truethailand

Just looking for a little advice from somebody who has recently acquired a work permit. Working in the private sector my perspective boss has asked me to sort this out. I understand the process for making a visa application eg. introductory letter on headed paper etc. but is there anything I have missed.

A friend working for an oil company recently got refused at Vientiane and was given a list which contained 6 items that where required. Unfortunately he cannot find this list, does anybody know what these six items are.

Can somebody please list for me everything (including photos and size, photocopies etc) that I will need to be successful. I keep hearing that the goalposts are moved regularly...... HELP

Even a red like me can not justify this action. Apologies

Another one never been North of Don Muang Airport. They are so easy to spot on this forum. Made this statement to a few posters and no rebuttle.....I must be right then

You keep repeating this. What is it supposed to mean?

It means that these people have little or no idea (not their fault) of the plight of the poor

You have little to no idea (not your fault) what you are talking about. So let me help you ...

But this is just one slum. What about the people like the security guards at my condo complex who work work 7 days a week 12 hours a day (how much down time do rice farmers have?) to make less that 6k baht a month (any idea what living expenses are down here) and really have no life but working, sleeping and eating. Forget the fact that in BKK you are not even going to get a job as a clerk at a store unless you have paid and received a college degree.

your security guards roots will most probably be in Isaan, so will nearly all your taxi drivers, motorbike taxi drivers, your chamber maids, most of your bar workers, street cleaners, market workers, noodle sellers, construction workers etc. In fact if they went home your so called middle class bangkokians would have to get their hands dirty.... oh no cant do that. Bangkok only functions bcos of migrant workers and if they went home on mass... Bkk would shut in 12 hours

TAN Network: Soldiers back away from further confrontation allowing reds to return to Ratchprasong

that might sound like a bad call but these boys will go back to the others and tell them just how scary that confrontation was and there will be less reds returning to the site tomorrow

they won't be quite so cocky either.....

'they won't be quite so cocky either'.... facing live ammo and rubber bullets with nothing more than a few homemade fireworks is not cocky. Its being prepared to die for what you believe in. Another one never been north of Don Muang Airport

Actually it is either being incredibly ignorant or brainwashed by the constant violent rhetoric of your leaders.

It is one thing to die for your cause if you can advance it but it is another thing to give your life stupidly as people did in Guyana (Jim Jones)

It is never wise to fight a war you cannot win and going up against the army with sharpened sticks knowing they will fire on you when you get with in 30 meters....

There will be no advancement to their cause if they give their life under these circumstances and there will be little sympathy for them either. And they certainly will not be around later to fight or advance their cause.

But it will help to show Darwin was right. Not to sound cold blooded but you have to wonder what this world would be like if we didn't interfere with natural selection ... not so much in terms of caring for those with sickly genes that reproduce but continuing to take care of the ignorant and violent people who are more prone to produce more ignorant and violent off spring.

If we are talking about violent offspring the spoilt brat who ran his merc into an inoffensive bus stop comes to mind. Think his dad was from the current crop of ruling classes. Or the the other violent offspring who shot a policeman dead in a nightclub...forgot who his dad was. Just making the point that violence exists in all levels of society...not just in the poor.

It means that these people have little or no idea (not their fault) of the plight of the poor

Well, I'm gonna have to call bullshit on that one. There are poor people living in every province of Thailand. Some of the slums in Bangkok make Isaan look like the Club Med. FYI, your Thai experience is not more valid than anyone elses though I'm sure you mean well.

Point taken. Who do you think is living in the Bangkok slums.... Bangkokians or Isaan migrant workers

Well I guess this just shows how silly the previous comments were about going North of Don Muang Airport and how people in BKK are ignorant of the poor. And to answer your question, the slums are year round 24 hours a day and are made of people from all over the country but mostly those in BKK who have lived there for generations and why they previously were not allowed to evict them even though they have built their corrugated homes on other people's land. But certainly some are workers from the north who come down for work during their off seasons from farming to make more money. But most people there are full time residents.

