(this short article on Visa Runs is by no means comprehensive. Rules change all the time. Consult thaivisa.com or better yet, ask another ex-pat who's been here awhile.)
Making a Visa Run is an essential part of a ex-pat's existence in Thailand, as I am coming to discover. When you arrive in Thailand from most countries, (including the United States and Europe) you will be issued a FREE 30-day Tourist Visa (at least until March of 2010) at the airport. When that visa expires (as mine is about to) you must a Visa Run or risk Overstay, a situation which costs 500 baht per day and can also get you deported and potentially blacklisted from EVER entering Thailand again.
A Visa Run involves leaving the Kingdom by foot, bus, train or airplane and going into another country, (including such neighboring nations as Burma, Cambodia, or Malaysia or anywhere else on earth with a Thai embassy) entering that Thai embassy with your passport, filling out some forms, paying a fee and waiting for your passport to be returned with the appropriate stamp.
What you want to get out of your Visa Run is the most amount of days that you can legally stay in Thailand upon your return. I have been told by multiple parties that if you cross a border by land, you only get fifteen additional days to stay in the country before you have to make another Visa Run. That ruled out travelling by foot, bus or train to anywhere, so I figured I would fly somewhere. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is closest to Phuket, approximately 50 minutes by air, and tomorrow I will be flying there to see if I can get what's called a multiple-entry visa.
A multiple-entry visa can be either a double or a triple, as I understand it. A Double allows you to stay in the Kingdom for 60 days plus another 60 day extension which can be obtained by leaving and re-entering the country. A Triple allows you to stay for 180 days, leaving and re-entering every 60 days. Dizzy yet?
The reality of this situation and why it's so complicated is simply this - Thailand is very keen to have foreign tourists in Thailand for periods of up to a month - but it is less interested in foreign nationals (farang) who want to stick around and make a home or a haven out of Thailand for very long - even if they have the money or a damn good reason (like teaching or other work) to do so. Nevertheless, Thailand's tourist economy as well as its English language learning industry requires that a certain number of English-speaking people live in the country for at least part of the year - which is why the Thai government issues the non-immigrant B visa for foreign nationals who wish to work legally within the country.
Two quick points on that - the ability to live in Thailand for a year is what encourages so many Westerners to get TEFL certificates and teach here for low wages so they can get this Visa. DO NOT WORK WITHOUT ONE. You can get into very serious trouble. Legally, you can't even VOLUNTEER here without a Non-Immigrant B Visa, so be careful.)
Had I known about all this before I left the US, I would've probably used a service like this one to get a multiple-entry non-immigrant visa, (good for one year with a potential for a three-month extension) which can only be obtained while you are still in your home country. $500 for a visa to stay in Thailand for a year without Visa Runs might seem steep, but if you honestly think you want to stay for a bit, you'll save yourself much more than that in money and hassles at foreign embassies. I have even heard that there are certain embassies in the UK that will issue this visa without charge to UK citizens and this might even be true with the Thai embassy in Houston, Texas for US citizens. (The map is not the territory - call them if you want one.)
One last thing - today I heard of something called a Media Visa (officially known as "Non-Immigrant M") for foreign press. The Lost Boy (an excellent blog, btw) has one, but I don't know if it's possible for freelance press to obtain one - yet.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Teaching English In Thailand
I wanted to post something about this eventually, but the Stickman has already done it for me. Unbelievably comprehensive post. It took about two hours to read the whole thing.
Check this out: (italics added)
...English teachers do not have a particularly good reputation amongst the expat population in Bangkok. Other than the people who sit on a telephone all day trying to sell those bogus share issues to potential investors in other countries, many foreign expats see English teachers as just about the bottom of the barrel amongst Bangkok expat society. The words I'm an English teacher are not always spoken with a great deal of pride in Bangkok because any English teacher will truly know that many of their farang peers are a bunch of sex tourists, beach bums, misfits or no hopers. Getting a job as an English teacher is as easy as getting into a taxi. Sad, but true. Fortunately, Thai society does view teachers in a quite different light.
Check this out: (italics added)
...English teachers do not have a particularly good reputation amongst the expat population in Bangkok. Other than the people who sit on a telephone all day trying to sell those bogus share issues to potential investors in other countries, many foreign expats see English teachers as just about the bottom of the barrel amongst Bangkok expat society. The words I'm an English teacher are not always spoken with a great deal of pride in Bangkok because any English teacher will truly know that many of their farang peers are a bunch of sex tourists, beach bums, misfits or no hopers. Getting a job as an English teacher is as easy as getting into a taxi. Sad, but true. Fortunately, Thai society does view teachers in a quite different light.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Seeing a Doctor in Thailand
In my two visits to Thailand, I have seen doctors in at least three cities - Pattaya, Chaing Mai, and now Phuket. The routine is just that - a routine that I can now confirm is efficacious in getting you what you need.
