unbiasbob

We often stay at the Concorde. Stumbled on it via a blind net booking a few years back and I guess it stuck. It's a short walk from MRT and a decent price (depending on one's views) if booked ahead on the net. Food is so/so really but the rooms are fine for around 90-128 S$. (fluctuates/seasons/net booking sources)

What really hooked me is the first time we arrived, they put us in what looked at first like your avg entry. Then, after the 'bell hop' left, I was startled to find other doors...one leading to a separate 'living room'. Also, the bedroom was elevated and had a sitting area on a lower level in an alcove, an insuite sauna and really above my expectations at the price. Add 100% for rack rate walkin tho and better hunt n peck the various net offerings prior to- quite a bit of variance out there

I checked out the site. Sounds like the best and most convenient deal yet. I'm going with it. thanks, Bob

First off, Thank You Elvis.

Hopefully, Immigration will do the right thing and act on this... afterall, they have been provided information on an illegal activity.

Call me crazy, but why not shut down the operation BEFORE foreigners (who aren't members of thaivisa) unknowningly get into trouble with a bogus visa. Why only spout off about what they will do to the users of the service and not the providers?? Very akin to letting drug dealers off and only going after the users.

so you are saying that it's imm's obligation to shut down every fly by night visa scam that comes along? please give me and imm a break

disagree. people falling for this stuff are equivalent of people falling for spam scam

YMCA of Singapore

YMCA International House,

1 Orchard Road,

Singapore 238824;

Tel: 336 6000;

Fax: 337 3140, 336 803;

E-mail: hostel@ymcasin. org.sg;

Web site: http://www.ymca.org.sg

** (126) US$ 44-67

**********

I still would recommend the YMCA Hostel

- the Standard of a Mid Range Hotel

Roger

thank u roger

Thank you for that Axel. Can the train just be taken to one of these hotels?

Elvis, positively outstanding work on your part. I was rather amazed that anyone was falling for that scam but based on the posts , they were. "fancy a cruise"? gimme a break. change that to "fancy some jail time"? It was the most bogus visa run concept I ever heard about. It reminded me of the scam spam you used to get thank linked you to a web page (similar to the cruise page) where they tried to get your credit card info

i went to singapore for my last visa run. it was a pleasurable experience. stayed in the mackenzie hostel in little india in a double room for $S40 a night. the enbassy was fine. all i gave them was a letter from my school and i got a 90 day single entry non-imm B. the letter was printed in black and white and was barely legible because the school said their printer was broken. i thought there would be a problem, but there wasn't. I also had copies of the schools documents, but I didn't need to show them, only the letter. so it was quite easy.

expensive though. but we had a great time in singapore for four days. could have probably stayed longer. originally, we had planned to only go for three days - arrive at the airport and go straight to the embassy, the schedule of air asia didn't let us do that though.

Hey there Darth, I'm heading to Singapore in Oct for 1 night. just curious about these hostels, do they have a foul odor in the room? Can you describe a hostel as I've never stayed in one. I must say that the prospect of staying in little india does not sound too appetizing. Is it possible to stay in a decent hotel for $100-$200 sing buckos? it's only one nite but i don't want it to be a nite mare. what about the airport? can someone stay in the secure section and not pass customs till the following day? I'm just cruising there for a border cross

How can this put things in perspective?  You all can talk as much as you want about the 10,000 baht being the "equivalent of" $10,000 and $100,000 in a group BUT the whole point is that it isn't $10,000/£100,000 is it! It is merely $250/$2,500 in all. What is this if you are wanting to live in a country that is not yours as a tourist?  If you dont have the money go home and earn some and then come back. Failing that, I suppose you all could rob some tourists with money now, just wait at the border crossings and join the Thai robbers that you all are so worried about!

Falcon

Lets say this very slowly and careful so you finally get the point.

Yes it is ONLY 10000B to us ( 1 person ) but it is A MONTHS WAGES to potential robbers.

Multiply that up for a minivan, 8 people - 80,000B. That can be an entire familys' income for a YEAR Imagine the incentive for some country bumpkin to get rich quick.

Now do you see why people are reluctant to carry that amount of cash? It is not the problem of having the money it is the increased risk involved of carrying it.

let's not lose ourselves here. just b/c it may be a months pay for some thais does not make it a lot of cash. 10,000 bt is a bottle of wine to others so keep perspective

Why not going to ask them?

Are you on overstay now?

But maybe you can overstay for 10 days if you plan to leave after these 10 days (just don't carry your passport with you, just keep a copy of the first page in case you have a police check).

not good advice. never overstay

The link works for me but here it is for everyone else.

