Shaunduhpostman

Just my opinion, I would not go and try and set things straight with the neighbor. I doubt anyone will understand your need to do that here and it only increases the odds that an even bigger and deeper misunderstanding could develop out of whatever is said and done when you go to see him.

Going to see him to talk things over could likely be perceived as aggressive, not saying that it necessarily is aggressive, but if the guy already doesn't like you he will have an overly negative reaction to what you might think of as simply a visit.

The police are on your side, the neighbor has mostly backed down, in my own case, I really wouldn't be asking for more.

Wow, and there I was thinking perhaps I was being too cynical and negative for thinking he'd be out in a month.

As bad as throwing plastic is burning it to dispose of it because many areas have no waste management in place. In fact I think I would prefer people litter. When it isn;t raining, it is often we are literally choking on acrid burning plastic smoke. People simply do not believe that it is harmful. "Oh smells bad..."

Even my neice who grew up in the village we live in came back for a visit from Bangkok crying last time, "The air is poison! The plastic smoke It's awful! How stupid, they don't even think there's any harm in it!" You know its bad if people come in from Bangkok not able to hack it. Plastic is making people sick, seriously ill and killing them, it isn't just about saving Flipper and sea birds. Anyone living in Thailand is just as helpless against being harmed or even killed by plastic as any creature at this point.

Ditto about the visa being a multiple entry. If it is a single entry, it may well be correct that you only get 30 days, but I don't actually know.

I was given a 30 day stamp once as well at Don Meuang. Just for the benefit of others who haven't been through the scenario, so that you might condiser what might happen, I'll recount how I got out of being pushed into accepting a 30 day stamp.

Arriving from Indonesia at Don Meuang I got the wrong stamp. When I tried to be indirect and ask if there was some mistake, I was told there wasn't, that I only had 30 days left on my Non-O multi so was therefor only entitled to 30 days. The official knew better as did I and I then got more direct about it and said, "That wasn't how it was done last year. The rule is that as long as the visa is good you are entitled to a 90 day entry, it doesn't matter if that 90 days exceeds the expiration date of the visa." Surprisingly he gave in and said, "OK, sorry, how long you want to stay?" I said, "There's a rule, isn't there? It isn't up to me. The rule is we get 90 days, I'd like a 90 day stamp." He then gave me the 90 days.

Well...it is that time of year again. Wonder if we are off to the races for another stretch of street battles or if it's just a one off.

V.S. Naipaul, Hindu-Indian international literary star from Barbados has an interesting take on Islam in his book Beyond Belief. In that book, essentially an almost Paul Theroux like chronicle of travels through many countries, in this case the Islamic world, he tries to demonstrate with support from interviews with top people in the various countries he visits (Iran, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, a few others, maybe Iraq and Turkey I have forgotten) and through other things he encounters that essentially much of south and western Asia was essentially colonized by Arabs and that the medium of that colonization was Islam. He argues that the faith is essentially a tool for the Arab cause and that it is ultimately Arab supremacist much in the way that one could argue that the Mormon faith is heavily white supremacist in its rationalizations for the European conquest of the Americas. I don't know enough about Islam to make a judgement, but it wouldn't surprise me if Naipaul were right given the prevalence of bigotry, intolerance and general narrowness that runs through most of humanity.

I'd like to see pictures of microwaved brains on new mobile devices or large poster sized pictures of horrific car pile ups posted on the windshields of new cars and motosighs.

Rather ironic, futile, not to mention useless, the health ministry's obsession with trying to stop people from smoking when many parts of the country spend day after day enveloped in a toxic cloud that causes many to have headaches, stomach problems, aches and pains in the body and fatigue 24/7 because apparently no government has ever provided adequate refuse collection.The cloud is smoke from burning plastic garbage, sometimes mixed with pesticide when spraying of the fields is going on.

When the wind doesn't blow our area is shrouded for days in these foul clouds. If I go into to town for an hour or two, suddenly I feel fine, no headache, nothing as does anyone who has gone with me. In town the garbage is collected, so no need to burn it. Despite there being options to recycle plastic in my area and sell it for a few satang, people don't seem to understand what they are doing to themselves and often can't be bothered. They chuckle at my suggestion that burning plastic right next to your house is the reason they are literally turning green with dark purple rings around their eyes.

