TenDreams

Karaoke was closed at 2am on a Saturday a few weeks ago, but last I heard (last week) was rolling till 5/6 again

...they do have places to go, but you have to stray further from the Bintabaht/karaoke area to find 'em!

Hello,

Can anyone out there tell me exactly what I will need to take to the immigration office to change from a tourist visa to a Non.Im.B please?

Also, I would like to know if this is possible at Hua Hin or Prachuab Kiri Khan?

Thanks in advance,

TD

You can do all of this yourself for very little money. Leave the country go to Vientiane with the proper paperwork, pay the small fee maybe 2,000 Baht, get your Non B visa with a receipt from the Labor office or the W.P. itself. Labor office will tell you what you need or a lawyer can do all of the work for the Work Permit for you for 6,000Baht, but you must pick up the permit yourself.

Thank you - a useful response also!

Thanks Mario, I just figured that having someone else (agency or whatever) do all the legwork/paperwork would add some extra, but not an extra ZERO to the figure! Cheers.

Sorry, I have seen and read many posts on this, but you know how it is sometimes, every situation is different.

I have been offered a job. I have a tourist visa now with more than 2 months left on it.

I will have to change to a B visa and get a work permit...

My employer wants me to pay upfront and then reimburse me (I understand their reasons for this, comments not necessary).

They gave me the quote from an 'accountant', it was more than 51K!! Seems very hefty to me.

I have read that a visa can be changed in country from tourist to B for 2000 Baht - their quote 20,000B

()

A work permit could cost as little as 3000 Thb per year - their quote 13,100B

()

1 year extension 1900B vs their price 18,000B

()

I understand that some of the above prices are the bare minimum and dont take certain things into account, but surely I can do it withotu having to shell out 51K?!

Any thoughts appreciated(other than 'don't take the job!')

I tried every bank in Pranburi and Paknampran - no $10 bills!

Probably easier to get it in Hua Hin, and surely Bkk wouldn't be a problem.

They sell them on the Thai side at immigration for 400 Baht, the boys on the Myanmar side said I could have got it there for 320 Baht.

Yeah, I'll try explain that a bit better- the boat stopped by this rickety cabin, the driver took my passport up to it (not the photocopy or anything else), then came pack down pretty quick and returned it to me, and we set off again. I am not actually sure what they did with it as it was raining and I just shoved it into my bag without looking (which I should have).

If they did anything more than check it, I guess it was the entry stamp for Myanmar, but it was pretty much just a shack on a rock from what I could see!

One other thing I forgot to mention was that on the way back the boat was called over to a group of Thai soldiers who checked the passport and bag of a Myanmar national, they didn't check any of my stuff, but another boat that got there before us was having a pretty thorough search.

In case anyone is thinking of doing it soon, here is a report of my visa run of August 2011. I didn't take the Andaman route.

>Bus from Pranburi to Saphanpla, Ranong, 9am, 6 hours, 280 Baht, very comfortable, free lunch.

>As you get off the bus, you'll hear "You! Visa!", if you say yes, you'll get a motorbike taxi to the immigration pier (about 10 minutes), and he'll wait and take you back to the bus station. 200 Baht.

>When you get off the bike someone will take you right up to the departure desk at immigration where you hand over your passport (I was the only person there, no wait). And the guy will help you fill out any forms, arrange the boat to Myanmar (400 Baht round trip if you go alone, less if there are more people), and sell you a $10 bill if you need one (400 Baht, but I was told upon arrival in Myanmar that there is an exchange there where they charge 320 Baht) (5 minutes)

>Boats about a 30 minute ride, quite wet. Stops once before you get off and driver takes your passport up to a cabin. (2 minutes)

>Get off the boat and some boys will take you to Myanmar immigration and deal with everything there. They need the passport copy here, and they take your photo with a webcam also. Gave them a 100 Baht tip as they made me laugh quite a bit (3 minutes)

>Have a quick look around, then back on the boat to the pier.

>Go to arrivals window, get your stamp and photo taken, and all done.

>Buses leave from the bus station at 20.00 (Bangkok) I had to wait 2.5 hours for one (didn't want to spend the night in Ranong). At the ticket office they offered 3 prices, 350>666. I ended up with a 2nd class bus ride for 220 Baht, must have not been too uncomfortable cos I slept the whole way.

Overall, very easy and stress free, total cost excluding beers at the bus station was 1600 Baht.

The worst part was waiting for the bus back, but the cold ones helped.

OK, thanks everyone, looks like I'll be paying K Bank a visit today!

P.S. The name on my bank account is in Thai, but it is identical on my Paypal account (in Thai), however the SCB account name has the title 'nay' in front, and the Paypal doesn't. I thought this could be the reason, but then, like I said before, I did receive the verification payments fine...puzzling!

Hi,

I have a regular SCB account with debit card.

I have a Paypal account which I set up with it, and received the 2 small payments from Paypal to verify the account.

This suggested to me all was fine.

I then tried to withdraw a small amount (2000B) from the Paypal to the SCB. The transaction was reversed with Paypal saying that my bank info was not correct, although it has not been changed with Paypal or the bank.

