[Chinese jump at 'elite' Thailand visas to escape coronavirus]

Is there any info about how many Elite Visa holders there actually are? 

 

I know one guy who has a 10 year visa in Bangkok as he owns a company in Europe and works here remotely, but I literally wouldn't have a clue if I had to guess how many people have that type of visa. 

[Poll – Most people see no one suitable to be Thailand’s Prime Minister]

This is what happens when you have such an apathetic population towards politics. The indoctrination process is working well. 

 

Many of us know which establishment is solely to blame for Thailand being unable to have any form of political development and as history has shown us, this will cycle will most likely continue. 

[Teaching in Thailand as an older Teacher]

23 minutes ago, OumarhindaOunsingha said:

 

Where on their homepage do you find these data - under 'downloads'? Sorry, but can't find it... 

Google the name of the school and 'teacher salary' and they have their 2020/2021 teacher handbook which has the pay scale in it. 

[Prawit takes the reins of Phalang Pracharat]

Embarrassing, and yet another shocking indictment of this government and the whole establishment in general.

[Teaching in Thailand as an older Teacher]

6 hours ago, faraday said:

Re post #40

 

160k a month for teaching in BKK?

 

Think your 'friend' is pulling your leg

 

@BobbyL

I think you clearly don't know international school teacher salaries. The average salary that was posted by FOBISIA (Federation of British International Schools in Asia) for their 2019 information pack was 120,000 / month. Places like NIST or ISB pay well over 150,000 / month. 

 

We can't name schools on here, however the international school located right next to Thong Lor BTS are one of the very few that publish their teacher pay scale online if you Google it. Have at look at that as that is generally what the better international schools pay and is similar to where I work. 

 

If you can't be bothered to Google the school, they are basically paying around 135,000 / month straight off the boat. 

[Nazism is well and alive in Thailand]

Nothing surprising about this. If you asked every person in this part of the world what that symbol meant I bet you would get an incredibly low number knowing it. In the land of the 'Peter Pan' people sadly have little to no knowledge of the world. It's pretty tragic in my opinion and hopefully something that will become corrected over time. 

 

The classic response you seem to get is, ''This is Thailand so why do we need to know about it'' which is just a shocking indictment to the mindset here. Well, considering it was the biggest war in modern history, it involved huge parts of the world and Thailand actually played a part in it (albeit by being invaded and surrendering to Japan), it is therefore quite an important thing to know about. 

 

I would be fascinated to know what Thai students study of WW2 at school here, or even if they do study it at all. I guess there are far more important things to be indoctrinated by. Thankfully being a qualified teacher and teaching in a real international school in Bangkok it is great to teach the students about important topics such as WW2. 

[NokScoot Airlines to be liquidated]

I have heard of Nok and Scoot, but I have never heard of Nokscoot. 

[International School Fees - Refund]

5 hours ago, Khun Tae said:

Thats some kind of ''nam jai'' , Singapore school does not refund. 

As far as I have heard pretty much all of the main international schools are offering some reduction / discount to existing parents for the new academic year. 

 

I cannot imagine any international schools refunding the fees as technically the school didn't actually close. They just taught online due to the pandemic. 

[Teaching in Thailand as an older Teacher]

5 minutes ago, bwpage3 said:

The average Public School Teacher salary in the United States is $58,090 as of May 28, 2020, but the range typically falls between $50,710 and $67,059

 

Are you making considerably more than those figures in Thailand?

 

I seriously doubt it.

 

PS What will your retirement look like?

I have no idea about teacher salaries in the US. When I left teaching in the UK I was only on 26,000GBP annually. That was with a few years of experience. 

 

At a good international school in Bangkok I am on more than that annually on just my salary. Then you add in a monthly housing allowance, annual flight allowance and contract bonuses and that means I earn considerably more than I did in the UK over the course of a year. Factor in living costs, mortgage costs etc and that amount becomes even more. 

 

I am probably 30+ years away from retirement so I don't know that now. Currently I pay into an international school teachers pension plan and the voluntary national insurance contributions to HMRC. 

 

If a decent TEFL salary in Bangkok is approx 50k, there are a good number of international schools paying three times that amount. I have a friend who has recently moved to one of the newer international schools in Bangkok, his salary is 130k plus a 30k housing allowance just as a class teacher.  

