Freak Show

[hellyes2oo2]

Pugwash1, sadly i was still expected to buy the beer, and amazingly, the brother in law seemed to recover pretty quickly from his flu, and sink a few glasses of beer.

[AlphMichaels]

To the OP, glad to hear you did it. Kudos! Made me smile reading about how you jumped in to help when help was needed. To the posters slamming the locals for taking pics, go back to bed. Think about it. When do you see a farang pitching in at a harvest? Show me pics. To those who profess to have worked hard all their lives and that Thais may not understand hard work, go spend a couple months on a farm.

Seriously (and please don't send pics!), for those who feel compelled to disparage locals wanting a pic..., to give the OP a pat on the back and thank him for his work at the end of a hard day.., well, that's just good karma. They were thanking him and likely to share the story with family and friends in the future.

That's also part of what I love about the people in the countryside and I've witnessed it first hand when helping my GFs family with some of their farming needs. I'm certain he's viewed as a good "farang jai dee mak". Better to leave that kind of imprint than all the whining that goes on about Thai people here.

[louse1953]

This will be used against you with immigration,55.Seriously,you should try cutting the rice and loading it on tbe trailer,all bloody day.Asleep by 7pm and up again at 6am.Hard yakka,all credit to people older tnan me that do it for weeks on end.I just do our crop.

[louse1953]

It is good to show, that we can work to :-)

But I have one question, every time someone say you help the family or a friend or the whole village,

some one very quick tells you can't work whiteout work permission,

you really need that, if you help without getting paid?

One thing if you work and get paid!

Technically yes even if you are not receiving any pay.

As if anybody is gunna lag you in for helping them.

[connda]

Sorry to inform you, but you've just broke that law by working without a work permit at a job reserved for Thai citizens. And you've just informed the government authorities. Good job!

[connda]

cultural ignorance. i'm sure many of the the low class uneducated in western countries have the same cultural ignorance and what they perceive as strange behaviour they may well react in a similar way.

Just look at the GOP in the USA.

Strange that it's the Democrats handing out food stamps, Medicaid, section 8 housing, and stipends to anyone who can cross the border illegally and anyone in the inner cities who doesn't want to work.

Oh by the way, I detest the GOP too. Democrat, Republican, no difference. They just play the right/left paradigm theater via MSM for dumbed-down Americans, which unfortunately is pretty much the majority of the sheeple citizens. Baaaaaa.

[fekman]

The pics were so they can grass you up to the Labor Dept. You'll be in handcuffs in 3 days. Happens more than people care to admit. A friend got hit the same way last year. Spent a night in jail, and ended up paying 20,000 to walk out.

[MiKT]

Sorry to inform you, but you've just broke that law by working without a work permit at a job reserved for Thai citizens. And you've just informed the government authorities. Good job!

Seems to be nonsense, its his wifes property (can't be his land) surely he can do whatever he wants - unless he was paying himself 300 Baht per day. 555

[hellyes2oo2]

Connda/fekman, I think you may both be going over the top a little, maybe you are both joking and I am losing my sense of humour. But I can guarantee both of you that I wont be informed upon or spend anytime in a police cell or have to pay any money to bribe someone. as I said I have lived here on and off for 13 years, my wife is well respected, and as far as I know I get on with everybody in the village, and have no enemies.

there was one occasion a couple of years ago when we got broken into whilst we were sleeping. within a couple of days someone tipped the law off as to who has done it and they were caught..i think that speaks volumes, because I know a lot of thais think that farangs deserve to be robbed, because they can afford it..

I am amazed that a topic I started as a bit of fun, has turned into something so serious. maybe I went a little over the top, but I was just trying to get over how amazed thais get when they realise we farangs can still do work, oh and of course we can still buy the beer lol.

[MiKT]

It is good to show, that we can work to :-)

But I have one question, every time someone say you help the family or a friend or the whole village,

some one very quick tells you can't work whiteout work permission,

you really need that, if you help without getting paid?

One thing if you work and get paid!

Technically yes even if you are not receiving any pay.

Please elaborate or point to previous posts where what constitutes "work" is defined. Is it work if I rewire my condo or wire up my new house for instance? Or can I be just "demonstrating" how it should be done safely to meet the Thai electrical standards?

[khwaibah]

It is good to show, that we can work to :-)

But I have one question, every time someone say you help the family or a friend or the whole village,

some one very quick tells you can't work whiteout work permission,

you really need that, if you help without getting paid?

One thing if you work and get paid!

Technically yes even if you are not receiving any pay.

Please elaborate or point to previous posts where what constitutes "work" is defined. Is it work if I rewire my condo or wire up my new house for instance? Or can I be just "demonstrating" how it should be done safely to meet the Thai electrical standards?

