Category: Thailand 2019

On deciding some more reconnaissance in Pattaya was in order, I somehow managed to land myself in smack in the middle of Russian gansterVille.

Note the language on the signs below.

Not so much scary ( so far at least ), but interesting. A lot of folks around here speak English, which is useful.

Then, on a visit to Pattaya Beach, below, I rode through small districts dominated by Indians, and then Arabs.

Without wanting to – right now – add my own wee voice to the cacophony written and said about the place, let’s just say it’s … lively. Engergetic. I think I like it.

Photos of the beach late in the afternoon are below.

After getting sent home from work, I decided a road-trip to Pattaya was in order.

I’m calling it Due Diligence.

Diligence for a solid job prospect in Pattaya. The work would be at private schools, across two locations – Aksorn Thepprasit, ( three days / week ) and Aksorn Suksa ( two days ) schools.

I got sent home from work after turning up to find the office lights off, and a small gaggle of Thai teachers sitting around eating breakfast. No-one told me the holidays started yesterday, as usual.

While the original plan had been to throw the dice and move to Vietnam to look for work, this Pattaya prospect has come up as the ‘safe’ option.

So following are some pros and cons of the Pattaya gig;

Pros

• the pay is a little better, 40k Baht v. the current 37k. Most of that would be swallowed in higher rental prices.
• it’s a private school, run under Government rules. These have a reputation for being better managed, and less corrupt.
• The school’s appearance   is much more modern, which hopefully translates to better teaching and management practices. Student fees are likely higher, thus more motivated students.
• From a telephone interview, there would be easy access to a Native English Speaking manager.
• I would be much less of a curiosity in Pattaya. I rarely see old English-speaking blokes here in Rayong. As one such, I get a little more attention from the Natives than I like. In contrast, on a quick visit to a supermarket in Pattaya, I ran across at least a dozen old blokes. More often than not, with that bronzed, wizened look which is the telltale sign of a long-stayer. Granted, one or two were still ghostly Poms, and there was even one guy wearing sandals and socks .
• After nearly 6 months, and having picked up a little Thai language, managing day-to-day is much easier here now than it was.
• It’s the safe bet, and another x months on my CV.

Cons

• IF the job is offered, and I take it, it would involve another Visa trip to Savannakhet. From research thus far, avoiding a 16-hour bus trip ( each way ) is wildly expensive. This is a biggie.
• It was a warm day, but even so, Pattaya seems hotter and more humid than Rayong.
• Working in two locations. They’re only about 8km apart, but it’s still more of a logistical challenge.
• Passing up the opportunity for further adventure, and challenge, and better salaries in Vietnam.

I find out on the 15th whether I get the job offer or not. Until then, I’m in a sort of decision limbo. It’s the term-end holidays. Not  knowing the job outcome is messing up my poor decision-making abilities  on where to take myself.

A long-ish weekend was exactly the spur I needed to break out of the recent rut.

Mid-way through my 3rd month here at the Wiang Walee, the same four hotel room walls are beginning to lose their charm.

And although Ban Chang isn’t the glamour capital of Thailand, it provided the escape I needed.

So why Ban Chang? It’s close, about 40km away, and is within the same Rayong province. This is important because it means the trip doesn’t need to be reported to Immigration. Had I travelled outside the province I would have needed to report my movements to the Thai Government, which is now enforcing the 40-year-old TM30 statute which tracks foreigners’ movements.

It’s a baby-step back toward honing my travel chops, in preparation for a trip further afield next week, when teachers take paid holidays. I’m not sure yet where I’ll head, but it’ll likely be in Thailand.

That’s because the plan right now is to leave Thailand for Vietnam on or around November 1.

Another minor reason for Ban Chang was its Expats ‘market’. But in contrast to the usual sprawling & bustling football-field-sized Thai markets, this was a small bathroom-sized shop. It’s expensive but among my purchases were a tin of Salmon. Nowhere else in Thailand have I found tinned fish of varieties I like without the marketers packing it full of sugar.

