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meltingpot2015
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Posts posted by meltingpot2015
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Nice info, but a little confusion.
Can you apply on Friday, or not?
You've indicated 'no', then 'yes'.
Friday Morning, Yes.Friday Afternoon, No.There are notices all around the Immigration office that say: Applications are not accepted on Friday afternoon. One of the websites I mentioned in the OP also says this. I reckon, they stop accepting visa extension applications at 12 noon on Friday (when they close for lunch). If they accept one at 12:01pm I couldn't tell, but not worth taking the risk. (they may close for lunch 10 -15 minutes before the scheduled time) Also, remember that you need to fill in application form. Its quite simple. Just a few questions. e.g. date of arrival, passport details, how many days you need extension, purpose of extension etc. I left blank the bits on sponsor name, and the officer was satisfied. Oh!, you need to sign the form. Don't remember if the form asked for mobile number.One issue I see with handing application in on Friday morning is that you will be without your passport for 3 days (if it's returned on Monday afternoon). No dramas, because you would have the photocopy with pick-up date and time. Presumably, this will be accepted as proof of identity by Hotels and Motorcycle/bicycle hire shops in Laos. The other major issue is, if you are travelling to Vientiane especially to get this sorted on the same day, it is unlikely. Making application on Friday morning, you may need to come back to pick-up passport on Monday morning/afternoon. Good news is, there are immigration offices in places like Luang Prabang:so a trip in to Vientiane, especially to do this may not be necessary.The website from before says if you do not live near an immigration office, some travel agents or specialist providers may be able to do the legwork for you for a fee, but it also says this is more appropriate for other extensions, NOT tourist visa extensions.I asked a few travel agents in Vientiane about visa extension, and they all said go to immigration by Morning Market. May be Travel Agents in Vientiane don't deal with this as the Immigration office is close by, other travel agents in other areas may well do. But take note, I have been advised elsewhere to be very careful when leaving your passport with Travel Agents. Haven't come across any credible websites/reviews to say its fine to leave passport with travel agent for the purposes of visa extension in Laos. Because the laos-guide-999 website isn't updated regularly and because they don't have an 'about us' page on their website, its hard to accept their advice about leaving passport with travel agent. -
The Laos tourist visa is valid for 30 days. If you need to extend it while you are in Vientiane, Loas, this can be done at the Immigration Office on Xang Avenue, Vientiane. The office is tucked away behind the Joint development Bank (JDB), on the road opposite Talat Sao Shopping Mall (Morning Market).Please note the office is open Monday to Friday 08:00 - 16:00 (closed 12:00 - 13:00 for lunch). No applications for extensions are accepted on Friday Afternoon. In fact don't bother going there after 3pm on Friday at all. I went there 3:45pm to pick-up the extension form and the office was closed.There are some useful information at the links below, however, please note that these sites have not been updated recently. Information about fees, currency accepted and processing times have changed.
Currency AcceptedOnly LAK/KIP is accepted. US dollars NOT Accepted.FeesApplication Form Fee - 5000 KipService Fee - 25,000 KipVisa Extension Fee - 20,000 Kip for each day extended. e.g. for 5 days. 20000 x 5 = 100,000 KipWhen you visit office, you will see several counters. Approach counter 6, pick-up form after paying form fee. Fill form, attach passport photo, pay all fees mentioned above, and hand in together with your passport.Processing TimeThe officer will take a photocopy of your passport (the page that has your photo and name), stamp the date when you have to come back to pick-up passport on the photocopied sheet and hand it to you. I handed passport on Monday 28 Sep, the date stamped was 29 Sep - 2pm (morning pick-up not available due to staff meetings). Presumably, if you hand in passport on a Friday Morning, you will have to pick-up passport on Monday. There are notices around the office that say extension applications handed today, passport received tomorrow.When I returned to pick-up passport, was advised to go to counter 7 (counter next to counter 6 on same side). I handed the passport photocopy given to me the day before, and the officer, sorted through a few passports, checked my passport and handed it to me.Before leaving, I made it a point to check if the correct extension has been applied. It had. I applied for 10 days extension. Note the extension stamps take half a page of your passport.
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"How useful is Thai language in Laos" Extremely, especially if conversing with a Thai.
Really?...You don't say.
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Some similarities. Numbers One to 19..same..same. In Thai twenty is yii-sip, in Loa its sao, 21 is sao-et, sao-song and so on... 100 in lao is loi.The word for come in thai and loa is maa.If you say to a loatian Gin kao (eat rice yet) - They will understand you. I think lao say GIn Kao baa.Here are some lao lessons:Its definitely useful to know some thai for business transactions (shopping, negotiating with and paying for taxis and tuk-tuks) even if most Laotians in Vientiane (I haven't been anywhere else in Loas), particularly in the touristy parts and hotels speak English.I have seen many laotians watching Thai TV programs.