['Benz Racing' denies racing on public roads - Mum complains it took all day to post bail]

Another Thai mummy's boy. Sickening. 

[State of emergency set to be extended through July]

Not surprising at all. It makes very little difference to most of us here now as pretty much everything has / is returning to normal in terms of going out. 

 

There are obviously hidden motives behind extending it though. A certain establishment needs to be out of the news for a while and stopping protests and political gatherings will unfortunately help that situation. 

[Thai vaccine could be ready by ‘early next year’, says Anutin]

Wouldn't believe a word he says. 

[National parks preparing to welcome tourists]

32 minutes ago, garzhe said:

The point is this is the government overcharging farangs in N.Parks, museums etc, (call it dual pricing if you want). This sends a message out  generally to all Thais that its OK to overcharge Caucasians. So I guess you dont mind when the restaurant, taxi, street vendor etc etc sticks a bit more or a lot more  on your bill as your a farang.

Absolutely correct. It breeds that having that mindset is okay. 

 

Interestingly, it seems it was only fully re - introduced during the Junta's reign as I remember regularly getting reduced rates with my Thai WP before. In the last few years I have unfortunately had to pay up to 8 times the price at a few places. From now I have no interest in visiting these places.

 

As others have said, it is the principle. I live here, work here, own a property here, have a wife here, pay taxes here, spend the majority of my money here, therefore it would be nice not pay 400b when a Thai only pays 40b. That really shouldn't be happening. 

[Thai Prime Minister worries 2nd wave spread at entertainment venues after easing]

Of course there is a chance of a second wave, however if we are to believe the data released by his government in terms of the numbers of cases (none for 30 days) then places cannot remain shut when there is no virus being spread.

 

Currently, the only way of a second wave hitting is by tourists bringing it in. 

[Holidays by the sea top favourite among Thais if govt offers special deals]

The centre also predicts 89.5 million to 91.5 million domestic tourists/trips this year

 

Seems a ludicrously high prediction. Let's say 1/3 of the Thai population can't / won't travel, that means 2/3 of the population are expected to make two or more domestic holiday trips from now until December. I am not so sure. 

 

 

[Thai Immigration announce changes to TM30 reporting]

Well, it seems like a good step, although still vague in terms of what is needed. You can guarantee there will be no consistency in how it is enforced by different IO. 

 

However, I certainly will not forget the experience I had last July filling my one and only TM30 at Chaeng Watthana. Absolutely farcical.

[DPM Wissanu hints that emergency decree may not be extended]

9 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

There is now no reason to extend it further... schools re-opening, bars given the green light, how can they extend a decree that's doing nothing?

Wissanu has proven time and time again his role is basically to say and do anything to protect the establishment.

 

If he says it may not be extended, it probably will be. 

[Draft law on tackling forced disappearances, torture gets green light]

This bill aims to protect every citizen from being tortured or “disappeared” by state officials as well as provide justice to victims. It also targets human rights violations.

 

More timely press releases considering what has been going on. I am not sure how this can work in a country that openly oppresses freedom of speech and having a differing opinion can quite literally get you 'disappeared'. 

[Hoteliers push back at Thailand’s shift to target high-end tourists]

I can't believe the hotel groups didn't completely ignore this recent bizarre press release from the government. 

 

We all know this won't / can't happen at all. 

[Customs and receiving a package from abroad]

Finally had a good experience with FedEx.

 

Got a set of kitchen knives sent over recently and it took 6 days from England to here. My family lied on the form and said they were half the real value, therefore we only paid 700b import. 

[Pubs, bars may open on July 1 if they follow 22 iron-clad rules]

Not sure I saw any of those 22 rules being enforced on Suk 33/1 last weekend. 

[Minister plans to turn convicts into a formidable workforce to send abroad]

The satirical comedy continues. 

[It’s official! Prawit takes over as new Palang Pracharat leader]

Sickening. This abomination of a man sums this group up.

[Pubs and bars to open? They will hear their fate on Friday but PM favors later in July]

3 minutes ago, Jiggo said:

Is Scruffy Murphys or Robin Hood open, up their in a couple of weeks

Robin Hood is open very much like normal. 

[Anti-Corruption Organisation disagrees with Justice Ministry appointment of adviser who served jail term]

Fits in perfectly with the likes of Thammanat Prompao.