jehricaholic

I love cider, do not drink beer (piss), and have comprimised with the cheap, plentiful, and somewhat tasty SPY flavored wine beverage. A little too sweet for my tastebuds so I'd love to see cheap=local ciders commonplace in the bars and 7-11's.

My Thai BF had 20 lessons and passed his test with flying colors:

- on Pattaya 3 Road (east side) about 200m north of Central Pattaya Road, across from Sakura Hair and Beauty

outside north-east corner of Big C Jumbo (Central Pattaya Road location) there is a translation shop. I've used their services twice. Same day service for 1 page translations (500 Baht)

Hi All...

My Thai partner is very fond of Korean BBQ restaurants in Pattaya, so much so that we go 2-3 times per week. I'm not so fond (price, monotony) but at least if I found a decent number of good local restaurants then at least I'd have some variety in terms of location to choose from. I hope my list is of help and I hope a few additional options can be mentioned by those who read this. Here are our favorite Korean BBQ restaurants in Pattaya area (including Jontiem and Naklua):

#1. Drum

555/22 Moo 5, 12 Naklua Rd (NAKLUA)

038-368-281, 084-321-5030

(across from Zign Hotel)

-Have visited 4-5 times

-Pros: Good selection of meats to choose from (beef , pork)

Open til very late (3am)

Very good free side dishes selection (sizzling egg and spicy clam not seen elsewhere)

Sheltered Patio tables available

-Cons: No private booths

Only have 1 table seating > 5 people

Inconsistent meat quality (on 1 occasion only - too much fat and gristle)

Poor water glass re-filling

#2 Hangme Kalbee

3/309 Pattaya 3 Road

038-413-059, 087-146-5673, 087-130-1066

(west/ocean side of 3rd road, across from 'Steak Buffet' restaurant

-Have visited 6-7 times

-Pros: 50% of tables are private booths (good ambiance with private AirCon)

-Cons: Meat selection limited mostly to beef

#3 Daejanggum

3/88 Moo 6, Pattaya 3 Road

038-424-396, 084-717-2303

(east side of 3rd road, just south of 'Drum' above

-Only 1 visit (more to come)

-Pros: Downstairs is public tables, Upstairs is private booths (never been yet)

-Cons: Poor downstairs ambiance

Best Avoided:

Korean BBQ (forgot the name)

(North Pattaya Road (north side) between Dolphin roundabout and Tesco Lotus)

-only 1 visit (1 too many)

-Cons: Defrosting packages of meat sitting in a fish tank at the front door

Large restaurant but we were only customers

Un-authentic dressing (creamy) on the customary side salad

At least I'm glad now, that my work forced me to relocate from BKK to Phuket last year.

Ok we have muggings and Tuk Tuks and constant overpricing, but at least we are dry.

I really hope for all of you living in BKK, that this will pass you by.

Best of luck and fingers crossed :-)

some people have a short memory

Just did this and we are in Canada as I type. To be sure of visa, sponsor her from inside Canada. You apply for perm. immigration, submit paper work here, 30 day (approx) wait. You get sponsor papers, the rest off to Sing. Now you can get visa for a visit. DO NOT buy tickets not needed. When you marry you would want to do all this any how.

My application was sent off by my lawyer about 2 weeks ago so this revelation about the sponsor papers being a ticket to Canada seems too good to be true. When you fill in the TR Visa form and enter the return date you put 'hopefully never'?

Sad to see a lot of the usual bashers/posters did not actually read past the headline, it is Jomtien operators that are helping out, not the Pattaya scammers!!

now lets see how many will read your posting and refrain from trashing the effort, as opposed to those who miss-read the headline and immediately click the reply button.

Just in case anyone is interested. The weather in Pattaya is near perfect. It is cool, gentle breeze, and light sun. Perfect to sit on the beach and sip a coconut.

inappropriate comment

My 5 cents worth - I'm in the process of applying for a Work Permit for Canada along with my wifes TRV but as i'm a Brit we flew to the UK. We are now in the 12th week of the process and have no idea when we will be successful as the Embassy will not commence any dialogue (it was over 7 weeks before we received a file number - that was when we were asked to take a medical).

Although i could go back to work at my job outside of the UK, my wife is stuck in the UK, and fortunately she has a sister to stay with otherwise we'd be paying for a rather lengthy hotel stay.

Bear in mind i already underwent a 6-8week process to obtain a positive Labour Market Opinion prior to making my application - it really seems like they (Canada) do not want people to visit their country...

Had we done my WP then apply in Bkk for her TRV it would be at least 4months more on the process.

