Gaybutton

That's true. In Florida I was a bar boy. As a matter of fact my photo was used in a trade magazine article for bar boys. The caption on the photo was "Don't Let This Happen to You."

Thank you. I will certainly tell him. I also just discovered that if he does well enough once he's there, then he'll be eligible for yet another scholarship for two years in New York, although I don't know yet which college that would be. As far as deciding his major, it's far too soon for that, but he seems to be primarily interested in economics, business, and law. I like the law part. That will be a big help in responding to the "Attorneys of the Internet" who we often see on these message boards. In any case, to me he represents the answer to the "experts" who consistently post about how these boys are interested only in how much money they can soak from "farang." I think it is quite a mistake when I see people stereotype these boys as people who only want to take "farang" for as much as they can get and then end up right back on the rice farm. Perhaps that does happen all too often, but I've also seen boys work their tails off trying to achieve something in life. My boyfriend and his best friend both made the scholarship. It wasn't handed to them on a silver platter. They worked for it and they worked hard. Nearly every night they were up until 1:00, 2:00, and sometimes 3:00 AM working on their assignments. They made a lot of sacrifices to achieve this. So did I. Most of my friends know that when I do things during the daytime, and quite often at night too, such as going to the beach, out to eat, or whatever, I am almost always alone. That's because my boyfriend is either in school or working on projects and assignments. This is where it pays off. He never thought he could do it, but here we are. He's also excited because when he receives the actual scholarship papers, he will receive them directly from the hands of the Crown Prince at a formal ceremony. Not bad for someone who started off as a bar boy.

Thank you very much. From what I understand it's one of the best and quite expensive by Thai standards. By my standards too. If he had not made the scholarship, that particular university would be far beyond my reach. Somehow, though, I doubt he'll be trading in the wai in favor of making the sign of the cross . . .

Today I had a piece of great news and I'd like to share it with you all. Some of you who know my boyfriend also know he has been working very hard in his school, trying for a college scholarship. Today, to coincide with His Majesty the King's birthday, his school made the announcement as to which students won the scholarship. Out of 2000 students only twenty were selected and my boyfriend was one of them. He has won a full scholarship to Assumption University in Bangkok. He begins in May. Needless to say he is absolutely ecstatic about it and so am I. I couldn't be happier if I were twenty people rolled into one. Come to think of it, if I don't lose some weight, that's exactly what I'll be. It's certainly nice to be able to share happy news like this with all of you. I know how hard he has been working and I'm extremely proud of him.

