Penang Visa Services, Hotels-info And Which Is Best?

[Fanta]

Hi everyone.

As some of us are now no longer able to simply do 30day visa runs to PoiPet. I have to get a new Tourist visa. I am flying down to Penang, and I guess Georgetown is it? next week... Anyway, hoping to be enlightened with info, ins and outs, insights and contact info for these services on Chulia street is it? NJ Bookstore? Is this the best most reliable one? also I am looking for a decent hotel in that area in the 400-750bht per nite range.

Guys I know Bangkok like the back of my hand, but I feel a little blind going into this visa trip. Any Penang info is appreicated.. I am flying down on a Monday morning AirAsia and coming back on Wed evening AirAisa. Will this give me enough time to get my visa?

Oh and I hope to check the beach out on the Tuesday, whats the score with doing that?

Thanks in advance...

[Lite Beer]

When you arrive at Penang airport get a taxi and go straight to the consulate. You should get there before it closes at mid day. Fill the form in and pay the fee. There will be some taxis there , get one to Chulia St.

Your passport can be picked up the next day after 2.00pm. Easy to get a taxi to the consulate.

The backpacker hotels are a bit basic and grotty. A lot of members recomend paying a little bit more for a hotel. The name of which escapes me. Hopefully someone will remind me.

Just remembered . Oriental I think.

Edited January 10, 2007 by LITE BEER

[jeebusjones]

I stayed at a place called Hotel Mingood. It was just a few minutes walk from Chulia Street and the rest of the central area. I had a double for about 800 baht, but I think they have singles for 600.

They also have a visa service in the hotel. I just gave them my passport when I checked in on a Monday evening, and it was returned to me early Wednesday afternoon. The fee was 200 baht, plus 1,000 for the visa itself. Very convenient, and not a bad hotel with cable, wi-fi in rooms etc...

As for the beach, the best thing to do is rent a motorcycle and ride over to Bhatu Ferringhi. You'll get robbed if you take a taxi, I think it's about 300baht one way, which is more than you'll pay to rent a motorcycle for the day.

[Fanta]

Actually now that I start to think and plan, I am going try to pull off doing this in only 2 days. It all rides on me getting to the Thai Consulate before the noon cut off on the Monday, and then getting my passport with visa back the following day Tuesday afternoon, and then get back to the airport for the evening Airasia flight back to bkk.

Has anyone else pulled this off in 2 days, or am I pushing the envolope and should arrange my return flight for the Wednesday. I hope to be alble to swing - in Monday morning out Tuesday evening - any other guys pull this off and any feed back?

Thanks again.

[lopburi3]

Many people do it with one night stay but believe you want to take taxi direct to Thai Consulate and have them wait for you while you make application so set the price and do have ringgit to pay with.

[Fanta]

Many people do it with one night stay but believe you want to take taxi direct to Thai Consulate and have them wait for you while you make application so set the price and do have ringgit to pay with.

OK I will try the 2 day plan (which is the best plan for me, if I can pull it off). As far as taxi, do any members know (ball park figure) as to what I should pay a taxi (in ringgit) to get me from airport - to Thai Consulate - wait for me - then take me to the Oriental Hotel for example, what should I expect to pay and where is the best place/way to quickly get a taxi out of the airport without being hustled, delayed, ripped off etc.

Thanks for the on going help everybody.

[ethnostudent]

I am also going on a Visa trip to Penang early next week. I am in Thailand in order to do the research for my Masters Degree thesis on ethnic music, but I have been unable to discover a way to turn that into a Non-Immigrant visa. Since my University is in the States and not in Thailand, I do not qualify for an education/student visa even though that is the purpose of my visit. Does anyone have advice on a way that I may be able to get a Non-Immigrant visa? I am an American and I have been doing visa runs to Cambodia for 5 months.

So I plan to go to Penang for a Tourist Visa (60 days + 30 at Bangkok Immigration) to get more time to find a way to get a better visa. I'll be there from Saturday the 13th - Tuesday the 16th. (Apply Monday, get visa back Tuesday) If anyone else is in Penang/Georgetown and would like to sightsee together or even to share the cost of a hotel room, let me know.

