SammyT

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

So much for all the people who say a snake will never attack if you aren't disturbing it.

There was something I read on some snake aficionado's page who said that basically the snake attacked because it got startled. Was rolling over towards the safety and cover of the chair but didn't detect the guy because he wasn't initially moving. When the guy made a sudden movement, the snake got a fright and acted aggressively as a form of defending itself. 

I dunno if that's true or not, but came from a relatively reputable source

28 minutes ago, Goethe said:

"Working days"? Tourists are not supposed to be working! There is nothing wrong with the Thai policy that jobs are for Thai people, not foreigners. This is the policy in many, many other countries.

Agreed. I think the issue is that people on "tourist" visas want to turn around and come back in less than 24 hours after leaving. I'm sure you could get unlimited tourist visas as an actual tourist if you were doing a 2 week holiday 4 times a year and flying back to your regular home country in the time in between. The issue is the people who want to come here, live as cheaply as possible, work from home and then whinge when they get declined a tourist visa, despite the fact they're not actually a tourist, all while bragging about how much money they put into the economy. 

This rule will not affect genuine tourists in the slightest. Digital nomads and other workers looking to not pay tax here, on the other hand, may well be affected

4 hours ago, sanemax said:

I do think that some Schools will suffer when they have to hire non English speaking Thais to teach kids English 

If that's the case then they should do it legally through the work permit scheme like all the reputable schools do around the place? Then it won't be an issue?

Easily the most frustrating thing about this site is how links like this which haven't been commented on in 11 years pop up down the side bar like it is a new story, with no way of telling a date on it until clicking on it

4 hours ago, om3n1rpak said:

Going to get moto license soon. Do I need to bring a bike for the driving portion of the test?

If you don't have one, it's probably worth hiring one from somewhere local for the day. You only need a scooter to pass the test, and the practical is literally about 60 seconds long

7 hours ago, The traveler said:

If Thailand could introduce a new visa for those under 50years that let you stay a full year without having to do anybody border crossing or go to the immigration to frequently I will be happy to pay up to 50,000 Baht a year for that.

 

 

it’s time to introduce new visas Thailand!

I'm pretty sure the whole point behind visa and immigration systems is to attract the types of people that a country wants, to benefit the country as a whole. Introducing a "long stay under 50's" visa will basically just attract people who want to come and live cheaply in Thailand because the cost of living in cheaper than the rest of the world. Please tell me what your proposed visa would contribute to the country? 

11 hours ago, balo said:

Digital nomads are allowed to work from their laptops as long as the income is outside of Thailand. Even immigration officers in Chiang Mai have confirmed that . 

 

They just need a valid visa . And of course need to show they can afford to live here,  I would think at least 20 000 are digital nomads in Thailand.  I am one of them

That's great, but this guy was using a tourist visa, therefore he's invalid. I've nothing against DN's, in fact I'm slightly envious of being able to make money online from anywhere in the world, however if a DN decides to play the tourist visa lotto and loses, they can't very well complain they've been hard done by. Sounds like you've got all your ducks in a row for it. 

1 hour ago, cat handler said:

Doing your own thing online, you mean you were working while living in Thailand on tourist visas? Seems they had a ligitimate reason to deny entry, next time just take the 20,000 cash

I'm surprised by the number of posters on here who either missed this point or who don't seem to think the government should be able to bounce people clearly living and working here on tourist visas. I wonder how they'd feel about other people doing it in their country? I know in NZ the work permit rules are very strict, and rightly so. 

1 hour ago, om3n1rpak said:

Hello. I just arrived in CM, after a long stay in my home country. Previous to that lived BKK for 9 years.

 

I have applied for a non imm ED, which I'm awaiting the paperwork from MOE for. 

 

I need to get legal on the road asap (scooter), but to my understanding, it's not possible to get a license without TM30, and it is not possible to get TM30 without a proper visa?

 

So basically I have to wait for my MOE paperwork, leave the country to get ED visa at outside consulate, get TM30, and only then can I apply for a motorbike license?

 

Do I have these steps in order? Thanks

Yup, I'd say that's correct. Whatever sort of health insurance you have here, it's also probably worth checking that they cover scooter accidents, because some on't and people get caught out with sizeable medical bills in the event of an accident. 

26 minutes ago, MrKFC said:

I have valid auto and motorcycle licenses, both of which we're issued in Chiang Mai and will expire in February 2019.

 

A friend (who I suspect maybe really doesn't know what he's talking about) said I have to renew in Chiang Mai. I'll still be in Thailand, but nowhere near CM at that time. 

  

And I'm not a full time resident, have been doing 6 months in the US, 6 months here for the last few years.

