Eddy B

There is a very tiny green/brown insect here in Thailand that secretes an acid like liquid when it lands on you or has been squashed when you slap it. At first you will feel nothing, but a day later it looks like a burn/blister and can be very uncomfortable.

Last night I was sitting at my Thai friends bar

Where was that?

Horrifying news. 7/11 clearing their beer stocks. The end of the world is coming.

Just that I can not remember the slightest trace of it in the news sources that I scan quite frequently

I can only tell you what I have been told by Thai people. One being a friend of mine for over 9 years and my wife of 6 years. Not all new regulations are in English and that's why it is not known to most of us non-Thai's. I am only passing on what I heard, so please, do not shoot the messenger. BTW, it is only 7/11's within the radius of schools and hospitals not all 7/11's.

Just heard some more new info. Supposedly now the 300 metre no alcohol rule around schools has increased to 1km and also includes hospitals. My wife just told me as she was in a meeting earlier at her workplace, which is a newly opened open air shopping center and they are worried as they have a bar on site. She even stopped at the 7/11 across from the hospital where we live and they are clearing their beer stocks from the fridge.

Last night I was sitting at my Thai friends bar and he told me that now all bars must be closed by 12am. Police and army together are supposedly coming around and checking. He also said 2 bars in a neighboring province have been shutdown for 5 years because they failed to close on time and also some one younger than 20 but over 18 was caught on the premises. My friend is taking this very seriously but I was wondering if anyone had heard of this crackdown happening where they are, it has usually been very relaxed around here in the north part of Thailand.

I have a multi entry Non O and did this border crossing last month. No hassle, friendly staff on both sides of the crossing. 30-35 mins max to leave Thailand and re-enter. Only 500 baht on the Myanmar side for their visa stamped in and out at the same time in the office. None of this full page stamp nonsense, just two little stamps. Easiest crossing I have encountered so far in 10 years living here.

Soi dogs can be a pain and not easy to remove. If you have a car and the time, why not load up the dog and baby and drive somewhere that is better like a park or open area for your daily strolls. I know it is a pain but maybe less of one when contending with fighting off soi dogs if you have your dog and the baby in the pram. I have lived in my soi now for over 9 years and to begin with the dogs were aggressive. Over time they are now quite friendly and will follow me if I decide to walk along the soi. There are also some home owner dogs that are just plain nasty but luckily my friendly soi dogs take care of them for me.

I can confirm the consulate will be closed the 30th and 31st.

If you apply the morning of the 28th by 11 am you will get your passport back the afternoon of the 29th at 2 pm.

Not sure about parking at the bus station in Mukdahan. At the bridge there is secure parking available on the the left just before the gates for the bridge. You will be taking the same bus at the bridge that you would get in Mukdahan.

100% what ubonjoe has said. Park up at the bridge and go through the Thai immigration side. Catch the bus to take you over the bridge. The tuk-tuk's can be real gold diggers but if you are in a rush to get your passport into the consulate in time 200 baht is do able. If you are not in a rush then you can haggle. The consulate is only about 8-10 minutes away from the Laos side of the bridge so not too far. I would go direct to the consulate to get your visa process started as this does not take too long. I was in and out in about 35 minutes. When I was there I stayed at the Avalon guesthouse, it is nice and clean. When you go to pick up be ready for the horde of Lao people trying to push in the queue at 2pm. Also trying to get on the return bus over the bridge after pick up of passport can be fun.

In North Thailand where I live all the locals call them Tokay. Maybe a difference because of locations. Your right OP, there is no need to kill them at all. They are a good form of natural pest control, be it insects or small rodents. When they do get into the house the Thai part of my family. i.e. wife and step-son will go into an hysterical panic. So I have to chase the medium sized bugger out. The last time I had to man-handle one I was lucky I still had my leather/suede gauntlets for gardening to grab it. Man, it bit down hard but luckily the leather had hardened so all I felt was the pressure and not the pain. I let the sucker go in the back of the house and he was free again to cause what ever mischievous acts it wanted.

