craigt3365

Would that be on the left or the right if you are coming from Suk?

I saw this same thing happen about a year ago at a go go here in Pattaya. Super drunk guy gets up on stage and then falls while getting down. Major fall. Luckily, he didn't seem to have suffered any injuries.

RIP to this man.

Sorry, but I'd really like to get to the bottom of this. We sure would hate to be providing inaccurate information to people reading this, right? The reference I gave is from a Thai government's website with an English translation of the immigration law. I wish I could read Thai, but can't!

These threads always go on for pages arguing about this. And for good reason. A definitive answer seems to be illusive.

Edit: nomadjoe seems to have put some time into researching this. Thanks!!

On that same link, you will see a Maj. from Bangkok stating this:

"Tourists must carry their passports with them at all times. This is an international rule. A passport is like an ID card; if you dont have it with you, the police may arrest you.

There is no such "international rule". Only local rules apply and these inevitably vary from country to country.

Having been to almost 90 countries now, most have a requirement you be in physical possession of your passport. Maybe not all, but if traveling in a foreign country, it's best to have it on you.

I'll post this again:

This has been argued many times here on this forum. Here's an interesting post from a member:

http://www.thaivisa....-4#entry5452041

The Thai law is clear as mud. Which is how they like it. Open to interpretation. This link shows the laws translated as best we can:

http://www.thaivisa....92#entry5443292

And here's another listing of the laws:

Section 58 : Any alien who has no lawful document for entering the Kingdom under Section 12 (1); or has no Residence Certificate under this Act; and also has no identification in accordance with the Law on Alien registration, is considered to have entered into the Kingdom in violation to this Act.

Section 59 :The Director General, or the competent official deputized by Director General, shall have the authority to arrest and suppress any person violating this Act. They shall also have the authority to issue a subpoena, warrant of arrest or search, make arrest , search , or detain. They shall also have the authority to conduct inquiry into the offense against the provisions of this Act in the same manner as the inquiry official under the Criminal Procedure Code.

It's true most here have never been asked for their passport. It's also true many have been and have had to pay money or end up at the local police station if they didn't have their passport on them. And as we all know, the BiB like ways to make money. This is an easy one.

The second link above has some good information also. So far, this is the most definitive information I've been able to find. Which for most of us, basically says you need to be able to present your visa (which is in your passport) if asked or be "possibly" fined/cited/arrested. Up to the officer involved. Clear as mud.

Wifey went there just after it opened. It was busy, but we were in and out in an hour or so and the passport was at our door via the mail 4 days later. Today, things are drastically different.

When in season, avocados are cheapest at the Kings store in Central Festival. Kale is sold in many places, especially in the fresh markets. Can't help with the others. Sorry!

most unusual to read your comments here Craig. I still have a house in Cape Town which we regularly visit and have lived in France and enjoy wine and find Mont Clair a very reasonably priced and very acceptable plonk. But as always with wine each to his/her own. Yes, and what's happened to the boxes I wonder,

I would think Mont Clair in SA would have been produced properly. Not shipped as a juice then fermented in another country? It is the cheapest wine available. Like beer, or any other booze, the cheapest is not always the best????

You *are* required to present documentation of your immigrations status on demand, and for 99% of us that is our passport.

"Presenting" doesn't mean "presenting the passport that you must be carrying on you at all times."

This has been discussed ad nauseam here on TV. Look up the many previous threads. Nobody's ever been able to find any law saying that foreigners must carry their passports, specifically, at all times. Nobody's been fined or deported for not doing so. (If you think there is such a law, then quote it.) They must have a passport, yes. So you can be detained until you produce it, if BiB or Immigration so chooses. If you have no passport, the obvious follows. What else is new?

Keep carrying those copies and DL.

I have read the laws and several legal opinions on this. There are 2 laws. One that requires every person to carry state issued identification (whether you are Thai or a foreigner). Your Thai DL accomplishes this. If you don't have a Thai DL, then carrying your passport on you does become a legal requirement. (It's called the Thai ID card act.) The other law, an immigration law, states that every alien must prove they have entered the kingdom legally if asked by a competent official. For this usually a copy is sufficient. But they may not be convinced and require you to produce the original. During this time they can detain you. There is no law in Thailand specifically requiring you to carry your passport. Period.

Edit: Just realized Jsixpack provided a link to a post I made a few months ago on this topic where I list references. Here it is again.

