Tejas

Great picture of Pattaya beach......sorry I messed it up with the double post.........my browser decided to go nuts on me.

The picture reminds me of Sihanoukville a few years ago.......bit more developed now.

The extra checks might have something to do with a person on the run who has been seen in that fair city a few times?

That is funny..........but what happened to the OP isn't. And it is not "no problem" as another poster suggested.

It is a problem...........it is a major inconvenience.

It shows how messed up the current system is.........how xenophobic it has become.

It reflects a "we don't want you here" attitude (great for tourism and business).

I believe what the OP said and fully understand why he might now think twice about vacationing here.

And he know doubt has friends he is going to tell his story too..........and, obviously, it is posted here now for all to see.

* Street dogs. GONE!

Oh I don't know. On average I think the Soi dogs raise the general tone of the place.

75% of all foreigners gone would be a good start.

75% if all concrete coffins collapsed and removed........replaced by parks

But it is too late.........people pollution and greed are here to stay.

Ahhhhhhhhhh.........the Good Old Days.........never to return (but maybe in Cambodia or Vietnam in the future)

Re-entry permits can be obtained at the One Stop Visa Centre which is at Sam Yan MRT station.

That service may be available to persons specifically authorised to use that facility, but not to 'joe farang' AFAIK and have not seen any reports confirming. If you have other information then please share, as will be of interest to many.

What is AFAIK?

That aside, yes, please start asking immigration officers if it is true that you can now obtain a re-entry permit at any immigration office, not just the one that serves you due to your authorized address (or something like that).

One immigration officer told me "yes." (That officer also said due to financial constraints/poor economy the re-entry permit facility at the airport was closed.)

Most of us have been here long enough to know that immigration laws are not always enforced uniformly at all locations.

That you know have to go to your own immigraiton office for a re-entry permit was part of an official derictive (police order). I have not seen a police order saying you can apply at anny immigration office.

If you want to know, you could call the government information hotline: 1111, they also answer immigration questions.

Thanks, but I think the immigration officers should know.

What I would like is for some expats to start asking about this when they go to their respective immigration offices and give us feedback.

If we can get the "useless" re-entry permit at any location except the most obvious one (airport.......TIT), that would be good for some of us that now have to travel across the universe for it.

Hi.........I know you already make some excellent picante sauce (and tabasco sauce).

And I have read about the FDA issue.

I think you have eaten at Tacos and Salsa.

If you are like me and a lot of other expats, then you like the three salsas (hot sauces) Jorge serves: red, orange, and green.

I would like to see these three salsas in bottles next to home made corn chips!

Given what you are doing now, and the FDA issue, it seems possible.

Lazy expats could eat the sauces with chips or make nachos with them or even top off tacos or burritos or enchiladas with them.

Or, put them on ice cream if you are from Texas

In the picture, the red is picante, I think.

The green is probably tomatillo/jalapeno based.

The orange........well, who knows? My guess is carrot based but if that is the case you sure don't taste it.........I really like the orange one......very special recipe.

At first, love is there........see that a lot.....but, later, once they think they have what they want, horns start to grow out of the top of their heads! It is true. I have seen it with my own eyes.

Re-entry permits can be obtained at the One Stop Visa Centre which is at Sam Yan MRT station. You take the MRT to Sam Yan. Exit straight into Tesco Lotus food court and take the escalator up. Walk through the shopping centre (Chamchuree Square) past numerous restaurants (Fuji, No.8, KFC, Starbucks etc), banks and other shops to the lifts for the Offices. Go to the 18th floor (no security) and you're there. Don't think it's open at weekends though.

What if your residence is not registered in the Bangkok area?

I was told by an immigration officer (but got almost no follow up on ThaiVisa) that reentry permits can now be obtained "at any immigration office."

The officer said "there was no longer any requirement to obtain the permit at the immigration office you are registered in."

The only exception is the international airport, the place where they actually should issue them (TIT).

Now........does any person with actual knowledge other than the immigration officer I talked with know if this is true or not?

Thanks.

Wait and see ??? i'm not sure it's the best to do actually. Pattaya is in a huge mutation and will be soon the biggest and the most attractive place where to live near the Ocean in Asia. Twenty years ago, only three five stars hotel, Royal Cliff, Amari an Dusit where there. Today is the rush and all the biggest names want to be on or near the Pattaya beach.

The different locations to stay in Pattaya are :

1. Wongamat beach, Naklua

2. Pratumnak

3. Pattaya Beach between Beach Road and just behind 2nd road

4. Dongtan Beach Jomtien

5. Jomtien Beach Road

6. East Pattaya, over Sukkhumvit

... but the prices can now reach 200'000,-- bahts a sq meter (sic) on the Nr 1 and can be 20'000,-- on the Nr 6...

Pattaya will soon be the best place to live in asia. Come on it's the pit's. Has been getting worse by the year. The drain's stink. The 6 feet beach is filthy. The traffic is only bettered by BKK. And speaking on a personal front it's the only place in Thailand that I get diarrhoea.

Agreed.........really gone downhill over the past ten years........and real estate prices have gone up at the same time.

