslexic but I'm no professional. What do I do? In the west the school would give you some help and direction about how to help a struggling child. Here, It's up to you to sort that out for yourself. No school will ever tell you your kid needs help for fear of loss of face for the parents.

If I had a kid in Thailand I would do everything in my power to train him outside of school to do something like fix computers or some type of skill. Even if the kid was a genius he could end up like Slingblade in the Thai school system lol. I have seen graduates of law schools who are totally incompetent. One major problem is the corruption as one can buy their way through school and not lean a thing. Another problem is the school leaders pocket all the money that should go to the kids - they'll be the ones pulling up to the school in the new Benz. I would love to see the army clean up the education corruption.

Ask yourself how Laos and Cambodia and Phillipines can kick Thais butt in education with a fraction of the resources? Because by the time the money gets to the kids here it has been spent.

Can someone please give their opinion? thank you!

For 2500 does it really matter. I assume that is per month, it must be very basic accommodation. If that's all you want to pay then go for it, you can always move out after a month

it matters to me! i don't have chests of gold and i plan to live here for years, not be on some holiday. and i can't waste money as long as i don't have a job. i think the apartment is perfectly fine, it's almost 30 sqm, has balcony and even has a western toilet (i wish it didn't). it lacks air-con which i'm fine with, i never use air con anyway, it uses too much electricity. what more can you ask for in an apartment where you live alone?

deposit is only 1month + 500.

what if the landlady changes the locks and keeps all my stuff? i need a contract for legal protection but i want it translated to make sure i don't agree to anything bad...

On what visa do you plan to live here for years?

What are you the visa police? What business is it of yours? Give the kid a break he probably plans to stay if he gets a teaching job and working visa or similar.

Farang is not polite, and never has been. Saying that Thais have been using it for years and mean no offence is a cop out. It doesn't bother me, but I will never respect locals that bandy the word around, especially when I am a customer in their shop. Thai know how to show respect, some just choose not to, and that show poor character.

I agree, it is blatant disrespect and warrants a reprisal. When kids use it, as is too common, I ask their parents to please teach them it is a rude term.

I can just see the reaction in any of our home countries if children were as routinely taught racism and ran around calling out "chink" to Asians.

What is the charm of Thais? I just do not see it- I find them generally rude as hell beyond the smirking facade, and usually quite....well empty headed, incapable of any kind of analytical thought. Maybe that is the charm ..to some?

Forget the word chink you could likely just say Asian and place Thais in the same boat as Cambodians and Burmese and they would boil with anger.

For a country that seems to move so delicately regarding personal communication and where face seems of the upmost importance it is almost incomprehensible that the term "falang" is so commonly used. I have seen it used by everyone from street vendors to doctors and lawyers. I have seen it used affectionately by children and I have seen it used disparagingly by adults. But I think in the end it is unfortunately more an indication of a second class citizen or a foreigner than it is a long lost friend.

Americans themselves are very good people. Problem is their govt is out of control and spying on the entire world as well as its own people. It has invaded more countries and been involved in more wars and armed conflicts than any other country. Now you can understand why it is not winning any popularity contests. It is not you but the gov't you have representing you that is what turns people off.

i think the unbrella and chair touts should be allocated a space at the rear of the beaches and when you rent a chair they bring it out and set it up. They should not be allowed to block the beach and force you to use their products. You should have the choice between using a towel and a chair. Up to you as they say in Thai.

I relocated to Udon in 2005 to escape the growth of Jomtien/Pattaya. Only to have it follow me here to Udon.

Udon was sleepy Provincial Capital city back in '05. It was perfect for my needs.

Now it is a mess of a place, whose infrastructure can't keep up with all the growth, autos, etc.

Natural aesthetics, forget about it. They're whacking down large trees by the dozens. Paving over what little green was here.

The quality of ex-pat here now, continues to slide downhill. In 2005/2006, the expat community was a close knit group of friendly guys. IMO.

I often say and think, if the Udon of 2005/2006, was like the Udon of 2009-2014, I would've never moved here. What would have been the point?

