QED

When I applied the six years extension of stay based on being married to Thai woman in October 2008 they had a couple of new rules for this year.

1. You have to go to your local Immigration office within your area.

2. You must have 2 copies of EVERYTHING, 2 copies of TM7 and 2 copies of passport, passbook, marriage docs etc.

3. You are enforced to do the 90 days report from August 1, 2008.

Good Luck.

All the other points you raised are not new, but this is definitely a new one on me. 6 years???

Just discovered this one recently - easy to use and loads of channels:

http://wwitv.com/tv_channels/b2973.htm

Does anyone have an update on the alleged threats given to checkin staff and aircrew at some of the airlines? I ask because I listened to an interview where the woman said personnel were worried and may refuse to report for work. Also included was the difficulty of ingress/egress from the airport so that staff and flight crews were unable to report even if they wanted. All of the western airlines have collective agreements that allow personnel to refuse to work in areas deemed to present a significant threat to their safety. Is it possible that some airlines may refuse to fly to BKK for a period of time until the security issue is fixed?

Just wondering based on the interview, not saying it will happen.

BA have already cancelled all flights, it's only a matter of time before others follow.

Exactly what type of visa do you have? You say non-immigrant, if this is a multi entry non-immigrant O or B visa, you can make a border run the day before it expires and get stamped back in for a further 90 days.

Correct a 48 page passport is THB 10,000, but the price is not double the UK price vs BKK for any passport as the OP was stating...

Once you transfer your stamps into the new passport you dont have to carry both passports , I have renewed my passport twice in BKK over the last few years and never had to carry both passports, just the new one...the only thing they transfer is your permission to stay...

As I said, the 48 page WAS 10,000, now is 8,000.

If you have a multi-entry visa then you do have to carry both passports, as the visa remains in your old passport, and without showing that you would be stamped in on a 30 day visa exemption. Not too sure how this pans out with a single entry with re-entry permit, but would imagine it is the same as the visa will still be in your old passport. Sounds to me like maybe you didn't have a visa at the time?

I was in the same position about 6 months ago, and it did cost 10,000 at the time for a 48 page one. This now works out at about 8,000 baht as the FCO use a nominal exchange rate (currently 55), which is always higher than the prevailing rate, and it must be paid in baht.

I bit the bullet and renewed it here to avoid any potential problems, mine was multi-entry so I would probably have been OK, but as noted earlier you may have problems with your re-entry permit.

They do not transfer the visa, they just make a note in the new passport, and you will then have to show both passports whenever you travel until the current visa expires.

I met a very interesting NZ chap in the bar the other day, who after introducing himself promptly proceeded to tell me that he had just lost $1,000,000 US on his Citigroup shares, at which point I drank up and left.

20 sleeping tourists robbed

//Snip// After hours of negotiations with the tourists, she agreed to pay compensation of half the amount that had been stolen in cash and the rest by bank transfer. She refused to give any details about the bus staff. Police suspected Sirada's father might be one of

so they got away with half?

how did not one person wake?

No, she has agreed full compensation, but they still have escaped any kind of prosecution by the sounds of it.

On the wings would be a good idea

have you checked your passport expiry date? I am sure UK embassies will be updated about ppl on the run.... I assume you still need to travel (even not to tthe UK) and have a valid passport for many things.

A bit melodramatic! Defaulting on unsecured personal debt is not a criminal offence, and would never result in your passport being revoked.

You certainly would not be classed as 'on the run'. Thai assets would never be in danger of seizure, but I do agree with the majority that this will screw your credit rating for the next few millennia.

Selfish? Irresponsible? I am not one to judge. Would I do the same in the OP's situation? Probably

^^ Bingo

If it is an expensive watch my serious advice would be to bite the bullet and send it back home, or to the factory. I just had a very expensive Tag Heur ruined here, after asking for advice where to go. I am not sure what to do with it now as the warranty will be void due to an unauthorised dealer breaking the seal.

Off topic a little but if anyone knows someone who can repair a Tag FI Microtimer I would happily try again, the watch cost close to £3,000 in the UK and is a write off at the moment.

Mattias, is that "all thai men have mia nois & are with older farang women for money" the same way that "all thai women with farang have a thai bf on the side? " You need to keep your prejudices (all of them) off this forum please

Ok, call it prejudices if you want, but i think mia noi is a bit more common than "poa noi". I never met any thaigirl that is cheating on her farang bf, but all thaimen i know with farang gf are cheating on them. I didnt mean it in any bad or provocing way at all, it is just the impression i got during my years in Thailand.

I can be completely wrong offcourse. But it is still my impression.

Funniest thing I have read in years, keep it up please

I would agree with the above. I renewed my 1 year to a 5 year back in April, just when they brought out the new one. My girlfriend came with me and tried to swap her 5 year old one for a new one and was greeted with some very blank stares.

I wouldn't go down the losing it route either, as you are likely to end up back at square one with a 1 year license, and probably have to do all the eye/ reaction tests again.

Stick with your crappy laminated version and bow to those of us with superior digitally decorated credit cards haha.

Oh, and try not to get it wet as the laminate is not very waterproof from my experience

Make sure you get to the pier or somewhere with a view of the beach for midnight, the fireworks are spectacular. Forget the olympics or world cup, if you get a good vantage point there will be more fireworks than you can shake a stick at in every direction.

Walking street is a nightmare though, as everyone is squeezed onto the pavements due to the foodstalls.

where do they let the fireworks off?

