Asiantravel

_{I for one will be spending my tourist dollars elsewhere in the future. My last trip was to Vietnam and that showed me how expensive Thailand really is compared to its} neighbouring _countries.

that sounds interesting waza. it's been a couple of years since I was last in Vietnam.

how does the cost of accommodation there these days compare to Thailand?

and another thing that's nice about neighbouring countries is they don't alienate you

anywhere near the amount that the Thai's do in terms of " farang " this and

" farang " that in places like Cambodia and Vietnam they make you feel really welcome

and don't constantly remind you that you are a foreigner.

Here on this sky News website in an interesting interview with Film maker Jean-Philippe Tremblay

in which he compares what WikiLeaks did to some of the points raised in the

recent Leveson Inquiry ( the public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press following the News International phone hacking )

http://news.sky.com/home/uk-news/article/16252337

Nisa with respect the Thai unemployment rate is standing at less than 1 % Ho Ho--he he. You can search for what figures you like, if you dug this out of some google-or similar-fine but it gives you what was imputted. if the imput figures were missguided you get a ridiculous find. Look at the picture, eastern tourist figures are up--but western down, all the employees that served western customers are back on the farm --NOT signing on the register for unemployed, all the school leavers not found work are not registered they are at home--the uni lads and lasses-big percentage have got diploma's but at home, mothers that are at home, not signed on--fathers that do not sign on unemployment, in between rice harvests, does this make sense -or have I got it all wrong. To add eastern arrivals tend to be in groups, and large chain hotels, the lower hotel/ guest houses and eating places are where the young are getting there marching orders. only 1 in a hundred out of work --OH please.

As usual, more ranting to do with a figure(s) accepted globally and your disbelief of them and all stats and figures along with Google searches that don't fit what you want to believe. But the bottom line is unemployment is one of the lowest in the world and Tourism is up and has been trending up for a very long time. And by the way, unemployment numbers are not derived from any benefits anyone gets be it here or most countries (try using Google, it can be your friend) .... benefits folks receive is a different stat all together.

Whether or not the PM's predictions are accurate of near doubling tourism (domestic & international) revenue in the next 5-years ... that too is a different thing. But consider just International arrivals were up 20% last year. But why mention this since you believe some conspiracy exists with the airlines, TAT, border agents, immigration, airports and foreign governments to inflate these figures that are accepted globally by those who rely on these figures.

I think you will find that all such unemployment figures for Thailand come FROM Thailand - even the CIA factbook and wikipedia rely of Thai government figures. Thus there is a HUGE margin for between reality and Thai fiction.

Also, you will see that there is small print in such external regurgitation of the Thai data that uses the word 'underemployment'. Here is a great article about such in ASEAN (at the end).

Following this, REAL unemployment could be around 20-50% or higher in Thailand. as various factors are NOT considered when the 1% figure is given e.g. youth unmeployment as well as those who "help family for 1 hour a week" (who are classified as employed in Thailand but would not be in the real world), housewives, people older than the lower retirement age outside Thailand, etc.

Here are 2 academic articles that should be readable by all who have not had their brains sucked out by either being educated here or by being nationalistic.

http://www.jri.co.jp...200003unemploy/

http://siteresources...itoronYouth.pdf

**Off topic rant removed**

Anyway, back to the topic ... feel free to doubt the tourist numbers, arrivals, revenue and percent of GDP of tourism.

Nisa there are so many factors which could contribute to a sudden drop off in tourism numbers in Thailand. We have an ever-increasing risk of war in the Middle East, and ever-increasing risk of a total collapse of the euro, a bumpy economic ride in USA to say the least plus a very aggressive push by Thailand's neighbours to win a greater share of the tourism pie which now includes a very interesting and intriguing Myanmar. In Thailand we have a spate of mysterious deaths including those in Chiang Mai and the more recent ones in Phi Phi plus the most recent stabbing of an Australian tourist in Phuket.

The tourism game in Thailand has changed permanently -but let's face it they had a good run

what did they want - wallet or car or both ?

how would these kind of people react if you handed over your wallet.

Better than sustaining serious injuries if that what they were after

or is this wrong ?

I checked a few days ago, and it's not up yet. So I went to the embassy and got a "manual" visa.

To my surprise, I did not have to wait in line outside the embassy for three hours like last time. I was in and out in 20 minutes, like in November last year.

tom what did you give them to meet this requirement

" Certification letter from employer with signature or stamp. " ?