Most Thai doctors and nurses speak at least some English - most M.D.s have a reasonable degree of fluency, as many of them have studied outside of Thailand and usually in the United States or England.
1) Find out the name of a reputable hospital in your area using either the Internet or a friendly Thai informant.
2) Find out the exact address of the hospital and get a taxi to it, preferably with the aid of a Thai-speaking person to tell the driver where you are heading.
3) BRING YOUR PASSPORT. They will need it. Treatment of foreigners is within their declaration of human rights document regarding medical treatment, and I believe it is regardless of ability to pay.
4) They will ask you what you need. Tell them the truth about what you are needing.
5) There will be forms to fill at each hospital and then you will receive a card so that you don't need to re-register each time. I have cards for hospitals in Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Phuket.
6) Generally, you will see a doctor on the day you arrive, and my experience is that the wait is not long. Thai hospitals are very conscientious when it comes to receiving foreign patients. In one case, because I asked to see a specialist, I was told to come back the following day - I later discovered while they had a psychiatrist on staff the first day I came, they wanted me to see their best one and so had me come on the following day when his schedule was not so full.
7) Your doctor will invariably speak English. Describe symptoms, ask for what you need - I find Thai doctors to be much more compassionate than their Western counterparts.
8) If you have needs just for medication, you may not need to see a doctor. My first visit to Thailand, I lost all my meds on the plane coming in - I visited a small pharmacy near where I was staying and they directed me to a Wondrous place called Fascino, a truly Disco-pharmacy, very sleek and modern and well-stocked. Lithiums were 3 baht a piece - they basically let me have anything I wanted and the prices were beyond decent. I bought a three-month med supply for less than $250.
9) Most small pharmacies will sell benzodiazepines of all kinds (Valium, Ativan, Xanax, etc.) sexual aids (Viagra, etc.) and even heavy meds like Percoset over the counter for very reasonable prices.
10) A small warning: Hospital pharmacies are rumored to be more expensive than their commercial counterparts, but doctors are required to write scripts for their hospital pharmacies. Ask for a seven-day supply - once you have the name of the drug and prescription envelope in hand, you can get the script filled in any other pharmacy in Thailand - generally speaking, that has been my experience, but of course it might not work everywhere. For the last round of benzos I had prescribed at a doctor's, the price was 140 baht for a 14-day supply in a hospital pharmacy - 10 baht per pill. (roughly 30 cents a pill.) A lot less than you'd be expected to pay in the US, that's for sure.
What follows is a short list of hospitals in the cities I have been:
Bangkok Hospital Pattaya (in Pattaya on the baht bus route)
Chiang Mai Ram (located just outside the moat, as I recall)
Bangkok Phuket Hospital (located in Phuket Town)
For those of you concerned that you might need in-patient for a psychiatric illness, I have heard there is an outstanding facility in Hat Yin, but I have no direct experience of it. As always, try your best to meet Thai people who also speak English and ask around of them as well as seasoned ex-pats in your area.
Most Thai doctors and nurses speak at least some English - most M.D.s have a reasonable degree of fluency, as many of them have studied outside of Thailand and usually in the United States or England.
1) Find out the name of a reputable hospital in your area using either the Internet or a friendly Thai informant.
2) Find out the exact address of the hospital and get a taxi to it, preferably with the aid of a Thai-speaking person to tell the driver where you are heading.
3) BRING YOUR PASSPORT. They will need it. Treatment of foreigners is within their declaration of human rights document regarding medical treatment, and I believe it is regardless of ability to pay.
4) They will ask you what you need. Tell them the truth about what you are needing.
5) There will be forms to fill at each hospital and then you will receive a card so that you don't need to re-register each time. I have cards for hospitals in Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Phuket.
6) Generally, you will see a doctor on the day you arrive, and my experience is that the wait is not long. Thai hospitals are very conscientious when it comes to receiving foreign patients. In one case, because I asked to see a specialist, I was told to come back the following day - I later discovered while they had a psychiatrist on staff the first day I came, they wanted me to see their best one and so had me come on the following day when his schedule was not so full.
7) Your doctor will invariably speak English. Describe symptoms, ask for what you need - I find Thai doctors to be much more compassionate than their Western counterparts.
