ChristianPFC

Very interesting subject. Le me add.

I am German but do most of my reading and writing in English. Some years ago, I got a list of the 50,000 most common English words, and from ticking off those I know (in a list shortened to 5000 words, and then multiplying by 10), I counted that I have a passive isolated vocabulary of 22,000 words. That is approximately the level of an educated native speaker.

"Passive isolated vocabulary": I understand the word (i.e. can explain in English or translate to German) when I read it without context (but I wouldn't use most of these words in writing, leave alone in speaking).

However, 22,000 is not enough, I constantly look up words, here a list from history in "Merriam-Webster Dictionary" free app on my mobile: turpitude, guttersnipe, timorous, arduous, arcane, truanting, internecine, gules, dredge, succor, propitious, ingratiate. Some of them I didn't know, for others I wanted examples of usage.

I learned Thai vocabulary with flash cards, I made about 2000 of them, and know over 90%. From that I derive that I have a passive isolated vocabulary of Thai of 2000 words, which is enough for all my daily business and reading articles about sightseeing and traveling in Thailand.

My main problem is listening (I am a visual learner, I have to match the word I hear with a word I know in writing) and slang, not acquiring vocabulary.

I tentatively claim that Thai is not as easy to learn as a European language (I have experience with English, French, Russian and Spanish). I would say three years of learning Thai got me to intermediate level, whereas a similar effort in French got me to advanced level. But you have to consider that English and French are mutually reinforcing for a German learner, due to overlap of vocabulary. And when I studied Spanish for a year, already having intermediate level of French, it was a piece of cake. Just recently I had a look at a Spanish text and could understand the main points, simply from having and advanced level in French.

I made the big mistake of starting learning Thai with romanization (there was no other course available when I started), so I had about 20 hours of teaching in a group with romanization, which I wish I could make undone.

Even now, after working 1 year and holidaying 1 year in Thailand and reading simple Thai texts and doing most of my daily business (shopping, restaurant, taxi, traveling all over Thailand, hotel) in Thai, I sill associate the tones with:

movement of hand, movement of head, or with their representation by diacritics over the letter

and not as a combination of consonant class + vowel (short/long) / live/dead syllable / tone marks.

When I speak, I often still make these slight movements of head or hand, or imagine the diacritics.

Do others have similar experience and what can be done about it?

(I am German and speak some French and once learned Russian. French verb endings come naturally, I don't have to imagine conjugation tables. Similar for Russian cases, I don't have to think of the cases and tables, it comes naturally after some time. But these have equivalents in German, whereas tones have not.)

(i-mobile IQ 6 bought July 2013, Android 4.1.1)

Sometimes I get my location on googlemaps without switching on GPS or WiFi, probably from connection to network tower. I like this feature very much, it is fast and usually sufficient for my purpposes (the location is a large circle with several 100 m incertainty, but usually quite precise).

Unfortunately, this (location without GPS or WiFi) stopped working a few weeks ago. Is there a setting on my mobile or does it change with update?

Now I would have to switch on GPS and WiFi and wait (minutes, often longer), which is impracticable in most circumstances I need location.

How can I enable location from connection to network tower?

Went yesterday (Tuesday, 19.08.2014).

From MRT Chatuchak take bus 52 (20 min). From bus stop 15 min walk.

13:31-14:25 wait to submit documents

14:25-14:30 submit documents

14:30-14:55 wait to get passport back

Picture 4x6 cm is required on the form, and the field is about 4x6 cm large. However I used picture I had left from Vietiane which are 3x4 cm large and it was accepted.

I was asked to provide a phone number.

The officer had a question about my address, and I showed my rent contract which I had with me for clarification (next time check Khet and Kwaeng in advance).

I got my extension (30 days from expiry of visa), no proof of leaving Thailand required.

Related question, let me add it here.

I assume the 30 day extension is from the day the 60 days expire, and not from the day I get the extension?

How long before expire should I go to the immigration office (I had a week before in mind, in case they ask for other documents or deny extension).

So much talk about nothing.

For my last visa run to Lao (Nong Khai - Vientiane), I exchanged Thai Baht to USD in Bangkok. However, I didn't ask for new bill, and those I got had significant signs of use.

The officer refused the bills and told me I can pay in THB as well (I am German, 30 USD (?) or 1500 THB), I was actually relieved that I don't have to go to an exchange booth, get new notes (I assume exchange rates at the border are less favorable than in Bangkok) and queue again. I later exchanged the notes to Kip without problem, or paid with them, don't remember.

But I wonder why they don't post the 1500 THB, I remember only prices in USD quoted at the window.

Until now I didn't find this information worth sharing, but this thread shows there is an interest in such matters.

(I realize my situation is a bit different from the OP, my notes had heavy signs of use.)

I will probably carry 20,000 Baht in cash with me as a precaution for my upcoming border and visa runs. I will need the cash anyway, there is just a possibility of theft.

