chokdeekrap

To claim you have money in the bank, but not able to prove it without visiting an ATM outside the controlled arrival area is unwise. It is obviously impossible for Immigration to provide escorts or security to passengers while they go banking in a public area outside.

i'm sorry, but if at the airport, how difficult is it to have an atm or two inside the arrivals area where one can access it before passing thru customs as a convenience? especially if you require certain amounts of moneys upon entry?

sounds like an opportunity to make some "tea money" to me. i had a buddy once visit me in LOS & not familiar with local laws & such put out a smoke butt outside of MBK. immediately he got pulled aside & given a 2000 baht ticket, which was quickly reduced to 500 baht when he paid cash on the spot. when he pointed out there were no alternatives (ashtray, garbage cans etc) close by to dispose of a smkoe butt he was basically told too bad & obey the local laws. funny how them local littering laws are in english & show fines in US dollars. do you think they might be laws for farangs that can read english only?

Your friend should carry sufficient money for his stay, 8800bht is not very much.

i have passed thru thai customs many many times without ever being asked for 10K baht... but if i ever had been asked i woulda had problems, not with producing 10K baht had i been able to get out of line & go to an ATM then get back in line, mind you.

oh well i am sure next time i pass thru thai customs i will have 10K baht + in my pocket just in case they aren't DISCRIMINATING!

i just decided to get my lasik (actually PRK) done here at home in canada.

i am coming back to LOS in the fall & was considering doing it in Bangkok... thinking it would be cheaper done there. however i was surprised to find that i could get the procedure done here at home at one of the two highest recommended clinics for cheaper (by about 10-20k baht). if i decided to go to one of the more cheaply priced franchised type clincs the savings would be much more! but hey we all only get one set of peepers so i am going to the best, & it is still going to cost me less than what it would in BKK.

i can't compute why. the doctors doing the surgery may be equivalent but all of the other costs surely should be cheaper in LOS... nurses doing the eye exams, admin staff, office space, etc. so why does it cost more in BKK?

i feel more at ease to be honest getting this procedure done at home here in canada so i am actually happy it turned out to be the cheaper alternative. i just made the mistake of thinking it WOULD be cheaper in LOS.

go figure!

i am certainly no expert here but i had alot of the same questions & got some really helpful answers.

1-I can apply for what type of vise ?

i believe you can apply for a single or multi-entry Non-O visa... single enty visa if you can prove 40K baht income per month & want to extend it for a year so you don't have to do visa runs every 90 days. multi entry visa (from singapore) if you can prove 400k baht in a bank account somewhere (but no 40K baht income per month!), but you will have to do a visa run every 90 days.

2-How long i can stay in thai by that visa (it's 1year?)

i believe you will get 15 months with the multi-Non-O visa if u do a visa run just before the last visa runs out at 12 months. i think u will get 15 months the first year for the single-Non-O also as you apply for a 1 year extension after your initial 3 month visa expires.

3-I dont work in thai and i come to thailand by tourist visa Then i haven't income in thai , if thai embassy want see my bank statement , what can i do for it

i can print all of my bank statements online. however being paranoid like i am, i can call my bank & ask them to issue me a non-confidential monthly statement that doesn't show any sensitive info like my account numbers, so that is my plan when the time comes for me to produce a bank statement.

4-When i get married ,I must go out from thailand every 12months and i come back again, and i must repeat it FOREVER ?

i just know that you need to renew your visa at regular intervals, whether every 3 months or every year (depending on your choice of Non-O visa). no one gets a pass on this unless you go for the thai PR app.

you are correct in assuming thailand doesn't give away any long-term stays based on marriage or any other condition. you are required to apply for & renew applicable visas.

but clothing that tight can't be good for your innards!

sounds like it's good for someone's innards (err is that outards?)

