Bear0Mack

I also considered moving to Korea to work at one stage.

The good:

* What attracted me is how welcoming they seem to be policy-wise, at integrating foreigners into Korea. From what I understand, on an F5 skilled worker visa, you can become a citizen in 5 years, and they also support dual citizenship. So ultimately you can become a local with a reasonable investment of time.

* Government bureaucracy doesn't seem too bad for foreigners, in my experience processing things like visa and driving licenses is really easy and straight forward. All forms I encountered were available in English.

* Korea has beautifully maintained infrastructure, and THEY EVEN HAVE FOOTPATHS! I never saw a motorbike riding on one, or had one unreasonable blocked. The safety of commuting is alot better when you can actually walk.

* They also have many beautiful mountainous and luscious green parks in the midst of their cities.

* Public transport is ubiquitous, but incredibly slow. Expect a 20KM commute to take at least an hour.

* The food is amazingly delicious, and can be cheap too if you know where to look.

* Alcohol is also incredibly cheap, with a bottle of soju costing a mere 20 baht.

* The youth of Korea are more accepting of foreign cultures and you can expect to make some amazing good friends in Korea.

The bad:

* Very smoggy city at the best of times, despite their efforts to reduce this effect. I believe this is partly due to the mountainous landscape, and proximity to the toxic hazard of China. From what I've read, it can be just as hazardous as it is in China at times.

* Drunk people acting indecent towards you at any time of day. In one week while I was in Seoul, I had some drunk man assault me and pull my ear during the early afternoon while I was walking through a market minding my own business. Another occasion in the morning I ran into three drunk men, who were a nuisance, but not problematic like the other incident.

* Adjusting to the culture is intense. I found that most young people were easy to get along with and a blessing.

* I hear so many terrible stories about the work life balance in Korea, and literally everyone I spoke to complained of the crazy hours, especially the after hours mandatory work parties and excessive drinking. These stories put me off working in Korea.

* Your company owns your life. From the LG apartment you live in to the LG toothpaste your brush your teeth with. Go there and look around, you will see that five companies own the vast majority of Korea.

Does this help? Really, go to Korea and see it for yourself. Ask yourself, what am I hoping to be different here? What do I need to be happy, and what can I accept as being different?

Singapore airport seems to always have high security. Groups of 3 young healthy welltrained men with huge machineguns. They just walk around and use the trains but always have their fingers on the trigger i noticed.

At Don Muang i saw a Thai security with an old cowboystyle revolver on his white belt with 6 spare bullets so he can reload in a shootout. His shoes and hairdo were looking great though.

Yeah, completely agree with you. The Singapore airport guys are diligent, but their firearms safety is lacking. It's an accident waiting to happen. They walk around so recklessly with those loaded fully automatic assault rifles. I was walking through the airport one night looking for an ATM, and noticed the guards holding their guns pointed at sidewards towards myself as they walked passed, not at the ground. Again, fingers on the trigger like you mentioned. Scared the crap outta me. You only cover the trigger when you're ready to fire.

Yes! ISIS affects me almost every day. Every day I travel I need to prove that I'm not a terrorist. I need to show my passport to buy a SIM card so they can track my phone and internet usage just to make sure I won't make a bomb with a remote detonator that uses a SIM card. Then I need to wait for 20 minutes while they activate it, unless I need to wait in a queue, then it's up to an hour of waiting. I need to provide ID to check in to a hotel, just in case I make a bomb in the hotel. I'm being watched, tracked, spied on every step of the way.

I'm not permitted to brush my teeth, have a shave, stave away my body odour with some deodourant, protect myself from cancer using sunscreen, or even drink a bottle of water when I go through the airport! Heaven forbid I might make a liquid bomb out of toothpaste and sunscreen! Do I look like McGuyver to you? No worries, you can buy some new perfume, alcohol, water, and sunscreen in the duty free and support our vendors or you can make sure to buy checked baggage next time. Makes me wonder what duty free corporation threatened to make these liquid bombs. Was it the duty free corporations or the airlines themselves, both of which would profit from this policy.

I am on a plane and at several airports around Asia at least 20 times a year, I never let these cowards influence my life....the second I do, they win.

Stevey, I don't know how you do it. Do you just buy the expensive mini versions of all your toiletries (if available) and forego beverages or do you just buy checked baggage? As far as I'm concerned, we've already lost. I'm certain that the security measures affect us all much more than any possible threat of a bomb or hijacking. Like another poster mentioned earlier, you're much more likely to be struck by lightning.

Please take the time to review the statistics regarding terrorism vs other causes of death. http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-terrorism-statistics-every-american-needs-to-hear/5382818

You ever sat next to a foul smelling person on a long plane ride?

