geisha

Seems incompetence gets you all the good jobs in Thailand.

How’s Hua Hin these days ? I can’t remember, but I think it was cooler than Pattaya, also , no pollution ? I know the traffic is horrendous. It was 10 yrs back. Looks like they’ve built a lot of condos. I don’t go to the beach,which is awful’there,, I swim in the pool.

Hi, I’ve found the weather here a bit exhausting this year, what with the heat and the pollution. I stayed through my winter months for 20yrs +  in Phuket , the rain and the heat drove me out ( and the prices) and I landed in Hua Hin for two years. The weather was cooler than Phuket but I wasn’t too keen on the place, maybe it’s better now? (2010).So im thinking about going elsewhere where the weather is milder and no smog/haze. Actually in Jomtien /Pattaya,, Im not fixed , but I don’t want to be out in the sticks, somewhere where there’s shopping, restaurants and nice condos with pools. Even other Asian countries. I’m single, 65 yr female.Ive been to almost everywhere, i stayed lately in Ngapali beach Myanmar, where the weather was a dream. Gorgeous dry sunny days, cool evenings  and  

mornings, bordering  on cold, a pleasure to sleep, eat and have a walk. Of course, there’s nothing there , except a beach and a few hotels, but it made me wish for a similar climate. Any ideas welcome, and no, I’m not living in cloud cuckoo land .

If you re in a hurry, just go to Siem Reap, cambodia, or Vietnam for a few months and see how it goes. Even Bali, a  cheap condo with   a nice pool ? Then you have time to check it out, and see if you like it. How can you tell before hand if you don’t try ? 

If our condo has reported you to immigration online they can print a copy for you, easy. But you still have to do it yourself, normally.

I don’t understand how any reasonable person can eat at these places. The lack of’ quality and hygiene is abominable ! 

Nothing to do with Thai, sorry, but a while back my suitcase arrived in Bangkok bound up in string and very worse for wear. I immediately put in a complaint at the desk,and contacted Lufthansa Bangkok . Apparently it had been forced open . Nothing was stolen as I never  put valuables in checked in cases. I spoke to someone very much in charge, and was reimbursed for a new Samsonite on my next stop at Bangkok airport. When i returned again a few months later to go home to France, I was called over the speaker to customer service desk, where they took my boarding card and gave me a new one , buisness class all the way.I was thrilled and thought that was a very kind gesture. 

Has the pollution made a definite slow down on tourism yet ? Or is that yet to come ? 

I go once a week into town for shopping and a Starbucks, Central beauty salons. The last few weeks my eyes are stinging and red and I sneeze a lot. IVe said before, the way its going,  I have to change location soon. 

Ok , thanks to all, it’s fixed, subject closed.

I love Bangkok too. I go there whenever I can, though I will avoid the pollution at the moment.

If you like the beach, there’s Koh Chang, an island off TRat. This is a lovely island, you can explore all over with a scooter, or even the cheap,island bus on the west side. Beautiful beaches and other islands to visit near by. Take a bus there. Then , for the historical,part, you,must visit Sukkhothai and Ayyuthaya, all easy from Bangkok with a bus. Unfortunately, Bangkok at the moment is in the midst of ampollution scare. It’s not always this bad.But for three months, why would you want to stay in Bangkok anyway ???

if you,want somewhere central, there’s Hua Hin and Cha Am. But the beaches are not great, but you could rent something there for three months, use it as a base and travel round. With prices for bus so cheap , there’s loads of places to see, and not polluted., Enjoy.

Thanks to the experts !!!

jacko45k, is that meant to be a joke ?

Hi, I am going to Myanmar on Sunday and to the Royal Thai Embassy on Monday morning. On their page, it says two recent photos 3.5 x4.5 cm. On other web sites it says 4x6 , and in the Big Camera shop where they do identity photos , it’s also written on a board Thai Visa 4x6 . Can anyone confirm the right size is 3.5 x4.5 please as I have to get it done Monday ?Thanks. Ps, I’m British. 

Topt , thanks. I didn’t mention that I’m on a long stay holiday here and have an iPad.At home it’s no problem. Otherwise I would buy a printer obviously. I once used the Kodak shop in Jomtien to print a ticket and boarding card , and had a max of problems after. Usually I get my partner at home to get my statement from the bank and he emails it to me. He’s on holidays. I’ll be checking in to a good hotel before my visa application so I’ll do it there. Or my condo office , I trust them. It wasn’t the printing part that worried me but the fact that your passwords etc can be stolen after. My bank has super security measures but as many say, that doesn’t stop hackers. Thanks all.

ps, I don’t appreciate being called stupid by some, computers are not my speciality, otherwise I wouldn’t be asking for help. 

Hi, I need the statement for a visa prouving funds. I’ve been told many times, and seen on the Internet, that after using a computer and printing out , for example, a bank statement,  someone could use that computer and hack your bank details and codes/passwords  ? 

Is that true, or not ? I don’t want my account emptied. 

Thanks.

Hi, can anyone tell me where I can print a bank statement in Pattaya/ Jomtien ? I know there are Internet cafes everywhere , and that they’re dangerous to use for things like banking. Any help,appreciated, it may be needed for my Thanks. Ps, I have an iPad. 

Elviajero, how much time is considered too long for a European retiree spending winter time in Thailand ? I am 66 and stay 3/4 months every year. Does immigration take into account that it is 3/4 months once a year only ? 

Prospective tourists from Europe and the Americas are already aware of the disasterous pollution in Thailand. Photographs and news in the newspapers and tv everywhere. Who will want to go on holidays to a country where you can’t breathe ? The Chinese and Indians maybe , who are used to this pollution ? I’m usually one of those people who take things like this with a pinch of salt, but now I’m beginning to think that I’d better find somewhere else to spend my time.

Anything special needed in Yangon ?

I’ve been doing 4/5 months thailand, ( or elsewhere) for 34 years. I work for the other 6/7 in the tourist trade in the south of France. Lots of my friends do the same. It’s a great option for people working a seasonal job., It was easier before with a double entry and no queuing for hours for notification of address and extensions.Small price to pay though for year long sunshine and a nice pool.

France has an awful reputation and the staff are very unfriendly and unwelcoming. Not only for METV s but for SETV s as well. I have a flight ticket valid 3 months and 19 days. They will not give me an SETV ! Even with flights out to Myanmar, hotels booked, flights paid for , documents and money all in hand.I come in visa exempt because of this and do a visa elsewhere. I never had problems before when Monaco or Marseille consul was open.Theyve closed both.