I'm just wondering something...I read alot of posts of people doing visa runs and then applying for visas once they are in the country they went to the run for.  But why do you really have to do this?  As I understand it, it is possible to simply walk out of Thailand, walk into Malaysia for example, and then walk back into Thailand, getting the appropriate stamps of course...and from there you'll get another 30 days.  I can understand if you want the 60+30...but if you do just want 30 at a time...you can do this too correct?  You don't really have to "apply" for visas, correct?

Jason

Yes you can do this, but not too many times. The situation was a few years ago in northern thailand that you could only do this at the Mai Sai crossing 3 times before they would start to refuse you. The immigration officers are not stupid and when they se a sequence of tourist staps one afyer the other in your passport they start to get suspicious. And why wouldn't they - you could be working illegally.

And who wants to travel to a border region every 30 days anyway?

I know of an American who has been going to Mai Sai every 30days for the past two years.

I really do not understand why some people get away with it and others get stopped.

Appearance, attitude, smile;  combined with luck perhaps?