MTH

Yes, same paperwork as usual, sometimes a medical is asked for, sometimes not.

Non-imm is required for a 5-year license.

Not sure about embassy letter, as I’ve always use a letter of residence, obtained from immigration.

You can renew about 90 days early to 1 year late. (If you’re a few days late renewing, you will get close to 6 years on your new license.)

Thanks. I'll plan a trip to a neighboring country and pick up a Non-O marriage while there. From what I've read on here, I'll have to get the residence letter from my embassy since immigration requires proof that you live in Thailand, which I don't have.

Since you’re married to a Thai, have your wife make copy of the address page of her blue book and the page with her name on it, (the house book). Bring that along with a copy of her Thai id card to immigration, all copies signed by her.

This is good enough in Pattaya to get a letter of residency, but of course it could be more difficult in BKK. Maybe someone from BKK can correct me if this is not possible there.

I agree that many of these minivan drivers are lousy drivers, but now many accidents or deaths have there been on these visa runs? There's many leaving every day of the year.

Good point, haven’t heard of any crashes or deaths on these visa trips for as long as I’ve been here. However these trips can be quite gruesome sometimes, not being sure if I want to watch the movie that they’re showing, watch the traffic, or just close my eyes.

(Sorry had to cut out the earlier posts, as there were too many nested quotes.)

They want 1000B for the visa, have not been able to get them to accept a $20 there, as I have in Poi Pet, but you could always try.

They will also ask you for some extra tea money, 300 Baht for not staying 24 hours in Cambodia. You can easily get this down to 200.

So that's a saving of 600B on the minibus price, before fuel and wear and tear on your vehicle. I did this calculation also and decided to use the minibus. Luckily I dont have to do the trip at all any more but if I did I would probably still take the minibus.

Of course, money wise it’s cheaper to use a visa run company if you’re by yourself. But sometimes, you want to take a trip with your girl, or maybe you have a couple of friends that join in and share the expenses.

Additionally if you’re a golfer, combine the visa trip with a stay, or at least a round of golf at Soi Dao.

And if you did not go there in December you would not know if it closed so your point is ?

I tried to tell you quite nicely that you were wrong, but you couldn’t fess up to being wrong, could you? Of course I was there in December, I stated so earlier in my previous post, that is if you paid any attention to what I wrote. But I acknowledged jokingly, that I hadn’t been there every day.

BTW, who goes there every day, unless they have some business there?

You ask me what’s my point is... My point is: That the closure has been within the last 18 months and you were wrong saying that ‘yes it is open again and has been for about 18 months ‘.

Yeah I have not been there everyday to check but the few times I have been there over the past 18 months it was open.

Me neither, just saying that the closure was within the last 18 months, so it hasn’t been open ‘again’ for about 18 months.

My 5 year licenses (Car & motorcycle) expire in a few months. I no longer live in Thailand, but will be there on holiday around the time the licenses expire. I want to renew both licenses for another 5 years as they are useful for trips back to Thailand and the surrounding countries, and I may move back to Thailand in the semi-distant future. Some questions:

Will all the usual paperwork still be required for a 5 year renewal? Planning to do this at the head office in Mo Chit, Bangkok.

Is a Non-Immigrant visa absolutely necessary? I can obtain one (I'm married to a Thai) but would like to avoid the hassle and expense of course.

For the embassy letter, will the embassy want proof that I live in Thailand?

What is the window of time before/after expiration for renewing the 5 year licenses?

Yes, same paperwork as usual, sometimes a medical is asked for, sometimes not.

Non-imm is required for a 5-year license.

Not sure about embassy letter, as I’ve always use a letter of residence, obtained from immigration.

You can renew about 90 days early to 1 year late. (If you’re a few days late renewing, you will get close to 6 years on your new license.)

I’ve driven to the Ban Pakard / Prum border many times. It’s about 250 Km from Pattaya.

E-visa is not applicable at this border crossing, however you can buy the Cambodia visa there.

Just stamp out of Thailand, walk about 2-300 meters and you will see some huts on the right side.

This is where you buy your visa and also stamp in and out of Cambodia.

They want 1000B for the visa, have not been able to get them to accept a $20 there, as I have in Poi Pet, but you could always try.

