Strange

I got the USB chip and the external hard drive with 150 games for 4500 baht.

I paid 5000 baht for a second hand play 3 with 2 controllers and that's it. It's a full size one with 40 GB of memory. I usually only have about 3-4 games using memory at one time so it's fine for me. I usually play until I beat the game, then delete and start a new game.

I bought the PS3 at tuk-com in pattaya, and the USB chip/external hard drive set on the 4th floor of MBK in Bangkok...

Play hard in MBK because they wanna charge 8000 baht for the USB/external set. Shop around.

The USB chip I got has a BIA sticker on it and is small as he'll. The external is a 500 GB unit and it says PROBOX on it.

Any particular reason in choosing x-box over the playstation 3? They have a USB Chip thing for the play 3 out now so you can play copy games as well, and, all the games come on a external hard drive so you don't have to worry about cheap disk copies that get scratched and glitched.

I got a set of 150 games (good games) on a 500 GB hard drive and the USB chip thing for 4500 baht and it's all plug and play, you don't have to modify the unit at all.

But, you can't go online, or play online because the unit will want to update and you can't play anymore.

Just a thought.

Ok so I have to go to chock chai for the certificate of residency and to extend my touris visa for 30 days, but, I CAN go to chong Chom to activate my second 60 days.

Thanks gentlemen.

Ok sorry the confusing post.

Im on the first entry of a double entry 60 day tourist visa. My first 60 is almost up and I was planning on just going to Chong Chom for the 30 day extension. Then when that was up I was going to go there to go into Cambodia and back again to activate the second 60 etc...

That was the plan until I talked to that lady at the driving office and said that they are closed. Now mind you, we were talking about the Statement of Address/Certificate of Residency and not visa extensions so maybe she just meant that I cannot go to Chong Chom for the Certificate of Residency.

I need to extend my visa for the 30 days AND get the Certificate of Residency.

So I guess Im looking for clarity on if I can do all of this in Chong Chom or not, or if I will have to go to Korat, or what.

I was trying to get a Thai drivers liscense in Surin the other day, and the office worker told me that I needed to go to some immigration and get a statement of address (whatever it's called) but that Chong Chom immigration was closed???

I just want to extend my tourist visa 30 days.

So has anyone been there lately?

The girlfriend is getting prepared for her interview on the 2nd, and we are going over the documents that we have. I know they want to see strong ties to Thailand and all, but alot of the documents are in Thai and we are not sure if the Embassy Official will be able to read it? Im talking about things like, the Rental Contract for our house thats in her name, the finance paperwork and blue book for the car, the greenbook for the motorbike, all that stuff. Also, All the documentation for her familys farm is in Thai.

Do I need to get all this stuff translated?

I appreciate any information.

Yeah I got that too.

Once again, You guys should really headline that in red in the "latest reports of getting a visa in the region" sticky. Mods and admin should know this already.

Anyway, end of the day, I should have not depended on thaivisa and gone with the facts from contacting the embassy/consulate directly.

And I called Hull. They said that you CAN get the Non Imm O for visiting friends, but you have to either physically go there and apply, or, you can do it by post. However, if by post, I have to be out of Thailand (knew that already) and have to send the passport & application to someone in the UK so that they drop the Thai Postage and resend it with UK postage so it arrives with UK Postage.

That and tickets are ridiculously expensive.

I will call Perth myself tomorrow and ask what is going on. I already canceled my ticket, so its too late for that but I will update regardless.

Perth Office closed

I just checked there website, and I can not see ANYTHING stating that they are closed or will be closing.

Am I missing something here???

Perth Thai consul Announcements Link

I'm not in Perth I'm in Thailand and I need to be out of here on the 23rd. I can get 15 days in Chong Chom, but then I have to figure out what to do after that. I just contacted Thai airways and they said that they can refund the money but there will be a 2000 baht fee. Sounds ok, but then they told me that it would take 45 freakin days for the refund to hit my account. What a bunch of crap that is.

