phuketdiver

Can confirm this as was refused a 1 year multiple entry visa on Friday. First time in 6 years it has been refused

The lady behind the counter said that now all renewals had to be done in Thailand (???) and that I could renew my non imm B every 3 months in Phuket (or Bangkok).

Assuming she meant the extension for stay option that does not require a renewed non imm B visa I pointed out that my salary was not the 50,000 baht per month required for this to which she replied that it was not the same thing and that I could do that or the new system

Also said that if I needed to leave the country before my 3 months were up and come back I could get a "re-entry permit" from immigration.

Totally confusing but provided the local immigration authorities have been told of the new system and are up to speed with it this could mean no more annual visa runs to KL and to the border every 3 months

Off to immigration next week to test the system as need to go to Langkawi in early Jan

Check out all the action at the first day of racing at this year's Phuket King's Cup Regatta at www.marinescene.asia

and they should start thinking about visa regulations/conditions for work permits for foreign teachers! we teaching their kids and as thank you we have to pay fees, fees, fees and need visa extantions all 3 month - again to pay fees!

I sincerely hope you are not teaching them English if this is the level of your English speaking abilities. If you are teaching another subject but using English as the medium to communicate with your pupils it goes a long way to explain some of the sorry state of English ability coming out of the schools now.

I will never understand how Thai authorities can allow a person for whom English is not their first language being permitted to teach students in that language.

There will always be an exception to the above but on the whole people for whom English is not their first language should not be allowed to teach it, they obviously have a first language and should be encouraged to teach that.

Good for them. I wouldn't mind a nice big prostitution crackdown. I can't stand it when the first thing people say when I say I live in Thailand is something about the women or sex or prostitution or AIDS. Sex will always be easy to come by here for foreigners, but it does not need to be advertised so openly and for sale everywhere you go.

why not? Better to be in the open with the correct people being approached rather than innocent Thai girls being harrased by drunken men ( ferang and Thai )

what's wrong with openess - surely this what people around the world ate crying out for from business and their governments

Great - of all the headlines they could have chosen they had to go and use this one - searches for Phuket are going to bring this one up fast because of the "Swine Flu" searches elsewhere.

If he did not get it here, he is no longer here, and there are no related cases how is this news?

Does the Gazette not get that we are in an economic downturn and we need every advantage we can to survive it - such irresponsible reporting only harms the island.

If people were being infected here for sure report it if you must but this is just an attempt at sensation journalism at its worst - only good thing to come from it is that the Gazette will probably get an increase in their hits on their website. No doubt another news story next week to say they hit XYZ number of visitors this month

There are so many nails going into the coffin wood is now the minor part

Do you believe everything the public health office tells you? Just because some guy says the Hong Kong guy definitely didn't get swine flu here, doesn't mean he's right. If he started showing symptoms while on the island, it's possible he caught it here.

Besides, the Thai authorities have an obvious interest in playing down reports of swine flu in Phuket.

The Gazette's job is to report what is of interest to its readers. If someone may have caught swine flu in Phuket, people have a right to know.

Newspapers have a duty of care to their readers to be sure of the facts - the story stated that "officials" said that it had not been caught in Thailand yet there was no evidence to suggest the opposite - so why the sensationalist headline? Could it be because of a headline "Confirmed man did not contract Swine Flu in Phuket" is not going to get any visitors to their website.

If a person starts showing the systems of Malaria after visiting Iceland do you want to suggest he could have caught it there?

Do you have evidence of Swine Flu in Phuket? If not why jump to the conclusion that officials are playing it down - could it not be the simple case that there are not any cases on the island? There are after all thousands of places around the world that have no reported cases.

As a reader of the gazette i am interested in them getting facts right - not making mileage about a worldwide scare for their own benefit

Great - of all the headlines they could have chosen they had to go and use this one - searches for Phuket are going to bring this one up fast because of the "Swine Flu" searches elsewhere.

If he did not get it here, he is no longer here, and there are no related cases how is this news?

Does the Gazette not get that we are in an economic downturn and we need every advantage we can to survive it - such irresponsible reporting only harms the island.

