FLHR

Bear with me; I arrived in Bangkok April/2013, 9 months into a NON O-A visa & received a stamp at the airport for another year. Being my first retirement visa I couldn’t believe I was getting 21 months off the same visa so to play it safe I went to Chiang Mai immigration with all my visa extension paper work in July (1 year into that visa) and was given an extension of one more year. Still somewhat confused because I still have the April 2013 stamp from the airport, every 90 day report I would make a copy of each stamp and ask when my extension expired. They always said July 2013 and stamped it in red on the upper right hand corner of the 90 day report. Be advised, at some point (I don’t know when) someone put a very small illegible chicken scratch (not a stamp) on the CM extension that in Thai means cancelled. I was never aware of this and it seems most immigration officers also were not aware. Again in April my 90 day report & the immigration officer said it expires in July. The end of June I went to CM immigration and got 2 #’s for the 90 day report line and extension line. Once again the 90 day report stamp said visa expires in July. When my # came up for the extension line the lady officer was getting upset looking through my passport and yelled for one of the students. She took my paperwork to another desk and said sorry but we’re full. I would have to come back Monday. It was hard but I kept my cool and did just that.

Monday morning I finally get in front of a guy who seems to know his job tells me there’s a problem with my stamps & I would ultimately have to go to Mae Sai to pay overstay. He sets me up with the gal who’s on top of the chain of command there. She takes my passport and argues with officers at a couple different desks for quite a while. Upon her return I’m told that many officers there are not proficient at their job and I would have to go pay overstay at Mae Sai, then to return directly to her for some kind of 90 day stamp. Then to her again to get back on the NON O-A. ???? No apologies, nothing. Their mistake, my problem, simple as that.

Upon arriving at the Mae Sai border I’m told I have to go to Chiang Rai immigration. The immigration office tells me I have to go back to the border. Again, none of these immigration officers are apologetic, but mild mannered and full of smiles. Maybe that’s apologetic in Thai. ???

I have 3 questions for those with knowledge here. 1: Is there any recourse for the 20,000 Baht overstay and the several days (spent & yet to come) of my life trying to sort out consistent misinformation and discrepancies in the stamps in my passport? 2: When I go back to Chiang Mai immigration what am I to expect with the 90 day visa she was talking about, what will happen after the 90 day visa and how much more will this all cost? 3: Can I ultimately change over to a marriage visa? (I have been legally married to a Thai national for a year now).

Thanks in advance for your help and patience!

Did he get the first time car buying credit? Maybe monks are entitled to 22 of those. I'm sure they're much less of a credit liability than your average citizen here.

I was on a flight (Bangkok, Taiwan, LAX) once. While seating prior to the LAX leg a Thai mother daughter pair came along to get into the inner seats from me. I got up for easier access for them. As the elderly lady passed she called me a kwai & then the daughter apologized. While in flight the elderly lady was starting in on the stewardess about the food. Then she wanted to start to the exit while the aircraft was taxiing to the gate at LAX.

I think the article is getting at promoting behavior similar to this.

Blame this blame that !! however, upermost it is the system that is at fault. Little or no supervision during construction, poor building codes, poor electrical codes poor safety standards, No emergency lighling. no emergency evacuation proceedure or training. No Fire Safety Code Basicaly no anything and as such tragedies like this will happen. Much more can be gained by laying this at the feet of those responsible for the whole conception rather than those who had to deal with an accident waiting to happen.

It will be easy to state that the root cause of this is due to the corruption that exists in all aspects of Thai life, however , that would be wrong as corruption is meerly one of the effects of a dysfunctional culture. It is not the cause. . Attitude and culture are closer to the root cause of the majority of the maladies that beset this country.

In reality there is little to be proud of within "Thai Culture"

Very well said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good for Thailand; but, who's really reaping the benefits here???? I see inflation all over. The price of the ordinary staples of life are going up across the board so us foreigners and ordinary Thais are paying substantially more to exist. I know a lot of Thais are living better through lines of credit. I'm not rich so rather than changing dollars I've been tapping into my visa savings. If things aren't better when it comes time to extend that visa I will probably drop back to a tourist visa for a while and am considering moving back to the States. That's just me & my humble opinion though and I really hope this all blows over without heavy consequences for the average Thai & foreigner!

Until Thailand gets out of the 3rd world mentality & starts putting cops on the road to enforce moving violations & a vehicles road worthiness (lights, tire treads, ect.) absolutely nothing will change here! Driving within the guidelines of the drivers license exam, replacing that head light or replacing those fried brake pads vs a substantial fine would make a huge difference.

You must think like a government man: Ban on all lighters & matches through out the Kingdom!

Thanks again for the info. A couple of the companies mentioned above said they don't do bikes (maybe they have arrangements through dealerships or I spoke to misinformed reps). For the Harley I've found that Peter (AA) provides the best coverage. I also found a couple other user friendly brokers with decent coverage if anyone's interested.

Wana or Jack Levy Tooie (also in Pattaya)

MLG Consulting Service Co., Ltd. 081-152-5557

63/14-15 Moo 10, South Pattaya Rd.,

Nongprue, Banglamung

Chonburi 20150

Phone: 038 427 904-5

All in all, it seems we have to pay big for coverage compared to our native lands. Ride safe!!!

Thanks for the feedback! I am having the wife help with language barriers, as suggested. Also sent my info to Peter at AA as suggested through pm (waiting for reply). Seems many companies wont do bikes at all. Including where we have the truck & car insured. Some may do bikes under five years old. ThaiSri will do bikes under 10 years old at a heavy price, large deductibles & marginal coverage. One company actually told me if we insured our vehicles & home with them they would consider the bike.

No doubt, this is challenging. I'll be calling some friends down south for info and at the end of this, If I come up with any extraordinary results, they'll be posted for reference.

Thanks!

Howdy all,

I've been researching 1st class insurance for my bike and am a little confused. From other threads I read here & a few companies I spoke with you can't get 1st class insurance on a bike over five years old. Does anyone know of a company that offers 1st class on an older bike? I have an 02 Harley (book says 05 & I pay taxes for an 05) so guess it's classified as 8 years old. If 1st class is not an option for me what would you recommend as a good coverage alternative?

I live near Chiang Mai & have spoken to AA. They could only offer 3rd class Ins at B2,466. I see from other threads here Asia Ins offers the same coverage for B1,699. I'm waiting to hear back from Viriya Ins. If I can only get 3rd class, of course I'm taking the more reasonable rate; however, I sure would feel better having some decent coverage if possible. Appreciate any past experience/knowledge you all may have on the subject!

Thanks!

I try to refrain but feel the need to pipe in here. I've been riding HD's since 1981. I've tried many other sport & sport touring bikes but can't part from the ergonomics and torque of a Harley. Thousands of miles across the US (and here) on Shovels, Evo's & Twin Cams. Never broke down on the road & with the dozens of riding buddies only had rare issues that could be resolved on the spot (or at least good enough to get to a garage or home). They're reliable bikes and they're far from rocket science. With some mechanical aptitude, the right tools & service manuals you can maintain & upgrade everything yourself. I see a lot more issues here because manuals & proper tools aren't used in many cases. Hell, the last bike I bought here had the rear motor mounts in upside down & some wire splicing with an array of colors in it.

I think it's great to have another wrench in town & wish AJ all the best! I look forward to swinging by his shop in the near future & you all ride safe out there!!!