touristman

I'm a vegetarian, so i was very pleased to see the 'Cheese n Onion' pastie there.Bit pricey, but big size so what the heck...................................disgusting, 3 bites was my limit. I remember trying a 'cheese n Onion' pie dinner at a pricey place in Phuket a couple of years ago.The pie was tiny, dense and very very solid.Tough to cut, even tougher to bite.Nightmare. Even a dodgy cheese n onion Hollands Pie would be a godsend here. Best quality option here for vegetarians IMO is Foodlands Bakery's 'Swiss Cheese Quiche', for pie-like quality........................and the Mushroom Puffs at S&P aren't too bad either.

I used the one at soi Thonglor when i was living in Bkk.It became my supermarket of choice.Excellent, if a little expensive. I'm sure that there will be teething problems with new stores, but once they settle down, it will be the same standard as the Bkk stores................excellent. p.s Foodland is great too, and i have a better selection of food here than i ever did in England.

As a quick aside, the English chap who i bought my 'condo' from was a teacher living full-time in Pattaya. Taught at a local Pattaya school, good hours, flexibilty, was an English teacher and taught computer studies too and was head of a department.He seemed a competent decent chap (about 50), and said that the work wasn't taxing and the extra roles allowed him very easy extra cash and he ALWAYS earned more than he could spend each month ( he had a family here too).If you live where you want, then earing more than your outgoings has got to be the key. Quality of life, and a net financial surplus................not sure how many Brits can claim that in England these days Looks like i'll have to 'learn' English................and then learn 'how to teach it'

I don't know what the stats are but the vast vast majority of teachers seem to have a BA (standing joke, BA -please take one ) rather than a B.Eng or a B.Sc. Even though these are language teachers, would they be more employable with an Engineering or Science Degree so that they could also teach (or act as substitute) for Maths / Science classes???? or does it not work that way? Can BA Degree holders even teach Maths? I'm interested in Thailand (tick-box country, little substance) and beyond (Korea, Hong Kong......where substance of qualifications seems to matter). All replies (NOT joekicker please) would be welcomed and gratefully recieved. p.s............40k GBP (tax-free) seems like an 'adequate' salary p.p.s..rawiri, thanks for your reply

That seems fair enough. When i first came here, i met up with some 50+ year old expat international teachers............6 months in BKK, 6 months in Korea / Tiawan, and none were short of cash.They seemed happy enough and mixed in a circle of international teachers............their key was that they had real (transferable) qualifications that were respected in real institutes of learning (as well as tick-box places like Thailand). Can i have some details on your course please Rawiri, the costs involved and the content / timescales?

is this the company that also offers 'Divorce in a Day'? there's one born every minute.

I think someone said 'idiot', others implied it,...............i can only concur and add 'on so many levels'. ===================================================================== Back to the thread, i think that to 'remote place' yourself here would be little problem.The only thing that may give you away may be your sometimes 'dodgy' internet connection if you chose to reside here.

Fair comment regarding the CELTA courses.I actually went to Chiang Mai and spoke to the course leader there regarding the course.She gave me the documents that you speak of, and after looking at them i would agree that it is intensive and that i would need to brush up (or learn for the first time!!!!!) on my grammer, punctuation and general knowlege of words and sentence structure.Getting the answers correct on their exercise was okay, but EXPLAINING WHY was stretching (feel free to take the piss) I'm 35 now, and went to a comprehensive school in England.We never learned about adverbs, pronouns and all that stuff that an older generation (my Dad) would know about.I hope that it wasn't just my shitty school, but i don't think that it was because we weren't tested on any of this stuff come exam time.One thing is for sure,i wish i had done the PGCE (majoring in Maths) at Leeds Uni that i had been accepted for over a decade ago.The Govt were paying for the course and living expenses, and giving 5000 GBP upon qualifying after teaching for 6 months (shortage of maths / science teachers 13 years ago).Foolishly, i backed out with 3 days to go (still feel guilty about that) to stay in my new job in London.Bastard!If i had done that course then i would have the pick of teaching positions in Thailand it seems.I remember looking at the qualifications of farang staff at a few top schools in Bangkok / Chonburi, on the internet, and from memory about 90 % had either their Degree in Education, or had done a PGCE for a year!!!!!!!Bugger! It seemed like TEFLA just didn't cut it at these places. Anyway, point being that i agree that CELTA is a substantial course and should be treated with respect.It's also US$1400 with no guarantee of a pass (no nods and winks here), so shouldn't be taken lightly.I'm thinking of going home to Blighty next January to see the family and renew the visa, maybe reading up on English for a few weeks and then coming back to take the CELTA course in Feb or March 08.......................and it's all good quality information to me Tom, and i appreciate the insight into your experiences.

cheers Tom, quality post as always...............i appreciate it. I'll check out Ajarn.com too, and see if i can get round to actually putting a deposit down on the CELTA course.As you say, it's internationally respected so will be a useful additional string to the bow even if i don't utilise it in Thailand. My Dad recommended that i learn Mandarin, but once i explained that it would mean me dealing with the Chinese he understood my reservations .Seriously, the Chinese have many languages don't they?I wouldn't be suprised if the Chinese started learning English as their business language to fit in, rather than the world start learning different Chinese dialects..........which would mean even more need for English teachers.With India using English, America and Europe using English, and even the Aussies (supplying the raw minerals for China) trying to speak English, then there is good incentive for the Chinese to 'come on board' too .

