ConfusedFarang

I know you only get 15 days if you arrive in Thailand through one of the land entries now, but I was planning on arriving at the port in Koh Samui by cruise ship, which would depart from USA and stop at many countries along the way. Does anybody know if you would still get 30 days this way or only 15?

If they are truly volunteers, then how do they live? Most of them look like they aren't old enough to be living off a pension or anything like that. Just curious if they get any other kinds of benefits out of volunteering. It's hard to imagine that some of them work as volunteers full time yet still somehow make a living, and how do they stay in Thailand long term? They must be getting some kind of visa benefits with volunteering or something in order to stay in Thailand. Anyone know?

so how does one stay if he cant qualify for some visa's, like 200,000 baht or whatever it may take? i am moving to the philippines but rather live in Thailand. i dont want to travel every 30 days.

oh yeah im not over 50 and i have an internet business

I have the same problem, I'm 27 and have an internet business. They need to do something to allow people like us to stay long term if we want, I don't see why they have to make things so complicated for us to just stay in Thailand longer than a few months.

This is crap. I always make a point not to use crosswalks, in USA and anywhere, because traffic is not as thick the farther you are from traffic lights and intersections (where crosswalks usually are). I dont trust drivers on the road to obey all signs, and theres been many times where Ive clicked a button to cross an intersection, and the light turns green again before I am even halfway across. I just find that its easier and safer to cross the street farther away from intersections. All of this is ridiculous. Why cant Thailand just be like a normal country? They are the oddest country on earth when it comes to things like this (and visas, and pretty much everything). Its such a great place but the government and all their ridiculous rules and restrictions pretty much cancel alot of that out.

"forced them to provide sexual services on an average of four customers per day"

In South Africa, with those types of "clients" and that many each day, the girls were definately at a high risk for catching HIV. I doubt every single client used condoms and the girls probably didnt have a choice in the matter.

Wow a free tourist visa, while Thailand remains the hardest country in the world to immigrate to. They need to make it easier to get long term visas. Im 27 and want to stay in Thailand for a year or 2 years. Everything is so cloudy with these requirements to get extensions every 3 months etc. while I can go to Malaysia for 6 months without a visa and only 30 days in Thailand without one. Theres lots of people like me, who could care less about spending money on a visa, as long as the visa lasts long enough to where we wont have to worry about getting extensions for awhile.

Is it possible to take a small lhasa apso dog on the train back and forth between Malaysia and Thailand?

wow thats great, I never realized it was that easy. I was always under the impression that they dont give out visas that easily. Alright well thanks for all the info, I appreciate the response.

great. Its hardly worth it at 30 days, 15 days wouldnt work. I wish they would ease up a little and be more like Malaysia when it comes to these things. Id much rather stay in Thailand. Well thanks for the info, much appreciated.

Ok thanks for the info and replies. But one thing Im confused about is this Thailand-Malaysia border thing. On the Department of State website for USA, under Thailand entry requirements, it says that you get 30 days if you cross into Thailand from Malaysia. This has changed since February?

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1040.html

I may have problems getting visas, so I'd rather not rely on them when it comes to planning travel.

I want to stay in Asia as long as possible, preferably Thailand and Malaysia only.

I know I can stay in Malaysia for 3 months without a visa, and Thailand for 30 days (if I enter on the thai-malaysia border).

So would it be possible to just bounce back and forth between the two, using trains, and stay long periods of time (years)?

For example, would it be possible (and easy) to stay in Malaysia for 3 months, then take a train to Thailand for 30 days,

then go back to Malaysia for another 3 months, and back and forth like this? What problems might arise if I try to do this?

Thanks

Ecstasy is pretty popular in USA. Im 27 and I cant think of one person around my age that I know who hasnt tried it at least once (in USA). I'd estimate at least 30-40% of american teens have tried it. Its one of the easier drugs to find in USA. These guys must be the successors of the infamous Jacob Orgad.

Does anybody know where on the island this Laleena Guesthouse is actually located (and if it's even labeled)? Is it the small place right across from the water treatment area? What hotels/bars is it between?

I haven't been on here in a while/keeping up with Thailand news. Has anything positive changed as far as visas/immigration (for americans)? I want to stay for a year or two, any good news?

