Michael8511

Tourist visa with multiple entry are not issued after November 15. You can only get 1 entry of 60 days and extension of 30 days. In USA the cost is $40.

The new 6 months visa in us $200 replaced the multi entry tourist visa.

Don't understand why you have waited so long for your passport, you better put some pressure on that visa company since you are in Thailand without passport and valid visa. With the new overstay rules it does not look so good. Hope u have all your receipt and paperwork from when you left the passport with the visa company that may be helpful when getting a new passport and a new visa. Good luck. Some countries like US are very suspicious when you have a second passport lost stolen and require police reports and will also do a investigation into the circumstances you lost the second passport.

Airline: Cathay Pacific

Ticket Price: $1.700

How Purchased (direct, agent, wholesaler, etc): CX Website

Dates: Oct 4 - Jan 5

Class of Service: price for Premium Economy.

Route: JFK-HKG-BKK, BKK-KHG-JFK

Aircraft Type: 773 ER

Seat Configuration (i.e. 3/4/3) 2/4/2

Stopover City (If any): Hong Kong

Check-in Location (good or bad?): JFK check in always easy

Security check JFK, very bad even in Premium Line

Immigration (good or bad?): BKK, very good 20 min.

Excess Bag Fees (if any): 2 free bags 23Kg per bag

Lounges Used: BA in JFK, very bad service, empty fridges (3-4 Beer). Only some dry sandwiches with no fillings and cup noodle soup. This lounge have always been very bad. BA have a pre flight buffet for the hit business passenger so they don't provide food in the lounge. If you like Champagne you have to ask and you get a half glass. This lounge us a disgrace.

The HKG lounges are excellent, good food and excellent service.

Limo Service Provided: none for business

In-flight Entertainment: excellent

In-flight Cabin Service (good or bad?): very good in cabin service in all classe. In premium Economy they have welcome drink and hot towel.

Seat Comfort: Nice comfortable seats

Food Quality: excellent food, higher quality then economy

On Time Performance: were delayed due to heavy rail wind, arrived at scheduled time

Comments: Have been flying around the world for 25 years due to work but now only to visit family in Thailand. I'm very pleased with Cathay, use to fly Thai when they had direct flights JFK-BKK and it was a excellent product in Premium Economy. Have to say at that time the best in the industry, but it was cancelled 7 years ago. Then started to fly Cathay. I fly several times per year this route and are upgraded to business quite often and their business class is excellent. A very happy surprise was that this time I booked the ticket price with Cathay had gone down from $2.400 to $1.700 low season. Don't know if this is a result of the class action lawsuit for airlines trafficking Continental US and Asia for the last 5 years.

I don't understand all this noncence speculation about overstay. If you have nothing to hide just go and pay your fine, leave the country and come back with a visa. There have been visa runs organized in every street corner in the major cities so why haven't you guys used these? Hiding something so you should not be in this country?

I'm afraid of snakes but would not kill it, just call and get a catcher to come and take it away. It will be released fare away.

They issued the 2 entry tourist visa at the Thai Consulate in New Yourk until November 12. From the 13 when the new 6 month visa take effect you can only get the 1 entry 60 day tourist visa that can be extended 30 days for $40. The new 6 month visa have a fee of $200.

You probably need a MRI with contrast to see exactly what's going on. I have gone thru this with my neck, lower back and hips. It's a lot of pain involved so it better to take care of it sooner then later.

I have refused surgery my self, had a lower back surgery for a pinched nerve years back, it went well but are now back and don't know if I personally will take the risk with a surgery again. It's no guarantee it will work. Good luck

These language visas are used to much as a way to stay legally in Thailand for other purposes then learn the language. With all the tens of thousands language school students in this country you have to seriously questioning the purpose of learning the language. Yes you have a partner there and like to be able to communicate with them or you like to open a business or get a legit job. In Pattaya for example there are a high amount of Russians attending schools. On the side they work as guides, in bars at walking street etc. all this side business will soon make it very difficult for serious students that like to learn the language to get a proper visa the same way the visa runs have affected the land border crossings. It's to easy to get a visa to study in Thailand, most countries would only give visa for 20 or 40 study hours a week, that's including home work. And they would also require tests on the way to see that you are a legit student. Try to study in China, Australia, Philippines and you would see the real world. If you go 2 hours a day 4 times a week and can pass a test I would think you are a legit student. The one that goes 2 times a week and skip classes regularly their behavior will soon contribute to stricter visa rules. I can personally don't understand the desperation to stay in a country that you have to constantly find a way to get a visa. The use of student visas should be solid for seriously students.

