Misterwhisper

I guess this should be OK then...

Chinese tour groups will soon be starting to swim across the Mekong en masse.

You're correct. I remember that 1,000 baht tax, too. But it was NOT a "departure tax" per se. Instead, it supposedly was sort of a flat income tax payment to slap on foreigners, many of whom illegally worked in the country, thus didn't file for regular income tax. The authorities assumed that if you stayed in Thailand more than 180 calendar days, you surely ought to have had engaged in some type of gainful occupation one way or another. The actual departure tax - that 500 baht ticket that you had to buy from a vending machine - came on top of that. I recall the mayhem that sometimes caused, as tourists often didn't have the crisp 500-baht note the vending machine required. Luckily, that wretched departure tax was later incorporated into the air ticket price -- though it was bumped up to 700 baht.

An entry fee? Hm... will that come with a free drink? And will there be a weekly ladies night?

That "additional screen" will link to a Thai government-developed website, where payment then has to be made. And that alone, dear ladies and gentlemen, already is guaranteed to create trouble, as the ticket booking system integration will be bugged (as per usual), the payment site will reject certain credit cards (as per usual), and there will be various other crashes and hiccups (as per usual). Secondly, as I understand it, airlines will be responsible for integrating the payment screen with their own booking systems. BUT.... a very large proportion of travelers do NOT book their tickets through the actual airline websites. Instead, they handle their ticket purchases through anything from ticketing agents and discount ticketing websites to local travel agencies, etc. etc. -- and there are literally tens of thousands of them. Why does the Thai government's motto always seem to be, "Why make it easy when you can make it difficult"?

"Thailand and Japan Discuss Cooperation" Just like in 1941?

I wish I could pay in unused postage stamps. Still got plenty of those left over since mailing letters went out of fashion.

Let me think... who am I going to believe... ...an Al Jazeera report in which a scared-out-of-his-wits former chief investigator was interviewed after having been forced to seek asylum in Australia as his life would have been in danger if he had remained in Thailand... ...or the damage-control face-saving statement of a national police commissioner who claims that the entire investigation was 100% above board and that no interference whatsoever had taken place?

Nope. So the revenue department doesn't find out that I am blowing all that money that I claimed I didn't earn on hookers.

My maid and her entire extended family have have been staunch proponents of a cashless society for years and years. They never have any cash. Also, go and see how your favorite Nana Plaza bargirl (you know... the one of whom you stalwartly claim she is "different from the others") reacts when you offer paying her through the Poon Tang app. Honestly, some transactions are better settled in cash.

As of tomorrow, May 1, Malaysia will abolish its "Malaysia Pass" completely, i.e. no pre-registration and approval is required for any visitors to the country. So... how exactly is Thailand "leading", since its own "Thailand Pass" is still in place?

I wonder how he did in bobsledding or ice curling. He IS a quite slippery guy after all, ya know.

What a funny coincidence! 110 medals... that is exactly the same number of medals that the old geezer has pinned on his military uniform. And it wasn't for athletic achievements, I assure you. Man's hardly able to set one foot in front of the other without being out of breath.

Can I hand in mine to the department too? And quickly, please! They are so itchy...

Yes, granted, many countries around the world have their particular strengths, leading to them attaining soft power in one or another area; or several. It's a quite natural development, actually. The big difference to Thailand is of course that these countries do NOT constantly, incessantly and obsessively trumpet about it in practically every other news article.

Oh, noooo!... It's another Literature Nobel prize-worthy essay from that self-appointed mouthpiece for Pattaya's high-class expat community, Michael Bridge. Always a great read... for falling asleep. Is he actually getting paid for that drivel?

Maybe it's the first piece of the engine-less submarine that China intends to deliver in the manner of a model kit that Thailand is expected to glue together by herself. Beware, people! There is going to be a super glue shortage coming our way!

So Thailand makes a difference between "sacking" an official and "letting go" an official that needs to be explicitly pointed out? How quaint. What IS that difference, by the way?

So... if according to the Keystone Cops it WASN'T murder NOR an accident... from what exactly did she die then? A natural cause? Let me try and wrap my head around that. A natural cause of death... brought on by being stone-drunk on a shaky boat with no safety precautions in place, then stumbling or slipping, resulting in tumbling overboard and subsequent drowning while being cut up by boat propeller blades. What a scenario! But IF that roughly is what was happening... how on Earth can this NOT be regarded an accident? If I pruned my mango tree and - the moron that I am - sat on thee very branch that I am sawing off, causing me to fall to the ground and break my neck in the process... how else could my death be classified than as being the result of an accident??? Surely wasn't murder. Surely wasn't a "natural cause". A stupid accident, yes. But an accident nevertheless.

Murcident?

https://www.pydro.com/news/pydro-is-finalist-of-the-future-water-hack

As in "Dummy Day"?

Nope. EVERYBODY (including Thai nationals) who wants to ENTER the country must register for a Thailand Pass, including uploading the required documents. It DOESN"T MATTER whether you hold a long-term visa and have a re-entry permit. If you leave the country for whichever length of time and then return... you are caught in the loop. And I am also afraid that the Covid-19-specific insurance you take out MUST cover the ENTIRE validity period of your current visa extension. You do NOT need to take out specific Covid-19 insurance IF your are covered by Thailand's universal social security scheme, though. Which I figure you are not. Sorry for the bad news, old chap.

Impossible! A whole shipload of them reportedly has just arrived in the southern Chinese port of Guangzhou. So there can't be that many of them left here.

One of the issues with Thailand's perceived and much-trumpeted "soft power" is that it practically never reaches beyond the country's national borders. Thus it's irrelevant and inconsequential. > Milli's "mango and sticky rice promotion" triggered a sales pike WITHIN Thailand, but not anywhere else. > Lisa's "Buriram meatballs" (which really are quite mediocre and not much different from any other meatballs) sold like hotcakes IN Thailand, but not abroad. > And as the article pointed out, the traditional headdresses and costumes promoted in Lisa's video "saw a significant increase in their sales in local markets". > Although "Blackpink" has become a pop music phenomenon in many countries particularly in Asia, Lalisa Manoban herself is NOT hyped up as a Thai member of "Blackpink" but rather is regarded as "lead singer of South Korean group, Blackpink". Except in Thailand, of course, where it's ALL about Lisa, Lisa, Lisa. Meanwhile, South Korea's "soft power" has been reaching far beyond its national borders, and on so many levels, from pop music to fashion and consumer electronics to automotive technology. Granted, Thai restaurants have become ubiquitous in many cities around the globe but - and that has to be pointed out, too! - they invariably serve localized, toned-down, quite disappointing versions that are an insult to the real thing. And yes, Thai boxing has been successfully exported as well. BUT... it remains a niche sports everywhere outside of Thailand. Lastly, Thailand exports gigantic volumes of frozen shrimps and chicken, as well as rice and herbal condiments to all corners of the world. Yet in the end it is immaterial to the general consumer whether they just put Thai shrimps or Vietnamese shrimps or Malaysian shrimps or Indonesian shrimps into their shopping cart as long as the price is right. Quintessentially speaking, not much Thai "soft power" is actually happening on an international level. That is if you discount the Thai hookers who - just like frozen shrimps and chicken - ALSO can be found practically anywhere on this planet. But they are of course not the sort of "soft power" the local media and government agencies have in mind when they disseminate their now almost daily published "soft power" drivel.