p_brownstone

How can I get out of teaching in Thailand into a real position which is going to offer me a career choice.

Im 25 with an Environmental Protection Degree, I have an EARA Environmental Auditors Certificate and have worked for P&G in their R&D section.

But I'm stuck teaching Science to kids that don't want to learn. I have a wife here and a life that I don't want to leave.

Anybody have any ideas?

No im not a troll either.

You spent (I hesitate to say squandered) 3 or more years of your life studying for a "Qualification" in something called "Environmental Protection" then you expect to establish a career ....... in Thailand?!

I love this Country, but involvement in Environmental Protection here gets even the locals shot!

I've seen and met a thousand guys in this situation, and it's quite a sad one to get into. quite why these guys give up everything and become teachers is a mystery but if that's their cup of tea then why not?

Suicide is not an option and is for cowards.

"A thousand"? - nonsense ....... meaningless hyperbole.

"Suicide is for cowards" another, sadly typical, macho, "nothing can reduce me to that stage" statement. Meaningless and untrue.

Over 35 years ago I worked for the original Samaritans organisation in London, shortly after I arrived in Thailand in the early '70's I was one of the founder members of the Bangkok Samaritans.

Suicide is never an easy option - and forget about the “old wives” lore which claims that those who talk about committing suicide never really intend to do it, that too is nonsense.

In London, and later in Bangkok I have talked with over 120 people who were truly intent on committing suicide, and to my certain knowledge, despite everything I and others tried to do to help them, 37 eventually did kill themselves. Certainly some of these were down and outs, homeless, drug addicts etc., but many were educated and successful people who simply could not adapt or accept a sudden change in their circumstances or lifestyle.

Certainly, some of these people were talking to us in the faint hope that we would be able to suggest a way out of their predicament, but the majority simply wanted to talk to someone, even – maybe even preferably – a stranger to explain their decision and assert that it was not a character deficiency which brought them to this final decision, simply an acceptance that their lives had failed and it was time to move on.

3 November 2004

BANGKOK - The United Nations has warned its staff in Thailand to be careful following threats by a separatist group to stage attacks in Bangkok in revenge for the deaths of 85 Muslim protesters in the south last week.

The UN said in an e-mail to more than 1,000 staff in Thailand, which Reuters obtained on Wednesday, the threat “cannot be dismissed or be taken lightly”.

“It is entirely possible that an attack is being planned against a soft target in Bangkok,” said the two-page note from chief security officer Russel Radford.

“It is important that staff exercise caution when moving about the city and be aware of what is happening around them.”

Perhaps these overpaid and underworked parasites will forsake their "Blue Plate" Mercs etc. then, because for sure that's the easiest way to identify them.

Agree with Totster.

Seagulls and pigeons = Rats with wings..... filthy!  

Yep. I live near the sea, and they are rodents. They go through your rubbish and their <deleted> burns the paint on your car.

I would agree that (feral) Pigeons have few if any redeeming qualities - I shudder when I see children feeding them in Parks etc., heaven knows what parasites they are transferring.

Gulls however do perform a very useful scavenging function and contribute quite a lot to cleaning up refuse, dead seabirds and other material.

Dr Pat Pong. I just hope that other users on this branch realise that you are a moderator.

As far as walkers go......What is your problem with walkers?

Are you far superior to the rest of the walkers on this branch?

I am a walker for my own reasons.....I own property in the UK that you could probably only dream of owning . Then again.....I'm making presumptions about you! Just like you make the presumptions about the walkers!

I only hope that the ordinary people on this website see through you and see you for what you are???????????

Claire.

I really think you should calm down a little dear lady.

You have made 9 Posts and as far as I can see most have been confrontational and / or abusive.

It's not necessary and it’s very irritating.

Won't Phuket look pretty ?

Of course it will.

They're going to blow up some mountains to make concrete so they can reinforce ..... other mountains, and so on ad infinitum no doubt.

In Thailand,You will not have any difficulty in finding a job coz you are a thai who graduated from UK

Not to be pedantic ..... but.

You will find it much more of an advantage when applying for jobs here to emphasise that you are a native Engish speaking UK national with Thai Citizenship, not a Thai citizen - who also speaks little or no Thai.

There are hundreds of native Thai speaking Thai's who Graduated from overseas Universities but they only attract Thai level salaries - apply as a UK national and you have much more chance of getting an "Expat" type benefit package, particularly because the prospective Employer would realise that they will have no problem with Visas and Work Permits if they employ you.

A mate of mine, bought this up the other day.

Why is'nt there any seagulls in Thailand? I have never seen one, have you?

Seagulls in Thailand are mainly migratory - they arrive around November.

