Asiantravel

A double entry is not impossible in neighbouring countries, but several double entries in a row does seem to be a problem.

I didn't know that

after you get this type of visa in your passport, how long can you keep it before needing to activate it?

You can take it to the post office and mail it to Bangkok without taking it apart.

I find that very hard to believe? And why would I want to do that? Then I would have to go and buy a box or something

Two or three months I think, did a couple of visa on entries to stay in Thailand. Yes, I extended my previous visa twice by 30 days so that I could get the full 180 days.

this is surprising news because I was firmly under the impression double entry was unachievable in neighbouring countries?

why do you think Laos is prepared to do it while no other in this region will?

Interesting that US Immigration asked you that. Once it's your turn in the queue at immigration and you walk to the officer, the first thing you will do is hand the passport to him/her. Did you give them one passport and they asked you this question just to show (after scanning your passport - unless they know you personally) that they know?

Your rights and obligations in Thailand may depend on the passport you present when arriving in the country (which will be the same that carries the visa), but there is no difference between a EU and a AU passport that I am aware of. The point is that you have to identify yourself with the same passport you entered on during your stay and upon leaving, the other passport stays unused in your pocket.

If you enter Thailand on the other passport next time, this should be no issue. (At this moment, I am not sure whether Thailand is one of the countries that ask you in the visa application or in the Arrival Card whether you have ever entered the country under different nationality, though.)

actually yes you are right I gave them one of the passports whereas their computer showed that I would be

entering on the other passport probably from the airline records.

but it was the fact that they were ready to give me the choice that was amazing and they were not fussed about it.

Yes, take it and let us know how it went.

Timekeeper must be way off with his 2 hours as even the schedule says 4 hours and from memory it used to take a lot longer than that.

But if you're not in a hurry, what the heck!

Enjoy and report back.

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

from memory its 2-45pm at pattaya station and hulapong at 6.05pm

the two hours duration i mentioned is to the suburbs where i advised he get off the train and ride the bike to avoid it stopping every five minutes to pick up schoolkids and workers heading into the city

do try to keep up Mobi.......

Well I'm not going to start www3 over this as the OP has advised he will be staying on to the end so we will find out how long it really takes.

But I still find it difficult to believe that the train would even reach the Bangkok suburbs in 2 hours - I would be quite surprised if it did.

And as for getting off and riding his bike - well I ask you? You can't really be serious - a farang riding a bike in Bangkok from somewhere way out in the boon docks?? Rather you than me Gunga Din.

And that other ideas of yours? get a cab? The whole purpose of the train trip is to avoid dismantling the bike, so what is he supposed to do with the bike? Prop it up on top of the gas cylinder in the boot?

Anyway, keep going with the amusing advice....All good for a Sunday night chuckle.

well it can't be as bad as the local trains in Mumbai...

while I was working there one Sunday morning I took it out to the suburbs just to see what the locals have to go through

every morning. now that was what you call basic and a very bone shaking experience

it sounds like your going to be in thailand at least twice so why don't you get a double entry to start with ?

as long as it's got 6 months validity you'll be fine with a 2-3 month gap inbetween the entries.

also if something happens and you want to fly back to thailand quickly you can.

if your going for seperate single entries it maybe an idea to try and get one first in cambodia and if unsuccessful try again in vientnam if your really unlucky try in laos .

you should be fine.

thanks chris.

but as I understand it no countries in this region issue double entries? Or am I incorrect?

It's a hassle to go all the way back to Australia just for a Visa

Yes, take it and let us know how it went.

Timekeeper must be way off with his 2 hours as even the schedule says 4 hours and from memory it used to take a lot longer than that.

But if you're not in a hurry, what the heck!

Enjoy and report back.

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

from memory its 2-45pm at pattaya station and hulapong at 6.05pm

the two hours duration i mentioned is to the suburbs where i advised he get off the train and ride the bike to avoid it stopping every five minutes to pick up schoolkids and workers heading into the city

do try to keep up Mobi.......

actually I'm going to stay on until the end and then switch trains to go to Don Muang

and there are many of those leaving every 30 min up until 11 PM.

you can even get ordinary, express and rapid.

the responses so far are no where near the truth

its a delightful service, reminiscent of a Michael Palin around the world trip with authentic,wooden slatted seats, brass fans and eccentric porters

i would however say this, when it gets near Bangkok, get off and use the bike or get a cab into the city

i say this because it stops almost every five minutes to pick up workers and schoolkids in the suburbs

so when the frequent stops start, stay on as long as you can tolerate it, then get off......

its an adventure that every one should take and takes around 2 hours to the favoured debarkation point

Brilliant! sounds delightful.

thanks a lot I'm definitely taking it

Would suggest a 'crawl' is a better discription than run !

I'm not in any hurry !

It still runs but takes all day. I think you'd be better off on a bus. You could dismantle and reassemble your bike 100 times and still be there quicker than the train.

thanks very much. I just looked at the Thai railways website and it shows

the journey time as being four hours. That's not so bad compared to the bus?

http://www.railway.c...sp?lenguage=Eng

Tesco have a 7.2Mbps-capable modem on sale this week for 1000B.

I was recently on the northwest tip of Penang, where Celcom had good coverage. I paid 690B for 30-day use of a SIM with 4Gb allowable download. Fast connection - could livestream sports etc. Apparently, if usage exceeded 4Gb, connection slowed right down...

The three big providers in Malaysia - Celcom, Maxis, Digi - try to get users to 'register' (1000B), but there are ways of getting around this. Also, these companies should have online maps of their coverage.

Haven't been to Cambo for a couple of years, but a friend was using a modem/dongle at that time

Thanks a lot that sounds interesting

Using the android phone hotspot tethering is what I do. Just need to ask next what carriers give the best value in each of your destinations. I use Maxis in Malaysia and Vinaphone in Vietnam but those are both based on last years best value and it's a pretty competitive market.

