OxfordWill

I wanted to pass on my experience in case it helps anyone.

I applied at the "new" singapore embassy, which is actually the same location but the entrance is now at the opposite side, up the hill a little, they have been renovating. The building is new and shiny.

In no particular order:

1) Dont arrive early. Singapore is tiny as you know and it takes no time to get anywhere. If you arrive before 9:15 you will be standing outside in the direct sun (no tree cover if you want to keep your place in line) sweating profusely looking at the security guard enjoying his air conditioned box.

2) I went midweek and the total number of people was about 40. Despite this the Q was quick and efficient. They only had one window out of three open to process people and the Muslim lady who some may remember was at the desk. Also they are training some younger girls in the job so one felt like a test subject.

3) I found that it helps immensely to know in detail what the documents you hold are about. This may sound obvious, but often they are in Thai and one may trust ones company to have provided everything necessary. Don't assume this. Find out beforehand what each piece of paper or bundle is for, and be ready to tell the staff. They have to process a lot of documents quickly and if they overlook a piece of paper (which is understandable given the work load) it will save you a lot of hassle and time if you can quickly point them to the right document. I learned this the hard way.

4) The list of required documents on the embassy website is correct. Even if you think you don't need the business documents such as tax forms, because for example if youre applying as a teacher, still insist that you are provided them by your company/employer/etc. They do want them it seems in all cases. Better to be over prepared. If you have a missing document they will only give you until 11:30 to get it. They will not be able to print for you- there is a hotel next door which has printing services for a fee, assuming you are lucky enough to get your company to email you a digital copy in time. Tip: ensure someone at your employer is going to be checking email/phone during the hours 9-11:30 when you apply! Singapore is one hour ahead of Thailand!

5) I got the distinct impression they are sizing you up so wearing a shirt and looking like a professional, or looking like an investor (i.e. what Thai people would think such types look like) is only going to help you. I definitely noticed them being more inquisitive about those dressed casually. YMMV.

6) As with all Thai encounters, be polite, keep your cool in body language and tone of voice and things will go swimmingly.

I dropped off, paid the $100 for single entry, returned the next afternoon between 2-3 (only get one hour) for pick up. All in all, a pleasant enough experience which will go even more smoothly now I know the above items of knowledge if there is ever a next time.

As you know, Singapore is expensive. But I found the visa process and staff at the embassy to be polite and helpful within the restraints of their job.

Thais will share one bike with their family and friends and refusing to do so would probably be akin to a mild social suicide for the young man

<p>Is the friendship you have with him worth 150 000 baht to you? If so, find a way to give it. </p>

<p> </p>

<p>The tricky bit is how to ensure you do not become a magnet for beggars in doing so.</p>

NomadJoe thanks for this report. Does anyone have a recommendation as to which hotel81 is best with regards location (embassy / airport) and internet (wired?). I have emailed the group but the replies aren't helpful. Many thanks for anyone who knows and can recommend!

Godaddy have problems because they are very big and also they are very inflexible. Obviously for just one or two domains they are probably going to do everything you need without hassle.

Different search engines have varying policies on how they treat the differences between TLDs but in general there is little technical reason to worry unless you are selling something only in a particular location.

.COMs are preferable because the non-tech buying public think they are preferable and a more reliable/recognisable/familiar way for a website to look.

Nothing is likely to replace the popularity of .com, bear in mind people fail to renew their .coms all the time so they become newly available again to the public, and you can buy and sell .coms between people very easily. Its the gold standard TLD and always will be in my opinion.

They ask very few questions and accept answers without asking for much proof. For example I purchased property abroad and strictly speaking I should have paid a high level of tax, but when asked what the money for "Real Estate agent of Foreign Country Inc" was for, I answered "family support" and this was fine- lowest level of fees.

Downside is they may literally just steal your money when they want to.

If you have a good relationship with your thai manager (I didnt at the example point above) they will do a lot of things easily and better for you. You dont feel so much like a mannekin on the conveyor belt of life. Always a trade off! Obviously very wealthy people dont have this problem- but for the majority of us HK etc wont even look at you without a minimum of "success".

Good luck to him. I hope he has solid proof of what he's been saying - and that he has copies of it somewhere very safe.

AFAIK truth is no defence in a Thai court.

I did it recently and it took 10 mins. There were two people working it, and I noticed its sometimes just one. There is not space for more than 2 so you can do the maths. However, Ive only ever seen one other person waiting. This at swampy. I noticed at Don Muang its a little office with a single desk.

Using the combined mass of membership here it would be nice to think someone knew how to get the link to this thread into the inbox of the boy.

Use google adwords to figure out the value of the keywords you need. Don't "stuff" the content with more than three of the words. Begin and end the article with one of them. Write 300 to 500 words for the article.

Then again, you can always go black hat....

