lovedog100

This is worth reading. Take a look. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2024492/Greatest-discovery-penicillin-Scientists-work-drug-cure-viruses--including-flu.html This one is more detailed, though not so much in layman's terms. http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0022572

With a multiple entry, you can come and go as many times as you want.

Do not confuse 90 reporting, with your retirement visa. When your visa expires, you have to apply for a new visa, just like you did for your first one. You don't report for a new visa, you apply for a new visa. You can apply for a new visa 30 days before it expires, and do your 90 day report 7 day before it's due. It's best to go early just in case there is a problem. You have to report every 90 days, unless you leave the country before the 90 days are up, then the 90 days starts again when you arrive back in the country. I have a friend who travels to PI and Cambodia a lot. In three years, he has never been in Thailand 90 days straight, and has never had to file a 90 day report. The 90 day report is only to keep track of you while in the country. I have filed mine in Phuket before. There should be a paper stapled in your passport telling you when to make your 90 day report. If not, there will be after your first report. Keep in mind that if you want to travel and go home, or to another country, you have to buy a reentry stamp, if you are going to go more than once, you will want a multiple entry stamp. My multiple was 3,800 baht yesterday. I had something of the same problem just the other day. My 90 day report date was the 16th, but my visa ran out on the 10th, luckily I looked at my passport on the 9th and caught it. I got a new visa, yet was told that I still had to do the 90 report by the 16th. I did both the same day, as I can report for the 90 report 7 days early. It made no sense to me that after getting a new visa, that I would have to do a 90 report, but it was required. "I'm sure it makes perfect sense to a bureaucrat." I had a friend that was 14 days late on his 90 day and had to pay 2,000 baht, it scared me, because I couldn't remember when I reported last, I went home and looked and was 20 days late, I was charged the same 2,000 baht.

That's a good question. I didn't know about it until I got there to do mine. In fact, I walked in without reading what was posted on the door. At the desk I was told about it, and told it was posted. I looked on my way out and it was there, in English and Thai, but I hadn't noticed on my way in, or heard anything about it in advance. Who knows how much it will be enforced. I didn't have my rental agreement with me, but had it earlier when I got my new visa. I suggested getting the visa paperwork and I would copy it, he let me slide. They must have some discretion in what is required, I was 6 days early for my 90 day report, so they could have taken a hard line and told me to go get it. With my first retirement visa, proof of residence is required, I told them that I was living in a hotel (true) and couldn't sign a 6 month or 1 year lease on a 30 day visa, it seemed to make sense to them and they let me slide. It used to be that they would take a bill of some sort, as proof of residence. I used my true satellite bill, the only thing in my own name. Now they want a rental agreement, or ownership papers. There was something about papers from company ownership that I took no notice of since it didn't effect me. They may be trying to find information on ex-pats are using dogy company ownerships of land and condo's.

It's something new. It's posted on the door to imagration now.

Forgot to add,, 7 days late and it's 2,000 baht fine. Not sure if there is a fine for 1-6 days late.

You have to show up every 90 days and fill out a form, and give them a copy of your passport, and rental agreement, or ownership papers. There is no cost, and it goes fairly fast. I've been in and out in under 5 minutes before. The first time you go, go next door, get 4 copies of your passport, and 4 of your rental agreement, You will have them ready for next time. You can go up to 7 days in advance of your report date. If you leave the country, the 90 days starts again the day that you return.

Can everyone else see what Joe posted? Joe are you posting pics differently than other people? I can never your pics, just something that tells me it's there.

:clap2:clap1:clap2

Worked for me, I gave you a positive, and a negative, they both worked.

MM posted a funny video, tequilia, and I wanted to post this one. I got to thinking why have good funny videos posted one at a time? Let's put them all in one place for all to see, even the newbie that joins the forum next year. Do you have a favorite? Or if you find one in the future, this is the place for it. ENJOY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPesKyIhGZg&feature=related

That was good, had to put that one on my facebook

Good rates, and a decent website. I kept it in my favorites. Thanks for sharing.

http://www.r24.org/pattayacity.com/pattaya

http://www.pattayaexpatsclub.info http://www.pattayaexpats.com

I would go 1/2 that for freelancers, or bar girls. That's about right for gogo girls, maybe more depending on what others are paying her, or your negotiation skills.

teelack, the review is 4 years old. They may have umbrellas by now. I wouldn't book, or not book over a 4 year old review.

I thought it was: You handsome man.

