MikeN

If yo live in a "hotel" the "hotel" is obliged by law to notify immigration of your presence.

Nothing "new"

Those on extensions of stay have always been required to evidence where they are staying.

Enforcement of the law clearly causes "concern" for some !

Those on extensions of stay have always been required to evidence where they are staying.

That is just not correct. I have NEVER had to give PROOF of residence before for retirement extension.

Well good for you !

Now get used to providing "PROOF" of where you stay !

Well on Friday last week I did not have to provide any proof for my retirement extension. Had rental lease/utility bills but officer was not interested. She typed my passport number into the computer, asked if I was still living at ****** address but no proof required.

^ Prior to the opening of the Suez Canal most ships bound from Britain to Australia would pass through those waters, so there probably are hundreds of wrecks in that region. However, most of those wrecks will be about 150 years old & will be considerably degraded!

Plus all the ships heading for the "Dutch East Indies" that used the trade winds to head west after rounding South Africa before turning north towards modern day Indonesia. Many of them misjudged their location and when to turn north and were wrecked on the West Aus coast, such as the Batavia. No doubt many more were lost in storms mid ocean.

Finally a truly common sense proposal. Dearly hope is succeeds even marginally. Past Governments and present should have been subsidizing helmets for the benefit of the population, instead of rice schemes, or rubber farm getting free money.

Yes, give out free helmets and make it plain that anybody not wearing them WILL get fined. No doubt the govt would get half the cost back before Thais actually realised they were serious though.

Jeez, talk about exaggeration. I was on Phi Phi at the time, it was about 5 or 6 small wooden buildings that burnt down, and it was nowhere near the Viewpoint path either. But it was "lucky" that it happened where it did ...no fire hydrants in the centre of town, only a few low pressure taps.

I think there was an extra comma put into the OP:

"As prime minister I was always honest and served the Thai people, who voted for my government" should be "served the Thai people who voted for my government" ....and to hell with the rest of you.

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Does the 800k need to be in the bank or can you have it in your Thai cooperative saving bank at work.. Credit union?

You will need to explain that as I have never heard of a legal "Credit Union" existing within Thailand.

Perhaps you could name these "Credit Unions" ?

Well for a start there is the Khlong Chan Credit Union, but as that is the one involved in the Wat Dhammakaya scandal you probably would not want to have your money with them. But yes, there are credit unions in Thailand, not really aimed at farang customers though.

I recently flew to Mandalay, then ferry to Bagan, then flew to yangon and back to BKK. most dangerous part of flying would have been the risk of putting my foot right thru the rusty floor of the airport bus at Mandalay ...you could see thru the steps !

Mandalay is a good base for some local tours, but the town is pretty noisy and dirty. Bagan is incredible, I did a balloon flight over the temples which was great.

Don't get a bus or train for long trips, they are slow and uncomfortable.

Registered my SIM yesterday at the Dtac desk at Big C (old Carrefour) in Pattaya.

It took only a few minutes but they require your passport and you will receive

a text confirming registration.

Your Thai driving licence will also do. Know 2 people who did it that way.

I was told my licence with passport number on it was not good enough at DTAC centralworld. Went back next day with passport to DTAC siam paragon and they asked for my DL as license was ok there, passport not needed. TIT.

As an afterthought, I assume prepaid aircard sims also have to be registered ? have only seen mention of phone sims though ?

A big bike? A 250 is hardly a big bike, but this is a pretty good story and I've had a good chuckle at the PMs sudden rashness and spontaneous jolly!! Good for him, apart from the fact he's a criminal as he broke the law for not wearing a helmet isn't that right?

Except that you (and others) have missed the fact that he was not on a public road, so he did not have to wear a helmet.

How about separate toilets for the Chinese.

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Don't you think the roll of TP is a bit extravagant ?

Thank you to Mario and Ubonjoe. And jingthing..... at least some people read the posts properly

Although I am beginning to think it would be easier just to go for a trip to Vientianne .....

I don't know if this should be here in the banking section or in the visa section or not, but ....

I know the bank branches at Chaeng Wattana can do the letter of balance for visa extensions at Immigration, but what about the proof of funds coming from overseas when converting a tourist visa ? Can they access that information on their computers, or do I have to get that done at my regular branch ?

Thanks. I guess I had better move and sign a new lease before I have to get the extension then .....

Do you need proof of address when converting from a tourist visa to a non-O (for retirement reasons) ?

And if so, what counts as proof ? My lease has expired and my landlord is quite happy to let me stay on a month by month basis, so no current lease. I am probably moving out in a few months, so don't want to sign a new lease. Would the old lease plus ATM receipts showing that I am still paying rent to him be OK ? Plus electricity bill receipts.

Or a Stat. Dec from my embassy as I used for the drivers license ?

(this would be in BKK, at Chaeng Wattanna )

I did Lukla last month.....breath-taking and worth it if anyone is into fresh mountain air, curries, masala tea and hairy flights!