I went to SCB, they didn't know what Paypal was, but said I can't use my debit card online and should talk to Paypal. I don't intend to use the card online, but because the SCB account is tied to a debit card could that be why the transaction was reversed?

I am posting here as it is obvious that nobody in any SCB in Thailand will be able to help. I am awaiting a response from Paypal.

I don't get why I received the 2 small verification payments but cannot withdraw money from Paypal to SCB.

Can anyone out there help?

Thanks in advance.

Cheers! Ended up going to the graphic design shop on Phetkasem before I saw your reply - will see how they turn out tomorrow

hi,

can anyone recommend a shop to print business cards in Hua Hin please?

Thanks!

Nice! So where did u have it done?

Thanks a lot for the replies.

Food for thought there.

Can anyone recommend a jeweler that can reset a diamond that has come out of a gold crown on a platinum ring?

We tried a few in Hua Hin, but they said it would mean sending it up to BKK for a week to have the work done, and I don't want the ring or the diamond to leave my sight (great sentimental value). Any tips would be appreciated, cheers.

I have listed many items on Craiglist, 80% of responses are scams, do not bother communicating with this person any longer, it's a waste of time!

I just got back from my few days in Uttaradit...could write a LONG report on that one!

If you will be there for a while and haven't already, check out a village/town(?) called Laplae, and a nice restaurant there called Mon Laplae - really beautiful and good food. Also nice new guesthouse there, just 450 a night.

As for the village life....another suggestion- by an air rifle and shoot, cook, share and eat anything that moves! That seemed to be the done thing.

Checked out Lap Lae. You had it easy- only a little way to Uttaradit. I'm a 3 hour bus ride in the sticks.

If anyone gets lost ( only reason to be there I can think of, unless married to a local ) and ends up in Fak Tha, north east of Uttaradit, there is a lovely little restaurant about 5 minutes north by the paddy fields. Had dinner there last night ( the only excuse there is here for herself to dress up ), and it was jaw droppingly beautiful as the sun set over the hills. Only 100 bht for dinner for two. Good food too.

I was thinking, as I looked out over the ricepaddy, that I could have been looking at the same scene 200 years ago ( apparently that is when the area was settled by Lao immigrants ). There was nothing to see that was modern.

Fak Tha! That's where I stayed! I just visited Lap Lae for something to do, was about a 90 minute ride maybe a little more. There are one or two people who live around the big temple in Fak Tha who can (or at least really like to try to) speak English.

Sorry,should have taken the extra few seconds to add whatever emoticon is used to make it clear that the air rifle comment was a JOKE...i thought it was obvious enough...

I just got back from my few days in Uttaradit...could write a LONG report on that one!

If you will be there for a while and haven't already, check out a village/town(?) called Laplae, and a nice restaurant there called Mon Laplae - really beautiful and good food. Also nice new guesthouse there, just 450 a night.

As for the village life....another suggestion- by an air rifle and shoot, cook, share and eat anything that moves! That seemed to be the done thing.

OP - you are doing the right thing seeking advice on here. My fiance is from Uttaradit, I have been up to her village there twice before with another trip planned this weekend. I have been all over Thailand over the last 8 years(and the rest of S.E. Asia), lived in the country and the city, and have never been shaken by culture shock until I stayed in Uttaradit with the family.

It was a strange feeling, and I explained it to a friend as having the sudden urge to peel off my own skin and run away as fast as I could. Weird, he said that was his exact feeling when he went to his other half's village (not in Uttaradit). This was not due to any lack of hospitality on their part, or lack of language ability on my part (my Thai is not great, and they speak a Lao dialect, but I can just about get by up there) it was just a phenomenon I was unfamiliar with and was equally potent each time. Perhaps if I could ever have spent more than a day or two I would have got over it, who knows. But I am genuinely sorry to say I am dreading the next trip, as much as I like the family.

Hope you find some good advice on here. My ideas would be (sorry if they are repeats):

Get mobile, by whatever means necessary.

Find fishing buddies, and learn about the preparation and cooking of whatever you can catch there.

Take a set of boules or darts or anything that is easy and 'pleasant' to do in the heat and easy to teach others.

Get a daily routine together which might include simple yoga/stretching and meditation.

Look for other ex-pats up there and organise a weekly/fortnightly/monthly poker/movie night or something.

Stock up in Pattaya, up there they only have one Tesco Lotus, and it's probably MILES away from where you will be (everything seems miles away from everything else up there)

< My fiance is saying 'grow fish, fruit and chickens!' >

If all else fails, start drinking!

Good luck!

Here's a pretty useful website, there are plenty you wouldn't want to come across on your balcony!

http://www.siam-info.de/english/snakes_common.html

Harmless. I think it's called a ngoo keeaow / green snake. Usually in trees or hanging on things, we had one on the washing rack not too long ago.

Someone left these in our shop while I was away, and the partner decided to take them home!

Does anyone know what kind of dogs they are?

Thanks.

Hi,

I am sea fishing off the coast of Prachuab (south of Hua Hin) from the beach or jetty, and so far have only ever pulled in puffer fish. Does anyone have any advice on how I can catch something edible, preferably sea bass? I am a beginner.

Thanks.