I once had a skin rash due to a bug bite and wanted to see the doctor who had treated my friend before with the same thing. I ask his wife to draw me a map, which she did. With said map I made my way to the area she had told me and followed it to a clinic. So I sat down and waited til I was asked by the receptionist to give my details. Well about 15 minutes had passed and I had noticed the other patients seemed to all of the female persuasion and pregnant. I thought this odd so I approached the desk and asked if doctor Sombat or whatever his name was was working at this clinic. Well talk about embarrassing, I had only been sitting in the pregnant woman's clinic and it all got a good laugh from the ladies when they all realised I was in the wrong place. Luckily one of the receptionists gave me a ride on her bike about one block over to the correct clinic. Diffidently a humorous but also embarrassing experience!! At the end of my story, the right doc also did give me the right cream for the bug bite rash and it cleared up.

Need to look again. Mae Sot is some 360 km from Chiang Mai its more like a 5 hour drive where as Mae Sia is 250 km and is about 4 hours.

I am not in Chiang Mai. I live near to Phitsanolok. So much closer.

Hi all, I will be going to Mae Sot near the end of this month but before the Budda holiday's. I have a multi entry Non-O visa and was wondering if anyone who has recently crossed into Myanmar using this crossing could give me some advice. I have never used this crossing before and have never used a multi entry visa before, so I am not 100% sure what to expect. I will be going with my wife and her mum but they will stay on the Thai side while I cross over and hopefully with no problems crossing back over with a new stamp in my passport. The reason I am using this crossing is because it is only about 3 hours journey by car plus I had read that they only charge 500baht to enter Myanmar and use a normal sized stamp, not a page filling one like in Laos.

Anyway I appreciate any advice given

Cheers!!

It's for Dengue mosquito's. Harmless to your lawn and trees, maybe not so much for you if you inhaled a good lung full. They usually do it after someone in your area has been hospitalized with Dengue and they go around the housing area of the person in hospital and spray this gas/smoke to hopefully stop anyone else in the area catching it. They were actually doing you a favor and not trying to kill your garden.

Why is the government even bothering to possible try to educate the young people about sex/pregnancy when this event offers the opposite. "Come, get pissed and charged way too much, plus we can hook you up with a hotel room too!! Condoms not included with this package deal"!!

Amazon has this:http://www.amazon.com/Stoneblade-Entertainment-GGS-001-Ascension/dp/B0040QE5YC

I hope that helps as I think you will not be able to buy locally in Thailand

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Easier yes, but why should you allow people behind you in the queue to pass you? If you were to be as cortious as that id hazard a guess that youd still be there waiting when the border closes in the evening,, which in my situation is not so good as I had to pick up our car from the hotel we left it at in mukdahan and drive across the breadth of the country or nearly 700km to get home after the crossing, yes I believe there are flight options, but not so convenient for us in this instance,,

The other solution due to limited availability lets just say was a one off.

I am sure if one was " cortious" then one would be left stranded !

What is the solution ? Push, shove and fight or follow behind the wife who is skilled in the use of bus mounting tactics ?

I would like to see how you would have reacted. Would you have waved your arms like Moses and split the sea of bodies climbing over each other to get on the only bus coming that time??? If you have not done this visa run since Feb the 1st, then shut up as both I and jonnyscot have! Plus why pick on the fact that someone spelt a word wrong, I got the understanding of what he meant just by his sentence structure. Yes, if we had of been courteous and let the throng rushing onto the bus before us, we would have been stranded until well after the bridge crossing had closed. One bus is not enough, 80+ people trying to get on one bus is madness and quite unsafe.

I have no idea what you guys are talking about, I was there last October, I picked up my visa in the afternoon and walked back to my guest house and had a nice dinner at Chez Bourne.

The next morning i arranged for a tuk-tuk driver to pick me up and drop me at the bridge for 100B or something.

