OOB

Fortunately there is a group of Christians who check in there and they were able to help these people out[/b]. They are completely useless and probably the ones who gave the information to the Embassy in Bangkok.

Yes, I have - many times. You are describing other people's experiences, so I guess you haven't.

I have also been to the British Consulate here in CM and the staff there are excellent. What a third party religious group could possibly do for me when trying to get a formal UK document is completely beyond me, however. It would be helpful if you explained what the 'two people you know personally' were trying to accomplish at the Consulate and in what way this group were better able to help.

Have read through the various other posts on the subject, and I am comfortable with the process and which documents & funds I require. I have one question, though, about when I should apply, as follows:

a) Non Imm O Visa is valid until 5th July 2010

z) Current entry stamp is valid until 21st August 2010

Must I apply before the visa expires (a) or within the final 30 days of the current entry stamp (z)?

I do not want to wait until the last month of the entry stamp only to be told that the visa has expired and thus can not be extended.

Thanks in advance.

Edited to remove the bloody automatic smileys that 'helpfully' changed the intended text!

Planning to trip up from Chiang Mai next week, but the rumour mill down here says the course is in a terrible state. Anybody played it in the last week? Any comments?

Just had my HD box put in.

The engineer, when asked in Thai by my better half, said that World Cup commentary on HD will be in Thai only.

When I challenged this he phoned in and came back with 'mai na jai' (we are not sure). He hinted to my wife that what they say on the phone to customers may not always be true! Shock, horror!

As to picture quality, it is excellent. Better than I remember Sky HD in the UK...however that may just be because I am now used to the very average picture quality of UBC in general.

Thanks both.

My wife spoke to Maxnet the other day and they said that Wang Tan is in their roll-out plans and they hope to have installed the necessary infrastructure within the next month or two. Whether this implies 'months of Sundays' is anyone's guess..!

Thanks Dustoff. I'll take 4 MB.

I have the AIS modem too as a backup line, but thanks for the offer!

Thanks David.

Anyone down there use anything other than TOT (including 3G)?

Cheers

Soon leaving my current abode where I have Maxnet Premier (reasonably quick and reliable) and am told I can not get it at Ban Wang Tan. So...for those in the know:-

1) What service providers are available are out there?

2) What level of service (speed) are you typically getting to International sites?

3) Is AIS 3G working out there?

Many thanks in advance!

It's at the San Patong market. Follow the 108 (Hang Dong) Road past San Patong town and you'll eventually come to the market. You can not miss it as it spews out onto the main road. The motorcycle section is under cover towards the Chiang Mai end of the market - ask anyone there and they should be able to point you in the right direction.

We went to look for dirt bikes and they had none - it really is primarily a scooter market.

Hang Dong is a goat track - I live in Home In Park, right by there. I take my kids there to play, it's great value, but it's a <deleted> golf course. Don't confuse cheap with good.

I also live fairly close and I and many others think it is a great little course but then of course we are just hackers not pros or low handicappers but then maybe we all just confuse cheap with good due to our lack of expertise and perhaps goat tracks suit our level of play.

Fair play!

do not forget that if you are thai on some of these golf clubs they offer 500 baht and foreigners pay 800 baht for the golf promotions package i think i will stll stick to my regular golf club were i get 9 holes for 150 baht and 18 holes at 300 baht still a bargain compared to some of the others

1) Discounts for locals happens the world over - for example Floridians get a special rate at Disney.

2) 300 Baht for eighteen holes is cheap, however the courses that charge this little do so for a reason (i.e. because they are crap).

Have to dispute that. I,and quite a few others play Hang Dong on a regular basis-320baht- lovely little course, great for higher handicappers and intermediates, seen a few so called low handicappers struggle there as well-often! The only one that is less cost than that is Sand Creek but not a patch on HD.

As I said a couple of times on this thread, there are still rates better than the 800 on at least two of the courses in the Chiang Mai golf festival.

Played Alpine today, rarely have I seen a course in better condition over here.

Hang Dong is a goat track - I live in Home In Park, right by there. I take my kids there to play, it's great value, but it's a <deleted> golf course. Don't confuse cheap with good.

do not forget that if you are thai on some of these golf clubs they offer 500 baht and foreigners pay 800 baht for the golf promotions package i think i will stll stick to my regular golf club were i get 9 holes for 150 baht and 18 holes at 300 baht still a bargain compared to some of the others

1) Discounts for locals happens the world over - for example Floridians get a special rate at Disney.

2) 300 Baht for eighteen holes is cheap, however the courses that charge this little do so for a reason (i.e. because they are crap).

Is that 100% confirmed? The small print does state the rate is up to the course.

It is confirmed. All courses in CM are 800 + caddy through end June.