It's really suprising to me that Thais cut down all the trees yet try to cover their faces when they walk in the sun. Modern Thai architecture is nothing but concrete and tangles of electrical wires. In fact Laos and Cambodia look better in many places with wide tree lined streets and clear sidewalks. Oddly, Bangkok has managed to keep more trees than Khon Kaen or Udon Thani or Pattaya. These cities would look 1000 times better with tree lined streets but I guess this would not leave enough space for all the food vendors and sellers blocking the sidewalks.

Looking at the Isaan topography I imagine it was once a great plain full of abundant wildlife including elephants, water buffalo, tigers and the like?

I really don't understand how these high speed rail projects can pay their own way. 1000 baht in today's dollars is not far off what low cost carriers do to Chiang Mai. How can this pay for itself?

If farang employees are really needed employers will start sorting their visas out, so in my humble opinion this is pretty much a non issue. If you are an enterpreneur or business owner simply folow the rules, create a company, give jobs to Thai people and you can have your visa regardless.

 

I am happy to see an effort being made to clean up the house. On the short run it may seem harsh on the people who have been living here on back to back visas, in the long run though it will ensure that immmigrants have adequate permission to stay for extended periods.

 

We don't take kindly on illegal immigrants back in the west, so I don't really see why Thailand should do the same. In the UK you could also argue that english people would starve if there was a crackdown on illegal chinese and pakistani immigrants who run the millions of takeways that feed its middle class, or that america couldn't live without the mexicans mowing lawns and cleaning houses, but we all know that is not true, so same applies to Thailand. As much as we like to think we are god's gift to Thai society, Thai people can go on living without us as much as we can go on living without them.

 

To be honest, Thailand seems to be westernizing its immigration policies and that can only be a good thing in terms of transparency and security both for the law enforcement agencies and the safety of the immigrant population. For a country under such scrutiny for human trafficking and a poor human rights record I believe this is one small step towards the betterment of Thai society and should be praised.

 

 

 

 

We don't take kindly to illegal immigrants in the west?  roflmao...  Are you following the news in the U.S. with the central american refugees?  Doesn't get much kinder than that.  Also in the west they can actually become citizens and vote.  In Thailand westerners are rarely if ever afforded this option.  America and England can survive and will not starve and their lawns will be cut.  The fact is jobs have been simply replaced by lower paid workers in the west while unemployment goes up.  How do you think America and England survived prior to the influx?  And for hundreds of years.  Sorry but your logic is flawed.

Anyone here think this could possibly be related to Thai xenophobia and perhaps barring more farang may be politically expedient at this time?

 

It has been several years since I was in Cambodia. I was in Siam Reap and I noticed yes there was a lot of English spoken. But it seemed to me that a lot of therm did not understand it when I would ask for information.

 

Also of concern to me was I had been to PP several times before and noticed there was not that many ATMs around. I would imagine that situation has improved in the last five years.

 

Was wondering about opening a bank account and transferring funds in from bank's in the States and Canada.

 

It has changed.

 

The Cambodians are WAY ahead of the Thais in their knowledge, use and interest in English language. It is most noticeable (but not exclusively so) in the youngsters. Young tykes selling postcards, books etc can, at the age of 11, hold a a conversation with you. Many can name the last 3 British prime ministers - and likely US presidents. 

 

A 24 year old waitress in a Pub Street restaurant, earning $120 a month, could speak Khmer, Thai, English and German - all to a reasonable conversational standard. A minibus driver earning $2 a day took great pride in pointing out "cow", "house" "dog" on a journey and told me how he learned English by listening to an English language radio station every night.

 

These people knew that being able to speak English would help them to earn more money - a perfectly reasonable motivation.

 

I find this interesting that I have encountered superior english speaking skills in both Laos and Cambodia not by all but by those with a vested interest dealing with foreigners. I really believe that the poor english of Thais is a lack of interest in learning or a resentment.  Laos and northern Isaan share a similar dialect yet the Laos can learn better and with few foreign teachers.   I also find it fascinating that the countries that have been colonized in the past seem to be more willing to learn foreign languages. 

