kriswillems

Thai-English English-Thai Dictionary for Non-Thai Speakers, Revised Edition (Paperback)

# by: B.P. Becker

# Paperback: 658 pages

# Publisher: Paiboon Publishing; Revised edition (January 1, 2002)

# ISBN-10: 1887521143

# ISBN-13: 978-1887521147

I've seen this book in many bookshops.

Isn't it possible just to order this book in a bookshop in Chiang-Mai?

Or maybe you know a friend in BKK that could send it to you?

You could also order it on the internet (425B).

I have no experience with this online shop

http://www.dco.co.th/product_info.php?products_id=339

Loong, I am not expressing my opinion. I am trying to explain how Thai people look at foreigners.

You can read Thai language right? You should go to read the Thai forums regarding these subjects (immigration/foreign companies/self-sufficiency). There you see the opinion of Thai people. Believe me, these messages would be considered as pure racisme on european forums.

I've to admit I never lived in the north-east. I've lived in Chonburi, in an industrial area. If I would ask a Thai person (in Chonburi) if they like foreign investment or foreign culture they would all say "yes". But if the question would be asked by a Thai person, 50% of the people would say "no", and the majority of the rest would not express any opinion, but would think "no".

I can't have a free, balanced discussion about the king on this forum.

Thai people don't like the idea of globalisation. They believe that they were doing pretty well without foreigners (even if we think this is not true) and they have no need to get more foreigners into Thailand.

Western cultural influences: sex before marriage, lack of respect for older people, capitalisme and egoisme, thinking money driven, living to work instead of working to live, looking down at Thai people, use of alcohol and drugs, ....

Do I think Thai people will benifit from this attitude? No, they won't.

Thailand’s biggest problem in developing is her ever increasing xenophobia. Many countries are envious of the US lead in science, technology and business. Americans did create much of the technology and medical science in use today. But where did many of these American inventors and innovators come from?

• Albert Sabin-Inventor of the oral polio vaccine. American by choice. Born in Russia. Not rich or famous when he arrived.
  
• Werner Von Braun- Lead designer of the rockets that thus far put the only men on the moon. American by choice. Born in Germany.
  
• An Wang-Inventor of the magnetic core memory that made the early advances (pre-integrated circuit) in computers possible. American by choice. Born in China. Wasn’t rich or famous when he emigrated.
  
• Albert Einstein- No explanation needed. . American by choice. Born in Germany.
  
• Admiral Hyman Rickhover –Father of the US Nuclear Navy- American by choice. Born in Russian occupied Poland. Came as a child of a poor family who emigrated to the US in search of a better life.
  
• Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain-Co-inventor of the jet engine. American by choice. Born in Germany.
  
• Igor Sikorsky- Inventor of the first practical helicopter and designer of the first 4 engine aircraft. Born in the Ukraine- American by choice.
  
• Alexander Graham Bell- Inventor of the telephone. Born and raised in Scotland. Immigrated to America. American by choice.
  
• Vinod Khosla-Venture capitalist and cofounder of Sun Microsytems. Born in India. American by choice.
  
• Jerry Yang- Co-founder of Yahoo. Born Taiwan. American by choice. Arrived in US with his widowed mother at age 10. Not rich. Not famous but became so.
  
• Jen-Hsun Huang - Co-founder of NVIDIA Corp (graphics chips). Born Taiwan. American by Choice. Lived in Thailand at one time when he was young. Moved to America in his youth. Not rich, not famous when he arrived.
  
• Albert Baez- Inventor of the x-ray microscope. Born Mexico. American by choice.
  
• Tuan Vo-Dinh- Inventor and patent holder of optical diagnostic test equipment. Born Vietnam. American by choice. He would have been just another unwanted refugee in Thailand.
  

The list could go on and on.

These Americans were all foreigners. They embraced the US and the US embraced them. Some had already achieved greatness before they immigrated and helped America by refining their earlier inventions. Others were untested. Many came from poor families. The US doesn’t complain when foreigners who have immigrated succeed. In fact the US frequently honors them and holds them up as role models for the entire country.

There are foreigners that would come and embrace Thailand too. But Thailand doesn’t want foreigners to get too comfortable here. Thailand’s xenophobic zeal makes it very difficult for foreigners. The government and the various ministries that make up the government try to make it so difficult for foreigners that it discourages those who might contribute here. In America there is no rigid work permit system. You get the appropriate visa and you can work at any job at any location. Sikorsky worked as a school teacher when he first came to America. Had he come to Thailand today he would have been arrested for thinking about designing aircraft without a work permit before he could have ever opened his aeronautical engineering company. Under Thai law, thinking without a work permit (exerting mental energy) is a violation of the Alien Employment Act.

