vespajw

There really is something strange about True DSL and Google. At least in certain areas, so could be misconfiguration of a DSLAM.

Most Google services don't work right if you try http://www.google.com but they do work right with https://www.google.com -- it's the non-secure http only that seems to have a problem. This seems to affect every subdomain of *.google.com too.

That matters because many pages try to load a google plus button or other service from http://apis.google.com instead of the https and when they do this it can cause the page to not load.

Also it matters in Google search results because the google results when you click them go first to google [so they know you clicked] and then to the site you want. If the results are going first to http then you never get sent to the real page you want.

This started a while ago when True changed the way they do proxy services for DSL customers. It broke many Dyanmic DNS services so it's harder to run a website from your own computer, too.

What's to stop someone from signing up, taking the Bt.2,000, then splitting?

It's called a conscience perhaps? It's obvious that a sizable number of expats don't have them, and an even larger number of foreigners don't think Thais have them.

Or just maybe there are people who genuinely care about the future of their country but just can't make the nut to get to BKK on their own.

There are richer and far more corrupt men than Thaksin. They are waking freely in Thailand today and will never see the inside of a courtroom, much less a jail cell.

These anti-TRT show trials are a symptom of the sickness of Thai society rather than a meaningful attempt at a cure.

I'm a shareholder of a Thai company. I got a single-entry B visa in mid-November on the basis of being offered employment as a managing director of that company. Due to some internal problems, it hasn't been possible for me to apply for a WP yet. Now my visa is close to expiry. And the paperwork problems are not completely resolved so am very unsure if the WP will actually be granted.

I'm wondering if it is possible to get an extension to my current B visa if I take along the receipt for the WP application only (i.e. not an actual WP which would probably not be granted until after the visa expires if at all)?

What's the process for this? What's the cost? What specific documentation will they require at Chaengwatthana?

Thanks in advance.

I'm informed that multi-B visas are available in Vientiane if you have a work permit. The company that handles my firm's books just had another of their clients do this, so it seems it is possible. So I'm going to give it a go. What I can't seem to get a handle on is the cost. The documentation that comes with the application form suggests it's 5000 baht but that's dated August 2003!

So does anyone have accurate recent info on the cost of a multiple-entry B-for-Business visa from Vientiane, Laos?

Also, are they still accepting the old style (single column) visa form if filled out and preprinted, or do they accept only the new style two-column form?

I'm not an expert but I think I can answer to your questions:

1 – I would avoid the guesthouse check-in and go straight to the Consulate.

2 – To save time at the border it's a good idea to get the Laos visa at the Embassy.

Make sure you ask urgent (more 200 baht) and they give you back the passport stamped in 30 minutes.

The MRT nearest is Hui Kwang (about 60 baht taxi from there).

You only need one photo there and only the application is needed + one photo + passport and the money.

3 – I don't think they ask a signed copy of the passport's photo page but to feel save take it and no, they don't need anything else.

Either, don't be worried about your passport's date – is still on time.

Good luck

I really appreciate you taking the time to respond. Thank you.

It's just a bit worrisome to me how one would check into a guesthouse without proper identification; I'm definitely conditioned to the Thai way of doing things in that regard. I have no prior relationship with the place I'm staying this time, and while I could go back to the accommodations I used last time, I doubt they'd remember me from a single prior visit.

I'm about to do my second visa run to Vientiane for a Double-Entry Tourist Visa and I have a few questions. I hope someone can help...

1) I'm going to try to do this with just a single night's stay in Laos. The plan involves the early flight on Nok to UTH (arrives 07:05) on Tuesday, the shuttle to the bridge at Nong Khai, hopefully a quick crossing and up to VTE, check-in to a guesthouse (while I've still got my passport) and get to the Thai Consulate in time to apply.

Q. Am I being hopelessly naive about the timing? My gut tells me I should be at the Consulate no later than 10:00.

Q. What time does the crossing at the Friendship Bridge open? (The crossing itself, not the visa application station).

2) To facilitate a quick crossing, I'm going to get my visa to enter Laos in advance from their Embassy in Bangkok on Monday.

