georgebkk

Yep. Same observation. The ground is rolling ever so slightly. Mostly felt it right after the last two quakes.

Remember to get the extension or a free 30-day visa-exempt stamp inbetween each TV, and don't go to the same consulate every time, and you'll be 'legal' (for now, at least...)

Okkkkk.... so the straight person [blah, blah, blah]...

JR Texas: Question: Would it be a smart move to get my money out of my Thai bank account now and turn my baht (today at 34.5 to one US$) into US dollars?

You're asking for currency trading advice. I don't think this is the proper forum for that.

However, it's clear the baht is presently being artificially supported -- and when the 'big dogs' decide to pull the rug out again is anybody's guess...

Thank you. These numbers are more likely true than not.

The Thai gov't must be math phobic...

Back to hard facts : figures.

Number of registrations of new businesses in Thailand.

__________ 2006______ 2007______ Difference

january ___ 4 694 ______ 3 845______ -18%

February __ 4 493 ______ 3 601______ -19%

March ____ 4 943 ______ 4 019______ -18%

April______ 3 341______ 2 749______ -17 %

May______ 3 942 ______ 3 064______ -22 %

Source : Department Of Business Development (Ministry of Commerce)

http://www.dbd.go.th/thai/statistics/newreg03.phtml

I support the right of any bar to refuse service to anyone, at their discretion. This is standard procedure found throughout the world. There are stories of many a straight person accidentally walking into a gay bar and upon ordering a beer have been refused service. So, why should it be any different?

Therefore, I support the ban that Novotel has instigated simply because they have the right to do so.

And all you heterophobes out there can b!tch all you want. I've heard it all before, so don't waste your time...

Article represents yet more "feel good" propaganda eminating from this woefully corrupt govt...

Doesn't fool me at all.

The reality is, they keep making it more and more difficult to do business in Thailand, what with all the increasing numbers of ridiculous restrictions placed on foreigners for new investments.

What they really want are more tourists -- NOT more competitors...

Good report george.............

Dunno about following this advice though.

Thanks.

Yes, follow the advice. Don't pay the phony "extortion" fee.

BTW, if anyone wants to add to this info, next time you're at this particular Lao consulate, how about taking a fresh picture of the metal sign on the wall next to the front gate which shows the hours of operation, then post the pic here for verification. That would help a lot. Thanks.

Good post George. refreshing to hear after the same old same old everyday

Thanks.

Just trying to tell it like it is...

You are mistaken and misinformed.

And I'm sorry I don't have time to argue this topic.

I hate to tell you this, but your first mistake was going with Suzuki. Not the best engines. Honda or Yamaha make the best engines, with Honda being the best. Sorry, but those be the facts.

Advice on breaking in the engine: go easy on it for the first 1000Km, change the oil to get rid of all those metal particles floating around. After that, it's whatever the manufacturer recommends.

This idea about "not having to break in new engines anymore" is ridiculous. OF COURSE you need to break them in. You're asking for trouble if you don't.

b!oody farang,they come over here & think they own the place.

Clever troll post.

(But until they change the land ownership laws here, there's nothing to worry about...yet).

Speaking of DX10, I hear that a patch in is the works so you don't have to "upgrade" to the latest dog OS from MickeySoft called Vista just to play DX10 games.

Vista's job is basically to keep track of EVERYTHING you do on your computer. It says this is necessary to preload often used apps, to make them load faster, but I tend to doubt that this is the only reason...

Avoid Vista if you want to preserve your privacy and use a third-party firewall instead of MickeySoft's if you do.

Let me ask this: how many of you are aware that U.S. Central Bank, aka The Federal Reserve, is NOT a Federal entity at all but instead a privately-owned, for-profit corporation, whose members consists of both U.S. and European banks?

Further: how many of you are aware that the U.S. dollar is not backed by anything and has absolutely no intrinsic value whatsoever except its perceived value relative to other currencies, and is, in actuality, nothing more than an extremely-highly leveraged debt instrument (promissory note) issued by this privately-owned bank, The Federal Reserve?

Further still: how many of you know what the value of the U.S. dollar really is now, since this privately-owned bank that issues this worthless paper decided to stop reporting M3 money supply (because they have likely greatly increased said money supply electronically and then leveraged that 10 to 1 or more to continue to keep the U.S. economy from imploding as well as use it to manipulate markets -- including stock and currency markets around the world).

