fauxie

Might be of use:

http://www.bobaetower.com/

About IDC, I too heard from people first-hand how it was better than prison, allowed more freedom and had better conditions. My Embassy told me it's worse than prison, without a doubt, and the look on the lady's face when she said it left me quite certain I didn't want to spend too much time there. As it was, I never saw a cell, and the area where I waited prior to deportation was clean and pleasant enough. There was something about it, though, that made me feel like I never wanted to have to stay there. It gave me a worse feeling than the prison I'd just been in and I can't put my finger on why. Maybe it was just that the prison I'd been in was familiar to me. Maybe I would have similarly adjusted to IDC, but I don't think it's just that. Maybe having women and children there made it seem more sad and desperate. I don't know.

The British Embassy had told me while I was inside that my blacklist would last 3-5 years, that I should start asking if I could come back after 2 or 3 years, plead my case and see what happens. As it was I apparently wasn't blacklisted. I didn't stay at IDC. I went to the offices nearby one morning and turned myself in, though they already knew I was coming since the Embassy had spoken to them about what I should do and when. I was basically allowed a few days with my family first, which was pretty cool, though was told to stay home and not go anywhere. So I went in the morning, did paperwork with a few others, went off to court at Thonburi, before coming back and going inside IDC but just waiting downstairs in a visitor area for a couple of hours before being driven to the airport. I left my prison release papers with my wife at home lol! What I have with me is a letter about my deportation, along with stuff in my passport about deportation, but nothing about a criminal charge.

delete, delete, delete (on second thoughts, not posting everything here).

In short, drug case. Not really major. Got 16 and a half months. Typically from what I later saw of similar cases it merited 8 months to a year at absolute most.

My story would make for interesting reading if written out in full. I have diaries - (4 exercises book's worth lol). I just can't post all that here. Especially not now.

You know, I can't even remember what 'wan lot' is, but it's not the amnesty. It's something extra, but only Thais can receive it. Possibly to do with your 'level' (bad, normal, good, v.good, excellent), which can get you a certain number of days sentence reduction per month (e.g. 3/month for normal, 4 for good, 5 for very good etc,). Yep, I think that was it. Anyway, it's not all that important now. 'Phak thawt' is similar to the amnesties, but involves a background check and conditions if on the back of it you're released early. Like parole. It's for first-time offenders only and for sentences of 2 (or 2 and a half, I forget) years and up.

Ok, done that. Now I'll reply directly to your posts.

Interesting read. I just got out of 'Phiset Thonburi' in December, having served 14 months of a 16 and a half month sentence. I was supposed to be picked up by police upon release and taken to IDC for deportation based on my offense, but come release day no-one was there. My elation was indescribable. I went home and spent 6 days with my wife. After speaking with my Embassy we decided the best course of action was to turn myself in to IDC and get deported for visa overstay (expired while I was inside), allowing me to avoid being blacklisted.

I can speak Thai well, almost fluently. It helped a LOT. There were only a handful of English-speaking prisoners out of thousands in my building. While I was there an Irishman was there briefly for 2 days (stole a jackhammer while drunk) and an Englishman for about 10 days (marijuana possession). Otherwise I was the only white westerner there during my time. I hate that I put my families (my wife was sentenced too) through such stress and worry, but it was an interesting experience that I coped well with all in all and found a lot of positives in. I'm thinking about writing about my experience further, but I'm undecided about whether I'd rather just move on or not.

p.s. here's a story. A ladyboy spent a whole week at Thonburi women's prison before turning himself/herself in and being sent to the men's prison. Amazing!

Nice one, mate. Glad you pulled through. While I was in Kho Samui Prison another English fellow inmate received a letter from a friend who was as well released from a Prison in Bangkok. I can't remember the name of the Prison, but I remember that the letter said that he was as well released and had waited for the Immigration to pick him up. He then just wandered off to his gf in the Eesan. That was in Dec. 2011 Never heard of him again though. Apparently the paperwork of the Immigration get's mixed up sometimes. When I was rearrested and spent time in the Police station on Kho Samui, I had to go back to court 3 weeks later to pay for my fine for the overstay. After I had paid no one (police) came to pick me up again and bring me back in the police station. I had to phone them and asked if they have forgotten me. They apologized, and asked me to take a taxi. NO REFUND!!!!!!!!!!!! I had no choice. Doing a runner would have been worse.

