Kaoboi Bebobp

On 11/6/2019 at 6:05 PM, kinyara said:

Just back from an afternoon in Pattaya, beach road businesses were doing a good trade as far as I could see and the south Pattaya junction was busy with people heading both ways, out to Jomtien and into town. Definately filling up earlier this year.

I was just in Pattaya for a week. Five days on the Darkside and two on the beachside. Was a bit surprised at the volume of activity.

Murphy's Irish Pub on Khao Noi was doing a roaring trade, busier than I'd seen it a long time -- I used to live on Noen Plub Wan. Lucky Time on NPW was  pretty busy every night and not bad in the daytime. I stayed there for five days. 

On the beach side, I always stay behind Big C Extra. The supermarket and mall were super busy every day, the food court nearly full. Two restaurants I frequent on Soi Yume were definitely getting busier. All of the rising activity seemed to happen a lot earlier than I remember. 

Out with some Cambodia expats one night. All the bars we went to on Diana, LK Metro, Buakhao, Chaiyaphum and New Plaza had few empty tables.  Looked like lots of happy people out and about.

Got friends from the UK coming in next month for the first time in nearly two years. 

1 minute ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

That was a temporary misunderstanding between Sheryl and the Pacific Cross folks she was speaking with at the time. She had further conversation with them, and later came back here and posted in the relevant thread that Pacific Cross had clarified that deductibles on their O-A certified policies are FINE and will not prevent O-A certification.

 

 

Yep. I know that PC's Premium and Premium Plus plans have varying deductibles and are O-A compliant.

28 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Please don't jump the gun based on my post. As you say, need some confirmation here.

Yep, no worries. Many of us with ties to the home country have travel insurance and, in my case case, an ample credit card. But that counts for nothing in Thailand. I was going to wait till near the next renewal next summer to decide whether to stay and buy insurance or leave Thailand and move to Cambodia. That decision may come a lot sooner if I need to show insurance on my next return. Waiting for more anecdotal evidence . . . 

26 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

I received feedback today, and I tried to be sure it was as I interpreted....

 

Someone arriving at Swampy, who had a re-entry permit, on a retirement extension that originated  from an O-A some years old, was asked to show insurance. This seems to be a complete set relating to O-A Visas now. All one could do in such circumstances is accept a 30 day..... and then best to convert it to a Non-Imm-O and start again. (Unless one wants to buy insurance at the airport!) Anyone hear of this?

My next retirement extension (based on an original O-A many years ago) is not due until next August. If I leave and come back, as I plan to do next month, I have to arrange Thai insurance before I leave in order to gain re-entry. So, based on your above information, I cannot wait until next extension renewal to get the Thai insurance. (Insert colourful unhappy language here.) Let's see what others with recent experience on re-entry have to say. 

2 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

OP, who at Jomtien immigration told you that insurance (Thai only) is required for an extension of stay ???? The copy shop nexxt door, the front desk, or the actual extension counter.

After being told "USA insurance is NOT acceptable", You then go on to say "I did not ask at Jomtien" and the need for insurance is a "possibility"

 

Are you speculating that insurance is now required for a extension or you have been definitely told this by the extension counter at Jomtien?

Good questions.

OP, what/who is the source of your statement that Jomtien now requires proof of medical insurance for those renewing retirement extensions? Only one source?  

Since the Nation couldn't be bothered to tell you the name of the managing director of the IMF, it's Bulgarian economist Kristalina Georgieva. You're welcome. 

15 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

 

I just learned they are bringing in the Child Protection Unit, an NGO group that includes Western forensic staff down to assist.Usually they work child abuse cases.  Obviously she was not a child but this group has the closest thing to the needed expertise in country so good they are going down.

https://www.cambodianchildrensfund.org/program/child-protection-unit-cpu/

 

I must say that the Cambodian authorities seem to have done as well as they could with this. Top priority given, ample people deployed, high level involvement and they really got the word out to everyone including the offshore fishing vessels which is how she was eventually found.  Small comfort, I know, given the tragic outcome, but  they should get credit for the importance and effort they accorded to this matter. Would not have  been the case in a lot of places.  I certainly know first hand of cases where it was not, here in Thailand.

 

 

See my post No. 31 above. They have allegedly already inspected the body, leaving without comment. I imagine they must first inform the parents and siblings what they may have discovered. 

Two foreign doctors with Child Protection Unit examined the body this morning but made no comments afterward. 

Medical and crime scene officials examine body

--From Khmer Times

This should be a winner. Not! Put another way, if Japan's largest retailer Aeon thought S'ville needed a shopping mall, they would have developed one already. 

2 hours ago, my friend I said:

 

I have a different view. It is all about wild speculation and terrible, insensitive comments.

My point is when there's a sensitive topic, the admin and mods are careful when sourcing and posting news. And they keep the threads clean and usually are very quick to edit/delete posts in poor taste. But no forum is perfect. CEO is just better than most, IMO.