8) If you have needs just for medication, you may not need to see a doctor. My first visit to Thailand, I lost all my meds on the plane coming in - I visited a small pharmacy near where I was staying and they directed me to a Wondrous place called Fascino, a truly Disco-pharmacy, very sleek and modern and well-stocked. Lithiums were 3 baht a piece - they basically let me have anything I wanted and the prices were beyond decent. I bought a three-month med supply for less than $250.
9) Most small pharmacies will sell benzodiazepines of all kinds (Valium, Ativan, Xanax, etc.) sexual aids (Viagra, etc.) and even heavy meds like Percoset over the counter for very reasonable prices.
10) A small warning: Hospital pharmacies are rumored to be more expensive than their commercial counterparts, but doctors are required to write scripts for their hospital pharmacies. Ask for a seven-day supply - once you have the name of the drug and prescription envelope in hand, you can get the script filled in any other pharmacy in Thailand - generally speaking, that has been my experience, but of course it might not work everywhere. For the last round of benzos I had prescribed at a doctor's, the price was 140 baht for a 14-day supply in a hospital pharmacy - 10 baht per pill. (roughly 30 cents a pill.) A lot less than you'd be expected to pay in the US, that's for sure.
What follows is a short list of hospitals in the cities I have been:
Bangkok Hospital Pattaya (in Pattaya on the baht bus route)
Chiang Mai Ram (located just outside the moat, as I recall)
Bangkok Phuket Hospital (located in Phuket Town)
For those of you concerned that you might need in-patient for a psychiatric illness, I have heard there is an outstanding facility in Hat Yin, but I have no direct experience of it. As always, try your best to meet Thai people who also speak English and ask around of them as well as seasoned ex-pats in your area.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Getting Around in Bangkok
Last time I was in Thailand, I spent most of my time in Chiang Mai and rode a motorbike. This time around, I landed in Bangkok and had a world of trouble with taxis and tuk-tuks. Here are my hot tips for getting around BKK:
(but really not practical if you just arrived, so)
1) drive private (car or motorbike you are driving) whenever possible
(but really not practical if you just arrived, so)
2) choose public transport (subway, bus, or skytrain) whenever possible. Subways and Skytrain have all sorts of friendly people who speak English behind the counters who will put up with your silly questions. The fares are FIXED and so are the routes. A bus map can be had around town for 65 baht, and sometimes I paid as little as 8 baht to go awfully far.
3) NEVER take a tuk-tuk except for fun.
Tuk-Tuk drivers are basically the worst of the lot - these people will tell you all sorts of nonsense to get you in the back. Ride one once or twice maybe when you're wasted drunk and you want to go somewhere general, like Khao San Road or something, and never get on one alone
4) take a cab ONLY when you either
a) know the EXACT address in phonetic Thai (many drivers cannot read unless the address is in Thai) or
b) telephone a friendly Thai who can speak English to convey the location to the taxi driver. But even that's no gaurantee. My experience is that cabs are quite perilous in Bangkok - one way to have the best shot of getting where you're actually going is to approach a hotel concierge at what looks like a reputable hotel, slip them 20 baht and ask them to hail a cab for you.
5) water taxis, though not publicly run, have fixed routes, BUT they do not always stop at every berth, so while they're romantic and all, they're not terribly efficient for getting you exactly where you want to go.
Tuk-Tuk drivers are basically the worst of the lot - these people will tell you all sorts of nonsense to get you in the back. Ride one once or twice maybe when you're wasted drunk and you want to go somewhere general, like Khao San Road or something, and never get on one alone
4) take a cab ONLY when you either
a) know the EXACT address in phonetic Thai (many drivers cannot read unless the address is in Thai) or
b) telephone a friendly Thai who can speak English to convey the location to the taxi driver. But even that's no gaurantee. My experience is that cabs are quite perilous in Bangkok - one way to have the best shot of getting where you're actually going is to approach a hotel concierge at what looks like a reputable hotel, slip them 20 baht and ask them to hail a cab for you.
5) water taxis, though not publicly run, have fixed routes, BUT they do not always stop at every berth, so while they're romantic and all, they're not terribly efficient for getting you exactly where you want to go.
Computer Saved - Opportunity Missed.
"We finally got to Central Festival and Ling held my arm as we walked up the escalator. I got to the counter and my guy who I’d given the machine to was nowhere to be seen. My laptop was on the counter, closed. The other guy got on the phone and spoke in terse hushed tones. I knew it, I thought. They couldn’t fix it. Everything’s fucked. It was really the motherboard. The kid hung up the phone and moved towards the laptop, saying nothing, and he opened it up and switched it on. I buried my head in my hands, peering at it through my spread fingers. And it was ….beautiful. Like a brand-new machine. I lost all my applications, as I was told I would, but it’s like having a fresh start – there was probably a lot of crap on there anyway. All my documents, all my pictures, all my fucking MP3s were there. It’s going to take a bit of time to organize everything, but it’s up and running and beautiful and I gladly handed forth 1500 baht."
