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Most Apple shops have Wacom tablets. If you are looking for a budget Wacom, I would suggest Wacom's Bamboo line. I think you can pick one up for 2500ish to 5,000 baht depending on the size etc... Have a look at Wacom Bamboo's website. --> http://www.wacom.com/bamboo/

Thank you, jambla, I'll be looking out for the Bamboo lines... Do you know of other shops which will sell those wacoms? I haven't seen them in the Apple shop and the IT City at Tukcom has only 3 pathetic tablets, a 9000B wacom (!), and the other 2 genius which I don't really want... Also, how important is a 'warranty' if you buy from those small shops? They say 1 year warranty, any problem bring to their shop, but knowing the system, I wonder if they'll really live up to the warranty or take their time to repair the stuff..

Hi everyone, I'm looking to purchase a graphic tablet here in Thailand. First time I'm purchasing a graphic tablet in years, so I need some advice. I'm not professional, so I don't need anything expensive, just something that doesn't break down after 2 weeks. I'm thinking between those third party brands you see in tukcom (made in taiwan, china, or something?) or wacom, of course I have to add 100% additional surcharge for the brand... Hmm. I've heard of this brand called Lapazz, heard its available in Thailand - is it good? To those who are familiar with these tablets, what do you think I should get, for a leisure/amateur user? (I'm also looking to use for some technical stuff and accuracy, but as for the pressure sensitivity I do not mind much). Essentially just needs something which just works okay and doesn't need my attention to keep fixing, unlike my previous genius tablet which kept breaking down...

Unfortunately I'm not in Bangkok, so I might not get most brands, but what seriously would you all recommend?

Thanks in advance for all your help and recommendations.

Thank you so much for the information. Apparently, I found out too that the green songthaews go in from Naklue (15B/khon), then you'll have to walk yourself all the way in. I'm not sure if there's any buffalo race on Sunday, though, but excellent weather today... Anyone went there too?

Hehehe.. we're going off topic now! Nope, I don't own one, but played with many others of my friends. I must say the iphone certainly beats the android in the 'cool' factor... (think shiny black, slim, cool effects) but other than that.. hmm.. maybe same same or android is better in others, and has more potential.... but i don't know.. you want to give me yours? Then maybe I'll like the iphone more... ha...

ya... back to anki...

Anyone is going there? Does anyone have any idea how to get there by public transport? Thanks in advance.

Get a moto taxi to soi Siam country club then get on a red songthew heading East. Expect heavy traffic.

Sorry DD, I'm not very familiar with the place.. So do you think I could get a songthaew to Soi Siam country club (don't know where that is, but will find out) and then change to another songthaew to go towards the reservoir? I'm pretty apprehensive about riding a motorbike, and anyway a group of 3 or 4 of us are going so I'm still thinking how to get there.

I asked around today for a songthaew taxi direct there, it said 400 baht or so, is that the going rate? Or don't tell me I can get there for just 50 baht? Totally no idea....

If I may say (at the expense of offending many), my verdict is that Android is like the iphone - just that it's better and cheaper. Get the Android with the qwerty, it's good. runs pretty fast, faster than winmobile, and loads of free apps since it's open source. After rooting it (aka jailbreaking) its an awesome awesome phone and I feel its value increases by the day. Okay, off-topic, but that's android.

And thus ankidroid is one of the flashcard software I downloaded to learn Thai, you can learn other languages too. There are also other flashcard learning apps in the Android market. Ankidroid is not as polished as I would like but still aids my Thai learning anyhow. I love the flexibility of the app, and the phone...

Anyway, thanks so much for the flashcards, its been very useful to my learning so far.

Thank you very much for that, works well for me on a mac as well. However, using it on Android using Ankidroid not so fine. sound and display is not the same as with the desktop version, but I guess that has gotta do with the droid software not your cards... Anyway great work!

Anyone is going there? Does anyone have any idea how to get there by public transport? Thanks in advance.

For me, I feel that this visa issue is present everywhere around the world, even developed, first world countries. Many schools/companies do 'step on the line' or just a bit over the line of the rules.

For example, how much of 'missing school' should be considered as a fraudulent application, and how does one establish a set of rules to prevent this from happening? I have seen students who go for the student ed visa who attend a few lessons, stop-start, and then disappear and just come back for a while, and do not progress in their learning at all. What ultimately is their motive for attending the school, and who can stop them from having different motives and goals?

Thailand is huge, and it also has a different legal system, so it is difficult to clamp down on this and establish a clear cut system without its grey areas.

