WISteve

Very true.

The guys with page after page of tourist visas are for the most part not tourists, but illegal workers IMO.

Get the proper visa for working/retiring in the country and you won't have these issues.

~WISteve

Tourist arrivals:

Airports of Thailand suffered a -22.2% fall in international passenger numbers in May compared with the same month last year, it announced today.

It has been a bad year for travel and tourism in Thailand with year-on-year monthly international traffic falls of -18.0% in January, -21.2% in February, -15.5% in March and -12.9% in April. For the first five months international traffic was down by -17.9% year-on-year

The Moodie Report

They had better ramp-up the PR campaigns, because most of their "quality tourists" come through Swampy, not back and forth in Mai Sot and Nong Khai.

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From the Office of Tourism Development page tourist arrivals in Thailand by year:

2006: 13.8M

2007: 14.4M

2008: 13.1M

I used the annual summary pages for 2006 & 2007 and added up the four quarterly reports for 2008.

Thailand Office of Tourism Development

If the -17.9% losses in the first five months continue, tourist arrivals for 2009 will be below 11M for the year.

14M for 2010? I bet they want to sell you a bridge somewhere as well!

~WISteve

PAD agrees to set up party

BANGKOK: -- Core leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) have agreed to set up a new political party, with Sondhi Limthongkul expected to become its first leader and the four other coleaders party executives, sources said Saturday.

The decision came shortly before today's gathering of PAD leaders and supporters at Thammasat University's Rangsit campus.

"The PAD IS NOT A POLITICAL PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Famous excuse from the PAD lovers in ThaiVisa of the past 2 years.

Well, now they can get "polirical indemnity" and can not serve for their crimes.

0 - 1 for "democratic" Thailand

what has "and can not serve for their crimes" to do with forming a political party?

The voter will decide if they want them or not... THEY vote! BTW to what crimes do you refer?

Hummmm... occupying an international airport comes to mind.?

~WISteve

I thought they already elected appointed their man a few months back?

Should make for interesting elections next time around.

~WISteve

I like the streets of Pattaya. It's always interesting to me.

~Steve

Thoughts of a casino, horse racing, asia disneyland and a brothel the size of Central Festival could be on the cards here.

I think you got it on the first try, sir.

Wouldn't that be so much more convenient for the Bangkok upper crust than driving all the way to Cambo?

And they could rationalize it to the nation by saying it's only there for the convenience of the tourists?

Built for the good of the country at a time of economic slowdown?

~WISteve

When I first heard about this I thought what is happenning politically in Thailand, I didn't realise that the 'Red Shirts' were marching, has anyone got details of a time and place please......???

As for the Border incursion, one could perhaps believe that it's a cynical ploy to distract the media both Nationally and Internationally from those events the 'Red Shirts' are attending. Could this also be construed as close links between the Army and the PAD Govt..??.

Big rally for the Red Shirts at Sanam Luang in the next days.

Didn't they use the same border dispute to stir-up nationalist feelings the last time? If they didn't have this issue, the Powers that Be would have to invent one to distract the papers and the masses from national politics.

Rather predictable actually. Just hope no one has to die over it.

~WISteve

Not sure if the Ferrari is real, but rumors are there WERE a pair of fake headlights at the scene.

~WISteve

.....WOULD YOU BRING YOUR OWN 50 KG. BAG OF SAND TO THE BEACH?.....

Mr. Optimistic.

Sooooooooo.......you like 'em on the chubby side DMasut?

---------------------

Good luck to you Zen but remember a few " rules of the road" that I learned when a thai/falang relationship went south for me:

-Anything acquired while you were together which ever passed through the doorway to the apartment is hers.

-Most thai friends you make together will NOT be your friends after the fact.

-A fair few falang friends of yours who you had before the relationship started will no longer be your friends.

-Be prepared to change your habits, environment and travel patterns completely.

-If it's going to end, do it quickly, quietly but decisively.

-Never look back; they do not for the most part and second thoughts are an alien notion to thais from my experience.

I hope you enjoy your time in Thailand.

~WISteve

The international image of Thailand is just the hookers, mail order brides and gogos etc etc.

Nobody gives a rats about the politics, or which group of meanies is most unkind.

Sadly, I have to agree.

The PM's concerns are for local consumption only.

Anything he can do to discredit supporters of real democracy is fair game.

He would better serve the country by worrying about how to best combat unemployment and maintain a standard of living for the people of Thailand. But he's too busy looking over his shoulder.

~WISteve

This is again one of these Thai Airlines tourist traps. Donot believe them guys, their fair prices will not change and their "service" will remain on the same "level" as before. I just checked their website for a trip to Frankfurt and the price is still far too high in comparison with all other airlines.

Air Berlin, EVA, China, BA, Finnair and Austrian have much better rates and services.

Some of you never miss a chance to trash Thai Air or anything Thai it seems?

I just checked their website for TG non-stop LAX-BKK for five possible dates April to November this coming year and they are all down. Perhaps not 50% but very competitive with far lesser airlines. As soon as my dates firm up in the next 30 days or so I'll be booking with them at their $1100-1300 price offered. they dropped the New York to BKK route last year but they still have the A340-500's flying out of LAX and I'll take advantage of it. Good on them for making a more competitive offer.

