watso63

I now see we have the commercial exploitation of the concession given for those "unable" to travel. Yet you have to travel and present your documents to this company.

Many Many thanks NanLaew your response cracked it. I sent the first email from my domain thefactoriesgroup.com and the reminder from my personal domain raymondjedwards.com, you mentioned gmail worked so I created a gmail account and used that. Within an hour I got a response saying they had not received the first two mails. It seems they count any non webmail as spam. All the best and if you ever get to Ban Chang I will give you pizza and beer. Raymond.

Glad that it worked out OK. I will be back in Pattaya this weekend so I will let you know when I am popping down to Ban Chang for my reward. Is there still a Scandi chap making excellent pizzas down there?

watso63, soap and OJAS probably don't like this either...

The only thing I don't like is the fact that passport applications are a pain in the arse when they don't need to be. Things have got quicker, but that's all, but they could hardly have got worse. In 2015 we can do virtually anything online. Banks, Insurance etc. Set up a passport account. How hard?

What, if anything is efficient and an improvement over the previous system?

Trust? mmm

If I can bank safely and secrely online then I'm sure it is possible to renew a passport online. Home delivery by courier preferred or collection from VFS if absolutely necessary.

Anyone unable to work online for whatever reason should be able to get help from friends or family.

Total and 100% agreement from me. Absolutely no argument there.

If not, then they are sadly, probably a lost cause.

Oh dear.

Oh dear indeed.

If I can bank safely and secrely online then I'm sure it is possible to renew a passport online. Home delivery by courier preferred or collection from VFS if absolutely necessary. Anyone unable to work online for whatever reason should be able to get help from friends or family. If not, then they are sadly, probably a lost cause.

Secure? The only security is to have the passport in the holders possession at all time. I was a soldier for 22 years and know quite a bit about security. Get real. It was a punishable offence to hand over a MOD Form 90 (ID Card ) to any unauthorised person or organisation.

However anyone tries to spin it, it doesn't change the fact that in 2015 it is a pisspoor effort by all standards. The thread is about changes, so I keep my eye on it looking for exactly those. It does appear that delays are few and far between now, but it still doesn't alter the fact that there is no system in place for tracking an application and having to make two journeys from Nakhon Nowhere can be a royal pain in the arse.

Please read the headline, Costas. It's about a survey which probably had more than one question and topic.

Or we could follow the Greek economic model.

Please read the headline, Costas. It's about a survey which probably had more than one question and topic.

Costas in his haste to become the first commentator on many a topic often fires from the hip and completely misses the target. Sometimes amusing, but mostly a Greek tragedy.???

All the training and experience in the world won't stop a dog, cow, buffalo running out in front of you, a drunk Thai driver ploughing into you or a large pothole suddenly appearing whilst riding on an otherwise good road. Sometimes fate takes a hand and that is just Tango Sierra

The police only pull adults over not wearing a helmet around these parts. They don't bother the school kids...no money I guess. Not too many real bikes to speak of. I think it's just easy money in the tourist areas. I remember driving from Pattaya to Bang Saray. The cops only targetted "big" bikes. I rode a Kawasaki ZX10R back in the UK and I have Thai driving licences for car, pick up, van and motorcycle here. Please don't keep taking more fun out of Thailand and trying to neuter and sterilize it into a clone of big brother EU. Hell's teeth, it's one of the reasons I left the dump in the first place???

I changed my driving licence so my driver id matched my new passport number. Read about horror stories where insurance companies look for any reason not to pay out in the event of a claim. Better safe than sorry.

why is this news?

thailand is a tropical country, tropical rain storms like this happen with great regularity. in fact there was a bigger storm only last week...

nice to feel human for a few hours until the heat and humidity build up again.

Might not be news to you, but it was to the people living here.

I was OK till the last 15 km, just after noon. Then the goose bumps were setting in, I could feel shivers coming on, and I was struggling to get on and off the bike. I was grateful for a bit of rehydration and a calming Tiger

I was a bit like that about 3 years ago as I was planning to ride to BKK about 350 km away.

I managed the first 40 km and felt so bad I rode back home after hoovering 500 ml of Coca Cola. I was about 4 km from home and I was nearly falling off my bike and I stopped at a little Mom and Pop place.

They took my backpack and me off the bike and led me to a sort of table to lie down and offered me cold water. It took me 10 minutes to recover enough to ring my wife to come and get me. She did and somebody rode the bike home. I went to bed for a couple of hours with the a/c on and felt a bit better.

I was so dehydrated and I nearly fell of and that scared me. Now I drink lots of water and I am thinking of getting a spray bottle to fill with cool water andf spray myself after a stop and let it evaporate as I ride.