Just wonderin...

So, has the Thai baht mysteriously strengthened and remained strong because of... the "roaring" Thai economy?? Really?

That's strange. Last I looked, the Thai economy was weak and getting weaker.

Seems to me that a privately-owned bank that has the power to literally create BILLIONS of dollars out of thin-air -- and hide its tracks from public scrutiny -- could "write its own ticket", wouldn't you think?

One further note:

For the record, I want to retract my description of Laos as being a "s___hole of a country", as I wrote in my report above. I was in kind of a bad mood at the time of the writing.

Actually, it's not all bad. I've been to Luang Prabang twice already and toured the north and enjoyed both trips immensely. Even had an opportunity to indulge in a 'taboo' pleasure on my second trip that I will never forget (had a Lao gf for a week! Yes, it's possible, guys! Learn a little Lao and combine that with your knowledge of Thai and it will take you far. Just be discrete about it... )

In fact, they would be good to put in a Thai consulate in LP. That would change my outlook on Laos tremendously!

And most people (except for the tuk-tuk drivers, of course...) are generally friendly and good-hearted. It's just the corrupt officials that are holding things back for this country -- and occasionally pissing off avid tourists like me...

Actually the brass plate on the gate at the front of the Lao Consulate in Savannakhet says they open at 2.00-2.30 to return visas to non Lao nationals! So they opened a half an hour late not one and a half hours late.

Did they make any noise about not issuing more than one tourist visa per year per person from Savannakhet?

You know what... I was so tired I forgot to ask. But as others have stated, it is only two per year now for each consulate. The way things are going, we will have to assume this is correct. Not a problem with me as I am not likely to go back...

Good report.

Thanks. Your Jan '07 report was helpful, too.

Great write-up georgebkk, thanks very much for taking the time to post with so much detail!

I do have a few questions though, if you will humor me please:

#1. From what city in LOS did you travel from to get to Mukdahan? (I'm hoping you're gonna say Bangkok)

#2. What time of the day do you need to leave for Mukdahan if one wishes to arrive in Savannakhet nice and early?

#3. Chronology wise, how long 'should' it have taken you; from start to finish, if you hadn't missed your bus that 2nd afternoon?

Thanks again and take care.

1. I had to start my visa run from the north where I'm staying at the moment (CR).

2. From the north, it's a day and a half travel time, minimum. There's no way around it. One must take the overnighter to Udon Thani or Sakhon Nakhon then a connecting bus to Mukdahan.

Also, I recommend keeping foam ear plugs handy, too, to help you not only sleep but survive the 2-3 hours when, as most people who've taken these long-haul bus rides knows, the driver converts the inside of the bus into a high-volume movie theatre, blasting the latest, extremely violent Thai cops 'n robbers movie. Sheer torture. (But the Thais were all absolutely mesmerized by it. Even the monks were in rapt attention. All I could do was count the minutes until it was over....... )

3. Like I said, a day and a half because they don't have as full a schedule of buses to and from the northern bus stations like they do for BKK, Pattaya, etc.

So, yes, this trip was brutal. Almost a mistake, I would say. I was so fatigued from it that it made me clumsy and inattentive. The result was that I banged my head on a street sign in Savannakhet and suffered a nasty gash. Had it not been for the hat I was wearing, I probably would have needed stitches. WORD OF WARNING: Street signs on sidewalks in Laos are sometimes LOWER than they look. Use caution when approaching them on foot.

Here's a link to another fairly recent report by someone else that's somewhat accurate except for certain outdated prices as well as documentation requirements at the Thai consulate:

Savannakhet Visa Run Report (dated 20 Jan 07)

Good luck all.

Actually, I don't know about the likelihood of such disturbances this year, but it behooves one to sit up and pay attention to the looming end date of the 5125-year Mayan calendar which is believed to occur on Dec 21, 2012.

This also happens to be the winter solstice for that year, too, but what has now been confirmed is that our solar system will cross the plane (the 'equator') of our galaxy (again) and our sun will eclipse the center of the galaxy's black hole. Does this cause a polarity shift for the entire solar system? Or a "time-shift"? It's anybody's guess at this point.

This may all be just some ancient, sophisticated time-keeping scheme or it may in fact portend brief but big changes. It is not "the end of the world", but certainly an important astronomical/cosmological event nonetheless. In fact, a cyclical one.

