Thai fiancees and spouses who are barred from entering the US are dubbed “inadmissible.” If a Thai is found to be inadmissible then a waiver of the ground of inadmissibility is often sought. This article will attempt to provide information regarding inadmissibility and the waiver process.

WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF “GROUNDS OF INADMISSIBILITY”?

The United States Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) stipulates certain conduct that would constitute grounds for precluding a prospective Immigrant from entering the United States. The statutory expression for these types of behavior: Grounds of Inadmissibility.

WHAT ARE THE GROUNDS OF INADMISSIBILITY FREQUENTLY ENCOUNTERED? HOW DOES INADMISSIBILITY AFEECT A THAI FIANCEE OR SPOUSE IMMIGRATING TO THE USA?

The INA stipulates that any prospective Immigrant who has a communicable disease shall be denied entry to the United States. In Thailand, the most common communicable diseases giving rise to inadmissibility are: AIDS/HIV, Syphilis, Tuberculosis, and gonorrhea. In cases where the disease can be cured, the issue of the Thai’s inadmissibility is resolved with the suppression of the disease. Unfortunately, in the case of HIV/AIDS, which is incurable as of the time of this writing, a waiver must be obtained before a prospective immigrant may enter the USA.

As well as health related concerns, legal concerns are also of importance under the INA. Convictions for drug related offenses are considered a justification for finding a Thai loved one to be inadmissible to the United States. Also, commission of crimes of “moral turpitude” on the part of the Thai fiancée or spouse is grounds for finding the Thai inadmissible to the US. This issue arises because often what are otherwise considered “mild” offenses can be considered grounds for finding a Thai fiancé or spouse inadmissible because the offense is considered a crime of moral turpitude.

An example of this would be petty theft, even something as seemingly innocuous as shoplifting committed by the Thai fiancée or spouse in the distant past could and likely will be used as a basis for excluding a Thai loved one from the United States. Also, having multiple criminal convictions, regardless of category, is deemed to be a rationale for excluding a Thai loved one from entry into the US. Prostitution is another ground of inadmissibility. A Thai prospective immigrant, who is involved in vice-for-profit, will be deemed inadmissible to the United States for ten years from the date of their final act of prostitution.

If a Thai fiancée or spouse previously overstayed a visa in the United States, then it could be a basis for considering the Thai to be currently inadmissible. For those Thai fiancées and spouses with an overstay issue, a good rule of thumb is: if the overstay was more than 180 days, but less than 1 year, then the Thai fiancée or wife shall be inadmissible for 3 years. If the Thai fiancée or spouse overstayed in the US for more than a year, then the Thai shall be inadmissible for 10 years.

THE NECESSITY OF A WAIVER FOR AN INADMISSIBLE THAI FIANCEE OR SPOUSE

Should a Thai fiancée or spouse be found inadmissible, all is not necessarily lost. A Thai fiancée or spouse could be entitled to obtain a waiver of the grounds of inadmissibility. An I-601 waiver form should be filed to obtain a waiver for a Thai loved one. However this form can only be filed after a consular official has concluded that a ground of inadmissibility exists as per the Immigration and Nationality Act. For a Thai fiancée or spouse, whose application was denied in Thailand, the I-601 petition must be filed with the USCIS Bangkok District Office.

WAIVERS FOR THAI FIANCEES AND SPOUSES: PROVING “EXTREME HARDSHIP”

For the most part, the applicable law regarding the waiver of grounds of inadmissibility requires a finding that: the consistent refusal to allow the Thai fiancée or spouse to enter the United States will cause “extreme hardship” to the U.S. Citizen fiancé or spouse. The term “Extreme hardship” is never defined in the statute. Consequently, we can assume that the difficulty must rise above normal hardship to a degree of adversity in keeping with the use of the word “extreme.” This “extreme hardship” must also fall upon the US citizen fiancé or spouse, not the Thai fiancée or spouse, in order to statutorily entitle the Thai fiancée or spouse to a waiver.

I think this question will be on the mind of parents-to-be who are of a Singaporean Father/Thai Mother couple. And I am pretty sure the husband will want to let the child be born here and the wife in her home country.

I would like to offer my thoughts and share my experiences.

