How not to get scammed??

General rules for not getting scammed...

Its a sad fact but in many well traveled places, many people are looking to trick you out of your money.

It can start right at the airport.

Take licensed taxi's, ask on the plane about the rate to your destination, also take down the taxi number if available just in case you lost something.

Taxi's in some places will tell you that your hotel just had some issue and they will "offer" to take you to an even better hotel. I'd say there is a 99.999% chance your hotel is fine. Don't go to the other hotel.

If your taxi driver offers you drugs, just think for a second you are coming from the airport and he is taking you to your hotel, he might have glanced at your name from the baggage tags. Yes, most likely he will get you what you want but maybe he is setting you up for a police bust.

If a well spoken man comes to you and said the palace, museum, etc is closed. Just check for yourself, whats the harm in knowing for yourself. In Bangkok, this is very common near the Grand Palace area.

As said above, beware buying drugs. Its common to set up foreigners in drug deals in many party places and a Mexican, Thai or Indonesian jail cell is not a great place to spend the next 10-100 years.

If your buy a lot of drinks, you might consider paying as you go, its not unknown for bars to pad pills with extra drinks or food you did not consume. You are not in a great position to argue if you have been drinking and try to dispute the charges.

If your traveling long distance by bus or train, ask the bus to put your bags(if they are large) below where you will sit, so you can view it when the bus stops. Keep your valuables, with you.
Also you might invest in some small padlocks, it wont stop thieves but it will slow them down in some cases.

Meeting people is great overseas but you should also be on the lookout for people that are looking to push you into going to a certain store, card game, tea house or bar.

A few random things about Korea

Koreans will often ask you "Do you like Kim Chi?" To avoid a problem, just say "Yes, I like it", saying no is like an assault on Korea's character.

If you teach in a public school, you are now on the schools volleyball team. Korean teachers are crazy and passionate volleyball players. Public schools will play against other public schools in league games.

If your on a crowded bus or subway and have a big bag/box, some Korean might try to grab your box. Don't freak out, they will put it in their lap if they have a seat and you don't. When you leave, they will hand it back to you.

If you go to a cafe/store/bar often, you might hear "Service" that means you will get something free because you are a good customer. They do not want a tip, its just recognition of your importance to them.

It's rude to blow your nose in public but its not rude to cough all over the subway without covering your mouth.

Taxi's are generally very honest(Quite a rarity in other countries).

Running in Bangkok

To run in Bangkok is similar to telling someone you want to walk in Los Angeles, the common response might be why or how? Bangkok is congested and densely populated, whereas LA might be built for the car, so walking distances are quite far, Bangkok is built on ad hoc transport, wherever a car,motorbike or truck can go someplace, will go there.

The sidewalks in busy urban zones are populated with sidewalk business stalls, beggars, missing sidewalk blocks/potholes, masses of people and motorbikes occasionally. This makes running problematic if you are not aware of your surroundings.

The streets are another matter, you have mopeds merging, swerving without turn signals from the sidewalk to the soi's (side streets off of main roads), buses rumbling very close to the edge of the street, small tuk tuks buzzing by, pickup trucks and of course the regular personal car.

So, why run in Bangkok, well despite the pollution, noise and congestion, running is not an unknown to Bangkok, go to any large park and you will see people doing laps, sprinting or just walking with friends. I enjoy the shifting, weaving, hopping and dodging my way through people, chairs, over pot holes and the like on my way to a park for some laps. You are certain to have to build ankle strength from all the maneuvering you will have to do on your way to Lumphini park or the Benjasiri park located next to the Emporium mall.

If you do reach a major park, you will be delighted to see other runners, people practicing Tai Chi and other physical activities. It makes a great scene while exercising.

One word to the wise, Bangkok is hot and humid, do not expect free drinking water at a park, so in your shoe, waistband or anyplace you might want to keep a 50 baht note for some bottled water or snack if you plan on a long run, you will need it.

Happy running.

How to get a better room in a nice hotel

For a few years I worked for a large hotel company, our property was usually considered top in the city.

I work at both the front office and housekeeping, so I have seen my fair share of complaints and how they are changed into compliments.

Here are a few tips and maybe a few slightly dodgy tips to get ahead.