I have read that there may be undue gravi-magnetic forces exerted on our solar system (and, therefore our planet) for a brief time starting a few months before the event, and continuing until an equal time after the event, causing the much ballyhooed widespread earthquakes and tsunamis. Coastal areas (where large concentrations of the population are located) are expected to be particularly hard hit.

Or maybe it will trigger a series of massive solar flares. These seem to be already increasing in intensity in recent years and may be the explanation for the observed increase in energy output of the sun that some scientists say is the real reason for the global warming we are witnessing (and the disappearing ice caps on Mars, the storms appearing in the atmospheres of the distant gas giants beyond Jupiter, etc).

What exactly will happen (again) is anybody's guess. Maybe nothing will happen.

But the date is nonetheless looming and, again, is it wise to sit up and take notice.

The Mayans seemed to have figured all this out a long time ago. Their wisdom deserves our respect and attention.

Here are two links from a recognized source that describe this phenomenon a little better:

John Major Jenkins on 2012 and The Mayans (video interview)

THE HOW AND WHY OF THE MAYAN END DATE IN 2012 A.D.

(I know some of you will laugh at all this. If these things bother you, or you never took any basic science in school, don't sweat it).

...I am in truth not working in the country, i'm self employed as a web developer (UK sole trader) and only work over the internet for non Thai businesses - is being honest about my source of income to thai immigration likely to cause me any kind of problems? I was under the impression that I am not breaking the law in any way by doing my business as i am, as I do not have any kind of business dealings with Thai companies in the slightest...

If you're truly a tourist, your personal finances are nobody's business but yours. If you stick to the rules and stay legal, you're not breaking any laws. You're a tourist who happens to enjoy a particular country a lot and therefore spends a lot of time AND MONEY there. There's no need to feel guilty about this. You're not "bending" any rules. You're just a tourist, for crissakes!

As long as you don't do any business with any Thais DIRECTLY, you can continue to do what you're doing (as many others are). You don't have to get married or wait to retire to be legal here. Don't listen to these wannabee Thai immigration "officials" here who think they are qualified to interpret Thai law. It's ludicrous to think that in the age of the internet, if you're able to travel and conduct your business via a laptop at the same time (which many, MANY people throughout the world are doing now), that you somehow owe taxes on your earnings in every country that you visit. This is the sort of thinking that the "one-worlders" want to you adopt, to grease the path to global gov't (and therefore global control through global taxes). Don't subscribe to it!!

Heck, they're seriously talking about a tax on the internet right now to accomplish this very thing. It's being debated in the States. No joke.

Besides, who's to say how long one can be a tourist in any given country, anyway? As soon as a country announces that there's a "new limit" on the amount of time you can be a tourist in their country PER YEAR, it's like throwing cold water on their tourist industry. Stupid.

But then, virtually nothing surprises me anymore about the level of ignorance and corruption in Thailand. Will they further restrict TV's to, say, 3 per year or something? Get rid of the free visa exempt stamp and make everybody purchase a visa before arriving (like they do in India)?

Wouldn't surprise me at all......

You might have better luck posting this to the thaivisa classifieds...

I suggest including the price, also.

...

McDonalds (fast food sales) flat/declining – check

...

This is actually a positive (for Thai health, that is...)

Excuse me, but who in their right mind would wait to travel to a foreign country to buy an overpriced camera at the main airport?

I hope it's not you.

Take my advice: buy your camera and any accessories AHEAD OF TIME over the internet, and bring it with you.

Prices for cameras, computer equip., electronic gadgets, etc. are ALL at retail prices or HIGHER in Thailand.

Especially at Suwannaboondoggle Airport.

Single entry visas ONLY now.

No more multiple entry TVs.

Join the club...

Upon arrival at Mukdahan bus station, you purchase a ticket (45B) for the Mukdahan->Savannakhet border bus. The counter is in the back part of the station, left side, right corner. This provides you with safe, secure, no hassle, air-conditioned transportation all the way to Savannakhet bus station. Be sure to wave to the rip-off tuk-tuks as you leave.