They will also ask you for some extra tea money, 300 Baht for not staying 24 hours in Cambodia. You can easily get this down to 200.

Have a nice trip.

yes it is open again and has been for about 18 months.

Not quite true, as it was closed when I needed to use it in December of 2011.

But yes it’s open again, used it in June and again last month.

Wonder what they did though, does look the same as before they shut it down for renovation.

Exactly. Haven't used them for 10 years. Uncomfortable, unsafe, unreliable. A scooter of your own is the better solution.

Great. Next time there's a thread about the cost of petrol for bikes, we'll be sure to post about what an AWFUL choice of transport that is.

Are you serious or just delusional?

I totally agree with Potosi, haven’t used a Songthaew for more than a few rides in the last 10-12 years, but am so happy to scooter around town at my own pace wherever I want to go.

If you think that the 10 baht ride would be cheaper than petrol cost for a scooter, you are definitely out of touch with reality

The next is inside Big C on Pattaya Klang,

but where?i never found it

Bottom floor in the hallway to the restrooms.

As for your other question, there are quite a few Thais that would be more than willing to work for 50 Baht an hour, do you even know what the minimum wage is in Thailand?

50 baht per hour is a pretty good wage for unskilled work. On the building site next to where I live they're earning 200 baht per day working from 8am to 6pm with an hour for lunch. What's that? 22 baht per hour.

Yes, it definitely is! My girl's son just quit school at 17 and is now making 220 a day helping out in a carpenter shop. Hopefully he’ll be back in school next year again.

<Edit, grammar and spelling>

Let's break this down for you. You are paying $3.30 for a one hour massage. So yes, you are a fabulously cheap Charlie if you do not have the heart and soul to give this gal a tip. Would you work for 50 Baht per hour? And does that extra 40-50 Baht mean more to you, or to the massage gal?

Mike Macarelli

Chaiyaphum, Thailand

Sent from my Samsung SIII

You are breaking what down? He’s not paying $3.30 for an hour massage, he’s paying 100 Baht. What does the $ have to do with anything?

As for your other question, there are quite a few Thais that would be more than willing to work for 50 Baht an hour, do you even know what the minimum wage is in Thailand?

However I do agree that the OP is quite stingy, not to tipping after a massage, unless of course it’s been unsatisfactory. But that has nothing to do with other world currencies or salaries.

Sent from my Desktop.

What rate did you get? If it is less than other banks it's not worth finding one of their ATM's.

At the risk of getting our resident google expert from the Finance sub section interjecting,, but on two separate weekends when rates have been locked down and the same piece of plastic used but I was to receive a higher true cost using AEON.

Yes of course they dont charge the 150 baht, but I dont care what anybody links in a response, but you get a lower rate. Try it yourself when rates are locked but you MUST use the same piece of plastic which allevaites any discussion re bank charges from home.

Chivas, quite funny to see that you are slamming AEON ATMs in this forum as well. Man what has AEON done to you to deserve this?

So if I read you correctly, you're here stating that AOEN will give a lesser exchange rate than, some other banks ATM on a weekend?

I had to go through my online statement a few months back before I could find any AEON withdrawals over a weekend.

Here are two that occurred in July this year. As there are no other fees, (since I used an AEON ATM). The rate can easily be calculated.

Each pull was for 15K Baht.

My withdrawals and the VISA exchange rate are exactly the same.

If you do the math, you should come up with the same result.

Reciprocals in parentheses, as that's what you will see, if you check the exchange rate on VISAs site.

July 30: 29.64 (0.033737)

July 16: 30.05 (0.033277)

Conclusion, AEON provided me with the best possible exchange rate.

Why use an ATM withdrawal from a home country bank if you live here?

Transferring money to a local bank account and specifying baht to your home country bank gets you a better sight TT rate and provided you are doing this is reasonable sized transfers - say 50,000 baht plus, the sending and receiving bank charges (usually fixed or capped) will not eradicate that advantage. For instance if you had a local Bangkok bank account their sight TT rate on 30 July 2011 (actually their rate on the 29th would have applied since 30th was a Saturday) was 30.48, 2.8% better than the Aeon rate quoted. [July 16th was 30.48 at BKK Bank].

