itsbill

Dogit. Just so I am clear in the Philippines you renewed your visa at the local immigration office without leaving the country. Also this can be done every two months for 2 years. you then leave the Philippines renter the Philippines then start the process over again. Thanks. I am also feed up with the Thai visa situation. I think it will only get worse when PPP take office.

let us know that

at one point in the Thai show we see 5 or 6 girls jump on a farang in a bar and hug him and grab him in and give him the' handsome man' treatment, but like most people in LOS I have seen this a thousand times and to me it looked totaly false, over the top, and just didnt look 'normal' I had a very strong feeling that was the filmakers third take of that shot I could imagine her saying to the girls 'yes thats good but make more of a fuss of him , realy come on to him big time' it felt set up and made me feel like a lot of the other situations were set up like the girl coming to BKK to take a look to see if she wanted to be a bar girl, as the girl was in her thirties it seemed strange that this was the first time she had thought of it, lucky coincidence that she decided to do that when the film maker was there. The whole thing felt like the filmaker was looking for stories to fit her pre conceived ideas not what was actualy going on.

anyone know a reliable shippping agent preferably in Pattaya, for shipping household items by sea

thats my problem im online 12 hours a day , and need real speed, wifi is pretty inefective at the best of times, and dial up style speeds are no good for me personally, i think i pay a faily high price here for internet 2700 per month I guess thats about $70 so to jump to $400 for an inferior service is just to far over my head

Agree that if you depend on the internet to make a living, Cambodia may not be the best choice ...... yet. However, as I say. things are changing and I don't think you would now have to pay $400 a month to get a reasonable connection.

You could try asking here:

http://www.khmer440.com

Are the Philippines any better for internet connections?

About the same price as here for high end connection 2700baht , but slightly slower and less reliable service so I believe

thats my problem im online 12 hours a day , and need real speed, wifi is pretty inefective at the best of times, and dial up style speeds are no good for me personally, i think i pay a faily high price here for internet 2700 per month I guess thats about $70 so to jump to $400 for an inferior service is just to far over my head

my problem with then is they seem to charge even more than they do in the west , iof there is nowhere else I may have to use them , but does anyone know of a more reasonable alternative

Can you give any information on coverage area in Pattaya, installation charges, and wait times for installation. Specifically, do they have coverage on soi nernplubwan (soi muslim). I am in a mooban a hundred or so meters off of Nernplubwan just past the Esso gas station. The B1000 package sounds like a good deal

yes they offer the high end service there as far as Phatakarn Rd , my understanding according to the tech is that that is as far as it goes and my house is infact the furthest they go , so as long as you are before phatakarn and not more than about 1km from soi NPW you can get it

Cambodia in my opinion is out if you have a farang wife ,also in my opinion it is dangerious there,

I have lived in Phnom Penh for almost a year and disagree that it is any more dangerous than Thailand, where murders of, and violent robberies against, foreigners seem to be on the increase. Admittedly there are far fewer expats and foreign tourists here, but there have only been a handful of murders of Westerners within the last few years. Most of the robberies have also been committed against drunk expats foolishly taking unknown motorbike taxis from insalubrious areas after a heavy night out. Taking a few simple precautions (applicable also in most other parts of the world) will reduce the possibility that you will be the victim of crime here. I also do not really understand why you say Cambodia is "out" because you have a farang wife? There are many Western couples here, and quite a few single Western women, who, incidentally, find that they are less marginalized by the expat community than they are in Thailand. I also know a number of Thai/Farang Thai/Khmer couples who are here because it is much easier for the Thai to remain in Cambodia than it is for the non-Thai to stay in Thailand. I posted the information below on the South East Asia forum, but will copy it here for anyone who is thinking about Cambodia.

There is no specific provision or visa category for permanent residency or retirement, however the business visa (obtainable on arrival for $25) can be renewed indefinitely for periods of 1, 3, 6, and 12 months without leaving the country. 12 months costs $250 - $265 depending on which agent you use. The 6 and 12 month visas are multiple-entry. No checks of any kind are made on applicants for the business visa and the only documentation required is the completed application form, photograph, and papers bearing the portrait of dead American presidents! I strongly recommend using an agent rather than trying to enjoin battle with the Immigration Department yourself. It doesn't cost much more, and Immigration have been known to give people who apply in person the runaround (presumably because they don't then get the kickback which the agents pay them). Using an agent means that you will have your passport back stamped with a 12 month visa within 3 or 4 days.

