chrissables

This is not only about the abuse of the visa system but also about deterring illegal working and identifying criminal elements, particularly those peddling drugs.

If you are a law abiding person then what is happening should hold no fears for you.

This is only what happens in Western countries in any case.

You're exactly right. Good points, well made.

Most of us having nothing to worry about

Nothing at all to worry about. I am looking forward to when they crack down on the real law breakers, those foriegners breaking the spirit of the Thai law

and owning property by various means. Seems a lot more serious than extending a holiday. We can all rejoice then.

Just kidding. We will never all rejoice.

People either break the law or they don't! It is black and white, the "spirit" of the law means nothing.

And you live where, in the house you bought your wife?

Yes I also rather see they clam hard down of prostitutes of both genders and all the drug addicts walking around there.

It's easy to spot them so no excuses.

In all my years in Thailand I never seen a police foot patrol anywhere, never.

I know Thais hate to walk and in the sun too, horror horror, but they got the police station right on prime land on the mid of Beach Road but they rather stand 4 of them stopping scooters and write tickets. I got stopped 3 times last week but I think they know me now and leave me alone since I have everything in order.

The police should buy some mountain bikes and patrol on them if they hate to walk so much but I suspect a pedal driven bike will be considered just as bad as walking as you might sweating if going fast.

Clamp down on prostitutes on beach road??????? How about walking street too? Just close Pattaya, please explain why you would want that?

If you've been through LA as a non-USA passport holder you'll get some idea of what it's going to be like. Thailand is generally a very easy place in terms of getting through the international airport. Even Heathrow is harder

P.S. -- I'll happily stand in a queue if it keeps the foreign thugs out -- there's enough home-grown ones

These issues and the more onerous entry requirements should be blamed on those who cause the problems, not those trying to cope with them.

How often are people with too many visas or visa exempt stamps in their passports or years of overstaying advised in these forums to "lose" their passports and get new ones? How many people brag about "choosing" not to pay for medical insurance or about the "countless times" they've run back & forth across a border or how they solved their extension problems by pretending to be a student or ...

And of course if someone posts a negative reaction to these boasts about using loopholes or circumventing the intention of the rules, he is told to get off his high horse or to stop being smug or whatever.

Looks like a whole lot of chickens are coming home to roost. I hope I don't sound smug in saying that ... actually I don't care.

What has people using the 30 visa's legally, and not having medical insurance to do with fingerprinting? Is it illegal? No, i don't think so.

Sick of all this whinging about Health Insurance costs in this country.

I have stated & will do again ,no health cover for hospital insurance, farang, no visa, no O or B or any visa except 1x30 day tourist visa per year.

Thailand public hospitals have enough on their plate without having to look after us.

Many countries are now demanding this

Maybe you are ok in your own bubble of insurance covered life, some people can't get insurance, so you would ban them? Really the amount of money banks here make is so high a few unable to pay people mean nothing.

How would you feel if after living here a while, maybe buying a house etc, you were refused insurance cover and were made to leave? Maybe to so smug i would hope.

"Really the amount of money banks here make is so high a few unable to pay people mean nothing."

Banks don't provide medical care, hospitals do. As has been shown in numerous other threads on Thai Visa that cite newspaper reports, many hospital lose millions of baht providing care for uninsured, indigent farangs. That's not " a few" and it's not only old uninsured farang.

If the hospitals primarily serve Thai people, that means they have less to offer those who ought to be served. More often it's the hospitals that serve "international" patients that get stuck with the non-payers. Guess who ends up paying for them? It's those of us who do pay our bills. If a hospital is meant to be run at a profit and some "customers" don't pay, then those who do will have to pay more to make up for the spongers.

I agree with Natway09. If someone is a short term tourists he/she ought to have travel insurance. If someone is taking up residence here, s/he ought to have some insurance. If not, then they should return to their own countries where whatever social services are available to their citizens. It has nothing to do with being smug. I'm fortunate enough to have quite good insurance, but I paid for it. If someone bought a house here I don't want to be asked to underwrite his comfy accommodations by paying for his medical care.

