stbkk

These should be easy wins for England, if not they don't deserve to go to Brazil, I do wish he would finish with these older players, where's the future in that?

Here is a good stream, direct to ITV CH7 will be in Thai I guess

http://www.fancystreems.com/itv-1-uk-stream.php

Ignore the yellow bar asking you to install HD

Thanks, I may try that, but I usually just watch on the big tv with my sound turned down if its in Thai.

Helps me nod off if its the normal level of performance by England

You have to hope there will be some extra creativity in there.

Wilshire, Townsend whoever.

I personally would put them both in, and trust in the defence to do its job against what looks like a makeshoft opposition attack.

We do HAVE to win, after all....

Brilliant, thanks.

just hope its worth staying up for....

Thanks.

Does anybody know if the streaming works here, please?

Hi all,

Does anybody know if the England game will be on live TV (True, CTH, Local) tonight, please?

Thanks!

Steve

I don't think that's correct.

From what I understand they ALL need to say British, not English.

For information, my PR was one of the big block approved last year (2006 applicant), and my PR book, Police book and Tabian baan all say British already. So if I am a typical example, it might not be a problem for many of the new PR's.

However, for some reason my work permit says English, so I need to get that changed. Maybe because I have had that for years, before all of this raised its head.

Thailand has a pretty easy retirement visa policy but it is very conditional, one year at a time with NO PATH whatsoever to any increase in residence status EVER. Also, that is not likely to change.

So for those seeking more residence security in retirement, indeed PERMANENT RESIDENCE and even the option for citizenship -- there are some other options in the world that do offer that. Perhaps the best program for that is ECUADOR.

In case your are skeptical, when applying for expat retirement status in Ecuador it is an IMMIGRANT visa, not a non-immigrant one.

In my view, people considering retirement in Thailand are very wise to examine the pros and the cons, and the lack of long term residence security here is definitely a con.

Excellent post. Long term is always a concern...but the advantages outweigh the concerns.

This seems to identify the main issue from my point of view.

The general administration currently for retirement extensions and 90 day reporting usually do not seem to cause any problems for most people, although as with everything there are always exceptions.

But as Jingthing states above, there is currently no long-term security with this, just 12 months at a time. If this will change in the future (for better or worse!), who knows.

I'd suggest you re-evaluate nearer the time of your likely arrival, based on what may well be different options than today.

I'm very lucky that this doesn't affect me at all, but I have got a huge amount of sympathy for those of you it does.

It must be very worrying, to say the least.

Has anybody been able to get any sort of proper explanation (i.e not speculation from a friend) of what is going on from Hull/elsewhere, or if the policy is going to be applied elsewhere?

Oh right.

Doesn't one have undergo extortion from government officials to get it. From reports I've read on here they have to pay, what's the flowered up cutsie term that doesn't make it sound like illegal extortion from corrupt government officials again, Tea-Money right?

No thanks, I still have my soul.

What makes you think you have to pay tea money? No one I know who has PR paid anything but the official fees.

I know of 2 people who did pay tea money, but both of them applied using lawyers. Of course there is no way of knowing where the money ended up eventually, it could easily of stayed in the lawyers pocket.

I personally did not pay anything apart from the official fees, but I did everything myself. From my limited experience (myself + 1 personal friend), not using a lawyer seems to ensure you only pay the official fees.

Permanent resident or otherwise called Thangdau is totally totally useless in this country and moreover it is not even recognized in the banks if you want to open an account. Its basically like having a one year long visa.

There are seriously no other benefits after putting up so much money and efforts to get it.

It happened to me many times with different banks scb and bbl they actually asked me what is thangdau? And they didnt let me open an account until I showed them a copy of work permit. So I was thinking myself, is it better to just have work permit alone?

The immigration policy have to change the benefits of having thangdau and they should circulate a message to every banks and government organizations to create an awareness about what it is and why it is superior then just a work permit.

Last but not least, pr should be allowed to work and do everything as a citizen except voting rights..,

I hope the immigration authorities gets to read my message... thanks.,,

It's more for the peace of mind I guess, that you can't be kicked out of country. Otherwise, not much benefits. For opening a bank account, you should have shown them your tabian baan, that's supposed to be an address proof in lieu of work permit. They only want to see your work permit coz it's used as a proof of address. The most common proofs of address in thailand are tabien baan and the work permit. Residence certificate nobody hardly knows about.

I agree. Peace of mind is about the only reason for me.

If you are on one of the other types of visa/permission to stay, (work permit, marriage, retirement) as soon as you no longer qualify (e.g lose job, get divorced, no longer have the 800k), thats it. Off you go. The very same day according to my understanding.

Financially there is no comparison, pr will probably never be justifiable on pure baht terms. Even the annual re-entry permit costs more when you have PR!

