joker

Outside of Thailand, when people here of any protests they are given the impression that it is all

over Bangkok, only if you've actually been there do you realize how a small area is actually being

taken up. It's like with the Tsunami in 2004, Phuket and areas were hit but in some countries,

people were worried about going to Chiang Mai!

What the reds are doing is of course absurd, Thaksin should have been arrested months ago -

if the Reds can 'find' him, why can't the Government? Of course they know if he is brought back,

all hel_l would break loose at whatever place he were held.

Thailand has become an expensive, sad country and the Thais have only themselves to blame,

letting greed take over from really standing up and tackling the No. 1 cause of their problems...

CORRUPTION. No future election is ever going to satisfy with all that vote buying that goes on.

And Buddhism?? Well, it seems to me people only go out of ritual and to be seen, rather than

actually understand the true ethics of Buddhism. Such a shame.

Bali (Indonesia), Goa (India), Koh Kong (Cambodia), Southern Africa and southwest Western Australia featured among the top 10 regions.

?!?!?!

I once got stuck in Koh Kong for a night on the way to Sihanoukville. There was almost nothing there, except for hotels and beer bars (this was in 2002 I think). My impression was that the whole town's business model was based on tourists getting trapped for the night because they missed the one boat to Sihanoukville. At the time, the Thai-Cambodia Bridge hadn't been completed yet and the only way to Sihanoukville was by boat. The border crossing from Thailand opened at 8am, and you had about 30 minutes to get through and try to catch the boat, which required a taxi or moto ride to a pier some distance away. Maybe the first few people caught it; the rest of us stayed the night in Koh Kong. I have a hard time believing that this narrow window was a coincidence.

It was cheap though.

Apparently it has been been built up a bit since then (and perhaps there was more to it than I knew at the time). Admittedly, since I had no intention of staying there, I didn't do any reading on the place in advance. The staff at the hotel were helpful, but my Khmer was minimal, and their English not much better. I ended up taking a somewhat sketchy motorcycle tour to a "water fall" for the afternoon, and finishing up the evening at a beer bar with my moto driver and his friends (whose food and drinks of course I ended up paying for, although the total bill was quite reasonable).

Has anyone here been to Koh Kong in recent years?

Yes, I was there not long ago actually. There are no more crazy speedboat connections etc,

so that is one headache less.

First thing, getting your Visa. At Poipet and Phnom Penh it's $20.00 BUT at Koh Kong,

whether you are 'helped' or not, they want it in BAHT(!) and usually BT,1,300 up, which

is far more than your $20.00.

Getting that boat in the morning is almost impossible, so you will end up in Koh Kong.

By the time you get there, there will be no buses going to Phnom Penh for example and

the only way to get out of there, is to go by taxi but unless you want to PAY BIG, then

you can wait to see if more people want to go and share, thus bringing the costs down.

Going to Sihanoukville of course is less distance and somewhat easier.

Coming back from Phnom Penh is ok, Bus again around 07.30am, which takes you right

to the border and crossing over isn't so bad. Transport to Pattaya/Bangkok would be better

arranged in advance, otherwise you might be able to share in a minibus to Trat.

If you really want to do Cambodia properly, then go in at Poipet and out at Koh Kong and

you can take in practically every major place.

Less ladybodys can never be a bad thing. Maybe some of the government officials made a trip down Nana after 2am. It is 98% ladyboys roaming the steets. Nearly the same way on Walking Steet after 3-4am - 75%+ ladyboys. Lonely tourists who struck out earlier in the night and are drunk are surely dragging home these 'women' - and regretting it in the morning, if they even ever find out.

What % of people who bang ladyboys do you reckon actually know they are banging a ladybody? For expats I'd say its less than 40% - four tourists it has to be less than 15%. Pretty terrible. I dare say in all of the drunken encounters I've had over the years, the odds of me not having accidentally taken one home have got to be astronomical. Anybody who regularly takes home bar girls and the like and says otherwise has self delusions on a grand scale.

Get rid of the ladyboys I say, or make them wear big purple patches on their shoulder or something.

Or why not make them wear a yellow star and put them in a ghetto? Better still, forcibly castrate them and tattoo a number on their arms. You should be ashamed of yourself

There soul reason for the operation (in most cases) is to fool foreigners into having sex with them. Why do you think the Phuket police are having a big ladyboy crackdown ahead of the US Marines arriving this week.