- from today's Strident.org post.
Well, my nightmare's finally over. It'll take awhile to get everything back the way I like it, but all the data's there. Praise goddess. In other news, I found out that the teaching job I wanted in Krabi was already filled - another lesson learned. If they want to interview on Monday, don't fucking wait. Going back to Krabi on Friday to talk to them anyway, but need to start networking Phuket and/or Bangkok, but by now I'm sorta sold on teaching in a beach area if I can. I've always wanted to live near the beach - Bangkok could be a challenge for another time, once I've got some teaching under my belt.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
MAC GREY SCREEN OF DEATH
If A Mac Crashes in Bangkok, Can Anyone Revive It?
My first night in Bangkok was spent in the Hotel Bossitel in Chinatown, the second in a youth hostel in Pink Lao, where my Mac crashed while installing an update. When I re-booted the machine, I got the now famous, (to me anyway) GREY SCREEN OF DEATH, also known as a kernel panic. I cannot even begin to tell you the amount of stress and anxiety this particular problem caused me, particuarly being in a foreign country where I speak zero Thai and many people do not speak English.
And let that be a lesson to you - I really thought I should back up my hard-drive before I left for Asia, but I didn't make it a priority and right away, I was forced to deal with the terror and anxiety of losing my data. BACK UP YOUR DATA BEFORE YOU LEAVE YOUR COUNTRY. Had I done that, I would've saved myself a lot of time and worry. As I did not, I've got a lot of tips for someone who might have this problem in the future...
At the hostel, another guest had a copy of Disk Warrior, which would've installed a rebuilt director on top of what I had in there already - but I afraid to lose any data, so I didn't do it. I ended up spending a lot of time at Pantip Plaza, rumored to be the largest IT Mall in southeast Asia, but I was stymied from doing anything about it because I also ran out of money just as this happened - enough to live on until a check came in from the States, but not enough to solve my problem with - and still save my data. Lots of places offered to do a clean install of the Mac O/S for about 1500 baht, which I didn't have anyway, but backing up the data would've been an additional 1500 baht, which I also didn't have. I put the computer on ice and waited...
I travelled to Krabi as scheduled and local ex-pats told me not to even bother trying to fix it anywhere but Bangkok or Phuket. As luck would have it, my money came in while in Krabi and I was supposed to go to Phuket anyway...on my first day there, I found a Mac re-seller inside the giant Central Mall, and met a cool guy named A who offered to first back up the data, then do the clean install (btw, a clean install will wipe your data so make sure you have a backup!) then put the data back...for 1500 baht. A total deal, right? Except I couldn't see entrusting a total stranger in a shopping mal who barely spoke English l with my data....
Did I mention to BACK UP YOUR SHIT BEFORE YOU LEAVE YOUR HOME COUNTRY?
Had I done that, I could've just had a clean install done and moved forward with my life. As it stood, I was left with this set of instructions, which I may now have to follow:
From my dear friend Canton Becker:
caveat emptor:
And let that be a lesson to you - I really thought I should back up my hard-drive before I left for Asia, but I didn't make it a priority and right away, I was forced to deal with the terror and anxiety of losing my data. BACK UP YOUR DATA BEFORE YOU LEAVE YOUR COUNTRY. Had I done that, I would've saved myself a lot of time and worry. As I did not, I've got a lot of tips for someone who might have this problem in the future...
At the hostel, another guest had a copy of Disk Warrior, which would've installed a rebuilt director on top of what I had in there already - but I afraid to lose any data, so I didn't do it. I ended up spending a lot of time at Pantip Plaza, rumored to be the largest IT Mall in southeast Asia, but I was stymied from doing anything about it because I also ran out of money just as this happened - enough to live on until a check came in from the States, but not enough to solve my problem with - and still save my data. Lots of places offered to do a clean install of the Mac O/S for about 1500 baht, which I didn't have anyway, but backing up the data would've been an additional 1500 baht, which I also didn't have. I put the computer on ice and waited...
