WISteve

I may have to try that again.  Couldn't get it to work before. 

90 day reports at Jomtien are usually short and quick, often times without even taking a seat if you go in the afternoon.  But I went today at 2pm and it looked like a Friday after Thanksgiving sale with a huge crowd like I have never seen in a dozen years.  It was all pushed outside under a half-dozen "tents" and when I inquired of an officer at the door (they were only letting a few inside)  he said I would have to get in line with all the dozens of 10 & 30 day extension folks outside.  They might take care of me in a couple hours or they might close before they got around to me. He advised I come back later in the week since I had seven more days. 

I was reading about the new one year multiple entry visa that has been approved for Americans. Does anyone know if it can be applied for here in Thailand or must it be applied for in the U.S. ?

The METV is not exclusively available to Americans !

The visa is available to anyone but they must apply in their country of origin.

If you read his post a bit more carefully considering the subject of this string you might realize he is not referring to Thailand's METV program but a new 12 month, multiple-entry visa which soon will be available to US citizens. It was announced in an April 11, 2016 press release by the US Consulate in HCM City and it was covered in several Vietnamese news articles as well.

"HANOI, April 11, 2016 – On April 9, the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam approved a plan to issue 12-month, multiple-entry visas to American citizens who travel temporarily for business or tourism.

The new reciprocity arrangement, which is expected to enter into force in late May or early June, will benefit American and Vietnamese tourists and business travelers, generating new opportunities for trade, investment and tourism....."

http://hochiminh.usconsulate.gov/pr-041116.html

I would assume it will be available in the Bangkok Consulate of the SRV as well as in the US but I will try to check back on this string after my attempt in Bangkok when June rolls around.

Edit: sorry, answered on a page I missed.

Thank you for the good information folks!

This is an excellent article.

At last revealing what is going on, and why the scumbag governments of the west keep supporting a criminal evading capture by being protected by the thieving governments of the UK and US, and many more.

Saying that the 2011 election was fair and there was no vote buying is total rubbish, and indicates that the poster has not read the article and has not been paying attention at all to what has been going on.

The bigger picture has a very simple question written in capitals for all to see : Do you want ever greater corruption, more rape of the land for the enrichment of a criminal, and to eventually, in the guise of "democracy" to live under a dictator.

Remember that so very many of the nastiest places in the world like to use the word "democratic" in their official title... "Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea" for example...

Maybe you want to go an investigate who PressTV are!. They Iranian!!!!! Of course they want to present the US in the best light possible.

Anything Tony Cartalucci writes is not worth the ink he has used.

I was wondering about the sources of the news articles around here.............?

Press TV Iran is hardly an unbiased source for anything in my opinion................

The Wiki read on them:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_TV

I wonder who has been leaning on them. This is getting ridiculous.

Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

There has been a decree issued appointing the caretaker prime minister and setting the date for the election, but Suthep and his friends continue to disregard those instructions. This seems like serious stuff and borders on.........

Nearly fifty percent of the Thai GDP is manufacturing for export but they don't want the decadent Western/Asian influences?

They sure do appreciate the jobs though. Well, those who aren't planning a nice job in the future/planned dictatorship like their jobs anyway?

Edit:

By the way, I read this bit of news in the Bangkok Post and they left out all the cheer leading for the protesters.

Sad to see AFP including it in their biased reporting.

One more serious news article high-jacked by the Red & Yellow supporters/haters.

Thailand is chasing off foreign direct investment with all this political instability. That should be a concern for people, regardless of your favorite color shirt. Foreign investors and businessmen will move away from a country which has constant turmoil in the streets. Even the PTT executive is warning businessmen to consider investments outside Thailand but it seems no one is listening?

Very sad for my adopted home which used to be called the Land of Smiles.

Mr Suthep said the people’s council will work as quickly as possible, at least eight months or longer, and return the power to the peopleso that an election is held.

So, the February election is postponed and in that time, he is OK of having an election.

The King who set the February election may listen to Suthep.

Suthep represent the people of Thailand.

His Democracy will be pure and free from corruption.

I hope this is a joke ! Suthep represent only a hand full of Thai people, and he does not stand for democracy but for dictatorship from him and his friends.

I'm sure it's a heartfelt post.

He's been a member for 2 hours now and posting in political strings supporting Suthep...............

The guy is french speaking Belgian.

Thank you.

He speaks English to me and I couldn't place the accent.