My personal opinion if the the OP was to upset a local and that has happen he would find himself in very deep shyt. Aside from that the following is from TV and they are fairly spot on.

Manual work;

Work in agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry or fishing excluding specialized work in each particular branch or farm supervision;

Bricklaying, carpentry or other construction works;

Woodcarving;

Driving a mechanically propelled carrier or driving a non-mechanically propelled vehicle, excluding international aircraft piloting;

Shop attending;

Auction;

Supervising, auditing or giving services in accounting excluding internal auditing on occasions;

Cutting or polishing jewelry;

Haircutting, hairdressing or beauty treatment;

Cloth weaving by hand;

Weaving of mats or making products from reeds, rattan, hemp, straw or bamboo;

Making of Sa paper by hand;

Lacquer ware making;

Making of Thai musical instruments;

Nielloware making;

Making of products from gold, silver or gold-copper alloy;

Bronze ware making;

Making of Thai dolls;

Making of mattresses or quilt blankets;

Alms bowl casting;

Making of silk products by hand;

Casting of Buddha images;

Knife making;

Making of paper or cloth umbrellas;

Shoemaking;

Hat making;

Brokerage or agency excluding brokerage or agency in international trade business;

Engineering work in a civil engineering branch concerning designing and calculation, organization, research, planning, testing, construction supervision or advising excluding specialized work;

Architectural work concerning designing, drawing of plans, estimating, construction directing or advising;

Garment making;

Pottery or ceramic ware making;

Cigarette making by hand;

Guide or conducting sightseeing tours;

Street vending;

Typesetting of Thai characters by hand;

Drawing and twisting silk thread by hand;

Office or secretarial work;

Legal or lawsuit services.

http://www.thaivisa.com/330-0.html

[MiKT]

It is good to show, that we can work to :-)

But I have one question, every time someone say you help the family or a friend or the whole village,

some one very quick tells you can't work whiteout work permission,

you really need that, if you help without getting paid?

One thing if you work and get paid!

Technically yes even if you are not receiving any pay.

Please elaborate or point to previous posts where what constitutes "work" is defined. Is it work if I rewire my condo or wire up my new house for instance? Or can I be just "demonstrating" how it should be done safely to meet the Thai electrical standards?

My personal opinion if the the OP was to upset a local and that has happen he would find himself in very deep shyt. Aside from that the following is from TV and they are fairly spot on.

Manual work;

Work in agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry or fishing excluding specialized work in each particular branch or farm supervision;

Bricklaying, carpentry or other construction works;

Woodcarving;

Driving a mechanically propelled carrier or driving a non-mechanically propelled vehicle, excluding international aircraft piloting;

Shop attending;

Auction;

Supervising, auditing or giving services in accounting excluding internal auditing on occasions;

Cutting or polishing jewelry;

Haircutting, hairdressing or beauty treatment;

Cloth weaving by hand;

Weaving of mats or making products from reeds, rattan, hemp, straw or bamboo;

Making of Sa paper by hand;

Lacquer ware making;

Making of Thai musical instruments;

Nielloware making;

Making of products from gold, silver or gold-copper alloy;

Bronze ware making;

Making of Thai dolls;

Making of mattresses or quilt blankets;

Alms bowl casting;

Making of silk products by hand;

Casting of Buddha images;

Knife making;

Making of paper or cloth umbrellas;

Shoemaking;

Hat making;

Brokerage or agency excluding brokerage or agency in international trade business;

Engineering work in a civil engineering branch concerning designing and calculation, organization, research, planning, testing, construction supervision or advising excluding specialized work;

Architectural work concerning designing, drawing of plans, estimating, construction directing or advising;

Garment making;

Pottery or ceramic ware making;

Cigarette making by hand;

Guide or conducting sightseeing tours;

Street vending;

Typesetting of Thai characters by hand;

Drawing and twisting silk thread by hand;

Office or secretarial work;

Legal or lawsuit services.

http://www.thaivisa.com/330-0.html

Yes, thanks very much, I. Have seen the list of jobs reserved for Thais before. But the question is, if you are doing a limited amount of labour for free, how can it be classified as work? In this context surely work must mean paid work. After all, you can't get a work permit unless you are paid a minimum amount, so it seems to be self defining.

[khwaibah]

Yes, thanks very much, I. Have seen the list of jobs reserved for Thais before. But the question is, if you are doing a limited amount of labour for free, how can it be classified as work? In this context surely work must mean paid work. After all, you can't get a work permit unless you are paid a minimum amount, so it seems to be self defining.

Its not for you or me to say. Upset a Thai and see how long you stay in Thailand. Your choice. BTW I have seen that happen.

