dman

I sort of gather that maestro has some sort of academic background and is sort of promoting himself as such --- however, as long as he hasn't provided a proper reference to his postulates --- put his statements at level with whatever you meet on the rest of the Internet.

... and I do know that police order down to the last sentence and I sort of believe I can repeat each and every relevant syllable in what ever sequence some might want me to repeat it in ... NEVERTHELESS --- If Maestro can't understand he got mislead some time around sep/october last year...please don't ask him to recheck.

I'll join hand with Sunny - he and I are the guys who know the real world and has some experience with the local office (and a local office is actually what we all will have to deal with) ...

How about someone like myself who had 3 years marriage extension with 400K and then switched to retirement 800K for two years. BTW. The switch was recommended by Mai Sai Immigration because they could process it same day with out sending paperwork to BKK. Can I switch back to marriage 400K next December ?

What are the rules for showing income. I am legally based in Shanghai and monthly salary is direct deposited in ICBC Bank in Shanghai. Can I just show my ICBC bankbook?

Thanks

Four years ago got back home (CR) from a 2 month driving tour of LOS with the bride. Woke up in the middle of the night and strolled over to the fridge to get something to drink and suddenly felt like I stepped on a sword. I was on the floor in ungodly pain yelling for the missus. She came downstairs and flipped on the light and found a vile creature (scorpion) in the corner of the kitchen. Not knowing if I was going to die we drove to the ER. Doc said no problem, scorpion bite will not kill you. Gave me a few pain killers and sent me home. The pain was like nothing I have ever felt. Luckily I had better pain medication at home. Half of my foot was completely numb and swollen for days. I still have the badass in a jar. Dead of course.

Speaking of numb.

When I was a kid I was stung by a dead bee. Picked it up and tried to touch the stinger with the tip of my finger to feel how sharp it was. I can tell you it was allot sharper than me. Ouch

Thanks for the replies and especially thanks to TakingAVacation...I checked out his lead today and sure enough there is a store which handles Fedex right across the street from the bus station where the buses exit the station.....and.....they only charge 850 baht for documents while the fake place I mentioned before charged 1000 baht!!! Hooray...almost assuredly better service and a cheaper price to boot!!!!....and convenient parking at the bus station!!!!!

Chownah

P.S. I am not connected to Fedex in any way and do not personally benefit from this promotion.....all offers void where prohibited.

Chownah

Chownah

Have not been around for the past year but previous 3 years had to regularly send important documents from CR to the US. I used the fake FedEx which was/is (TNT). Never had a problem until they went whacky with the price. Switched to the Post Office via EMS. Alllot cheaper and never once had a problem. Anyway sounds like you are sorted. Just my 2 cents worth.

How can a govt freeze assets outside the country? this sounds pretty dodgy to me.

Um, thats not all that hard if they can show there's a criminal investigation involving the funds in question. It's happened to dictators before. Anyway, so what happens is they approach governments in other countries where T. has funds and ask them to freeze the assets, claiming that they are ill gotten gains, e.g. stolen money. And other countries may or may not cooperate.

Unless he's hidden his money very well - which he might well have done - it's gone.

I think you have it backwards. Thaksin was democratically elected. The dictators in this story are the ones demanding that his assets be frozen. How any country could take this order seriously is beyond me. My son and wife took advantage of the 30 Baht health care system. Thank you very much. Shame on those who think poor Isaan Thaksin supporters dont know any better because they are not intelligent enough to understand he is a bad man. Yeah right. Perception is reality. If these folks felt better off with Thaksin in power then guess what? They probably were.

Do you have a visa for China? If you do, you don't need an onward ticket.

China visa must be a resident visa. Last year American Airlines would not let me board a return flight to Shanghai from Boston unless I had either a resident visa or proof of travel onward outside of China. Luckily I still had a return leg Thai Airways E-ticket from Shanghai to Bangkok. I had to turn on my laptop at the airline counter and show them. This is Chinese Government regulations.

As far I can tell, Chiang Mai still does Non-Imm visa interviews.

Appears that Chiang Mai Consulate is caught up as the wait time from the State Dept web site says it only 2 days for interview.

As far the employment, assuming your GF works in a legimate business I don't see them looking down on that. With your ties to Thailand and proving her ties to you, she stands a pretty good chance, IMHO.