Q. My plan for that is to take MRT to Thailand Cultural Center, then hail a cab. Does that sound about right?

Q. I've already downloaded the Laos visa application. The form has a spot for 1 photo, the separate instructions call for 2 photos. Which is it?

Q. Along with my passport, the application form, money and photos, is the Laos Embassy going to need anything else such as a copy of my passport, and if so, which pages?

3) At the Thai Consulate in Vientiane...

Q. Along with my passport, the application form and 2 photos, is the requirement still in place to have a signed copy of the photo page of the passport?

Q. Are they requiring copies of anything else at this time?

4) Regarding my passport specifically, both Thailand and Laos require that you have at least 6 months validity left on your passport before they'll issue a visa. As of this moment, I've got precisely 6 months, 13 days.

Q. Am I likely to be refused by either Thailand or Laos? Are they all smart enough to realize that 6.4 is greater than 6 even though it's not 7?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help clear this up for me.

If Boater had only a few posts then this thread might sound a bit dodgy....but he hasn't. Now if someone, say, with 13 posts had made it.....hmmmm

It's one of the great conceits of the internet that quantity somehow equals quality. The number of messages someone has posted is not an absolute indicator of their expertise or their ability to analyse a situation.

Does this affect tourists? I mean, if you're in the country on a tourist visa, presumably you don't "live" anywhere in the Kingdom at all. So surely you should be able to give the name of a hotel near the immigration office and use any office you please?

It does not affect tourists. Those on visa exempt entries, VOA's, non immigrant visas. tourist visas and etc. will not be tied to an office. They can go to the nearest office to where they are at when they need to do business with immigration.

It's primarily for those who are on long term extensions of stay.

Joe (or another Mod): May I ask what is the basis for this assertion? Is it somewhere in a published regulation or has it been confirmed with a phone call to Immigration?

I've been through the work permit mill a couple of times, once as an employee and once as a company director, and did a lot of research here on TV and elsewhere each time. Now I'm trying to advise someone on getting his work permit because he's just not getting good info. But I want to make sure my understanding of some issues is correct before I give it another go.

Is it true that when applying for a work permit it will state one address at which the work permit holder is allowed to work, and that in some cases it will be as specific as the floor and suite number where they are permitted to work, and that working in another location not specified in the work permit is illegal?

Is it true that when applying for or by later seeking an amendment to the work permit, you can add one or more additional specific locations where one is legally permitted to work?

Is it true that to add a work location in another province one has to go to the Labor Department office in that province?

Is it true that there is no such thing as a Thai work permit which is nationwide in scope, i.e. that would allow the holder to work anywhere in the Kingdom he needs to in the field of work he's allowed to perform?

Is it true, similar to the above, that it isn't even possible to get a work permit which allows the holder to work anywhere he needs to within a single province?

Is it true that working from home is illegal unless the residential address is specified in the work permit?

Is it true that if Farang A goes to a business meeting at the offices of Farang B (which are not specified as a permitted workplace in the work permit of Farang A) he is by the letter of the law working illegally?

There is no limit to the number of border runs you can do.

A Tourist Visa in PP should be no problem.

Friend of mine with a European passport mentioned he scored a double-entry in Phnom Penh just last week.

Hello,i have been in thailand for approx 20 days so far and and am planning on staying for another 3 weeks.Have spoken to a couple of people about extending it by 2 weeks.Some say i can and some say i cant.Went to the immigration office in samui today and they said i can get a 7 day extension for 1900 baht!! which sounds expensive to me.And then i read somewhere that tourist visas are now free to promote more tourism etc are they only giving free ones to people who aren't already in the country?.Is there another way of doing it without flying out of the country?thanks for any replys.

It's just a math problem. "planning on staying for another 3 weeks" = 21 days?

Extend the current stamp by 7 days = 1900 baht

Border run for a 15-day stamp = 2500 baht (max)

4400 baht total (21 days granted)

or

Single entry tourist visa at any Thai consulate = 1000 baht

4400 - 1000 = 3400 baht

Don't really know if you can get from Samui to a Thai consulate, stay a night and get back for 3400. 2 ferry rides, the worst seat on the train to Butterworth, a night in a hostel... maybe.

