rogerchiangmai

cheers Phil,

Pretty much clears up the original question - so the national park staff were completely off when they tried to convince my wife that there had been a high level meeting recently and that all farangs everywhere in Thailand had to pay full whack from this month onwards. Much as I suspected, but nice to have it confirmed through the forum.

Cheers.

Arthur,

At the risk of repitition that's a really great looking boat - and such a good ideas and deeds too. Not sure if we have your skill and tenacity, but is a thought and love the community spin offs.

Only got to this today - is there another way of getting the Bangkok Post article at all?

Best wishes.

Again thanks to all the contributions they are appreciated.

Much has focussed on the age old arguements about the fairness of the pricing system, what I really wanted to know is if this really is a change across all of Thailand from 15th November or if this is just a few local folk at one National Park acting on their own initiative. I have never encountered this problem before at many other National Parks I have visited and I have always paid Thai prices wherever I travel, so it was new to me - the answers seem to suggest that the picture across the country however is more patchy. Clearly we all make our own decisions about where we visit and what we are prepared to tolerate, but this forum enables us to share our knowledge and act accordingly.

As for the future, I thought the quote above from Dr. Adis Israngkura was spot on - we love this land and it's people but of course they get it wrong sometimes, and this is one of those times. We therefore hope that common sense prevails in due course and that some or all of Dr. Israngkura's proposals become a reality one day. We all can decide how we choose to help to bring about change, that is our choice, for me the issue is one of principle and fairness so I will act accordingly.

Best wishes to all.

Thanks for those additions, clearly an irregular policy across Thailand and of course a running sore for many of us.

Just for the record the National Park Office in question is the Mont Tha Thon waterfall on the right almost half way up the winding road to Doi Suthep. This waterfall has virtually no facilities, no food or shop, you basically travel down a simple road to the modest waterfall and enjoy the view, maybe picnic, maybe take a picture or two, a 30 minute attraction.

Higher up the same road past Suthep Temple and Bhumping Palce at the Hmong Village Doi Pui - if you walk on through the village high street lined with retailers you can find gardens laid out beautifully with flower beds and trees, some have objects from past times village life etc. and provide lovely mountain views, one even has a small waterfall. They too have an entry fee.......... just 10THB.

CHARGES TO NATIONAL PARKS - CHANGE FROM 15th NOVEMBER

ALL FOREIGNERS TO PAY FULL PRICE 400THB

The question here is can anyone confirm a change in the policy in Thailand of allowing long stay foreigners to enter national parks etc. at the local Thai prices. Up until now this has been straightforward by using Thai driving licence or similar BUT THIS MAY HAVE CHANGED.

We visited Doi Suthep national park yesterday (Sunday) and the officials demanded 400THB per person entry from all 10 of us. We protested that we are all Thai residents and had the necessary documents only to be told that there had been a recent meeting??? and that ALL foreigners are now required to pay. We protested about this and pointed out that there had been no signs or notice to this effect (we suspected that it had been made up) In the end the officials backed down, charged us 20THB each and said that we would have to pay 400THB next time! we pointed out that there would not be a next time if this was the policy - we will be voting with our feet.

This seems to be a new policy - the meeting was said to have taken place on 15th November - has any one else heard about this or is it just a few locals making policy up on the hoof????

Roger, Chiang Mai

CHARGES TO NATIONAL PARKS - CHANGE FROM 15th NOVEMBER

ALL FOREIGNERS TO PAY FULL PRICE 400THB

The real question here is has there been a change in the policy in Thailand of allowing long stay foreigners to enter national parks etc. at the local Thai prices. Up until now this has been straightforward by using Thai driving licence or similar BUT THIS MAY HAVE CHANGED.

