somchy

be born thai.

In Bed

ah yes, the good ol' pillow teacher.

my, my, my. mention your overstay was 1 year and all the sympathy is gone.

and lots of people telling what you should have done then... like that is of any help now.

it is my understanding, from asking at immigration in chiang mai, that the 1 year extension and the 90 day

reporting requirement are SEPARATE requirements. BOTH are independent of each other.

if you ask nicely and the agent is in a good mood they may unite the days, but they are separate

requirements. if the dates coincide it is only coincidental and convenient to you.

they are considered two separate systems.

there, did i say it over enough times to get the point across?

the notarized letter from the us embassy in no way guarantees that the amount on the form is correct.

the notary only certifies that the person presenting the form is who they say they are and that they

have sworn, before an notary , that the information is correct. the information on the form is sworn to

by the citizen, the us government makes no claim that the information in the form is correct beyond

verfiying the signature.

think they only want proof of any financial requirements. never heard of them holding any money..

can't even imagine what problems would come with that...

so to get another "tourist" visa one must show that he ISN'T a tourist? wow.

show residence and bank account for a tourist visa? HUH?

They have asked for them. And they have even put a note on a visa sticker stating that if a person wanted another visa they will have to have them.

show residence and bank account for a tourist visa? HUH?

re the tank question. the answer is you can not drive a defective vehicle, therefore, no windshield, broken tail light.. those are

examples of what you can not drive on the road. a tank or a formula 1 car is OK as long as they have no equipment faults.

i'd really like to see someone try to drive a tank or f1 car in bangkok though!

again, the answer is the vehicle with a defect is NOT OK on the road.

after your driver's license, 1 or 5 years, you have 1 year to renew without having to take the complete retest.

you are illegal to drive on an expired license (know from experience) but no problem renewing within 1 year.

from what i read a while back, the money must be deposited for at least 60 days for your first

application and 90 days for any extension after than.

when i was last at the vientien crossing in nong khai there was a currency exchange booth just

past the windows where you turn in and get your visa and passport back. there is no problem

walking past this window to exchange currency before submitting your application as you don't

have to pass any booths (where you get stamped and such) to get there and back.

the rates were not as good as in town but better than giving payment in baht.

everyone seems to assume a ED visa is for learning thai. i understand they can be issued for

other reasions, such as learning thai cooking, muay thai, or buddhism. i've also been told

that these can be obtained back to back and your ED visit for up to 10 years, or more.

anyone with any experience in this?

i've always been prepared to tell them i plan to take a bus to laos or cambodia. but never been asked

that question.

thai law says you must be out of the kingdom for a minimum of 24 hours.. thus the morning turn-in

and the afternoon pick-up the next day. forces a 24 hour stay.

that said, i've heard there are people with "contacts" (read friendly accomplices) that can, for an

extra charge, get around the law and get to back to you sooner.

expatsupreme....if you have to take the theory test...just remember, it is OK to drive a tank or a formula 1 race car on the street.. just not

a regular car with a broken taillight.

KIND WAY... water pistol with water and vinager

not so kind way... water pistol with water and bleach

Haha when I took the test a couple of years ago, one of the questions was whether or

not a tank could drive down the road. Perhaps they fire the idiots that make up questions

like that, rather than altering the pass percent threshold....

i had the same question re: tank... it also included, i think, a formula 1 race car.... the correct answer was

the regular car with a busted tail light.

the question was which of the four vehicles was not allowed on the road. the car with the broken tail

light was the correct answer.

walk into a pharmacy, ask the pharmacist what they have.

i know fluoxetine is available over the counter. if one place denies you, just go to any other.

how about: east is east, west is west, and never the twain shall meet... ?

many years ago my brother, entering from malaysia with a tourist visa, real visa, was asked to show 20,000 baht.

he had only 16,000. they were going to deny him entry until he slipped 500 into his passport. [smile]

again, about 20+ years ago.

so the coming change of the driving test (questions and passing percentage) explains why the license buro at chiang mai is packed with people.

what a crowd!

i just renewed my license this week. only test i had to take was the color test. red, yellow, or green. no film to watch, no lecture to sit through,

but it took 6 1/2 hours because of the many, many people getting licenses before the rules change.

i am familiar with someone that, just yesterday, was given an extension because of extensive dental work that

would not be completed before 30 day no-visa ran out. was given a form at immigration that had to be filled

out by the dentist. i don't know what other paperwork was required, if any.

all my experiences with immigration have been quite cordial... including once when they followed me home and asked

me about smuggling. very polite and not, in any way, aggressive.