If people were being infected here for sure report it if you must but this is just an attempt at sensation journalism at its worst - only good thing to come from it is that the Gazette will probably get an increase in their hits on their website. No doubt another news story next week to say they hit XYZ number of visitors this month

There are so many nails going into the coffin wood is now the minor part

Bar mats are free adverts. Lifted ones? Cost of doing business. Make her buy ten of them, should have been end of story. But now face and the irrational Thai justice system has powered up its wheels of destruction, Katie Sheila bar the door! BTW, I like this bird, she looks like fun.

People may like to take into account the facts before getting on their high horse about whether the authorities are right or wrong. That something was stolen is without doubt and if you go to the Aussie Bar and look at what was stolen they are about 1m long and 1/2 meter wide. Not an inconsequential piece of equipment and certainly not something you would take for a prank back in Oz. It is also not of the size that many western papers, especially in Australia, are giving the impression that she stole. I am sure that she would not have been stopped for stealing a cardboard mat, or even possibly a towel, which is what many of the misguided and inaccurate reports are claiming.

It also appears that when finally caught and arrested she verbally abused the officer, who like many Thai police speaks not great English, and then demanded to be taken to his superior where she proceeded to verbally abuse him.

As has already been pointed out raising your voice to the Police in just about any country is likely to land you in trouble - it is also often the first reaction for someone that is guilty of what they are being accused of, be it stealing or lying

Anyone prepared to fly around a little bit to get back home and can make their way to Phuket may find the following useful

Silk Air have laid on extra flights to Singapore as per below

01December 2008

MI762A SINHKT 2130/2210 A319

MI761A HKTSIN 2250/0140*1 A319

MI764A SINHKT 2155/2235 A320

MI763A HKTSIN 2315/0205*1 A320

02Decenber2008

MI766 SINHKT 1210/1250 A319

MI765 HKTSIN 1330/1620 A319

MI768 SINHKT 2100/2140 A320

MI767 HKTSIN 2220/0100*1 A320

MI770 SINHKT 1900/1945 A319

MI769 HKTSIN 2045/2335 A319

03December 2008

MI762 SINHKT 1110/1150 A319

MI761 HKTSIN 1230/1520 A319

MI764A SINHKT 1755/1835 A319

MI763A HKTSIN 1915/2205 A319

Thai Air Asia have also laid on an extra flight each morning from Phuket to KL but first available flight (as of 4pm 1/12/08) is Saturday 6th

oh man you guys should have organize it on the 21-24 may because the Sunbelt Asia Football Team gonna be there for the global airline Football Tournement as we are going to reatain our championship ...

I postd about this in the phuket forum last month

What football tournamnet - where is it being held - I work in the local media here and this is the first we have heard about it - can someone get me a press release?

Phuket Diver

Count me in - Just around the corner from my home - and Howard is a great bloke

Anyone wanting to stay in the area check out Friendship Beach - good value for money and just around the corner

I believe that a degree is the requirement to teach English, but does this apply to teaching other subjects?

This is not an uncommon criterion for teachers of all subjects, around the world.

I the UK many teachers do not have degrees

Ah - if only you knew. ALL teachers in the UK MUST have a degree in teaching - they either attend a teachers training college where they gain not only their degree but also vast experience in teaching technigues or must do a further 2 years doing a teachers degree once they have finished a normal degree at a university.

My ex spent 5 years at university / college to gain her teachers quilifications - not the 10 weeks it takes with TEFL

Why would anyone not allow the children of this country the same rights to quality education that they would want for their own children in other countries, or that we ourselves enjoyed?

I have met teachers working in schools who are TEFL trained, whose second or sometimes third language is English and I have not been able to understand what they were saying when speaking to me in English, and I am naive English born.

Yes the quality of teaching needs to be improved and in line with this the level of pay - Fully qualified teachers will only be able to get the level of salary they rightly deserve when there is a shortage of teachers available - and this will only be highlighted when they crack down on poorly trained, bad english speaking stop gaps.

The future of a Nation rests in its children and this generation has a duty to the next to ensure it gets the best possible eduction from the best trained people.

A quote to remember - we do not own the Earth, we only borrow it from future Generations

Phuketdiver

I'm hedging my bets that a Finns/Nordics may have contracted the illness during their journey to Thailand, or by interacting with each other.

