Katipo

At first what he says sounds good.... and then you remember that the government won't implement any of the 'sensible' ideas he is putting forward. He is therefore off the hook and free of responsibility and (although I hate to use this phrase), it will be business as usual.

Poster said nothing about a re-entry permit. He has a passport with visas and a passport without. Although they might provide a visa exempt entry with a visa in submitted passport immigration does not have to provide and they could require use of visa or mark it invalid.

I think you are very wrong on this ... they cannot force you to use a visa. You have a time limit to use the visa and there is no rule or law about saying you cannot enter the country without using it. If you can enter the country legally without a visa then you don't need to activate the visa until you are ready.

Try and convince immigration. They say that if you have a visa to travel to Thailand you should use it or the visa becomes void.

Sometimes they do allow it, but seems they now make a note in the passport.

I just cannot see why immigration would care and as I have mentioned, I can't recall a time I have entered on a visa where they didn't specifically ask me if I wanted to use it. Regardless if you activate the visa or enter on an exempt status, both are legal and would seem completely within your bounds (not immigration) as to what legal status you want to enter the country. Without doubt I could be wrong and there may be some fine print that states once you get a visa you are banned from entering the country unless you use that visa or allow the visa to expire or have a border agent cancel the visa you paid for at the embassy because you want to use it on a date immigration stated you can ... but TIT and anything is possible.

I entered with a non-b visa. I did not put the visa number in the entry form you have to fill out, so they just gave me a tourist visa. No problem.

Sounds like 2 rival technical colleges again. Poor girl was probably caught in the crossfire. Tragic whatever the cause.

Duty Free Shops? I think they mean shop. I'd wager that the corrupt KP has once again secured a monopoly.

I think you'll find that KP is a company that has the concession to run a number of retail outlets. Surely the corruption comes from the people within AOT, the people who issue concessions at the airport.

Different shops, one controlling company. Only one supplier of Duty Free goods. Prices are hardly competitive.

The corruption comes from both sides.

Delivery guy... may have been a student, certainly not a mafia type. Same can't be said for your average upper-sukumvit taxi driver. Outside my condo in soi 11 they just sit their all day. I'd rather walk or take a motorcycle than having to deal with these guys who will never use a meter.

Duty Free Shops? I think they mean shop. I'd wager that the corrupt KP has once again secured a monopoly.

Once the flame of fundamentalism is ignited in a person's, it's nearly impossible to extinguish.

Prescription needed? Well considering you don't need one of those for either the real thing or the generic copies/fakes, I don't think this strategy will succeed.

No, I think you'll be able to this over the counter just like all the others. The government won't want to miss out on a cash cow like this.

It's nice to see the government indirectly helping prostitution too. After all it is one of the countries biggest money earners.

Get a grip! "Indirectly helping prostitution" Prostitutes really don't care if one can keep an erection, they care about being paid whether one can keep it up or not.

Indeed, when I do 'get a grip' I really do not need any other help. The girls might not care, but the boys don't want to be starting business time with 'Flaccid Freddie' around.

RIP to the victim, more mindless violence from the idiotic few.

Sadly, the few is not so few anymore it seems.

Too much sh#t, and not enough shovels.

Prescription needed? Well considering you don't need one of those for either the real thing or the generic copies/fakes, I don't think this strategy will succeed.

No, I think you'll be able to this over the counter just like all the others. The government won't want to miss out on a cash cow like this.

It's nice to see the government indirectly helping prostitution too. After all it is one of the countries biggest money earners.

Things have never been never been good in Thai politics, but as long as Thaksin is stirring things up, they will never get better either.

How is this enforced though?

Anyone could claim a taxi refused a fare - but it's your word against theirs. Who's to say some people won't cry wolf on a taxi out of spite?

If they don't refuse you, what spite would you have? The website is hardly user friendly too. I can imagine only the most pissed off people will both to go to all the effort of submitting a complaint

The people who are most likely to abuse it are the taxi mafia types trying to eliminate their more honest competition.

It's not the silliest of ideas. I wonder how much the government would need to build it? I would guess about 120 billion baht.

I don't know, we have never seen this sort of language before from a Thai. Usually it's the various Honourary Consuls. Call me a fool, but I am feeling optimistic.......

....not quite optimistic enough to hire a jetski just yet however.

Good on Apple for making more of an effort to catch up to Android this time. Girls and the image conscious will love this once again.

I was hoping the local muslims were a bit more worldly, oh well, irrational thought leads to irrational behavior...... watch the little youtube movie. Support freedom.

Worldly, no. This is Thailand remember. A large percentage don't give two hoots about the film though. A few hundred protesting outside the embassy is not a majority.

Given that employing a foreign tour guide is almost certainly more expensive than a local one, the logical conclusion is that the local guides are either a) unable to speak the language of the tour party, or incompetent.

Improved language skills and training are needed. yes, it will require time and money.... yes, 15 years should have been long enough. So why?

I recently saw a photo comparing the Thai I recently saw a photo comparing the Bangkok BTS/MRT system to that in Singapore, but I guess it would be the same for any metropolis in the world. The simple fact is, while the mass-transit systems here are clean and relatively effecient, they are also relatively tiny. Very few parts of the city are near a station.

Build a mass transit system worthy of a city Bangkok's size, and people will use it.

I think that is the long-term plan, but these things take time. There just isn't the money to build a whole system in one go. Not even rich countries can manage that. But it will come in the next 20 years or so.

Yes, you make a fair point. I bet without all the corruption it would be bigger than it is today though