wadsy

Greetings Arny,

Last week my GF went to Chang Mai and applied at the VFS agency there. I am currently in Australia so she lodged the application by herself (after printing the emails I sent her of supporting docs) and she filled in the 48R form with help from one of her friends English BFs.

She went on the Tuesday and said the man there was very nice and helpful and pointed out she had forgotten the passport sized photo so she had to return on Wednesday with the photo. She has been to VFS in Bangkok once before and had a 3 month TV approved (but that saga I will post in a separate thread later.....) so this was a 2nd application. She seemed to sort out everything ok including fees and charges with the agent's help.

I spoke to her last night and a lady from the embassy had called, asked some questions and asked her how long she wanted to go for. She replied 3 months (after I had drilled it into her to at least ask for a 12 month ME !!) and the lady said fine, visa approved - 3 month I think though. I still want to see the stamp but I guess she'll have the passport later today or tomorrow. App lodged in Chang Mai Wednesday, visa approved following Tuesday - probably have passport back within a week!

Arny, while I can comment on other couriers, Thai mail etc. I would strongly recommend you use the VFS agent/courier listed on the website. For a few hundred more baht why take the risk with a passport and visa application for your GF??

I realise this is only 1 account and would be interested to hear other people's experience with VFS agents, but for us it was a painless experience. I will have no hesitation in my GF going back to this agent in Chang Mai (by herself) after her holiday to hopefully get a12 month ME. Personally I think the embassy doesn't care at all how you apply, its the app package, your GF and you (if your sponsoring her) that matter so I wouldn't be concerned about it not being ideal.

Good luck mate!!

My wife and some of my friends have used the VFS service in Chiangmai. Everything was straight forward with passports and visas returned in about a week.

Hey guys,

Where abouts is the VFS agent in Chiang Mai or do you have their contact details? We would like to apply for a TV for my g/f to visit Oz in the new year. THanks for any info in advance..... cheers.

Probably shot himself in the head by now and the body is lying somewhere waiting to be discovered.

With any luck........................

How about installing a keylogger and video surveillance? You might be able to show that it was the guy demanding the pay-off who planted the mp3's.

I think that might be an option. You're right, they are nothing but b@$t@rds.

did they just go to one computer and "find" the infringing items ?

did she have a visit in the days before asking for a "licensing fee" ?

did they take the computer away ? as soon as it is powered on again it will re-image the hard drive to a blank windows installation . ( unless it is configured to use an image from the network )

maybe get and expert witness / computer science professor to come to court to ask them some technical questions.

Yeah they took the computer away and as soon as it powered up again there will be no music on there. My g/f has to attend the police station next week to make a statement apparently and she will be taking a lawyer with her and asking them to power up the machine to look at the evidence again i.e. the files that were found.. It won't be there of course, showing the police this is exactly what the program was designed to do. They are nothing but rogues dressed up as semi-legitimate enforcers. My guess is that during that morning someone came in and put the Thai music on the pc and then they came in during the afternoon and 'found' the music. Yeah I think that getting a computer expert to Court will be the way to go.

You can scream, shout go to lawyers etc etc it will do nothing as the fact is you (girlfriend or wife) have broken the intellectual property laws (this is a heavy fine)……Running any business anywhere in the World …Checking your responsibilities/requirements/licenses is your duty.

As the law states ignorance is not a defense as it’s your responsibility to check fully before doing anything…..the easy mai pen rai Thai way is nonsence

PRS have been going around Thailand for the past 8 years that I know of; and I don’t have a business

This may seem heavy handed hitting the small guy but just think how many small guys are in business in Thailand making a living from IP (intellectual property)…that’s a lot of Royalties due…Billions in fact

Try to settle out of court and buy the licence's required (not cheap also)

My reply might sound hard; but these people from PRS have serious power, because the music was downloaded onto a computer owned by your wife puts the problem fully in her hands…very unfair but these guys don’t care about who or why just that they found un-licensed music. it could be on anything not just the computer. Even an ipod or a burnt cd

What a tosser!!! As I said in my OP, this has happened before and steps were taken by my g/f to ensure that the client computers are 'cleaned' at the end of each and every day by installing a program on every PC that wipes out any downloads that a customer may have done. In my opinion and others I have spoken to concerning this, (including a lawyer), she can show that she has taken resonable steps to negate the breaching of 'interllectual property laws' by installing this protection. And it is not a case of 'ignorance of the law is no excuse' as you so rightously pointed out, as she is fully aware of her responsilibites but you cannot protect yourself from MALICIOUS and ILLEGAL and FRAUDULENT ACTION ok?

