NiwPix

Did they say which year Loi Gatong?

Ok, I promise I will stop it now

Good luck on that and hopefully it is true what you heard.

Did they say which year?

Sorry...again, I couldn't resist.

However, to be somewhat helpful: Towards the end of October I will be doing a border run to Chon Mek. If there aren't any updates by then, I'll stop by and ask.

Edit:

I heard a rumor today and want to know if somebody has more info on it.

Supposedly Bangkok Hospital is looking in to buying Ratchavej Hospital ( Near Ubon Square ). Again, just a rumor at the moment.

Speed cameras have made an appearace between Ubon and Sisaket. A couple of thai friends have received tickets by post this past week.

None have seen the camera flash but think it was located on or near the welcome to SIsaket sign on the straight stretch of road before the rail crossing and jungle market as you head towards SIsaket

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Please say it isn't so.

Hopefully they don't implement a Point system.

I can't seem to find a website for Pattaya Airways ( never heard of them either ). Are they a brand new airline?

@Santisuk: While you are right that there will be some that don't meet the financial requirements for a Visa, I think there will be a few that also don't want to deal with their local immigration.

Per day. No, the nurses are not included with the room

I was there about 3 weeks ago and they were waiting outside (again) but that situation seems to change???

Ubon > Surin . Maybe 1500>1800b.

Were there any inside at that time? I sometimes see them outside, but because the inside area is full with taxis.

I don't recall seeing taxis ONLY outside for a while now.

Seems like they are almost done with the airport. I took the pictures these evening...

An extension of stay ( 30 or 60 days ) I think you can apply for at your local immigration.

What I was saying, IN CASE your local immigration gives you a hard time applying for or receiving your 1 year extension of stay based on marriage ( which happened in my case 2 weeks ago ), you can EASILY obtain a 1 year non-o visa ( based on marriage ) in Savannakhet. With the Visa you get in Savannakhet you get to stay in thailand for 1 year...however, the downside to that is you will need to do a border run every 90 days ( whichever border is closest / most convenient for you ).

Did they by chance mention which year?

Sorry, I couldn't resist

Regarding your financial proof for the extension:

I believe ( not 100% sure ), you may be able to combine your monthly income and a certain amount in the bank account i.e. 20k salary + 200k in the bank account. Again, I remember reading somewhere it was possible, but not sure if it was for the retirement visa and / or Marriage Visa.

Regarding your Bank account:

Maybe look in to getting a bank account with Bangkok Bank. I was able to open one shortly after arriving in Thailand ( this was in Surin ). All they needed was my passport with valid Visa. A nice "feature" they have as well is that you can open a foreign currency account as well and wire your currency onto that foreign currency account you have with them. Whenever you need Baht, log on to your iBanking account and transfer your foreign currency easily and conveniently to THB....at a very reasonable exchange rate. You'll get a better exchange rate transferring $100 this way, than walking into the Bank with $100 and exchanging it to THB.

Regarding your Visa:

You can definitely give it a try with a different Immigration office ( assuming they are also in charge of your district you live in ). If you can get your extension...congratulations .

If not, I would still recommend doing a Visa run to Savannkhet and get a 1 year non-o Visa. It is VERY easy to obtain ( Application filled out, 2 passport pictures, passport and copies, copy of wifes Housebook and ID and of course your marriage certificate ). There are many threads here with detailed information and instructions. The good thing is, you do not need a map of your house location, no pictures of you and your wife with / in the house, no financial proof. After you get your Visa there, you don't have to go there anymore...you can do your border runs at the nearest border you live ( you mentioned Malaysia )

Regarding your Work permit:

Receiving the slip to pick it up next week isn't a guarantee of approval, I think. I believe they hand in your application to a supervisor and s/he goes over your application and approves or denies it. I could be wrong though. But by them accepting your application your paperwork was probably complete and "good enough" to hand to their supervisor.

Good luck

A Visa and a work permit are two seperate documents. You need to have a visa ( from the immigration ) to obtain a work permit ( Labor department ). And there are only certain visas that allow you to get a work permit. The two Visa I know of are O-Visa based on marriage ( NOT Retirement ) and B-Visa

If you are working in Thailand you need a work permit legally.

Your plan to work with a Non-O visa is illegal.

The OP did mention he was going to get a Work Permit as soon as his Visa situation is all cleared out.

