TEFL Locations in Thailand - Quick Reference
Cost of living, Foreign Embassies, Hospitals, Passport, Survival Guide
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Accommodation
Bangkok is cheaper to live than any city in Western Hemisphere. The biggest expense when living somewhere is usually accommodation. If you are planning to stay for long, then you can buy or rent a condo. A 2-bedroom furnished apartment will cost around 30,000 to 50,000 baht. UBC cable TV will cost 1500 baht for the standard package. Making a phone call using a fixed line cost 3 baht. In Thailand, most people use prepaid phone cards, but they always expire in a month or so. So whether you make phone calls or not, you will always have to spend about 300 baht a month to keep your phone running.
Food Expenses
There are a lot of restaurants in Bangkok, both cheap and fancy establishments. For a decent two course meal, excluding drinks, you need to pay around 250 baht. For budget food you can head to McDonalds where you can get a hamburger, a cheeseburger and medium French fries for only 90 baht. Medium sized Americano coffee at Starbucks is 75 baht. Cheaper coffee can be had at many other places. Subway sells its one-foot sandwiches for about 200 baht. The supermarket prices are given as follows:
Pork, chicken and beef: All priced below 150 baht per kilo.
Milk (800 cc): 35 baht
Cola drinks: 13-14 baht
Beers: 35-45 baht
Local fruits and vegetables are cheap, but imported goods can be really
expensive.
Transport
Using the sky train or the subway system costs 10 to 40 baht for a one way trip. Buses are frequent, but less comfortable. Fares start at 8 baht (for the non-A/C buses). 20 or 30 baht can take you to the other end of town in A/C buses. Travel by flights is very cheap nowadays.
Mostly all the countries around the world have their Embassies in Thailand's capital, Bangkok. The names and addresses of a few embassies are listed below:
Australian Embassy
37 South Sathorn Rd, Bkk 10120
Tel: 344 6300, 344 6400, 344 6455-7; Fax: 344 6593, 344 6341, 344 6310
Email: austembassy.bangkok@dfat.gov.au
South African Embassy
6th Fl, Park Place, 231 Sarasin Rd, Lumpini, Bkk 10330
Tel: 253 8473-6; Fax: 253 8477
Germany Embassy
9 South Sathorn Rd, Yannawa, Bkk 10120
Tel: 285 6627-8, 679 1120; Fax: 287 1776
Greece Embassy
99 Rama 9 Rd, Huay Kwang, Bkk
Tel: 247 1068, 254 9729; Fax: 247 1068
Russian Federation Embassy
78 Sap Rd, Suriwongse, Bangrak, Bkk 10500
Tel: 268 1169, 234 9824; Fax: 237 8488; Email:
rosposol@cscoms.com
Adequate medical treatment is available throughout Thailand. In Bangkok, excellent facilities exist for routine, long term and emergency medical care. All tourism destinations and provincial capitals have hospitals and clinics run by well trained doctors and nurses. In cases of emergencies an ambulance is just a call away. The medical expenses in Thailand are only a fraction of the expenses that you might incur in Europe and United States.
Thailand has over the years become a hotspot in medical tourism by extending excellent medical facilities to mostly European patients. The standard of treatment and technology is very high. The hospital environment is clearly more hospitable.
There are few medical hospitals in Thailand which finds favor among the foreigners for their renowned medical facilities. Bumrungrad Hospital in Sukhumvit area is very popular among the residents in the Sukhumvit area. However Bangkok General Hospital and Bangkok Nursing Home Hospital are also very popular. In fact Bumrungrad hospital attracts twice as many patients as India. This further underlines the fact that Thailand is the preferred destination among the westerners.
www.MediThai.net provides all the information an ESL teacher needs on the medical facilities available in Bangkok and other major cities of the country. It is an independent body with no affiliation to any dentist, clinic or intermediary medical service provider.
Information of vaccination and other health precautions can be obtained from CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). The hotline for international travelers is 1-877-FYI-TRIP (1-877-394-8747). The internet site for CDC is http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx. Further health information for travelers including infectious diseases can be obtained from http://www.who.int/ith/en.
There is an epidemic of HIV infection and AIDS in Thailand. Heterosexual transmissions account for most infections but HIV is also on the rise among men who have sex with other men. HIV is also very common among prostitutes of both sexes and injection drug abusers.
Teachers avail work permits on the basis of Non-immigrant B visa valid for 90
days and a passport valid for 6 months. Such visas are usually valid for three
months and can be extended till one year if you meet the requirements of the
category for which you are applying. So an ESL teacher should check that:
Passport is valid for 6 months from the day of landing in Thailand
The passport book should have sufficient visa pages to accommodate continued
visa renewal
Electricity
The electric current is 220 Volt AC (50 cycles) throughout the country.
There are many plugs and sockets in use. Travelers with shavers, tape recorders
and other appliances should carry a plug-adapter kit. The better hotels will
make available 110 Volt transformers.
Currency
The local currency is the Thai Baht (THB).
Business Hours
Most commercial concerns in Bangkok operate on a five-day week basis. Government offices are generally open between 8.30 AM and 4.30 PM with a noon to 1.00 PM lunch break, Monday through Friday, except on public holidays. Private businesses maintain much the same hours - - perhaps 8.00 AM to 5.00 PM, with certain exceptions. Many stores open 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
Medical Services
All tourism destinations and provincial capitals have hospitals and clinics staffed by well-trained doctors and nurses. In case of emergencies, ambulances can be summoned from any private hospital.
Bumrangrad Hospital in Bangkok is probably the finest in all of Asia. Facilities are world-class and staff and physicians are excellent. The cost of medical care here and elsewhere is quite low compared to the West.
Tourist Information Services
Tourist information is available at the Tourism Authority of Thailand head
office in Bangkok, local offices in 22 major cities (listed in the back cover)
and the TAT information counter in Bangkok Airport and at every airport where
there is a TAT local office. They provide maps, brochures and useful information
on tours, shopping, dining and accommodation. All TAT information offices are
open seven days a week from 8.30 AM. to 4.30 PM.