And have you ever been to the south and seen the poor there? Keep in mind you won't find a lot of red sympathizers down there.

And let me be very blunt ... Until they stop supporting terrorism, lawlessness, violence and infringing on the rights, freedoms and prosperity of everyone in this country ... I don't care about or have one ounce of sympathy for any red supporter up north regardless of how bad off they might be. Until they can learn to respect others and behave like civilized people then I will simply turn a dead ear to anything they have to say. And as soon as Thailand learns to respond this way to all sides who take to the streets in this manner, you will never see an end to this madness.

Accept some of your points but what other option have they got. Accept an election in 9 months in which time they will change the constituion and electoral seats which in the main will result in less seats in any parliament for the reds. If they do this they will come back to Bkk in the near future. This has been brewing for a long time so lets get it over with and move on. I appreciate it must not be nice living in Bkk at present but lets face it, would this demo have any effect if they moved their forces to Udon Thani and took control there.

Another one never been North of Don Muang Airport. They are so easy to spot on this forum. Made this statement to a few posters and no rebuttle.....I must be right then

You keep repeating this. What is it supposed to mean?

It means that these people have little or no idea (not their fault) of the plight of the poor

And pray tell does your political intellect tell you that the plight of the poor is ok under a Billionaire that ensures that the poor stay poor but gives them all Five Hundred baht each every time there is an election, to ensure that he can stay in power whilst he and his family rape the country of its resources and assets? Is that solving the plight of the poor? Probably thirty percent of your fighters for democracy were at swampy airport a while back wearing yellow shirts. The fact is truethailand they will wear green with white spots on if you want them to as long as you pay them a few hundred baht each day to sit there and play with their slappy feet or slappy hands. Start your own political party and they would even protest for you, although you will need a new slappy toy, how about slappy <deleted>?

And if as you say in your quote above concerning TV members it is not their fault then why do you continue to ridicule everyone. It must be wonderful to be like you and have a global vision and an ability to be an oracle of wisdom for so many in need ....NOT!

You've answered your own statement. If they were not so poor they could not be bought for 500 baht. Your comment smacks of patronising these people. Do you not think they are capable of having beliefs of thier own.

Sorry if it appears that I am ridiculing, that is not my intention. My anger is that well rounded, educated and travelled people cannot relate this struggle to similar ones in history. We saw one recently in Myanmar by poor people, crushed by the Junta, we can recollect one in France hundreds of years ago and the poor won that one. The Chinese army is putting down rebellions on a daily basis. These uprisings by mainly poor down trodden workers is caused solely by the greed of the ruling classes, which maybe the army, the capatalists or wealthy families. The one in Thailand is no different

Another one never been North of Don Muang Airport. They are so easy to spot on this forum. Made this statement to a few posters and no rebuttle.....I must be right then

You keep repeating this. What is it supposed to mean?

It means that these people have little or no idea (not their fault) of the plight of the poor

Well, I'm gonna have to call bullshit on that one. There are poor people living in every province of Thailand. Some of the slums in Bangkok make Isaan look like the Club Med. FYI, your Thai experience is not more valid than anyone elses though I'm sure you mean well.

Point taken. Who do you think is living in the Bangkok slums.... Bangkokians or Isaan migrant workers

Another one never been North of Don Muang Airport. They are so easy to spot on this forum. Made this statement to a few posters and no rebuttle.....I must be right then

You keep repeating this. What is it supposed to mean?

It means that these people have little or no idea (not their fault) of the plight of the poor bcos they have only ever stayed in the south of Thailand and Bangkok and have never interacted with these red shirts. They may have a little Isaan chickie but thats their only link with the NE. They most probably have never entered a village in the poorer parts of the country. In my eyes these are the real people of Thailand and get my full respect for all their struggles and suffering. The future is bright ...the future is red but no more violence please. This is their struggle and we cannot help determine a victory for either side. If the status quo remains this will never end. The genie is out of the bottle and it cannot be put back in.

