LoudHailer

I recently returned from Japan. I initially struggled to complete the online immigration form to enter Japan because I couldn't upload my passport photo page plus a selfie, trying over and over. It worked when I entered my passport details manually and ignored the request for the selfie. It worked. I received a QR Code in response. The lines were long. I exposed the QR Code to their reader device. I was then subjected to questions by the Immigration Officer which had already been answered in the online process. It didn't speed up the process of entry! Passengers who hadn't done the online form were completing the paperwork and progressed through immigration at much the same pace. Completing the required online reservation for the Airport Bus back from the hotel to Narita airport was more complex. I had the obliging hotel Concierge do it for me, well practiced as he had become by necessity. Everything is going online. We have no choice but to accept and to become adept at it.

Always so much "outrage" by these writers. There's "outrage" with every flick of the finger, caused of course only by foreigners. Where's the "outrage" with taxi drivers peeing every day of the week against the construction site fence on Wireless Road between Ploenchit and Petchaburi Roads. Oh, they're Thai. No "outrage" called for. "Outrage" is reserved for foreigners only. Overuse of outrage is like peeing in the ocean!

Other than the taking or possession of illegal drugs, what is illegal about this gathering of scantily clad like-minded men and women?

Interpol Red Notices work. I am confident that the Moroccan will be brought to justice in Thailand even if it takes years. A Greek-Australian man on the run from a double murder flew to Greece and lived there for 10 years. An Interpol Red Notice was issued for his arrest. The Greek government has a 20 years Statute of Limitations and refused to arrest him. He recently flew to Italy for a vacation and the dormant Interpol Red Notice appeared on the Italian immigration screen. He was held by the Italian immigration police and subsequently arrested by the Australian Federal Police and flown back to Australia in their custody. He is languishing in an Australian prison, charged with a double murder and is awaiting trial.

What a movie plot! 23 year old Ukrainian who appears to have over US$500,000 in crypto currency residing in Thailand perhaps avoiding being called-up to fight in the war with Russia. Enter the Armenian gangsters. All this leads me to urge readers to see the American 2024 movie currently screening in Thailand called, 'Anora.' It's got "everything" to keep you intensely entertained from beginning to end, including Russian billionaires and Armenian thugs. And girls!

My Immigration Lawyer is emphatic that 1. Relevant changes in this regard to the Tax Code require a law to be passed by parliament and it doesn't appear on "the to do list." 2. The current conversation DOES NOT apply to expat retirees on Non-Res Type-O Annual Renewal Visas. Not once have these fear-mongering articles in ASEAN NOW specified this. Without the facts relating specifically to expat retirees and without the act of parliament, this is Fake News.

Given the Manager's 'tone and manner' in his response, it is reasonable to suspect that he was already teetering on the cusp of dismissal. It is reasonable to suspect that this was "the last straw." None of us knows the history of encounters between the Manager and other former clients and hotel owner.

Crosswalks in Thailand are used for target practice by Thai drivers. Stopping appears "optional." Foreigners on home soil are used to vehicles stopping when pedestrians approach a crosswalk. Failure to do so, in New Jersey, for example, may subject the driver to $200 fine plus court costs. Violations in Australia and Europe can be more severe. Striking a person with a vehicle on a crosswalk could mean jail time.

- Asian and other currencies, like the Australian dollar, are strengthening against the dollar across the board as market watchers see a potential rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve paving the way for Asian central banks to do the same. A rising tide lifts all boats. It's not confined to the Thai baht.

The New York Times reported in February 2021 that: "Since 1933, the economy has grown at an annual average rate of 4.6 percent under Democratic presidents and 2.4 percent under Republicans...The average income of Americans would be more than double its current level if the economy had somehow grown at the Democratic rate for all of the past nine decades.

Thousands of New Zealanders are pouring into Australia for many of the same reasons. They’re in for a big surprise. Out of the frying pan into the 🔥 fire. 😮

Double, double, toil and trouble: fire burn and cauldron bubble. By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes. With the sound of gong, pollution gone!

High end tourism is booming globally. The world’s travelling population is very much “on the move.” Thailand is simply too hard and too expensive to get to and from with a limited number of seats at scalper’s prices. TG too is wallowing in incompetence and is only flying the long haul, more profitable, international routes. Short haul routes would fill hotels and resorts fast.

CHUBB THAILAND Travel Insurance online is an excellent option. Just type it into Google and away you go. Easy.

Chang is Carlsberg by a different name. Delicious. In their former joint venture, Carlsberg took the venture while the partner took the joint. Goodbye Carlsberg, hello Chang. 🥹

“Context” is important. Thaksin is a convicted criminal and is meant to be in prison. It is “in the public interest” to know exactly why and on whose authority he is spending this extraordinary amount of time in hospital.

Charles Sobhraj has already befitted once from his crimes with a book published in 1979. It seems another publication of the years in incarceration should finance him through to his eventual death.

I dined last night with a 91 year old Australian widower. He was on his way home to Australia after three months vacation … all over Europe. He golfs three days a week, rides a bike most mornings for exercise and drives competently day and night. He leads an active social life, has never smoked, and is a moderate social drinker. To deny him the ‘right’ to drive would be ludicrous. He submits a medical certificate annually for an annual licence renewal - required from age 80.

The time going through immigration is nothing compared to the waiting time outside for a taxi. Last evening my taxi queue number was 699. Taxi 17 was the next number called. The taxi spaces were pretty empty. Hundreds of people occupied the seats waiting for taxis that didn't come. I went back inside and got a limo.

People are fearful of spending on leisure travel during this time of economic crisis and cost of living from inflation, war, floods, droughts, typhoons and tornadoes. The scarcity of flights, seats and gauging prices is a hindrance to would be travellers. Thai Airways and other airlines are bankrupt. Thai will cancel the twice weekly (all full) Bangkok-Perth-Bangkok route from 28th October. They fear aircraft confiscation in some countries because of unpaid bills. Flying to and from Thailand is fraught with issues.

You're not going to get it done anywhere in Asia, not even Tokyo. I had mine done at Smythson of Bond Street. You can order online or CALL THEM on +44 20 7629 8558 London time 10:00-18:00 or contact them at https://www.smythson.com/ You can pay by credit card.

The only letter of complaint I have written to any airline during a lifetime of leisure and business travel was to British Airways. I complained about the attitude of the cabin crew and the meal - chicken to start, chicken as the main course. No choice. BA replied, with: "More people fly British Airways than any other airline in the world." One might call it a F... Y.. response. My complaint was not addressed. Just the facts. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Airlines_Group British Airways is part of an Anglo-Spanish conglomerate.

The Pink Card that comes with the Yellow Book, upon request, offers zero benefits that I have experienced, except for ID. However, a Pink Card issued to Permanent Residents, who have specifically applied for PR with working rights and etc. has a tiny PR printed on it that the ordinary Pink Card does not. The PR Pink Card provides free 'Emergency Care' at 'any' hospital, even BNH.