Without genuine interest and care for people's health, without leadership from the health ministry to tackle the real problems people face from smoke inhalation, it wouldn't surprise me if we saw an epidemic of all kinds of diseases that could easily be prevented just from the burning plastic alone. People will just quietly die in their fifties at home without proper care. Too many people around here who are middle aged, i.e, much too young, dying of cancer. Many of them don't smoke either. It wouldn't surprise me if Some of it is years of very poor diet choices or years of eating chemical saturated cheap processed foods, unfit for export, but people around here are poisoning and fumigating themselves to death with glee and can't be asked to do anything to stop it. Meanwhile the Ministry of Health seems to have no inkling as to what is happening nationwide with smoke inhalation and is instead absorbed in Photoshop projects preparing hundreds of pictures of diseased organs.

At least in the case of smoking cigarettes we have a choice to not do it. With breathing in toxic smoke daily, people don't have a choice. It is being forced on them by neglect and perhaps even some kind of passive aggressive malicious intent.

And in Bangkok these very same ministry offcials are doubtlessly being stewed in vehicular exhausts. The righteous pictures of cancerous organs on cigarettes packs are likely the state of their own organs whether they smoke or not and it is just from sitting in traffic to and from the ministry 5 days a week, living near a major congested road, living in a neighborhood choked with bar-b-que smoke, or unregulated emissions from a factory or giant shopping mall. At least something might be done about refuse collection. Even farmers are now part of the consumer economy and amass plastic packaging waste in great heaps.

If I'm not mistaken, there were some alleged Cambodian 12th century relics, or whenever the classic Khmer epoch was, that were among this guy's cache. The relics were re-patriated to CAmbodia and we saw the report in the media, something along the lines of, "CAmbodia says 'Gee, thanks for the fakes Thailand!'"

The point is, buyer beware, may be a few more in there they are trying to auction.

Well, lets hope they are not pardoned in a month or two and released. The red shirt actions have had serious consequences. I wonder if Jatuporn will ever be punished?

And yes, they need to punish all who have violated laws, not just the red shirts. Though I would not bet on it.

What does drinking or not drinking have to do with Buddhism?

Nothing.

Oh! Well! Sabai sabai then! Don't complain, you all have a job! How lucky you are!

Thanks Bloomberg!

As difficult as I am sure it is, I would work on trying to get your papers together to be permitted to teach in Australia or another developed and non-Asian country. The problem with numerous Asian countries is that the students won't accept an Asian teacher. They will like hine or her more than the caucasian teachers usually there will be more rapportand understanding then comes the notion of how things are supposed to be and that always wins out. There are many Asian-American and educated in the west Asian teachers in Thailand, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia where I have taught. They are some of the most highly regarded teachers, but then they say, "Oh...but you aren't white. You can teach a few more months but its time to go back home after that." The schools never have the integrity to stand by the teachers no matter what the ethnicity but in your case that will be the unspoken issue. I worked for nearly 20 years over here and saw many excellent Asian teachers educated or born or immigrated to the west, it quickly all went wrong for all of them. It defies logic, I always felt the Asian teachers had so much more rapport and motivation to make a difference for the students, they seem usually to be so much more well liked. But because people will never challenge what has always been done, what people's expectations are they always say you are great, but no.

Nothing else I need to do for immigration, other than bring the two passports correct?

No just use both passports, Sometimes immigration will say something about that this should not be done.

But it is completely legal and the whole visa duration can be used with both passports.

Yes, I fully expect I may meet someone who is going to grumble and make up rules that I didn't follow as has happened a few times before. Perhaps I can print some statements from the U.S. Embassy web page or wherever about the procedure and its legality and show it to them if they insist I am going about things the wrong way and try and cause a problem. I may call the US embassy and ask what they suggest to stymie any stunts that might be used to grease my palm or what have you.

Though to be fair, 90 percent of the time, albeit with one passport, not two, entry/exit point immigration officers have been polite, efficient and done their job without hassle. Always going to be a few bad apples.