Eat little and often as this will speed up your metabolic rate and burn fat.

spot on! you should be taking in ~2000 QUALITY calories, spread over 6 meals/snacks per day. that is like 250-400 calories per meal/snack. a great reason for this is so that at no point in the day will you feel famished & be tempted to gorge on whatever is handy (which is usually junk/fast food).

another beneficial reason for eating 6 times per day is that you will keep your metabolism busy all day long processing food which is a good thing. your metabolism burns off calories while it works.

Cut out bread completely.

cutting out carbs (which i assume is the reason for cutting out breads?) is wrong. carbs have gotten a bad rap lately but your body needs & wants carbs. just make sure the carbs you do eat count! eat whole wheat anything you can find when it comes to carbs (breads, pastas, rice, wraps, etc). refined carbs (white bread, white rice, etc) are the carbs you want to avoid. they have all their nutritional value refined out of them & are pretty much worthless to your body nutritional-wise.

i have no problem exercising in the afternoon in bangkok in my GF's apt which has no air conditioning but a fan. actually i enjoy sweating more as it helps to rid the body of toxins. it is actually great to let yourself sweat for an hour or two after a good workout, if you can stand it

but if mid-day heat does not inspire you to do a workout, head down to a gym that has air conditioning. you might be even more motivated working out in the gym because you pay for it. but do whatever it is you need to do to get regular exercise.

also don't be scared to throw in some weight training. you don't need to be throwing around enough weights to become the incredible hulk but enough to start building up your muscle mass. when you break down your muscles from weight training it can take your body upto 48 hours to repair those muscles which actually burns up quite a bit of calories doing so. so if you actually do weight training 3 days a week you could keep your body busy repairing your muscles all week long burning calories the entire time. building muscle mass burns calories!

i don't disagree with any kind of cardio type exercise (i do cardio 2-3 times per week as time allows & for never any longer than 20 minutes per session... but i try to never miss a weight training session) but you only burn calories for the duration of the cardio workout. your body will also begin to burn off muscle mass doing any cardio exercise for longer than ~20 minutes.

if you are serious about losing some kilos then i would suggest you definately consider radically changing your day-today eating habits. i would also suggest you get started on a weights-workout program enough so that you work all of your major muscle groups once per week & feel them burn at least a little. walking is great & even some light cardio (no more than 30 mins max! per session) on days you don't workout with weights will help in losing some extra pounds & make you feel a lot better about yourself.

has anyone has lasik that enjoys diving regularly? i think i know it shouldn't affect diving, we wear face masks (that are supposed to be waterproof afterall). but no matter what divers will get sea water in their eyes.

i would like to consider lasik but i am certainly nervous of the downsides.

My wife bought one at Tesco Lotus in Jomtien so I would thing Tesco Lotus in Bangkok would have the same.

i used to shop regularly (1-2 times per week) at tesco lotus (near MBK) & looked often for any kind of workout bench with no success. i used to also do regular monthly visa runs from On Nut tesco lotus & more times than not i popped in to check if they had any kind of workout bench, with no luck.

for some reason good decent workout equipment seems hard to come by or find in BKK. free weights no problem... convenient folding multi-position workout bench can't seem to be found in BKK.

Bingo!

Eat less of whatever you are currently eating and exercise more.

Less Calories + Increase in activity = weight loss.

probably eating less of whatever you are currently eating & exercising more is great advice!

less calories + increase in activity is NOT great advice! unless your current calorie intake is way beyond the daily recommended.

most people that need to lose weight need to learn to CUT out the bad calories regularly consumed & just start introducing good calories in their place.

an increase of physical activity (very recommended!) will require a steady intake of daily calories & NOT a decrease!

too many people get hung up on the idea that LESS calories means more wieght loss. this is a total mis-conception.

eat well, eat often & exercise regularly. don't deprive yourself or YOU will binge at some point, figuring you have failed at dieting & return to cold pizza breakfasts in no time flat! give yourself one day a week where you eat & drink anything your heart desires... rewarding yourself for keeping to a good steady diet for the previous 6 days.

try to maintain this plan & i assure you that anyone can lose excess body fat without crazy diet calorie depravation!