TH

US Consul in CM took less than two weeks for my wife to get her interview and 10 year tourist visa. Only requirement was you had to be a resident of the Northern Provinces. I was impressed with their internet interview scheduling. No queues. Have to admit even though we had all our ducks in a row and all paperwork was flawless it was a stressful event. I lost my way driving there for her interview and got a nice policeman on a motorbike to escort us. Well worth the 100 BHT.

Hi,

My wife applied for a settlement visa to the UK 2 weeks ago, everything looked good on her application but guess what, come in for an interview in 6 weeks. Can anyone give me advice on what they want to hear. Neither my wife or I have never been married before but my wife does have a 7 year old son from a previous relationship but he wont be coming with her, she will visit him twice a year. This is the most stressful time of my wife and my life and we don't want to cock it up so any advice by anyone who has been through this nightmare would be so appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Dave

They want to hear the truth. Being totally honest is your best shot.

My wife went through the interview process with the US Embassy. She had to go it alone and my only advice to her was tell the truth.

Good luck Mate

Congrats Mate. Job well done. Given the opportunity I would love to have a Thai Passport in addition to my US one. Currently have a resident and work visa for China, PRC. Did not have to sing the National Anthem but did have to give allot of blood and undergo every medical test under the sun.

Which brings me to my question, Does Thailand allow dual citizenship? I have a young son that is a dual citizen and holds both Thai and US passports. I was told when he reaches the age of 18 he is no longer eligable under Thai law to hold a passport of another country. Is this true or is it urban legend?

Thai law states that the holder of dual nationality through birth *should* (not *must*) make a choice by a certain age. I forget how old. However, there is no legal obligation to do so, and no penalty imposed for not doing so. Most people therefore don't boither and continue to hold dual nationality. In the case of acquisition of Thai nationality through naturalisation, there is no requirement to renounce your existing nationality, so long as your "old country" allows dual/plural citizenship, which mine does.

D, Thanks for the info.

Congrats Mate. Job well done. Given the opportunity I would love to have a Thai Passport in addition to my US one. Currently have a resident and work visa for China, PRC. Did not have to sing the National Anthem but did have to give allot of blood and undergo every medical test under the sun.

Which brings me to my question, Does Thailand allow dual citizenship? I have a young son that is a dual citizen and holds both Thai and US passports. I was told when he reaches the age of 18 he is no longer eligable under Thai law to hold a passport of another country. Is this true or is it urban legend?

Three children (two born in the US, different states and doctors, and one in Thailand) all c-sections. Ages range from 3-20 years. This is nothing new in the US. C-sections were dramatically on the rise over 20 years ago. My take on the rise in this form of birth is that sections are so routine and much easier for the doctors (schedule and procedure). Many believe it is a safer method of birth, at least this is what has been touted in the US. Your in and out of the hospital in 2 days. Thailand is just following what has been an going practice for years in America. Only difference is $$$$ and time spent in the hospital. In Thailand it was 30k Baht and 5 days in the hospital (private room and hospital.) Cant rememer how much $$$$ it was in the US as insurance paid the tab. Fairly certain it was alot more than 30k Baht, even 20 years ago. In any case having lived with the woman from conception to birth and witnessing all the births, except in Thailand, am very glad I am a man.

Can anyboby please advise me on the best way to get from Chiang Rai (Mae sai) to Laos and what the cost might be?? Is it more easy to get there are seeing Bangkok and go by train?? Any tips would be appreciated..... Thanks.

This is one of my favorite trips. It has been a few years so just to be sure get your Lao visa in BKK. If your not in a hurry you can hang out in one of the many guesthouses in Chiang Khong on the Mekong River whilst you wait for your visa. When you croos into Lao, highly recommend the slow boat to Luan Prabang, (old capital city of Laos) From there continue by bus to Vian Vienne and on to Vientienne. From there cross the friendship bridge to Nong Kai, TH and train to Bangkok. Great trip if you have the time.

Enjoy

This link is a bit dated and a bit of a read but gives a very comprehensive view of the magnitude of China's internet filtering. Estimated over several hundred thousand people are involved in the effort. Thai govt officials like to talk tough and make headlines, but when it actually comes down to doing real work they are lazy. Personally I dont think they will have the stomach for this once they find out how much work it will involve. China is just the opposite, when they want something done they mobilise full force.