My normal ride is about 70km. At this time of year it's best to get back for 10:00hrs. One minute, cruising along at 32 km/h then wham, big weight on the shoulders, weak arms, legs like jelly then a 20 km/h struggle to get home. Barely have enough energy to put the bike on its stand then, loads of water and a long lie down. Once recovered, it's beer time?

I have never known them to ask for anything and addition to the income affidavit from the US embassy. I know of several Americans who did not have the funds in the bank and just brought their income affidavit notarized from the embassy and went to Chang Wattana and in no time at all were approved. I would not worry. It is the way it is with the treaty of Amnity. I do not believe the other guy at all, I fear he is one of the many here who go out of their way to make things negative.

I don't know why you are getting so worked up over this. Kap Choeng immigration it seems are wise to this scam and now demand to see proof of a liveable income entering the applicants Thai bank account from overseas (not the full amount of 65,000 baht decared). It doesn't matter what nationality you are, they are making sure your income is not being generated from inside Thailand, ie, not working here illegally. Wow, these Thai's can be so clever sometimes.

In the interest of balance???

What a load of malarkey.

Iran currently occupies a part of the UAE after its illegal invasion.

Iran has its Republican guard actively involved in Iraq, and Syria and has sent its trainers and missile specialists to install, and operate missile launch sites in Hizbollah controlled parts of Lebanon. Iran tacitly supported the Taliban and has actively targeted dissidents in foreign countries such as Australia, Canada and the UK.

Iran is a threat to world peace and its nationals must be treated accordingly.

Of course they are in Iraq, it's all part of the game. Overthrow illegally an anti Alqaeda Sunni muslim, therefore anti CIA, anti American leader (who was a valued ally of US policy until he outlived his usefulness) and install a Shia puppet government. When are you going to grow up and open your eyes? I am not a conspiracy theorist, but a realist ex soldier with 22 years experience. Please enlighten me about how exactly WTC7 fell down, never mind the rest! I'm in no way defending this particular Iranian lowlife. Of course he had a reason not to travel on his own passport, so the Thai authorities did a good job of apprehending him . By the way I'm not a yank basher. My own lot, especially Blar are just as culpable. Have a nice day y'all.

There were also 2 Iranians of military ages who used stolen passports on the I'll fated Malaysian airlines Rhat has still never been located.

Why is this pertinent? Because there's an insurgency down in the South and Iran has been a state sponsor of terrorism for decades, always keep an open mind with Iranians and stolen passports!!!

Fair enough that was suss but let us not forget that it was the US that overthrew the democratically elected government in Iran in the 50s and installed their puppet the Shar and his secret police.

How would Iran's history have changed if the US hadn't overthrown yet another democratically elected regime?

Hard to figure out their love of democracy when they keep overthrowing fairly elected governments they don't like.

Mate I'm talking about present day, not over 60 years back, the al Quds Force operates globally and have been found as far afield as Venezuela, they work closely with Hezbollah and Hamas amongst other Shia terror factions.

Both of these have also been active in UAE and Mossad has targeted them with succes there.

I wish you'd stop the anti American crap, as this hasn't got anything to do with them or foreign policies, Iran is a problem for their neighbours too. I'm sure you also know they're frequently denying the holocaust too ?

In the interest of balance???

Its a totally selfish act and the ultimate 'look at me' to do this in such a very public place. He obviously didnt think about how his actions might affect others. Shame on him.

Clearly the part of your brain that controls feelings of empathy and sympathy is in some way faulty.

Thanks for stating it better than I could

Nature has a way of dealing with abnormalities. It's called natural selection. Why fawn over some loser that can't deal with realities of life? Go and be a dogooder in Syria or Gaza. It might toughen you up a bit.

Try and be a do gooder all the time,

Yup, currently helping out a friend of a friend that had a stroke after recovering from a heart attack. He's paralyzed on most of his left side. Out in the sticks, 30km from my home. I sit and talk with him for hours on end several times a week, help with a bit of massage, ice for his swollen feet and physiotherapy. I've got him set up with fast internet and now he's got a better quality of life than before.

Almost forgot, my older sisters husband wallowed in self pity and ran an exhaust pipe into his car. My younger sister found his body, contorted in agony from the carbon monoxide poisoning. A long time ago now, but she's had to deal with that grim discovery ever since. Malcolm his name, left a son and 3 daughters behind. Darren, Leanne, Suzanne and Lauren.

You seem a bit hard one minute, and soft the rest, like about half of us I'd guess.. over 40 that is.