I have a bank account and passbook as well (used to work here), and think they make sense for tourists who come often.

In my vivid imagination, I can see one of the twenty 1000 Baht notes falling down during counting, and the remaining nineteen being returned to me.

That is stamp done in Vientiane when you have reached a limit on getting 2 entry tourist visas there.

What is the limit of double entry tourist visas in Vientiane?

I have single entry Feb 2011, double entry Feb 2014, and want to get another double entry in Jan 2015, and after that probably back to Europe. Currently in Thailand on triple entry from Berlin.

If you are traveling on visa-exempt or with a tourist visa, bring these documents for your extension:

1. Your onward flight ticket or eTicket out of Thailand within the 30 days

That makes sense to show you are leaving after the extension. But to get in at first on visa exemption, you need a ticket out of Thailand within the 30 days (airline or immigration might refuse you if you don't have it). You can change the ticket once you are in Thailand, but the hassle and money involved!

A catch-22: you can stay 60 days, but have to proof you are leaving within 30 days.

3. Hotel booking confirmation - and if you have it, your itinerary

Not my style of traveling (hotel booking, itinerary). I decide spontaneous where and when to go. Should this question really arise, I will give address of Thai or Farang friend who lives in Bangkok and say I will stay at his place throughout.

Wouldn't it just be simpler to make the visa exemption 60 days instead of having to extend it?

Great idea. Or ask at immigration when you enter if you want 30 days visa exemption (free) or 60 days (1900 Bath).

Consider that citizens of South Korea, Brazil and Peru get 90 days visa exemption, why do Western Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand get only 30 days?

http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/123/15396-Tourist-Visa-Exemption.html

Just back from one week in Cambodia, entry to Thailand via Poipet on second entry of three entries (from Thai embassy in Berlin).

Got triple entry tourist visa at Thai embassy in Berlin in April this year, but proof of travel out of Thailand (flight, train or bus ticket) was required.

Thai embassy in Berlin ask for proof of onward travel (airplaine, bus or train ticket) before issuing a tourist visa. Caused me some inconvenience, had to return the following day. See post I made for details.

In my case (triple entry tourist visa), it was not clear if the onward travel has to be after the first entry, the last entry, or for all entries. I had a ticket for leaving after the first entry. Hazy memory: the officer at the embassy asked if I still want a triple entry tourist visa, from that I conclude that a ticket for leaving after the last entry seems to be the norm.

This proof on onward travel is very annoying for me, I will try to avoid embassies that require it. I prefer to travel spontaneous and decide a week before where and when to leave Thailand.

No problems or long wait 2011 and 2014. My notes from my visa run in Vientiane:

Fri 31.01.2014

10:18 arrive at Thai Consulate

100 Baht passport pictures outside consulate (8 pictures, still use the remaining ones)

5 Baht photocopy passport page with Lao entry stamp 10:48

10:51-57 wait to pay 2000 Baht for visa

(overall about 40 minutes, could have done much faster, but read all documents carefully; there were only few people around)

decline offer by tout for same day visa

Mon 03.02.2014

13:05 gate open, but have to wait outside, few people around

enter 13:30, pick up passport, leave 13:38

Been to Cambodia for one week and back in Thailand now.

Visa on arrival in Phom Penh airport 20 USD, no proof of onward travel required (and I didn't have any as I would leave by bus, whenever I had seen enough).

Return to Thailand at Aranyapratet border crossing (no delays, no scams) on my second entry (out of three), no proof of leaving Thailand (in the future, within the 60/90 days) or any other documentation required (to be on the safe side, I took my rent contract and 20,000 Baht in cash with me).

The officer scrutinized my passport and crossed out the double entry tourist visa I got in Vientiane (only one entry use, might be confusing that there is an entry left, but the visa expired).

I spent one day and night in Poipet, there is a unofficial border crossing (even mentioned and mapped in wikitravel Poipet, as I learnt after I found it by chance), a wooden bridge over a river (but even without bridge, you would just be knee-deep in water), no queue, no money, no hassle, but I need the stamps in my passport!

Saradoc1972, all my visa exempt entries were with return flight back to Europe within 30 days and all other tourist visa applications (except the one in Berlin) and entries on tourist visa without proof of leaving. What bugs/worries me is that I might be refused entry, so I am left in no-man's land with no access to computer to book a flight ticket (and then wait for confirmation email and print it), that means I have to re-enter the country I just left (provided the let me in, I have no proof of onward travel!) to find an internet cafe to book a flight!

An interesting situation, caught in no-man's land between checkpoints and neither country lets you in because you have no proof of onward travel and can't get it.

SteveB2, you misunderstood, I have all required entry/exit stamps, but your reply answered another thing i was wondering about. (Can you do a U-turn in no-man's land, leaving Thailand, but not entering a neighboring country, and coming back to Thailand - obviously not. I didn't know they check you exit stamp from where-ever you are coming.)

