zeusbheld

21 minutes ago, EMMAS said:

Perhaps I am confusing something and used the wrong name, I am on a proper non-b visa that was then extended for one year during which I have to do 90 reports. All paperwork is in order, the issue is them simply wanting to cancel my visa and contract at such short notice.

once the contract is ended, they are supposed to cancel WP and visa right away. and yep it's an official need. 

best bet's do a border run and get 30 days or get a tourist visa in another country. not sure about the terms of the contract, but they may owe you severance pay. i think six months or more is the magic number but that's off the top of my head and may be wrong. 

28 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

Porn is not legal in the Philippines!

is there somewhere else nearby where it's legal? asking for a friend. 

1 hour ago, Gulfsailor said:

I received single entry visas back to back for over 3 years. Most from Penang and KL, mixed with the occasional European one. Most recent at KL 3 months ago and from Penang yesterday. It’s very much appreciated to read a heads up on Thaivisa as soon as someone is denied a nonB visa for a back-back reason. 

2 years for me. i wouldn't rely on that continuing if you have a choice. call Penang (or wherever you go) before you fly next time... 

it's also worth noting that Gulfsailor got a visa *before* i got this notification. 

and PS yeah you still need 4 Thai employees per Work Permit that's a given. 

i've been advised that any overseas consulate, including Penang, is unlikely to issue a second back-to-back Non B visa regardless of length. as Gulfsailor says, an old rule, now enforced apparently. 

therefore, expect to go to Chaeng Wattana no matter what. there may be loopholes, but do you want to take that chance? i won't. 

if you have your own company, you *need* to show enough revenue to cover salaries, at least break even. otherwise, maybe no Non B at all going forward. 
 

If you were wishing there were more red tape around non B visas, your dreams have come true yet again: going forward, you can't get back to back 90 day non-B visas, you HAVE to extend at the Chaeng Wattana Internment Camp i mean Immigration. 

for those of us who recently started their own very small company this is a real pain in the ass. getting a Non B at Penang had been a breeze: show up at 10 am on day one, drop off papers, and pay, no queue. day 2, pick up at 2.30 and skip town if you want to (i usually don't want to, i like Penang). 

Chaeng Wattana require more documentation, especially regarding your salary in relation to your revenue (i'm waiting to hear back on the details of this requirement). i'm hoping to get a 1 year Work Permit extension (instead of 6 months, which the MOL gave last time) in May. if this happens, my lawyer thinks i can go to Penang and get a one year multiple entry Non B. If not, i can expect to be incarcerated in Chaeng Wattana for a day. and no, you can't send someone in your place. 

if anyone's got more details, please drop 'em here. I'll drop anything i find out but it doesn't get real for me til May. 

 

regardless of whether my passport technically belongs to my government or me,  for any practical purpose it's mine. 

therefore, i take the initiative when i pass through immigration of *any* country and ask the IO if they can place the stamp where i want it (except with visas, i've never seen any IO of any country who didn't stamp next to the visa that got you in). 

that said i don't see how an IO stamping at the end of your book would cause any major problem, aside from using up a page, but i've never seen any IO stamp an endorsements page (US passport).  the reason i micromanage where the stamp lands is that i fill passports up rather quickly. 

I'm confused as to what problems this may have caused, aside from not enough blank pages for an entry. i believe you need only 2 blank pages to get a new visa for Thailand (i had 3 last time) and 'endorsements" pages don't count (I had 3 blank pages plus all endorsements pages blank last time, i still don't know what the hell endorsements pages are used for aside from breaking the heart of the passport bearer). 

i suspect it matters what your role / work is and who you work for. 

according to my lawyer my work permit allows me to work pretty much anywhere. however, i formed my own company to do so, and the nature of my work is such that, well, it could happen anywhere. 

I found the letter from last time. 

I did indeed write a letter to myself inviting myself to work for myself. 

So if you're in this position, that's what you do. On company letterhead. 

Hello all, 

I'm going to apply for another Non-B visa. I have a Work Permit. I'm going to Penang as usual. I'm hoping to do my paperwork in-house instead of farming out to my lawyer (and paying for it) this time. 

Both my lawyer and the Thai consulate in KL's checklist insist i need a letter of invitation from my employer ("job offer letter" on the consulate checklist). My lawyer probably had me make one of these before but i don't remember. 

So, on to the question: since the employer in question is *my* company and i am sole director, i basically write a letter on company letterhead inviting me to work for myself? is that correct? is that all there is to it? In other words it's basically this letter from another thread: 

with me, inviting me to continue working for me? 

Before anyone says i ought to extend at Chaeng Wattana, my company is a one-year-old startup and CW is a pain in the ass if you're small, they always want more and more papers. So, no. besides, Penang is easy as can be, i've been so many times i have friends there, and the food is great. `But it's time for me (or, um, an employee, since the gov't requires i have them) to sort it out instead of paying a lawyer. 

i was avoiding an f bomb yep. my diction is a mashup of slang from everywhere though....

one more question about Savannaket: can i just drive up there and park? is there any sort of 'long term parking' like at the airports?  car isn't paid off so i cannot cross borders. 

