steven100

"Thailand is a top worldclass tourism destination"

The government has targeted achieving tourism revenue of two trillion baht within the next five years,

Next year the TAT are considering a new promo name ...

" Marvelous, Majestical, Moving, Sexy, Amazing , Suvarnabhumi immigration, brothel, Shinawatra, Jet Ski Phuket, Red Yellow & Pink shirt, Wonderful, " Thailand ........

I went to Savannakhet recently for a Tourist visa. A word of caution on to many TV's in your passport. If back to back visas you may have difficulty. Embassy staff mentioned this to several expats in the line waiting.

Vientenne seems more accomodating for Tourist Visas so if you have back to back visas already it may be a better choice for you rather than run the risk of having a problem.

Won't be very easy for them to work sitting behind shields and all that protective equipment......

yes , and apparently it's using the tear gas canisters in such a confined space that concerns immigration officials.

Just come back from Ho Chi Minh City.

My Thai partner did not need a visa up to 30 days.

I (Australian) had to get a visa on entry, but you need to apply online before you go.

The application form online cost $US20 and another $US25 for stamp on arrival.

They said that i had to fill in 2 forms with pic's. But were not interested in the 2nd one on arrival

By the way, it is advisable to take $US. they are used for everything.

thanks oldsailor, clear as crystal ... Australian needs a completed application ( available on-line ) & a thai needs nothing ! Also, take $US ....

very heplful ... i'm going to Phu Quoc for a few days .. should be good.

cheers.

Vietnam for 1 week ( flying BKK-SIAGON), Australian and Thai ... Do both of us require a pre-approval Visa letter ? We need to apply in Bangkok ?

Do we not receive a Visa exempt stamp at the airport in Vietnam on arrival ?

Thanks for any feedback ... I have read many posts on this and this is confusion on what is available .. I'm confused as well as a couple of older posters I read..

Thanks.

Vietnam for 1 week ( flying BKK-SIAGON), Australian and Thai ... Do both of us require a pre-approval Visa letter ? We need to apply in Bangkok ?

Do we not receive a Visa exempt stamp at the airport in Vietnam on arrival ?

Thanks for any feedback ... I have read many posts on this and this is confusion on what is available .. I'm confused as well as a couple of older posters I read..

Thanks.

Sincerely appreciate any help !!

Vietnam for 1 week ( flying BKK-SIAGON), Australian and Thai ... Do both of us require a pre-approval Visa letter ? We need to apply in Bangkok ?

Do we not receive a Visa exempt stamp at the airport in Vietnam on arrival ?

Thanks for any feedback ... I have read many posts on this and this is confusion on what is available .. I'm confused as well as a couple of older posters I read..

Thanks.

Thailand has hundreds of generically manufactured medicines and tablets ..

Can the ingredients of these generics be questioned ? are you getting what's indicated on the label or packaging. ?

Starch is used in many tablets as 'fillers' ... Are these manufacturers honest and ensure all medicines are as they are suppose to be and the composite is what the tablet should be or could it be false and you are not getting the medicine you thought you purchased ?

Who is responsible to check the factories and distributors in Thailand ?

I welcome your feedback.

You only have to contact the ABC and review there IRAQ documentary to confirm how much Dick Cheney ripped off the American tax payers through Haliburton in Iraq for Billions !!! not millions ...billions !!

I cannot believe how this scum got away with it for so long.

Hope he goes duck hunting every weekend with his neighbour or his wheel chair helps launching at the boat ramp.

my opinion and that of millions of others.

IMO.

It's sad he didn't expose Dick Cheney to show everyone what sort of a businessman he was ... especially with Haliburton contracts in Iraq.

More pond scum. How is Mr HIV rapist getting along? Giving taxi drivers a stinking reputation. Sounds like time taxi drivers enforced acceptable standards of behavior themselves, if the government or police cannot/will not. Kick these turds out.

Taxi drivers already have a stinking reputation. They are marfia scum in my books. They stop .. won't let you in the car but just ask where your going so they can decide if they can make a buck out of it. !

The Government needs to kick every taxi driver in bangkok out ...and start new !! regulate it properly so no marfia has control.

Bangkok taxi drivers need a good overhaul.

Was this a terrorist attact ?? what nationality is involved and are the authorities searching for these culprits ??

TIA

very sad when this happens ...

The guy in the picture told the manager he seen the compaints on TripAdvisor website ' you will get robbed '

So why would he check into a hotel that advised such ......

It doesn't make sense to me ..... something fishy !!

just goes to show ... it's not even safe to put your valuables in the safe !!

I guess the only option is to make sure the hotel you book into has the coded safes so you can change the code to what you like.

darn it ! It's so annoying when that happens ....

don't go out drinking and get in a rage and then sock it to me someone ... fighting won't help ..

this hole mess can be cleared sew easily !

seems to me you need to pull your socks up and get on with life !!

Savannakhet checking on back to back visas ( tourist visas ) . not worth going if you have a couple already ... looks like Phnom Penn maybe the go.

In KL the area known as Butik Butang has many hotels for tourist and is a short taxi ride although you can walk there if you prefer, allow around 1 hour casual walk.

As for hotels doing your visa processing etc ... NO .. I don't think any of the hotels in KL offer that service, therefore you will have to go to the thai consulate yourself.

.

