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Hed_Kandi
Joined: 06 Apr 2005
Posts: 45
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 Posted: Thu May 26, 2005 7:23 pm Post subject: Where Should I Go In Thailand ? I Need Recommendations ! |
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Okay, so I'm going to teach English in Thailand as of September 2005. I have a Tesol certificate (no degree Sorry). And I'm trying to decide where to teach.
My main reason for going to Thailand and teaching English, is to learn Muay Thai - in Thailand, and to enjoy the odd day at the beach.
I don't want to be in a big city like Bangkok where cars own the streets, but rather somewhere along the coasts where mopeds and bicycles are the main modes of transportation.
I don't want to be in some tourist trap area where the prices are jacked sky high to rip off tourists. I also want to be somewhere where I can experience the "real" thailand life and culture - not a place that is lined with bars where "farangs" are getting drunk or dancing at raves all night while dropping tabs of ecstacy. (Eg. Ko Pha Nhan)
I wanna go somewhere with a slow pace of life, little american influence, with a cheap cost of living, where I can learn Muay Thai - when I'm not in class.
Any recommendations ? |
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tedkarma
Joined: 17 May 2004
Posts: 1598
Location: The World is my Oyster
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| Posted: Thu May 26, 2005 8:44 pm Post subject: |
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Uh oh, you may have a romanticized vision of Thailand. Even out in the rural areas - cars and trucks rule the roads. Maybe waaayyy up northeast or almost to the Malaysian border down south?
Though others disagree - I tend to think that there is more British/European influence than American influence. At least in the area where I live that is true. (for statistics junkies - no data and no links - just opinion)
Keep an eye out for Kenkannif to ask about working without a degree. |
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JosephP
Joined: 13 May 2003
Posts: 445
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| Posted: Fri May 27, 2005 3:37 am Post subject: Re: Where Should I Go In Thailand ? I Need Recommendations |
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| Hed_Kandi wrote: |
Any recommendations ? |
Yes, I do have a small smidgen of advice. What you are looking for will not be easy to find and I'm not so sure it even exists. You might have to take a punt and buy a ticket to Thailand and search for your "Shangri-la."
If such a place did exist I don't think that someone would blab about it here. |
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Sheep-Goats
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
Posts: 527
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| Posted: Sat May 28, 2005 12:02 pm Post subject: Re: Where Should I Go In Thailand ? I Need Recommendations |
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| Hed_Kandi wrote: |
Okay, so I'm going to teach English in Thailand as of September 2005. I have a Tesol certificate (no degree Sorry). And I'm trying to decide where to teach.
My main reason for going to Thailand and teaching English, is to learn Muay Thai - in Thailand, and to enjoy the odd day at the beach. |
Most Muay Thai schools/camps in Thailand are either in the extreme outskirts of Bangkok or in smaller Thai towns nearby, so finding a gym that could teach you won't be a problem. The problem will be that if the gym is any good and/or has a few trainers around who can at least garble a bit of English at you (do you even know the Thai words for "knee" or "ouch"?) will cost about 800B a day for training. This fee usually covers a morning training session (6am to 9am, perhaps), lunch, afternoon training (3pm to 6pm) and gives you a room to sleep in -- maybe your own, maybe aircon, more likely a shared bunk room with a bunch of Thais. This fee, coupled with the typical training times, means that it's very very difficult to teach English and learn kickboxing. The only setup I could imagine would be doing only the morning session, then teaching English in the evenings. This kind of English teaching would probably not cover even the cost of your Muay Thai lessons, let alone other living expenses (movies, western food, girlfriend, phone, flight home, etc etc).
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I don't want to be in a big city like Bangkok where cars own the streets, but rather somewhere along the coasts where mopeds and bicycles are the main modes of transportation. |
Motorcycles are the main form of transport in Bangkok as well as "the coast". No Thai rides a bicycle -- it's too hot. Personally, I'd much rather have a street full of cars than two-stroke crapcycles with their 100 decible revs and blue smoke, but if that's your preference...