I went to do my 90 day report the week of Songkran this spring and was greeted with a sign in the door that they were closed for five days I think? Anyway, I was back bright and early on the first day they re-opened, expecting a mob. They actually had three people working at the 90 day reporting desk vs the normal two and it was just as quick & easy as normal. Kudos for the new boss assigning additional staff on a day that I dreaded!

My last two visits - 90 days and certificate of residence for m/cycle licence - were a pleasure. Couple of younger women manning the entry counter and that really nice and efficient foreign volunteer. Smooth as silk - hehe, THAI should send their staff to take some lessons. Did my work permit up in Bangkok - Jamjuree - last month, and that also was smooth and relaxed. One official, a lt-col rank, even gave me a wai. Holy hell! I'm important. Going to Jomtien again on Tuesday for my next 90 days.

If you're talking about the farang "assistant", presumably you jest. He's not a "volunteer", he's a paid member of staff and as he told me last month that I could only do my extension 30 days in advance and that any embassy documentation (not needed) had to be less than 30 days old he's apparently not very "efficient" either. "really nice" .... well, let's say that with one notable exception behind the info desk I'd apply that to all those there except him.

He was probably quoting chapter and verse, and while the present powers seem very tolerant and helpful, you can hardly blame him for telling you what is actually required? I think he is German or Dutch? Not sure, but while he does seem very direct he has most certainly been helpful to me in the past.

There seems to have been a changing of the guard in Jomtien about two or three years ago because they are much friendlier and more efficient IMO. Nothing but positive experiences for me in the past three years anyway.

I live here and while I was out this afternoon trying to walk on Soi Bhuakow I had just the opposite impression as the OP. The foot & vehicular traffic was considerably greater than just a week ago.

High season seems to be getting shorter and shorter each year IMO, but all this doom and gloom about crime is not apparent to me (no need to be posting multiple news articles please; I read the local and national news). The tourists will be here as usual, but the bad political press will likely scare off a considerable number of East Asian tourists who seem sensitive to news of unrest in the nation. That has been the case based on arrivals at Swampy in the recent past (2008, 2010 come to mind).

Fair comment, playing the democratic, "everyone has a right to vote" card is not unreasonable. But stop for a moment and challenge that right, do they really have a right to vote when they allow their vote to be bought and/or as in the West in countries like the UK where they don't vote at all? I suggest no they don't, I think under those circumstances people perhaps might even get to loose their vote entirely. But regardless of what we each might think on this point, one thing is clear, no election will ever be free fair and representative as long as votes are allowed to be bought by the rural poor, in that respect I wonder if the country is actually ready for democracy.

The people have a right to choose whomever for whatever reason. It is the job of the politicians to present themselves as the better choice. A politician has the right to make campaign promises. If the opposition cannot present a package that is more attractive, then they must educate the people as to why their opponents are being irresponsible with their promises.

It is a crime for politicians to give money in exchange for votes. But it is the job of the courts to determine if that happened. The fact that it does happen in Thailand so openly exposes a major flaw in the application of law, but it does not mean that people should lose their right to vote. It means the system needs to become accountable. Accountability can only come from the voting pubic, without a mandate from the people conspiracy is inevitable.

Without the right to vote, citizens become wards of the state, instead of the government being employees of the people. Without accountability the door is open for complete abuse of power, History has shown this to be a likely scenario. Every Tyrant starts out appearing to apply the law, only to disregard it when power is consolidated.

The only completely irresponsible thing Thailand can do at this point is to remove the right to vote. It is treason and a predictable result would be civil war.

Very well said sir.

Taking away the vote from responsible working citizens will inevitably lead to tyranny.

Suthep's rejection of the House dissolution is worrying to me, because it smacks of abandonment of the democratic process.

It's not scientific by any means, but every Thai person I have ever questioned about the money packets handed out on or before election day seem to have a good chuckle about it. They are happy to take the money, the family will eat a little better that week. And they often times receive these "gifts" from more than one candidate. But when it is time to vote they vote their conscience, regardless of who gave them what out on the street. I honestly don't think it matters to them who is handing out the money because they know who they are going to vote for.

Thailand is still in it's infancy democracy-wise and the process needs the application of law, fairly and universally. Attempts at bribery whether is has any effect or not is unlawful and the rule of law must be the goal for the future. Thailand has a lot of growing up to do, but I am happy here and wish only the best for my chosen home.