The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Fiji Government Toppled by Military SUVA - Fiji's military has toppled the government and dismissed elected Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, commander Voreqe Bainimarama announced Tuesday. "As of six o'clock this evening, the military has taken over the government, has executive authority and the running of this country," he told a press conference. The commander, who has for months been locked in a bitter standoff with Qarase, said he was suspending certain provisions of the country's constitution and taking over the role of the president as the head of state had been unable to act. "Therefore, having stepped into the shoes of the president, I shall now therefore dismiss the Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase," he added. He said an interim government would be appointed pending elections, and appealed for Fijians to remain calm and for businesses to continue to operate. The military commander vowed the takeover would not be permanent. Bainimarama, who had repeatedly warned Qarase to resign or be toppled, said he took the action after the premier failed to show up at a meeting with the country's president Tuesday. "This stalemate has forced me to step forward and the military has taken overpower," he said. Agence France-Presse _____ And This, from AP: _____ SUVA, Fiji (AP) -- Fiji's military commander announced Tuesday he had taken control of the country from the elected government, confirming the South Pacific nation's fourth coup in less than two decades. "As of 6 o'clock this evening, the military has taken over the government, has executive authority and the running of this country," Commodore Frank Bainimarama told a news conference broadcast nationally. Bainimarama said he had invoked special powers under the Constitution to assume some powers of the president, and was using them to dismiss Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase from office and appoint an interim replacement. He said he would surrender the presidential powers next week, and would ask the country's Great Council of Chiefs to restore them to President Ratu Josefa Iloilo, who he expected would then appoint a full caretaker government. Elections to restore democracy would follow sometime after that, he said. Bainimarama said he was compelled to act against Qarase because the government was backing bills that undermined the Constitution, and insisted he was acting within the law. The takeover was immediately condemned by acting Police Commissioner Moses Driver. "The military has now indulged in a very serious criminal act, and ... we are not going to support the military in this regard, because it is unlawful," Driver told the Legend radio network. Fiji's mostly unarmed police force has said previously it can't challenge the military's might, and Driver said police opposition would be limited to refusing to take orders from the military. Armed trooped locked down the capital, Suva, on Tuesday, setting up checkpoints outside government buildings and at other sites. Troops surrounded Qarase's house, blocking roads with tire-bursting spikes, with the prime minister holed up inside with his family and a handful of ministers. "My impression is that I am under house arrest," Qarase told reporters hours before Bainimarama's declaration. "What happens next is anybody's guess." Bainimarama had been threatening to "clean up" Qarase's government for weeks, bringing to a head a long-running feud between the two men that has at its roots deep-seated ethnic divisions in Fiji and personal grudges linked to a coup in 2000. The slow-coming takeover has already been condemned internationally. New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark announced in Parliament on Tuesday that defense ties with Fiji were being severed and officers and their families from that country would be banned. Bainimarama is believed to have children studying in New Zealand. "This is an outrage what is happening in Fiji today," she told reporters in Wellington, the capital. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Australia would impose similar conditions if it was confirmed Qarase had been removed, adding that two international groups -- the Commonwealth of Britain and its former colonies and the South Pacific Forum -- would consider suspending Fiji. Australian Prime Minister John Howard said Tuesday that Qarase had asked Canberra to send troops to try to prevent the coup, but that he had rejected the request. "The possibility of Australian and Fijian troops firing on each other in the streets of Suva was not a prospect that I for a moment thought desirable," Howard told a news conference in Canberra. Bainimarama previously warned that any foreign intervention would be fiercely opposed. Fiji, with about 900,000 people, is among the richest and most developed nations in the South Pacific, attracting up to 400,000 tourists a year to resorts built on idyllic beaches mostly in the country's west, away from Suva. But it has lurched from one political crisis to the next since the military twice grabbed power in 1987 to ensure political supremacy for the 51 percent of the 900,000 population who are indigenous Fijians. Ethnic Indians are a minority of about 44 percent, with most of the rest ethnic Chinese. Gunmen, angry those advantages were being eroded, seized Parliament in a 2000 coup that brought Qarase, a moderate nationalist, to power in a deal brokered by Bainimarama. Qarase has since won two elections, based partly on populist policies that appealed to indigenous Fijians. Bainimarama sees himself as the guardian of Fiji's constitutional guarantees to all Fijians, and opposed as racist legislation proposed by Qarase that would pardon conspirators in the 2000 coup and secure coastal land rights for indigenous Fijians. Bainimarama survived a mutiny and assassination attempt linked to his resolution of the 2000 coup and the jailing of its leader, George Speight. The architect of the two 1987 coups, former military chief Sitiveni Rabuka, is currently on trial in connection to the mutiny.

Of course, I can think of a few manners that some Thais ought to apply when dealing with "farang," but that's a different issue. Here's the article: _____ BANGKOK, Dec 4 (TNA) Thailand's Ministry of Culture will distribute a handbook on Thai manners and 10 'Do's and Don'ts' in Thailand to foreign tourists to enable the visitors to understand and avoid doing things considered taboo in the kingdom, according to Ministrer of Culture Khunying Khaisri Sri-arun. Khunying Khaisri said the handbook is designed to create more understanding among foreign tourists regarding Thai etiquette and actions that may not appropriate among the Thai public. The Fine Arts Department and the Culture Monitoring Centre frequently receives complaints of inappropriate behaviour by foreigners such as placing Buddha image heads at inproper places. "Some foreigners use the Buddha images as hatracks, some put them at the foot of their beds and some use them as a decoration in the product sales display cases," she said. Many foreign tourists were found dressing inappropriately when visiting temples in Thailand, she added. The minister said the handbook would be issued in eight languages including English, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic, and would be given to foreign embassies in Thailand for distribution. The manual would also available at hotels, Suvarnabhumi Airport and on board Thai Airways International aircraft. (TNA)-E003