If this is such as 'serious' concern why do they first demand extortionate amounts then gradually reduce this down? Another cafe owner in town on another recent post said they first demanded a 'fine' of 100,00 baht and then reduced this on negoiation to 25,000 baht!! This is crap and is, as I said, purely and simply nothing but FRAUD and BLACKMAIL.

Yeah I tend to agree with you Cyber. We just down the road from you so might drop by and have a chat. Such a pain in ass that this is, not to mention the expense.

Cheers,

Dave

I just posted this in the general topics but I see that you got stung Saturday Cyberstar. And you know, the same deal as you, they went to a pc that she said a Thai customer that she has never seen before, sat at that morning. No doubt in my mind a setup but I suppose at least this time no bride but I think its gonna cost in the long run what with lawyer fees and fines.

My g/f owns a small internet cafe in Chiang Mai. Yesterday a mixture of 8-10 police and 'music company representatives' turned up unannounced demanding to go through all the PC's looking for Thai Music. This has happened to her before we were together and one time it cost her 10,000 and the next time they demanded 50,000. Both times and again yesterday, they dragged her (and our six year old daughter) down to the Police Station. She called me and I told her to not pay them anything and you will let the Court handle it. The police were actually very good about all this and took her aside in a locked room and said to her to not pay them and that to deny all the things that they were saying as well.

Anyway she got charged and fingerprinted and I had to go and bail her out. 30,000 baht later (which the police gave her a receipt for and told her that she will have it all returned when she goes to Court) and she was allowed to go but she told me that the music company pr*&ks were not happy one little bit!

Heres the thing though, she has a program on the PC's that ensures that when you switch the PC off or restart it, everything that is downloaded to it gets wiped and it starts again. She got this program because of the trouble before with these a#$holes. That would mean that someone has come into her cafe sometime yesterday morning and 'downloaded' music and then they have turned up and 'found' it yesterday afternoon. This is bs and she has to go to the police station next week and make a statement apparently.

Has anyone else on TV had any experience with this or can offer any advice other than talking to a lawyer which btw my g/f is doing this week. I can't understand how she can legally held accountable under copyright laws if she can show the Court that she has done all she can to ensure that illegal downloads do not happen i.e installed the memory wipe program. Its not as if she was getting any benefit or financial reward in any way.

Thanks in advance for any constructive replies..........

My g/f owns a small internet cafe in Chiang Mai. Yesterday a mixture of 8-10 police and 'music company representatives' turned up unannounced demanding to go through all the PC's looking for Thai Music. This has happened to her before we were together and one time it cost her 10,000 and the next time they demanded 50,000. Both times and again yesterday, they dragged her (and our six year old daughter) down to the Police Station. She called me and I told her to not pay them anything and you will let the Court handle it. The police were actually very good about all this and took her aside in a locked room and said to her to not pay them and that to deny all the things that they were saying as well.

Anyway she got charged and fingerprinted and I had to go and bail her out. 30,000 baht later (which the police gave her a receipt for and told her that she will have it all returned when she goes to Court) and she was allowed to go but she told me that the music company pr*&ks were not happy one little bit!

Heres the thing though, she has a program on the PC's that ensures that when you switch the PC off or restart it, everything that is downloaded to it gets wiped and it starts again. She got this program because of the trouble before with these a#$holes. That would mean that someone has come into her cafe sometime yesterday morning and 'downloaded' music and then they have turned up and 'found' it yesterday afternoon. This is bs and she has to go to the police station next week and make a statement apparently.

Has anyone else on TV had any experience with this or can offer any advice other than talking to a lawyer which btw my g/f is doing this week. I can't understand how she can legally held accountable under copyright laws if she can show the Court that she has done all she can to ensure that illegal downloads do not happen i.e installed the memory wipe program. Its not as if she was getting any benefit or financial reward in any way.

Thanks in advance for any constructive replies..........

The hospitals have detailed the nationalities from the crash as: Australian: 1, Austrian: 1, British: 8, Dutch:1, German: 4, Iranian: 3, Irish: 3, Italian: 1, Swedish: 2, Thai: 14.

Total = 38 therefore 86 people have no need of treatment. Let's hope many walked away.

Your post doesnt make sense to me considering the news reports already comfirmed 80 something fatalities. Or maybe I'm missing something jomtienbob????

It works perfectly for me . Yes I can receive starsperts and ESPN .

Only you should look around for a better price , here in Chiangmai you can get them for less then 15k these days...........

Hi,

Can you give me a pointer to somewhere in CM for good satellite? I'm looking for one for a rental condo but the only place I've found so far was North Star Sat (they had a booth at Tesco Kumtieng) and their Set B was 16,500 which included about 75 channels. That sound about the money? Thanks......

