Thailand

Phuket
Q	The Lonely Planet guidebook says......?
A	Who cares what they say! It is a beautiful island with great beaches, an active nightlife, and tropical countryside. Estimates are that the population is around 200-250,000 people on the island. Phuket Town is the biggest city, where most Thais live, and the island has a long history of tin mining and agriculture. At one time Phuket was known as "Junk Ceylon" the first major reprovisioning stop after Ceylon (Sri Lanka) before heading through the Malaccan Straits. There is a large Chinese population as well as many ethnic-Malay Muslims. A large number of Thais on the island come from other provinces for the employment opportunities. There are many very nice beach communities along the northern coast – that don’t have grittiness of Patong, Karon, and Kata. Summer is the rainy season and also low season - the seas are rough, making swimming and snorkeling not so rewarding during these times. During the winter, high season, the sea is tranquil and great for scuba, swimming, snorkeling and any kind of sea-based fun you might want to have. Prices for everything vary accordingly.
Q	In general, what are the pickings like for an EFL teacher?
A	There are quite a few good EFL teaching jobs on the island. That said, understand that the Phuket market is generally flooded by graduates from four major TEFL Certification programs (and from a couple smaller upstarts) – and many of these new teachers wish to stay on the island. You are also competing with a host of backpackers who wish to stay on Phuket for a while. Thus, while there are some good jobs – the competition for them will be intense. There are also quite a few well-experienced EFL teachers already on the island, who wish to stay, and they are waiting to cherry-pick the better jobs when they come open. Sadly, employers on the island are quite used to backpacker TEFL teachers and pay accordingly. B150 an hour is the pay from Phuket Community College (no work permit provided), one of the EFL chains on the island pays B220 an hour, also with no work permit. Prince of Songla University has a campus on Phuket, there is a rajabhat and several other two-year colleges. The government schools pay the same wages as everywhere else. The others tend to pay even less. The better hotel jobs typically pay around B30,000 a month with a work permit included and some expect a 45-50 hour five-and-a-half-day work week. A few pay in the mid- to high- B30’s, but they are rare. Two International schools on the island, Dulwich and QSI pay better wages, but tend to hire from overseas and expect the same credentials that would expected for teaching in the public schools back home. Dulwich is a true international school and can get you close to B80-90,000, but is quite selective. Kajon Kiet Suksa School pays B20-25,000 and sometimes withholds a month’s pay to guarantee that you will complete a one-year contract. Some of the EFL language schools farm their teachers out to the local public schools and will have you teaching at 3-5 schools, sometimes all over the island, with no compensation for time or transportation. Private tutoring jobs exist, but are not plentiful and pay in the area of B200 to B400. Look for work during the tourist low season. During high season everyone is working overtime and there is little energy left for English study. The best strategy might be to work in Bangkok while keeping an eye out for good jobs (Ajarn.com, Bangkok Post, etc.) and fly down for an interview.
Q	How far from Bangkok or civilization?
A	It's 900km to Bangkok. About 12 hours journey by bus. By plane it is 75 minutes. It's 3.5 hours to Krabi. It's about five hours from Koh Samui. It’s about 1.5 hours to Khao Lak.
Q	Is there any entertainment or do you invite friends round for Scrabble?
A	This depends on what you enjoy doing. Bars, nightclubs, and restaurants abound, in beach towns as well as in Phuket Town and in some of the smaller villages. Beautiful coastal bike rides, and rubber or coconut plantations are everywhere. Get away from the tourist areas and you’ll also find a more placid rural lifestyle.
Q	How much to rent a house or basic apartment?
A	Prices range from 3,500 baht to B5,500 for a single room plus bathroom with fan in Phuket Town and B5,500 to B8,500 with a/c near a beach. Houses are generally unfurnished and can be found for around B5-10k in Phuket Town, and B10-15k furnished and with a/c near a beach. Prices vary and often fluctuate greatly depending on high or low tourist season. Again, it is best to look during the low season and negotiate.
Q	Shopping malls, department stores?
A	A nice big TESCO can serve all your needs, as well as a giant-size Big C. Central Department Store is building a large up-scale shopping center just down the street from TESCO and Big C. Phuket Town has an ageing Robinson’s. Almost anything you want to eat can be found on Phuket.
Q	Internet cafes? (snail-speed Hotmail default page or fatties playing Ragnarok?)
A	Almost everywhere – tourist oriented, with tourist prices. Off the beaten path, cheaper but can be noisy with kids playing games. Phuket’s Internet connection varies from poor to not working at all. When everyone is online (noon to 8pm) – it can be so slow that you get timed-out from Hotmail and other services. Dial up service from home is about B600 for 45 hours. Telephone service can be hard to get.
Q	Will you be stared at? and what's the likelihood of a good beating?
A	You’ll not be stared at, but you will always be assumed to be a tourist and ready for the next con-man’s inflated prices. Those who hate dual pricing systems (one for Thai’s and one for farangs) should not even think about coming to Phuket. Once you’ve been around a while – and really look like you are staying - prices will come down for you – though you’ll usually have to ask.
Q	Taxis, buses....or horse and cart?
A	You’ll need to buy or rent a motorbike – or live near your employment and hope they don’t farm you out. Transportation systems on the island are horrible – only a few songthaews ply the roads – but only operate from 9-6. Tuk-tuks are notorious for ripping off tourists. No problem if you don’t mind a B300 ride home at night. Most Thais on the island own bikes to deal with the problem. Most motorcycle taxis can be negotiated down to a reasonable price – but you WILL start at tourist prices. Motorbikes can be rented for B2500 to B5000 a month depending on short- or long-term rental and if you rent from a major tourist area or from Phuket Town or a smaller village. Phuket, as with many other areas of Thailand, has a truly horrific traffic fatality and injury rate. All that said, Phuket is trying to improve the transportation system on the island. Metered taxis are a new idea – but they have a lot of trouble with the tuk-tuk gangs (uh, organizations). Also, some buses have been introduced, but tend to serve only the Phuket Town area. Some hotels, if you work for one, provide bus service to and from Phuket Town.
Q	Main advantages of living there?
A	Beautiful beaches, laid-back living, wonderful Thai people, excellent services geared to the expatriate, every kind of restaurant possible, excellent medical care, grand weather, easy to find farang food and goods in the supermarkets.
Q	And what are the downsides?
A	A higher cost of living than Bangkok, coupled with lower wages makes saving anything difficult. Most people don’t last long.
Q	Any local attractions?
A	Patong, Karon, and Kata and their “colorful” night life of night clubs and bars – and wonderful beaches, but there are also many less well-known beaches and fun spots – some you can have almost to yourself in the low season. Phi-Phi island is an easy ferry ride away. So many things to do that you won’t know where your money went! Great restaurants almost everywhere on the island.

Where's the best place to meet other farangs or are they best avoided?

Opinions vary here – it depends on what you like and who you like to hang with. Many bars specialize in Aussies, Brits, Kiwis and so on. The other farangs on Phuket tend to be older people trying to make a life for themselves. Of course, you can meet literally hundreds of thousands of tourists if you wish. Personally, I think there are some great people living on the island, but take your time getting to know them – there are also, like in BKK, a lot of BS’ers and low-lifes.