wilscoop

23 hours ago, amexpat said:

If killing walking street is successful, maybe Las Vegas will eliminate gambling. 

Quite. Time for Rome to eradicate all ancient landmarks and rebrand as a luxury mall.

23 hours ago, amexpat said:

 

 

 

• Thanks. They all sound like good suggestions.

My friend's baby just scribbled on her plastic ID card. What's the best way to remove the ink?

I need new headphones to plug into my smartphone. My local shopping options are 7, Tesco Express, Mini-Big C. [Not keen to use mobile retailers.]

What are the best earbud wired headphones? Or wireless headphones?

Budget: willing to pay top-of-the-range in 7, Tesco Express, Mini-Big C - if it's worth it. I need tough and long-lasting earphones - not that fussed about sound quality. My previous E&P pair went dead in one ear after a week.

Thanks.

23 hours ago, Expat Tom said:

The best Thai doctors were trained in the West. I do not see much from Thailand in the home grown medical sector.

Having said that, I have had three operations done here, all at Bunrungrad, and the lead doctor in all thre were trained in the USA.

It's 'Bum' not 'Bun' unless you're using US spelling.

On 4/13/2020 at 1:06 PM, smedly said:

I have a lodger these last 10 days - she had no money and no food 

Can you keep us posted in a separate thread? Seriously - it's an admirable thing to do. Many others might like insight into how viable it is.

Crocy

On 4/13/2020 at 11:54 AM, steven100 said:

The pawn shops will be having a field day. I suspect everyone will want to get in early to porn as much stuff as they can because I bet they will stop taking goods after a week or two. 

Yes 'porn' is another option.

Thanks for your input, JackThompson/Bullie. Agree about Laos.

My understanding is the authorities just would not process a visa for a Vietnamese citizen at all. Alas, we've tried the consulate in HCMC and been stonewalled before.

My Vietnamese companion has been denied a Thai tourist visa [no luck with local Cambodian agents].

So, unless anyone has any constructive suggestions, Thailand is now almost certainly off the table. We will have to spend our tourist dollars elsewhere.

Thanks

Thank you, Joe. Is the requirement 10,000 baht per person?

From Cambodia, which border is smoother: Koh Kong or Pailin?

Also, will my Vietnamese travel buddy need 20,000 thb + an onward ticket? She has visited Thailand once before. We will have tourist visas.

Thank you

I last used that crossing about 11 months ago and experienced no difficulty using a re-entry permit on my return from Malaysia.

Whilst I have read posts relating to those who have had problems it is, perhaps, worth remembering that 100's use that crossing every day.

Here we are only able to consider one side of any reported problem.

You were using a type of entry that did not made you gain any new time in Thailand. Which is different from the OP case.

There are hundreds of similar reports, it is know for a fact, you are even told by the moderator, but there you are disbelieving and justifying abuse.

Well said. I have used this border crossing only once. It was the worst border crossing I've experienced by a mile, thanks to the resident gestapo.

Vientiane and Savannakhet will not issue a visa to Vietnamese citizen. Look at the notice I posted a link to earlier.

Do you think she has any chance of getting a Thai tourist visa from a Phnom Penh travel agent? This has been easy for me [Aus/UK passport holder] in the past. Thanks for all your input by the way.

Perhaps she should contact the embassy in Hanoi about it. Contact info: http://hanoi.thaiembassy.org/content.aspx?type_id=7

She tried. Hanoi said she had a southern accent and so should just talk to Saigon.

What the consecrate dies not seem correct. As far as I know Vietnamese can get tourist visas.

She is not eligible for the 30 day extension because her 30 day entry is based upon a bilateral agreement.

Exactly. We are baffled by this and unsure what to do now. Previously we understood it was entirely possible for her to get a tourist visa in Saigon.

My travel buddy is Vietnamese. She was planning to get a 3-month Thai tourist visa in Saigon [Ho Chi Minh City]. Now, Saigon's Thai consulate says Vietnam citizens cannot do this.

So, can she get a 30-day exemption stamp then extend 30 days? If so, where's a good place in Thailand to pursue the extension procedure? Had major problems before, in Samui, trying to do that.

Then after leaving Thailand, she got a tourist visa in Penang, which cannot be done again, because rules have tightened.

I'm set to apply for a 2/3 month tourist visa at the Thai consulate in Saigon (HCMC).

Anyone got any experience of applying for visas at the Saigon Thai consulate? If so, any tips?

I have a UK passport; my companion who'll also be applying for a tourist visa, has a Vietnamese passport.

Thank you.

I arrived on visa-exempt from Singapore on Air Asia. They didn't ask for an onward flight. I doubt any/many airlines in Southeast Asia ask.

Jetstar demanded one from a friend of mine at Saigon.

Good. So it seems like it's doable. Thank you very much for your input, everyone.

I need to do a Saigon visa run. I have two passports: UK + Australian.

The Australian one I have been using is almost full and requires a paid visa in advance.

The UK one is empty and, thanks to recent admin changes [http://vietnamtravelblogs.com/news-2/vietnam-grants-visa-waivers-9-nationalities.php], should get me 15 days free in Vietnam.

So, after being stamped out of Thailand on the Aussie passport, can I switch to the UK one on arrival in Saigon?

They have recently expanded the migrant worker scheme to include Vietnamese. She might be able to find work, get a work permit and a non-la visa.

Cheers Uj, will relay that.

There are many "volutorist" places that make you pay to volunteer. In general these are scams. The real charities that could use volunteers generally can't afford the fees for the visa and WP for the volunteer. Is she willing / able to pay for the papers herself, if a Thai chairty sponsors her? Tell he to stay away from Chaig Rai. They are generally racist/Christian deals or flat out scams. A few orphages in BKK that might want her if she can pay the fees.

Thank you for the intel cgp. Sounds like a much trickier field to negotiate than we realised. I'd be willing to help her out if she can find somewhere kosher. It's sounding like we might have to abandon the idea though.

Thanks for your input, Mario and Nz.

Yes Nz, correct. Getting the visa in Penang was a gruelling and exorbitant business. Then, even after she finally got her three-month tourist visa, my Vietnamese friend was still interrogated intensively on the Sadao border and only just scraped through.

Previously she got a 30-day exemption stamp at bkk, but only after being forced to buy an onward air ticket at her departure point [sgn]. After, she was only allowed to extend seven days.

Vietnamese. Regulations seem to have tightened recently and she routinely gets a fair bit of grief on entry.

I have a friend who would like to do volunteering work in Thailand. No specialist skills. Good grasp of English.

Ideally, but not necessarily, the work would be in the Chiang Mai area. The charity you cite should, in theory, be able to help her get a volunteer visa, because it's hard for people of her nationality to get tourist visas generally.

Teaching English conversation or working with children or animals might be good.. Thank you.