Tomtomtom69

I have to say I'm most surprised by Cambodia extending the visa waiver for Thai nationals to 60 days at this time, though it is for air arrivals only at this stage. Presumably, once the land border restrictions are lifted, it will be 60 days for each other's nationals whether they arrive by air or land. I suspect that if there's a positive outcome on Saturday's joint border committee meeting, the army will gradually loosen border restrictions beginning on Monday. I don't expect a full return to normal operating hours then, but they'll probably extend opening hours at all borders to 6am to 6pm or something like that, up from the present 8am to 4pm, as well as allowing Chong Chom and Chong Sa-ngam to open on all weekdays. After a couple of weeks, perhaps end of the month or next month, we could see a return to normal, though I do suspect the Thai military will continue to discourage Thais from crossing over for gambling.

LOL. Thais will just go to the hospital, get 20 pills for the sniffles and stay home. They're a pretty weak people, afraid of the slightest case of the sniffles.

Because only Thais can still be brainwashed to be scared. Flogging this dead horse stopped working elsewhere in the world well over 2 years ago.

Border runners don't use cross-border bus services and who cares about them? Legitimate businessmen like me and tourists care about this situation. Border runners should get a proper visa or live somewhere else. Or scrape together a few Shekels and make a trip out of it, instead of being cheapskates.

That's exactly it, but Travel Mart and Giant Ibis, continue to operate cross-border services. Only the Transport Company chooses to suspend them. Then again, they only resumed services in the post Covid period what, 6 months ago? Meanwhile, Cambodian bus operators continue to hold the bulk of market share, as they promptly resumed services immediately following the end of Covid restrictions, 2 years ahead of the Transport Company.

A non-imm visa IS considered a long term visa. If you hold a 90-day non-imm O or B or other similar initial entry visa, you CAN get a bank account. With a tourist visa, you can't. This means that for most people, who intend on retiring here or coming to stay with their wife, they should be applying for their 90 day single entry non-O marriage/retirement etc visas BEFORE coming to Thailand. No more of this convert in country from a tourist visa. Get the right visa BEFORE you arrive. You can easily apply for a 90 day non-O retirement or marriage visa in Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar or any other neighboring country.

I'd honestly be VERY surprised if check-in agents at HCM don't ask for onward tickets. I've observed them checking for visas OR onward tickets since around 2012 when flying to Thailand. You're being VERY naive here.

Firstly, whether or not there is "news" doesn't mean that agents aren't restricted. Secondly, you don't need an agent to open an account if you're on a non-imm O visa. You just go into the branch and do it and they'll open one for you.

I almost never update the book because I rarely use it. I'm not on an extension that requires funds in the bank, hence why I don't bother. You still have those machines where you can do it yourself though.

If you hold a work permit, there should be no reason to get refused. All banks will open an account for a work permit holder.

Not difficult at all. Thailand has been having lots of problems with call center scammers and all sorts of criminals, hence part of the reason for the increased scrutiny. Neighboring countries might have problems with call center scams such as Myanmar and Cambodia, but these scammers tend to use Thai accounts for their shady dealings for a number of reasons, which is why it's still very easy to open a Burmese bank account on a simple tourist or business e-visa. It's dead easy to apply for a business e-visa for Myanmar via an agency (can be done online). While a tourist visa is sufficient to open an account, a tourist might pose as a business traveler by getting a business e-visa and using that to open the account, just in case. Scammers don't use Burmese accounts as it's more difficult to wire funds into Myanmar from abroad and to get them out, hence I don't see Burmese banks purging foreign customers who don't reside in the country as they simply don't have the issues Thai banks have when it comes to fraud. They also don't have a large volume of foreign customers either. Not to mention the Burmese Kyat isn't a convertible currency like the Baht is and exchanging Kyat to USD or another foreign currency isn't as straightforward as in Thailand. I hold a Burmese bank account I opened on either a tourist or business visa obtained abroad (think I decided to open it on a tourist visa, but later on, had a business visa when I had dealings with the bank). Had to get it re-activated on my first post Covid trip to the country last year, as it was dormant for more than 4 years but that's understandable. Got myself a new ATM card as the old one had expired. Cambodia is another easy one - technically, most banks want a minimum 6 month ordinary category (E) extension of stay to open an account (such extensions are easily obtained by agents without any paperwork) but there are banks, which reportedly open up accounts for tourists or those on the initial one month E category visa.

