dylan137

Thank you very much for your replies

I gathered a triple entry covered most my bases. Most my questions were for clarification and for other future trips of varying stay

I see there is a Thai consulate in central London. My sister works there. Is it necessary for the individual applying for the visa to make the application personally themselves or, assuming all the paper work is in order, can someone else do it for you? (both apply and collect, when ready)

thanks again

Hello

I have some questions please over a Visa query (another one of those!). I apologise in advance; some of the answers I already know but need absolute clarification on and I'm sure most of this has been asked before.

I am British born with a British passport. I've been to Thailand a number of times but always by stamp on arrival. Next year I'm likely to visit the country again for a longer stay with the intention of visiting India inbetween.

1) When you enter Thailand with a British passport on no pre defined visa, you're given a 30 day exemption. Technically this is not a 'visa'?

2) Can that standard exemption then be extended by 30 days at a Thai immigration office?

3) Can that 30 day 'extended exemption' then be extended again for a further 30 days at a immigration office?

4) I understand a triple multi entry visa pre obtained in the UK is valid for 6 months from issue.
How long are single and double entry visa's valid for respectively?

5) Each entry - whether that be on a single, double or triple entry - allows 60 days continuous stay per entry?

6) My intention is to stay in Thai for 2 months, go to India for a month (for which I have a 5 year visa already) and then return to Thailand for 2 months

A double entry would cover this, assuming it's valid for more than 90 days. If not it'd have to be a triple. Given I'd have months to prepare and the cost difference is negligible, I'd probably go for a triple anyhow

When I do apply (at Hull, UK) for either, it'll be the first time I have done so. Presumably I'll be issued the visa without any problems. However, this might become a regular thing for me (regular in the respect I might repeat this process every 6-10 months).

Is it likely I will have issues if re-applying for another double/triple entry visa less than 12 months of the first being issued?

7) Can my final (60 day) entry (whether that be the 2nd on a double or the 3rd on a triple) be extended 30 more days at a Thai immigration office?

8) Strange question but do the immigration officers look for such pre obtained visa's when you hand your passport over or is it wise to specifically present the passport on that page? It would be frustrating to arrive with said visa on arrival only to be issued a standard exemption stamp!

9) I have heard varying reports about issues with return ticket dates not matching visa requirements. My return date (from BKK to LHR) would be approximately 5 months after my first arrival date in country (2 months Thai, 1 month India, 2 months Thai). However my initial visa (be that double/triple) won't reflect that date
Presumably airlines and immigration are knowldegeable as to the mechanics behind such visa's and I won't be given any problems?

I did want to ask something else but it's escaped me. Thank you for your replies

Hello again

I have decided to take my iPhone4 as I do not wish to take a seperate camera and can therefore utilise the 5 megapixel iPhone camera (as well as the pretty decent 720p video)

Can I assume micro SIM cards (which the i4 uses) are as commonly available as the standard ones?

Thanks again

Again, thank you very much for you replies

There are menus I have posted in this forum before with pictures and Thai text that you could use to ensure you order a whole lump of chicken or whatever you seek without rice.

That would be very interesting, could you please point me in the right direction or even better exactly where If not I'd have a search around. Thank you

Thank you for your replies

I think I'm going to try and eat more meals a day and try to pack them with fish and chicken, my 2 most favourable sources of protein

Also, I have been advised NOT to bring protein powder with me, for the sake of avoiding any complications at the airports, even though I will be checking my luggage in each time.

Considering I am going to be getting potentially 6 flights in total (outbound, inbound & 4 domestic), this probably makes sense - ?

Can I ask, what could I eat in the mornings as breakfast which will at least contain some sort of protein, say 10-15g? I know Thai's happily eat all varieties of food at any time of day, but I may find typical dishes a bit tough to stomach first thing in the morning

Anyone?

I'm sure this wasn't that stupid a question

I have taken X39ELNXYNKW9 with thanks!

Hello

I am going to Thailand for 3 weeks in September on holiday. I will be visiting Chiang Mai, Phuket, Samui and Bangkok.

I workout regularly and whilst not a 'body builder' I am in the process of building up my physique to a level I hope to reach in the next 2 years. As commonly known, a high protein intake is key to gaining muscular mass. I require circa 160g of protein a day. Here, in the UK, I achieve this amount by eating 2 protein rich meals a day (lunch and dinner) and supplementing my daily diet with 2 protein powder based shakes.

For my holiday in Thailand, I am planning to take my own protein powder. However I do not want to depend on it and must intake protein through natural sources. I wil probably have one shake a day in the morning, meaning my remaining 130g of protein must come from when I eat meals

I am aware foods such as eggs, nuts, lentils, beans, meat (red and white) and fish are high in protein. I currently eat all of these foods with no problem

My question is; what should I be eating whilst in Thailand for these 3 weeks to ensure I hit my daily target of 160g? I will not be cooking my own meals whilst there, I will be eating out for every meal (not the real fancy restaurants, the sort of places locals eat at)

When I was in Thailand last year (I was not working out at this stage) I often ordered plates of chicken with rice or noodles. Whilst these dishes were quite filling, this was mainly down to the carbohydrate element of the said rice/noodles. This time around, I will be wanting to eat less carbohydrates

Irrespective of what I just said however, these dishes were not giving me the sort of protein per dish that I would now need to reach my protein target

What I'm trying to say is (sorry for writing so much!); do I simply need to eat more of the dishes I order (be that per seating or eat more meals throughout the day) or are there a handful of 'magical dishes' I can safely order in the knowledge of knowing each dish contains a very high protein count?

