tweezer

Hi...

Can anyone recommend a good dry cleaner in BKK that will clean a suede overcoat? The coat has a particularly difficult stain... a spot of gooey oil or somthing. Several cleaners I have asked in my area don't do suede.

Any recommendations?

Thanks,

--M.

I carry a 'mini-wallet' in my front pocket. It is just big enough to carry 4 cards (credit and atm,) my driver's license and a folded up copy of my passport. It is thin and comfortable and you'd have to be a VERY good theif to get at it in my front pocket. You can buy these types of wallets at Robinson's or Central.

In 12 years of living in BKK with a vast many jaunts out and about the Nana-Asoke gauntlet, I've never been ripped off. There was only one attempt (that I know of.) In a popular, crowded bar on Sukhumvit known for its large clientele of 'eligible, self-employed' ladies, I once felt...very distinctly... two small hands slip into and out of each of my back pockets. I turned around and saw nothing but a thick crowd... no idea whose hands they were. Anyway, since my mini wallet is always in front, they came up empty handed!!!!

So...be smart and you'll be safe.

All,

Thanks for your replies.

I contacted http://autohirekhonkaen.cheapcharlies-kk.com/ and all their cars were booked. They suggested I call Narujee Cars Khon Kaen... 043224220. They said they could provide a car and driver for about 1000 baht plus gas (they weren't really clear ont he price up front.)

But in the end, my wife decided to drive in to KK to pick me up.

On they way back to BKK, interestingly, we drove right past the airport in Roi Et... seemed like it was only about an hour from Mukdahan. Next time I'll fly there (albeit out of Suvanaphum on PB Air.)

Anyway...thanks all.

--M.

Hello!

Does anyone know a good way to get from Khon Kaen airport to Mukdahan? Ideally, I'd like to take a car serive or taxi. I'll arrive in Khon Kaen at 8:15 PM. Will I be able to find a car and driver at the airpiort to get me to Mukdahan? What might it cost?

Any advice is appreciated... recomendations would be great. Any particluar service available where I can book in advance?

Many Thanks,

--M.

I had no problem at all getting my Thai fiance a 10 year multiple entry US tourist visa a few weeks ago. The key, I think, was my long term residence and employment status in Thailand. You can read about her 'qualifications' and how it went for us here.

Preparation is another key (although to my surprise they didn't even look at a single bit of documentation we brought along.)

Good luck...hope you can manage to be together eventually.

--t.

Hi Sig, not sure if you and your wife live here in Thailand or not, but that made a difference in my getting a tourist visa for my fiance. In my opinion, do it yourself and do plenty of due diligence and preparation. Have her take an English interview, if possible with an American, and go with her. It's basically a sales job; you need to give them and tell them what they need.

You can read the details of my story here

Good luck...hope to see you in the states for the holidays!

Cheers,

tweezer

All,

First, a great many thanks to George and all the thaivisa people and posters, as this forum was my main consultant while preparing to get a Tourist visa to the US for my Thai fiance. We succeeded on the first try and in less than a week of getting our online pin number. For those of you also looking to get a tourist visa for you significant other, I would like to offer my story in hopes it will be useful to you as other stories here were to me.

We want to go visit my family and friends in the US for the coming christmas and new years for two weeks so applied for simple tourist visa.

She:

• my fiance of 1 year. (We meet about 1 1/2 yrs ago; we plan to get married before 2010 -- not rushing into it -- in Thailand.)
  
• 30 yrs old
  
• had school only through junior high
  
• no 'real' work history except some undocumented jobs in mall shops and undocumented work helping her mother run her karaoke restaurant and a few other small jobs like that.
  
• no assets except about 67K baht in a savings acount, and another savings account with less than 2000 baht but a lot of cash in and cash out transactions over the past year (thanks to me.)
  
• speaks excellent english and presents herself quite well.
  
• has a couple kids from a previous relationship; they live with her mother and aunt.
  

Me:

• 36 yrs old
  
• have been living and working legally and gainfully in Thailand for 11 years.
  
• own a car here but no land or condos or anything
  
• Have a steady and good looking banking history here.
  