Yeah yeah I know - whenever the subject turns to exchange rate there's always some clever-dick like me that comes along (even 18 months later!) and thinks he knows better

To answer your question. I use the ATM due to getting a better exchange rate than any other option available.

The TT rates you post are totally wrong, they are actually yesterday’s exchange rate.

Here are the proper TT rates for Bangkok Bank on the days closest to my withdrawals, (as both were done on weekends and they don’t post weekend rates).

July 29, 2011 29.62 August 1, 2011 29.60

July 14, 2011 29.96 July 18, 2011 30.01

So as you can see, the TT rate is not as good as the VISA exchange rate.

I do have my account set up to do transfers to Bangkok Bank, NY. Sometimes when it’s more convenient, I do use this route. I could go on and post the exact numbers for some of those transfers as well, but on an average, I loose and additional 500 Baht on a 100K transfer and 700 Baht on a 150K transfer, due to the transfer fees. It’s not much, but still dilutes the TT exchange rate even more.

If you want to be a clever-dick, you should do some better research before putting it in print.

I use this Caltex station about 80-90% of the time when I fill up in Pattaya, both for my car and my bike. Always appreciated the staff there, they are usually very courteous and service minded.

However I did have a similar bad experience a month or two ago. I came in on my bike and took the spot that the previous bike had just used to fill up, the attendant walked off, most likely to hand in the cash of the last sale, as he was walking back again to the pumps, an mc taxi drove in on the other side of the pump and the dimw-t started serving him instead of me. Haven’t seen that guy around there before or after, so maybe we were just both unlucky with some temporary staff.

Fans of Euro style crisp bland thin crust pizza might well find it among the best in town.

Maybe I'm one of those - I like when the pizza crust tastes like fine italian bread, with maybe a pointe of olive oil and salt - remotely related with baguette parisienne by the aroma, though definitely different.

Another decent Pizza I had was by Big Pizza in Naklua (didn't mention it earlier as the thread is about Jomtien).

I visited "Im Aroy" in Soi Chayapruek tonight, and I was not impressed.

It is Thai priced but not excessively cheap.

I had kao pad moo, red pork curry and kaw moo yang.

The fried rice was very good.

Instead of the red pork curry indicated in English on the menu, I got some soup similar to gaeng whio wan moo, but without cokonut milk and with added red chili. Wasn't my cup of tea.

And the worst was the kaw moo yang. What I got wasn't kaw moo yang, it was neither kaw (the pork was a dry as the desert of Gobi, not a piece of fat in sight) and it wasn't yang either - I'm still hesitating between cooked in a pan, boiled or steamed.

So "Im Aroy" is a good option for a quick & cheap meal if you know what dishes to order for your taste, but I wouldn't recommend it for dinner.

The food at the soi Buakhow hole-in-the-wall near Sugar Sugar is much better and cheaper in my opinion. But again, soi Buakhow is not in Jomtien...

As I agree with you on your pizza comments, I’d guess I’ll be staying away from Im Aroy then. I’d been reading a lot of good reviews here about “the hole in the wall” on Soi Buakhow and finally tried it out a couple of months ago, had one of my worst dinner ever there. Think I’ve have to try out Jombom’s recommendation on soi Chaiyapruek instead.

Otherwise as others have mentioned already, Bpuphen and the Thai restaurant back of the beer bar area on second road are quite good. There is also Suttangrak, great food but maybe a bit overpriced and currently under reconstruction. Additionally Surf Kitchen should not be overlooked.

Not sure about the accuracy, but I’ve saved these numbers in case I’d need them.

A quick search on the forum and I found the post where I got then from.

Snake catcher 0810000070, Sawang Boriboon Rescue Service 038222474

This is my favorite, not only because of the food selection, which actually is very good. But they do have flat BBQs and not the cone shaped ones.

I used to eat at this one too until we tried the one on Pattaya Nua on a recommendation from a friend. All I can say is it's a huge improvement not only from the food issue but the washrooms, service, decor, entertainment etc plus no mosquitos!

Guess I’ll have to try that one on Pattaya Nua. Last time out for Moo Gata we went to Ninja at Duck square, did the seafood add on and we were all quite disappointed.

This is my favorite, not only because of the food selection, which actually is very good. But they do have flat BBQs and not the cone shaped ones.