1) Standard of Care

In this area, I would say that both countries have a high standard of medical care. Facilities and equipment, at least for child birth, is adequate whether you are looking at Government or Private Hospital

2) Cost

In terms of cost, I would say that Thailand would definitely be much cheaper. My wife gave birth in a Government Hospital and the delivery bill came to about 12,000 Baht (if I don’t remember wrongly) for cesarean birth. And because my wife had a Bat Tong (a medical card with subsidies for Thai), the cost for the delivery is free and I only had to pay room and board (because I upgraded to a 1-bedder room) and some medication and the bill for a 3 days stay came to about 5,000 Baht.

In Singapore, I am not sure about the cost but I checked around and it will cost at least $1,000 upwards for a normal birth.

3) Language

Unless your wife have a strong English background and can speak the language well, chances are that it will be a chicken and duck talk situation between the doctor/nurses and her. I feel that as we are not the one giving birth, it is important that she can communicate with the doctors and nurses during the delivery just in case she needs to express some difficulties but the doctors do not understand.

4) Citizenship

This is the part I like the most. I choose to let my 2 kids be born in Thailand and they are holding dual citizenship until the age of 21. They have 2 passports and have no trouble staying in either country for as long as they want.

They also enjoy the benefits of being both a Thai (they also got a Bat Tong each as their mother had 1) and a Singaporean (I am entitled to all payouts of the Baby Bonus Scheme ).

It is fairly easy to apply for the Singapore citizenship for them but that is something I will share in another post.

Conclusion

Overall, if a Singapore Father/Thai Mother couple were to ask me where should they deliver their child, I will advice them to do it in Thailand. Even if we do not need to consider the cost, I think that there are other advantages in delivering the child in Thailand.

And Thai people have very different views/practices on postpartum care (they do not and cannot stand not washing their hair for 1 month). They would prefer to be taken care of the Thai way and this is something that only their parents can offer.

If I had a dollar for every time someone said to me 'make sure you have enough travel insurance when you go to Asia', I'd be quite rich today. In the main however this is good advice, but as far as food goes you should have no trouble when you travel to Thailand.

People travel to Thailand for many reasons. The shopping is fantastic and cheap, the people are wonderfully friendly, warm and generous, and the food is to die for. In fact, if you're looking for a complete culinary experience you would be hard-pressed to find a more accommodating destination than Thailand.

It seems that life there revolves around food and there are no real set meal times apart from what tourists imposes upon themselves, although they always eat breakfast lunch and dinner at some stage. I get the impression that Thai people tend to eat whenever they are hungry and are used to eating snacks throughout the day, and this is a habit that can certainly be recommended.

Thai food has been influenced not just by Western visitors, but also Chinese and other south-east Asian styles. Born of Buddhist traditions, Thai food was developed around the plethora of seafood and vegetables available in almost every part of Thailand, and of course, rice.

To narrow down the choices of Thai food and to recommend the top food experiences you can expect is a very difficult one indeed. Everyone's taste is influenced by their own experience, and it is only to be expected that for every traveller there will be some unexpected eating experiences that will live long in the memory.But, if you do not like spicy food, try and stick to the hamburger joints!

So let's take a look at least three things you should try for every meal when next you visit.

* Breakfast. You should really try a breakfast dish called Joke. No, that is not a misprint, and it is a delicious dish consisting of rice porridge and pork. If this is too stodgy for you try Khao Mun Khai which is a simple chicken and rice dish that is certain to give you a kick at the start of the day. If you're feeling a little bit out of sorts and are looking for something a little more Western simply order Kai Jee-o which is a very plain omelette dish.

* Lunch. I simply love the egg noodle soup served with pork and vegetables, or just vegetables if you're feeling a bit uncertain about the quality of meat. It is a simple, filling and cheap dish that you can get at almost any roadside vendor. Alternately why not try Pad Pak, something you could have tried back home, but it is great to try it when it has been made by the locals. Pad Bai Kha Praew is quite a spicy chicken and basil dish, but delicious just the same. By the way, you do not need to worry about the quality of meat in Thailand as it is of a very high standard so you will not have to make a claim on your holiday insurance!

* Dinner. Som-Tam is a fantastic Papaya salad that starts off a memorable dining experience. Follow this up with Pla-muk neung ma-nao, steamed squid with lemon and chilli.

And there you have it, a selection of dishes in any combination which will get you started on the road to enjoying even more wonderful Thai cuisine.

