Jeddah Jo

My favorite scooter that I have ridden in Thailand was the old Nuovo Elegance 135. I am 6'3" and with its big wheels and fairly narrow frame, comfortable seating position and good handling it had everything for me anyway.

If I was to get a new generation bike which model would give me the closest feel to the old Nuovo Elegance?

If you applied when not married then I think generally they want proof the relationship has lasted at least two years. They also I believe like to see some foreign travel experience.

Can you give us a bit more please? Did you have a ME visa or were you doing visa exempt? If so, how many VEs did you attempt?
I knew someone whose extension needed to be cancelled as he quit his job. He was able to do an out/in at andaman after a little explanation. Then he decided to do VE a second time and they gave him a hard time initially, thinking he was working illegally or should have gone to Laos
At least the ATMs are on the thai side [emoji32]
But at least 1 VE should be ok.

Do you know if anyone has tried this this month? I used to use the andaman club at ranong for tourist visas (2+ years ago). I have an ED visa expiring on 3rd Feb which I have been on for 1 year and need to get a visa exempt while I am sorting paperwork for a non-O next month due to me becoming a father here (not born yet, he is late! hence the need for a visa exempt as ive run out of time). I was going to fly out and in same day, but if ranong is an option I can drive.

Go up and live in the village for a few weeks first. If you haven't gone insane by then you will probably be OK. Also you will need to learn the Isaan dialect if you want to talk to anybody, people do not speak Thai at all in day to day life.

RIP Por

Just a quick trip report.

Am a British citizen and applied for a METV at Melbourne consulate. They asked for bank statement (I gave them copy of Thai bank account) and a copy of return leg of flight ticket BKK-MEL-BKK. That was it, submitted passport on Monday morning, picked up new visa on Wednesday.

Evolutionary timeline...

Mosquitos - 79 million years

Modern Homo Sapiens - 200 thousand years.

I would say evolutionary speaking they definitely have the edge on us!

Ok got my wife to look at it, she said that it's definitely Isaan and roughly translates to:

I have to go as I don't like to see someone so sweet on social network

Kinda in a fun way & not really serious

Thanks a lot SkyAnimal, that kind of makes sense in the context of things

Can someone help me with this please?

หนีดอกซังคนหวานผ่านสื่อว่ะ

My Thai is not bad but there are a couple of words used here I am not familiar with

ซัง - sang

and

สื่อ - sèu

I have a feeling it is a figurative expression.

Many Thanks,

JJ.

The best thing to do is make a trip to Penang.

Just make copies of his passport and bank book showing the 800k in the account and attach them to the application form. Apply the morning of one day and pick it up the next afternoon. Penang is easy because you can use an agent for the application and pickup.

Hat Yai was reported as being a location to do the conversion but I have seen no reports of anybody doing it. I suspect that it would also be two trips to get it like Bangkok because the application has to be approved by division headquarters.

Thanks Joe, great advice as always.

It does seem like the farang volunteer at Phuket Immigration is handing out bad information by saying it cannot be done at all in Bangkok!

My friend who is currently over 50 with seasoned money in the bank is trying to get his tourist visa converted to an O-visa prior to extension of stay in Phuket.

One of the farang helpers at the desk at Phuket Immigration insists that it is no longer possible to convert in Phuket or Bangkok, and that he must get a non-O from outside the country to start the process. From reading the threads it seems it is still possible to do the conversion in Bangkok but as he lives in Phuket it is a pain to go up to Bangkok twice to complete the process.

Can someone please suggest the best place to go in the region to get the initial O-visa as the guy is genuinely retired, has the money and just wants to stay in Phuket peacefully like so many other retirees are.

BTW he is a British citizen and the British embassy in London won't give him an O-visa either.

Thanks.

JJ.

Hi There,

Does anyone know of a saxophone teacher in the south of the island (Rawai, Chalong, Kata, Phuket Town?)

I have a friend who has just started learning and needs some tuition. He has his own instrument.

TIA.

Jeddah Jo

Sorry if anyone has asked this before.

Basically my multi-ED visa has an enter before date of 8 Feb 2014 and my course is due to finish on the 11th March. I have to go abroad for a bit and will be entering Thailand again around 1st February.

Will they give me a 90 day stamp or will they ask when my course is due to finish and give me that many days? If they give me a 90 day stamp am I ok to stay in Thailand for that period even if the course has officially finished?

Just wondering if I should apply for a tourist visa while I am overseas as I will be returning to UK in May anyway.

TIA,

JJ...

Did a visa run on Monday 14th October and they had just published new times for the ferry which are as follows.

Leaving Ranong: 08:35 10:15 11:30 13:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:15 19:15 20:15 22:00 23:50

(Last time for foreigners 17:00)

Leaving Club Andaman: 07:45 09:30 10:45 12:00 13:30 15:30 16:30 17:30 18:45 19:45 21:30 23:30

(Last time for foreigners 16:30)

The price is now 950 baht for foreigners and remains 70 baht for Thai nationals.

Serm Suk are launching their own brand of Cola called EST Cola.

Tried it today in Oishi and it was very good!

Phuket had two French governors (René Charbonneau and Sieur de Billy) and Siam had a Greek Prime Minister Constantine Phaulkon approximately 100 years before the American War of Independence had even started.