I knew a Malcolm from England. Back in 1982, when Terry Fox was running on one leg across Canada, Malcolm called him a phony, self-promoter. We agreed to disagree.

Oh that Malcolm

I just call a spade a spade. It's a Yorkshire thing. Not scared to put my head above the parapet. I have a thing about suicide and yes I understand depression and mental anguish. I also support assisted suicide in humane surroundings such as the Dignitass clinic in Switzerland. All I have said is that people who kill themselves and leave others (victims) to witness a violent death or to clear up the mess (the smell, never even mentioned the smell) are selfish and for that, I have no sympathy. There is always an alternative solution, but the individual has to seek help and close friends/family members have to be aware of the warning signs. So many people in this world scrape by with next to nothing, living under barbaric dictatorships, no food, no medicine, no future, no hope but they cling on to their precious one chance of life. I've completed 3, 6 month tours of duty in a peacekeeping role. Civil wars are the worst, they pitch families, friends and communities against each other. Seen enough pain and misery to last a lifetime thanks.

Its a totally selfish act and the ultimate 'look at me' to do this in such a very public place. He obviously didnt think about how his actions might affect others. Shame on him.

Clearly the part of your brain that controls feelings of empathy and sympathy is in some way faulty.

Thanks for stating it better than I could

Nature has a way of dealing with abnormalities. It's called natural selection. Why fawn over some loser that can't deal with realities of life? Go and be a dogooder in Syria or Gaza. It might toughen you up a bit.

Try and be a do gooder all the time,

Yup, currently helping out a friend of a friend that had a stroke after recovering from a heart attack. He's paralyzed on most of his left side. Out in the sticks, 30km from my home. I sit and talk with him for hours on end several times a week, help with a bit of massage, ice for his swollen feet and physiotherapy. I've got him set up with fast internet and now he's got a better quality of life than before.

Almost forgot, my older sisters husband wallowed in self pity and ran an exhaust pipe into his car. My younger sister found his body, contorted in agony from the carbon monoxide poisoning. A long time ago now, but she's had to deal with that grim discovery ever since. Malcolm his name, left a son and 3 daughters behind. Darren, Leanne, Suzanne and Lauren.

Its a totally selfish act and the ultimate 'look at me' to do this in such a very public place. He obviously didnt think about how his actions might affect others. Shame on him.

Clearly the part of your brain that controls feelings of empathy and sympathy is in some way faulty.

Thanks for stating it better than I could

Nature has a way of dealing with abnormalities. It's called natural selection. Why fawn over some loser that can't deal with realities of life? Go and be a dogooder in Syria or Gaza. It might toughen you up a bit.

The bright side is that everyone is a wonderful person after they are dead. You never hear someone say...he was an ahole...good riddance. Apparently only wonderful nice people die.

Good to hear Knobjockeys must live forever.

Why do this at an airport? Are they that sad to be leaving?

There is always one p*ick

A sick joke, but not as sick a leaving yourself as a broken, bleeding mess on the floor for some poor muggins to scrape up.

Its a totally selfish act and the ultimate 'look at me' to do this in such a very public place. He obviously didnt think about how his actions might affect others. Shame on him.

In truth it is your comment that is extremely selfish and not thought through... I trust you have second opinions... The man was obviously in big trouble, and needed help. He did not try to make an exhibition of himself. He is now dead, have some respect.

Respect what exactly? Should have never been allowed to leave his mothers apron strings.

Some people can be so arrogant (like you) It's a damn shame when people give up on life, because it's so precious, but sometimes it happens, I trust you will never see it or experience it.

Already died 3 times because of injuries sustained and blood loss thanks. Grateful to the surgeons that zapped me back to life, pumped me full of blood and screwed me back together. It's not arrogance. It's called people taking responsibility for themselves. Too many PC namby pamby fairy tree huggers in the world. Get a grip of yourself, crikey.

Just noticed you're an ex vet. Well I'm a 21 year served ex British Army invalided out of service one year before normal retirement. As a war pensioner I picked myself up, dusted myself down, went through years of painful rehabilitation and got back on with life. Takes all sorts to make a world.

I'll bet you wouldn't be too happy if one of these jumpers happened to land on your bonce one day...just sayin'.

Its a totally selfish act and the ultimate 'look at me' to do this in such a very public place. He obviously didnt think about how his actions might affect others. Shame on him.

In truth it is your comment that is extremely selfish and not thought through... I trust you have second opinions... The man was obviously in big trouble, and needed help. He did not try to make an exhibition of himself. He is now dead, have some respect.

Respect what exactly? Should have never been allowed to leave his mothers apron strings.