Rent and decide for yourself if you want to stay.

A very simple method is to steam them for an hour and a half. Use the steamer basket of your rice cooker (if have). Let them cool a little and then baste them in your favorite sauce. Enjoy!

You could make "smothered pork." Just like smothered chicken (popular dish in the south of USA) but use pork ribs instead.

Or, pork ribs with dumplings--like chicken and dumplings but with pork ribs.

Just Google for smothered pork recipees..........very easy.

Thanks for the information.

It was something I had no idea about and living way up in the boonies canned beans of any type are in short supply.

I too live in the "boonies." Virtually all Thai markets have the red kidney beans.

Soak them overnight (drain water till reddish color is gone).......cook several hours with pork fat, one clove garlic, small amount of chopped onions, cumin.

When done, separate beans from broth. Make chicken broth separate.

Put in blender. Add cumin, garlic, salt, pepper. Mix to smooth or like you like it. Just keep adding chicken broth.

Then take it out and fry it in lard oil or any oil or don't......up to you. Some people add chopped, cooked bacon at this point for more flavor.

It isn't the same as refried beans/frijoles made with pinto beans, but it is close.

The black beans in the markets are terrible if you ask me.........you could soak them one week and they would still be like tiny rocks.

Pardon my ignorance being a Brit but why would you fry beans in the first place and then re-fry them?

What you are doing, if they are from a can, is warming them up again. Some people add a bit of lard during this process to add some additional flavor to it.

Often the people who manufacture the refried beans don't put enough of the "bad stuff" in it (trying to give in to the health freaks). So, many people like to give it more flavor by adding the lard.

If you are cooking them from scratch, you really only need to take the warm beans and put them in a food processor with some lard (or oil). You don't need to fry them......but many Mexican cooks do it anyway........tradition.

(As an aside: it is not that hard to make refried beans if you have pinto beans, come cumin, a bit of garlic, some lard, salt, pepper, and chicken broth.)

So, having spotlighted the World's problems maybe now we can get back on topic.

Sorry...........but the question was asked and I answered it honestly rather than ignore the question.

What I said was related to the OPs question.

"Sooner" meant less people pollution, less economic stress, etc.

Most of the places we once liked are now polluted, mainly by people...........too many.

I think I found Pattaya at a good time........mid-80s.

I am glad I had those positive experiences back then when it was different from what it is today.

But I am obviously not happy with the pattern of development that has taken place.

I am not sure if I wish I had found it earlier in the 70s.......maybe it was really good then.

So if every place "was better back then" are we headed for a time where basically everywhere is sh_it?

You want people to say "no." But reality indicates "yes." For many reasons.

We.....all of us.....have done practically nothing to address two of our most pressing problems: unsustainable energy and overpopulation.

We have allowed the mainstream media to be controlled by a few corporations (now we are fed nothing but crap).

We have allowed the globalization of the economy.....creating a global slave labor class.

We have allowed the centralization of the global economy......creating a massive gap between the rich and poor.

We have virtually ignored the impact of our environmentally unsound economy on the life systems of the planet.

Future generations should hang us all for acting irresponsibly.........and just might.

Have a good day.

With any luck the entire area will be nuked and development can start over again with some proper planning.

Right now the "future" of the area looks very bad.

But I am not what you would call an "optimist."

The future worldwide looks bad.

My human optimism phase starts about 200 years from now (wish I could be around to see it).

Which planet are we talking about, specifically? All aliens?

I think some might have been encouraged to come here to work on the "plantations."

I know you can take "red" or "green" sauces and make good Mexican food if you add beef, chicken, or pork to the sauces (for me red goes with beef and green goes with chicken/pork).

If you produce these basic sauces, that would make cooking some Mexican dishes easy because it is not that easy getting the ingredients to make these sauces in Thailand.

It also takes a lot of time to make a red or green sauce.

So, basically, the customer cooks the meat until tender using his/her favorite recipe, then adds your sauce, red or green. Right?

Or makes enchiladas with the sauces.......beef enchilada probably has red sauce and chicken/cheese enchiladas might have the green sauce.

Boullion cubes are readily available in Thailand. You just put them in hot water. So people can add more stock as necessary if they think the basic, concentrated sauce is to thick or strong.

I think it is sort of like buying Italian sauce in a bottle. You have the basic sauce and add what you want to it depending on your tastes (e.g., Italian sausage, wine, garlic, sugar, chopped onions, bell pepper, etc).

Personally, I would love to make some really good enchiladas.......but I don't have access to corn tortillas where I live. But if you are living in Bangkok or Pattaya or Phuket you can find them and make enchiladas with the red or green sauce.

Good luck!

Hi ChefHeat.

Non-Mexican food:

Beef stew--something many of us miss and don't want to make using local beef. My guess is that both Brits and Americans would eat it.

Mexican food:

Jalapenos for nachos w/ cheese on top (but need chips too).

Refried beans/frijoles: this is in demand and hard to find if you live outside of the big city. Add bacon to it and fry it up and it is good stuff.......can also put it on nachos.