~WISteve

Added in case any of these are useful...

Your series of stamps are an example of how a change of visa combined with annual extension is handled nowadays by immigration:

07 MAY 2008: Arrival in Thailand with single-entry tourist visa. Received permission to stay for 60 days.

13 MAY 2008: Change of visa to non-O (your application was accepted even though it was not made during the last 30 days of the period of permission to stay). Received new permission to stay for 90 days.

15 JUL 2008: Annual extension of stay for retirement.

--

Maestro

I forgot to include that bit of information, but I'm glad you noticed it!

And the entire process made easier with the kind assistance of the other members on Thaivisa!

~WISteve

Added in case any of these are useful:

Single entry tourist visa, Chicago.

Non-immigrant visa, Bangkok.

12 month permission to stay based on retirement, Bangkok.

Multiple re-entry permit, Swampy.

~WISteve

The prices and eligibility seems arbitrary sometimes I think, but they are readily available in the USA.

First one through the consulate was single entry 30 days and cost $ 30-40 I think?

The last one fall of 2007 was multiple entry 3 months and cost $100. Their website doesn't state a price so I just called them and it seems they pick a number, hehehehehee. You send them the money order, one page form and two photos with your passport. The passport with visa pasted in was back very quickly.

~WISteve

It does seem illogical.

I looked but can anyone find a link to her conditions of bail?

They must be pretty broad if flight isn't considered a violation?

~WISteve

Sorry, I mis-typed that one.

The NWA flight 22 is the BKK>NRT and ultimately to Honolulu flight I have taken the last 10 flights or so.

It was canceled as well as the UA 891 out of BKK on the 5th of December. Another poster said that United was the only US flag carrier that had canceled flights on the 5th.

I like both the UA and the NWA flights out of BKK. I find their international flights are usually on time and the service is reasonable and they are price competitive from my home airport (MSP). Where I have had problems with them isn't internationally, but on the short hops in the States. I've been delayed nearly half the time it seems and have spent my share of nights sleeping in airports with them when I have to fly into ORD or DEN. That is why I now prefer the NWA flight 19 & 21 from MSP-NRT-BKK and the return route of NW 22 & 20. I'm international all the way with that arrangement. NWA is my carrier of choice when I'm Bangkok bound with 20 hours over and 18 hours back. From the Midwest that's about as quick as it gets. And while I used to have a bad attitude about the midnight arrivals, it does have some advantages, i.e. minimum traffic at that time of night.

Good to hear they are back flying again on the 7th.

~WISteve

The Nation has a good story about all the damage done, including pics of the furniture slashed with knives.

PAD has set-up a legal defense fund to fight any claims for damages, but insists they won't pay for any damages actually done by their hooligans since the illegal occupation in August.

Personally, the PAD apologists on TV really turn my stomach sometimes.

~WISteve

I have taken that flight many times. Why just them?

Many people like to trash on United and I don't know why. Their website kept people informed and they look to be the first to get their customers out. I have a ticket with JAL to fly in on the 11th and they have kept me in the dark. I sure hope I make it, would hate to lose my yearly holiday.

Way to go United.....

Way to go ?

They were unable to help their passengers during the closure

JAL ANA and many other carriers flew into other airports like Chiang Mai/Phuket and U-Tapao

The service on board including food and drinks is below standard (and I am talking Business and First class)

They very very regularly cancel flights to suit their own scheduling out of Narita or combine 2 flights to save cost

Not a passenger friendly airline but maybe a good business model for themselves

In their defense, the only reason United did not fly out of U-Tapao is because TSA would not certify it. Because the only route united flys out of Bangkok is a "American Bound" route (the flight number is the same Bangkok->Narita->LA->NY), even if it is stopping in Narita, the TSA must approve the airports security before they allow united to fly it. From what I also understand TSA's certification has a lot more to do with bag security and not passenter/carry on security. Now could they have created a whole new flight number that just got people to Narita? I don't know, I don't know what is involved in that. It may be because the are "an american flag carrier" they have to follow the TSA rules no matter where they are flying.

Even right now the flight scheduled for the 6th is "pending TSA's final approval" and has a possiblity of not happening.

TG managed to fly from Bangkok to Los Angeles through Osaka during the closure

A) TG is not an American flag carrier

was it the same flight number the whole way or did it change in Osaka

C) TG has vast more resources than United's one route in Bangkok

They should have checked their TSA approval before announcing the re-start of their BKK flights

Only UA is not flying between Bangkok and Tokyo today.....happy UA customers indeed

Not so. United flight 22 out of BKK to NRT was also canceled on the 5th.

"Note: Canceled due to airport conditions"

NWA flight 20 from Sing-NRT-MSP is flying of course. That's the connection I catch in Tokyo.

I've flown both the UA and NWA flights many times and I've never had issues with the international legs, other than the crabby old trolley dollies. It's only back stateside that I run into problems, particularly flying into ORD or DEN with UA. That's why the last two years I'm stuck on NWA. It's just a one hopper from MSP to NRT to BKK for me.