Absolutely everywhere. All the hotels have their own displays as well as the council ones going off at Bali Hi. There must be 10's of millions of $'s going up in smoke in Pattaya during that 10 minutes. My parents were here last year and were just amazed at the shear volume of fireworks all the way along the seafront.

If it's at Banglamung police station then that's a long way out of town, so won't have any effect at all on the vast majority of Pattaya

Whilst border crossings seem to have forgotten about the requirement the airlines most definately have not. Expect to have trouble boarding if you don't have an onward ticket or a visa

Not always. I few back from Singapore last week and nobody was interested in a return ticket - plus I bought the 1 way ticket at the airport (Air Asia). My non-O visa expired last month so I am currently on a 30 day visa exemption.

In retrospect I may have been a bit harsh in my earlier comments. Now knowing more about the story it does seem a bit random. I still stick to my belief that random attacks are very rare here, but this does appear to be one of them.

Apologies to the victim and friends, hope he gets well soon.

Make sure you get to the pier or somewhere with a view of the beach for midnight, the fireworks are spectacular. Forget the olympics or world cup, if you get a good vantage point there will be more fireworks than you can shake a stick at in every direction.

Walking street is a nightmare though, as everyone is squeezed onto the pavements due to the foodstalls.

I don't know whether the match is on or off but all times shown on the ESPN schedule are Hong Kong times irrespective of what country you choose. The match is on the schedule for 11pm Hong Kong Time, which is 10pm Bangkok time. So if it is played it should be live on ESPN.

Yes you are right, just checked in the book, which does show Thai times, and the coverage starts at 9.55 pm.

As for the BBC, they have had enough money off me over the years so should be able to get it right

Sorry guys, I just looked at the BBC to see the real KO time, and it says it's off, but I can find no further info.

The times are UK, so it would be 10pm. Unusual for the BBC to get it wrong, but I hope for the OP's sake that they did this time.

I see Peru v Paraguay is off as well.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/i...res/default.stm

Wednesday, 19 November 2008FIFA World Cup European QualifyingSan Marino v Czech Republic, Gp 3, 19:30International MatchAustria v Turkey, 19:30Azerbaijan v Albania, 16:00 Bahrain OFF Australia, 15:00 Brazil v PortugalColombia v NigeriaCyprus v Belarus, 17:00Denmark v Wales, 19:15Egypt v Benin, 17:00France v Uruguay, 20:00Germany v England, 19:45Greece v Italy, 19:30Holland v Sweden, 19:45Israel v Ivory Coast, 17:00Luxembourg v Belgium, 19:30Malta v Iceland, 13:30Moldova v Lithuania, 16:00Montenegro v FYR Macedonia, 16:30Morocco v Zambia, 19:00Northern Ireland v Hungary, 19:45Peru OFF ParaguayRep of Ireland v Poland, 20:00Romania v Georgia, 18:30Scotland v Argentina, 20:00Serbia v Bulgaria, 16:30Slovakia v Liechtenstein, 16:30Slovenia v Bosnia-Herzegovina, 19:15South Africa v Cameroon, 18:30Spain v Chile, 21:00Switzerland v Finland, 19:30Ukraine v Norway, 18:00

Just looked on the BBC website, and they say the game is OFF - don't know why.

Normally if it is not live they will tell you it's delayed, don't know about this one, maybe a mistake in their schedules, but it doesn't really matter if the games off

[quote name='Bangyai' post='2338645' date='2008-11-18 13:16:30'I guess I won't be competing for toilet space with you then. To be fair I have a friend who says he wouldn't be seen dead eating there........after eating there....maybe However, if you are going to have an unhealthy cooked breakfast somewhere the competition is usually worse !! White bread with a shelf life of decades, bacon that shrinks to one tenth its side when cooked, sausages ( mini hot dogs ) made of something I hate to contemplate etc etc. Any useful suggestions for a decent breakfast ????

The best breakfast I ever had in Thailand was in a place called ' The Parrot ' in Khon Kaen. Wholemeal bread made on site.

As for Crazy Daves, well he does seem to pack them in regardless ?

BTW I am indebted to you for pointing out the other threads about Crazy Daves.....some funny reading there

2 doors down the road is Canterbury Tales, a few baht more for a decent breakfast.

I have never been to a buffet in Pattaya, but this thread is inspiring me to try it, keep the suggestions coming folks.

My girlfriend's family are Akha (from the hills north of Chiang Rai), and every September they have a swing festival - not dancing, but everyone makes a swing in their garden for the kids, and they make one massive one in the middle of the village for the adults.

The last 2 years I have been there her family have bought a live pig, which is tied to a tree for a few days whilst everyone comes to look, and then slaughtered at dawn on the main day to make a fabulous array of food that they would not normally eat, with all the village coming to eat. To me this is alot more enjoyable than Christmas, and some of the stuff they make is amazing.

Not sure why her family seem to be responsible for this each year, they are not well off, but there is a farang boyfriend in the family I suppose! Personally I am glad to be away from the commercialised crap that is now christmas in the west.

I spoke to them on the phone last week and they said it would be no problem to get a double entry, although someone with recent experience would more useful as you can never trust 100% what they tell you over the phone.

I asked them about onward tickets, and they said that as I am British (which I note you are from your previous passport thread), there was no need for onward tickets, just a photo, application and 110 RM (about 1,000 baht per entry fee).

I was in Johor Bahru last week and never made it back up to KL in the end as I flew back from Singapore with no visa. Interesting to note that neither the airline, nor immigration gave 2 hoots whether I had a visa or an onward ticket. I just got a 30 day exempt stamp as my non-o expired a few weeks ago and I am planning a trip back for a new one in the new year.