BTW. Nobody mentioned an unsecure wireless AP (access point) where all your neighbors are riding for free on your dime.

http://www.opennetinitiative.net/studies/china/#toc2b

Cheers from behind the Great (Fire) Wall.

I wish you well in your effort to turn the Thailand travel experience into a Switch watch. Mind you I do not go out of my way to find a bad experience, but one of the reasons I like it here is the unpredictability. Some of the most memorable and funny experiences have happened when things did not go exactly according to plan. I do not particularly care if a few tourists do not have a good time in Thailand. The vast majority of people that visit LOS love it just the way it is. I think the efforts to change it has made it less attractive.

Cheers

My humble apologies.

Swiss watch.

Too many beers here in Taipei.

I love business travel when the company is paying.

Oh, I thought you were trying to say a "Swatch watch" and could not figure out how you could relate a Swatch to Thailand Thanks for the clarification.

Funny. I was looking at Swatch watches today at duty free while transiting Hong Kong. Thats where I probably got Swiss and Swatch to =Switch.

I wish you well in your effort to turn the Thailand travel experience into a Switch watch. Mind you I do not go out of my way to find a bad experience, but one of the reasons I like it here is the unpredictability. Some of the most memorable and funny experiences have happened when things did not go exactly according to plan. I do not particularly care if a few tourists do not have a good time in Thailand. The vast majority of people that visit LOS love it just the way it is. I think the efforts to change it has made it less attractive.

Cheers

My humble apologies.

Swiss watch.

Too many beers here in Taipei.

I love business travel when the company is paying.

i have just re-read all the posts on this subject and it is appears to me that most people in this discussion are expats who know how to navigate the process at both bkk airports. but no one is really considering the fact that millions of people, who have never been here before are a part of the overall equation. whether they go to the old or the new airport, there is confusion. and if they do go to the old one, they are being put into a system that has not been completely thought out or effectuated. all of this damages the reputation of the thai air and tourism industries. this in turn has a radical effect on the economy as a whole. further, people book holidays way in advance. what they are told about operations now, or any confusion that may exist now, will fdeter them from booking a holiday here that may be 6 months to a year away. these types of scenarios have far reaching consequences, but the future, as those who have lived here for some time now know, is not always a consideration when "planning" is in process.

you may all think i am a whiner and a fussy butt head, but the fact remains that this is a serious matter that needs (needed) to be addressed.

many travelers are not seasoned or used to going to a place where they do not have a grasp of the language or know the local customs. so they worry a lot and make choices based on these concerns they have. ease of travel is paramount to most holiday travellers. their time is limited, they are crossing great distances, and they are spending big bucks. they want to know, and deserve to know, that there will be no glitches due to poor planning. everyone can absorb and deal with the unexpected, they have too, but when it comes to matters that could and should have been addressed before hand, the need should not arise.

there is a major push going on for several years to change the type of tourist that comes to thailand. the people who work within this industry have been tasked with helping that change to occur. the people in charge of this decision, and the implementation of opening up DM again, appear to have not really considered or made ready (if it was considered) all necessary preparations that international travellers have come to expect at both the new airport and the old, and any other hub for that matter.

travelers talk about their experiences, and it is a statistical fact that they repeat the bad stories much more so than the good ones. why would the people in charge of all of this want to have anyone walking around with a bad opinion about their trip to thailand? it is counter productive.

the mere fact that you can not easily get a keyword search to return a web page that has a specific and accurate description of what to expect, how to transit from one port to another port, or which services are currently available is absurd. anyone who feels that it is not absurd is just not thinking this through, like those who "planned the change" and also screwed up.

any smart and savvy enterprise knows that a good web presence is essential in today’s world. why would this be any different? if they had done the job fully the first time, this topic would not have posts continually asking for shuttle info, for example. if there was a web page, with shuttle info for transiting the 2 ports, would it not have been found and already posted here?

and again i say this because it concerns the livelihood of so many people and the vitality and image of a national industry.

