blokker

Drove back and forth from Bangkok to Hua Hin this week on the main road (35 / Rama III, and then 4 south).

There was one check-point just after the airport in Hua Hin, but no cars were stopped.

Hua Hin looks a like a ghost town.

 

You can check the latest provincial measures here:

https://www.tatnews.org/2021/01/tat-update-summary-of-provincial-covid-19-control-measures-as-of-6-january-2021/

 

I found this for Krabi:

+ Arrivals from the highly controlled areas are required to register their entry online or report to the local administration and enter a 14-day local quarantine.

 

Not sure though whether the policy is really implemented, and what it looks like on the ground .

Some of my Thai family members take these announcements really serious. But I wonder what the enforcement/implementation looks like at the airport or on the inter-provincial roads.

I have my doubts, but I really don't know.  

 

See this related post about flying to Phuket:

 

I have AIS Fiber in Northern Bangkok, and currently experiencing problems for 5 days in a row with the Fiber connection.

The fiber connection on the router is going on and off all the time, making it impossible to watch internet TV.

 

My experience with AIS so far (about 3 years) has been that I have a connection problem once every 3 months, and then the AIS repair team will come to our house to fix it within 1 or 2 days. Usually it is a problem with the wire from the house not being connected properly to the the electric pole on the street (e.g., unplugged by another fiber team).  AIS service used to be good, although having this issue a few times a year is also not ideal.

 

However, this week I have connection problems for 5 days in a row and no AIS team has showed up to fix it yet.

Perhaps they just don't have the bandwidth and/or too many customers?

I noticed that when calling AIS on 1175, there is no option to talk to an actual person anymore.

There are menus and tapes where they ask you to ""turn on and off" the router, etc. Quite useless.

Fiber problems can only be reported to AIS through a website (!!!) or app.  I now report problems on their Line app.

 

So, given recent experience, I am not recommending AIS anymore. Does anyone have experience with TRUE fiber internet in Bangkok?

I registered our house for TM30 online about 2 weeks ago and then got the login/password after 1 week.

Thai HR staff at my work then managed to file TM 30 online, saving us both a trip to that horrible Immigration office.

 

After that, HR at my work yesterday registered several farang colleagues' condos and houses for TM 30 online,

and got the passwords within 2 hours. (!) Maybe some guys got their asses kicked and were told to speed it up.

This is all for homes in Bangkok, probably handled by the Chaengwatthana immigration office.

 

That being said, of course I agree with all posters that this TM30 is harassment, and completely insane.

 

I registered our house for TM30 online about 2 weeks ago and then got the login/password after 1 week.

The house is on my wife's name. These documents (scans) were needed for the registration:

1. Id card (of the wife)

2. House registration book, 1st page

 

Note: this was for a house in Bangkok, probably issued by the main immigration office in Chaengwattana.

Later on, I also filed the TM30 form online with some help of Thai HR staff at my work.

 

HR at my work yesterday registered several colleagues' condos and houses for TM 30 online,

and got the passwords within 2 hours. (!) Maybe some guys got their asses kicked and were told to speed it up.

 

That being said, of course I agree with all posters that this is harassment, and completely insane.

Just sharing my experience.

 

2 hours ago, SteveB2 said:

 

There is no problem of 'going out of date' for the translation of educational degrees.

 

It was the European Criminal Record background check only that they attached a time limit to... 

 

Thanks!   Good that the education docs can be re-used at least

17 hours ago, SteveB2 said:

Hi Blokker - I recently completed the PR process and was issued with PR during March this year.

 

The legalisation of documents and home country Criminal background record checks all had to be carried out back in Europe and was a complain pain in the  to do.

 

The legalisation of documents such as a degree certificate, divorce certificate, for PR now requires an 'Apostille' to be attached to them. I got my family back in Europe to carry out this process for me - if they hadn't of helped, I have no idea what I would have done.

 

Be careful with the criminal background record check - the CW-PR group will only accept it if it under 6 months old  - so if your application fails the first time (I applied for PR 4 times before being accepted on the 5th...) then you will need to go through the whole Crim Record check process all over again.

