Sporting Dog

Jeez DJ pat, you've really let yourself go of late, judging by your pic.

I've had a few problems with TG FF points - usually if I upgrade an economy ticket to business at the airport they only credit me econ. They did it again last week. I showed my card at purchase, at upgrade payment and at check-in. Last time they did I sent a letter to TG australia with the boarding pass and heard nothing again!!

So they're pretty hopeless.

But it is still WAY better than QANTAS FF Club!!!

No visas can be applied for at the embassy.

I started this topic after the fiasco at the vfs.

Well eventually my fiance missed her flight. I rang the embassy on the morning we were meant to leave, begged to speak to someone, put thru, told someone would ring me back soon. I rang back two and a half hours later, only to be told everyone was at lunch. Rang again three quarters of an hour later, told that visa hadn't been processed, told I was stupid for buying a ticket, told me not to ring again cos "how could they get any work done." She said to rebook the air ticket for a week later and baulked at giving her name but I insisted. Rescheduled the flight and jumped in a taxi to the airport. Less than 30 minutes after speaking to her, my fiance gets a call from the embassy while were going down the expressway to say her visa has been granted.

Of course we were happy that it was granted (tho' we expected that because she'd had one previously) but I just could not believe it....they were just taking the piss.

So my fiance had to come by herself the next day and of course immigration gave her grief at the airport. An officer came out to me in the concourse and asked me all sorts of questions but the killer was when she asked "well why didn't she travel with you yesterday?" I bit my tongue but I WAS ROPABLE.

The embassy is a joke and a disgrace and NOTHING will convince me otherwise....and of course all the appropriate letters are being sent to the appropriate people but I don't think they care less.

If I ever get the opportunity to support enquiries/wage cuts/investigations into the service by politicains I will be behind it 100%

Had an MRI scan at Bumrungrad Hospital 2 weeks ago...abdominal...about 14000baht in total. Even here it can take a few days to get in as its very busy (I did it at midnight). Charge will vary depending on the various trace elements they inject into you...maybe you should have an abdominal ultrasound first - cheaper (at Bumrungrad about 3500 baht, takes half an hour).

Be careful tho' - you can blow a lot of money very quickly at that place. They'll give you a 'quote' before the procedure if you ask.

Do any of you know of other schools that i might like that are currently looking for teachers that have been here for 4 years or more?

Surely you will have no problems getting a job...4 years experience & degree?

You've looked an ajarn.com?

I bought insurance in Aust...easily got from travel agents etc., easily extended (I extended the original 1 month about 10 times for a total of five months stay).

Personally I agree with the dictum "If you can't afford travel insurance, you can't afford to travel." I used the hospital system in BKK (Bumrungrad) a few times...I've only just got back to Oz so I'll see how I go getting some money back.

During my time in BKK met a couple of people who'd had accidents...the most dangerous thing in BKK are the footpaths...broken ankle/cracked elbow/facial abrasions were what I came across.

I've only flown with qantas a few times PER- SIN, business class is quite good but its too expensive...economy is bad and too expensive. Their FF club is total rubbish, attitude of staff rubbish.

I hear they are getting better but it will be a while before they aren't the carrier of last choice for me. TG is OK - too expensive economy but good value Business.

Singapore are the best value for economy, cheaper than TG, better planes and good service.

(I hope SG is let into the Australian market so QANTAS gets a boot up the arse)

From what I can gather the visa service provided by the embassy has been criticised for a long time. The fact that nothing really changes at an operational level seems to indicate a lack of will from those further up the food-chain to improve things. Call me cynical, but maybe the White Australia Policy hasn't completely died out amongst the mandarins at the Commonwealth Public Service.(particularly given the stats that thais aren't a big overstay problem).

Yeah, it's a double bill with the Rolling Stones....to make up for the concert they cancelled (on the night )in 2003...said they'd be back next year!!!

rained a fair bit here (klong toey) this morning. Been pretty hot the last few days too.

