madmitch

I got home yesterday. It was a 35 hour flight with Air Astana, which was much better than expected, on fact more comfortable than many airlines in economy. They have a stopover package at a very low price, which enabled me to see a bit of Almaty and meant two days flights, which I prefer If you do proper research it's quite possible to find deals, but some less experienced travellers find it better to whinge to the press, There are literally thousands of people in the same situation. No idea when I'll get the refund from Qatar but I'm in the UK and that is what matters

It's not just Thai Airways, they are all at it. Most European and Chinese airlines were just as bad when I was looking on Sunday.

I preder to call it price gouging. I'm one of those stuck here and I just watched the prices get higher and higher while I was looking for a flight to London. I'd find a reasonable price but when I got to the payment screen, suddenly fould a price change adding another 10,000 baht or so to the price! Eventually fould a flight from Phuket to LHR with Air Astana for this Saturday at just over 20,000 baht.

What this means is that the exempted locations can sell outside the new 11am to midnight selling hours.

I'm surprised they don't copy the Schengen model of not allowing more than 180 days stay in any 12 month period. That's the most logical way to prevent the visa run abuse.

Seems like the only compromise was brewer 1 and 4 with proposals 2 and 3 totally ignored.

They will import tax will be paid by them upfront and the consumer will need to pay VAT, which will be added to the advertised price. It would also create jobs so it's probably the best option all round.

It will be interesting to see how this works out. Most countries have a small threshold as to deal with low priced items as it isn't worth the administrative cost. They expect the online platforms to share data in order to facilitate tax collection, but who will pay the taxes? A small Chinese exporter? No. The recipient of the goods getting a bill in the post? Don't think so. Customs opening every package purchased on Lazada, Temu, shopee and Tiktok? Uneconomical. Can't wait to find out the answer!

No problem: with Lisa from Blackpink as the new trourism ambassador Thailand will probably double those numbers

How's the baht doing against the ruble? That's more relevant with the current tourism demographic!

Thailand doesn't have any democratic principles,

How will they regulate digital platforms? What does this even mean? Hotels and guesthouses control what is on these platforms, not the platform providers. Let's see if there are any changes but from what I've read here it's pretty much business as usual

If you order alcohol online in the UK, you are supposed to show ID when it's delivered. No ID if you look underage, no booze. That's the theory at least and of course it's pretty easy to get around the rules. Simple really, but there isn't the complication of delivering during forbidden hours! Thailand's unnecessary laws are them problem here. Time to scrap them and move into the 21st century.

FYI BJT have quit the coalition.

The Thai police force probably doesn't need more members; they just need to use the existing ones more efficiently. But in realistic terms, you v=can never have too many officers stopping motorbike riders for not wearing helmets.

Nowhere does it say that the fee will only be charged to foreigners. Airport departure tax is paid by all passengers, regardless of nationality. It hasn't risen for some time so an increase is probably due.

Yet last week there was an article claiming Thailand as the safest country in the world!

As most places in Thailand are not even geared up for contactless card payments I can't see this initiative being too successful.

Have you ever flown Ryanair, Easyjet or any budget carrier in Europe? They are much worse than the Asian equivalents. In fact many major airlines are also following this model now.

The hyperbole in that article almost makes me want to vomit.

Didn't they announce new alcohol control laws earlier in the week? Now here's a second batch. Why not do it all in one go?

But remember only to buy if you've encountered a two headed snake, survived an horrendous car crash or a fortune teller has told you you're due for some good luck!

I really don't believe that the number of pedestrian deaths is as low as 500 per year, considering the overall death toll on the roads is close to 20,000.

This is no surprise. Had they properly controlled the number of shops opening and enforced the laws regarding public smoking from the start, this might not have happened. I still have no idea how most of these shops made any money as they were mainly devoid of customers.

Great initiative from TAT. I wonder why it hasn't been thought of before😁. They need to look at the products offered elsewhere: beaches with pedestrianised promenades toilets and showers, no noisy jetskis, parasailers etc, no dogs roaming, no pot smokers. It makes for a far better beach experience.