Due to the tough emplotment regulations that apply to foerigners wanting to work in Thailand Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL or TESL) is about the only option that is open to everybody (as long as you have a degree). Sure you can get great jobs out here like bar manager, chef, accountant or engineer but unlike your home country these jobs are not often openly advertised and finding them involves a lot of networking or getting a transfer from the company you work for back home. Anyway, I’m sure you are aware of the tight restrictions that apply to us here in Thailand and perhaps that is why you managed to find this post on how to make money online in Thailand.

From my personal experience the best way to make money online anywhere in the world, not just Thailand is internet marketing or affiliate marketing as it is sometimes known. Basically you make a website, people visit it and depdning on the site they either click on adverts or click on a link to a retailer like amazon and then whatever they buy you get a percentage of.

There are many great reasons why this approach to making money online is perfect for those wanting to live in Thailand full time and here are just some of them:

• Easy to get started
• Very small start up costs
• Get paid in your local currency into your home bank account
• Can become a passive form of income
• Can be done from anywhere at any time
• No need to deal with customers
• Be your own boss

Now there is one slight downside to this approach to earning some money in Thailand and that is you won’t get a work permit to do it and this means you cannot officially do it while in Thailand. The good news is that no one need know and it is very hard, almost impossible for anyone to find out. The websites you will be making will be targeting either the United States or a country in Europe and you will get paid into a bank account from your home country. Unless you tell someone know one will know you are doing it!

So how do you get started in internet marketing in Thailand? Well there are many ways and if you do a google search on “make money online” you will find 1,000s of blogs and website claiming to teach you how to get rich overnight.

Well I’m sorry to tell you that it just isn’t that easy. It might’ve been in quite simple to earn money at the touch of a button in 2000 but now there is more competition and tighter rules which you have to follow to get your site up and running.

But it can be done!

If you are prepared to put in the time and effort and approach this like you would a proper job then the rewards can be great. If you worked at this 9-5 like you would a regular job, at least in the start, then you could be earning real money within six months. Once things are up and running you can take your foot off the pedal a bit. Many people are probably leaving right now as they were expecting to get rich overnight but that is good because it redues the amount of copetition you will be up against.

Now I hate to be one of those guys that is claiming to  sell you a dream or a scheme of how to make money online but if you are really serious about this and are willing to put in 60 mintues per day every day for the forseeable future then you can succeed in this game.

If you are willing to work your proverbial off for a solid hour a day, each and every day then you can make money online in Thailand or anywhere else.

But that is a solid hour of work. Not 10 minutes writing then 5 minutes on Facebook, then a bit of your favourtie sports website then 20 more minutes of writing.

No you will have to write solidly for 60 minutes.

Can you do that?

If so and you are prepared to hand over about $20 for a solid course that, provided you put in the work can get you earning $100 a day on average after a few hard months of work then congratulations.

The course is called 60 Minutes to $100 Days and can be found on this website.

The course is pretty much 100% video so you don’t even have to read anything!

If you have any questions about this topic feel free to leave a comment or get in touch via twitter.

Sports Supplements in Thailand

As far as I know the reason for the lack of products and the high prices is due to the rules for selling this sort of stuff in Thailand. Some sort of medical type permit is need as far as I can gather which makes producing and importing things like whey protein in and into Thailand quite expensive.

After looking around for a while I finally found a site that seems to have what I need with a great selection of whey protein and other bodybuilding supplements. Although they are based in Phuket they offer free delivery to anywhere in Thailand no matter how much or little you order which is great. They also take paypal which is handy for those of use without credit cards registered in Thailand.

I’ve ordered the 1kg Dymatize Whey Protein which I’ve had before from another supplier and at the Phuket Health Shop it retails for a very reasonable 1300 baht including free shipping to Bangkok or anywhere else in Thailand. You can visit their website by clicking on the link below:

• Phuket Health Shop

If you know of any other places to get sports supplements in Thailand please leave a comment below.

Phi Phi Police ‘Beat Up Tourists,’ says Phuket Expat

I read a story on another Thailand blog from an expat who says he witnessed a brutal police bashing on the party island of Koh Phi Phi. He is keen to get in touch with the people who got bashed as they were taken away by the police never to be seen or heard from again.

You can read the report here and its coverage on a Phuket website here.

Phi Phi does have a pretty lively party scene with lots of annoying farangs working as bar touts (especially that guy who stands on the corner asking you if you know where you are going). I wish the police would check their work permits rather than bashing people.

Did you hear anything about this incident? Even been on the end of some rough justice Thai-style?

If you’ve spent much time on the roads off Bangkok you’ve probably seen a few cars with matte black paint jobs. Although the longer you spend out on the streets you will find a whole array of colours in a matte finish. Most of the cars that have had this treatment are the high end cars such as Porsches, Lamborghinis and Audis. But it’s not uncommon to see the odd Toyota Vios or Camry that has had its colour changed to a matte finish.

Although traditionally, to acquire this finish you would have to repaint the car now you can get it done with stickers or a matte wrap which is professionally put onto your car. The main benefits of this is that it is cheaper than a new paint job and is easier to reverse with the wrap being peeled off.

I do like the look but it looks better on some cars. I saw a Mini Copper today in blue which didn’t look so great. I think black is the best but white can look nice and depending on the car other colours can be pulled off. The fact that it can be undone makes it more tempting as when you get bored with your matte car you can go back to the glossy finish.

If you want to get it done there are a few places in Bangkok that do it. One of them is guys at Wrap@Car. Let us know if you’ve had it done or you’ve seen any interesting colour schemes around Bangkok and Thailand.

• http://www.wrap-a-car.com/home.php

There isn’t much on Google yet but I’m sure that will change soon.

I think it was too far inland to create a tsunami.