If there is some other reason so many men in Thailand choose to become women, please do enlighten me. It is my understanding that the primary reason is so they can go into the sex industry. This would be fine and dandy if the majority of their customers actually knew they were sleeping with a ladybody, however this is not the case - most think it is actually a woman.

Disgusting post like this is really not needed!

And PLEASE, how many foreigners really don't know they are with a ladyboy?

Ok, at a bar unless they don't have a deep voice, you might be fooled but not in

the bedroom! No amount of sticky tape can hide that fact if you have your senses

with you. Remember, I am talking about a boy dressed up as a lady and may have

only had breast implants done. There are many walking around for sure.

Someone who has had complete body surgery, well that is a transsexual anyway,

not really a ladyboy and in that case it's just a case of looking at the hands or feet.

You must be really drunk not too know or just plain stupid!

Many 'hetero' men who say they didn't know, say it out of shame amongst their

friends and while married, are often 'closet' gays anyway.

Ladyboys, tansvestites, transsexuals are all human beings, so let's treat them as such,

please.

Caused entirely by lack of proper maintenance of track and sleepers, as we all know. State railways of Thailand are bankrupt and lose the counrty millions of baht every year. The only answer, of course, is massive investment but if they don't, rail travel in Thailand will be become more and more hazardous. It's such a shame because the railways in Thailand are such an under-used resource. Take Bangkok-Pattaya for example. Despite an 8 lane motorway and buses trauling up and down every 30 mins or less, we still have one train a day (!) in each direction and the departure from Bangkok leaves so early that it misses the arrival times of the long distance overnight trains from north and south. So it's impossible to travel from. say, Chiangmai to Bangkok overnight and then on to Pattaya in the morning. Wonder which brain box thought that one out!

Your right, it's something I never quite figured out why Pattaya was so badly served by trains.

I live right opposite Pattaya south station and if I want to go to Bangkok, I have to wait until

14.15 pm before I can. Yes it does take longer than the bus BUT actually the ride is quite pleasant

and at only BT. 31 the cheapest way of getting there.

Now I have to go from South Pattaya to North Pattaya Bus St. take a bus to Ekkamai and then

either with a skytrain or taxi to the Prathunam area(as an example). Add all that time up and

in fact the difference isn't all that.

From Bangkok there should be at least 2 - 3 trains a day in both directions.

I agree about the Chiang Mai - Pattaya bit too. I guess it's politics again.

Right next to the line they've added a double road 'bypass' recently - shows what is important!

Has to be an optimist in his position. But visitor numbers increasing compared to what?

Here in the north hotels are at record low occupancy, golf courses are empty and many tourism related businesses have closed.

I sincerely hope things are on the up but Thailand has many issues to deal with before numbers of past years are reached if ever again.

this is the begining of the great decline as other countries in the area become more effective at competeing for that same tourist dollar with less of the negatives of thailand. Also all things run in trends and amoung travelers thailand is of the boil, it's passay to say you've been there because everbody already has.

Yes, you hit it square on with "thailand is off the boil", that is a fact. There was a huge surge

around 2000 and despite 9/11, Sars, Bird Flu etc it lasted until around 2004 and since then

has slowly crumbled. There are many more now in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam and the comments

I heard about, when they passed thru Thailand, were less than favourable.

Now 3/4 of the year thru and we still have the silly red shirts making a mess of things and this has

added to people's uncertainty. Places like Africa, India, Domin Republic are also "IN" right now.

And as far as arrivals go...... well they only quoted Thai Airways and don't forget, 'arrivals' include

people doing visa runs etc, so exact figures are I think impossible to find.

Every consulate makes own rules.

In Penang three years ago you got the Tourist visa stamp but also "never apply in Penang again".

There's to many "tourists" working in south of Thailand illegally.

They make problems for genuine tourist.

Genuine tourists go home. If you want to stay, you gotta' do the paperwork, me too. Bummer. Still Thailand is easier than many, if not most, other countries.

Thailand is easier?????????? Well, it used to be but not anymore but most of you have

to say and think that, to justify the sometimes disgusting treatment one gets these days.

I have left Thailand and am HAPPY to have done so and finally be treated like a normal

human being again, instead of a 2nd class citizen.

Thailand is not like it used to be and the more modern facilities it gets, the more 'choice' of

shopping malls and silly spas, the less happy the people are. I am glad I have been able to

experience the country in more friendlier times, pre- Taksin.

Wow. I am back in the States right now and there is NO MENTION of the Swine Flu. Seems that Americans got bored with it, and now have moved on to the new thing...