I travelled to Krabi as scheduled and local ex-pats told me not to even bother trying to fix it anywhere but Bangkok or Phuket. As luck would have it, my money came in while in Krabi and I was supposed to go to Phuket anyway...on my first day there, I found a Mac re-seller inside the giant Central Mall, and met a cool guy named A who offered to first back up the data, then do the clean install (btw, a clean install will wipe your data so make sure you have a backup!) then put the data back...for 1500 baht. A total deal, right? Except I couldn't see entrusting a total stranger in a shopping mal who barely spoke English l with my data....
Did I mention to BACK UP YOUR SHIT BEFORE YOU LEAVE YOUR HOME COUNTRY?
Had I done that, I could've just had a clean install done and moved forward with my life. As it stood, I was left with this set of instructions, which I may now have to follow:
From my dear friend Canton Becker:
In your situation I'd need to have TWO computers to do the job -- yours and one that works.
1) buy an external drive
2) install the backup utility superduper on a borrowed WORKING macintosh, call it computer "B"
3) plug ext. drive into "B"
4) boot your computer ("A") into "firewire target mode" and plug it into "B" using a firewire cable. BTW if "A" and "B" do not both have firewire ports, then these instructions don't work.
5) use superduper on "B" to make a mirror of "A" onto the external drive
6) using "B", browse the external drive, make sure it looks like the files are all there
7) boot from DVD on "A"
8) format "A", install new OS
9) after booting from nice clean "A" plug in external drive and copy the files over you want to keep.
caveat emptor:
I don't know how to make a backup of a bad computer without having a 2nd working computer on hand. I'd probably leave it to the pros if I were you.
After reading all of this, I am probably going to bite the bullet and take it back to the kid in Central Mall and just let him do it. If I lose data, it's a hard lesson learned. A VERY HARD LESSON LEARNED.
After reading all of this, I am probably going to bite the bullet and take it back to the kid in Central Mall and just let him do it. If I lose data, it's a hard lesson learned. A VERY HARD LESSON LEARNED.
This blog changes now
Formerly known as New Mexico Art News, well, I've moved to Thailand. So from now on, this blog will be about my travels in Southeast Asia. It is the sanitized version - the uncensored stuff will still be located at strident.org - if you want that, email me for a login and password and maybe I'll give it to you.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
The Long Walk
So the word on the Street at Indian Market this year was that Monty Singer got robbed - that his spectacular pastel piece "The Long Walk" shoulda won *something*, probably shoulda won Best in Classification, but didn't win nuthin' at all because of the political content of the piece, which skewers, (and rightly so) casinos, which in a sad twist of fate has become THE sacred cow of the Native World.
I didn't attend Indian Market this year, so I can't really say for sure. I had planned to attend the show at Max's Cafe that many said was the talk of the event, but didn't because I got wind of a plan that artist America Meredith was going to have me *BARRED FROM THE VENUE* were I to show up. Tickled me pink to know I have that much impact even from far far away. I decided at the last minute to avoid the drama and do something else with my weekend, worked on my latest novella, cleaned my room, did my laundry, and spent time with my family. My phone rang non-stop from various artists and collectors who were sad not to see me, but sometimes you just have to assess how the wind is blowing and walk the other direction. Besides - sometimes you just don't know what you mean to a society until you've got reason to say no to it. Perhaps next year. Perhaps not. There's a lot else out there to write about, you know.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Untitled
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
- Newton’s Third Law of Motion
Imagination is reality. Dreams, thoughts and delusions are no less real than the "outside" world.
- Antonin Artaud
For believe me: the secret for harvesting from existence the greatest fruitfulness and greatest enjoyment is — to live dangerously.
- Friedrich Nietzche
As of 5:14am on July 17, 2009, the URL http://gregoryp.blogspot.com/2009/07/swaia-hires-inflammatory-blogger-sam.html is Number One on google for the search string “Sam Haozous.” If you ever contact me or ANY member of my family again, I will put it back permanently, and our fates will be forever entwined in the archives of the Internet. This collaboration is officially over.
- gregoryp™, Friday, July 17, 2009
- Newton’s Third Law of Motion
Imagination is reality. Dreams, thoughts and delusions are no less real than the "outside" world.
- Antonin Artaud
For believe me: the secret for harvesting from existence the greatest fruitfulness and greatest enjoyment is — to live dangerously.
- Friedrich Nietzche
As of 5:14am on July 17, 2009, the URL http://gregoryp.blogspot.com/2009/07/swaia-hires-inflammatory-blogger-sam.html is Number One on google for the search string “Sam Haozous.” If you ever contact me or ANY member of my family again, I will put it back permanently, and our fates will be forever entwined in the archives of the Internet. This collaboration is officially over.
- gregoryp™, Friday, July 17, 2009
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