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| I don't want to be in some tourist trap area where the prices are jacked sky high to rip off tourists. I also want to be somewhere where I can experience the "real" thailand life and culture - not a place that is lined with bars where "farangs" are getting drunk or dancing at raves all night while dropping tabs of ecstacy. (Eg. Ko Pha Nhan) |
Prices are astondingly cheap in most "tourist" areas of Thailand. Excepting Ko Phi Phi, Puket, and most of Samui, prices aren't "jacked sky high." There's far too much competition.
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I wanna go somewhere with a slow pace of life, little american influence, with a cheap cost of living, where I can learn Muay Thai - when I'm not in class.
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Doesn't exist. Work at a beachside coffee bar in Santa Barbara, and when you've saved enough money for a six month stint in Thailand (that'd be about 7,000 bucks) head over and take all the muay thai you'd like.
And now, for the rest of the story:
Your statement about "real" thailand life and culture is truly the most ignorant one of your post. I really truly don't mean to be rude, but you should realize that if a country allows farangs to dance on the beach and take E, or eat bannana pancakes, or provides good hospitals and public transport , or has a billion bars, it's a part of the local culture that allows that and, as such, these things are almost always reflective of "real" Thailand more than bamboo huts and pitted faced rice farmers. I mean, for god's sake, look at the name of the country! ThaiLAND. That's the offical Thai name. That's how they say it in Thai. You think by some miraculous cirucmstance the word "land" in a Sino-Tibetan language has happened to mean the same thing as "land" in an Anglo-Saxon langauage? The name was taken to make the country seem more western and therefore somewhat harder to colonize -- and this typifies the Thainess that you've so thoughly missed. A Thai will chop off a finger to save a hand -- they'll become Western to not become colonized -- they'll accept (unlike the Chinese) that their local herbal medicines aren't up to par with western healthcare when presented with appropriate evidence. Thais are not afraid of becoming westernized. This is a double edged sword -- it facilitates wesernization, but because westernization is a tradional value of Thailand (by which I mean that Thais don't typically fight foreign wants or desires with ignorance or tarrifs) allowing it to continue keeps the core values of Thainess alive -- namely: a free living easy life without much reguard for consequences of present actions.
What you're saying is the equivalent of saying only life in a small town in Kansas can be "real American life" and that any experience in San Francisco's Misson district, or New York's Little Italy, or even just downtown Atlanta, would somehow be a fake America. In this respect, the truth is that Bangkok represents in more ways than it doesn't the Thailand that Thais want and, therefore, is somwhat more genuine than Nowhereburi -- which would be more a representation of poverty than dream. Be grateful that Thailand is a place that wants foreigners around and happy -- rather than locked away and then let out when they're useful, like in some many other countries in Asia. |
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Hed_Kandi
Joined: 06 Apr 2005
Posts: 45
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| Posted: Sat May 28, 2005 5:37 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the info there, I appreciate that you took the time to write it. Anyways, you seem to know a lot about Thailand so I thought I'd ask you a few questions.
1) All I have is a Tesol certificate. Realistically, what kind of money can I look at making in a city like Chiang Mai ? Do you think that I could make about 25000 Baht a month?
2) Is there things that you recommend I do before I leave? Certain things that I bring?
3) Also, which cities/towns do you think are most enjoyable to live in Thailand based on what I told you that I'm looking for.
Thanks |
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Rteacher
Joined: 21 May 2005
Posts: 1
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Sun May 29, 2005 7:48 am Post subject: |
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| I'm in Korea now, but I lived in Chiang Mai for two months when I took a TEFL certificate course (with TEXT-and-TALK). You can rent a decent room by the month cheap (about $200 month) and the local culture is great. Kickboxing also seems to be big there. You can probably get that salary, but there is usually a lot of competition for jobs - especially during the high tourist seasons when "treckers" go door-to-door to schools and businesses looking for temperary teaching work. Unless you get really lucky with good contacts, I would expect it to take at least a couple weeks of full-time job searching before you find something...You might also try advertising private English lessens with some posters and maybe an ad in the Chiang Mai News. Good luck. |
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Sheep-Goats
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
Posts: 527
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| Posted: Sun May 29, 2005 11:05 am Post subject: |
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| Hed_Kandi wrote: |
Thanks for the info there, I appreciate that you took the time to write it. Anyways, you seem to know a lot about Thailand so I thought I'd ask you a few questions.