Even today the US welcomes ordinary immigrants. While the doors are not completely open there are mechanisms for ordinary people to live and work in America. There is a diversity visa program for ordinary citizens not just those with advanced degrees. There are other programs too. Ordinary immigrants to the US contribute in a variety of ways. In the US Indian immigrants own over 35% of all hotels in the US. No one tells them they must have a 51% American partner. No one tells them they cannot manage and control their investment. Try that in Thailand. In the US the government doesn’t pass laws to limit the expansion of Indian owned hotels. These Indians employ native born Americans, buy from native born Americans, pay taxes and serve in the armed forces. Another ethnic group in American closer to Thailand is the Cambodians. Many were kept in refugee camps here before they immigrated to the US. In America they are allowed to freely participate in the economy and many have become successful. In California Cambodian immigrants own over 90% of the donut shops. A well run restaurant or donut shop in American can bring an above average income. Native born Americans haven’t turned out to protest like Thais do when foreign companies succeed here. When people come to America they are not subjected to two tier pricing particularly by the government. They cannot be refused housing or jobs because of their nationality. No one tells them they cannot purchase a home or land. The law requires they be treated in every respect as native born Americans and the law is enforced. About the only thing they can’t do without becoming a naturalized citizen is vote. In the US there are even naturalized citizens who are freely elected politicians. Felix Frankfurter, a naturalized US citizen became a Supreme Court Judge. That would likely never happen in Thailand. Someone would start screaming Foreigner, Foreigner and the mob would join the chorus. In Thailand it is rare when any foreigner, particularly someone of European or African ancestry is allowed to become a naturalized Thai citizen much less run for public office.

Under Thailand’s current system, Bill Gates and Steven Jobs would not be allowed to work here were they just starting out. Why? No university degree. They wouldn’t be the right “quality” for Thailand. Steven Jobs was still a teenager fresh out of high school when and another mere high school graduate started apple. Gates dropped out of Harvard University to found Microsoft. No University degree= no “quality” as far as Thailand is concerned. If you have a good idea and no degree, don’t bring it to Thailand. Thailand only wants “quality” people to contribute the country. Thailand’s xenophobia is the chief cause of her inability to attract the people needed to help create and build an economy. The foreigners come and when Thais see them succeed in opening small business, some of which may become big businesses, the xenophobia sets in. Thailand has some creative and successful people. In the past Thailand had an aircraft manufacturing industry and designed operational production military aircraft. Some Thais have excelled at business innovation and marketing. But without the infusion of foreign intellectual capital to augment the native born talent growth will painfully slow especially when the creative people migrate to other countries where they can join with other creative people in developing ideas and building new enterprises.

In the US much of the creative engine is driven by immigrants. In the US many of the naturalized Americans who become successful give back to their adopted country part of the wealth they have amassed. In Thailand, the native born millionaires and billionaires are seldom seen giving of their wealth to help better the country. Their need for more wealth seems insatiable.

In Thailand the xenophobia and economic nationalism locks out those who would come here and help the country develop. Apologists for the Thai system can try and justify this policy all they want but in the end it is Thailand that will slide further back on the development scale while other countries with more open policies will rapidly advance.

Nice post. But I think you should understand Thai people don't think the same way as you do. Thai peoples goal is not to become the economical, financial, technological or military leader of the world. They want to be left alone, be self-sufficient. Frankly they don't care much that there are still many poor people in their country and they certainly don't want to depend on foreigners to solve their problems.

They are struggling to protect their culture and traditions that are getting lost because of the western influence. When people see their culture is at danger they become extremists. This is what is happening with Thai people today but it also happens at other places in the world. I myself also tend to idealise my culture and traditions when I stay in Thailand.

Where it is all going to? I don't know. But it makes me scared. Examples from the past but also the present show that extremism very often leads to human tragedy.

So if I understand you correctly:

ที่นี่ means here

and

ทีนี้, is a conjunction word to move to from the context to the actual point of the discussion/explanation. Just like people sometimes use "now" or "So", followed by a short break, in English?

Interesting question.

My Thai teacher (native speaker) couldn't explain the difference and she said both could be used in the word ที่นี่ (meaning here). My wife (native speaker too) said that there was a difference, but that you just have to use your "feeling". This shows hard it is to explain your native language.

Are there really 2 versions of ที่นี่, one with mai eek, the other with mai too?

And if so, what's the difference in use/meaning?

You'll not have any problem at all, just use Lopburi3 advise.

I don't expect they will make a problem that your 400K was divided over 2 accounts as long as both accounts together had 400K during 3 months.

The 50 years limit is only be a big problem for the families not being grandfathered and that don't have a 40K income.

Honestly, I also don't understand why a Thai girl with an average family income (<40K) has no right to live in Thailand with her husband if her husband is young (<50), while she would have not have much problems if she would have married an older guy (they could use 800K on bank account).

