allane

From the corner of Sunthornkhosa Road and Phraram 3 (Rama 3 Road) in downtown Klongtoey, walk southwestwards on Phraram 3, taking care to stay on the northwest side of the road. You should see all kinds of stores selling all kinds of raingear.

This is a guess; I have seen the building, but never been in it. If you stand looking at the front of Hualumphong Station (facing north), then proceed northwards on the street which runs on the east side of the station. Walk up there maybe 500 metres, and there is a postal building of some sort there. I seem to remember it being on the west side of the street, adjacent to the railyards.

If you find it, you could come back here and post a reply, for the next person who wants to know.

Thu. May 6 is the day after a holiday, so the Immigration office will be crowded. Go on Fri. the 7th, as it is closed on Saturdays. You will need to the new Immigration office on Chaengwattana Road. If you wait until Mon. you will be in an overstay situation.

I am looking for an unfurnished/sparsly furnished/semi-furnished apartment in Pattaya. After many years in Bangkok, I have a lot of my own furniture, which I might bring with me.

A small, one room place would be fine. It must have cable TV, and must be within a 10 min. walk of a "scheduled" songthaew route, by which I mean the "hop on, hop off, pay 10 baht variety. I consider myself a local, and don't negotiate with songthaew drivers.

Precise contact details are not necessary at this stage; I speak Thai. If I like the look of the neighbourhood and the building, I will walk-in and talk to whoever is managing the place.

Feel free to send me a Private Mail, if you don't wish to post details in the public forum.

It is a holiday only for govt. employees, but only in Bangkok.

Not a precise answer to your question, but a possibility:

I googled "Rattakit Mansion", and found a result for allpattaya.com If you click on that, you will see a box that says "E-mail this business". If it works for you,it would be helpful if you came back here, and posted a definitive answer to your own question.

Not a precise answer to your question, but a possibility:

I googled "Rattakit Mansion", and found a result for allpattaya.com If you click on that, you will see a box that says "E-mail" this business. If it works for you,it would be helpful if you came back here, and posted a definitive answer to your own question.

Walk in and ask them. The worst that will happen is they will say "no". Remember, Wed. May 5 is a holiday, and it will be closed.

If you deposit the money before 2:00 p.m., you should see it credited at about 1:00 p.m. the next business day. (Transfers done after 2:00 p.m. are considered to have not been made until the following business day.)

Remember Monday May 3 and Wed. May 5, 2010 are both bank holidays.

Go to the Victory Monument, or Century Place (shopping centre just south of V.M., on the east side of Phayathai.) Talk to some of the van dispatchers. The guys who drive those vans are not employees, they are contractors who are paid on a "per trip" basis. If you gave them say, 24 hrs. notice, I think they could find someone to take you wherever you want to go. Sorry, but I don't know if there is an existing van route to Sakhon Nakhon.

As well as the income tax return itself, the most important part is the cash register receipt, which you would have received from the Revenue Dept. if you paid a balance owing. That cash register receipt contains your Income Tax Number, and I think, also has your name on it. (Sorry, I don't have mine with me here to verify that.) For me, that has served as "certification" that I don't owe any income tax. At my employer, they don't deduct enough tax, so I am in the position of having to pay the balance owing every March, asnd receive a cash register receipt after I have done so. I copy my tax form, with the small receipt overlain, then sign and date the photocopy. That has always been sufficient.

If your employer has remitted the full amount owing on your behalf, he must have some sort of receipt for that.

I learnt English and French as a child, but didn't use my French much from ages 20 - 40. But, it is still there when I need it, and it comes back quickly anytime that I start to use it regularly, for even a few days. I still have the accent and grammar. I sometimes forget vocabulary, but when I hear the word spoken to me, I usually recognize it, or can at least guess from the context.

I thought that I might lose my Thai when I travel outside of Thailand for a few weeks, but that isn't the case.

From Chong Nonsri BTS Station, southbound on Narathiwat Road to Phraram 3 (Rama 3) Road, then west to Thanon Tok intersection (the intersection of Phraram 3 with Charoen Krung Road).

There may be a plan to extend it across the river someday ? But I am not holding my breath waiting. As someone said above, it has taken them years to get this little project built, and it is not finished yet. And in 15 yrs., here, I have certainly seen lots of maps in the newspapers, with lots of pretty coloured lines on them. I think that a majority of the ones I saw a decade or more ago are still not operational.

Mon. May 3 (in lieu of Sat. May 1) is a holiday for private sector workers only. Govt. employees have to work on that day.

