Kruang

The last time I did it (about a month ago), I just went outside the terminal at the arrivals level and talked to a few of the many drivers looking for business. They'll find you if you're not sure who to approach. I found a taxi to Chanthaburi for 2,000 baht. I think it's hard to find a cheaper price than that with current fuel prices. This was about 11 in the morning. If you arrive late in the day or in the evening it may be more difficult since the driver will want to get back to Bangkok at a reasonable hour. Enjoy your trip.

A Burmese friend of mine, a well-established businessman living in Rangoon, bought some beachfront property in Ngapali Beach some years ago with the idea of building a hotel there. The land was subsequently confiscated ("appropriated") by the junta. So I wouldn't say it's safe for Burmese to buy property there. There's no protection under the law at all.

I had been wanting to set up a home gym for many months, but had trouble finding a source for the equipment I needed at a reasonable cost. It's not hard to find decent treadmills here, but finding weight equipment was more difficult. I just wanted a basic bodybuilding setup -- power rack, adjustable bench, olympic bar, some weight plates and a set of good quality dumbbells.

I found some advice on TV and looked at Seara Sports and FBT. But equipment which is reasonably priced in the USA is really quite expensive once imported to Thailand. The cheaper equipment in the stores here is no alternative; those shoddy benches will break in a few months.

After a long search I finally found a good solution. There's a German bodybuilder named Christoph Klueppel who has a gym in Ramkhamhaeng (Ultimate Fitness) and he manufactures high quality equipment in Thailand at about half the cost of equvalent imported gear. He was able to put together exactly what I wanted and he delivered everything to my home (250 km from Bangkok) and installed it at a very reasonable cost. He has set up quite a few large gyms at hotels and schools, but he's willing to do home gyms. He's an honest and reliable guy as well. He has an online catalog on his website (http://www.ultimatefitnessthailand.com/).

I have no connection with Chris's business ... just a satisfied customer.

The mighty Mekong is some,many Kilometers downriver!

Quite right. It's the Nam Xong river. Thanks for the correction.

I have a suspicion that someone I need to speak to has been granted a visa for the UK. I need to contact them and if they manage to leave Thailand before I can do so, is there a straightforward way of finding out where they have gone and who their sponsor is ?

There's telephone and email. Then there's stalking.

We don't have weather here in Thailand. We have climate. It's hot, that's all you need to know.

A Thai drivers license can be problematic when it comes time to rent a vehicle in the US or Canada. Get a Canadian or American drivers license and save yourself some trouble. I've been stateless for many years myself, and keep an American drivers license current, though I don't hold an American passport. It was probably a mistake to let your US drivers license expire (you don't need a green card to renew it).

It's a fairly long trip from Luang Prabang down to Vientiane, nearly 400 km. But Vang Vieng is a nice stopping point, a little more than half way to Vientiane. It's a popular backpacker destination, but despite that it's a great place to go kayaking on the Mekong, particularly during the rainy season when the river is high and the current is strong. You can rent a kayak and get trucked about 15 km up the river and then have a leisurely paddle back to Vang Vieng with the good downstream current. The scenery is nice and there are a few riverside restaurants along the way. There are interesting river trips out of Luang Prabang as well.

It really is a delightful trip, one of my favorite in SE Asia. Enjoy.

Thanks for your posts friends! I was just windering do they issue multiple TRV for one yeae or more? becasue I have multiple usa visa for longer period, if I receive so for canada, it will give me good flexibility in my travel plan.

45 minutes interview! owww thats quite long!

Any folk has any other suggestion for me?

Yes, I have a suggestion for you -- read the information on the Canadian Embassy and Immigration Canada websites. You'll see that they do offer multiple entry visitor visas. But if you are planning to stay for a year or more, expect some hard questions at your interview. But since you say that you've already obtained a longer term visa for the USA you shouldn't have any problem. If you could convince the Americans to let you in, you'll find the Canadians to be nicer and easier to deal with.

I obtained a tourist visa for my (Thai) wife from the Canadian embassy in Bangkok and they were efficient and helpful. Just give them all the documentation they request. They want to see that you have enough money to support yourself while in Canada, and that you have sufficient ties to Thailand to convince them that you'll return to your country. Having a good job is definitely helpful. Owning property in Thailand is even better. Usually they require a personal interview, but they make decisions on visas fairly quickly (compared to the USA for example). Good luck.

Traffic congestion in Vientiane? Vientiane a "bustling city"? It must be the sleepiest capital city in the world ....