I develop electronic devices in Europe (hardware and software). I spent years looking for similar activities in Thailand and to be honest, I found very few companies that do this kind of development. There are quiet a few companies developing software in Thailand, but real hardware or system developers are very hard to find.

I believe it might not be bad if government would startup some high-tech companies that are working together with the universities. I would also encourage government to hire foreign experts for teaching Thai people how to develop things.

I think the minister is right, today Thailand is nothing more than a country with cheap labour. The moment labour becomes too expensive, all foreign companies will move to another country and Thailand will know nothing about the technoly produced by these companies. Thailand should focus more on development.

I believe the second entry will get activated. This second entry can be extended by 30 days, giving you a total of 90 days on your second entry. After that you can do 3 entries with 30 day visa exemption stamps, giving you another 90 days.

Changes in immigration laws can have very negative results for some people. And I believe many people are hurt by the new immigration law.

But let's look at it this way:

The number of countries that allows people to stay there without having any valid reason is very small. I don't think that only having money is a "good" reason. And even the number of countries that allow people to stay there just because they are old is also very small.

So, Thailand is not being unreasonable, the opposite is true: Thailand today has a very liberal and flexible visa policy for retired people (compared to other countries).

Thailand has to draw the line somewhere, they drew it at the age of 50, which I think, is already young to retire.

Nevertheless, I feel sorry for you. I assume you're not married to a Thai person. You could stay in Thailand based on tourist visas. You'll need to go to a neigbour country every 3 months and apply for a tourist visa over there. And you'll need to go to the immigration office every time to get a 30 day extention. If you do this until 50, you can switch to a retirement visa then.

I am assuming your wife will be self-employed (so, she'll not work in her own "company").

Yes, you could get a working permit for being a general manager.

No, it's not necessary that there are other Thai people working in the business.

The business needs to have a yearly turnover of at least 350K.

non-immigrant-B offers no advantages compared to non-immigrant-O.

This is what the Thai law says.

But it's really hard to convince the people of the Work permit department to follow the Thai law.

Help of a lawyer might be necessary.

Have a look at this thread. This person actually managed to arrange everything by himself.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...l=self-employed

This is the work permit law in Thai:

http://www.kittilaw.com/thai/workpermit.htm

On the same web-site you can find the law in English.

http://www.kittilaw.com/english/workpermit.htm

No financial requirements if you apply for non immigrant visa in your home country,its only when you want to extend this visa IN Thailand it gets complicated.

Correct!

For extending this visa in Thailand (with 1 year, taking away the obligation to go to the border every 3 months) you'll need 40K/month.

For getting a new visa of this kind in signapore you need 400K on your account.

But in BKK03's case: no problem because he can get a new visa in the USA every 8 months. He should apply for a "multiple-entry-non-immigrant-O-visa-based-on-marriage/visit wife".

BKK03,

The easiest and cheapest solution for you in to apply for a multiple entry non-immigrant-O visa based on marriage in the USA and make 2 reentries while you stay in Chiang mai (you get 90 days per entry). A reentry is just a 1 day trip to Laos. Your visa is valid for 12 months (that's long enough). After 8 months, when you return to the USA you can apply again for a new visa. There are no financial requirements.

Peoples opinion very often depends on their moral background. You can't change somebodies background. Everyone is entitled to his own truth. Decisions are often based on the truth as perceived by the majority.

So, why not ask the arriving travellers if they like to have "sellers" approaching them and offering limo services? If travellers like it, keep the current system. If not, move the limo-service sellers behind a desk and remove the walking sellers near the exit-gates.

I think Thai people should be proud about their new airport (despite the cracks) and everything to make it even better is a good thing.

Isn't that in the Geneva Convention?? (Human Rights??)

If so the Thai immigration Law is in violation of the Geneva Convention.

Mother, father and child should have the right to live together????

You are probably right, but the Thais will tell you to go back to your own country and give there as a family...........

Sad, but it is an option.

It is an option that brings tears to the eyes Thai women that have to leave their aging and suffering parents alone in Thailand (something that not-done in Thai culture), because the husband can't get a visa.

The group of young married people have parents that are still alive. In Thailand children should take care of their parents.

You're right:

Sad, but it's an option.

My feeling says a family should have the right to live together even if they are not rich, but Thailand seems to see it otherwise.

Isn't that in the Geneva Convention?? (Human Rights??)

If so the Thai immigration Law is in violation of the Geneva Convention.

Mother, father and child should have the right to live together????

No, it's not and even if it would be, I don't believe an army controlled government is going introduce any law to protect the human rights of foreigners living in a very patriotic country.

I guess they probably thought you were one of the average people in the western world making the average income of around $40K a year. Add in the common retirement and health benefits and would be situated to advance your family past a job paying 30K baht a month with no future or benefits and little for education possibilities.