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ineligible - a marinate of the word illegible and indelible. Only joking. I reckon its illegible, especially if a pen was used that would make the writing indelible.
I am sure to have seen forms, maybe not in THailand, but somewhere, where they have said forms must be completed using indelible ink. Most forms these days just say "Use a blue/black ballpoint pen". -
After many months on this forum, have found the need to add someone to my ignore list.
Does anyone know if you are ignoring someone when it says Hide, or does it need to show Allow?
I Don't know if clicking on Hide enables Hide or disables it.
Clicking on hide will "hide" it, activate it to hide the post.
Figured it out soon after I made post #78 - Here's how:1) Before doing anything - Have the webpage with a post from the user you want to ignore. Make a note of the member name and the post number. e.g. post #32.2) On a separate tab/webpage go to your TVF profile page, click on your 'manage ignore preferences'.3) Enter Member's name you want to ignore in the box 'Member name'4) check the box 'posts', 'signature', and 'messages' as appropriate.5) click on 'save' changes. That's it. You are now ignoring all posts (and signature and messages if you clicked these). Note that if you are ignoring all posts, 'show' signature does not have any effect. Signature will still be hidden. Note you have to click on 'Save changes', otherwise it does not have any effect.6) refresh webpage you had open in (1)7) check if the post number you made a note in (1) is still there. It should be gone...See pic below. You should also see a message "This post is hidden because you have chosen to ignore posts by ....", where the post should have been.Clicking on hide will "hide" it, activate it to hide the post.
Actually clicking on 'hide', will toggle 'show'. Then clicking on 'save changes' will start showing the posts.Confusing!. It is for me anyway. -
I am considering buying a huawei smartphone. price range 4000 - 6000 Bhat.
What are the huawei phones like?. I'd like to buy it from a authorised dealer. Interested in phone performance, need to be smooth switching between apps (with 5 or 6 apps running).
Good battery life. Has to have good aftersales (worldwide preferably) both instore and online.
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After many months on this forum, have found the need to add someone to my ignore list.
Does anyone know if you are ignoring someone when it says Hide, or does it need to show Allow?
I Don't know if clicking on Hide enables Hide or disables it.
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Ever thought of opening the window and using a fan?
Not always practical in some buildings in thailand due to bad ventilation. Come noon, the whole building heats-up and using a fan is like trying to empty the ocean using a spoon and bucket. Maybe two fans in one room will do the trick....How about provide condo owners with an incentive for changing old air-con units to next generation air-con units that use less energy, without anyone filling their own pockets, and the new units actually being installed. -
This form will solve ALL of Thailand's problems.
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@OP: Does the condo have communal washing facilities?...Condo owners often use your electric charge to pay for these.10 Bhat is way overpriced. I was paying 7 Bhat a unit in one place and 8 bhat in another. 7 Bhat place duringMarch 2014 (when I moved in) used 461 Units, thats 3227 Bhat.The Condo website said average electric cost for one month was 1200 bhat. See: http://www.bangkokliving.co.th/en/faqI got bill shock, complained to the condo owner. He got angry, because he thought I was accusing him of fiddling the bill. I told him the website says average cost 1200 Bhat.This happened in April 2014. Yet still his website is saying average cost 1200 Bhat. See screenprint above.When moving to an apartment, always :1) ask Electric, water charges rate.2) Attempt to Negotiate Charge if its too high.3) ask Where the meter is located. Make a note of the reading on the meter. Keep an eye on it and record readings (at least weekly).Then,4) Calculate your daily use and then your monthly use, using (3).5)i) find a way to reduce consumption. e.g. Fan, increase set temp of air-con to about 28-30C, use air-conto cool room then use fan, Open fridge door (only kidding), wear little cloths as possible...etc...ii) ask landlord to service the air-con unit.6) After 2 months, if you are still paying too much on Electric Charges - Find another place.
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Update:PSV bank ATM in Vientiane did not ask me if I agree to the 20,000Kip fee. Although it did add a fee to a Withdrawal of 200,000 Kip. Another time (about a week after) I was not able to withdraw the single pull amount of 1,500,000 Kip (which can be done at BCEL).I cancelled the withdrawal at PSV and used the nearest BCEL Branch ATM.
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If only all multi-national corporations paid the corporation taxes they owe and not look for loopholes.If only, all those serving them, not just rely on rhetoric, but are actually persuasive enough.