Potential investors who are currently considering an overseas property purchase in Asia, will probably have Thailand on their short-list at the outset, but upon looking into it will find that property investment in Thailand is currently a two sided coin:

On the one hand Bangkok has recently been listed among the top twenty tourism destinations in the world, which should make a property investment there a good one. Dig a little deeper however and you find that capital, – previously strong in Thailand – along with all factors to be considered before investing, have been detrimentally affected by the recent political turmoil, previously the September 2006 coup.

Never the less Thailand is still among the best Asian countries for foreigners to invest in, there is no inheritance tax or gift tax, capital gains tax is charged like income tax at the standard rate, and foreigners can own condominiums freehold. There are other ways for foreigners to buy in Thailand but a condominium purchase is the easiest. And even with the political turmoil as it is rental yields are still around the 8% mark in top tourist destination, Bangkok.

Another rising star in Asia's tourism industry is the Thai island of Koh Samui, which has been greatly unaffected by turmoil on the mainland, and where potential investors will find mostly resort property.

As tourism expands on the island, and it begins to attract more of the high end market, as oppose to primarily back-packers, these resort villa properties can fetch yields of 10-12% quite easily, and capital appreciation is conservatively estimated at around the 15% -20% mark.

Total transaction costs are a moderate 10% – 12.3% in Thailand, but there is a little complication over the computation of buying costs; specific business tax and stamp duty are paid on whatever is higher, declared or assessed value – both parties must have their own solicitor.

Overall a Thailand property investment can be a very rewarding endeavor, especially if you are purchasing a holiday home with a view to renting it out when not in use.

Thailand is world renowned for their red-light districts. Many Western men visit the country every year on business or on vacation and visit some of the many go-go bars in many parts of the country. While the bar girl scene in all actuality is a very small part of the countries culture, it is often widely talked about in Western cultures.

Some men visit a bar and fall in love with one of the beautiful Thailand bar girls and attempt to date them. These men quickly find out that dating one of these women is not as simple as dating a regular Thai girl. In fact, I highly recommend you leave your heart at the doorstep of these establishments and find a real Thai girl to date. But in case you are adventurous, here are five things you should know before dating Thailand bar girls.

1. Most Thai bargirls have little to no education

Many of the ladies you see in Bangkok red-light districts such as Patpong or along the beachfronts in Pattaya or Patong Beach on Phuket are not locals. Many of them are from the Eastern part of the country known as Isan. Other girls come from the North and are often not even Thai citizens but residents of Burma, Cambodia or some of the hill-tribe regions between countries. These women likely have little education and in many cases, cannot speak much English.

2. Thai bar girls have a very street smart.

Formal education aside, Thai bar girls have a very keen street sense. Never underestimate a woman that’s worked in a Thai go-go bar. She will look sweet, beautiful, sexy and innocent but she may also have anterior motives in the relationship.

3. To bar girls, money is very important.

In many situations, the money that a Thai bar girl brings in for a nights work is many times sent home to take care of parents or their own children that they have. So unless you have a decent amount of money and are willing to support her family, she’ll likely not be interested. This fact is something that has plagued real Thai ladies in the past. Note to Western men, NOT ALL THAI WOMEN THINK THAT MONEY IS IMPORTANT!

4. Thai bar girls like their line of work

It’s true! And that is the most difficult about getting into a serious relationship with a Thai bargirl. You want to “save” them from their line of work, but they don’t want to be saved. They make very good money compared to other things they could be doing. This gives the bar girl a great amount of personal freedom. This personal freedom will be difficult for the lady to part with if asked. If a man tries to take a Thai bar girl out of the bar, he’ll find it to be very difficult unless she’s truly done with that scene and ready to settle down.

5. It is rare, but there are success stories

There are some success stories of Western men dating and sometimes happily marrying a bar girl he met while on the job. Unfortunately, I don’t personally know of anyone that has been successful in settling down with one. But I’m certain it has happened a time or two.

The best advise I can give is to go and enjoy your time in Thailand however you wish to spend it. Just be careful when dating Thai bar girls and remember to heed my advise.