You will see them in many places around the Gulf of Thailand but try a visit to the Seafood Restaurant opposite the Bangpoo Industrial Estate in Samutprakarn - it's on the end of a long pier jutting out into the estuary; the seafood is excellent but the menu on weekends is limited because there are so many customers.

You also get great views of the Gulls (mainly Brown Headed Gulls but in winter plumage of course - so no Brown head!), Terns and assorted Waders etc..

You are going over the top, Darth. You may have personal grievances, but this doesn't justify rants like this. I have only few complaints about immigation officers in Suan Plu, and I have witnessed them reacting with patience towards enraged applicants demanding to debate the stupidity of the regulations. For me they even reopened a counter so I didn't need to come back the next day, and kindly refused the tip I offered afterwards.

Also, personally I don't react very friendly to folks aking me aggressively WHY I have this attitude or do that sort of thing.

I went there on thursday. this time to the office on the first floor. the have no respect for the people who come in there. the three people in front of me were all arguing with the agents. mostly because there is not one iota of sense in all of this nonsense. i was wearing a shirt and tie and determined to be nice and not say a word. i had gone two weeks earlier and they said to come back yesterday with these documents. so i did that. the guy was like what is this i don't understand. then i told him. he walked away and came back with that book. nothing about the case, what documents were missing, etc. he read the documents, then handed them back to me and said "only seven days" and stamped that the visa was refused and i have to leave. when i asked, in thai, what i'm supposed to do because my work permit isn't finished yet, he laughed and repeated the question to the woman next to him. no eye contact with me nothing. he then preceded to disrepect my passport as they all do. he stamped on a fresh page again instead of the half empty page next to the non-imm b visa, and then, in order to bookmark the page in his notebook for his superior to sign the stamp, he flattened out the passport and broke the spine and used it as a book mark. that's when i shut my mouth. i also looked down at the desk and saw where they printed out the law concerning insulting immigration officers and the commesurate jail time. i'm afraid i'm not the only one.

how is it physically possible to get things done after 3 months? if the work permit is not done, you are out of luck? you're not allowed to do it from outside thailand

Well, well. Didn't take you as long as I thought!

In a Post in Thai Visas, Residenct and Work Permits on 19 October I wrote:

Quote:

Good heavens man - with an attitude like yours I am truly amazed you have survived in Thailand for 4 years!

The poor woman was obviouly only trying to help you - with a pencil yet, hardly what any reasonable person would call "defacing" a passport.

You seem to have serious problems in self-control!

If these sort of things cause you to fly off the handle you are heading for ulcers ........ or a severe beating from some "<deleted>" who takes exception to your abusive personality.

Doubtless at some time in the not too distant future you will be Posting again; to complain that your latest application for a Visa Extension was rejected by the Immigration "<deleted>" for absolutely no valid reason.

The sad thing is that you - and many others like you - really do not understand why, or accept any personal responsibility, when bad things happen to you in Thailand.

Unquote

And you obviously STILL do not understand that it was YOUR attitude that got you into trouble!

Amazing!

Sorry to say, but you have absolutely no chance of qualifying for Thai citizenship on the basis of what you record here.

Because some people may not have the 400,000 baht in the bank or the 40,000 baht income........That's probably why it would be easier to go to Penang!

Smart ass!

Claire.

I look forward to more of your carefully considered contributions to discussions here dear lady.

Just a reminder that after a 1 year break the Ploenchit Fair will once again be held.

The date this time is Saturday November 20th. The location BEC Tero Hall at the Suan Lum Night Bazaar - a new venue. Dootrs open at 10.00. Tickets are 100baht for adults and 20 baht for children.

It is a good day out for all the family and all in a good cause. Proceeds from the event go towards various worthwhile charities.

I hope to see you all there

You mean it's indoors??!

Looks like a decades old traditional get-together is rapidly going down the tubes.

Tourists who can afford permanent residency are more than welcome to stay as long as they like. Like Bill Heinecke, Jim Thompson, and B. Grimm.

Two of these chaps are dead.

The other is actually Thai.

English Indian and Chinese restaurants (is there a chinese restaurant in Bangkok that does crispy duck in pancakes?)

Off topic - sorry!

If you mean proper Peking Duck, with the skin sliced off thinly and served with pancakes - try Chand Phen - on Rama IV just about opposite Lumpini Boxing Stadium.

Lots of other places too but this one is the easiest to find!

bodypaul...either you are just venting out your hatred for Muslims or you are not aware that the practice you mentioned is done only in a very few Muslim-majority countries.

