keenok

i have previously looked into using jetstar and also found they are expensive. i have also tried booking well in advance but still find them expensive. i do not consider them to be a budget airline at all( merely budget service). on the one occasion i did fly with them (trans tasman) i was put on the flight as i missed my ticketed qantas flight, i was not impressed with the experience at all.big thumbs down to jetstar from me.

Why would a developing nation with a comparitevely weak economy want to let all its prime real estate be taken by foreign investors - hiking up house prices almost everywhere? Thailand does pretty well out of the tourist industr - no need to let ouside investors actually buy the country!

Oh, God, for a microcosm of that, if you are in America, try visiting the island of Maui. The normal working people cram together seven to a house, while Oprah Winfrey, Clint Eastwood, and their financial/social strata (rich scum) escalate the price of real estate to fifteen times what it is anywhere else in the USA. YOU CAN GET LAND CHEAPER IN BEVERLY HILLS.

Average home lot price: $700,000. Yes, that's dollars, not baht. In baht, today, that is 24,500,000. That is for the ground. The dirt. Then, there is a house to build on top of that.

So, to answer why Thailand doesn't want to sell its land to anyone with a buck: it is because it is nice to actually be able to afford to live in your own country. Tropical places sprout real estate investors like a corpses sprout maggots. Thank God Thailand has shut the door on that.

Real estate "investors" just jack the prices of land up way above the heads of everyone who actually lives in an area, I have found. It would be disastrous if Thailand opened themselves up to that, in my opinion, having seen the results here in "free" Maui.

i could not agree more. the thais are doing the right thing by their CITIZENS. i have a spanish friend who can not afford to buy a home in his home province. he rents from a german at a very expensive rate(compared to his wage)because the prices are being pushed up by holidaymakers. a similar thing is happening in many rural parts of the uk. rich city folk buying holiday homes are destroying local communities.not only are the locals priced out of their own villages ,but the local businesses are now closing down as they have no regular customers(the rich arriving in their 4 wheel drives for a long weekend once a month )they are turning these villages into ghost towns.allowing foreigners to own land here would open the floodgates and what would be the result for local working class thais??

more good publicity for thai women overseas.no wonder many governments all over the world thinks theyre bad news and makes it difficult for them to travel.what are most thai women working as over there?(or is that a stupid question!)

Could it be? If I went to 1 a day it would take 55 years to visit them all... assuming the rate of growth is nil...

If Pattaya had 500 bars 20 years ago and now has 20 000, in 2027, assuming the same rate of growth, Pattaya will have 800 000 bars... if you went to 1 a day........

""Two decades ago, the town had 500 bars. Now there are more than 20,000, mostly sidewalk bars with a few stools "'

dont beleive that there are 20,000,not for a minute. sure there are a lot but a lot of them are empty or very close to it. awful lot of them for sale too,just waiting for another mug to buy it so he can stay here with his 'new friend'. still somebody must be making money from these empty beer bars,the landowner presumably.8000 bars still sounds like too many but i suppose hotel bars, beer bars, gogo bars,pubs ,restaurants.anybody have a reliable figure?

Thai Japanese mafia wannabes. Riding around on 125 Honda Wave snatching purses and commiting petty crimes.

som nam na

took tong kharp!! you are right on the money there t.c. <deleted> em. couldnt care less about these knobheads killing each other off.

i eat for b120 a day no problem. this is one of the major reasons i love thailand.

How can anyone eat for 120 a day? You must have an extremely basic diet. One decent Thai dish with rice averages at at least 80/90 baht at most decent restaurants.

I also love Thailand for it's good, cheap food, but 120 a day?????????

I discovered MacDonalds when I had to live in North America for 10 long years. Macdonalds IS good, once a week.

