OxfordWill

I have not met an employer who considers it more important than his "feeling" or judgment of the person at interview. The problem is getting to the interview point without one, for large companies do need to whittle down their pool of applicants somehow without meeting them all. If your company is not large then it acts foolishly in my view rejecting people without degrees. Universities for the most part are very poor preludes to the workplace.

In Thailand if you hire expats at all, you will be inundated with applications even if you are a small company. With a labor pool this large it is foolish not to have some basic requirements such as a degree (and usually relevant work experience -- though again in many cases I would prefer to hire without the experience basing my decisions on personality and adaptability. In fact, a small company wastes far more valuable resources in interviewing applicants early on than a large company does. (Large companies use HR to screen out people not just based on required qualifications but in testing, a smaller company ends up using a director's time for applicants.

I agree that for me it is often a 'feeling' that makes the final push. I get 20-30 people a week looking for employment at times, and never less than about 5 or 6. I probably have 20 positions opening up in April. I don't waste time interviewing people that don't meet my standards and STILL interview 2-3 a week. Some of the positions actually REQUIRE at least 1 degree, a couple do not. However, with as many applicants as I have to choose from it is a rare day that I give an interview to someone without a degree. In Thailand I have never hired someone that did not have a degree and some additional qualifications. It truly is an "employers market" in Thailand and it is the potential employee's responsibility to make themselves competitive.

My experience being an employer here, hiring expats, is vastly different to yours. What industry are you in? We seldom have enough applicants for available positions and are sometimes forced to choose less than ideal compromises.

+1 for freezer.

I see, that makes sense. Thanks!

Yes, I have experienced this and know others who are experiencing it. You can either leave her or become more Thai. In my case I became more Thai, learned the language, learned how to act/react appropriately, to the desired outcome- after which I realised I didnt much enjoy fitting into the Thai society and would rather stick to its outskirts. We broke up sometime after that and I have never dated a similar girl since. The problem then is you are limited to the pool of women who have decided to "go farang", and this comes with its own host of unique problems.

I have not met an employer who considers it more important than his "feeling" or judgment of the person at interview. The problem is getting to the interview point without one, for large companies do need to whittle down their pool of applicants somehow without meeting them all. If your company is not large then it acts foolishly in my view rejecting people without degrees. Universities for the most part are very poor preludes to the workplace.

Yesterday I went to my usual branch of kbank where I had opened my fcd account. I needed to transfer a sum outside of Thailand. Despite being more than happy to open my account here in the first place, the same people including the manager had no idea how to achieve the simple task of me sending my money abroad. I filled out a form and then I asked about the fees, remembering that when I opened the account I had checked this detail in particular and not been against the structure in general. After much fumbling I was told the fee would be $4 450 to send the sum abroad. Surely you mean Baht? I asked. No, dollars. I advised them that no bank in the world charges almost 50% of the total sum being administered. I was advised instead to change my USD into THB, and then the THB back into USD, and then send the USD as cash. This way, the fee would be much less.

After some time I convinced them to call HQ again. It then turned out I couldnt send money from a branch, even though I can open and maintain an FCD account there. Down I went to suk 33 branch and second floor- international trade department. The lady did it in 3 seconds for a total of 1500 baht. Still steep. Much better than $4450 however.

p.s. they tried to say no the whole process due to lack of work permit yet let me open the account without one in the first place. Additionally, since I speak Thai, this was all conducted in that language. Not a language issue or excuse on their part.

Great info all, thanks!

Paternity test, hide long enough for the child to be born. If it means the girl doesnt stay with the guy during that time (since he is the way they are tracking her apparantly) then so be it. Once the child is born, you can apply for visas to the guys home. Leave. If they love one another. Good luck to your friend!

p.s. no village headman is going to be able to get his fingers into the "who is applying for visas to leave thailand" pot.

Thank you both for your replies.

Speak softly, but carry a big stick.

Yea, and just hit people with it until they agree with you ;)

Thanks. I really don't mind as to preferred ride. I enjoyed my time driving a CRV in Indonesia. But really, I'd buy a horse and carriage to get from A to B if it was practical.

Nice story phutoie2. I suppose the done thing is to pay a downpayment and monthly payments, much like mortgages. I suppose this lets you leverage your money. I just don't enjoy debt at all. Perhaps that's what has to be done though.

Hello fine members of the Thaivisa motor forum,

I have driven in Thailand previously, but I have never owned a car here, nor purchased one. I am embarrassingly ignorant of cars, engines, brands, etc..

I have been looking now to buy one, and my main consideration is price. I've been looking on many thai second hand websites and frankly, the whole experience is terrifying.

You see "cars" which are over a decade old, with more mileage than the sum of denizens of Nana plaza, with bits hanging off, going for 200 000 Baht.