People get Legionnaires' disease when they breathe in a mist or vapor (small droplets of water in the air) that has been contaminated with the bacteria. One example might be from breathing in the steam from a whirlpool spa that has not been properly cleaned and disinfected.

The bacteria are NOT spread from one person to another person.

- CDC website

additionally from their website:

Legionnaires' disease can be very serious and can cause death in up to 30% of cases.

I wouldn't ever GO NEAR a public whirlpool/spa in Thailand !!! The western, developed world has VERY STRICT regulations when it comes to sanitation to deal especially with these jacuzzi/whirlpools/spas (pools are not that dangerous, as they do not evaporate the water "dust" in the same way)

1, All water has to pass through a professional UV-light system that kills all today known bacterias.

2, The "buubling" has to be turned OFF and ON in 15min cycles.

3, pH / free chlorine / combined chlorine has to be 24-7-365 regulated by sophistacated computerized automats/chemical pumps.

To double check the water quality has to be measured manually 3 times a day

4, The water system has to have a "bleed" - which means that old, used water has to be replaced with new, fresh.

These are only a few of the regulations. All routines are shall be logged and routines checked regularly by Health Authorities. KNOWING THE THAI "ATTITUDE", I SERIOUSLY DOUBT ANY OF THESE REGULATIONS ARE IN PLACE AND PRACTICED ....

As I know, - there are over 30 different kind of Legionella bacterias - but only a few of them are dangerous. The "mild" one can give a disease known as "Pontiac Fever" but are not DEADLY as the main one. As posted before, I would also think that if someone became sick from these bacterias, - surely the whole case would be "dismissed" as something else (re. the Bird Flu ...)

So, - be careful with you "bubbling" activities out there. Back in the west, there are regulations/routines to take care of it, - but here in the "Land of Mai Pen Rai / Maak Ngai" ???!!!

Ah - I love the complacancy of those of you who live in the west and the assumption that everything is better there than here in Thailand.

Do not assume just because there are laws and standards in the west that they are always adheard to - my father contracted Legionnaires at a very well known resort in the south of England 4 years ago and spent time in hospital as a result.

He to will not use a sp anymore - not here and especially not back home in the UK.

Lets wait and see what is confirmed as being the cause - there are outbreaks around Europe on a regular basis but the reporting is a little more responsible.

Lets be careful on the forums as many people believe everyhting they read on here as Gospel - Phuket is having its best season in a number of years - certainly not its best ever so lets support the island and act resposibly

Phuketdiver

Why cant people read the innitial post before posting their replies and making derogatory comments about the Thai government and their supposed inabilities - Don Muang is reopening " at the request of low cost airlines

The government are taking the responsible act of ensuring that there is a low cost alternative in the airline industry.

And for those who are whinging about having to transfer between airports to save money I suggest they take a closer look at their home countries.

Several of the low cost airlines do not fly into the main airports but to hub airports anything up to 50 km away -

Easy Jet into London Luton (!!!)

Easy jet into Glasgow - actualy into an airport 35km away but great for the golf course

Palermo - 3hr 30 bus journey into the city

And there are many other places similar to this. Before the Americans get too excited and on their high horses one of their airports is not even in the same state as the name on the tickets.

The government have taken a logical decision on a request from Thai businesses - which affects mainly Thais or those who choose to life in Thailand.

If you dont like the decision shut up or get out and leave those who are comfortable living with the decisions being made (we may not like them but accept it's not our country). Some of us are getting fed up of being tarred with the same brush by Thais who are fed up of constantly whining ferangs

Phuket Diver

what a load of bullocks ....................

bet the figures are totally inaccurate

Based on what?

If you have more accurate figures, why not share them and cite the source.

Or is this another farang fairy tale?

, they need to define the types of beds ( 5 star resorts / guest house )

smells of a misguided attempt to raise the snob value

Yes, far better to promote more backpackers and patrons of the bar-beer type of establishment.

One family of high spenders generates more income and more employment than a whole lot of the free spirits who spend B100 a day on MacDonald's fare and some cheap room or are permanently attached to a bar stool intent on getting puking drunk.

The local paper here - Phuket Post - has run a story last week questioning the TAT figures of 4.7 m visitors last year. According to Airport Authority of Thailand there were 2.3 m arrivals through Phuket. If you add the number of departures it comes to around the 4.7 m the TAT are claiming.