Tha Pattaya Mail reports today of another foreign tourist dying in an accident on beach road Pattaya on Aug 31.

The man believed to be from the middle east died trying to pull a wheelie in front of some beer bars and hit a post at the side of the road.

At present you can show your passport and rent any superbike you like with no proof of a motorcycle licence, and l think the large majority of people renting don't have one. This guy was drunk so having a licence or not would not have affected the outcome, but l think something has to be done.

Something was done, and as harsh as it sounds, this guys now out of the equation. Drunk, driving/riding like a d**khead and acting the clown. Really no sympathy here. As one poster said, at least he didnt take someone with him............

Guys, there is a Japanese Restaurant out the other side of Nong Hoi market (the other side of the Holiday Inn) on a Soi off the Lamphun Road the same area as Nang Nual restaurant ?? that has a buffet priced at 325 baht but includes sushi, sashimi, teppanyaki, even oysters thai style as well as your usual noodles etc plus a dessert bar. Price is up there I know for a buffet but the food is great, fresh and plenty of it. Its well worth a try for those who haven't been there, we (my g/f and I) go there a couple of times a month and are never disappointed. Give it a try if you love Japanese like we do!!!

We just did the run around looking for a coffee machine for our cafe. Boncafe in Chang Klan Road had a selection of domestic machines from Saeco but think the cheapest one was about 12,000 baht. I saw the Electrolux at a place opposite the new Rimping which, as one poster said, was about 7,000 baht but it was pretty flimsy I thought compared to some others. In the end we got a machine from Bona coffee in Bangkok. They have a website and they GUARANTEE to be the cheapest anywhere in Thailand and they are correct in that statement. The machine we bought was 21,900 + 150 baht postage. The SAME machine, exactly the same, at Hill Coffee here in Chiang Mai was 28,000 baht!!! You get what you pay for I guess but worth shopping around in any case but check out Bona, we cannot fault their quick service. Paid for Tuesday via ATM, here Wednesday lunchtime.

Also for ProThaiEx who said that this was the cheapest buffet, there are many, many more at lower prices. There's one on the ring road, 1 km east of city Hall, where it's 39 Baht.

Yeah the g/f and I have been to that one, reasonable selection of food and for the price isnt too bad. Give it a try!!!!!

When I was in my twenties one of my best sexual experiences was with an overweight 57 year old argentinian woman in a swimming pool. I'm sure many girls have a ball with older men.

Or two............................

Anyway, Jingthing, what do you expect anyone on here to do? Of course he is going to get flak, and realistically,rightly so. Its like an old saying, 'Do the crime, do the time' so the guy will have to suffers the consequences of his actions. Not everyone has a 'turn the other cheek' or 'pity me' mentality that you seem to portray.

No sympathy here......................................

Thanks for presenting the hard heart of what I presume to be some kind of right wing Christian. Am I correct? I am an agnostic humanist and I think that is the philosophy I portray. I don't understand the apparent pleasure some people seem to get from verbally spitting on people when they are down and out, no matter if they did bring it on themselves. I do think there are such things as serious crimes that fully and morally deserve the wrath of states. Visa overstaying is not one of them. It is more in the class of someone who hasn't paid his parking tickets. If you are a Christian as I suspect, it seems this humble humanist acts more like one than you do.

I also feel another thing about this. As farangs with almost no rights in Thailand, we should at the very least show solidarity with other farangs who have been burdened by the sometimes incredibly harsh Thai legal system. If we don't, who will? Answer: NOBODY. Now I am not talking about people who have committed serious crimes that are objectively serious crimes, such as murder.

Wrong on both counts.........neither right wing nor christian. I do believe though that everyone has to take responsibility for their actions and as I said, have little sympathy for anyone who blantantly has little regard for the rules that the government here require. I mean its not exactly rocket science to know your responsibilities concerning visiting/staying in another country. Even with the various hoops that you are required to jump through to live in this great country. As farangs with almost no rights in Thailand, we should at the very least show solidarity with other farangs who have been burdened by the sometimes incredibly harsh Thai legal system.Yeah that will work, lets all get together and tell them to go jump. Harsh legal system? Learn to live with it and DON'T do things that will see you in front of a Court. Like overstay for instance. And as far as the philosophy you portray, to me it seems like yours is a 'slap on the wrist, you bad boy, please don't do it again' type.

Just what this guy needs now rotting in a third world prison. The moral police. Its an overstay visa violation not the crime of the century, folks. Get some perspective.