Please be more specific with your references. Some are in Thai and hard to translate. One you did reference was this one:

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand

By law, you must carry your passport with you at all times in Thailand. Tourists have been arrested because they were unable to produce their passport on request.

I've yet to see a reference to an official website saying a passport and visa are not required to be either on your person or available within a "reasonable" timeframe.

How can you operate an assisted living facility for people who can only stay one month at a time?

And this brings up something that I always think about. And I decided long ago I don't want to retire here. The retirement visa makes you keep so much money in the bank. I don't plan on having a big bank account balance when I die, so I won't qualify for a visa near the end. As I don't want to be thrown out on my ass when I am too old to walk properly, I will just need to find a better place to retire from the outset.

There are other options than 800,000 baht in the bank. Do your research.

And people that aren't lucky enough to have B60k per month pensions? And how are 80 year-olds supposed to keep up with regulations that change every 30 minutes?

They don't change every 30 minutes and places like this can take care of all the paperwork required for their guests. I take care of all the paperwork required for my mother. She can't see and can't write. It's actually quite easy.

At these prices, they aren't looking for those who can't qualify for retirement visas here?

That high end price is about the same I'd pay back in the US! Quite expensive.

I do carry my passport with me in Pattaya.

It's just a place where you're more likely to get into trouble, and being able to present a passport could be just the ticket to be on your way before more questions are asked.

I get that laminated copy they make for 100B right next to the Soi 5 immigration office. Has your visa on one side and passport on the other.

Yes, very good trip report. Thanks for sharing!

Thai drivers license has passport number but in 3 years I have never been asked to produce a passport,

Means nothing, that was the passport number you had when you got your license. It now may be expired or even worse you are here on an overstay. Don't count on the police accepting your license as proof of your legality

"Means nothing"? Based upon what ... your actual experience or your assumption?

Depends on what you are being stopped for. If a driving infraction, then your IDP or DL will be fine. If it's a passport check, your DL won't suffice. And perhaps even a copy won't suffice. Just depends on the situation and the officer.

My friend was pulled over in Thong Lor while on the back of a scooter taxi a few months ago. Right at the intersection with Sukhumvit. Passport check. No passport on him, so he got fined. He's lived here for many years, has a Thai DL. No good.

I renewed my US passport last year and ordered the new "passport card." Has my photo and passport number on it, but it allows me to leave my passport book in the room safe. cool runnings...

It's not the passport number or picture they want. It's your visa showing you are legally allowed to be in the country.

Just because you haven't been asked for a passport in 24 years doesn't mean it won't happen, or hasn't happened to others. It does happen. As reported in this news article. Rare, but it can happen.

I think that's a bit far sought, with picture they can verify if this is indeed your passport, and with the passport number they should be able to check in their system if you have a valid visa.

I don't think the BiB have a system that can quickly look up your visa status. Maybe, but doubt about those in the field. Again, it's a money maker. You don't have your passport, pay up!

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand/local-laws-and-customs

By law, you must carry your passport with you at all times in Thailand. Tourists have been arrested because they were unable to produce their passport on request.

This topic strikes home for me. I have resided in the realm for the better part of

20 years and have never in those years been sounded for my credentials until

recently and both times were at the BIB checkpoint dropping down into Mea Sot

while a passenger on the Green Machine. Both times were in the past year at the

same point but by different officers. When I produced my laminated copies of

passport facepage and current visa status I was told to produce my passport.

The first time the officer was plenty pissed but couldn't figure out what to do so

gave me a pass (and I wouldn't speak any Thai). The second was a rookie female

officer who was about to pull me off the bus when I gave her the copies until her

senior looked, saw the viable status and pointed this out to the rookie (she lost face

and was also not too thrilled w/me). The fact of the matter is, both times the copies

ultimately cleared me but hard telling if the 3rd time won't be the charm. Both officers

just did not have any clue outside their limited knowledge and were hard pressed to

make a quick call on the matter even with me handing them my two (motcy and car)

drivers licenses at the same time as the passport copies. So, bottom line is, all depends

on the people/attitudes/time of day/weather conditions/provinence and IMHO ... phase of the moon

Good luck to y'all but better carry somthin' to show em' than not or a sufficient amount of dosh

I forgot about this! I was on a bus somewhere up near Chiang Rai several years ago. The police were mainly looking for Burmese, but I had to produce a passport. Luckily, I had it. I always take my passport with me when I'm traveling away from home.

I renewed my US passport last year and ordered the new "passport card." Has my photo and passport number on it, but it allows me to leave my passport book in the room safe. cool runnings...

