puchooay

I did no such thing. When I have stayed in each province, not city, long enough I will attempt to do so.

So, almost value for money.

For Chiang Mai I would think a month would be about right. Phuket not quite so long. That would be for accurate reviews.

My point exactly. I was replying to your comment.

@SparktraderSo, in little more than s month since your post making enquires, you've managed to travel extensively around 4 provinces. You've seen all the women, been to all of the restaurants and tourist attractions, met all of the kids in the villages, been to all the bus stations, train stations at various times in a 24 hour period and discussed with all of the locals how often they see a foreigner. That's some going. I would thing you would need at least a month in each province to have the views you have posted. Go and try again and come back with some real, more accurate analysis.

Maybe they do. My point was nothing about who gets the most.

So please confirm. You'd like a job where you have wealth but can't spend it. You have to go places you don’t want to go. Meet and be nice to people you don't like. Have your kids followed to school by paparazzi. Have your face splashed accross the media no matter what you do, good or bad. Have halfwits slagging you off on social media because of who your Mum or granny is. Cannot go out or on holiday without a possi of bodyguards for fear someone is going to shoot you or kidnap your kids. To have to accept this is you forever with no retirement age?

I hadn't noticed. You clearly go looking for the news about them. As an aside. Do you think they enjoy having cameras shoved in their faces? Or, even worse, being photographed from distance by snooping photographers trying to make a fast buck? I doubt it. To all the naysayers.. is it a job, being Royalty, that anyone here would really want to do? I doubt it very much. So being born into it, with the high ranking royals not having a choice, is probably not such a privilege at all. When one does rebel, Harry, he's raked across the coals for it. Damned if the do, damned if they don't.

Who has told you you need to be interested? Don't like it? Don't read it or watch it. Simple.

Not forgetting the millions that tourists pay to visit the UK because of the fact there is a monarchy and its history. Not forgetting the millions profit the state receives from the crown each year (last year the crown handed over £300+ million. The government returned circa £125 million as the annual royal grant) Yep. Let's scrap it all. We could then have a President. They are always top dollar, aren't they?

Make up your mind. Did you do it yourself or did you need help? @hansombeastI'm not that well up with KK. However, I guess it's like most other towns and there will be an area where fabricators work. I found our window guy in amongst the guys doing stainless steel gates and fences. They usually all work together. Have a drive around. You'll not miss them as their workshops usually spill over to the pavements outside.

Number one rule for language teachers. Only speak the subject language in the classroom. I do hope a self confessed expert like your good self does not rattle on in Thai in your classes.

And that is the beauty of immersion. You never stop learning. That in itself begs the question, did you study or learn Thai? Importance of learning Thai depends on who you are, what you want out of life in Thailand and where you live. It makes me cringe when I see expats relying on their wives for communication. "Ask him this", "Ask him that". Just bl@@dy well learn to ask for yourself. I learnt Thai by immersion. It took about 6 months to pick up enough to shop alone, go to immigration alone, buy a car alone and to supervise the building of our first home. I met my wife in Issan. She was working in a shop next to the school I was teaching at. She knew no English. We learnt each others' language together. I learnt to read Thai by reading with my daughter as she was learning as a 3-4 year old at school. I agree there are many dialects in Thailand. In Issan there are 4 main ones. Once one is good at Thai it is easy to recognise the dialects. My wife is a Khmer speaker. Very easy to distinguish from Thai. Quite easy to pick up a few words and phrases too. No books or teachers to teach you Khmer. Immersion is the only way. I wonder how members on here learnt their mother tongue? Did they not speak until they went to school? Did they not pick up the language by immersion? Listening to Mum and Dad? Repeating what was said? Replying to and asking questions?

@Faranguz Is your primary concern the ED visa or learning Thai? The reason I ask is, you are living in Thailand, surrounded by Thai people, have a Thai girlfriend who likely has a large group of friends. There is absolutely no need for you to attend any courses to learn Thai. Research shows the easiest way to learn something is by doing. In the case of a language that would be the immersion method. Go out and learn as you get on with your daily life. Shopping is a good start. Be sure your girlfriend takes time to speak to you in Thai. Watch some Thai TV. Many ways to immerse yourself in Thai.

You ask so many questions. Why not just grab the bull by the horns and come and find out yourself?

A man that likes women? That's me. ????????????

We have a self contained unit on our land in Buriram. It is for rent, possibly by a teacher at a local school. Unit comprises of; living/dining area, separate bedroom with en suite bathroom. Total area 45sqm. Electricity will be on a PEA meter. Water and wifi included in rent. Monthly rent 2000 baht. Walk to school in 5 minutes. 10 baht bus to BigC and Makro in 10 minutes. Same bus continues into town, stops outside wet market. Takes about 20 minutes. I make that less than 40% of what you are paying.

There are lots of great builders out there. If some one says something like " local builders are just rice farmers that do a bit of building" they are talking rubbish. Rice farming is dead in the water. Most builders now do it for a living and have a lot of experience. As previously advised, have a look at a builder's previous work. Check that their previous customers are happy. Keep an eye on progress but don't hang around the site all the time. Also keep the receipts. Of course there are some cowboys out there. As there are everywhere. There are some foreign builders too. They tend to charge foreign prices though. Not sure why. It's only local Thai guys doing the building anyway. I've been involved in 3 house builds. All by local builders. 99% happy.

It's not a loophole. You only require a teaching licence or waiver to teach at establishments governed by OBEC. Universities are not governed by them so no licence required.

Wrong on so many points.

I guess the answer is "Yes" but I'll ask anyway. Have UKVI now dropped the ruling that applications can be made in UK due to travel restrictions? My wife's transition from visitor to settlement was done in UK. Albeit nearly 2 years ago.

Yes, it is. Especially when you consider the Filipinos will be on a similar amount for many years. Will not have free Healthcare for them and their families, will not get cheap loans, a pension, chance of promotion and further pay rises. A Thai teacher with 20 years under their belt earns more than the regular 32k a month native English speakers get. Not forgetting the add on they get too.

Required funds are going to differ drastically depending on location. In the villages, older people tend not to retire totally. Many will be involved in some kind of farming for living off the land. Take my wife's family village for example. All own the land they live on so no rent to pay. Most of the family still have rice land. The elder family members rent the land and get 30% of the yield. That is plenty to last the year. Mum has a smaller plot of land where she grows veggies and fruit. There are always a few chickens and ducks around to provide eggs and meat. Occasionally Mum might raise a pig or two. A couple of thousand baht a month from the kids. She lives well and is very happy. In contrast, those living in the town or those with no land will need more money per month.

It must be part of the Asian leg of their tour. ????

No, you don't need a B visa. You can use the O that you already have but change the reason for staying in Thailand. The important bit is that you are already at Non Immigrant status. You need to get the documents for the new reason for staying ready. Take them to immigration and get extended for the reason chosen.