so many posters here talk about how people who come to reside in thailand must take certain things into consideration and buy into the local customs, I AGREE. we need to participate with our hosts in a manner that benefits us all and continuously improves the nation as a whole. so i find it very strange that posters here think that my string of posts is either a complaint, mis-placed or wrong. why is it so hard to believe that folks like me spend our careers trying to provide good services, at good value for every type of customer that comes here (or anywhere for that matter)? i think it exhibits a lack of knowlege and concern when a matter such as this is trivialized. and yet, posters to this forum at time go on for days about the price of a beer, or what a visa run by mini-van to cambodia costs, only because that affects them directly and their pleasures, at that juncture in time.

does anyone know how much repeat business is lost due songkran? you may think this is off topic but it is not. because the subject of all of this of which i write is good service and planning. forethought. the customer that the TAT has targeted for the upgrade in tourism often times does not come back if they were here during that period on any given year. they find the festivities/debacle too disruptive, drawn out and in many cases, dangerous. they never get to see or learn about the true spirit of songkran that is touted in the brochures or on the www. they feel mislead, ripped-off. ( i say this from having interacted with 1,000's of them year after year in hotels all over thailand.)

so, people like myself, who are career and industry minded/concerned dwell on these matters so as to contribute positively to the industry and the country where they live for the benefit of everyone. why is that considered fussy or mis-placed? i don't get it ...

I wish you well in your effort to turn the Thailand travel experience into a Switch watch. Mind you I do not go out of my way to find a bad experience, but one of the reasons I like it here is the unpredictability. Some of the most memorable and funny experiences have happened when things did not go exactly according to plan. I do not particularly care if a few tourists do not have a good time in Thailand. The vast majority of people that visit LOS love it just the way it is. I think the efforts to change it has made it less attractive.

Cheers

Was just looking in Phuket forum where someone was asking about bread and gave me an idea to ask here in Chiang Rai.

I have yet to get nice bread in Chiang Rai, the croisants and french sticks in BigC and the bakery opposite the bus station are terrible.

Anyone know where to get nice fresh crusty french sticks or other breads in Chiang Rai?

Every now and then Bic C gets the french bread right. First thing, I walk over and give the loaves a squeeze. Can tell right away if they are good. If so, I buy the best 3-4 loaves and immedietaly cut, seal and freeze them when i get home. Take a piece out let thaw room temp. As good as the day you bought it. Mind you this is like the lottery, you dont win every day, but once in awhile you get lucky and get a few decent loaves. Spoiled now living in the old French Concession of Shanghai, tons of top notch French bakeries. Ahh the Paris of Asia.

Making dough for your own french bread is pretty easy. Do it quite a bit for pizza when in LOS, Only thing is you need an oven and stone.

Maybe a business opportunity here. But as soon as the Thais see you are making dough,,, there will be a hundred shops all around you.

Anyone know where I can buy some of that MST Continus? My back is a little sore today along with an arse ache from my boss.

On a serious note. I do like the fact that antibiotics are sold over the counter in LOS. I carry a 10 day supply of wide spectrum anti-biotics whenever I travel. In the US it costs hundreds of dollars to get an appointment and prescription for simple anti-biotics. Big racket and waste of time and $$$. On the downside antibiotics are all too often routinely dispensed for everything, including viruses for which they are useless, causing new strains of bacteria to become resistant. I believe the selling of anti-biotics over the counter in LOS will soon disappear.

As for the Swede. Do not know enough about his case. If it was to truly help others then I applaud his effort, even if illegal. Similar to the many samaritans who are routinely arrested in the US for dispensing clean syringes to drug addicts.

Helping those less fortunate is something we should all include in our daily routine of life.

For a brief moment body fluid rose when I saw the title of the post. A Triumph.

I feel a little silly now but it brought me back to thinking about my old departed "1969" 650cc Triumph Bonneville motorcycle. What a sweet machine. all stock, no modifications, no oil leak, color Aztec Gold with a candy apple base. Used to keep it in the living room of my ground floor apartment during the Boston winters. I seem to have read somewhere, I think, or maybe it was a flashback, that Triumph is or actually has an assembly facility here in Thailand, but does not sell any product here. Anyway, I know its way off the topic but could not resist to comment. Wanted old Triumph.

I heard bad rumours in the 80's that if you were riding an English motorbike you needed your servicevan not being further away than 5 minutes. Probably just somebody that was envious because it is a beautiful bike.

I would not mind riding one myself.

