mahjongguy

I obtained a single-entry O-A from Los Angeles. A year after I used it to enter Thailand I had my stay extended and have done so annually ever since. There was no need to change the visa class before extension. That only happens when someone comes to Thailand without an O or O-A and requests Immigration upgrade them to an O which can then be extended per the retirement qualifications. In fact, just after I arrived with my O-A I went to the Suan Phlu office and showed it to the officer, asked him what I needed to do next. He said "Nothing, see you next year", though he suggested getting a Re-Entry permit in case I needed to travel. I am confident about the contents of my passport, and what I've learned about these issues comes almost entirely from the ThaiVisa forum. There are "sticky" threads there that I recommend to all. In my example I said if ex-pat A has a "valid O-A". Yes, I should have said "multi-entry O-A" but if he only had a single-entry and has used it to enter Thailand then it is no longer valid. Besides, it seems that most Thai embassies and consulates now only issue the multi-entry form of O-A. The 30-day entry granted to many arrivees is known officially as "visa exempt" but the more global term (based on a treaty) is "visa waiver". They are considered synonymous.

My Kindle and my cellphone both use USB chargers. If I were going on a long trip to remote places I too would be nervous about relying on a single item, even though I've never had one fail. I'd take two of the ones I got with Kindles. They are the smallest and seem to be well made. A Sony phone that I just bought at Tukcom came with a UK/HKG plug. Not a problem at home using an adapter but still kind of annoying. If I had to buy and depend on a single charger I'd look for one from Apple.

"I need reliability" Have you considered buying two of them?

"Are we sure about this?" That one item was wrong. Many of us here, including myself, are on extensions that originated from an O-A visa. Here's a simple example of why the lingo can matter: Ex-pat A has an O-A visa that is still valid. He can come and go and gets stamped in for a full year each time. Ex-pat B is on a one-year extension. He goes out for a vacation and when he comes back all he gets is a 30-day waiver. Why? Because he thought he had a "retirement visa" and failed to get a Re-Entry Permit before he left.

Yup. Everywhere. Prices range from 300 to 600 baht. If you want a brand name then buy one at an Apple dealer. The only quality issue is this: a poor quality charger that claims to 100-220vac might not produce full output when you take it back to a 110 volt country like the U.S. so it will charge very slowly.

C'mon, Bob, we pedants need exercise too. B) Well, people can use whatever words they want. They can call a visa a lightbulb if they want. It only bugs me when they mess something up for themselves but refuse to listen to the explanation.

Just FYI lingo: - Travelers from the U.S., U.K., and many other countries are admitted as Visa Exempt (aka a Visa Waiver). - Travelers from (mostly) second-tier countries must stop at a special desk and purchase a Visa On Arrival before they can enter. Examples include Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania. They may have to show return tickets, adequate cash, etc. - Travelers from certain other countries must obtain a Tourist Visa overseas before they can travel to Thailand. There are some differences between being admitted on a waiver and actually having a Visa On Arrival, so using the right lingo can matter. It was the change two years ago for Russians from VOA to exempt status (90 days!) that has increased their numbers dramatically.

The fireworks can't be seen from Jomtien. Pattaya Beach near Boyztown would be fine, just very crowded.

- Re-Entry Permits are not available at the airport. - Re-Entry Permits are not available anywhere for those who have entered on a Visa Waiver. For those who want to travel around Thailand and pop over into the neighboring countries, a good solution would be a triple-entry Tourist Visa obtained from one's home country. If your Thai Embassy says they will only issue a double entry, there is often an Honorary Consulate in another city that may be more understanding of your travel needs. Otherwise, get a single or double entry Tourist Visa and when you arrive in Thailand go to a local Immigration office and purchase a multiple Re-Entry Permit for 3,800 baht, but note that it will only be valid for your original 60-day permission to stay.

- As always, if it seems too good to be true, it's not. - Don't expect especially good deals on mobile phones. Nearly all of them are imported so why would they be cheap here? - Be extra wary of the latest hit products. This includes everything from Apple, hot items like the Samsung S3, and many tablets. Usually you can find tips on the Internet on how to identify a particular counterfeit product. Usually it's enough just to turn on the device and check the operating system. Fake iPhones, for example, look like decent hardware but the menus and such look horrible and are obviously not iOS.

Re-Entry permits are available from 6am to midnight at Suvarnabhumi. Only at one of the two entrances to Immigration. But, it can be hectic at times and I would find it too nerve-wracking. Given that, and the numerous holidays at government offices, I always buy a single Re-Entry permit after every annual extension. If that 1,000 baht gets wasted, it was worth the peace of mind.

If one follows the thread it can be seen that I was talking about standard (i.e. non-sexual) massage. No mention in my posts about gay massage. In fact I only used the word masseur because I don't know a gender-neutral word. You won't catch me saying "massager". George Bush I'm not.