According to news reports, the army are stepping up presence around Rajprasong, possibly for a crackdown tonight. In my opinion, pushing the protesters out of Rajprasong could back-fire. Right now they're somewhat peacefully 'stuck' there, but pushing them out of Rajprasong will make them spread all over the city.

If the army go in there will be carnage , it will be the end of Abhisit and probably the start of a civil war. Lets all pray that they don't do it.

If he caves to the red terror, there will probably be civil war as well. Remember the MAJORITY of Thais (yellow plus all non-reds) are not in favor of a red government, especially now, that they have become a terrorist organization.

Terrorist organisation... you've been watching to much state run tv.... on yer way la... its way past your bed time

I understand that the moderators need to be cautious during this time of unrest and sympathize with the difficulties they face doing a thankless job. Since we're no longer permitted to post and discuss news clippings in the General Forum, I thought I'd bring a story to your attention here. Abhisit told the BBC on Tuesday why he won't call for a new election.

Thailand crisis: Red-shirt protesters and troops clash

On Tuesday Mr Abhisit told the BBC that while he wanted a political solution to the crisis, immediate elections were not the answer.

"There is a clear threat that if we hold elections too soon, with the mood running as high in terms of divisions and in terms of tension, elections would turn violent and they would solve nothing and we could be back into this vicious cycle of demonstrations." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8648109.stm

This is one the biggest red herrings in the overall argument for not holding an election in 90 days.

What evidence is there that the yellow shirts have any decent numbers in the support base beyond Bangkok ? I simply don't believe they have such big numbers! All the yellows and Abhisit do is come with every reason under the sun why there cannot be an election while people are being killed.

But it is reasonable to assume that a large proportion of the 22 million in Isaan are red supporters ? Sure the PAD might put up a fight after they lose ( which they will ) but I am sure they can be contained !

"But it is reasonable to assume that a large proportion of the 22 million in Isaan are red supporters ?" Only if you are a redshirt apologist. On another thread, a link was posted to a Khon Kaen Uni study which showed that 50% of the population of KK DID NOT want a house dissolution. If you don't have a clear majority in Isaan, what hope have you anywhere else? How is a extrapolated 11,000,000 a big enough % of the population to demand elections?

I am getting bored with this. Look at where the study was done, most probably in the grounds of KK Uni with 25000 students. Who just by chance happen to be the children of middle class chinese parents bcos red shirt kids cant afford Uni. I am sure even you dont need me to tell you anymore

I'm a little sick of hearing the redshirts this and the redshirts that. This is democracy in motion. If a ruling party refuses to openly compromise then the outcome can be violent. People here are passionate about their country. I admire them for that. They are willing to give their life for what they believe in. You whiners that think your opinion matters are just adding to the problem. The Thai people have a leader they believe is illegitimate and they are acting as such.

Many years ago our countries did the same thing the Thai are doing now. GIVE THEM SOME SLACK!!! Your opinion as a farang means nothing but your trivial rhetoric may create discontent that isn't needed. We are bystanders. Pay some respect and allow the process to come to it's conclusion. It is coming soon. I believe we will have a better country that we are visiting than the one that exists now.

Well said.....I second the motion

Markaew nominates himself as a visitor "we will have a better country that we are visiting" but thinks that people who live here should not have an opinion. He is backed up by the usual red apologists. Like them, he has swallowed the "peoples revolution" crap. IGNORE

Another one never been North of Don Muang Airport. They are so easy to spot on this forum. Made this statement to a few posters and no rebuttle.....I must be right then

TAN Network: Soldiers back away from further confrontation allowing reds to return to Ratchprasong

that might sound like a bad call but these boys will go back to the others and tell them just how scary that confrontation was and there will be less reds returning to the site tomorrow

they won't be quite so cocky either.....

'they won't be quite so cocky either'.... facing live ammo and rubber bullets with nothing more than a few homemade fireworks is not cocky. Its being prepared to die for what you believe in. Another one never been north of Don Muang Airport

Bangkokpundit: [Matichon] 2 soldiers were leaving tollway. Other solider mistook them for protesters & fired live bullet. 1 injury

So the soldier shot at them because they were leaving?

