watgate

I am departing Thailand (Chiang Mai) on 3/15/15 for the US and will be returning to Thailand the end of September 2015. I currently have a extension of stay based on retirement valid until Jan 14, 2016, as well as a single-entry re-entry permit also valid until Jan 14, 2016. I was planning on using the re-entry permit to re-enter Thailand the end of Sept 2015 upon my return. Now, my thai g/f and myself are planning to go to Myammar for a few days, either in October or the first part of November 2015. Therefore I need another re-entry permit and am considering applying for one at the airport immigration office prior to my departure on March 15, 2015 back to the US. Is that a plausible scenario,and if so, do you know if immigration will combine my two re-entry permits or will I have separate entries for my two re-entry permits issued by immigration? Also, is there anything else I need to apply for the re-entry permit at Chiang Mai airport immgration besides the completed TM8 application, 1000 baht for a single-entry permit,a photo 4 x 6 cm, photocopies from my passport to include the identity page,the page showing my current permit to stay stamp, the page showing the stamp for my last date entered Thailand, and a photocopy of my TM.6 Departure card? Thank youfor and advice or help with this matter.

Folks I have spoken to are saying maybe it is time to find another place to go to such as Cambodia, Phillipines, Laos, etc. They are saying once the Chinese target an area like in Vancouver or even in Australia, where Chinese developers were building high rise complexes primarily for their countrymen, they were forcing native Australian residents to relocate due to the high costs to live there.Finally the Australian govenment intervened but not untill a lot of Aussies were displaced. I can see Chiang Mai eventually overrun by the Chinese who have decided to live here to escape the miserable conditions in China, described by previous posters. The other question is since the infrastructure in Chiang Mai and also in Bangkok is almost at its limits, there is talk about raising prices significantly to appeal to a wealthier class and to weed out the undesireables. I wonder if Chiang Mai is going to become another Bangkok?

Nobody can predict the future but with the great influx of Chinese this week, I was wondering what is in store for Chiang Mai as it relates to the Chinese. Do you foresee many Chinese taking up residence here and acquiring properties in large numbers. I realize over the years a lot of Chinese have migrated here and married Thai woman and opened up businesses here. I also understand some Chinese are living here and renting motorbikes so they can attend the Universities to learn English. It is evidently cheaper doing it this way then going to school in China. Anyway, I am just interested in other folks take on the "Chinese invasion" and what do you foresee for the future of Thailand, and Chiang Mai in particular, considering the rise of Asia.

Winnie the Khai I like your refeshing outlook on life and calling a spade a spade. Also the other posters who have pointed out the hypocrisy of the self-appointed crusaders who are so quick to condemn and label. The self-righteousness is nauseating. Thank you Winnie the Khai and 2 fishin2 and Ricardo and arunsakda etal for your perspectives. Some folks unfortunately are so judgmental and if a person or a group of people is not like them, they become hateful and vindictive. From what I have discerned, the entertainers who perform nightly at the Cabaret Theatre are very hard working, trying to earn a decent living and are most importantly, beautiful on the inside.

If you want to see a high energy show full of great fun and enjoyment, then I suggest you go and spend 200 baht (a beer or juice or soda is included in the price) and see a very entertaining show. The entertainters are very talented and clearly enjoy performing in front of a live audience. I am glad to say that most nights (the show starts around 9:30 and finishes around 10:30) the Cabaret venue is getting large crowds, primarily through word of mouth. The audience is comprised primarily of farangs and the audiences are very responsive and genuinely enjoy the show. From what I understand, the dancers don't get a lot of money so if you go, after the show is finished and you are exiting the theatre, please give some some consideration to tipping one or more of the enntertainers who might have moved you or you enjoyed watching. If you go, and I hope you do, you will witness firsthand how hard they work during their performances. I hope this commentary does not elicit a lot of negativity, for whatever reason, and one would consider going to see a great show which makes you feel very uplifted once it is over.

I am due to depart Thailand on March 15,2015 and have a 90 day report to immigration due on March 16,2015. Is it correct to assume on my part that since I will be leaving Thailand for the US 1 day prior to the 90 day report being due at immigration, that I don't have to comply with the 90 day report?

On more then one occasion, while riding home on my bicycle at night ( 9 p.m.- 12 midnite) I am being attacked by dogs who are running after me with their snarling teeth ready to take a bite out of me and I am getting annoyed. I understand pepper spray is against the law but any other possible substances I could use on them to send them a message. I am almost at the point of getting a good size stick and really laying into one or more of these dogs.