That seems to be the one I was talking about at the south end of 3rd Rd. Cant say I remember the shape of the BBQ though, nor do I understand what difference the shape makes.

If you can’t understand the difference between BBQing on a flat surface compared to sloped one, then I’d guess it’d be a moot point trying to explain it.

Suggest Amorn (Tuk-Com basement).

Have previously bought a couple of replacement motors for 16 in Hitari floor standing fans at a cost of around 250 baht at the Rayong branch, so do not see why should not have in Pattaya. If do not have specifically for Tory then check fixing centres etc as they may be interchangeable.

Edit..spelling

.

Yes, I’ve seen replacement motors at Amorn.

I used to have a Tory fan but after my electrician fixed it twice, I tossed it after its third demise. Now I only have Hatari fans, they seem to be a bit more reliable.

Be Careful ????

Does that mean this is a warning NOT to get caught driving he wrong way ???

Give me a break !

It’s a great warning, at least for the ones of us that has gotten accustomed to the driving style here. I was stopped just a few months ago going the wrong way, on the sidewalk without a helmet, all in all 800 Baht. If I would have known it could cost me 10K, I wouldn’t have done what I did.

This is my favorite, not only because of the food selection, which actually is very good. But they do have flat BBQs and not the cone shaped ones.

As usual, a few silly posts, don’t know why anyone hasn’t mentioned Pattaya Sauna soi 31 off Naklua road.

Only sauna I frequent here, large relax area with two very cold dipping pools, male and female pools separate.

There is one steam room and two decently sized saunas, however only one sauna in use at the time.

They also have on site massage and a small gym, that no one seems to use.

I’d recommend Samed Villa Resort. They have quite a decent resort restaurant, and if you’re not please with it, or want some change, head up to the beach restaurants on Sai Keaw for all the choices they have to offer. Can’t go wrong

How are you, my dear friend? YES, Samed Villa is certainly a good place to be and I can confirm that their rooms, food and services are excellent. The owner, a swiss, is very detailed and has looked after the resort quite well. Their rooms have double glass windows etc. The Silver Sand Disco has become quite famous within Thai's male population.

Long time no see, I’m doing great thanks Buddy! Life is nice down here in the little fishing village. Hope you’re doing well up in the bustling capital.

Guess I should have mentioned in my previous post that Samed Villa Resort is on Ao Phai and not on Sai Keaw, for those that don’t know.

Hadn’t paid attention to the double pane windows, but guess that’s the reason why it’s still quiet in the bungalows, even though the Silver Sand Disco is close by.

I’d recommend Samed Villa Resort. They have quite a decent resort restaurant, and if you’re not please with it, or want some change, head up to the beach restaurants on Sai Keaw for all the choices they have to offer. Can’t go wrong

My ex-wife went to school with a bunch of bib, and even worked for the

soi 9 station as an intern for a while.

It all depends on your motives. After many many years and a divorce, I still

have two good friends (bib). If you are befriending bib because you think

you will be above the law, don't bother. You have to befriend the police

chief himself for that !

Make fiends because of their character and value as a human being, not

because of their job.

What possibly could a bib do for you ? Any traffic situation you get in to, you

have to deal with the responding officer, your "friends" will NOT be able to

help - there is a chain of command, even in Thailand. Always be polite and

honest and admit it if you are in fault, as hard as it sometimes is. You will

get more credit for honesty and standing up than any bib friends.

If you are planning to rob a bank, or similar, your bib fiends will be the first

ones to turn you in. They don't want to be associated with a criminal figure,

specially a foreigner.

And of course there are the bib's that see a farang as an ATM machine !

They will promise you to "protect" you and "take care of you" for a small

"support fee" for the poor family. These guys are outright crooks ...

Another big misunderstand is about who is who in the bib biz. Most bib,

are just simple traffic cops without any say. Some have higher standings,

like the drug units. They are typically more respected and feared. And

than there are even higher posts ...

Would you befriend a Police Officer in your country because he is a cop ?

Would he help you ?

Cheers,

rudi

Some good advice, about why and who to make friends with, but on the whole you’re totally off the wall. If you’re ex-wife went to school and befriended “a bunch of the (bibs)”, and “even worked with them”, then you should know better.