As an active participant in TV for over 8 years, especially in the news forum, I have come to witness an interesting phenomenon. During times of political crisis (2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013), there appears a very curious strain of poster on the TV News Forum - the TV Red Shirts. These posters seem to spring up to "pop off" only during these times of crisis, and them just as quickly fade away after the crisis settles. The are characterized by a few noticeable traits.

1) Denial - They will never say anything bad about Thaksin, Pheu Thai Party, or the Red Shirt movement, regardless of any fact or argument presented. In fact, their typical reaction is the classic "ignore, and the misdirect". They refuse to discuss or debate, but instead rely soley yelling their point again and again, ad nauseum. This type of poster who only sees their side as "all right" and the other side as "all wrong" make most of the news threads during crisis times a chore to wade through. It's also a childish worldview to insist that only one side in a discussion is at fault. People who live in this type of "bubble" and profess these beliefs can be found on both sides of the discussion, but the majority are can be found in the TV Redshirt brigade.

2) The False Equivalency - this is a particular favorite of theirs. They like to state that "Both sides" are equally guilty of corruption, malfeasance, etc. While it is certainly true that there is corruption on both sides (in this case the PTP and Democrats), any reasonable look at the hundreds of billions being funneled away and lost in the rice pledging scheme (to name one example) dwarfs any program the Democrats ran that had corruption issues. Both sides being corrupt does not mean that one side cannot be MORE corrupt.

3) The Yellow Shirt Label - most of the reasoned, thoughtful news posters are well informed, polite, and welcome open and honest discourse. This discourse goes out the window during these crisis times. They most common response to a Red Shirt directed criticism is "Well the yellow shirts did this and this and this", as if the poster they are arguing with is a yellow shirt sympathizer. In fact, most the the well-reasoned thoughtful TF news forum debaters do not self identify with either movement, but instead try to look at things through the lens of "Thailand is my adoptive country, and even though I can't vote here, I want it to find sustainable success".

The "If you comment on my post you must be a yellow shirt" is a] worn tired cliche.

4) Name Calling - While any crisis brings out an increased TV readership ("Those "Breaking Alert" things that flood my inbox), the people who pop in, and pop out after the crisis tend to be much more vitriolic, and more willing to offer insults when their comments are commented upon in any negative fashion. I was just called a "<deleted>" by one particularly delightful "Pop-in TV Red Shirt". These folks are certainly good for the TV ad revenue stream, but really don't bring anything tangible to the conversation.

I could go on, but my fingers are tired of typing, and I suspect this will be one of the more interesting threads going forward. Lets see how many of the Crisis "Pop In" TV Red Shirts come to visit, and show us examples from my list lol.

Am I one of those folks you seem to hate that appear during a political crisis? The thing is, I do read the board regularly but seldom post because I have a life other than arguing politics. And I've been reading this board for over a decade so you'll have to excuse me if I don't always agree with a person who is a relative newcomer such as yourself. I live in Thailand and I will state my opinion and there won't be any name calling involved.

Funny thing about your theory is:

1) I don't want Mr T back. He is a political lightning rod that would better serve his country by staying out in the great sand traps of the Middle East. But that fellow you seem to admire so much who is rejecting the dissolution is just as corrupt as Mr T In my opinion. And he has no basis in law to be ordering state employees to report to his merry band of self-appointed committee members for any reason. And he has been indicted for serious crimes and should turn himself in if he had a ounce of respectability. Mr T ran away from his conviction; Mr Suthep is publicly showing his contempt for the rule of law in Thailand by thumbing his nose at the criminal justice system.

2) Your rejection of any attempt at equivalency. It's ironic that you mention the rice pledging scheme as buying votes since the program began under the prior un-elected government led by Aby and Suthep!! I don't like the program either since it is fiscally unsound and too much of the funds end of benefiting the commodity traders and dealers. But pick another program next time.

3) Calling the supporters of an anarchist ( I believe that is what the arrest warrant says?) as something other than thoughtful and informed isn't hard for me to understand but you can disagree. So if you dislike being called a Yellow Shirt supporter, why do you persist in calling those who disagree with you Red Shirt supporters? You did it numerous times above. If you are so thoughtful, polite and well informed, shouldn't you be leading by example?

"He knows that an election will bring back the current government - but then it's what the people of Thailand want".