So what about hull? I didn't see it under the latest reports sticky. They issue a Non Imm O visa on the basis of visiting friends? And by post? Im American, 27, does that matter?

Im not married gentlemen. This visa was for visiting friends. Ive just got a girlfriend here.

Outstanding....

So is there anywhere else to get the visa for visiting Friends?

Closing sometime this month but cannot remember when.

EDIT.

According to This closing on 18th October.

Sorry.

Fuk man that should DEFINITELY be there under 'LATEST REPORTS OF GETTING A VISA IN THE REGION" sticky.

I decided to fly to Perth from Thailand after reading about this for a while. Just bought the tickets at 27,000 baht. Then read something here that they will be closing soon??? Im about to panic if thats the case.

Anybody know about this?

As a friend of mine that has a big law firm in BKK advised me, "why get her green card or US passport when you can get her a 10 year visa" and then work out what is best for you financially speaking? Nothing wrong with looking at the big picture, tax wise.

I met a guy from a big BKK law firm. He glared at my wife constantly, teased her in Thai, and later that week I saw him walk out of Nana around midnight with girl in arm. That's when I decided I could do everything myself rather than give these guys an incredible amount of money. And it's an easy process if you do your research. Very easy.

I don't agree with the 10 year visa. The benefits of becoming a US citizen and many. For me, it was being able to travel without having to get her a visa for every country we wanted to visit. Even with a green card, most countries require a visa. And if you are not married, you can't open joint checking accounts, get her a visa card, get her a car loan...all things that help build her credit history. Very important if she plans to be in the US a fair amount.

As for taxes, the only implication I can think of is being able to file married instead of single. Better rates for being married. Other than that, I'm not sure what other benefits there are???? Especially if you don't have a lot of deductions....

I did not want my wife hanging out with Thai folks in the US. And luckily, she did not want to either. It really makes integrating that much harder. Learning English is harder as they all speak Thai with themselves. Eating is harder as they tend to only eat Thai food. Etc. My wife did not want Thai TV, and learned to cook many different types of foods while living in the US. Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Argentina, Greek, etc. I had a friend who's wife could only eat Issan food. And had a really hard time learning English. Needless to say, after a year, she was back in Thailand. It's a tough transition for them. I also met some nice folks on visajourney.com. Still keep in contact.

Yeah thats what I want to do. I want her to be a us citizen so we can travel together. I travel alot and with her thai passport its a real pain. Im not sure of the tax thing as well?? Your understanding is the same as mine, so maybe we are missing something?

One thing I am kinda worried about is other Thais in the US. I have met some real scumbag thais here, and I worry about the quality of thais there. Everything else Im not worried about. Her written english is better and more clear than mine, and her spoken english is excellent. She is natural at learning. We watch movies and TV in english and she understands 90% although I do get asked about 10 times a day "What does____ mean again" Its usually exact words like "sanitize" or something like that.

She has a university degree as well, and is good with computers and Microsoft office suite so Im sure after she gets comfortable there I can help her find some kind of office/clerical job. Just something to keep her busy and have some responsibility and a little money.

She has a Drivers License here in thailand and we have a car so Im not really worried about that. Just take a little time to get comfortable driving in the states....

For your longer term plans, check out this website: www.visajourney.com. Loaded with info about what to do regarding a fiance visa or a marriage visa. In our case, the embassy in Bangkok recommended a fiance visa. I would check with them and see what they say in the next year or so...no use wasting your time now as things may change in the next few years.

I've been through this process and it was relatively painless. My wife is a full US citizen now...great for being able to travel around.

Getting her to the US before the fiance or marriage visa will be tough. Impossible for my wife, and plenty of my friends also were not able to get their GFs there. I am no expert on this, but she would need a good job, own a house, have kids, lots of money in the bank, etc. Otherwise, forget the tourist visa for now.

