redwood13

Still not working. Apparently they're now saying October. http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...4&hl=paypal http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=86758 -redwood

Reviewed a year ago by that dynamic duo - Soi7 & Emil View Talay Place -redwood

Transportation : It's well off the baht bus route so you'd have to take a moto-cy taxi to Naklua Road and then catch a baht bus from there. I'd be a longish hot, sweaty walk during the day and a not very safe walk at night. Probably 100 baht for a taxi from Walking Street. Also, at one time there was only switchboard phone service available, but I think that may have changed. -redwood

Only been to Vientiane once 3 years ago but I cannot imagine it's changed much. If you need a substantial night life I'd look elsewhere. To say the least it's not party central. Also I wonder what the new visa rules will do to the frequent border hoppers. That is, guys in Laos who pop over to Nong Khai for shopping etc. -redwood

If you have an extension of stay based on marriage or retirement you can come and go as you please. You do of course have to purchase a re-entry permit prior to departure from Thailand to maintain the validity of the extension or have purchased a multiple re-entry permit.

Yes, thanks for that, but doesn't that require changing trains in Oakland (is it?) and then again at the Balboa Station? I had almost more luggage than I could handle, but in other circumstances that would be an option. -redwood

Excellent price! A couple of weeks ago I did Sac-Emeryville by Amtrak, Amtrak bus to the Hyatt Embarcadero and a taxi to SFO. Train was ~$20 and taxi $40. Took about 3 hours. -redwood

The link to the Bangkok Post article doesn't work for me, but if it's the one I saw yesterday it was really badly written. Here's the article George on thaivisa posted which is sourced from forbes.com: Immigration confirms the end of border runs from October 1, 2006 Thailand tightens visa rules for tourists to cut illegal workers BANGKOK: -- Thailand will tighten entry regulations for tourists in a bid to crack down on illegal foreign workers, the Immigration Bureau said. The move, which takes effect October 1, would affect tourists from 41 countries including Australia, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the US, said Suwat Thamrongsrisakul, the head of the bureau. Currently, tourists from 41 countries can enter Thailand without visas and stay in the kingdom for up to 30 days. They can extend their stay by checking out of the country, mainly by crossing the borders of neighboring Cambodia and Laos, and returning with new entry stamps. 'Under the current rules, people from those countries can stay in Thailand as long as they want. Some even stay here for one year,' another bureau official said. The bureau had learned that a growing number of foreigners from the 41 countries worked illegally in Thailand, Suwat said, adding many were employed in bars and restaurants in the popular seaside resort of Pattaya, east of Bangkok. 'Tourists are taking advantage of the visa exemption law. Instead of sightseeing, they are doing business here,' Suwat said. From October, tourists from the designated countries can still enter Thailand without visas and stay for up to 30 days, but their entry stamps will be renewable twice at most for a maximum stay of 90 days. Tourists who stayed for 90 days must leave the kingdom for at least 90 days before being permitted to re-enter Thailand, Suwat said. --forbes.com 2006-09-10 -redwood

http://www.bangkokpost.com/310806_Horizons...006_hori006.php -redwood

There's a long (79 posts) thread on thaivisa by a poster, "rainman", who did eventually get a credit card but it was a very trying ordeal. Multiple applications, denials, more applications, phone calls, lost applications and on and on He got it from Central Department Store in Bangkok. No, it's not just a store credit card, but a general purpose one such as Visa or MasterCard issues. http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...=67244&st=0 -redwood

Yes, fewer trips to the border with the 3 entry tourist visa, which may not sound like much of a benefit now, but get back to us after you've done these for 3 or 4 months in a row I understand that Sunbelt will provide you with all the documentation you need to obtain the B visa. I believe what Alan says is don't bother trying to get the O-A in your home country, but instead get an O visa (which is good for a 90 day stay) and then have that extended in Thailand (at about the 60 day mark) on the basis of meeting the qualifications for retirement. In UK you have to go to the Thai Embassy in London to obtain the O-A. In fact I think you'd have to make 2 trips, one to submit your application and then another to pickup your passport. Unlike the US it can't be done by mail. Also the UK police clearance can take weeks to receive and so on. It really depends on each individual's circumstances as to which way to proceed. I'd telephone the Honorary Consulates rather than writing when seeking information as to what wording they'd like to see on an application for an NI-O visa if that's what you decide to do as I think they'll be more candid. -redwood