Well that was easy. Left On Nut BTS a few minutes past noon and got back there a few minutes past 3.

The building is exactly the same one in the center of the photo I posted. "West on Sathorn Tai, then a left onto Soi Sathorn 3 and keep going until it turns in Soi Suan Phlu" is exactly it and the Immigration Dept. building is opposite Suan Phlu Soi 7. Except I didn't go that way, going instead all the way down Sathorn Soi 1, then making a right, walking through the grounds of the Department of Civil Aviation, then a right on Soi Suan Phlu.

The walk I took is a little sketchy as along most of Sathorn Soi 1 the sidewalks are barely a foot wide. Not good to go if you have a slight mobility impairment or are otherwise insufficiently nimble. But it you were in a wheelchair, it would be the way to go as the traffic along Sathorn Tai Rd. and the sidewalks of upper Sathorn Soi 3 would be death-traps. If you want to ride, plenty of motorbike taxis at Lumphini subway Station (use exit 2).

Very easy process overall. If you've got all your papers ready to go (and I did stop at an internet cafe and preprint my TM.7) you see the guy or gal at the Information desk. If you don't have the application form, he or she will give you one. He checks over whatever documents you brought, and hands them back along with a wait-number slip and sends you into Room 102.

You have to watch the big "number being served board" and you'll get called up to counter 2. If you need to fill out your form, there's two counters where you can do that. Pens are in short supply but there's a few pots of glue to use to paste your photo to your application form. They're fine with 2 page application forms, they don't have to printed front and back on a single page.

I waited 5 minutes or so to get called even though there was no one at counter 2. Who knows why. My paperwork was good, I forked over 1900 baht. I got back a laminated card with another wait-number on it. There's a separate electronic signboard that shows numbers for people waiting to collect their passports at counter 3.

I was actually impressed by the speed of things. These two counters seem to do visa extensions exclusively, they processed 19 of them in 24 minutes. Not bad for a Friday afternoon or any time really in the Thai bureaucracy. FYI your receipt comes back with your passport when you pick it up at counter 3 and not when you pay at counter 2.

All in all, I don't think I spent more than 40 minutes in the building. The funniest wait was at the main Info desk. The guy in front of me seemed to speak perfect Thai, looked Thai, and was accompanied by Mare and Poor in their straight-out-of-Isaan goin'-to-town clothes... (You may recognize the up-country chic: Dad had on a natty beverage company promotional polo shirt over pinstriped trousers. and his charming bride sported a fetching blouse which appeared to be from the Sears catalog over a sarong.) He had a foreign passport and as far as I could understand he just couldn't get up to speed that even though he's Thai he still has to jump through all the "farang" hoops if he's not using a Thai passport. A 10 minute debate ensued, Mom and Pop both got involved, but it was just so charmingly Thai I really couldn't be bothered to get mad.

Photos, copies of passport photo page, visa, entry/permit to stay stamps, TM6 (departure card).

TM7 is the form number. You can download it from immigration website.

Never been there so can't help on the directions.

Thanks, Joe! 2 out of 3 ain't bad!

How many photos, and how many copies of the photo page, visa page, stamps and TM6?

Could download the form but my printer's gone to God...

Hi, my first time around trying to get the 30 day extension to a double entry tourist visa. So, a couple of questions and I hope someone can help.

1) Other than my passport and 1900 baht, will I need to take anything with me such as photos?

2) What is the number of the form required? Is it the T.M. 8? (I'd just like to be able to check in case someone hands me the wrong one.)

3) How the heck do you get there? Immigration does have a map http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en/ba...?page=location# but it doesn't seem all that accurate. Right angles? In Bangkok? I've tried comparing it to Google Earth, but... Looks like it could be west on Sathorn Tai, then a left onto Soi Sathorn 3 and keep going until it turns in Soi Suan Phlu, is that about right?

It looks walkable from Lumphini subway station, only about a mile (1.6km), but is it actually possible to do so, i.e. are there actual sidewalks if following the route above?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can clear up these details.

Edit: After playing "spot the L-shaped building" on Google Earth, based on what's on the Immy website, I think I found it, but can someone confirm it's the one about dead center and at the coordinates given on the lower left.

