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NigerianWhisper
Joined: 21 Mar 2009
Posts: 176
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 Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 4:46 pm Post subject: |
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| sigmoid wrote: |
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I will arrive in BKK on April 2.
Thanks for the help. I will keep you posted as to my progress. |
I'm very surprised that no one has bothered to mention that you'll be arriving less than 2 weeks before Songkrahn, the Thai New Year (also celebrated in neighboring countries).
This is one of the worst times to show up as the festivities mostly consist of splashing people with water and smearing them with a kind of powder, whether you're interested or not. |
Depends on how old you are I suppose. I've always thought it was one of the best times of the year. Sanook mak mak! |
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Scott R
Joined: 21 Jan 2011
Posts: 59
Location: Rangsit Thailand
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| Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 4:54 am Post subject: |
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| Actually water throwing in April might be a good thing. |
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MaiPenRai
Joined: 17 Jan 2006
Posts: 390
Location: BKK
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| Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 4:20 am Post subject: |
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| I've always thought it was one of the best times of the year. Sanook mak mak! |
Agreed! But one should really be prepared as it can be an extremely hectic time fo the year. Here are a few tips for those who are new and will be enjoying Songkran.
1. Wherever you want to be for Songkran, get there 2-3 days in advance as travel will be insane during the Songkran week. millions of people trying to get to their hometowns over 2-3 days.
2. Get some ziplock bags or waterproof bags for your wallet, camera, ID, phone, etc. In many cases you will not be aware of someone about to douse you with water.
3. Dont wear any clothes that you arent preapred to get soaked and possibly covered with powder.
4. Expect a party atmosphere and enjoy accordingly. Nothing worse than a grumpy ol' farang walking down main street moaning and yelling at people who splash him/her.
5. Expect standstill traffic on the main roads in every Thai city/town during the day.
6. Don't expect any "work" to get done during this week. Places (hotels, restaurants, bars, shops, etc) will be open, but important paperwork for visas/work permit, etc...forget it.
7. Expect to get wet and stay wet all day, anywhere and at anytime. Most cities tend to limit the water fighting to the daytime hours, but tourist areas often continue all day.
8. DON"T GET ON A MOTORBIKE DURING SONGKRAN. Hundreds of people die every year in motorbike accidents due to drunk driving AND from getting splashed in the face with buckets of water while driving.
9. If you smile and hold up your hands that you dont wish to be splashed/doused with a bucket of water or sprayed with a watergun, in most cases most thais will be ok with that but will want to pour a small amout of water down your head/back or put a small amount of powder on your cheeks.
Best of luck and have fun. |
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NigerianWhisper
Joined: 21 Mar 2009
Posts: 176
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| Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 7:01 pm Post subject: |
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| Excellent advice. |
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teresa_c
Joined: 07 Mar 2011
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 5:36 am Post subject: |
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| Don't try too hard to avoid Songkran. A lot of foreigners really enjoy it, even more than Thai people do in some cases. |
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Scott R
Joined: 21 Jan 2011
Posts: 59
Location: Rangsit Thailand
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 10:25 am Post subject: |
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I thought it was important to check back in and thank all those for their encouragement. I landed in Bangkok, stepped off the curb and got a job. I will be teaching general science to middle school Thai kids in Rangsit. The pay is where you said it would be and it is 15 hours per week teaching time. I did make a contact before I landed but I absolutely needed to be in Thailand to interview.
Thanks again |
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beenthere96-2005
Joined: 01 Aug 2010
Posts: 79
Location: St Louis
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 3:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Scott R wrote: |
I thought it was important to check back in and thank all those for their encouragement. I landed in Bangkok, stepped off the curb and got a job. I will be teaching general science to middle school Thai kids in Rangsit. The pay is where you said it would be and it is 15 hours per week teaching time. I did make a contact before I landed but I absolutely needed to be in Thailand to interview.
Thanks again |
Thanks for checking back in. I am 53 and have a B.S. degree in Music Education but am not certified. I have 3 years experience at one language school in Korea as well. I was considering Vietnam but am not impressed with what I hear about the place. I would prefer a rural area anyway. The only time that I went to Thailand I transferred through the international airport and went directly to Chaing Rai for a night. It was pretty boring there, but that is what I wanted. All I am looking for a is a sunny place to work and some cheap beers after work. |
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NigerianWhisper
Joined: 21 Mar 2009
Posts: 176
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| Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 6:40 am Post subject: |
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| Scott R wrote: |
I thought it was important to check back in and thank all those for their encouragement. I landed in Bangkok, stepped off the curb and got a job. I will be teaching general science to middle school Thai kids in Rangsit. The pay is where you said it would be and it is 15 hours per week teaching time. I did make a contact before I landed but I absolutely needed to be in Thailand to interview.
Thanks again |
Congratulations. |
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Scott R
Joined: 21 Jan 2011
Posts: 59
Location: Rangsit Thailand
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| Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 8:37 am Post subject: |
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| About Songkran, I was advised by the locals to buy a really big water gun and defend myself, but I think being armed might not be a good idea since I am seriously outnumbered. |
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Scott R
Joined: 21 Jan 2011
Posts: 59
Location: Rangsit Thailand
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| Posted: Mon May 09, 2011 12:34 pm Post subject: |
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| First day of class today which means I graduated from a pre-noobie to a noobie. Thanks, again. |
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bexarwithme
Joined: 29 May 2010
Posts: 13
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| Posted: Mon May 09, 2011 7:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Scott. Thank you for the update. I do hope you will come back in a few months with an update to let us know how things are going. You may be giving inspiration to some of us older corporate drones with thoughts of doing the same thing. Thanks again. |
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