[bazza40]

I agree with the OP. And it really is a shame Thai authorities can't see there is a wealth of free experience waiting to be utilised, if only it was allowed.

A couple of examples. Thai wine and cheese are terrible. I'm sure there are probably a couple of retired technologists in these areas who could improve the quality substantially with their knowledge. However, the curse of "face" will always stymie any initiative.

[ozyjon]

See any snakes while you were there

my girlfriend got bit once by a snake

while cutting rice, she nearly died, she

never cut rice again.

[JLCrab]

To the OP different circumstances but I know the feeling: I was in (very) rural China in the early 1990's when I needed to cash an American Express travelers check at the local Bank of China office. In that small agricultural town, where they had maybe never even seen a foreigner on site it seems the whole town turned out to watch the event.

[jacko45k]

I think the fact that i'm 62 years old, has maybe convinced them that i'm incapable of working. But hey there's life in the old dog yet

Ya ducked the harvesting then you idler!

[MAJIC]

Many Thais seem to think that everything we have has been given to us by Obama, when the reality is that many of us worked long and hard for many decades and saved and invested carefully to arrive at our current position in life. They also seem to think the same about my Thai wife, when reality is that, even though she lived in the US and other countries, she worked her butt off and came home most days worn, tired and hungry. No one has given us anything.

Simple people have nothing to go by anything other than what they see as the way things are!

[MAJIC]

When does free help become taking a Thai job? Somewhere there is a cut off point?

[Pla shado]

.....and it was unbelieveable, people were actually queing up to take pictures, Is it really so hard for thais to think that a farang can work?

I'm sure some folks were interested / amused by a farang doing hard work but it could also be that nearly everyone, everywhere, has a smart phone these days. I suspect that a few years ago there might have been the same level of interest / amusement but nobody had a camera.

[hellyes2oo2]

Khwaibah, you seem to be another one going over the top. I have spent my time here trying to be friendly to the people in the village, not bragging that I have more money than they have, and also not building a house so big, that they thought I was trying to tell them that my home is impressive. At the same time, I also let them know that I was not here to pay for their beer all the time. it has taken a while, but if any thai drinks with me, they know that if I buy 4 bottles of leo, then they have to buy 2. and surprisingly I am never alone when I drink everyday at 5pm. I never expect them to buy as many as me.

I can also say that I could probably show you at least a dozen families in the village, that have far more money than me. Khwaibah, if you fear that upsetting a thai in your village, will lead to you ending up in deep <deleted>, then maybe you should change your attitude to them, because obviously if you fear this, then maybe you have already upset someone.

[Nowisee]

Khwaibah, you seem to be another one going over the top. I have spent my time here trying to be friendly to the people in the village, not bragging that I have more money than they have, and also not building a house so big, that they thought I was trying to tell them that my home is impressive. At the same time, I also let them know that I was not here to pay for their beer all the time. it has taken a while, but if any thai drinks with me, they know that if I buy 4 bottles of leo, then they have to buy 2. and surprisingly I am never alone when I drink everyday at 5pm. I never expect them to buy as many as me.

I can also say that I could probably show you at least a dozen families in the village, that have far more money than me. Khwaibah, if you fear that upsetting a thai in your village, will lead to you ending up in deep <deleted>, then maybe you should change your attitude to them, because obviously if you fear this, then maybe you have already upset someone.

It's all working out just fine for you now, but when you inevitably cause a thai to lose face, they will turn on you quickly.

as said on a topic previous, it is a great shame this country does not tap into the wealth of experience from the ex pat community,even to do unpaid work you have to have a work permit, (because a thai could do this) yeah right, . i have seen their shoddy workmanship, they just need proper training that is all.

Only a few have been open to me showing them a safer, more efficient way of doing something. If it involves math or problem solving, forget about it.

Yes, thanks very much, I. Have seen the list of jobs reserved for Thais before. But the question is, if you are doing a limited amount of labour for free, how can it be classified as work? In this context surely work must mean paid work. After all, you can't get a work permit unless you are paid a minimum amount, so it seems to be self defining.

Its not for you or me to say. Upset a Thai and see how long you stay in Thailand. Your choice. BTW I have seen that happen.

Yep, refer to my top reply.

[SpokaneAl]

Khwaibah, you seem to be another one going over the top. I have spent my time here trying to be friendly to the people in the village, not bragging that I have more money than they have, and also not building a house so big, that they thought I was trying to tell them that my home is impressive. At the same time, I also let them know that I was not here to pay for their beer all the time. it has taken a while, but if any thai drinks with me, they know that if I buy 4 bottles of leo, then they have to buy 2. and surprisingly I am never alone when I drink everyday at 5pm. I never expect them to buy as many as me.

