Website Visitor Questions

Would this be encouraged in Thailand? & what are the ups and downs of this?.

Any advice would be most welcome.
Regards David U.K.

In terms of the "homestay" market in Thailand, this is a reasonably popular sector of the accommodation market here,more popular in the north & north-east of the country I think rather than the central & southern beach areas.

I have seen homestays in some of the remotest places you could imagine around this area, and could never work out how they could possibly be profitable, as they did not appear to offer any special to enable them to secure bookings.

To my mind, to successfully run a homestay, as they are typically located "off the beaten path", you have to have a U.S.P. (unique selling proposition), whether it be:

* small lake for fishing holidays
* located near a good quality golf course for golf holidays
* very scenic location for rambling,walking holidays
* offer guided tours to interesting places

Anything that offers uniqueness & value I am sure will do quite well.

In terms of opening such a venture in Thailand, there is very little legislation on this sort of thing currently, you see new mini-resorts being built all over the place.

The three aspects you would need to research thoroughly are:1/ Thai Visas
2/ Thai Work Permits
2/ Thai Limited Company

Inorder to run a homestay business in Thailand, you would need to have the three above points completely covered.

Thai Visas - if you have a long term desire to live in Thailand, you would need to decide what type of Thai Visa is suitable for you, as each different type has different demands.

Thai Work Permit - so that you can work in Thailand you will need a work permit, this in your case would come through having a Thai Limited Company.

Thai Limited Company - providing you are a minority shareholder & with the majority shareholders being Thai, you will be able to start business, however please do research the costs side, as there are several different types of Thai Limited Companies ,each one with different costs, funding requirements & advantages/disadvantages!.

My own suggestion would be that if you are serious about this as a proposition, you need to visit Thailand & more specifically the area you are thinking about, & spend some time just driving around, looking at existing homestays, what makes them successful, why do they fail.

You might even find an existing one that you could buy - because starting from scratch & running a building project, is a whole new can of worms, that I personally would not recommend you get into!.

I hope that this information helps you, and thankyou for your visit to our website.

Thanks for your email,

To answer your question:Technically, foreigners are supposed to provide evidence of a work permit to be able to open a bank account.

However, this is Thailand! - the banks serve many tourists who wish to put their money into a local bank and use a local ATM account for their stay here, especially if they're staying for an extended stay of 1-3 months.

It's therefore reasonable to expect that a work permit and other documentation are required to open a CHECKING ACCOUNT, but not for a SAVINGS ACCOUNT tied to an ATM card for withdrawals.

I would therefore suggest that you once you arrive in Thailand you visit a branch of a local bank, personally I find both Kasikorn Bank(KB) & Siam Commerial Bank(SCB) to be very responsive towards foreigners, IF one branch refuses you, don't get disheartened, just go to another branch of the same bank, or alternatively another bank completely, it's very rare to be rejected more than twice.

Most people are actually successful on their first attempt.

I hope that this information helps you, and thankyou for your visit to our website.

My friends and I came into Thailand on a 30 day tourist visa, but visited Cambodia by land and upon re-entering Thailand now only have a 15 day visa. Our visa runs out on the 30th of August, but our flight out of Bangkok is on the 10th September.

Right now we are in Koh Phi Phi Ley until the 30th August and are wondering what the best way is to renew the visa. The fine is 500 bhat a day if we go over. We are going to be at the airport in Krabi. We were wondering if there is any way to get an extension at the airport, or if it is advisible to drive to malaysian border (i.e. safe) or if it is better to fly to Kuala Lumpar?. Any help you can give would be appreciated.

Jeremiah from USA

1/ visit the Phuket/Krabi immigration office as soon as possible , take your passport & travel docs, explain your case, they have the power to grant you an extension, there may however be a fee involved.

2/ do the visa run to the Malaysian border, I did this many times when I lived on Koh Samui, it's perfectly safe, you will find lots of "visa tours" in both Krabi & Phuket.

DO NOT turn back up at Bangkok Airport, with a visa 10 days out of date, it's not a smart move if you plan to come back to Thailand at any point, you will get hit with the standard 500thb/day fine, but it could also affect your chances of re-entering Thailand in the future.

I hope that this information helps you, and thankyou for your visit to our website.

There is no precise itinery for the Loy Krathong Festival released to the public so far, the festival takes place over the two days 1st-2nd November 2009, the ACTUAL full moon is on the 2nd November. The date for the traditional day for releasing the large volume of "lanterns" at Maejo University will be Saturday 24th October, this is traditionally the Saturday of the week prior to the main Loy Krathong Festival.

On the 1st November you will start to see lanterns & fireworks being released into the night sky & some people will launch the small boats (Loy Krathong) onto the River Ping in Chiang Mai.

The procession of floats & beauty pageant will also take place on 2nd November.

My suggestions would be that you arrive in Chiang Mai on evening of 31st October, take in the highlights of the city & enjoy BOTH days of this lovely festival, everyone who visits during this time is in awe at the beautiful spectacle that is Loy Krathong!!.

If you sign up to our blog, you will automatically receive updates as more information about the festival becomes available.

I hope that this information helps you, and thankyou for your visit to our website.

I assume you will be travelling to Mae Hong Son from Chiang Mai, there are two different options one is by road(car / bus) the other is by flight.

