grain

Hi, we have dropped the KL stopover idea, I actually wanted to do it but my missis said it'll be a hassle as we'll have a fair bit of luggage (over 50 kilos) so we've now already booked flights right through to Perth, and on return right through to BKK. However, I'm interested in a holiday to Bali for about 7-10 nights, probably the first week in May so as to avoid Easter and the April school holidays. Last time we went, about 5 years ago we had a couple nights at Kuta then 5-6 nights at Ubud, and I enjoyed Kuta sitting on the beach in the evenings drinking beers and ordering up seafood, and in Ubud I was bored stiff after 1 day there, and regretted booking in advance. Of course the main attraction for me at Kuta was the beach with seafood restaurants. So where would you recommend that has a similar scene to Kuta but less full on?

sometimewoodworker, thank you very much indeed for that good info and photos, plus the vid. Very much appreciated.

Just saw a Google Chromecast on Lazada for 1750 Bt. Comes with the remote & connecting cables. Good for Netflix, Disney and a bunch of others.

No I actually bought mine in Australia for my TV there. It cost me $60 aud which is about 1400 Bt. My TV in Thailand is an android and I have pretty well all the same programs installed on my android TV as I have installed on the Google Chromecast. Programs like TUBI & PLEX which you can download free and watch movies, TV shows, news.

I bought a Google Chromecast for one of my dumb TVs, works great, I have a USA VPN on it so I watch USA content, lots of good movies and shows on USA YouTube that you need a VPN to watch in Thailand.

Quite a few tourists have lost their lives at those waterfalls over the years. It's high time they construct some sort of steps with railings and a securely fenced observation/lookout area. After all it is one of Samui's main tourist attractions and is promoted as such, so it should be safe for visitors.

Happens all the time in Australia, they plead for their safety, can't be returned to their countries of origin because they'll be persecuted and killed, then as soon as they get Aussie citizenship and PPs they're flying back home to visit their relis.

In case anyone's interested a 12-month multi-entry visitor visa was granted to her yesterday. From the time we sent off the application, then went to BKK to do the biometrics, and then the visa was issued, all took about 1 week.

The only law of Thailand you need be concerned about is it's always the foreigners fault. If you had of stayed in your own damn country this would never have happened. I'm not pulling your leg here, that is the mindset, Thai cops and authorities have actually stated this often.

Thanks, for the additional info, as we're traveling with luggage I'm thinking now we might drop the KL idea, might be more fun to make a side trip from Perth to Bali.

Cheers, I'll make a note of these suggestions.

I've sometimes had to stop for a quick leak while driving, however, I've always searched out a secluded spot with some trees and bushes, but taking a dump is a totally different matter, you'd think he could have hung on until they reached the next gas station.

There have been many cases in Australia of people who had a night on the booze, went home, got a good night's sleep, and the next day got pulled over by the cops and blew over the legal limit in a breathalyzer test. Also it depends what you were drinking the night before too. Beer's not so bad, it wears off faster, but people who get sloshed on Scotch and heavy alcohol are still drunk the following day. A couple of hours rest to sober up is absurd.

It's law that the foreigner must do a new TM30 when returning from outside the country, even to the same registered address, but a few years ago a group of foreigners held meetings with Thai immigration and got them to relax the TM30 regulations if returning to the same address. The Thais went along with it and relaxed the law but now it's creeping back in. There are reports that many immigration offices around the country insist on the updated TM30. What may well come back is the one where you have 24 hours to update your TM30 even if you go to Bangkok for a night and stay in a hotel, then return home, or go to Koh Samet for a couple of nights. That regulation may well return too.

Maybe a walk along Pattaya Beach Road after dark should also be included in UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.

I'd agree if it was toned down and held in designated areas for 2-3 days, but the way it is now is just insane, it's closer to drunken hooliganism than anything resembling "Cultural Heritage". There's also the huge death toll and terrible traffic injuries to consider, that's nothing to be delighted about.

Same story with us too. Last visa was Nov 2019, after several weeks waiting we got a phone call saying she needed a medical report, we live in Korat and the nearest acceptable hospitals were BKK and Udon Thani, so it was a mad rush to Udon Thani. A couple weeks later she was granted the 3-year visa, which was fantastic, then 4 months later the world locked down.

did you have the chanote translated to english?

Thanks for your reply: her last visa grant, in Nov 2019 was the 3 year multi, but of course she lost over 2 years usage due to the border lockdowns. She has been granted about 4 or 5 tourist visas over the past decade, so I'm not expecting any hassles, I own my home in Oz and have a sizable bank balance, so they're big pluses, in addition she has a very good track record of not breaking any visa conditions. All previous applications have been hard copies, so never done it before by the immi account. She already has an immi account and I've already started some of the filling in. I'll prepare all the supporting docs and save them as pdfs. What I'm not clear about is this: In the past I just made copies of all the docs and included them with the application, but I see now they want everything certified. So all these pdfs have to be certified first? In the past I gave bank balance statements, mine and hers, now they say the statements have to show 6 months of transactions. Before I included a copy of her chanote, but now all Thai docs have to be translated and certified.

could you please give me the contact details for the TH agent.

Just sent you a message mate.

Cheers, I've done several successful applications for her over the past decade, I really want to find out if it's best to do this new application by hard copy or the online application. Also where to lodge the completed application (hard copy)

Will be flying BKK to Perth late Feb 2024, and will no doubt transit through KL airport, and I'm considering breaking the journey at KL and having approx 5 nights stopover. So I'm looking for some recommendations for parts of KL to stay in and suitable hotels in those areas. I'll be with Thai wife, we're not backpackers nor are we 5-star, guess we're medium budget. Not into shopping, pubs or clubs, or fine dining. We'd like to be in an area with lots of character, and some nearby attractions, close to public transport, we like local food, night markets. As for hotels, I guess 3 star, a pool would be nice but not essential, AC of course, clean, and not noisy. Breakfast included would be OK but not essential as we can eat outside. So any ideas for me?

If so I'd like to ask a couple of questions.

Does this apply to ASEAN tourists too, like Thais?