I can also say that I could probably show you at least a dozen families in the village, that have far more money than me. Khwaibah, if you fear that upsetting a thai in your village, will lead to you ending up in deep <deleted>, then maybe you should change your attitude to them, because obviously if you fear this, then maybe you have already upset someone.

It's all working out just fine for you now, but when you inevitably cause a thai to lose face, they will turn on you quickly.

as said on a topic previous, it is a great shame this country does not tap into the wealth of experience from the ex pat community,even to do unpaid work you have to have a work permit, (because a thai could do this) yeah right, . i have seen their shoddy workmanship, they just need proper training that is all.

Only a few have been open to me showing them a safer, more efficient way of doing something. If it involves math or problem solving, forget about it.

Yes, thanks very much, I. Have seen the list of jobs reserved for Thais before. But the question is, if you are doing a limited amount of labour for free, how can it be classified as work? In this context surely work must mean paid work. After all, you can't get a work permit unless you are paid a minimum amount, so it seems to be self defining.

Its not for you or me to say. Upset a Thai and see how long you stay in Thailand. Your choice. BTW I have seen that happen.

Yep, refer to my top reply.

I don't think the issue is whether or not you are paid determines the necessity for a work permit. I have read a number of posts on Thaivisa.com where posters have discussed the necessity of obtaining a work permit in order to fill volunteer, non paid positions.

[SantiSuk]

I only clicked on the thread because I thought it said "freak snow."

Most of my neighbors over the years have asked why I do my own lawn care and landscaping.

I only clicked on the thread because I thought it said "freak show" and would be about the nature of postings and posters on Isaan Forum popular threads in recent months. Nothing personal to ubonrthai but why are so many of these threads nothing to do with Isaan and all about personal invective after about half a page.

Yes - you're right I should give up looking at the forum then.

[puchooay]

Technically any work is deemed as such and a work permit is needed.

In reality, helping at home and on your wife's land is extremely unlikely to ruffle any feathers.

In the past, I have even been asked at a Labour office if I could teach the staff English. Joked for quite a while about needing a work permit. Finally they got the chicken and somtam out and we sat having lunch in the office and they started learning English.

If any problems did occur with locals, it is unlikely that any Thai people in a remote village would even be aware of such legislation anyway.

[hellyes2oo2]

On this subject of needing a permit to work. about 3 years ago I was asked if I would try to teach the younger kids at the local school basic conversational English. I told them that I wasn't really qualified to do so, as I didn't have any tesl certificates. they said not a problem just a few hours a week for 3 months, it was a new scheme by the education authorities in Sisaket. I then asked about needing a work permit, and was told you won't need one the government has approved the scheme. so for 3 months I worked without a permit, with the permission of the government.

[khwaibah]

On this subject of needing a permit to work. about 3 years ago I was asked if I would try to teach the younger kids at the local school basic conversational English. I told them that I wasn't really qualified to do so, as I didn't have any tesl certificates. they said not a problem just a few hours a week for 3 months, it was a new scheme by the education authorities in Sisaket. I then asked about needing a work permit, and was told you won't need one the government has approved the scheme. so for 3 months I worked without a permit, with the permission of the government.

Did you get that in writing..

[willyumiii]

It is good to show, that we can work to :-)

But I have one question, every time someone say you help the family or a friend or the whole village,

some one very quick tells you can't work whiteout work permission,

you really need that, if you help without getting paid?

One thing if you work and get paid!

Yes, in thailand you are required to have a work permit even for volunteer work.

I don't know of anyone who has been in trouble for it, and i work for free myself at times.

But that is the law.

Someone may get upset if they think you are doing work a Thai should do and get paid for.

[DILLIGAD]

On this subject of needing a permit to work. about 3 years ago I was asked if I would try to teach the younger kids at the local school basic conversational English. I told them that I wasn't really qualified to do so, as I didn't have any tesl certificates. they said not a problem just a few hours a week for 3 months, it was a new scheme by the education authorities in Sisaket. I then asked about needing a work permit, and was told you won't need one the government has approved the scheme. so for 3 months I worked without a permit, with the permission of the government.

Did you get that in writing..

I do seem to remember a scheme where they (Government) wanted to employ expat retiree's to help in schools for 10,000b a month. It was talked about on here but obviously no further updates for years so probably died a death like many of the other 'hair-brained' and Badly thought out initiatives.

[Issangeorge]

No it died, but was instigated, it was ฿10,000 a month for 4 months. I taught at my local school under it. Probably the best scheme they have had for teaching English, maybe that's why it died a quick death. It was during the summer of 2012, if I remember right.