For some reason it seems 4x4s are cheaper on average than other cars of the same age. Could this be due to consumption? I found some suzuki vitaras which are not too old, not too expensive (I guess).

If anyone had any advice for where I might find a reliable car, how much I should be paying, or even a specific model/place/anything to advise me on, I would be most appreciative.. perhaps buying used here is a stupid idea?

Sorry for the open ended question.

Good news.

Thank you lopburi3!

Please can someone confirm that a re-entry permit can no longer be done at airport on the way out? Chaengwattana is the only place for Bangkok?

Is the visa you are on relevant to the reentry permit you apply for or how you go about it?

Many thanks in advance.

There is a great saying here... Som Nam Naa..... if you don`t have things , they cannot get stolen... Amazing Thailand..

Get lost you stupid little twit.

op-

Post pics of your bike, you never know, bangkok can be a small place sometimes. Can't hurt.

time will tell.. so long as they can keep the pros out.. and not forget that some punters are under 30 with the music choices.. it might have a chance not to be the next big bangkok failclub.

What other forums, websites, boards & web resources do you access on a regular basis which are related to Thailand?

Me:

thaivisa.com/forum

notthenation.com

stickmanweekly.com

ubradio.net (way too much hip hop )

Used to enjoy:

mangosauce.com

whatismatt.com

bangkokrecorder.com

I'm surprised you could even see a link!

How to apply? PM me on this forum.

Required for immediate start:

- Located in Thailand (preferably available in Bangkok).

- Have internet connection from home.

- You should be experienced writing JAVA/j2ee web applications including:

i) Hibernate

ii) Struts (v1.x)

iii) JSP

- It would help if you also had experience with:

i) Tomcat

ii) MySQL

iii) Netbeans IDE

We have a full time work-from-home position available, however we can consider offering a part-time role if necessary.

You will work from home but you are welcome to visit our office.

The job is a java j2ee programmer for developing a web application with several years of development ahead of it. You should be able to provide some example of your work. There will be an initial paid test period of 7 days and a probationary period of 1 month (fully paid).

We do NOT accept CVs or Resumes! Your application will be IGNORED unless:

1) It is less than 500 words long.

2) The subject contains the words "JAVA J2EE CODER JOB".

3) You include your personal details.

4) You include how many hours per month you can commit to (up to and including full time)

5) What your expected compensation/salary is.

6) Why you are the right candidate for the job (be specific!)

7) How much experience you have with JAVA j2ee/hibernate/struts/JSP and specific example(s) of your work.

*WE DO NOT ACCEPT CVs or RESUMEs.*

*ANY NATIONALITY MAY APPLY.*

*NO RECRUITMENT AGENCIES PLEASE*

More details on the company and job will be provided to desirable candidates.

A PCR cannot possibly be done for 1500 baht.

Beg to differ. Yes it takes days. The lab is central- the same one used by many large hospitals. The lab emails you (well, via your doctor) the screenshots which show the test type, the result, date, time, name of sample, etc. I am quite familiar with the software they use, by the by.

I am not alone in having paid around 1500 baht for the (nested?) PCR test. I know several people who have paid the same for the same.

edit: maybe it was 2500?

Your implicit point to your friend was obvious- that without his financial support his wife would leave him and that this meant she did not "really" love him.

How about the entire Half-life sequel (Half-life 1, 2, ep:1, ep2), they're definitely the best games i've played so far with a solid storyline

Portal and Bioshock is pretty decent too!

+1

Its lovely at its core, but it gets annoying to me when people or certain buddhist groups try to make the philosophy more complicated than it actually is. There is a habit among some of seeing less value in simple ideas, which ironically buddhism also has something to say about. Often the worst examples of an idea are the ones who are most personally invested in it. Thanks for the share, interesting read.

I did have a big arguement with a friend of mine when he tried to convince me his wife (who must be 30 years younger than him) really loved him - I told him - yes maybe love has grown and that's great but take away your money and see how long it would last! we have to be realistic here... :jap:

You are the one being unrealistic. The majority of wives across this planet would react the same way. The hollywood notion of unconditional love is a *minority* condition for actual real human beings. The cultures of India, China, Japan, Russia... etc,etc,etc.. and even in America and even in the UK, how many married couples really are engaged in "unconditional love"? Have you really given some serious thought to what "unconditional" means? My personal opinion is absolutely none, but if any do its still not the majority.

Normally ("realistically") love is conditional upon many things, frequently finances being one of them.

Indeed it is not even evolutionary necessary, in fact the very idea is counter productive to evolution.

Possibly I am being unfair to your position (making a straw man out of you) and what you infact mean is that love is conditional and that in the case of your friend there are not enough conditions met to ensure "real love". But to that charitable view of your argument I would still say that by acknowledging conditions as you might be, you have provided no reason to put such weight on the condition of financial security nor on the condition as you might define it of similar age/physical condition.