AjarnMartin

So why does it take 10 years to bother to thank someone who was so important to your family? Call me cynic, but this is just hype press for no reason. And what??

Oz

A bit unfair Oz as both children were obviously young at the time and we're not in a position to 'thank' these people. On the other hand, their father, Nigel, has worked tirelessly to establish an orphanage on Phuket for other bereft children and has helped schools in the area. Rotary International has also helped his cause financially through the good offices of the Rotary Club in Patong.

Western media just goes to far. They are no longer journalist, but just want to do sensationalism. Only certain parts of the city of Bangkok are affected, but western journalist make it sound like the entire country is in turmoil. Leave the Thai nation to itself, it will figure out what is good for them. Democracy is certainly not looking good in the US. Thailand will do what is needed and will survive. USA is just over 200 year's, Thailand is thousands of years. Leave them alone.

I'm sorry Orientalsf but you need to research the history of Thailand... :-)

We have brought in all kinds of packaged vegetable seeds from the USA. None of them grow including a dozen varieties of tomato plants. I brought in Valencia, Honey Bell and Naval orange plants in my golf bag, The naval died and the other two produce at most one orange a season. A Thai agriculture student came out and took grafts to put on Thai orange trees to see what will happen. He also said they should not be planted in the ground but kept in pots. We have a couple of local lime trees in the ground that produce nothing. We have one lime tree in a pot and it has about 50 limes. We have a Malaysian lemon tree in a pot that produces beautiful lemons. We have a couple of patio orange trees in pots that keep us in marmalade. Probably miss good old US tomatoes the most.

Hi Akentryan. Sounds good! What did you put in the pots to have such good growth? Did you buy bags of special soil? If so, which? Thanks...

On what grounds are you applying for a non-O, if for retirement reason, labour will not issue a work permit.

You can only get work permit if you get your non-O based on Marriage, Thai children or volunteering.

Hi PoorSucker, I know the rules surrounding the issue of Work Permits is fraught with "Thainess" but I have been here for seven years now on a "Non O" and have a Work Permit to teach English since I arrived. I am not married, am not volunteering (although the salary might call that into question) and as far as I know, don't have any Thai children. Who knows what the rules are :-)??????

I agree that some non-native speakers with very heavy accents shouldn´t be teaching, but there are a lot of foreigners (like myself) who have trained and achieved a near perfect accent and are therefore very much qualified to teach if we have the linguistic knowledge.

Accents aside, I believe that non-natives often have much greater knowledge of English than natives, since the natives simply have acquired the language, and not really learned it.

Linguistic knowledge? How about knowing that the adverb comes before the verb and splits 'have' and the past participle in your text?: "natives have simply acquired..." :-)

No doubt it would do serious damage to their profit margins.

I can only hope they do not go out of business

I realise you are saying this somewhat tongue-in-cheek but the truth of the matter is that Tesco ARE already losing marketshare and therefore profit to their competition - even in their home base of the UK. As a former leader in the marketplace they have become complacent and it is because of this sort of experience by their once-loyal customers that they are losing ground. Whereas before, their shelves were always well stocked, they now resemble a mouthful of missing teeth and blame 'deliveries from Bangkok' as being inadequate. They have also dropped a number of 'quality suppliers' in favour of lower-priced products which is a great shame and they can no longer claim to be a 'value for money' supermarket.

Thanks everyone for the information it has been helpful as this is an expat forum.

Hi There!

Just a thought, but if it is easy for you to get a Laos Passport by virtue of your parental link, then with the impending AEC which will allow freedom of movement within the pact countries, you would be able to live in Thailand with no problem. I am, however, unsure as to the future requirements for the citizens of the area regarding visas. You'll have to refer to the AEC documents to gain this information.

Bad info. I hope you aren't a real teacher.

Sorry, just trying to suggest that the OP looks at the AEC regulations. I was wrong, of course, in suggesting that there will be freedom of movement. Didn't think my post merited quite such vitriol, though - and yes, I am a teacher of English with a Masters Degree from a UK university.

