AjarnMartin

Been there, done that.... Don't take any notice of the armchair experts in this forum with no actual first hand experience, that tell you otherwise. The Labour Courts will definitely side with you and insist that you get paid your full compensation of 3 months. Secondly, do not think that if you are on, say a two year fixed term Contract, then the Company does not have to pay you compensation. TYCO International were forced to pay up to 10 months compensation when the 2 to 5 year Employment Contracts they had with their Expats and Thai staff were completed. The reason being, it doesn't matter what is in the Employment Contract you may have signed, Thai Labour Laws take precedence. Thirdly, if they try to make you resign, do not pay your salary on time or come up with some misdemeanour that they say you committed, the court can see that this is a case of constructive dismissal and you will get your compensation.

I worked 2 years and got 3 months compensation. In my case I wrote a letter requesting payment of 3 months compensation attaching a copy of the Thai Labour Law and they settled out of court. The other employees had to take them to the Labour Court, but the cases were settled very quickly.

I agree! I worked for a regional labour office and they were always on the side of the employee unless there were circumstances which meant that the employer was justified in their actions such as theft, contract misdemeanours, etc. surprising in the LoS, but TRUE!

I am amazed that anyone with a knowledge of 'things Thailand' can believe such a set of statistics! One only needs to drive around the Kingdom and see the myriad of 'rust-buckets' and badly-maintained vehicles without lights (and probably lots more) to see that many vehicles don't even bother to go through the annual process. Instead, without proper police procedures, they happily drive round without road tax, insurance and valid driving licence to the detriment of all properly documented drivers who foot the bill in cases of accident. An absolute nonsense!

Apple pre-pays the customs duty so no additional charges.

. Sorry I know this is not related but I don't know how to start a new post, do you know if I can pay for WIFI for my IPAD I have nowhere for a SIM card, I know I can use WIFI from other people but I want my own for when I go away. Thanks Fred.

Hi Fred,

When you buy an iPad, you have the choice of using an internal sim card and for it to be wi-fi enabled. It seems you chose NOT to do this on purchase and therefore you cannot. There is a premium to be paid for this choice so I can understand you not taking this option.

Why don't they have a yearly safety inspection on any vehicle over 5 years old and make a reasonable decision if the vehicle is safe for the road or not. Oh wait this is Thailand and this is too simple of a solution

I'm sorry but they already do - at least for cars that want to be taxed and insured. I have a nine year-old Honda CRV in excellent condition which must run the gamut of safety inspection every year. After leaving the test station however, I pass and am passed by cars with bald tyres, no lights and other misdemeanours which are impervious to the apparent law...?? Makes you wonder...

There are currently 11 million 3G on 2.1 GHz users from a total of 90 million users nationwide.

Population explosion?

Actually, the reason is that Thailand has the largest per capita phone ownership in the world. Can't remember where I read it, but many have two and three mobile phones! I have many students with two phones and it is a constant topic of conversation with them. Personally, I've never been in a country where the dreaded mobile is so ubiquitous.

Servers within Thailand are of course much closer than servers on the other side of the Earth...when connecting to servers in far off Farang Land you will be routed through more hops/relays/gateways/servers along the way to the server you are reaching out to...all of this can degrade your speed. But the biggest problem is Thai ISPs like TOT, True, etc., don't buy enough "international" bandwidth....there are plenty of overland/undersea fiber optic lines from/to Thailand but that don't mean Thai ISPs buy enough of that bandwidth to allow everyone to connect at high speeds to international websites. Basically, the international bandwidth is throttled....ISPs don't buy enough.

Also, for streaming video "consistent, steady" data flow is critical; if the data flow has a lot of stop-and-go's in the milliseconds, peaks and dips in the speed of data flow, etc., streaming video won't work very well...will cause a lot of buffering....maybe so much buffering you lose the connection or the video is just not watchable. Additionally, streaming video sites will also limit the data flow per connection to where you should still get a smooth flowing video "if", repeat, if your total connection pipeline provides adequate, smooth, consistent bandwidth all the way between that streaming video server and your location on Earth.

Thanks Pib, for this very clear and succinct reason for the OP's difficulty. It's great to see there are still TV contributors who can add a valuable insight to posters' concerns instead of constantly moaning and bitching about life in this beautiful country.

Thanks. Very clever use of a 'drone' camera and very skilful control. Most enjoyable.

Why alarm the relatives and friends of passengers on TG669 when the aircraft in question was TG679???? Reporting at its worst... :-)

The only way out for Thailand is to revert back to farming. never mind about all the proposed hubs, Thailand has the right climate, soil, people, and the potential to become the food bowel of the world, people can go without many commodities, but there is one thing that people can not do without and thats food, the world must eat, the money is in food, not in manufacturing goods,

'Food bowel...' - very funny 555

I was able to park my car very close the the access bridge into the airport, left it there for 15 days came back from UK... only problem was the battery was flat and it was filthy.

Next time try unhooking the earth cabe, I generally unhjool both cables when I am leaving the car for three months or so. Workd really well in my car. All ready to go when I come back.

Only problem with disconnecting battery terminal,is that it also disconnects any alarm.

I've also left my car for three weeks and no problems whatsoever.

