EricTh

Insurance is not useless if you are tested positive with Covid and have no money to pay for the bills. In the past, many tourists to Thailand were jobless backpackers with hardly any money on them. Govt should instead give another option of not having to buying insurance if we can show enough funds in Thailand banks (eg. min 30,000 baht).

It's a shame that there are no experts in Thailand and they must take advice from a foreigner (ceo of Airasia) who is a Malaysian. Yes, get rid of that second test and make the first test at the airport without any hotel quarantine not even for 1 day.

Yes, I had the same problem, I keep seeing some collapsed comments with their names still visible even though they are on my ignore list. The software should be changed.

Why is there a surge when the vaccines are supposed to be 'highly effective' than before the vaccination drive? Thailand's fully vaccinated rate is now 70% which is close to herd immunity. By right, it should be lower than 2000 daily cases which was the average last year.

I heard China is trying to back its currency with gold to compete with the USA? How true is this?

Thailand should follow Cambodia's example to save tourism.

No wonder that German Youtuber went to Sri Lanka. lol

When the bubble burst and you lose a lot of money, then you will know whether this is a Ponzi scheme that is 'legalised' just to make money for the banks.

Some of these politicians have nothing better to do than to make people lives more miserable by remembering long Sanskrit names. Even Thai names are ridiculously long that nobody use except in formal situation.

Who is going to remember such a long name except for Thai citizens? Bang kok is so much easier to remember.

If he's really a foreigner, immigration should arrest and deport him. Begging is a type of working and that is not allowed in Thailand for foreigners on non work permit.

I've already reported this reduction in another thread a few days ago.

Just scrap that ridiculous so-called 'Test-and-go' which is a misleading term. The hotel quarantine and tests are ridiculously expensive. I believe there is no quarantine for even one day in Philippines and Cambodia for fully-vaccinated tourists. Can somebody confirm this?

I thought somebody here said immigration have stopped issuing covid ext?

No doubt the volunteers outside are much more friendly and helpful than the 'inside staff' but they sometimes give wrong and conflicting information. This is from my own experience and also other people's experience if you were to stand/sit near the inside counter and listen to other people's complaints that what they were told outside isn't what is told inside. You wasted your thirty three years there by not being observant enough.

What? How long is the whole process from application date? I converted my home country driving licence in just 1 day. Then after 2 years, I renewed my 5 year licence in just a few hours in Chiang Mai.

@Unix000 1. If your girlfriend is the owner, just have her type/prepare a Thai document that looks like a rental agreement between you and her for 6 or 12 months. Your name , passport and address must be clearly stated. 2. This is required for you to get the residence certificate from immigration which will take 1 day to 1 month depending on which city. (1 month free but 1 day pay money $$$) 3. The residence cert is required to get both driving licence and to buy a bike. You need to apply for two original copies.

The average height for Thai men is 163 to 165 cm and not 167.5. I have met only very few Thai men taller than that. And that is due to intermarriage with Europeans or outside race.

I was just replying to some people who said that Thailand's economy is now bad so why is the Thai baht suddenly so strong? Speculation plays a big part but it's not the only factor. It was based on future economic prospects of Thailand judging from current economic policies, political stability and trade surplus/deficit. The 1st Feb tourism opening was the catalyst for the surge recently. It's still strengthening today.

Going past the volunteers is a good move, they only know the most common procedures for first timers to Thailand like tourist extension, non-O 90 days application, where the photocopying shop, where is 90 days reporting, where is the toilet, where the TM30 place is, where to apply for the residence cert etc. For the other more complicated visa extensions, it's better to go straight to the counter inside. That said, it's rather chaotic nowadays. We didn't have to go through the volunteers section in the past few years.

It is dangerous to take selfie nowadays.

Exchange rate is based on currency speculators of what the future exchange rate would be, not so much on current economics. Yes, there are large number of currency manipulators who are rich and buy/sell billions. The currency speculators based the rate on the tourism opening on 1 Feb, I have been watching the Thai Baht movement. Stock market prices and currency work almost the same. They are controlled by speculators.

@JideeS I am shocked that Thailand treats foreigners this way, they should at least let you be able to order food and water via the restaurants at the airport. Maybe you should complain to the Thai embassy back in your home country. The problem with the USA is that most non-government documents even the vaccination record is hand-written which is open to fraud, so I can understand why Thai immigration didn't accept it. I thought you can only get the Thailand Pass if the PCR test was valid before boarding the plane?

Thai Baht is gaining against most currencies.

Yes, Thai baht is gaining strength recently due to opening up of Thailand tourism from 1 Feb.