jamesbrock

I've got to agree with the OP. That jolly GH jingle drives me nuts too - several trips a day sometimes for about five months and I'll probably never forget it. Big C's "Shopping Station, Shopping Season" comes a close second and both should be classed as dangerous weapons. Sylvia's Mother heads my all time list of things-that-go-round-and-round-in-your-head and I hope never to have to hear it again.....

"Royal Flora"..."Royal Flora"...etc., etc. It literally repeats itself about 45 times in one hour - enough to drive you completely nuts during a visit that lasts a few hours. Definitely some bizarre marketing strategy to get you to come back and spend more money because you can't get the jingle out of your head for days!

I was about to post this! OMG, it really did my head in for the five hours we were there.

Question: why does this bother farangs, but Thais seem to be able to go about their business without nearly going postal?

James, assuming you are doing an online course, do you live in the same province as the school? i.e. did the paperwork for the extension make reference to an OLA school in the area where you live?

Interested to know whether your local immigration office have extended a visa for a school in another province.

Your assumption is partially correct - I signed up for an online course, but, alas, no course was offered. Indeed, nothing further was offered after the initial paperwork was received last November. I live in the same province as the school that I thought I signed up with, but it turned out that that school was simply selling courses (or, more correctly, visa paperwork) from OLA - I only found this out upon receiving the paperwork. The realisation that there was not going be any online course came afterwards, and by that time my own learnings were progressing at a pace I was happy with, so I decided to write this off as a learning experience and deal with the repercussions, if any, when they occurred.

The only repercussions thus far, were me having to go to the main OLA school in Bangkok to collect my extension paperwork, and and apply for the extension in Bangkok, as the school has a Bangkok address on my paperwork (not that I have ever lived there).

So, yes, they're selling visas without offering any lessons whatsoever; yes, their paperwork is dodgy; yes, I and, I assume, others was duped by them, thinking we were actually going to learn Thai through them; yes, they are providing the paperwork for the 90 day extensions, and said paperwork is accepted (by Bangkok immigration, at least) no questions asked; and, yes I am aware that I may not be technically legal, but I am also aware that TiT.

Lol, yes it is a typo, sorry!

I'm actually talking about Friday 2 March 2012. I was admitted until Monday 5 March on my ED visa, so for some reason I had the 5th on my mind. Dolt.

It would be interesting to know if any of the early posters in this thread have received any extensions already based on the OLA school paperwork, like @johnboy for instance. No updates since September last year. No news = good news, they say, but in this case I am wondering...

More in general: does anybody here know if Immigration does give 1 year extensions of the ED visa, if you signed up for a 1-year course? Or do they always give 90 day extensions, regardless the lesson program you entered, meaning you have to get back every 90 days with school paperwork and 1,900 baht?

Lest I be labelled a heretic for this, but I'll admit to successfully applying for a 90 day extension based on the OLA school paperwork on Friday 5 March.

I'm not happy with the way things transpired that led to this being the case, and was quite concerned that it was not going to happen; but it happened, and happened quite easily now that all is said and done.

I had a USD$300 package despatched from the US today; will definitely have to pay on that one, but will make sure I'm not ripped off.

I can rarely get through the day without some kind of top-up charge; and thats not even moderate use - bugger all talking, mostly texting, pics rarely video, bit of browsing, lots of reading etc etc, nothing that should count as intensive use. Have the updated OS as of yesterday, but haven't let it run without my habitual charge whenever an outlet is available...

Well, that depends on your definition of 'use'. Just think of how much energy is used simply by powering the screen...

Those eight or so seconds every time you hit the home button to check the time, or see if you have any notifications, would certainly add up over the course of a day. So, simply by having the screen powered while reading, texting, taking or looking at pics, surfing the web, etc. is what I consider intensive use (as opposed to actual processor cycles). There would be a far greater proportion of my phone's day that the screen is powered up than not.

if you do nothing illegal, do you have to fear if somebody follows your moves ?

First there is a thing called "privacy". Even a non-criminal can appreciate such a thing. It has nothing to do with fear.

Second, if and when they change what is "illegal" after installing these eyes in the sky, than yes, maybe you could fear being seen doing what wasn't illegal previously. But did you become a criminal, or did they make you one...?

and sometimes I'd have to charge it in the evening to prevent the battery from running out - lame!!

I've had to do that on every model since 2008! Methinks your "intense" usage isn't as intense as mine... And that's my point really - everyone's usage patterns are different, so everyone's battery life will differ.

If they came out with an OS no one wanted to play with the batteries would last a lot longer...

To prove your point though, my iPhone 4 only has to be charged every second or third day now, now that my gf is using it! She's using it as a phone, and rarely opens up any app other than a English/Thai translation app.

So, the device that rarely made it through a day in my hands, could make it through more than three in hers if we let it run flat. This proves (to me at least) that it's not so much the device, but the person holding it; which would explain a lot of new users' shock at the horrendous battery life the first few days that they have it - I doubt they buy their first iPhone and stick it in their pocket!

If they came out with an OS no one wanted to play with the batteries would last a lot longer...

Or a device for that matter!

How many times, when sitting around, did you pull your old Nokia out to surf the we... check emai... do some banki... watch some vide... play snake?

Granted, my old N95 8GB did all those things; but the device itself was such that only when I really had to!

WAnd no price increase.

Apple are renowned for upgrading the specs, in every new model, but not the price (unless there has been a major hardware change, such as the iMac going from 20" to 21.5"). In most cases, they actually drop the prices.