This is not a crack down and is not official policy. It is information that the "immigration checkpoint Nong Kai" posted (see bottom right corner of sign).

Noted, although I'm inclined to think that the location may have been appended simply because Nong Khai was the place of distribution of the notice. I don't believe it's too much of a leap to think there's some degree of coordination between Nong Khai Immigration as a primary point of departure to Laos and the Royal Thai Consulate in Vientiane, lately a magnet (nay, a hub) for this sort of visa run.

Arrived back yesterday from Vientiane. Double entry TV problem.

Some European country cannot have double entry, some like Italy France Holland so is not right that all can have the double.

Then i put a pic whit a new law order, was on the windows in the border office when i arrived,

ciao

This is the first post I have seen of them restricting a European country to a single entry.

I don't think I would call it a law order.

You will notice it says requested. It also says nearest which means to me that it can still be a nearby consulate to get a visa.

The countries on the list are the 36 countries mentioned in the 30/15 notice.

True that it does say "Requested", but without seeing the original Thai it's hard to be sure if they really meant "Request" or "Required".

Also the context of the phrase "apply for visa at the Royal Thai Embassy / Consulate in their country or nearest" likely means the country nearest to the traveler's home country, particularly if their country has no Thai representative, and not another South-East Asian country nearest to Thailand or Laos.

There are 37 countries listed on the sign kindly posted. The latest revision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website http://www.mfa.go.th/web/2482.php?id=2490 list 42 countries. Removing from the latter list three nations which receive special consideration under bilateral agreement (Brazil, Peru and Korea) leaves 39. These other two which appear in the MFA list but not on the photo are Vietnam and Hong Kong.

If the regulation or policy which the sign photo promulgates has any teeth, apparently there was a grace period of some sort as I did apply on the 25th November for a double-entry TR tourist visa which I received on the following day. But based on the reports of others it would seem that at least a paartial crackdown (yes, another one) has started and that perhaps even single-entry TR's maybe soon be unavailable.

... Arrived in Udon at 18.00 and took the airport limo (80 baht) straight to my hotel, The Irish Clock.

Steve and Mali run a great hotel. Big rooms and big beds and very relaxed and friendly. Moreover the food is excellent, especially the farang food – fish & chips, steak & kidney pie, Sunday roasts and big breakfasts. The staff are lovely, especially the very lovely Em.

Udon Thani is a quiet place and I didn't find the ex-pats particularly friendly, not that I tried very hard to strike up conversation. There are Isaan princesses everywhere and despite the large ex-pat contingent, single farang guys still get plenty of looks and smiles. The old farang alley bars have moved to an aircraft hanger on soi Sampanthamit (the same soi as The Irish Clock and often referred to as soi Farang) called Day & Night http://www.udondayandnight.com/ Unfortunately all the bars were half empty and the girls' "Welcome" cries were a little desperate. I didn't find many girls to interest me although they were all friendly enough and there was absolutely no hassle for lady drinks.

This parallels my experience as well. Irish Clock will always be my first choice for lodgings in UTH. Wonderful value for the room, the free breakfast and the rest of their food and drinks menu, and the staff are very clued-in and friendly.

Most of the locals know Soi Sampanthamit as simply Soi Sampan. It's an easy 7 minute walk to or from the train station as well (if one is relatively unencumbered with baggage) along Prajak Sillapakom Road. Along this stretch there is one alley with a half dozen new farang bars in it, it's the home of the New (and presumably still infamous) Mister Tong's and a quaint stand-alone bar run by the bewitching Miss Fon. *sigh*

In regards to "that kind of tourism" UTH is indeed a mixed bag; less costly and less hassles, but fewer options and fewer stunners. As a destination it's an acquired taste, but if there for just a few nights whilst passing through one could make due and in effect keep the "lay" in lay-over. 'Nuff said on that topic, I think.

I would like to see the IATA certification for airport. Or even find out the expiry of the last one.

And I'd like to see some evidence that a complete and competent (read "up to Western standards") security sweep of both airports was done before they were allowed to serve passengers again. It's on public record that the PAD has munitions and there's no way to know if something was placed in the ductwork as part of a "scorched earth" strategy and forgotten.

