Gonekicking

Family contacted, everyone is fine.

Thanks for the help offers.

Are there any members who could help in contacting a few emergency rooms to try and locate my wife and 2 daughters?

I have had no response in 2 days and am worried sick.

Tourist police just rings busy for a long time now, nothing new there.

I need someone to call Vachira, Mission and Thalang hospitals and find out if they are there.

I am in my home country now and my Thai is very limited, so calling the hospitals is not working for me...

If you can help me pls send a pm and I will give you their details

Any advice would be appreciated as well.

Thanks 

14 year old with a Scooter ???

oh well ''Welcome to Thailand''.....

I got my first scooter at age 14. License and all. Only 49cc engine allowed but it actually quite common, not only in LOS...

As for what I have heard and read only minor parts of the border between Myanmar and Thailand is really agreed upon by both countries. I guess its because the border area in Myanmar have been controlled by other etnich people than the burmese themselves. For example such as Karen, Shan etc.

There are several very unofficial border crossings between Myanmar and Thailand in these areas such as the one on the photos attached. It is some 30-40 km south of Mae Sot and I was strongly recommended not to cross over there because there supposed to be rebellions on the other side that in worst case scenario could rob or even kidnap me anddemsnd ransome for me. I doubt however that anyone would have paid anything at all to get me free if so did happen.....LOL

But people from both sides were crossing freely over this little wooden pedestrian bridge with only a single solidier guarding it. He didnt check any paperwork at all though......

Sorry - the pics always get upside down when using the Ipad..... :-(

Actually there is also an "unofficial" crossing just a few meters from the Mai Sot bridge, I snapped this pic from said bridge while going to activate my 2nd entry on my TV back in 2008 or 2009... All in plain view of soldiers and cops on both sides... gotta love Asia.

During colonial times, the major powers had this theory of the "buffer state" which would prevent two major colonial powers from fighting if they shared a border. This one of the main reasons that ALL of this region was not colonized by either France or England. Not sure where I read about it so sorry no cites.

I like to joke that the Siamese/Lanna/Thai/etc's were never colonized because they bent over for both sides to avoid it, and that's where the whole "avoid conflict" part of thainess comes from.

I just returned from Penang via minibus. Getting the visas was straightforward for most everyone in our group, however upon returning to Thailand at Sadao crossing all of us on TVs were asked to insert 200thb in our passports in order to avoid having to prove 20000 in cash. I had a bank statement, hotel receipts and onward ticket info etc... but was told that was no good. Our driver did say "up to you" but implied that it would be rude as we would end up in the office for some rather lengthy questioning and that would hold up the rest of the bus. Work permit holders were not asked for this, which sort of makes sense, I guess.

I had read about this practice on these forums so I was not surprised, but everyone else in the van was not amused and protested that they didn't need to do this last time etc etc...Next time I might try having the 20k on hand just to see if it really makes a difference...

Anyways just confirming the practice.

Was this your 4th (or more) back to back visa too? Or anyone else in your group that you know of had more than 3?

My next will be my 4th back to back entry if I get it.

No it was my first, I was here on an exemption up till now. Someone in my group was asking about that and the agent at the hotel told us that they would only give out three consecutive TV's in Penang consulate. He recommended going to a different consulate if you had three consecutive TV's from the same consulate.

I just returned from Penang via minibus. Getting the visas was straightforward for most everyone in our group, however upon returning to Thailand at Sadao crossing all of us on TVs were asked to insert 200thb in our passports in order to avoid having to prove 20000 in cash. I had a bank statement, hotel receipts and onward ticket info etc... but was told that was no good. Our driver did say "up to you" but implied that it would be rude as we would end up in the office for some rather lengthy questioning and that would hold up the rest of the bus. Work permit holders were not asked for this, which sort of makes sense, I guess.

I had read about this practice on these forums so I was not surprised, but everyone else in the van was not amused and protested that they didn't need to do this last time etc etc...Next time I might try having the 20k on hand just to see if it really makes a difference...

Anyways just confirming the practice.

Logic would dictate that the sensible solution should be to have controlled and licensed beach vendors for chairs, umbrellas and refreshments who in turn fund the management of the beach. Jet-Skis should be banned altogether but I guess you could allow them in controlled areas and limited numbers. (A good example is the lakes in my home area, where motor boats are banned on the smaller ones and limited number of pleasure crafts are allowed on other larger lakes provided they follow strict rules). All of this would of course need to be strictly enforced by local authorities on a daily basis.

Lack of enforcement is what will lead to abuse, not "thainess".