Completely turns things around, doesn't it. People were mentioning here that the soldier was shot because red shirts charged at the barricades, but now it turns out soldiers tried to leave and were shot by their own because they were mistaken for red shirts leaving?

Like .."red shirt, you can't leave or we'll shoot you. stay here!"

Sad event. If they were walking away where were they going, not out the front towards the reds. 'Mistaken for red shirts' in army green. Sorry cant believe any of this

I'm a little sick of hearing the redshirts this and the redshirts that. This is democracy in motion. If a ruling party refuses to openly compromise then the outcome can be violent. People here are passionate about their country. I admire them for that. They are willing to give their life for what they believe in. You whiners that think your opinion matters are just adding to the problem. The Thai people have a leader they believe is illegitimate and they are acting as such.

Many years ago our countries did the same thing the Thai are doing now. GIVE THEM SOME SLACK!!! Your opinion as a farang means nothing but your trivial rhetoric may create discontent that isn't needed. We are bystanders. Pay some respect and allow the process to come to it's conclusion. It is coming soon. I believe we will have a better country that we are visiting than the one that exists now.

Good Post Mate

your Spot on

Agree 100%

Great pictures on tv of about 50 military all firing in sync what look like shotguns at red shirts (unarmed) on motorbikes

You must be a really sick mind. They killed one of their own men. Shooting into people is not "great" unless you are blessed with a very low social IQ

What you onna bout

On the BBC they are showing what looks like at all out war with 50 military all shooting at the reds with shotguns looks like something from a war movie

Saw the same clip and that was without doubt excessive force by anybodys standards. Its no wonder Gen Anupong does not want any part of this. Slipping into retirement as the man who masterminded the biggest ever slaughter of thai citizens, he does not want that. So who is giving the orders for this action. It looked like all the weapons being fired were aimed at head height.

Peaceful, me thinks not. The red snipers are good at answering warning shots with " Proper shots to the head. The reds are armed to the teeth and are just itching to start the war. They " stole tons of weapons from the army remember?

Oh how easy it is to start, but it will be impossible to stop.

What a shambles now ?

1 troop, 10 protesters injured in Don Muang clash

One troop with severe head injury and 10 protesters were admitted to the Bhumibhol following the clash between anti-riot troops and red-shirt protesters near the Air Force headquarters.

The protesters were injured by rubber bullets.

The troop appeared to have been shot at his head.

-- The Nation 2010-04-28

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

If this is confirmed, it will now show how peaceful the red shirts are, and will show how unarmed they really are !!

Not really armed to the teeth just a few hired malitia who, when required, on April 10th moved into position and popped off mainly officers. The Army as the reds expected kakked in their kakis and retreated to avoid further blood shed. Load of cobblers, they got scared when somebody fired back (its not fair they got guns to).This protest stays peaceful until the army uses excessive force, then the reds fire back.

More blood on the Red's hands.

Another one who's never stayed North of Don Muang Airport

Who is going to reimburse Siam Paragon for one month of lost revenue?

Who cares... The owners of Siam Paragon or the land it sits on are the very people the reds are trying to oust from power and have more money than thaksin can ever dream of. They are not camped out in this area for reasons of personal safety. This area is predominantly owned by the super rich. The reds are trying to provoke a reaction by hitting them in the pocket. And the so called elite will order the army in soon bcos money is there only god.

Had it on first hand from a pr woman who worked for the central group, at the opening of central plaza in khon kaen, that the head of the business had a personal fortune (cash only) of 600,000,000,000 baht(thats billion) Baht. So lets not keep harping on about thaksins wealth, its just a smoke screen to hide the real issues

Consider the Rachawadee resort. A little different but very pleasant. You can use the 'Search' facility on this forum

I've checked out their home page.