Phala Beach Cruises Co. Ltd. introduces:

Visarun in 6 hours

Every Friday. Pick-up 11:00 am at Foodland, central Pattaya and back at 17:00 pm.  Transfer to the Yacht, cruise in International Waters, all you can eat BBQ and softdrinks included.  Immigration will stamp your passport on the boat.

2950 Baht All-in.    Deadline Wednesday evening.  2 Copies of your passport required on booking (foto-page, current visa-page and TM card)   

Immigration will stamp your passport on the boat.    ???  So, you go out into international waters float around for a while then come back in and the friendly immigration man along for the ride will stamp you out and back in.  It sounds like a good alternative to Poipet but have to be honest, it sounds really dodgy from a legal viewpoint.

It would be interesting to see how long it lasts and immigrations view on this.

Thanks for the additional info, bluebear

If Immigration official is onboard to do the stamping, then would be safe to conclude it's with Immigration's concurrence. Guess it's not so important to be actually stamped into someplace else before being re-stamped into Thailand.

Absolutely a more relaxed trip than the chaos of Poipet. Throw in a decent buffet and a chance to win back your visa expenses at the blackjack table, to boot, makes it the preferred method. Not to mention the time-savings.

Man, you are so fired up for this thing one might think you are a founder of this venture. It all sounds very unofficial and shaky. and even if it were not, what would this do to the budgets of the "live of 10k per month" crowd

can't seem to get their site to load up....

do you recall any of the details from the pamphlets?

It's hardly a site. It's a geocities type of page. what'll they think of next?

Even with my limited German Axel, it is clear that the validity period is 6 months only, and seemingly that is the maximum period, irrespective of the number of entries granted. The 6 month validity for more than one entry is prescribed by MFA regulations.

I have a non imm myself, so I don't know too much about tourist visas. But if you get to the border just before the one-year multiple entries non imm visa expires, you will be granted three more months. So actually you will get 15 months, not 12, before you have to go to Penang again.

Is this possible to do if I have a three entries tourist visa, but valid only for six months? First, I will get two months, then extension one month at immigration, two more months, one more extension and that's six months totally. But then I will travel to the border once more, the day before the visa expires. I will actually get two more months, which I can extend a last time. In total nine months. Or...?

Maybe this scenario isn't possible? I mean if three entries tourist visas are still issued or not? Actually, if it's valid for only six months doesn't matter as long as you can get to the border before it expires.

Regards,

Mike

correct me if I'm wrong anyone but I would think and I believe the Dr stated that all entries must be used within the 6 month validity period of the visa. So if you are entering Thailand a few days before the end of the visa expiry, even if it is 3rd entry on a triple, your visa would be valid for 60 more days. Then you should also be able to extend that for 30. At least that is what makes sense.

I have a multi entry tourist visa. This allows me to enter LOS four times for a duration of 60 days each time. Is it possible to extend each 60 day stay by a further 30 days and to do so does this have to be done in Bangkok or is it possible to do in Chiang Mai?

FOUR entries? I thought that three is the most one can get?

Alas, the legal period of validity of a tourist visa is still 6 months of the date of issue. With extensions it is kinda hard to even use three entries without any sort of curtailment of a stay.

Got to agree with you here, Dr, days are always getting shaved off here and there trying to cram in all the entries and extensions during that 6 month validity period. And if you have to leave the country in the middle somewhere, you toss away an entry or extension

use a credit card.

Cash, no cards, no banknotes, no atm slips, no bankbooks. Easy, just cash.

If you can't provide 20k (cash) for 3months touristvisa in Thailand, you have nothing to do in Thailand. Just check out how much a Thai need to get a visa to europe.

Got to agree with Royar on this one. 20k baht is not a lot of cash, perhaps a week expenses. the key here is to avoid getting ripped off at all costs

that's life in the big city. it's part of the cost of living here. it has to be dealt with if one wants to be in Thailand. Living here is a priviledge not a right

I had a long talk with the man in charge of immigration at Mai Sai border last week. He gave me several reasons not to be concerned with the new rules srating next month.

1) They are going to profile people. If you are poorly dressed and carry a large back pack yo will probably be asked to show the money. If you don't fit the profile you will not be asked.

2) If you have a home here they are not concerned with you as you have a place to sleep and don't require a hotel. He told me there are people crossing into Thailand with bt 400 in their pocket.

3) If you have a work permit you don't need to show any money.