The sudden and tragic death of a dancing pedophile.

Thailand only cares about the way they look, not if it is right or wrong. They need to give the appearance that they are doing something, regardless if it has results.

It is truly shocking to be outside of LOS.

todd

True, Thailand, these days, only cares about how it looks, not if it's right or wrong. It's so sad!

Don't blame this Government or the doctors, it's the THAIS themselves that need to wake up

and stop looking in the mirror and watching silly soaps. Tourism has suffered for the last 5 years

here and it's not getting better. EDUCATE the people then they might understand more about

real life and the world around them. 'Close the borders' mentality is the same as the recent

parents who took their children away from a school because a kid had HIV. IGNORANCE rules!

Michael Jackson RIP.

We love you.

In his memorial service, he was called more than the King of Pop. He was called the best entertainer the world has ever known.

Clearly his posthumous handlers are trying to build up an Elvis type legacy for him.

So the question is, will we soon see Thai Michael Jackson impersonators at entertainment venues across Thailand? If not, why not?

Or is this still only going to be an Elvis thing?

(Please no trash talk about MJ, take that somewhere else if you must, he is dead now, and he was never convicted of the crimes so many people associate him with.)

I think we can see Michael Jackson as the modern day Elvis, in as much that when Elvis died, there was no 24 hr news,

Internet, Twitter, Face book etc, so the magnitude might seem out of proportion now but had this all been available in 1977,

we would have seen the same. Personally, I don't watch all these Elvis inpersonators but they give pleasure to many.

It probably WILL happen with Michael Jackson too but it will take awhile before many learn the moonwalk!

I think the statement made by Prakit saying ""How can tourists can enjoy their holiday in Thailand without drinking?" is a bit over the top. It would mean that without drinking one cannot enjoy things. Sounds strange to me.

To answer the question: If Thailand forbids to drink on these days on religious grounds, than that is a part of Thailand, so as a visitor you will have to accept that too.

I totally agree with these last 2 lines. It's time that tourists and espcially foreigners living here, realize this

IS Thailand and it has it's own culture and religious norms. We're talking about 6 days in a whole year and

frankly if there is anyone out there who can't handle it, they NEED help!

It also annoys me when Falang blatantly ignore the ban (and the smoking one in bars etc.) just to satisfy

there egoistic selfishness.

The TAT could ask any foreigner in Thailand for constructive ways to increase the number of tourists. This would appear to be the start of a gradual decline in Thailand's popularity as a tourist destination. In this region alone Vietnam, Malaysia, even Indonesia are becoming more and more attractive. Add to that the number of expats leaving Thailand for countries who make them feel welcome and thailand has big problems ahead.

Those responsible don't seem to understand the dynamics of the tourism industry. More detrimental in the long term are the problems in Thailand itself: corruption, scamming, xenophobia, dual pricing, pollution, violent crime, extortion, visa regulations, nightlife, political unrest, personal safety, Thais mai pen rai attitude. The list goes on and all of these have been raised repeatedly in the media for years without any attempt to improve matters by officials supposedly responsible.

It wil be far harder and costlier to lure back tourists than it would have been to keep those coming here happy. Land Of Smiles ? Not for much longer. BTW, has that former TAT governor had her day in court yet ?

I think the last drunk Sexpat in Pattaya has a better understanding about Tourism than any of their specialists.

Ban dual pricing

copy the visa regulations from any other country

make a unit of Farang police who hunts scammer

I think the planning could be done in not more than 2 days.

To fix the worst problems would need not more than 2 month.

The comments about the problems IN Thailand listed above, I believe, ARE the real causes of the tourism problem here in this country.

The TAT could ask any foreigner in Thailand for constructive ways to increase the number of tourists. This would appear to be the start of a gradual decline in Thailand's popularity as a tourist destination. In this region alone Vietnam, Malaysia, even Indonesia are becoming more and more attractive. Add to that the number of expats leaving Thailand for countries who make them feel welcome and thailand has big problems ahead.

Those responsible don't seem to understand the dynamics of the tourism industry. More detrimental in the long term are the problems in Thailand itself: corruption, scamming, xenophobia, dual pricing, pollution, violent crime, extortion, visa regulations, nightlife, political unrest, personal safety, Thais mai pen rai attitude. The list goes on and all of these have been raised repeatedly in the media for years without any attempt to improve matters by officials supposedly responsible.

