To ppl who are thinking about going to perth to get the visa I got:

My friend enquired about requirements for him and they said they are closing the consulate in october.

Tbh, I wouldn't swim in the water at Pattaya beach itself LOL. But there are plenty that are good beaches further south of there. Sorry don't know names but have been to a few, Jomtiem is fine.

Its all down to priorities and what your looking for. For me a beach wouldn't even be in my top 10 reasons for being somewhere but for others it maybe in the top 3. Pattaya has everything else and a much lower cost of living/close to Bkk for flights to get around the region etc. If I was to have an extended stay in Thailand it would deffo be on the eastern seaboard, probably not in Patts itself, but certainly within a 5 miles radius.

I've lived longer than you in Thailand. I was out here before you. I lived alone for 7 months in pattaya for gods sake. Wtf do you think I was doing all that time?

Now I have a gf. So shoot me for not going out 5 nights a week like y'all.

So annoying when relative Thailand noobs attack your street cred like this.

The beach in Pattaya is disgusting imo. Jomtien is bearable but a far cry from the avg Phuket beach.

But you can take a boat to Koh Larn for a reasonable amount and there they have beaches comparable to Phuket. It's not to far away either. Like 15 minutes by speedboat, not sure how long by ferry.

phuket is so dead

hey johann, have you been out in the last 5 days? wanna come to a party at kalim beach tonight?

Yes Vincent, I've been outside almost every day.

I just got home from the gym and I'm pretty hooked on SC2 so I think I'll pass thanks.

Does anybody have experience with an aircard in bkk? If so what is your experience and where would I go to get one? thanks

So I kind of missed the boat on the teaching discussion.

I haven't really posted in a while because I don't have any stories I feel are worth writing about. Just getting taken around Nakhon with Thai peoples at night, parties and girls. Mostly during the week I go do something after school socially, go home for an hour or so, go to dinner, blaze and chill until I go to sleep before 11 (I know lame). Weekends either set up/get invited to some birthday party, (pretty much only farang who tries to speak thai and kicks it with thais so supply and demand here) or go up and see this girl in samui. Getting some thai lessons so that will help. Oh the only cool thing was girl in Samui set me up to teach 6 bargirls Engrish out of her apartment for 300bt/hr each. I had a hard time keeping it serious, but not a bad gig, not sure if I can get it regularly though.

Teaching
3 months into it, I'm still liking it. I grind at school, (when FTP isn't down...) only teach 18 of the 40 hours I’m here. I play NL10-NL25 and now win pretty consistently. I plan to move up in a month or two. I wouldn't like having to rely on poker income to support myself. I like that I can teach and take things slow with poker and life. It just makes things seem a little more long term. I make 30k and that's the most of any of the other teachers I talk to, (some as low as 22k). I also didn’t get any teaching certificate, just searched on Dave’s and talked to the headmaster and he thought I was smart. In college I tutored and ran a debate camp for the team so that helped.

Working in Bkk I could make 50k, have some teachers I know that could help me out and have been talked to about working up there next year. Know teachers with Celtas that make 60k there. Still 50k in Bangkok is going to be I'd guess similar to 30k here, (rent+bills=3k for one of nicer neighbourhoods in the city). I go out almost every night and go to Samui 2-3 times a month and still end up saving about 10k each month. If I run good/get good enough to be beating NL50 and have a solid cushion of finances I would seriously consider quitting.

I just can't comment to teaching in Bangkok or anywhere else, because I can't really comment on living there. The things I like about living here are celeb-status with the locals, super cheap prices, and a ****-ton of college girls/nursing students. Also just a super laid-back slow style of life that other people have said is different than being in Bangkok which has a more big-city fast-paced feel.

So I'd rather be a poker player making 60-70k a month than a teacher making 30k-60k a month. Big surprise. I think poker is pretty awesome though and played it instead of jobs during college and the year after college. I came here knowing I'd have time to grind and hopefully get back to owning, it's a totally different story for those that have no other income source and plan to just teach. The job itself is just pretty easy and fun for me. I don't know why, maybe I’m just not a tard. Our other teacher has stormed out of a class before and you can tell it really drains on 2/4 of the people I work with. The few times I kick it with other teachers it's constant bitching about their students and work.

