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whats the situation with FT and thailand?

all candy-dandy?

ao cm

where u staying now? and how much do u pay for 1 month? im moving on wednesday (staying in soi lk metro atm) and looking for a decent place with good internet and good monthly rate, been in couple different hotels/guesthouses before but i like to try something new

flying into phuket on the ~25th i want to book a hotel ahead of time that has reliable internet and a gym. preferable close to 2p2ers.

forgot to mention it's for me and my friend

I liked the Sugar Palm resort in Kata beach, it was around 3k baht/night iirc

its super close to the beach, and walking distance to pretty much everything in Kata(although watch out for burly ladyboys on motorbikes when your walking back from the beer bars!)

there is actually almost no argument about this. some people like beaches, some people like big cities. some people like both, and move around. the pros and cons of Phuket, Bangkok, (and CM recently) are pretty well documented here, there should be more than enough info for you to decide which appeals most to you. if not, then just visit all of the places and see for yourself which you'd like the most.

Is there a good post on how to cash out from Thailand? I searched through the last 1k posts or so and didn't find that much useful information. Does anyone want to make one and nathan could add it to the sticky?

My questions include (for a US player). It looks like other people have questions too.

I created a moneybookers account, but it's not on the list of withdrawal options on either PS, FT, or UB how do I get it there?
Since I didn't deposit using moneybookers, and it's hard to deposit using moneybookers from Thailand can I ever withdraw from those sites using moneybookers?
Since poker is technically illegal in Thailand how safe is using bankwires from pokersites like FT and UB.
FT seems set up to use routing numbers not swift codes. Do I have to email them to get them to wire money to my Kasikornbank?
Most poker sites won't accept deposits from US based credit cards, however my Kasikornbank card has a Visa logo on it. Could I deposit using that, then withdraw to my bank that way? How safe would that be?

My normal recco for Phuket.


http://www.katabeachstudio.com/rate.html

Not sure about gym but it's deffo cheaper than 3K/night.

you dont need to use a vpn to play on stars as an american in thailand, when i came here-waas cashing out they did ask me why i was playing here and i just told them one long ass holiday. i had to like fax them my passport or something and than no prob. far as cash outs well ftp can do wire xfers but for stars the other option is to have it mailed to someone you trust back home and have them deposit it for ya.

Not staying too far from you then. Just down the street from Canterbury Tales Cafe. It's called "Aussie Guesthouse" and I'm paying 400 baht/night (after monthly discount...so 12k/month). It's a VERY small room in a small guesthouse. Not sure if he charges the same for all his rooms or if some cost more. Wouldn't have even known about it but I showed up at Canterbury unannounced and they were full, so Dave called Trevor (the owner here) just down the street and here I am.

It's not that easy to find as there's no website and no sign (although the owner sometimes throws a sign in the back of his parked truck). If you're interested in checking it out, pm me and I can give you Trevor's cell ph. Not sure if he's got an empty room(s) right now or not.

If you're already at Soi LK Metro, you might want to check out Irish Rovers and see if they got a room available. I had a great time when I was there. Downside is they have no internet.

POKERSPIV,

you around ? i have a question for you as i believe you stay in koh samui yeah? i just had like an hour long conversation with a friend about it and i was just curious why you prefer there over say phuket? i assume youve been there. thanks in advance should you see this. the way he broke it down it sounded pretty nice.

Cool. I'm here for a year on a Non-Immigrant B Visa, so my guess is I'll probably have to fax a copy of my visa stamp at some point. Thanks.

I have deposited to FTP using my virtual credit card that you can create when setting up an account at Kasikorn. Not sure of the limits. I deposited $1000

does this palce have good internet?

there's a great little gym in kata like 30 secs by motorbike from kata beach studio. tattered pictures of arnold on the wall, old but solid equipment, and a cool owner. recommend it.

don's gym:
http://www.donsgymphuket.com/

Hey guys, sending my visa application in in the morning and I just had a quick question. I am from the USA and going to thailand from march to june, I see the entry pass options are single, double, and multiple. Should I just apply for 3 entries, or 2? Thanks!

depends on how many times you want to leave thailand

fyp.

if you dont know how long you are staying i would just get a triple entry. each entry is good for 60+30 days so if you get a triple it's almost 9 months worth of stay before you have to go hunt for a new visa.

double is only good for 2x 60+30 days and might have shorter validity (time period you have to use all your entries)

on visas, mine runs out in like a week. i have the 3 entries @60 days. i want to renew it, but am super lazy. i don't are about price (brag), whats the easiest way to do it that i waste minimum time? go to embassy and tell them to renew it? or do i actually have to fly to laos or something?

going back to US in july so i think i'll get yr long visa then or something.

also my roommate just came in w/no visa and has 30 day tourist, how does he have to extend?

Hello everybody, i would like to do a visa run for my double entry to Cambdoge. But i have to know if i can go to Cambodge by taxi or if i need a visa or something like that?

And if yes, how much it cost? And how much time it take to go to the capital of cambodge by taxi or bus

near 60 day end go to immigration office in chiang wattana. not sure if thats how its spelled but basically its bts to mo chit and you tell the taxi immigration office/soi which is posted somewhere in here. would be good to print out a copy of map for him but you can look up the soi n stuff and that should be good.

Bens gotta go to Laos-thaivisaservice.com is good as he is a newb and they handle everything for ya.

i assume you have a tourist visa. when you came into the country you got 60 days and like adviced already you can go to immigration and get an extension for 1900 baht which gives you 30 days more. after that you have to leave the country. I usually just fly to kuala lumpur, have a lunch at the mcdonalds and come back on the next flight. you can come back the same day but it will take most of the day do fly there and back + waiting obv.

even if you get a "one year visa" with most of them you have to leave the country every 90 days.

you room mate has a 30-day visa exempt stamp. that can only be extended for 7 days for 1900 baht. if he is staying long term i suggest to him going to laos and get a double entry tourist visa from there.

since you have a visa already it doesnt matter where you go but you do have to leave the country after the extension (if you get one) runs out. cambodia and laos are obviously options but there you have to apply for visa at the border. with kuala lumpur you get stamped in same way you get stamped if you come to thailand without a visa.

you said you dont care about money but if you want to save a bit and avoid any hassles i think flying to KL is the best bet. if you dont mind sitting in a bus then i guess bkk'ers do cambodia/burma? dont really know

There are a lot of reasons I prefer Samui (specifically Lamai) to Phuket but here are the main ones:

1) I have been going there for a long time and know a lot of the locals
2) Samui is a lot quieter than Phuket. You can find a quiet place to live without having to ride 5km through jungle on your motorbike to find a 7/11 like you do in Phuket.
3) Everything is much cheaper in Samui, you get more for your money so don't have to grind as much.
4) People don't hassle the **** out of you when you walk down the street in Samui, even in the nightlife areas.

The only real thing Samui doesn't have that Phuket doesn't is surf. Karon beach has a proper ocean swell whereas beaches in Samui have no surf at all.

Note that most of the above applies to Lamai beach in Samui, Chaweng Beach is more like Phuket. I've been to Patong, Karon, Kata and Chalong in Phuket and I prefer Lamai to all of those for the reasons above.