So I was feeling we had a 50-50 shot. We did all the due diligence (mostly at Thaivisa.com!) and prepared the following documents:

Her documents:

• A letter from my mom inviting her over for the holidays
  
• A letter from me explaining who I am and why we want the visa
  
• her proof of name change documents
  
• a letter from her mother stating that she works part time as the assistant manager of her restaurant and her approximate salary (4-6K / month)
  
• her bank book with a meager balance of 2K baht but a healthy and steady cash flow for the past year
  
• her other bank account book with 67K baht accumulated over the past 2 years and no withdrawls
  
• her family's Bangkok house registration (tha-bien bahn) which has her name on it
  
• birth certificates of her children
  
• photos of her and her kids
  
• photos of our engagement party
  
• her old school documents
  
• the registration document from a (now defunct) small liquor distribution business she started several years ago (we wanted to use this to show some employment history.)
  

My documents:

• My passport, expired passport, work permit, and Thai tax ID.
  
• An affidavit from a good friend and neighbor (also american) verifying that he knows us and we've been together for a year and a half
  
• My local bank book and a full statement (i printed out 1 year of history...that's a lot!)
  
• a stamped and signed letter from my company VP saying that I work there, how long i've worked there and how much I make
  
• my last five pay slips
  
• a letter from my previous employer stating my length of employment there
  
• my car lease agreement
  

So each of us had a pile of support documents demonstrating our histories, ties and livliehoods here. We copied both stacks (everything) so we each had a set of originals and a set of copies. We put simple coversheets on each pile listing all the documents therein. Once we got all this together, we went to the embassy website and bought our pin, went to the post office and paid the visa processing fee, then booked our interview appointment online (the appointment was only six days later!)

On the application forms, we filled out everything appropriatly and I listed myself as the preparer. We went to the embassy an hour before our appointed time and went through all the pre-interview steps and took a number.

4 hours later (yes, 4 hours) they called our number. I walked up to the window with her; the interviewer asked me to have seat and he'd call me if he wanted to talk to me. According to her, he asked her (she chose an English interview) about:

• how and when we met
  
• how long we've been engaged
  
• when we're getting married
  
• why we want to go to the states
  
• what she does (she said 'housewife and sometimes help mom in her restaurant.')
  
• what I do here in thailand and how long I've been here
  
• and some other questions...i'm not sure exactly what.
  

Then they asked me to come up. He was a very nice and very friendly, polite guy. She stayed there with us. He asked me:

• how and when we met
  
• how long we've been engaged
  
• when we're getting married
  
• about my job (he knew the company I work for as he had interviewed some of our Thai employees to go to the states on business before)
  
• about our plans to buy any property (she had told him we plan to buy a house before we get married.)
  
• whether we have any plans to move back and settle in the US any time soon (no.)
  

I offered up all the documents we had prepared; he looked at the cover sheets through the glass and said no, he didn't need to review any of the details. I said "We did our homework." He replied, "Usually, those who are most prepared are those who are most qualified." He didn't see any problem in granting the visa. He explained that most of the time they look very critically at 'newer' relationships and may grant only as limited-time visa (if any) but in our case, given my 'permanance' here in Thailand, he didn't see any issue. So he granted her a 10-year multiple entry tourist visa!!!! While signing the paper work, he did say that if at any time we decide to move to the US, would we please come back to the embassy in bangkok and get the proper visa for that. Fair enough!!

So that's our story. Overall, we did our homework, we demonstrated that we will be coming back to Thailand and have no need or desire to not come back. We followed the process and everything went smoothly! I am, however, really curious why we had to wait 4 hours from our appointed time until the actual interview...background checks? observation of us in the waiting room? they're just busy? It seems like the call the queue numbers in no particular order at all. Regardless, after all, we got the visa!

Again, I must say many, many thanks to thaivisa.com for the forums... without this forum, I'm not sure we would have been as prepared or successful.... so thanks again George et al!!!!

Good luck,

tweezer

Some Thai friends are intending to visit some family for a wedding in the USA, I recently got a new work visa for US so they asked me for advice.

Am I right in thinking that...

A They can make multiple attempts at filling in the online forms, i.e. no need to do it in one go.

--> Yes.

B Can older family members be interviewed in Thai?

--> Yes.

C Do they just need forms 156 and 157 plus all their personal documents photos etc.