i know one time (actually st00pid me, two times) i have drank the juice from som tam poo. both times it sent my guts into a gut-wrenching pain i can't explain within minutes after drinkiing the som tam juice. i just remember the first time, thinking i had done some kind of severe organ damage or something... it honestly felt like my organs were coming out of my stomache. freaky & bad-ass! i remember telling the GF we might be going to the hospital, it felt that bad.

then within about 5-7 minutes i was on the can & my body was flushing something out for the next 10 minutes or so. then i was right as rain, as if nothing in the last 15 minutes happened.

almost the exact same thing happened the second time (i know you'd think i woulda learned from the first episode!) i drank som tam juice.

pretty potent stuff is all i can say. i eat spicy all the time & never experienced any kinda problems like i did those two occasions!

unfortunately i used to enjoy sharing the GF's som tam every night, but have never touched it since that last time drinking som tam juice.

As for what to eat in order to lose weight, it could be overly simplistically summed up in one word:

LESS

i guess it all depends on your current eating habits. however if your are eating enough calories for your body type & exercise level then eating LESS is not the way to go in my opinion. Rather eating smaller meals more often consisting of better quality fuel for your body is the key.

if you cut down on the calories & eat less calories than your body requires you certainly will lose weight. when you begin to reduced your recommended daily calorie intake your body starts to burn itself off. woohoo, weight loss! unfortunately when your body realizes it is being deprived of calories the first thing it will burn off is the body tissue that is hardest to maintain, which unfortuantely is muscle. sure you will eventually begin burning off fat (if you can stick with a diet long enough) but most the immediate weight losses due to conventional diets is the result of a loss of muscle mass & NOT body fat.

because you will have to start eating the right amount of calories sooner or later (your body will demand it) i think the better approach is to learn to eat smarter (alot smarter than most people eat!) in smaller quantities but more often, combined with regular exercise.

w00ps... sorry for the double post... DOH!!!

i am assuming you are looking for a weight bench? i am actually trolling this forum looking for the same thing.

last time i was in BKK looking for a multi-position-folding workout bench, i struck out at all the bigger department-type sport stores that i could find, also. i did however find a sports store across the street from the tescos (down the road from MBK) that carried one model. however it seemed very flimsy & cheaply made, so i just continued to use my swiss ball for my bench exercises at home.

altho i will be back in LOS soon for another year & i would surely like to find a good solid multi-position-folding workout bench. so if you have any luck finding what you think is a decent bench please post the details.

i am assuming you are looking for a weight bench? i am actually trolling this forum looking for the same thing.

last time i was in BKK looking for a multi-position-folding workout bench, i struck out at all the bigger department-type sport stores that i could find, also. i did however find a sports store across the street from the tescos (down the road from MBK) that carried one model. however it seemed very flimsy & cheaply made, so i just continued to use my swiss ball for my bench exercises at home.

altho i will be back in LOS soon for another year & i would surely like to find a good solid multi-position-folding workout bench. so if you have any luck finding what you think is a decent bench please post the details.

regular exercise is a great start.

I mean, what can I eat so that I am not constantly hungry ?

i am not really sure what your eating habits are, but you should be eating six smaller meals per day. you should be eating a snack/meal consisting of about 250-400 quality calories every 2-3 hours. Depending on your activity level & size that should give you between 1500 & 2400 calories per day. 1500 being a bit low for the average male & 2400 being a little high for someone that doesn't do very much exercise (which you should be doing anyway!).

you don't need to cut out the carbs! just make smarter carb choices. switch to brown rice in place of white rice. whole what anything (breads, pastas) over their refined counterparts. don't forget to eat more than just meat & carbs tho. i try to eat 7 different coloured fruits & veggies a day mixed in with my meats & carbs.

you should cut out as much of the empty calories & high sugary foods as you can manage. if you consume soda pops (coke, sprite, 7up, etc) regularly (including drink mixers), i would recommend at least seriously cutting down if you can't cut them out of your diet all together. soda pop is pure evil!