If the AOT figures are correct this means 2.4m people arrived by sea or by bus - about 180 buses per day, all full.

And check out the maths on the rooms - does not add up or there are some very crowded rooms.

Strikes me as another unthought out scare story at a time that the Island does not need one.

Yes it is dirty in places, and yes it needs cleaning up in places but parts of the island are quiet and beautiful. Try going aaway from the tourist west coast of Surin to Kata and you will be amazed at what Phuket has to offer.

Someone also needs to check their figures on the rooms opening in the next few years. There are 12 major 5* hotels opening in Phuket in the next 5 years and a number of smaller boutique hotels.

We would all be well off, thais and ferang, if the 4.7m people had come to the island as claimed. But it just hasnt happened.

As an aside to the poster that came here and could not find a room - had the same problem for a friend visiitng for a few days - but then he did arrive on 29th December - I defy anyone to find a room easily around that time in a major tourist destination

Phuketdiver

With reference to your comments

Please climb down from you high opinioned horse and read the writing on the walls - this is not your country, my country, or most of the people on this site - it belongs to the Thais - if they want to introduce rules for what they feel is to the betterment of THEIR people in THEIR country they are fully entitled to do so - every other country in the world does so why not afford the Thai's the same priveleges.

So you are going to be inconvenienced - why should you have the right to do what you want, when you want , what you want just because you have money - do you not realise that this type of arrogance causes more bad feeling towards the ferang from the Thais than the guy who has little or no money and is trying to scrape a living.

So in your opinion its is going to be bad for thailand -if the thais feel they will be able to live in more harmony with fewer ferang then what is worng with that - life is more than about money - its about quality of life and it seems to me that this is the direction that the Thais are going - away from western avaricios behaviour

Be polite in someones house and they will treat you with respect - be rude and demanding and you will be frequently asked to leave -try imagining that a country is a house and not your own personal club

I think the value of the western farang is about to be understood.

The value of the western farang who comes here to do legitimate business or has the financial resources to obtain a retirement visa or comes as a tourist is already understood and Thailand continues to welcome them.

The western farang who hasn't the resources to do anything other than scurry across the border every 30 days before returning to some work that generates minimal income but no foreign exchange is also understood, which is why they want them to go home.

YOU ARE WRONG WRONG WRONG

The only people the Thais can view in this light are the old or the working.

I am 37, not married to a Thai, Independently wealthy, do not work here in Thailand. I return to my home country, wish to stay here for 11 months of the year. There are no provisions for this situation.

Take your blinkers off, there are more than 3 shelves of long term visitors in Thailand.

Here is another.

My friends is retired here and married. His daughter recently from the UK has had problems, so my friend has invited his daughter to stay with him here in Jomtien so she can take some time out of life. The only visa she can obtain is a 3 month tourist visa.

Her father is wealthy and can keep her financially. She will not be working, But after 3 months will need to return to England. Where is the provision for this.

This new rules will cost more than Thailand ever imagined. It will hurt many individual Thai families, local economies, business both small and large, government Tax.

Here is another.

Wealthy travelers, between commitments (maybe redundant with cash) in the west visits southeast asia with the thought of traveling throughout. Get to Thailand and decide to stay and not visit the other countries. After three months has to leave. Cannot be bothered to go back to their home country so just continue with their travels around asia taking spending money in other countries.

Here is another

Student 12 months traveling, same as above

GET OFF YOUR HIGH HORSE AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE WORLD HAS MANY DIFFERNET PEOPLE WISHING TO TRAVEL THAT CANNOT NOW STAY IN THAILAND LONG TERM. And the biggest loser will be Thailand

Not meant to sound as a criticism but can someone explain why the meteorological dept is commenting on the earthquake.

I thought they were responsible for the study and reporting on of weather. Surely earthquakes are completely at the other end of the physical spectrum.

Is this as a result ofbudget cutbacks and multitasking?

stay safe

Just seen the offical figures for flight arrivals

Great way to calculate the figures of people comming to Phuket....... add the arrivals and departures together to get a total figure of people using the airport..... in reality there have been about 2.7m visitors ot the island, plus however many drove over the bridge.

