Nonthaburi Immigration
If you live in Nonthaburi you will have to use the Nonthaburi Immigration for 90 day stamps and other visa-related stuff. Finding it can be a bit difficult the first time, and I have to confess, I wouldn’t have found it so easy if it wasn’t for the help of my Thai girlfriend. This blog post will hopefully make it easier for you to find the immigration if it’s your first time going there, and will answer a few questions that you may have about the facilities they have available.
I’m assuming you already live in Nonthaburi, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this. However, depending on what part of Nonthaburi you live in, the information may be a little different. I’m going to start at The Mall Ngamwongwan, as it’s a well-known landmark with lots of transport available. From The Mall, take the 134 bus, or a taxi, or if you’re driving follow the road outside The Mall towards Bang Kae. The road is called Tannon Ngamwongwan (Tannon means road, in case you don’t know) and eventually becomes Tannon Rattanathibet. This road will take you all the way to where you’re going. Just keep going straight. You will pass Central Rattanthibet, and you should cross the Chaophraya River.
Tell the bus driver/taxi driver that you are going to Big King, Bang Yai. It’s an old derelict shopping centre but is still standing and is an easy landmark to spot due to the large yellow crown on top of the building. It’s a fair long way and you may be on the bus for 30-45 minutes depending on traffic. Once you see the big yellow crown, get off if you’re on the bus and change to taxi, or if you’re already in a taxi, from Big King, tell him to go to “Dor Mor Nonthaburi”. Hopefully he will know where it is. If not, he should be able to ask a local for directions. Otherwise, show him this map.
After Big King, you should drive along for about 5 minutes until you come to a small underpass. The driver should follow the underpass then turn left. From here, there are signs for the immigration. The immigration really is in the middle of nowhere and is surrounded by rice fields.
Once at the immigration just collect a Queue ticket and fill in the correct form. There is a printing service available and you can have photos taken there too. You can buy snacks and drinks from vendors outside and the toilet facilities are good. I had to wait at this immigration a bit longer than I did when I used to go to Chaengwattana, but I got my stamp and I’m happy!
So that’s it! A quick guide on how to get to Nonthaburi Immigration. Once you know where it is, it’s really not that hard to find. If you have any questions, leave a comment and I will try to answer you ASAP.
Thailand Top 5 Dating Sites
If you’re considering using a Thai dating site, but don’t know where to start, this blog post has been written to save you time and frustration in your search for beautiful Thai girls. Below are five of the best dating sites in which to meet Thai girls.
This website deserves to be given first place. It’s one of the best designed Thai dating sites on the web and has been around for ages. I joined Thailovelinks in 2007 and it’s the reason I decided to move to Thailand. I moved here in 2009 and have lived here ever since; enjoying the life and the never ending stream of beautiful Thai girls.
Another great Thai dating site where you can meet Thai girls for fun or long-term relationships. The website has a testimonials section where you can read genuine success stories and there are lots of links to resources and other helpful information which will help you in making your decision. The website is well-designed and easy to navigate, giving it a well-deserved second place in Thailand’s top 5 dating sites.
Although this website has girls from all over Asia, there are still loads of Thai girls on there. The other good thing about this site is that if you do fancy checking out some other Asian girls, you can easily browse different nationalities such as Filipino, Korean, and Japanese. The website is well-designed and user-friendly with loads of helpful resources to help you make a decision.
A Thai dating site that I recently discovered is Goodthaigirl.com. Considering the high quality of the girls on there, and the professional and sleek design of the website, I’m surprised I didn’t find it earlier. The site offers numerous ways to connect with Thai girls (such as instant chat, messaging etc) and there are loads of videos and testimonials to help you when deciding to join. The site has been around since 2008 and is a trusted dating website.
One of the most recent Thai dating sites that I have discovered is ThaiForLove.com. As soon as I saw this site I knew it was up there among the best. The modern and sleek design instantly won my trust and I decided to create an account with them to see what kind of girls they have on there. The website has been designed by people who have extensive experience in Thailand and they have tailored the site to make finding your dream Thai girl as easy as possible.