And for sure she will be lonely and disoriented in the US. I was with my wife for a year, we lived in Bangkok, and she was still uneasy regarding living in the US as I also traveled and was away from home most of the time. She hardly ever left our apartment alone for the first 3-5 months. Only a little after that. Now, she is not shy at all...but then she was much younger at that point....

Best of luck and please feel free to PM me if you have any questions I may be able to help with!

I agree, the tourist visa would be difficult unless the required precursors are meet.

the wife or fiance option would be the way to go,

since you have 3 years I would think the wife way would be the best option for you

The Visajourney website is a good place for your GF to go to, there she can talk to other Thai's going through the same process get , get good advice, and network with others that are moving to the US .

When in the US your wife could get a job at the local Thai restaurant ( if one is available in your area, one usually is) make a little money, but more important , make some friends and gradually assimilate in the community.

My wife has being here in the US , in a small community in Florida for a little over a year now, between her job at the restaurant, the people she meet at Visajourney, and people she meet at the local Asian food grocery, has more friends than I do here.

Even though she has a University degree, she went to Nail tech school and got her Nail tech licence, got a job at a local Nail shop owned by Vietnamese,making almost as much money as I do. and made even more friends.

In one year, she has her drivers licence and own car, money in her own bank account, and many Thai friends,

they get together fix each others hair, or nails cook Issan food, and have a good time every weekend.

Right now , she is putting together a box of Thai spices to send to some one she she meet in Visajourney, and later we are going to her Thai friends house to have my Hair cut.

I am telling you all this, to illustrate that with a little networking and some support, everything is possible.

Yeap thats pretty much what I want to have happen.

I will be living in Florida as well, and just out of curiosity, is Thai TV available anywhere?

As a friend of mine that has a big law firm in BKK advised me, "why get her green card or US passport when you can get her a 10 year visa" and then work out what is best for you financially speaking? Nothing wrong with looking at the big picture, tax wise.

Im not sure I know witch visa you are talking about? A tourist visa????

So from that visajourney website that Craig supplied (witch is an excellent link btw) it seems like the K3 visa would be the best choice. If I'm understanding this correctly, if I go for the K1 then we have to go to the USA and get married, then immediately file for adjustment of status. The wife would then have to stay there for like 6-8 months until this happens.

With the K3 then She gets a 2 year multiple entry visa, and close to the end she has to file for adjustment of status.

So seems like the K3 is the best choice to allow us to live in Thailand and still come and go from the states for 2 years...

Am I understanding this right?

I'm 27 and my girlfriend checks in at 26. We met on the Internet about 3 years ago. I'm not sure that this is relavent unless I'm going for a tourist visa. Right?

Is there anything else that I'm missing?

Here's what I wanna do, I am a rotational offshore worker, been living with my Thai girlfriend for 3 years. In the next 3 years or so I would like to be able to move back to the USA with the gf. What would be the best way to do that? I want to live in Thailand until I'm 100% ready to fully move back. Get the fiancé visa and get married in the USA? Will we be able to come and go from the USA as we please after that? Or get married in thailand first then go for the marriage visa?

I'm only off from work for 30 days at a time and I don't want to leave the girlfriend/wife alone there until she gets comfortable. So the goal is to work on whatever visa and live in thailand. Hopefully then we can come and go in and out of the states when we please until we are ready to move there.

I hope I'm clear on what I'm looking for here. What do you guys think?

green book........?

Yes and its in my girlfriends name.

Let me know if your interested and Ill send pics.

2001 R1 for sale. Purchased from 59bike.com in Bangkok less than a year ago. I paid 250,000 for it. Since then I have put about 100,000 into it. Its got new tires, chain/sprockets, Brake Rotors and pads, new headlights, turn signals, I just rebuilt and synchronized the carbs last week. All the parts I ordered from the USA personally. The bike is perfect. I have used all OEM Parts for the repairs and it has ZERO high performance/aftermarket parts on it. I use this bike as my daily driver, and I drive it everyday 30 km to the gym.