Ok. So I went to the consulate again this morning, and had a meeting with the Nick and Dill. They saw the same thing I did in terms of being unable to contact Singaporean officials. We called Immigration, got an automated message saying that they were too busy and then got cut off. Although, we did finally get through to ICA at Tuas Checkpoint. But the person answering the call refused to provide any useful information or escalate to his supervisor.

Nick and Dill were very keen to help and support in any way officially possible. They supported my position of raising this case with the Australian embassy, just in case something should go wrong. However, they didn't have any additional resources besides what I had access to from what I understand. But it did make me feel better to have them call into officials on my behalf.

I the nwent down to Lavender immigration, and mentioned my problem to the reception on the 4th floor, and was given a queue number. After waiting an hour, I was greeted by a lady at counter 48 I think it was, who then referred me to her colleague Kanaan. He was very friendly. But, I was forced to get fingerprinted as if I was a criminal. That really angers me that they treat me like that before they have even heard my story. Still no clue if they're going to charge me with anything.

I had to fill out an application form for a visa and white card. Meanwhile I explained my story. I had to then write it down on a piece of paper as to what happened. Then I had to go to the interview room to explain the story again. I was referred to exit via the Tuas checkpoint and speak to a man named Ivan, but I wasn't given any supporting documentation. No stamp, no white card, just a post it note.

So I get to the checkpoint and the guy asks me for my white card. So now I need to explain my story all over again. This guy doesn't know the man named Ivan either. I get taken inside the ICA building at the checkpoint where Ivan is called in. Now for the millionth time I explain my story again. Now Ivan is a cool guy, really friendly just like all the other immigration officials. Smiling, listening, and understanding. I then take Ivan through what happened at the checkpoint for me to end up with no visa in Singapore. I have to fill out yet another white card application and I have to wait while they pull up the CCTV footage, which was amazing how quickly they found me just giving the approximate time. They then process me through their computers, stamp my passport in and out again, then finally after all that I'm free to go.

Can't wait to get out into the free world and not be an illegal alien anymore! And I'm outta there.

I didn't have to pay a SGD$4,000 fine, or serve 6 months in prison. But it did cost me my holiday in Singapore, alot of stress, and worried family members.

Singapore authorities are in my experience all very friendly people. As for the Singaporean bureaucracy, I think alot of improvement is needed in ICA and LTA. Namely, guiding visitors through the checkpoint procedure and how to do a U-Turn to Singapore. The LTA also needs to make it clear how to obtain the IU hire 24 hours a day at the checkpoint as mentioned in the brochure.

Thanks for your support guys. I hope this helps anyone in this situation in the future.

Sunnyjim, what makes you think they won't just detain (arrest) me throw me in a holding cell (jail)?

Also, they've been closed for the weekend. Do you know if they have a phone number? Maybe I'll call them.

P.S. Anyone know a good immigration lawyer in Singapore?

Well I tried to call all of the phone numbers listed for both the Tuas and Woodlands checkpoints today in order to hopefully clear this matter up and make my exit much easier, which I plan to do tomorrow.. None of them picked up the phone.

http://www.ica.gov.sg/page.aspx?pageid=117#tuascheckpoint

Tuas Checkpoint Duty Officer Contact Number Arrival Bus Hall 6865 4621 Car / Motorcycle (Block A1) 6865 4627 Car / Motorcycle (Block A2) 6865 4645 Departure Bus Hall 6865 4618 Car / Motorcycle (Block D1) 6865 4676 Car / Motorcycle (Block D2) 6865 4693 Woodlands Checkpoint (24 Hours) 21 Woodlands Crossing, S(738203) Tel: 6767 5963

I will try the Australian High Consulate again tomorrow before attempting to make my exit.

So Australian High Consulate didn't want to help at all because it's their break day. They gave me a phone number to call, but how am I going to call them without a passport to purchase a SIM card? They wouldn't even let me use their phone.

However, after explaining to them how serious a situation it is to not have a visa in Singapore, they finally sent a man down to consult with me. His name was Peter. A friendly fellow. But all he could suggest was to turn myself at Tuas or Woodlands in when I exit.

They refused to give me any documentation to show that I had discussed the matter with the Embassy.

That's my interpretation of the law and from the stories I've heard from other people.

The law is clear. I have no visa, therefore I have committed a crime by simply existing in Singapore. Even though it's the fault of the Tuas checkpoint organization. The people there are really friendly, and that's a plus, but they're incompetent. That's the fault of the organizations poor procedures and training. Not the staffs fault.