The business visa easily enables you to open bank accounts and get Visa/Mastercard debit and credit cards - though a security deposit is usually required for the latter. Accounts may be held in either Riels or US dollars, and certain types of account can offer fairly competitive interest rates. There are almost no restrictions on foreigners owning and operating businesses in Cambodia. You can own 100% of the business, without any requirement for local shareholders, partners, agents, or employees. Tea money is required to get the business registration, but it is not excessive and the Cambodian government departments will generally leave you alone after that. You are also allowed to work in your business in any capacity, and may employ other foreigners (quite a few places have Vietnamese or Filipino staff, for example). No work permits are currently required, though there are occasional mutterings that one may be introduced.

The provisions regarding visas and business ownership have been in place for about 15 years and have not changed at all within that time. I also understand that it is now possible for foreigners to own property, but the law was only passed a few weeks ago and precise details are still a little sketchy. There is more detailed information on this in the South East Forum.

Phnom Penh is a very congenial place to live, and I find the Khmers to be pleasant, friendly and tolerant. They are not as nationalistic or as overtly xenophobic as the Thais - you will hardly ever hear the word barang for example. As with the Thais however, it is not so easy to make anything other than casual Khmer acquaintances. Some things in Phnom Penh, such as good Western booze, wine, and books are considerably cheaper than Thailand, though the selection of books is far better in Bangkok. Food is about the same price or a little cheaper than Thailand, and there is an abundant choice of good-quality eateries offering the whole gamut of Asian and Western cuisines. There are also a number of really nice open-air cafes and bars, serving good coffee, alcohol and food ( a legacy of the French). However, there is not as much low-cost street food available as there is in Thailand. Supermarkets are fairly well-stocked with a good selection of Western comforts. Accommodation can often represent better value for money than Bangkok, though you may have to shop around a little. Electricity and home internet connection are more expensive than Thailand, particularly the latter, and connection speeds can range from acceptable to erratic. Prices are however coming down and connection speeds improving, as more service providers enter the market. Although medical care is not quite as dreadful as it used to be, it is still pretty awful and is also much more expensive than Thailand. A few of the international clinics have expat or reasonably competent local doctors, and they can handle routine primary care. There are well-stocked pharmacies, which will dispense anything you want without a prescription. Although the pharmacists are not usually as knowledgeable as those in Thailand, the cost of medicines can sometimes be significantly cheaper. You need to make sure that you have medical insurance which includes a provision for evacuation to Bangkok or Singapore in an emergency, or for treatment for anything other than minor conditions.

Most places outside Phnom Penh are far less developed with poor infrastructure. Only Siem Riep and Sihanoukville have much in the way of Western-style amenities, and except perhaps in Siem Riep, you can forget about even basic medical care.

hi thank you for that very good round up of things in Cambodia , I actual was not talking about that kind of personal saftey,and reading my post it does sound like thats what i meant, but its an issue i dont want to discuss here. I must say the thing that puts me off Cam's more than anything else ( and you may tell me I am wrong) is that as far as I can tell any kind of 'real' internet connction that I would want costs a staggering $400 per month there seem to be several companies offering the same price. That was actualy my number one reason for rejecting Cam's is that correct or am I miss-informed? Do you have anything else to say as we dont hear very much about the country other than visa run stuff?

finaly CAT Hi new will come to my area Na jomitine near the old Sharky restraunt..... price is 2,600 for 2mps down and 800 kps down. a bit ricey but I am so sick of TOT's 100 kps download speend....even after upgradeing to 2mps with TOT I still get 100 to 200 kps in the daytime and maybe at 3 am get 400.........is anyone useing CAT hinet and how is it??? it is worth the price??

I've been using CAT for nearly two months. When I signed up, they advised me to opt for the 1000 baht package because, as they put it, "Our equipement will support 2 mbps, but the Thai servers rarely hit that level." They said I'd get at least an average of 600 mbps download, and frequently more, depending upon the users on line at any given time.

That advice, and that estimate, have been right on the button. I'm able to get streaming video of NFL games, and movies from various sites. And movement among and within various web sites has been acceptable. It's certainly not the DSL speed that I had in the USA. However, I consider it well worth 1000 baht per month to be able to access virtually anything on the web, with reasonable wait times.

I check my speed every now and then. When it isn't "frozen", which has happened a few times over two months, I've ranged from as low as 490 to as high as 1740. I checked just now, and I'm getting 1644 download from the LA server. More than enough, as I said, for most web content.

I have had it for over a year the last few weeks it has been playing up , but it seems back to normal now ,generally it is very reliable if a little over priced , the techs are good and helpful, the tech lady at the office is very nice and speaks good english, the bills can arrive after the due date so keep a note of when its due and make sure you go and pay even if your bill has not come. I would say that no one else should get it from now on because i dont want mine to slow down but im just selfish

looking for an agent in Pattaya to give me a quote for travel insurance to other county's

anyone know of a good PO BOX mail forwarding service other than mail boxes ect?

