theoldgit

Just be aware of one important thing with the turnstiles on the Skytrain, if you are carrying bags or luggage hold them up as you walk through the turnstiles. If you carry bags in front of you they trip the switch and close the gates pretty quickly - can be pretty painful (spoken with a high pitched voice)

Thongor Police Station seems to have a bit of a reputation, BKK James has mentioned it a couple of times.

I needed to go there to make a complaint, not about the police, I mentioned it to a friend who happens to be a Police Sergeant there, she advised me to never go there without a lawyer, I was pretty amazed by that statement but took her advice.

I've noticed recently that I'm losing my temper over little things that get my knickers in a twist. People not knowing how to do their jobs, or some over officious little plonker that can interpret a rule several ways but decides to do the way that will make the most trouble for me (just today). How do you keep your cool?

I'm almost at the point of getting medication because I'm losing it daily, with shopkeepers, the wife, at work, people dithering,

Thanks for posting this, I was begining to think it was only me that had this problem.

Thanks for the helpful reply. Will the signs and announcements be in English? Can you get a smartpass at any of the stations?

The Skytrain is very user friendly, and yes the signs are in English. You can get the smartpasses at any station, you can get the regular pass which just loads the fare and deducts the fare at the standard rate, no cheaper but convienient. If you are going to travel frequently you can get a 30 day pass which you can load with the number of trips you are going to make, these are slightly cheaper. By the way you swipe the smartpass, you only insert the single use tickets.

Never tried the busses, apart from my local one which costs 5.50 Baht, they always look too crowded for me, though I might start as I get more confident.

Agree never had a problem getting large items delivered free, you normally have to draw them a map, even had one item that beat me home.

BTS: go to a station and look at the signs. It is very idiot-proof, however, that may not be necessarily true in your case.

Buses: Get on and pay your fare. No need to ever get off.

Refrigerator: the only way to get a refrigerator home is to carry it on your back. No company will ever deliver a refrigerator for you, anywhere in the world.

It amazes me the lengths that people go to be <deleted>. Thanks for your valued input setbkk.

Par for the course with a few Thai Visa members I'm afraid, you do normally get some decent advice on this forum, but then you get idiots like this, and it's only his second post.

Playing devils advocate here, correct me if I'm wrong but the in circumstances such as your regulations allow you to be re-routed, stay in a hotel or get a refund, the choice is yours.

You were offerred and accepted an alternative flight with Thai, though I presume this would have been in economy rather than elite, so you got to your destination on a direct flight. OK you had to jump through hoops to get your flight and with Eva seemingly abandoning you, it must have been very frustrating, but you did get to Bangkok.

I find it suprising that Eva only sent you an email and didn't bother to call you on the number they had, did many more passengers turn up for this flight?

I did notice that there were very few dvd's on sale in MBK when I went there last week.

her visa is a multi, so she could return again before her visa expires on 1 oct 2010, and she would then not be allowed to return until may 1 2011, 12 months from her last 6th visa.... am i right?

No, the guidance is that she should only spend six months in the UK in a twelve month period, so as 7by7 says the clock would start when she entered the UK and she shouldn't spend more than six months in the12 months from that date.

She can apply for another visa as soon as the other one expires, or even before, but of course the longer she spends in the UK the more it makes the ECO suspect that she is trying to circumnavigate the system by attempting to use a tourist visa to spend much of her time there. Of course in every application for a tourist visa she will need to convince an ECO that she will leave the UK, and that might become increasing difficult the longer she spends away from home, does she have a job?

Yep she can do the later, she cannot remain in the UK after the visa expires which, in her case is six months after the issue date.

Without being alarmist you both need to bear in mind that she can still be denied entry into the UK even with a visa. It would be very rare for it to happen as the IO at the point of entry would need to convince a superior that the visa was fraudulently obtained or there had been a material change in circumstances. As I say very rare, but if your girlfriend had been in the UK for two months and was seeking to enter for a further two months they might consider that it warranted some further checking.

i know of plenty jobs here in uk that allow you to have unpaid leave , my job allows me 12 months if i wished

But still pretty unusual, I imagine that's why the ECO checked.

Yes the six month clock starts from the issue date of the visa, she cannot remain in the UK six months after the visa was issued.

Can you please change your ThaiVisa profile.

Your member title should now be Honorary Consul Member.

Give him a chance, he hasn't taken up post yet.

Out of curiosity how did you get the job?

Did the British Embassy approach you or was the position advertized?

Probably one of the posts you wont answer?