I thought your post was interesting, fair and informative Reo6. Thank you. I love Thailand and its people very much but your experience reflects the pastiche that Thailand is spiralling up its own rectum. I live here (having done so for some years now) and have some favourite, beautiful places to which I go but the corruption and rip-off mentality is permeating the infrastructure and making me review my stance. Such a shame for the hard-working, proud people who can't see what's happening around them or to them. :-(

Rails?

Yes, a verb in the English language to mean 'complain bitterly' a synonym of 'inveigh'. Not in common use but English language sites and Bangkok Post often use out-of-date vocabulary.

A favourite (English) is the use of the verb 'to slate' meaning 'to be mentioned' or 'to be recorded'. Originally it was used hundreds of years ago as a mean of itemising things on a 'slate' with chalk. Bangkok Post particularly insists on using this archaic terminology and others, maybe to prove that they've read a dictionary? :-)

Maybe this will teach those who insist on excavating the sides of hills to make a level area to build.

Gravity and the rain will always win out

Lucky it occured on a Sunday and not a school day.

Hear, hear! Additionally, the removal of the 'educational resources' probably filled a motorbike basket... :-(

With all the problems the country is facing and more to come I was about to type it's hard to imagine a so called PM coming up with this but unfortunately with YL it's not hard to imagine.

Sad !

So true NKK - with all the political problems facing the people of Thailand, the only submission the PM can make to ease their ever-increasing burden is to make a degrading 'reality' television show! It beggars belief at the supposed 'intelligence' of such a female clown.

Where possible, I pay all my bills either by SCBEasy or via the barcode scanner on SCB ATMs. Unfortunately, PEA is NOT available for this facility which is incredible given that it's a nationwide utility. I therefore pay either at the Tesco Service Desk of any store or at a 7-11.

Went to the hospital, I guess one of the expensive ones.

Did a Biochemistry test, checked my diabetes, blood sugar levels, Cholesterol, triglycerides, etc.

It cost me 6000 thb, and a doctors fee 1900 thb, for a 2 min chat about the results.

8000 thb for a check up and a doctors fee.

I think it is expensive.

Anyone else goes to regular check up and some consulting with a doctor about our diabetes, who can tell me how much you pay?

I think I want to change hospital next time.

This is way too expensive for the tests you outline. I have a blood disorder (lupus anticoagulent syndrome) which is being managed in my home country via the Internet and for which I must get six-monthly, full, fasting blood tests locally in Phitsanulok. I then scan the resultant two-page report to my doctors and they, in turn, respond with medication management advice. I refuse an interview with the hospital's doctor (it would be futile) and negate the associated cost. The bill comes to 1300 ThB.

Slightly off topic but has anyone got any advice on obtaining medicines over the counter in Thailand?

In another example, there is a renowned monk living in his own temple in Phuket (Luong Phu Supa) who claims to be 117. He cannot apply to the Guinness Book authorities because he has no birth certificate which is not a rare occurrence in Thailand, especially more than 100 years ago.

I have met him and he has no cars, planes, branded goods of any sort and is just a humble, intelligent devotee of Buddhism who puts his longevity down to only eating nine spoonfuls of whatever he is eating at each meal. And before TV aficionados jump on the bandwagon, the spoons are the normal size and not from mechanical diggers.

FUI the movie Yes or No and Yes or No 2 was a box office success both in Thailand and all over Asia...

wiki

It's you who's out of touch man...

FUI the movie Yes or No and Yes or No 2 was a box office success both in Thailand and all over Asia...

wiki

It's you who's out of touch man...

FUI - For Ure Information? Heaven help us!

No mention of digital books - epubs - that can be had online for free or very, very cheap

IMHO and having been teaching English here for more than five years, Thais just don't read! When the question is posed as to what book they read last, the answer is invariably, 'cartoons'. A sad indictment of the education system. :-(

This is actually a flight I've considered in the past as part of my return route home. Can't describe how goddamn scary that is!

Definitely pilot error.

R.I.P. to the flight crew that was lost out the rear. A terrifying day in aviation.

Typical of the idiotic TV armchair critics who can analyse the cause of a crash prior to an investigation. Does it require a frontal lobotomy before residing in Thailand? I'm sorry, I missed this part of the processing.

Just answering an email to the Royal Orchid membership would be a start

Just answering an email to the Royal Orchid membership would be a start

Good point Steve. I have been a member of this this airlines frequent flier programme for many years and their customer service is so appalling that I rarely use the airline. They don't react to genuine concerns and there is a plethora of misinformation. On top of that, the aircraft are old and shabby, the Business Class lounges are poorly serviced and the flight attendants are surly. I'm booked on a Business Class return flight BKK-SYD in October and will weigh up their current status before disregarding them as a preferred carrier for good.

OMG... for 18 gram cannabis...that is incomprehensible...in Holland you can legally obtain it

That's 18 KG, not 18 grams.

You have to excuse the average TV contributor as being illiterate and self-opinionated. :-)

Whereas farang teachers in Thailand are all top quality.......just sayin'.

Little in Thailand is of quality, farang and Thai.

Unless I have misconstrued your comment, you seem to be saying that there are few quality teachers (either Thai or foreign) in Thailand. I guess you are able to make such a sweeping statement because....?

You've obviously got access to some remarkable statistics.

Whereas farang teachers in Thailand are all top quality.......just sayin'.

Little in Thailand is of quality, farang and Thai.