I cleared immigration and at around 10.00 am a bus swung round the roundabout in front of Lao immigration, the bus was empty, it didnt come from Sav bus station, there was a couple of westerners on the bus, it dropped me at Mukdahan bus station. There was no pushing or shoving, everyone had a seat.

From there I caught a songthaew to Indo-china market, walked through, got something to eat, read my book by the river and the airasia shuttle turned up on queue to take me to the airport.

I found the whole process so easy, sure there was a little rush when the outgoing bus arrived and we were shoehorned for the 3 minute bridge crossing, it was more like over-keen gamers chasing their fix and a rush of filllapinas as the gates to the consulate opened - apart from that, no other stress to mention. Sometimes it pays to just relax.

Exactly! You went in October last year, that is why you have no idea!! Since Feb the 1st it is no longer a 1 day process but is now a 2 day process. So everyone has to pick up their passports at 2pm from the consulate the next day. I could have stayed another night wined and dined myself and family but I had transport and friends waiting for me on the Thai-side. So everyone wishing to get back to the Thai-side are all arriving at the same time. This causes a bottle neck when it come to crossing the bridge. One bus 80+ people all there wanting to board that bus. The bus company surely know about this new change in policy so why still only one bus, and not two.

To the other OP who questioned about pushing and shoving: Did I have to fight to get on the bus no, did I push and shove...........damn right I did as my wife and kid were on board that bus we are a family. Would another person not do the same?

I was just there last week and I am sure the notice I read said the 6th is the first day they re-open. Also the 13th is a holiday, "Royal ploughing day" or something farming related. If I was you try and download a copy of the application form for Savannakhet office, and have it pre-filled before arriving at the consulate. Also make sure to attach 2 photo's to the application form as they had no glue at the consulate and will not accept if not glued. There is no pick a number and wait for yours to be called out. It is first come first served scenario. Before you go make sure you have a bottle of water and a hat with you as most of the time until you are about 12th in the queue, you will be in the glaring sun. On the following afternoon, be aware of Laos people turning up at 1:45pm at the consulate. Even if there is a queue, they will not care a jot and push in just so they can be before all the people who have waiting. When the gates are opened at 1:55pmish, do not worry what ticket number you have been given the day before as it does not reflect on when you pick up your passport but is linked to how they do their sorting procedure. Just charge forward and get your place in the maddening queue. I would recommend the Avalon mansion/residence as a nice place to stay.

Good luck!

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I had a similar experience about 5 years ago. I had a pet dog and she had just turned about 8 months old. I never took her out for walks in the soi as too many stray aggressive dogs around. I did let her go out in the front garden everyday for a sniff around or take her to the park. On one occasion I let her out into the front yard my wife had come home laden with shopping so I went out to help her take it into the house and we forgot to lock the gate. After about 30 minutes of putting food away, she asked me were was the dog and I told her she was in the front. That's when I realized what we had not locked the gate. Rushed out and the dog is no where to be found. Myself and the wife both jump on our motorbikes and are zipping around the neighborhood looking for it. After 20 minutes of searching I find her. She had been hit by a car and she had been killed. So I pull the bike over, run out into the road to pick her up. There is no way I can drive the motorbike with the dog in my hands, so I just sit there on the the side of the road, obviously I am very sad now. An old Thai man riding one of the bikes seen around the markets with a cargo area on the front stops. He motions for me to put the dog in the front, asks me in Thai where I live. I tell him in Thai and he tells me to drive home. I ride back to my home and in 10 minutes he arrives. I tried to offer him money to say thank you but he just gives me an understanding look and waves my offer of money away. I took my dogs body from the front of his bicycle, he nods and rides away. I still see him from time to time and I always wai to him and he always gives me the nod of acknowledgement. Like anywhere in the world there are some very nice people and some absolute a#$holes, usually the ones with the least to give are the ones who give the most. Just my 2 cents to the OP's topic

Finally got back home after the trip to Savannakhet. At the crossing on the Thai side I had no problem going through immigration. My wife and step-son however do not have passports so they had to go to office where Thai's can use their ID's as a makeshift passport. She en counted problems, not with the staff but with other Thai people jumping the ques. Getting on the bus from the Thai side was not too bad but still like a mad rush with no system of control, just a head-less chicken mad rush. Laos side getting the visa, no problems.