Can it really be said that the people of Thailand know what they really want when so many votes are bought for a few hundred baht a time! I think there are those who genuinely do understand what's good for the country and themselves and then there are the vast hoards who've never thought about it that much but their vote, either way, can be bought. I see what Suthep is doing currently as trying to negate the effects of the latter contingent, it may be undemocratic but people need protecting from themselves sometimes (not just true of Thailand but in other countries also).

Ahh, just what every democracy needs!! Some well-intended politician like Mr Suthep to "protect" them from themselves. This kind of logic has been present on TV during every political debate it seems? Your assertion that "those half-educated Isaan farmers don't deserve to vote!!" is an insult to the people of Thailand and shows how very little you know about why those farmers in the Northeast reject the political elite that wish to take back some of the basic human rights that they are now enjoying.

I am not for this person or that person, but I reject people who wish to set aside basis rights such as low cost primary healthcare, educational opportunity and a reasonable minimum wage. Your hero Suthep wants to turn the clock back a generation or two, to once again keep the rural poor uneducated, down on the farm and working for peanuts. Sorry, but the cat is out of the bag and those citizens have as much right to vote for the person of their choice as your elitist friends. And the sooner the former ruling class comes to grip with that reality, the sooner Thailand can move forward and make a better nation for all it's citizens.

Oh yes, all those extremely wealthy farangs living in a one-room dump, eating street food, drinking Chang from the big bottle on the sidewalk, wearing the raggedy old wife-beater and chasing the balloons. They are everywhere, just like the former SAS commandos and ex-Navy Seals. And of course they don't care what anyone else thinks, which is why they tell you all about it. Afterall, Pattaya is fantasy land.

Then don't come here ya silly goose!

There is a broad range of visitors and expats in Pattaya; from the well heeled to the budget retiree. If you don't wish to see the more modestly dressed retirees there are plenty of better and more expensive restaurants and condos to be found. They all have a right to life here if they are paying their own way and not camped on your front lawn. There are no modestly living citizens in your home country? Show some tolerance please.

Last time I was in Pattaya was during the yearly Cobra Gold exercises. Lots O tourists and crap floating in the water! not the cleanest beach!!

Take a trip out to Samae Beach on Koh Larn sometime if you are looking for a clean beach with fewer people. The combination of large numbers of people frequenting the Beach Road area (both Thai and falang) along with lax regulations has taken a toll on the water quality unfortunately.

Directly opposite the Night Market:

(R-CON Residence is behind the bank facilities)

It's not really opposite Diana Estate,

You are absolutely correct. It's nearer to Chaba Hut. Diana Estate is a hundred yards or so further south.

Not easy to describe the actual location as the market is the most memorable thing around there.

R-CON Residence, Seven-Eleven and Soi 19 would be opposite the Night Market.

Chaba Hut is 100m south opposite Jollys. Diana Estate is another 100m south opposite the Isaan night time restaurant and the old real estate office. I've stayed at R-CON and Jollys (used to be called Robins Nest North or something like that when Steve & his former partner owned it together) and I live in the area now. I'm over on the Third Road side but I still enjoy Soi Bhuakow very much. It's a good neighborhood to live in with much to offer the tourist or the expat.

I have countless pictures of the market area and Soi Bhuakow if I could ever figure out how to attach them.

The Russians will be a part of the mix that is Pattaya in the future. Adapt to it as you will, but it is just an economic fact resulting from the changes within their own country most of all.

They seem to be most comfortable at the moment in the company of their own kind out in Jomtien so I can understand the feelings of those Western expats living out there. But I honestly do not feel threatened by their presence. They come mostly as families, they don't frequent the same bars and they for the most part aren't interested in the ladies with no visible means of support. They do spend money in the shopping centers and that employees plenty of mainstream Thai citizens.

As long as they are paying their own way and not infringing on my life it's no big deal.

Great post; well noted. Which sub-sois in particular would you recommend, and where is the DayNight area? Is that just when you cross South Pattaya Road at the southern end of SBK? (Isn't that a T intersection near Tuk Com or am I now hopelessly lost? (Speaking of lost, Soi Bua Khao is not a bad place to be lost in. ) )

Sorry, I'm an old-timer! Tuk Com is just the new name for the DayNight department store which is what it used to be called. At the time it was the biggest or second biggest department store in town (Mike was the other one: cant remember which came first though I remember both of them opening) and as such gave its name to the area. The name was shared with the hotel of course.

