Soneva

4 hours ago, free123 said:

i always think atm need code..???? how he can get code...??? and if get the code from observe victim how he can get card details....

Probably the card details and PIN codes were obtained through “skimming” and thus he had the codes as well.

 

Not too smart, as the ATM cameras would see his face making all the fraudulent withdrawals himself...

Check in online is still useful, if you want to pre select/change seat.   Also, if you are running late, it is certainly advisable to check in online.  

 

You will still have to check bags at the counter, so no real time saving however.  

 

There are some pretty good food and beverage outlets inside of security.  Some will also sell take away that can be brought on board.  Drinks purchased within security at the airport are fine to bring onboard.

The crossing is quite straight forward , I didnt get asked to show any money or statements .
  Buy a bus ticket from Savanh and it takes you all the way to Mukdahan , three different shuttle buses though .
  At Mukdahan, they fill the arrivals card out for you, so that takes a while if theres numerous people ahead of you , you could just go to the front of the queue and ask for an arrival card and fill it out yourself

Thanks. Strange that they would fill out the arrival card. Is there typically any questioning involved?

I have been staying long term on SETVs. However, I’ll bet that very many people in a similar situation use this border crossing.


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I plan to obtain my SETV in Savannakhet again, and this time I will enter Thailand via the Mukdahan land boarder. Previously, I have only used the Nong Khai land boarder, which was very friendly and stress free.

 

Can I expect the same at Mukdahan? I.e. as long as I have my SETV, ฿20,000 cash, and bank statements, etc... should the experience be similarly stress free?

 

What is the procedure to cross the boarder? Is a bus ticket involved?

 

My final destination is Bangkok. I will be flying back from either Ubon Ratchathani or Nakon Phanom airport.

 

My preference is to fly Thai Smile, because they offer a premium economy cabin and a higher level of service and convenience. However, I see that Nakhon Phanom is closer to Mukdahan, so the Air Asia fly ride service to DMK makes a lot of sense too.

 

Is the trip to Ubon Ratchathani substantially longer? Apart from travel time, is the journey to one airport nicer or on smoother/safer roads than the other?

 

Is the bus or van used by Air Asia from Mukdahan reasonably comfortable if one has a moderate amount of baggage?

 

I would appreciate any advice on the Mukdahan crossing and for the flight back to BKK/DMK.

 

 

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Well, as my title says the IO was not very happy and scanned my passport twice, shaking his head and looking at me like but did not say a word. 

I get this EVERY freaking time I leave. The IO scans my passport, flicking through the pages and shakes his head. Don't worry too much. Maybe they don't like passports full of blue stickers?


I’ve never had a problem leaving. I hope I do not get any bad looks or head shaking in the future!

However, I suspect the reality is that it matters little. And IO shaking his or her head or not is “up to them” — they have no authority to really do anything upon departure anyway, especially if there has been no overstay.

It can’t be fun sitting in a booth at BKK all day, doing mind numbing, soul killing work of scanning and stamping passport after passport. So a certain amount of surly behavior can be expected.

I got unbelievably rude treatment once from the person checking tickets and passports at the entrance of the fast track queue. That’s undoubtedly a worse job. They aren’t officials and spend the day standing.

All across the world, low pay and dreadfully boring work makes for a lot of hostility among certain airport employees. I’ve found that to be true almost everywhere.


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I have actually found immigration to mostly be relatively nice, compared to what I have experienced even with my home country (the U.S.) upon returning. 

 

Even when I wad questioned and “warned” by an IO, she was actually quite pleasant under the circumstances, at least as much so as could be expected. 

 

Leaving from the airport is safe, because there is really nothing they can do to prevent you from leaving.  

 

I am not an expert, but with travel back to Europe and a METV issued in Europe, after a stay of a couple of months, I think you might be okay just enetering the country in BKK.  Just make sure to have bank statements and cash on you.  

 

You can then do subsequent boarder/visa runs by land as you have been. 

