Jonsam

Accusing me of being a troll seems silly. Look at my post... I'm not just airing complaints or trying to start an online fudge throwing fest, of which there are already too many. What I'm doing is asking if anyone knows a number I can call or a person I can contact in order to file a complaint. That guy should not be employed with immigration as far as I'm concerned. It can be of no benefit to the country I call home.

As for part of the story missing, I left out lots of details for the sake of brevity, but do not intend to do so when making my complaint.

I've traveled in and out of Thailand dozens of times, as well as numerous other countries. I've had my passport checked hundreds of times and this guy was by far the rudest immigration official I ever met. Second place goes to a guy at Suvarnabhum who made a rude (but not vulgar) comment to his colleague about me in Thai assuming that I did not understand. Third place is a tie between yet another Suvarnabhum guy who spoke curtly and a German who stared at me menacingly and didn't say a single word. But those three guys obviously pale in comparison to this guy. Granted, I've met an American customs official who was just as bad (but without the vulgarities), but I'm only talking about immigration here.

Anyway, this was the first time I've ever seen a government official use obscenities like this. Incidentally, it's also the first time I've ever encountered an immigartion official who was unable to find the correct visa in my passport. I assume he started work recently, and maybe he even mistakenly thought that I really had filled in the card incorrectly, although I really got the impression he was just looking for an argument. So anyway, I've been unable to find the proper contact information to file a complaint, and I certainly have no intention of going to immigration in Bangkok to do it in person. So if anyone can help me out here it would be appreciated.

Thanks.

He wasn't even honest. He tore up my arrival card claiming I had filled it out improperly, which was untrue. He just wanted to make me waste time to fill out another one. He probably wanted to make me lose my temper too. He really seemed to be looking for a problem.

I'm curious to know whether anyone has encountered a similar problem, or if you know what I can do about it. The other day the official checking my passport at the Nong Khai Friendship Bridge must have been in a bad mood. He tore up my arrival card claiming it was improperly filled out (which it wasn't) and made me go do another one. When I got back he scolded me in both Thai and English and then said I have bad manners a dog wouldn't eat (a really bad curse word in Thai). This accusation was completely untrue, and I was shocked that he would say such a thing. I responded by asking if it was me or him that had bad manners, to which he responded by callng me a cock, another very bad Thai curse word.

I can't believe that Thai immigration is happy with this guy being the first person someone meets when they enter Thailand. I love Thailand and consider it my home, but if that were not the case I wouldn't come back after meeting this official. I'm both personally offended as well as offended on behalf of my host country to think that this guy treats people that way. I've had my passport checked hundreds of times in dozens of countries and never encountered anything like this. I wrote down his name and badge number, and I'd would like to make an official complaint, but can't find a name or phone number anywhere for whom to contact. Does anyone know what I can do about this?

I just got back from Laos this morning. I applied for a tourist visa x 2, but the Thai lady taking the applications explained to me that I could not get a 30 day extension on the first of the 2 entries because the visa would expire before that time period is up, so I got a single entry instead. I'll be going back to Laos for a few days in 3 months. maybe then I'll get a double entry, as 2 trips to Laos in 3 months is enough to last me for a while.

I have just returned from laos, after bieng unsure weather they would follow in pennangs footsteps by stamping "not to return" and am happy to say i appllied for and recieved a Tourist x 2 visa!

i did not meet anyone who was refussed or had any problems!

Now this is my first Tourist x 2 so ill presume ill get

arrived back yesterday and got 60 days

then top up at jontiem 30 days

then cambodia border 60 days (for double entry)

then top up at jontiem 30 days

then ill just do 2 x border runs keping1 left for plan b thats 60 days

so in theory thats 8 months sorted!

now if i have added this wrong please let me know, as i say it is my first double entry!

cheers chris

A meditation retreat sounds like a good idea, but if your intent is to ordain as a monk, then you should ordain as a monk. It will give you insight that meditation may not. If your goal is to get better at meditating rather than having a specific religious experience, then go for the retreat. Perhaps at larger, touristy temples they may be hesitant to ordain you, I don't know. The number one requisite in becoming a monk is that the ordainee wishes to do so. There are other important requisites too, of course, such as being a human. If you really want to, a monk will ordain you. Period.

I've ordained both in Thailand and at a Thai temple in America, first as a novice and later again as a full fledged monk for 15 days. The abbot suggested to me that I should not ordain again for less than one pansaa (3 months Lent period), still a relatively small period of time by some accounts. While the practice of ordaining for short periods of time is mainly a Thai (and presumably Lao and Khmer) phenomenon, I don't see how that should cause second thoughts. If you ordain just remember that Buddhism is a very personal (or non-personal) experience, and while you will learn plenty from other monks you do not necessarily need to make examples of them for yourself.

