How to Send Money to Thailand

There are various ways of sending money to a friend in Thailand: interbank transfer (also called a "telegraphic transfer" or "SWIFT transfer"), sending an ATM card, and using ATMcash (if you are in the USA) to send a personalized debit card.

These are documented at this website: SendMoneyToThailand.com Sphere: Related Content

Thailand Retirement Experiences

A friend in Chiang Mai, who goes by the handle, "Chiang Mai Rocket", has created a new blog because she and her partner have decided to retire in Thailand. It's at http://ThailandRetirementExperiences.com/ Sphere: Related Content

The Waitress and the Poodle

I don’t like de dog. My frien’, Baed, he bought de dog from his friend.

But I saw de dog de firs’ time, his name “Gatee” (coconut milk). I don’t like it because smell very bad. I don’t like it. He boom, boom, boom, (bark) allatime. He de pooden dog. White hair.

After I spend time with him, two or tree day, yes, I like him because he very samaht. When he hungly, he scratch me on my leg. When I go ou’, he wan’ follow me allatime. I said, “Cannot, I don’ want you go ou’ wit me.”

When I come back, he very happy, he run roun’, he boom, boom, boom, and he jump up and down.

Before, I not wan’ spend money for dog, but I spend money on dog shampoo, soap, flea powder for him. I take a shower for him, one time per day. He lie de water. He stand under de tap while I wash him. He really lie it.

I buy towel for de dog, too.

Before I don’t lie it, every dog I don’ lie. I say is nagiad (ugly).

When I give food for him, I put steam rie and steam dry fit, make all togedder and give for him, but he don’ eat, he don’ lie. He push away.

I say, “Gatee! Why you do lie dat, I don’ lie!”

I give him milk and chip. Anudder time I buy pork and beef an’ I make stirfry with rie and he eat. But not spicy. I make beef soup and he lie dat.

[Note: You can kill your dog by feeding it human food. See YouTube video below.]

Sphere: Related Content

Life and Death on the Farm

This story was related to me recently by a waitress who normally works in Bangkok, but goes back to her village periodically to see her children and work on her farm.

"I buy baby chicken in market five baht. She go, 'cheep cheep cheep' allatime. She follow me roun'. She think I am her mudder.

"Everywhere I go, she run behine me, go 'cheep cheep cheep' allatime.

"At night, I go in house, leave baby chicken outsigh.

"In morning, I come out, she run roun', go 'cheep cheep cheep', follow me everywhere. Very cute, Doug. I very happy. 'Cheep cheep cheep' all day.

"Next day, I working, very happy hearing 'cheep cheep cheep'. Suddenly, I no hear 'cheep'. I turn roun', see big sanake. Very big sanake, more than two meter. Sanake eat baby chicken. I freeze, Doug, stand like …, not know English word."

"Statue?" I asked.

"Yes, freeze like statue. I stand like that long time. Then sanake move, I move, too, find big satick, hit sanake many time on head. Many time, Doug, I hit sanake and he die.

"I sit down, I cry, Doug, I cry long time, baby chicken dead. Why she die so young? I take satick, pick up sanake, throw in klong, let fish eat. Bad sanake."

At this point, she was crying heavily, but being the insensitive lout I am, I really wanted to ask about karma. I knew she was a Buddhist, it would have been interesting to find out what she thought about the snake's karma, the chick's karma, and her karma, but I refrained. Instead I hugged her until she stopped crying.

"Did you buy another chick?" I asked when she stopped crying.

"No, Doug, I have very bad luck all year, not wan' kill anudder baby. But cannot stay on my farm, too serious (depressed), so I come back Bangkok." Sphere: Related Content

New Web Sites

Thailand Love Doctor - advice for relationships with Thai people, free forum
Thai2News - Thailand portal
Education Advice - free education advice Sphere: Related Content

Suvarnabhumi Warning in Wikipedia

Airport Mafia Documented

I was amazed to discover that Wikipedia has documented the corruption at the new airport and named the AOT managment as being part of the problem.

Irregularities

Several thugs and cheats, the majority of them illegal taxi drivers and tour guides, are to be found preying upon tourists within the arrival hall. These scammers belong to major, politically-well connected criminal groups: Kamnan Samruay, Boonruang Srisang, Sak Pakphanang, the Pattaya Mafia and Phuyai Daeng. Measures to evict them have proven ineffectual due to their being well connected with top AoT executives (it is alleged that the head of the Pirap gang is personally related to an AoT executive, while the Phuyai Daeng enjoys good connections with influential civil servants in Samut Prakan).