Certainly the position was advertised by the British Embassy and whilst it's not unusual for individuals to be invited to apply for certain positions I don't know if this happened in Howard's case. I do know that they did carry out a pretty vigorous and transparent recruitment campaign.

I have never met you Howard, though I have looked out for you on Walking Street when we have visited Pattaya, I wish you every success with your appointment, from what I have seen of you are a realist and I think you will do well.

I don't know what "Agent" told you that you need to supply phone records indicating that you have spent at least two minutes on the phone from a land land, that's a ridiculous statement and not one that a qualified advisor would give. ECO's realists and they are fully aware of the onset of cheaper phone methods, as others have said you can use Skype and can get phone records and with the cheap rate numbers, if these appear on you phone bill you can submit those and explain in your covering letter.

Subsequent visas would only be easier because it has shown the applicant has complied with a previous visa but, has already has been pointed out, each application is treated on merit and must show the current position so all the papers must be submitted.

Six hundred quid to fill out a form, I'm in the wrong <deleted> job.

now she wont be able travel anywhere in the next 10 YEARS

Not quite. Being refused a UK visa under Para 320(7A) does not mean she will now be refused a visa or entry to every other country. It is up to the country concerned.

Yes, if your Sister in Law can prove the letter was not fraudulently obtained then she should appeal. She needs to provide compelling evidence as you did say that the ECO investigated the validity of the letter, that may only have been a phone call but they wouldn't have done that unless there was something that aroused their suspicion.

7by7 is correct in saying that the ban only affects the UK, though she will have to declare it should wish to apply for a visa in most, if not all, other countries.

Whatever she decides to do, good luck.

^^^

You can submit the application from the UK but it will only save you a few days because, as has already been pointed out, the applicant still needs to go to Regent House to submit the hard copy of the application together with the supporting documents and to have their biometric details taken.

Anybody know if and where I can update maps for my GPS, the current ones are listed as being 2007?

Which map(s) do you have installed now? Tools/Settings/Map/Map Info should get you a list of the maps installed.

Thailand StreetMap v8.10 NT [English]

I have had no problem using my Kasikorn atm to withdraw cash and make purchases in the UK and mainland Europe, not sure about the fees but I remember thinking at the time they were reasonable..

I have always got Euros, GB Pounds and US Dollars on demand at Suvarnabhumi, not sure what the air ticket requirement was, suspect is was a rule made up on the hoof.

Thanks chaps

Not really very GPS literate, hope somebody can help me.

A friend has given me the co-ordinates to his house to six decimal points but my Nuvi only seems to have five so rounds it up. So 13.***476N becomes 13.***48 and 100.***941E becomes 100.***95E, not really sure how accurate these things are so would the five decimal points get me there?

Anybody know if and where I can update maps for my GPS, the current ones are listed as being 2007?

Thanks

Not sure where you got that information, your girlfriend (remember she applies, not you) doesn't have to wait for 12 months from the issue of a tourist visa before she can make another application.

There is no rule saying that she needs to be out of the UK for six months before she can return, though she would normally only be permitted to stay in the UK for six out of twelve months.

She can apply whenever she likes, but of course she needs to satisfy the ECO on each application that the visit is genuine and that she will return at the end of the proposed trip.

I have only needed to do the 90 day reporting twice, both times in Bangkok.

When I exited the country a couple of weeks later I left the reporting receipt in my passport and the IO pushed it back without looking at it, so the next time I left the country after doing a 90 day report I kept the receipt in my pocket, I was stamped out without asking to see my 90 day report.

I just wondered if anybody had been asked for their 90 day report when leaving the country?

I'd imagine it has something to do with the facts that:

--Thais traditionally drink cheap beer and cheap whisky, and often even homemade...

--Thus the Thai beverage conglomerates make their money on cheap beer and whisky...

--Whereas wine has been a mostly niche/expat thing subject to import duties that help protect and preserve the alcoholic beverages market dominated by Thai beer and whisky concerns...

--And, from what I gather, only relatively small areas of Thailand have a suitable environment for growing wine grapes, being the cooler mountain area around Khao Yai.

--Plus, I'm sure, some other reasons as well....

So nothing to do with the health of the Thai people then??

I have found the Mont Clair to be perfectly acceptable and usually keep one of the boxes of the white in the fridge, ok I wouldn't serve for a gourmet meal but needs must.

Does anybody know the reasoning behind the high taxes for wine, given that you could buy two or three bottles of Thai "whiskey" for the same price of one bottle of wine?

Pretty sure you can, have a read of this recent thread, some people say it's far easier in Hong Kong. Some travel and visa agents will do it for you I believe.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/223068-china-visa-update/page__hl__china+visa+bangkok