12/2011 - Sosua vs Pattaya

[onetosix]

According to the latest edition of The Sovereign Society's The Passport Book ... no. Or, at any rate, not easily.

Thailand restricts immigration to only 100 permanent residents per year, for each country of origin. There may be some 'special treatment' for retirement-age applicants, but the surest thing is to invest 10 million baht in the Thai economy for at least three years. (And again, refer back to that 100-farangs-per-year-per-country restriction.)

Now, Malaysia, OTOH, has a program to attract foreign residents, 'Malaysia My Second Home.' And they ranked #3 on this year's International Living Retirement Index ... after Ecuador and Panama, and above Mexico ... just sayin'. And I haven't heard anything here about mongering in Malaysia (haven't looked for it!) but Penang and Kuala Lumpur are just south of the Land Of Smiles.

Mr Smooth is correct about the one year retirement visa which is different than becoming a "resident" in a country as Westy is talking about.....two entirely different things.

I am living in Thailand now on a one year retirement visa. As Mr Smooth said, if you are 50 y.o. and have income of 65,000 baht$2,100 US) income per month you can easily obtain a one year retirement visa here in Thailand at any immigration office...there are a number of them in the cities all over Thailand. I obtained mine right here in Pattaya in a matter of just an hour or two and at a cost of about 3,900 baht($130 US). The only paper I needed from the American embassy was the sheet of paper that stated that my income was 65,000 baht or more. YOU fill in a few blanks on a single sheet of paper stating what your income is. They don't ask for any kind of verification at all. You fill in the sheet yourself and hand it to them...there are no questions asked. This is very easily obtained from the American embassy at a cost of $50 US. They notarize the letter for you and you go to the Thai immigration office with this income letter(they call it an affidavit) and fill out two easy Thai forms, hand this to them with the 3900 baht. They put your one year visa in your passport and away you go....all set for one year. Yes, you do have to go to any immigration office in Thailand every 90 days to verify your address....easy, no cost, and takes about 10 minutes...just did it earlier this week. This stuff isn't complicated. Once you have this one year retirement visa there are no boarder runs or hassles necessary to stay in "the kingdom" for 12 months. If you want to leave the country to travel during the 12 months you go to the immigration office again and get what they call a "re-entry" permit...that way your 12 month retirement visa stays in effect as you go out and back into the country...easy!

[Mr. Smooth]

I get shit right every once in a while.

[zenophon]

i have done many 8 day to 14 day trips and find the 10 day ones the best and like you say any trip no matter how short is worth the effort

Sosua is so much closer to the East Coast. Also, language is less than a challenge.

[Hunter]

Agree with your analysis.....but it's still different strokes for different folks....there are some that don't really "dig" Pattaya....but for me, everywhere is GOOD!! There is fun to be had everywhere. In the end though one has to kind of have some sort of home base from which to travel. For myself, when one puts ALL of the various considerations of a place to live into "the hopper", Asia in general and Thailand/Philippines in particular float MY boat the highest. Later this year I'll be in Kenya, England, DR, Colombia, Ecuador, USA and then right back to Thailand(Pattaya/Bangkok/Chiang Mai)/Philippines.
Life is GOOD!!!

Haha...your buddy Robert

Yeah I think one thing I learned from the monger boards is you have to experience places for yourself to determine if its for you. You can read until your blue in the face how great some place is then get there and its not for you.

Yeah I think Cebu could be good if you got to know it like you. There sure are a ton of internet girls there. And if you lived there and had to the time to weed through them you could get some gems. Allie got a smoker their and took her to Boracay.

I am trying to get over to Kenya later this year. maybe see you there

[Westy]

Mr Smooth is correct about the one year retirement visa which is different than becoming a "resident" in a country as Westy is talking about.....two entirely different things.