It's possible there are 3,800 tuk-tuks in Vientiane, but at any given time 3,000 of them have a driver fast asleep in the back seat.

If a borrower defaults, how much of the principal do you get back? If the loan site sells the bad loan to a debt buyer, how many cents on the dollar does the debt buyer pay you? Even if your loans are diversified, it looks like one bad loan could eat up all your profits.

It's fair to assume that the rates of interest people are willing to pay on these sites is an indication of their creditworthiness. If a bank doesn't want to lend to these these borrowers, do you? Presumably the bank's lending is many times more diversified than yours could possibly be, so if they don't want the risk, why do you?

Still it's an interesting idea, and would be good to hear how lenders have done over an extended period.

In the west, among educated people, it is considered poor taste to flaunt your wealth, and morally repugnant to try to flaunt wealth you don't have.

But the Thai desire to appear "hi-so" is not devoid of a moral aspect, as some posters have suggested. Rather a person who is financially successful is thought to have achieved a deserved success as a result of being a good person, perhaps in his or her previous life. Luck is thought not to be accidental. Hence the furious merit-making activities.

Of course there are those who admire the rich simply because of the power associated with wealth in a developing country. Obviously you can buy a lot of happiness and solve many sticky problems here if you have enough money.

The Thai obsession with looking good is one of their most endearing yet annoying traits. My wife can't leave the house, even to pick up a few things at Lotus, without an hour in front of the mirror.

But the requirment for 40k family income is to obtain one year extensions of stay from Immigration - it is not a marriage requirement.

That's correct. The marriage requirement is actually much higher

I've always wondered why the retirement number is 800k, but the marriage number is only 480k. Shouldn't it be the other way round?

The same day service is 3000 baht if you're in a hurry. The embassy is very efficient. They open promptly at 8:30 am as advertised, and you can pick up your visa at 4 pm. When I was there last month there were very few customers and no waiting. Compared to other visas I've obtained in Bangkok (such as Myanmar) it was incredibly easy. You can download the application form from the embassy website. You only need 1 photo and 1 copy of the form.

There is an ambiguity in the law that has resulted in the labor department sometimes granting work permits to people with Non-Imm visas extended on the basis of retirement.

Some people hold Non-Imm O-A visas granted abroad. Those visas are usually marked "employment prohibited" and the immigration law states very clearly that you can't work on such a visa. No ambiguity there.

Some people hold Non-Imm O visas extended on the basis of retirement. The extension stamps do not appear to be marked "employment prohibited" (at least mine was not). The labor law says that holders of Non-Imm O visas are eligible for work permits, so the labor department doesn't violate the letter of the law if they grant a work permit to someone who holds a Non-Imm O visa extended on the basis of retirement. In my case they just checked to see that I had a valid Non-Imm O visa.

It could fairly be argued that the labor department violates the spirit of the law when they do that, since the language of the law for the O-A visa indicates that the Thai government doesn't want retired foreigners working. They want them spending money brought from abroad.

Reports are that the labor department has tightened up on the ambiguous case, but it would be good to hear reports from people who inquired about this at the labor department in their province.

I can't believe there is a discussion taking palce about light bulbs!!

In a forum devoted to the arcana of a country's temporary visa laws, it is fair to say that there is no topic, however trivial, that cannot be grist for the aging expat's mill. But to single out the noble light bulb, that timeless symbol of illumination and inspiration, seems patently unfair.

scotsman: You are confusing us. A retirement extension with a pension + bank account is one method of long stay and another is marriage to a Thai lady. I don't know the rules for second method of long stay but the rules are definitely different and you speak of both methods in the same sentence.

There was a rumor about a MFA stamp for retirement extensions involving a pension letter that was completely debunked.

Perhaps lopburi3 can sort out the confusion in your posts, I cannot and perhaps Immigration in Pattaya is having difficulty understanding what you are trying to do as well.

Surely, any letter required for marriage to a Thai lady is not referred to as a pension letter from an Embassy as you have done????

He's not confusing everyone. An extension of stay based on marriage to a Thai national has to be supported either by documenting 400k baht in a Thai bank (if you qualify to use that method based on using it in prior years), or by documenting 40k baht monthly income. The 40k/month income might come from employment in Thailand or from income from abroad. A foreign pension would be one form of income from abroad. If that's what scotsman is using, he needs a letter from his embassy certifying the income. Don't confuse retirement vs. marriage based extensions with the documentation used to support them. A pension might be used to support either a retirement-based extension or a marriage-based extension (though the required amounts will be different).

Can't understand why anyone grandfathered in on the 400k would give that up for the 40k per month. That is just stupid in my book.