A friend just told he came from UK and intends to stay two months in South-East Asia. He has no visa for Thailand, did enter on visa waiver. At check-in to his flight to Bangkok, they asked for a proof of leaving, he told them he will travel to Cambodia, within the 30 days and they accepted. Strictly following the rules, this trip could have ended at check-in or at immigration.

typo: boarder -> border (embarrassing, elsewhere I point out others' typos)

Seems strange that they would want proof of you having left Thailand when you are already outside trying to get in

You misunderstood, proof of leaving Thailand within 60 days (in the future) from the day of entering.

433 views and no comment that proof of leaving within 60 days was required when entering Thailand at a land border on a tourist visa, so I will go without proof of leaving.

Another note on double entry tourist visa in Vientiane and triple entry tourist visa in Berlin:

the form asks for 3.5 x 4.5 cm pictures, but 3.0 x 4.0 cm is accepted.

I found this out by chance. I got pictures in front of the embassy in Vientiane, and they must know what they do, so I didn't check the size of the pictures. I got 8 pictures (still cheaper than in some places in Thailand, and definitely cheaper then in Germany), so I had some left and checked size to see if I can use them in Berlin. Then I noticed they are 0.5 cm too small on each side, but fit on the form so I submitted them, and got my visa.

(A risky business, could have lost 90 Euro and hours traveling for visa application due to wrong size of pictures, and not taken within the last 30 or whatever days, just to save a few Euros on taking recent and correct size passport pictures.)

To round this up:

I applied for triple entry tourist visa at Thai embassy in Berlin in April 2014, while my double entry tourist visa from Thai embassy in Vientiane was still valid (one entry used). Berlin didn't take notice of it, nor did the immigration officer when I entered on the triple entry visa from Berlin in May (at that time the second entry from Vientiane had expired, but there is still an empty field: (1) 9 FEB 2014 (2) ........).

Apart from wasting 1000 Baht for an entry that I didn't use, they might tell me next time in Vientiane that I had already one double entry tourist visa, even if I used only one entry.

Proof of leaving Thailand required when entering on a land boarder on a tourist visa?

Did anyone on this forum had to show proof of leaving Thailand when he entered on a land boarder with a tourist visa? Bus/train sufficient or flight?

I ask because I had to show proof of leaving Thailand when I applied for a triple entry tourist visa at the Thai embassy in Berlin, I wrote about it here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/718063-proof-of-leaving-thailand-required-for-tourist-visa-at-thai-embassy-berlin/

I spent my first entry in Thailand (May-June), have a flight to Phnom Penh on June 30, will spend about one week in Cambodia (Phnom Penh, then Siem Reap), and return to Thailand via a land boarder and use my second entry.

(My recent visa history: German national, 2012 two visa waiver, work visa Feb 2013 - Jan 2014, one week Lao, tourist visa at Thai embassy in Vientiane, Thailand Feb-Mar 2014, full April in Germany, triple entry tourist visa at Thai embassy in Berlin, first entry in Thailand May-June 2014.)

I am living on savings and travel around in Thailand (and have pictures to proof that and can tell the immigration officer in Thai to which places I went and where I want to go next). To be on the safe side, I will take 20,000 Baht with me and my rent contract for my room in Bangkok as well.

I did not use Haas. I started with Thai for Beginners (Poomsan Becker) then intermediate and advanced. I used Thai Basic Reader http://siamwestdc.com/thaireader-UH/ (print out, listen and read, look up words, repeat) up to lesson 30. Now I read books that teach English to Thais (can often be found at reduced price: 29 Baht) and bilingual Aesop's fables.

Addition to previous post: when I go sightseeing (all around Thailand, trips of several days), it's more convenient for me to ask locals in Thai about best way to go to a place than researching it in advance on the internet in English.

"Can handle most situations"; reading and writing better than speaking better than listening. My Thai is sufficient for living in Thailand (look for accommodation, pay water and electricity, book hotel on phone, travel, food, tourism), but far from fluent.

To remember the final พ in พิมพ์ (to print), I think of the English word "pimp".

There are pictorial dictionaries, I have one German-English-Thai (intended for German users) and one Thai-English (intended for Thai users). I found the Thai-English at a market, I like books so whenever there are books for sale I have a look. There must be more pictorial dictionaries to teach English for Thais, that work in the other direction as well.

There have been reports the some embassys require proof for each entry on double and triple entry visas. It's not a new requirement it 's just that some are enforcing it.

Which embassies? I will avoid these.

After leaving the embassy (with all my documents to submit again with proof of leaving), I was wondering if they mean proof of leaving after the first 60 days or after the last entry, but for all, it didn't occur to me.

But another thought occured: I now have a flight to Cambodia, but I don't have a visa yet (will read requirements in detail a few weeks before), fortunately the Thai embasssy didn't ask for a visa for Cambodia.