Within the infamous Golden Triangle that boarders Thailand, Laos and Burma is Mai Sai, the north most district of Chiang Rai. Here travellers will find a bridge that divides two worlds, one is the rising Thailand and the other is the country hidden under an opium laced shadow, Burma. Burma, who’s government renamed to Myanmar, is one of the world’s most secluded countries, a mysterious and unexplored destination for western travellers, a country untouched by the momentum of development.

We stumble across a makeshift car park and give the attendant 10 Baht for care of our hire car, from here it’s only a short walk to the Mai Sai border crossing. Being from Australia we’ve never walked into another country and the idea of walking into Burma made the 4 hour drive from Chiang Mai all the more worthwhile. At the boarder we are ushered into a small and unusually hot room where a man dressed in a military uniform sits behind his desk and asks of our intentions for visiting his country. His English is difficult to understand and before we can answer he tells us we are only visiting for the day to shop at the boarder markets. 500Baht is handed over and to our surprise passports are retained and will supposedly be returned when we attempt to return back into the Kingdom of Thailand. The heat already souring its all the more sweaty knowing we are walking into Burma without passports.

The markets are bursting with stalls and goods overflowing onto narrow paths made narrower by the men and boys shoving into us with baskets of pills for enhancement and DVD’s of questionable content available at ‘cheap cheap prices’. Remembering advice I received from a drunken expat the night before in a bar, I move my wallet into the front pocket of my jeans, this is not just a precaution, it is necessary. When the senses start to settle back down there are many bargains to be found if you have a good eye and time to sift through the junk. Everything is cheap here, cheaper than the popular night markets of Chiang Mai that now offer market goods at tourist prices. There is a copy, a fake, a ‘real copy’ or a look alike for almost any product you can think of. The watches look good until you realise they are twice as thick as the real deal however this is forgiven when you realise the designer watch offered at Tachileik will only set you back a couple of cappuccino’s in your home town. I show interest in a table of designer pens and suddenly a young girl is handing me one and asking me to test the quality, surprisingly it writes very well and equally surprising is the girls English compared to her Thai sisters. Then another girl hands me another pen which also looks the part and is surprisingly usable. This continued until there were six girls at the table and I had tried 6 pens, after some intense negotiation we agreed upon 2 pens at 300Baht, approximately 8 US dollars.

Two hours of walking, negotiating and dodging the occasional motor-bikes speeding through the narrow market lanes, a couple of sneaky market photos and we decide we’ve had enough adventure for the day and will return to Thailand. Returning to Thailand is relieving as passports are returned and stamped with a minimum of fuss and the harassment from young boys desperate for loose change is left behind us.

Although not the real Burma it was an interesting and unique experience that resulted in some fascinating memories, a couple of covert pictures and a Myanmar Walk stamp in the passport. Visiting Burma was a choice we made lightly and upon learning more about the military controlled country it has become apparent the choice should be given more thought and consideration. More locally to Mai Sai is the depressing environment of illegal border crossings, drugs and human trafficking, all world issues that are too easily forgotten when on holiday.

The drive back to Chiang Mai down the mountain takes us into Chiang Rai and a stop at the famous White Temple (Wat Rong Khun). White Temple is a modern temple designed and built by artist Chalomchai Khositphiphat around 10 years ago. The intricate details covering the large temple are an incredible vision and the entirely white design with silver edges glistening on dragons and other mythical creatures creates a surreal environment. The site also has a hall that exhibits paintings of Chalomchai Khositphiphat.

A few dodged cows and a little nervousness waiting for the first petrol station in Chiang Mai and we arrive safely after dark, ready to tell the story of our trip to Tachileik over a few Chaing’s.

n this article, we have chosen the outstanding Thai Visas that foreigners take an interest particularly.

1. One Year Multiple Entry Non Immigrant Visa

This one year visa will allow you to stay 90 days for each entry, with in the One Year Period. If you would like to stay in Thailand for longer than 90 days then you will only have to do go cross the border or leave Thailand and come back to renew your 90 days Visa. It is not difficult to extend your stay, you just cross the border and when the Immigration officer proves your visa in your passport. They will automatically stamp a visa in the passport. That means your visa has been already extended. You may travel in Thailand’s neighbouring countries or you can immediately back to Thailand.

With this One Year Non-Immigrant Visa from oversea, you will be able to obtain a work permit and apply for the Business Visa in Thailand or if you are qualify; you can also convert this to a Retirement or Marriage Visa while you are in Thailand, which will give you a One Year uninterrupted stay in Thailand.