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suvarnabhumi_Airport

There's also a warning about the shoplifting scam, and mentions three embassies that have advised tourists to be aware of the invisible shop boundaries to avoid being scammed of thousands in euros/pounds/baht. Sphere: Related Content

New Version of Speak Easy Thai

I finally finished testing the new version of the Multi-Language Dictionary (MLD) Web Update and the new version of Speak Easy Thai. You can download them here:

http://www.thai-software.com/MultiLangDict/Pages/Download.htm

I have changed the name of MLD Web Update to MLD Download Manager, which more closely indicates its purpose in life. It has new, robust Internet access routines and tries to recover gracefully from timeouts and stalled downloads, a necessity here in Thailand.

Speak Easy Thai gains a self-test in the Alphabet section, and an "All Tests" button on the main menu, so you can bypass the vocabulary reviews and just jump directly to the self-tests. Sphere: Related Content

Multi-Language Dictionary Forum Has Moved

The Multi-Language Dictionary Forum has moved from Toronto, Ontario, to Houston, Texas; this is the first stage in getting my Thai software site off of the expensive Canadian server and onto the cheap US one, which is where all my other sites are hosted. The new address of the forum is:

http://www.thai-culture-publishing.com/Forum/

I have been working on Speak Easy Thai and MLD Web Update, and will be uploading new versions of these shortly. The new MLD Web Update supports the Texas server, and does so without using Microsoft's crappy Internet subroutines which were introduced in IE4. This version of Web Update replaces those subroutines with lower-level, and IE-independent, Windows Sockets subroutines.

BTW, IE7 and IE8 don't use those IE4 subroutines either. And on my computers, IE8 has black areas in the menu area of the browser window, proof that Microsoft has once again released software without fully testing it. The black areas show up when you don't use the cartoonish XP or Vista interface and have Windows desktop set to the Classic or Custom theme.

I will be sending out a general announcement to everyone on my mailing lists when these two updates are ready. Sphere: Related Content

Wat Thamkrabok -- The Temple Where You Go to Vomit

contributed by Paul Garrigan

When I first heard about Wat Thamkrabok, my life had reached a desperate state. An alcohol addition had almost destroyed me, and I wasn't sure how much longer I had to live. My liver was in bad shape because of my alcoholism, and I had ignored a doctor's instructions, a few years previously, to see a consultant. I now feared that it was beyond repair. I had been an alcoholic for almost two decades and my life felt completely miserable and pointless; the sort of life I wouldn't wish a dog.

I found Wat Thamkrabok on the Internet. In the past I had tried many treatment options, but none of them had worked for me; I always ended up back drinking. I had lived in Thailand for a few years by this stage so it came as a surprise to find that such a treatment facility existed right under my nose. The information on the Internet provided something that had been missing in my life for years; it gave me hope. The regime at the temple sounded harsh, but the time for pussy-footing around had passed. I felt willing to do anything if it meant an escape from the misery that my life had become. Alcoholism was about to kill me anyway so what did I have to lose? I was only thrity-six and didn't want to die.

On my first day at the temple, I met a wonderful monk called Phra Hans who answered all the questions that had bugged me for years about my addiction to alcohol. He explained that I had been using alcoholism as a tool to cope with life. Maybe this tool had worked for a short while, but it was now counter-productive. This Swiss monk explained to me that my reason for choosing alcohol as a means to cope with the pain in life was that I had lost my path in life. If I once again found my way in life, then the need for alcohol would fall away. He went on to explain that there was no way that this path would become clear to me while I was still abusing alcohol or any drug.

I spent ten days at Wat Thamkrabok and at times it was harder then even I had imagined. The temple is famous for its use of an anti-emetic to speed the detox process along. For the first five days at the temple, we were expected to take this medicine and spend the next ten minutes vomiting up pints of water into a gutter. This humbling ceremony took place in front of a large crowd of other patients and supporters. It is a difficult process, but also a magical one. Most impressively, it did indeed speed the detox process along.

Wat Thamkrabok is a Buddhist temple but there is no attempt to convert anyone to any religion. Most of the monks are ex-addicts themselves so really know what they are talking about. The temple does not charge money for its work with alcoholics and addicts, which is pretty amazing when you compare it to the big money-making business that addiction treatment sometimes seems to have become in western countries. Not to take away from the good work that many of these treatment centres do.

