anthrosciguy

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

You can do the extension a week early and the extension will start from the date the 30 days ends.

Thank you.  That's exactly the info I needed, and given that it will be around the holidays, it'll be a great help.

To get an extension for the 30-day stamp, do you have to go to immigration on the last day of that stamp's validity, or can you get it earlier and still have be 30 days added to the stamp's date?

7 hours ago, BritTim said:

The "30" means you have been admitted 30 days. I think the "14" is a misreading. It is usually a Thai character. Is it hand written? As I recall, a visa exempt entry typically uses the character "ผ", but I could be wrong. If badly written, I guess it could be confused for "14".

Ah yes, you're right.  One is stamped, the other handwritten, but looking under a better light (boy, my closeup sight isn't what it used to be) it is that character.  Now that I looked more closely, I don't see how I got "14" out of the stamped version.  Thanks again.

9 hours ago, BritTim said:

First, understand that a "visa exempt entry" (what you are talking about) is not the same as a "visa on arrival" which your friend might possibly be referring to.

 

At the current time, there is no problem getting a visa exempt entry (30 days) on returning at the Mae Sai crossing. You are only allowed two visa exempt entries when arriving by land in any calendar year.

 

My understanding is that there is no desk to apply for a visa on arrival (which does, indeed, allow a 15-day visit to those nationals that qualify, a different group from those who can get visa exempt entries) at the Mae Sai border crossing.

Thank you.  Looking at the Wikipedia page on Thai visas (which I wouldn't trust completely) I see that we've apparently always gotten visa exempt but thought it was called visa on arrival.  So it sounds like my friend heard correctly but that doesn't actually apply to us (a Canadian and an American).  So we should be okay doing what we planned, as we have before.

Well, that bit of confusion over the name of the thing only lasted about ten years. ????  duh.  BTW, do you know if the "visa type" stamped in the passports indicates this?  It says 1430, but I don't see that come up with any explanation in a quick Google search.

Thanks again for the quick reply and info.

We came into Bangkok and got the standard 30-day visa on arrival.  We plan to stay 90 days and had intended to do this as we had before: two border runs from Chiang Mai to the Burmese border at Mae Sai, getting 30-day visa on arrival each time.  But I just heard from a friend that once again (like several years ago) land crossings are only getting 15-day visa or arrival.  Is this true?

i know these things get changed frequently so I'd like to know the current correct info so we can plan accordingly.  Thanks for any info you can give us about the current state of affairs.

One of the things about this long ongoing "quality tourists" desire that I've thought particularly foolish is that the well-heeled tourists are likely to stay, eat, and shop at venues that have international ownership, and a big chunk of the money leaves the country. This is even true for those places with wealthy Thai ownership. On the other hand, backpackers and those a step or two up from them (ie., virtually everyone) tend to stay and eat in smaller, locally owned places where the money gets pumped right back into the local economy. The multiplier from that tourist money is almost certain to be far higher than from "quality" tourists, even though the cash per tourist is less.

Not to mention that there are plenty of undesirables - crooks, pedophiles, etc. - among the well-heeled.

One tenth of one percent return IF the currency goes your way (assuming this scheme even works as said). Forget little scams you discover on YouTube or wherever. Put your money in a low fee broad index mutual fund or ETF instead.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Meanwhile, an article in Google Insider says Apple is planning on dumping the iPhone business in favor of two tin cans and some really cool looking string.

What web browser does everybody use?  I've been using Dolphin for the past few years and it works great.

 

I'm using Dolphin too. I started off using Firefox, but it was problematic in several ways. Dolphin has been fine. The only caveat is common to all tablet browsers, AFAIK, and that's the annoyingly convoluted ways you have to use to import bookmarks.

That´s exactly what I want, not a phone hidden in a surfboard, not a camera, I want access to the internet, reading on the net, doing emails, books not so sure of.

Thanks a lot, off to NY anyhow!!

 

Afterthought= for typing emails, which one is more convenient , 7 or 9 inch?

I passed by this earlier, but since we're a 2 tablet family now I can say the 10 inch (iPad in our case) is definitely easier. But, and this is a big but, the 7 inch is pretty good. Even holding it in portrait mode, which I'm doing right now, is not all that difficult even with my fat fingers. Plus, with the 7 inch tablet - at least with the Nexus 7 compared to the iPad - it's easy to hold the tablet in one hand for extended periods while typing with the other.

Holding either in landscape mode makes for a bigger keyboard and of course that makes typing easier.

Neither is as easy as typing on a real keyboard, but it's far easier than I thought it would be when I bought our first tablet. I'd originally thought I'd need to buy a keyboard to use with it but after a bit of experience I found it wasn't really necessary. If you did lots of typing - quite a lot - you might want a keyboard, but since you can buy one at any time if suggest trying to do without for a while.

One thing that's usually good but needs to be watched is a tablet's autocorrection. Usually that's been great, very helpful, but it can throw some oddball stuff in there once in a while. For instance last week I was trying to type the phrase "competitive swimming" and the tablet interpreted wherever I'd mistyped as "combative swimming".

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

BTW, the Asus Memo HD I mentioned has a slot for an SD card, up to 32 GB. Make sure it's the HD as there is a cheaper Asus Memo as well.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Just bought a Nexus 7 and I like it. But one to consider, IMO, is the Asus Memo HD, at about US$150. The resolution is like the previous Nexus 7.

Last year I bought my girlfriend an iPad and we both like it, but it's quite heavy compared to the Nexus 7. The bigger screen is nice, but the 7 inch is a good compromise. I'm sure the Asus Memo HD would be similar.