I did have my work permit with me ( but did not hand it over to them or show them ), but I did have a copy of my work permit in the file with the application and Revenue Department documents. What I think the "problem" is, is them thinking that the 40k monthly income has to come from overseas. I am so happy that I have the savannakhet option...trying to explain them their rules would only cause unnecessary problems and headaches . I'll just try Phibun again next year.

You not have to wait for your work permit to open a bank account. You wife can be a reference for you by showing her ID card and house book.

The 400k baht will have to be in the bank 2 months. If the income from you job is 40k baht or more you can use 2 or 3 months of tax payments as proof of it to get the extension.

Unfortunately the 40k seems to be a hit or miss, depending on the immigration office. Just last week I wanted to use my salary ( 50k ) and proof of income for visa extension based on marriage. I had my last year tax returns ( 600k ) and the companys last 3 months of tax payments ( which has my salary listed ). I went to the revenue department and had them print out "originals" and got every page stamped and signed.

Showing it to the immigration office in Phibun, they said they never saw these documents. They wanted the documents stamped by my embassy. Which of course they won't do, because the income is from Thailand. I politely and of course with a smile tried to explain this to them and the outcome basically was that she can't help me with that, but can offer me a 60 day extension so I have enough time to deposit 400k in my bank account for 2 months.

Then they found a problem with the pictures ( there was no picture showing that where I live is a 2 storey building ) and their was something wrong with my wife's housbook. Long story short, I'll be going savannkhet again soon.

@OP

keep the savannkhet option in mind, in case the immigration officer clearly is making it difficult / impossible for you to renew your visa. It is very easy to get the Visa in Savannakhet. The only downside I can think of, you would need to do border runs every 90 days instead of 90 day reports.

As a coffeeshop / Bakery / Restaurant owner here in thailand myself, I of course have an opinion on this matter.

First of all, I voted that the owner should be allowed to charge an overstay fee. Its his business, so it should be his decision if it is wise to do so or not.

I don't and do not have any intention of charging for "overstay"....as long as it doesn't get out of hand. It must be really bad at other places around the world to have that discussion, because honestly, it never even crossed my mind.

I do sometimes have the teachers here and correct student papers or business people talking business or kids doing homework...however its always been in moderation and the one time the teachers noticed the place filling up, they packed their things and left. It basically comes down to the customer having some common sense.

I dont agree about approaching a guest and "forcing" them to buy something else or leave. This will just cause a negative vibe that you wouldn't want to create in the first place. That customer may talk bad about your place to other people....and "the other people" only hear that persons version of the story, so as a business owner, you're "doomed".

A problem that I find worse than the table hoggers, are parents that let their kids do what they want in the restaurant with no courtesy to the surrounding guests or the owners furniture etc. Good luck approaching the parent about the misbehaving kid. But thats a whole nother story.

Unconfirmed but it sounds like Kan Air is already pulling the Ubon-Utapao flight, but the Chiang Mai route is still safe.

Yupp, seems like the Ubon-Utapao is gone. I spoke to somebody earlier today who had a flight booked, but was called and they said the flights have been cancelled.

Also they're not available on their website.

Sorry, I can't give info about an orphanage in Khon Kaen. Wifey and I went to an orphanage near Ubon ( Warin ) in a remote area yesterday. We are in a similar situation as you.....want to help out, but not sure how. I was speaking with one of the....( what do you call them? Parents, Teacher? Caretaker? ) staff that are taking care of the kids to find out how they "operate". What help, if any, do they get from the government etc. But with her broken english, I couldn't gather much information. On the way back home I was talking to my wife saying that I wish I could've taken a look at their rooms to see what they have or might be missing. It might be things as simple as crayons and a coloring book. Or while playing pingpong with them I noticed both their rackets were in bad shape.

I would suggest once you find out where an orphanage in your area is, to bring something simple with you and try to speak to one of the staff member and best even take a tour of the place to get a picture of the situation. Also, quite honestly, I don't think some money in the right hands would be a wrong thing to do either. I just can not imagine that one of the staff that take care of the kids day in and day out would pocket the money for themselves.

Good luck.

There is no white fresh asparagus in the whole of Thailand, only the green type ' noo man farang'

That's clearly untrue. The Anantara hotel is currently advertising "Celebrate White Asparagus Season". The menu looks good. http://bangkok-riverside.anantara.com/uploads/promotions/Brio_White_Asparagus_Menu.pdf

Just a simple misunderstanding. FRESH White Asparagus he says is not available anywhere in Thailand. The Menu you posted advertises white asparagus but does not mention fresh white asparagus...so I would assume it is canned.