If this is the case then it is clearly a good thing for everyone. I would have to personally support this effort based on this info. Thank you sansai sam for your inquisition and report.

on 2nd glance, just go to Penang. forget about everywhere else. the above poster said his gf was not allowed into HK. It aint worth it. You're on a visa run and Penang is best place for a visa run. Forget about combining business with pleasure. The guy who commented about not needing to impress is clearly right. Anyhow, this is a message board for visa advice. This is not the Lonely Planet board. If you want to find out about tourist destinations, try them

Actually that brings me to another question: I had a new passport issued as the other one was full - so I obvioulsy still have my old one. I asked my embassy if I should pay Suan Plu a visit to have my current stamp "moved" to my new passport but they said it was no problem. I jsut have to bring my old passport with me when I leave Thailand. That way I will be stamped out in the old one and in in the new one (Singapore, HK or whatever). I hope this is true?

But I am not leaving with a blank passport really as I will have my old one with me - packed with stamps.

I have heard many mixed things about Penang - some people say it is only good for one thing (visa), others say it is a nice place as well. I am obviously not a beer-bar kind of guy and maybe it is those who don't like it?

Might have a hard time convincing my gf of the glamour of Penang - she has never even heard of the place...

Bring your old passport with you anyway but nevertheless you are in the computer so they know when you came into thailand. I like your attitude for wanting to check out somewhere nice. Forget about Penang, the place is a hole. I've never been to KL but I can assure you that HK and Singapore are decent.

Penang Island is really a very nice change for a few days from Thailand and is easy on the budget. Normal visa process is in morning and back next afternoon.

One thing you may experience is close questioning at immigration if you fly out of Don Muang on a blank passport to make sure she is not leaving to engage in prostitution or under false expectations so you both should be prepared if that happens - it is not aimed at you or her. That would be one reason for me to select Penang for a first trip or to have a holiday booked with a travel agent if going to Hong Kong or Singapore.

Also Lop, those countries she may enter will do their own questioning.

Do not go to Penang if you want to make a holiday out of this trip. I'd do HK or Singapore for that

I have seen this tourist visa confusion before coming in from PP to the airport. A friend of mine (and I use this term loosely) thought he had a 3 month tourist visa that we had gotten together in PP (our first 60-day). I didn't give it any thought because I was leaving in 58 days I think. This guy got to airport imm and the guy went into a tirade when he got his 60-day stamp. It was not a pleasant sight as this dude argued with the pleasant imm dudes. I looked at the imm guy and shrugged my shoulders. Anyhow, this confusion happens because of the validity date printed on the visa. I have to admit that I get tired of hearing people say they got a 3 month or 6 month visa. All they gotta do is look at the application when they fill it out beforehand. It is true that looking at the visa itself is the cause of their confusion because it does not state 60 day. It makes you wonder if these people even read the application that they fill out and sign, obiously not

A friend of mine just sent me a phone message to tell me that he had been eating quietly in Coffee World on Silom when the police decided to raid it. As a white foreigner, he was relatively left alone, but a black American was required to produce his passport.

Now, I already know about the whole Qbar fiasco, and that's not exactly what I'm after here- I'm wondering if anyone else has recently run into these kinds of spot checks on simple restaurants/tourist spots with no connection to the bar scene? Is this a new trend, or was my friend simply unlucky at lunch today?

"Steven"

I wouldn't read into these incidents too much. It's like a guy told me once years ago, there's a reason for everything

Unbiasbob, while searching for some other topic on the thaivisa.com site I came across the following statement of you:

Just wondering what made you change your opionion by 100% within less than a half Year?

Sunny

Hahahahaha.... biasedbob getting busted once again.

Wow, you did all that research on my behalf? You make me feel so.....important. At any rate I stand by what I said back then. Only now I realize that people who fall into the category descibed (not the school teachers), are few and far between. These people have options which do not include 30 day visa runs. There is no reason to resort to those. The countless illegally employed farangs here make these visa runs in droves because it is their only solution. If someone here is under 50, unmarried and has the means to support oneself then certainly they can get by without these runs. I believe that people comfortably in this situation represent 1% or less of the farang population. Someone who manages to fall in that small group certainly has the means to avoid land border hopping. I know of a few right here on this board who do but they are rare........

hi all ,im coming to thailand in dec for 33 day visit,i know will get a 30 day tourist visa on arrival at don muang , but can i ask for/ get a 60 day instead,? or an extra 3 days upon arrival ?or do i have to apply for a 60 day in the uk first? i know i can apply for an extension at a local office in thailand, but id rather have a 33 day/60 day visa in my p/pfrom the start, thanks for any help ---andy

Apply for your 60 day in your country beforehand or get extension at imm. in bkk

I wish I had invested in that mickey mouse baht a year and a half ago when the buck was at 45. 80k usd of those would have yielded a cool 10%. I'll take that return

You would have made 35% in Euro the same time; it's the Dollar, not the Baht.

Sunny

the baht is a stable currency, a solid currency