 

Otherwise, you can do as you say and enter by land.  That sounds like a pain with a lot of baggage, however.

 

One thing I always do at the airport is put my landing permission card, or whatever it’s called, in the passport on the same page as my entry/extension stamps.  It could be something as simple as having to search through the passport that could annoy an IO, so I try to make it easy for them to find the correct page.

 

 

I love to vacation on Koh Samet, in Rayong province.

It’s interesting how so many posts assume the foreigner to be an innocent victim in this situation.

Thank you BritTim,  I have money coming in from China to my Paypal account,  I am certianly not rich but I have enough to get by.  Would copies of this, along with 20,000b in cash and flight ticket out in 20 days be ok? Thanks again

Statements of your accounts showing how you fund your stays in Thailand are important. The purpose is to satisfy immigration that you are not working illegally.

Again, if you have many entries, I highly suggest getting a tourist visa in Ho Chi Minh. The reason: it’s more difficult for IOs to refuse entry if you have a visa. It is much easier for them to deny someone visa exempt entry.


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Thanks everyone,  so I am flying to Thailand from HCMC on the 19th April with AirAsia.  I will buy a cheap one way ticket to Vientiene Laos just incase they ask for it at check in or immigration want to see it. This along with 20,000b should be ok?  I will be staying with the girlfriend then travelling around different parts of Thailand.  I have a long history of visa exempts in my passport so a little worried something might happen. 
 
Thanks to all! 

I would not risk a visa exempt entry. You should get a tourist visa in Ho Chi Minh regardless of length of stay.

If possible, I would suggest flying into BKK instead of DMK. Vietnam Airlines has low fares if ticketing in advance.


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If departing from SGN, my experience is THAI never check for proof of onward/return ticket or visa/re-entry but Air Asia always do. I'm not sure about Vietnam Airlines or Vietjet.
 
It isn't a hard and fast rule but I find LCC's are much stricter on this point. A cynic might say that any reason to kick you off and resell the seat works for them.

The real problem could occur upon arrival if Immigration asked to see it.

If applying for a visa and asked at the consulate, that’s another problem one may encounter.


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One more thing — airline refunds are not instant. In the best cases, it may take a few days, while in some cases it takes weeks or over a month to get the refund.

I just wanted to mention this to warn anyone who may try this that while you will get the money back, you will temporarily be out of pocket the price of a full fare ticket. (Or, if you have sufficient available credit, the money may never leave your pocket at all).

Just a word of warning to anyone on a tight budget. Do not try this method if the purchase will cause cash flow problems.


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Really, dream on   Are you deluded or a dreamer. You may manage that if you fly business class, and I say MAY. But LCC carriers or cheap economy tickets on regular airlines, I challenge you to prove it ! Misinformation on such a site as this can be very very dangerous.

It isn’t misinformation. If you do your homework there are plenty of major airlines with fully refundable tickets. Of course you have to have sufficient money and/or available lines of credit to momentarily purchase an expensive ticket. But the actual cost is zero after subsequently refunding/cancelling.

I will not post any examples for the airlines’ sake, but they do exist. They ain’t low cost carriers though, for sure.


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No more posts from the OP !!
I guess his wife found out he was planning to do a runner, oooops.... :)
Should have just kept his mouth shut and legged it or maybe it was just a troll post ??

Or, we haven’t heard back because he took the advice and is now on the run...


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It’s definitely at the discretion of airline employees and immigration to even ask about it, so there is no clear cut answer. In the worst case scenario, just use your smartphone to purchase any onward ticket and show it to them. It can even be a cheap throw away ticket on a low cost carrier to a neighboring country.

I have flown on one way tickets to Thailand countless times and have never been asked. However, I always fly in premium cabins, usually on Thai Airways, so that could be why I haven’t been subject to that scrutiny.


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I don’t like throwing away money of any amount if I can avoid it. If you do your homework, there are ways to buy fully refundable tickets, reducing the cost to zero.

