Thai evisa is shhhheeeet!

[George Pill]

Their credit card payment app is broken. Tried 10 times to pay yesterday Wednesday and get this stupid Sorry excuse. This Thursday morning same answer. Gonna lose $300 if I have to cancel my plane fare and hotel. Anybody understand what's going on with their dumb computer?

[George Pill]

"The team is fixing and updating the system." 10:09 AM. THURDAY MORNING.

[Escierto]

Isn’t your departure date November 19?

[George Pill]

Yes. But I don't like procrastination.

[George Pill]

DUH! They emailed me cc payment now works. NOT! after punching in my cc info I request an 8 number code to be texted to me. Punched those in and STILL DOESN'T WORK. Did this 5 times. 5 messages showing failure. Checked my cc and no $40 charge went through. Wrote to LA embassy to just call me at 11 AM and I will give them my cc info. Incredibly STUPID programmers. Worried if they will fix before November 19. Otherwise I will land on visa on arrival and visit Chonburi immigration office in Jomtien. Have printed all pages showing failure messages.

[George Pill]

Friday Oct 27 9:21 AM. Visa website still down . "The team is fixing and updating the system". Can't believe they wasted a whole week of hourly log ins and prepRing 6 submits and endless cc and numbers entries. Fuckin waste if time.

BTW, what is the best SIM card company and where is the locations in bangkok and Pattaya? I think airport is always expensive. Exchange rates are good at 35 bahts to the US dollar.

New PM should replace the Consul general and find someone who is computer savvy and knows how to redesign a foolproof embassy website. Also reopen the Honolulu Consul office. Current head is a lawyer who runs a team of Micronesian hose cleaners. He does everything but sell visas. Pretty useless manpower.

[Rockheart]

You should have just planned a side trip to Singapore to check that off your list. It is only worth 2 or 3 days at most. Then you could just get 2 entry visas.

[George Pill]

Stuck with a $1k plane fare. Costs $300 to cancel expedia and redo it. Maybe better to forget about thailand for good. Still can't enter Thailand evisa. Doesn't even download. The entire ebassy website is not working at all. Rarely I can send in my cc number and still FAILED
dozens of times.

Maybe good idea to hop to Chiang Mai and plane to angor watt. That's IF they will not give me a month extension at Chonburi Iimigrations office. Waste of time.

[George Pill]

Costs $311 from Chiang Mai to Siem Reap. Anybody know a good 3 star hotel near the ruins?

[George Pill]

Just cruising through Expedia. a bkk to Chiang Mai to Siem reap looks interesting. Costs less than $200 plane fares. Seems the red-light district is called PUB STREET. wonder if some bars show blue lights. I think a week should be good. Then after that I'll write my experiences and opinions. Need to travel light. No heavy cameras and lighting equipment. Now to find a 3-5 star hotel near the ruins and bars. I think Cambodia is cheaper than Thailand.

[George Pill]

Google "thailand evisa down". They've been having problems for months. SHITTY website. Too cheapskate to fix, get professional programming help, or reopen the Honolulu consulate.

[Escierto]

Google "thailand evisa down". They've been having problems for months. SHITTY website. Too cheapskate to fix, get professional programming help, or reopen the Honolulu consulate.

Yes, you’re right. In fact the Thai embassy has an entire page devoted to the problems that you may encounter in using the evisa site!

I don’t understand why it is so messed up. The Philippines has a similar site that you have to use to generate a QR code that allows you to board a flight for the Philippines and then use at immigration in Manila. I have never had a problem with their site. So if the Filipinos can do it, why can’t the Thais?

[George Pill]

U.S. Visa Waiver Program

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP), administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in consultation with the State Department, permits citizens of 41 countries^[1] to travel to the United States for business or tourism for stays of up to 90 days without a visa. In return, those 41 countries must permit U.S. citizens and nationals to travel to their countries for a similar length of time without a visa for business or tourism purposes. Since its inception in 1986, the VWP has evolved into a comprehensive security partnership with many of America’s closest allies.

NOTE: Thailand is not considered an ally. So Thais cannot get a 90 day visa on arrival.

[Rockheart]

U.S. Visa Waiver Program

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP), administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in consultation with the State Department, permits citizens of 41 countries^[1] to travel to the United States for business or tourism for stays of up to 90 days without a visa. In return, those 41 countries must permit U.S. citizens and nationals to travel to their countries for a similar length of time without a visa for business or tourism purposes. Since its inception in 1986, the VWP has evolved into a comprehensive security partnership with many of America’s closest allies.

NOTE: Thailand is not considered an ally. So Thais cannot get a 90 day visa on arrival.

It isn't about being allies, it is about the status of their country and the trustworthiness of it's citizens. Thailand is still a third world military dictatorship.
Thais can only get visa on arrival with countries of similar stature like Cambodia or Malaysia, or nearby countries like Singapore.

Canadians got a 90 day visa on arrival in Brazil until this year. Now I have to apply for a Brazilian visa.
Good thing Fernanda has a 5 year Canadian visa.

[George Pill]

Got lucky last Wednesday November 1.seems someone at the Washington DC office replied and suggested I try my DEBIT card. Tried and got the message Failed. After that the cc button would not work. Checked the receipt icon and was surprised it went through. Kasikorn Bank was the recipient. Now gotta wait 3-10 days for my email visa. Waaaaaaaiiiiitttttiiiinnnnngggg.