I, too, would like to know where I can eat out, 3 square meals a day, for 120 baht.

some people must live very sheltered lives here methinks. why not try getting out of the farang restaurant/ bar scene and try visiting normal thai places.they are everywhere (even in pattaya!)go on live dangerously 120 baht is easy to do can be done for less ,how do you think locals with kids go on with a wage of 5 or 6000 a month.

nothing surprises me in patters full of nutters and weirdos from the 4 corners of the globe

also check out travelbag uk website.good deals available on emirates recently. 460 quid(incl taxes) return on emirates in march.should be cheaper available later on in the year.

Some guys seems to like very small goils , so what are the advantages of a small goil ? their little legs must make it hard to keep up with you when walking but clothes must be cheaper as they can wear childrens sizes . And how do thai men feel about miniatures ?

on the plus side - they arent big and fat

on the down side- got to go gently cos they break easy

I can't give you all the details, but the queus there are horendous and service deplorable. I once waited from 1:00 to 4:00 only to be told 'no more today, come back tomorrow'. People recommend to go at 6:30 and wait two hours for them to open just to be able to give them your money.

OK, the good news is that you can get a travel agent visa runner to do it for you. I always use 'friendly star travel'. They specialize in Myanmar booking and visas. They are on the same soi as the Embassy. That soi runs from the Embassy on Sathorn to the India Temple (wat kheek) on Silom. Their office is on the soi near the India temple about 50 meters up the soi from the India temple. They charge 1500 Bt. May take a week cause they wait to get 2 or 3 before they go.

I am really not joking about the service at the Embassy. Many flights are being added to Yangon, but the Embassy is not doing anything about giving more visas. Something has got to give. The people at the Embassy seem to wish they were dead and you would just go away.

A friend of mine working at the Thai embassy (in an unnamed country) told me embassys always put the dumbest staff members in the visa section because nobody wants to work there.

Myanmar is beautiful, Drew

just the sort of information i was looking for(the stuff you cant get of a website)thanks very much for taking the time to answer.

Two sides of the coin here, I mean how many times do girls approach us and ask us for a (payed) good time? As for tourist, almost the only thing you see in these tourist areas are prostitutes! Don't deny this! Very easy to blame the farang and call him a moron.

Have you been to Thailand?

Have you more importantly.

It actually works the other way round here for the most part. When I have a party at my house (or any of my other friends houses) plenty of Thai women (nice ones from Banks, jewellry shops etc, not bars BTW) turn up and look for farangs. Word gets out through a girlfriend of a girlfriend or wife, and they just turn up, look round for an hour or so then leave if no available wallets there.

Sad but true.

Donna, you should try being a bloke. Women come on to you all the time in Patong and any other destination in Thailand, even Khao San Road, Koh Chang, Koh Phang Ngna and all the backpacker places, like it or not. 90 percent of girls in Phuket are not from Phuket, why are they drawn there? Think they come 1,500 km to work in a burger bar, clothes shop, 7/11 etc?

If 200 men went to a publicised drinking contest at the end of the Airport runway in the middle of a prolonged hurricane, there would be 400 women there by the time it started. If you remember when the American Navy used to come here, it was like the charge of the light brigade for the week before with thousands of girls arriving. They knew more about their ships movements than the Kremlin did. I used to watch them making out the "special" price lists that went up the day before they came.

Not PC, but thats life in Thailand, and you are not going to change it one iota. Next time you are out and about and see a military base or Thai busniness district, just notice how many bars and "hair-dresers_ there are round them. No fat farangs there for you to blame, just good old Thai Military.

Please stop trying to change the world, or, if you are a traveller, travel until you find somewhere more to your liking.

have to agree,sometimes it seems the whole country is trying to sell itself.

Have you tried googling it? I am not being sarcastic, maybe you have and the info isn't available.

yes ,ive been to the website,but am unsure on the age and reliability of the information.for instance it says 2 working days to process.could it be that early applicants could get it the same day? i have sent them an email ,but no reply. so i thought i would try picking the knowledge of the forum in the hope of some recent first hand information.

