bamboozled

21 hours ago, rahil627 said:

these "international" buses... they only leave from Bangkok, yeah? they don't stop anywhere along the way, do they? just straight to Savannakhet, Pakse, etc.? Or could you actually get on one from Khon Kaen?

 

sounds like a sweet option to get straight into Laos, and avoid the 'bus station is located 20km away from everything but here's a taxi' problem.

The one I took doesn't go into Laos. It stops at the Mukdahan bus station and then you have to transfer to a different bus for the 15 minute ride to the bridge. It stops and you get out and exit through Thailand immi. Then back on the bus and across the bridge where you exit again with all your <deleted> and do your Visa/immigration stuff for entering Laos.. Then you have to get a taxi of some sort. I took a bus such as you speak of from Vientiane to Udon without having to change buses. I don't know if there is one like that going into Laos from anywhere, Bkk or KK included. But sure there are buses from KK to Mukdahan.

3 hours ago, steve187 said:

i would travel across to Savannakhet on arrival, skipping the overnight stay in Mukdahan,

 

when  in Savannakhet try Cafe Chez Boune Restaurant, really good food,

 

is the Thai embassy Savannakhet issuing multi entry non imm 'O' thai wife visa's

Oh yes, I got one!

Some good points there, Tim, thank you. I'm also thinking that Monday morning at the border and the consulate might be busier than say mid week so it might make things easier already being situated in Savannakhet. I'll probably have the good fortune of getting there too early, for sure. Maybe I'll hang at the bus station and get "freshened up" and grab a coffee. That first bus to the bridge is pretty crazy usually, too. I won't be in the usual rush to get to the consulate since it will be Sunday, either, so can take my time.

Well well well it's finally time to try my luck getting a Non-O at the Savannakhet consulate. I'll be arriving to Mukdahan Sunday morning on the overnight bus from Bkk. I'm contemplating staying the day/night in Mukdahan before crossing over to Laos on Monday morning just to break it up a bit. Break up the journey AND the scenery. The overnight bus and straight into visa stuff at border can be a bit trying. I will be quite early, however, so getting a hotel at 7 am might be difficult. Anyhoo, anyone wanna weigh in with a yea or nay on this? Something interesting to do in Muk for a day/night? Is Monday morning at Laos immigration busier and more trying than a Sunday morning?

Thanks folks!

Hi folks, I'll be heading to Savannakhet, Laos in a week or two to get my Non-O visa based on marriage at the Thai consulate there. I'm in Chiang Mai at the moment and thinking about turning it into some sort of trip around Laos at the same time. I've been a few times over the past 20 years last time in Luang Prabang about 3/4 years ago. Has anybody gone touring lately? Just wondering what the word on the street is. Is business back to usual, more or less, buses, trains, planes, taxis, etc....up and running. Hotels/guest houses/restaurants? I assume more or less things are open. Any hassles with masks or vax (I am 3 x Vaxed)? I have USD to spend and I see it's doing quite well at the moment!

Cheers, Bamboozled!

9 hours ago, Dave Aarons said:

Newbie to this forum maybe but 16yrs in Thailand, married for 13 of them and owned a very popular bar in Pattaya for 5yrs.

LOve it!

19 hours ago, mtsr said:

I have local insurance. I asked the immigration office before leaving the country if I would need the pass and she confirmed that is still the case.

Thanks feller!

MTSR, did you get insurance for Thai? I guess you need that to get Thailand Pass, right?

Fantastic Savannakhet report! And nightfox, send one a them guys to me in CM? Sounds eezy peezy.

Thanks fellers!

Can you contact this old lawyer? Perhaps he just told/paid the local guys to leave it be and that's why you were able to carry on? Perhaps everything WAS cleared up and now some new people see a way to make a problem and collect on it. If it was a real problem in the past, and was really cleared up, there must be some documentation somewhere. If not, it might never have been cleared up. Can you contact the office/precinct where the old problem was cleared?

I wish you good luck. Do you have any correspondence from they lawyer that said everything was fine?

1 hour ago, transam said:

I have confirmed it via PM with Dave, 1 year multi-O, no funds proof needed, same as it was before covid....   ????

Very good news, indeed. See you all there for a tall-boy Bia Lao. Thanks for stepping in , Transam. Do you have a golden eagle tattooed on your chest?

On 5/23/2022 at 8:03 PM, Davef2912 said:

The bank statement is not mentioned on the Website of the Consulate and nobody asked for it.

 

When leaving Thailand and they wanted to see if I had the Thailand pass, but they didn't really scan it.

When re-entering Thailand it was the same.

 

When applying for the Thai pass, I submitted pictures of my Pakan Sankom (Thai Social Security) Card as well as my accident insurance (Aetna) card. Both of them provide coverage of more than 10.000 USD

 

When entering Laos I showed them my vaccination certificates but they were not really interested in them.

Fantastic! So, Dovef, you did indeed get a Non-O, 1-year, multi entry, on marriage? I think it's clear you got a multi-entry but If you would be so kind to confirm, is it a one-year validity visa? Or just multi entry, 90-day visa? (I'm not ever sure they exist).