We had a guy in prison who started screaming everyday that he was supposed to be released weeks ago. Day and night he rebelled. Until he was then listened to by the prison director. He was right. They forgot to release him. Amazing.

I've moved on. But it's an interesting topic. Not my case, but all the stories. The sad, funny, and amazing ones I came along while imprisoned are the ones I'd lake to share. Maybe we could team up. I'm still in contact with a couple of guys still serving their sentences. I could ask them to share their stories too.

Thanks for sharing your story with me.

Hey there. It doesn't surprise me they forgot about you lol.

So what happened to you about the blacklist? I'm supposedly not blacklisted, and the Embassy tell me I'm in the clear and can apply for a visa without issue because I was deported only for overstay (and had notified them). I hope to apply for my usual 1 year multiple from Birmingham and fly out on a one-way ticket in about 4 or 5 months. I'm concerned (very, very!) I'll run into problems at immigration. I'm not sure I'll ever feel fully secure entering Thailand ever again, but that's my own fault.

Another concern to me is the informant who helped police catch us riding his motorbike past our house regularly and slowing down to look in the house, presumably checking to see if I'm back (my wife tells me). He's also been seen hanging out drinking with a guy from CSD who was in the team who came to arrest us. The informant's son calls him uncle (I know it doesn't necessarily mean they're family, but clearly rather tight). None of this fills me with confidence that I'm going to be left alone even if I'm able to come back without issue. I fear getting set up and extorted.

Interesting read. I just got out of 'Phiset Thonburi' in December, having served 14 months of a 16 and a half month sentence. I was supposed to be picked up by police upon release and taken to IDC for deportation based on my offense, but come release day no-one was there. My elation was indescribable. I went home and spent 6 days with my wife. After speaking with my Embassy we decided the best course of action was to turn myself in to IDC and get deported for visa overstay (expired while I was inside), allowing me to avoid being blacklisted.

I can speak Thai well, almost fluently. It helped a LOT. There were only a handful of English-speaking prisoners out of thousands in my building. While I was there an Irishman was there briefly for 2 days (stole a jackhammer while drunk) and an Englishman for about 10 days (marijuana possession). Otherwise I was the only white westerner there during my time. I hate that I put my families (my wife was sentenced too) through such stress and worry, but it was an interesting experience that I coped well with all in all and found a lot of positives in. I'm thinking about writing about my experience further, but I'm undecided about whether I'd rather just move on or not.

p.s. here's a story. A ladyboy spent a whole week at Thonburi women's prison before turning himself/herself in and being sent to the men's prison. Amazing!

Looks like the wife ( Thai i pressume ) got out of jail before you, if that's the case and it was for the same offence how does that work? Women get shorter sentences?

Sentenced the same, received amnesty the same (just over 2 months), but she benefited from the 'wan lot' and got out 12 days before me. Foreigners can't receive a reduction that way, nor by 'phak thawt'.

Your embassy told you to lie on a visa application? How interesting!

I know, right? I was overjoyed at how things turned out as though my Thai wife was told by the Embassy that she could still, if only on a visit visa, travel to the UK after her prison term (yeah, she served time also) I thought I'd be barred from Thailand for about 3-5 years (as is normal). It would've meant a lot more time away from my wife and her family. I'm still a little apprehensive about the next time I apply for a visa (will do it here in the UK, a 1 year multi-entry 'O') and will not exactly be comfortable when exiting and entering the country for stamps. What if something suddenly comes up? I could get deported all over again and blacklisted! I'm told I'm in the clear though. I dunno man...

