wynzlo

Has anyone come across a legitimate comparison between smoking cigarettes and breathing smoke like we're seeing in Chiang Mai?

Obviously cigarettes have lots of extra fun chemicals in them, but I'd love to have a ballpark figure like:

"Breathing this smoky air at (certain particulate level) for 24 hours = smoking two packs of filtered cigarettes in 24 hours"

Yeah, Bicycle Thailand website has a solid list of shops. One place not on there is Crouching Tiger Tours, which is on Mahidol Road -- left side if you're heading from the moat to Airport Plaza. They stock some Giant road bikes and sometimes a few nice hybrid bikes.

ThePyawkt, on 2012-01-03 09:26:42, said:

Pretty sure Mac Zone moved their service center to Kad Suan Kaew. It's buried in one of the darker corners of the mall, so you're best off getting one of the people at the Apple shop near the entrance to lead you there.

To those considering Payap as a place to study, after spending a number of months studying there, I have no doubt it's the most effective school here. The teachers are quite well-educated and professional. All of the teachers I studied with spoke English very well, and never had difficulty answering/explaining things to students. Most students attending classes are there because they want to be, which really boosts the learning atmosphere.

However, there were a few things I disliked...
- Admin office never reveals who is teaching the next term.
- They claim the class size is limited to 12 students, but sometimes it goes well over that. And there's an enormous difference between studying in a class of 10 and a class of 20.
- Visa support is expensive.

I want to clarify the visa costs for others, because the website and the admin office were misleading. To obtain a 3-month visa, you need to enroll in 2 successive courses.

First 2 courses +  3 month visa support = 20,200 baht
(15,000 for courses, 500 admin fee, 4700 visa fee)

Then, if you want to extend your visa for another 9 months, you must enroll in at least 2 more successive courses.

Second 2 courses + 9 month visa extension support = 19,700 baht
(15,000 for courses, 4700 visa fee)

Even though you're just getting an extension the second time, they still get you for another 4700. And of course this does not include any actual visa costs at the consulate/immigration. Expensive piece of paper.

Thanks for posting. Any idea whether enrollment in the Intensive Thai program qualifies for tax credits, or does one need to be enrolled as a 'real' student at Payap?