As I've looked at the information on this website, it seems that the paperwork I can expect to need:

- Passport

- Visa application form

- One recent( 4 x 6 cm.) photograph of the applicant

- Air ticket or eTicket paid in full

- Financial means (20,000 Baht per person and 40,000 Baht per family)

Would a printout of a bank account in America work for this?

Is the fee USD 25.00 or 1,000 baht or is it best to have Ringgit?

Thank you for your help.

[Fanta]

" - Air ticket or eTicket paid in full

- Financial means (20,000 Baht per person and 40,000 Baht per family)

Would a printout of a bank account in America work for this? "

I did not think you had to submit this information to the Thai Consulate in Penang?? I thought you only needed:

- application form filled out

- 100 ringit (or whatever)

- passport size photo

- photocopy of passport (picture/info page)

Can someone clear up what you need to present to the Thai Consul in order to succeed in Tourist Visa application. I want to be ready (as we know I will be short on time and no room for error).

Thanks.

[jeebusjones]

I went two months ago. I used an agent so I'm not sure about photocopies of passport, but the only things I needed to provide were my passport, my signature and two recent photos.

In fact there was a small problem because I only had one photo, so I had to walk all around the city trying to find a photoshop that was still open at 10pm. So, make sure you have two photos, not just one.

Edited January 10, 2007 by jeebusjones

[lopburi3]

It may be one photo now but am sure it used to be two.

Payment only in Ringgit.

The 20k baht requirement is needed on entry back into Thailand and should be in cash to show (but not likely to be asked for).

[ethnostudent]

Thank you, Lopburi. We appreciate you sharing your knowledge with us poor wayfaring farang. Do you think that if I got an agent they may be able to find a way to a longer visa for me while I conduct my ethnomusicology research for my MA at an American university?

[ethnostudent]

Sorry - let me clarify that last post. I am an American seeking a Non-Immigrant visa for studying music in Thailand. I'd like to be able to stay until April 2008 somehow to be able to research and write my thesis.

[lopburi3]

The agents can not obtain something you can not obtain yourself - and at times they can not even obtain that. What they can do is save you the trips. You do not seem to meet the requirements for a longer visa. It does seem strange your university could not work out something for you with a Thai university if they really tried.

[Marc S.]

Came back yesterday from my first Penang Visarun with my Thaigirlfriend.

Infos:

ticket booked with www.airasia.com Paid with creditcard. You have to print out a paper with a code. They give you a boarding pass at a the checkin counter for that.

Returnticket for 2 persons including fees taqx etc. : 6300 Baht

Bus to airport: Nice bus at Jomtien (Pattaya) chaiyapruekroad/corner beachroad. Departure every day: 6.30, 9 ,13, 17, 19.30.

Ticket: 106 Baht. We were the only passengers!

Takes 1.45 h to Suvarnaphum airport. Take the free shuttlebus from tha bus station to the airport..

Check in 2 hours before departure.

Airport tax is 500 baht.

Go early to the gate because its a lot of walking and long queues before the securityscanner! Suvarnaphum is more for shopping than for flying!

Airasia is a no frills airline on board but you can buy food and drink for resonable price. I fly again with this airline.

At Penang a minibus booked in advance over NJ BookCentre take us from the airport.

email: [email protected]

Took 30 minutes to Chulia Street

dont change a the airport!

NJBookscentre Chulia Street: Changed Baht to ringgit: 1000 Baht is 98 ringgit.

I paid 190 ringgit: 100 for the visa, 30 for the service, 30+30 for the drive from and to the airport.

Bring 2 photos. I signed a form and took my 2 month singleentry Visa at the next day 3pm from the NJ bookscentre office. No problems, good and fast service!

Lots of cheapguesthouses at chuliastreet but not my style. Lots of hotels around chulia street but I was lazy and took one for 780 Baht. Cant recommend it so I dont mention the name. Look for a new one because most rooms smell at the older ones.

Most guesthouses and hotels have free brochures with all the tourist attractions.

I can only recommend the Penang Hill (nice view and surrounding). The rest is nothing special if you stayed for a couple of years at Thailand. But Penang is definetely ok for 2-3 days especially with a girlfriend. For the lonely heart theres only booze...

Food and drink: Beer is more expensive, malaysian food is nothing special but they have food from many countries. Try the night market next to Chulia Street at the evening.