Take good care dman!

svenivan

Ahh Svenivan

You are correct. As much as I loved my old Triumph it was a challenge to keep it running smoothly. I liken it to a relationship with a stunning woman. High maintenance, but most of the time worth the effort. Cheers, and Happy New Year from PRC. Missing the links and mates of CR.

For a brief moment body fluid rose when I saw the title of the post. A Triumph.

I feel a little silly now but it brought me back to thinking about my old departed "1969" 650cc Triumph Bonneville motorcycle. What a sweet machine. all stock, no modifications, no oil leak, color Aztec Gold with a candy apple base. Used to keep it in the living room of my ground floor apartment during the Boston winters. I seem to have read somewhere, I think, or maybe it was a flashback, that Triumph is or actually has an assembly facility here in Thailand, but does not sell any product here. Anyway, I know its way off the topic but could not resist to comment. Wanted old Triumph.

On the other hand, if you tell the venders on the Burmese side that want to buy porn, they'll be glad to sell you blank CD's for about 100 baht each, and you won't get in trouble!!

It's been several years since I bought VCD/DVD's in Burma or Thailand for that matter because of the poor quality. Cannot tell you how many movies had no ending. Although the porn DVD is still working fine. Able to get movies now in China where the quality is very good and the price is about 6-8 RMB or about 35Baht/per.

I've found that the DVDs from the better Tachilek shops are identical in packaging to what I bought in Kunming last year, albeit 3 times the price.

Packaging is the same but check the subtitles. Most DVD's in China are director cut (DVD-9 exc quality) and for some reason originate from the Soviet Union. Usuallly they have French, Russian, (Chinese of course) subtitles. Very seldom have Thai subtitles. The DVD's in LOS and Burma come from Malaysia and many are recorded from television or shot in the theatre. Thats why you hear "pass the popcorn ocasionally". I'm a DVD junkie and have talked with dealers here in China and in LOS about where they get their DVD's from.

On the other hand, if you tell the venders on the Burmese side that want to buy porn, they'll be glad to sell you blank CD's for about 100 baht each, and you won't get in trouble!!

It's been several years since I bought VCD/DVD's in Burma or Thailand for that matter because of the poor quality. Cannot tell you how many movies had no ending. Although the porn DVD is still working fine. Able to get movies now in China where the quality is very good and the price is about 6-8 RMB or about 35Baht/per.

I moved 5 milion baht to LOS last year at 71.36 to the pound for the purchase of a condo. For many reasons the condo sale fell through and I have had to move out of the country for the time being. My money is in a high interest acccount in Thai Baht and intend moving it out of Thailand in April - looks like I might make some money??

Cheers

Watchoutfarang

As a non-resident, you qualify for interest on your savings? Which bank is that?

Not sure what you mean by non-resident. I believe we are all non-residents, only difference is some are allowed to stay a little longer than others. But back to the point. I dont know what high interest is, but I keep my stash for my yearly retirement visa in a short term deposit account (7 month) at 4.75%. sorry at the moment cannot remember the name of the bank in CR. Kasikorn? Anyway sent the wife out shopping to find the best rate she could get and this was it. Only snag is I had some difficulty at immigration Mai Sai last November for my rearly Ret visa. Seems they did not like the term deposit thing, even though the money had been in the bank/country unbroken for over 5 years.

BTW: I always get a laugh when I hear people say I told you so about money rates and stock market going up or down. Truth is you have about the same chance of predicting events in the market by throwing a dart at it than listening to the so called experts. IMHO. I lived and worked through the dot com boom in the US, and yes made some money,, but only by sheer luck did I get out before the house of cards fell. If you have a house to buy, buy it. dont try to time the market to save a few grand. Not worth the aggro.

If not urgent, the foreign ministry does set up special passport booth services once a year in the provincial office for chiang rai folks people. Or you can go the way Limbo suggests.

I can vouch for this method as the wife and son got their TH passports last year around mid January 06 (22nd)at this Govt sponsored event in CR. It was set up like a vacination clinic only instead of shots in the arm they were shooting photos. My lame attempt at humor. Cant remember how long it took but it was pretty simple and inexpensive. The passports worked, as we are all safely living in Shanghai at the moment.