On my first day at the temple, the Swiss monk warned me that Wat Thamkrabok could not cure me. It would still be up to me to do the work. What the temple did provide were great tools which would give me a chance at staying sober and living a happy life. I left the temple feeling completely cured of my addiction and so will always be grateful to it and believe it to be a magical place. I appreciate, though, that there are many options which work to lead addicts and alcoholics into recovery. It would not be practical for everyone to turn up in Thailand in the hope of beating their addiction; many would go home disappointed.

About the Author:

Paul Garrigan was born in Ireland, spent his twenties in England, and now lives in Thailand. Most of the year, he works as an ESL teacher, but he's also a qualified nurse. He has one book published and another one due for release in 2010. Sphere: Related Content

Termites in Thailand and Australia

Termites are also called "White Ants", and they are particularly prevalent in warm weather countries. Thailand has more than 100 species of termites, some of which are edible (but not by me).

Homeowners, though, get a little upset when termites start eating the wooden poles of their house. I lived in Australia for 10 years, and it was necessary to spray around the house annually. Also, when the house was built, screening was laid around the foundation and around the entrance holes for the various water and sewage pipes.

Some people in Australia build houses with a metal frame, rather than wood, just to reduce the chance of termite damage. However, it was reported that one home was damaged anyway because the owner did not spray around his house (hey, it's got a metal frame, why bother?) and the termites got inside by building a mud tunnel up the concrete foundation until they found a hole into the house, then they ate a path through the drywall (which has a paper coating). Paper is made from wood pulp, in other words, it's termite food.

Information on controlling termites can be found here:
http://www.Termite-Control.info Sphere: Related Content

New Dog Video - Too Cute For Words

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Five Disadvantages of Living in Thailand

contributed by Fabletoo

I Love Thailand and Will Probably Live Here for the Rest of My Life, but It's Not Perfect

I have lived in Thailand for almost five years and I do love it. However, if you plan on coming to live in Thailand, do remember there are still disadvantages to living in Thailand especially for Westerners. Thailand is an exotic country, it's hot, it's frustrating sometimes and Thais do think differently than Westerners. Having lived here for almost five years, here are my top five frustrations with living in Thailand.

1. The Heat. A huge disadvantage about living in Thailand is the weather. The Thais joke they have three seasons - Hot, Hotter and Hottest. It's always hot here. Of course, Thailand has a 'winter' but, in Bangkok, it normally lasts for about three days and the heat only falls to a temperature of around 85 degrees. It's still hot. So, even though many of the Thais are wearing down jackets and sweaters (seriously!), most Westerners will still find it uncomfortable, sweaty and hot. According to the World Metereological Organization, Bangkok is the world's hottest city, so when a Thai tells you they have a winter, don't believe them.

2. The Traffic. The traffic in many Thai cities, but especially in Bangkok, is appalling, and this is probably the biggest disadvantage of living in Thailand for most Westerners. Traffic jams are a daily occurrence and, despite the Thai government saying they are trying to solve the problem, they seem to get worse every year. If I leave my house to go to work at 6am, it takes me less than 15 minutes to get there. If I leave my house at 7:15am, my commute to work now takes 2 hours. The one main street I travel to work on will simply be one huge traffic jam, which barely moves. Bangkok is also gridlocked on every street and every major freeway. Many Thais spend hours every day just sitting in traffic jams. This is also why they will normally organize meetings between 10am and 2pm. It's the only time the traffic isn't horrendous.

3. The Pollution. Bangkok pollution is really bad. It hangs in a gray pall all over the city and never really dissipates. For the first few months I was here, it always seemed difficult to breathe and was a huge disadvantage to my well being. Unfortunately, you do get used to the Bangkok pollution, and now I barely even notice it. My lungs probably do though.

4. Conversation. Most Thais do not speak very much English so conversation is difficult. I work in an office with all Thai employees, (I am the only Westerner), so that can sometimes be a little frustrating when I long for a 'Western conversation'. However, Thais are so nice and friendly, this fact does make up for the lack of Westerners at work.

5. Obtaining Visas and Work Permits. This can be frustrating in Thailand as the rules change all the time. I teach here and all teachers now have to have university degrees and TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certification, as well as at least 2 years teaching experience. Without this, you cannot get a work permit in Thailand and, even with these qualifications, it requires many trips to immigration before you are completely legal.

Overall, living in Thailand is really wonderful and I do plan on staying here permanently. The above five disadvantages are very frustrating at times, but the advantages so far outweigh the disadvantages, most of the time they are nothing more than a minor nuisance. Sphere: Related Content