The education system does suck, I'll admit to that. I want to teach the kids things that are important to be able to communicate in English, but the Thai teachers force curriculum that just doesn't do that. I've been told and I agree that it's just part of a save face culture. A Thai english teacher who has been studying and teaching for years knows everything there is to know about grammar rules and spelling but because they never use the language speaking, reading, writing and never hear it they still have a tough time communicating. So as opposed to do things that would help their students improve, they'll just pound home dynamic/stative verbs, adjective order, and other things that wouldn't make a difference in communicating to a native English speaker.

No one fails, and there are some kids that don't give a ****, but really not many, the kids have to pay extra to learn with Farang teachers and pass a test so there’s usually some interest there. It's a private school so just rich kids that are either well-behaved or fake it well.

I agree with one poster that said being a teacher won't make you more in with the culture. I do that all by myself; my roommate for instance just doesn't do it and just straight up kicks it and relaxes all the time. I guess being a teacher would allow you to have a group of teacher-friends and you'd all get to live in Thailand and go see a beach once in a while. Like a tour group. I guess it's kind of 50/50; sometimes the young teachers invite me out, meet one of their friends, and go from there. Other times I can't do stuff during the day because I'm teaching. If I had tons of money and just played poker in Bangkok i'd probably just kick it with 2p2ers and ship bargirls and gamble on random ****, I mean that really is the nuts.

So ummm in conclusion, I don't believe anyone that is saying "oh i ship stacks playing poker but I wanna teach for xyz" uh huh. Teaching in general, could be fun, could suck, it's about the person you are what you put into it. Everything is what you make of it, or as the Thais would say up to you.

Chok dee everybody

Anyone have a dentist or dental center to recommend in Bangkok. Please include what you went for, service, and price please. I'm looking to get a checkup and maybe whitening done.

lol @ relative forum noobs not getting the joke

lol @ not realizing I was leveling

Bangkok Dental Hospital = the nuts.

+ 1

I recently went there a couple of times for checkup, cleaning & fillings.
Price wise its not the cheapest but i i think its great value for what you get. Best treatment & facility i have ever been to & I have lived in Swe & Aus.
I had 1 checkup, 2 cleaning sessions & 2 filling sessions (4 fillings) for around 8k total

Does anybody have experience with an aircard in bkk? If so what is your experience and where would I go to get one? thanks

Sounds pretty cheap to me

Okay, heading to Thailand for the first time in a couple of weeks. A few quick questions:

I'm spending a couple of days in Phuket (outskirts of Patong) before I travel down to Koh Samui to meet some friends. I will be in Phuket by myself, so I'm looking for a recommendation of what bar to hit up during the day for some relaxing drinks that will offer me the chance to meet some people / have a chat (possibly a bar with a pool?).

Also, a recommendation of what bar to check out after dark would be great. I am undecided on the whole situation, but one with a mix of tourists and thai "female company" would be great to check out.

If I do get drunk and decide to go back to the hotel with a thai girl, do any of the hotels impose restrictions on this, or is it just accepted cultural behaviour over there?

That's all for now, thanks in advance for any responses!

everywhere is cheap compared to australia

well patong is full of bars so dont worry about getting a drink.

if you want to play pool we usually go to chang club(open 24/7) which is on soi sansabai. ask around or take a motorbike taxi there for example

after dark activities you should probably check out bangla road.

remember NOT to go anywhere with touts who will approach you a lot since you will probably look like the first timer you are

my personal favorites are a irish bar(forgot the name) near mcdonalds on bangla that has livemusic and one of the few places that carry magners cider. another favorite is suzy wongs which is a bit different kind of place.

if you havent found a girl up to this point try out a night club. Tiger, seduction and hollywood from best to worst in my opinion (i dont go out much so someone else should tell you which of the discos to hit)

i am pretty sure even these places cover few nights for you

have fun

Some hotels in Patong will not allow you to bring local girls to your room. "Thais are not allowed in this hotel" a friend of mine was told once...

I think most hotels are fine with it as long as the girl leaves/shows her ID at the front desk

Always check in advance, some will charge you extra to bring a guest if they do allow it. Get on the Thailand forums and do the research before you go...............

Lessu, if you guys are in Phuket around Aug 20-22 and want to meet up for a beer and game of pool, let me know and I'll be there.

When I was asking about pool bars, I was actually referring to bars with swimming pools that you can drink in (my hotel has one, but I don't know how big a hotel it is), but thanks for all the great input guys!

anybody know how much they charge for whitening?

I need to buy a really sturdy suitcase. Any recommendations?

8k US dollars?

I think its safe to say even I can LOL that. Dentistry is very cheap in Thailand, that will be 8k Baht or a little over $200 US..........