This one fixes the battery life problems!!

Upgrade, ye all, upgrade! Finally the 4 is back to its old great battery life (like iOS 4) and the 4S finally doesn't suck... by all reports it's now great, actually.

To be honest, I didn't notice any decreased performance between the 4 and the 4S - that's not to say there wasn't an issue, just that I just didn't notice it myself - but it's good to see the issue has been addressed yet again (I can't recall many iOS updates that haven't addressed the relatively poor battery life inherent in the iPhone).

if you do nothing illegal, do you have to fear if somebody follows your moves ?

So you have no objection to me installing spyware onto your PC? Or if someone knows where you are every moment?

That's quite different to you watching me walk down the street.

you mean nobody commits crimes in private ?

Your only post in this thread is about as silly as TimeTraveller's only post in this thread - both showing that neither of you read or got the gist of the discussion.

Some of us are discussing the police's desire for more surveillance cameras. On one side are the people fearing 'big brother', and what the surveillance footage could be used for if this or something else happens; on the other side are people who believe they have nothing to fear from said footage as they go about their business in public areas. The analogy that the use of surveillance cameras in public areas is akin to the installation of spyware on someone's personal computer is, actually, rather silly.

Pictures were taken some time ago, at least for Chaweng.

But can anyone tell me who is it and where that the packages get the import duty applied to them? Is it here on the island or does it happen somewhere big and important on the mainland?

R

Having had to pay a few of these, I'm pretty sure I've seen their blank notification forms in the post office; so would assume they're processed there.

if you do nothing illegal, do you have to fear if somebody follows your moves ?

So you have no objection to me installing spyware onto your PC? Or if someone knows where you are every moment?

That's quite different to you watching me walk down the street.

With all this talk about cameras, does anyone remember this news item?

No. I've been buying a lot of stuff lately; just last week I received five separate items from Wiggle in the UK - four got to my home, one I had to collect from the post office; it had a declared price of 2000B and I paid something like 330B. Interestingly, two that were delivered to my home had declared prices above the one that wasn't!

I haven't yet run into anything like you did.

Regularly buy bits and pieces form eBay - 5 or 6 items a month ranging from 99 cents (!) to 2,000B (app $60) or so - and never any customs fees to pay.

You are spot on regarding imports to sell - and this only being one item - but TIT. The mysterious oriental mind. Plus an utter and bewildering lack of logic. Plus stupidity and greed, no doubt boredom, too . . . all the usual things. Might even be down to just one dopey individual and not even a policy.

Hope it's not a new trend. Although the idea of paying 1,000 baht import duty on a plastic thermometer worth a dollar is entertaining . . .

R

Might be worth noting the particular post offices in case it's only one or two doing it, or not. My mail comes through Lamai post office.

No. I've been buying a lot of stuff lately; just last week I received five separate items from Wiggle in the UK - four got to my home, one I had to collect from the post office; it had a declared price of 2000B and I paid something like 330B. Interestingly, two that were delivered to my home had declared prices above the one that wasn't!

I haven't yet run into anything like you did.

So I called up customer support back in Denmark, from where the phone was bought and they told me I have get someone to send me a Telia micro sim card so I can activate it before they can unlock it remotely.

Going to get someone to send me one, unless someone checking this post is per chance from Denmark and has a Telia microsim lol.

Good to see they made good on their word unlocked it in the first place! Did they think you weren't going to notice??

I had the same issue with my Australian telco; they assured m the phone was unlocked, when, in fact, it wasn't. Thankfully I already had one of their SIM's on me...

The comments section below the article would put anyone off going to Samui.

You have it spot on there. I have just returned from a week there and can clearly say that if you like holidays in an overpriced cesspit then Samui is for you.

After even the shortest rainfall the place stinks of raw sewage and the sea is covered in a brown sludge. The beach around Chareng is like a giant ashtray. The infrastructure simply has not kept pace with the massive increase in hotel rooms.

The food and drink is way overpriced, far more than we pay here in Hong Kong. There is no public transport system and the taxis are run by a "mafia" with extortionate fares demanded for even the shortest visit. Negotiate with the driver? You must be kidding!

I really do wonder is Michelle Chan has ever set foot on Samui, because what she is writing about sure isn't the place I have just returned from. (and will never go back to).

What Ms. Chan also fails to point out is that there is absolutely no rule of law there. The foreigner has no rights whatsover, you are on your own, with a totally corrupt police force.

Looks like the first poster came on a bad day, as she was a little preoccupied with the stench in Chaweng. The second poster had some pretty accurate points though...

Some accurate points?

So we are comparing Koh Samui with Hong Kong? ("and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.") I would expect things to be cheaper in HK.

I have lived in Hong Kong and it has some the dirtiest, smelliest water/sewage/drains/beaches in the region. Fragrant Harbour - you are chjoking.

The sad part is you're serious...

Not saying it's not correct in some places. Sometimes you wonder if these people ever get out of their area that they booked in & have a look around. I will never come back if I only viewed / stayed in Chaweng.

Very true. Samui is a beautiful island when you get out and explore.

theres obviously some peple in here who know their cars so just out of interest can anyone tell

me what this was that flew past me last year ?

dave2

Looks like the new Aventador.

Nope, it's a Murciélago LP 640. The Aventador has much slimmer taillights.

Would be interesting to see how quickly your post would be removed if you asked a serious question.