Albacore

I just got back from a trip to Manila and had a considerably positive experience. I told taxi drivers to take me with the meter and they just did it without a fight. Most people were fluent in English, when I'd go places people were always extremely friendly and remembered my name if I returned. There is definitely some serious poverty in places, and the chance of getting robbed or injured is much higher in Manila than Bangkok. I had a lot of delicious food for not much more than I'd pay in Thailand. However, I usually ate at Chinese restaurants as I didn't think Filipino food was the most agreeable (Thailand easily wins in a food contest). The Philippines has lots of great musicians, and I think it's about 10 times easier to befriend and relate to Filipinos than Thais! Just be weary of scammers! Based on my experience with friends and families I know, the Filipinos are way more caring, friendly, considerate, and generous than Thais. However, if a Filipino stranger is going out of their way to approach you on the street and be overly friendly to you or pretends to know you, they almost always just want to take advantage of you or cheat you somehow!

I've never been, but I've always been told that Palawan is one of the most beautiful places in the entire world. A good friend of mine has traveled to almost every country in the world, and he claims that the two most incredible places he's ever been are Alaska and Palawan Island.

It helps to just take note of the plate number, or even write it down, as the taxi approaches.

No doubt. Sone great new short features with Lily Thai, Morya Bangkok, Kitty Thai, Thai Suzy, and Kimmy Thai. I wonder if they are all sisters since they have the same lat names.

All excellent actresses!

I think there's a Nyla Thai too, and a Jessica Bangkok. Unfortunately they're all blocked by the Ministry of Communication. Banned from watching in the privacy of your home, but allowed to sell pirated copies out in the open at all hours of the day...

There's also a Lucy Thai, and there's Priva, plus my favourite...NattC...but

Nat's "surname" isn't Thai nor Tai nor...who cares!

Lucy! I knew I was forgetting one.

No doubt. Sone great new short features with Lily Thai, Morya Bangkok, Kitty Thai, Thai Suzy, and Kimmy Thai. I wonder if they are all sisters since they have the same lat names.

All excellent actresses!

I think there's a Nyla Thai too, and a Jessica Bangkok. Unfortunately they're all blocked by the Ministry of Communication. Banned from watching in the privacy of your home, but allowed to sell pirated copies out in the open at all hours of the day...

This is a serious problem and not just for foreigners. Around my neighborhood I'm almost never refused. Around Sukhumvit I may be refused by 10+ cabs before one will finally agree to take me. I'm polite and speak to them in Thai that I know is good enough for them to understand. Many just say no and keep driving, some say too far, and others ask for 400 baht (about 120 baht trip). When I finally do get a driver, I almost always have to give them clear directions in Thai to avoid taking a tour of the city. When they refuse to follow my directions, I just get out and give them nothing. On the rare occasion that I find someone that will just do what he's supposed to do and take me to my destination, I'll tip pretty generously. I hope things do change, but I pretty sure this is just another "crackdown" by the Thai police that won't mean anything or make any difference in a month from now.

I just flew back from the Philippines this morning and wanted to report my experience getting a non-imm visa at the Thai embassy in Manila. I arrived at the embassy in Makati on the morning on Friday, August 24th. There were only three Filipinos ahead of me in line, but it still took about 35 minutes to get to me because there was only one person working there. When I approached and tried to submit my paperwork, I had to wait a long time because the guy working there couldn't read or speak Thai to verify that the paperwork was correct. Eventually a Thai was found and approved it, and I submitted the documents prepared and stamped by my language school, a copy of my passport picture page, two passport size photos, a copy of my return flight to Bangkok, and 2,900 PHP. My pickup time was between 3-5pm on Wednesday, August 29th. I had to wait quite a while because of the two day processing time, the weekend, and a Filipino holiday. When I went to retrieve my passport and visa, I again had to wait quite a while because the only person working there was on the phone. Although the service in the embassy and processing time was a little slow, there shouldn't be any issues getting a non-imm visa here as far as I can tell. Accommodation in Manila can be quite pricey, and traffic can be a nightmare. If you can afford to pay a little more, I'd also suggest flying directly into Manila and not Clark airfield in Angeles. I flew in and out of Clark, and ended up stock in traffic for many hours taking a bus from Angeles City to downtown Manila. Flying directly into Ninoy Aquino airport would be a lot more convenient.

Are you interested in playing jazz? I'm a piano player and would like to find some others to jam with. Perhaps we could all get a space and split the price and have a good time playing some music.

Last year I tried to sign up for Bangkok Bank Internet banking, on the signup form you enter an email address.

It could ONLY be @yahoo.com or @hotmail.com I was staggered to say the least. I asked why.

The reply "Because it's only a real email address if it ends in @yahoo.com or hotmail.com" said the senior girl behind the desk.

Totally unbelieivable, but totally true.

I've experienced the same type of thing with Japan Airways, EVA, and some other Asian airlines. It really is unbelievable.

