... If they're too lazy to read posts here, they won't read posts in another forum but the Hull consulate website should be both comprehensive and concise enough for them ;-)
So for the benefit of the apparent lazy buggers amongst us, why didn't you post the link to the Hull consulate website? :wink:
Visa run to Ranong? Isn't Ranong a city north of Phuket, but still in Thailand? Where do you go from there?
I tried the Ranong run several times years ago over to Victoria Point - The southern most point in Burma. It is ok for a day trip too and a nice boat ride through all the tiny islands and rocks on the way over, about a 20 minute ride if I recall. No pre-arrangement for visa needed for such a short stop to Burma, but take some US dollars with you for the entry stamp, was $20 when I went, so may be more now. Bare in mind that because the weather can be so bad, they sometimes stop running the long-tail boats over to Victoria Point until the rain lets off, so it could be risky to chance it on the last valid day of your Thai visa, check the weather, seriously.
For interest; the currency in Burma is called Kyatt (pronounced Chat) and you cannot (or not supposed to) take any out of the country on your departure. You can change Dollars or Baht to Kyatt easily when in Victoria Point, but use the black market people (they will find you), their rates were far far better than the official exchange booths and banks.
Ranong is the wettest province in Thailand, so prepare to get wet. Also there's fuck all to do, so it's really not the most common of visa run locations, only for those desperate for a re-fill. I went there on 3 seperate occasions and only successfully made the trip once, due to bad weather. The reason I went there was simply to go and see Victoria Point in Burma and the visa refresh was just a bonus for me.
If in Chiang
Mai you can also get to Burma again at
Mai Sai, then over to Tachilek in Burma. Boring as fuck and there's little to do. But the Thai side is pretty good - 'The Northern Most Point in Thailand' etc. and the Golden Triangle stuff to see if you want to travel around a little bit. If you start buggering around up there it might be advisable to get jabs before you come. Same goes for anywhere outside the cities, esp up north, ask your GP, usually free.
Now wait for someone to start a new thread about 'Jabs in LOS'.
There is definately a new approach to visa runs in Thailand, although it is still possible it should not be taken as a given that any run would be successful when you try and return back to Thailand, you could find yourself getting into problems. In other words, as gareth might say, have some 'tea-money' at hand. It depends on how much time you have already spent in Thailand in any given period.