I don't like in room safes. They are convenient, but easily broken into. You can even find instructions how to do it on youtube. I prefer a behind the desk safe that takes two keys, one that I have, and one that people at the desk have. Even if someone gets your key, the people at the desk know it's not their box. I typically get the most out of the ATM that I can, to keep the ATM charges down. I'll pocket 10,000 Baht, and put 20,000 Baht in the safe along with my passport, and one credit card. I carry the cheapest cell phone I can find. No BG wants to steal it, because they have a much nicer one. That only leaves my laptop and camera to secure. The lap top will not fit in any safe, so I put it in my luggage and lock it. The camera, is not top of the line so I can afford to lose it. I also never bring freelancers back to my room. If I want a freelancer, I take her to a short time room. I've never had anything taken. I almost always take a lady from a bar that I have been in more than once, and know mamasan or the management. As for your hotel, I have a couple of suggestions of places that I have stayed that fit what you are looking for. Since you have a hard time walking and want to be in the middle of the action, I can name three good places. First P72 hotel on walking street. It's nice, clean, great staff, has a good restaurant, and no extra charge for room service. Free wi-fi, and computers available. Big bathrooms, good air-con. You can't get any closer to the action, literally right out your front door. You will have to walk some to get off of walking street, but not to far. There is a loud disco across the street, so I would ask for a room in the back, also on the 3rd floor or above. They used to have a band of their own that played until 2AM. so the second floor wasn't good. They don't have a band now, but who knows, they could have one again tomorrow, http://www.tripadvis...i_Province.html and http://www.soidb.com/en/pattaya/stay/hotel/p72hotel.html The second place, and what I think would suit you best, is the Dream hotel. It's owned by the same people that own P72, and is just like it, but cheaper. They have the same great service, it's clean, has the very good restaurant with no charge for room service. Good Wi-fi, and computers. Both the Dream and P72 have two key behind the desk safes. Ladies will have ID collected and not be allowed to leave unless you escort them out, or they call you to see that everything is OK. The Dream is a short walk from P72 up the same Soi but on 2nd road, not walking street. You will have a short walk to walking street, but any place else you go, you can literally step out the front door and catch a Baht bus for 10 baht. You can go the whole length of Pattaya from there. It's also the quietest hotel that I stayed in, in Pattaya. I also think the best value. It's kind of unknown, so under priced for what you get. Being unknown, I was able to walk in during high season and get a room with out a reservation. http://www.soidb.com...ream_hotel.html Secrets hotel, is just off walking street. They have in room safes. A bar and restaurant. it's in the heart of the action also. The one big drawback for you, they don't have an elevator, and the stairs suck, it's a small stair case, and the stairs themselves aren't built to American size specification, so they are uncomfortable to walk up. They do have a very good reputation though. It's really a guest house not a hotel, even though they call themselves a hotel. Rooms and bathrooms are smaller than P72 and the Dream. Being small, they are typically full so you will need a reservation well in advance. You can google them. The Sabi Lodge is a good choice, but it is on the other end of town. You will have to baht bus to walking street, however, it's a short walk to where you catch a baht bus. Not sure if there is still construction going on, but it is big. If it's not high season, and the place is not full, you should be able to move to a quieter room if your getting to much noise. High season, you may not have that option. If you feel the need for a pool, it's the better choice. The others I listed do not have pools. To be honest, I never used any pool in any hotel I stayed in. I don't really want to swim alone, and to swim with your lady, you will end up going out to buy her a swimming suit. The few times I got really hot, and thought I would use it, I went to my room to change, took a shower, and got cooled off and thought, why should I step out side in the heat when I have an air con room? The ladies, would probably rather go to Koh Larn and sit on the beach rather than at the pool anyway. Once you go there, you will find it's a better option as well. Koh Larn is only a 30 baht boat ride from Bali High pier.

Good question. If I were to make a guess, I would say that this is a case where Thai racism outweighs the benefit to the economy. I would expect the farang owned language schools to be the first, if not the only ones to be shut down.

Jacko, I wouldn't go by the figures listed in Thailand. It was written for Canada. Canada never gets the heat that Pattaya does. The sun is no way near as hot. Also in Canada walls are insulated, and windows are typically double pane. Walls in Thailand ate brick with a concreet covering, no insulation, and double pane windows are unheard of anywhere except in the luxury hotels. The numbers shown are lower than the recommended BTU's for Oregon, which isn't much warmer than Canada. The number of days that I used air-con in Oregon is about equal to the number of days I go with out air-con in Pattaya. That is a big difference. Even the good housekeeping website would show one size larger than your calculator. http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/air-conditioner-calculator My front room has an 18,000 BTU unit and is 462 sq. ft. Your calculator shows it would need 8,000-11,000 as far as I'm concerned, 18,000 is to small, it takes way to long to cool the room. I've just had it cleaned and serviced, and it hasn't helped. Try Big C or Carfour, they usually have an 18,000 on sale. The salesman will try and talk you out of it, because it's marked down. Stick to the promotion unit. They are name brand, and have the same guarantee as the others.