1) All I have is a Tesol certificate. Realistically, what kind of money can I look at making in a city like Chiang Mai ? Do you think that I could make about 25000 Baht a month? |
That's within possibility, even given that you don't have a degree. Get a cellphone when you arrive and make some calls to English schools advertising on ajarn.com. Email won't do it. Be sure to show up neatly dressed (tie / dress shirt / slacks) if they take the bait and let you in for an interview.
I expect if you really try hard it may take you weeks to find an English teaching job. Expect to spend at least a couple weeks doing so, anyway. There're lots of low-end English teachers looking for work there, and you'll be among them.
Once you have a job and know your schedule there you can start looking for a place to teach you a bit of muay thai in the mornings (or some other time, if you're working then). The good thing about Chiang Mai is that there's a lot of people trying to offer farang Muay Thai lessons there which means you might be able to find something outside of the typical Thai training schedule. How experienced a kickboxer are you? If you're a beginner, Chiang Mai is probably ideal.
Just to let you know, I taught kickboxing in the states before coming over here and haven't had a chance to train, even during vacations, simply because if I decided to that I wouldn't have been able to afford to do anything else. But if you're willing to work in a day or two a week, at least that's something. And Chiang Mai is probably the easiest place to set something up like that that.
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2) Is there things that you recommend I do before I leave? Certain things that I bring? |
Clothes are best left behind apart from what you need to start up (a week of casual clothes and a week of business clothes.)
Be sure to bring those CDs, DVDs and a couple of books that you like most. You'll have a really hard time finding anything more than a year old as far as CDs or DVDs go, and while Chiang Mai has good bookshops as far as Thailand goes, finding something you like is still hit and miss.
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3) Also, which cities/towns do you think are most enjoyable to live in Thailand based on what I told you that I'm looking for. |
Chiang Mai isn't a bad bet, really. |
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Dunk
Joined: 05 Apr 2005
Posts: 16
Location: Bangkok
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| Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2005 1:27 pm Post subject: Things from home |
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Agree with Sheep-Goats on the need to bring viewing material for a taste of home, but only obscure shows or films that you love ! You can find DVD's well old down Silom Rd and in MBK shopping centre - I have spaghetti westerns for example, a great find ! So old films are not a problem.
CD's likewise, so many its incredible, you just have to know where to look for older stuff.
Don't waste space in your bag unless you can't survive without a particular favourite.
By the way, bizarre rant against Chinese medicine there SG. It knocks the socks off Western drugs that you're hassled into firing down your neck for lots of cash. All natural too.
Cheers, Dunk. |
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sigmoid
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 1276
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| Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2005 2:32 pm Post subject: |
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| I mean, for god's sake, look at the name of the country! ThaiLAND. That's the offical Thai name. That's how they say it in Thai. |
As usual, I agree with your main points, but this is slightly inaccurate. Yes, the official name of Thailand is the Kingdom of Thailand, but in Thai the name is Prathet Thai ประเทศไทย. This word appears on coins, stamps and documents. The word Prathet is usually used in the names of other countries as well, such as Prathet Angrit ประเทศอังกฤษ - England. For some reason, the word Rataban Thai รัฐบาลไทย [the Thai government] appears on banknotes instead. In conversation Thais often refer to their country as Muang Thai เมืองไทย . |
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Henry_Cowell
Joined: 27 May 2005
Posts: 3352
Location: Berkeley
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| Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2005 5:36 pm Post subject: |
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Sheep-Goats, that was the most amazingly accurate and devastating response (about Thais and Thai culture) that I've read in a long time. Bravo! But I think that somebody who chooses the name "Hed Kandi" will never understand a word of it. Remaining on a beach in Santa Barbara is the best thing that she/he could possibly do.