As Mestern says, they're so straight laced and inflexible, that I might well be screwed. It's like the frustration of talking to a call centre operator reading from a script and flow chart.

Hey Woodsie, I went through the Tuas checkpoint with a Thai registered motorbike. No one knew about where to hire the IU in the little LTA box there. Thanks for your help.

Correct Crossy. Foreign registered cars no longer need to rent an IU. All other foreign vehicles need to rent an IU, including motorcycles.

Yes. I agree SunnyJim, Singapore immigration and transport jargon is difficult to understand.

So an IU is a device used to automatically pay tolls in Singapore, which are called ERPs. It requires a NETS card, which is a stored value card in order to be used.

The autopass card is a card specifically used for entering and exiting Singapore. It's like a visa for your vehicle. It's also used for paying the entry toll but not the ERP.

The toll at the border is the only one called a toll. The others are called ERPs, but we foreigners would call them toll roads all the same.

The LTA is the Land Transport Authority. The same like the Department Of Land Transport in Thailand. They regulate the border crossing of vehicles and ERPs in Singapore.

I hope that all makes sense. I'm just a visitor here and there's a steep learning curve for familiarizing oneself with the regulations involved in driving in this particular country.

While trying to find the IU rental shop around the Tuas checkpoint area, I accidentally went too far to the motorbike gates, and I was not yet ready to leave Singapore. I asked to do a U-Turn. An official took me through the gate, checked my passport, and processed my auto-pass at another machine around the corner.

I was then led by two officals who were on foot down a path, along with another car, which had signage indicating parking for fire engines (even fire engines need to have somewhere legal to park). This path led to a boom gate which they opened for me remotely. There were no further formalities to process outside of the boom gates.

It's only today when I rode my motorbike to the LTA office in Bin Tang that I've found that they stamped me and my vehicle out of the country. Side note: LTA still have no idea where I rent the IU as mentioned in the ERP booklet.

This is Singapore, how screwed am I exactly? I've noticed that they really love to fine and arrest even people the try to follow the law here. What should I do to avoid going to jail or paying a big fine?

Well put Rawbone. Although I still disagree with your opinion on the issue, I respect your opinion as you have your reasons. Thread closed.

I can make 160K a year in Australia as a highly skilled IT professional in security and business relations, but I have no degree or university references. They're a waste of time and money in IT in my opinion. But I do have experience and technical certifications from IT companies. So does that make me a professional or not?

Oh. I don't think any man should be able to get his driver's license to read F for gender by the way. Regardless of his level of feminine beauty.

Rawbone,

Excellent response. I see you're very mild mannered and well thought out.

Ok. I'm imagining here that scenario. I have a question. What do you mean by "knowing that I'm a man"? Do you mean feeling and identifying as such in my mind or do you mean by knowing I was born with a penis?

Mind-wise, that's a hard place to be. Wishing I was or wishing I looked like a girl. I might even be wishing to trick men into thinking I was a woman just to satisfy myself. It would be great then if I could get a 3rd party like the government to issue me documents as such.

In terms of ladyboys fooling men into thinking that they're women when they're not. I completely disagree that it is as obvious as you state in all cases. In many cases, yes but in many cases, no. They've redesigned themselves that way into looking like a lady as realistically as possible. There are countless ladyboy or not quizzes out there to prove that fact. I also think you underestimate the power or alcohol and poor lighting. To illustrate alcohol and poor lighting, I know you don't believe the stories of men getting tricked by ladyboys into having sex, but what about men waking up after a night out next to an ugly woman?

Now I'm a bit puzzled. What do you mean be protesting too much? I've never seen or heard of a straight men's protest against transgender in my whole life. What's wrong with protesting anyway?

Then you go on to say who cares? I think obviously you do care or you wouldn't have responded. I'm really puzzled.

So this topic is under the forum of Gay people in Thailand. I can understand that the constituents of this forum would therefore be mostly supportive in reforms to legal systems to accommodate ladyboys. I'd like to offer an opposing viewpoint here, to what I would generally consider a very open minded community. Now I would like to believe that this could be a rational discussion, sharing or ideas, and mutual education, but I realize that it would likely be a heated argument. The choice is up to you.

First things first, why would a ladyboy need to prove that he is a woman, and not a ladyboy? A ladyboy can't change the fact that he was born a man. I repeat, nothing will change the fact that he was physically born as a male at birth. A man can only change his apperance into a ladyboy, if that's what he desires, but he'll never actually be a woman. There's nothing stopping you from doing that here in Thailand either. You have all the freedom in the world. So what's the problem? There's two reasons I can think of: 1. To make an illegal marriage into a legal marriage. 2. To trick another man into thinking that he's a woman, when in fact he's a ladyboy.