 

BTW, while my mom was at the London Thai Embassy, she met a PR applicant who was there to hand process his documents. He had tried to carry out the process twice before by courier post - and the Thai Embassy had lost his precious original documents on both occasions!

 

A decade ago, a good friend had a heart attack and died on the same day he was issued with with PR. I think the strain had been just too much for him.

 

To say one needs a lot of tenacity embedded in your character to succeed in your PR application is one hell of an understatement. 

 

So good luck to you - you'll need it 

 

 

 

 

Many thanks for the info!! And congratulations with your PR. Great example to see people stick through all the BS and secure their place here, without 90-day reporting, and exposure to ever changing visa requirements,  etc ... .

 

>> The legalisation of documents such as a degree certificate, divorce certificate, for PR now requires an 'Apostille' to be attached

 

Thanks once more. Good to know, as the rubber stamp track back in Europe is different for the Apostille. It's odd though that they require it at Immigration, as Thailand is not a member of the Apostille conventions itself??

https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/authorities1/?cid=41

 

>> Be careful with the criminal background record check - the CW-PR group will only accept it if it under 6 months old

 

Pain in the indeed. Thanks!

Is it Ok for Immigration if the legalized and translated educational degrees are more than 6 months old? That would save a lot of hassle.

 

>> A decade ago, a good friend had a heart attack and died on the same day he was issued with with PR. I think the strain had been just too much for him.

 

Yeah, a good reminder not to take it too serious. At the end of the day it's just a matter of checking all the boxes on that long list. One at a time.

After 10 years in Thailand with non-immigrant B and working permit, I decided to bite the bullet and to apply for a PR. First two tasks on the to-do list:  "Copy of the applicant’s educational certificate, must be officially certified by the national embassy located in Thailand, translated into Thai and certified by the Official of Department of Consular Affairs", and a "Certificate of no criminal record" from the home country (with all the stamps, etc.).

 

I asked the Dutch embassy in Bangkok if they can make certified copies of my degrees and my "no criminal record" document from The Netherlands. Embassy said no: they only make certified copies of passports and drivers licences, and referred me to government branches back in the Netherlands.

 

Has anyone perhaps dealt with this problem before for the PR application? (embassy in Bangkok does not certify documents). Is legalisation of my degrees and criminal record by the Thai embassy in the Netherlands a way out? (living in Bangkok, so not easy)
Thanks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thailand Elite Rice Card: All you can eat rice. Lifetime membership.

That should get the stockpiles down quickly.

Ps: perhaps throw in a free lifetime fitness club membership as well, for those who over-eat

In Thai news media and discussions about politics in LoS, the term "third hand" often shows up. Also sometimes "men in black shirts", who shoot/bomb/launch grenades on behalf of the "third hand". The whole idea seems to be that there may be a third party trying exploit or manipulate some conflict between two rival groups.

I personally find that "third hand" explanation as believable as Santa Claus, or the tooth fairy did it. I can see two parties fighting for power/money, and the "third hand" usually looks like the violent branch of either red or yellow; but because these guys in black use heavy weapons, the main protest movement needs to conveniently distance itself from the shooters, and this is where the "third hand" story nicely fits in. Also, no men in black ever seem to get arrested and convicted, so the local media need a way to cover them while not accusing any side.

Solution: probably Santa Claus (the third hand) may have launched that grenade.

Anyhow, what's the link to the article: the great thing about it is that it uses logic in analyzing the violence in 2010 and 2014, and never brings up the magical third hand explanation.

Marketing plan ... lets try to help out.

Offer a free bag of rice and giant fire cracker for every tourist willing to visit LoS during the protests?

And money back guarantee in case of a military coup. That will do it!

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Why doesn't Chalerm send his youngest son? A police officer, and apparently a sharp shooter.

Then in the meanwhile Chalerm can focus on more serious things,

like trying to deport the indian guy who got on the PDRC stage.

To make thing worse, apparently the majority of rice farmers in Thailand are not poor,

but middle income or even rich (large land owners)!!

Got this info from a TDRI (Thai Development Research Institute) researcher.

And, there's a lot of poor people in Thailand who are not rice farmers.

So, as a scheme to help "the poor" it is utterly stupid. More like a PR-stunt.

