sua yai

Just to clear up the point about prostitution and England - it is not illegal in certain circumstances.

The calling cards in a telephone booth will direct you, if you're so inclined, to a flat/house where one girl is working with a maid. That's legal. Two girls in there and it's a brothel, so illegal.

Hence, technically, massage palours offering extras are illegal and attempting to procure sexual favours, or looking for them in public, is also illegal. Hence laws against kerb crawling.

That should clear the situation up. Don't expect to be able to see into any West End phone box in London!!

In my bad old days, I overstayed on 5 occasions and passed through Ranong with no hassle - mostly 1/2 days over, but once 36. This long overstay did have some justification, but I won't bore you with the details.

Also, on two consequitive occasions through Mae Sai. On the second occasion I was given a polite slap on the wrist and told that main immigration in BKK had sent out advice to all border crossings to get a bit tougher on regular overstayers - I seemed to fit into this category.

That was over a year ago and I've never overstayed again. I agree with a lot of posters on this forum that there really is no justification for overstaying. To reiterate, the 36 day one was, in some ways, justified.

In Ranong last month and noticed signs up informing everyone not to believe people who said that you only needed to pay the fine. You are breaking the law and as Lopburi3 says, if they don't like you, you will definitely not enjoy the consequences.

Beware.

It's a rumble in the jungle. Bring it on!!

Can happen anywhere in the world if you havn't got your head screwed on.

Hey tuk tuk,

Reckon I know you and if so, you are only asking a fair question.

How are things in the west country?

Did you get licences for the UK?

more to the point, what would you do if your missus disappeared every now and then to Isaan (a month at a time) and then refused to let you see her passport?

I know what I did!!

" Normally sedate Hua Hin" is classified as a drought area by the govt. My worst experience of flooding was during March 2001 when my parents came to visit me in HH.

Would have expected a hot climate all over much of los at that time, but HH was waist deep in flood water for over a week.

Thay had as good a time as they could, but certainly weren't prepared for swimming in sewage.

Fortunately, the town seems to have got the drainage sysyem working better than before - although I've not seen rain like it since.

Time will tell.

Mr Red/Storekeeper,

Been a while since I was helping people find places (3 years), so you're probably much better off sticking with info on web pages and dealing with local farang agents who really know the situation.

However, prices are escalating and don't seem to show any sign of slowing down - for the time being.

I don't think 1 - 1.5 would get you very much these days. Better to think double. However, "your home is as you make it".

ijustwannateach - firstly, thanks for all the info which I'll digest. Secondly, reckon I've got this "thread" thing sorted out now after speaking to some friends.

Newspapers are fun - I met the MD at The Bangkok Post some eight years ago, at the offices, informally, with a view to employment. Appreciate that the concept of free press here is slightly different to the UK.

I'm sure I'll have follow up questions and will get back to you.

Please get the other posts cleared up/deleted. They are in the wrong place.

Turaround time in Penang, Vientianne and UK is usually 2 days.

Don't know the situation in the US, but was back in the UK last year and when applying for a NON O the Consulate in Hull sent me info on Tourist visas as well. Was surprised to see that they had prices for triple, quadruple and multiple entry Tourist visa. I'd thought double entries were the maximum allowed.

Depending on the length of your stay, it might be worth checking these options out.

I agree with unbiasbob. I'm 46 and have been in Thailand for a little over 6 years. Have survived on a few double entry tourist visas from Penang, but in the main, 30 dayers from Ranong.

I'm not old enough to qualify for a retirement visa, although I have more than enough monthly income to support myself here by renting my property in London. Could also have the lump sum, but don't feel like selling yet.

Was back briefly last year in the UK and got a multiple entry Non O from Hull with no hassle at all. Never asked for proof of income, just a letter of guarantee from someone that they would cover the cost of repatriation if necessary.

Friends have been going to Ranong every month for years and are still not getting any problems.

Personally, whenever I do a visa run, I travel with 3 months up-to-date bank statements from the UK to demonstrate income if necessary. I've never been asked to do so.

Been in HH for quite a number of years and various questions have been posed on this thread.

Girlie bar areas, catering to farangs, are concentrated around a few blocks. They're not in your face and generally good fun.

HH is not a big place, so to give advice about where to live - buying or renting - is difficult, if living in a "farang neighbourhood" is what you want. My experience is that most ares are good and sometimes, but certainly not always, it can be a pleasure to be living amongst mainly Thai people.

Shipping goods over from the UK is not too expensive -depending on who you use - and takes around 3 months. Bureaucracy can be a pain both ends, but generally works out OK. I'll find out more info for this poster.

Cars? I know some folk who take their vehicles to Malaysia for visa runs to get around tax situations. Best to speak to the relevent embassies in Bangkok.

Buksida is correct re owning a house/land. Personally, I wouldn't consider buying anything, anywhere in Thailand until I felt a little more sure about the authorities' intentions towards farangs.

I hope this is of some help and I will post again.

Be careful with gambling. Owned a bar in this town and 3 of us bar owners got together to organise a weekly, rotating cribbage tournament. Best attendance we had was around 20. All farangs. 100 baht to join in - winner takes all. Bar hosting put a bottle of Thai whisky up as prize as well. Fortunately, it was not necessary to drink it all if you won!!

After 10 mins, the Tourist Police turned up. Took a look around. We chatted to them and they left a few minutes later. The money was in an ice bucket, behind the bar and they didn't understand the game.

My old bar used to have a pool table. Regular police turned up every month looking for 500 baht, as they reckoned people could gamble on it. We never paid - as most of the farangs on the soi didn't.

Thing is, if you want to gamble, do it at home, be very quiet about it and never leave any money lying around.