If the liquid milk proves to be problematic after doing your research, then reconstituted powder would seem to be the only option. I'd recommend you start introducing it to the baby as soon as possible to get him or her used to it and to be sure there won't be digestive or allergy problems. If there are problems, the last place you'd want to find out about them is at cruising altitude.

There's a plaice for everyone.

Indeed. And the place for foreigners who've thoroughly bottomed out is not in Thailand. Virtually all Western democratic countries have a mechanism in place to repatriate their citizens who fall on hard times while abroad. For those whose thought process is too damaged by substance abuse to voluntarily avail themselves of this option, the authorities should step in with an appropriate mix of sternness and compassion.

Thailand is not a huge country if these people will be travelling around then they will never be very far from a border crossing just nip over and get a new stamp for another 15 days problem solved.

"Nip"? More like "slog" given that most places a tourist will likely find themselves are an hour or more from a border checkpoint. Not everyone holidays in garden spots like Nong Khai or Aranyaprathet. Double that to account for the return journey, add an hour or two in the broiling sun, the joy of standing in queues on the rare occasions that an actual queue forms, the various hustles, hassles and potential rip-offs, mediocre roads and insane van drivers... A whole day shot in other words. No, just not practical for most folks.

Does the new reg say "30 days only at airports" or does it say "15 days only at land borders". I'm struggling to recall if there are also maritime ports of entry and in turn wondering whether or not those are treated as land crossings.

do people actually listen to their government's travel advisories? if they did then no one would ever go anywhere...

Well im sure the sexpats dont, they would walk through a minefield to get to Thailand i feel

I wonder what is the actual percentage of " Sex tourist" , vs " familiy " is ? I think this activity is a large percentage of the industry and those interested in it won't be deterred by politics.

By TAT statistics, in 2007 there were 2.4 million male visitors from Europe and 1.3 million female. Allowing that 600,000 were kids or young adults, and guessing they split evenly by gender, you can say it makes 2.1 million adult male visitors and 1.0 million female adult visitors.

Taking a complete leap and saying next that all non-holiday visitors from Europe (business, convention, diplomatic and other) were male, subtract out 450,000 from the male column, and round it off to 1.6 million European males vs. 1.0 million females.

Make another assumption that a majority of the European females were traveling with a male companion... for sake of argument 80% strikes me as being about right. Take out 800,000 females and males as "couples", and it leaves 800,000 men and 200,000 women from Europe doing their own thing.

Presume that all the remaining women and a corresponding number of men are "innocent" and just looking at the pretty temples... You've got a remainder of 600,000 men presumed guilty or roughly 25% of the total of 2.6 million adult holidayers or 20% of the adult visitors overall.

Or compare that 600,000 to the hypothetical 450,000 male business, etc. travelers. It means 4:3 odds that guy with the EU or UK passport traveling alone and standing next to you in the Immigration line is a sex tourist.

Same pattern holds true for the other regions TAT defines: "The Americas" and "Oceania".

If the 600,000 stay the average of 9 days, it's 5.4 million man-days and hotel nights. Applying the same math to Europe, the Americas and Oceania combined, you get something closer to 850,000 guilty male visitors and 7.6 million man-days and hotel nights.

If they're all dropping something close to the average of 4000 baht per day on hotel, meals, beverages and entertainment... it works out to around 30 billion baht a year that sex tourists dump into the Thai economy. An impressive number to be sure, but less than 1% of the Thai GDP and no reasonable massaging of the numbers could ever make it exceed 2%.

As this is a thread about a website, and not a discussion about the Royal family, I can also confirm that the site is inaccessible.

Right, as long as people steer clear of speculation about Why the page is down, we should be ok.

The Wikipedia site isn't down. It's just that one page as far as I can tell.

These all work:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananda_Mahidol

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Kings_of_Thailand

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rama_(King_of_Thailand)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakri_dynasty

Just got a call from a buddy of mine asking me to check something.

If you try to go here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhumibol_Adulyadej

You seem to end up here if using True DSL...

http://w3.mict.go.th/

Are other True users seeing this, and are people with other ISPs seeing this?

What's the deal?