niebla

The first visa agent said unlikely as immigration already told me no yesterday. Looking at flights and requirements for a new Non-O, possibly in Vientiane or Phnom Penh.

Three months, not two months for a renewal in CM. ????

Going to an agent today. Any suggestions in CM?

Switched to the deposit method after seven years of the income method, after the US Consulate stopped the letters. Income meets the requirements but I was not bringing over 65K/month so I switched.

Where might I find these "new rules"?

May 21 renewal. Went to immigration in CM today. 800K in the bank since March 5th. Needs to be three months, not two. Suggested I leave the country to start over. 

Any other options, (other than overstay)?

Should I go to Pattaya and can I do it there with 2.5 months in the bank instead of three. I live in CM.

If not where is a good out of country choice? All of my paperwork is in order but would prefer not to do a health check.

200 baht in Bkk but they ems it to you. Takes two weeks. March 2015.

AUA or YMCA language school.

Solved. Technical details follow:

Most websites use ports 80 and ports 443.

Airaisa.com is using non standard ports, possibly for .asp.

Home users should not receive this error. If you do check your software firewall and your ADSL firewall. Test by temporarily disabling them. Your ISP may also be doing some traffic shaping that might cause this.

Business environments that only allow ports 80 and 443 with get this error. Airasia.com users will need additional ports opened or they will receive this error.

These ports are often blocked to prevent the use of torrent downloads.

It is not yet clear which port ranges are being used. If I determine this I will add it to this post.

PM me if you need further info.

This guy took care of me quickly. Good service, great price. Thumbs up.

Thanks for the recommendation. I will use him again.

I've been really happy with the Goodyear shop north of town on the Mae Rim 107, about 4 km north of the superhwy, across from the provincial gov center. There are three tire shops on the east side of the highway, this is the Goodyear shop, just south of the Cockpit store. I've used them for several years, competetive prices, good service, no surprises or games.

I just bought 4 big Bridgestone A/Ts for my 4X4 pickup, set me back 20 brown notes, but mounting, balancing and alignment was included. Cockpit wanted 300 baht more each for the same tires. I have good experience with Bridgestones but the other major brands are good too and there are some good alternative brands available for a little less that they can advise you on. don

I am looking for a metal or wood bed frame, a very simple one. No headboard. Just something to keep the mattress off of the ground. Any suggestions?

and you have to wait 45 days for a refund by check in the mail

We were told the same 45 day thing when we turned-in one IRD/settop box. After monthly visits to the local TrueVisions Service Center by the Thai wife and me starting at the 60 day point asking True, "Where is the refund", we finally got a credit to our account at approx the 6 month point from turn-in of the box. Hopefully, your luck will be better and a check will show up at the 45 day point.

I just got my pink credit memo for 2,000. Brought it to the bank and they could not cash it. Now off to the True office at Central to see if they can cash it.

I have excessive ear wax and have used Lanna and McCormick hospitals plus a barber to remove the gunk. The barbers never use cotton buds as they use long metal scrappers. The most enjoyable experience is with the female barber shop along Suthep Road near Wat Suandok. Your lady barber will recline your seat, put a hot facecloth over your eyes and then gently play around in your ears for 20 minutes - it's heaven.

Is this the one across from CMU Dental School? Thanks.

There is a new massage parlor in the complex next to Thanin Market. They have saunas and they are not gay. FYI-Nagaraj is most definately gay!

I could not find it. What color is the building/sign? Is it in English?

Beer Lao tastes fantastic in Lao, but horrible in Thailand. I guess it's the preservatives they use, does anybody think the same as this?

Sorry, slightly off topic...

I was thinking the same thing. In Thailand it is OK, but not the great beer I expected.

Just got back from a visa run to Vientiane. A much better beer Lao there. Both on tap and in the bottle. And for just 8,000-12,000 for a large bottle or glass on tap. 35-53 baht for quality beer. That could be dangerous.

Software police target Phuket businesses

Phuket Gazette IT Manager Seubsak ('Big') Sahaworaphan.

PHUKET: -- As part of a nationwide investigation, Phuket businesses are being investigated closely by police for using illegal computer software.

A Gazette source said a 'high profile' property investment firm was raided earlier this week.

Police are said to have seized hardware and software, all allegedly unlicensed. The company was given a million baht fine, the source said.

Following news of the raid, a number of Phuket businesses reportedly closed for the day.

Colonel Sarayuth Pooltanya, deputy commander of the Royal Thai Police Economic and Cyber Crimes Division (ECD), said late last month that "all businesses will have to ensure that they are compliant with the Thai Copyright Act."

"Major efforts" to target companies using pirated software began on October 26, he said.

A list of 1,000 suspect companies nationwide compiled by the ECD has been based on tips, some anonymous. These are typically from sources within the target companies.