EDIT:- Let me qualify that, it is certainly the case at Highlands and Alpine, arguably the two best courses in Chiang Mai and the courses that represent the biggest savings over normal fees.

You must ask yourself if CM is a safe place to live? Air pollution, death by automobile, on a 1st world basis, poor medical care. On has a duty to dependent children they may disregard for themselves.

And you must balance that against all of the positives concerned with living abroad, meeting new people, learning another language, expanding one's horizons etc. Not to mention the weather, food, extended family, cost of living, quality of life...

Wrapping kids up in cotton wool is unhealthy, wherever one lives. Besides a happy parent here is infinitely better for a child than an unhappy one sat in the smog, rain and dark winter days of London.

The OP says "I have my main priority my daughter and her future is of utmost importance to me".

Stay in UK, until she finishes schooling. You're still young, CM can wait. You have a job in UK, there's a global recession on, Thailand is getting more & more expensive , & exchange rates may still be heading south.

Raising kids here. We have 2 young boys, & the amazingly timed long school holidays here coincide with pollution season & very hot season. Confined to house most of the day.

That could be another 15 odd years. If somebody had advised me to spend another fifteen years doing my 4 hour round trip commute each day for the sake of a UK state education for my children, I'd have politely told them where to stick their advice.

International schooling here, as stated elsewhere in the thread, is very good. It is as good as any of the 7-8 state schools my children attended in the UK. It is almost as good as the 1 private school they also attended (because we lived the wrong side of the state school boundary and missed out on places in our three chosen state schools).

If one can afford the move to CM, there may be many reasons not to make it, but leaving state schooling in the UK is certainly not one of them.

I'm a little over 1 month along, so I'm not showing, yet.

I like your idea of involving him in taking the test, and I think I'm going to give that a try.

The story about your friend terrifies me a bit! I hadn't even considered that possibility. I suppose I'll just have to wait and see how he responds.

Thanks for your advice!

A word of caution... As a man if I found out that you put me through the whole test thing when you already knew the result, I'd be more than a little upset. Why lie?

Needless to say, I will not be returning.

Exactly what my family and I said after a buffet lunch at the Amari! I guess we both hit 'bad chef days'...

Opens midday - not sure about closing though.

It's open - it's on the Samoeng junction of the 121 (where it joins/becomes the canal road).

The OP (Daisychain) made it quite clear that the two children have to date, only been educated in an English school environment. Why don't the FM's who have responded read the OP's posting the way in which it was written and then respond accordingly.

I'm not sure why the responses on this thread should cause you to frown?

My kids also have been educated under the English system only, but there are many variables one must consider and previous experience is just one of them. I, for instance, would happily move my children under the US system rather than move my family to BKK, Pattaya or Phuket (due to other variables such as availability, price or quality of teaching).

The ops question is in regard to English speaking international schools. I can think of Lanna, Prem, APIS, CMI, Grace and Nakorn Payap. Given the minimal information we have to go on from the OP, I think it would be remiss of us with local knowledge to disregard any of the English language schools at this juncture.

The OP is making a post on the net. No perfection is needed.

Agreed, kind of, but basic grammar is appreciated. It is hardly surprising that the terms of employment (as a teacher lest we forget) are not favorable when the individual is barely able to string a sentence together.

OP - you are choosing to leave their employment, you do not deserve severance pay, you deserve to be paid for the time you have put in. Don't be greedy and don't give yourself a bad name - leave based on the terms you agreed to in your contract.

The best way to talk to your loved one about such an issue is to be considerate and direct, tell her you love her and then say something like you are a big fat slob and you need to lose 50kg or your out you porker.

Well that's certainly direct...I'm less sure about the considerate though!

Did make me cry with laughter!

If you have a Thai bank account use a service such as hifx.co.uk. All can be done online, they are fully regulated and you'll get forex (rather than tourist) rates.

I use them twice a year to move spending money over - obviously the more you move the better the rate as they profit on the margin (not on fees).

ChiangMaiGolfFestival - They now have website

Cheeky! Hijacked domain name?

I agree with Stardome, but with nine tourneys to play I guess they had to be imaginative. Personally, I'd have followed the Hua Hin precedent where you have qualifiers and then a final. That way you could have played one of the premium courses twice (qual and final).

Either way, I won't be going for the tourneys. So fed up with the system 36 (lottery) method and the six hour rounds. If only all players in the Kingdom had fair handicaps, we could all enjoy proper competition...

I'm hoping to send my son who is now 2 1/2 to Lanna International School. The fees are quite reasonable and they follow the British National Curriculum. The medium of instruction is English (though of course there are Thai language and culture lessons).

christ man, what have you got against your son?

I did smile, but in fairness the OP explicitly stated that their children are presently in the English system, and thus the reference was pertinent.