I am living in Thailand now on a one year retirement visa. As Mr Smooth said, if you are 50 y.o. and have income of 65,000 baht$2,100 US) income per month you can easily obtain a one year retirement visa here in Thailand at any immigration office...there are a number of them in the cities all over Thailand. I obtained mine right here in Pattaya in a matter of just an hour or two and at a cost of about 3,900 baht($130 US). The only paper I needed from the American embassy was the sheet of paper that stated that my income was 65,000 baht or more. YOU fill in a few blanks on a single sheet of paper stating what your income is. They don't ask for any kind of verification at all. You fill in the sheet yourself and hand it to them...there are no questions asked. This is very easily obtained from the American embassy at a cost of $50 US. They notarize the letter for you and you go to the Thai immigration office with this income letter(they call it an affidavit) and fill out two easy Thai forms, hand this to them with the 3900 baht. They put your one year visa in your passport and away you go....all set for one year. Yes, you do have to go to any immigration office in Thailand every 90 days to verify your address....easy, no cost, and takes about 10 minutes...just did it earlier this week. This stuff isn't complicated. Once you have this one year retirement visa there are no boarder runs or hassles necessary to stay in "the kingdom" for 12 months. If you want to leave the country to travel during the 12 months you go to the immigration office again and get what they call a "re-entry" permit...that way your 12 month retirement visa stays in effect as you go out and back into the country...easy!

Yes, I see ... and the US Embassy in Bangkok confirms it.

To amplify that, here's the Non-Immigrant Visa “O-A” (Long Stay) info page from Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

That makes things much more reasonable, not to mention much more tempting (to me, too!)

[onetosix]

cant beat the thai food.

Agreed. Good food can be had in the DR alright, but Thai food is definitely better and significantly cheaper with vastly more options to select from. I eat out a lot here in Thailand but also cook in my place frequently as well. Buying groceries(especially fruits and vegetables) is cheaper than in the DR and the quality and abundance here in Thailand is far superior to the DR.

[onetosix]

Haha...your buddy Robert

Yeah I think one thing I learned from the monger boards is you have to experience places for yourself to determine if its for you. You can read until your blue in the face how great some place is then get there and its not for you.

Yeah I think Cebu could be good if you got to know it like you. There sure are a ton of internet girls there. And if you lived there and had to the time to weed through them you could get some gems. Allie got a smoker their and took her to Boracay.

I am trying to get over to Kenya later this year. maybe see you there

Yes, while it is important and necessary to do some research and learning before going to a place, the reality is always different. There are a lot of really hot girls in Cebu. One has to walk around and explore the smaller streets which takes time....they aren't concentrated, but are diluted all around. There are a fair number of readily available girls in Ayala and SM Malls. Nice airconditioned places to sit with some food/drink and watch/wait for some fine Pinay pussy to stroll by looking to make some extra PI Pesos for the family. Usually about 500 pesos($12.50) does the trick for a ST back at the ranch. Also as you say, there are hundreds of girls on the various Asian websites trolling for foreign guys. Some guys are really into this venue for finding girls. I have several friends that enjoy this method and that spend a lot of time doing this and making arrangements for meetings....the actual % of success however is very low but slightly better than the lottery. Sometimes one "strikes gold", but for me it involves too much time and effort for the acquired results. I like to go hunting for them in the flesh.

[onetosix]

Yes, I see ... and the US Embassy in Bangkok confirms it.

To amplify that, here's the Non-Immigrant Visa “O-A” (Long Stay) info page from Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

That makes things much more reasonable, not to mention much more tempting (to me, too!)

One often hears that they should get the "retirement" visa(also known as the Non-Immigrant Type O-A Visa)in their home country before coming to Thailand. One can do it that way for sure, but it's a lot more hassle doing it that way. In my opinion, the best way to get the retirement visa is to get a 60 day Thailand Tourist Visa in your home country or any other country where there is a Thai embassy or consulate. It is much easier to get the/a 60 day Thai Tourist Visa than the one year retirement visa outside of Thailand. Enter Thailand with your 60 day Tourist Visa and then this visa is easily convertible to the one year retirement visa at the Thai embassy in Bangkok or at any immigration center throughout Thailand...I did mine right here in Pattaya where I live. Easy. If you try to get the retirement visa in your home country they require you to get a medical statement from a doctor and a police statement/letter that you don't have any criminal history, etc. You don't have to provide these items to get the 60 day Tourist Visa. This saves you a lot of time, expense, and hassles. Once you are inside Thailand with your 60 day Tourist Visa and you go to the embassy in Bangkok or any immigration office throughout Thailand you don't have to give them any of this bothersome paperwork(medical/police). All they want from you once you are in the country with your 60 day Tourist Visa is the affidavit/letter of income from the American Embassy and a couple of forms that you fill out right at the immigration office(easy)and about 3900 baht. You get your one year retirement visa and away you go. I obtained my 60 day Tourist Visa at the Thai consulate in Cebu City, PI. It cost me about $25. I flew to Thailand and then converted the 60 day Tourist Visa to my one year Retirement Visa. Don't know if this sounds complicated or not, but it's actually not difficult.