As to where to find White asparagus...to my surprise I saw canned white asparagus at a couple of small Thai/Chinese Bakery supply shops. This is in Ubon. I'm sure some of the Thai / Chinese Bakery supply stores in Bangkok would have that as well.

There are numerous hotels in Bangkok currently offering fresh white asparagus imported from Germany. These are seasonal offers. From memory, Conrad is another one. So no, it's not canned. The thought that somewhere of the standard of Anantara uses canned asparagus is, quite frankly, ludicrous.

I did not say that it was or was not canned...just assuming. However, if you believe that a high end hotel would not use canned vegetables or in this case canned asparagus is quite frankly, ludicrous. While high end hotels do use quality ingredients, they certainly do NOT make it a top priority. Besides working in a high end restaurant in southern California ( and having close connections with various hotel staff ), I also worked for a restaurant / hotel supplier for about year. We would for example deliver frozen Calamari and looking at the hotels menu it was labeled fresh calamari....just one of many examples I could give. Customers would rave how that was the best calamari they have ever had....the "trick" is how it is prepared, presented and the environment you are in.

Back to White Asparagus...good to know that Royal Farms has their own white Asparagus. I'll see if I can get a hold of some

There is no white fresh asparagus in the whole of Thailand, only the green type ' noo man farang'

That's clearly untrue. The Anantara hotel is currently advertising "Celebrate White Asparagus Season". The menu looks good. http://bangkok-riverside.anantara.com/uploads/promotions/Brio_White_Asparagus_Menu.pdf

Just a simple misunderstanding. FRESH White Asparagus he says is not available anywhere in Thailand. The Menu you posted advertises white asparagus but does not mention fresh white asparagus...so I would assume it is canned.

As to where to find White asparagus...to my surprise I saw canned white asparagus at a couple of small Thai/Chinese Bakery supply shops. This is in Ubon. I'm sure some of the Thai / Chinese Bakery supply stores in Bangkok would have that as well.

I tend refer to it as 'Murder Island' or 'Rape-Murder Island'

Tell me a country, state, or province where rape and murder has never occurred??? Perhaps in your imagination

Never is not possible, but check out Liechtenstein. Not sure if they ever had a rape...

Thats great news. Does anybody know if they do this regularly or is it just once in a while thing?

I've worked in a steakhouse for many years in the US and learned it is better to send a steak to the customer slightly under-done than over done. If it's over-done and gets sent back, it's waste.

If it is under-done and sent back you can still throw it on the grill a few minutes. It happened several times that steaks get sent back because the ordered temperature wasn't correct. Upon inspecting the steak in the kitchen, it was perfectly done. We learned that the lighting played a major role in the decision if the steak was done correct or not. The dining area was dim lit ( correct english? lighty lit? ) with soft yellow light, but the kitchen was well lit with bright lights. Try explaining that to the customer when he sends his steak back...

Also, sometimes customers did not know their temperatures, but, sometimes we had it wrong too.

There are many different factors that involve the getting the steak temperature right...even an experienced cook/chef can get it wrong on occasion.

As for foreign owned restaurants getting the steaks wrong, I can't speak for all of them, but in my case it COULD happen, though I obviously try to avoid it....A foreigner/owner won't be in the kitchen the entire time the restaurant is open...so at times the -hopefully- trained Thai cook takes it upon themselves to grill a steak. A normal restaurant that has a steak or two on the menu won't get ordered as much, so the Thai cook doesn't have much experience with various temperatures and just guess when it's ready....or just grill it until it looks and feels like the sole of a shoe.

I would try to order the steak one notch less than you like and if it is under done ask the server / cook to throw it on the grill another 2 or 3 minutes....or however long you think it needs to reach your desired temperature. Not a great solution, but best I can come up with in / for Thailand.

And today Dortmund confirmed that Thomas Tuchel will take over beginning July 1st.

Him or Klinsmann were my top choices, where as Klinsmann probably couldn't, because he coaches the U.S. Team and has a big project going on there.

So, I'm happy with the announcement.

Now hopefully Klopp will find a good club to work with.

I didn't mean it in a bad way, but can see it being understood wrong.

Maybe "take on a less fortunate team"?