In addition, if you utilize your visa the last time just before it expire, you will get an extra 3 months, so the total validity of this one year visa will be nearly 15 months.

2. Business Visa

All aliens who intend to work/conduct business in Thailand, they are required to provide the following documents from companies, affiliates or institutes in Thailand:

2.1 Original Invitation Letter from companies where you will participate in them

2.2 Business registration

2.3 List of shareholders

2.4 Company profile

2.5 Details of business operation

2.6 Map of the company

2.7 List of alien employees

2.8 Balance sheet, statement of Income Tax (Por Ngor Dor 50) and Business Tax (Por Ngor Dor 30) for the latest year

3. Retirement Visa

To apply for a Retirement Visa in Thailand, you must be able to show your financial evidence between :

3.1 THAILAND BANK ACCOUNT SHOWING THB 800,000 (must be able to show the evidence of transfer the money to your Thai Bank account and this sum of money must be depositted in your bank account at least 3 months) OR

3.2 PENSION/MONTHLY INCOME OF AT LEAST THB 65,000 (must present a letter from your embassy to prove the pension and the letter from the government or social security) Both of documents must be certified by your embassy in Bangkok as well.

In case you do not have the pension, I would recommend you to open a Thai Bank Account as soon as possible because as I suggested you, your money of at least 800,000 Bahts or more must be depositted in your Thai Bank Account for 90 days before applying for a Retirement Visa. Then you have to ask your Thai bank to issue the certified letter and also need to show the evidence of transfer your money from your side when you submit the visa application at the immigration office.

For the processing procedures of a Retirement Visa, we will first help you to receive a 90 Days Non Immigrant O Visa, we will send your our questionnaire email for the visa application. Then you have to respond us your personal information for us completed in the application form. The next step, we will send you back our prepared documents and you have to print them out, sign your name in our prepared application form and other documents before mailing your passport and documents to the Thai Consulate in your country as we instruct. You can receive a visa stamped on your passport within a week once the Thai Consulate received your visa application’s documents. When you arrived in Thailand with a 90 Days visa, we will accompany you to your embassy in Bangkok for getting the pension certified letter. Once you got the certified letter, you just have to wait until your 90 days has remained at least 3-4 weeks before it expires. The final step, we will go together with you at the Immigration Office along with your financial evidence for extending from a 90 Days Non Immigrant O Visa to a One Year Retirement Visa.

4. Marriage Visa

To apply for a Marriage Visa, you need to show your financial evidence as the monthly income of at least 40,000 Bahts. This income can be shown as a “combined income” and also able to include both the husband’s and wife’s income.

Requirements:

– Married to Thai Citizen, must provide a marriage certificate

– 40,000 Baht per month income.

For the financial evidence, you can choose the most appropriate evidence from the following options:

Option 4.1 In the case of working inside Thailand: You must provide your work permit and taxation records.

Option 4.2 In the case of Working outside Thailand: You must provide a certified income statement from your embassy. You may also be requested to provide a letter from your employer, or other documents to support the proof of income such as: your bank statements.

Option 4.3 In the case of Spouse’s income: Spouse must provide his/her taxation records.

For the processing procedures of a Marriage Visa, it is similar to a Retirement Visa. We will help you to receive a 90 Days Non Immigrant O Visa from your country before converting to a Marriage Visa when you arrived in Thailand.

5. Education Visa

To apply for an Education Visa, you must provide the original acceptance/invitation letter from the schools, universities or institutes in Kingdom of Thailand specifying the name of applicant, passport number, latest educational background and duration of the course. The applicant should also provide the schools/universities or institutes’s registration notarized by authorized director.

As in above-mentioned informations, I hope that you would have the appropriate visa in your mind. Nevertheless, if you are looking for other types of Thailand Visa or you are interested in using our service, please contact the Siamese Visa (Thailand) through our following contacting details:

Thailand, island nation located in the south east of Asia. Thailand is a country rich in culture and natural beauty. It has been hallowed with liberal natural parks, productive plains, isolated jungles, beaches washed by turquoise waters and humid islands bathed in endless sunshine. The country has more visible historical indication of its past cultures than any other country in Southeast Asian. Its history is very composite, involving the incursion of many different peoples, the rule of different kings, the concern of various kingdoms and the interaction of dissimilar cultures. Thailand is known for its prominent hospitality, sacred temple, and breathtaking natural beauty.