[SeaWeed]

Also as you say, there are hundreds of girls on the various Asian websites trolling for foreign guys. Some guys are really into this venue for finding girls. I have several friends that enjoy this method and that spend a lot of time doing this and making arrangements for meetings....the actual % of success however is very low but slightly better than the lottery. Sometimes one "strikes gold", but for me it involves too much time and effort for the acquired results. I like to go hunting for them in the flesh.

mi concur......on the other side of the coin....the gurls say their actual % of success is very low too on the dating websites....
but for some gurls that live far away from the places to hook up with guys.....it gives them a shooting chance to get a date
personally mi been doing a balance of the two on the J island...getting dates off of Tagged and POF....and then dating ones I just meet around
but for a guy that is only going to be somewhere only a week or two....the effort online is almost too much work to just have sex
you are usually way better off just picking a hottie Pro and running with it.........
picking some of these gurls from the dating sites is really hit and miss......
a few won't have sex when you meet.....which kinda defeats the purpose for us mongers.......
which can end up as a wasted night or day........which we can't really afford when our time is so limited in paradise

[el_papi_chew_low]

I always have a great time in Sosua, but I would put Pattaya and even Medellin over Sosua because I find a lot more to do in these other places. Sosua is a good spot for newbies and quick hits.

[continentalmike]

From what I heard - Thailand beats the DR in all things except one and that is a personal preference...so why do I not go to Thailand?

For me its simple; I will always return to the Latin girls as for me they are simply what rocks my boat - I started off with a Surinam beauty and have almost exclusively had girls/women of color... we just hit it off spiritually and fysically.. apart from a few Indonesian girls (home-grown here) that were tall and had big titties and a nice ass, the Asian pheno-type has not really attracted my permanent interest ... sure they give good service but it's just not entirely the same..

[Rubicon]

I will always return to the Latin girls as for me they are simply what rocks my boat....... we just hit it off spiritually and fysically.........the Asian pheno-type has not really attracted my permanent interest........ sure they give good service but it's just not entirely the same..

I agree. For me it's a matter of comparing the relative passivity (GFE?) of the Asian girls to the fiery passion of the Latinas. My preference is for the latter.

[Tingtong]

Nothing like Soi6 parties in Sosua

[Westy]

Nothing like Soi6 parties in Sosua

Soon as I get back to Sosua, I'm going to hit the reef at Three Rocks for some coral-bleach to get that image out of my eyes.

[Hunter]

Nothing like Soi6 parties in Sosua

Looks like Jayman and El Drunko

[Mr. Smooth]

I agree. For me it's a matter of comparing the relative passivity (GFE?) of the Asian girls to the fiery passion of the Latinas. My preference is for the latter.

It's nice that we can travel all over the planet to endulge in all of our preferences, whatever they may be!

[bkg]

If I could only get away for 6 days, from NYC so 2 in the air and 4 on the ground. Would the trip to Pattaya be worth it? I have never been, but have been hearing great things for years. Due to my situation at home, I can't really get away any longer than that.

I'm a hardened traveller and wouldn't think of doing a NA trip to Thailand (or SE) for only 4 days. The place is completely different from Sosua and a lot of fun (assuming you like Asian....) but that'd be a tough trip.

I went to Sosua for the first time this year precisely because I was starting to look for locations closer to home to engage in my hobby.

[Jimmydr]

Nothing like Soi6 parties in Sosua

Some ugly ladyboys.

[porno frank]

which place is cheaper to do your monger activities.

[Tingtong]

which place is cheaper to do your monger activities.

AC vs Pattaya vs Sosua...I spend about same...only difference cheaper air fare to DR

And yes I have more fun in SEA than DR only because I don`t speak any spanish