Jeddah Jo- On virtue, that's just flatly racist to say that as a nation the Thai people have no Virtue. And insulting, and it speaks volumes about you and others like you that enjoy a place that they think lacks virtues or any kind of morality. The fact is there are Virtuous and deviant people in Thailand in equal amounts to any other country in the world. Your narrow minded bigotry aside, I think it just goes to show what circles you find yourself in.

Unfortunately it appears you are not intelligent enough to divine my meaning so I will try and be a bit clearer so the slow coaches in the class can catch up.

I in no way implied Thai people have no virtue so it seems you willfully misunderstood me there, a common ploy among trolls. In any case it was a highly insulting remark as you know nothing about me, and your leap to judgement is typical of farangs who fail to accept life in Thailand is about shades of grey and not black and white.

In simple terms I was trying to imply that virtue is relative. What appears virtuous may in fact not be, and what appears a lady of no virtue may in fact be scrupulously honest, moral and an admirable human being. There that wasn't so difficult was it?

Surely you have heard of Bangkok university students that at weekends turn in to Coyote dancers in high end clubs on the prowl for a wealthy aa-Sia to help buy them their latest i-Phones, cars etc. Also the university students who sign up with an aa-Sia to put them through college on the understanding that they will be his mia-noi on graduation?

It appears you don't know as much about Thai society as you claim.

As for the circles I mix in, I have friends who are wealthy enough to buy you a thousand times over, but can also rub shoulders with people who do not have 2 x 25 satang coins to rub together. That is not a boast but just a claim I take people as I find them and am not quick to judge, certainly not as quick as you appear to be regarding me anyway.

JJ.

Do you not think you deserve a bit more virtue than that for a life partner? Granted, it all depends on where you set your own bar in life. However I personally couldn't see wifeing some common whore (here or anywhere else) when so many other great women are available too me. And I am NOT rich, not in the best of shape, and not 21yrs old. So that goes back to what I said about sloth and a lack of self confidence/worth

And as far as actors and actresses, who mentioned them? I think it's safe to say that they arn't really known in ANY culture for their morality on or off screen.

I think you are in danger of descending in to the realms of self-delusion and hypocrisy when you use words like 'virtue' in Thailand.

Also if everyone knows that actors and actresses are not known for their morality why are they such sought after brides by the rich and famous and why is there this constant pretence in the Thai media that they are all angels, never have sex partners and are virgins until the day they marry? At which stage the mansions and multi-million baht sin sots start coming out.

Yes they portray virtuousness but the reality is completely different. So what is the end result, you are left with a 'virtuous' girl on your arm who is actually more of a hypocrite and more of a whore then many working girls who you appear to look down on.

JJ.

And you are making hookers sound too bad. You can get a TV personality or model or movie actress. They take money for sex but I don't think you can classify them as “been with hundreds of men.”

If a woman advertises herself like a tomato on the INTERNET I don't think you can really call that a good catch. Nor do I see much difference between the INTERNET and the ladies you classify as hookers. It's just not done in polite society.

When the difference is instant gratification or a couple of weeks later I find it hard to make a distinction. Two years courtship with both families knowing each other and consenting that is something else.

I wouldn't sweat it.

You clearly understand how Thai society works whereas people like Riely just choose to make superficial arguments (based on a Western value system) and run down farangs that may be with a perfectly good woman who makes an excellent wife, but has been around the block a bit.

All those hi-so Thai stars sleep around (for money) looking for a wealthy husband to snag. You only need to spend a few minutes reading Thai gossip magazines to understand how Thai society really works.

JJ

By the way, has anyone ever seen a Thai Man do this? Has anyone seen an affluent Thai man bring home a hooker from the bar and wife her? Mia noi? You Bet. Straight up wife? Hardly Never.

Why do expats so often settle for less?

Yep seen it, she lives just down the road.

Ex working girl, dropped some sorry arsed farang to marry a merchant from a Thai/Chinese family.

They now have a son, and a very successful business together.

JJ.

For some weird reason mine always starts talking to me when I am taking a pee.

How am I supposed to aim with all these distractions

Major resort chain being held to ransom by untouchable mafia.

The situation is just getting more bizarre by the day.

Why can't these large multi-national companies see the damage these thugs do to their business and do something about it?

JJ.

I live on Phuket and have friends who run tour companies.

The taxi 'conglomerates' outside most of the large hotels have threatened the private drivers to stay away from 'their' patch or - if they insist on coming they have been told to pay a 'fee' each time they visit to the taxi drivers. At one hotel in Kata - this 'fee' is 1500 baht per visit.

If they refuse to pay and still turn up - they are threatened and/or their vehicles damaged.

The company mentioned in this article is known to have received threats but what is the driver supposed to do when he has pre-paid customers waiting for their trip in the hotel lobby and his boss has told him to pick up these guests?

My friends vehicle was damaged (not to the same extent as this report) and the police informed who refused to make a written report - despite CCTV evidence and suggested mediation instead with the taxi drivers !

The Hotel Manager has refused responsibility for the taxi drivers outside his hotel - stating it is out of his jurisdiction yet his staff still recommend the guests take local taxis from outside the hotel.

I think what the hotels need to realise is, once they let gangs operate outside their premises they are effectively handing over their business to the gang.

The gang decides what transport options their guests have, what tours they are or are not allowed to go on, and generally control access to the premises.

I am sure people in the various hotels are paid to allow these gangs to operate, but it seems insane to me to hand control of your multi-million (billion?) baht investment to a few thugs who are happy to beat up other Thais to protect their turf, and to allow the gang to rip off their own guests with the result being the guest is much more likely never to return.

JJ