I don't know if this is true. I haven't had an opportunity to try it. However, I was recently told that "farang" who hold a Thai driver's license and/or can produce a residence certificate do not have to pay the "farang" prices at government venues and at many privately owned venues. It never occurred to me to try. Recently my boyfriend and I had gone to a waterfall at which there was an admission charge of 20 baht for Thai citizens and 400 baht for "farang." I had my Thai driver's license with me, but it never even entered my mind to produce it. I wonder if I could have saved 380 baht. Does anyone know if there is any truth to this?

Thai Central Bank Curbs Short-Term Capital Inflows BANGKOK, Dec 4 (TNA) In an attempt to prevent speculation in the Thai baht, the Bank of Thailand on Monday sought cooperation from financial institutions in Thailand to monitor short-term transactions with nonresidents after the currency hit an eight-year high against the US dollar last week. Tarisa Watanagase, Governor of the Bank of Thailand (BOT), attributed the rapid appreciation of the baht to the depreciating US dollar and the economic stability of Thailand and the Asian region which has caused capital to flow from USD-denominated markets into Asian markets, including Thailand. In addition, the BOT said in a statement, significant short-term inflows into the debt securities market also contributed to the increased volatility of the local currency. To prevent speculation on the local currency, the bank asked financial institutions to refrain from selling and buying all types of debt securities through sell-and-buy back transactions for all maturities. "Such transactions are financial instruments through which nonresidents can undertake to evade BOT measures preventing baht speculation," the bank said. Financial institutions are allowed to sell and buy foreign currencies with nonresidents or to credit or debit Nonresident Baht Accounts for settlements relating to investments in government bonds, treasury bills or BOT bonds only when such investments are longer than three months, according to the central bank statement. Apart from that, the bank said, financial institutions are allowed to borrow Thai baht from nonresidents including through sell-buy swap transactions when there are no underlying trades and investments in Thailand for maturities longer than six months, an increase from the three month level of the previous measure. "The measures aim at lessening volatility in the foreign exchange market while minimizing the adverse impacts on the bond and other debt securities markets," the central bank governor explained. The bank also asked Thai businesses not to issue or sell short-term debt securities to nonresidents. The baht, which was trading Monday at around Bt35.90 to the US dollar, has gained about 14 per cent on the dollar since early this year. (TNA)-E001

Maybe whatever kind of profile they look for, you don't fit it. I like the idea that they are going to keep records of what kind of meals people order. That's certain to be a key factor in sparing us all another 9-11. Do you realize that somebody must actually have been at work one day and came up with that one? "Hey, Ed. I've got a great idea. Let's start keeping track of what people order to eat when they fly. Huh? What do you think?" "Excellent, Phil. That's a brilliant idea. Whatever they're paying you, it's not enough. That's going to be of enormous help in stopping the terrorists. Boy! When we hired you we certainly got the right guy. Remind me to put your name in for a medal. This might save hundreds, perhaps thousands, of lives. Let's get the ball rolling on this one today. The rest of you . . . you need to start coming up with wonderful ideas like this too. Say, that gives me another good idea. Maybe some of these people are clever enough not to order a special meal. My idea is hidden cameras in the lavatories. That way, when we see somebody middle eastern looking take a dump, then we can collect and inspect their turds to see what they have really been eating. What do you think? How come nobody else thought of that? This is so exciting." Your Tax Dollar at Work I think I'll order a liver with fava beans and a nice chianti . . . and a side of hummus.

