Caldera

Last time I took a walk along Beach Road (a few months ago), a woman of questionable repute offered herself to an Indian guy for 700 baht (loud enough for me to overhear).

If that lot really is Pattaya's last hope, all hope is lost.

19 minutes ago, clearance said:

IO requested the bribe, telling my friend (yes, it was not me) to pay "fine" for staying in Thailand to long (he has TR visa before ED visa).

Out of curiosity, how much was your friend asked to pay?

Considering the air quality this "winter" (or lack thereof), not spending too much time at beer gardens might actually be a good idea. ????

5 hours ago, Youlike said:

Oh is that a mac donalds? I don't go there anymore, i complainted 2 times about not getting the discount for using rabbit and now they all run away when they see me....because they know i 'll ask for that discount and they usually won't give that.

I've never had a problem getting the Rabbit discount at McDonald's - without even asking.

It's worth noting, however, that you aren't eligible for that discount if they have a promotion for whatever you are buying. For example, the last time I bought a Big Mac set, they had a promotion (129 Baht). The girl informed me that I won't get the Rabbit discount, which is fine in that case.

Tourist numbers are supposedly up by an impressive percentage, yet employment in the tourist industry is down? Go figure! If both is correct (and you never know), it probably means that the "quality" of tourists has slipped - more of them staying at cheap hotels that don't need as much staff?

How is complaining that someone who's working with customers doesn't speak English racist? I don't get it. I don't find it unreasonable to expect that wait staff in Texas is able to speak English, it's pretty much a requirement for the job.

To be clear, I do find the "go home" part unnecessarily nasty.

7 hours ago, elviajero said:

What you mean is pay a corrupt IO working at the airport via a corrupt agent.

 

That’s no doubt possible, but it’ll get shut down quickly if it’s promoted on forums!

It might. It might get shut down as quickly as those "agent-assisted" retirement extensions. The mechanics are the same, an IO who can exercise the necessary discretion is given an incentive by a third party to use that discretion in the visitor's favor.

In both cases, the availability of such a "service" gives IOs a financial incentive to hassle people who don't use it. Add to this that corruption is endemic in Thailand (not limited to just a few bad apples) and it's easy to see how this can become a contributing factor to questionable decisions.

Once again Thailand has egg on its face. Shameful and a saddening state of affairs!

2 hours ago, setbkk said:

Out of date map in the article.  You would think they could put a correct, complete map in the article.

 

Indeed. Also, the rush hours mentioned in the article made me chuckle. Those were the times! At least in Central Bangkok, it's rush hour pretty much all day long nowadays - when fewer people use the BTS, they simply reduce the frequency accordingly.

Why do these <deleted> publish two websites for people to apply? Isn't it hard enough already to distinguish between official and copycat sites?

Is your dependent daughter Thai? In that case, in the long run you would be much better off obtaining a visa / extension based on being the parent of a Thai than attempting to stay in Thailand long-term on tourist visa / visa exempt entries.

OP, you're a small presumably foreign woman and your main concern when being out and about after dark are the dogs? I think you should be more worried about other potential dangers.

2 hours ago, Nyezhov said:

I must say that the obsession with controlling Nazi speech or symbols like this building demonstrate that European governments fear that their peoples, given a chance, will rise and go chase some Jews again.

I think that Hitler incited hatred against Jews wasn't and isn't the main concern of European leaders, past and present - they simply don't want their countries to be invaded and looted (and consequently lose their jobs).

As with Thailand's infamous TAT statistics, I'm wondering: I've visited Vietnam three times this year - do I count as a single visitor from my home country, or do they actually count the number of arrivals and I've been counted thrice?

His guarantee, plus 10 baht, will buy you a bottle of M150 energy drink at a Thai 7/11.

You'd have proof of your onward flight, that should make it clear enough that you're just passing through. If possible, book both legs on a single ticket, there's a good chance that you won't need to go through immigration at all - check with the airline(s).

2 hours ago, Alexila said:

Where do you need the money sent? We launch EUR and GBP this month. USD will be limited to New Jersey state only. 

So with EUR, I assume it can be sent anywhere within SEPA? If that's the case, it would be great news.

2 hours ago, Rob4 said:

Thanks for all the comments.

Visa (full page print) was issued in Laos, last extension stamp issued in Surathani (all of them).

I think by law indeed they can’t transfer the last extension stamp to the new one.

 

So, is my embassy wrong and I just leave with 2 passports + letter in Bangkok? (I should expect a question why didn’t you transfer the stamp right? )

I guess the question is if you have a re-entry permit for your current extension and intend to use it when you come back to Thailand. If yes, you should get your stamps transferred in Surat Thani before leaving. If no, you can just show up at the airport with both passports and the embassy letter.

8 hours ago, farangchuma said:

You have to credit to people with far higher intelligence but unfortunately born in a poor country to understand the true intent of a farang's actions. All ed visas from a language schools are scams. Who goes to Thailand to learn French? There are hundreds of schools in the USA to learn French, including community colleges. 

I think that's an overly simplistic view. If someone genuinely wants to study and if the quality of a school in Thailand is on par with those found elsewhere - I do realize those are BIG "ifs" - then there's nothing wrong with choosing Thailand over other countries for what you could call lifestyle reasons.

I think the real problem is that the MoE is doing a lousy job accrediting schools and their programs. Nowadays, nobody (including Thai consular officers) seems to take them seriously anymore.

6 minutes ago, jackdd said:

Their website looks like a scam, no address, no phone number, no email, just some pictures somebody found on Google.

That thought has crossed my mind as well, also because the wording on that site pretty much exactly matches Iglu's.