That is such bad advice. You won't get anywhere with a 300-500 word article, especially in a competitive niche. And all that about adding the words to beginning and end. LOL. Just check what's no.1 on Google for most topics, and you'll see that you're completely wrong. Trying to game Google is a recipe for disaster. Just write great articles that people will love. That's what it's all about, not writing a crappy article of a few hundred words and stuffing keywords in it. That may have worked 10 years ago, but it doesn't now. No need for black hat either.

Adobe Reader is no.2 in google for 'click here', but those words don't appear anywhere on the page. So much for your theory. Back to SEO 101 for you.

So, your SEO advice is to not do any SEO. How much do you usually charge for that consultation? Maybe I should switch industries.

Eek you have no idea what you have started here!

Could you tell us more about the violence you mentioned in prison?

Having mocked these for a while I finally tried one, and haven't had a normal cigarrette since. They very much work and has in fact become something of a new hobby for me with trying out all the different products and liquids. Great! I got my liquids delivered (100 THB) from e-liquidthai.com. Nice lady on the phone. As for the cig itself a friend got me one but I think she also may have some on the site.

If using a cartomizer you need a syringe and needle (makes one look like a heroin addict if in public) to properly refill them but saves a great deal of money to buying new carts.

I now have the gall to get offended when someone lights up next to me- ha! But it really does smell bad to me now. I have no right!

Well done, I also saw the gang last night. I wear very tight pocketed jeans and always store frontwards! (sounds a bit kinky).

If youre selling things in thailand use .co.th

Otherwise .com

Use dynadot.com for domain purchase.

BB gun games? Military exercise?

Id like to be able to eat chillis but I find them physically painful. I have enjoyed some som tam etc but only when its very very little chilli. I am jealous of my friends who eat them often as they seem to really derive pleasure from doing so! One ex gf would eat them until she sweated (only from her face for some reason) and cried and this was her idea of a great night in.

Disagree strongly with this. The term is a slang word denoting a race. Therefore it is racist. I understand maybe "They don't mean anything by it..," usually, but neither did my grandparents when they used the term " n*gger."

Or actually they did, as it was quite acceptable to diminish and marginalize blacks with usage of this term, and " farang " is the same and means potato, I understand. It's no different from the term "eggplant "for blacks in USA .

Language is very important, it sets the stage for interaction. ( which is why I also resist the term " girls" for fully grown women.)

To be referred to by my race, especially in my presence is not just rude, it is racism.

I make a point of not accepting it, especially in professional situations.

Seriously? Farang? It's also thai for guava... Get over it...

If you're getting sweaty palms at the very mention of the word and now the fruit reference, it's really time to re-evaluate yourself.

Accepting it's usage is not ignorant nor is it giving pseudo support to racism...

It's worth noting that many Thai people deliberately avoid using the term "farang". I have had conversations with a large socila mixture of such people who deliberately use the term "Thai script removed" or "Thai script removed".

It is comparable to the difference in education, manners and self awareness between people who use the word "gin" to a stranger vs. the word "taan" for "eat".

Whichever you hear more of says quite a lot about who you hang out with. Not saying this in a good or bad way, it just is.

Proxies often do not store cookies in conventional ways (for good reasons). Why not get a family member or friend to make the purchase?

My friend had a mail forwarding setup so anything delivered to his address gets forwarded out here. Ill try and ask what service but I think theyre fairly commonplace stateside

Quite possible! Carry on and ignore my drivel.

aTomsLife, on 23 Feb 2013 - 13:04, said:

Can a question per se be wrong? I think not, professor.

I'm aware it's a matter of culture, hence my primary question of how other westerners have dealt with this difference in their personal relationships.

I'm not interested in the definition of emotional availability. If you're able to explain how -- as you so astutely put -- Thais classify experiences, encode them symbolically and express such to others, please do. Otherwise, you're ignoring the intention of the post.

ํ

Lol.

Questions most definitely can be wrong, as yours is. Most arguments, disagreements, ignorance, miscommunication, misunderstanding and so on come from well-intentioned "wrong" questions. Sorry if you don't like it but this entire line of question is bad from the get go. You're now discussing how oranges cannot seem to turn into pears as if this was a useful or relevant or realistic thing to consider. I know I sound arrogant pointing it out to you (only trying to be helpful anyway). Nobody can answer your question without obfuscating the non-issue further, because the line of questioning is rank. I did suggest what a more clarified version of your question might be to show how it is not really a question worth much.. again, apologies but that's how I see it until someone shows me why Im wrong.

If youre not interested in the definition of your own question then im even more confused, and if your post had intentions other than the one you wrote then please make them known.. if we're just going to have a whine about how Thais arent like us then sorry, but Ive done that this week.

Your question is wrong. It's a matter of culture. All Thais have the ability to classify experiences, encode these classifications linguistically and express such to others (children, for example). Same goes for all humans regardless of nationality and culture. What you call "emotionally available" is an abstract concept that exists only in your and some similar other cultures. It loses its meaning when applied to a culture like Thai.

You might as well ask "Are the Thais in your life Western?" or "To what degree are the Thais in your life Western with their self expression?" etc