BurgerGung

Is a return ticket (out of the Philippines) a requirement by their Immigration service? If not - like in Malaysia - booke one-way flights with budget airlines!

I loved Georgetown. Street food and all. (I care for Indian food, too).

But be warned and shun the Thai consulate. Kota Bharu is much better for a VISA run

This is news to me. Regrettably, I haven't been propositioned yet when in Laos ???? 

Vietnam. Take Thanh Hoa City. I know a new hotel where you can get a long-stay discount, paying less than 7 million VND per month including tall utilities, of course. A bus willtake you to the beach. Renta motorcycle,m if you aren't afraid of autistic maniacs driving (as if they were drunk and you were invisible). 

Food - expect way less taste or bring a dozen sauces wherever you go. You may not get ketchup with those fries.

VISA: buy one for 6 months, re-entry, it's easy. (Hello Thailand, wake up)

You may miss Thailand after a few months though

Avoid Tuk Tuks, when you are on your own. Haggle hard if you take one.

A mate from Scotland was blackmailed into paying hundreds of Baht for a short trip. Me, I've been suckered a few times too many. Stuff like "to the Thai embassy". Big suitcase, sweltering heat. And the bastard drives to some hotel where he gets a kickback, ignoring the requested destination.

Count your beers at bars and restaurants ???? 

On 7/22/2019 at 12:38 AM, matt9998 said:

In Vientiane you pay the day after when you receive your visa. As I was rejected I didn't have to pay anything.

Huh?!?

I've always had to pre-pay. And once, an agent claimed the embassy in Penang kept my money and rejected my B-VISA application due to "not having the Police clearance letter translated and apostilled". But I had the Thai Police clearance... (Something smells fishy - hope the OP will share whether he lost the application fee. I do suspect the agent scammed me and the embassy rejected me and never took the application fee in the first place).

OT: What's up with different currencies? Kota Bharu: pay in MYR, pay hundreds of THB  m o r e. Who gets the over payment? How come other embassies accept Thai Baht?

Thai embassies in: LAOS, VIETNAM, MALAYSIA. 

A friend assures me, they hate dealing with Joe Public in Phnom Phen, Cambondia.

...

I think I was suckered by an agent in PENANG, Malaysia last year. He took the 3,000 THB and later claimed the embassy denied my B-VISA.

Usually, they say yes or now and don't play this game, do they??

"No luck, Sir" => pencil something on the application form and pocket the 3,000 THB.

Errm, how much do you guys pay for such a service? (It will vary, from location to location)

Can you recommend someone in SAVANNAKHET, VIENTIANE and HANOI?

- Hanoi

- Savannakhet

- Vientiane

- Kota Bharu

-...?

Hi,

no reply on the Insurance forum. 

Can one buy "life insurance" with just a lump-sum payment? (Or can we stop here and realize that's a scam)

The promised repayment by monthly installments hasn't materialized. And the remaining question is, can one cancel such a policy, if it exists and cash out, even when losing like 70% of the initial investment?

OTOH, if all this has been an elaborate scam, a felony fabrication, would there be fraud according to Thai law? 

Or is anything okay as long as a farang gets suckered and no Thai gets harmed? 

On 7/18/2019 at 2:59 AM, Damrongsak said:

I have my heart set on a Lifan KP-200 water-cooled street bike with EFI.  17 HP @ 8,000 RPM.  Top speed of 120.7 km/h, a real screamer! 

How much is it OTR? And any owners' reports here on TV or anywhere else? I can't fix bikes and need a good garage - or else, I'll buy Japanese.

On 7/10/2019 at 3:39 PM, BritTim said:

I understand why some think this is an attempted scam, but my guess is that the basic facts are as the OP has stated. At this stage, I am not sure he will have the funds to get home. Much of the 600 euros he is relying on will go in paying off his debts. Flights at short notice at this time of year tend to be expensive.

 

In the short term, I think he may be OK, as long as the guesthouse believe him about the compensation he is due. Calling the police again is not going to help them get their money. Indeed, it may reduce their chances. It makes sense for them just to continue to hold onto the passport.

www.priceline.com I found a $ 307 flight with THAI from KUL via BKK to FRANKFURT. Keep checking, and try Google Flights and neighboring countries' airports as well.