It appears that it is the tax due on 480k rather than the 40k income which seems to be the sticking point in the latest discussions. On this point I have a problem.

Surely nearly everyone's tax position will be slightly different ? Allowances, actual income, allowable expenses etc.

Very roughly and without more than standard allowances (no investment or insurance etc.) the tax on 40k would be about Bt2750 per month so with allowances and expenses, it would be be less. Are we saying that for example, people who cannot prove the whole of the previous 12 months at 40k per month can just go down and say they earned 480k yesterday and after allowances, here is the tax of 24k (12*2000) ? Now where do I get my visa stamped ?

Surely even this lot are not that barmy ?

I chose to keep my funds invested abroad rather than park 400k in a Thai bank at the current exchange rates, since I had a job here that qualified me for the 40k per month (or so I thought). I would call that a personal preference, but I'll concede stupidity if you insist.

I'm not sure that immigration would allow only evidence of a tax payment for the previous tax year (they want to see evidence of employment income as well), but it does seem that the tax payment is the sine qua non. Immigration allowed me to go to the revenue department and top up my tax payment for the previous year (on very dubious grounds), since I had only 6 months employment income for that year. This was not my idea actually -- it was a suggestion from an immigration officer in Bangkok! The extension of stay was then granted.

This thead is on the way to be long and very confusing.

It has long been established that non-imm-O visa holders that extend that visa based on retirement are not permitted to work.

Lopburi3 please confirm!

When posters speak of extensions as being visas, it just creates confusion.

I apologize for creating confusion. Lopburi3 is correct -- I had a non-imm-O visa, then extended it on the basis of retirement. Then I was granted a work permit (in July 2006) on the basis of that non-imm-O visa extended on the basis of retirement. At the time, the labor dept said they only cared about the fact that I had a non-imm-O visa (and met the other requirements for a work permit). I don't know if it is still possible to do this, but an immigration officer recommended the option to me again last month. So with all due respect, not everyone would agree that it has long been established that this is impossible.

The retirement visa I received at the Suan Phlu office in November 2005 was marked "Non O" above the visa stamp and stamped "Retirement" below the officer's signature. On the basis of that visa I was able to obtain a work permit. Perhaps the situation has changed. But an immigration officer tried to encourage me to apply for a retirement visa at my last extension, instead of using the 40k per month employment income for the so-called marriage visa. When I told him I thought I couldn't work if I held a retirement visa, he said it was no problem. But I didn't take his advice and try it.

At last report a work permit will not be issued for a retirement extension of stay - it can be issued on a non immigrant O visa or extension of stay for family.

Lopburi3's sage advice is always dependable, but in this case I think a quibble is in order. The labor department will grant work permits to holders of non immigrant O visas, true. But a so-called retirement visa is just another kind of non immigrant O visa. Whether you'll get a work permit on a non-O based on retirment is up to your local labor department. I obtained a work permit on such a visa about 18 months ago, and then switched to the so-called marriage visa on my next extension. My local immigration office assured me that I could get another work permit if I chose a retirement visa again, since the government really likes foreigners to put 800,000 baht in a Thai bank. But you'll need to check with the labor department where you live to find out how they handle these cases. From my understanding there is nothing in the law that says that holders of non-imm O visas based on retirement are ineligible for work permits.

The rabbit in the moon has a long tradition in Thailand. The provincial emblem of Chanthaburi ("city of the moon") is a white rabbit on a yellow moon. Apparently the idea derives from the Jakata tales from India. In Japan they see a rabbit in the moon as well.

My understanding is that you need to visit a Thai consulate outside the country to apply for a tourist visa. When you enter for 30 days under the visa waiver, you don't have a visa, ergo you don't have a visa to extend.

However, if you enter Thailand on a 60 day tourist visa, you can apply within Thailand to change the visa to a Non immigrant O. I did that in my early days here on the advice of some TV members.

You'll find plenty of advice here from those who've gone before. Experience is the thing you get right after you needed it ...

Ok, so you spent a week in Bangkok and now you want to relocate here. Sounds like a plan.

A few things to think about:

* Be honest about what you're running away from. You might bring it with you.

* You've got lots of cash from that high tech job. But how long will it last? Looked into Thai salaries at all?

* Have an idea of what sort of visa you'll need to stay here? Read about how the long term tourists are doing it (or rather not doing it).

* A change is as good as a holiday. Maybe you just need a holiday.

* Don't burn all your bridges. You might need to go back.

* Be careful what you wish for. You might get it.