They have put bitumen in there, and fences around it now ? Years ago it was just dirt, and we walked down to the end ....some of the wheel ruts were VERY close to the edge !

I've seen advertising posters in Pattaya that say that this is possible. I have no idea how true it is though.

I dont suppose that many farangs buy here unless they have the cash available to do so.

At Siam Paragon last month I was given a leaflet for a new condo, with a monthly payment plan. It was all in English, so I guess it was aimed at farangs. Are property developers allowed to offer finance directly ? Or do they have an arrangement with a bank ?

Aussies should be band for going abroad...

Don't you mean banned from going abroad ?

You cannot speak English, so are you an American, or a Kiwi ?

I remember having seen them at Suvarnabhumi a couple of years ago (within the departure area).

Rates will be terrible. Just use for some pocketmoney.

No idea about Don Mueang (only did domestic flights).

Doubt it. Remember: its a regional (Asian) hub only.

A year ago I used the ATMs at BKK, the rate was the same as the exchange booths. As for being a regional hub only, it does have flights to places that use US dollars, such as Myanmar in my case next month.

Are there any ATMs airside that dispense US dollars, like there are at BKK ?

Or is it only exchange booths selling dollars ?

The fact that there have been 3 incidents this months (and I quote) "The incident was the third involving the Thonburi-Nam Tok train in a month.

This may point to there being a safety concern with this train service.

If safety was a priority then there should be no normal circumstances where a father with his family could be killed using this transport. When I say "normal" i mean getting on and off the train etc. I doubt very much there was any unusual activity being performed by the man. So it is fairly safe to assume the safety of the service is in question here.

From the OP:

A Dutch tourist was killed when he slipped from the stairs of a moving Nam Tok train and fell on the tracks and ground over by its wheels

The train WAS moving, so he would not have been getting on or off ....well, should not have been.

So I would say he was doing something "unusual" ....leaning out to get a video or photo perhaps, slipped off the steps perhaps ? So it's not the safety of the service but his actions that are in question.

The current exchange rate of around 28/AU$ is about the average for the last few years. sure it was higher recently at the height of the mining boom, but I would n't expect it to go back to those heights anytime soon. Apart from the commodities boom, the baht and AU$ both go up and down more or less in synch against the US$. Baht and aussie dollars are small fry in the FX world, what counts is the health of the US economy and the demand for US dollars. Change your money now, or wait a while ..up to you.

Why does everyone take it for granted that SATNAV is Something You Need to Get You from A to B?

I mean, <deleted> is wrong with just buying a paper map and figuring out, not a very difficult task even for the uneducated, the way to go from say Bangkok to Khon Kaen. All the road numbers are clearly marked and it is virtually impossible to get lost. When it comes to small side streets, just get out and ASK.......

And why not see your abandonment of SATNAV as a way of resisting the total invasion of your private life.....

What did we do in the good old Satnav-free days, not so sodding long ago???

For one, a Satnav will warn you when a turnoff is coming up ...'turn right in 500 metres" ...while Thai signs are often right at the intersection with no warning, no time to slow down or move across into the right turning lane.

And it's a lot safer to listen to a satnav than take your eyes off the road to look at a map !

MikeN, on 04 Nov 2014 - 18:19, said:MikeN, on 04 Nov 2014 - 18:19, said:MikeN, on 04 Nov 2014 - 18:19, said:

Sorry, so I am wrong to think you can't legally work while on ED Visa? Maybe are there different kinds of ED Visa?

Anyway, it is among the rules here at CMU, but I thought it was actually illegal and not only prohibited by the course rules. Thank you, I know I could check around TV and find the answer myself but I hope this point remarked here could be useful to others as well

Huh ?? If you were referring to what I wrote "Well quite a few of the students in my class were working ( LEGALLY ) but came to school once a week to learn the language", Don't forget you do not have to be on an ED visa to study Thai, you can do it while on a work visa of any kind.(which is what these people were doing).

But yes, it is illegal to work on an ED visa

If schools double their cost they may loose 25% of their students.

If actual attendance 4 times a week is required they probably loose 75% of the students.

But true Thai schools offering quality instructions and good value for the money will continue to get students interested in learning.

Immigration probably assumes a true student can attend 4 days a week.

But in reality most are working.

Well quite a few of the students in my class were working ( LEGALLY ) but came to school once a week to learn the language. I cannot see them being able to take half the day off work, 4 times a week to do that though, so schools will have to have two schedules ....one for ED students at 4 days a week, another for those students who are on Non-B or other legal working visas. So people might have to wait a while until schools have enough students to run a class, that could be 2 months out of your six month ED visa !

OP, yes you are a silly old critta, as you put it. 3 guys are filming with a pro level video cam , almost certainly for a news/doco about the redlight district of BKk (again) and instead of just turning away you give them some nice clear footage of your face ! Hopefully for you nobody will watch the resulting footage, where you will be labelled as an indignant sex tourist, because people have seen it all before many times.