33 minutes ago, Happy enough said:

the slang in post #5 kind of gave him away as a brit 555, but yes no visa required for vietnam *depending on nationality

nope. Yank. live abroad long enough and one starts to mutate though....

so i'd definitely need a visa for VN, but they're super easy, you buy it online and pick it up at immigration. i like Vientiane just fine, but VN is spectacular. i'll definitely stay more than one night. 

Happy enough...  with a letter from the Missus i can get a year at HCMC?!? i freakin' love VN. this is real? wow. strongly considering. 

I've read all the relevant recent threads about getting a Non-O marriage visa in Laos. I still have questions. 

My understanding is that at Savannaket I will need:

Original marriage certificate, and copy

wife's house book signed by her

wife's ID signed by her

Kor Ror 22 (optional) 

Visa application form plus 2 photos
Data page of passport

Copy of Laos entry visa

However, I prefer Vientiane to Savannaket. 

Are the requirements the same at Vientiane? 

People are getting 1 year multi entry visas at Savannaket with that paperwork. I'd prefer 1 year to 90 days, as I HATE going to Immigration at Chaeng Wattana. 

Can I get a one year with that paperwork at Vientiane? 

True Value also carry Lodge cast iron cookware. the only True Value i've been to is the one at CDC which is posh and boutiquey and next to useless as a hardware store... but they have Lodge skillets and dutch ovens. there are some japanese cast-iron pots i'd love to find in Bangers. i've heard good things about Oigen for example... but i'm not optimistic.

i've not seen much in the way of cast iron around Chatuchak, if i find anything interesting in Chinatown i'll mention it...not optimistic though. seems like for a dutch oven or a skillet, your reasonable choices here are Lodge, Lodge or Lodge. or, maybe, Lodge.

people are paying more for the BK lounge than a burger at Duke's? these are indeed the last days. Chokchai have burger stands in some food courts btw. the Tops at Central Lad Prao has one, and i think the one a Paragon does too. well worth a try.

as for the BK lounge, i suppose you could argue that i may be missing out by not trying it but hey i'm willing to live with the consequences.

i always preferred the meat counter at Villa. and just about everything else at Villa too.

great thread, the kind of information i've been looking for. have to try Ratika in particular as they're nearby.

i'm considering getting into roasting my own at some point but not yet. right now i want to find a good burr grinder (blade grinders suck). i just bought a vintage Chemex on eBay, it's not here yet. (the old Chemex pots are Pyrex and better built than the current ones).

as someone who lived in Manhattan for 13 years i'd say unequivocally i've not encountered any New York style pizza in Thailand. and i've looked. most alleged NY pizza outside of the northeastern US doesn't measure up TBH.

if you can muddle through with Italian style pizza there's some pretty good stuff to be had in Bangers though. my favorite is Pala Romana. if you took the MRT to Sukhumvit/Asok and transferred to the BTS it's right there at the top of the stairs (next to Dunkin Donuts and a few doors down from the posh bloat that is Terminal 21). it has almost no atmosphere but every time i've been there it's been quite good. deli counter is impressive too, with quality imported Italian cheeses and meats. that said, i've heard tell that when the Italian owner's not around the pizza quality plummets, but i can't verify that as he's been there every time i've been there.

Buy a wok adapter ring that you can place over the flat burner. This will allow you to use woks and other round-bottomed cookware just fine.

I use all kinds of pots and pans with induction hobs, never had a problem. Obviously they must be flat but I don't see what the 'magnetic' business is about - aren't most metal pans magnetic?

short answer, effectively no. aluminium and copper in particular won't work, and not all stainless steel works. rather than going into the physics of it, if you're considering buying a pot just take a magnet with you to the shop (as PennyFarthing123 mentioned above).

a question: i've heard that wok-shaped induction cooking surfaces exist, anyone seen one/used one/priced one?

(dredged up this old thread as i'm considering buying an induction burner myself)

thanks. i'm in Bangkok and looking into some options. tried a guy who recovers data for some Thai magazine publishers but it appears all he did was try to run utilities like Disk Warrior and Stellar Phoenix. i already know the drive is borked and needs a surgeon. if/when i find one i'll post what happens...

i recently had my Mac hard drive fail(120 GB 2.5" drive from a 3 1/2 year old Macbook Pro, and i am 100 percent certain it's hardware). in a Darwin-award-worthy act of stupidity, i accidentally erased my complete bootable backup last month. so basically all is lost.

has anyone tried a data recovery service on a Mac drive? any luck? how much did it cost? any recommendations? i need a hard-core data recovery service, the kind where they take the drive apart in a clean room.

if no one on here has any recommendations i'll probably call one of the places that Google introduced me to.