Many thanks!

I'm without words and losing hope in humanity. I blame the murderer(s), sure, but if you look at the macro picture, homo sapien is in flames. Maybe we always have been. This kind of event, and the many atrocities world-wide, beg the question: do we deserve the coming extinction that we are aware of, that we won't accept, that we won't do a damn thing to avert? Every non-human entity would shout a resounding, "YES!" I have pain in my life that seems unbearable often enough. Yet never anything like this, not even close. How do you survive it, I have no idea. Or maybe you don't. One of the saddest stories to come out of the recent Texas massacre was that of the husband of 24 years of the slain teacher and mother of four. He died the morning after she was killed of a heart attack, of a broken heart. Gosh, it makes me cry.

Thanks, theDUkes. You're probably right. I did get some large sheets of it at one of the old school stationary shops...the big one in the old city a bit down from the UN Irish Pub. Not butcher paper but brown packing paper.  A bit think, it is, but I think I can use it. I will check Lazada. I kind of like shopping from the shops, if possible. I like to give them business.

That's hot!

Thank you, Grahmm. I was thinking of Yok as well! I've been to Makro to buy supplies and never saw that paper but it's true I wasn't looking specifically for it at the time. I could try with the 18" though 36" would be better....like wrapping paper for a gift.

Much obliged!

Anyone know where I can find this? Needs to be 36" wide or thereabouts. Thanks!

1 hour ago, Time Traveller said:

Once  again ASEAN Now are way off the mark on what they are writing about.  May I suggest you hire someone in country who actually has experience with Thai immigration bureaucracy. 

 

The problems for foreigners dealing with Thai immigration has never been "rumors" or misleading news articles.   The problems have always been the laws published in the Royal Gazette itself.  Or, more specifically, the vagueness and lack of details.

 

For example, they will publish something on the requirements for a category of visa/admission to Thailand. But they never go in to any detail with what actually qualifies as evidence for approval of the visa.    Hence, we are all left to the mercy of how each individual office, or frontline officer, interprets such regulations.  So, what may be acceptable one day or place, is not acceptable on another day or with another officer.  There is no consistency.  That is the major problem. 

You nailed it! As I wrote a few days ago, I went to renew (tried to renew) my O visa based on marriage in Chiang Mai. The first person that you must pass through, well, after the helpers outside, is the woman at the INFORMATION counter. She turned me away saying that using bank statements showing 12 months of transfers of at least $40k was not a valid method for meeting the financial requirements for the visa. Again, this is the first person that you MUST see to move along through the process at the INFORMATION counter...and she doesn't even have the correct information. I's not even laughable because some poor folks are going to end up in dire situations when they cannot get their visas and must leave Thailand because this person insisted on her wrong info. And they didn't know to ask someone else or know about any alternatives. I'll just add that she hardly spoke any English...and the people using immigration are not going to be Thai speakers, most of them. Now, this is my fault, some, for still not speaking Thai well after many years here but it seems to me it would be smart to have an informed, English speaking person at the information counter. I acknowledge we are not all native English speakers but it has become the international lingua franca.

28 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

They eat toads too- dried toads skin is expensive in

ubon ratchathani

Only if it's the DMT-excreting toad

I read how the kukri eat them. Sounds.....unpleasant.

12 hours ago, FARANG KIWI said:

Arriving 06th June on 30 day TV then extend 60 days ( married to a Thai ) so late August will be planning to go across.

Thanks.... Ok, I will be due to go before that. I'm sure someone will be before me (mid July) but if not, I'll report back.

....Pulled a good bit of vegetation out today. Ground was nice and soft so that helped. Weirdly, did not see a lot of frogs just a few and did not bother to catch them. They are fast!. As I said, they were much quieter this morning so perhaps they've moved on? Probably only temporarily. I did hear them early like 5 am but a couple hours later pretty quiet. After I get to the grocery store to buy some vinegar I will do  good spray down. Was totally thinking the whole time if you can put a python on  a leash.

No, def not going to move because of the frogs but would like to do something if possible. This morning they're pretty silent The rain really pumps them up. Listen frog-crock lovers: I guarantee you would not like this. You're all referencing some pleasant memory of frogs croaking. This is not that memory. Just trust me, ok? It's deafening.

It's about a 2 meter or less wide space between the house and the cement perimeter wall. This space now is muddy and full of water and yes a good bit of vegetation has sprouted as we don't walk in that space. The bottom floor of the house is one big room with a tiled floor and the ceiling the underside of the second-story wood floors so another hard surface. The walls of the house adjacent to this area are just screened windows, no glass., so nothing to block the sound. There are many frogs, that is obvious. I think the sound reverberates off the concrete wall and straight into the house that accentuates even further the sound due to the hard surfaces and open space. Today, I plan to cut down all the veggies and capture as many froggies as I can and send them to TV for TV croaker-lovers to collect and keep under their beds.