In Vietnam and don't have access to facebook

Saigon wired - infrastructure - oh ya!

Unless you live under a log or maybe here in Vietnam where the news is not news until the guy in charge decides it to be, you would know the world has some more immediate problems than global warming.

Just spent a few months in Thailand - border dispute with Cambodia that over the past few months has destroyed property and cost up to 8 or 9 lives, in the south of Thailand Muslin terrorists have killed over 2000 people since 2004 which 90% were civilian, than you have the red shirts and the yellow shirt protesters causing disruptions in Bangkok. Not to forget loss of life and property due to natural causes, like flooding and sever cold weather in the north of Thailand.  However, in Thailand's case it's possible to visit and be total unaware of these happenings.  Though, Tourists are fickle lot and so just the negative news has had an effect on potential visitors which is another blow to the countries economy.

Then there are the major conflicts in other parts of the world over government leadership that I witnessed from Thai TV that are taking place in parts of the Mideast and once again protesters on the streets of Greece.  Of course then we have the ongoing economic pressures on the USA and other parts of Europe that are impossible to ignore. However, it's better than it was, it's still a long way from what you can refer to as a stable economy in these areas.  Then there is the catastrophic loss in live in Mexico due to the on going strife with the drug Mafia types. Australia with the loss of property and lives due to flooding and New Zealand with it's recent earthquake.  Anyway, I'm sure I missed a lot of other bad stuff but suffice to say the world is a mess and even more messed up than me and so I might be better than we all thought, or maybe not.

Lets get back to where I am and as we know that's Saigon, Vietnam and they have there problems too. Though here in Saigon as I'm looking at all the new construction you would never know it, things are looking up.   However, even as Vietnam manufacturing and production has increased at a rapid rate, the worlds financial difficulties even have moved in on this new growth and has also taken its toll. For example inflation has caused the government to devalue the dong several times, at present leaving it around 20,000 dong to a dollar , the normal rate is around 15,000.  There have been price increases in the government controlled commodities of gas and electricity which surly won't help with inflation but...........  

Then being the negative guy I can't help but look at all the new mega high rises and wonder how the infrastructure of the country can support them, guess it falls under the - you build them and it will all work out, theory. Along the same line more high class designer shopping areas with hotels and restaurants are being built on the ground where my favorite little mom and pop shops were, and I wonder about who the customers are now they have lost me.  So sad to know I that un important.

In finishing this I want to tell you that I'm feeling like that guy under the log but not because I crawled under it, but because someone dropped it on me and all I really wanted was facebook and a medical information web site.

Lets talk Thai Visa - edited

Visa, yup, you gotta have one to visit Thailand.  Though it's a simple deal for us Americans and many other citizens of other western countries staying less than 30 days. Really all that is required is showing up at the immigrations window with proof that you'll be out of Thailand with in 30 days and a completed immigrations form.  Normally the airlines supplies the forms on your flight but if not you can pick one up at the immigrations counter.  This visa is refer to as an "on demand visa" and it's free.

The official tourist visa is one you have to apply for through the Los Angeles Thai consulate or another consulate outside of Thailand. Roughly what is entailed is you need to send them your passport, along with two passport sized photos, a completed visa application, the visa fee of what ever it is at the time and include a self addressed/postage affixed return envelope. The fee change can change at any time but at the time of writing this it has been waved through March 2011. This type of visa gets you 60 days in country and for 1900 baht you can extend it 30 days through a Thai immigrations office in Thailand.

Note, on the original visa application it will ask how many entries you want, think all you can get is two but write in something of at least two entries. 

While allowing your original visa with in 7 days of its expiration to be rolled over into another 60 days plus as before it can be extended for 30 another days after another visit to Thai immigrations and the payment of 1900 baht..  Though in order to get this second edition you must leave and reenter the country.

I'll relate my recent experiences with obtaining a visa extension and the second visa:

Recently I visited Chaengwattana road immigrations and paid the 1900 baht to extend my 60 day tourist visa  the extra 30 days.   Though as the clock ran down on my extension I could see it wasn't going to do it so decided to make a trip back to Thai immigrations and see if I could get a little more time as I really didn't want to go to the trouble of leaving the country. 

So got out the maps getting ready for a little adventure (time before I had a Thai helper), decided on using the BTS to get as close as I could, which was Mo Chit.  Once out of the BTS terminal at Mo Chit I flashed the note saying where I wanted to go, that a Thai friend wrote for me in Thai. One of the waiting van drivers  pulled me into his van and was on my way again, only to be drooped off, with a lot of pointing and waving, in the middle of nowhere. After wondered around a bit, a taxi guy found me and promptly took me to the wrong immigrations office. Then on my own I visited a couple more wrong offices and while at last wrong office a nice lady directed me to pay 20 baht for a motorbike or take my chances on a bus that doesn't always show up to get me where I needed to be. Went with the motorbike guy and before I knew it I was zoomed directly to where I needed to be.

The Chaengwattana road Thai government building is big, but it's easy to locate the immigrations/visa office inside and start your process by jumping right into the que for the form lady, where I tried my darnedest to explain that I just wanted a few weeks extension on my visa but ended up with a form for reentry and told it would cost 1000 baht. OK, so I fill out the form and que up for the form checker/number dispenser lady - missed the whole back side of the form but guess she felt sorry for the stupid, old farang guy me, as she gave me a number anyway and passed me on to wait for my interview with the immigrations officer. As I a waited  I filled out the rest of the form the best I could even though the questions didn't fit what I wanted. Now I'm up  and it's getting late so the immigration lady is trying to step up the pace by handling a half dozen people at a time and then I show up.  She half listens to my request and gives me that look and sits me aside in her office. Then after she clears all the people out of her office she turns to me and patiently explains on how I have to leave the country, walk across the border and return  through Thai immigrations for a second  60 day visa, no money or forms required. Oh, should add the immigration officer who helped me in the end was really nice, giving me this warm and fuzzy feeling that she (Thailand) truly wanted me to stay in her country as long as possible, so why is it is hard?

I had already had plans in the works to go up to Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai so I Incorporated a day trip up to Mail Sai and across the Burma border to Tachilek for a new visa. What an easy deal, no lines no waiting. Pass out of Thailand and into the Burma immigrations, they fill out the forms and take your photo, smile and joke with you as you pay then 500 baht. They ask if you want to go right back to Thailand or shop in the border area in Tachilek. I chose shop, they held my passport and gave me a paper receipt with my photo on it. When I was finished walking around, passed back through the border immigrations and traded the paper for my passport, then it all a matter of jumping in line for Thai customs and my second entry visa entry was in effect..

Note - used a bus from the bus station in Chiang Rai to Mai Sai and then a sawngthaew to the boarder - bus at the bus station was marked and once in Mai Sai a guy with a sign was standing by his pickup (green color not blue as in my photo) saying "to the boarder and immigrations". Total trip to the border took less than 2 hours.