Did you feel an earthquake in Bangkok or Thailand tonight?

Reading Thai isn’t as hard as it first seems and although I’ve only just started it definitely seems worth while.

Not only will you be able to read menus and street signs but you will be able to look words up in the dictionary and know how to pronounce them without relying on the the dodgy transliteration or karaoke Thai.

I think it is a more accomplish-able task than learning to speak Thai as you can never learn all the words and phrases but at least with reading, once you have learnt how to read you can then read all words. Knowing what they mean is another thing though!

If you are like me and have been putting off learning to read Thai this website might be just the thing you need to get you going:

• http://www.phil.uk.net/thailand/learn_to_read_thai_tutorial_1.html

Phil teaches you a few letters at a time and then shows you some words using those letters so you can get reading straight away. This is a much better way to draw people into reading Thai as opposed to making them learn all the letters first. This way you can start seeing results early on.

Can you read Thai? How did you learn? Leave a comment to share any tips or resources that helped you.

Another week in Bangkok, another Sunday Lunch in Bangkok.

Its not quite that frequent but my quest to visit all the places in Bangkok that do a Sunday Lunch is starting to pick up. So far I’ve been to The Londoner, Molly Malones, the Robin Hood and now the Dubliner.

Unlike the other pubs that I’ve been to in Bangkok that do a roast dinner the Dubliner does not do an all you can eat carvery style Sunday lunch. I wasn’t aware of this when I went in there and when I found out I was a bit disappointed but sometimes less is more and if you are like me and tend to eat as much as you can rather than eat as much as you want, being limited to just one plate can be a good thing.

The price is about the same as the other pubs in Bangkok that do a Sunday Lunch costing ฿400 (about £8) and as you only get one serving isn’t as good value. The food is nice and arrives very quickly after ordering. You don’t choose what meat you want – you get it all: chicken, ham and beef. The meat comes with your own portion of gravy, roast and mashed potatoes, peas, carrots, sausages, cauliflower cheese and a Yorkshire pudding so its not a small amount of food. There is no starter or desert though. One plate is a good amount and after eating it I felt better than I do after two or three plates at the all you can eat carvery places in Bangkok. The pub is nicer than the others I have been to in Bangkok as it has lots of windows and you can see out on to Sukhumvit road. The Dubliner has three floors with a pool table on the top floor and as we were leaving an authentic (Thai) Irish band were setting up.

I’d recommend the pub and the food served at the Dubliner, Bangkok, but if you are looking for an all you can eat roast dinner you will be disappointed. Next time I go I will probably have the Irish fry up as it looked even better than the roast and cost the same at ฿400.

• Name: The Dubliner
• Where: 440 Sukhumvit Rd (between Sukhumvit Soi 22 & 24). 5 mins walk from Emporium
• Nearest BTS: Prom Phong
• Website: http://www.thedublinerbangkok.com/

Has today been the coldest day ever in Bangkok? It certainly feels like it! It is almost Songkran, the Thai new year/Easter holiday which is usually the hottest point of the year and comes right in the middle of the hot season. But today as I stepped out of the lift and into the cold air I realised my usual Bangkok uniform of shorts, t-shirt and flip flops had left me a little under dressed. The skies were grey and there was a cold wind blowing.

The temperature in Bangkok today, according to a few weather websites, has been around 20°C which compared to most places around the world is pretty warm but out there where it is mostly about 10°C hotter. So while it is cold it’s not been the coldest day ever in Bangkok which according to wikipedia was 9.9 °C (49.8 °F) in January 1955.

But I’m not complaining. It makes a very nice change to be able to walk around and do exercise without building up a sweat. Its started to rain now though which puts a dampener on things but its great to have the air con off and the windows open and still be cold!

The best online resource for finding out which films are showing and where is the Movie Seer website: http://www.movieseer.com/th/index.aspx

If you are on the road, however, you might be interested in this iPhone app that lets you know what films are showing at the popular Major Cineplex chain of cinemas thoughout Thailand: http://itunes.apple.com/th/app/major-movie/id321230030?mt=8

Just make sure you don’t forget to stand up!

Like back in Blighty the best place to find a good Sunday Roast in Bangkok is a pub and the best type of pub to find one is at one of the many British or Irish themed pubs found around the city. One of these pubs is the Londoner Brew Pub on Sukhumvit just at the entrance to soi 33. At the Londoner you will find the Super Sunday Family Carvery Buffet being served from 12:00–15:00 and 18:00–21:00. This is an all you can eat affair with a massive selection of foods to chose from; bigger than anywhere else doing a Sunday Lunch in Bangkok that I’ve been to so far.

The appetisers include smoked salmon and a massive range of salads as well as a variety of soups. The main has all the trimmings you would expect including Roast Beef, Roast Chicken, Roast Lamb and Roast Pork. For dessert Dutch Apple Pie and Custard and a good selection of cakes and other puddings. Although most of these are found at other pubs in Bangkok doing a roast dinner they are all ‘help yourself’ including the dessert so you can really eat as much as you want!

The price for all this is 470 baht which is a bit more than the Sunday Lunch at Molly Malone’s but only about 70 baht.

I’m pleased to report back that the food is very nice here and is on a par with Molly Malone’s but with a bit of a better selection. The only downside is the pub itself which is a little bit too big for a Sunday lunch and can feel a bit empty whilst you are eating although if it is very empty you might be able to get a booth seat which is more cosy.

Overall the Londoner is definitely worth a visit if you like a good Sunday lunch.

• Name: The Londoner Brew Pub
• Address: 591 UBC II Building, Basement B 104, Sukhumvit soi 33
• Nearest BTS: Phrong Phom
• Tel: 02-261-0238-9
• Website: http://www.the-londoner.com/
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/londoner33