Also of note: Wed. May 5, Coronation Day, is a holiday for both private and public sector workers.

It is a Thai govt. office, so office hrs. are 8:00 - 4:30 p.m.

The only time I was there, they closed during the lunch hour, 12:00 -1:00 p.m.

I would presume standard govt. hours, which I believe are 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Mon. - Fri. Possibly Saturday mornings as well.

I assume the bus to Ekkami is quicker than to Morchit, is this correct?

Actually, I think it is faster to Morchit. Although the distance is a little more, the bus remains on the elevated expressway until it is almost at the Morchit terminal.

Going to Ekamai on the other hand, it comes down off of the expressway at Bang Na, and then proceeds through city traffic along Sukhumwit road for anywhere from 10 - 30 minutes depending on traffic conditions.

In summary: From Pattaya to Morchit: 2 hrs.

From Pattaya to Ekkamai: 2 hrs. to 2 hrs. 30 min. depending on traffic.

Using the bus only:

To Hua Lumphong from Morchit 2, use # 77 to go to any point on Phahonyothin Road, get off and board #29. It goes right in to Hua Lumphong Station.

From Ekkamai, use #25, westbound on Sukhumwit Road

If you want to use the BTS Skytrain, to speed up the trip a little:

From Morchit 2, use the #77 bus to Morchit BTS station. Get on the skytrain, but get off at Ratchathewi Station, or any station before that. Exit on the east side (left side in the direction of travel), and board the #29 bus.

From Ekkamai, board the west bound BTS at the station which is about 100 metres east of the bus station. Get off at Ploenchit or any station before that. On the south side of the road (left side,in the direction of travel), board the #25.

Notes: There may be other buses that also work, but these ones come to mind at the moment, and all offer frequent service.

I have prepared this reply in consideration of the "Red Shirt" protests currently disrupting the Ratprasong Intersection. Because of this, the #25 has had to alter its route; the above directions have taken this into consideration.

Bloomberg was on for most of the daylight hours yesterday (Apr. 13), but was switched off and replaced with that travel channel at about 7:00 p.m. Does anyone have an E-mail address for Sophon ? I think that an E-mail might be slightly more effective than a telephone call from a farang. We all know what one of those is worth.

I was in the Pattaya P.O. on Sat. Apr. 10. There is a sign on the counter saying that, in addition to the normal Songkran closure (Apr. 13 - 15), they will also be closed the 16th and 17th. So, if you were planning to put anything in the mail on those dates, get in there on Mon. the 12th.

If you take a walk through Tourist Town, you will certainly find a few places. To the best of my recollection there is Chao Phraya Bootery, on Silom Road in the Patpong area. And on Suriwong Road, you will find Tony's, at the corner of the little stub soi that leads in to the Post Office (north of the Bangkok Christian Hospital).

I am sure that these places will make you anything that you want, especially once they see the colour of your skin.

I am less familiar with the Sukhumwit portion of Tourist Town, but I am sure that there must be such places there too.

I travelled from Bkk. to Pattaya on Thu. afternoon April 8. If anything the trip was a bit faster than usual, do to there being less traffic than normal in central Bkk. It is my understanding that any roadblocks that are out there are intended to stop additional "red shirts" from coming INTO Bkk., though I think they might be smart enough to wear some other colour while enroute.

Whether you are inside or outside of Thailand, you need a written job offer to get the Non-immigrant "B" Visa. Once you have the written job offer, go to the Immigration office to have your visa changed.

Re: Your Question 2: These passport renewal questions depend on the country of origin; each country sets their own requirements. As a Canadian, I am able to renew my passport here. I pondered your Question 1 too. I just completed a discretionary trip outside of Thailand, timed to ensure that I was back before the 6 mo. final portion of my current passport. I suspect that Thailand will not let you come back in if you have less than 6 mo. remaining. I never quite understood the logic of this rule, but it is quite general I think. For whatever it is worth, in my view, 30 days longer than a standard 30 - 60 day tourist visa should be enough to ensure coverage due to any extended stay on account of illness etc.

What options is Immigration lilely to give me if I walk in and request a 1 yr. "Retirement visa", with approximately 6 mo. remaining on my current passport ?

- 1 yr. Visa, and transfer to new passport once I have it ?

- approx. 6 mo. Retirement Visa, with requirement for new "seasoning period" at the end of the 6 mo. ?

- outright refusal, with instructions to get a new pasport first, then come back ?

- other ?

I am a long-time Thai resident, presently on a Non-Immigrant "B". To the best of my knowledge, I meet all the normal requirements for a "Retirement Visa."