It wil be far harder and costlier to lure back tourists than it would have been to keep those coming here happy. Land Of Smiles ? Not for much longer. BTW, has that former TAT governor had her day in court yet ?

I think the last drunk Sexpat in Pattaya has a better understanding about Tourism than any of their specialists.

Ban dual pricing

copy the visa regulations from any other country

make a unit of Farang police who hunts scammer

I think the planning could be done in not more than 2 days.

To fix the worst problems would need not more than 2 month.

Xenophobic Yellow shirts caused the biggest damage when they shut down Suvarnabhumi. 300,000 travelers stranded- uncountable problems caused to those stranded. Foreign Minister Kasit thought is was 'FUN". They brought it on themselves. Kasit should be dumped to show the real change in Thailand's thinking. Red Shirts did not target tourist specically -Yellow and Kasit did.

What a load of political rubbish! Yes, at the time the Airport closures caused the problems

BUT we are way passed that. Rioting in the streets of Pattaya/Bangkok in April caused a

huge damage to the peaceful Buddhist image of Thailand - DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THAT!

We also have the economic turn down plus swine flu causing external problems but this

tourism problem has been going on for the last 5 years, believe me and above all, Thailand

is OUT of fashion for Asian visits right now. It's become too Western, too touristy and there

are too many scams, murders etc happening here. The golden goose has laid too many eggs!

Xenophobic Yellow shirts caused the biggest damage when they shut down Suvarnabhumi. 300,000 travelers stranded- uncountable problems caused to those stranded. Foreign Minister Kasit thought is was 'FUN". They brought it on themselves. Kasit should be dumped to show the real change in Thailand's thinking. Red Shirts did not target tourist specically -Yellow and Kasit did.

When I first arrived in Thailand I had a (Thai) gf, nice girl, masters degree, government job, etc. Anyway, the first time I saw her watch TV she viewed it so intently that I thought "Has she ever seen a tv before?!?" Of course I knew she had but she appeared as if she were in a trance, she was that absorbed in the program.

Last night I had a burger at Kiss Foods (Not bad considering the price) and the staff was pretty engrosed in a popular series. I happened to catch one girl's eye and gave her a thumbs-up; I joined in the viewing, yuked it up a bit and we all agreed that it was the best series ever.

If you can't beat them...

If you were in Thailand 15 years ago, it was almost totally void of TV's in small shops,

hairdressers, night markets, Banks, Hospitals etc. Go look in Cambodia/Laos and you will see

what I mean. Today, Thais are OBSESSED by T.V. and especially the trashy soaps which

haunt prime time. It is no wonder that so many are really so UNINFORMED about life going

on around them and why many of the soaps ARE giving a bad example to many Thais and

the quality of customer service has gone right down in the last few years.

If it's not eating, sleeping then it's the soaps or scandal shows that cause this mindless addiction.

When I first arrived in Thailand I had a (Thai) gf, nice girl, masters degree, government job, etc. Anyway, the first time I saw her watch TV she viewed it so intently that I thought "Has she ever seen a tv before?!?" Of course I knew she had but she appeared as if she were in a trance, she was that absorbed in the program.

Last night I had a burger at Kiss Foods (Not bad considering the price) and the staff was pretty engrosed in a popular series. I happened to catch one girl's eye and gave her a thumbs-up; I joined in the viewing, yuked it up a bit and we all agreed that it was the best series ever.

If you can't beat them...

This is such a non-issue. This will never amount to anything really serious. Between 250,000 and 500,000 people die annually,

worldwide, from the normal flu. So far, 141 people have died of the swine flu, this year. Compared to approximately 125,000

to date this year for the other flu. Which flu would you rather have? Of the 27,000 people infected to date, 141 have died. Do

the math. This is a media based hysteria. There is nothing to it. I am not concerning myself for a nanosecond over this.

I somewhat agree with your sentiment but you might perhaps look at the problem from the perspective of a Thai business owner or native resident in Phuket, the news is simply not good and compounds existing problems to date - livelihoods are suffering very badly already. The other aspect of course is the fear factor that is most evident and that's not helpful in a poorly educated and frequently mis informed society.

"Misinformed" and I would say "uninformed" society indeed! A few days ago we heard about the infections at a school in Pattaya, including it's name, yet there was also 17 staff infected at a disco

in the city and nowhere is the name of the disco published - why not? "In the name of tourism"

they would say but surely it is the duty of all concerned departments, to warn the public about

ALL aspects of the health problem and not pander to the usual disgusting Thai censorship!

