A plethora of beautiful photographs and interesting articles are here. Phuket Emagazine - Edition 4 A treasure trove but I would love to take photos of the Vegetarian festival like this!
I was made aware by a guest from the UK last week that there was no charge for their visa? - which was a step to encourage people to visit Thailand after all the disturbances
Then I read of jail time for people who overstay their visa - ouch, so please ensure that your visa is for the full duration that you are here.
I do not know exactly what will happen if you do overstay - there is no printed statement - but maybe gone are the days of the visa run OR payment at the airport - watch very carefully.
Below is a summary of the regulations.
SUMMARY OF CURRENT OVERSTAY REGULATIONS IN THAILAND:
Under the Immigration Act 2522 overstay is punishable by a jail term of 2 years and/or a fine of maximum 20,000 baht.
"Section 81 : Any alien who stay in the Kingdom without permission or with
permission expired or revoked shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding
two years or a fine not exceeding 20,000 Baht or both."
* Overstay 1 - 21 days: Pay a fine 500 Baht/day at Airport/land border
* Overstay 22 - 41 days: Pay a fine 500 Baht/day, possible arrest/detention, deportation, possible blacklisting
* Overstay 42 days or more: Pay a fine up to 20,000 Baht, arrest/detention, deportation, possible blacklisting
I have had witness to these Spirt Lanterns on a number of occasions - Weddings being the usual event. Then I read on the BBC about the hazardthat it causes them in the UK with livestock ingesting them.
I am not sure that we have this problem in Phuket but we are always very careful with the property next door..........