New, Major Visa Requirements - Education “Ed” Visas Holders Must Attend Classes By VISITH PINPAWONG According to the Deputy Director, the Thailand Ministry of Education is warning all schools who offer Education Visas to foreigners to be legitimate and make sure students adhere to attendance and testing requirements. At the Pattaya City Expats Club meeting on Sunday, Immigration Volunteer and former British Consul Barry Kenyan stated the problem with Education visas as he observed it first-hand in the local Immigration office on Jomtien Beach Road, Soi 5. “A guy came in and wanted to renew his Education visa for a 7th straight year. He waited in the queue and when it was his turn he sat at the Immigration officer’s desk in charge of Education Visas. He had all of his documents from the school. His application was completed and he had the two photos now required for any visa. So the officer looked at him and said, ‘You have been learning Thai for six years already. Is that right?’ The answer was yes so the officer looked at a nearby fish tank and said in Thai, ‘The big fish eat the little fish.” The foreigner looked at him without a clue. The officer smiled and picked up a big red stamp and stamped “CANCELLED” on the remaining portion of the current visa and told the fellow he would not again receive an Education visa,” Barry reported. The Deputy Director of the Thailand Ministry of Education recently summoned all language schools’ owners in Pattaya along with senior Chonburi Immigration Police Investigators to address this issue and notify the schools of the crackdown. “Now any school found to be selling the Education visa simply to allow the foreigner to stay in Thailand and not attending the school will be closed down and lose their license. All of the school’s students, whether attending or not, will have their visas cancelled,” the representative of the Ministry of Education stated. Going to school and learning Thai is one option for people to "long stay" in the Kingdom without having to constantly do "border runs." It is especially popular with those who can self-fund themselves living here and do not need to work but are not yet 50 years of age thus not being able to qualify for a Retirement Visa. A Pattaya Times undercover investigation has discovered that some schools are selling discounted "courses" where the "student" pays a reduced fee that gets them a visa but they have no intention of ever attending a class. Every school in Pattaya has a maximum allocated student base dependent on classroom availability. One school in particular was named and shamed. The school in question has a maximum capacity of 160 students based on if the classrooms were full every minute of every day. Most schools have 40% of students sign up for second and third years, thus reducing the capacity of the school of new students in the second year by 40%. In the case of the capacity of the school above reducing the intake of new students to 96. The education department in very strong language asked the particular school if they thought the education department was foolish and if they do not keep records. In the last three months this school had new sign ups of 80 students and was asked where they sit their students and where are the three extra classrooms they would require to cope with this over capacity. Even if the school opened all night they still would not be able to facilitate all the students. It has also come to the notice of the Education Department that a lot of schools are using teachers to teach Thai who are not educated to Degree standard and they have warned this must stop. Pol. Capt. Samruai Sa-Mann from Chonburi Immigration police then told all the schools that five foreign nationals are now working undercover on behalf of immigration trying to buy the visa from schools without attending classes. He added, the schools will be prosecuted if the undercover investigators gather evidence of such practices. They are also to investigate visa shops who are offering the Ed Visa and law firms who offer the Ed Visa as it is only registered schools who can offer these visas, Deputy Inspector Samruai said. The Police Captain also added that it had also come to his attention that some schools were using foreign nationals teaching without work permits. Recently two Pattaya schools have been raided by his officers. "If we catch teachers working in schools without a work permit, we will recommend to the Education Department that these offending schools should be closed. We will also be calling all people who advertise language lessons with a visa. We will book some lessons and on arrival we will be asking for work permits of people who we believe are working without work permits," said Pol. Capt. Samruai Sa-Mann from Chonburi Immigration. -- Pattaya Times 2011-07-07

Hope you get it all sorted out. Good luck.

"We would like to announce that Thailiving Ferry MV Imagine will suspend our Gulf Crossing Pattaya – Huahin From May 25 2011 on to approximately October 2011." Ferry web site Thai Living Ferry MV Imagine are now available for charter for private and corporate organizations. Day charters visiting islands and beaches of your choice Koh Rin, Koh Larn, Monkey Island and many more. Night Charters. Cruising along Jomthien Beach & Pattaya Bay.

What is up with that? It feels like I need to turn off the computer because I can't read any more good posts. I assume the is a max number of negatives also. How many do we get? Is it the same number of positives, and negatives? Is there a monthly or weekly quota? Does Joekicker, and BigD get the same number of votes per day as the man that logs on once a week, or once a month? I can understand a quota on the number of negative votes,,, but positives??