That's actual a rise of 51% on last years figures so whilst 87% may be an exageration the 51% is still welcome to see..... all we need now is for the people comming to spend their money here and not on package deals where everything is included in the price and paid out of the country to large travel companies

Also need fewer groups of people from certain asian countries who share their one bottle of Singha with their 4 mates and take an hour over each bottle.

Lots of building work going on but it's getting better and most of the building noise stops before the parties do so there can be little to compain about in that matter.

As for the TukTuks....... TIP rather than TIT..... dont like the situation but just have to put up with it. They have too much political influence for anything realistic to be done. Government can make edicts but they are not here every day to police it.... and noone wants to drive buses or metered taxis anymore as the last ones were all put in hospital.

But it's still a great place to live

Its the King Cup regatta this week here in Phuket and they have been suffering from lack of wind - looks like it could go to the opposite and have too much

One of the yachts competing here holds the record for the fastest sailboat in Thai waters - if it gets the right kinds of wind we might see some new records being set

more info on www.kingscup.com

If you are on Phuket go up to Kata View Point or to Promthem Cape and get a great view of the racing - take an umbrella - no racing tomorrow as it's rest day but lots more racing on Friday and Saturday

Plans are in motion for a Surf Club in Australia to come over to Patong and train up the life guards to Australian (international?) standards

They will be involved for at least 5 years with a view to also developing jnr lifeguard programs and eventually a life savers club house.

They have the backing of the local municpality as well as the marine police.

Not an immediate fix, and only in one location but at least its a start

Back in the UK have seen people swimming in the sea with 2 meter waves comming in - the flags were out and nearly being ripped off their poles in the wind. So much for paying attention to the warnings so its not just Thailand.

None can swim that is a cert. I watched a Japanese man drowning last year, a surfer had to go to his aid as the beach guard was asleep. He was woken up and he said "not my job". My wife asked what his actual job was and he said, he had to make sure people were swimming between the flags.

I suppose "beach guard" means the same as "security guard" a great sleeper with no formal training and a waste of time and money.

Interesting tale Tornado: red flags all over the beaches today and not a "beach guard" in sight despite at least 50 people swimming in 'apparent calm conditions'. I was caught in a slight current , but hey - I can swim and I'm an Aussie and know what to do - others were not so calm.

Meanwhile, floating serenely at the back of the breakers - staring back onshore at the ridiculous "tsunami towers" - there was not a "beach guard" anywhere to be seen.... only a matter of time before the farce reaches the international press!!!

Not a good situation K, might be an idea to bring it to light in the Gazette (Q&A) and see what the local council comes back with. Especially this time of year as the weather is fining up, but the waves/rips are still around.

Tornado's swimming tips if caught in a rip, swim parallel to the shore, do not fight the current, let it take you out and then swim as described above.... tongue in cheek ofcourse, but also true.

Thailand to target deposed PM's assets

BANGKOK: -- Thailand may seize the assets of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, a self-made telecom tycoon believed to be worth over $2-billion (about R14,6-billion), the new military junta said on Friday.

Hopefully they are not too late already. I think back to Marcos from the Phillipines who stole billions for his country and than managed to get out to the States.

I would have seized all his assets and all of his family's assets right away. Maybe not all, leave him with 800000 Baht, so he can afford to get himself a retirement visa somewhere. (We wouldn't want to be cruel, would we?)

Kurt

What rubbish.

Why does every mention of Thaksin's money cause you people to fly into ignorant, anti-wealth hysteria like this? Oh, of course.....I forgot. You're Brits.

Never mind.

And you would be from where?

Just because people express a different opinion to you does not give you the right to slag a nation off. yes there may well be a large number of people exactly as you described in Thailand that are Brits. There are also a large number of respectable, hard working, tax paying Brits that enjoy living here.

Some probbaly support taxin, some probably dont. Most probably think he did some good and got carried away and ended up doing some bad - like a lot of politicians around the world.

I could make an accurate guess as to your country of origin but wont as i refuse to tar compatriots from your country with the same brush.

Bigots are Bigots - you dont have to come from a particular country to claim that dubios right.