Taxi are normally 10-20 ringgit. You have to bargain. They have a meter but all drivers refused to switch it on. Beware of the rikschadrivers. We had some hassle with them because they start with a low price and changed it later.

Nice people and save but people think that all thaigirls are prostitutes so my girlfriend got some unfirendly looks (may be because of some (very ugly) thaiprostitutes from south thailand at chulia street).

The trip was a nice change to Pattaya but next time I go to another destination (may be Singapore or Hanoi).

Edited January 11, 2007 by Marc S.

[PenangGuy]

Got back on the 12 Jan from Penang visa run, got the two months no problem coming back to bangkok (suvarnabhumi).

Travelling by Air?

AirAsia return trip cost about 3600 Baht. It would have cost less if I hadn't wasted time booking. Also I booked return flight 2 days after outbound in case something went wrong, this is unnecessary. When I tried to change the return ticket to one day earlier (costing 2180B), the girl made a mistake and booked me on a morning flight, even though she told me the time was in the afternoon, useless as I wouldn't have my passport. Then they said I'd have to pay to get back my original flight. There were a bunch of people in that queue with other complaints. I had to argue with the manager before they admitted a mistake and gave me a refund (2 days later). However at least they gave me a refund, so they are not all bad I guess.

Taxis

If you are looking for cheap taxi services, the taxi from the airport to the consulate costs 38RM (~400B) from the airport. Normally taxi drivers charge 30RM, 25RM for a customer they know already. Also you can save money like this on other journeys if you befreind the driver and always use him throughout your trip. I had a very friendly and helpful driver, who even let me borrow 200RM until I got to a bank to pay for the original booking mistake. You can contact him on 012-438 6977 in malaysia (Mr Suleesan). He also has a van for groups and will arrange you another driver if he is busy. Another good company seems to be Gurney Radio Taxis, 012 469 9723 / 017 582 9429 / 04 264 2313.

Hotel

I stayed at the hotel waldorf, 520B per night, room was a little old, but there was a hot bath (something I haven't seen for a long time), TV, double bed, aircon, good area, quiet. The staff are very helpful. There is a good cheap night bazaar with lots of different kinds of food in front of the hotel. There is also the hotel Cathay next door which looks like a similar deal. internet cafe is down the road.

Food

If you are hungry, I can recommend the buffet lunch at the Hotel Continental. It is really excellent at only 12RM. Perfect after flying in and submitting your visa. Or walk around downtown, there are some excellent streets.

Tours

You can organise a tour of penang which includes the lunch for about 55RM, but it starts at 8am until about 1pm. Contact Mr Khoo on 012 421 0349. Right now its pretty low season, if you are on your own you are likely to get a personal tour. He is a cheerful old chinese man.

Bargains

It is a bit pricier for most things in penang than in thailand. I heard tell that some foreigners order PCs at the factories in penang, then pick them up at rock bottom prices and take them out. Order time is 4 days, and I heard any order size is OK. Mr Suseelan may know more about this.

Safety

There were times when I did not feel safe, walking around on my own I was accosted by an unsavoury man with a hammer who wanted heaven knows what from me, but managed to get away. Don't go places where there aren't many people. Keep you important belongings in a safe place like under lock and key in the hotel.

Getting your visa

At the consulate it is all very laid back and easy, I have a UK passport and they didn't ask about how much money I had or any air tickets, etc, but play it safe anyway. I guess around 300-400 people a day are passing through there now. You can almost certainly get to the airport on time if you take the flight which arrives at 10:05 on airasia., unless the plane is delayed, so it is wise to book the flight coming back the next afternoon. You can get the hotel to do the visa for a charge but might as well do it by yourself anyway the first time.

Best luck to all going there and hope this info helps.

[PenangGuy]

Oops, I meant to say you can almost certainly get to the consulate from the airport on time if you are on the flight which lands at 10:05. I had just under an hour to spare, no long queues at the consulate. I had originally planned to go by air and come back by land, but I heard some people only get the one month that way, and it is a lot more hassle and probably more expensive. Air is the best way if you are in Bangkok.

[astral]

Oh and I hope to check the beach out on the Tuesday, whats the score with doing that?

Compared to Thailand the beaches here are c**p.

Seating and shade facilites are limited, often non-existent

and the water is muddy.

It is better to stay at a good hotel and use the pool.