How to Cheat on your Thai Girlfriend with Bar Girls and not get Caught
Living in Thailand proves just too tempting for most guys. With an army of extremely attractive girls right on your doorstep, it’s not easy to behave yourself. But getting involved with another girl can lead to problems. Thai girls tend to latch onto guys like a limpet to a rock, so if you want something discreet and easy to forget, bar girls are the best option. Admittedly, bar girls are sometimes a bit rough. But you can still find a few gems among the rubble if you look closely enough. If you’ve thought about cheating on your gf with a bar girl, but don’t want to get caught, there are a few basic principles that you need to follow to make sure no one gets hurt. Here are 4 things to consider.
1. You need an airtight excuse as to where you are going.
You don’t want to suddenly tell your gf that you’re going out on a night that you never went out on before. If you do things that are out of the ordinary, she will get suspicious. Ways in which you can get airtight excuses are:
a) have a friend call you and invite you out for his “birthday” or some other special occasion.
b) tell her that you have a party at work that you can’t avoid, or even use a real one to your advantage. You could cancel the night out with your work colleagues and go out to meet a girl instead.
c) find some clubs or meetups and tell her that you will attend one. I occasionally go to the Bangkok Chess Club. If she sees that you have a hobby or interest, she won’t question you if you say you want to get more involved by joining a club.
2. Never give the girl your phone number.
Whenever I have hooked up with a bar girl, the same thing usually happens: “When will you come and see me again?” “Can I have your number?” And so on. If you must give her a number, try carrying a spare sim so that you can give her that one. But there is NO reason why you would have to give her your number unless you really want to see her again. She’s a bar girl. It’s her job to sleep with guys.
3. Don’t ever carry or keep condoms in your wallet.
Thai girls won’t think anything of looking through your phone or Facebook to see who you have been chatting with. So don’t assume she won’t look through your wallet if she gets a chance. Don’t take any chances. Buy condoms from 7-Eleven before sleeping with the girl, and give them to her as a tip when you leave. Or just use them all in one night!
4. Don’t go to places near your home. Don’t shit on your own doorstep, as they say!
You would start to squirm a little if you bumped into one of your gf’s friends while walking arm-in-arm with a bar girl. Best to choose bars as far away from home as possible. Luckily, most of the bars are in designated areas, away from family life. So it shouldn’t be too hard to be secretive about your sexploits.
Most of this stuff is actually just common sense. If you are careful, and don’t get guilt pangs, then you should be okay. Guilt can often lead some guys to admit what they’ve done. And even though she will act calm for like the first few seconds, believe me, you’ve just kicked up a shit storm that aint going away any time in the foreseeable future. Thai girls flip 180 when you wrong them. You don’t ever want to see that side of a Thai girl. Trust me, I’ve seen it and I’m lucky to be alive!
How Cheaply Can I live in Thailand?
Living in Thailand can be very cheap, especially if you don’t care for non-stop excitement and entertainment. If you’re a tourist and you’re here for a few weeks, then understandably you would want to see as much as possible in the short time you have. In those cases you might spend a lot more. But for people living here full-time, you can live extremely cheaply. I spend on average 1000 baht per week. That’s because me and my girl cook at home and rarely go out. The only time I spend more is when we have to pay bills or on special occasions.
So what is expensive in Thailand?
Most of the modern luxuries are as expensive, if not more so, than they are in western countries. The things that you will get for cheap are the Thai things. Street food costs anywhere between 30 and 50 baht for a typical meal. Living is cheap, with small town houses being rented out for as little as 5000 baht per month. In England I was paying close to that in one week! The closer you are to central Bangkok, the more expensive the properties will be, but you can still get a nice studio for around 7000 baht. I have never paid more than 6000 baht for rent.