***I will be in Thailand for about 1 more week, then I have to go to work for about 2 months. When I return is when my lease is up and thats when I am willing to sell the bike. Somewhere in the Middle/End of April.***

I don't think you can find a better bike, for the same price.

THis thread really isn't much abotu THailand, but since we have so many gym rats here, and in reading some of the posts, I have a question regarding the burn/hurting the next day.

I normally do related triplets, and while I don't go to failure, it is pretty close, and I do feel the burn and subsequent fatigue. However, I never really hurt the next day. Robblok showed me a 10 X 10 routine with only a minute rest between and I do that once a week and until failure on the 9th or 10th set. With that, I do feel pain in my muscles the next day.

So with my normal routine, with only burn and fatigue, and I doing anything? Is it only with the 10 X 10 that I am doing good?

For the record, I am happy with my chest and arm mass, although I would like a little more definition. I am actually now more interested in losing a couple inches off my gut, and I am only now working on better legs.

More than likely it was just the changing of your routine, and the added workload that makes you sore. I definitely think soreness is a good sign. I would say keep it up for a few weeks, and I bet you that you stop getting sore from it.

What are you training with the 10X10? Legs?

The topic aims to discuss the best way to develop body fitness, counter productive contribution simply shows negative attitude of the poster toward the topic.

Is this what the topics about, and all this time I thought the OP wanted information on how to look like Wolverine before New Years.

BTW sparrow, I think being fit is a good thing, just not sure that it belongs on TV and certainly not sure why it stays in the General forum.

I would imagine there are 3,333,333 websites out there dedicated to fitness and bodybuilding. Apparently I was wrong.

Just wish the OP could do the old 'before and after' photo routine for us.

But please, carry on.

Dang man, why dont you just warm up your mouse and report the thread to the trigger happy TV mods then? Better yet, if you don't like why are you here? Just to be the TV Police?

OMG OMG OMG!!! There is a fitness thread in the General forum!!! OMG OMG OMG!!!

Actually Im supised that this thread made it this long without being moved/closed.

Whatever man...

Ok, you are smart - just a bit insecure - I get it.

As for your description of me, hmm let's check.

Brit = No sorry, try again

Pot Bellied = prefer to be called moderately round

Frequents alot of bars = I go to alot of bars but not that frequently

For the record, I have an extremely high opinion of people who are fit, yet still like the taste of beer in the morning.

Spineless Coward = Check

Projecting envy/jealousy with smartass comments = Check

Alcoholic = Check

Overweight = Check

Now now, watch the personal insults, I am not a spineless coward.

Mainly aimed that one at "will say on internet, but not to the face" theroy.

Anyway, your right.

You sure express your dislike towards fat people frequently. Used to be one?

Fat alcoholic people always have smart things to say to the people that like the gym. Its insecurity, projection, envy, and jealousy. Not to mention hilarious.

Fat guy: You know, girls dont really like big muscles or a six pack.

Fit guy: O'rly? How do they feel about your fat rolls?

Fat Guy: Whatever....

Is anyone worried that the OP actually wants to look like that guy- a set of breasts three times the size of my mia nois ?

I go for lean and fit : 10% body fat, run 10km in around 49 minutes, did my fastest 1500m swim ever yesterday at 27minutes. I don't see the point of looking like a gorilla, maybe someone can explain exactly what the advantages are? BTW the MN thinks I am too muscular as it is.

Seeing as how Mr. Jackman is continually listed on various "Most Sexy Man" lists, I would say that your comments are rather out of whack with the majority of the folks around the world.

So if you are happy that you are skinny, good for you. And if your mia noi knows how to stroke your ego and say you are "too muscular," then she sounds like a pretty smart cookie to me.

There are advantages to any degree of fitness. And being stronger than most men, having more muscle mass, and yes, the positive attention received by women are all advantages. Of course, having good cardio fitness has great benefits, and being slender rather than fat has health and aescetics advantages. But better yet, why not have great cardio AND good muscle mass at the same time, if you can pull it off?

This.