--> Yes, and also the PIN number you have to buy and your appointment number.

D It says that immediate family members in the same household can apply on one pin, the friend and her Mum have different addresses on their ID card but do have a common family home, can they apply together?

--> Not sure. Probably.

Any advice gratefully received.

Thanks.

Per you request, here are some pics of my anti-pigeon rig. I'm tellin' ya...it works! I put this up a year ago and they havn't been back since! Try it...if you're pigeons don't leave for good, I'll eat my hat.

Let me know how it works for you!

--M.

I really love reading the knee-jerk posts from the TV users who fall for this every year...cracks me up! Thanks for an enjoyable Sunday AM!

I had the same problem on my balcony in BKK!! They were making a huge mess, coo-ing half the night, and even built a nest and laid some eggs!

What I did was this:

• Bought some fishing line (cheap!)
  
• Dug up a bunch of old CDs I would never use again
  
• Hung the CDs on the fishing line from the ceiling of the balcony, so that the CDs dangle 3-5 inches above the spots where they would perch and sit (on the aircon units, on the light fixture, on the floor in the corner, etc.)
  

It worked like a charm! They have not been back since! Apparently the shiny discs turning and and swaying in the light breeze really annoys them.

Of course, when people come over and step out on my balcony, they wonder the the fkcu is wrong with me.

Good luck!

I had the same problem on my balcony in BKK!! They were making a huge mess, coo-ing half the night, and even built a nest and laid some eggs!

What I did was this:

• Bought some fishing line (cheap!)
  
• Dug up a bunch of old CDs I would never use again
  
• Hung the CDs on the fishing line from the ceiling of the balcony, so that the CDs dangle 3-5 inches above the spots where they would perch and sit (on the aircon units, on the light fixture, on the floor in the corner, etc.)
  

It worked like a charm! They have not been back since! Apparently the shiny discs turning and and swaying in the light breeze really annoys them.

Of course, when people come over and step out on my balcony, they wonder the the fkcu is wrong with me.

Good luck!

All,

Please...take a minute or two go to http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en/ba...hp?page=comment and either file a complaint or report an illegal act about this person.

Thanks,

T.

You know, seeing this video really bothers me.

I have lived and worked in Thailand for 10+ years. Thanks to some pretty good luck, a A LOT of hard work and following the rules, I have managed to stay here legally and have had a great and prosperous life.

Tourists like this are just plain wrong. This guy (and others like him) needs to go home. He can get on the dol in his own country if he needs money so badly.

I have filed a complaint at http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en/ba...hp?page=comment about this, referencing this post.

I encourage all of you to also file a complaint; maybe the Immigration Bureau will take some action. People like this make all farangs in The Kingdom look bad.

PLEASE ACT.

Smog caused considerable difficulty Monday morning, with visibility on the Phahonyothin highway limited to 300 metres. The highway is Thailand's main route, and stretches from the northern border all the way to Bangkok.

That's interesting...I didn't know they called it 'Phahonyothin' all the way to Mae Sai, the same way they way they call it 'Sukhumvit' all the way to Trat. Another thing I love about Thailand: the roads are long!

So, which do you think is the worst part?

A. Being sent back to his home country to face murder charges, or

B. Having his residence permit canceled?

Obviously B.

Or C Selling that baking soda to the wrong person ?

Or D: Buying an 8 ball of baking soda?

They do it with ciggies - Try and find a 7/11 with ciggies on display. All they have is a sign saying "we sell ciggarettes" which to me is pointless. Seems to me, all they are doing is hiding the brands on sale rather than the fact that they sell ciggarettes.

About one week after the implementation of the cigarette display ban, I read a quote from some director at the Public Health Ministry saying, "We were so successful with the banning of cigarette displays that we are now going to implement the same measures with alchohol."

If their objective is to force businesses to comply with their pointless schemes, then yes, they are very successful. If their objective is to improve public health and safety, then how the H_E_LL would they be able to deomstrate success after one week of hiding cigarettes? I'd love to see that data.

This alchohol marketing ban is the same thing; another silly scheme that does little or nothing to address the root causes of the problem it is supposed solve. And statements like that coming from from officials lead me to beleive that they either don't know what they're doing or they have objectives other than what they lead us to beleive.