This is such a non-issue. This will never amount to anything really serious. Between 250,000 and 500,000 people die annually,

worldwide, from the normal flu. So far, 141 people have died of the swine flu, this year. Compared to approximately 125,000

to date this year for the other flu. Which flu would you rather have? Of the 27,000 people infected to date, 141 have died. Do

the math. This is a media based hysteria. There is nothing to it. I am not concerning myself for a nanosecond over this.

I somewhat agree with your sentiment but you might perhaps look at the problem from the perspective of a Thai business owner or native resident in Phuket, the news is simply not good and compounds existing problems to date - livelihoods are suffering very badly already. The other aspect of course is the fear factor that is most evident and that's not helpful in a poorly educated and frequently mis informed society.

I was quoted $35 by the driver and this magically changed to $55 when it came to pay, I'd recommend you get him to write it down so there are no misunderstandings.

Excellent advice, though of course it's not a misunderstanding, just sleazy Poipet SOP. Even if you have the price written down you should still be ready for the guy to try to inflate it once you reach your destination. Give him exact change and walk away.

It's a shame about Poipet -- the worst possible introduction to Cambodia. Over 15 years I've never had these kinds of problems anywhere else in the country.

Well, obviously you have never been via Hat Lek. Besides being besieged by touts who want to

help you fill in the visa on arrival application, (which I don't need but have no objection too) here

the Immigration officials openly charge BT.1,200 - BT.1,300 for the Visa!!

Everywhere else, at Poipet, border crossing with Vietnam, Airports etc it's $US 20, the correct price.

What's more they want it ni THAI Baht and not in $US. It's almost double the price!!!

At Poipet they try to get BT.100 + from you but stand firm and they will drop it, as here there is

actually a price table visible. Not so Hat Lek.

I was quoted $35 by the driver and this magically changed to $55 when it came to pay, I'd recommend you get him to write it down so there are no misunderstandings.

Excellent advice, though of course it's not a misunderstanding, just sleazy Poipet SOP. Even if you have the price written down you should still be ready for the guy to try to inflate it once you reach your destination. Give him exact change and walk away.

It's a shame about Poipet -- the worst possible introduction to Cambodia. Over 15 years I've never had these kinds of problems anywhere else in the country.

Go Red Go. It's uplifting to see Thais care about their country and not just lay down to the oppressors. Good Luck! Maybe they can inspire a similar movement in Myanmar!

Thais caring about their country??????????????

Believe me, not the reds for sure - how you get that idea beats me.

Time they stopped these demonstrations - for SELF INTEREST and

give the country the break it needs, to get back on it's feet.

And I bet you think changing the Constitution is going to solve all the problems?

Well it will not, believe me.

The number one problem in this country is CORRUPTION and THAT is what has

caused the situation we are now in.

I agree with, if ONE politician steps over the line, then the whole party should

pay the price. Sounds hard, school like? That's just what is needed in Thailand,

now that would be REAL change and we would have Truth.

This will not be "another blow to tourism" as some have suggested. Street crime is rampant in most urban areas here. Bangkok continues to be one of the most dangerous places in the world. Either you accept the facts or bury your head in the sand and hope you do not become a victim.

Stress brought on by the well publicized problems unique to Thailand and the current global economic crisis will cause crime to continue to rise. This is simply one of hundreds of violent crimes that occur in Thailand everyday. This one could not be covered up because a foreigner was tragically brought into the story.

"Bangkok continues to be one of the most dangerous places in the world" ? What a load of rubbish!

Bangkok is one of the safest places believe me, try going to any of the big U.S. cities, London, Paris,

Amsterdam just to name a few places - they are much more dangerous, women cannot even walk alone on the streets at night.

They STILL can in Bangkok. Pattaya in comparison, if we're talking Thailand, HAS become a dangerous place for both Thais and foreigners, over the last 5 years and IS more dangerous than Bangkok, with muggings, shootings and gang attacks almost daily. Just yesterday, a gold shop robbed in Jomtien by armed robbers.

The 'gentle' calm Thai image is fast evaporating due to 'modernisation', greed and arrogance.

Yes, you read that correctly!

7/11 are the worst offenders.

I go to buy a can of Coke, they give it to me in a plastic bag with 3 straws.

True story.

