About swegolf

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Some Forum Posts:

Thailand: Any market for Spanish teachers in Thailand ?:

Check Webster Univ.

Thailand: Forgot my Kindle in Pattay:

Going over in a month, happy to help. But not sooner, sorry.

Thailand: How can I get a Thai retirement visa ??:

Of course you can. The Thai immigration officer is being foolish. You must have three weeks remaining on your tourist visa to be able to apply for a 365 day extension. With your application you will need a financial statement from the US embassy. You will need to make that appt on line the bring bank statements to the embassy appt. They will stamp them for a fee. It used to be $50. Bring a bank card. Take that and your passport to the Thai immigration office in BANGKOK. (If you go anywhere else you open yourself to immigration corruption which is rife.) Fill out the form at immigration for a visa extension of 364 days. get in line. It takes 6 hrs min. Wait for your number to be called and pay the fee. Once done in BKK it is less likely that you will have a bad experience in your town upon renewal. Thai immigration is really messed up with racist little peckerheads. Watch your ass. They expect a bribe. I just shake my head and say I don't understand. Hint: None of that crap happens in Vietnam. We moved to Nha Trang because Thai immigration is too jacked up with corruption. It's easy here. A $25 letter and $145 at the airport gets you a 1 yr visa with three visa runs per year. Flights are cheap. If you take a carry on its $25. Vietnam outscored Thailnd in every area. It's paradise compared to TH. We used to spend our winters there but it's gotten ridiculous with price gouging, immigration racism and bombs, As I write from my $17 per night Oceanside hotel room a Christian womens choir is singing below in the church. It's 5am. and I can hear the waves lapping the beach. Beautiful. You're not going to get that anywhere in Thailand.

Thailand: Ed Visa Renewal Challenge at Savannakhet Border:

My PH wife experienced similar treatment. We are sick of HH and Thailand. We're spending this year in Nha Trang, VN and couldn't be happier. Clean. Same price for everyone. No degrading immigration situations. No more trips to that sweaty little HH immigration office for shakedowns. Visa is $145 yr with Pnom Pen turnarounds every 3 months. You can easily get the Teaching visa. What a relief. VN is clean and 2/3 the cost of TH. Beaches are good, no animal droppings and drunk Thai's to avoid. PH and US are welcome here. ASEAN is honored. There is petty theft of phones so watch that. Overall it's much better in Nha Trang than in HH. Good luck.

Vietnam: Golf:

Golf in VN is sparse and expensive. The caddies here are $20-30 per round. Joining fees are anywhere between $1400USD in Nha Trang to $2500 or more in Saigon. Carts are $25. Every club is a little different but it's steeper than the US. Palos Verdes in Davao is much more reasonable. $900 for 2 yrs carts are $15, caddies $6. I've not heard of legal separation in PH. No divorce, but annulment is common and expensive. If you are leaving why bother. You will be hard pressed to recoup any assets. Cambodia same. Google it.

Thailand: Moving to Thailand:

Unfortunately you will have a very difficult time finding gainful employment. Even as a multi-lingual westerner your top pay would be lucky to be 20,000 Bhat per month. Your best opportunities will come from owning your own business or in import/export. Thai's won't give you a job that they could give to a Thai even if their they are less qualified. Sorry but it's better you know now.

Thailand: Pension:

Make an appointment on line at the embassy in Bangkok. You declare your pension at the US Embassy in Bangkok. They do not require documentation. You print out your appointment page and take it to the counter after security and fill out a form, take that and your Visa or MasterCard to the window and pay the stamp fee. Take that stamped document to immigration. YOU MUST HAVE MORE THAN 3 WEEKS LEFT ON YOUR TOURIST VISA to get immigration approval. Pay immigration in Baht. Bangkok is best. Quickest. Less chance of bribe. Yes it happens to everybody in smaller towns like Hua Hin. They will stamp your passport for a one year extension.

Thailand: Greetings from Colombia. Questions:

Hi, I've been to Bogota but not Med. Herard good things about Med. Wife and I spent last year in TH. Chang Mai is nice enough. Bangkok is messy. Hua Hin is good. Stay away from Krabi and Koh Tao. Many murders. You might find a job teaching Spanish at a private school in Chang Mai, don't know. US curriculum. Faith Academy? Can't recall. Visas: You will get 30 days on arrival then 28 day extension for 1800 B, about $50? then a visa run. It gets old quick as air travel is required and you will be hassled by immigration at Don Meung your 3rd time. It's crazy. BKK is usually no problem. Don Meung is run by local immigration hoodlums looking for extra cash. It's best to apply for a year visa for you and your wife before you get here. Way, way better. You can do that by downloading the forms and sending it all off to the Thai embassy or go there in person. Avoid unscrupulous immigration officers. It's getting to be a problem in Hua Hin too. Good luck.

Vietnam: international phone calls:

1. Get a VN SIM card. 2. With the SIM card have the guy install 100,000 credit on your cell. It's a scratch off card that they load and its in Vietnamese. 3. Call your bank directly by pressing and holding the zero until you get the + the your country code, then the number. So if I'm calling Australia it's +61 9307 2440 That's it. You will get about 30 minutes time for the 100,000.

Thailand: Moving to Phuket on Dec 2nd 2016:

Phuket is expensive and there have been rental house scams recently. Some involve reputable rental companies that show you a nice house, ask 10,000 deposit then say they don't know you. So there's that. You can extend your tourist visa 28 days then you must leave the country. You can also go to the US embassy-make an appointment!-and have your retirement amount verified. WITHIN A WEEK OF GETTING YOUR VISA, take that to immigration and file a 365 day extension of your tourist visa. It takes 3 weeks to clear that through Bangkok office. Some people go to Bangkok to do it bc you're there at the embassy anyway and it's much quicker than Phuket. It's a hassle and takes time, the lines are long at immigration but it's worth it. Taxis rarely come to immigration and when they do there's a line for them too. And they triple the price, if you can get one. Welcome to Thailand!

Date Joined:

6/9/2016

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54

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