themechanic

What's him being Muslim have to do with the type of present?

Whisky or wine may be construed as offensive.

There's not much snow in Nepal. Consider North Eastern India.

Sikkim is one of India's best kept secrets. Plenty of snow. I lived there for 8 months. The drive from Gangtok to Nathu La (The Chinese border) is the most amazing landscape I've ever seen. Also Pelling, Lachung, they all have plenty of snow. But the north east is not mainstream India. They look different, more like Thai/Chinese people and have their own cultures.

Are there any reputed marriage agencies in Thailand? As opposed to dating sites or introductions. But more like a guaranteed system, or for example, how arranged marriage agencies operate in India. If you like a profile you make an offer and the deal is done instantly or very fast. No uncertainty or wasting time like with dating.

2 things to watch out for in Bangkok:

The toll roads. I spent 300-500 baht daily just on the Tolls. Do not trust your GPS. Switch it off and explore the roads and get a feel for it in your own head. It's not about the money but the principle. Why would you want to pay so much when there are free roads just beneath them. And the residents of Bangkok sure as hell don't pay as much, they get monthly passes.

And the parking. There is no parking ticket system. They put a clamp on the front wheel of the car. My car got clamped twice. You need a Thai speaker to call the local traffic police because of the language barrier. And then they come and collect the fine before taking off the clamp. It's 500 or 1000 Baht.

Went by Surat Thani and the Chumpon route. Left Phuket at 8PM and arrived at Ekamai at 9AM (driving fast with only 3 stops). The tarmac on the roads is generally good, but the roads are poorly lit and there is almost no traffic at all. There were 2 check points en route. One at Surat Thani and one coming in to Bangkok.

The trip back took much longer, driving at a relaxed pace. Unfortunately I took the same route (I had wanted to explore the Khao Lak coastal route...), and thistime it was closer to an 18 hour trip.

My landlord is a Thai Muslim in his 50s and is a very cool guy and has gone out of the way to help me out on several ocassions. I don't think that he's very religious, but he does wear the Islamic attire and skullcap. So a bottle of the good stuff may not be the best idea. I want to get him a thank you gift, and my budget is ~3000B. Any suggestions?

I went there and successfully collected it. No customs duty was payable. The package contained books.

I'm expecting a package but the sender didn't give me the tracking number until today. I've managed to track it and the last update on the Thailand Post website is on January 7, 2015 with the message "Item held,addressee notified due to Addressee cannot be located"

How long do they hold it before returning it to the sender? I don't want to drive out there for nothing.

I am an Indian who has moved to Thailand.

Don't go. India really does suck. It is horrible in almost every way imaginable. Thailand is paradise, practically first world in comparison.

If you do go, explore the north-east. The state of Sikkim in particular. Pleasant weather, clean, educated and civilized/polite populace and **gasp** uninterrupted electric and water supply (a rarity outside major cities in India). I lived there for 8 months. Doesn't feel like the rest of India. And you won't see a single other western tourist.

North east India is predominantly Buddhist, animist and Christian. Not many Hindus. Sikkim in Buddhist.

If it's Hindu culture that interests you, land in Delhi in the middle of the night (day time is too disgusting and grotesque, the traffic, the crowds etc.) and take an SUV to Rishikesh. That is a beautiful town, and the culture and cuisine are all authentic to this day. There are tourists, but it's nowhere nearly as horribly overcrowded, commercialized and filthy as that stinking armpit Benaras (Varanasi).

Feel free to ask me anything else about India.

Flying would be faster, safer, and far cheaper. Check with Air Asia, book ahead for best prices.

How could flying in the air possibly be safer than driving over land? With flying your death is guaranteed in the event of a mishap. In a road accident, there is a good chance of survival, albeit in a crippled state.

I avoid air travel.

What preposterous madness to float in thin air two miles high on an inch or two of metal, sustained from death by the meager skill and intelligence of two vapid strangers

At what times and from where do the buses to Chiang Mai depart from?

How much would a private Taxi charge for the trip? Phuket to Chiang Mai.

It's called abusing visas. It happens in every country in the world, except maybe absolute destitute shitholes like Cambodia and Sub Saharan Africa.

It's called applying for a visa, based same kind of information you've been seeking with your inquiries in this forum in the past months.

The rest of your posting just goes downhill after the insults above and the preceding rants against various countries and races, so I will not even quote it.

Are you really saying that a visa officer is "exactly nobody" to judge how many times he has been to Thailand without being a resident or citizen?

If you abuse the category of visa that you hold, which the OP blatantly admits to doing, they have every right to question if not revoke your visa and deny you further entry.

How can you say that this lady was playing games? Her response seems to have been completely justified and reasonable.

Actually she started playing power trip games with the opening line "says I've come to Thailand too many times". She's exactly nobody to judge on that.

It's called abusing visas. It (detection and questioning) happens in every country in the world, except maybe absolute destitute shitholes like Cambodia and Sub Saharan Africa.

A typical B1/B2 (Tourist) visa issued by the USA is good for 10 years and and the i-94 (arrival/departcure card) is stamped in for 90 or 180 days.

See what happens if you keep visiting America on that visa (valid for 10 years!) back to back, or even too often. They will revoke it. The visa is for tourists, not immigrants.

