fiberman

As they would have had to disable the backup generators and battery backup systems to cut the power completely perhaps CAT should be looking at their own employees!!

Has he really said that one million will be in BKK or has he said will come out in protest?

I ask this because most people from outside the city cant travel and will be holding their own protests where they live.

Where I am there is one such rally being held today.

If the last one I went to look at is any indication there will probably be about a thousand there.

I will go take some more photos today.

Not many in the great scheme of things but for a small place with a red MP a reasonable indication of how people feel.

If this sort of thing happens all over the country with bigger turnouts in bigger places then the total could well be over the million.

I don't know about the rest of the country but a lot of people from our village in NST have been travelling to BKK over the last few days for the rally. If this is repeated across the country the numbers could be huge.

after the first paragraph i scrolled to the end;

Been driving in Thailand Cars and Motorcycles for almost 30 years,

no more dangerous than anywhere else as long as u dive offensiely

and

1, turn signals on don't mean there turning

2, your side can be the other persons side as well going with you or against you

"As long as you drive offensively"!!!

Bangkok Bank offer the B1ST Account with a physical card that can be used online

I have this account and the card works fine

I have a B 1st account which has always worked okay online but last week I had to renew the card and the new one doesn't work. I suspect that the bank has to authorise the card before it will work.

Would it be that difficult to print the cards in Chinese, most of them don't speak English so they haven't a clue when they do get them .

Probably a one-off and not any vast reconsideration at the KL legation of who qualifies and who doesn't.

If I was the OP, I would have grabbed (possibly) the last Multi-O from KL when it was offered. Agreed that he had probably already planned (budgeted and seasoned) for the single-entry-then-extension route of farang feudal patronage. But skipping the chance of another year with only the single KL trip versus the next 3 months and 2 trips to the local Immi to get the extension filed and ratified? Especially if the local Immi turns out to be one of those with hugely anal issues.

Good luck!

To be quite honest I probably would have considered it but I was so sure that the 12 month wouldn't be an option I didn't even have enough money with me to pay for it!! One of the problems that I have had over the years with extensions is that I do short term contracting work overseas. The jobs always happen at short notice and several times this has happened just after putting in my papers for a marriage extension and I have lost the extension by not being back in Thailand in time, thus the Multiple entry was ideal for me. Now the work is drying up and I will be packing it in in the next year or two anyway I decided it was about time to start the marriage extensions again, you never know when the 40,000 a month is going to going to be raised again and actually being in Thailand every three months means a 3 hour drive to the border which is a pain. I have also made sure that I have enough in the bank to apply for a retirement extension as an option as I can get that the same day. Worst case scenario is I go back to KL in a few months but hopefully that won't happen this time.

Fortunately my local immigration office is Nakhon Si Thammarat who are usually pretty good and I don't expect any problems when I do apply for an extension ( famous last words).

I did apply in BKK a few weeks ago for a 3 month single entry. As I posted a while ago the one item that I was not told to take with me was my wife and the application was turned down because she wasn't with me. The only option I had was to either take the whole family to BKK or go to KL for 3 days which actually worked out cheaper. The annoying thing about BKK was that they wouldn't check the rest of my paperwork so I could have dragged the wife and kids up there and still be turned down for some obscure reason. At least the documentation that KL require is fairly straightforward.

I am sure the 400k is really for multi entry - there should not be any monitory requirement for single entry other than the normal (and normally not asked) 20k of any such visa.

There seem to have been several posts over the last few months where people have been refused multiple entry with the 400,000 or have been told that it was the last time that they would get it so it would seem as though KL are trying to do away with the multiple entry. Certainly when I was there this week the guy in front of me was refused and given a single entry only although I didn't get a chance to find out any details.

As you can see from the extract from the KL website below the requirement is 400,000 Baht and only the visa fee for a single entry is shown.

2. Dependent of spouse or parent possessing Thai nationality

1. Original passport valid not less than 6 months with a copy of information page(s)
2. Visa application form duly filled out with one 4x6 cm. sized photograph (white / blue background taken within the past 6 months)
3. Original and copy of official marriage certificate (For spouse*).
4. Original and copy of official birth certificate (For children*).
5. Copy of Thai identity card (of spouse or parent).
6. Copy of Thai House registration (of spouse or parent).
7. Bank Statement with a minimum deposit of 400,000 Bath

Note:

* Documents in foreign languages must be translated into Thai or English and should be notarized by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia or applicant’s diplomatic/consular mission

**Company’s document shall be certified by authorized director with seal of the company

Visa Fee

Single: RM 220

Gratis: Malaysian, Singapore, South Korea, Tunisia (fee exempted)

As I said in my original post I only asked for a single entry so was somewhat bemused when I was told I could have a multiple. I did try to bring up the requirements on the website with the girl in the embassy but it was like talking to a plank.

Congratultions.

I believe that KL now wants to see 400,000 for a multiple instead of the previous 100,000. As you had 500,000 it was no problem.

The KL website is showing 400,000 but only the option of single entry not multiple any more.