When I refuse a plastic bag for a coke can or other small items,

the staff in almost any 7-11 / Family Mart look at me as if I'm

from another planet! Believe me, there needs to be ALOT of

education for the average Thai on environment issues, not just

making posters and dressing up like cheerleaders, pretending

to promote 'green' products etc.

Take a look at almost any road in Isaan and see how much rubbish

is thrown along the sidebanks, almost all of it is thrown out of the

pick-up waste.

Or behind the bungalows on an island like Koh Samet - see the mountains

of plastic bottles!

And this campaign only lasts 'till June?????????????

Sadly the Thai Consulate in Vientiane has gotten swamped with visa runners since the enforcement of the "3-free stamp" rule and the lack of Thai Consulates in other neighboring countries to be accommodating.

It is a miracle they haven't cracked down, raised the ever elusive 'bar' higher to issue visas, or like Savaneket, Penang just started stamping your passport not to come back.

In my experience the main thing that slows the processing time in the line is an almost total lack of preparedness on the part of the myriad of applicants. Add in stupid questions, coupled with ignorance and you have a line that at times seems to move backward.

I concur with the previous posters; arrive early, plan for contingencies, and by all means STAY a couple days and see Vientiane.

Problem with Vientiane is just that ONE line, that sometimes goes into TWO if there's another guy working there.

What they should do is..........

Always have Two lines, one that handles Tourist / Transit visas and another line for 'B' /'O' visas.

Most of the 'stupid' questions come from Foreigners who may have never ever applied for a Thai

visa before, so I think that's being a bit harsh. For the other line, I would assume most should have all their documents ready.

Provide enough glue or tape for the photos, as often it's finished and the guys behind the desk have

to attach it themselves(more time loss). If ok, then you go and sit in the nearby building and indeed

it has to be mouse still in there to hear your name called. There needs to be more training on that point - when you call out a name, then you do it looking out towards the people instead of directing the sound down to the desk!

And with picking up the next day, come rain or shine, they will not open before 13.00pm, so loads of people outside, either getting rain wet or sun wet. Nice gardens ok but why not make any area where people can shelter from the elements. To avoid queuejumping, numbered tickets could be issued, just like in banks.

I know there are some who think we should be oh SO gratefull that we can go into Thailand and have to lump it but we are giving them money and even more, when we get there. A little more

thought (a problem for Thais I know) would help so much for both sides.

Today I went to Pattaya immigration for move the stamp to new passpot issued by local italian embassy .

I brought both passport (the new and the old one) but the official asked me a letter of guarantee from my embassy that declare that this passport is issued by themselves and that is genuine.

I phone to my ermbassy and they will give me the letter (no problem) , but at the same time they been amazed for that unusual requirement.

Have someone of you knowledge about that ?

I have a Dutch Passport and did the change over last year. The Dutch Embassy do not issue a letter, the same as many others but in the new passport states quite clearly that the new Passport replaces Passport no... etc. This was accepted with no problem.

If Pattaya Immigration are 'going it alone' then I ask WHY? They should follow the rules laid down for the whole country and stop trying to think they are so special.

Perhaps Niels Colov (PTY EXPATS CLUB etc.) should show a bit of muscle here, instead of the endless

back slapping (crawling) that we constantly see and read in Pattaya each week.

There seems to be alot of confusion about the 'changing jobs' factor.

I have recently DONE IT!

I had a Non - b multiple entry visa, which was actually on 'extension of stay'

re-newal every year. This I did.

Later I was offered a new job.

Fishing out the rules, you have basically 2 options :

1. You give notice to your employer and later hand in your W.P to the Labor office, then you

go to Immigration, who will give you an extension stamp for 7 days by which

time you should leave the country. There is NO CHARGE for that extension!

2. The above first line is the same, only now, if you have new employment AND have all the NEW

documents ready and certain OLD ones from the previous employer, then you get from the Labor

office the document M.10, then you go to Immigration and you will still get the 7 day extension

Free of charge. If ALL the documents are in order, you will get a 1 month extension but if they

are not then you ONLY HAVE those 7 days to get it all together, otherwise you have to leave.

So never do it on a Friday, as you'll lose 2 days.

This is April 2008 info - ok?

ALL the above applies to 'B' visas on extension of stay not to 'O' visas or actual visas

that are still valid.

Although with No.2 you hand your WP in, IF you went with someone from your new employment

and all documents were ok, then your likely to keep that W.P itself, otherwise either 'change of

employment' will be written in or later they would give you a new book.

I hope this is a bit clearer for everyone.