Looks like a very good deal on what they have to offer;

just wonder how far it is from the city center.

no more than 5 minutes if you're driving

Live in Khon Kaen and the town centre to the Rachawadee is 6 km and about 7 traffic lights. Take you 20 mins in normal traffic

Oh well, thank you to the Reds and Thaksin for destroying Thailand.

Abhisit will go down as the most educated Thai Prime Minister who (as often is the case with intelligent people) had no common sense whatsoever. He has already lost so why not just go for a good old British compromise where noone loses face. Where the buffalo smiley when you need it?

Abhist is a strong PM and a good one IMHO, seems honest and educated and with common sense too, he does not just take the easy way out which would truly be the wrong way out. What else could he do right now, surrender to the thugs and bully boys like a weakling when he really is not in the wrong either?? He has already agreed very fairly and sensibly to bring new elections forward a whole year and the late Autumn is surely soon enough. The world is still recovering from the biggest recession in decades so the last thing we need at this point in time is an election and a change of direction when the recover is actually going rather well, (same in England where a change in Government right now would be disastrous at this stage of the recovery) . Also an election here will be pointless if the losing side can still continue to accuse it of being rigged with vote buying and other corruptions yet again, so this has to be avoided at all costs. SO AS I HAVE SAID MANY TIMES HERE, AND THIS IS SO SO VERY IMPORTANT, WITHOUT THE U.N. OR ANOTHER INDEPENDENT EXTERNAL BODY MONITORING AND POLICING ANY NEW ELECTIONS HERE, IT WILL NOT SOLVE ANY PROBLEMS AS IT SIMPLY AGAIN WONT BE RECOGNISED BY THE LOSING SIDE AS AN HONEST FAIR ELECTION AND THESE CONFLICTS WILL JUST UNDERSTANDABLY RETURN WITH A VENGEANCE. This all needs time to set up too so the late Autumn is really the earliest and a good and intelligent choice for all sides. THerefore all the intelligent honourable Red supporters should now go home and prepare for getting honourable ordinary folk standing as capable candidates for proper elections in the late Autumn. Then let the army deal with clearing the streets of the terrorist low life bully boy leaders left behind (who are probably on the promise of a big pay out from chief terrorist Thaksin if he succeeds in his aim of getting his money back).

If I was a Thai and had a vote here, as a reasonably educated and intelligent non elitist person (as I think I am) I would vote for the Red side but only IF they stopped supporting Thaksin and his thug cronies and stood honest capable Thai folk as candidates. I am sure many honest and fair minded Thais would do the same and positively vote for them too. Supporters of Thaksin are either on the promise of some big payouts from him or have their heads up their backsides as they obviously cannot clearly see what is so obviously going on here. Yes clearly this is all currently just about Thaksin wanting his ill gotten money and power back and he is obviously happy to pay out a lot to his thugs to succeed irrespective of the harm it will do to ordinary decent Thai folk and Thailand previously known as LOS. This current conflict is about Thaksin's money actually not about the Thai people and their future prosperity, and this is why I and many many folk in both Thailand and the rest of the world see Thaksin as an absolutely awful and evil man. Anyone surely should easily just be able to open their eyes and minds and clearly see that he is just that, the evidence against him is just too complete and compelling to see it any other way. Jeez how much proof do these people want to see Thaksin is not worth spilling a single drop blood over or even bothering with any longer so lets all forget him and ignore the prat, he just needs capturing and bringing back here squealing and crying to serve his sentence plus any others he receives for doubtless and numerous even more serious crimes not yet put to trial!!!