I know the protests must have hit them hard, so figured maybe some things have changed?

"Seems to be a lot of sympathy for this type of person - I think this adds wieght to my observations

I think everyone should report one and thin out the numbers"

Get a life, who's to say who a faker is and who isn't. You cant just look at someone and tell. I have friends who are crazy, certifiably crazy. Me and another friend of mine caught one of them having sex with his dog once. They receive government aid in USA. If you looked at him, you would figure he is perfectly healthy and able to work a job, but put him on a job and see what he does. With so many causes in the world you could join to make the world a better place, this is the most least effective one.

"There is no hiding place", he was obviously hiding just fine until he decided to leave Thailand. Even if he couldnt hide in Thailand, Indonesia's non-extraditable, at least for americans.

I have a dating website. I would like to advertise it by using video advertisements. I do not want nud_e models or pornography. All I really need is short videos, 2 to 5 minutes long, recorded on either a camcorder or a computer webcam, of attractive thai women. All I really need them to do is look sexy on camera (wether it be dancing, or blowing kisses, wearing bikinis, etc.). I can pay between $30 to $150 for each video, depending on quality and how sexy it is. If you are an attractive thai girl, or a farang looking to make some money as a middleman, send me a message if you are interested and want to know more. I would need all models to sign simple release forms, stating their age, and giving me the rights to use the videos for advertising purposes. The release forms could possibly be completed online, instead of you having to wait for physical forms in the mail. I can make payment in various ways including paypal. This could be very simple work for a bar girl or somebody living in Pattaya, Patpong etc. Send me a message if you are interested and want to make some easy money. This is not employment or a job, this is a temporary contract assignment which may lead to a more long-term assignment.

For someone who is self employed (example: income from websites). This is bad news.

If they really want to revive tourism and attract foreigners they should:

• Offer a 12 month free tourism visa on arrival
  
• Introduce a Malaysia or Filipino style long stay visa system with real property rights.
  

Otherwise, they're just not serious.

Exactly.

First, for anyone reading this, if you aren't already aware of it, there is alot of HIV subtype-e in Pattaya as well as the north of Thailand. The situation is alot worse than what you may be seeing on the surface. As far as bars in pattaya testing their employees, it takes 3 months for HIV to show up on tests, and those first 3 months are when its most contagious so bars testing them means nothing. You don't hear about the guys who catch HIV because most people aren't going to go around talking about it after they find out they have it, they just disappear. I just want to warn people to take caution when out there and keep in mind that rubbers do break so there is no such thing as protection. Just do a google search for "Subtype-e germany" and you will find a post on another forum from a man a few years ago who did in fact catch subtype-e and posted about it on the internet to ask a "doctor" questions about it. I would just advise anyone going out there for romance or a good time to try to find a thai partner who doesnt work in the "industry" out there(I know most people will disagree with me on this and say theres nothing to worry about), although sometimes its hard to tell....