Thailand is not a refugee camp for indigent farang and many of them come from nanny state countries where their taxes fund medical care, so that's where they belong. What I pay is enough without having a surcharge added to cover those who choose not to have insurance or who can't afford it.

I made a mistake, and have no idea why i wrote banks when i meant hospitals!

I still dissagree unless the Thai government will offer this insurance at a acceptable cost. The hospitals here charge "farang" prices to line theie pockets, so moaning about the odd "farang" who has difficulty paying does not hold water.

Sick of all this whinging about Health Insurance costs in this country.

I have stated & will do again ,no health cover for hospital insurance, farang, no visa, no O or B or any visa except 1x30 day tourist visa per year.

Thailand public hospitals have enough on their plate without having to look after us.

Many countries are now demanding this

Maybe you are ok in your own bubble of insurance covered life, some people can't get insurance, so you would ban them? Really the amount of money banks here make is so high a few unable to pay people mean nothing.

How would you feel if after living here a while, maybe buying a house etc, you were refused insurance cover and were made to leave? Maybe to so smug i would hope.

Don't see why the Immigration officials are sounding so apologetic about it. Well past time they enforced their own rules. Many foreign criminals stay here by doing border runs as they can't get a legitimate visa to stay here with a record that shows they did prison time. That includes paedophiles and other scum we can do without.

If you're a tourist, come for your 30 days then politely go home till next year. If you want to stay here longer than that, go through the proper channels. If you're a crim' and can't get a legit' visa, good riddance.

Who died and put you in charge? By your perverse logic it ok for a perv to come for a holiday, but not stay longer! Very warped in my opinion.

Google 'car accident victim no seatbelt'. Show them the pictures. Do you want to end up like that? No. Get in the carseat then.

Google car accidents with seat belt as well.

My kids never went in car seats.we couldn't afford one.

When they were very small I'd make sure the were in the arms of their mother in the back. When about 2, on a cushion with seatbelt.

When on a motorbike always in between us adults.

The farang way of thinking is over the top.

Op you worry too much, no sense of adventure.

Did you sit in a safety chair when a kid?

Really tell that to my neighbour who lost his 2 kids and wife because they werent buckled up...and many of others who die in traffic in thailand every year.

He lost them because of an accident, you have no idea if they would be alive if they did wear a belt. People die in accident all over the world when wearing belts!

Good on you for considering the safety of your passengers. If more people did , there would be less deaths on Thai roads.

If people stopped the cause of accidents, there would be none.

Brought to mind the book "Superfreakanomics". They used statistical tools to examine everyday things. One conclusion borne out was that child car seats are no safer than just using regular seat belt on the kid. Plus huge percentage of child seats are not properly installed anyway.

From memory, the comparison was not against seat belts, just the use of a child seat, but i could be wrong.

Any so called safety devise is usually about money, not saving lives. But people believe the bull#hit

Do you have any balls?

If you do, do it YOUR way, the right way.

You may, of course, be required by the hire company's rules to have a child seat - I don't know.

In any event, what were you going to do - go back to your missus and say "75% of posters on Thai Visa.com say we must have a child seat"

It is you against the Thais. Concede now for an easy life or put your foot down (if you believe it) and say the cousin and kid can only come if a child seat is installed and used at all times.

i wish you well, you are in a no win situation.

The hire company will require it? What country do you live in?

They do very little to help as well, but the company making them has made a fortune lying about that!

Why have they YET TO decided to charge her with drink driving? How guilty can you be? I suppose the fine for not wearing a helmet will be waived next....

Just proves helmets don't save lives! So no need to fine.

Very sad and my condolences to their families and friends.

Where was the regulatory enforcement to CORRECTLY wear the life jackets. I cannot believe they were wearing them correctly (or at all). Had they been correctly worn this tragedy may have been avoided or minimised. But, this is Thailand - mai pen rai.