We visited Doi Suthep national park yesterday and the officials demanded 400THB per person from all 10 of us. We protested that we are all Thai residents and had the necessary documents only to be told that there had been a recent meeting and that ALL foreigners are now required to pay. We protested about this and pointed out that there had been no signs or notice to this effect (we suspected that it had been made up) In the end the officials backed down, charged us 20THB each and said that we would have to pay 400THB next time! (we pointed out that there would not be a next time if this was the policy - we are voting with our feet.

This seems to be a new policy - the meeting was said to have taken place on 15th November - has any one else heard about this or is it just a few locals making policy up on the hoof????

Roger, Chiang Mai

Lies dam lies and statistics - yes using figures selectively can make them appear different. I'm not hung up on whether the increases are huge or not. It is however certainly true that increased price reduces demand - it may be that the increases this time around are just the start as small increases can be more easily absorbed - but no government even this one can afford to make themselves too unpopular in one go. In fact this government has very little to gain from the so called sin taxes, they will hardly be able to realise the benefits of the increased revenue yields. I think that they are motivated with a desire to do the right thing for Thailand and Thai people so I think we should respect that. Any increase gains publicity of course and helps to get the message across that smoking and drinking are harmful and undesirable. I cannot believe that it is 20 years or more since the last increase on some spirits....

R

Careful mate - This is irrelevant if you retire outside of the E.U. Essentially the UK defaults on its insurance program. Yes they pay the pension but it does not increase (over your entire lifetime), there have been European Court of Human Rights cases on this subject. Research the BBC web site to cross check.

well it can be relevant if you are outside EU and have not retired yet and are paying voluntary contributions which I was until last year. UK authorities actually wrote to me about the proposed change and said I should stop paying contributions in light of the proposed change and they sent me a cheque with refund (quite amazing).

Thanks for the tip off, I am early retired, have 31 paid up years and was just about to start paying voluntary contributions - another 13 years before I am 65 so will be holding fire (we get 5 years grace anyway when contributions are credited - although you may need to be a UK resident to qualify)

never did get my mind around the freezing of the pension if you leave UK (certain countries excepted of course)

R

Popping over to LOS for a few days so I won't have much free time to comparison shop for price and quality.

I understand the washer I bought a decade past has gone to the old appliance shop in the sky. I seek a resonably priced washer with a spin cycle, not the cheap dual tub with a wringer attached to it.

As my wife isn't coming with me this trip I gotta get it right on all counts or suffer her wrath when she and I return for 6 weeks in Jan. Feb

Ok her wrath isn't hard to take, but I prefer to hear good job, to you go shopping baba bobo?

Looked around a fair bit - and settled on Tesco a month or two back - offers always changing, but Powerhouse mostly more pricey. What model you get is your choice - all types available - make sure can be plumbed in as well as delivered for you. R

First thing you should do is explore your consience .... Then her integrity...... The whole senario seems suspect. You might just find the Immigration department have made the right decision saving you both from a world of grief.

Firstly she's married and recently made an application and recieved a visa to the USA and from what I understand is harder to do than getting married in the first place and she must have put quite a bit of effort into it.

Secondly she's married... Some of you people obviously believe its just a piece of paper aquired at the bargan basement of K- Mart.

I would be suppried if she's not all that concerned with any of it and is sitting back awaiting the next cashed up entertainer. "Come on spinner".

You should put your thoughts of "lust" on hold and give this one a bit more thought.

Lynchy,

You have some pretty good advise here, and seem to have come around yourself to a bit of reality check. To say it all sounds questionable is an understatement so if you can seperate out your feelings and view this in a detached way then that will probably be for the best.

Happy travels.

R

Hi all,

I would like to thank everyone for their advice and support during our Visa application.

My Girlfriend applied for a Visitors visa in June and was told that she would have an interview at the end of July.

Today was the day of the interview and all went to plan.

The interview lasted approx. 5 minutes and then she was issued with a 6 month Visitors Visa to the UK and we are both so happy. It was a long and stressful wait, but hearing from her today that she got the visa made it all worth it.