Note from GB: I don't claim to be any kind of an economist, but less than four months ago the predictions were that the exchange rate would be about 42 baht to the US dollar by now. Famous last words. BANGKOK, Dec 3 (TNA) Economists predict continued baht strength until the middle of next year and a booming stock market, but warned that a more dramatic braking of the US economy could yet see funds flowing out of the region as fast as they have flowed in. Usara Wilaipich, senior economist at Standard Chartered Bank in Bangkok, said at a seminar on Investment Prospect in the Year of the Pig held by the Stock Exchange of Thailand, that Thai investors need to monitor the economic development in the US closely. She attributed the baht rise to the recent influx of foreign investment into the financial and stock markets, pushing the baht, along with other Asian currencies, to record highs. Investor sentiment has been buoyed by low inflation, low interest rates and a healthy trade balance, Usara added. However, the country

The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Merck to Offer AIDS Drug Price Cut to Thailand Merck & Co. Inc. will offer to cut the price of a key anti-HIV drug in Thailand in an attempt to stop that country's government from using cheaper generic suppliers and overriding the U.S. drug giant's patents, the Financial Times reported on its website Thursday. A spokesman for Merck's local unit, MSD Thailand, said the company would seek talks with health officials to propose discounts or a "voluntary" license to the Thai government pharmaceuticals organization to produce generic versions of its drug, Efavirenz. Merck's move follows Thailand's surprise decision this week to threaten a "compulsory license" for Efavirenz to overturn Merck's patents, raising fears by western pharmaceutical companies of a significant challenge to their intellectual property.

The following appears in THE NATION: _____ BOT Ready with Steps to Stop Baht Speculation The Bank of Thailand will soon introduce new measures to block speculative capital inflows - the "hot money" speculators bring into the Kingdom to influence the baht, which has risen at too fast a pace over the past few days. The central bank also admitted yesterday that it had been intervening in the foreign-exchange market occasionally over the past week to stabilise the baht. The Thai currency has strengthened significantly at around Bt0.20 per day against the dollar over the past week, mainly due to short-term inflows. The baht opened at Bt35.81 to Bt35.86 per dollar yesterday and closed at Bt35.87 to Bt35.89, after peaking at Bt35.74 during the day. A dealer from Bangkok Bank said the central bank had intervened between 3pm and 4pm to bring down the value of the baht by Bt0.30. He believes the unit will appreciate further next week, with a likely range of Bt35.50 to Bt36.10. Pongpen Ruengvirayudh, the Bank of Thailand's senior director of the Financial Markets Operations Group, said yesterday the central bank would soon introduce a new measure, but declined to disclose the details. She said the planned measure would be suitable for the current situation in Thailand. "It is the kind of measure that solves the problem at its roots," Pongpen said. She said the central bank would prefer medium-term investors rather than hot money, as the latter flows in and out quickly. Short-term money helps boost market volume, but also brings about higher costs for exporters, she said, adding that the margins of some exporters are quite thin. The Stock Exchange of Thailand Index rose 2.41 per cent from 723.87 points last Friday, to close at 741.38 yesterday. Pongpen said the central bank believed the new measure would not destroy the trade and investment atmosphere as it will carefully implement it without any impact on real investors who are not speculators. She said the central bank had studied several measures suitable for the current situation, before making the most appropriate choice. Nitaya Pibulratanagit, the assistant governor, said yesterday the strengthening of the baht was due to a combination of the weakening of the dollar, the current-account surplus, and speculative activity. The dollar has weakened to its lowest level in more than 14 years against the pound, and the lowest in over 20 months against the euro. She revealed that the central bank had intervened in the currency market several times to stabilise the baht. Over the past few days, there have been huge capital inflows into the Thai market. In addition to the new measure to control speculative inflows, Nitaya said the central bank would also urge banks not to issue bonds to non-residents. Over the past few days, non-residents, who are speculators, have sold and bought back bonds from banks for huge amounts. With this transaction, speculators lend baht to banks that then issue bonds to them. Non-residents commit to sell back the bonds to the banks within a short period. Pongpen also said that selling and buying back bonds was similar to an earlier transaction, whereby non-residents would sign a repurchase agreement with banks for the extension of baht loans to these banks. "We would ask banks to cooperate in this issue as well," she said. Pongpen said there were several forms of baht speculation. Some speculators have parked their money in non-resident accounts in order to withdraw them after the baht appreciates, while others just speculate on the baht by buying the Thai currency in the morning before selling it in the afternoon. Some invest in bonds or the stock market before selling the bonds and stocks later. "We can figure out that they are speculators only by seeing their names," she added. Anoma Srisukkasem The Nation