I think short ordinations is a great cultural practice. Of course, sourrounding the practice, some people do some not so great things too, but that's a different story. When I was a monk in America, another monk from a Mahayana temple came to us with a box of free books (check out BuddhaNet.Net!!!) and since he was an American I was made official communicator. I told him about the Thai tradition of short lived ordinations and his immediate response was "Have you ever heard of the five-minute monk?" I asked what that meant and he explained that five minutes spent as a monk, karmically speaking, is like a 100 lifetimes as a good person, or something like that. Definitely a thought provoking comment coming from someone who's religious culture does not allow such ordinations.

Another great option can be to ordain as a phram, which literally translates as Brahmin Priest. This consists of taking only 8 vows as opposed to the novice's 10 or monks 227, and wearing all white clothing instead of monks' robes. You still meditate and do chores with the monks, and can certainly help a monk carry alms on morning rounds (meditate while doing this, by the way!), and you also would not eat hard foods after noon. You could also sleep at the temple. Females are also allowed to do this, although I'm not sure if a different word is used to describe it.

Thanks again Mr. Lopburi for all your helpful advice. Just one more thing... can you provide a link to the "Sunbelt posts" website? I've looked at two different sites for the Sunbelt legal firm, but couldn't find any kind of forum or blog on it where people might post about thist sort of stuff.

I'll check back here a few more times tonight and tomorrow in case anyone has added anything here.

thanx!

Thank you for responding so quickly, I think it's great how helpful people on this site seem to be. But I think we may have both understood eachother, possibly because my writing is too much stream of consciousness, or my tendency to ask one question in seven parts, or maybe it was because I said "renewal" when I meant "extension." Either way, I'm still confused as to what I need to do.

So, unless I'm mistaken, the new visa rules began on Oct 1st. Since that date, I have been in Thailand for less than 90 days (which is good for me), but more than 60 (which I hope is irrelevant). Soon my visa will be finished, but I still will have been here for a total of fewer than 90 days since the new rules took effect.

Can I get an extension at immigration, or have they stopped doing that? Would I have to leave the country and then come back, getting a completely new visa-on-arrival? I am concerned they would not give me a new visa on arrival, because I have been here for more than 60 days, so staying another month would put me over the limit.

From your last post, what I seem to understand is that I cannot go to immigration for an extension like everyone used to do, but even if I have already been here for 89 days than I can still do the old-fashioned kind of visa run, and they will let me back in with a new visa-on-arrival.

Is it something like that?

Thanks again Mr Lopburi, et. al.!

P.S. By "visa-on-arrival" I think what I'm referring to is actually the "visa exemption program."

Sorry I have so many questions and rephrasing of questions, but I spent hours on google, and I couldn't find the info I needed anywhere else, including several Thai embassy websites.

I have another question regarding renewing my entry-upon-arrival visa at immigration, so that perhaps I will not have to rush to Malaysia so soon and can better make sure I have all my documents in order before I go. I have heard that with the new laws we can only be here for 90 days out of a period of 180, with the counting beginning October 1st, and that renewals are 30 days.

If I've spent about 75-80 days in Thailand beginning October 1st (and was here continuously before then as well) will I still be able to renew my visa at immigration? What would be the result of such an attempt on my part, would they give me 30 days, or give me just the difference between 90 and what I've already spent here (75 or so), or would it be like it used to be with a 10 day renewal (it did used to be 10, right?),... or, would they tell me to leave the country in an authoritative voice while frowning at me?

Thanks again for the great advice (to anyone who gives it), and again Happy New Years to everybody!

I am planning to go to Malaysia to get a non-immigrant B visa. I am an American with a newly registered Thai company, and am one of the major stakeholders. I plan to work under this company name. I have the apprapriate letter w/letterhead addressed to the Thai Embassy in Malaysia. My question is this: Which embassy in Malaysia will be able to process it the quickest and how long will it take? In other words, when would I need to apply and when could I get my passport w/ visa returned to me?

In the past, this has been fairly easy with tourist visas. The embassy's in Laos and Cambodia have specific times they accept applications (either morning or afternoon) and then during the alternate time on the following day return the visas. I assume the embassies in Malaysia will be the same. So basically my questions boil down to this: What time of day will I need to apply, at which embassy, and when should I get my passport back?

My hope is that I will be able to fly down Thursday morning, go to the embassy, sleep, go back to the embassy, and return to Thailand Friday evening. Will I be able to do this?

Tons of thanks to anyone who can help me, and good New Years wishes to all those of you reading.