some good input in this thread, and knowlegable guys who are sorting the wheat from the chaff...........i certainly appreciate it. ================================================================= Aqua4, you seem to know what you're talking about........Is there any value in taking a CELTA course over a TEFLA (or similar level) from the Thai perception?????Will taking a CELTA result in more cash or me getting the job over a TEFLA certificate holder?........from the Thai perspective. Also, there is at least some advantage in demand outstripping supply..........surely.There must be pleny of jobs to choose from (location and conditions come to the fore), even if the salaries aren't increased. And if the salaries haven't increased and more English teachers are required, are schools closing their English depts. / classes?Someone must be teaching these children.........and if they can't attract English teachers the they MUST EVENTUALLY pay more.Thailand may not be a first world market economy, but they must at least be on knodding terms with market economics because you can't opt out unless you close the schools / classes..........English teachers are needed!What are your thoughts on this? I think that long term, with the new Thai middle class and Thai competitive 'face', prospects are fairly good for decent English teachers.More private schools will open and more middle class Thais will want to enrol their children in these places.I don't think that it's a good thing neccessarily, but i think that it will happen. p.s.........anyone feel free to address these points.

It's not a game you fool. Dealing with you is like dealing with a retard. You're wrong, wrong, wrong............then you don't hold your hand up when corrected, never deal with the issue you've just been corrected on and are just another unaccountable ignorant American. You're a waste of time..................please f*ck off forever. ( no smilie, see?) (don't bother to reply please...........just f*ck off)

see the above? Looks like a question to me. You are a thick thick thick irritating American Joekicker.........and thoroughly unaccountable.

so, no answers from you then. As expected. I see that you don't dispute the content of my 'error-strewn' sentence.At least you see it yourself

Believe me Jacko, it's not sarcasm.........nor rhetorical. Teaching is something that i have pondered.My concerns are the scum who currently do it that are unqualified.My take is that these talentless scum don't just drive down salaries, but drive down the quality of education to Thai youth also. I've observed American Joekicker, and he's a thoroughly wrong-headed distasteful human being IMO. If he's a teacher, then i would be very disappointed (although, sadly, not suprised).............and i would want to know what he 'taught'..............empathy and world peace perhaps?

Tell me that you are joking, and that you're not a teacher Joe. And if you are, what do you teach?

I don't recommend doing anything illegal regarding visas. I was just stating what i know to be the case upto last year at least.I'm 35 years old so i don't do this myself, but am aware of people who do this in Bangkok.All paperwork was sorted by the lawyer and the total charge was about 100 quid English................it's been done for years upto last year.I don't know about this year, maybe things have changed, but TIT so maybe not As far as i know, it's done throught personal connections with the Bank and immigration..........so while the law may have changed, i'm not sure the corruption has

thanks for your reply kolobos. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As for the retirement visa, you don't even need funds in the bank.If you get the right lawyer, then he will arrange the 800k (or whatever it is now) to be deposited in your account for the day required.......for a small commission of course.Ask around, it's fairly common.

My 1 year Non-Imm 'O' visa from Hull runs out in October. Is it true that i can leave Thailand before the visa expires and return the day before it expires, and get a stamp for a further 3 months so that i only need to go back to Blighty in Jan 08 ?

Mango, you may well be talking out of your hat here.There have been major changes in Cambodia over the last few years.Mostly in Phnom Pehn, but down in Sihanoukville too.There seems to be a bit of a middle class developing there.Don't forget that Thaksin (and his business cronies - The banks etc, etc) got well into Cambodia when he was in power here (Burma too, but to a much lesser extent) and has joined with major families in Cambodia.New shopping malls are popping up, first world development is occuring and there is a burgeoning tourist and expat community there too.Top cable TV is pretty standard (cheaper than here) and the only downside that i can see is the internet speed and reliability...........and the extreme poverty and different nature compared with Thais IMO.

Owen answered very well IMO, but he should have added ''YOU JAMMY BASTARD!!!!!!'' (except for the 'hating your life' there bit). I know what you mean though..........i 'took the plunge' after travelling the world for a year.Good job, house, car etc............but after a year out i just didn't want to go back to it.I was 30 then though and well aware that it was dodgy long-term.That was 5 years ago........and so far, no regrets (fingers- crossed though).

Not this time Mr Owen.It's a brave new world out there. I do, however, applaud all your other comments and am aware that my above line is only an opinion.......but even so........DOWN, DOWN, DOWN, Dollars going down (long term!)

it certainly does, thank you

can we make public the answer to SkyGod's question please? It was a damn fine question Skygod

my comments curtailed, i will just say 'fair play Shilo' it was indeed a very interesting post. Tough times lie ahead, for most nations IMHO, with 'globalisation' continuing unabeted.

Thailand is a poor rural virtually third-world country.It has a middle class, albeit a small one in percentage terms.This middle class and lower upper classes buy all the mercs and the middle classes buy a small car or even a big rural poorish family can scrape together to get a carryboy or some such utility vehicle on HP or second-hand. Most of these middle-class / poorish buyers IMHO are aspirational purchasers who buy above their means.Lets not forget the masses of creditcard holders and huge increase in household debt during the years that Thailand went from a sustainable to an aspirational / consumption-driven economy. IMO, and through experience, most Thai families are poor.People need to get out of the tourist areas and the big towns and cities to see it for themselves.Or they could just consult some demographics and socio-economic figures.Either way, i agree with Gary...........which feels strange