You have a criminal conviction that immigration are aware of, correct? I think you're likely blacklisted. I just recently got out of prison in Thailand, but the police were not there to pick me up on release and so I went home. After speaking with my Embassy and they with IDC we decided that after a few days spent with my wife and her family I would turn myself in to iDC, pay a visa overstay fine and be deported just for overstay and not for my criminal charge. I have not been blacklisted and, I know, I have been very, very lucky. My Embassy have told me not to declare my criminal conviction when applying for my next visa as apparently as far as my immigration record goes I just have the overstay and I wasn't arrested for that, I voluntarily left. The police and immigration do not always communicate or share records.

Thanks Lopburi. They come to view in droves though lol.

Ok, so now it still seems weird to me but I'm suitably reassured. Thanks again. Phew! (an unreserved, whole-hearted 'phew')

Still, if someone could chime in and say 'yeah, it's cool' I wouldn't mind lol.

Ok, did a search of the forums and from what a few posters have said it seems there really is no problem traveling with two passports with a visa in an old, canceled one. Phew! Let's hope everything's ok

Ok, so through my own slackness I ran out of time in which to renew my passport (which is still valid, but full), so I got an Emergency Travel Document from the British Embassy. It allows me to take our planned trip in a hired minivan to Cambodia on the 24th (this Friday). No problem, but today I had to go over to that huge building in Chaeng Wattana to transfer my visa from my old passport to the ETD. They sent me upstairs as my last entry in Thailand wasn't at Suvarnabhumi. Great! No queues, everything was done within 5 minutes.

BUT... I noticed what they printed up, stamped and wrote in the ETD actually contains no details from my visa (non-imm multi-entry good well into next year) except that I last entered on a 'Non-O'. I had thoughts of coming back into Thailand on Friday and them giving me at worst 15 days or maybe 90 days and declaring that the end of my visa, so I asked what would happen. They said it's fine, just take the old passport along, the visa's still good until it expires. Seems odd that I would effectively use a visa that's in a canceled passport, but ok, I went back downstairs.

Still thinking about it I decided to go and ask elsewhere to double-check. I told them how my normal replacement passport will be ready in a couple of weeks and that I will return to transfer again, this time from the ETD to the new passport. Then my visa won't even be in my last passport, but rather the one before that! Again, she reassured me that it's no problem, my visa is still good.

This seems all wrong. Why can't they just put some details in the new passport like visa number and whatnot so that the actual visa is transferred over? It all seems fishy, but if I ask and ask and ask what can I do but go on what I've been told by immigration? I hope I don't have any problems on Friday as there is no way I want to go fork out for a new visa when I could ride this one until June 2011.

Has anybody here had any experience of transferring visas to new passports?

Racism, plain and simple. Pervasive in Thailand.

I find reading threads like this makes me feel bad, but why is that? My relationship is awesome but somehow all this always makes me feel like an ass. Or maybe smug. But mostly an ass.

Fauxie,

The guys that refer to shallow relationships are only stating what they themselves experience, for the vast majority of people, they will not have the same experiences.

Nobody is coming here and talking about what a wonderful life they have, cos good news doesn't have any appeal, nobody is interested, and if you do happen to be happy, they accuse you of wearing rose tinted glasses.

Simple reason being, they themselves are unhappy, and cannot understand why all other Farangs are not in the same position.

Good point. For me I see myself as a man in a relationship with a woman, plain and simple. The cultural differences aren't lost on me, of course. My wife's family are working class and we do our bit to support them, but though I was young when I met my now wife and probably really quite naive I feel I had common sense and instincts enough to not be taken for a ride. I would've been out of here. My wife's a decent, like-minded person, as are her family, so that's never been an issue. It all seems fairly normal to me and so distant from what I read on here sometimes. The fact that I'm in a 'Farang man with Thai woman relationship' only really crosses my mind here on this site! She's my first and only though, and we've been together for over 8 years now, so this is all I know. I'm sappy, a romantic, maybe still naive in some respects, but I'm not stupid and I most certainly am happy. Thanks for helping to remind me that that's just cool and I needn't feel bad about it in any way.