Janner 1 you are absolute right in your post. It should be honest and correct post on this forum it's not a circus site

Stay as far away from them as possible, don't give them your phone number or email address. Today it's easy to hack modern phones and access your information. My iPhone got hacked and I started to receive calls from my own number, was then advised to block that number and it stopped

I'm against death penalty where ever it may be. All these drug mules that are carrying drugs over the borders have to be penalized to try to stop it. The bad things is that the mules are killed not the money makers. When it come to protesting yes it's fine but then do it to all countries that have death penalty don't just single out Muslim countries. I think the only one protested against US death penalty was the pope but it was to deaf ear too, the UN didn't even bather to say something about the U.S. Death penalty scared of back fire from the religious tea dippers.

Unfortunately in the police force you have a few bad apples and they will never change.

I was passing the polis box at dongtan beach/ Jomtien beach road the other evening on my way home. There was a white guy in a Thai police uniform. Shaved head, stood like a fighter chicken ready to strike. A Russian couple had bought their dinner and a beer at 7/11 and was on the way to sit down and eat and he struck like a king cobra. Told them yo sit some where else. That he corrected them was not wrong but the aggressive way it was done was wrong.

The Russians got upset and with a good reason. I see this behavior daily from police in the states but did not expect it here in Thailand. When I read this article wish was good advice from the president but I realize after this incident with the Russians that we will always have people that try to get into a uniform only to show their power, I thought here in Thailand that the white tourist police are here to help the tourists not to act out their sadistic uniform fetish. But was wrong. Can't understand why they have to shave their hair and put a stick up their ass so they are standing straight and have the bad attitude. So you have this behavior from police every where, and it will create conflicts and fights.

There are clubs for people with S/M and uniform fetish both for pain giver and pain taker even here in Thailand, I believe this type of police guys belongs better there then on the streets.

Don't know if people understand my previous post I will give a example.

I have a close friend, a lady that worked in a bar and contracted HIV but we're not tested, she went back to eesan to take care of her dying mother and spent 2 months with her mother at a local hospital. During these 2 months she had contracted TB from other sick patients, when she came back yo Pattaya she got sick and was admitted to hospital for TB and they did a HIV test and she had 147 T-Cells. Now it was not HIV it was AIDS. She was treated for her TB and also got medication for HIV. Today her T-Cells are 540 well over the 200 and she is stable and her TB is treated. She now works and live in eesan but have to travel every 3 month to Pattaya or Bangkok to get her check up and medication for free. She can however get free medication and check up in Eesan but with the way the people gossip she is afraid that the people she work with and people in her village will freeze her out if they find out she have AIDS. They are ok with TB but not with HIV / AIDS. And because her T-cells was 147 she will always be in the count of people AIDS but she can live a normal life with her husband and kids. She's not a isolated case it's many of these here in Thailand and rest of the world.

It's here the education need to come in, not punishment and discrimination and travel restrictions for HIV positive people. HIV positive will unfortunately be more and live longer and they need to be able to live a normal life and travel just as people with cancer or other illnesses.

Nick 167, you are such an idiot. They need to educate the regular Thai population that HIV does not spread like a flu and HIV+ people will not give you HIV with touching, charing utensils or food in other word daily life contact. Then maybe the discrimination against Thai HIV + will stop and they are willing to get tested, and get on medication so they don't contract AIDS. The total number of people with AIDS are high but it also include the individuals with T-cell account over 200 and as long as they take their medication they will be able and live a normal life and their T-cells will race but they are still counted as AIDS patient. (As soon your T-cells go under 200 you are counted as having AIDS and with medication the T-Cells will go higher but you still have AIDS) That's one of the reason that the AIDS number is so high. People that die usually die from other illness that they get because of low immune system not by AIDS itself.

Bar bar girls and boys are tested but there are still foreigner that go for the cheap sex outside the bars or go go clubs and the risk to get HIV is higher.

If HIV+ people start medication early new AIDS cases should be fewer and the count would stay like it is, and with protection it would be possible to lower the new HIV + cases.

In the west and the Philippines HIV is going up and that have a lot to do with the younger population and Catholics don't like to use condoms. Also some people feel that with the new and better medications it's no reason to protect them selfs since less and less people in the west contract AIDS and even now with the medication AIDS is not a death sentence as it was 15 years ago.

I don't understand where you live, have visited Thailand for 20 years and have to say this is one of the gay, lesbian and transgender friendly country in the world. You have Tom Boys, Lady Boys working openly in most 7/11 and big C etc and they are treated with respect. You can go anywhere in Thailand with your gay partner and are always accepted and treated with respect. The problem here in Jomtien for example is that a lot of Russians or Iranians do not accept gays and make comments, except when they dine at 7/11

There are a lot of vets that do this, a tip. I have neutered a few and if you have a Thai friend that can take the cat or dog to the vet it's a better rate then if you go your self.