Geting rid off teachrs is tipical, first expatts now us teeachrs we does a good job for this contry, who can tell them how to speech properly now, its bad enohugh gettin a order right in K.fC as it is, up to them, you can get digrees on the internet now anyway,so thay can't check evryone,can thay?

looking for info about the myanmar embassy in sathorn road. opening hours, tourist visa application procedure,cost etc.any information appreciated.thanks.

Is there anyone who can shine some more light on this?

http://www.pattayapeople.com/

seems perfectly reasonable that unqualified people and (or) people with criminal convictions should be excluded. im sure teachers (real ones) have nothing to fear from the new regs.using fake qualifications and risking going to jail here is pretty risky ,if not plain stupid.

A little birdie told me that this new 90 in 180 day visa entry exempt law will be scrapped in February

Three cheers to the little birdie!!!

I am not affected by this rule but I am sure that many others – including immigration officers manning the border posts – are praying that this prediction will come true.

--

Maestro

yes maestro ,they must be hating this new rule.all that counting instead of just stamping!

youve been here 10 years and its a w with a little circle on top

Well,l the only reason that I described it as a "W" with a circle on the top is because I don't read Thai. I don't speak much either.

Do you have a problem with that???

Perhaps you might have chosen to be helpful and explained what it means rather than being a smart ass and taking up bandwith with gratuitous pot shots!

Aloha,

Rex

i have no idea what the visa classification is ,but the little w with the circle on the top is "por peung". not a cheap shot at all ,just an observation.

It didn't take me long to notice the scar. As it says at the top, she told me that it was damaged and had to be removed. It was only today, after my questioning, that she relented and told me the real story.

One of my concerns is the fact that the home is not being cared for. My wife has sacrificed her health for this home and I feel that this sacrifice is huge and unapreciated by her family. Would you or many people give up their kidney to buy their parents a house? How would YOU feel if that house (after that sacrifice) was let to go to ruin?

My major concern, of course is for her health. My wife on all accounts is quite healthy but as TAWP mentioned, if something does happen to the other kidney she will be in deep <deleted>.

Thanks for the wishes. There is really nothing to sort out. It's done, we can't put the kidney back in.

I will be heading up to the village soon and will be taking some Chaindrite and maybe some paint. With a little hope, maybe the family or some locals will lend a hand.

We're I you or your wife, I would not cling to either the house or the family. it has been the root of prior suffering and will no doubt create more in the future. Instead, I'd try to get to the root of why your wife would do such a thing to herself.

agree completely. any father that lets his daughter sell herself or parts of herself deserves nothing. let the house fall down. get on with your own lives and forget the leeches.

BABEINTHAILAND

30 day visa on arrival Think you need to understand a bit more about visas

and 30 day permit to stay in Thailand tourist stamps.

Think you got your terminology a bit crossed

Have a nice day.

Look. I've been here nearly 10 years and I still don't know what to call the ###### things! I refer to them as "Visa on Arrival" (VOA) because that sounds reasonable and at least "seemed" to be the accepted convention around here. More recently, I have read posts where people are corrected for using the "VOA" term and told instead something to the effect of "30 day stamp" or "30 day entry permit." Even in Thailand, the thing must have a proper name! (Well, maybe not!

I looked in my passport and the identical entry stamp appears to be used for all entries into the Kingdom regardless of what type of visa you have or don't have. There is a blank line for "Visa class" and on that line (or nearby) they have written the class of my visa depending the occasion: "tourist" or "B" in most cases. In those case where I have entered without a visa, its the same stamp with a Thai character that looks vaguely like an English "W" with a little circle on the top of the left-hand down stroke of the "W", and then ".30". Something like W.30 .

Why is something so basic as to what to call the ###### thing so obscure and controversial???