PHUKET, Dec 1(TNA) Almost two years after a tsunami hit the southern coastal provinces of Thailand killing more than 5,400 people, including thousands of Thais and tourists from many nations worldwide, Thai and US officials Friday sent off a ship carrying a 'DART' tsunami warning device designed to protect millions of people from such a natural disaster. Some 220,000 people in a dosen countries were killed by the tidal waves caused by a 9.3 magnitude earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Dec. 26, 2004. DART

BANGKOK, Dec 1 (TNA) Thailand's disease control department revealed on World AIDS Day Friday that the number of young people with AIDS in Bangkok is the highest in the country. To mark the occasion, Bangkok recorded the highest number -- 92 young people newly-infected with HIV, according to Dr Thawat Suntrajarn, director-general of the Disease Control Department. According to the report of the Epidemiology Bureau, the number of AIDS patients aged between 15-24 years old has been rising recently with the highest rate reported among university students. The other 10 provinces which have recorded high numbers of young AIDS patients are Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Nonthaburi, Phayao, Khon Kaen, Rayong, Lampang, Songkhla, and Samut Prakan. The number of male patients is higher than female patients and most of them contracted the deadly disease by sexual intercourse. According to surveys from 2004 to 2006, young people aged between 15-24 years old had little knowledge on HIV protection and the rate of condom use remained low. Dr. Prat Boonyawongvirot, Permanent Secretary for Public Health said more than one million AIDS patients were recorded in Thailand from 1984 through November 2006. Half of them already died while 556, 848 people with AIDS are still alive and have received medical treatment. There have been 15,174 infections reported this year with an average of 40 new cases daily--or almost two persons per minute on average. He said it is worrying that 0.44 per cent of pregnant girls aged between 15-19 years old were infected with HIV in mid 2006 although there had been no infections among this group reported earlier. (TNA)-E004

Click the link below to read the review: http://www.pattayamail.com/current/bmm.shtml

Dekdek, at which office did you obtain your license? Was it Pattaya or somewhere else? Also, if anyone has experience in other provinces, please let us know what you encountered.

I think the professor is Thai. At least that's the way it appears to me when I read the article. In any case, if he wants any help conducting his research, I volunteer .

I know this thread is about a month old now, but I thought some of you might be interested in the following article ( see http://www.sac.or.th/Subdetail/seminar/sum...eminar64_E.html ) __________ Summary Report