Sorry for this posting, but it seems a lot of guys are reading it.

Is there any condos in Jomtien that officially allows pets?

I know VT condos wish I like doesn't but seen dogs around.

Sorry again for this post.

I hope UN would do the same to the U.S. and their executions. But guess UN would not interfere with the U.S. Republicans, it may back fire since UN is so hated by them.

I'm an European born New Yorker and love the thin crust European pizza, can't get it in New York so I eat it in Pattaya, the best one in my opinion is the Italian restaurant (forgot the name) located next to the Suvarnabhumi busses near VT1 and the pizzeria opposite Dicks Cafe in Jomtien Complex also have a decent sea food pizza.

I have had a Thai bank account for 4 years with Internet banking without having a long term visa or work permit, the only thing I needed was my passport with a 60 day tourist visa and my partner came with me to the bank and explained that I use the account to pay bills and school expenses for our kid. It took 20 minutes to get my account opened and later when visited Chang Mai I added internet banking to the account and that was also taken care of in minutes. I have other friends that have opened accounts the same way. I think it sometimes depends on your attitude and who is the branch manager and how well you click with them, they are the once that approve both the account and if you will get Internet banking.

Good Luck

If you haven't already figured out why western guys marry Thai, Russian, Filipino girls or for the same reason guys from these countries you must be very blue eyed. There are 2 kinds of men. Men that honestly like Asian women or men and are looking for a relation built on love, then you have the second group of men that have problems with their temper, drinking etc that would never be able to meet a white lady due to their problems and for them the cost and headache with visas etc is not a problem. Their only interest is to have a person next to them to service their needs and that they know can't run away from their bad habits. I don't know if you heard about russian mail order brides, they are very popular in the U.S.

The biggest problem here is that nobody get involved to help these poor girls and guys that are taken to Europe and U.S. Just for the purpose to serve sexually and domestic duties and rest of the time are abused. As you mention nobody of the happy Asian/White couples like to get involved that's in my opinion a disgrace, you should try to help these poor Asian men and women that are being abused. The way these white scumbags use their partners are bad for all future good intended relations. Asian women and men get a bad name and it will also in the long run be more difficult for a white male to petition their loved one regardless if it's a male or female.

The other downside is that some of these abused men and women are being held as sex slaves, and if you don't get involved in their situation when you see something is wrong you will not realize this. I have seen this first hand in New York where Thai and Filipino guys are forced by their partners to do massage and other services against their will and they don't get the good money that their husbands collect.

The only way this can stop is if the happy married Asians or Russians get to know these unhappy individuals and I'm sorry put their nose in their business to stop the abuse. This kind of trafficking is huge and a big problem.

Have been renting in Jomtien for some years 2 months at a time 3 times a year to see where I can find a nice place to rent when retired. Have rented in all VT buildings and personally find VT 2 A&b and VT 5 C&D my favorites. Just now in VT7 for my 3rd time facing the bars, excellent location and the street notice don't bother me but I hear my neighbors on both side, don't mind the regular noise but don't like to listen to their love making. Also the services like laundry etc are not as good as VT 2&5 so goes for the restaurant as well. Also the power in VT 7 is unreliable when it comes to the elevator, a few times last couple of weeks there have been only 1 elevator and a few times none for a extended time. I have limitations walking up the stairs so have found this very inconvenient. Did not have these problems in VT 2&5

I agree with Balo, a good Indonesian restaurant would be nice, British and Scandinavian food are well represented here. A upgrade of the old restaurants in Jomtien complex would also be nice, L'ovier had dicentra food but are now a mediocre Vietnamese, East have gone downhill, one of the lady boy waiters are now cooking and their Monday buffet never have food or desserts unless you are one of the first guests and the new waitstaff are incompetent. I know this was to much but had to get it out.

It's a way to protect the fruit wendors, if they are sold the unripe Durian they can't sell it and will loose their investment, Durian are as we all know a very expensive fruit. Durian sold in the U.S. Are often sold frozen and if it's exported unripe it's no way to get it ripe after you buy it. When it comes to ask fruit vendor to cut melons, pineapple or other fruit in half to see if it's ripe before you buy it is a very disgusting way of doing business since the vendor have no use for the cut unripe fruit. Of course if you pay for the waisted fruit it's up to you to cut the whole inventory until you are satisfied.