Arrived straight to the Thai consulate from the border. This place needs a larger roof, I was sweating buckets in the mid morning sun. After about 30 minutes waiting in the queue it was my turn to hand in the documents/passport and he just checked through them quickly and asked for the cash payment. I got my ticket and was done. Went to our hotel, we checked into the Avalon. Nice place with friendly staff, however you can not check in til 12 noon. They do have a newly opened cafe across from their car park now which is nice and charges a reasonable rate for coffees and beer. We got a bit of a shock when they said we can now go to our room as we were led outside to the car park where at the back is an old 1945 built colonial style house, this is where we stayed in the Everest room. It has a total of 5 rooms, two 2nd floor balconies and it once belonged to the Finance minister from France for the southern part of Laos.

My family and I went to Chez Boune restaurant, the food was good but my GOD...............expensive! Nice staff and good service but very very pricey!!

The next day we checked out at 1pm and was at the Thai consulate at 1:40pm. There were a few people waiting then at 1:50pm a group of about 12 Laos people turned up and just pushed their way to the front, absolutely no shame.........they were mainly women. The gate is open and it is now like the bull run in Spain the Laos have got to be first............complete a&^holes. The ticket numbers mean nothing, it is first come first served!

After about 10 minutes I have my passport and new visa in hand after I triple checked to make sure I got what I paid for. Next it was back to the border in the tuk-tuk. Luckily my wife was still sitting in the tuk-tuk as he tried to get people leaving earlier than me to take them to the crossing. My wife told me she saw one tuk-tuk had just done this, driving off with someones bags still in the back of the tuk-tuk. How would you feel if you come out of the consulate to find the tuk-tuk driver was not there and neither was your bags? We did see the same tuk-tuk going back to the consulate as we were on the way to the bridge but still, that's a shitty way to deal with a customer if you have already shorted out a deal before hand.

Arrived at the border around 2:20pm. Laos immigration no problem for all of us apart from my wife had to pay 80 baht for her and son. No it is time to wait for the bus. As we are waiting here come the queue jumping Laos people again. I have no idea why there is only one bus that comes to pick up at this time when they know that many people will have just got their passports back and will be wanting to cross the bridge..............absolute madness!

The bus just pulls up and the Laos are at it again, pushing and shoving people out of the way. I got separated from my wife and step-son and almost did not get on the bus. I had to get a little physical and push back.

On the bus people had sat down and put their bags on the seat next to them, totally ignorant people! Why not put it on your lap as the trip is only about 5 minutes over the bridge???

Arrived the Thai side and filled in the arrival / departure card. This was not easy as they had four officers filling in the forms for the people that can not read English or Thai were writing on top of the cards. No cards were in a pick-up box and no other tables for people to use, so I had to fill it in kneeling on a plastic chair. Finally got through the immigration check point and on the way home.

Arrived home 11 hours later at 2:20am.................I need a beer. All in all the trip was fine, the only real blight on the trip was the Thai consulate needs to improve it's waiting area and control the queuing system to stop the mad head-less chicken run. Also at the crossing there needs to either needs to be more buses put on to ease the flow of people or have a proper system that stops the almost riot-like behavior of mostly Laos and Thai people getting onto the bus.

Finally got back home after the trip to savannakhet. At the crossing on the Thai side I had no problem going through immigration. My wife and step-son however do not have passports so they had to go to office where Thai's can use their ID's as a makeshift passport. She en counted problems, not with the staff but with other Thai people jumping the ques. Getting on the bus from the Thai side was not too bad but still like a mad rush with no system of control, just a head-less chicken mad rush. Laos side getting the visa, no problems.