"'The person behind this advertisement should be fired for their lack of common sense and responsibility,' said one of the dozens of posters on the subject on the Pantip web board."

I thought lack of common sense and responsibility was the norm here. It's all I see when I step outside and look around. Parents cramming their infant children onto motorbikes (without helmets) and then driving like maniacs through traffic. The motorbike taxi guys sitting around binge drinking and then giving people rides. The building standards, electrical wiring, people dumping their trash into the canals and streets, teachers, police, government.... This KFC incident seems rather trivial compared to many things here that people see every day and choose to accept.

Booking link doesn't work for me.

I wonder if there has been a 'servicing' agreement struck? 2 year warranty on the Tablets?

Maybe at $81 (+$1 delivered!) they are almost disposable?

any body can buy a tablet pc 7" or 10" (price is the same) for 2500bht,if you buy more let say 20 ,than it goes down

allready to 2200 bht ,if you buy 100 000 pcs the price will be below 1500 bht ...............

so 900 000 tablets bought on 1000 bht will cost 1.35 billion bht.......much lower than 2,6 billion bht ????????

i was in Shenzen 3 weeks ago ,i could do the deal for 1000 bht a pcs ,but than i wont have any profit offcourse.........

Somebody should expose this fraud for what it is. I would love to see a Thai article that at least points out that anyone can buy a single identical tablet for the same price as the government is paying for 1,000,000. If anyone can just go work out a deal for 20 tablets at 2,200 baht a piece, there is a lot of skimming going on. It's a pretty rotten thing to further cheat the children of this country out of anything resembling a decent education.

Have you considered using live bait in combination with teasers? This seems to be an extremely effective way to entice sailfish. What sort of gear do you have? I've done a lot of shark and ray fishing, but my tuna (albacore) fishing experience is quite limited, and it's been a long time since I've been out to sea. Let me know if you need a first mate. I'd love any excuse to get away from filthy, crowded Bangkok and out to beautiful Trat and the sea again.

I've had many. I let them fill up a little and then just pop them off. I've never had them break apart while trying to pull them off. Sometimes the bites may bleed for quite a while.

how on earth did you manage to get so many at one go ???

These photos were taken after I walked down a wet path full of leaves. I was wearing shoes, but they still wiggled their way in.

I've had many. I let them fill up a little and then just pop them off. I've never had them break apart while trying to pull them off. Sometimes the bites may bleed for quite a while.

there are amazing thai girls out there, my wife for one, and several beautiful friends that i am blessed to know.

to much negativity here.

I completely agree. Most of the Thai women I meet are polite, friendly, and willing to help. I think they get an very unfair reputation. Considering most Thai men I meet are unbelievably immature, passive-aggressive, and selfish (just my personal experience), all of my Thai friends are either women or homosexual men. I believe a lot depends on who you choose to associate with. I'm 23 and a student. I don't drink or party, and I'm dating a woman my own age. I think this makes a huge difference. My Thai girlfriend is older than me by a year, has higher education (post-graduate in process while I only have a bachelor's degree), and she's the best English speaker I've met in Thailand. We don't have anything in common. I love jazz, playing piano, fishing, shooting, reading, and traveling. She likes staying up all night competing in Warcraft tournaments, math, programming, robots, watching sports, playing badminton, volleyball, etc. Although we have virtually no common interests, in fact I have just about zero interest in sports, math or computer programming, we've lived together for 6 months now. Things have been great, and we've never fought. All of her friends are honest, sincere, and smart women who've gone on to become doctors, dentists, and computer programmers. She's the ONLY thing keeping me in Thailand, and especially Bangkok. I don't like to complain about things on this forum, but I do have a little sympathy for some of those who are subjected to the "If you don't like living in Thailand, why don't you leave?" threads.

I don't think I was bit by a single mosquito in Myanmar, and I never used any repellent. My girlfriend, a Thai, gets bit all the time in Thailand, yet the only place I've ever had an issue with mosquitos in Southeast Asia is on Koh Samed.

Very Sad

Very Sad indeed.:(

One can only wonder what these stupid people will do for their ingredients once all the animal species plundered for this purpose are extinct?

Poachers are only doing what they do to feed a market. They will now move onto the next most lucrative animal to kill and sell.

What it needs is a scientific study of what these idiots are getting out of Rhino horn and other animal parts that is so important.

Probably find that the good old Cow has all the same chemicals in its horns that the Rhino has and the world must have millions of Cow Horns going for virtually nothing.

It's the big boys at the top who need to be sorted out. Without their money to process these illegal animal parts the poachers would have no market to sell into.

I don't think they're actually getting any benefit out of the rhino horn. There's no evidence that the horn does anything for fever relief.

I've also read that the international permit is technically only good for 3 months, and that it is wise to get a Thai license in the event of a collision, as some insurance companies may insist upon it. It is quite nice not carrying around the bulky IDL, passport, and California license. I guess I got used to it after a while, but I prefer keeping my passport safe at home. Yesterday I was able to exchange dollars at Kasikorn bank with just a license. In the past they've insisted on a copy of my passport.