Chile, without or with beans. You can make so many things with good chile--can eat it by itself or add it to nachos or add it as topping and/or filling for enchiladas.

Taqueria salsa: something to put on top of home-made tacos would be nice.......could also top nachos with a small amount.

Just in terms of sales, I think a lot of hungry expats with very little cooking skills would buy chile (with or without beans), refried beans, beef stew, and probably make nachos (w/ cheese and jalapenos).

Is Thai Visa Monitored By Thai Police

I would have to say "no."

I have it on good authority that Thai Visa is monitored by elementary school monitors located in strategic areas outside of Thailand.

I would say you came at the worst possible time--just after it was officially pronounced "dead" by many long-stay expats.

BUT, you have no perspective on what I am saying, so your perception of the place is what it is.......good or bad.

I can only tell you what many others know: 30 years ago, 20 years ago, even 10 years ago it was better in many ways.

Probably the best years were the years when it was still a bit mysterious but still had some Western places.

It wasn't overdeveloped.......no real estate hounds on every corner.........easy visa rules.......inexpensive.......relaxed.

I would say that was about 1980-2000. By 2004 it had all changed largely due to the real estate hounds and Thailand's failed social engineering project.

Some say it has changed for the better (my guess is that most of these people have not been here a long time or are invested in real estate).

Some say it has changed for the worst (my guess is that most of these people know what it was like in the 70s, 80s, and especially the 90s).

Ummmm Howard Hughes was mentally ill. I think it would be more like ... "Hey Howard, you're a nutter, try _____ country instead"

Again --- other countries do have these rules and they do enforce them. Try being Thai and going to the US or UK, you'll not even get the visa until you prove you can support yourself for a trip there. See the post you were referred to before where a Thai was questioned in hong Kong before being allowed in ....

Ummmmmmmm..........yes he became that way. I was not talking about that period in his life.

At one time he was not "crazy." And he dressed in suits none of us could afford.

It was during that time that he often dressed up like a bum to see "the other side of life."

Put differently, he wanted to see how "poor" people lived and were treated by others.

He also wanted to see how he was treated by people who did not know who he was and how much money he had.

And he almost never kept cash in his pocket.

Enough of that.........this rule is stupid.

It does not matter one bit how a Thai is treated entering another country.

It also does not matter what other countries do.

Thailand is an independent country.

We are talking about Westerners coming to Thailand and Thailand's rules.

From the perspective of the outside world, the rules look stupid (even xenophobic).

Even from the perspective of Thailand's surrounding countries, they look stupid (just ask them).

And as stated, social engineering is not something immigration should be burdened with.

more and more hoops to jump through

At no other time, in no other country, have I ever even thought about how much money I might have to show immigration officials to enter.

I also have never had to put down how much money I make on any form before entering Thailand.....something all passengers must do.

To many Westerners, both of these things are insulting and do not, in any way, shape, or form, promote Thailand and tourism friendly.

Having said that, it is yet another component of Thailand's misguided social engineering project that began about ten years ago......with the immigration department implementing it.

It is also a security flaw. Now, instead of focusing on security, immigration officials are counting stamps, days, red marks.......and they may even ask you to "show them the money."

Some posters say it has never happened them. Well, that is not the point. The point is that is has happened and can happen.

A good example is the requirement to have an outbound ticket. Some posters say "that has never happened to me."

It did happen to me.

Some posters say just wear appropriate clothing and you will not have a problem.

Well, a lawyer-type in a three piece suit right in front of me was refused to get on an airline to Thailand because he did not have an outbound ticket........had to sign a special document releasing the airline from any damages.

The point is that these are stupid rules related to social engineering.

Stupid rules that do nothing but mess things up, cause confusion, waste time, and in some cases negatively impact security, should be removed from the books.

One more thing about social engineering: Howard Hughes, once the man with the most money on the planet, sometimes used to walk around looking like a bum (to see how other people lived) and he often never carried money with him.

I wonder if Thailand would let him in?

"Sorry Mr. Hughes, you look like a bum and don't have enough money to support yourself in Thailand."

That you have enough money to spend for your stay is a requirement all over the world. Let's not get over excited here over nothing. Especially since it is not a new requirement, only the amount has gone up for some categories.

Wrong.........totally wrong. I don't know another country in the world that might enforce a rule like this if it wanted to do so.

Of course, you need money to travel.......that is a requirement. And that amount varies depending on where you stay, what you do, how long you stay, etc.

It is the "legal requirement" that is utter nonsense and intrusive and quite frankly insulting to international travelers.

Again, it does not matter if they do or don't enforce it in a particular case.

What matters is that they can and apparently have.

It is a stupid rule that serves no purpose whatsoever other than to give Thailand an even worse image than it has now.

Stupid requirement!

Totally stupid requirement!

It does not matter if it is enforced or not.

It sends a confusing and negative message abroad.

It facilitates theft (great.....they all have cash in their pockets.......or maybe you have to give out personal financial information that a person can use to steal money from you).

It does nothing to facilitate tourism (on the decline in Thailand).

It helps increase tourism numbers in all the other surrounding countries that have better sense than to voice such nonsense or keep something that stupid "on the books."