So yes, cross South Road at the end of Soi Buakow after the Tuesday/Friday market and then you have a half-dozen sois at the back of Tuk Com that are also full of atmosphere. What's now the covered market area on Soi Buakow opposite the Tuesday/Friday market used to be a giant disco for Thais called Grand Hall.

As for the Sois off Buakow, most of them are interesting to walk down. Soi Diana, Soi Honey, Soi Chayapoon, Soi Lengkee are the obvious ones. The market near the back of Made in Thailand, opposite Diana Estate, is also good.

It's not really opposite Diana Estate, but the Soi Bhuakow Night Market has some good Thai food on offer in the afternoon and evening along with all the predictable knock-offs sold to the ladies.

The area is really quite diverse and posters who are stereotyping all of the people there as low budget expats slurping beer in Chang vests are showing their own ignorance of the neighborhood.

Some real life shots of Uni Girls from Udon Thani 2008.
They are a little more conservative up there.











~WISteve

Only 1 employee on Buakow is educated. Sad but true.

Sorry to hear that you had a problem there.

I've always had good service at the Soi Bhuakow office next to the Night Market.

The staff at the Pratamnak Rd location near the VC Hotel was also very helpful the few times I have been inside.

~WISteve

Great the Thai economy hasn't lost enough money in this latest round of the "hilbillies visiting town". Next time the relatives ask for money I tell them to call on Thaksin as mybusiness has lost over a 100.000 baht already and I cannot afford to sponsor supporters of the person whom is negatively affecting my income.

Maybe time to vent my anger on the nearest redshirt I encounter.

W

Denigrating "class" comments and attitudes like this are one of the reasons they are participating in non-violent protest.

It's a pity that ThaiVisa tolerates this kind of insulting talk, but it seems anything can be said about the Red Shirts, including veiled threats of violence directed toward them.

So there are unconfirmed threats upon the life of the prime minister, no known actual attempts on his life.

And ThaiVisa ran with it before they knew the facts, sending SMS and e-mail alerts to all their subscribers.

This is not the first instance of this happening.

Unsubscribe & stop whinging about it...geeze

I've done exactly that, sorry to say.

This is what came to my in-box:

Breaking News:

Assassination Attempt On PM Abhisit

That headline is not factual.

I've enjoyed the updates for a long time, longer than you have newbie (what's your member number again? ) but they have to work on getting it right, not just getting it out first. Something of that importance needs to be verified.

So there are unconfirmed threats upon the life of the prime minister, no known actual attempts on his life.

And ThaiVisa ran with it before they knew the facts, sending SMS and e-mail alerts to all their subscribers.

This is not the first instance of this happening.

Well I gotta hit the gym at major ratchayothin tomorrow around 1-2pm hopefully they're outta my way by then. Better yet if I get there early enough maybe I can watch them from the giant panoramic windows. It'll be like working out at the zoo

With a charming attitude like that, is it any wonder the Thais resent some foreign presence in their country?

Feel free to call them a bunch of animals to their face in Thai, tough guy. I'm betting you will get a "work-out" and quite deservedly.

smartallex,do you have any idea what the riceburners call a falang when in party of others thinking the poor round-eye longnose lobsterred(burned from the beach-sun0.it would be soo much that you run amok,calling a thai Kwai is not too bad, i called a linesman on a powerline pole Ling may mee han,he fell almost of the post,mad yes but not murderous.

the Pied Piper T. is paranoid ,should be locked away and the key thrown off,a perfert criminal,a demagoge like A.H. or his henchman Goering.

I quite agree the Red Shirt Movement would be better off without the coup deposed former prime minister in the background.

But the fight for a representative government would go on without him, despite the predictions of the elitist falang on ThaiVisa.

Lowering yourself to labeling other people as animals is the first step toward treating them as sub-humans. That is the tactics of true monsters bent upon enslaving a portion of their own populace. And wasn't denying the vote to the rural citizens a cornerstone of the present regime's Yellow Shirt henchmen?

I'm glad the Red Shirts are in the streets demanding what the Bangkok elite would so quickly deny them, and I'm happy it has been non-violent to date.

Well I gotta hit the gym at major ratchayothin tomorrow around 1-2pm hopefully they're outta my way by then. Better yet if I get there early enough maybe I can watch them from the giant panoramic windows. It'll be like working out at the zoo

With a charming attitude like that, is it any wonder the Thais resent some foreign presence in their country?

Feel free to call them a bunch of animals to their face in Thai, tough guy. I'm betting you will get a "work-out" and quite deservedly.