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If you put a crab in water and gradually heat the pot, apparently it does not feel pain. Stick a lobster in Boiling water it can almost jump out.
As for the story about putting a frog in boiling water - it jumps out. Put it in a pot of water then gradually boil it, and it stays. That's just a myth. Good metaphor though,
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quite a few of the stalls in mbk will sell you genuine new phones maybe 2000bt cheaper than branded stores such as powerbuy etc, although powerbuy can be knocked down & you can see cash prices normally scribbled in pencil on base of product signs that used for staff reference. problem is you need be on the ball- know your product & stay in charge of the sale to make the most of MBK, they do employ a lot of illegal burmese in MBK mainly as they far better at sales due to good language skills & customer handling plus cheap/reliable staff. Still easier to buy at home and many times cheaper too. Prefer Fortune IT centre to MBK myself as many of the shops been long running plus they not crippled by MBK's ultra high retail renting cost & police/dsi tea money . I had a Thai friend who bought a iPhone 4s in MBK, paid good money as being thai wanted a thai phone not grey import, I looked at phone model code when helped with phone update & found it to be grey import which would of been good 3000Bt cheaper
they rip Thais off more than foreigners lol .Only discovered fortune city recently, but havent looked back since. The shopping experience at Fortune City is much more pleasant than MBK. It's calmer, less chaotic and the sales staff are in a another league. (much more friendly and helpful). For some reason, every Thai person and Tourist flock to MBK. I doubt its the location, because Fortune City is just as well located.Yes, I've shopped at Powerbuy before and they are excellent. They are usually found in all the Central Shopping malls and stock just about everything. Staff are very knowledgeable and gives good advise. They have sales sometimes with items marked down. (I haven't seen them mark down phones. but Printers, yes. especially when a newer model comes in to the market, they put the older model on sale). Special Discounts available for store display items.Best of all, all items guaranteed, with the Manufacturer Warranty. Unless, someone is in need of a "temporary" phone (while on holiday) that they expect to last 3-6 months, its just not worth buying from a stall. Still, it does not make sense, because you could probably buy a brand new older model from Tesco or Big C with a warranty for the same price you pay at stall.By the way, I wonder what Powerbuy do with phones that they don't manage to sell. -
Here's coconuts take on it:
http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2015/09/25/junta-implementing-great-firewall-thailand
NBTC Deputy Chairman Setthapong said CAT, the state-owned and largest telecom in Thailand, will act as the single door to all internet gateways in Thailand when it’s ready."...There is a chance that we will be able to get service at a lower price because each telecom is renting their own gateways, but together they might get a lower price,” Kitt said.Assuming that the telcos will pass on the savings to the consumer.
I would say the cost saving element is a presumptuous attempt to stimulate public support.
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...advised the public to closely examine the materials before deciding to buy any product. She added that the best way to buy a genuine and quality product was to visit exclusive agents' stores
Yes. Only buy from the authorised dealer. Especially, mobile phones and laptops.
A shop(stall) in MBK Centre, Bangkok tried to sell me a fake Smartphone as original. I asked the shop (stall) owner where the phone was made, she quickly backtracked and said it was fake.
An MBK shop(stall), however, did manage to sell me a grey-import. The smartphone lasted 6 months. Took it to the service centre. They said the serial number label on phone did not match software serial number. Therefore cannot offer repair as part of a warranty. They said the phone had an issue with the system-board and it needs to be replaced.
Only buy things like phone cases from these stalls, not actual electronic items. Actually, a Smartphone will not be that much cheaper at these stalls. (Not as much as 50% anyway, I would say 1000 Bhat price difference between authorised dealer and MBK stall). When buying from authorised dealer, just make sure that the phone works with your foreign sim and that they can sell you the phone on pre-pay if that's what you are after.
Remember in Thailand, its Caveat Emptor. i.e. Buyer beware.
If you visit MBK, stalls/shops will often lure you in to a purchase by opening the box in front of you. Once opened they will say you need to purchase it or pay 500-1000 bhat. They can be aggressive and threatening.
edit: At the stall, If you handed your SIM card to be tested with the new phone, you will have little choice but to pay the 500-1000 bhat surcharge or buy the phone, otherwise say bye-bye to your SIM card. MBK has various signs on the 4th floor with a phone number saying call this number to report illegal activity. Do not rely on this, they will take NO ACTION. The number goes through to MBK Management who are only interested in maximising rents.
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The whole story does not make sense. From the Chinese experience, the firewall had increased demand for pirated material. e.g. pirated movies and TV shows.