But, if I lose my job, I can just sit by the pool with no worries until I find another one.

You can buy cheap fishing gear here, remember the fish here are huge and immensely strong, I have seen quite a few rods snap under the pressure, in my opinion bait runners are a must so are good quality rods, as for line I always use power pro braid, it's thin and virtually has no stretch, quality gear is not cheap, buying cheap gear will end in disaster!!

Very valid point.

How often do you get the chance to land 40kg+ fish, and do you want to risk losing a fish of this size because you have saved some money?

As the saying goes, you pays your money, and you takes your choice.

At Bungsamran you can rent a rod and reel for 600 baht (If I remember rightly) which will be up to the job, if slightly less than brand new, just remember to check the last 10-20 yards of line for wear.

7seas is also a bit more expensive than most of the other shops in town. However, they do have a huge range of stuff, and its mainly all name brands.

I've not been able to find such a good selection of quality gear anywhere else.

Also, I've just bought a few lures at my local shop in On-Nut, and having checked the 7Seas web-site found they were actually a few baht cheaper there! So on some things they are competitive.

It all depends on how much money you have, and if you have the time and inclination to look around and compare prices, I guess. Remember that travellling around Bangkok costs both time (a lot!) and money (not so much!), so in the end it may not be worth the effort, unless you are making a big saving somewhere else.

Why is it going to cost you 4500 bht? If you have a Thai driving licence or work permit you will only pay 400 bht for a days fishing, obviously more if you do not have your own gear!

I will be coming from Europe and it will be my first time in Thailand. So I don't have neither work permit nor Thai driving license.

2.000 Bht just for entry

800 for bungalow

1.000 for a guide (Because this is my first time in BSR)

600 for equipment (I'm hesitating to bring my own equipment from here to there, just for a one day of fishing)

250 for baits

+____

4.650 THB

Unfortunately.

If money is really tight, I'd skip the bungalow and fish from the main walkway.

Plus if you do fish from the bungalows you really do need a guide, all the big fish will head for the bungalows, once underneath the fish will be almost impossible to land, the guide will go under to release!!

The walkways are great, there's always lots of action going on, and everybody is really friendly.

Also, when you have finalised the date you are going, why don't you post it here? Maybe one of the readers will invite you to join them?

Why is it going to cost you 4500 bht? If you have a Thai driving licence or work permit you will only pay 400 bht for a days fishing, obviously more if you do not have your own gear!

I will be coming from Europe and it will be my first time in Thailand. So I don't have neither work permit nor Thai driving license.

2.000 Bht just for entry

800 for bungalow

1.000 for a guide (Because this is my first time in BSR)

600 for equipment (I'm hesitating to bring my own equipment from here to there, just for a one day of fishing)

250 for baits

+____

4.650 THB

Unfortunately.

If money is really tight, I'd skip the bungalow and fish from the main walkway.

BSR has a very wide selection, with lots of international names which you will be familiar with.

You will almost certainly be able to get everything you need in one place there.

However, they are more expensive than most of the other smaller places, which also usually do not have such a big selection of brand name items.

Just as an example, I recently bought a Shimano Baitrunner D from a local tackle shop in On-Nut for 5,300, compared to 6,100 on the BSR web site. No inconvenience for me though, as I live close to On-Nut and go to BSR regularly, so its easy to check and compare.

Thanks a lot.

Yes i need to find those brands with the lowest possible prices.

Your Shimano Baitrunner D is 8000D, 12000D or what?

I mean, its because that i want to compare the price difference between Europe and Bangkok.

Hope you land the biggest ones with your new stuff by the way.

Thanks again.

It was an 8000D. Worked well at the week-end at BSR, biggest Mekong was close to 40kg, according to some 'expert on-lookers'!

Completely off the topic, some guy landed one that was absolutely HUGE just up from me. Must have been unusual, as I couldn't get too close because of the excited observers, including many of the local regulars. It must have been close to 2m long. There were 3 adults kneeling behind it for photo's, and still the head and tail were sticking out!

BSR has a very wide selection, with lots of international names which you will be familiar with.

You will almost certainly be able to get everything you need in one place there.

However, they are more expensive than most of the other smaller places, which also usually do not have such a big selection of brand name items.

Just as an example, I recently bought a Shimano Baitrunner D from a local tackle shop in On-Nut for 5,300, compared to 6,100 on the BSR web site. No inconvenience for me though, as I live close to On-Nut and go to BSR regularly, so its easy to check and compare.

Any hospital will do

Can regular clinics do it too?

Yes, as long as there is a real doctor working there. When the doctor fills out the form, he will have to fill in his medical license number. That is the most important point of the exercise - aside from not having any of the mentioned diseases.

I just did mine yesterday at one of the skin clinics at a local mall for fifty baht. It took about ten minutes. No tests necessary.

