siam2007

Pantai (which means beach) Tanjung Rhu

Langkawi skybridge

On 02/12/2016 at 1:35 PM, Requiem said:

 

Thanks, very useful info. I was looking into Mui ne, seems awesome, as I prefer quiet beaches, but I don't see an easy way to get there. I don't want to stay in Saigon overnight, train/bus to Mui ne takes a lot of time and taxi from Saigon airport is around 90 USD one way :/

It seems it's Langkawi for me then. Do you recommend flight to Hat Yai and taxi to pier + ferry cheaper and better alternative to flight BKK - KL - Langkawi (180 EUR)?

You are right, while indeed quiet and beautiful, Mui Ne is difficult and time consuming to get to. As you only seem to have 3-4 days, Langkawi would make more sense. And there are beautiful secluded beaches on Langkawi as well -> Tanjung Rhu (check your PM's)

10 hours ago, gandalf12 said:

Well I worked in Vietnam and regularly went into Nha Trang. Langkawi I went as a tourist and wasnt overly impressed with it. I know the post you refer to says there is a lot of Russians around the New Year and he may well be right. Overall, I found Nha Trang the better of the two options

Nha Trang is a big City with all the good and bad that comes with it (I've been there). Langkawi is a large island with very few people living on it and the few tourists won't be seen except for the Tengah and Chenang beaches. It never feels crowded even during peak season, as long as you are not spending all your time at those two beaches.

Langkawi is nature pure. To rent a car there will cost you just 50 RM (420 Baht) if you bargain a little, and you can explore the island at your own will. Despite being a conservative Muslim place, BOOZE is dead-cheap, as it is a duty free island. In fact, I have never found any imported alcoholic beverages cheaper than on Langkawi.

Plus, you can get there easily by flying to Hat Yai and then taking a Minibus or Taxi to the Thammalang Pier in Satun.

If you want to find a similar place to Langkawi in Vietnam, check MUI NE

42 minutes ago, Trembly said:

My apologies, I stand corrected on the founders. The senior management are definitely Italian though. 

I doubt this as it has been sold to alibaba by Rocket internet which is 100% a German company. One more reason not to order from them any longer, and if u have no other choice, only use the "cash on delivery" option

.

16 minutes ago, Strange said:

 

Ive never been ripped off in a taxi that I'm aware of either. But again, 20 baht, what are you gonna do? Stand at the drop off point and refuse to pay while you dial the number and contest? I mean I get it but nobody in authority cares. 

 

Plus you run the risk of the whole childish loss of face. 

yes you could call the complaint hotline or report via the app, because you never know - maybe there have been more complaints regarding this driver or he has been fined before and warned already that he may lose his licence. Constant dripping wears away the stone, they say

3 minutes ago, Strange said:

 

What do you plan to do about it though? 

 

I mean I pick my battles man, 20 baht, take it. Not even worth the hassle to dispute. TIT rip offs abound. 

it is very easy nowadays even for an English speaker to report drivers, for example for using rigged Meters. there is even an APP. Luckily, as I can make myself understood in Thai and rarely visit the most infamous rip-off areas, I never had the need to do so in what must be more than 1.000 rides over the years. I do agree and somehow understand that most people cannot be bothered, and the drivers know this

29 minutes ago, gillap said:

Only 20 bahts… this is little compared to the merry go round I was given a week ago from the swamp to the Empire Tower. He wanted 500 baht upfront… I told him no way knowing it should not cost that much and told him to put the meter on! However he took the long way around, insisted I pay toll fare and in the end showed me a piece a paper that fares from the airport he had to add 50 baht… total fee 450 bahts…  he spoke very little English and at this point I knew I had been taken for aride and I didn't feel any argument with a Thai's unspoken English would do me any good, paid him and told him to let me out of the car… yes it was locked!  He only ruined it for himself as I now have lost all faith in Bkk taxi drivers. Has I got out in front of the Empire Tower I saw a Bts station… after my business was done I used it to get back to swampy… now I know the cheapest way to this part of Bkk and recommend to anyone to really look at google maps before using a swampy taxi driver… it might save you a few bahts!

Of course you have to pay the tollway charges as a PAX. That is normal. If there was a need to actually take the tollway is another question, but if coming from Swampy, there is usually little chance to avoid tollways. And yes, a 50 Baht fee has been added to the meter fare since decades. But you were right to refuse a flat rate. Everyone can easily report drivers to the transport authority, and the more people do this, the better.

4 minutes ago, gamini said:

big deal! 20bt. boring post

yes this IS a big deal and if Thousands of Taxi drivers would get away with doing this it would amount to millions quickly.

and people like you are the reason why they in many cases indeed get away with it.

If you think the fare is too low, give your driver a TIP. But as for cheating - NO WAY, zero tolerance should be applied, not even 25 Satang

While this all is great news, we still don't know why it suddenly is not considered illegal any longer. There was no official announcement me thinks. Oh, Khun UBER, would you please come to Samui, Phuket, Pattaya and Krabi as well? I'll get you a very special Somtam if you do  -_-

I don't think it is legal yet. That they started in CM recently does not mean it is legal - they started operations in many Cities around the globe without getting the "green light" from authorities beforehand.