The most expensive PR-stunt in the country's history ...

Anyhow, the Democrats apparently have their own version of a rice price guarantee scheme,

so don't count on things to become much better after a coup. Incompetence and corruption run wide and deep in LoS.

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What law did he break? I mean not some announcement from the government but an actual law.

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Thai protestors shut down electricity of a hospital, close down roads for several weeks, police officer gets killed in riots with the mob, protestor storm ministries and government house, protestors prevent election in many places, pro-democracy protestor gets shot, mob beats up a taxi driver, bombs are thrown at the protestors, gunmen shoot at the mob, attempt by protestors to bomb themselves to trigger coup, etc, etc, etc ...

Government and police response to all of this anarchy: well, nothing, basically.

One Thai-Indian guy, a foreigner, gets on a stage and expresses his political opinions:

government takes it very serious and tries to throw him out of the country.

Enjoy your life in the banana republic,

where foreigners rank below monitor lizards in the hierarchy of connections and corruption.

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The government is using off balance sheet financing for the rice scheme, to hide the losses.

They are not even willing to tell tax payers what the losses are exactly.

Supporting poor people is fine; but I recommend just sending them a check in the mail, properly accounted for (as it is tax payers' money). Subsidizing farmers by rigging the whole rice market and trying to hide the losses is just plain stupid.

What are the losses exactly?

Who knows?!

They are the future selling price of the rice, minus the price paid, plus the interest on any bond financing used to bridge the time needed to sell it.

So what is the future selling price of the rice exactly? Not known, nobody has a crystal ball.

And how much will the bond finance cost? A lot more now that Suthep scuppered the bond issue, and drove down the value of the Thai baht, but basically nobody knows for sure, because the bonds haven't yet been issued and can't be till the election is over.

And how long will it take to sell the backlog? Don't know, depends on the weather/world rice supplies & demands.

So it's not possible to calculate an exact loss because the loss isn't known and on the books until the capital item (rice) sells.

So Suthep pulls some exaggerated number from is butt and tells his supporters it, then tells them they're hiding that number from them! Throwing in a few mindless catch phrases to sell it as fact.

Should Yingluk have done this program without knowing all these things before hand? Of course she should! Because nobody ever knows these things beforehand. Shes in power, she tries stuff, some works, great!, Some fails, bad!, Some works after fixes, rice pledge likely falls into this category.

Sending poor people a check in the mail is not a good idea, use the money instead to build a rice reserve, its the staple diet of Thailand and floods are making supplies less reliable, so its a better use of the money.

Checks don't get rotten or eaten by rats; the rice reserve does.

And why subsidize only rice farmers? What about poor people in general, and the farmers in the south of Thailand who grow other things? Direct transfers (checks) are much better, and more transparent.

Good business sense put it out to the competitive market...

I'm sure a lot will be whining but at least they are trying to get the farmers paid for what they have already sold on promise.

I see a lot of posters hating the idea of for some reason and have no idea why they would wish hardship on hard working farmers. They deserve to be paid in full asap imo.

The government is using off balance sheet financing for the rice scheme, to hide the losses.

They are not even willing to tell tax payers what the losses are exactly.

Supporting poor people is fine; but I recommend just sending them a check in the mail, properly accounted for (as it is tax payers' money). Subsidizing farmers by rigging the whole rice market and trying to hide the losses is just plain stupid.

After 2006 coup the entire constitution was rewritten by the military, and after Thaksin's party was disolved in 2008 by the courts, a Democrat puppet government was put in charge of the country. They could reform all they wanted back then, but the main result was a drastic inrease in the military budget (go check the facts), and human rights abuse went on like usual. Why do you trust them to do a better job of refirm now? And the cost of it all: lawlessness, anarchy, military coup, and 75% of the population robbed of their right to vote. All worth it?

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The 2007 constitution is 90% the same as the 1997 constitution, word for word.

Yeah, writing a constitution takes brainpower, good judgement and some degree of competence. All clearly in short supply among the elites here, who rather bend and break the laws to get things done. That's why I don't trust vague promises of reform before elections.

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Caught out, and all you can do come up with more crap.

My point: reform has been tried many times, and was not succesful.