"A Thai who wants to visit 10 Schengen countries in seven days"

only 10 different countries in one week

plenty of tripoints in europe so doable and exactly the kind of travels Thais love:

rushing from place a to b, take some pictures, eat thai food and head on to next "adventures".

average hours of sleep per night 6. average meals per day 6. average pictures taken per day 60. average km per day/night 600.

Yes sure UK & France in one day. And then Germany and Italy the next day

Sorry, but the Schengen Visa does NOT cover the UK. A separate UK Visitor Visa is necessary.

Thanks everyone for the information it has been helpful as this is an expat forum.

Hi There!

Just a thought, but if it is easy for you to get a Laos Passport by virtue of your parental link, then with the impending AEC which will allow freedom of movement within the pact countries, you would be able to live in Thailand with no problem. I am, however, unsure as to the future requirements for the citizens of the area regarding visas. You'll have to refer to the AEC documents to gain this information.

Under Thai law, as I understand it, both spouses are responsible for one another's debt. If your wife reneged on payments, you would be liable. Once divorced, your liability for any previous debts incurred by your ex-wife would end. Worth checking with a lawyer - plenty of them give free advice, including one firm on this website.

Krataiboy - of course you're right to suggest professional opinion but the "free" service here reflects, like other things in Thailand, "you get what you pay for". The legal responses to TV questions is cursory at best, incomplete and erroneous on occasion. Buyer beware!

Sorry to piggy-back on the OP but does anyone know the same for Muang Phitsanulok? Thanks.

Mr Hammer

A reasoned and eloquent submission with which I tend to agree. You've caused me to review my current circumstances.

Godspeed with your journey and good luck in China or beyond.

The one thing I've learned about Thailand snakes is, if in doubt give them a lot of room to escape' they aren't looking for any problems from humans, you are to big to eat, but if you corner one or challenge one it will fight back and if it's venomous you will come in second every time. I've made myself a snake catcher out of PVC pipe and it works perfectly for removing them from around the house, and might I add safely for both of us.

Hi nuananddon,

If you have a picture of the aforementioned snake catcher, I'd be grateful. Thanks.

If it was a Thai "Top Gear" programme, would the presenter say 'there is a farang on it'? Seems there are double standards somewhere... :-)

This is one of the reasons I have a car cam filming every km I drive in LOS.

And for the two drivers..... grow up and let the other go his own way, have a break and grab a tea or a cup of coffee

Ditto... I bit expensive to buy in Australia but like you, my new Dashcam records every km of my journey. I based my logic on the fact that if a farang is involved in an accident, it's their fault...

Touch wood, I've not had an accident in six years of being here but I want to be prepared. :-)

Suthep has created a monster he increasingly no longer has control of.

The previous corrupt government may seem like heaven compared to the anarchy that is about to ensue.

Perspective, please. The pro-government side has already assassinated one of the protest leaders on a public road, while he was not even engaged in a protest.

Where is the proof that he was assassinated by a pro-government side?

Otherwise you are rumor mongering, which is against forum rules. And it's off-topic anyways. Stick to the topic please.

Solipsism

Solecism?

I've used Nok Air from Phitsanulok to Phuket via Don Muang return and the flight enquiries, ticketing, flights and comms were fine. This was in the last few weeks.

I saved their website to my favourites and it works fine. I even joined their Frequent Flier Club online. I have Apple products and therefore used Safari.

They have a national phone number (1318) like KFC and Pizza Company and this takes you directly through to their enquiries and booking centre.

Good luck.

Not sure about 20 years old, but I've had first class for my civic every year for the last nine years. Most years I've made claims to get bodywork done and they have never had a problem doing that. Not all insurance companies would do it, so shop around. Is your car in pristine condition? Is there any special reason to get first class? My car is practically worthless now, so I'm not even sure they will offer first class to me next time.

Of course everything in this country is open to interpretation but the general rule seems to be ten years, providing the car has been insured in Class One for the duration. ie: it's no good dropping a class for a cheaper insurance band and then trying to get Class One reinstated.

I've got an eleven-year-old Honda CRV which is in good nick so last year, I opted for Class 5 insurance which has a greater coverage if Class One is unavailable.

