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.