"I didn't know how the masseurs were remunerated - basic wage plus 'tips' (for want of a better word)." Just to be sure I was clear: massage shop staff don't get a basic wage. They may get a meal, they may get a daily minimum guarantee of something like 100 baht just to encourage them to stick around, and they get 80 to 100 baht per customer (if any). Some earn extra baht by cleaning. Some are allowed to sleep upstairs. Whatever they manage to earn is paid out twice monthly, minus severe fines for any days they failed to show up for work. The standard schedule is 12 hours a day, 28 days a month. And yes, you may think I'm kidding, but that can mean 2 free days in November and none in February. Shop owners range from adequately humane to downright abusive.

"Not tipping for standard service seems quite logical to me. After all, no one tips the staff in the nearest 7-11, or those a multitude of other low paying customer facing jobs. So there's no real need to tip a masseur if he's done a standard job." I'm sorry to say it so roughly but that's ignorant. 7-11 clerks get the same pay (now 300 baht minimum wage) whether there are customers or not. Masseurs get little more than a bowl of noodles for their 12-hour shift unless they get a customer and even then it's only an average of 100 baht out of the shop's 250 baht. Massage shops are different from any other commerce here. It's not actually a tip at all, it's a system of separate payments where the amount for the masseur is up to you. "Having said that, I usually offer something." Offer? Like, in case they want it? I get heated about this topic because I know a lot about the shops and the way they operate. Bottom line: if you like the fact that these shops exist then you need to help keep the staff from starving.

Visa on arrival is no longer available. One choice is to engage one of several online companies who will obtain the visa and hand it to you when you arrive. But, US$80 is probably more than it's worth. If you are in Thailand you can get a visa from the Myanmar Embassy (actually the building behind it) on North Sathorn Road. If you already have a return air ticket you can get the visa same-day for about 1,200 baht. Otherwise, pay 1,000 baht for 1-day service or 800 baht for 2-day service. Getting a hotel booking in advance from a travel agency is strongly recommended, and don't expect any bargains. Note that there are no ATMs in Burma. You'll need to sufficient take cash for your visit.

It's so rare that if it happens it's a shock. Three years in Bangkok and never even a sour look. Right after I moved to Pattaya, an aging Brit footie brute walked past and said "pervert". Coward that he was, he walked on a good bit before stopping and turning around. I just stared at him 'cause it was still sinking in. Fortunately my b/f, who was 34 at the time, hadn't realized we'd been dissed; he learned in the Army how to deal with bullies. Pound 'em.

For Windows users the simplest way to rid text of invisible characters is to paste the text into Notepad, then copy it back out.

Yes, a standard SIM and a micro SIM can be trimmed to the size of a nano SIM. There already are video guides on YouTube. It requires a steady hand and a fair amount of precision. We can expect to soon see handheld punches for this purpose, same as the existing punches for making micro SIMs. BUT... The nano SIM is also 15% thinner and there's not much you can do about that. It will take some force to get it into and out of the iPhone and might damage the phone's contacts.

Netflix is not available in Thailand. You could use a U.S.-based proxy server or VPN access point but the throughput wouldn't be good enough for streaming video.

Jomtien branch. Here is Kbank's page which mentions the annual fee. http://www.kasikornbank.com/EN/Personal/Debit/Pages/KDebit.aspx

I said: "Most of the banks charge you 200 baht a year for a Thailand-only ATM card, or 300 baht for one with international functionality". He said: "What banks are you referring to? I've never been charged anything at all other than the initial fee for the "VISA Electron" card". Kbank and the other major banks. If you check your statement for the month exactly a year (or any year) after the card was issued, you'll see the deduction, but it won't leap out at you. Kbank's item detail says that it's an "ATM withdrawal" which it definitely is not. A bit sneaky, that.

Most of the banks charge you 200 baht a year for a Thailand-only ATM card, or 300 baht for one with international functionality (i.e. PLUS or other networks). It is also possible to skip the ATM card (if that suits you) and pay no fee at all, but that may prevent you from getting online banking. The 0.75 % interest is paid in June and December.

- If you actually meant Americans, they've always been a fairly small slice of the tourist and ex-pat numbers. UK and EU are the majority westerners. - The number of Arabs, Indians, and Iranians has grown in a very noticeable way, but demographics are always evolving. That's normal. The only thing that has puzzled me is that so many of the people in this category are young-ish, and could not possibly have longstay visas.

Disk drives are laughably cheap but the licensing fees are not.

"Are you sure of those fares?" It's true that their website offers fares around $1700 to $1800. But my friends who fly EVA never book online. The only way they can get the good prices is to book through certain asia-run travel agencies in San Francisco.