Hmm. Interesting. Lots of other threads saying you must have a blood test for syphillis... I'd like to know if this certificate was accepted as OK, if you could update us, please!

Any hospital will do

Can regular clinics do it too?

No idea, but I did mine at Sukhumvit Hospital near Ekamai BTS station a few months ago. Cost was a few hundred baht, and it took about 1.5 hours (mainly for the blood test results to come back).

Had a day fishing there myself on Saturday, and here's a tip if you hire a rod.

The hire rods and reels are fine, even though they are all getting on a bit.

But beware, we had two line breaks before checking the line and finding the last 20-30 feet was well worn. Once I'd cut off that lot, all was well, and no more trouble.

Worth checking before you start!

Have a good time!

The farang price increase to B2000 is updated in their website. Guess I won't be fishing there anymore. But I'm sure they don't care if some of us stop fishing there.

Stupidity in the extreme, it's just being greedy!! I hope this fishing venue now struggles and goes out of business!!

Cost of fishing for Thai people : 400 THB/1 Rod (for the rod yourself).

Cost of fishing for foreign : 2,000 THB/1 Rod (for the rod yourself).

Cost of fishing for permits foreigners working in Thailand 500 THB/1 Rod (for the rod yourself).

Rent 600 THB /1 Rod (a deposit of 1,000 THB).

Guide (Assistant fishing) 1,000 THB.

Bait Set about 250 THB set, Lam Bag 500 THB.

Unbelievable!!

Well, like all of us foreigners over here, I hate the dual pricing.

However, I've just come back from my first ever trip to BSR with my two kids, and all three of us really enjoyed the day.

Not having any experience of fishing here, we had a guide for the day, rented a rod and everything else, and the total was 2540 baht for all three of us, including refilling our bait bowl once (we took it in turns on a single rod). We caught some great fish, and I thought it was a reasonable price for what is obviously a top of the range facility (as shown on international tv programs!). If you don't need a guide and have your own gear, bring your own bait etc., I guess it works out to 400-500 a day?

OK, so I live here and got the local prices but I understand that in the USA some states have 'dual pricing' (state residents paying less than tourists), which is in effect the same. I still don't agree with it personally, but I can at least follow their logic.

If you want a real example of a scam, try getting the locals price at a national park. I have permanent residence in Thailand, and that still isn't good enough. Last time I tried the girl laughed and said come back when you have a Thai passport! And those places are run by the government.

One point is that on applying for citizenship you apparently have to provide a letter confirming your intention to renounce your exisitng citizenship if/when granted Thai nationality. I've no idea if this is enforcable or not, of course.

This seems to be quite a new requirement, and for me certainly is a show stopper, so I'll be staying a pr thanks.

When I was at CW at the end of October last year there were notices posted about the on-line service for re-entry permits.

While I was reading the notice a gentleman came up to me and said he'd tried it and got an error, so he'd come in person!

It would seem that the site has been 'broken' for a few months now at least.

I am not an expert on this matter but I am led to believe that once PR has lapsed, on most occasions it must be newly applied for again. I can think of 3 cases like this. It was difficult, although not as difficult as the initial application and expensive!

My PR was approved recently, and at the book handing over ceremony the immigration lady was very clear that if you let your PR lapse, you must re-apply again from scratch. She said there were no exceptions to this, and several people who had challenged it in court had lost.

I am from the 2007 batch and still waiting approval

Have you been in touch with immigration about it?

I never actually received a letter because after reading the posts on here I contacted them directly, and was given an appointment to come in and finish the process.

Maybe they would have sent one anyway, but I'd say its worth a call to find out whats happening. They are always very friendly and helpful in my experience.

I read on the Camerate's thread that new minister has started signing the 2009 batch so you maybe in luck soon I guess. Just keep checking your mail at your given address on PR application. Once you get the approval letter, don't forget to come here and post. Hopefully the good news will be coming soon.

On the other hand, it's highly unlikely that minister will disapprove an application once it has been approved from all other concerned authorities. The Signature is just a formality. And about 2006/07, as per camerata's thread, whole batch has been cleared.

I thought I also had read somewhere that the whole batch of 2006/07 had been cleared, but I wasn't sure whether that means they had all been approved, or just that they had all received final decisions one way or the other. Would you happen to know which way was meant? (and thanks)

When I applied (in 2006), they more or less told me straight that if your application was not going to succeed they would tell you after the first look at the paperwork, and suggest you did not proceed any further to avoid wasting more time and money.

I've never heard personally (or more importantly, seen on here) of anybody who was not approved once the paper trail had got properly under way.

Having waited myself since 2006 I completely understand and sympathise with your nerves, though!

But from personal experience, just sit tight and it will happen... Mine and a lot of others took nearly 6 years, but it appeared in the end!