I can't say whether or not ladyboys genuinely feel like they're a woman trapped in a man's body, but I believe that's possible. Certainly many ladyboys must feel that way. Who am I to tell them what they can and can't feel? But I personally have an issue with the idea of legally changing one's gender on documents. As a man, I don't think it's right that another person that was born as a man should be able to tell me that he is a woman, and have legal documents to prove such a lie. In my book, that's called fraud. That's right, I think that ladyboys shouldn't be allowed to trick another man into thinking that he is a woman via legal government documents.

In my experience, many ladyboys, if not most, will come out and tell you that they're a ladyboy, albeit after a while of discussion. Good on 'em! It shows good character. But not all of them will do that. I have been fortunate enough to be able to discern who the ladyboys are; or so I believe. Say for example that I have not been fortunate enough to discern, then haven't I been defrauded or tricked? In that case, that speaks to the character of the individual in question. But let's go one step further than just the character of the individual. If that ladyboy shows me his ID proving that he is a woman, then I believe that speaks poorly to the credibility of both the ladyboy and the government.

Please educate me as to why a ladyboy would need to prove that he was born as a woman, when he was indeed born as, and will always be a man?

Happy Grumpy, you said it was because of the cost of an external hard drive right? I would've thought the bigger concern would be carrying unencrypted data across borders, as some customs agents will inspect your data regardless of your wishes to be left alone. They do it under ridiculous guise of being kiddy porn inspector superheroes, but really they're just thugs in suits invading your privacy.

If you do want to transfer your data this way, I would suggest purchasing an AIS Superwifi package and an 802.11ac wireless card for your laptop (assuming it's a laptop here), and upload it while sitting in a cafe. That would be the fastest way, but as others have pointed out it will take a VERY long time over eve the best internet connection.

2 billion baht to construct a giant flag pole? 15 months to complete a single pole?

Great to hear all the constructive posts guys. Please remember to keep it positive. We're not here to bash Thailand or to bash people for mentioning negatives about Thailand either.

The question is primarily about bureaucracy, but I agree that import duties or restrictions impact our ability to access our favourite products.

Could I ask, would a concierge service for addressing any of these issues be of value?

Ok.. I was actually expecting a different kind of a response. I'm asking the question from the view of helping people. I'm not complaining.

I want to know if these are problems for expats, to what extent, and What kind of help would be considered valuable?

I have money to support myself, despite not working. Although I haven't found that it helps to get things done. If you have actually experienced this and are not just assuming, perhaps you could share some information about how you used it, how much, and how it helped address your situation.

I've been here for quite a while now, and I've faced some challenges in living in Thailand as an expat. Particularly considering I don't have a work permit. I want to know what people find the hardest thing to do bureaucratically (not culturally) in Thailand Some difficulties I've encountered include:

1. Buying a motorbike without work permit/long term visa
2. Applying for a driving license
3. Opening a bank account
4. Applying for a credit card
5. Opening a Thai company
6. Thai visas
7. Condo and land ownership
8. Land border crossing into and out of Thailand, especially when driving a vehicle.
9. Applying for insurance
10. Other? I'm sure there are others, and feel free to add on to this list.

A few things I'd love to hear your opinion on are:

• What one have you found to be the hardest, or most frustrating, and why?
• Were you unsuccessful or did you give up on some of these things, and why?
• Would the same tasks be much easier for you to do now that you know how to do them, if you had to do them again?

I wish there was a way to post a poll here. Thanks for your input.

We can thank corrupt taxi drivers for this. I believe a great deal of this drink driving is a knock on effect from them.

I think in order to tackle drink driving, they need to give people an alternative. I have frequently found that despite my strongest wishes to take a bus or taxi back home after drinking in various cities in Thailand, particularly outside of Bangkok, there are no taxis, songtaews, or buses past midnight that will take you home without asking an extortionate amount of money.

Bangkok is usually the best, with many taxis using the meter, but some asking double the fare and refusing to take you.

However, places like Pattaya and Phuket are the worst at rates on average of 100 Baht per kilometre in Pattaya for songtaews, and 150 Baht per kilometre in Phuket for unmarked taxis (all of them are unofficial). They ask even more if it's raining too.

Fortunately for my choices, I have always gone somewhere close by so I can walk the 2 or 3KM to get back to my accommodation. Not everyone will be so lucky.

TallguyJohn, I'm surprised to hear you say that it's backwards N compatible, as I can't see it on my laptop. Unless maybe my laptop is just 802.11g, but I'm pretty sure my laptop has an 802.11n card, as it's not that old.

Note mods that Bearpolars post should be removed as trolling.