Really? Do yo think there should be a law that make you wear life jackets when VIEWING waterfalls?

I just push back in front of them ... works flawlessly.

I usually tell the staff at the shop i was first, then they have the problem! Works most of the time and deflects any issues!

So what are the provinces? Any more info other than 52 and 42? Which adds up to 94, so some will be flooded and drought stricken?

This is typical. I always see these "warnings" yet no provinces are actually stated. Completely (and typically) ambiguous.

There is no need for a long list because the local news in your area will alert you. The above is just general news. I think it should be obvious if you live in a province affected by drought. Do you really need to be told? As for the storms, just watch the local news or ask a neighbor.

True, but tomorrow i am leaving on a motorbike to Kanchanaburi, the North to Chiang Rai, Nan, Nong Khai and back, so more accurate info would help. I have checked on Thaivisa here and think i will be ok!

In Thaispeak 'borrow' means 'give me'.

It is rare to get money back that you lend to a Thai , harsh but true ,

Very true, but my ex who borrowed has paid back with interest i did not ask for!

Why would you expect a massage from your wife? Your wife is a partner, not a servant, have respect for each other. There are people more qualified for this and being in Bangkok you know where to find them.

Because he paid for her to learn!

bus training... oh, lets dump the bus in a ravine so we will not kill somchai on his motosay and take with us the lives of so many passengers

Idiot

"Trying to avoid an oncoming motorcyclist"............makes a change from 'brake failure' did'nt know the road or 'wet road' Highly qaulified driver decided to sacrifice his bus and passengers to avoid just one motor cyclist ?

Are you for real? What if it was your wife riding the bike, would you say that? Disgusting attitude, really unbelievable!

A reminder, most accidents happen within a few kilometers from home.

I'm astonished by the tourists with no helmet, short pants, and flip flops. And they have zero riding experience.

Don't let the size of these little Hondas lure you into thinking it's safe. OP has a ton of experience so will be okay on the roads, but those tourists are ignoring helmets and drinking are accidents in the making.

OP it's easy to get your Thai license. Passport, Residency permit, medical certificate and you've got it.

Also use ziplock bags for things like DL, passport( or photocopies) wallet etc.

I'm not a tourist, always ride with flip flops and shorts, 2,000 + km to Nong Khai and back a few months ago. Off after Songkran to Kanchanaburi and Chiang Rai, will take some protection....suncream

Wow,my hero!

sarcasm, the lowest form of whit! Just saying how I do things, please wrap yourself in cotton wool and be safe.

A reminder, most accidents happen within a few kilometers from home.

I'm astonished by the tourists with no helmet, short pants, and flip flops. And they have zero riding experience.

Don't let the size of these little Hondas lure you into thinking it's safe. OP has a ton of experience so will be okay on the roads, but those tourists are ignoring helmets and drinking are accidents in the making.

OP it's easy to get your Thai license. Passport, Residency permit, medical certificate and you've got it.

Also use ziplock bags for things like DL, passport( or photocopies) wallet etc.

I'm not a tourist, always ride with flip flops and shorts, 2,000 + km to Nong Khai and back a few months ago. Off after Songkran to Kanchanaburi and Chiang Rai, will take some protection....suncream

I was simply pointing out that flip flops and shorts are not appropriate gear to ride a motorbike.

If you want to not protect yourself from the possibility of accident, go ahead.

the "I did it and I'm ok argument" does not validate it.

Not appropriate according to you! I could never have done that trip in full leathers, boots and full face helmet, heat stroke would have caused a possible accident.

Of course it validates it. The way people preach about do this, do that or............ I fail to understand why people think they know what is better for me, as long as what i do affects nobody. why are you interested?

Better to be interested in the cause of accidents, that what to wear if one happens.

A reminder, most accidents happen within a few kilometers from home.

I'm astonished by the tourists with no helmet, short pants, and flip flops. And they have zero riding experience.