Thanks all, much appreciated.

A member of the Thai tourism board has come to the defense of the film, stating it was not meant for European markets. Meant to be a creative story, the mini-film is intended for the Asian markets where similar concepts are seen on popular television shows.

If it is meant for Asian markets then why is it in English and Subtitled with English and Thai? Who do they think they are fooling?

This is not going to help TAT reach their goals with tourism. They keep wasting money on stupid vdos such as this instead of hard marketing tactics to other countries...

They use English because that is the language most often used between Thais and any nationality, not just western markets.

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Now the boring, droning, interminable high school essay part:

It's actually quite a clever video if they want to put off western visitors, particularly western women and men who think people's privacy should be respected, while appealing to Asian tourists whose cultural values don't often include a strong sense of a right to privacy. I am a farang, so forgive my ignorance if I got that wrong about generalizing that Asians do not value privacy as much as westerners, but that is how it appears to me looking in from the outside.

It also seems that more and more Thais are making up their minds that they don't particularly like westerners. It's their prerogative, but I don't think they will like anyone else they decide to try and woo either in the end. But perhaps they are right, perhaps we are actually more of a pain and a hassle for them and now that Chinese and Indians and others from other areas of Asia have more income Thailand can now choose, why not? But the point is that it is conceivable the TAT has decided they want to gross westerners out while appealing to Asia and have found a way to do it, good on them, better than the last video about poor Timmy who lost his wallet and was taken in and nursed back to full human status by a kind and forgiving Thai community.

As for the new video, while westerners might view the guy as creepy, I would guess his style would be viewed by many in Asia as polite and indirect if not very persistent showing that he is truly interested in the girl he is stalking. He sort of cushions the blows of his advances by referring to the instagram posts. He is actually half chasing instagram posts and only half chasing a real girl. He focuses on her posts and the technology as opposed to someone who is just baldly and nakedly playing some kind of numbers game and hitting on her and 1000 other chicks, making a complete public nuisance of himself in hopes that million to one odds work out and he and she will fall madly in love forever. By snooping around in her instagram posts he may well have gotten an idea that she is someone with whom he could actually have a decent relationship, egads. Maybe he isn't a creep, maybe he is a guy who wants to find true love afterall!

That aside, it seems to be OK in the west for businesses to "stalk" us for market research data which easily becomes some kind of intel file on us, it seems to be OK for the NSA to stalk you, but god forbid an individual do basically the same thing. Though perhaps it is only that people are helpless to do anything about the situation, I don't know, haven't been back in years. But if thats how people are treated n the west, if people just sit bu and tolerate the developing surveillance culture, you can hardly complain if every year there is more and more cases of individuals stalking and harrassing others.

Though I don't like the video, so what. It isn't meant for me and that's fine, glad to know where I stand. I find it also to be quite interesting, so thanks TAT.

Nothing else I need to do for immigration, other than bring the two passports correct?

I have a one year multiple entry Non-O visa in my old passport which has been cancelled out. I have my new passport as well and I'm due to exit the country for another 90 day entry stamp in a week or so. I assume I am just supposed to bring both passports with me to show to immigration and that if all goes normally they will put my exit stamps in the new passport and then I go on to Laos immigration (Savanakhet) do the usual visa application, fees, etc. and then upon re-entering Thailand again just show them both passports once again and get another 90 day entry stamp in the new passport, or no? Can anyone on here confirm that or is there something or some things I've missed?

Also, if you have had any hitches due to having to use two passports or met with border immigration officials who have tried to exploit the double passport situation, I'm all ears and eyes. Best to come prepared with a strategy in the case of any shennangins.

Thanks, much appreciated.

Perhaps the rather vague and brief article about such an important topic says it all. It was just the wind blowing, you can go back to sleep.

Since 2011 when I began getting them nothing has changed, I have not found it to be more difficult by any stretch by keeping informed as to which embassies will do what. That's what Thai Visa is great for! It will be difficult if you just pop in at any embassy and see if you can't get what your looking for. Chances are it won't fly. Savanakhet has been the old stand by and Jakarta worked for me once in 2011. The Thai embassies in the U.S. where I come from, last I checked, it's difficult. Perhaps it is payback for making things difficult for Thais who want to immigrate.