Hi . I' am a canadian and just read your post.It's not that canada don't want people to visit our country.It's the fault of most of the immigrant's from the caribbean who have immigrated to canada,then have some relatives come for a visit and then try their best to have them remain in the country .I should add also other immigrant's also do this).They cause lot's of problems for our immigration worker's and even hire those immigration lawyers to help them.What they are infact doing is jumping the que and trying to stay in the country by circumventing the proper procedures.Therefore,when someone who is honest about having a visitor come to visit and has all the intentions of following the rules it makes thing's difficult for them.I know your cade is different but it creates a domino effect in all aspects of the process.Anyway,have patience as you are going to the best country in the world.Good luck and you have made a good choice.

Footnote,also,many sponsor their relatives,show all necessary requirements then after a few month's of their arrival they say they cannot afford sponsorship any longer.So,the system has to take care of them at tax payers expense.

Agreed...allowing the Jamaicans into Canada was the biggest blunder in Canada's immigration history. I'm sure Brits who read this can concur, as I myself lived in London for 3 years.

I've had to marry my Thai partner for any chance to get him to Canada, and now have to wait 22 months for Singapore to decide our fate.

I agree marriage is an easy and quick route, but why 22 months? Did they tell you that?

In applying through Singapore (as opposed to inside Canada) We had to wait only 4 months (from my initial application for sponsorship until his approval for permanent residence).

When I retained the services of my lawyer 3 months ago he checked the gov't website for the current wait period for the Sponsorship application process in Singapore (nearest Canada's Visa office HQ for Asia), he was astonished to see a 22 month average wait period for acceptance/rejection. Unfortunately BKK does not deal with sponsorship, where the average wait time for a Visa is 2 days. FML

I do not know what Canada has against Thai people visiting, there's only a few thousand in the country at any given time. It may have to do with what has happened in the past with previous waves of immigrants... you let a few in, those few bring in their extended families, extended families become communities with voting power, protectionism develops for allowing your own 'kind' continued access to Canada's opportunities while wanting to exclude new immigrants access to Canada.

Based on Canada's current immigration policy, Thailand needs a humanitarian crisis for the gates to open, as is the current situation with the waves of Somalis and Ethiopians we're currently receiving.

I've had to marry my Thai partner for any chance to get him to Canada, and now have to wait 22 months for Singapore to decide our fate.

I agree marriage is an easy and quick route, but why 22 months? Did they tell you that?

In applying through Singapore (as opposed to inside Canada) We had to wait only 4 months (from my initial application for sponsorship until his approval for permanent residence).

When I retained the services of my lawyer 3 months ago he checked the gov't website for the current wait period for the Sponsorship application process in Singapore (nearest Canada's Visa office HQ for Asia), he was astonished to see a 22 month average wait period for acceptance/rejection. Unfortunately BKK does not deal with sponsorship, where the average wait time for a Visa is 2 days. FML

You cannot easily compare sponsoring your spouse's adopted daughter as a nanny and sponsoring a GF for a short visit.

The Bangkok office is very strict about what they are looking for as proof the Thai national will return home. They want documentation, and make sure the important stuff (land ownership, work letter) is translated into English. In my case we never got to an interview phase in any of our varied attempts to get a temporary residence Visa.

Don't be tempted to try those Visa shops. Although we used a shop on one of our failed attempts, and the information they provided us was useful, they are merely expensive paper pushers with no sway at Canada House in Bangkok. I've learned my lesson and with this current spousal sponsorship application, I'm taking no chances and am using a respected immigration lawyer in Toronto.

The only thing you have going for you is the 'very good career' that she has: Can you enlighten us further (what, how long)? Canada assumes she is guilty until proven innocent (in terms of her returning to Thailand at the end of the trip). They do not care about sentimentality, they are looking for strong evidence of her ties to Thailand that make her want to return home. Family ties weigh very little. Financial ties have more weight if they are not liquid (ie Savings accounts will carry less weight then property or auto ownership. A long-term, good job is the major deciding factor for them.

The previous Visa rejection may harm your chances from what a Canadian Immigration specialist told me this year, he told me if you fail on your first attempt do not bother to re-apply.

I've had to marry my Thai partner for any chance to get him to Canada, and now have to wait 22 months for Singapore to decide our fate. Unfortunately we went about it the wrong way with failed visitor and education Visas all in a short span of time, the clerk at the Bangkok's Canada House even told us that our only option remaining, that guaranteed success if the financial (sponsor) and health and security checks (applicant) were passed, is marriage.

I've been lurking as a guest on this board for a while now, so I'm glad to finally be able to put my 2 cents worth.