No, they can't. Agents are part of the reason why this crackdown is occurring. Agent assisted accounts are being closed now, as they should be.

Your information is WAY out of date! These days, Phnom Penh is roughly as safe as Bangkok is. I do remember that back in the 2003-2004 days (my first trip to Cambodia, beginning with Siem Reap was in 2003 and then Phnom Penh in 2004) there were these warnings you speak of. Already by 2010, the situation had improved considerably and since around 2013 or 14, PP could be described as being safe overall (some occasional stories of dodgy happenings along the riverfront very late at night but these seem to be decreasing). Unfortunately, that first trip to Siem Reap in 2003, I was the victim of a scam and theft. I was a naive young traveler back then. I hired a taxi to take me to Angkor Wat for US$10 for half a day on my first day. There I met an unlicensed guide, who tried to charge me a whopping US$30 a day! Now I did try to get rid of him, but he was quite insistent. I paid him maybe half and then he threatened me, telling me I needed to pay the rest. I was running out of money and there were no ATMs in Cambodia at the time, so no way of me getting access to any more funds until I was back in Bangkok. I told him to come past my hotel at 11am on my last day (I left at 8am) and by that time I was already on the plane. I checked in my backpack, containing my camera. In an ironic twist, when I got to Bangkok, my camera with all my photos was missing from my bag. I think I made a report, and my insurance did pay me back. I don't know whether the theft happened at Siem Reap airport or Bangkok airport. Somehow, I suspect the former, but I'll never know for sure. In 2011 I think it was, my motorcycle helmet, which I received from the motorcycle rental shop, was stolen from my dirt bike while parked in the underground parking lot of the Paragon Mall in Phnom Penh (a Thai owned mini-mall, that has long since gone out of business). They had a supermarket and Thai owned businesses such as Black Canyon. I didn't secure the helmet, so partially my fault, but the guard clearly didn't do his job. I then had to buy a similar helmet to replace the one that was stolen, for US$12. However, I will say that these days, security and safety in Cambodia has VASTLY improved. I wouldn't necessarily walk around the unlit slum areas of Phnom Penh at night (nor would I do that in Bangkok) but I have never felt threatened or had anything untoward happen again since 2011. Bangkok overall remains quite safe but is probably slightly less safe than it was in 2004. What I mean by that is, the vast increase in tourists and expats since then, including many dodgy ones such as Nigerian drug dealers, who frequent Sukhumvit Soi 11, Chinese gangsters, Eastern European ATM skimmers and badly behaved foreigners in general, is what might make things feel a little less safe, particularly in the back alleys of lower Sukhumvit very late at night. You're still quite safe in well-lit areas and most Thai areas at any time of day or night. I wouldn't walk down Soi 11 after midnight with all them Nigerian drug dealers there. Without them, it would be safe, but it's them making it unsafe now. In any case, foreign government travel advisories usually have Thailand as "Exercise increased caution" while Cambodia is now firmly in the "Exercise normal precautions" category. Basically, any increased recommendation of viligence in Cambodia pertains to Sihanoukville due to all the Chinese gangsters (although the online gambling ban sent most of them home just before Covid and thus the city is now MUCH safer than it was during the bad old 2017-2019 days), crazy traffic, lack of medical care in the countryside and warnings of unexploded mines, mainly along the northern border with Thailand as well as of course, recent skirmishes with Thailand. There may be some mention of the nightclub scenario you refer to, but to be honest, similar things can and do happen in Thailand in dodgy nightlife zones. I'd also advise against westerners hanging out in Thai bars, where you might quickly find yourself unwelcome or subject to a scam, especially if you don't speak Thai. Westerners need to stick to bars made for westerners. Government warnings about Thailand, aside from the above, also advise caution along the borderline with Cambodia, again, particularly between Buri Ram and the Lao border, near Chong Bok where the recent skirmish between Thailand and Cambodia occurred, due to the presence of land mines that extend up to 1-3km inside Thai territory along much of the northern border, border clashes as well as similar problems along the Burmese border due to insurgent activity on the Burmese side. Clashes between drug smugglers and Thai security forces are another issue in northern Thailand, which governments warn their citizens of. Then of course the southern insurgency (something that is no longer an issue in Cambodia since roughly 1998) and lots of problems, mainly between tourists and locals or among one another, in nightlife zones such as Bangla road in Phuket, Soi 6 and walking street in Pattaya, as well as a myriad of scams in many tourist areas.