The following appears in THE NATION: _____ SOARING CURRENCY Speculators Behind Baht Surge: BOT Non-Residents Have Been Buying Baht Bonds to Lay Hands on Thai Currency The Bank of Thailand blamed foreign speculators for driving the baht beyond the Bt36 level to an eight-year high yesterday. The baht opened at Bt36.07-Bt36.10 and closed at its peak for the day of Bt35.95-Bt35.98 - the highest in eight years. Local bank dealers confirmed that there had been speculation, adding that the currency had appreciated too rapidly also because of the weakening of the US dollar. During the past six months, it has gained Bt2 against the greenback, which is far more than other currencies in the region. "Without intervention, the baht could rise further to Bt35.80 soon," said one dealer. Foreign speculators have found new ways of financing the speculation, BOT assistant governor Suchada Kirakul said, adding that the unit has strengthened too quickly - to a level not justified by economic fundamentals. The BOT has learnt that a number of non-resident investors have bought into baht bonds from Thai banks with the agreement to sell back the bonds in a certain period. This is equivalent to the borrowing of baht from local banks, and waiting for the right time to convert the currency into US dollars when the greenback slides further. Once the first sell-back agreement expires, they strike another revolving contract. "This has taken place after the central bank plugged a hole by forbidding commercial banks to sell bills of exchange with a maturity of less than one year to non-residents," Suchada said. Prior to that, the BOT also forbade non-residents from maintaining individual outstanding deposits of more than Bt300 million. The new financing scheme by speculators was introduced at a time when domestic interest rates were on a downward trend. This leads to a decline in long-term bond yield curves and boosts trading activity in baht bonds. The baht came under severe speculative pressure in 1997, when it was dumped heavily. The central bank launched a massive intervention scheme in a bid to prevent the fall, which later led to the unit's devaluation in the same year and the financial crisis. Suchada said the central bank would investigate and seek cooperation from commercial banks, as it tries to come to grips with the situation. Exporters have cried foul over the irregular baht movement. The central bank estimates that every percentage-point increase in the value of the baht against the dollar will slash Thailand's growth in gross domestic product by 0.3 of a percentage point. This would widen the current-account deficit, as export income would be hit as a result. Wider current-account deficits in turn would eventually weaken the baht. Boonsithi Chokwatana, chairman of Saha Group, said foreign businessmen the company had met had expressed concern over the rising baht. Industry Minister Kosit Panpiemras yesterday said he was aware of the strong-baht problem, but the decision on whether to intervene in the market is up to the central bank. Also yesterday, Commerce Minister Krirk-krai Jirapaet said after a discussion with export associations that while the government would seek measures to relieve exporters' burdens due to the strong baht, it would need to ensure the measures do not affect fiscal stability. "We don't know where the baht is heading, or which measures would be applicable to which product. If we do too much, it could be taken as a subsidy. We need to look at the products, item by item. Exporters also need to be concerned with the exchange effects and urgently improve their product quality," he said. Representatives from associations involved in frozen foods, chicken and fruit exports expressed concerns over the strong baht. They urged the government to stabilise the baht/dollar rate and monitor comments from economists on the baht's movement. They also urged the central bank to review the requirement that exporters must hold dollar-denominated bills for 15 days, after receiving payments. The requirement was aimed to prevent pressure on the baht when the currency was weak against dollar. However, exporters said that holding the dollar would only incur exchange losses once they convert into baht. Krirk-krai said on Wednesday that he would seek an urgent discussion with Finance Minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula to use fiscal measures to help exporters. Despite the baht appreciation, economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires believed the BOT would probably shrug off the pressure and wait until next year to cut the policy rate, which is now 5 per cent. The Monetary Policy Committee next convenes on December 13. "Many exporters expect the central bank to respond to the baht's strength by cutting interest rates, but the main focus of the central bank's interest-rate policy is price stability. It's not about the interest-rate spread," said Standard Chartered's Usara Wilaipich. "Besides, a rate cut would have only a brief effect on the baht, which has been driven up by inflows into Thai stocks and bonds." Anoma Srisukkasem, Somruedi Banchongduang The Nation

I have no way of knowing whether any posts I write are the last word or not. If someone else decides to post on the same thread after I post, then I suppose mine isn't the last word. Anyway, my apologies for all my shortcomings . . .

That's very kind of you. My offer still holds too, which explains my involvement the other day. Well, there you have it. Different provinces obviously have their own methods of doing things. I don't know if this applies now, but several years ago a Thai friend wanted his license. He came from the Kamphaeng Phet province and that's where we were at the time. There was no requirement for a driving test, but he had to sit through a two-hour lecture and take a written test. He failed the test. 500 baht later, somehow he passed the test and was licensed. Welcome to Thailand. One thing I do not know - that's whether you have to obtain your license in the province in which you reside. Does anyone know? If you don't hold a valid International Driving Permit, then I'd go to Bangkok and try there.