 

 

NASA is full of bs.  Sorry space travel is a nice dream but we cannot travel at high speeds necessary to reach far away planets.  What NASA fails to tell you is that even if we could go at the speed of light necessary one mere grain of sand would blow a ship apart upon impact.  There is way to much debris in space to make any kind of serious distance.  Better to spend the money taking care of earth's problems and plenty of 'em.  Let the aliens come to us lol. 
 
NASA must be under a budget review.

Who's talking about leaving the solar system lunk head! And who's talking about aliens? Bacteria, maybe algae or other microorganisms ...

 

Yeah you're cooked alright... between the ears lol.

They're talking about space telescopes, not space travel.  

I understand but how do you confirm it? 

Great can you give us an update if the money runs out?

1 million sin sod interesting.

Tomorrow's lead story - "Thailand the hub of mental health".

Khon Kaen.

Is that a joke? Some nice people like everywhere else but you'll hear farang just like everywhere else. Actually probably here it less in Bkok than smaller centers.

You will never escape the "farang" notation here in Tland. I hear it from all sorts of professionals such as doctors, lawyers and the like so if they don't have the sensibility to refrain good luck with everyone else.

NASA is full of bs.  Sorry space travel is a nice dream but we cannot travel at high speeds necessary to reach far away planets.  What NASA fails to tell you is that even if we could go at the speed of light necessary one mere grain of sand would blow a ship apart upon impact.  There is way to much debris in space to make any kind of serious distance.  Better to spend the money taking care of earth's problems and plenty of 'em.  Let the aliens come to us lol. 

NASA must be under a budget review.

Laos to me is still unspoiled. Uncut trees. Open vistas. I really enjoyed Vientienne and Vang Vieng. LP is on the radar for a trip soon.

Laos probably like Tland 30 years ago.

There are still many good Thais out there who will help someone in need.

A number of years ago a talented and lovely young lady I worked with discovered a terrible cancer. I truly believed at the time she was on her way to becoming the first breakthrough black female country recording artist. I drove her from Los Angeles to Loveland Colorado in her Jeep with her dogs and a lot of Red Bull. I will never forget how the doctor at UCLA accused her of being a druggie because of her weight loss then rolled her wheelchair into the parking lot because she had no insurance. She later received treatment in Colorado but sadly passed away six months later.

A lot of visa run companies and van operators will be shutting up shop along with Farang bar owners.

Thailand is just applying visa rules like any other country in the world.

On a personal level I hope this crackdown removes a lot of the shady characters who live in the Kingdom.

If you think this will weed out the "shady characters" you are being naive. Just like the criminals will always get the guns regardless of the laws the shady ones will just overstay or take another route. I would guess the ones being primarily affected are the under 50's checking out Tland and perhaps deciding on staying longer. and spending money at the same time. Just the ones TAT needs.

Yeah issuing a visa then refusing it is beyond ridiculous. In that case refund the holder for his costs associated with this useless piece of political posturing. Next year Thailand will be overrun with people from the ASEAN treaty and they could only wish things were as now.

Double deckers are fine particularily if they are Scania. They are engineered to be safe. The bulk of the weight is on the top. Saab would not make them i fnot safe. Driver error is the cause of many accidents here. Chan or Nakhonchai are both fine. I like the fact Chan has plugins for laptop or phone. Nakhon does not.

You don't seriously think that the name on the bus has anything to do with the maker, do you? I bet that not one in fifty of the buses bearing Scania, Mercedes, Nissan or any other internationally known manufacturer's badge has contributed anything more critical than an ashtray and the mentality of the people who apply fancy dress to the vehicles is almost certainly reflected in their build and safety standards. Look out for the Lexus and Mercedes Toyota Commuter mini vans all over town too....

Nissan Diesel? Maybe....

Nachonchai Air 1st class is the way to go but always requires booking.

Are you saying the major companies such as NakhonChai or Chan Tours are rebadging their vehicles? I highly doubt it. I am not referring to the village VIP buses.