Aloha,

Rex

youve been here 10 years and its a w with a little circle on top

ill try again ,seeing as the last effort didnt go through is this a popular thread or something??. my point is that there are officials who do not see the new regs as others see them.therefore you are at the mercy of the INDIVIDUAL OFFICER THAT YOU ENCOUNTER.

I always wonder how much is truely trafficed and how much is media spin put on and an easier excuse / face saving for getting caught..

I knew Thai girls in Holland and most were on the game one way or another.. Many behind thier BF's backs.. Was just talking to a massage girl the other day dead chuffed that someone was sorting out her Belgian visa so she could export her rub and tug skills there.. Seems to me there is no end to the willing workers that why go to the effort of having unwilling ones.

Dont miss understand this post to condone trafficing in any way.. I just tend to be skeptical that most women that go to work as a sex worker in the west dont know what they are signing up for.

couldnt agree more.have met a couple of girls who have been "trafficked" abroad. both knew what it was for and both eventually came home with plenty of cash(by thai standards).both knew it was run by dodgy blokes(mafia as they put it),but happily went along with the dodgy visa applications(fake boyfriends)etc.both girls told me they would never do it again as they were <deleted>**ed silly for months on end to make their cash.one girl was in germany ,another in spain by the way.

ive been around a bit and i love pies!!! from my own experience:

best pork pie, melton mowbray,leicestireshire

best scotch pie,dumfries, scotland(just the right amount of grease)

best steak and kidney,me mam

best steak and cheese, jimmys pies ,roxburgh south island nz.(nz pies much nicer than in oz)

personal favourite,hollands steak and kidney pudding steamed all day in a lancashire chippy with chips gravy an mushy peas(fat boys portions pleas )

Man, you people are like a bunch of old women - panic, panic, panic - yet you've only got half information and hardly any of you have bothered to check at Thai immigration.

I went for my last 30 day visa run last week. I asked THREE different immigration officials and was told "Yes, you can now go to Malaysia and get a 90 day tourist visa as the new 90 days in Thailand law is ONLY FOR VISAS ON ARRIVAL". I mean they've been saying this for months but some of you don't seem to understand VISA ON ARRIVAL. (Hope none of you are teachers as you obviously can't read! :-)

I also have several friends who have gone to Malaysia in the last month after having done 3 thirty day visa runs. Every single one of them was given a 90 day tourist visa. No problem! So yes, you CAN stay 180 days in Thailand, just NOT on a visa on arrival.

All Thai immigration is doing is trying to get people into the system. It's difficult with the 30 day visa runs, but a tourist visa gets you into the system. That's all.

There are many rumours about not being able to get tourist visas but it's not true. It's just from people who know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy. Geez - what a bunch of nervous nellies :-)

who you calling nervous nellie baby in thailand? the point is the inconsistencies that are happening and will continue to happen,not that people are panicing. youve obviously not been here very long or youd realise that asking 3 officials is completely irrelevant. it will depend on the one you deal with on the day. if you get one whos got it all wrong(like you refering to voa lol) then the 3 you asked arent going to help.

So, you own a bar in Soi Cowboy, Pattaya or Patong, your a piss head idiot who offers nothing to Thai society but annoying the locals with your arrogance, you sell young Thai women for sex with drunk ferangs, but, your married and you want a visa. All you have to do is show that your bar (in your wifes name) is earning more than 40,000 baht a month and hey presto - theres your visa. (Don't forget the small "tax" to the local mafia!

The opposite scenario, your a teacher married in Isaan, you love the culture and the people, you help out in all the local events and really contribute to Thai society. You want a visa. Sorry mate - no degree in teaching or a one year TEFL so no visa for you.

What a crazy scenario!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

while i understand what youre talking about,i think it is right that the government attempt to crack down on the loopholes regarding teachers. bar owners deal with whores and punters,yes, but they are adults. teachers deal with children and therefore in my opinion should be highly regulated. theres an aweful lot of weird farang in this country and they do not just own bars do they??