I have just had an ultrasound, gastroscopy and MRI scan at Bumrungrad (thankfully nothing major wrong)...the doctors all seem competent, as do the technical staff and the facilities/equipment are good. Of course it's difficult for a non-medico to be able to really assess the quality of care, but I have worked at a teaching hospital in Aus for a long time and they seem to be up to standard. Of course there will be mistakes/screw-ups but they happen at ALL hospitals.

I sent them a email and this is the reply that i received .

Dear MrXXXXXXX

I wish to thank you for your time to provide us the information regarding

our new services in Bangkok. On behalf of the Department of Immigration and

Multicultural and  Indigenous Affairs which committed to ensuring that all

of its clients receive an efficient standard of service, your feed back is

most appreciated as it will help us in making  the changes needed to

improve our client service.

Yours sincerely,

David Merz

First Secretary (Immigration)

DIMIA Bangkok

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Haha! I think thats a very long winded way of saying "screw you - we don't give a sh*t"

Seems a very thai way of organising a process!!

Yes that may be so BUT the Australian Govt is, at the end of the day, responsible for the situation and they are the ones who need the "boot up the date." They should ensure that the system functions adequately...and not wait until they get 'X' amount of complaints. All it takes is a few random visits to see the system is a mess....a bit of sub-contractor oversight, surely it's not that difficult a concept, even for the bureaucrats holidaying at the embassy.

The problem isn't so much the attitude of the staff - only one had the "&lt;deleted&gt; you, thats the way it is" attitude - but the system itself.

You arrive and get a number to see an enquiry officer who checks that you have filled out the form correctly and have any other documents. She puts all your stuff in a little canvas satchel and gives you an invoice for the visa fee. We waited nearly four hours to see this person - only 3 on duty, 1 dealt with tourist agents I think.

We then went to the cashier, paid the visa fee and were given a cheque made out to the embassy to put in our little satchel. This took 10 minutes.

Then we waited over an hour to see the third person who we gave our satchel to, with the cheque to the embassy and paid the 428 baht service fee. We were then given an invoice/receipt which must be presented to be able to collect the passport. Passports can only be collected after 3pm and many people were still waiting their turn at 5.30pm...so I guess it will be another long wait in a few days time.

The whole system is like something out of Yes Minister, why all the fees can't be paid in one go is beyond me. There were a lot of staff at the place but not a lot of productive work happening.

The thais (the majority) waiting did so without a lot of consternation (but then I can't understand thai, so maybe a few were pissed off) but the farangs were all shaking their heads in amazement/anger/embarassment.

ANd yes I intend to write to my local MP and the minister when I get back to Oz.

I think it's a rule for most airlines - probably a pretty wise one too. I wouldn't let anyone I know fly in that condition (pregnancy is stressful enough on the body, as is flying particularly long-haul) .....I'd hate to have a heavily pregnant woman sit next to me on a flight....quick boil some water, get some towels!!!

Went to the Aus Visa Application Centre Today. What a joke...5hrs just to lodge the application. At least when it was at the embassy a decision was able to be made on the day. The place was packed, half the people there had to stand up as there weren't enough seats, the air conditioning couldn't cope - you wouldn't dare run a service like that in Australia.

As an Australian it was an embarassment - the businessman sitting behind had been there 4 hours, and missed most of his work for the day.

When we spoke to the first girl (three step process) she said the visa might be ready in a week and a half when we are scheduled to leave but "we are very busy and the embassy is shut on Friday and its peak season so it might not be ready and you might have to change your flight!!" She told us to use the passport tracking service on their website to find out when to come and pick up the passport. I informed that it's a rare day when the website even works!! "oh well it works sometimes, for some people" she said.

Its a disgrace that the embassy has out-sourced the visa application service and its downright bad management to not ensure that it runs properly...the real killer is that you have to pay 428baht service fee to use the service....and to pay that fee took 1 more hour of waitng after going thru all the other procedures.