Of course, I believe for the sake of all students who want to learn Thai in Thailand, schools should be just what it is - schools first, business second. I don't mean that schools should not earn money, what I mean is that learning should take priority over the visa issue - yes you learn with xx school, and you get a student visa. And not "you can get a visa if you enrol in xx school, plus you get to learn thai to talk to the locals!" Sometimes schools present a different view from this due to their marketing strategy - if you push the line a little (for marketing only) I feel it is alright, but if the school in reality itself has many customers just there for the visa, I feel it is not right and will lead to tightening of the rules, then it is detrimental to other students as well. The school itself should do the right thing - and encourage students to attend class - why is it called a school? And it will not be good for classroom dynamics as well as there isn't a stability and just a 'come and go' syndrome in class.

I think that this is a case of 'ethics' rather than anything else.. What do you all think?

I agree with tod-daniels as well, that the teachers in Walen are passionate and dedicated, most of the time. However, by reading most of the posts here I feel a little inclined to believe that the teaching quality is better in the BKK branch than the Pattaya one. But I might be wrong.

However, Mr. Walen, what continues to puzzle me is the textbook, which costs 390 baht - can you explain why the high cost? Previously I asked in another post but it was not answered.

haha nice one, I like the way you put it

Anyway, yes I visited Makro Chonburi and they do allow you to shop and purchase without a member card, they'll just give u a slip of paper which says day pass. But the security there is quite strict and they do not allow most bags in.. But yes, slightly different from Big C and such in a sense that they don't have other 'default' shops like MK or KFC around, just a mini food-court..

Ah, I see, seems I was mistaken all this while. Thanks lotusbluete for the clarification I will go there and have a look, but I guess it will be a problem for me as I don't have my own transport. Hmm.

Oh, I always thought you needed to own a business or have a registered company to shop (ie. buy things...?) at Makro, I think I read it from the (website?) but I'm not sure. I'm referring to that Makro in Chonburi (I think somewhere along Sukhumvit near Central Plaza). Maybe I will check it out since I'm bored of all the Big Cs and Lotuses...

Or is it that we can just browse, but can't purchase things without a registered company under your name?

Just to confirm, you do need to own a business/registered company to be able to shop at Makro? Or you can just go in to shop as you like..?

The pandan leaves option are good, have seen them in many homes in tropical countries, and it gives the house a nice smell too. I've even seen pandan leaves cut and placed in a pouch in some hotel toilets as well. Believe its for the fragrance and pest control as well..

desi, thank you for that recommendation!

This is a very interesting thread. I would not mind sharing my experiences here as a current student of Walen if you ask me about it, I can tell you more. For now, what I can say is Walen does its visa business quite professionally and swiftly (well as far as I know and as my experience with it goes..) For the positives, they really lived up to their promises in terms of the visa, so I am satisfied with that so far. For the negatives, I have some doubts about it but it is too early to say and I do not want to say specifically unless maybe you want to ask me by PM I'm alright.

Teaching wise for Walen, it might suit certain people, it might not suit others. It is really a good system if you can get used to it and put effort into it, in my humble opinion. Read the threads around and they will describe how the lesson goes. I agree with macwalen that you should get a trial to check it out. But basically I think the key is to have an open mind and good attitude towards learning.. If you want more info just ask..

For the book, to answer you ticwaterfall, it's just all in Thai, which I was OK with as I did not want to have the phonetics like in many phrasebooks as I think I will learn slower that way. But for other people, they might learn faster with phonetics below the Thai words, so it is up to personal preference. Basically the book is very useful during the lesson, for demonstration. Some of the sentences sounds quite weird sometimes but I guess it's okay for the sake of learning, I don't mind it but some find it ridiculous :S I don't know. But don't expect it to be a phrasebook because it really is not as there is very, very few "phrases" or sentences or greetings so to speak. It just teaches normal, daily vocab, but not very conversational. But some of the teachers do take the effort to speak some Thai to you and correct you, even after the lesson. But not all.

And since many people are on the topic of the book, macwalen, I have an idea for you as a student of your school. Why not offer the subsequent books free for current students (or maybe just 1 book) since it costs a hefty 390 baht for a book, and the book is just pure black and white, soft cover binding, 100 plus pages, a plastic at the front&back and it does not come with a CD. (I didn't understand why it cost 390 baht for the first book but I paid up anyway) Doing this might also entice current students to continue staying on in Walen and paying for more lessons if they have used them up.