I was with a girl in Thailand once. Same thing happened to me except I did wear a rubber but was with her for a month and it constantly broke so its just like I wasnt wearing one...anyways....I got home in the USA and had the flu...looked up HIV symptoms and instantly started freaking out. I then talked myself out of it and convinced myself I didnt have it. A few weeks or a month or so later I got athletes foot for the first time in my life, flaky skin all over (especially my arms), sore throat, peripheral neuropathy (I would wake up in the middle of the night sweating and couldnt feel my feet at all. I would have to jump out of bed and try to walk around), enlarged lymph nodes under my chin(not noticeable but I could feel them) and one in my groin and I was sleeping majority of the day for no reason. I had just read about all this stuff the week before so I was recognizing all the signs as HIV. I went to the doctor and asked him what he thought and it turned out that this guy was a volunteer doctor in Pattaya before he got a job in USA (American doctor but I guess went over there for whatever reason) and he took a look at me, felt my lymph nodes in my neck and groin, looked at the back of my throat (said he saw white stuff, and I was reading about candida online although it didnt appear that I had that), and told me that he was sure I had HIV based on patients he had seen in Thailand. I was freaking out again and so he sent me to the local hospitals emergency room (I dont know why, I guess because he thought they could get the results back faster or not)...It had been 1 month since I had returned home from Thailand. So I go to the hospital and they test me but say they wont get the results back for a week(they tested for everything, not just HIV). So I have to wait this week and then a week later I go to another doctors office (who the hospital referred me to for my results) and everything came back negative. I got home and then started reading more about this window period and how some people go 6 months before it shows up on a test as positive..A few days later my entire leg went numb and really scared me so I went back to the doctor (the one the hospital referred me to). She looked at me and was convinced that I was making myself sick with anxiety. I didnt understand why my leg would go numb like that. So she told me to come back to her in 2 months for another test because at 3 months it should be reliable. So 2 months go by and I go back for the test. Negative again. I just cant believe it because all the original symptoms presented as HIV(and during the window period when the symptoms would have showed up) and I was in a high risk area and my rubber broke....it just all made sense. So I test again at 6 months.. Negative. By this time Im thinking I dont have it and maybe it was all in mind. 3 months go by and my face begins to get flaky and red. Im thinking its just dry skin like what was on my arms (although my arms werent red, just flaky) so I start using a moisturizer and it doesnt help. I google the type of flaky skin I have and the areas that are red and 2 things show up, Rosacea and Seborrheic Dermatitis, both of which are common in people with HIV. So now im freaking out again and go for another somewhere else....Negative. Now I know I dont have it. I went to the doctor and its Rosacea. Athletes foot, skin conditions on my face, peripheral neuropathy, flu like symptoms the first few weeks after infection....all of these are symptoms of HIV....but they are also symptoms of Anxiety. Each one of these things is caused by Anxiety as well. Im stuck with Rosacea for the rest of my life since both SD and Rosacea are chronic and Im a pretty good looking confident young guy and its made me not want to go outside for months. I got rid of the flaking but I have yet to get rid of the redness on my face which just keeps getting red. I got rid of the athletes foot though. Im 26 years old and nobody in my family has ever had SD or Rosacea and I have never had flushing in my face or blushing before and they say that both SD and Rosacea are thought to be hereditary and people who flush/blush are more prone to it. I dont believe I would have developed any of these problems if I had not worried about HIV so much and gone through so much stress over it, which lowered my immune system and allowed all these organisms/factors to take control. I learned alot about subtype-e over the course of a year. #1 you would not be having symptoms now of anything if you contracted it 5 months ago. You are barely out of the window period and 99% of people test positive at about 3 months. All those symptoms ARE symptoms of advanced HIV and you would not have advanced HIV so soon. You arent even 1 year out so your symptoms are definately not from HIV. The average life expectancy is 7 years without treatment(compared to 10 with subtype-b ) and I believe the ones who die at 5 years are malnutrioned etc. I also think that the only reason it is 7 years, isnt because the strain is deadlier, it's because thais have smaller body mass than westerners and its been proven with subtype-b that people with lower body mass are more prone to it advancing into AIDS. The life expectancy of subtype-e while taking medication is the same as subtype-b 18-25 years. Anxiety can cause all kinds of serious conditions, but skin infections and sore throats and peripheral neuropathy are very common and I experienced all of these, so try not to stress out about it. Ask your doctor to prescribe you ativan to get over the inital stress.

No, I wish there was a button to close my account and delete all the posts Ive made.

Most foreigners buy land here by putting it in their Thai Wife/ Girlfriends name.

Some do it by obtaining a 30 year lease.

Some do it by setting up a sham company and using that to buy.

Some have proper trading companies and do it that way.

The bottom line is foreigners cannot buy land in Thailand.

They can buy a condominium under certain circumstances.

As for Visas , unless they are over 50 or married to a Thai it is not easy to stay here indefinitely. Possible but not easy.

thank you

I dont understand why they would be so strict about people buying houses if they just had a financial crisis not too long ago. Somebody foreign must be buying these houses because all the websites I see have the prices listed in usa currency and are in english

No im not a family, Im asking on behalf of my friend and his family who I live with. I didnt realize I was going to be interrogated. I just need answers and I ask questions this way so that it doesnt make it difficult for people to answer me. Im not asking questions so that you can get to me know me and be my friend or marry me, so how I phrase the questions should not matter, the goal of my questions is to get answers for myself.

ebay is over with. you cant make a profit on there. Find a different venue or sell on your own website.

-former powerseller who has been affected by the changes just like most.