Yes, you can be admitted for 30 days without a visa. And yes, you can cross into Laos, Cambodia, etc. and receive a new 30 day permission to stay and there is usually no limit placed on the number of times you can do this. In practice since the tourist visa is only valid for 6 months you only need 3 entries. By making your last trip to a border just before the 6 month expiry date you can get close to 9 months in Thailand on a 3 entry tourist visa. Depends on the Consulate. For example, some will issue an O for purposes of exploring retirement opportunities or for extensive travel. You might also be able to obtain a B visa (which is also a Non-Immigrant Visa) for the purpose of investigating business opportunities. I believe Sunbelt will arrange paperwork (for a fee) so that you can get a one year B. (You’d have to do border runs every 90 days.) The Honorary Consulates are generally the best places to apply for N-I visas. I’d avoid LA, Chicago, NY and the Embassy in DC. -redwood

The ease of obtaining an O-A visa in the US will vary with the individual. I obtained mine in Oct. 2003 without any great difficulty. Police clearance took about 30 minutes at my local city police station. Driver's license for ID and fill out a form and pay $5-10. Done on the spot. Had a doctor whom I had been seeing every 6 months. I wrote a draft of the letter including the specified deseases, etc. and his office typed it up on his letterhead, he signed it and mailed it back to me. Obviously if you don't have a regular doctor or he/she insists on having tests done then you'll have to decide how you want to proceed. Advantages of getting the O-A: It's simply very nice to know when you arrive in Bangkok you'll be set visa wise for a stay of one year. No need to deal with Immigration except for a reporting of your address anytime you're in Thailand for more than 90 days. With a multiple entry O-A each time you leave Thailand on your return you'll be stamped in for a new 1 year period for the first year. In my case I flew to Singapore in Sept. 2004 and on my return I was given an admitted until date of Sept. 2005. Thus I was in Thailand almost 2 years before having to apply to have my initial stay extended. No need to bring in 800K baht until just before you request an extension on stay. There have been some reports on thaivisa that Consulates in the US may refuse to grant O visas to folks who want to enter Thailand for the purpose of extending their stay based on retirement. They want such applicants to apply for O-A visas. -redwood

From a brochure with prices good until 31 October 2006: Daily, Weekly, Monthly One Bedroom Suite (80 sqm) 4K, 25.2K, 72K baht Duplex Suite (130 sqm) 7.5K, 47.250K, 135k baht Versace Suite (80 sqm) 5K, 31.5K, 90K baht -redwood