SAGROTAN in Germany, it does the trick. Anti bacterial... And junk those polyester shirts!

Well, I would give her a nice voucher and let her buy the physical gold next time she is in TH. (Or you buy it, then claim the 7% vat refund).

Mailing it? Had some  ----- declare used watches as $ 5,000 value and it was a living nightmare. A Thai friend spent all day and some Thai customs guy tripled his salary that day. That was the other way round.

$ 2,000? Dream on. Why not a nice 100 grams gold bar instead? One she can sell and then buy the necklace when in Thailand?

Well, I thought that 3% were customary. Was charged that at guesthouses etc. And personally, I would prefer the fee over having to carry much cash. 

Have yet to be asked for just 1%. 

The customer will get his bill like a month from now, so it's not all bad. 

What's up with that? "Making merit" digitally? Even English teachers do it, folks who can exporess themselves well if they want to say anything.

LINE is particularly bad. (Can't even removed blocked users - they keep showing up. But that's something for the IT forum, sorry).

What are they thinking? That foreigners will appreciate the Buddhist images like they do?

Following the phone & email verification, they ssuspended the account "for 24 hours". Alas, upgrade to their premium service and all will be well :---) 

The YTD Downloader is of similar ilk. 

The other evening, I accompanied a lady to a bar. They added another glass of wine to the bill. LoS, Land of Scams?

Even employment contracts have been forged, I regret to say. 

Errm, 2 hours as in 120 minutes? Expecting a VISA for this effort? Sorry for being sarcastic.

The writing is on the wall. Thailand does  n o t  want people living here on Tourist VISAs. A few months, then a flight back to the home country is what they are looking for.

Wonna start working? Find another country? Cambodia? Pay a few hundred Dollarss and it'S done. Malaysia? Vietnam?

Good luck!

In PENANG, my agent mentioned a 'flight home' and also asked for 'hotel bookings / the contract for the apartment'. I balked at the flight and my receipt detailing rent & utilities was rejected. It has to be the contract.

It is clear that people staying more than say 4 months in the Kingdom are suspicious.

I read threads where Immigration Officers said "it's time to fly home" before returning...

Disclaimer: I got a VISA without the flight and the contract, but then, strings  were pulled behind the scenes. 

Personally, 3 back-to-bacck T-VISAs mean that you are  l i v i n g  here. Got a story or explanation when confronted?

Hi there,

seems the post office waits until it has sufficient mail to send to a specific country? 

Any idea about how they will handle the X-Mas rush? How many weeks do you expect X-Mas mail to take?

Errm, what about people who don't survive the probationary period? With degrees and all, of course. Does this amount to "1 chance to work at a thai school per calendar year"?

Sometimes, teachers or schools are a bad fit. 

And yes, the incompetence encountered regarding VISA issues has been breathtaking. But hey, schools usually make their employees pay the price of these expensive trips to Thai embassies ???? 

Good advice regarding a new passport etc. And the friend should see the writing on the wall and head for greener pastures. Someone has been taking the yellow liquid, JMHO. (I was hired by a government school. They refused to bother with WPs. Later, they claimed that I was hired by the hour or some such nonsense. The result: maximum fine for overstay, because they failed to convert my old WP or to communicate this failure. ????????

No offence, no intention to add insult to injury. But you should have found a different way to get that seat, TBH.

Flying over, sea freight, surface mail... Post office! 

My landlady was about 68. Her son had done time and was a freeloading, Meth consuming bum. He would beat her up regularly. Once, she went to the cops.

- convicted felon & druggie

They sent her home. 

Guess she gave up all hope. Shame on the police and on society, when they fail to protect women! 

On 10/15/2014 at 1:05 PM, garrya said:

I know a story of a Filipino teacher who left the school without giving any notice and was reported to labour and immigration. According to a source, he wouldn't get any jobs in Thailand for a while. / not sure about this

On the bright side, the school kept him on the payroll and some of them took his salary until his contract ran out.

That's all too common... If the government is fighting corruption, then it must start auditing government schools. Banning any teacher of administrator to grabbing money (be that cash or whatever) by threat of losing all pension entitlements is the way ahead.

i had 3 months' notice period and got shafted. 

Do fight tooth and nail to get paid for time worked.