I got a tourist visa. You don't need a letter from the employer for that.

ok thanks

I lived in the UK for 4 years nearly 20 years ago.

My question is this, how the hell do people survive on 71 quid a week.

That's about Aud $109, my god even 20 years ago that would be below the poverty line surely.

I can only imagine how hard it must be. Does the Govt supply accommodation to these people out of work, or subsidise their rent in any way?

I can't think of a worse place to be poor than blighty, particularly in winter.

A member of my family was forced to survive on this. He has no children but has a mortgage in London. They told him to sell his apartment and live off any profit. If you rent they pay a proportion of your rent I believe. They even refused to pay his council tax. There is no money left for electricity or gas bills really. Its hard out there!

There is no money left for electricity or gas bills really.

what about food ?

I'm able to claim GBP71.00 per week,

how on earth can anyone survive on that amount ??

last time i was there a ride on the tube train cost me 3-4 pounds

Hello

I am intending to come to visit Koh Chang and I would appreciate it if someone can comment on my questions.

1. I was be coming by the number 99 government bus from Pattaya and I would like to get off at the right place to be able to hop on board the orange coloured pickup taxi trucks that go to the blue and white ferry rather than the slower old green coloured ferry which I have been told to avoid. Does anyone have any idea how much the orange pickup taxis would charge me at this time of year to take me from where the bus drops me off to the ferry pier?
   
2. When I get off the ferry I then want to travel to Bang Bao Village which I believe is the southernmost point of Koh Chang and that I should travel there by a white coloured taxi pickup truck? Can anyone guide me as to what I should expect to pay to travel from the ferry to Bang Bao Village to avoid being scammed?
   

Thanks very much

... overwhelmingly, foreign tourists fail to understand what Thailand really is, and the cost of that failure is too often very, very high ... pumped full of sunshine and the image of Thai smiles, foreigners are woefully unprepared for how African bad things in Thailand go when they go wrong.

i was thinking just yesterday how expats may be treated by the less farang tolerant Thai's

( i.e. how safe would it be ) here in event of a worse global financial crisis than 2008 and things got desperate ?

My advice is to avoid Pattaya and Phuket completely. There are so many nice places in Thailand. You rarely hear about this kind of thing happening to tourists elsewhere. Any sensible travel agent would send there customers to places far more reflective of Thailand traditions and culture. Not to mention the beaches are far nicer on many of the islands than in Phuket or Pattaya areas.

Hua Hin also.There have been several violent deaths

of expats there over the past year or two....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/9143138/British-man-murdered-in-Thailand-for-40.html

the boy had suddenly accelerated down the street and turned into the main Sukhumvit Road without looking to check if there was any oncoming traffic.

i see this so often...

why is it so hard for them to turn their head and check?

Phi Phi police say it is too early to determine how the sisters died but ruled out foul play.

What a joke. Can't determine how they died, but it wasn't foul play. Unreal.

I was just thinking yesterday we never seem to hear about these kinds of stories

happening in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia etc?

How come these mysterious deaths including the ones in Chiang Mai

last year only seem to happen in this country?

Can only mirror what other posters have said. The only people with the authority to take your passport are the police and immigration. The whole motorbike scam works on the principle that once they have your passport, the operators know you must pay their 'repair fee' to get it back and you have little other option.

Simple lesson - don't give up your passport to anyone

that's all very well for you to say that but you hand over your passport

everytime you register in a hotel to be photocopied? Maybe the hospital gave her the impression

they were just going to take a photocopy like they do in hotels.

If the poor girl wasn't feeling well there wouldn't have been much she could do

physically if they said they would keep its secure for her?

if you watch BBC World these days all you see is continual advertising of Thailand tourism

which must be costing the Thai government a lot of money.

and yet this kind of deplorable public relations is more than undoing all that.

I really think that tourism Minister needs to become a lot more proactive and hands-on

in dealing with these kinds of issues because slowly but surely it's drip drip drip

-sowing a lot of negative seeds in the minds of potential tourists

I checked a few days ago, and it's not up yet. So I went to the embassy and got a "manual" visa.

To my surprise, I did not have to wait in line outside the embassy for three hours like last time. I was in and out in 20 minutes, like in November last year.

tom what did you give them to meet this requirement

" Certification letter from employer with signature or stamp. " ?

Hello everybody,

I have just applied for my visa a few minutes back and I would like to post some information on that, which i couldn't find in this forum.