United Parcel Service (UPS) has a chain of franchised MBE type stores in many areas of the US. I use one of their stores in the SFO area as my mail drop and forwarding service to Thailand.

sorry should have made it clearer looking for service in Pattaya

anyone know of a good PO BOX mail forwarding service other than mail boxes ect?

hi yes we did consider all those places Cambodia in my opinion is out if you have a farang wife ,also in my opinion it is dangerious there, we have lived in simular countries before and have had extreme problems and real dangerious situations , so we wouldnt go there. Laos is so quiet even the capital is like a little village great if that is for you but its not for us, Vietnam is our second choice slightly more of a problem with visa's but the big turn off for us was that to get real working internet you have to live right in one of the three big city's Malaysia is going to have full on Muslim law soon, which I think may be difficult for any westerner to live with. Philipppines seem to want us , i dont think its perfect I dont even think its as nice as LOS in many ways but they do want us there. We have stopped taliking about moving we are going in 3 weeks, I will continue this thread over the next few months as I think quite a few people may want to know how it works out in reality and if we love it or hate it.

itsbill, May I ask if you've already considered/checked out Laos,Cambodia,Vietnam etc? before coming

to your conclusion? I am an under 50 in LOS...yea,one of those demonized by thai imm..even though I have plenty

of funds,and a longtime Thai gal pal that would marry me to on paper if it'd help me to stay..but I really don't wanna stay where I'm not wanted ya know? even though I spend alot of money into the economy.

Cambo seems a good alternative..any thoughts?

cheers,

mel2surf

A good man, not only Thai people think he is special, he is a very fine example to all Royal family's around the world of what a true King and leader should be. I wish him well.

I used them for years, the delay in payment is very unreasonable this is suposed to be to guard against chargbacks, but after years of not a single chargeback on my account i still had to wait nearly six weeks to receive the cash. There is a second problem the customers of places like ebay will not use it they think paypal is god and trust nobody else, which is totally unfounded but its hard to alter peoples mindset, I way prefer worldpay it is easy for client and owner but the two things above are giant hurdles.

I think so. I can't tell you the exact way to do it since a lot has changed over the years. Back when I was there, most of the things were handled by the Ayuntamiento in your city. Nowadays I think it's called "Oficina de Extranjeros" (basically Immigration) or something, but don't quote me. I was just there about 3 years ago, not in Tenerife, but in Madrid and even though I was absent from Spain for over 5 years, I was able to pick up my new Residencia the next day. I think your best choice is Immigration in Santa Cruz and try to get her a dependant card, based on your status.

If they're still as bad with paperwork as they were when I was there, it may take a few months though, I don't know

Man, I miss the food and everything. If I could I'd move back to Spain tonight, but my businesses don't allow it right now. One day I'll move back to Spain, for sure, probably not Tenerife (even though it is more beautiful than the main land) but somewhere around Valencia or Alicante.

If you are European 'residencia' basically is no longer used, they used it for years after joining the eec then they were forced to stop issuing it apart from certain circumstanes, you walk in thats it.

Itsbill, different consulates have different requirements. Call the consulate where you plan to apply and ask.

--

Maestro

Thank you , does anyone know what Cardiff is like about friend and family visas?

I have noticed a number of of travel agencies w/ Air Asia stickers everywhere. I noticed on the AA site it stated that it reserved the rightto refuse unauthz tickets blah blah... How can one tell if they are authzd? The site only shows one name as agent. I just dont like to put my card online.

Does Cebu Pac still have processing problems online?

Thanks

booked AA online and at a several agents never had a problem , booked several flights last month with cebu online and one through an agent in Phillipines no problems at all, i was not aware they had previously had problems but if so i dont think they do now, and they are soooo cheap they make AA look expensive

Nice work, well done.

Took the Mrs to my folks place in Tenerife in June - she loved it!!

Have a good one.

possibly doesnt apply in your case my understanding is she can go anywhere in europe on that , but not the Uk , for entry to the Uk she needs to hide in a container for 4 days then she will be welcomed with open arms , but a visa good for the eec is no good for the UK

Probably not.

Actually, I'd say she has a good chance from our friends in Hull on the grounds of 'visiting friends and family', certainly worth giving them a call

Just how practical is this visiting friends and family thing , I am thinking it may be harder for a young person ,, maybe im wrong but what papers ( or cash) do you need for a year o on that basis?

try these people

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...p;#entry1482328

Up-date to the first few posters about RP visas.

Upon arrival you get free tourist visa, get extention every two months, must leave after on year for as long as it takes to get a flight bach. No nothing else!