Also, if you have air miles at your disposal, check to see what kind of a cancellation policy the airline has. That can be a way of getting pro forma tickets easily.

If you do book through LCCs like Air Asia, the taxes and fee portion of the tickets can be refunded to you upon cancellation (either in the form of a credit toward future tickets, or back to the original form of payment).


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They gave the award so they have the right to rescind it.

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That’s their prerogative, take it back. I think it’s ridiculous that they presume to issue “awards” in the first place, and then make a big deal about rescinding them.

Anyway, I’ll leave it with this comment. It’s so absurd that it isn’t worth further discussion.


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2 hours ago, Pinot said:

You offered 2 million for a year and a half of marriage?

 

Leave. Step out the back, Jack. Make a new plan, Stan. Set yourself free. 

 

Offer 100k baht if she'll sign the divorce papers. She will eventually. Keep your 2 million. 

 

Enjoy the rest of your life, the Thai chapter is over. 

As far as I can see, returning to Thailand for a “next” chapter of life would be possible if ex-wife files for divorce on the grounds of abandonment, and enough time passes for this to blow over.

 

Of course, in that case the OP had better make sure he does not live anywhere near her again in the future!

 

Step out the back, Jack. Make a new plan, Stan.... is definitely the solution!

 

Based on what you say, I think you should just leave, quickly and without saying anything.  

 

Ordinarily, I would say go through the legal process to finalize the divorce.  However, in your case you have already paid out substantially, and she is getting a partially finished house out of this.  You are at a disadvantage as a farang, and there are many ways she could extort money from you and exact revenge if she so chose.

 

Of course if you intend to remain here and possibly remarry here, then you will need a good lawyer and good advice from someone with experience. Otherwise, just extricate yourself from the situation, fast!

You may not be asked for anything, but in the event that you are, it is much better to have an onward ticket.  In some cases, the airline will not let you on the flight to Thailand on a one way ticket unless you can show a ticketed onward or return itinerary. 

 

You mention you are going to do a “boarder run”. What I suggest is that you do a “visa run” and obtain a visa at a consulate.  The most logical place to do that in your situation is probably Vientiane, Laos.  So, I would suggest buying your airline ticket to VTE  now, scheduled for the last day of your visa exempt entry.  That will be your proof of onward travel, and it will not go to waste as you will actually use that ticket for your visa run.

Trust me know one unless you are a 50 kilo midget would like that sleeper! It's so bad and I am well travelled! I can handle any other journey.

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Hence my recommendation of the 45 minute domestic flight. It puts you into ZVK around 8:00 am, you go directly to the consulate, spend one night in Savannakhet, and then collect the visa the next day.


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No the there isn't make sure you get up early there is no bus in the afternoon. Only about 4 buses in the morning then the sleeper at 8pm.

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An earlier flight to VTE from BKK would arrive in time to catch the sleeper bus, and also therefore save one night’s hotel accommodation cost.


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I would fly one way to ZVK from VTE ($85~ USD) Lao Airlines, if your arrival lines up with the M,W,F flight schedules.

If you want to take a bus, you’ll just need to add a travel day for that, but it will save the cost of the domestic flight.

Again, if you are residing in Thailand long term, and your iPhone X is staying in Thailand, you have no business claiming a tax refund on it. That is not what a VAT refund is intended.

For those of us living in Thailand, it is our responsibility to pay the appropriate tax on what we consume. Thailand incurs costs directly or indirectly as a result of anyone living in this country, and paying sales tax is therefore part of the deal of being allowed to stay here long term.

And, if one can afford a ฿30,000~+ telephone, I think one can afford to pay the concomitant sales tax. It is dishonest and against the law to claim a refund on that sales tax, and then bring that telephone right back into Thailand after you get your visa.

Anyway, I have shared my advice and my opinion on this. So, good luck with whatever you decide to do. It is definitely a convoluted run around of a travel itinerary.


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