Arrived straight to the Thai consulate from the border. This place needs a larger roof, I was sweating buckets in the mid morning sun. After about 30 minutes waiting in the queue it was my turn to hand in the documents/passport and he just checked through them quickly and asked for the cash payment. I got my ticket and was done. Went to our hotel, we checked into the Avalon. Nice place with friendly staff, however you can not check in til 12 noon. They do have a newly opened cafe across from their car park now which is nice and charges a reasonable rate for coffees and beer. We got a bit of a shock when they said we can now go to our room as we were led outside to the car park where at the back is an old 1945 built colonial style house, this is where we stayed in the Everest room. It has a total of 5 rooms, two 2nd floor balconies and it once belonged to the Finance minister from France for the southern part of Laos.

My family and I went to Chez Boune restaurant, the food was good but my GOD...............expensive! Nice staff and good service but very very pricey!!

The next day we checked out at 1pm and was at the Thai consulate at 1:40pm. There were a few people waiting then at 1:50pm a group of about 12 Laos people turned up and just pushed their way to the front, absolutely no shame.........they were mainly women. The gate is open and it is now like the bull run in Spain the Laos have got to be first............complete a&^holes. The ticket numbers mean nothing, it is first come first served!

After about 10 minutes I have my passport and new visa in hand after I triple checked to make sure I got what I paid for. Next it was back to the border.

Arrived at the border around 2:20pm. Laos immigration no problem for all of us apart from my wife had to pay 80 baht for her and son. No it is time to wait for the bus. As we are waiting here come the queue jumping Laos people again. I have no idea why there is only one bus that comes to pick up at this time when they know that many people will have just got their passports back and will be wanting to cross the bridge..............absolute madness!

The bus just pulls up and the Laos are at it again, pushing and shoving people out of the way. I got separated from my wife and step-son and almost did not get on the bus. I had to get a little physical and push back.

On the bus people had sat down and put their bags on the seat next to them, totally ignorant people! Why not put it on your lap as the trip is only about 5 minutes over the bridge???

Arrived the Thai side and filled in the arrival / departure card. This was not easy as they had four officers filling in the forms for the people that can not read English or Thai were writing on top of the cards. No cards were in a pick-up box. Finally through the immigration check and on the way home.

Arrived home 11 hours later at 2:20am.................I need a beer. All in all the trip was fine, the only real blight on the trip was the Thai consulate needs to improve it's waiting area and control the queuing system to stop the mad head-less chicken run. Also at the crossing there needs to either needs to be more buses put on to ease the flow of people or have a proper system that stops the almost riot-like behavior of mostly Laos and Thai people getting onto the bus.

Online Ba degree........................ check.

Thai ethics and culture course......................... check.

Over one year experience teaching (6 years total)............................. check.

Currently pursuing bachelor of Education, 2 years left............................. check

Paid up tax on salary............................ check

Application for provisional teaching licence sent................... check.

Its the inconvenience of it all that is the issue for me.................... NOT the documents.

Enjoy your retirement Richard.

Well I see you have everything that they require, so whats the problem??? Just jump through their hoops provide the relevant documents and your all good for another year.

The silly thing is you have to travel all the way to the immigration office that your address governed by, not the nearest one. My friend just got stung with an over-stay as his school said they had sorted everything out for him but they had not. His contract ended on the 31st of March and his flight out because he thought he was all good was on the 16th of April. I did not know this until I asked to see his passport and I knew it was too late to go to an Immigration office. He left Thailand on the 16th and paid the fine at the airport, no problems from the immigration officers as I told him to go straight to them and show them he made a mistake and that he had the money to pay the fine. No black listing on his passport and took about 5 minutes to sort out.

I would like to thank all you guys for the info. I will give an account of how the trip when I return.