(no need go to imagration just hand your passport and cash to the TRUSTED travel services and pick up next day)

I don't know about flights from thailand, but I use Cathay out of Hong Kong direct to Cebu avoid Manilla at all cost

They recently liberalized the system even more. You can now stay up to 18 or 24 months without leaving the islands at all, with in country extensions. I don't believe the stamp on arrival is called a tourist visa, it is instead a 21 day permission to stay, the only way to get a real PI tourist visa is from a PI embassy/consulate outside the islands.

Your right permission to stay......haven't bine up to date with the RP forum tyed up finishing here and packing to go back. 18-24 months now? don't let my girl friend know.....no need for you to go back plenty time to make baby and be good father

Flights to MANILA are about 5/6000 on Ceba Pacific, internal flights are crazy cheap with them I paid 900 baht all in Iloilo to Manila taxes and everything , that was not an offer that was the normal price. I am sorry I did not make Cebu but I certainly didnt want to be stuck in Iloilo for 3 days , My wife and I are definatly thiking about it now , i would need to go back and find the right location as I must admit I was not impressed with the places I visited Manila is Bangkok with worse air, traffic, decay and about a 10th of the planning, Angeles is Pattaya in the 60's, Subic is run down and the sea looks a bit grey, ilolio was so run down it was awful I spent a good 2 hours there before heading to the airport, but I did form the opinion that there are places to go like Cebu that can give us westerners what we are looking for in terms of reasonable infrastrucure

Was the British embassy aware of your plans to travel around Europe and Japan too? How do you know your friend and in what circumstances do you normally meet him; i.e. do you just casually see him when you are in Thailand or do you also write/phone/send e-mails when you are in Japan. Do you have any evidence of previously having employed him?

If you still intend to visit the UK, it may be worth applying again as the embassy appears to have taken the UK element of the trip out of context, believing it to be only the UK that is to be visited.

Scouse.

Thanks for your suggestion. all the evidence was in the file but maybe not presented in a way that the ECO would easily find what he/she was looking for.

I travel extensively in Asia and my friend is generaly part of the trip (a few days every 3-4 months for local exhibitions in the region.On thoise occasions he worlks part-time to help aprund, yes i supplied pictures showing him/us working in different contries. Also on holiday together in his village in Isaan where we spend some weeks toegther. All that was explained in my cover letter which was obviously too long and not read or believed...We also exchange e-mails and SMS on a daily basis but it will be his first trip to my home in Japan.

I do not think I want to go through compiling the file again as we are leaving on 11 October.

It just would have been nice to cross the channel for 2-3 days, never mind next time maybe I'll mkae a better structured stronger file

Hopefully having being to Europeand Japan will help next time.

I am however not happy that the UK Embassy has stamped his passport as it might have a bad impact on other applications to other countries

I have never quite understood why a Brit can not guarantee a visitor financialy If you provided eveidence of net worth they could say ok your worth 50 grand we want 20 grand and if the person does not leave on time you forfit the money and that will pay for finding him?

I agree.

The Philippines is an excellent backup for those of us who might be pushed out of Thailand. Did you check out Cebu City? To me, this is the place to move, a big city but close to really great smaller islands. With their visa system, you can stay for many years without a real visa, but you have to get an extension every 2 months. Reports are the total cost is about a dollar a day, plus the occasional needed trips out of country (either every 12, 18, or 24 months). Mabuhay khrap!

Unfortunatly because of flight problems ( having to wait 3 days for one from Ilolio) I did not get there that was one of the main places I wanted to visit , how did you find it ? is it run down like I describe other areas above? what do you think of cost of living compared to LOS?

I spent a few days in the Philippines last week having a look around and generally trying to check out the situation there, I must say on first impressions the country seems very poor compared to Thailand, everyone seems to be hustling far more than happens here, every town looks like it needs a lick of paint, just about every building is run down all the pavements/sidewalks are washed away its clear the local authorities have no money at all to spend on upkeep of public areas. There are plenty of modern facilities such as huge shopping malls and supermarkets then fifty meters away are shacks without running water all things that do exist in Thailand but not so common, not so ‘in your face’. The local people seem very friendly and hospitable pretty much like Thai’s but perhaps not quite as nice, maybe a little more desperate.

Manila is like BKK big, sprawling and very congested the islands are kind of similar to island areas here but much less developed, so what’s it got going for it? Well one thing is many people speak very good even perfect English, maybe a friendlier attitude towards foreigners in general but mostly that you can show up at the airport and get a tourist visa and with very little effort stay there for 2 years, that was what attracted me to go take a look and I must say I ran into many Thai resident farangs who were there for the same reason, just having a look and checking the place out. I can see many areas where the Philippines do not hold a candle to LOS but they defiantly want us there they are bending over backwards to get us to go and live there and spend our money. At the moment the balance is just slightly in Thailand’s favour for me personally but I don’t think if push came to shove I would hesitate to pick up sticks and take a 6000 baht flight out there and put down new roots.