Thailand offers something for all type of travelers. Thailand’s restrictions stretch to adjacent regions of Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Gulf of Thailand and the Indian Ocean. You plan to visit Thailand between July and November; the weather can be awkwardly for you. Around July and November, it will be rainy season in Thailand. The weather is at its best from February to March. It is perfect time to go to the beaches. Places of tourist significance in Thailand include Phuket, Koh Samui, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Krabi, Pattaya, Hua Hin, Koh Chang and Koh Samui while provinces like Krabi, Koh Libong, Koh Hai provides great photographic memoirs of Thailand as a tour destination.

Buddhism is the main religion in Thailand with the King of Thailand respected as the supreme emperor and also the supporter of all religions embraced by the people. Thailand truly is an amazing place, with so much to offer tourists. The regular and most popular destinations of Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, Samui, Chiang Mai etc are only a small part of the country, and there are so many more undiscovered charms to be found. Thus, Thailand has spiritual forbearance wicker into its social structure and respects people of all races. This multiculturalism makes Thailand a hot much loved as a tour destination for the global traveler with add-on visits to nearby cities like Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Butter worth and other major southern Thai towns being part of an avid tourist’s list. You visit Surin islands, again stopping at a couple of top lunge sites.

The sea is mediator and there is less sickness. We again see some truly amazing fish while diving in the clear steamy water. But the most fantastic moment comes when a small husk of dolphins swim alongside our boat. How are barely credible to see this while traveling to and from tropical paradises. There tends to be more boats that have come from Phuket for the diving around the Simolan Islands. The largest groups of non-Thai people are the Chinese who have traditionally played an extremely important role in the economy. Many have assimilated into majority Thai society, and do not live in Bangkok’s Chinatown on Yaowarat Road. After the end of the Vietnam War, many Vietnamese refugees settled in Thailand, mainly in the northeastern region. Muay Thai, after they retired from the army, these soldiers often became Buddhist monks and stayed at the temples. Most of the Thai people’s lives are closely tied to Buddhism and temples; they often send their sons to be educated with the monks. “Muay” is also one of the subjects taught in the temples.

Travelling to Thailand, (The North) Chiang Mai can be a great starting point when you are travelling to Thailand. You can start your vacation with a lot of activities like hiking, mountain biking or jungle trekking and relax on the beach by the time you reached the islands in the south.

Let’s get back to Chiang Mai first. Known as the ‘unofficial’ capital city of northern Thailand and also the second city of the country. Because of its geographic location, you can experience hot and humid temperatures here during the daytime in the ‘hot season’. During any of the ‘three ‘seasons’ in Chiang Mai the nights will mostly be cool, but can sometimes be freezing cold in the ‘cool season’ when temperatures can dip a degree or 2 below zero.

Shopping for handicrafts, sightseeing trips to temples, cultural traditions or visiting hillside tribal villages can be some of your daily activities here. If you are a nature lover and outdoor kind of person, for example if you like hiking or mountain-biking this might be an interesting destination for you. Once you travel to the north you see how diverse the countryside of Thailand really is. From the urban areas to the seemingly endless and lush green forests and jungles in the north and eastern part of the country. All the way to the idyllic white sandy beach islands in the south.

Talking about the south, the Southern part of Thailand is very popular amongst tourists. Here you find beautiful idyllic islands with stunning white sandy beaches against a background of waving coconut palms, the ones that you might see sometimes in those fancy tropical ads on your T.V. Travelling to Thailand is one thing. But after some days when you leave Bangkok behind you, and you enter Pattaya which is only an hour and a half south of Bangkok, you start to enter an area with a totally different vibe compared to Bangkok. It is easy to get in the holiday mood in this bustling and lively city.