Also the Red Shirts should want the time to rid themselves of the convicted and obviously greedy self centred despicable crook Thalsin and their bully boy self proclaimed leaders and get themselves a real ordinary This leader capable of becoming a PM and non corrupt too. Make the Red Shirts a decent political force rather than being so stupid as they are now supporting the man who has robbed their country of billions (but hey Thailand got some of it back). No way would Thailand be recognised in the world if an undoubted and fairly convicted crook and megalomaniac such as Thaksin became PM, talk about losing face the country would be an international laughing stock, it beggars belief. So the Reds need time to get rid of these crooks and bullies and decent folk will start supporting the Red Shirts as their political philosophy of power to the ordinary Thai people rather than the Elite ruling class is a good one, and one we fought in many western countries over the last century and for the better of the ordinary people who make up the vast majority of all countries. So you see I am totally anti Thaksin and any other crook but I am not against the Red's political doctrine of a peoples power party and not an elitist party (as indeed Thaksin is one of the biggest Elitists), I just want to see common sense prevail and no more violence or blockading of Bangkok or anywhere else. The Thai people should knuckle down to get the country on the road to recovery and new hopefully honest democratic elections later in the year as Abhist has honourably promised.

Post of the day! Thanks!

Post of the day... increase the dosage lad. They want dissolution now so this government cannot amend the constitution. Changing the constitution will see less parliamentary seats in rural areas. You guessed it...the elite want that so the reds can never get power...without civil war

I have just read this thread and for the first time I am compelled to join this forum. Everybody is entitled to an opinion so I will give mine. It would appear that most people on this thread are based in the more affluent areas of Thailand and have never ventured further north than Don Muang Airport and if they have it has never been for any extended period.

Posters using phrases like 'minority rabble' just indicate their total ignorance of what is really happeninng in Thailand. How can 20,000,000 people be a minority. Yes 20,000,000, that is the amount of people living in the NE regions of Thailand. Add the North and they clearly have a majority. It has always been a non written policy of many previous thai Governments to keep these people poor and keep them this way so they go down to the 'smoke' and take jobs to help feed their families. Without these people BKK would shut in a few days. Posters should be aware if all migrants workers went home South of Ayuttyha would cease to function.

Sorry I slightly digressed there. This is a class war between the old elite and the new money. The old elite has paid the army to do there dirty work for centuries. When they dont like a government they call a General and we have them removed. The new money has enlisted the help of the poor to further their cause but there will be a price to pay when they finally take power. The poor have now been empowered and the genie is out of the bottle and he is not going back. Forget Thaksin, he is just the bus driver for this crusade and on his return he understands he will have to retain that support to keep power.

Living amongst these people I have realised Thaksin is just a figurehead who either personally, or with help from interested parties, has managed to raise enough funds to keep this protest thriving. These people want social reform and a bigger piece of the pie.

There can only be one outcome if you think logically. That outcome may come tomorrow or 1 year from now or 10 years from now, but be sure it will come. This is not just about fair elections it about winning back power that was unlawfully stole from them in a coup. Not only do they want elections, the leaders of this movement want removal of all the money families that run Thailand. You remove them and there is nobody to instigate another coup. The 'Amataya (elite) will do whatever it takes to keep a grip on this country, even throw grenades into their own supporters to cause one side to fight the other. They are looking for a reason, to justify to the watching world, a ruthless crackdown.

What is scaring the current elite is the finances flowing into this movment and where it might be coming from. That takky chappie has been on a jolly around the world for 3 years.... I dont think so. I believe he has been flying around garnering support to enable his return. Making promises to smaller nations of trade links and access to do business in Thailand in return for donations to his movement. Haven't the arabs been trying to get access to grow rice here but have been told you can only own 49%. Paints a nice picture for Thaksin,returns to power and then changes current legislation to allow the arabs 100% access to grow rice here. Oh where is all the rice grown.... yes red shirt country and they will get xxx more money per tonne. Game over..Tilt. Dont you just love this guy

The above is just a scenario of what might be happening but please take your blinkers off and forget your own insignificant life and see things from both sides. Thaksin is a poor man by Thailands elite standards and cannot afford to finance this movement alone. Somebody is helping him.

Yes my support leans towards the reds but I want a peaceful conclusion to all this and no more deaths. I have got 3 children born here in Isaan and if somebody does not remove these faceless people from power my kids may grow up with no prospects, no money and no future. I apologise to all living in Bkk and my feelings to all grieving relatives on both sides.

This fight for reform was won two years ago when that funeral pyrah( maybe mispelt) was lit.