This maybe a little boring but this is a summary of the first 3 weeks here in thailand (although I have prob missed a quite a few parts out). I will update with photos and might go into more detail in certain areas, if I feel they are interesting enough. I plan on updating the blog once a week or when any special occasions occur such as trips or points of interest
Me and my fiancee flew from Heathrow on a direct flight with Thai Airways on the 16th January at 9.30pm, the flight was delayed 30 minutes but heathrow has plenty of shopping to keep us entertained. The flight from London to Bangkok takes around 10-11hours, the flight was fine no turbulence, but would have liked an isle or window seat. During the flight I went through the movies and noticed they had King Naresuan parts 1 & 2 with English subtitles, as this is the university where I was going to lecture, I thought it best to learn the history. I have to say I enjoyed the films (although a little long) and reading the subtitles made me sleepy, so after the meals plus watching the two films I got maybe 3 hours sleep which was plenty as we were landing at 3pm local time.
After we landed we passed though immigration, the line was a little long and a smile / sawadee wouldn’t have gone a miss but other than that it went smoothly. One of our friends had come to pick us up, we took the train into the city centre to our hotel which was located very close to the skytrain.
That evening we went out with friends who live in Bangkok for a meal, which was in a great location near the rama 7 (or 9) bridge, the food and company were both excellent. We only had 1 night in bangkok, so the next day, my fiancee and her friend went to submit and report to the education office then we went to the british embassy to get a letter stating I was single and allowed to marry a thai resident. We then found a local place that would translate this into Thai and also register it with the correct thai department which saved us alot of hassle and time, as later in the day we were flying to our home city of Phitsanulok.
For the first week after arriving in Phitsanulok we stayed in a hotel close to the university while our room and on suite bathroom was being finished at home, we also had to buy all the furniture and set up the most important things such as internet and satellite tv so I could watch the football. There is more football coverage here than back home! every single game is shown live, pity that the commentary and analysis teams are the same as itv back home, which to be honest are not a patch on sky. After about 2 weeks we had almost everything sorted, there wasn't a single day in which we had chance to rest and relax. (We did have one day but I was ill, as it seems there is one type of mushroom I am unable to digest - I believe the england name is a jelly mushroom)
We ordered a new car and collected it on the 31st of Jan, a ford focus sport+, which I have to say for an automatic (which I have hated everyone I had ever driven) drives well and is usually in the correct gear. I’m still driving on my UK driving licensee as I need a letter from immigration or a work permit before I can obtain a thai one, the same with a bank account which is annoying.
Work wise I had a meeting with the president of the university (plus the dean of engineering), which went well. They had not decided which faculty I could best help, as although my first degree is in chemistry my PhD is in biomaterials, so I have knowledge in both areas of science and engineering. As the faculty of engineering had no falang (foreigner) lecturers it was decided it would be beneficial that I start there but I can also interact and teach in the faculty of science if needed. I was a little apprehensive at first as I saw myself as a scientist not an engineer, but after discovering the nature of the subjects I will lecture, I was happy. The staff here have all been extremely friendly and helpful even though this is the busiest time of year for them with the final examinations only a few weeks away (20th Feb).
My official start date was the 1st of Feb, I was moved into a temporary office while my permanent one is cleared and furnished. The offices here are all very large as is the whole of faculty of engineering, there are four 6-7 story buildings plus 4 large workshops for labs.
NB since the first draft of this blog, I found a bank that would give me an account with just my passport and the non-imm visa (seems its a little pot luck) reported my address to immigration and got a letter confirming my address from immigration thus allowing me to convert my UK driving license into a 1 year thai license, which I will go to do hopefully tomorrow :)
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