Your all wrong !! TAT said it's all back to normal ... they said there was ' a slight ' dip in numbers due to the floods but now everyone has returned and the numbers are the same as in good times ...

So then .. there's nothing to worry about !! TAT say everything is ok !!

Thank god we have the TAT with all the good news ...

Now I'm just about watch the flying pigs over bangkok ... suppose to be a good show tonight !!!

As for last May, Savannakhet in Laos, has very easy going staff and the consulate not crowded at all... I was the only applicant !

your visit was 8 mths ago. It's not the same now.

The OP might wanna look at Vientiene , it would be fairly close also.

And while you are on it: pray tell, why they should promote anything on you?

For example, I DO NOT like when I went shopping on BigC, stand in front of one shell and thinking about new TV\read specs etc - and one of "sweeeeeeeet guuuyyysss" (from the staff) came to my back and stand a little (no any problem so far, despite his looookinnnggg) and then asked me...you know what? No, not something like "How may I help you chosing new TV mista". No. He sweetly asked me "Do you have a boyfriend yet?? I am freee.....". This once happened to me in Pattaya (BigC South Ptty).

I DO NOT like when I come to men toilet somewhere - and there is someone in front of the mirror, refreshing himself by putting pink girly lipstick (once happened in one bank's toilet)

I DO NOT like when someone coming to interview with me with this kind of gay's attitudes, styles of speaking etc., you know what I mean.

etcetcetc, on DAILY basis. Include the picture at the 1st post, yeah.

I simply do NOT want my kids even see this daily sodomity. Even a men wearing woman's cloth is already inappropriate picture to youngsters - you know their wants to copy adults just to look like adult one...But this country, it seems so normal...and they call themself "Buddhists", yeah.

1) You could just answer "Sorry, I am not interested!" like a civilized person would do!

2) Just ignoring it and going on with your business is not an option, obviously?!

3) No I don't know, what you mean! Because I much rather don't like someone coming to an interview and being plain stupid! Because that is what matters!

4) Let me guess: you are Muslim! And let me also guess (for I don't know for sure): your Holy Book might have one or the other thing to say about "empathy" or "compassion" and "love for your fellow humans"?!

Actually: what do you bother? No one is gay "at you"!

I once had a gay friend who tol;d my GF "If you ever suspect him (me) to be gay- let me know!" I saw that as a compliment, because an inteligent, kind, friendly and funny person had a crush on me! Not that I would have taken the chance, but...thank you!

You really need to grow some balls...oooops....

well said DocN & totally agree !

alexakap .. you need to wake up and smell the coffee sir. !!

The young man in BigC who said that to you considers it a joke in his environment. He just said that as amusement to his everyday life ... and you were offended by it ?? oh my god .. lets call the police .. haha ..

If you consider that offensive and you dislike the comment or other actions you mentioned then I've got a good solution .... move !! these people were here long before you and I arrived ...

JMHO... ... did you know openly gays are part of thai society ??

The tourists had plenty of life jackets. They had plenty of time to put life jackets on children. They spent very little time in the water.

What are they complaining about?

Would a flare have made any difference? How many boats would have simply ignored the flare?

yes .. flares would have made all the difference if this happened in the evening when the sun was down.

Secondly , the operator should have the vessel equiped with a radio in case of any emergency !! would you be saying the same if someone had drowned ??

I have two vessels of my own ....

I know all the maritime safety regulations and requirements in thailand & worldwide.

It's the governments responsibilty to enforce proper safety guidlines as implemented worldwide. These operators must have to renew licenses from time to time .. so that's when things should be implemented ... sadly however .. $$ corruption is hard to stamp out even when lives are at stake .

IMO.

Bangkok would have to be one of the top cities in the in the world for slow internet speed !!

check my speed test result below ... even Cambodia would have faster i'm sure !!

Download Speed: 348 kbps (43.5 KB/sec transfer rate)

Upload Speed: 309 kbps (38.6 KB/sec transfer rate)

Latency: 151 ms

Wednesday, January 04, 2012 9:46:56 AM

how's your IT speed ????? slower than mine ??

That's just not on ! ...

you should have called the police and filed a police report ... the fact that your dinner was late and you keep experiencing crappy service ...

you should contact your embassy and complete the appropriate forms to see something is done. Don't forget to mention the lousy waiter about your scrambled eggs, maybe you can get her dismissed. it's just tragic !!

unfortunately, it's similar throughout thailand ( not all places ) although the communication breakdown causes alot of these mistakes.

Not to impressed with any of the 'fast food' outlets ...

I usually go for lunch at either the Marriot hotel or the Sheraton .... buffet lunch is always tasty !!

I do not disagree that money is a factor. Sure it is. It's not like I give her a million dollars.... She can make a ton more money working in a bar...for sure ! I take care of her and give her enough to have a little something to put in the bank. You pay no matter who you are with. If you have a 30 or 40 or 50 year old gf who is taking care of you and not working you will have to pay for everything. So what is the difference ???

My GF is one year younger than me, When she was working, she never asked me for any money, I asked her to quit as I didn't like staying in BKK waiting for her to travel somewhere on the weekend. It took her a while to decide but she finally did quit. I still don't give her any money and she isn't putting any "little something" in her bank account. She has access to my accounts (Thai and Canada) and is free to use any money she wants. Here is the difference.

fantastic ...