Gees.....some of you guys are either hardcore bigots or are unaware of what's going on outside your 'small worlds'. In the so-called 'Muslim world', there are countries such as Bosnia, Turkey and the Central Asian republics which are as 'modern' as many of the countries in the so-called 'West'.

Jem

And he seems to have a rather biased - not to say perverse - reading list:

What about all the Muslim countries where the girls who have just mensurated are fair game for a forced marriage? This is LEGAL in the Middle East and Pakistan etc. etc. Read :

                "Princess"

                "Daughters of Arabia"

                "Desert Royal"            all by Jean Sasson:

What is the point of a report like this, except scare-mongering.

I walk your path the same on this story.....Sounds like a bad and well-timed case of political disturbance/disruption against the TRT...Such a change would put the country into an unbearable position for much of thailands people...Mr Thanawat Polvichai is sturring a big pot with this analyst.

I certainly do not agree that this is scaremongering.

Thai people need to be made aware that the populist policies of the Thaksin Government cost money - and this money must come from somewhere, usually taxation - however at the moment the Oil Fund is financed by bank borrowings. This device enables the Government to present a "Balanced Budget", essentially keeping this huge debt off the Balance Sheet.

The Fuel Subsidy is merely postponing the inevitable and giving people a false sense that the Economy is going well because inflation is so low.

After the election fuel prices, particularly for Diesel, will surge and living costs will rise with it, but by then it will be too late and Thaksin will have been given another 4 years to mortgage even more of the Country's future income to pay for his profligate spending programs.

Worse, even though the Oil Fund will then no longer grow - at least not so quickly as it is doing now, future Governments will be saddled with a huge debt of over Baht 100 billion, plus the Interest Charges to service the debt.

Meanwhile, the new petrol price policy will immediately generate income to the Oil Fund, which is expected to receive 250 million baht (about 6 million US dollars) a month from the price hike.

"With that income, we can comfortably finance the interest burden of about 20 million baht a month. And mid-next year, we should be able to start repaying the principal," said Sivanan Na Nakhon, director of the Energy Fund Institute.

--Agencies 2004-10-21

This is arrant nonsense.

Discontinuing a Subsidy - i.e. allowing new sales of Gasoline to be sold at realistic levels to reflect current Production costs - clearly does not produce "income", it merely stops further increases in the level of the “Oil Fund”; a liability which, even at it’s current level, will be a serious drain on Thailand’s budget for many years to come.

Watch this space.

As the girl doing the Ping Pong Ball shows used to say!?

To those who get off by looking for negatives and who accuse me of breaking rules when a more careful reading of my postings would clearly show that I have not (yes Mr Brownstone, I'm talking to you) please take your over-ripe ego somewhere else. Try stupidfarangmoralists.com. If you dont want to help, shut the ###### up.

Pieman

My dear chap.

Nowhere in your original Post do you indicate that you had ever worked legally in Thailand.

Given that your present predicament clearly shows your contempt for the spirit, if not the letter, of Thai Immigration regulations it was not unreasonable to assume that you would show similar distain for the Employment and Tax regulations too.

I would also point out that your arrogant expectation that the Immigration official should treat you as a special case and allow you to continue to flout Thai Immigration regulations:

1. I calculate that in the time I've lived in Thailand I've been a net cash importer of more than 7 million Thai baht. Do you want this money or would you prefer I helped the economy of another, more deserving country?

2 I have provide accomodation, food, transport, education, curtains, blankets, cookers, wasing machines, motorbikes, LOVE!!, doctors and hospital fees to at least 5 Thai people AND their dependants for 7 years. Do you want me to continue to do this or should I leave them to fend for themselves?

would more likely work against you rather than attract the gratitude of the Immigration officer for your condescending attitude towards his Country and its’ citizens.

following the law or break the law is not all that different. both routes cause nothing but headaches. i've been here 4 1/2 years, legal every single minute. but its been nothing but headaches and footdragging and people pretending they know nothing about what's going on, and getting screwed because of lazy asses and never knowing if this will be the last time you get an extension or not, or if the bitch down at the ministry of education will finish you application before you die, and thousands of other things.

so perpetual vacationers aren't the only ones who are pissed off by racist <deleted> who don't know their ass from their elbow and are only interested in stealing money from foreigners.

last week at the most recent extension (my passport is full of thai immigration stamps when i haven't even left the ###### country) the woman opens my passport, takes out a pencil and starts to write on the pages she wants me to copy. i protested of course and she said 'how will you know what pages to copy, you need to copy all the visa pages' i said 'you could TELL me. and there is only ONE visa page, the current one'

so she defaced my passport because she thought i couldn't remember the two pages to copy. total disrespect from the sheep called thais.