 

Will a receipt from the hotel I stay at in Chiang Mai work for proof of residence? Does it need to be dated Feb 2019?

 

Thanks,

 

DS

You either need a certificate of residence or your work permit with your address in there. I doubt a receipt from a hotel would be sufficient. I reckon you could probably still renew it outside of Chiang Mai though using that residency cert.

7 minutes ago, blackhorse said:

I asked before but never got an answer. How come no happy hours in CM?

Only one I found was the Irish Pub in the main st

I's actually never thought of it, and don't know for certain but I suspect it could be for a number of reasons:

1) Slightly different type of tourist - it's unusual to see hammered tourists round the old city as you might in Bangkok and some of the islands. Lots of yoga tourists, vegans, vegetarians and stuff who don't seem to get written off like tourists elsewhere.

2) Probably one of those weird market quirks where no one else is doing it, so no one does it. If a few bars were to bring it in, perhaps it would spread. 

3) I've found beers (and food) here already seem comparatively cheaper to other major tourist areas in Thailand. Putting aside the OP's experience of course. 

I'm more concerned that of all the beers you could drink that you chose Chang. I thought it was the domain of elephant pants wearing tourists and Burmese labourers. 

Seriously though, there are a ton of bars in the area that don't charge those prices for Chang (80 - 90 per big bottle), vote with your feet. Drinking in "red light" bars is always going to be more expensive. Plenty of other bars playing sport around Chiang Mai. 

Did we ever get to the bottom of where the falafel place was? Wonder if it's still open

23 minutes ago, danielcondo said:

 

In case you haven't been following the forum, there's literally Thousands of people who have dual nationality in Thailand, apart from almost a few hundred thousand or more Thai's ( Lukruengs and Thai who are settled abroad ) who have dual Nationality as well, The law doesn't state that you can not have both, it says you should not have both, there's a difference, the day they start implementing this so called law will be a day they probably will regret considering alot of Thai's from well known and influential families have dual nationality as well. 

 

No need to worry about my shoes lol  

Fair enough. I made that comment before I read the rest of the thread. Good luck to you

On 9/27/2018 at 8:39 PM, danielcondo said:

could one of you kindly let me know how you dealt with the Renunciation part , also in case I haven’t made myself clear I plan on keeping both my canadian and Thai citizenship’s

Thailand says you shouldn't have dual citizenship, the Government  want a clearer letter stating explicitly that you will renounce your Canadian citizenship, and yet you're still wanting to get Thai citizenship and keep your Canadian as well? So what you're saying is you want to have your cake and eat it to? 

Good luck to you, but I wouldn't wanna be in your shoes if the government found out and decided to make an example...

7 hours ago, EricTh said:

It was quite painless when I extended my driving license for 5 years.

I didn't need to go early before 9 am, everything was quite systematic except we have to go to many different counters.

 

If you have both motorcycle and car, just photocopy medical cert and residence cert, there's no need to get two original copies from doctor.

Yeah I was the same. Arrived at 9am, was gone by 9.50am. Way more efficient than last time, and the staff were really friendly. 

Apologies if it's been covered before - but couldn't find it. My 2 year Thai drivers licence expired in May while I was out of the country for a chunk of time. Does anyone know if this affects me getting an extension - i.e. will I have to sit the testing all over again? Or would it just be a normal extension process? Just wondering how much time to set aside for doing it. Currently banking on wasting the whole day up there...

1 hour ago, mogandave said:

 

I don’t believe the story either.

It has been my experience that in the nicer hotels the reception staff shows you to your room, and the bell staff brings the luggage later.

I never even had bell staff hold their hand out in the US. Stand and wait, yes. Hand out? No.

 

Agreed. I stay at hotels on a weekly basis and I've never had someone stick out their hand. Yes, linger and be overly helpful in anticipation that you'll give a tip, but stick out their hand? Never. 

31 minutes ago, sawadeeken said:

Another Thing I find is that a VERY large percent of Proprietors KEEP the tips for the establishment or only give the poor worker a portion of the tip..... I usually leave only the small change in the folders (especially when the 'boss' brings the bill) and find the waiter/waitress and hand 'paper-money to them as tip...... In places (not Hi Class) that I 'frequent' often I often send a 20B or more to the COOK..... It passes on good 'vibes' and leaves me feeling good too.......

BUT too many 'Proprietors' wind up with your 'Tips' instead of the workers...... $9 a day is often the workers wage (plus eats, but nothing expensive).... So I try to see the worker puts it in 'their pockets...... 

  

General rule of thumb I was told was that leaving money in the black folder thing ends up in the communal tip jar, giving money directly to your waiter or waitress can go straight in their pocket. It wouldn't surprise me to hear that some owners skim off the top of the communal tip jar though.