As an addendum to my previous reply I felt I should also mention that my gf took her tv, which had been plugged into the wall in her room when the short occurred but not turned on, to a neighbor and plugged it in and, lo and behold it worked. I don't know if this is relevant or not but I thought I should mention it because previous posters had mentioned about the possibility that tv or refrigerators might not be working now due to this electrical short. We still don't if the Refrigerator is working though. Finally, I tried to explain to my gf that a snake could not have caused such extensive damage to the wiring and electrical components in the building and it would appear that there are serious deficiencies with the electrical work in the building, thus the need to move asap.

My thai g/f is living in a nice 4 story concrete bldg comprised solely of other thais and she resides on the 1st floor. About 1 week ago a large snake evidently crawled into an outside electrical panel box and caused major damage to the electrical components in the bldg. All the electrical outlets on the 1st and 2nd floors are black and charred from the resultant short caused be the snake. There is no electrical power currently in the bldg. The electrical lines running inside the the bldg are all blackened by the short. The room next to my g/f on the 1st floor was devastated by an electrical fire and I surmise since he had a computer turned on in his room, the current from the short traveled there and caused serious damage in his room. Evidently, a similar event happened on the 2nd floor,also in a room. I know VERY little about electricity and wiring in bldgs, thus my posting this. In walking around, I can see serious damage from the short and I am sure the WIFI was also hit hard. My question and concern is that mgmt is treating the tenants like mushrooms ( keeping them in the dark and feeding them b.s.) Initially, they were told it would be a week until power was restored,but not only hasn't it been restored, there is no one currently working onsite at the bldg to repair the serious damage. My g/f really likes the the bldg and her room, but with the hot weather approaching and no electricity in the building, she has to make a decision whether to to remain there and wait and hope that the electricity is restored or move to a new place, albeit not as nice. I was wondering if a problem of this magnitude was a lengthy process to fix and how long would it take to repair the sizeable damage to the electrical components and wiring should the work start? Would the workers have to snake new wiring throughout the whole bldg and install new electrical outlets, and if so, is that a lengthy process? What about electrical codes for this repair job? Would a qualified electrician be required to inspect the repairs, once completed, to ensure they were properly done? I realize, without seeing the damage firsthand,it is hard to make an informed opinion but considering the extensive damage caused by the electrical short and resultant electrical fire, it seems that this will take a considerable amount of time and expense to fix should they even start the repair process. I would appreciate any feedback from folks who are knowledgeable about wiring in bldgs and electricity in general and your best guess as to what would would be required to repair the damage and how long it might take to complete the repairs. Also, what assurances, if any that the repairs were done satisfactorily and the bldg is safe. Thank you.

My GF has finished paying off the loan she assumed when her husband died several years ago. I think it had to do with a loan taken out when she was living with her husband in Isan. My question to all the knowledgeable posters who are well versed in Thai law is could she have just walked away from the loan and stopped paying it? Is their any ways in Thailand to have a debt discharged? In talking to her, she makes it sound like had she stopped making payments to the bank to pay off the loan, she would have been hauled off by the Police and thrown in jail. Is this scenario true? I am wondering if their are any means civilly to have a debt dischaged by the Courts through bankruptcy proceedings in Thailand? It is too late for her now because she finally paid off the loan but it would be nice to know for future reference.I don't know if the loan was in both of their names initially, and would this have had any relevancy going forward after her husband died in terms of responsibility for paying off the debt?

I entered Thailand back in October at Suruvahumi Airport and received a 90 day permitted to stay stamp in my passbook. Unfortunately I was too exhausted from the flight and unexpected delays to see that the immigration officer had failed to initial or sign the last line of the stamp that says signed. Now I will be going to Chiang Mai immigration in the not-to-distant future to apply for an extension of stay based on retirement and I am a little concerned that I might be told "sorry can't process your application, you need to go to Bangkok to get your entry stamp signed first." Is this a valid concern or is this something that other immigration offices see a lot and understand some immigration officers don't dot every i and cross every t and it shouldn't be an issue?

So you have to be actually leaving Thailand to get the re-entry permit. I can't go down to the airport and get a re-entry permit now because I am not leaving until March.I have to wait until I am actually departing Thailand to get one. Correct?

