Visas From Thai Consulate Is In Kota Bharu, Kelantan

[torrenova]

Just saw this on another thread that there is a 2nd Thai Consulate in this place in Malaysia. Anyone know whether they are friendly or what ? Handing out non imm "O" multis would be nice

[007]

Just saw this on another thread that there is a 2nd Thai Consulate in this place in Malaysia. Anyone know whether they are friendly or what ? Handing out non imm "O" multis would be nice

They used to be "friendly", but the staff there changed about two years ago and

since then they've been handing out only single visas of any category. Not "friendlier" now than Penang.

Also, note that it is very dangerous to travel there overland from Thailand, as there have been terrorist acts on roads and rail tracks in the provinces you would have to travel through. A better option is flying there from Bangkok, or travelling from Malaysia, e.g. Penang.

Edited December 16, 2007 by 7

[bedbugy]

theres a consulate in kota baru just south of singa kolock

[abdulrahman]

Also, note that it is very dangerous to travel there overland from Thailand, as there have been terrorist acts on roads and rail tracks in the provinces you would have to travel through. A better option is flying there from Bangkok, or travelling from Malaysia, e.g. Penang.

What a load of b******t.Did drive to Kota Bahru six months ago,will do again next month,found the Thais,muslims AND buddhists really friendly,the prices lower as anywhere in Thailand,no problems at all,lots of military check-points,yes,but the young soldiers mostly smiling when they saw a Farang.Less dangerous as Pattaya!

Don't believe every crap you hear in the expat bar!

[lopburi3]

It is considered a dangerous area to travel in and is under martial law due to that danger. And both Thai authorities and your home governments would appreciate your not doing so. There is enough to handle without authorities having to take the time to provide the extra work to protect those who are unwilling to abide by requests to avoid the area.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

It is considered a dangerous area to travel in and is under martial law due to that danger. And both Thai authorities and your home governments would appreciate your not doing so. There is enough to handle without authorities having to take the time to provide the extra work to protect those who are unwilling to abide by requests to avoid the area.

For those interested in that area, it might well pay to listen to sage advice, and Lopburi3 gives such excellent advice.

[luumak]

there is nothing wrong with 'that' area, i have spent considerable time in southern thailand and at this very moment in malaysia heading for the highlands and will come up the east coast back to thailand (gulf). train is perfectly safe for a visa run. im only posting that to clear the air not to encourage droves of visa runners.

one bomb some yrs back on the sungai kolak run. thats all i can recall in regard to trains. other bombings are general directed at brothels, drinking shops, shopping centers. generally bombings are wrapped up in local grudges.

hardly sage advice, scare mongering more like it. btw certainly no thai authorites had ever concerned themselves for me 'special like', thats a lot of total malarkey as well.

it does take some thai-malay skills which scant few of you have as well as god forbid a ride south on a FAN train for 24 hrs no less. maybe have to eat local food and from the train hawkers no less! you can do it by bus as well but if you do an across border bus scams abound. better to get to the border and then pick up a bus south in .my

kota baru cannot be reached by plane from bkk as far as i know. place appears safe for the moment from the runner throng. this had always been one of those secret 'reserve' consulates double secret back up. now its out, i guess many of you have found google in your desparation.

board: why dont you go find out instead of habitually asking tiring and often innane questions? and btw of i were a thai official i would be pretty gobsmacked by the op's 'question' > are they tossing out o visas like american servicemen throwing candies to iraqi children?

in the end it will be the former backpackers left standing. they have the knowledge, experience, patience to weather it out.

ps: the consulate is very conservative and located in one of the most conservative parts of the country.