Dragon fruit. Nice one, understand now. Phrase books etc I have are not dictionnaries, but initially when I asked what "mah gon" meant, I was told "like a horse, but with things coming out of its head". Thought she meant a deer.

Now I've got the answer, appreciate that its a dragon.

Hopefully, NOT a widowmaker fruit. She was eating some as well. lol.

Got a totally new fruit - to me that is - today. Missus tells me the Thai name is "geo man gon" - if I've pronouned it properly. Apparantly, been grown in Thailand for the past 5/6 years. I've never seen it before, although she tells me it's quite readily available in markets.

About the size of an avarage grapefruit. Thick skin, pinkish, purple in colour. White flesh, with lots of tiny black, edible seeds.

Very tasty. anyone know what the English name is?

Thanks for the info sunbelt asia. Take your point about departing on Sept 21. Certainly makes sense to get the additional time.

When I got the visa from Hull, there was a section on the application form to tick that I was visiting Thailand for a prolonged period of time to see "friends/family". I telephoned them and asked if visiting my girlfriend would suffice. They said yes and a few days later my passport was back with visa through the post. I was in the UK, by the way, so sending it wasn't illegal.

My father also guaranteed to cover the cost of repatriation if necessary. The consulate even supplied a printed letter for this, leaving blanks for names, dates etc.

I somehow assume that the process will not be so straighforward in neighbouring countries to Thailand.

hold on a minute. the 30 baht is true and if , over a long period of time someone is showing a positive improvement, how can that be bad? t is NOT just a doctor's consultation

Feel I must reply to the HIV/counselling thread.

I have known a Thai lady who has been HIV positive for 4 years. When diagnosed in Bankok her ARV drugs cost 3,000 a month. Obviously, a huge sum for a Thai.

She now goes once a month to the local hospital for cancer checks and to get the medicine. The medicine now costs her 30 Baht a month.

Her CD4 and viral load tests are showing a huge improvement.

Remember the PM's opening speech at the recent AIDS/HIV conference in Bangkok? He promised to provide free ARV drugs for all afflicted in Thailand. Maybe political rhetoric, but in this instance, it has made a big difference to at least one person's life.

She goes for counselling once a month, but dosn't like it. There are apparantly 30+ people there at the same time - all at various stages of illness. It makes her feel sick (ie mentally down) to be in this situation. She was told this month, that if she didn't stay for the counselling, she wouldn't get the medicine. What kind of counselling is that?

She's well, understands the gravity of the situation she is in and is responsible.

flummoxed, no they didn't shoot me. I fainted in the holding cell, fell into the bars and ended up with 20 stitches in my head.

won't bore you all with the full story, but was up country a few years ago and the police paid for my hospital bill. I was under arrest though. Very good of them, as all charges were eventually dropped.

I agree with the sentiments re cash/help.

A brother of my ex Thai lady(9 years, by the way) fell out of a tree collecting fruit and ended up paralysed from the waist down. When I first met him, he was being carried by his two 5 yr old twin daughters to meet me - he had lost a lot of weight.

The family thought the best thing was for him to die - I couldn't accept that and we managed to save enough money to buy him a decent wheelchair. He's now mobile, has travelled a bit in Thailand and most importantly, has his dignity back.

Despite the fact that my girlfriend and I have gone our separate ways, I know I am respected by her family and the village for the little I did.

fair comment, simple1. I was just too lazy to the search. Will do now.

On this thread, here's a good one.

Got a new passport from the UK Embassy in Bangkok some 5 years ago - old one was expiring. Only on a 30 day entry stamp, so no visa needed to be tranferred.

Travelled to Sungai Kolok to get another 30 days, with my old, invalidated passport and the new"virgin" one. Stamped out on the Thai side of the bridge on the invalid passport. Thought this might be a problem on the Malaysian side, but reckoned the Thai official knew his business, so walked across.

Mayhem on the Malaysian side when I handed over a new passport without any exit stamp!! "Where have you come from?" Felt like saying "the moon", but decided that was not wise.

Anyway, after about 30 mins, I was told to walk back to Thailand and get the exit stamp in the new passport. Fortunately, the Thai authorities were helpful as I didn't fancy living in no man's land on the bridge.

So, yes. You do need entry and exit stamps.

Was in Ranong earlier this month and the business is painless and quick. Burma is now giving 2 day visas on arrival for your 5 dollars, should you wish to stay there.

HOWEVER, I've heard that a long tail boat captsized recently and all crossings via this method are temporarily suspended. Really not sure if this is true, but worth checking out. Alternatively, there's the Andaman Club run from just outside of Ranong to the casino. More expensive, but the boat's probably a bit more reliable.

This is my first post, so hope I'm not going over old ground.

I'm British, 46yrs old. Have been living in Thailand for 6 years, getting by on Tourist visas and 30 day entry stamps.

Went back to the UK briefly last year and got a multiple entry Non O from The Consulate in Hull. This expires on Sept 22. Done my final run and am now legal until Nov 7.

Questions are these.

What are the current requirements in Penang or Vientianne for getting another multiple entry Non O?

I've heard lots of stories and needless to say, it's all a bit confusing. One version is this. I need 800,000 B in a Thai bank account, or income of 65,000 a month. The first is out of the question, but I do have the income. However, it's deposited in a UK bank and I draw on it here through ATMs etc. Does this income have to be coming into a Thai bank in a lump sum to get the visa? I'm also told that if financial matters are authenticated by The Embassy in Bangkok, this will help. Is this possible? If I go to either Malaysia or Laos with original bank statements, will this suffice as proof of income?

I appreciate that rules and regulations change regularly, but any up-to-date info on the above would be appreciated.