Korean Job Discussion Forums

kangnam mafioso · Joined: 27 Jan 2003 Location: Teheranno

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0786881852/ref=sib_dp_pt/102-4957034-3289762#reader-link

liehtzu · Joined: 24 Mar 2003 Location: the sticks, Korea

Taught there for a year. In the north, in a small city near Chiang Mai. Never had to deal with hookers on streetcorners or annoying tuk-tuk drivers or people trying to rip me off. I can't recall and instance of someone trying to rip me off, even in Chiang Mai, which is tourist saturation central. Even there hookers on streetcorners is a pretty rare occurance. Just one strip where the girls all lean out of the bars and woo-hoo Hey big fella at you and that I can live with. I woo-hoo back. Only late at night when all the bars and discos close do you get your streetwalkers, and not many, and most are ladyboys. Loved seeing drunken tourists try to chat one up thinking it's a woman. That nonsense cracked me up.

Otherwise I lived a year in the sun in a land that defines ease and care-free, teaching lovely bubble-brains between the ages of 16 and 21 the finer points of the English language. Chiang Mai always good for a pip out on the weekend, though glad I didn't live there. Clubs packed wall to wall with pretty girls drinking whiskey and a floor show with high-heeled boots and micro-shorts. Thailand is kind of a dream. I'm glad I did it but I was ready to go when I left. It's an impossibly nice, superficial place. I loved - and still love - it to death, but at the same time I yearned for some substance.

The general amount of self-absorbsion and indifference I encountered among the young people there - especially the women - tops even the Hello Kittiness of Korea. Break time, ten minutes, makeup cases and cell phones come out at astonishing speed, even amongst the dudes. Out of a total of 8 or so boys I had in my last semester there (for some reason English department was overwhelmingly female), more than half were ladyboys in training. That nonsense cracked me up.

I had some good students, some sharp students who I hope will go on to success. However, the majority of them will never get past their mirrors. It's a shame, because even the generation before them had some guts. My administrator bemoaned the general vacuousness of the students, saying that in her day they were nothing like they are now. Most people don't realize that even as late as the 1980s Thailand had a military dictatorship and massive student protests that were often violently put down.

Thailand's riddling in many ways, and frustrating now and then. But a wonderful country, no place else like it on Earth. Coming to much rougher Vietnam directly from there was jarring. You want rip-offs and annoying drivers, come here. Seems that the worst thing most people on this forum can say about Thailand is that you can't insult the king. So what? Don't do it, it's not terribly difficult. Besides, the king's a stand-up guy. It's only their fascist of a prime minister who needs the boot.

By the way, unnattractive girls? Huh? I mean, hell, they aren't Vietnamese girls, but still...! I have no idea where some people were that they were surrounded by girls with no teeth, bad breath, and disfigurements, but it was a place I missed in my travels in Thailand!

peppermint · Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 3:44 am Post subject:

Being trapped in a minivan for several hours while the driver earnestly sings bad Thai pop ( both lyrics and guitar parts, off key) is up there, though I suppose that's an experience not limited to Thailand.

rapier · Joined: 16 Feb 2003

Interesting to join the Anti-Thaksin rally in Bangkok today. about 50.000 people gathered into the park near the grand palace, great atmosphere. I might even be on TV

peppermint · Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 6:01 am Post subject:

So there really was something going on in that area then. I asked a couple of cab drivers to take me to the grand palace, and they kept mumbling about having to charter a boat which seemed odd

rapier · Joined: 16 Feb 2003

Prof 88 · Joined: 03 Mar 2006

I worked in a public hospital in Bangkok, and quickly realized that HIV is nowhere near as widespread as some not in the know think. HIV is far more widespread in my country, the USA.

Prof 88 · Joined: 03 Mar 2006

unintelligent

deessell · Joined: 08 Jun 2005

It's cheap but very easy to spend a lot of money.....

Tiger Beer · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

desultude · Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 10:12 pm Post subject:

Zark · Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 5:55 pm Post subject:

If you get away from the tourist areas - and don't dress like a tourist - you'll find your experience with Thailand will be quite different.

It's not perfect, has its problems, but no place is perfect.

For a good combination of lifestyle - relaxation - good people and good food - it can't be beat.

kangnam mafioso · Joined: 27 Jan 2003 Location: Teheranno

peppermint · Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 6:51 pm Post subject:

I went up to Sangkhlaburi last month, only two guesthouses in the town. Met more volunteer teachers there than tourists.