You can browse the pinned "Mobile internet and devices" forum at the near top of this page as well.

lomatopo will be along with some dongle recommendations shortly.

Thanks to you and thaimite for your responses.

The only thing about android phones is I dislike intensely looking at the Internet on these small screen devices.

A laptop is probably the smallest screen I would be happy to settle for

I think you misunderstood.

Using the Android phone eitter tethered (with a USB cable) or as a portable hotspot means your phone acts as the modem for your laptop. Thus you can browse the Internet on your laptop just as you would at home using the phones Internet connection and you will not need any additional devices or SIM cards. Just ensure you have purchased a data plan to cover your Internet usage, but this would of course also applyto a dongle

Yes I must admit I have not kept in touch with all these gadgets and gizmos and how they all

Cross relate. But least I can use the Internet after reading an article yesterday saying

45% of people living in Greece have never even use the Internet at all!

I want to take a bicycle from pattaya to Bangkok and I thought the most practical way

would be on the train rather than on a bus because then I would first need to

take it apart.

I just wondered does this train service still run?

From this post of yours I gather that you are currently in Thailand. The best bet for a double-entry tourist at the moment is Suvannakhet. If you haven't got too many Thai visas in your passport already, Vientiane is also a possibility. When you have used up these two entries, with sojourns in other countries in the region in between, Suvannakhet, Vientiane and Kuala Lumpur should be good for the single-entry tourist visa you still need to complete your year in Southeast Asia.

If I use my British passport I haven't had any visas for Thailand whatsoever since 2005?

The last one in that passport was a non-B which allowed me to have a work permit at that time.

Do you have a set itinerary, or are you just going to ad lib it? What is your first port of entry and how long to you intend to stay and where are you going next?

not set in stone but the idea is at the end of the first three months I would go to Cambodia for a month and Vietnam for a month for example.

Then I would request another three months in Thailand than I would go to myanmar for one month and Indonesia for one month.

So far that rough itinerary would take up 10 months so I would only need about the two months in Thailand again if I decide to

spend the remainder of the time there or I could go to Malaysia for one month and then a final 30 day stamp in Thailand. So we are really only looking at two

90 day tourist visas for Thailand?

if you have 2 passports maybe you can do something clever and use both on your trip somehow ?

especially if they put a red too many thai visa warning stamps in one of them.

are you flying in from australia or uk ? and bkk first destination ?

maybe an idea to apply for your first visa from your home country especially if it's valid for 6 months rom issue instead of the 3 month ones you will get around here.

laos has been a very popular place to tour through and get a thai visa at the end of your trip at vientiane.

have you been to thailand before ?

I have always been a bit hesitant to use the two passports like that basically because I was unsure of my

rights and obligations in that way. Although I must admit I once flew into Los Angeles airport from

Sydney and when I got to the border patrol officer in a very customer friendly way he said

" and which passport would you like to enter the USA on today ".

Yes I have been to Thailand before in fact I worked in Bangkok in 2005.

That might be easier, especially f you cna show a ticket back home.. You could apply for a double entry tourist visa to start with from UK or Oz, meaning you would need to enter Thailand 2 times within 6 month of date of issue. Than only anoter single torist visa should not be a problem.

Just flying into Thailand would give you 30 days on arrival anyway, 15 days if you travel by land.

But a lot of changes going on, adn always difficult to predict the future.

thanks for your comments Mario.

I don't want to return to Australia just to get a Visa if I can avoid it. Would it not be possible for me

to achieve the same result by visiting an embassy or consulate in a neighbouring country?

And when you say there are lots of changes going on what has prompted these?

Using the android phone hotspot tethering is what I do. Just need to ask next what carriers give the best value in each of your destinations. I use Maxis in Malaysia and Vinaphone in Vietnam but those are both based on last years best value and it's a pretty competitive market.

You can browse the pinned "Mobile internet and devices" forum at the near top of this page as well.

lomatopo will be along with some dongle recommendations shortly.

Thanks to you and thaimite for your responses.

The only thing about android phones is I dislike intensely looking at the Internet on these small screen devices.

A laptop is probably the smallest screen I would be happy to settle for

A tourist visa gives 60 days, but can be extended by 30 days for 1,900 baht.

2 tourist visas would be possible, 3 is a bit less sure, but any entry by air might give you 30 days. It depend on your nationality.

You don't state your nationality, that makes it harder t answer your questions.

A lot can change in the course of months, so what is good now might not be in 6 months time.

Sorry I forgot to give my nationality details.

Actually I have two passports because I have dual nationality. Australian and British.

I don't intend to do what people are referring on here as back-to-back. I am intending to leave

at least one or two months between each application. Will that make it easier for me?

" but any entry by air might give you 30 days " - is there a limitation on the amount

of these stamps that you can get?

I am going to be spending the next 12 months in Thailand and travelling around neighbouring countries which are mainly Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Would anybody be able to recommend to me from experience what would be the best solution regarding being able to have a portable modem device that I can use whichever country I am in? I assume that I will be able to get a device that will allow me to slot in a prepaid Sim card for whichever country I am in at the time?

I am sure there are many devices for sale in Panthip Plaza but I thought it could be better to have some information before I go there.

I am intending to travel over the next 12 months to adjoining countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia and Malaysia

and then return to Thailand sometimes for three months at a time on a three-month tourist Visa?

So I'm hoping I would be able to get 2 to 3 tourist Visas during the year and then spend the rest of the time

in other countries? Would this be achievable?

Also I have been told that some consulates and embassies in this region are less friendly than others

so could I ask if anyone has any experience of dealing with the most friendly consular or embassy

as far as applying for tourist visas is concerned?

Thanks very much