Jamalbinabdullah

Oh, just figured out how to attach a photo! Stranded tanker was big news in Songkhla for 6 months!

Very unusual. Maybe just a stroke of bad luck. This ship just recently spent 6 months stranded on the beach in Songkhla (until about 2 months ago).

I find it absurd to claim that Thais are easy to find while foreigners can just disappear! Surely the reporter meant this the other way round?!

FRUIT from JAPAN? To donate to a Thai Temple?

Excuse me, I want to buy 280 kgs of Earl Grey tea in London to donate to the good people of Sri Lanka!

What a joke.

I believe that one point needs to be made here. Whether with or without a work permit, a contract, written or oral, was agreed upon by your school and yourself. There is no mention otherwise, so I will assume that the employer paid you for your services during the time you worked there and that you were satisfied with this arrangement.

Whether you had the work permit and/or the contract or not, there are always reasons (even without a reason being given) for either side to terminate the agreement. If you are unhappy, then the best and only option is for you to terminate the agreement and walk away. NOTHING will be gained by throwing up the dirt at this point--and there is a risk that much will be lost as all the older posts have mentioned already.

Last week, on the 16th of October, my broker, Seamico, sent around the following 'political' assessment in view of the rumors going around about HRH's poor health. Since then, the market has recovered nicely. What will the future hold? You can believe what you want when it comes to the stock market; there are always opposing views.

The SET Index has dropped more than 7% during the last two days, possibly due to investors’ concerns over HM the King’s health. Sentiment may have also been hurt by concerns over the political future of Thailand and the possible instability that may (or may not) follow. The obvious question now is: how much lower do we go from here? Below, we have outlined past political events that have had adverse effects on sentiment and their impact to the market. These events may perhaps guide us towards the correct answer to the above question.

Event: September 19, 2006 - Military coup that ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra.

Fear/concern: Civil unrest, political turmoil, blow to tourism industry, general economic deterioration.

Impact to index: -4.7% decline from start of event to low.

Duration of selling: 2 days.

Index performance post event: 1M: +1.0%, 3M: +5.1%.

Event: November 25, 2008 – People’s Alliance for Democracy seize Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang Airports to pressure Constitutional Court to rule against Thaksin nominee parties on election fraud case.

Fear/concern: Civil unrest, political turmoil, blow to tourism industry, general economic deterioration.

Impact to index: -4.5% decline from start of event to low.

Duration of selling: 3 days.

Index performance post event: 1M: +12.3%, 3M: +9.3%

Event: April 11-14, 2009 – Songkran Riots. Military is called in to disperse violent crowds, with two dead and many more injured.

Fear/concern: Civil unrest, political turmoil, blow to tourism industry, general economic deterioration.

Impact to index: 0% decline. The index rallied right away.

Duration of selling: 0 days.

Index performance post event: 1M: +19.2%, 3M: +31.5%

Event: October 14-15, 2009 – Market concerns over HM the King’s health.

Fear/concern: Civil unrest, political turmoil, blow to tourism industry, general economic deterioration.

Impact to index: -10.1% decline from start of event to low.

Duration of selling: 2 days (so far).

Songkhla Harbor Immigration Office

Thanks for this topic. In addition to all the changes listed, our local Songkhla City (Harbor) Immigration has officially closed for all matters concerning foreigners. Visas, extensions, 90-day reporting, etc., will now have to be done in Hat Yai. Immigration Office is located in the police compound at the foot of the railroad overpass bridge on the airport road. Don't know why as most foreigners live and work in Songkhla, or so I think.

Several people have said it already, so basically I would like to agree with them that the only real weak point in this new regulation is that it is done without prior notice. Realizing that the police wouldn't give prior notice to a raid and expect to catch anyone, but wouldn't it be a good idea to say in three months, starting the 1. Jan 2009...so get yourself a visa. There must be hundreds (thousands?) of tourists on the long-stay circuit from Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, some of whom will show up at a Thai land border and still be expecting to get 30 days in the LOS. They may have a rude awakening when they only have 15 days to visit the beaches, Bangkok and the north. It is super easy to spend a month in Thailand as most of us know. I guess they will have to bite the bullet and return to a Thai Consulate or Embassy in that country and get a visa or shorten their stay appropriately.

Several years ago, I came to Thailand on a 60-day tourist visa, had it extended for 30 days, went to Vietnam for a month and came back and spent another 30 days(on arrival) in South Thailand. Those four months of travel within Thailand opened my eyes to what a great country it is and I made arrangements to move here and have been living happily here since.

I might point out that my first three years here were on the 30 day visas with lots of time traveling in between and no, I did not lift a finger to do any work during those three years! Even then, 13 years ago, everyone knew that the 30-day border run was a visa loophole, technically illegal to use in lieu of a residency visa, although not enforced, but which could be terminated at any time. Well, the loophole stayed open for at least 10 years, time enough to make plans about what would happen today.

Jamal

were are you from?

The USA and I have been living abroad for 30 years.

Several people have said it already, so basically I would like to agree with them that the only real weak point in this new regulation is that it is done without prior notice. Realizing that the police wouldn't give prior notice to a raid and expect to catch anyone, but wouldn't it be a good idea to say in three months, starting the 1. Jan 2009...so get yourself a visa. There must be hundreds (thousands?) of tourists on the long-stay circuit from Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, some of whom will show up at a Thai land border and still be expecting to get 30 days in the LOS. They may have a rude awakening when they only have 15 days to visit the beaches, Bangkok and the north. It is super easy to spend a month in Thailand as most of us know. I guess they will have to bite the bullet and return to a Thai Consulate or Embassy in that country and get a visa or shorten their stay appropriately.

Several years ago, I came to Thailand on a 60-day tourist visa, had it extended for 30 days, went to Vietnam for a month and came back and spent another 30 days(on arrival) in South Thailand. Those four months of travel within Thailand opened my eyes to what a great country it is and I made arrangements to move here and have been living happily here since.

I might point out that my first three years here were on the 30 day visas with lots of time traveling in between and no, I did not lift a finger to do any work during those three years! Even then, 13 years ago, everyone knew that the 30-day border run was a visa loophole, technically illegal to use in lieu of a residency visa, although not enforced, but which could be terminated at any time. Well, the loophole stayed open for at least 10 years, time enough to make plans about what would happen today.

Jamal

I really took a deep breath as I read that we could have portable zips in the Kingdom in the future. This is the best idea I have heard on this auspicious day in a long time. Cheers

Very Cute! Both Phattalung and Yala provinces are landlocked!