Maybe the ambassador should go down there un-announced and incognito so he can see what a bad reflection the place is on Australia.....after all it's his name on the commemorative plaque on the wall.

a few years ago I had transient joint pain...some days in my left knee, then the next in one of my fingers, then my toes etc. It was bloody painful, would wake me up at night. Doctor tested for may things and eventually called it polyviral arthritis. No specific treatment, just paracetomol and ibuprofen. Eventually it went away after about 6 months but I reckon the pills did my stomach some damage.

If all your joints ache you should see a doctor. it can be a symptom of a wide variety of problems.

Yeah I do....my mum works at a church and organises weddings a lot - she said three weeks but whatever it is, it shouldn't be a problem if I get onto it now.

I going to Oz shortly and will probably be getting married to my TGF.

1. What does she need to take to show she doesn't have a husband in Thailand - some sort of translated document.

2. She has been to Aus before with me, last year on a tourist visa...will this make it easier to get a tourist visa this time? (last time I was still living in Aus with a regular income, now I live in BKK...but my mum will supply the guarantees for accommodation etc., Both her and I have to come back to Thailand for our jobs)

3. I read that they had changed the process at the Aus embassy - can you still just go on the day and get a visa? (I need to be in Aus in acouple of weeks)

4. Should I tell them at the embassy that we are getting married in Aus?

Thanks for the advice

I have this probably occasionally with my Toshiba laptop which is nearly 3 years old. I think its because the battery no longer retains much charge or because the connections get dirty. Taking the battery out and then putting it back gets it working again but resets the time/date...and then tells me that my various updatable programs are out of date. So I just reset the time and get the updates. I think the updates haven't actually been lost - I can't see how losing power would uninstall updates, the windows updates are never lost - so it usually isn't a huge problem.

The problem could probably be solved by cleaning the battery connections or replacing the battery - but batteries are expensive and quite difficult to get after a couple of years, and I usually plug my laptop into the wall socket.

"Nobody trusts anyone and the first question out of someone you meet is whether you're Catholic or Protestent.

Told 'em I was Buddhist and left them speechless... "

No, they usually say "would that be a catholic buddhist or a protestant buddhist?"

Ireland is a great place - great beer, great pubs, great music.

I'm from Oz which isn't a bad place and I like living in Thailand at the mo'.

Make sure you get/pay for an extended & international warranty. Most computer repairers aren't keen to fiddle with laptops so they have to go back to the manufacturers for repairs.

I've only had to send mine back once (had it for 2.5 yrs, bought it in Oz) - spilt a glass of beer on it a couple of months ago.....Toshiba in BKK replaced the keyboard for free.

I'd would always choose a laptop over a desktop (if money isn't an issue) - its great to do your computing anywhere.

As a friend you should ensure he sees a specialist doctor as soon as possible.

really.

I use to scan 35mm slides at my work. Some of the better quality flatbed scanners have a 4 slide plastic holder/template, often kept in the top piece. So its easy to scan a few at a time and there is often a setting on the software for 35mm scanning. The quality was good - better than the purspose built Nikon slide scanner I also used to use.

The whistlers get on my tits - specially when I'm a bit seedy from the night before.

The thing that really makes me laugh are the security guards at some of the bigger shops. Saw this tall fella at Robinson wearing a full uniform with lapels, hat, medals, maybe even gold braiding - I thought he was a visting General or something. 2 aisles later I see him pushing around a trolley of empty cardboard boxes and thats when I realised he was the security man.

I've since realised the only uniforms to look out for are the brown ones.

Happy orstraya day (there's no "l" in the name) - better late than never - I come from Perth but in bangers for a little while now.

Miss the beach - swannee and cott....and sometimes the pubs - but there's enough beer here!!

gorn, get a big black dog up ya!!

(go the eagles - flag in 2005!!)

Bangkok To Penang By Train, Is it safe?

They drill holes thru your teeth without anaesthetic!