After having read that KL will no longer issue 12 month multiple entry Non O visas I went to the embassy on Monday last and applied for a single entry. After going through my documents the girl asked me to sit down and the papers were passed to a guy sitting behind her. I sat there thinking s**t I am not even going to get a single entry but after about 15 minutes wait she called me up and said "you can have a 12 month multiple entry". My application form only requested a single entry so I don't really know why it was offered!.

I turned down the offer as I intend to apply for a 12 month extension. Tried to find out why it had been offered but having a conversation through that small hole in the perspex screen is impossible so I gave up in the end.

I noticed that a lot of applications were being passed over to the guy sitting at the back, maybe this is some new procedure because of the dodgy visa fiasco there.

The reason I suspect that I was offered the multiple is that I went totally overkill with my documentation, showing her my Thai bank account with 500,000 Baht, letter from the UK embassy showing 50,000 Baht a month plus a copy of my UK bank statement with a big wad of cash in there.

As Thai beliefs do not include a "him" upstairs I think it has more to do with "face" for the family.

Also as I understand it, the deceased is thought to be present at the funeral (in ghost form) and to therefore know what the turnout was like. So good turnout reduces risk of angering a ghost or hurting the departed's feelings.

Your probably right Sheryl, I gave up trying to understand how it all works years ago, especially as Thai Buddhism seems to be so mixed up with animism. Years ago after some trouble at our house we had problems with a ghost for about a year. Everyone who came to stay overnight saw this guy roaming around and we even had a policeman staying who pulled a gun on the ghost which promptly vanished. Never saw it myself but it was strange that everyone gave exactly the same description of him. After about 5 or 6 people had been frightened (all Thais by the way) my wife got a local holy man in and he was never seen again.

I don't know what it is like in the North but in the South you are expected to go to the funeral of any relative, it doesn't matter how distant. As my wife's extended family runs probably to several thousand she seems to average at least one a week and on a good week 3 or 4. At 500 Baht a throw it starts to work out expensive.

The thought process behind this is that if you go to the funeral then that family will be expected to come to yours and the more people at your funeral the more brownie points you get with "him" upstairs.

Is there a particular problem with grey imports (apart from possible warranty problems). Digital2Home seem to offer very good prices with their own warranties which i assume is based on grey import cameras. The camera is the same though right?

The potential problem is that with Canon or Nikon you know you are going to get it fixed correctly, with the shop they might take it to a local repair shop and you end up with a bodge job. Your only out then is to go to court which from experience could take 4 or 5 years.

I seem to remember also that a few years ago Nikon announced that they would not repair cameras unless they had been purchased in Thailand with a Nikon warranty. I don't know what Canons attitude is.

I don't know about other peoples problems with World Camera but I found them extremely helpful and not at all pushy unlike some of the other camera shops that I visited. I did buy my camera in World Camera Fortune Town by the way.

Buying grey market is probably a good option if you are not planning on staying in Thailand as you will only get a Thai warranty anyway so any repairs will have to be paid for. As I said though in my earlier post the price that I paid for my Canon in World Camera was the same as the grey market option in other shops.It would be interesting to find out where the grey market cameras come from as Thailand seem to be one of the cheapest places for cameras anyway.

Be careful, some of these shops are selling grey imports and you will have to rely on the shop for repairs, the manufacturer won't touch it. I would suggest you call World Camera for a price, they give a good discount for cash and you will get the full manufacturers warranty. I have just bought a Canon 70D combo from them which is advertised on their website for 41,900. The cash price that I paid was 38,700.

My average check in time is 15 minutes, probably around the same to get through immigration.

Coming back through immigration anywhere between 5 to 30 minutes.

Never found any price gouging, food prices are quite reasonable compared with most airports and I have had a couple of cheap purchases with electronics there.

Toilets are clean.

Try Mumbai airport if you want somewhere really bad.

Sorry forgot to mention they don't sell Marlborough ciggys, you are right it is a crap airport

I was in BKK yesterday to do the conversion to NON O marriage and the requirement is minimum 15 days. I didn't get it by the way because there was one thing that my local immigration forgot to tell me to take, the wife!!!

They will not even consider the application if your wife is not present, the girl gave me a printed list of requirements that I had never seen before which includes a letter certifying marital status before getting married in Thailand and 4 wedding photos.

My choice now is to fly the whole family to BKK as we have no one to look after the kids or go to KL and get a 3 month visa which is what I should have done in the first place I guess.

You only have to "renew" (extend, actually) once a year, not every 3 months. Every 3 months (90 days) is just submission of a half page form attesting to your address, which you can do by registered mail.

As to how much hassle the yearly extension of stay is, depends on the immigration office, those in big cities being worse due to heavy workload.

even at the worse immigration offices (which it sounds like Udon is not), the visa bit is perfectly manageable as long as you make sure to have all your things in order. What I would worry about though at age 65 is health insurance. Foreigners are not eligible for free health care in public hospitals here and you will find it difficult and expensive to get insured at that age. Do not, however, consider coming here uninsured. If you cannot get insurance then "self insure" for not less than 5 million baht.