Amazing the double standards that people have. Fix your own countries first.

I think most of you are missing the point. Regardless of the OP's 'slightly off' attitude

Are there too many tourists for Thailand to handle so they've started turning people away by refusing to sell the entrance tickets ?

Very disappointing post from a senior and otherwise helpful member. The OP's attitude is not just "slightly off", it's disgusting. In his own words the Thai visa officer is a "joke" and an "annoyance" just because he is convinced that she will never make as much money as the cost of his boat in her lifetime.

I'd like to remind the OP that in most cultures historically, the trading class was not a respectable one to belong to, nor was money as omnipotent as it is perceived to be today unless you belonged to nobility. You should read a history book or two, it may humble you and teach you more about human behavior and how very little changes.

And you, ukrules, I don't think that the Thais like to think of their country as an amusement park or the visas as "entrance tickets". What a disdainful way to refer to a country that everyone else wants to get into and live in.

The Thai's are clearly playing games with visas at a number of Embassies across the world.

I'm calling them out on this. Yes, with disdain, because it pisses me off and I'd like to make that very clear. I bother to post things like this because I know that 'they' read what we post.

How can you say that this lady was playing games? Her response seems to have been completely justified and reasonable.

You're not going to get a visa anywhere if you insult the visa officer. Not very bright OP. And if you really were as big of a shit as you claim to be you wouldn't be waiting in line to talk to a visa officer. Even the Americans and EU nations will send out someone to collect and return your passport for the stamp if you are a real VIP, or if you go the consulate will give you a seat and beverage while they return with the stamp.No questions about funds or intentions. See, you aren't really a VIP. Money isn't everything. It can go a long way but you don't have enough of it to be taken seriously. You have a boat, not a yacht. Humility, you need to learn some.

I think most of you are missing the point. Regardless of the OP's 'slightly off' attitude

Are there too many tourists for Thailand to handle so they've started turning people away by refusing to sell the entrance tickets ?

Very disappointing post from a senior and otherwise helpful member. The OP's attitude is not just "slightly off", it's disgusting. In his own words the Thai visa officer is a "joke" and an "annoyance" just because he is convinced that she will never make as much money as the cost of his boat in her lifetime.

I'd like to remind the OP that in most cultures historically, the trading class was not a respectable one to belong to, nor was money as omnipotent as it is perceived to be today unless you belonged to nobility. You should read a history book or two, it may humble you and teach you more about human behavior and how very little changes.

And you, ukrules, I don't think that the Thais like to think of their country as an amusement park or the visas as "entrance tickets". What a disdainful way to refer to a country that everyone else wants to get into and live in.

If you think that this lady was hard, try applying for a US visa as a Thai national or citizen of any other third world country. She just wanted to see your papers. Uncle Sam's evil minions don't even look at any papers. If a visa officer (they typically earn $12 an hour and is a sort of "internship" every aspiring FSO must go through for a year) doesn't like your face, or is having a bad day, you don't get the visa. And you pay $150 (maybe more now) for the privilege of the 30 second interview before you're dismissed. Look up Section 214B. If Thailand had a similar law, we'd all be screwed.

I am unbelievably surprised!

How can you state the truth so simply and directly?

It is very rarely one comes across someone like you.

Thank you.

I have first hand experience, applying with an Indian passport at the Mumbai consulate. The farangs really have no idea how privileged they are, treating the world as their playground while the majority of the world's population in the third world is essentially ghettoized and can not travel out of their shit countries without being scrutinized as closely as a convicted criminal might. If you are a citizen of a third world country, you are presumed guilty by western immigration agencies until you establish your innocence and intentions. But it is nothing new, travel restrictions have been a favorite weapon in the white man's arsenal of oppression even since the colonization of Australia and the imprisonment/ghettoization of the Aboriginal population. The aborigines actually had to apply for permits to travel within their own continent.

If you think that this lady was hard, try applying for a US visa as a Thai national or citizen of any other third world country. She just wanted to see your papers. Uncle Sam's evil minions don't even look at any papers. If a visa officer (they typically earn $12 an hour and is a sort of "internship" every aspiring FSO must go through for a year) doesn't like your face, or is having a bad day, you don't get the visa. And you pay $150 (maybe more now) for the privilege of the 30 second interview before you're dismissed. Look up Section 214B. If Thailand had a similar law, we'd all be screwed.

Where do they sell good bath robes in Phuket? Silk, Bamboo, Cotton, any shop that specializes in any of these fabrics?

Anyone know where to buy a Nespresso machine and the cost?

Is there is any limit to the number of 7 day Tourist visa extensions? Can I just keep paying them 1900B week after week to continue staying?

Which is safer? Read some nasty things about Sihanoukville.

Don't really want to get mugged or killed, and I own an expensive laptop that I hope to be able to leave safely in my room.

Sent an email to [email protected] on Saturday evening. I guess they don't work on Sundays. Awaiting reply.

Why don't you contact Thailand Elite directly?

You would probably have the most reliable information about how to join the program...

Simply go to their website and ask for info...

Wow, I just noticed the domain name in that email. Oh well, I'll wait to the end of the day. This is a good forum and if they make some money off my referral then I am happy to help.