Once they get the security issues worked out I'm sure the American flag carriers will be very happy to be back in business again. If TSA is not satisfied I don't want to be on the plane.

~WISteve

Seems we are not the only ones who think it's time to tighten things up a bit at Swampy:

Foreign envoys demand boosting of Thai airport security after protests

Foreign ambassadors urged Thailand Thursday to boost security at airports to prevent repeating of seizures of Bangkok airports which left hundreds of thousands of tourists stranded.

The ambassadors of the United States, European Union, Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand also called on all sides in Thailand's political crisis not to threaten airport operations again.

In a joint statement, the envoys welcomed the end of an blockade but said it was "most regrettable and highly inappropriate" that protesters had been able to seize Suvarnabhumi international and Don Mueang airports.

The Nation Breaking News

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I remember the first time I traveled to Europe in the early 1980's and saw the German soldiers with machine guns in the Frankfurt Airport. It was rather chilling at the time to be honest, and they had just had a bomb go off near the El-Al ticket counter months before that so there weren't any smiles on those young faces.

If the TAT is serious about bringing the tourists back they need to act promptly, training a professional security force for both inside and outside the airport. Sleepy, middle-aged guards snoozing in the corner aren't going to cut it. Whether it is domestic politics or international terrorists, the Thai are certainly capable of training a formidable force tasked with protecting the airport property. The question is: do they have the will and initiative to do it?

~WISteve

Somchai is gone, everyone saves face.......and nothing will change.

If the Bangkok elite are so determined to govern regardless of the means they acquire power than they truly deserve what they will get: a nation with a crippled economy and military/judicial coups every other year.

They have set back tourism and direct investment from the rest of the world for years. They have saved face they think, when the rest of the world no longer trusts or respects them.

I hope the tourists and business travelers keep in close contact with their respective airlines, because they will make the ultimate decision when it is safe to fly in and out of Swampy. And after they are safely away from Thailand many people will think long and hard before they return I'm afraid.

~WISteve

Well spotted on the Misty's toilets earlier in the thread, the only thing lacking in achieving perfection is elevator music IMHO.

Well, you do have the thump, thump of the music from downstairs and the occasional glimpse of the dancing damsels out on the catwalks as you're using the air dryer...........

And if you're luck is holding out you might bump into a careless one as she shuffles up the spiral staircase on the way to the dressing room.

~WISteve

The sight of stranded tourists and stranded business men in airports causes far more harm than in the tourist industry.

For decades Thailand benefited from billions of dollars of direct foreign investment which translated to factories and jobs for many thousands outside of the tourist industry. That investment has nearly dried-up entirely this year due to the continuing political uncertainty, while the direct foreign investment in it's neighbor Vietnam has sky-rocketed. Those are good paying, long term employment opportunities lost forever to Thailand.

The damage done will be significant and long term.

~WISteve

I have to say I disagree seriously on one issue.

The toilets in the new Misty's Club are far superior to the bathroom in Super Baby!

Only six months old, well cleaned and they keep those urinals filled with ice.

I just love melting ice on a night out............

~WISteve

I spent a lot of time last month looking at monthly/apts. There are new places all over but

yeah I suspect the ones with a decent web-site fill-up fast as understandably, folks like to

have these arrangements done before they arrive. I bet Orn Place on Soi Honey is very

nearly empty, they also built a new family mart right across the street if that helps you

find it. On soi Buakow another popular joint is RCON apts., I think their monthly is 12k,

which is certainly more in line with the local economy. It's across from the night market.

Just moving a little away from the beach and 2nd road, prices start to come down.

I stayed at R-CON for the month of September and two weeks in November. Just one year old and paid 12.9k per month in September. Their monthly rate goes up in November-February and I got a call two days before I checked out this weekend asking to be sure I was leaving because they needed the room the afternoon I was scheduled to check-out! But they have a web site so they will fill-up faster. A note on R-CON: their wifi quality has dropped considerably since September. They had some kind of amplifier in the rooms before but aren't using those anymore for some reason?

There are some new places on Soi Honey Inn that are just being finished now. They were moving the mattresses in on the 20th of November!

Some were already occupied (finished earlier ) because the maids were cleaning as I walked by, but others were still in the works.

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Mapjack hasn't been updated for at least six months and some of those places won't be there at the last pass.

~WISteve

It's always pretty quiet when I fly in and out of Swampy from the US (arrival is around midnight and departures are 6-7 am) but I've been doing this since September 2006 when it opened and November was the fifth time this year. March, May, July, September & November for this year. My Northwest flights in November were 90+% full inbound and outbound but that has more to do with fewer flights than more tourists. Aisle Six at Swampy was deserted other than the check-in at NWA. I was through immigration in two minutes. Sometimes I think it's easier to tell trends when a business is slower like at night then during it's busiest times during the day. Seat of the pants impression I got is that the traffic through Swampy is down considerably from just this spring.

At the end of November it should be busy around the airport but it is not. I don't wish ill for my thai friends but the combination of everything worldwide is going to effect them just as it will many others in the world.

~WISteve