In a couple of months, however, she/he will be posting the exact same questions here for the umpteenth time. |
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Sheep-Goats
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
Posts: 527
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2005 7:53 am Post subject: |
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| sigmoid wrote: |
| Quote: |
| I mean, for god's sake, look at the name of the country! ThaiLAND. That's the offical Thai name. That's how they say it in Thai. |
As usual, I agree with your main points, but this is slightly inaccurate. Yes, the official name of Thailand is the Kingdom of Thailand, but in Thai the name is Prathet Thai ประเทศไทย. This word appears on coins, stamps and documents. The word Prathet is usually used in the names of other countries as well, such as Prathet Angrit ประเทศอังกฤษ - England. For some reason, the word Rataban Thai รัฐบาลไทย [the Thai government] appears on banknotes instead. In conversation Thais often refer to their country as Muang Thai เมืองไทย . |
Good points, there. I could twist it back into my argument along the Thais-love-to-absorb-Western-things line, but that would be slightly innacurate. |
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Sheep-Goats
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
Posts: 527
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2005 8:00 am Post subject: Re: Things from home |
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| Dunk wrote: |
Agree with Sheep-Goats on the need to bring viewing material for a taste of home, but only obscure shows or films that you love ! You can find DVD's well old down Silom Rd and in MBK shopping centre - I have spaghetti westerns for example, a great find ! So old films are not a problem.
CD's likewise, so many its incredible, you just have to know where to look for older stuff.
Don't waste space in your bag unless you can't survive without a particular favourite.
By the way, bizarre rant against Chinese medicine there SG. It knocks the socks off Western drugs that you're hassled into firing down your neck for lots of cash. All natural too.
Cheers, Dunk. |
Well, it took me months to find a shop that had any kind of decent jazz selection at all, and jazz is pretty easy to find in Thailand. Plus, any shop that carries that kind of stuff here will cost just as much, or more, than the CDs do back in the states, and CDs don't weigh much, so that's one area of packing where I tend to stay on the more-is-better side these days. I put all my CDs in a binder, by the way -- far too much packaging elsewise.
I've lived in China and have direct experience with Chinese medicine. My experience tells me that it's a faith-based healing thing -- eg: if you beleive in it it's an effective postively-acting placebo, but that if you don't it's utterly worthless. Note that many western drugs derive part of their effects from placebo-type reactions, but the difference between western drugs and Chinese drugs is that "part" word. Anyway, I've spoken to people who say Chinese crap keeps them from dying of AIDS, and I've spoken to people who are doctors and say that if their patient had come in sooner instead of relying on Chinese medicine they could have removed the tumor and things would probably be fine, instead of the patient being dead as they were.
What I should have emphasized more, however, is that if you get sick in China they'll be very proud to offer you thier Chinese alternative. In Thailand they go straight for what they know will make them better, and, with few exceptions in my mind, that's western medicine all the way. |
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Sheep-Goats
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
Posts: 527
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2005 8:08 am Post subject: |
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| Henry_Cowell wrote: |
| Sheep-Goats, that was the most amazingly accurate and devastating response (about Thais and Thai culture) that I've read in a long time. |
I was grumpy when I wrote it, and I should note that had I been in a cherry mood I would have said the same thing, but everything would have had a positive tone. Delusion abounds in most places in the world, but when I say things like "Thais are not afraid of becoming westernized" I really mean it as a mark in their favor. They have enough confidence in their inherent Thai-ness to know that it won't be abolished by liking a hamburger, and this means that, in the end, Thai culture is actually less in need of defense than, say, Chinese culture or French culture because it's more fluid, less fragile, and more accomodating. In short, eventually I expect the Chinese to be very different from the way they are now, but Thais will remain Thai for the forseeable future.
Not that most westerners know what that means, but then that's a good a reason as any to visit, isn't it? |
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kenkannif
Joined: 07 Apr 2004
Posts: 550
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2005 8:14 am Post subject: |
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| Now that broadband is so readily available it's easy to get most films and music you want from the 'net. There's not really much you can't get. My mate even does Corrie and Eastenders day by day. |
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Sheep-Goats
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
Posts: 527
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| Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2005 6:08 am Post subject: |
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| kenkannif wrote: |
| Now that broadband is so readily available it's easy to get most films and music you want from the 'net. There's not really much you can't get. My mate even does Corrie and Eastenders day by day. |
how much is setup and what are your monthly fees, if I might ask? |
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