Of course it looks like "getting harder" is just around the corner, but who knows maybe we will wake up one day to a rosy future in which it will begin to get easier every year!

I would go with Kunming. That salary in Phuket seems suspiciously high to me not low as you seem to think. 30,000/month is the going rate in Thailand, another reason not to work in teaching here. Phuket is one dodgy place it seems these days and I think that adds to the dubiousness of the promised 50,000 monthly salary. I would also read the accurate and frank reports of the travails of teaching in Thailand as can be read on ajarn.com. I know you have said that you think the school is reputable, it may well be, but the schools here are just about all really bad places to be, good reputation or not. A year or two is about all anyone can deal with without becoming seriously emotionally disturbed.

I have never been to Kunming let alone lived and worked there, but I have worked in three other Asian countries and worked in Japanese only situations in Thailand and all were miles ahead of my many Thai jobs over the last 20 years. Things are rapidly getting much worse here and it has long been a real shambles for teachers. Even if your school is otherwise good, many schools can't be bothered to help you with the visa process anymore. Suddenly you may find you are not working legally and likely it will be something you discover yourself. Being in trouble with immigration isn't their problem. China is more deserving of the services of a good and committed teacher which I assume you are. Save Thailand for summer and winter vacations and even then if it were me I wouldn't even be bothered with that, plenty of other nicer places not full of tourist rip offs, nasty disenfranchised locals and cops looking to get over on foreigners, and not nearly as environmentally desecrated.

I taught for 20 years in ESL, OP, in every situation imaginable and in 4 different countries and under management of 7 different nationalities. Sadly, the way you are being treated has become par for the course. I have left teaching because I am fed up, despite having enjoyed teaching immensely, the amount flack from incompetent management with MBAs and the current prevailing notion of education as nothing more than being about business just ruins it and ruins the students' educational possibilities pretty well I might add.

I would also add that they probably simply just don't like you because you sound like you have a sense of what's right and wrong and try and hold them to it. Anything less than silent smiling obedience with a dash of obsequiousness is sadly considered how an employee should behave in Thailand and many other countries I might add. Like many others are saying, it is about money and numbers and they can get someone from the Philippines or Camerouns for 15,000/month anyway, so they are already resenting you from the get go having to pay you more and that is one of the handfull of things that matter in education as a business.

As for going to some authority to make the school worry about consequences, that kind of tack just isn't going to fly in Thai culture at all. The last thing people should be asked to do here is worry or consider consequences. Any authorities that do exist, I'd be really surprised, they likely have had to buy their job position, so have no sense that they have any further obligations.

I cast my vote with many of the others, it is best to get out of the situation asap and start afresh. It is very hard to find a good place to teach in Thailand, but you likely could get a better situation. At the meeting I would be compromising and trying to set the tone for at least getting a dishonourable discharge from the school as opposed to going on the offense. I would apologise for whatever problems they bring up, whether real or not, express regret that the arrangement hasn't worked out and ask to be let go when it is convenient for the school. Perhaps you could get some kind of a good reference or letter of recommendation out of it, though that may be a long shot, and I personally would have great difficulty trusting them to give a good reference as they do sound as though they are angry with you about something and perhaps someone has lost face over some mysterious perhaps even semi-imagined issue. Even if a reference would be useless, the whole psychology of getting them to write a good recommendation letter might help ease them into a better frame of mind about you, help them see perhaps that you are not that bad actually and which could help to defuse the whole situation and smooth out the last month so that they don't continue trying to get back at you or attack you further as you are going out the door or even after should the opportunity arise.

Sorry to be cynical but no good deed goes unpunished. Someone will lose face at some point if he doesn't desist and he'll have a problem. If not, people will think he is weird or be suspicious. I hope I am wrong, but that is what I have found out here is that doing good is asking for trouble.

Whatever.

And the score at the end of February:

Shin Dynasty- 530 billion

Junta- 67 million