Also may need to take steps to avoid becoming ineligible under the NHS in the UK as a result of living abroad.

There is a bill I believe about to go through parliament which will give expats with 10 years or more NI stamps the right to use the NHS. Of course you still have to get back to the UK first!!

If you go to Apple they will just exchange for a new one and charge you almost full price (I think it was about 11000 Baht). Alternative you may be able to get it fixed in Pantip or somewhere similar.

When it happened to me I bought a new screen from Ebay and did it myself, it is a bit of a fiddly job but not that difficult. I think I paid about 25 US for the screen. The screens usually come as a kit with glass, adhesive strips and tools If you decide to do it yourself though also order a new WiFi antenna as it almost certain that you will damage it taking the old screen off. There are numerous videos on Youtube showing how to replace the glass and the easy way to replace the WiFi aerial. If you have bent any of the corners you will have to make sure they are straightened, the glass is very thin and any pressure on a lip from the damage will crack it.

Lloyds bank send cards to Thailand if you have your address in Thailand registered with them. It's a total ripoff mind you, they charge 30 quid to send DHL who because they don't deliver in rural areas stick it in the post from Bangkok making the whole exercise pointless! They always send PIN numbers by separate mail.

I have been using an old True dish which has been giving me nothing but hassle, so yesterday I changed over to my 2m dish. I now get perfect reception of all channels and also get all of the HD channels which I couldn't get before. I had read a while ago that there was a possible polarity problem but was unable to get any more information and intended getting an installer in to check the dish.

I should ad that the last time I tried the 2m dish I could hardly get anything so I suspect that GMM are still playing around with the different satellite feeds. If it stays as is I shall be well please, the HD quality is excellent.

I have just bought the GMMZ HD box, 2999Baht which includes a year of free programming. This includes several HD channels but not unfortunately Fox Movies HD and a couple of others. GMMZ have just started a gold and platinum option (www.gmmz.tv ) so I will have to get my wife to call them to see if it's possible to upgrade to the movie and extra sports channels. The HD quality seems very good so it is probably worthwhile paying the extra. The package includes Sky and Fox news but for some reason the quality of these 2 channels is extremely bad. I am going to get someone in to check the alignment of the dish as the signal strength is good but the signal quality is only around 60% against 93% for the remaining channels.

These new channels you mention are still in the test phase,that might be why they aren't as good at present.

You could be right although they do seem to have sorted the other channels which were bad a couple of weeks ago.It's annoying as I quite like Sky news. I need to get my dish checked anyway though, it is a Truevisions which I gave up about 5 years ago and haven't used since so it might be an LNB problem. On the old GMMZ site there was an FAQ about the polarity of the LNB which I couldn't remember the details and is now unfortunately gone now they have revamped the site.

It would be nice if GMMZ provided an English web site, especially as Google can't translate as most of it is in graphics format.

Google Narathiwat and bomb and then decide for yourself. Bombing in the deep south are almost daily occurrences so you have to decide if you want to take the risk.

I have just bought the GMMZ HD box, 2999Baht which includes a year of free programming. This includes several HD channels but not unfortunately Fox Movies HD and a couple of others. GMMZ have just started a gold and platinum option (www.gmmz.tv ) so I will have to get my wife to call them to see if it's possible to upgrade to the movie and extra sports channels. The HD quality seems very good so it is probably worthwhile paying the extra. The package includes Sky and Fox news but for some reason the quality of these 2 channels is extremely bad. I am going to get someone in to check the alignment of the dish as the signal strength is good but the signal quality is only around 60% against 93% for the remaining channels.

I have used the Thai manufactured IJ Photo paper for several years and have no problems with it. Ideally you should have a profile made for the paper and printer that you are using but even using the default Epson profiles the results are still acceptable.

I use an Epson L800 by the way which is probably the best investment that I have ever made, the quality of the photo prints being very good and certainly the cheapest inkwise on the market. The only difference between the L800 and the L200 as far as I am aware is that the L800 is 6 colour whereas the L200 4 colour .

At the Sadao checkpoint (Thai side) there is a car park which is free, I don't know if there would be any problems leaving the car for several days but it would probably be okay. The car park is on the entry side of the checkpoint but you can drive across after passport control.

There is also a car park at the duty free between the Thai and Malaysian border posts but this is chargeable and you could have problems leaving a car for several days. The last time I was there it was packed solid, the reason I was told was that the Malaysians now leave their cars there overnight. It took me nearly an hour to find a parking space whereas when I have been there on previous occasions it was always half empty.

The only long term car park that I know of in Hat Yai is at the airport, you could park there and get a taxi/bus to the border.

Colombo airport is very small, just a few duty free shops and a couple of restaurants, at least one of which supplies alcohol. If your stopover is longer than 8 hours then Sri Lankan usually put you up in a hotel.

I seem to remember there was a place there to have a shower but it's been a couple of years. The last time I was there security was a lot more stringent and we had to go downstairs and queue to go through the security check which was an absolute zoo so watch out for this and don't leave it late.

I always found the Sri Lankan flights very good, modern aircraft, okay food etc.