Any help and advice would be highly appreciated

Thanks

do you store your numbers like 07.... etc or +447....?

Thanks for your reply We tried both methods, by using the numbers as they were saved by default or with international dialling codes

Thank you for your reply lomatopo

I will purchase a AIS/One-2-Call or DTAC/Happy SIM as you have recommended (I did think this would be the wisest option). Sorry to sound so naive, but will I be able to 'choose a calling plan' myself via the handset once the SIM is installed, i.e will the automated menu process be in English? I will struggle somewhat badly if it's in Thai!

For my other query, we were not using Thai SIMs, we had our UK handsets with UK SIMs installed. We did not try calling eachother at any time during the rest of our holiday so I cannot conclude whether the issue was related to Samui specifically.

As long as I can text/call via my UK handset with Thai SIM to my friends UK handset with UK SIM, all will be ok

Hello

I am coming to Thailand with a friend in late August for a 3 week holiday. We arrive in Bangkok and fly straight to Chiang Mai with Phuket and Samui the other areas we’ll visit

I live in England and have a iPhone 4 on an O2 business contract (via work). I also have a iPhone 3gs, which I was using before the 4. Both are unlocked thus free to use on any network. The 4 handset uses a micro SIM card whereas the 3gs uses a traditional ‘large’ SIM card. I was given the 4 handset ‘SIM free’ and manually cut (literally) the existing SIM to make it fit in the 4, which worked perfectly

I want to bring a mobile to Thailand in August. When I was there last year, it was rarely used, but when it was, it became invaluable. Last year I took a standard Nokia with the emphasis being on the ability to make phone calls. This year, having seen how widely available WiFi is, I am thinking of taking a smartphone

Ideally I would like to take my 3gs, as it does more or less the same thing as the 4 and should it become lost, damaged or stolen, I would rather it happened to that handset than my newer one.

My question is (and I apologise if this is fairly trivial), am I best to purchase a pay as you go SIM from here in England and take that with me. Or, should I take the 3gs with no SIM installed and purchase one there?

The only people I will call is my friend travelling with me, who will have his UK based mobile phone and SIM with him. We may also trade SMS messages. I will inevitably also call back home to England, although very rarely, maybe 2-3 times during my whole visit. In re to data, I do not at all wish to use the 3g/roaming data facility whilst in Thailand

Your help and advice would be highly appreciated

Also, a slightly different query if I may ask; last year, my friend and I took our UK based mobiles with us. For some reason, whilst in Samui, we could not call each other (directly, mobile to mobile). Admittedly we only tried a couple of times, only to receive a Thai speaking automated message. We were however able to text each other (when I was in Phuket and he Samui) and also text each other again whilst both of us were in Bangkok. Is there any reason behind this?

I ask as we got split up whilst in Samui on our bikes and not being able to call each other was very frustrating. We concede we didn’t really look into it properly before hand and probably made a silly mistake. It would be handy to avoid this scenario again this year

Many thanks again

dave2, thanks for sharing those pictures. Looks lovely, I note they were taken in January. I hope my trip isn't too troubled by the 'rainy season' come September. It was not a problem last year although we were much further south

You have intrigued me with the below, least not as I have no idea what you are referring to!

we cant have you seeing number 8 , 12 . 16 , and my favorite number 23 for a whole 5 nights

Thank you for your replies to my question. In all honesty I was expecting to be 'flamed' as a new member etc

It appears your opinions are split over the quality of Loi Kroh Road. Just to reiterate, my friend and I aren't coming to CM (or Thailand overall) for the working girl scene. Thats purely a bonus of our trip

As Beetlejuice has said, it is the other well known attractions of CM that want us to visit

I am sorry to hear CM has worsened in recent years. That's certainly not the picture thats been painted to me by many friends whom have visited the area, all quite recently too. Some of them have visited Thailand many times over a number of years

It's a little way off yet (September) but I'll post back with my thoughts of LKR and CM in general when back

Thanks again

Hi. I've read through this thread with interest. My friend and I are making our 2nd trip to Thailand in September this year, having previously visited Bangkok, Patong and Samui. This time we're flying straight to CM

Exploring the 'P4P' scene is not top of our agenda whilst in CM, but I would be in denial to say it won't be considered. We'll be there for 5-6 nights

If the overall quality, including BG's, has deteriorated as many of you are here suggesting, what is the alternative to Loi Kroh Road whilst in CM? Or should we save our monies for Patong etc?

Many thanks