A couple of hours further down the coast, near the Cambodian border you enter the province called ‘Trat’. The Capital of this province is also called Trat and it is located 315 kilometers (5hrs. drive) south-east of Bangkok. Trat is the entrance to the National Marine Park ‘Koh Chang’, this is an archipelago of 52 islands. Across the Thai Gulf at the entrance of the Bangkok Bay you find Hua Hin and Cha Am. Hua Hin is a place where a lot of the locals from Bangkok like to relax when there is a long weekend or national holiday coming up. Further south in the gulf you find a triangle of islands that go by the names of Koh Tao, Koh Phangan and Koh Samui. The last one is probably the most well known, but in my opinion Koh Tao is the most beautiful with awesome diving opportunities and striking coastlines. But hey, why don’t you go find that out yourself!

On the South-west side on the mainland you find Krabi although it is located on the mainland, has the ability to give you the feeling you are on an island. Somehow it has that same kind of attraction to me. In the Andaman Sea to the west of Krabi you find Phuket, the largest island of Thailand. Phuket has it all, any activity that you normally should be able to find or do on a holiday, it’s very likely you find it on Phuket The Andaman Sea is home to a lot of islands, the most well known are; The Similan Islands, a group of 9 uninhabited islands located to the North-West of Phuket famous for the fantastic diving opportunities.

Koh Lanta and the Phi phi islands which are located to the south-east of Phuket are very popular amongst tourists also for their beauty and tranquility.

Well… there you go, all these places can be considered the main holiday destinations in Thailand. I hope you found this article useful and that it can help you when making a choice from all the holidays to Thailand that you can choose from. As you can see there is a lot of choice for your city trip, beach side vacation or tour around this friendly and engaging country. Have a fantastic holiday in Thailand.

P.SYou know what they say right, the success of any undertaking is not in the end result. Because the end of your holiday is arriving home again. For you anything that you want to get out of your holiday will or can happen while “Travelling to Thailand, and through Thailand”.

Road to London 2012!

Anat Ratanapol

Did you know- At the 1974 Asian Games in Tehran (Iran), the country’s idol Anat Ratanapol won two Asian gold medals (100m & 200m). At the previous Games in 1970 in Bangkok, Thailand, he had won two medals (gold and silver).

Australia 2000

Did you know- Thailand ‘s weightlifter Khassaraporn Suta won the bronze medal in the women’s 58-kilogram category at the 2000 Summer Games in the Australian city of Sydney.

Boxing

Did you know- The Kingdom of Thailand – known as Siam until 1939- is home to many famous boxers in Asia. Payao Pooltarat won the bronze medal, together with Orlando Maldonado (Puerto Rico), in the 48kg category in the Olympic Boxing Tournament in the Canadian city of Montreal in July 1976. Twenty years later, by 1996, the nation’s boxer Somluck Kamsing earned a gold medal in the Olympics in the United States. Later on, by 2000, Wijan Ponlid became Olympic champ in the Games of the 27th Olympiad in Oceania, at the expense of Bulat Jumadilov (Kazakhstan), Jerome Thomas (France), and Vladimir Sidorenko (Ukraine). Meanwhile, Porchnchai Thongburan won the bronze medal. In 2004, Manus Boonjumnong made national history when he earned a gold medal in the Olympic Boxing Tournament in Athens, Greece. At the Asian Games in Doha (Qatar) in 2006, Boonjumnong won the continental title.

National Idol

Did you know- Weightlifter Udomporn Polsak became the first Thai woman to win an individual Olympic gold when she earned the Olympic title in the featherweight 53 kg class in 2004. Because of her example, dedication and contribution to the sports history of the Kingdom of Thailand, she is an idol in Bangkok, the nation’s capital.

Spain 1992

Did you know- Thailand’s Olympic Committee had sent a team of thirty athletes to the Summer Olympics in the Spanish city of Barcelona in 1992. They competed in aquatics, athletics, badminton, boxing, judo, sailing, shooting, tennis, and weightlifting. In the previous Olympics in 1988, the Asian nation sent 20 athletes to South Korea.

Sports

Did you know- The country’s most popular sports are basketball, boxing (including “Thai boxing” ), soccer, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and weightlifting.

Soccer

Did you know- In March 1981, Bangkok hosted the XXII Under-20 Asian Tournament. This event was won by South Korea, followed by Qatar (runner-up), Japan (third), Thailand (fourth), and Bangladesh (fifth).

World Record

Did you know- The nation’s weightlifter Pawina Thongsuk broke the world record in the 63kg competition at the 2005 World Championships in Doha, the capital city of Qatar. A year ago, she had won a gold medal at the 28th Olympiad in Greece.