Guest fountainhall Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 I know thaiworthy is planning to live in Thailand on a retirement visa. But as a magician, perhaps he can find a company prepared to hire him. If so, then I saw a great tuk-tuk in front of the Dusit Thani Hotel this afternoon. A design along these lines could be your calling card, thaiworthy!! Before anyone makes the obvious point that you cannot earn money on a retirement visa - indeed, you cannot even do charity work, if what I have read elsewhere is accurate - maybe you could find a company prepared to hire you and convert your visa into a work visa, always assuming you have one of the necessary skills. And again before someone jumps down my throat, I have a friend who did just that and has been working on a salary for about seven years now. Quote
Guest thaiworthy Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 I saw a great tuk-tuk in front of the Dusit Thani Hotel this afternoon. A design along these lines could be your calling card, thaiworthy!! I can go pretty low to debase myself for the sake of children's entertainment, but this silly clown truck is where I draw the line. But thank you for the kind thought, FH. This has been perplexing me for some time. One of the reasons I want to live in Bangkok (as opposed to Pattaya or Chiang Mai) is for the simple reason there is a magic community there. They meet monthly and some do work professionally. One of my first tasks is to meet these guys and ask them how they perform with or without a work permit. I belong to SAM (Society of American Magicians) and HAOM (Houston Association of Magicians), but don't go to the local meetings anymore because I am on the way out. In Bangkok, the equivalent is IBM Ring 270 Thailand and the SAM Assembly 217 Thailand. There are many magicians in Bangkok. They even have a magic club there that meets every last Sunday of the month at the sixth floor of Unico Grande Silom hotel (formerly known as The Tower Inn Hotel), Silom Road, Bangkok, from 1 pm. Unfortunately in my past visits, I have not been there on that Sunday. Otherwise, whenever I ask any other performer (a musician, for example) about how they work with or without a work permit, they either ignore me, run away or give me some bogus answer. Considering that, I could email someone or get on a forum, but I am afraid of the same treatment. A face-to-face meeting and introduction just seems like the sincerest way. The only exceptions I can think of is the local magician Derek Rutt and the folks at Siam Magic or Maxello Magic (who manufacture magic items in Pattaya). Derek comes recommended but Maxello is homophobic. However, there should be no relationship between magic and lifestyle, anyway. Having now read your post, it may be possible to get a work permit under another kind of visa (I suppose) by working for an established company that I might find by networking at these meetings. I won't know until I'm there and start to ask. I'm not at all interested in the money, I just like kids and making them laugh. For starters, the Huay Pong children's home and others like it countrywide is the kind of venue I'd be seeking. But there's also the problem of transporting my props to the different locations and speaking the language so they can understand the patter that goes with the trick. So it's not just a work permit, there are other considerations. Magicians don't make much money anyway, so I wouldn't be able to afford a car, so mebbe i'll just rent one. The language barrier is easy enough to solve, since an assistant can be hired to translate, and since most of the stuff is silliness anyway. I don't think I really deserve this thread but humbly thank you anyway, FH. My kid's show is modeled after my hero, David Kaye, (aka Silly Billy). I have a license to use one of his routines, which I perform almost verbatim. http://youtu.be/4DoSU30zgoU Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 “Silly clown truck”? Surely that is precisely the reason why people look at it! It’s fabulous marketing! It stands out from the crowd. An ordinary little truck just blends in to the background. But much more importantly – One of my first tasks is to meet these guys and ask them how they perform with or without a work permit. This is definitely your most important job because the rules surrounding retirement visas are very clear and very strict. There may be some people on retirement visas who do occasional work for cash. But if Immigration ever finds out, their visas would be cancelled, I understand. But this is an area about which I have little knowledge apart from hearsay. Quote
Rogie Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 I can go pretty low to debase myself for the sake of children's entertainment, but this silly clown truck is where I draw the line. “Silly clown truck”? Surely that is precisely the reason why people look at it! It’s fabulous marketing! It stands out from the crowd. An ordinary little truck just blends in to the background. I was tickled pink when I saw those photos! mmm, Clown Eckie, eh? I immediately thought of a strange expression used in the north of England . . .eckie thump Bet you've never heard anyone say that have you Thaiworthy? Well if not, you haven't lived! Here is the background to the word: It's another Geordie north country one ! Means ee by gum !!or in our speak: Fancy that !! http://uk.answers.ya...29063829AAzss0h Why am I going to such pains to discuss an obscure northern British vernacular? Well, seems our tuk-tuk driving Clown Eckie has competition! http://www.eckiethump.co.uk/ Quote