It's not the passport number or picture they want. It's your visa showing you are legally allowed to be in the country.

Just because you haven't been asked for a passport in 24 years doesn't mean it won't happen, or hasn't happened to others. It does happen. As reported in this news article. Rare, but it can happen.

Note both of these state that you can be detained which is what the original topic was. A few people may have to pay tea money but when this is used most of the time it is not tea money needed it is the pasport presented. I would add that the definition of arrest varies from country to country and in many any detention by a police officer etc is an arrest. Most here are quoting US law definition and Thai law derives from european law not US law.

Good point. Not sure I understand how foreign laws are applicable? This is specifically a Thai law.

I know in my travels, certain countries are very strict about having your passport on your person. Russia was one. Checks were routine and common. And the consequences there are the same here. Money out of your pocket resolves the problem.

Modern Indian food definitely uses either less or NO ghee. Including in India. In that sense, I prefer the modern style. Ghee is to Indian food like LARD is to Mexican food. It's authentic but overkill in the age of too much food and obesity.

That said, I know you can great Indian flavor without ghee.

I know ghee is still widely used in India. Lard in Mexico, and butter in most of the western world. Unfortunately.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-13/diet/38492083_1_vegetable-ghee-pure-ghee-trans-fats

It's kinda like Chinese food to me. The best Chinese food I've had has not been in China. The best Indian food I've had wasn't in India. Everybody has their own preferences, but it was too heavy and way to spicy in India. Maybe it's that ghee JT was referring to?

I just transferred $145,000 USD from USAA bank to Siam CB. Wife went in on Tuesday and opened an account, she has changed her name to mine. Wire took less than 48 hours. Amazing. I transferred USD and it was converted here in Thailand.

She got a call within 24 hours from SCB asking what the money was being used for, and if it was her own money being brought in. She said it was her money that she earned in the USA and was using it to buy a house. I guess there is a report that has to be filled out...maybe for the AMLO?

Next day we went to the branch and it was transferred into her account. I did not go with her, thought it would be better that way. They asked her the same questions at the branch. And she had to sign a form that she was using the money for a house purchase. Very painless...and very fast! Cost me $35 from USAA...no costs were charged by SCB...at least that we know of!

if you did a wire transfer,

your wife's bank account and ultimately your tax filing history, is about to come "under review" as, every FED wire, goes to the IRS over $7,500 (they say it is 10k, but it isnt)

you would have been better off writing a check

Checks are a major pain here. Last time I tried I was told some 30 days to clear. The IRS does get reports of every CASH transaction over $10,000. According to this article, it's for cash transactions only?

http://www.ehow.com/about_4672449_transactions-do-banks-report-irs_.html

Plus, I don't care. I file my taxes properly and have nothing to hide. Doesn't both me at all.

I know not everybody will agree with me, but we quite like Alibaba. It's not cheap, but we've always found the food to be good.

Have they a new chef? tried them a couple of years ago ,and to say they were crap was to insult crap.

Could have been a bad chef. There's a very good restaurant not far from us that we visit quite often. After a few visits with some very dodgy food, we now ask about the chef before ordering. Luckily, my wife knows the waiter very well. If it's a new chef, we stick to very simple foods.

I've been to Alibaba several times, with many different friends. We all found it to be good. And yes, I've eaten Indian food in various countries all over the world. Recently, had a very good experience at a restaurant in Warsaw of all places! 5555 It was fantastic. 4 weeks of pork knuckles was getting old....needed a change of pace.

With all due respect, a post stating inaccurate information has been removed from view.

You can do whatever you want, but the law has been posted. It's crystal clear what's requited. Foreigners have been arrested for not carrying a passport. Thong Lor is a hot spot for checks and happens there on a regular basis. The consequences of not having your passport on you is typically an on the spot fine. It's rare, but it does happen.

Baan Khut in Prachuap Khiri Khan has a quiet, clean beach. You should be able to get reasonable rooms for around 2000-3000 baht/month + 600 baht or so for wifi but it might be quieter than you were hoping for. Plenty of trees near the beach to hang a hammock from too.

Now you've "outted" my fav hideaway! 5555 Just kidding. Baan Kruit is wonderful. Very quiet, but wonderful. I've been on a hammock in those trees before. Paradise.

Other options might be Khanom, Ban Saphan, Thung Wua Laen, Khao Lak or even bigger places like Cha Am or Krabi?

I know not everybody will agree with me, but we quite like Alibaba. It's not cheap, but we've always found the food to be good.