tonychang

I have a UK passport but am currently in Australia. I want to get a one way ticket to Thailand as I'm not sure how long I'm going to stay there yet. The travel agencies are telling me I can't enter Thailand unless I have a flight booked to leave within 30 days (the duration of the tourist visa). Is this right or are they just trying to get me to book another flight with them. I want to stay longer than the 30 days if possible (probably by doing the visa run to one of the borders) and I don't want to book a flight out until I know how long I'm going to stay - Can anyone suggest a way around this?

Cheers

Dai

I once flew to Thailand from London with a one way ticket as I too was unsure as to how long my stay would be. I have friends who work offshore who do things this way and have never had any problems in the past.

The airline I was using (forget which one) turned out to be sharing a check-in desk with the dreaded BA. I did point out that I had a 60day tourist visa but was still refused to get on the plane unless I brought a return ticket (with BA). It was never suggested to me that I could just buy a ticket to another SEA country so I purchased said ticket, fully refundable at the cost of £1000. Fortunatly I had that sort of money in my debit card account so wasnt too much of a problem, except a trip to BA's Bangkok office to obtain the refund.

My brother bought one of these last year and it is a SWEET ride for not alot of money.

http://www.edinburgh-bicycle.co.uk/catalog...il.cfm?ID=22637

What do you reckon the damage on a branded equivalent would be for thrashing around the mean streets of CM?

cheers

Thanks for all the replies and I guess I should explain my reasons for asking the questions I have.

As far as asking is there a youngish community living in Chiang Mai has a lot to do with living in Hua Hin where the bulk of the farang population were retirees living with or married to Thais so the social scene was quite limited. I am actually 36 (though was 30 when I lived in HH) but coming from Brighton I’m used to a younger more cosmopolitan vibe. My close friends in HH actually ranged from 17-55 years old.

As far as the bar scene goes I tended to prefer to hang out at my friends guesthouse/bar rather than the girlie bars as it was more relaxed and I would meet people who were not just there for the women , though the bar scene is pretty laid back and full of cool people aswell.

The reason I ask about condos is they seem the easiest way to instantly find an afordable place to live without having to endure the perils of renting a house (I don’t speak much Thai) without the help of a good Thai or Thai speaking friend. I know sharing a house is quite uncommon but it is something I got used to in England (because its so expensive) and enjoyed in Thailand (because its nice to have the company of people with similar language/culture).

There were no farang girls living in HH and a good percentage of my friends are farang girls, so I missed their company while living in Thailand. Infact my only Thai girlfriend at the time left me because she was jelous of the farang girls I used to drink with who were usually just passing through.

The fact that a lot of you socialise with Thai people says a lot about the place as the only Thais I knew were either visiting from Bangkok or bargirls and extended families of bargirls married to farang men. I do like the bar scene, I just prefer to make friends with people in bars because they like drinking and talking with you rather than for any other reasons. I was used to hangin out with a small and bizarre mix of westerns in Thailand all of which it was a pleasure to meet. It has also been interesting to read the thread by peaceblondie about moving back from HH to CM.

Thanks ever so much to BlackArtemis, meadish sweetball and the earlofwindermere. Your comments have been of great help.

Cheers

t.c.

I too am interested in what Chiang Mai has to offer that Hua Hin dosnt?

Are there many youngish farangs living in Chiang Mai as there used to be mainly just old guys where I used to live? I would imagine there is a reasonable sized population of English teachers.

Are there many places that expats go to (i.e. bars) that are not mainly bargirl orientated?

I noticed there are certain cheaper condos that the younger people lean towards. Is this generally where people who don’t earn a lot of money live? I understand longer termers rent houses (easier if your Thai is better) but does anyone share? I found this a cheaper and more pleasant than living alone (or with your Thai girlfriend).

Are there many farang girls living in Chiang Mai, as there were none where I used to live?

Is the climate noticeably cooler than Bangers and the south?

Would you say the Thai people in Chiang Mai are more accepting and tolerant than in the other popular resort parts of Thailand due to the fact they are not there necessarily to work in the tourist (and sex tourism) industry?

Appologies for all these questions and thanks in advance for any answers. I have searched the forum and found a lot of great information on Chiang Mai but have never been myself. I live in England but am thinking of coming over for 6 months to a year and fancied something a bit different to where I lived before (Hua Hin). I especially enjoyed meeting all the different people from around the world either expats or just passing through but HH is apparently a retirement village these days and Samui and the south are a bit too hot and expensive for my tastes.

Cheers

ที.สี.