I was attracted to the Walen school because of what I've heard from friends and also impressed by how macwalen deals with situations (in this forum sometimes) but after paying 29,000 baht for 180 lessons I'm not sure now because of certain reasons. It seems that they have dropped the price to 24,900 baht, and the quality seems to be dropping with the price, because of more students in a classroom(?). There was just an incident today in school but I shall not talk about it.

I just paid up in full before the price reduction. (Well they said I had to pay in full) Not trying to say that we should be given a discount, but it seems to me, macwalen, that you have forgotten about your current students and are only focusing on the new students or your new potential customers in this blazing advertising campaign that I have observed recently in your posts.

I think it would be great to extend your goodwill to current students to show that we are not a forgotten bunch. I'm sure many students on the 180 lessons would be happy if you offer them subsequent books free as we are also part of your customer base, even though we have already paid. After all, the binded book takes very little cost to reproduce and we have already paid much and contributed to the cost of writing the book in our hefty fees as well. I'm impressed with how you have run the school and I'm sure after sales service and customer satisfaction are also part of your business strategies, no? If current students are satisfied with the school, we recommend it to friends, and the good name of your school will spread by word of mouth. If current students (or ex students, like some in the forum) are not satisfied with the school, perhaps no advertising campaign will make up for this in this cyberworld. And I say this on behalf of many students who have signed up for 180 lessons as well, as they definitely also feel a little unjust too, maybe? What do you think?

If I have missed out something or maybe you want to know more about how's my experience going I'll be willing to share, just post here or PM me..

Hi, there seems to be this vegetarian festival starting soon (or already started?) in Thailand.

I've seen banners in Pattaya and also around Sriracha where I live. Does anyone know where to catch this festival in full force, maybe near my location?

Would like to go there to take some pictures or maybe just soak up in the atmosphere (I've seen other threads and websites talking about sword/spears in faces and fireworks as well..) I'm wondering if there are other religious rituals or mediums during this festival as well?

I'm wondering what this is all about... hoping someone can enlighten me!

Thank you so much for the link. The video was certainly nicely done... Very moving too. Does anyone knows what the ad says at the back? Wanted to know how they would phrase the last bit after the video of the children singing..

Sorry tod-daniels for the repeat post on TCU; didn't see it. Apologies! In fact your method is much easier and does away with the hassle of registration and what not! Thanks!

Found an interactive site based on flash files (swfs) to learn Thai. Not exactly games, but interactive style. You can check it out here.

http://www.thaicyberu.go.th/

Thai Cyber University

You can register for a Thai course module there, and thereafter you are able to view Adobe Flash files to learn basic Thai. Useful for beginners as it includes phrases, rules, consonants and vowels etc.

Steps: (Note that I tried this on Firefox, if on Safari or Opera or other browsers might not work as it might appear all in Thai.)

1. Register

2. Login

3. Under Menu, choose Course -> Self Paced Learning Course

4. Search for Course ID "TCU-2549052" (Copy and Paste)

5. Click on the course (popup will appear)

6. Click Register.

7. Go back to the menus again, and select "Classroom" now.

8. Click "Enter" Class

9. Select a Chapter that interests you.

10. Ta-dah!

First few steps are a hassle, but you get lots of cool steps afterwards. Cool resource.

If you are tech savvy, you can actually find the root swfs and save them down into to your computer, in addition to the pdfs available. Thus you don't need to be online to view them.

Thanks BJB!

Ah... "Milk Run"? Like " A routine trip involving stops at many places."?

So those buses that just stop to drop off passengers are the "non-milk-run" buses.. those who pick up passengers everywhere along sukhumvit are the milk-run ones.. Guess I do not have much of a choice then..

Anyone else with more info to share? Thanks!

Thanks, sbk and rgs2001uk. Made a trip to the supermarket today and actually found the dried and cooked version! But opted for the dry one since I did not want to eat it the same day.

It was a Star Lion Khanom Jeen brand. Might be easy to miss the English words if you don't read carefully. I asked and found it to be the only brand there, so maybe it might be useful for you guys too. Cheers!

On the topic of homework.. I would like to know how much time commitment for homework (or other learning) is required off-class? Thank you and cheers.

We are ED visa specialists. You can talk about our way of teaching but about ED visas I am an expert...

Uh-oh. The thread says "Where is a Good Thai Language School in Pattaya"... So I'm just wondering, does the school focus more on teaching or visa applications? Would be relevant to this thread too... And would the visas thing affect the quality of teaching or the visa issues are separate from the teachers? Just wondering, thanks.