The car journey takes between 10-12 hours in total, so I would suggest you stay-over in Pai for the night, it's a lovely town roughly half-way between Chiang Mai & Mae Hong Son.

If you choose to fly Thai Airways operate a single flight per day, Flight takes just 35 minutes!!.

Once you arrive at Mae Hong Son you have the choice of either booking a place that includes the Tours you want to do, or alternatively book the Hotel seperately & then look around the town to decide on the tours(there are MANY tour companies) around the town, and you will get exactly what you want by booking it directly this way.

My personal suggestion is that IF you have the time within your itinery to spend 3-4 days visiting the Pai & Mae Hong Son area it is really worthwhile, it's an incredibly naturally beautiful area, with lots to see & do then DRIVE there, if you are quite tight on time hop on the daily flight, but you will miss all the beauty on the way.

I hope that this information helps you, and thankyou for your visit to our website.

Thanks for your email,ok, when you arrive in Thailand (overland) you will receive a 15 day "Visa on Arrival" ,I would suggest that you spend 10-12 days touring the southern beaches & islands & then travel to Bangkok & up to Chiang Mai .From Chiang Mai you will then need to do a visa run to Myanmar(buses leave Chiang Mai early everyday) to get a further 15 day "Visa on Arrival"(overland), then spend your remaining time exploring Chiang Mai & northern Thailand ,you will love it!!.

I hope that this information helps you, and thankyou for your visit to our website.

Thanks for your email, Pai is a magical town that lies up in the mountains between Chiang Mai & Mae Hong Son & is very close to the Thai border with Burma(Myanmar).

Pai is a busy town during the tourist season, as it is used as a base for exploring this most beautiful part of Northern Thailand, the locals are really friendly & it's great value for money!. Please check out the link for much more information.

I hope that this information helps you, and thankyou for your visit to our website.

Thanks for your email,in terms of the Monsoon/Rainy Season EVERY year is different, and different parts of Thailand suffer to greater or lesser degrees, hopefully the link I have attached will help guide you. Please do not be put off by the label "rainy season" very often the weather is still great & you can get some really good bargains with the hotels as it is the "low season"!!.

I hope that this information helps you, and thankyou for your visit to our website.

Thanks for your email, DO NOT eat in your hotel in Chiang Mai, the food on the streets & at local restaurants is sooooooo good & cheap, and it's real Thai, I have added a few links here to help you: Thai Street Food all about eating food sold by street vendors. Chiang Mai Dining Guide a very useful guide to help you find a wide range of excellent value restaurants complete with location maps.

Finally how about trying the classic Lanna(northern Thai) Khan Tok Dinner this is a great evening & includes traditional Thai dancing & music, & can ONLY be found in Chiang Mai.

I hope that this information helps you, and thankyou for your visit to our website.

Thanks for your email,DO NOT book anything on the internet or through a travel agent, wait until you are in Chiang Mai, you will get EXACTLY what you want, at the cheapest possible price. Check out this page about halfway down gives help about Tours & Booking ,this particular page is about trekking, but the principles & information are correct for ALL tour bookings.

I hope that this information helps you, and thankyou for your visit to our website.

Thanks for your email, the two cheapest ways of keeping in touch with home whilst in Thailand are:
1/ the internet - most towns in Thailand now have an internet cafe, its cheap & easy.
2/ Thai SIM card - DON'T use your normal SIM card, it will cost you a fortune, just buy a Thai SIM card from any 7/11 store, you can also buy top-up cards from there.

If you have a "swanky" mobile phone, you will be able to both "surf the internet" and make CHEAP international calls !!.I hope that this information helps you, and thankyou for your visit to our website.

According to the letter of the Thai Immigration laws, as a visitor from India you are required to follow "Visa on Arrival" rules, for which there is a charge of 1,900thb(approx US$55), but as you are only staying overnight, and have an onward flight ticket, you should not be required to make any payments.

BUT, you will find this is very much up to the Immigration Officers on duty on the day, you best bet is to explain your situation, and HOPE they are understanding!!.I hope that this information helps you, and thankyou for your visit to our website.

Travelling between the destinations would be by cheapest bus or trains (where possible). Visa runs are NOT included, you would need to ensure you are near relevant border to do as cheaply as possible.

Visas:
If you intend to visit Thailand for longer than 60 days, then you need to get a "Tourist Visa" which will allow 60 days, then you can do a couple of "visa runs" which would give you a further 15days each, so 90 days is relatively easy to achieve. See Thai Visas for detailed information on latest Thai visa information.

If you were in Laos, Vietnam & Cambodia the overall costs would be very similar, as there economies are on a par with that of Thailand, with the exception of the beach areas, which will be cheaper in the other countries as their tourism trade is not as developed as that in Thailand !!.

SO based upon all of the above, I would suggest that your $4,000 budget would stretch as long as 6 months + a little further by saving additionally wherever you can.I hope that this information helps you, and thankyou for your visit to our website.

Depending on the actual size & condition of the rain drum your family has, its likely value will be somewhere between $500-$2,000, if it was already an old item when your dad bought it, it could be worth even more, but for an accurate assessement I would suggest you contact an antiques dealer, who will be more qualified to answer you.I hope that this information helps you, and thankyou for your visit to our website.

Question: I am visiting Northern Thailand in May this year with my boyfriend, and we want to do some trekking, but am struggling to find practical information about trekking in Northern Thailand, can you help ?. Jen from Sydney,Australia