My advice would be to contact AA Insurance in Pattaya for advice (038 415 795) or email Peter Smith (the main man) on [email protected]

Some of the staff are a bit clueless but Peter is sound and is a Brit. Tell him Martin Smith from Phitsanulok sent you. BTW, he's NOT a relative! :-) Good luck!

You will get many opinions.

I bake bread every week for home use. My electric oven goes up to 275ºC, which is enough.

I bake the bread on a non-stick pizza pan. A bread stone would be better, but I haven't found one.

I use my own sourdough starter instead of yeast.

I buy the cheapest bread flour (high gluten flour) that I can find. I usually add whole wheat, dark rye, rolled oats and other grains.

I mix a very wet sponge which I allow to rise for three or four hours before kneading. This makes heavy kneading unnecessary.

I spray water in the 275º oven to increase humidity before putting the bread in. I spray several times during baking. I spray the loaf itself after removing from the oven. This gives a shiny, chewy crust.

If I'm baking bread for sandwiches I aim for a high loaf with a fine grain. This means a drier dough with more kneading.

If I'm baking bread to go with a meal, I aim for a flat loaf with big holes and chewy texture. This means a wetter dough and less kneading and a dough that's harder to handle because it's sticky.

The most important thing you can learn is the feel of the dough. It takes practice and some failure. Eventually you will know when the dough feels like it's ready to knead, ready to form into a loaf and ready for the oven.

My usual recipe is:

1 tsp salt

½ cup of sourdough starter (or 1 tbs yeast)

Two cups of flour (1½ cups of bread flour plus ½ cup of other flour)

Enough water to make a wet dough that is sticky to touch

When it's ready to knead I add enough flour to make the dough easy to handle.

Cooking time is usually around 25 minutes.

This makes on medium sized (20-25 cm) round loaf.

Have fun. You'll enjoy it.

Thanks Ratsima, you've given me a new, New Year's resolution. I love bread and so why not try to bake it yourself!

I've only spent a little over 3 years teaching in Thailand, but I think that people would be of two minds about whether they enjoy it long term.

Most of the teachers I've met, are both intensely frustrated and hate their job because of the administration and lack of motivation on behalf of the students, but at the same time often absolutely love their job because of the good students who make it all worthwhile.

For myself, I initially felt that huge frustration with the administration, but once I got used to living/working in Thailand it wasn't such an issue. Particularly as I've been at the same school for 3 years now, so I sorta know what to expect, and thus am not disappointed.

Also as I've been here, I've watched some of the students grow from M1 - M3 or M4 - M6, most of which have improved their English significantly and in general matured into young adults, having been a part of that change I feel very proud of my students and love my job because of them.

Next year I'm going to leave my school to study Thai, as I think it's the best long term option for me, but I'm already starting to almost regret the decision, as there are so many things I'd like to do at my school, and because I'm going to miss seeing my students grow up even further. However, I know that once I learn more Thai, I'll be a more effective member of the community, and my frustrations with the school administration will be even less than what they are at present.

Being a part of the community is one of the big drawcards for me, and what makes me enjoy my job even more. Because being a teacher at a rural school isn't just a job that you do and then go home, because the students are always around you in the community, and so by being a teacher you become a part of the community. I enjoy getting involved in some of the community events, but am not as involved as I'd like to be, since I feel that my Thai is holding me back (Although even when I can speak Thai, I'll then need to sharpen up my Isaan as well lol).

Edit: Oh and yes, I really enjoy teaching in Thailand. Getting paid to do a job you love, doesn't feel like work at all.

I agree with your sentiments SlyAnimal and won't add to it further but I would be interested to know how you are going to learn Thai.

I've been here, teaching, for five years now and whilst I can get by in day-to-day life with my smattering of the language I would like to follow your lead. Are you signing on for a recognised course? Are you attending college or some such establishment? The greatest hurdle I have is the ability to recognise the tonal nuances and even more difficult, reproduce them in my speech! :-) Where are you, exactly? I'm in Phitsanulok.

Thank you.

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...