For the record, I stayed at the Suchanan Hotel & Spa for 700 baht. Comfortable bed, good balcony and view, good location, and good service. Maybe I struck them on a bad night, but the internet connection kept dropping out, which was maddening for someone trying to work online. Still, I’d probably go there again.

I discovered today that there are upsides to being in the Back of Beyond.

One of which is that hard-to-come by medications can be cheap as chips. Or not.

Metformin

Two examples of the former are Metformin, which is sounding like the new anti-ageing wonder-drug.

At least, Harvard anti-ageing researcher David Sinclair has copped to ( on Joe Rogan ) taking it daily. In his new (audio)book, Lifespan, Sinclair casually mentions that it is available only on prescription ( for diabetics ) in most countries, but is freely available over the counter in some places, such as Thailand.

As some will know, I need all the help I can get in the anti-ageing department. So 15 minutes after hearing this, I was on my scooter down the road to the nearest chemist. Ten minutes and 30 baht later, voila.

GABA

The other med which also seems easy to get is GABA, a (legal in most places ) psychoactive pill which promotes stable and relaxed moods and emotions. I ordered this around 10 years ago in New Zealand without a problem.

But the second ( and third ) time it was stopped at customs. We can’t, after all, have happy and relaxed people. The last time, I got a nasty letter from Customs warning me that I’d be prosecuted if I tried again to import it. I didn’t.

Smoking

In the ‘impossible’ category, though, are nicotine patches, which can’t be had here for love or money. OK, maybe for money – a lot of it. Around 800 baht, so I hear, for a few patches, and only in larger cities.

Smoking is widespread here. It’s common to see blokes on motorcycles chugging away on fags. My guess is that smoking is a money-spinner for the Government, which is thus reluctant to subsidise something to help stomp it out. Case in point : vaping is illegal – they haven’t yet figured out how to tax it.

… doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you.

It’s an old line, but it fits. A colleague found this Friday on a high-profile jobsite;

That’s my job, in case you missed the point. And, they’re hoping to replace me with two teachers. And there was me thinking that the long hours I was putting in to cope were all down to inexperience and ineptitude.

Maybe a little, but managing 400+ students over 15 different classes, and six different year-groups is not trivial. Of course, many teachers do it, but some probably have years of experience, and are working in their home countries.

So I’ve had enough of the grind. Just today finished totting up course marks over those 400 students. It should be time for a breather, and so it is for many teachers at work.

But, with the axe handing over my head, I now have a dilemma. Do I cruise and wait for it to fall? And hope the school honour the notice specified in the contract, or pay in lieu?

OR, do I pull the plug myself, and head for greener pastures in, for example, Vietnam?

I’m looking, but for all I know the decision may be taken out of my hands tomorrow. Watch this space.

There’s a chill in the air as I make my ritual trip down to the “Se-When” ( 7-11 ) for my morning Espresso.

As before, Google claims it’s 26 deg C, but it feels more like the 20s. I like it.

A small mobile city recently delayed my entrance to the school of a morning.

It was a case of truth being stranger than the fiction of the movie Mortal Engines

For those who haven’t had the privilege, here’s that movie’s plot summary. Cities are mobile monoliths on wheels. The larger ones swallow the smaller. The mayor of the city ( Hugo Weaving ) of London is marauding about swallowing everything it can in a bid for world domination.

So when the school hired a fleet of buses to move students to wherever, it felt the need to hire the mobile cities above.

It’s anyone’s guess what these cost, but it’s a fairly safe bet that they’re paying top dollar for the above cities, complete with gargoyles and decorations.

And never mind any consideration of a budget, or the state of the roads. By the latter, I mean that many of the roads here could be mistaken for alleyways back home. They’re narrow, uneven, often paved with cracked concrete and bumps aplenty.

Which means that the monsters above are about the least practical form of transport one could use for Thailand roads.

But never mind all that. It’s the same syndrome as a former ( Indian ) flatmate who owned an Audi, but couldn’t afford to buy gas – appearances count for more than reality.

One day he ran out of gas at home, and tried to jump-start the car. It was an automatic.