In Thailand, did the Police not seize over 10,000 items of pirated goods only yesterday (okay they were electronic gadgets, but....piracy is piracy)
in a bid tostep up its crackdown on piracy to improve the country’s image in the global arena.
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Single Internet Gateway?....The OP is missing something. The Word FIREWALL.
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Great article here.
Quote from it:One world stands for free information and the exchange of ideas, the other for censoring and monitoring. The wall fences in a Chinese information prison where ignorance fosters ideologies of hatred and aggression. If the firewall exists indefinitely, China will eventually revert to what it once was: a sealed off, narrow-minded, belligerent, rogue state.
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A visa allows you to enter a country. You cannot buy another visa inside the country because you are already there. But you can buy an extension through a travel shop (they send it to immigration). However, at a travel shop you can buy a visa inside Cambodia for another country (they send your passport to the appropriate embassy). Which seems obvious to say but indeed, people need to know the difference.
Why would you pay a travel shop to get you an extension ?
Speed, convenience, and peace of mind apparently:
See this link: (quote below - they are talking about going direct to immigration to extend)
Everyone who’s tried it this way recommends against it, though. The process can take ages,.....
Also check out:
http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowTopic-g293939-i9162-k4529150-Tourist_Visa_Extension-Cambodia.html
edit: peace of mind...as in to remain sane or keep your sanity intact, according to one source above.
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@Kaoboi Bebobp:
Post 156 is not clear, confusing Cambodia's self-titled e-visa program (online application for a Tourist visa) with an Ordinary (business) visa whose visa serial numbers start with the letter E. You can buy the Ordinary at the airport on arrival. Further, you have to be in-country to get the 30-day Ordinary visa extended via a travel shop. Of these extensions, only 6-month and 12-month Ordinary visas are multi-entry. (A normal Tourist visa of 30 days is extendable only once inside the country.)
The Ordinary Cambodian Visa (formerly known as Business Visa), the Visa's starting with the letter E, the visa that is available on arrival for certain (most) passport holders on arrival, can be extended indefinitely (from within Cambodia of course). So, before the extension expires, you can extend it again without having to leave Cambodia, according to the source below:
http://www.movetocambodia.com/planning-your-move-to-cambodia/cambodia-visas/
Source above also advise to go for the 6,12month extensions as it gives the flexibility of multiple entries.Of these extensions, only 6-month and 12-month Ordinary visas are multi-entry. (A normal Tourist visa of 30 days is extendable only once inside the country.)
The web link I have quoted says:Once you have your first 30-day ordinary visa for Cambodia, you can extend it from inside the country for 1, 3, 6, or 12 months. It’s advisable to extend it for 6 or 12 months, as these visa types are multiple-entry. The 1- and 3-month ordinary visas are single-entry only, meaning that if you leave for a weekend trip to Vietnam, you’ll need to get a new Cambodian visa when you return.
So, according to the above, a 30-day ordinary visa only becomes multiple entry once its extended for 6 or 12 months.
There is no mention of a 6-month or 12-month Ordinary visa. Only 6-month and 12-month ordinary visa extensions.
edit: The source below discusses a Tourist visa purchased at a travel shop for 6 or 12 months, they mean an extension to the current business (ordinary) visa, not a fresh visa. We need to differentiate between visa and extension. Surely, they are not the same. I mean, can someone actually purchase a visa from a travel shop?
http://www.howtogotocambodia.com/visa-for-cambodia/...purchase a Regular Visa (also referred to as "Business Visa") upon re-entry. A Regular Visa, good for 30 days stay, costs US$40.00 only. There are Regular Visas, good for 3 months, 6 months and up to one year, that you can purchase, later, through reliable visa agents within Cambodia when you are already a Regular Visa holder.[/size]
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@OP: are you on pre-pay or post pay?If you are pre-pay, check out : http://truemoveh.truecorp.co.th/4g/toppings/iplay/entry/3348you can go for the 1.5GB (3rd one down in the PIC below) for 399 Bhat. It looks like it has a lifetime of 30 days.However, I have found from expereince that even when subscribed to a one-time only package, it can be flagged for "renewal" by TM. The day before expiry I contacted TM through the Online Chat and Customer Service was able to cancel it immediately.YOu can check the current packages using the iservice app or webpage. Its only an additional step from the main app window or webpage (click 'extra package detail').
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It's a great idea.
Wonder if any other country in the region will follow suite.
edit: Apart from Cambodia. Post #156 says Cambodian e-visa extension gives multiple entries. But presumably the e-visa (even with extension) is not a 6-month visa.
they rip Thais off more than foreigners lol .
ATM cash withdrawals in loas
in Jobs, Economy, Banking, Business, Investments
Posted · Edited by meltingpot2015