Month: April 2025

Local Weaving Exhibition and Demonstration Centre (Phaichit Weaving Group) is located behind Wat Ban Rai, next to Ban Na Fai Bueng Ta Pho School. Turn into the alley beside the school and go on for 700 metres. It is a group of people weaving cotton cloth with dyes from nature. They also teach others who are interested in weaving passing on the ancient patterns such as Lai Kho Luang, and Lai Kho Kham Duean. There are shops to sell Pha Sin, bedspread, tablecloth, cloth for tailoring and Mon Khit pillow. In this area, there is also a museum of ancient cloth which is more than a hundred years old

Ban I Mat – I Sai Hill Tribe Cultural Centre is located at Mu 4, Tambon Kaen Makrut, under the responsibility of the Hill Tribe Development and Contribution Centre, Uthai Thani, existing in a part of Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary. Most hill tribes are Karen, living peacefully and simply while they still practice their old traditions strictly. The examples of major interesting events are the festival to pay respect to the pagoda where there is a show of sword dancing, and the ceremony to pay respect to the Pho tree.

When the festivals are held, all relatives will return home. Those two events will be held every year in April. The date of the ceremony depends on the readiness of the people in the community; for example, when they finish harvesting. The most important thing is that this village does strictly not allow people to get involved in gambling or drinking alcohol.

Visitors can stay overnight at the Karen village, Chao Wat Yang Daeng Village, or shelters in the cultural centre which houses the Hill Tribe Museum. Please call Tel. 0 5651 2026 from 8.30 a.m. – 4.30 p.m. It also sells hand-made products, local woven cloth in natural color, bamboo basketry, and seasonal agricultural goods, such as dried chili.

To get there, from Amphoe Ban Rai, drive along Highway 3011, Ban Rai – Phu Bon route for about 20 km. to the end of the asphalted road. Take a laterite road for another 1 km.

Tham Kret Dao is 1 km. far from Ban I Mat – I Sai Hill Tribe Cultural Centre. It is possible to see the walking route leading to this cave. From its entrance, there is a bamboo ladder leading downward to the cave. It is a massive cave with large stones which can glitter when the light shines on them. The ceiling is full of bats. Villagers bring those bats droppings to make a fertilizer for plants in their fields. It is necessary to bring a torch.

Namtok Tat Dao is a little further from the entrance of Tham Kret Dao. The 9-tiered waterfall flows over rocks and is surrounded by fertile forest.

Botanical Garden is about 5 km. from the cultural centre. It has a natural fresh and comfortable atmosphere. It takes about an hour to walk around. In the garden, there are useful local plants and various species of plants; such as Sadao Pa whose fruits and leaves can be made into an organic repellent, Ton Sabu whose fruits can be used in bathing, washing hair and clothes, Rang Chuet which has a medical property to sober up. Some plants are poisonous such as hair of Chang Rong which can make peopleûs skin painfully itch when touching. Ya Nong – upas trees – has a poisonous sap which hunters in the past applied to the end of their darts that used for hunting.

tourismthailand.org/fileadmin/upload_img/Multimedia/Ebrochure/368/uthaithani.pdf

It is a lot easier once you are in the UK and if both of you are earning.  Much better for the blood pressure.

You and your partner must have a combined income of at least £18,600 a year if:
You’re applying as a partner and you want to settle in the UK (get ‘indefinite leave to remain’) within 5 years

You must prove you have extra money if you have children who:
are not British or Irish citizens
do not have pre-settled status
are not permanently settled in the UK

If you need to prove extra money for your children, you’ll need to earn an extra:
£3,800 for your first child
£2,400 for each child you have after your first child
This is called the ‘minimum income requirement’.

You may be able to use your savings instead of income. How you prove you have the money depends on how you got the income.

What counts as income
You and your partner can use:
income from employment before tax and National Insurance (check your P60 or payslips) – you can only use your own income if you earn it in the UK
income you earn from self-employment or as a director of a limited company in the UK – check your Self Assessment tax return
cash savings above £16,000
money from a pension
non-work income, for example from property rentals or dividends

If you’re using income from self-employment or employment, you’ll need to prove you or your partner received that income for 6 months or more.