BANGKOK, Nov 30 (TNA) Thailand's Ministry of Public Health announced on Wednesday that it would invoke the compulsory licensing clause in the Patent Act to allow for lower-cost local production of the life-saving anti-viral drug, Efavirenz, which is needed by thousands of people living with HIV/AIDs. So far, most people with AIDS have been priced out of the market. The move is expected to save thousands of lives in Thailand, and to raise the quality of life for families who have been forced to use up limited family income for medications. The decision, with immediate effect, will pave the way for the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) to mass-produce a cheaper version of the drug for local use. Production is expected to start in June next year. The compulsory licensing would be valid for only five years but Public Health Minister Mongkol Na Songkhla told reporters that the move was necessary given the growing number of people with HIV/Aids and the government limited budget. Thailand is one of a few countries in the world which provides free or low-cost anti-viral treatments to AIDS patients. "This drug is more effective than others and its users show few side effects. Although it is still under patent protection, it is needed to save lives and help us cope with the growing public health crisis caused by AIDS," the minister said. At the current market price, only one in four patients in Thailand have access to Efavirenz. Compulsory licensing of the drug is expected to enable the National Health Security Office to increase the number of HIV-infected people who receive the drug through state channels to about 100,000, a substantial increase from the current 25,000 people with AIDS who now are helped. There are over one million people living with HIV/AIDs in Thailand, about half of them need to use the anti-viral treatments. Under the agreement, the patent owner would be paid 0.5 per cent of sales from the GPO as compensation. Thai patent law allows state enforced compulsory licensing in the case of drugs being critically needed to save people's lives, providing that the state is unable to afford to subsidise them. (TNA)-E110

All of that is quite right. If you get there right at opening time, 8:30 AM, you'll find the waiting time will be as much as an hour less and the room won't be so terribly hot. When you get your first Thai license, it is valid for one year. When you renew, the validity period is five years.

Many of you are familiar with my article about how to obtain the Thai driving license. After an experience earlier this week, I need to write a revision to the article. If you want the short version, here it is: Make sure you have a valid International Driving Permit when you apply for the Thai driving license. Here's the longer version (it may be different in other provinces, but this is what he went through in Pattaya): I have a friend who wanted to obtain a license for driving a car and also a license for driving a motorcycle. He needed two separate originals of all the documents. Copies were not acceptable. That meant two residence certificates, two medical certificates, and two sets of photos. The only copied items that were acceptable were copies of his passport, but he still needed to have the actual passport with him. By the way, there seems to be some confusion about the requirement for a medical certificate. You must have a medical certificate to obtain the Thai driving license. You no longer need to have one to obtain the one-year retirement visa. We arrived at the driver's license bureau at 8:30 AM. You have to take a number and wait until your number is called. His was called at 9:00 AM. He produced all the documents and his valid driving license from the USA. They refused to accept his driving license. They used to accept those, but now they don't. They told him the only thing they will accept is an International Driving Permit. That makes about as much sense as so many other things, to me. You have to have a valid driving license in order to obtain an International Driving Permit. All you have to do to obtain the permit is to pay for it. So, why would a standard driving license be unacceptable? You figure it out. I can't. If he had the International Driving Permit, then all he would have had to do would be to take the color blindness teat, the peripheral vision test, and the reaction time test. That's it. He would have had the license within an hour. Since he didn't have the permit, he ended up having to take the above-mentioned tests and then sit through a one-hour movie. All "farang" applicants without the International Driving Permit were taken to a room, separate from the Thai applicants, to view the movie. Of course, there was no air conditioning, but at least the movie was in English. It started about 10:00 AM. When the movie was finished, he had to take a written test, also in English. He had to take two separate tests, one for the car driving license and one for the motorcycle driving license. After passing those he was told to wait until 1:00. He would have to take a driving test. The way the driving test works is that a lone examiner sits at a picnic table and watches the drivers drive through a rather bizarre obstacle course. One aspect I didn't understand was that drivers of cars with automatic transmission had to parallel park. If a driver was in a car with a stick shift, then they did not have to parallel park. The test began with all the applicants for a motorcycle license. That took about 40 minutes. Then, the applicants for cars were called forward. Only Thai citizens were allowed to be tested at first. "Farang" had to wait. I could understand that because instructions were first given in Thai. They needed to get the Thai applicants out of the way first. The trouble was, there must have been at least 30 Thai citizens in line to be tested. By the time they got to the "farang" applicants it was well after 2:00 PM. After the test was passed it took about another half hour before his license was ready. It was after 3:00 PM by the time we left. On top of that, he had to return the next day with a motorcycle to take the obstacle course test and obtain the license. In other words, folks, if you want a Thai driver's license, get an International Driving Permit before entering Thailand.

Central Bank Intervenes in Baht Movement with Caution, Says Governor BANGKOK, Nov 29 (TNA) Bank of Thailand