ThaiRebound

4 hours ago, TG911 said:

I'm pretty sure the Thais from my local mom & pop shop and restaurants are more happy to see me than yet another Chinese tour bus passing by. There is a Hotel in this town where I live which exclusively accommodates chinese ppl and it has 10+ tour busses every night parking outside. 

 

They come at 8-9pm ... and leave at 7-8am in the morning. You never see them walking anywhere or buying anything from any local shop. They never even see the beach. Sad kind of touring really, I could never imagine doing something like this.

 

Also pretty strange, the beach is only a short 10min walk from that Hotel. 

 

I would go an explore the area by myself a little, but they don't do that. Complete herd mentality.

 

 

And the the surname of the owner of the hotel with the tour busses that line up is Chen or Wang? Party Membership, implicitly. And why not? I respect the Chinese. Survival of fittest. SE Asia is theirs.  

On 8/9/2019 at 10:23 AM, BritTim said:

Getting tourist visas in countries that do not border Thailand, especially from your home country, probably helps in some cases. I doubt if switching between Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar helps much. Anyway, whatever you do, the rules applied by some immigration officials are liable only to look at "how many for how long", not "where from".

 

At the current time, enter at most land borders (exceptions Poipet and Padang Besar). Be prepared for land borders, even with visas, possibly becoming more strict in the future. If you really must stay in Thailand for an extended period, look for an alternative to tourist visas.

Thanks, BritTim, as always. I am mid-40's and don't know of a good option for staying which doesn't involve joining a martial arts school in Chiang Mai (I don't wan't to stay in Chiang Mai; I am settled in Udon), getting married, or getting double-taxed by both Thailand and the US if I do the gov't business scheme. If you -- or anyone else -- has reasonable suggestions, I'm all ears!

I have to return to my home country (US), anyway, so I am thinking the best option might be to get the METV, fly into Laos, and cross by land. How does that sound as options go?

Are there any new rules limiting the number of tourist visas a person can enter with in either a calendar year or within a year of receiving one?

Is it advisable to rotate among the different Thai Consulates when obtaining new tourist visas to increase the likelihood of approval? of pass at the border?

If one were denied entry with an METV or SETV visa, what would be the best course of action to increase the chance of entry, in your estimation?

6 hours ago, Just Weird said:

Could you post in smaller font, please, I'm having difficulty fitting your comment on my giant screen!

Then why did you respond?

^{She died following the miscarriage. Doesn't that presume she died of the miscarriage, especially considering that it was the reason she was in hospital? How does one naturally go to the assumption that the foot massage killed her? A 2 second google search revealed that miscarriage can lead to septic shock which can lead to a coma and brain death. Is it possible that the author decided to report the story in a way that would make it more eye-catching. Could that kind of lack of journalistic integrity exist here? Umm}

4 hours ago, jackdd said:

They don't even void a tourist visa, so if somebody is denied at an airport he can use the same visa to enter at a land border crossing.

That is very helpful, thanks. Comforting, too

Hi BritTim, thank you!

Getting blacklisted would suggest you have done something wrong/illegal in the country (which I haven't), but does it happen for reasons that border patrol "feels" the person has entered too many times on a tourist visa or some arbitrary reason like that? Also, is there any distinction of riskiness with the Nakhon Phanom border crossing? If one were denied entry with an SETV, say, at that border, and assuming they weren't blacklisted, would they be ok trying the next day at that border, better off trying at another border -- basically, could they get back in eventually somehow?

5 hours ago, sanemax said:

Dont think so, the CM school is the only one Ive heard about , although there may be other courses else where that offer the ed V

Not in Udon Thani, at least not ones needing a commitment of only 4 hours per week. Anyone know of minimal-commitment courses in Issan? 

Are these visa-sponsoring combat schools spread around Thailand? Is there a list of them anywhere? 

Some additional questions are:

1. If you are denied entry with your SETV or METV, would you still be able to enter with a visa-exempt 30 days?

2. If I had used my 2 visa-exempt entries already, would I have another option, such as to try from a different border?

3. Is it ever or even typically the case to receive a passport-stamped ban of some amount of time?

Thank you

Thank you, BritTim. Which are country friendly SE countries for SETV after an METV? Sorry, I'm sure this listed ad infinitum somewhere on the thread. 

When someone has had 2 SETV's, 1 METV, then will use there 2 yearly visa-exempt 30 day's -- and all consecutively -- how likely is it they can get another METV or SETV again and be allowed in? Is this ridiculously risky? Thanks!

1 hour ago, BritTim said:

Land borders (avoiding Poipet and Padang Besar) are a safer option than most airports (including Suvarnabhumi). At friendly land crossings, there appears no difference between an SETV and an METV. If you decide to risk flying in, the METV probably gives you a better chance, but some have still been denied entry with an METV.

Got it. I have always made it through, but this time was different. I think it might have to do with an error the immigration office in Udon Thani had made with a stamp, which they had to amend by stamping the word "CANCEL" on it. The officer was stamping it to allow another 30 days as extension (on the 24th, yet to apply from the 30th) of the first 60 days of the METV. I cannot decipher why this was a mistake. I will include an attachment. I think the CANCEL or the error itself may have raised eyebrows.