Upon getting your exit stamp from Thailand, when you get to the Lao side, if you don't already have a visa, you need to purchase one there for 30-40 USD, depending upon your nationality. The office where you do this is just opposite the stampers and is clearly marked 'Visa-on-Arrival'. USA citizens are charged 35 USD now (or if you have only Thai baht it's the more expensive 1500B) and Canadians 40 USD. Other nationalities will have to assume the same cost as USA to be safe. And they want crisp money, too. Don't hand them any worn, stinking bills if you can avoid it.

Upon securing your visa, you then go get your entry stamp. Now here is where you need to pay attention. They will flip through your passport just like the Thai officials do, trying to look busy, then will give you your entry stamp and, as they are about to hand your passport back to you they will smile coyly and say "forty baht". IGNORE THIS REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL MONEY. It is a scam that these corrupt officials have been perpetrating lately with impunity. And they will try to hit you up both on the way in AND on the way out. Just smile, extend your hand (and say "jao kahmoh-ee" if you want to impress them with a little Lao) and they will give you your passport back with a sort of mischievous grin, as if they're saying to themselves "...dang, couldn't cheat this falung..." In fact, ALL THREE of them will exhibit this grin when you refuse. It's like some kind of criminal joke amongst them. You know, the "thieves-that-smile-in-your-face" kind of grin...

If you see other people struggling to dig out some baht for these cheats, tell them it's not necessary and that you've already paid your entry fee (the visa!) to visit this corrupt little s___hole of a country. These dishonest ######## must be raking in hundreds, if not THOUSANDS of baht per day of this cheat money in addition to their salaries. They probably live like kings compared to most Lao people. Once again: DO NOT PAY THE BOGUS FEE. Simply retrieve your passport and return to the bus for the final leg to Savannakhet bus station.

The Thai Consulate at Savannakhet is located south along the river, approximately half the distance from Mukdahan to the bridge. That's the best way I can describe its location if you don't have a map. Unlike Vientianne, what's nice about this consulate is the little row of food stalls within easy walking distance along the river just to the south of it. You can have a quick bite to eat while waiting for the consulate to open if you're early. Nice view of Mukdahan across the river, too. Grilled chicken, boiled eggs and sticky rice are available, as well as the usual, limited assortment of beverages. But the stunning view makes up for the limited menu. Good place to chill a while.

Yes, as others have confirmed, the Thai consulate at Savannakhet is becoming swamped daily. Fortunately, I arrived early (8:45-9am) and was able to get my app submitted without too much wait. By 9:30, there must have been about 50+ people filling out forms at the tables. It was already jammed. Mostly Phlipps and a handful of fellow westerners. Do yourself a favor and GET THERE EARLY! Gate opens at 8:30am.

Remember to bring:

1) TWO passport photos

2) A photocopy of the front page of your passport

3) The requisite visa fee in baht

If you forget either of the first two, you will likely lose your place in line and be directed back out across the street where you can obtain photos and copies from the vendors, as needed. Remember this.

And, yes, as others have noticed, the two officials having to deal with this sudden, new onslaught of daily applications looked tired and stressed out. Maybe even burned out. In fact, retrieval the following day was delayed AN HOUR AND A HALF due to so many passports having to be processed (yes, they didn't re-open the gate until about 2:30 pm! This caused me to miss my bus home and cost me an extra day for this trip! Argh.).

When you get your passport back and all is well, naturally you are likely to want to make a beeline for the bus station. Well, the tuk-tuk drivers all know this and they will all insist on 10K kip for the short ride (price fixing). No haggling is possible. Just pay it and go.

When you get back to the bus station for the trip back across the river, you can pay with either kip or baht. It is best to save a little kip for the bus fare (13K, to be exact), and then unload the residual on drinking water or whatever looks safe to eat. There was no currency exchange counter that I could see, so remember to 'dump your geep' before you get on the return bus.

I didn't mention accommodations because they vary so widely, but you should be able to find the usual guesthouse room with attached bath for about 200-300B/night. It's the tuk-tuk fares that you will have to budget extra for, however...

Questions? Comments? Musings? Fire away...

Is the walk-up option costlier than the pre-booked/pre-paid? And what's the average/approximate price you pay with this method?

Unlike the others, with AirAsia, the internet booking is definitely cheaper. However, the walk-up rates are about the same as Nok and 1-2Go, for example.

So, the way to do it is use one of the travel agents either at the airport or other locations (such as Big C, etc). They will get the internet rate for you for a fee of 80-100B per ticket. Still way cheaper than walkup rates.