Ask anyone why this cannot be implemented and you will often get the very ubiquitous answer: "you not undersatand thai peopon".

Anyone else sick to death of hearing that phrase?

Dictatorship is a form of government where political authority is monopolized by a single person or political entity, and exercised through various oppressive mechanisms. A dictatorship is a type of authoritarianism, in which politicians regulate nearly every aspect of the public and private behavior of normal people.

So technically it does not apply in the case of LOS.

I live on Phuket but would rather do 1 trip to Vientiane or Savvannakhet and get a double entry than 2 trips to Penang.

I am in the same situation and trying to decide on which method to use. At first I thought that getting a double entry in Laos was the way to go, but considering I will still have to make a run to a border when my first entry/extension comes due in 90 days the choice is not so obvious.

So basically the choice is between 1 run to Laos + 1 border run (Ranong still works I hope?) an two runs to Penang or KL. If I use the minivan services to Penang the cost of 2 runs comes to about the same as the Laos option, if I fly to KL it's a bit more.

I am definately returning home in 4.5 months so number of consecutive visas is not an issue to me.

Am I missing something? Is there another reason you rather go to Vientiane?

Thanks for any additionnal info.

“We cannot blame just the kids in all cases.

How about not blaming them at all, as they are the victims here?

Hi I am getting near the end of my exempt+extension period and am wondering about the best solution to get a tourist visa, multiple entry would be nice.

Is Savanaket the only place around here to get that?

Will I be able to get a tourist visa after staying here 60 days on an exemption/extension? (I was supposed to convert to marriage visa but that went south, don't ask lol)

What documents do I need? Money proof, etc?

Best travel advice to Savanket (or wherever) from Phuket?

Thanks in advance for any replies!

What they "cracked down" on was people abusing the 30 day exemptions by making visa runs and getting several consecutive ones and staying here up to several years at a time, sometimes to work illegally, sometimes for other reasons. Their point is that if you have a valid reason to stay for a long time then you should go through the official process, not circumvent it by crossing the border over and over.

They added the 30 day extension at the same time so that genuine tourists can stay for up to 60 days even if they cannot get a 60 day tourist visa in their own country before leaving. Sort of levelling the playing field I guess. However you can only get 1 extension, after that get a real visa or go home.

Makes total sense to me.

Not saying it isn't a crazy country, but in this case it isn't.

Here is an update: I went to Patong Immigration, and easily got a 30 day extension to my initial 30 day exempt stamp. They asked for my address and I showed them my room key tag which has the address on it in Thai. Thai wrote it down for me and that was that.

fees were 240baht for the photocopies and pictures, 1900 for the extension. Total 2140 says the man in front of me, which I paid. Then after they realized that by charging me one amount they couldn't "keep the change" on the regular 1900 fee as is always the case in Phuket Town... So after a bit of talking between them they said "oh but you got two photos so we need 100 more baht"... I told them I understood completely and no problem... They did give me extra photos though... I will not be heading to the Damronthang center to biatch about this lol...just super glad to not have to deal with the nightmares being reported about the Phuket town office these days...

Thanks to everyone for the info sharing.

Thanks for the info

But, make sure when you check-in to your accomodation that you are regsitered (by the landlord/guesthouse manager) on the Immigration system, and you most likely will need to some documentation from your landlord when you apply for the extension in Patong. But so far we have not really received any clear reports from members about whether this documentation is really necessary.

I was not aware of this requirement as this is my first time not staying in a hotel. I am staying in a small room rented in my wife's name (we only just got hitched and I need the extension to get my arse to BKK for a letter of right to marry before we can register our marriage and get me a different visa.)

From your post I guess you don't know for sure if this will be a problem, and I doubt the clueless lady downstairs will have any usefull information.

So I guess I will head on over there in the morning, and return with any forms they ask me to fill out later.

In the past when seeking a 30 day extension I just wrote down the name of a hotel owned by a friend and got it no questions asked, I guess they have "cracked down" on this too?

Hi just trying to get confirmation on something I read in the news this summer.

I arrived on a 30day visa exempt status which will expire on saturday, and I was under the impression that I could now extend this by another 30 days. I had planned to go to Phuket town tomorrow but I have just heard about the waiting times and limited number of people being served per day there so I am a bit worried.

So here are my 2 questions:

1. Can I really get 30 days added to my visa exempt status?

2. Can I do this in Patong and avoid the crazyness I have been reading about at the Phuket Town office (I will live with the other craziness reported about the Patong office if it avoids my having to leave the country...)