Why should we trust that reform before election will make things better this time, and at what costs?

Your response: 2007 constitution 90% same as 1997, and my post is full of crap.

Very weak response. Any answer to the original question?

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After 2006 coup the entire constitution was rewritten by the military, and after Thaksin's party was disolved in 2008 by the courts, a Democrat puppet government was put in charge of the country. They could reform all they wanted back then, but the main result was a drastic inrease in the military budget (go check the facts), and human rights abuse went on like usual. Why do you trust them to do a better job of refirm now? And the cost of it all: lawlessness, anarchy, military coup, and 75% of the population robbed of their right to vote. All worth it?

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The 2007 constitution is 90% the same as the 1997 constitution, word for word.

Yeah, writing a constitution takes brainpower, good judgement and some degree of competence. All clearly in short supply among the elites here, who rather bend and break the laws to get things done. That's why I don't trust vague promises of reform before elections.

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Another typical move by the thugs to violate people rights and break laws.

Your propaganda war room really needs to come up with something new or different to say rather than repeating the same old mantras day in and day out. Or perhaps you could actually involve yourself in discussion here, it is a forum after all, and tell us why you (in a sensible, well thought out way) think the the Govt is so great and the anti-Govt movement is so bad.

ill give you the one thing the gov are great for.................they are allowing people the right to have a vote..........

ill give you one reason the anti gov are so bad ........ they are not allowing people the right to have a vote....

Nuff said... respect the vote, without that you cannot say you have respect for anything at all.

Except again you are twisting things around. The anti-Govt people are not saying no to voting at all, merely that reform MUST take place before any elections. Not quite the same thing as your over-simplification makes it out.

After 2006 coup the entire constitution was rewritten by the military, and after Thaksin's party was disolved in 2008 by the courts, a Democrat puppet government was put in charge of the country. They could reform all they wanted back then, but the main result was a drastic inrease in the military budget (go check the facts), and human rights abuse went on like usual. Why do you trust them to do a better job of reform now? And the cost of it all: lawlessness, anarchy, military coup, and 75% of the population robbed of their right to vote. All worth it?

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Latest update, 18 polling stations in BKK out of 50 have already been closed.

When they close them, does rent-a mob move to another polling station? Or do they hang around to make sure the polling station remains closed?

Heard that protestors and election committee officials more or less move together from one polling station to another to declare them closed .... There are not enough protestors to cover all polling stations, so they could be easily reopened, if the EC really wanted and the police did their job. But, I guess expecting government officials to do their job is asking too much in a country like this. Only the puuyai matter.

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I doesn't matter in the long run. Whether it's Yingluck or someone else, whenever the next election takes place, they will be voted in. The people want their vote to be respected and not to be bullied.

Agree. But with Thaksin family removed, hopefully less conflict and more stability.

Maybe a more typical Thai politician in charge, like the one who wanted to fight the flood with 100's of boat propellors. No threat for the powers that be, then the folks upcountry are allowed to vote.

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Thai people who would like to vote on Feb 2 can do so, former village head Suthep says, but they may just have to pass a gang of hackling and potentially violent yellow mobsters ...

Perhaps this is just the lastest plan to trigger violence and a military coup?

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http://sg.news.yahoo.com/us-suspends-34-nuclear-missile-officers-over-cheating-201742809.html

Yesterday I read that 34 US 'nuclear launch officials' were discovered to be cheating in exams, also some were being investigated for drugs offences. I would consider this far more dangerous than some violent street protests in Bangkok. I think their media pundits should probably shush about other nations' problems. So, along with all the other current problems in the US, which are encyclopedic; their 'humanitarian invasions' which cost millions of lives around the ME in the last decade or so, and the US is a virtual police state run by offshore banking cartels, and has huge socio-economic problems, including the standard of living which has dropped by 2/3 in the last 40 years. I love American people and culture a lot, but I feel that given the state their government and society is in today, I feel the journalists etc. like the guy in the OP should really stop pointing fingers around the world and try closer to home. I feel the same when the UK press starts criticising Thailand, they should look at their own doorstep more closely too. Its a far from rosy picture.

In sum: "the US is not my father"? Just paraphrazing another great Thai thinker. Forgot his name.

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