Leads are also being shared by the Business Software Alliance, which runs a toll-free hotline and website for informants to report on the use of pirated and unlicensed business software.

In recent months, the ECD has stepped up enforcement of intellectual property rights in respect of software.

August marked one of the ECD's most successful months, with 15 substantial raids netting 54.5 million baht's worth of allegedly non-copyright software.

The raided companies came from a wide variety of industries, including manufacturing, real estate, automobiles, shipping, design and engineering.

Phuket Gazette IT Manager Seubsak Sahaworaphan said businesses should perform regular checks to make sure employees are not downloading illegal software.

"We use a software checking device called System Hound which is installed in all our computers and has a centralized network control point," he said.

"The system performs regular checks on all of our computers and makes sure all licenses are up to date," he said.

It was not reported if or when the probe would be expanded to include computer companies that load up hard drives with illegal software when selling new machines to customers.

-- Phuket Gazette & The Nation 2009-11-05

_______________________________________________________

-->> Get the Nation/Thaivisa news faster via SMS:

-->> 14 days free trial, dial *424010011 on your mobile

What about Schools? Will they be targeted?

Does anyone know of a good photographer/studio in Chiang Mai?

I used to use Tony in the market across from CMU on Huie Kaew. He does not appear to be in that location any more. He did not speak English but was very good.

Just got back from KL with my five year old. Requested No-O ED for the five year old and Non-O dependent for the father, me. Had all of the correct paperwork, confirnmed by the consulate. No problem for the five year old, no can do for the father. Was told they can only give this type of visa to the mother, not the father. Two supervisors later and a one hour wait, they graciously agreed to do it even though they were not supposed to. They offered me a tourist visa and I respectfully declined. I explained that I could not leave my five year old in Thailand. They told me those were the rules, but did the right thing in the end. What a roller coaster.

Be careful if you go to KL for this type of visa and you are the father. All of the paperwork was in order.

The Thai-language school with the most punters is AUA along Ratchdamneon Road. I suggest take one of the townhouse type buildings nearer to Tha Pae Gate end of that road - loads of walk bys from AUA. Whatever you do, don't employ any of the old battle axes from AUA who teach Thai especially if their name begins with Malee. (Ajarn will be here to post how much he loves the battle axes within the next 2 minutes).

Some current feedback on Malee's class:

No handouts - makes it difficult to learn when having to write pages of information that could be distributed in advance

Very rigid - sticks to the words in the book, but jumps around the book quite a bit.

She is very knowledgeable and can hear if the dialogue is being spoken correctly by each student.

Not aware of current teaching strategies to facilitate learning.

Anyone have experience with Karaoke 10 or Karaoke 20? Thinking about having a birthday party there but it seems kind of expensive without a membership.

Any members want to share their experiences and possibly their membership card?

My year old Toyota has a couple of dings. Any suggestions on a good body shop in Chiang Mai.

Kuma in Lampun can do single axis water cutting

Jeff Walker (American) at [email protected]

Has anyone done business with this guy lately? He presented an investment opportunity that sounds too good to be true.

Please PM me if you have any info.

The options depend on the time required. 30 day visa exempt for air arrival - 15 days visa exempt for land arrival - 60 days for tourist visa or 90 days for new non immigrant ED visa arrival. Visas can easily be obtained with normal paperwork at Royal Thai Consulates in the countries around Thailand.

The program is broken down as follows:

35 days in Thailand

25 days out of Thailand

49 days in Thailand

So you're suggesting that the students get a 30 day visa exempt for air arrival. Then what can we do for the remaining 19 days? Get a new ED visa?

Thanks again!

You don't need an ED visa to study in Thailand. It can be done on a tourist visa.

Get 2 entry 60 day tourist visas valid for 6 months. These are easy to get in the states.

You should also be able to get a Non Imm. O, multi entry from a friendly consulate in the USA with minimal paperwork, (if you are from the USA.)

Is it possible to drive a car from Chaing Mai to Nakhon Phanom? What is the road like and how long will it take? What is the best route?

It's possible but a very long haul. Best way (I've tried a few) is Route 11 from CM to Phitsanulok, 12 east to Khon Kaen, 2 north to Udon, 22 east to Nakhon Phanom. All 2-lane except for Route 2, and fairly interminable tho quite beautiful in bits. Unless you actually have to move a vehicle between the two cities, or have a lot of time, I'd try to make other arrangements.

Although not in one trip, I've traveled almost all of this route at one time or another. I found the roads to be fine.

Thanks. I am living in Chiang Mai and finding plenty to do in the area. My Thai is fairly limited. I want to make at least one trip to Issan, possibly with an eight year old child. I want to experience something very different for a few days. We could easily fly or take the bus, but I was looking at other options including driving, or flying to Laos and coming back from there.

Is it possible to drive a car from Chaing Mai to Nakhon Phanom? What is the road like and how long will it take? What is the best route?