GL

editted for grammer

the feeling is that you should extend your stay at Immigration using 40k monthly income rather than be making 90 day visits if you plan to stay in Thailand..

is this the feeling because 90 day visa runs are a PITA for most long-term farangs? i have nps doing a border run to cambodia for the day every 3 months. because the 40k/month income will be a problem for me, so the multi-entry option looks like the winner for me.

If you got a triple entry tourist visa from a consulate in Canada before you came to Thailand to marry

i'm going to try for the triple entry tourist visa before i leave, but prepare to settle for the double entry tourist visa if for whatever reason they don't issue me a triple. so i know i should be good for at least 6 months & hopefully 9 months. i think at some point i may want/need to do the non-imm-o visa thing so i want to know my options.

thanx for the great advice & feedback, appreciate it!

if my GF (soon to be wife) decide to go to KL for the multi-entry-O then can we expect to not even worry about the bank balance info (although i am certain i would take it with JUST in case... as one poster wrote "it is a long way back to BKK for one piece of paper")?

This should be all you need but remember to exit/enter every 90 days.

this will be a most welcome change. i will actually have to stop myself from setting up my monthly reminders to do the border run thing... now just reminders every 3 months, sweeeet.

You have 2 Options.

...

I think option 1 would be easier for you if you have the money.

wow awesome, perfect! for some reason i just couldn't seem to separate the two options in my head. it is now clear... crystal!

am i right in thinking the 400k baht can be in any bank account i have annywhere... not necessarily a thai bank account?

thanx alot

jikes, it is so easy to mess up my head so ok i will be coming back to bangkok to marry my GF in Sept. first do the bangkok marital process then do a ceremony (which i know is only ritual) in her hometown some time later.

so after we get married & i don't want to make a trip back home to canada to get a marriage visa what are my best options & how long before i would need an extension on that visa? i want to stay as long as it takes for the GF to get her PR in canada & come back with me. i understand that could well take upto a year. financially i have nps supporting us while we wait for her PR. the problem seems more wrapped up in satisfying the thai visa process.

thanx for helping to clear things a little.

so sorry for asking a question that has been hashed many times over. i have searched the forums looking for answers, but it seems every new thread seems to cast more doubt than before.

after i marry my thai GF i would like to get my non-imm-o. i have read posts stating an income of 40K IS required along with required paperwork (marriage vert, passports, wife's ID card, etc) for a marriage visa to be granted.

then i read that as long as you have 400k baht in a bank account (any bank account, not necessarily a thai bank account, just as long as you provide a recent bank statement) you will be issued a marriage visa. these posts i read seemed to deal specifically with singapore.

finally i read many posts where NO request, regarding bank book/bank statement/confirmation of income, was aked for from the immi case worker issuing the marriage visa.

my search for such posts was limited to posts since all the visa changes back in Oct 2006.

the easiset situation would obviously be to not have to produce proof of any monetary/income for the visa. however being a pesemist i am sure i won't be so lucky. would it be a sfae bet to go to singapore after the GF & i marry & produce a recent bank statement (from my bank account back home) that would have a balance well exceeding 400k baht to satisfy requirements for a marriage visa & not worry about a 40k/month income? or am i totally mis-interpretting things... perhaps singapore asks for a bank balance IN addition to a monthly income of 40k baht?

i am just trying to get this straight so i see a clear path going forward, which atm is a little muddled.

if i do have to prove monthly income of 40k baht per month would recent paystubs from a recent job (one that i have chucked in) be adequate? or how about tax statements issued by the gov't from last tax season to prove adequate income over the course of a year?

thanx for helping to clear any of this up for me.

checking out the thai embassy webpage in canada they are pretty strict about issuing non-imm type visas.