The Cambodia Expats Online forum is now reporting the Child Protection Unit has put a team together with a forensic pathologist and heading to Sihanoukville. CEO, by the way, has a pretty good track record and good sources. 

News conference is just a PR stunt. You don't suddenly start prep days before a quasi-major regional meeting -- at which absolutely nothing consequential will be decided, in keeping with the traditional emptiness of ASEAN meetings. 

Smedly, if you click on the Airvisual link, it takes you to the Pattaya AQI reading. Just beneath the AQI number are two small icons for contributors. One is Sansiri and other a Patana school. I am assuming they are volunteer contributors with proper equipment because Airvisual says the "data were validated and calibrated" from three other sources. 

I was in Pattaya for two nights in early September. Took the baht bus to the Tuesday market and back to Central Road. Property after property, sometimes two or three in a row, had shutters down and a single sign with phone number and for rent or sale, in English and/or Thai. I've never seen so many of them. I walked Central Road a lot over the years. Quite a few closures and empty eateries out to Sukhumvit, not to forget the hollowing out of Harbor Mall. 

Looks like very poor business conditions on Soi Yume where I always stay, which this year included January, February, April, May, July and September. I always rent a moto from a gal just off Yume. Says business terrible and plans to sell the bikes and  laundry machines and move back to the village. She's been there quite a few years. 

So it seems now the big businesses are showing the stress of a declining economy.  I feel sorry for the workers. Of course, what happens is that the lack of demand radiates out into support businesses, which starts the breakdown of what were once healthy communities. Will we see more protests? 

Home Pro have brand name electric clippers, at least the Gateway Mall Home Pro did a month ago. Can't remember if they have Wahl though.

19 hours ago, lexlam said:

What about to obtain a multiple tourist visa for 3 months?

does this mean to leav the country every month? or just stay till the visa expires?

Thanks

The 3-month visa teachers get are usually single-entry, and cheaper. I actually haven't had a tourist visa in several years, using multi-entry business visas exclusively. However, that goes back to very early this year. Things have been changing and I left VN. Some good sources for up-to-date info are Cambodia Expats Online and the myriad VN city expat pages on FB. Pick a city you would like to stay in and join that specific FB page. They often have thousands of members and loads of visa threads. 

The old On Nut night market has moved down soil 81, about 700 m from Suk. It's called the New On Nut Market; it's listed as such on Google Maps. It's much smaller but I kind of like it. It's also cheaper than the W District market. Some vendors moved to W, which I really like, and a couple moved to the New On Nut market. 

On 10/12/2019 at 10:33 AM, tutsiwarrior said:

the FV (franco vietnamese) Hospital was popular some years ago but it was located out a ways from district 1...

 

 

FV in D7 is improving its services and it's the only JCI accredited full service hospital in VN. Met an American hospital advisor recently in Bangkok who was going there to do an assessment on where and how to improve their operations. 

3. Long term visas (6 months and up) are getting almost impossible to get, such as the business visa in lieu of non-existent retirement visas. Immigration is weeding out the fake company business visas arranged by agents, according to fresh reports.  People are being turned back or heavily fined. Expensive Temporary Residence Cards are being rejected and seized. Vietnam is clamping down.

However, expat forum reports are saying authentic job offers with work permits are not a problem.  

Most people, especially teachers, are living on 3-month tourist visas, which means leaving the country every 3 months. 

3 hours ago, Nyezhov said:

I was by that place the other day. Hows the food? 

No food at the Local any more. 

17 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

How is it pronounced then? ????

Like its spelled

Oh Im sorry, you must speak more educated Thai than me. I say Loi Et or LA, Bulilam, Pha Kanong, Talat Poooo, Tawn Low....I probably speak place names like a rice farmer 

Nothing wrong with rice farmers. ????  Anyway, the BTS voice lady does pronounce the "r" in Phra and the station name is spelled Phra on the entrance. If you said "pha kanong" to me, I'd immediately know what you mean. However, English spelling of Thai names does present problems here and there, with many inconsistencies. 

PS I also live in PK on a canal. That storm was a pounder. 

I originally misread it as Phra Khanong. But there's no Pha Kanong or Phan Kanong on the Bangkok map, which Google kindly corrected them to Phra Khanong. So is this what you actually mean? 

Anyway, that rain sure was a biggie.

After watching the (disgracefully bad) AFL grand final game (by an 89-point margin) at the Sportsman on soi 13 on Saturday, a friend and I decided to do a tour of Soi 4. Haven't been there in many years. It was a fun change. Hooters was the least busy place on the soi at mid-afternoon. Maybe 5-6 guys spotted around the perimeter standups. Hooters looked utterly funless. Meanwhile Big Dog's and Stumble Inn were hopping and way WAY more fun.

I thought the idea of opening Hooters in Thailand was one of the most ludicrous ideas in a country with no shortage of ludicrous ideas.