Don't let the size of these little Hondas lure you into thinking it's safe. OP has a ton of experience so will be okay on the roads, but those tourists are ignoring helmets and drinking are accidents in the making.

OP it's easy to get your Thai license. Passport, Residency permit, medical certificate and you've got it.

Also use ziplock bags for things like DL, passport( or photocopies) wallet etc.

I'm not a tourist, always ride with flip flops and shorts, 2,000 + km to Nong Khai and back a few months ago. Off after Songkran to Kanchanaburi and Chiang Rai, will take some protection....suncream

I doubt the sanity of anyone who rides a motorbike on a main road in Thailand. That anyone should choose to do so without a helmet is simply astounding. Being fined 400B should be the least of your worries. Death and serious permanent injury should be much higher on the list.

Still, it's your life to screw up as you wish.

So how should we travel around? Wearing a helmet prevents accidents does it? Maybe prevents the police stopping you!

I once was a juror in the US where a worker died at a construction site because a hole was not properly covered. The person who should have covered it just put a loose piece of plywood over the hole because he was upset that his supervisor took off early to go to Tijuana with a woman he just met, leaving the guy in charge.

Needless to say, negligence was found and the victim's family received a significant payment. I sincerely doubt that this poor boy's family will receive much in the way of anything other than a token payment, if even that.

Being responsible is correct, but when working in England the health and safety was over the top. Once dug 20 pits for trees, in a secured and private area, and as was leaving for the night i was forced to find something to cover them with. When i asked who would be there if not my staff the following morning i was told maybe a thief would climb in and could hurt himself. After years of that kind of bullsh#t it becomes too much. The same as wearing a hardhat in a child's play area. The West has gone to far, and here nobody cares!

150 baht isnt that bad, what people are forgetting is that prices of basic foods and petrol have doubled in the past few years...if it was 400 I would agree with you but 150, you really need to get upto date on prices in Thaialnd...what did you expect to pay 30 baht???

I agree with this wholeheartedly. Foreigners are generally out of touch with how much Thai people need to live. Why is okay for someone else to scrape by on 300 Baht a day profit but not us? This is a sad human condition.

Should his kids not have better food, better clothes, better schooling, better medical care, better living conditions - on a par with our own?

Should he not be able to have more than just rice and an egg for lunch? You need at least 100 Baht to get a good meal inside you that will sustain working 6-8 hours.

The fact is, more and more tuk-tuks and taxi drivers are been forced to up their fares because they simply can't afford to live. And of course the "farang" gets the brunt of this. For a Thai it costs at least 1000 baht a day to feed oneself and a wife and two kids (in Bangkok or Hua Hin), and pay rent and upkeep on a taxi/tuk-tuk. Many drivers are renting vehicles for 600 Baht a day and have to clear that before making a profit.

Then there is the issue of mafia bosses charging them extortionate money to belong to the rank. There is no regulation on this and the price can go up at any time.

Agreed, Thai people still pay the local rates, but they do need raising. However, this is problematic in that then most Thais couldn't afford to pay a rate-rise = catch 22.

If it's 150 meters then walk. If you want the luxury of a ride paying less than 3 pounds is reasonable. Hua Hin is a tourist area, which means the tuk-tuk drivers pay higher rates for belonging to a rank and therefore the extra is passed onto the foreign tourist.

I think it's time we started looking ourselves in the mirror a little more and asking the right questions. Why should Thais, or any other people from any other country, exist on peanuts while we lord it up and live in excess. Strange how travelers go around the world saying, "Ahhh, I feel so sorry for those poor people:". Yet when a food vendor or taxi asks for a couple of quid extra for something priced way below what we'd expect to sell it for if we were the vendor, we call them a thief or cheater.

Sorry, i think your pricing is totally wrong. 100 baht to fill yourself up to work 6-8 hours. You mean sit in a tuk tuk? 1000 baht a day? 30k a month, these are not correct figures. And comparing pounds with baht is wrong too, the values don't compare.