If you had a large amount of money already saved in the bank, you could live in Thailand for an extended period on a double-entry visa or something similar. It is also possible to get an education visa without actually studying anything here. My GF is currently on an ed visa but the only study she does is playing Candy Crush! She’s a Filipina, hence the reason for having a visa. I don’t date farang girls, and they don’t usually date me. It’s a mutual agreement. But back to the topic…
Yes, you can live damn cheaply here and it sure is fun. I’d rather wake up in this tropical paradise than my home country, even though I do rip the locals to pieces with my criticisms at times. Thais: I do like them really (sometimes). The only down side is, when you really hit rock bottom, there aint nothing for you to fall back on here. Unlike the Thai national, who if flat broke can just simply contact his friends and family and hang out with them for a while, we farangs have to keep our heads above the water if we want to stay here. I don’t see myself being a homeless bum in Pattaya, and I have actually seen a white guy like that before: old guy, rooting through trash bins! What an example. So you can live cheaply, just don’t be a cheapskate! Thais hate that. Farang kee niow, I think they call it.
Why Are Thais Crap at English?
For those of you who have been to Thailand, it’s probably struck you how poor the standard of English is here. Even those who have been educated in the best schools are not so competent. So, considering that, poor people and the lesser educated can barely manage to blurt out things like: “Where you go?” “You!” and “You like Thailand?” Other Southeast Asian countries are way ahead in their English speaking abilities. So with ASEAN looming in 2015, the Thais have a LOT of catching up to do.
So why are they so bad at English? Considering that most of the kids here are studying English around 6 days a week, you would think they would be a little better. I remember one Saturday I asked a student of mine “How are you?” I’ve been teaching this kid for over 10 months and he turned round and said “Praewa arai?” Which means something like “What does that mean?” When he finally did answer me I got “8 Years old.” He thought I’d said “How old are you?” Seriously, I mean, how hard can it be to remember a simple question like that? I’ve been in Thailand for nearly 4 years and I’ve never taken Thai lessons but if someone asks me “Sabai dee mai” it’s the easiest thing for me to understand. I could answer that question after about 2 days in Thailand.
The Thais are masters of such grammatical errors!
I have my theories about why Thais are not good at English, and I also have some hard evidence taken from my daily experiences. One of the reasons, I believe, is just their sheer lack of interest in learning. The Thais have some saying that apparently, when translated, goes: “If I think too much, I get headache.” That basically sums up the average Thai: They don’t like thinking or anything serious. During a typical English lesson, you’ll be lucky if you can get the kids to just shut up and pay attention to you, if they improve their English skills, that’s a bonus.
Funny that even in places of national heritage they can't find someone with good enough English skills to write a basic sign!
Another reason may just be their very laid-back approach to life. This kind of ties in with their lack of interest in learning but also has roots in their religion. Thais are “Buddhist” (supposedly) and they seem to have taken some of the Buddhist teachings as a cue to be lazy. Buddha taught that we should always strive to be happy, come what may, and that we should accept the things life throws at us with aplomb. As it goes, this kind of leads Thai people to have a rather “never-mind” attitude towards everything. Also their relentless “positive thinking” get’s in the way of progress sometimes. I used to teach adults in a language centre and one night I chose technology as a topic of discussion. I asked them the question: “Do you think technology is always a good thing?” Most of them said yes. Then I asked them to consider the misuses of technology such as weapons of mass destruction and one of the students turned round and said: “Oey! Think positive na ka!” WTF! I learned a great deal about Thai positive thinking that night: That it is in fact just complacency and laziness. The truth is, the average Thai doesn’t give a damn what happens in the outside world, as long as it doesn’t affect them.
Psychic signs?
For those of you who can read Thai, I’m sure you’ve noticed the amazing number of English words now used in modern Thai advertising. So how then do they expect to learn English if every English word they learn is transliterated into the Thai script, leaving the original word barely distinguishable? I see it all the time: service becomes serwis (with a falling tone); Central become centan; square become s’kware. The point I’m making is, they don’t want to learn English. They just see English as a way to make more money. English is the international language of business! But as far as speaking goes, they want to remain Thai: proud; nationalistic; arrogant. However, all languages evolved like that. After all, how many words in English came from French, German, and Latin etc. Perhaps Thais will learn English, just don’t expect it to be the English we know and love!