1.Hotels recognize frequent guests, even if you don't care about the honors program, it will get your name in the system that you stayed at Hyatt 10 times in the last year or Hilton 12 times, whatever the case. If you have stayed at the hotel before or chain, even if you know you did not sign up, ask them "Do you have my points number, I stayed at such and such property"
2.Put your requests in the system. If you really want or need a non-smoking room, tell them you are allergic to smoke. That way if you are placed in a smoking room, you will have a big leg up to get some relief. The same goes for chemical smells.
3.Go straight to the manager, always. Front Office Agents are trained to say sorry, and smile. If you are angry about something, why yell at the entry level staff? Yell at the Manager.
If you bring up something with the manager, it will most likely go in his/her daily report and maybe in your guest file, so anything else will be viewed form that(ie more chance of free service or upgrades).
4.Take names!! If you speak to someone, write down their name so you can say "Steve the manager said..."
5.If you request something(toothpaste, pen, etc) Most hotels say it should be sent up in less then 15 minutes, if its 16 well that's up to you but if its 30+ minutes, they forgot about you and that's not acceptable, bring it up.

It takes around 6 dollars to attract a new guest for every 1 dollar to retain an existing guest, its in their interest to make you happy, use that to your advantage.

Remember, your at a hotel...They are supposed to "take care" of your needs, so if you have some issues with your room, the hotel, the facilities, guest service, take it up to the manager.

Teaching in Korea, Part 2.

Things not to do:

Do not trust anyone's word, get it in writing.

Do NOT tell your school if you are leaving for the weekend to another country. They will make a big deal about it, trust me.
Korean culture is very different from most Western cultures, in their mind, you must "ask permission" to leave Korea, even if you are coming back on time and not missing any class.
Scan your passport and give them a copy of your passport photo/info+visa page and otherwise leave it at home. If they ask for it, just say you do not have it and show them your ARC(Alien Reg card).

Do not come to school drunk or too hung over: I have seen a few male Korean teachers come over quite hung over but quite honestly its a double standard, your the foreigner and expected to be an Angel.

Don't be a pushover, if you really believe your in the right about something, state your case with the details, do not get mad but there is no need to back down to make someone happy. Business is business.


Recruiting Agencies:

There are many many many, I doubt I could list them all.

Footprints is the biggest one, I did not personally use them.

A recruiter's job is to get your butt to Korea, that's about it, do not overly trust them about the school, etc.
When I was getting my documents together, I had some issues with the first agency, they started to send me Hogwan offer's even though I made it very clear I was not interested in a Hogwan. So I wrote them to stop emailing me.

Teaching English in Korea, Part 1

So you wanna teach English in Korea huh?
Its a popular place for teaching, that's for sure.

I'll tell you my story, my tips and things a recruiter might not disclose.


First the basics
Hogwan or
Public schools?

Hogwans are private academies for Koreans to study at, from small children to adults.

Public schools are just that, government schools that teach by grade level, teach regular hours and will have national holidays off.

First to Hogwans: "Don't worry you wont teach small kids" Yes, you will. You will teach whomever they want you to teach. Adults, Teenagers or small kids. A good hogwan can pay quite a bit more then a public school, a bad one will pay the same salary(with 10-12 more hours teaching per week).
Most Hogwan teachers work a split shift, am classes, then off for a while and then evening courses.

Public schools are desirable because you generally have fixed schedule and hours 840-440pm or something along those times.
You would teach 20-21 hours a week, the remaining time is for lesson planning, surfing the internet, reading, playing school sports, chatting in the teachers lounge.
You will eat lunch at school but you might have to eat in a classroom with kids or you might eat in a teachers lounge.


Pay, Benefits, Fun?
Public schools have a set pay scale according to your degree, experience and time in Korea. You cannot really haggle much with regards to the pay scale.

You will have an apartment provided, it may or may not be near your school. It will be small by western standards and mostly will not have a bathtub just a shower hose.
Utilities are not covered! They should be under 100,000 won a month for everything though, phone, net, power and water.

If your working at a hogwan, I'd angle to get more holiday time before you sign your contract, EPIK(a Public school program) provides 21+ days of paid vacation and many hogwans provide 10-12.

Health care is provided but you will pay into it from your check.

Pension can be recovered by some nationalities(Americans) but not by others(UK). Your pension payments will be returned to you when you prove you are leaving Korea.

The worst things I have tasted.....

I've had eyeballs, stomach, livers, lung but those things are not half as bad as the following...


Cheese flavored Ice cream, Not cream cheese but cheddar cheese flavored ice cream. It tasted exactly like cheddar and god it was horrible!!

Durians, to some they are pure pleasure and I have seen people just suck them down like crazy. I cannot stand them though, the taste is the smell to me, its overpowering.