Big beds now or do they still only have twins? -redwood

Asked a friend of mine about this as I know he's taken hops from the States several times. The short version: "Basically, the high points are that there are regular flights departing Travis AFB, CA destined for Yokota Air Base, Japan and onward. Once at Yokota, there are flights to Singapore 2 - 4 times a week. Once in Singapore you can fly or take a train to Thailand. As I mention below, the most desirable ride is on the KC-10 that goes direct to Yokota and, after 16 hour ground time, proceeds on to Paya Labar Air Base in Singapore. There are also flights to and from Kadena Air Base (Okinawa), Japan that go direct to and from Bangkok. But these flights are so infrequent, it would be very easy to get "stranded" at Kadena. Also, Kadena is so big and spread out, it is a difficult destination unless you have "wheels." As a retiree, we are at the bottom of the Space-A food chain. It is very wise to do a "remote sign up" 60 days prior for each stop (each base you will be transiting). Keep a printed copy of the Space-A signup sheet as proof of your signup!!!" http://www.spacea.info/signup/index.html Here's details of his trip back to Thailand last December: "I just arrived back in Pattaya from the US this Sunday. It took me about 5 days to travel from Travis AFB, California to Thailand. I flew "space available" with the US Air Force. Here is my blow by blow account of my recent "space A" adventure... My most desirable choice, the Sunday KC-10 direct to Japan and then Singapore, cancelled. So I elected to take the C-5 on Monday that was destined for Japan via Elmendorf AFB (near Anchorage, Alaska). Flight time to Alaska was about 3 hours. I am sad to report that the C-5's reputation for maintenance problems remains intact. After spending five hours on the ground in Alaska for refueling and de-icing we took off for Japan. Ten minutes after take-off from Elmendorf, we air-aborted back to the airfield. The announcement from the loadmaster was "due to a flap problem we are going back to Elmendorf. Sorry for the bad news." This was very disturbing news, as I can tell you from experience, C-5 flap issues are notorious and can take DAYS to fix. On top of that, it was about 21 degrees (-6 Celsius) and with about 12 inches (30 cm) of snow on the ground there. With the exception of a heavy sweater and lightweight jacket, I was dressed for the tropics. On the plus side, I had met a guy who was traveling to Thailand as well. "Nic" and I hit it off right away. Nic is a retired Marine /Postmaster from Vermont. Coming from the east coast, Nic had already been on the road for about a week when we met at the Space-A counter at Travis. Once on the ground and back safely in the Elmendorf Air Terminal, Nic and I, along with the other passengers started making phone calls for lodging for the night. Elmendorf billeting, our first logical choice, was full. Luckily, all 19 of us were able to obtain lodging at Fort Richardson, the Army Base just adjacent to Elmendorf. Nic and I split the cab fare to Fort Rich, $30 USD each way, and the hotel suite was just $57 USD for a nice, two-bedroom suite. The next day (Tuesday), after arriving the air terminal, we learned that our plane was repaired. I was skeptical of the news but soon we were on our way (again) to Japan. Yippee! Get me out of this cold weather! Flying for 7 hours and crossing the dateline, we landed at Yokota Air Base on Wednesday evening. The weather was decent. Cold nights but warm, sunny days. Yokota is familiar stomping grounds for me as I had spent a lot of time there in my Air Force days. At Yokota, we learned that there weren't any planes heading to Singapore until Saturday. Nic and I secured lodging in the Yokota Air Base billeting for 3 days. We stayed in building 120, near the main office. I was on the second floor, Nic on the third. Nice rooms for $28 USD per night. Saturday arrived and a C-17 (from McChord AFB in Washington) flew us, along with 17 other fortunate souls to Singapore. It was my first time to fly on the newest cargo plane in the Air Force inventory. The comfort of reclining airline seats that are standard equipment on the C-5 and KC-10, were replaced by sideways facing, nylon web seats, on a metal frame for the C-17. Ouch! At least the plane was warm and it was only a 7 hour flight to Singapore. I could do THAT standing on my head if I had to! We landed at Paya Labar, the military airfield in Singapore. Nic and I quickly caught a taxi over to Changi Airport. We walked up to the Air Asia flight counter and purchased a ticket for a flight to Bangkok that was leaving in just one hour. The assurance and swiftness of that flight cost us dearly though. Previously, I had purchased a round-trip tickets on the same route for $80 USD. Those tickets were bought weeks in advance. This walk-up, one-way ticket set me back $140 USD plus $60 USD for excess my baggage. Oh my Buddha! My alternatives were to spend $50 USD on a hotel room and book a cheaper fare for the next day. Or, I could take a two-day train journey from Singapore to Bangkok. Neither plans appealed to me at this point. After just 5 days on the road, humping my luggage all over God's green earth, I was ready to unpack my bags and take a rest. Throughout the journey, I was fortunate to obtain on-base lodging and was able to split cab fares with Nic. Expenses in that regard were kept to a minimum. I accomplished the whole trip back to Thailand for under $350 USD. As previously stated, $200 of that was spent on the last leg from Singapore to Bangkok." -redwood

The article Dave has referenced is a blank for me using Firefox. Readable with Avant. -redwood

Wednesday night league is fine Pleasure Dome and Shagwell Mansion have dropped out of the Sunday quiz. -redwood

Two towers of 61 & 51 stories: NORTHPOINT - Wong Amat Beach PATTAYA PANORAMA -redwood

Here's a thread from thaivisa.com that should give you some ideas. You're going to have to be at the condo for the whole exercise otherwise you'll not get what you want. And tradesmen here have a tendancy to simply vanish leaving the project half finished once they've got a few baht in their pockets, only to reappear again when they need more money. http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...4&hl=remodeling As mentioned you'll have to find out what the condo rules are re working hours, security deposits, rubbish removal etc. A friend recently remodeled his condo and if you PM me I can give you the names and phone numbers of the guys he used. -redwood

From what I read the OP is not interested in buying a house in Pattaya. OP seems to be asking what their rights are if the house that they are renting in Pattaya from Nov 2006 til March of 2007 is sold. And this is a potential problem for anyone who rents in Thailand. With the real estate market booming you may come home one day to find your landlord has just erected a big FOR SALE sign. It has happened to me and a couple of my friends as well. -redwood

A quote from one website shows they are smart buggers too: To prevent bedbugs from gaining access to the bed, try inserting bedposts of bedbug-free beds into containers of paraffin oil. However, bedbugs can be resourceful; they have been known to climb walls and across ceilings to drop onto their victims during the night. -redwood

And today's dry cleaner sighting, 2nd Road across from Tops Market. -redwood

This question came up on the thaivisa board and no one had an answer. There is a laundry on Naklua Road that has a dry cleaning sign but who knows what they actually do? It's located on the L. side as you go N. away from the Dolphin, between Sois 16 & 18. Also you might ask at one of the Indian tailor shops The hotels must send clothes for dry cleaning out so there must be someplace here that does it. -redwood

The Bangkok Bank branch you mention is actually on Pratamnak Road as Second Road south of South Pattaya Road becomes Pratamnak Road. -redwood