Edited December 16, 2007 by luumak

[lopburi3]

A long series of conflicts has resulted in over 2,500 deaths in the past decade, with more than 2,300 occurring since an escalation of violence in January of 2004. [3] In July 2005 the Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin

Shinawatra, assumed wide-ranging emergency powers to deal with the insurgency. In September 2006, Army

Commander Sonthi Boonyaratkalin was granted an extraordinary increase in executive powers to combat the unrest. [4] Soon afterwards, on 19 September 2006, Sonthi and the Thai military toppled Thaksin in a coup. Despite reconciliatory gestures from the junta, the insurgency continued and intensified. The death-toll, 1,400 at the time of the coup, increased to 2,579 by mid-September 2007. [5]

http://wapedia.mobi/en/South_Thailand_insurgency

[luumak]

dont need a lecture or link. advanced degree in history and poli sci.

but what does that have to do with the train and a visa run lopburi? just some skreed you googled, some glittering generality.

it is perfectly safe.

i am in malaysia, if you doubt it - check the i.p.

i will go up the coast thru all the scary thai provinces, heck, im x-ing in coastal narathavat even and wont pick up the tarin until i get ti hat yai.

backpackers do it all the time. that is how distanced tv forum is from the travel realities.

some of us lived in cambo when everyone was freaked out in the early 90s, some of us traveled in rural indonesia for months as well as southern phils, indian tibet full on, some of us sneaked innto northern lao in 95 and up into western burma in 96, some of did the paki silk road to afghanistan [chitral/peshawar] (KKH) and some of us sat in thailand at a bar or in front of the tv or computer screen.

what is life about anyway?

ill take my experience any time. visa run on the plane - how boring. if i had a thai lady i would be embarrassed. like abdul said - safe (at least im good with it). i can understand how the vast majority of men that live in thailand would be freaked though. they 'know' thailand and that is all. bangkok or pattaya.

btw i have visited many, many embassies and consulates (us) and when it come to having an ear to the ground, they know nothing. they get their info off the wires and from people like me. then they warn the world so as to keep their lives as simple as possible. wouldnt be surprised if us has a travel warning for singapre.

Edited December 16, 2007 by luumak

[abdulrahman]

It is considered a dangerous area to travel in and is under martial law due to that danger. And both Thai authorities and your home governments would appreciate your not doing so. There is enough to handle without authorities having to take the time to provide the extra work to protect those who are unwilling to abide by requests to avoid the area.

For those interested in that area, it might well pay to listen to sage advice, and Lopburi3 gives such excellent advice.

Lopburi's advices about visa rules are always accurate,I can only praise him and be grateful for his help.

His patience too,explaining tirelessly the (somtimes)most stupid questions,too.

That established,I would like to confirm,backed by personal experience,the Fact,that travelling through the Deep South is as secure,as every other part of Thailand.BTW,MY country doen't give us citizen any contrary warning.

Methink some people are really paranoid

[luumak]

i would also agree abdul in that lopburi3 advice is usually good and patience endlessly explaining what could be solved with a simple search.

but the pat response >> danger south danger south << is just hype from a statistical point of view.

first, the only area designated as 'dangerous' is the run between hat yai and sungai kolok (you could do this by bus)

how many westerners have died on the train? none to my knowledge

how many westerners have died in southern violence? none to my knowledge

how many foreign women are raped and-or murdered annually in thailand? about 4-6

how many foreigners die in pattaya? dozens, though many are self inflicted (many not)

how many foreigners are aggravated assualt in pattaya by thai nationals? 250++

how many thai nationals are murdered in pattaya annually (a city of <100K ? 200+

how many people did taksin regime murder extrajudicially? 2500++

how many thais were killed in the democratic uprisings in bangkok in 91-92? 150++

sort of like freakonomics, one has to peel back general news and hype and look at the reality

Edited December 17, 2007 by luumak

[lopburi3]

"danger south danger south"

I made no such post. I advised that the area is considered dangerous and that both Thai and most home governments have issued such warnings about non essential travel. The area of conflict is specific to the normal crossing to the Consulate in east Malaysia, of which this thread is about and applies to any travel, not just train. I would have been very remiss in not doing so.