A year or so ago when I was visiting the Golden Triangle area, my friend and I took a boat tour on the Mekong. During that tour we stopped for shopping at a little village that we were told was in Laos!! I was a bit uncomfortable, but we didn't do any immigration checks or such, and were there only a short while.
I suppose we could have gotten in a lot of trouble.
Originally Posted by boygeenyus
Riiight. I'm betting there's more to this story than meets the eye. One does not simply "forget" to have his passport inspected when crossing an international border.
Right. My bet is this guy had grossly overstayed his Thai visa and conveniently forgotten to pass immigration on the way out thinking that would be the end of that little problem. Well it wasn't. It's only a guess but if I were an immigration officer that's what I would think.
Don't try to hold in farts - they travel up your spine and into your brain and that is where shitty ideas come from.
If you take the Mekong route from Chiang Kong (Chiang Rai) by boat to Luang Prabang, you will pass this border crossing.
It is a lovely but pretty adventurous trip, especially with very high or very low waters. Apart from that, the trip is just wonderful.
Chiang Khong is the busy Thai counterpart to the Lao border town of sleepy Huay Xai.
Those who question the posters story and defend Thailand's barbaric treatment of visa overstayers sound like they have internalized the right wing, xenophobic values of their Thai hosts. BIZARRO!!!! Perhaps a new twist on the Stockholm Syndrome. It is one thing following the rules to stay out of jail. It is another thing supporting barbaric overreaction to minor violations, in this case, most likely just a stupid mistake.
BTW, Thai immigration could have easily determined if there was an overstay by looking at the Laos entry stamp.
You are assuming the one implies the other. I don't do either, in fact - I think the poster acted foolishly and the consequences are inevitable. I made no comment on Thai prisons, but then I'm generally opposed to prison everywhere except as a last resort, bleeding-heart conservative that I am. What I dispute are his statements about his fellow detainees and their reasons for ending up there, and Lonely Planet's alleged mis-advice - which is so much tosh. That you think Thai prisoners and the Thai treatment of prisoners is barbaric is obvious and many of us would agree. However having made that statement doesn't then mean that you can select for classes of criminals (of which visa over-staying is one such criminal offence) who do or don't "deserve" incarceration. The Thais, in common with most of the world, have no concept of home detention or alternative forms of holding suspected or convicted criminals. Most countries even in the West (and particularly your own precious US of A) have detention areas for illegal immigrants (or visa over-stayers if you prefer a less pejorative term). These people are being handled no differently than they would be anywhere else in the world - it's just that Thai prisons are bloody awful, about which there's no dispute, even from the Thais (although possibly from boygeenyus)
Bullshit.
A European caught in the US overstaying a tourist visa would NOT be going to prison. Deported yes. Perhaps held captive until the flight could be arranged, but again, not sleeping on the floor in a cell with 50 people.
I'd get your eyes tested, dear boy. This is what I wrote:I didn't mention prison. Your answer displays an interesting tinge of racism "A European caught in the US ..." - you believe Europeans should have the law applied differentially?
Actually, yes and no.
An Englishman of any race visiting Thailand on a tourist visa who overstays is not the same class of economic threat to Thailand as an illegal Burmese worker.
Thailand depends on TOURIST INCOME from richer countries. By imposing harsh treatment for minor immigration violations on nationals of the countries they are trying to draw tourists from is not only barbaric, but stupid from a public relations point of view.
While on this subject, why doesn't Thailand offer a SIX MONTH tourist visa ON ARRIVAL for nationals of countries they are trying to attract? Instead, they encourage visa runs and travel to OTHER COUNTRIES. Just stupid and xenophobic.
The same can be said of that same Englishman in America, versus an illegal Honduran worker.
If you want to ignore the reality of the real world, so be it. I deal with reality. Perhaps you live on Planet Politically Correct.
There is racism in the immigration policies of most world countries. I didn't make this happen. It exists. I don't think any race or nationality should be treated barbarically, of course.
In this board, we are addressing the treatment of WESTERNERS. The brutality against Burmese and such is a totally separate areas of discussion.
... that one of the things that's helpful for people like you to comprehend what's written is to move your lips as you read the words
Los Angeles: Here are three young American students on 2-year-biking tour pedalling on rambling grounds through the Grand Canyon – and straight into prison.
They need to spend 2 days behind bars and where find 500 USD each. On top of all, none of them is allowed to enter any US National Park anymore until 2012.
Arizona state attorneys are very strict if some is ignoring the national park rules.
.............
I just received this information via email from a trusted friend of mine who was a witness of this incident.
I am pretty certain; they all did have proper travel documents. They didn’t cross any international border.
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