Example

You’ve worked with the same employer earning £18,600 or more for 6 months or longer.

What proof you need to give

You’ll need to provide proof of your income with your application. If you or your partner are employed, you could include:
bank statements showing you or your partner’s income
6 months of payslips
a letter from an employer, dated and on headed paper
The employer’s letter should confirm:
you or your partner are employed there
the job title or position you or your partner hold
how long you or your partner have worked there
the type of contract (for example, permanent, fixed term)
what you or your partner earn before tax and National Insurance
how long you or your partner have been paid your current salary
the payslips are genuine

You’ll be told exactly what documents to provide when you apply online.

You need to show you and your family have enough money to adequately support and accommodate yourselves without relying on public funds. The caseworker considers your income and housing costs.

Applying for the new Thai e-passport is super quick and efficient. Except when your brother is a minor under the age of sixteen. We had to get a form from Amphoe for his passport. The other complication was that Dad is stuck in the England trying to organise a visa for the family to move and settle in the UK.

In which case he is required to provide a letter confirming that he consents to my Mum applying to renew passports for my brother and myself.

This he did.

He posted us the letter of consent together with a copy of his passport which took three weeks to get to us. Note for Dad, next time pay the extra and send it priority delivery.

Then when we eventually got up to Bangkok we found that they couldn’t accept it. It needs to be certified by the Thai Embassy in London on an official form, all in Thai.

He took leave, the train to the London Victoria Station and the District Line to Grosvenor Rd. From there he followed Google maps to the Thai Embassy.

The Embassy was not quite as efficient as they are in Bangkok. At first he joined the wrong queue but eventually got everything done and arranged to have the letter of consent and certified copy of his passport mailed back to him in the self addressed envelope which he had bought from the Post Office which is a priority service they offer.

He later found Rosa’s Thai Cafe which is near the London Victoria station before taking the train home. The documents will take three working days to process and when he gets them back he will courier them to us so we can pick the passports up when we next go up to Bangkok.

 

To get started, you’ll need to decide what type of game industry job you’re interested in. Here are the three most common roles:

• Game artist – Your job is to create concept art, storyboards, and designs for packaging and marketing materials. You’ll need technical ability to master specialist software packages and tools such as ZBrush, Maya, Photoshop, 3DS Max, Substance Painter and Mudbox.
• Game designer – A senior role that involves coming up with original ideas for games and overseeing the creative process. This could be across a number of platforms, including mobile, console and VR/AR. Game design requires a mix of technical and creative skills to develop and test your creations, as you may need to work with a range of programming languages and software packages including C#, C++ and Python.
• Game developer/Game programmer – You’re responsible for taking the ideas of the designers and writing the code required to build a playable game. It’s vital that you’re able to understand and follow instructions to bring the creative vision to life. You’ll typically work in a team headed by a lead programmer. A knowledge of game programming languages and specialisation in a particular platform, such as PC, mobile or consoles, would aid your progression. You could focus on an area of programming such as AI, audio, controls and interface, game physics or 3D engine development. Learn more about how to be an applications developer. If you’re interested in coding games, see IT courses.

Explore gaming apprenticeships

As this industry is notoriously tough to break into, gaming apprenticeships offer a structured entry route, combining classroom-based learning with on-the-job training.

There are game developer apprenticeships for those looking to start out in a development position. Gaming apprenticeships are also available for roles such as game designer, tester, visual effects artist, software development technician and animator.

If you can’t find any opportunities with the major game publishers, specialist recruitment companies such as Aardvark Swift often advertise apprenticeships in video gaming.

You can search for all available gaming apprenticeships at GOV.UK – Find an apprenticeship, while you can read more about other IT apprenticeships.

Rick stopped briefly on his way to the dump site I never knew existed, and he mentioned that it looks as if the Municipality is putting in a system to collect methane.