I have to go to chiang mai immigration to apply for an extension of stay based on retirement and am not holding out much hope that after getting my extension of stay I will also be able to get a single re-entry permit to considering the immigration office is a zoo. In the unlikely event that I am, what exactly is needed to obtain a re-entry permit at immigrations besides my passport, a photo, the application form? Lastly, upon entering Thailand this past October at Bangkok airport ,I was given a 90-day permission to stay stamp in my passport. I didn't notice until I had left the immigration desk at the airport that the last line of the stamp which says signature was blank. My concern is there any possibility of getting a "ball buster" at chiang mai immigration,or at the immigration desk at chiang mai airport, if I decide to go there for my re-entry permit,who might tell me "sorry you have to go to Bangkok airport to get a signature on your initial 90 permitted to stay stamp before we can process your request" here in chiang mai? In looking at other stamps in my passbook, they are mostly illegible squiggly entries on the signature line of other stamps I have gotten before. Is this a non-issue or should I just put a little illegible squiggly on the blank signature line? I am trying to avoid being told sorry you have to go to Survanhumi airport in Bangkok.

I really liked slapout's commentary. I thought the 1 million baht per rai was rather high and suspected it was part wishful thinking and part trying to impress folks.

If a Thai owner, who is sitting on a small fortune in real estate, sells the property, do they have to pay capital gains tax or is it all free and clear?

So I was chatting with a middle age thai woman who gives massages at my g/f sisters shop and all the while I thought she was a typical struggling masseuse. She was mentioning how her husband is a banker aand works apart from her and makes 50000 baht a month. Okay I thought, he sends her 20000 baht a month so now I know she isn't struggling as much as I initially thought. Now here comes the interesting part. She is telling me that 1-2-3 million baht is nothing for your old age and then proceeds to tell me she purchased 80 Rai about 20 years ago for 10,000 baht a Rai. I was having a little difficulty understanding everything but I think she said a relative or 2 might have helped her purchase the 80 Rai. Now the part that got me was when she said she wanted to sell the property because there is evidently rubber trees on the property and she said each Rai is now worth 1,000,000 baht for a grand total of 80,000,000 baht. With that I did a quick calculation and realized here is this middle-aged thai massage lady sitting on two and 1/2 million U.S dollars. Not too shabby I must say. So therefore, the moral of the story is don't judge the book by the cover and things are not always what they appear to be.

I went with my g/f to have the zipper on her handbag fixed and the lady who fixed it was very proficient. She and another seamstress were tucked away in a far corner of Warorot Market and they were both very adept and skilled at their sewing stations.

Is there any public transportation one can take to Samoeng and come back in the same day? Maybe a yellow songtaew from the Chang Puak bus station?

First off, I agree the weather is as hot as the thai ladies and it seems like if they know you have a g/f, they tease you and tempt you even more. Secondly, I will most definitely take 90 degrees and humid over 10-30 degrees fahrenheit any day of the week. Thirdly, I can see where acclimatization is an important element and I find myself starting to get used to the temps now. It also helps, if I stay out of the direct rays of the sun for any length of time. Fourth, after spending the day in Hot and then coming back to Chiang Mai in the early evening, you could feel the heat and humidity was higher as you approached the City of Chiang Mai so I definitely agree that living in a more rural area with more trees and shade would lessen the heat and humidity considerably. Fifth, I really don't like using a/c much and only use a fan at night if needed.Lastly, with all that said, I still am sure if I was here in April and May I would be forced to use air conditioning to survive and keep my sanity.

This is the first winter season I arrived in October and the temps and humidity are actually bothering me. If it is this oppressive in October, I can only imagine what it must be like in April, May and June. My plans to start staying here for 6- 7 months looks like will be put on the backburner. I surmise most folks must stay inside in an airconditioned environment to cope with the heat and humidity. Or maybe I am just getting old and my tolerance to this weather has diminished. I have always enjoyed hot weather but I guess being near the equator adds a whole new dimension to the equation.

I called the Cabaret Theatre and was told there is currently a show at 8 pm and it is primarily ladyboys.

I read recently about a business center equipped with computers and fax machines and various other equipment which one can utilize at various days and times depending on which membership you take out. I am having trouble finding the name and location of this business/compute rcenter used, I think primarily, by westerners. Can someone supply me with the name and address of this establishment?

Is the Cabaret Theatre show in Changpueak primarily composed of ladyboys?

The US Congress recently passed a bill whereby the Social Security Administration is going to once again start mailing out benefit statements on a yearly basis.