Good heavens man - with an attitude like yours I am truly amazed you have survived in Thailand for 4 years!

The poor woman was obviouly only trying to help you - with a pencil yet, hardly what any reasonable person would call "defacing" a passport.

You seem to have serious problems in self-control!

If these sort of things cause you to fly off the handle you are heading for ulcers ........ or a severe beating from some "<deleted>" who takes exception to your abusive personality.

Doubtless at some time in the not too distant future you will be Posting again; to complain that your latest application for a Visa Extension was rejected by the Immigration "<deleted>" for absolutely no valid reason.

The sad thing is that you - and many others like you - really do not understand why, or accept any personal responsibility, when bad things happen to you in Thailand.

Pieman,

I agree with you on most all topics as I too have been her for four (4) years taking care of a Thai family of five (5). I pay all the same expences that you do. But it seems to me that most of the negative comments on this website come from our fellow Farungs who are only in business because they rip other Farungs off...

I dont mean this to all but if the shoe fits wear it! I know most say "Well you should have the proper Visa in the first place" But forget about all the could haves and should haves...This is a forum...Lets talk about what we currently have and how to get what's right or needed!!!

I'm not going into any details of my situation but I want all on this forum to understand that the ONLY REASON Farungs come to this web site is for HELP or ADVISE not to be belittled by other Farungs!!!!

If this forum is not intended to help other farungs then so be it! I believe if you have nothing positive to say THEN SHUT THE #### UP. We all only need positive feedbacks, help, guidance etc...

I know some are the goody two shoes, but alot of us are like the Pieman, are getting screwed because the ones that have business's or contacts have it made and don't care about us little people with good intentions or a heart.

I hope I haven't rocked anyone's boat but if I did, before you speak Sit back and Take a good look at yourself and think why am I part of this Forum if not to help others........

KHUNDAN SENDS

What exactly are you saying?

That you and others with problems are perfectly willing to take "advise" (sic) just so long as no one has the bad taste to point out that the problems you experience are rooted in your own ignorance of, or contempt for, the Thai regulations?

Can’t say I have ever seen a Thai react that way, but I treasure the memory of a Dinner many years ago in Songkhla.

We were hosting local Thai Dealers to introduce the newly appointed, American, Marketing Manager for Thailand of a major International Consumer Goods Company, the venue was a really good local Chinese restaurant – there were over 100 of our major Southern Distributors present.

Before tasting any dish the new Marketing Manager insisted on asking what it was ……… and unfortunately when the Chinese delicacy “Pling Talay Ob Mor Din” was put on the table he was given the translation “Sea Slug”.

Even after 30 years his reaction is a source of great hilarity when I visit many of these old friends in Southern Thailand.

My knowledge is quite possibly out of date, but seems that one of the extraordinary things about Thailand is the very successful accomodation between the racial Thais and the racial Chinese. The poor(as in moneyless) Thais come up through the ranks to success in the military and marry into/otherwise accomodate with the Chinese business/money interests.  Keeps the peace pretty well, though the mostly poor Thais are screwed.

is this not essentially the case at this point in time?

Vast improvement over anybody else in the neighborhood - look at indonesia, malaysia, cambodia, vietnam... etc.

God Bless the King.

Though I generally agree with your sentiments, I hope you're not suggesting there's a lack of Thais of Chinese-origin in the miltary.

Generally - up until about 20 - 25 years ago - the Military and Police were the preserve of ethnic Thais; to a very large extent the Thai / Chinese were simply not interested in careers in those services and all male children were inculcated into the family business ethos.

After the Social and Political upheavals of the 70’s the Thai / Chinese quickly realised that their business stability and prosperity could best be maintained and expanded by establishing a firm foothold in the Armed Forces of Thailand – and at that time they began introducing second or third sons, cousins etc., into those previously shunned careers, while first sons, or those seen to be particularly business orientated were kept within the family sphere of business.

In Thailand at the moment we are experiencing the first results of this long term planning, with Taksin as PM and close relatives being in a position to be advanced – via some degree of his patronage - to high and influential Posts in the Armed Forces.

Failing that , my only option is to show 800,000. I have more than that, but a lot of it was earned here, in Thailland and so doesn't qualify.

Whoa!

You had my full sympathy until I read this!

You are working illegally in Thailand without either a proper Visa or a Work Permit, quite obviously the Immigration Officer suspected that this was the case - hence the Visa refusal.

The rules are designed to - hopefully - catch people just like you.

I woke up still sitting at a bar with 9000 Baht still in my shirt breast pocket as well a few years ago in Pattaya. The whores could have picked my pockets, but they didn't.

And you still call them "whores" .

I have a word to describe you that begins with "W" too.