Cheers

This poll was screwy. You should have separated people into Expats and Tourists from the start and gave each his/her own form.

Example:

[4. Where are you now?]

Other country (Home) 43.6% 1,309

1,309 are not expats living in Thailand as they live elsewhere, yet in[5. Expat or tourist?] 1,554 people claim to be expats from between 1-10 years? How is that possible? Do they think because they have been coming to Thailand on 2 week annual holiday breaks for 10 years they are now expats with 10 years of "living" in Thailand? See how the picture starts to blur? If you wanted to pin people down to being honest, you should have used IP tracking in the poll which would have fixed the country/location.

Aqua

Here is how the results can get swewed without people being dishonest. I am a 5-10 year TH Expat,, not presently in the country,, but I am not back in my home country and I am not on vacation. I got stuck on this question, Where are you now because I could not answer it correctly.

I have been living in LOS for 7 years. I have a house, TH-wife, child, and up to date retirement visa. Am currently (6 months) working in China on asigment but still keep my Thai visa active and visit LOS home/family as often as possible. I am a TH Expat but living elsewhere, albeit temporary apartment in Shanghai for 2 years? Shanghai is certainly not my home country and I am not on vacation. Questionaire could have had more choices or been worded differently. Hope this helps.

Cheers

Today I have been to Pattaya Immigration to renew my Retirement Visa and have been refused.

I took my passport, copies of passport, photos (4x6 cm), letter from Kasikorn Bank confirming 800,000 baht in bank account and marriage certificate confirming my wife as dependent.

I was refused based on the fact that the Kasikorn bank account is an "Income Fund". This income fund was suggested to me 2 and a half years a go when I told the bank that I needed to put 800,000 baht into an account that I would use for my Retirement visa application. No problem there sir! I was told. Last year when I applied for my retirement visa this same income fund account was acceptable. This year it is not because I was told the rules have changed since 02 October. The only acceptable account would be a Kasikorn "Savings deposit passbook account" or similar account with another bank. I was advised to transfer the money into this account then come back and my visa would be renewed.

This was easier said than done as Kasikorn have explained to me today that the fund matures in 5.4 years and it can not be broken (even with penalty) or transferred to another internal account. Can you imagine my horrow. Despite spending 2 hours in the bank today the only possibilty I have is if a customer of theirs wishes to buy my fund ( I did advise I would accept 790,000 baht for it). I am stressed and upset as it was the bank who suggested this account as I was not going to use it for anything but the retirement visa application. I may now have to find another 800,000 baht to create another account but this is something I don't want to do or feel obligated to do. I am going to appeal to immigration on wednesday but have a negative feeling about this. I find it absolutely unbelievable that having 800,000 baht tied up in an account is not good enough for a visa. I am also looking at getting a loan for a few days just to show that 800,000 is in the right account as all he wants to see is the book with the amount written in. I am not happy as I have not seen anything in writing which has changed since October 02 in terms of what type of account is acceptable.

If there are any suggestions please advise as my visa expires on 08 December.

Also I saw this quote earlier:-

3. Due to the (at least for my very personal logic) foreseeable further decline of the US-$ over the upcoming years [NOT versus THB, but towards other "global" currencies], I intend to open an Euro-account at Kasikorn, worth >/= 800.000 THB. They agreed already, but ....

QUESTION: Does anybody have an indication if such an interest-focussed account may not at the same time serve as the "guarantee"-account for the Immigration administration ?

I would suggest based on my experience today that a Euro account would not be sufficient to enable a retirement visa to be granted.

I had the same experience and near refusal two weeks ago in Mai Sai for my retirement visa. I have 1 million Baht in a term deposit account specifiaclly for my yearly retirement visa. Luckily the term is 9 months and expires end of December. After some lengthy polite pleading and bringing the wife and 3 year old son into the office they finally granted the retirement visa. So there seems to be some discretion on this. Just to be sure next year I will not renew the term deposit but just turn it into a regular savings account.

As for you borrowing the money for the short term, you may have problems as they are supposedly checking if this money is still on deposit 3 months after you get your visa. This is supposed to eliminate the shell game with people borrowing money for a day to get the visa and returning it the next. If you all of a sudden pop up with 800K they may question where it came from. I would pursue this with Bangkok and keep your cool. I know it is an absurd rule. Good Luck