What surprised me was that an official Thaivisa account posted the story about their CM operations recently. In the past, those topics were quickly "closed" by MODs as soon as someone mentioned UBER

55 minutes ago, PaoloR said:

How long have you been in Asia? How long in Thailand? Western culture, processes etc. are not directly transferable. You have so much to learn - I hope it is not too painful!  You're not in Kansas now!

agree. I doubt that that 99% of Thai staff, even managerial level, would be interested (or even understand) to get bonuses in equities/options. Planning ahead is nowhere to be found in Thai culture (and South East Asia in general).

I couldn't DISAGREE more with this ranking. Quantas ? British Airways ? Lufthansa ?

LOL...... that made my day

10 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I replied specifically to his question and for what Chaeng Wattana immigration will want.

There would really be no reason to do the TM30 report for your visit. Immigration would have no way of knowing you had done the visit.

But this certainly does only apply to stays at other locations in the kingdom and not once you left the country for a few days, right ?

On 14/11/2016 at 2:33 PM, Kaoboi Bebobp said:

 

Don't know if this helps, but a friend had a six-month contract in HCMC and used Uber to get to work every day. Cheaper than flagging a taxi down. 

and grabCAR is even cheaper than Uber in HCMC

that would be new to me that a non-native speaker WITHOUT a degree can be employed legally as a teacher.

Or did the rules change recently after they found out they just cannot get all the positions filled and many non-native speakers with no degree are actually highly qualified ? Now that would be a stunner.....

3 hours ago, impulse said:

 

You seem to have shot your own case by claiming they'd be supporting 5 Thais when $250 a month would add 25% to such a person's budget.

 

Thailand can either stay in the rut of low budget mass hedonism and sex tourism, or they can do something (anything, please) to get out of that slimepit.  Working off mass numbers of low budget tourists is absolutely devastating the resource.  They'd be better off having 1/3 the numbers, and offering less crowded beaches that aren't running sewers.  At least they'd have something worth visiting in 20 years.  As it's headed, they're eating their metaphorical children.

 

Certainly, clamping down will hurt some good people.  All sea changes do.  But it may work out well in the long term for the Thais.  I hope so.  I'm not optimistic, but I'm glad to see them trying something to preserve what they have.

they will not have 1/3 the number, they will have 3x the numbers as they want even more Chinese to visit. Keep in mind that until now, only a tiny fraction of Chinese nationals hold a passport. Good luck if those package crowds are considered "quality tourists"

27 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

You would use your home address on the form. Re-entry permit offices at airports do not care about what address is on the form since you are leaving the country. That is why you need a boarding pass to get it.

Staying at hotel does not void out your original address used at your home immigration office. Hotel reports are kept in a different database.

They use two different databases? That's interesting. But why so many here in TV report that their immi office tells them they need to register with a TM30 at their regular place again every time after staying at another place or hotel for just a night or two  {-_-}

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

Nothing new. It is a TM30 form they want at an immigration office.

Download form: http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/download/pdf/tm30.pdf

It certainly would not be asked for at a re-entry permit desk at an airport.

Not actually related to CM immigration (my apologies if this is considered hijacking), but if I obtain the re-entry permit at the airport (Swampy) and have stayed at a hotel near the airport the night before due to early departure of my flight and not at my home, would I need to give them the address of the Hotel on the TM8 rather than my regular registered place (as the hotel certainly will register me online upon checking in, and then my registration at my regular home is VOID). Does anybody have experience with such a scenario ?

Hi all,

I used to have non-immi multiple Visas for many years and have only recently changed to "extension of stay".

Will apply for my first multiple-re-entry permit soon to accommodate seamless traveling in and out of the country in the future, so my question is: What do I fill in the arrival card upon returning to Thailand from abroad under "VISA number" ? My actual Visa is now obviously VOID as it has been converted into a "1 year extension of stay". This "extension of stay" stamp in my passport does have a number too, so I write down this number in the VISA NUMBER section? or the number of the re-entry permit if it carries a number actually? Or do I leave the VISA NUMBER section empty as my "extension of stay" will be automatically visible in the immigration Computer? I just want to avoid that the immi officer gets confused and stamps something wrong into my passport (which has happened before when I got only 30 days stamped in instead of 90, luckily I always check the stamp immediately when leaving the immi desk).

Thanks for clarification

.

7 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

No - this (O-A) is a special one year permitted to stay on entry version for long stay (retirement) reasons - the "A" after the visa letter type indicates this.

Thanks for clarification. Still learning something new after so many years. How to get this sort of Visa and what are the requirements? This sounds more interesting to me than a 1-year-extension of stay, at least for people travelling a lot, as you obviously won't need re-entry permits (hence "multiple entry non-O-A)

If he has a multiple entry Visa, would he not have to actually LEAVE the country every 90 days like I had to for many years when being on a Non-B multiple ?

3 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I've yet to see them on offer anywhere in Pattaya.

I am in PTY atm and was referring to Pattaya. Banks, offices, the Kodak shop down the road, Malls..... and if not free, they r for sale at every corner - 5 or 10 Baht

Basically every shop, bank or institution I have visited recently has a small basket of those ribbons where you can grab one for free or a small donation. All I can say is it is VERY much appreciated by Thai people if you attach one to your shirt, even the rowdy motocy-batch at my SOI (and they are not Fans of myself as I prefer to walk in most of the cases and rarely use their services) had positive comments for me when I walked past them