First of all it is really easy to get there, just take BTS and get off at Surasak Station, take Exit 3 and walk to the right, after about 150 m you can see the wall of the myanmar embassy already, just turn left there and you will see a grey metal door to the visa section.

For those of you who did not bring all the required stuff, there is a copy shop just another 50 meters down the road on the right side, there are direction signs on the wall just from the visa office's door, so you can't miss it.

You can get the visa application form there and you can copy the photo page of your passport. If you did not bring passport photos (or as me, photos with a background that is not white) you can also make your passport photos there. (photos, passport copy and application form will cost you 158 THB).

So actually i arrived there about 8am, got the photos and visa application and got in line in front of the visa office at 8:15. I was seventh in line, when they opened at 9am there were about 30 people in line, i walked out of the office by 9:10 again already, so actually not as bad as i have read in some other forums, but i might just have picked a not so busy day.

It is written there that you can only get the express visa if you show them an airplane ticket. That is just not true, i asked if i could pick it up the next day (which costs 1030 THB) and i was told that Tuesday (as Monday is closed due to holiday) will be very busy so i should pick it up today in the afternoon (1260 THB).

In fact it was really no big deal, i was a little worried that i would have to wait for 3 or more days but it turned out to be just fine.

So enjoy your trip to Myanmar everybody!

cheers

pep

Pepi the following list is for a tourist Visa application according to one website

Requirements for Tourism Visa Application

1. Passport: valid for more than 6 months.

2. Application for Entry Visa.

3. 1 piece passport size colorful picture, white background.

4. Certification letter from employer with signature or stamp.

5. Air tickets reservation.

6. Visa fee of 200 RMB for tourist visa payable in cash.

did you have to comply with item 4 being the letter from your employer?

what kind of penalty is the manager facing and how come it's him that getting into trouble

rather than the proprietor? he was obviously acting under the instructions of his employer?

This isn't the military mate. If you are breaking the law then you are liable to punishment. No excuse of "my boss told me to do it" is going to get you out of that.

This doesn't mean that the owner shouldn't be in the sh!t as well. He should be facing criminal charges as well.

that is what I was getting at

the owner should carry the same burden as the manager surely?

Told at airport...either letter or visa......showed me letter too...are you tourist or business....? anyway went tp embassy this morn 810 Baht visa,,, pick up in 2 days

Tourist visa. I just presented my passport and application form at the embassy on Sathorn Nua and picked up the visa three days later.

UK Passport, by the way.

Not exactly a visa on arrival then.

Another thing,...why these tin pot countries take a full page is beyond me for visa stamp, not 12 months old yet my passport three quarters full now,pick and choose which countries I go to in next few years ,smallest stamp gets the money

it's not just tin pot countries that have no regards for these matters

I arrived in Los Angeles airport and they placed their stamp directly in the middle

of the two centre pages of the passport

what kind of penalty is the manager facing and how come it's him that getting into trouble

rather than the proprietor? he was obviously acting under the instructions of his employer?

Thank you very much, good write-up.

i second that !

i will come there in August and i will stay at Mahabandoola Guest House

The best business class seating arrangement I have seen is with Finnair where the outside seats are 1 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 1 - 2. Bloody great if you are flying by yourself..!!

Finnair is dreadful.........worse than Aeroflot

Old aircraft ( and smelly ) , frequently late and old hags serving you

if you were able to get a multi-entry non-imm 'B' visa from Hull in 2010 why

didnt you get another one and why did

you switch over to tourist visas ?

I have a Thai friend who lives in Bangkok. She's an excellent drive, but aggressive as most drivers in Bangkok are. She obviously did something to piss off another driver and he pulled in front of her, stopped, got out and busted her front windscreen with a tire iron. Pure road rage. She's from a very well connected family. Reported it to the police. They found out who the driver was and told her to just back off or there will be real problems. Even the insurance company wouldn't pursue it, but they did pay for the damages.

Welcome to Thailand.

thanks a lot for this because what the police told her was exactly what my

gut feeling was about my case i.e. back off or there will be real problems.

Your hands reached out and hit his window...hmmm. Sounds like you got angry and smacked his window. People don't just get out of their cars and deck someone for nothing. I'd say there's something your not telling us and I like to hear the other side of the story.

Even i would like to hear the other side of the story and be able to ask him " Why " ?

i reached to his window because I lost my balance because I was carrying two shopping bags

and I had no room to walk or manoeuvre

because his car had run right up against the edge of the road.

I did nothing and said nothing and it was obvious the way he was driving his car

he was already very angry.