Be more understanding and the world will have less need for conflict - physical or verbal

the funny thing is

with not work permit you have to go and can easily go abroad to get a visa back in

but with a workpermit

you cannot get out without getting a note which costs you 1000 baht so that your workpermit will remain valid.

no workpermit

you must go out

workpermit

you cannot go out

Sorry but you're wrong. I have had a work permit for 3 years now and each time I have had to apply for a 1 year Non imm B that requires border runs. I only now qualify to apply for the full one year visa that requires exit pemission.

Would much rather do that than have to do the border run - did it this week and it took 13 hours round journey stuck in a minimbus.

And dont forget if you are oging to leave the country regularly you can get a multiple exit permit for around 3000 Baht

MUCH cheaper than doing visa runs

To make bad things worst; i just hung up the phone with Mr. Haji Tajudeen from N&K Enterprises in Penang. (He runs one of the book stores in Chulia Street from where we usualy get our visas done)

Mr. Tajudeen informed me that only ONE ENTRY 2 Month Tourist visas with an option on 30 days extention are issued from the Thai embassy in Penang from now on!

He couldn't tell me though if the there will be a second visa issued after the first one has run out. Considering that we are still tourists and have been in the country for 90 days already, there is a good chance that this question will be answered with a strikt NO in the near future.

That would mean that by January first, a lot of people will have to leave Thailand. That also means that all relatives and friends of those who will not be here over the next high season, will most likely also not come to Thailand. If one has not juast studied the birds outside the window while having a math-class; how could he/she say that this would have no impact on the revenue off the tourist industry? Does a million visitors up or down does have so little impact?

Sure it want have much impact to the people who are making those laws and rules. But what about smaller and medium buisnesses who depend very much and especially in low-season on the long stayers in this beautiful country?

Staying in Koh Tao, one of the top spots, worldwide, for scuba diving lessons, i have to ask myself, if the quality of PADI diving courses can be kept up by ever changing freelance diving instructors. It want make a difference at all on how many farang stay in Thailand and work in the dive industry and help building it up. The needs have to be and will be covered one way or the other. Just the faces will change every three month. Or is there anybody out there who thinks that all 48 dive centers in Koh Tao are going to close every 3 month for three month?

It is a simple fact that there is no way for dive centers to get more than 2 working visas for farang instructors or dive masters. Anything more than that and the taxes would start to chew them up. It's another fact that one instructor and one divemaster want cover the needs of a dive resort and there is by far not enough thai instructors and divemasters to fill the gap what is opening here.

I'm not saying it should be allowed to stay and work illigaly here in Thailand, no way, but i think it would be a great idea to not only make new rules but also rules they work for the majority of the people and have something to do with real life.

So far most of the people on the island are very confused. Thai and Farang! It's a 'no future' situation and thousends of long year friendships will break up. I wonder who thinks that who can benefit from this situation?

Koh Tao is the top spot for scuba diving lessons in the world - more people get their licence there than anywhere else in the world. One school started 93 open water ( first course) on a single day last month....... guess what - numbers dont mean anything - there are places around the world that when they see koh Tao on a licence require people to do a retrain before diving.

A few years ago there was a mass panick when passports were taken by police on a raid on a single Thai individual doing visa runs on behalf of people living on Koh Tao, another was arrested for doing the same in Koh Samui. The result - a lot of new passports, so many that some embassies ran out. This was the start of the clamp down.

Then they started looking at the number of people in the diving industry WORKING and doing 30 day runs.

Guess what - 3 months later there were a number of small companies started up by the instructors / divemasters that allowed them to work LEGALLY. ( most of the fault of this can also be laid at the feet of the dive centre owners)

When someone wishes to leave they sell their shares in the company to another instructor arriving.

The quality of instruction went up as people began to view working as an instructor as a job, rather than a past time (it was costing them money)

If you want to see what can happen when people decide to ignore the laws of a country for both employment and visas see the new regulations that came into effect (propabaly) as of 1st September in the diving industry - and Phuket is the trial centre, the rest of the country follows

I have heard from a number of people who insist as they have been here for a number of years they have a RIGHT to stay. The only place you have a right to stay is our country of birth, or in some situations you can have rights in countries of your parents.

Get real and get legal - we love the life style we have here - why not pay a little more and enjoy it legally - it is still a ###### sight cheaper than back in the west

They say if you cant stand the heat get out of the kitchen - if you cant stand the visa requirements GET OUT OF THE COUNTRY