Should I get a Thai visa in Singapore?

Question: “Should I get a Thai visa in Singapore?”

Why Do I Care: I was in Singapore, and was heading to Thailand. I was really just relaxing on friends’ couches with all the time I the world, so I thought I should look into getting my Thai visa in Singapore instead of at the Thai border. I had heard there was a new 60 day tourist visa for free, so I looked into it.

Answer: You can get a 60 day Thai Tourist Visa, for free, in Singapore. I hear now that they might discontinue the 60 day free visa soon, as it was only a temporary measure to boost tourism during this economic recession. The rule in Thailand is that you can only stay in the country for three months out of any six month period.

Conclusion: Well, I was just too lazy to get down to the embassy to get the visa. It proved to be an expensive mistake. I took busses all the way from Singapore to Thailand, and when I got through the Thai border, I was shocked to only see a fifteen day stamp! Previously, people were given 30 days at the border even though you were officially supposed to get fifteen. This is the first time, out of many trips, that I got only fifteen days. It messed me up a bit, and two weeks later I ended up having to leave Thailand and come back in with a proper 60 day visa. Ah well, it led to two nice months of beach paradise.

Links:

http://news.google.com/news/search?aq=f&um=1&cf=all&ned=us&hl=en&q=Thai+Visa

http://www.thaiembassy.sg/consular-visa-matters

http://www.thai-la.net/index-eng.htm