Did you get one or two licenses for 250 Baht?

One license only.

strange, some say paid 500B for certificate of residency.

Yes, I've read the same thing. I've also read where some people have gotten it for free, but it took a few weeks and required a visit from the police. It seems that every Thai government office has a different requirements.

Hello everyone,

This site has been very useful to me, and I think it's only fair that I share my experiences when it comes to dealing with Thai officials.

I decided to get a Thai driver's license in Mukdahan on my non-imm ED visa. Here's a quick report of what I did and what I needed.

I arrived at Mukdahan Immigration in the afternoon. I was the only one there. I had already made copies of all documents I thought were necessary. They gave me a form for my landlord to fill out and told me I needed to bring them some sort of letter from the department of land transportation. They also told me I needed to have a copy of the entry stamp in my passport, not just of the departure card.

I headed back to my residency, got my landlord to fill out the form, went to the department of land transportation, asked about the letter that was required, they gave it to me in an envelope after looking at my passport, international driving permit, and California license.

I went back to the immigration office which was still empty. I handed them the form filled out by my landlord and the letter from the department of land transportation. They made me sign copies of my passport photo page, visa, and entry stamp/departure card. They took my passport and after about 10 minutes handed it back to me with part of the residency form filled out by my landlord stapled inside. They gave me back the letter from the department of land transportation. There were no fees involved, and all the officials were very nice and very helpful.

I went to a small clinic for the medical certificate. It cost 50 baht and all they did was check my heart.

The next morning I went to the department of land transportation. There might have been 10 people there, and I turned in signed copies of my passport picture page, visa page, arrival stamp, international driver's license, California driver's license, and medical certificate. I waited about 15 minutes and they called me into the other room and made me take a color test. A man pointed to colors and I read the names in Thai. Yellow, green, red, yellow, red, green, red, light blue, dark blue...I think they were just having a little fun because everyone laughed when I messed up the word for dark blue (my Thai classes don't start for another 2 weeks). I never took any reflex test or any other test. They took me over to the photo booth, printed out a license for me, took 250 baht, and that was it. I must admit I was a little confused about what was required a lot of the time, as the girl at the department of land transportation told me I'd need a copy of the back of my international driver's permit when I visited the first afternoon. The next day they never asked for it.

I'll list out everything I needed.

For proof of residency at immigration:

-One signed copy of my passport photo page.

-One signed copy of my current visa page.

-One signed copy of my departure card and arrival stamp in my passport. (I had to go back to the copy shop because the first time I only had a copy of my departure card and the stamp on the card and not of the identical stamp in the passport, which the officer had stamped all the way back on a page that hadn't been used since 2007).

-A letter from the department of land transportation (which they just gave to me in an envelope and told me to take to immigration after I asked about it).

-A form filled out by my landlord as proof of residency.

No costs were involved, and it only took them about 10 minutes after I had everything they needed. I read that I needed two passport photos-I had them and they said they weren't needed.

-For the license at the department of land transportation:

-One signed copy of my passport photo page.

-One signed copy of my passport visa page.

-One signed copy of my passport arrival stamp.

-One signed copy of my California driver's license, front and back.

-One signed copy of my international driving permit.

-One medical certificate.

-Returned letter from immigration and whatever amendments they made to it.

-Eye test.

-250 baht.

I was in Myanmar in June and departed at a different date than I listed. I even lost my departure card. No problem at all.

Get a e-visa and you don't need an entire sticker occupy an entire page,

that way you also bypass the crooks at cambodian border overcharge you an extra ~$US 20

I'll definitely get an e-visa if I ever cross to Cambodia by land again-which I hope to do considering I still haven't seen Angkor. It cost me 1,000 baht at the border as well as wasting a page with the sticker. With the stamps, if you can ask them nicely, I find that immigration officials may be willing to cram a stamp in on an old page. When I just crossed back in to Thailand from Laos, the Thai officer stamped my passport on a page that hadn't been stamped since 2007. I've got 9 stamps on some pages, and 3 on others before they decide to move on.

I got a non-imm ED visa in Savannakhet a few weeks ago. There weren't many people there. The staff was considerably unfriendly. I had my copy of a payment receipt from my school and it wasn't part of the documents I needed to turn in. The worker saw this receipt and got upset because it didn't have a school stamp. It took a while to reason with him about it, and I tried to show him that another payment receipt with a stamp was provided by the school in the grouping. Finally he took my paperwork, put it with the other applications in a big sink in the back, and I picked it up the next day without an issue.

From Bangkok to Atlanta International Airport. It doesn't matter when I leave; it can be from next week until sometime in January at the latest, but preferably in the next month.

Then definitely check Korean Air. Only one stop in Korea, then direct to Atlanta. But like I said, I think a travel agent will be able to beat the airline website price and if not, I would try multiple travel agents.

I got a ticket from SFO to BKK for $604, one way, on Korean Airlines. I was extremely pleased with Korean Air. Good price, good service, and decent food.