Oh look, this does one of those stupid "sent from my" messages.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I'd bet on misapplied insecticides (too strong, too much, left too long, etc.), both here, and the similar deaths elsewhere. But it seems to me the problem then is the half-life of such things, and the delays in investigations. Even if a cleanup wasn't done (and just as with the Downtown Inn there was, right?) it might not be possible to detect traces of the insecticide after a few days. Look at how hard it was to find the cause in the famous Legionaires case in the USA, and there they had a large team and fairly fast response, and a cause that persisted longer. Thailand desperately needs to realise the need for a rapid response to things like this to calm tourist fears instead of going for what only seems easier (the usual hemming and hawwing and covering up).

We're wondering if anyone knows an absolutely reliably honest jewelry repair person in CM. My girlfriend has an emerald ring that needs the posts replaced and it'd no doubt be much cheaper to have a good job done in CM than in Canada or the USA, but we don't want anything to happen like having the gem swapped. So does anyone have experience with someone who can be trusted absolutely?

Thanks for any help.

I mean how could an electricity socket covered in water be so dangerous?

Freaking idiots.

This happened on a Las Vegas street a few years back, and the woman, who was simply walking across the street in the rain, stepped on a cover where the wires had been placed too close to the covering plate. She died. This guy was lucky by comparison.

I dont think the Thai Elites want their country run by a woman. Especially a Shiniwatra. There will be Anarchy if she wins.

Yeah, she'll be the cause. It's not like there was an elected government thrown out of power after illegal protests by yellow shirts a few years ago or anything.

There is no maximum period of stay and there is no set limit on the number of visa exempt entries. However after 3 or 4 you may be asked to explain your reasons to help determine you are not illegally working.

I did this for 7 months now and never heard that question. But it depends on the border I guess. Just do it with an agency, my only problem is that my passport is full now because of the full page visa of Cambodia/Laos ...

Oh and the 60 day visa is not so bad in price, it'd 4500 ฿ including bus drive and food.

Yes, I was glad I'd gotten extra pages for my passport, but now the Burmese are doing a nice small stamp instead of the full page, so I've got plenty left.

Why dont you just go and get a FREE 60 day tourist visa, then extend that by 30 days at immigration and you have the 90 days covered and no repeated runs to the border.

Because to go somewhere and do that it would cost plenty, so free is not free. We'd originally intended to do that with a nice break via a trip to Vientiane via Nok Air's flight from CM to Udon Thani, but they dropped that flight. So rather than spend some $900+ for the two of us we're just doing it the old-fashioned way. (True, we could do the bus but that really sounds like a killer at our ages.) Next time we'll not count on any airline keeping an advertised flight going and just make sure we get our tourist visa before leaving home.

There is no maximum period of stay and there is no set limit on the number of visa exempt entries. However after 3 or 4 you may be asked to explain your reasons to help determine you are not illegally working.

Thanks for the fast reply and clear info. Seems fair enough. We'll take something along to show we've got our air tickets back home.

Because we didn't get a tourist visa this time around we've been doing a border run from Chiang Mai to Mae Sai every 2 weeks (after our initial 30-days) this year, and our stay -- our air tickets -- are for slightly more than 90 days. So we're wondering if there is some maximum number of times we can do that visa run, or if it's simply limited according to the maximum duration you can stay (which of course we won't be getting anywhere near). Does anyone have recent information on this?

We're considering a run up to Vientiane by going from Chiang Mai to Undon Thani on a small motorcycle (back when they had the 30-day visa on arrival by land we used such a bike to go to Mae Sai). It'd be a two-day trip each way (plus time in Vientiane of course) I'd think, but anyway I'd like to get some opinions on whether folks think this is just nuts, a little nuts, fairly sane, or maybe even a good idea. Thoughts?

Did it two up last year no problem. Bought cushions at Big C before we went and sat on those; took breaks to stretch our legs frequently. Hills are not a problem on the main road.

It'll be a little slower on hills, but okay if you take some breaks. We did this (two up) last year with no problem; went over to Big C first and bought a couple of cushions, square ones maybe about 2 inches thick, and sat on those. Really helped. Actually felt like the bike had a better suspension over bumps. Frankly it was more comfortable than the V-twin cruiser we took on the same trip the year before.

What I'd like to see -- what I think would be sensible for the Thais and easy to do -- would be the option of a "snowbird" visa on arrival. So you arrive and have the option of either the free 30-day VOA or a 3 or 4 month snowbird visa for a hundred or couple hundred dollars. Then do a little advertising in Canada and the northern USA about getting away from winter to Thailand. I think it'd attract new visitors, and visitors who'd spend money for a longer time. Pretty much exactly who they want.

What is the average waist size and the average thickness of the wallet of the contributors of this topic?

Ours is somewhat thin on both, which is why we don't go for the more expensive buffets. We just can't eat enough to justify a biggish bill, so if we're spending over US$10 each we might as well go to someplace non-buffet and better quality. But that's us (always find it odd that so many people can't seem to come to grips that people vary in their tastes) and I'm sure others would find a bigger buffet here really nice. We also went to the Grandview and that was not bad either. Fair amount of variety, varying on quality but some dishes were really nice. Pretty good value for the weekday lunch buffet I'd say.

That weekend brunch at the S-La, if it includes the pool use, might be a good deal because the use of the pool is really over the top expensive but it's a nice looking pool. I don't know the price of that though, and looking at the web site I see they keep their secrets well hidden.