I don't know about all this. I tend not to think about it these days. I find the whole thing of Thai girls after farangs for their money says nothing to me about my life now. Nothing helpful, at least. I'm married to a Thai, who's 2 years older than me. We're happy, and I never came to Thailand looking for a lay let alone a wife. Call it denial, call it whatever. Say I'm one who got lucky among many who don't. I know what goes on, but honestly I'd like to distance myself from the whole thing as much as possible and not think about it. I really did consider us just 2 people in the beginning who got together because we fell for each other. Is it something else? I must confess I find reading threads like this makes me feel bad, but why is that? My relationship is awesome but somehow all this always makes me feel like an ass. Or maybe smug. But mostly an ass.

I don't get this. I withdraw from my Lloyds TSB account from ATMs out here in Thailand. A year or two back the maximum fees went up from 3 GBP to 4.50 GBP on my maximum withdrawal of 300 GBP a day - this I knew about. I also know the rate I get is usually about 1.8 baht to the pound less than the genuine rate, to put it crudely (I'm know it's a percentage but I forget the number). However, I wasn't even aware the banks in Thailand had been charging 150 baht on ATM transactions. Are there any other Lloyds TSB customers on here who also have not experienced these charges?

I was already pissed off about the fee charged by my UK bank going up, but is this now going to affect me too?

I'm interested in the idea of going in with my card and passport and taking out say 60k and paying just one or two times a month. This is possible, right? My card is a visa debit card.

Thanks for the responses guys. Now I'm thinking the missus and I will hire a van and driver from up the road here and just chill in the back to the border at our own, relaxed pace. This way we can stop when and where we want to. However, is it an option to go to Chantaburi rather than Arunyapathet (sp?)? Are all the Thai/Cambodia border points open right now, what with the clashes?

p.s. might be a bit late to get a decent price if flying. Probably by road or rail is more realistic at this point.

Ok, so I've a 1 year multiple-entry O visa and I need to leave the country in the next few days so I'm trying to weigh up my options.

I wouldn't mind doing something alone quite cheap that could do be finished within one day, but would be open to taking the missus with me and spending some time seeing a few sights. Is Cambodia currently ok for crossing the border? How about flying to Penang? Mae Sot perhaps?

I've considered flying somewhere, getting a mini-bus (say to Cambodia), or renting a van for the day to take us somewhere. I'd like to keep it to less than 6k baht really. What are my options? I'd like something relatively painless and also relatively quick.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Condo-bk...

regarding the 'creative thinking' comment do you have any facts to call upon that show corruption was higher under Thaksin? Don't get me wrong, I can't stand the guy, but so far we've just got that corruption index and that goes contrary to what you're saying. Obviously if you've nothing concrete to call upon your comment holds no weight whatsoever.

Do you really asking for corruption statistics?

"we've just got that corruption index" - come on, be real. How many PMs were convicted on corruption charges?

I see. So you've nothing then.

As you were.

It's funny how when you ask for facts or sources some people just seem to slink away for a while.

Condo-bk...

regarding the 'creative thinking' comment do you have any facts to call upon that show corruption was higher under Thaksin? Don't get me wrong, I can't stand the guy, but so far we've just got that corruption index and that goes contrary to what you're saying. Obviously if you've nothing concrete to call upon your comment holds no weight whatsoever.

Thailand is facing a transition, and this will not be without pain. regrettable yes, but all western democracies had facing the same problems in the late 19th and 20th century. just look to Spain, Portugal, Romania and all the former USSR eastern Europe satellite states. and see how they progress since than.

Lets only hope that Thailand become a REAL democracy, and that the military keep out. And frankly I believe that the Financial crises will hurt them more than the current political situation.

IMHO the present government should step down, and an government of national unity should be formed, who organise an new election free from vote buying and corruption.

Hard for that to happen. It's not what any side in this actually wants, especially the PAD.

It's not rocket science people......

CUT OFF THE ELECTRIC AND WATER......!!!!!

Jesus H., how weak and pathetic is this Government / Police / Army??

Didn't they just say on the news here that nobody is being allowed in or out now so that food won't be getting in? I assumed the water and electricity would be the next step. Sounds like the PAD have plenty of supplies, though it's interesting we're hearing that they are looting shops inside the terminal now.

Hmm... anyone got an concrete sources about this? I'm just repeating what my sister-in-law said she'd heard on Thai TV.