Given my length of stay stats and what you have observed, how high-risk am I for land crossing at a favorable border with a SETV and new passport?

7 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

The only advantage would be that the officer did not see pages of visas and entry stamps. Your record of entries would still be in their database due to your passports being linked.

It does make a big difference when applying for visas at embassies and consulates since they only look at your passport for previous visas.

Thank you. Would back to back visas for that amount )between 16-18 months) typically cause problems at border? How often does it happen? Would this be as or less risky with an METV? Would Suvarnabhumi be a better shot?

Ubon, could you comment on whether you think replacing passport makes a difference in your estimation with border officers?

He looks very distinguished for 33

1 hour ago, BritTim said:

It is still an effective reset when dealing with consulates and applying for a visa. When dealing with immigration, it is less effective as your old and new passports should be linked in their system. Some still believe (sometimes correctly most likely) that the nearly empty passport is helpful psychologically, as the official is not looking at a blizzard of Thai stamps. He can only see your history of entries via his computer screen.

Is it better to replace AND to go to a place other than Vientiane? Which (hopefully near) border would be better? Would odds of getting it increase if airborne exit-and-re-enter? Could I get an METV more easily on this, or better yet, replacement passport? 

Perhaps relevant: I have always gone to Vientiane and probably pushed it too far, as they stamped me with a dreaded-stamp (alien stays too long smthg), and that prompted me to get the METV in start of year. Now, I don't know what best course of action is for staying here. Any kindly suggestions welcomed.

4 hours ago, BritTim said:

Since the two visa exempt by land rule was introduced, there have been zero reports that I can remember of a denied visa exempt entry without valid reason.

 

I am very interested in hearing about your experience trying to enter at Nong Khai with a valid METV. It is extremely unusual to have a problem. If a very recent incident, it could possibly suggest a change of policy. When was this? What is your nationality? What exactly happened?

Honestly, I do not think this has to do with a change of policy. This was a month ago, I am a US citizen, and the border officer held me up for no less than 6 minutes flipping through my passport. I believe it might be because I have stayed pretty much continuously since April '18 on SETV's and 1 METV. Also, have passport with several other countries stamped. As an aside, can I ask if it would work for me if I replaced my passport at this time? Is that still an effective "reset"?

22 hours ago, BritTim said:

As long as you have your passport, and do not already have two visa exempt entries by land in 2019, you can get a 30-day visa exempt entry easily entering via the Friendship Bridge to Nong Khai. If denied entry into Thailand at Nong Khai, you would be sent bang to Laos. If you try to fly from Vientiane to Bangkok, requesting a visa exempt entry while entering by air, bad things might happen.

Does anyone get denied a visa-exempt entry at Vientiane-Nong Khai -- even if they don't have one yet by land for 2019? I nearly wasn't allowed back in at Vientiane with my METV after 60 days plus 30-day extension.

Betterhelp.com

These are licensed counselors who are trained and regulated in the US. Ethical and legal standards in Thailand? I'll just say that they are "different." Standards of practice in Thailand? Judging by their standards of practice in other domains, I am guessing their therapy approaches and interventions are more miss than hit. 

4 hours ago, jackdd said:

Network strength is usually good in Thailand, unless you go to remote places, that's not the problem.

 

The problem is that you share the capacity of your cell with all other users in your cell. So if you happen to be in a cell which can for example provide a maximum of 500mbps and 500 people use this simultaniously, this leaves every user with a maximum speed of 1mbps, even if you pay for 300mbps.

In the past i had an AIS 6mbps unlimited package. Then i moved to a new condo, and had the problem that in the evening i would maybe get 2mbps. But then i figured out that only the 4G network has too many people, because that's what every new phone uses by default. By setting my phone to use 3G instead of 4G i was able to get my 6mbps 24 hours a day. Later i switched to a True 4mbps plan, with them i got my 4mbps in 4G as well as 3G.

So at this location there were simply too many people using the AIS 4G network. Always test the available speed with a short term package at your desired location at different times of the day before committing to a long term package.

 

So, the fact that AIS is the most popular service is not a good thing. In any case, it's pretty population dense here, all with same proxim to the cell tower. I wonder if I should try 3G. It's just that this issues pales in comparison to the more existential one of how to stay in Thailand. 

judging by the prevalence of skin-whitening products in China, this will get a lot of public support

On 7/19/2019 at 11:24 AM, JamJar said:

 

Do you mean the Postpaid plan for 1099 baht?

 

The form is always to test what the network can offer in your particular location before committing to a contract or long term package. Usually by purchasing a prepaid SIM and buying a full speed day pack.

If I can only attain 4 Mbps on a full speed day pack, I am not going to assume that I will get 100 Mbps if I subscribe to a long term package or contract.

Not really smoke and mirrors at all. You just assumed that is the speed that you would get, without doing your due diligence.

Speeds vary according to your location.

 

 

That one, 1099 postpaid. Fair point. I relied on the fact that another person in the building had 4 bars on his phone with AIS and had pointed to the tower nearby as visual proof of the network strength. Then I read that the way phones determine the bars-number isn't standardized among phone-makers