Of course the guy screwed up. However, I think the outrage from us, all vulnerable farangs with very few rights here, should be against a system that throws some of us in jail for these relatively minor violations. He needs help, not lectures. Perhaps you lose your passport and you aren't on overstay and before you can fix it you have a run in with the police. It could be you! What if you have a medical condition? You think you would be well cared for in there?

He took the risk & got caught - has he been unable to find the US embassy for the last 3 months? Whos fault is it?

I agree. Of course he knew the risks. In fact this guy sounds like the guy that came into my g/f's cafe a few weeks ago and mentioned that he was overstay for about 3 months and he had lost his passport. At that time I cautioned him about the consequences of an overstay if he was ever stopped by the police. His attitude then was 'she'll be right jack'. (AND he rode off on a motor cycle with no helmet, geez I mean, come on, if you were here illegally would you be a little covert???) Wonder if its the same guy? Blonde haired young american??? Does Muay Thai???? Mmmmmmm......

Anyway, Jingthing, what do you expect anyone on here to do? Of course he is going to get flak, and realistically,rightly so. Its like an old saying, 'Do the crime, do the time' so the guy will have to suffers the consequences of his actions. Not everyone has a 'turn the other cheek' or 'pity me' mentality that you seem to portray.

No sympathy here......................................

Please excuse my ignorance but where is this Kad Farang place??????

Baan Tawai is at "crickets chirping" biz-level. That's more from a mix of other things (govt. paperwork gymnastics for exporters, $/THB rate, etc.), not just seasonal tourist drop.

I don't quite understand the 'crickets chirping biz-level' comment. Care to elaborate what you mean?

I had a hairdresser mate back in Oz that said there was only ONE that he knew off that 100% worked at stopping falling hair..................................................the floor. BTW I'm in the same boat as the OP but couldn't be bothered worry about it:P

If you have an Index Living Mall somewhere near you I would definately check it out for furniture and stuff. Ive done the run around Chiang Mai as Im renovating a condo atm and Index Furniture seems to be the best and and a reasonable price by far compared to Koncept, Home Pro, S mine etc. Not a great deal in major electrical appliances though. Hope this helps.....

I guess it's Sunday and he's laying in bed thinking about the next door neighbours wife, euuurgh sticky keyboard!

Dirty boy, get a grip!!

I think he has already................lol w#$ker...............

Chiang Mai police apprehended 2 drug smugglers and seized over 29,000 amphetamine pills

Chiang Mai police and Pha Muang(กองกำลังผาเมือง) Force troops have apprehended 2 drug transporters and a large quantity of drugs.

Police from Chai Prakan (ไชยปราการ ) precinct of Chiang Mai province along with troops from the Pha Muang(กองกำลังผาเมือง) Force conducted a joint operation to intercept drug transporters after receiving reports that suspects may attempt to deliver the drugs from Fang (ฝาง ) district of Chiang Mai province to Bangkok today. Authorities were able to detain 2 suspects in their vehicle. 29,400 amphetamine pills were also found hidden under the vehicle's seats.

The two suspects, later identified as Mr. Kane Boonyoth (เคน บุญยอด) and Mrs. Win Boonyoth (หวิน บุญยอด), confessed to obtaining their illict cargo from a drug agent in a neighboring country with plans to transport the drugs to Bangkok.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 20 July 2007

sounds like Mr Big has served up some small fry so that the police appear to be competent and there will be no pressure on them from Bangkok and hence donations to the police benevolent association will continue. TIT

Do you kow ridiculous that sounds? I mean if you were the 'Mr Big' in this operation why would you have your 'couriers' apprehended and some 29,000 pills seized on the chance of you not getting them back unless you paid off someone else which of course would involve more expense? Yeah, really rational thought went into that post......................

Any updates on Palaad Tawanron? Most info here on the site is two years old, some more recent. Reviews are mixed.

Anybody eat here recently?

I drove up there the other night just to get the location and have a look, and it was packed with Thais, even late at night. The ambience obviously was spectacular. But if the food isn't good, what's the point?

Thanks...

My g/f and I took some Aussie friends there last week and most of the food was good except we had a squid stuffed with squid egg dish. I ate most of it as it was right in front of me but boy did I pay for it a few hours later. Hot and cold flushes, screaming headache and I threw up everwhere as well as a constant flow in the toilet. The most severe case of food poisoning I've had in a while and I guess this was my body expelling the stuff. When I ate the squid it did seem a little 'off' to me but I ate in anyway (idiot I am!!!. We have a been there a few times and as I said, generally the food is great, hopefully this was a one off occasion. It was and is usually is busy so the food turnover would be quick I would imagine. Apart from that instance, it was good, great atmosphere and view.