Retired farangs have not much problem staying in Thailand. They just need to prove they have 800K on their own bank account and they can stay. They don't need to be married to a Thai person.

Young married people might have 2 million on their account, they are not allowed to stay, unless they have 40K/month income, which is hard to get because of the work permit regulations. Seems like constructing a semi-legal company that converts their saving to income is the only solution for them.

Many foreigners married to a Thai are not retired.

Of course there are restrictions:

You're not allowed to work without work permit.

You can't do a whole list of jobs that are reserved for Thai people (you can't get a work permit for those jobs) and it's quiet hard to be allowed to work (= get a work permit) if you're not some kind of manager, expert or teacher (with a degree).

The fact that you're married doesn't help much.

The chance that any Thai person finds a job that pays 40K is extremely small. So, only depending on the income of your wife might be hard, unless you make some semi-legal construction to convert savings to income.

If you're married and you want to work you need a work permit to work just as others do. But you don't need to apply for a non-immigrant-B visa. Your non-immigrant-O visa will do.

Getting 40K per month if you live in a "less rich" part of Thailand or you don't have any special talents (to get a work permit) is hard.

So, on one hand Thailand requires that young married people get 40K income but on the other hand they are giving them a hard time obtaining a work permit.

All alternative solutions are also made harder for young married people. For instance: Penang doesn't issue multiple entry non-immigrant-O visas anymore and signapore requires 400K on an account to issue such a visa.

Seems like young married people or young fathers of Thai children are not-wanted anymore in Thailand, unless they bring a considerable amount money into the country (not just savings but real tax money).

My feeling says a family should have the right to live together even if they are not rich, but Thailand seems to see it otherwise.

You said that you had many 3-months "visas" before, so assume you were not staying based on 1 year extentions and also not based on a multiple-entry non-immigrant-O visa. I guess you were staying based on single entry non-immigrant-O visas. You can continue to apply for a new visa every 3 months (this requires you to stay in laos for 1 or more days and go to the Thai embassy over there).

If you were staying based on a multiple entry non-immigrant-O visa and you just did a visa run every 3 months, you could continu to do the same but you've to get a new multiple-entry non-immigrant-O visa every 15 months. You might need to travel to your home country or signapore or KL to apply for a new multiple entry non-immigrant-O visa.

If you want to switch to staying based on a 1-year extention you can follow the advice of Maestro. If you convert your savings to income that will cost you about 30K tax per year. In my opnion any construction only used to convert savings to income is not very "legal", but probably nobody will complain about it, since you'll be paying tax on income tax you don't really have.

If you're applying for a 1 year extention of your non-immigrant-O visa based on marriage (and not on retirement), the income from the restaurant will count, even if it's completely on your wifes name.

I,m completely in the dark with this one Kris, The wife tells me that the last guy we spoke to said they had done this for farangs before in relation to visa,s ,maybe Sunbelt can advise me if they read these posts.

I went to the tax-department in january and they've also told me that other farangs that have self-employed wifes did the same and that immigration would look at the income before deduction, so I guess we're safe.

Maybe the reason they let you pay the tax upfront (1 year) is that you need prove of 3 months tax-paying at the immigration department.

I think you'll be ok.

I'll be applying for my 1 year extention in august.

I am very curious about the outcome.

The 80% deduction (80% of 250K) is the deduction for your expenses in the farm.

The 60K is not a deduction but it's a tax-free allowance for your wife (30K) and her spouce (30K)(you).

Because your wife wouldn't have to pay income tax following the normal rules (250K*0.2 -100K - 60K <0) and your wife is self-employed the tax will be 0.5% of your wifes income (0,5% of 250K).

Sunbelt ever explained to me on this forum that the actual income that will be used by the immigration department is the income AFTER the deduction. So, in your case that would be only 50000 B/year or 4167 B/month. But that was a while ago and at that moment I suspect it was still not very clear how immigration would look at the income of self-employed people.

Apparently the immigration department looks at the imcome before deduction for employees (this is called assessable income), so there's a big chance they might do the same with self-employed people. Employees get a 40% deduction not exceeding 60K.

I am happy for the posters whose judgement is always sharp and accurate, even when they're tired and even when they would be unexperienced travellers. At least they will never get cheated.

But I believe there are many "less superior" people, such as me, that get tired and that get cheated and that get an unjust negative impression of Thai people.

Acccording to the latest news reports fixing the runways and taxiways of the new airport would take 2 weeks and it would not be required to close down airport. Other reports say the cracks are superficial and form no safety risk.

The Thai airforce lost a huge source of income when Don Meuang (their property) was closed. The most serious cracks are probably the cracks in their budget. Re-opening Don Meuang would fix those cracks.