**Multiple entries are not issued to tourist visas. Applicants who apply for a Non-immigrant visa and request mulitple entries must be strictly for business and at consideration of issuing officer.

but in england you can just put visiting friends and they issue no problem.

i do hold a valid UK passport & was wondering if multi-entry non-imm visas are more easily obtained in the UK could i send my UK passport/non-imm-o app (visiting friends) over to hull for the visa with a return address here in canada?

cheers,

chokdeekrap

i have found this thread useful. i am planning on returning to thai in sept to marry my thai GF. i just wanted to confirm that the affirmation is a form that i can pick up at my embassy? i am canadian & here is what the canadian embassy says about required form for marrying a thai in thailand...

Obtain an English declaration form with instructions available at the Embassy. Notary walk-in service hours are Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 12:00. The declaration is used to confirm your marital status, permanent address, and to give two references in Canada.

...

The completed and notarized English declaration must then be translated into Thai by a certified translator. This usually takes 1-2 days to complete.

does it look like this is the affirmation/equivalent that has been well discussed here in previous posts?

one other question i have is whether an income tax statement from the previous year would be enough to prove 40k baht/month earnings? if not, even though i plan on jacking in my job would pay stubs be proof enough of the required income, even though i wouldn't be working at this job any longer?

thanx,

chokdeekrap

I'd be interested in Bangkok. I've lost count of the problems I have with downloads.

i always got my fedora releases from the CD shop just outside of tokyu @ MBK in the mobile phone dept... go out of tokyu & stay left & u will c movie/software shops. one of the first ones always had the latest versions of fedora which i always preferred b/c they included way more on their distro than ubuntu's live distro.

i think with fedora's next release 7, which is gonna be a live cd there won't be as many packages available on the dvd as was available in previous releases because more emphasis will be put on online package installs.

GL

i will be moving back to the LOS in Sept. my GF just moved to a new apt on Ekkamai rd between Petchuburi & Sukhumvit. what kind of luck might i have in getting any kind of high speed internet at the apt?

i had ubc satellite tv last time i was there & was told a month or two before i left that ubc offered satelliete internet which i think would be the most ideal way to go if it indeed does exhist (i was told the red satellite dishes were given to customers that wanted satellite internet access). if this info is wrong, what might my choices be?

i would really rather have high speed in the apt if possible (not at an extreme price however!) rather than using the inet cafes.

the GF has always told me that in traditional thai populated neighbourhoods/apartments that inet is almost non-existent & or unreliable.

now she doesn't really know much about technology so i thought i would ask the question what might really be available to me when i move back.

any insight or advice is welcome.

The non-CELTic courses incorporate young learner's teaching in their 120 hour course.

call me crazy, but i am thinking i will probably take the tefl course before i do the CELTA course just as a prep course that was suggested several times on some other ESL boards.

i'm crazy like that... when i want to learn something i go all out. last time i was in thailand (for 18 months) i wanted to learn to dive. So rather than just go for my open water ticket i went all the way thru to the instrcutor level. not because i have a desire to instruct diving but because i figure it gives me the most exposure to whatever it is i am learning, diving at that particular time.

i won't be teaching english for the possible revenue but rather something to do on a daily basis. i am the kind of person that NEEDS to stay busy & if i can earn monthly beer money doing it then kudos to me.

so thanks for u'r replies & perhaps i will post a few more

pretty useless

posts regarding teaching in thailand & ilook forward to the community input.

cheers,

chokdeekrap

i decided on CELTA because i have already been to the CELTA vs TEFL forums & decided it looked like the best step forward for me. i was just wondering what anyone's opinion on taking a CELTA course in bkk might be. experiences, regrets, advantages.

As further evidence of how useless these discussions can be, a CELTA in any country would only teach you how to teach English to adults, and most of the jobs in Thailand are for teachers to children.

is there not a follow-up CELTA course for teaching youths? YL-CELTA or something similar? sounds like a progression to me.

cheers,

chokdeekrap

proof of bank account with more than 400k somewhere.

ok kewls. it looks like i can provide proof from my bank account back home. does the bank statement have be certified by my embassy or someone to verrify whatever it is they might be able to verify?