My advice is as soon as you know your gf has to go for an interview start preparing questions that you think the embassy may ask (even if you think it is unlikely they will ask them), and practice them over and over again until they are absolutely perfect, thats what I did and it paid off.

Well done mate, pleased for you both - have a great time. Thanks again for passing on your experiences and advise.

Roger

I will be making a separate post witht the questions that my gf was asked, to help those in the same situation as I was.

Now she has to prepare herself for the cold weather and do some serious shopping...lol

Thanks and regards,

Eamon

Hi guys, sorry for any misunderstanding, i'm not expecting anybody to do anything for me or to do research for me, was just looking for some quick answers but I will have a read through the forums. I suppose I was just wondering if my case sounds strong enough or genuine enough to be granted a UK visa in the future.

I will have a good read about though, seems every story is differant so far.

Thanks

Well I am not an authority as I am just going through the process but have picked up the basics.

1 Prepare well

- the embassy web site will guide you, they are pretty up front with what they want - some it will seem OTT from your perspective. They will expect you to provide everything that they ask for or have a good explanation.

2 Do the necessary paperwork

- everything prepared well and orderly, neat and referenced attachments seems to help the ease of application. Photocopies of everything, and have originals available - a new twist (not on the web site when I last looked) I noticed at the Visa Centre is that they are asking for originals of things like bank books but this not mandatory yet.

3 Be honest

If you are genuine and have a decent track record then you should be OK. You need to see it from their side, they just want to verify that you are telling the truth and that the evidence all stacks up.

4 Coach for interview

If you do need an interview reseach the questions likely - and coach as necessary to handle the situation, reasonable english is obviously a benefit and a decent knowledge of you and your familys obvious personal details.

Good luck.

Roger

Hi all,

As mentioned in my last post, my gf had an Interview at the embassy and was granted a 6 month VV.

These are the questions she was asked.

• What is your bf's name?
  
• How old is he and when is his birthday?
  
• Does he have any brothers or sisters?
  
• What are their names?
  
• How many gf's has your bf had before?
  
• And when did the relationship finish?
  
• How many people live in his parents house?
  
• How many rooms does it have ?
  
• what's your current job?
  
• Why can you get 2 months holiday leave?
  
• Tell me something about your bf?
  
• What do you intend to do in the UK?
  
• How long do you want to go to UK?
  

I hope these questions are helpful,

Eamon

Eamon,

What a diamond - just what I need for my G/f interview comming up soon. Cheers mate.

Roger

If it's 15 000 Baht, you're probably better off just taking the hit. But you can call this lawyer and ask. She's honest and speaks English.

29 Tanin Co., Ltd

Sumalee Jennapa

Any updates on Palaad Tawanron? Most info here on the site is two years old, some more recent. Reviews are mixed.

Anybody eat here recently?

I drove up there the other night just to get the location and have a look, and it was packed with Thais, even late at night. The ambience obviously was spectacular. But if the food isn't good, what's the point?

Thanks...

My g/f and I took some Aussie friends there last week and most of the food was good except we had a squid stuffed with squid egg dish. I ate most of it as it was right in front of me but boy did I pay for it a few hours later. Hot and cold flushes, screaming headache and I threw up everwhere as well as a constant flow in the toilet. The most severe case of food poisoning I've had in a while and I guess this was my body expelling the stuff. When I ate the squid it did seem a little 'off' to me but I ate in anyway (idiot I am!!!. We have a been there a few times and as I said, generally the food is great, hopefully this was a one off occasion. It was and is usually is busy so the food turnover would be quick I would imagine. Apart from that instance, it was good, great atmosphere and view.

Yup been to this great place not so long back - pretty busy place - food we had was Northern, is quite an extensive menu of Thai food. Good service and friendly people. You saw the view yourself, nice just at night with good views back over the city. Not the cheapest place to eat, but we were happy with the quality.

Enjoy

INVITATION TO CHIANG MAI BBQ Party

Thanks count us in 1 + 1 RW