You'll easily pay US$6 (in Baht) for a terrible beer at a bar or restaurant here in Thailand. Thai beers suck and alcoholic beverages are pricey.

Without double checking your figures, I doubt those are correct. Not sure where you got them from, but keep in mind that because 2022 was still a Covid year, tourism revenue was more depressed than usual. The first half of the year saw little tourism revenue as it was still beset with restrictions. The second half of the year finally saw some growth, particularly the last quarter, when all inbound restrictions were lifted (although there was a requirement to have health insurance for those heading onto countries such as China and India that remained in place until those two countries removed their PCR/antigen testing requirements roughly around quarter 2 of 2023). I think tourism probably contributed around 6-7% to GDP in 2022 (the 2% figure refers to 2021 from memory and would mostly have come from domestic sources as the country was closed). Do remember that in 2019, tourism contributed 21.6% to GDP (I recall that figure off the top of my head) and it's again rebounded to well above 10% since 2023. You're right - the country does need to rely less on international tourism in particular. That stated, successive governments have learned nothing from Covid and continue to rely way too much on tourism, while letting manufacturing gradually self-destruct (except for the electric car sector).

Back in March 2003. I remember this because that was my first trip to Cambodia. I flew to Siem Reap. At the time, the only Thais allowed to travel to Cambodia (both sides banned each others citizens from entering for maybe 3 weeks or so) were flight attendants and pilots of Thai registered airlines such as Bangkok Airways, which I flew with, but they had to remain in transit. They couldn't enter the country.

Again, Chiang Khong closes at 10pm. The other one closes at 8pm.

Not that border. You must be thinking about the Chiang Saen one, which does indeed close at 8pm. You're confusing Chiang Saen with Chiang Khong. Two different borders, located in the same province.

I used Wishbeer during Covid after Villa Market and Tops were banned from doing deliveries because the Junta believed drinking beer and wine at home would "spread Covid".

Wishbeer, but they won't do same day deliveries except for downtown areas of Bangkok. For outlying areas and upcountry, expect a minimum 2 day wait.

yes

Nonsense. They have always closed at 10pm. The main issue is whether you need a Lao visa on arrival; if you do, then you might be prevented from crossing after around 730 or 8pm. In that case, apply for an e-visa and use that to enter. You'll be allowed to cross until 10pm, though I'd recommend getting there by 9pm if you don't have your own vehicle. Which is another catch 22 - it could be that there are no buses operating across the bridge after around 8 or 9pm. I always travel in my own car, so I am not bothered by or interested in the bus schedule but that could be another issue for you. Since you're flying to Chiang Rai, you won't have your own car so you'll be using public transportation. Therefore, to save yourself any trouble either book an earlier flight (making sure you reach Chiang Rai by 5pm at the very latest) and then catch a cab to the border crossing OR arrive even earlier and use the Chiang Rai-Bokeo bus, which will drop you off in Huay Xai. There are 4 buses a day but the last one leaves quite early so you'll want to arrive in Chiang Rai much earlier in the day. Otherwise, travel to Chiang Khong, spend the night then cross over the next day.

That's the Golden Triangle Border crossing, which does indeed close at 8pm.

Huh? She touches him gently, doesn't push him. He's the one yelling. She simply says "I'm taking my glasses" but then the officer barks "GO" at her.

Yes I have crossed several borders that late. I can assure you the bridge closes at 10pm. Like I said, if you require a Lao visa on arrival, they might not allow you across after around 8pm as that's when the counter closes. Same thing on the Thai side, although few nationalities require it anymore, but they close the VOA counter at 8. If you are visa exempt for Laos or already have a visa you can definitely cross until the bridge closes and no idea why anyone would suggest otherwise.