Tom Parkinson

The ladies who really amaze me are the ones doing this while holding a baby in each arm! ?

19 hours ago, buick said:

standard rate is for thais, service rate is for farang (and thais who want maid service).

No. I stopped yesterday afternoon and spoke with the manager. The standard rate is available to anyone.

19 hours ago, buick said:

standard rate is for thais, service rate is for farang (and thais who want maid service).

No. I stopped yesterday afternoon and spoke with the manager. The standard rate is available to anyone.

Liberty Place on Soi 22 (between Asok and Phrom Phong stations) advertises studios for something south of 8,000/month.  It's 600-700 meters into the soi, but within a 15-minute walk of a lot... less if you have no fear of death and take

motorcycle taxis....  

I don't know that much about French politics. But what Macron has done so far seems quite impressive. And I had dinner last week with a French friend... and he agreed. 

"The Supreme Patriarch has expressed worry about reports of scandals at many temples concerning millions of baht in annual donations with concerns that the issue could affect Buddhism in the country."

Maybe I'm just an old cynic, but I was wondering if his true concern was about the continued flow of millions of baht in annual donations. 

I notice the references to PromptPay, which I also saw was supposed to have started up recently. Is that possibly the reason for new bank boilerplate?

I always find these threads interesting... Invariably they degenerate into rants about Thailand being a 3rd world country that will never achieve the moral and legal standards of the West. 

While I have some sympathies with these arguments, I would argue that it's more instructive to view Thailand through an anthropological lens of a country making a transition from an agrarian, feudal society to an industrialised democratic society following the rule of law. 

Viewed from this perspective, I think the most profound differences between ThaIland and the West result not from inherent differences in theology or morality, but rather from the simple fact that they are at different points in their respective evolutions. 

The Catholic Church struggled with the problem of "indulgences" acquired (and bought) to absolve sin throughout the Middle Ages -- and really only banished the practice in the 20th century.  

Thailand's transition, having begun late in the world's Industrial Age and continuing throughout the Information Age, has been much, much shorter. It's no surprise then that many institutions in Thailand are under stress as the old ways that once worked give way to new ways that are not yet developed, accepted, and understood. 

I have used the Kobayashi map and related info for apartment searches for years. It lists this link for an apartment on the corner of Sukhumvit and soi 22 for <10k baht/month... http://www.kobayashi.co.th/Thaigo/sukhumvit/apartment/sk1224.htm

On 9/29/2016 at 1:27 PM, ubonjoe said:

The last queue number being given at 15:30 has been in effect for little over a year now.

 

Source: http://bangkok.immigration.go.th/en/base.php

Ubonjoe, thanks for the clarification.  I was basing my statement on what I saw posted in Chaeng Watthana, and must simply have misread "2015" as "2016".  I was a little flustered by that time...

On 9/29/2016 at 1:20 PM, TerryLH said:

You probably could have used the bank in the building and saved a lot of time.

That's what I thought too.  But it didn't work out as expected...

My 800,000+ baht includes amounts from a Thai savings account and a US dollar savings account.  I asked at the Chaeng Watthana Kasikornbank branch for them to update my two passbooks and issue me a letter.  They said they could update the Thai savings account and issue a letter for that account, but not both accounts.  They said that I would need to go to the Muang Thong Thani branch to get the US dollar savings account updated, since that was the closest branch with a foreign currency office.

So I got a taxi to the Muang Thong Thani branch.  The customer service rep determined that she could update my US dollar passbook, but she didn't know how.  So she got help... After about 20 minutes, she successfully updated my passbook.   So I then asked for her to issue a letter.  To make life easier for her, I had a copy of the previous letter I had used when I got my 90-day visa.  Once again, she had to get help.  The branch manager came over, they chatted a while, and the branch manager informed me that they could not issue the letter at this branch -- that the only branch that could issue a letter on a US dollar account was the branch at which I had opened the account.  I calmly but insistently asked, "Why?"  Of course, she had no answer except "bank policy".  But when I refused to go away, she called someone else on the phone who spoke good English and informed me of the same rule... again without any explanation of the logic for the rule (not that I really excepted an answer).

So I got a taxi back to BTS Mo Chit, took the BTS to Phrom Phong, went to the Sukhumvit soi 33 branch and obtained a letter without incident in about 20 minutes.  When the customer service agent was done, I asked her if it was really true that, of the hundreds of branches in Thailand, this was the only branch where I could get the letter I needed.  Having lived in Thailand for 7 years, I was reasonably prepared for the answer... "No, you can get such a letter at any branch!"

I hoofed it back to the BTS, rode to Mo Chit, and got another taxi back to Chaeng Watthana...  All in all, just a routine day in Thailand...

I just received a 1-year extension to my retirement visa.  I came too late to apply for a multiple re-etry permit, but noticed that the queue for re-entry permits was extremely long.  While waiting, I noticed that Immigration now has an online application system.

I tried it this morning.  My experience echos many of the complaints I have heard about the 90-day online reporting system.  I went to the Immigration web site and clicked on the link "Book Appointment to Apply for Re-Entry Permit into the Kingdom".  I then got a message saying that applications could only be submitted using Internet Explorer.  After a bit of searching, I discovered that I do have Internet Explorer loaded on my laptop.  so I went back to the Immigration web site and clicked the link again.  I then got a warning message saying that there is a problem with the web site's registration.  IE gave me the option to disregard the warning, which I did.  I was then directed to a long and confusing set of instructions with a check box and an option to "Accept" or "Decline" at the bottom.  After accepting, I then got a page asking me to fill in relevant information.  After completing the form, I clicked "Submit", which then brought up a screen saying "If you have further questions, please contact your nearest Immigration office."  I submitted the form twice more with identical results.

Has anyone achieved success with this online application system?

I went to Chaeng Watthana on Tuesday to get a one-year extension of my 90-day non-immigrant retirement visa.  Getting my bank letter from Kasikornbank proved to be a major circus lasting four hours (and travels between three branch offices between Muang Thong Thani and Phrom Phong).  After a taxi ride involving several wrong turns, I finally arrived at CW, made copies as needed, and got to the queue counter at 3:31 -- only to find out that the queue counter (as of September 1) now closes at 3:30.  

Having spent the whole day in pursuit of the extension -- and having missed the cut-off time by such a slim margin -- I was not going to give up that easily.  So I waited until the last queue number had been served and then pleaded with an immigration officer and clerk to serve me.   After I deflected their initial salvos of "cannot be done without queue number" and "bank letter cannot be accepted without the listed balance of each separate account", I guess they figured the path of least resistance was simply to serve me.  Thankfully, I got my extension at 4:17 pm.  Thank you, Immigration!

But I thought I would note the changed timing of the queue counter so as to save anyone else potential inconvenience (and frustration).

Just curious... What happens to you as a suspect if you refuse to take part in a "reenactment"?  Can you say, "I am innocent. What you are asking me to do is a fiction."?

Perhaps this is just part of routine police training.  Start by shaking down pensioners playing dominos, move on to traffic offences, and finally graduate by taking brown envelopes from bars and massage parlours. 

I'm just curious...  Every definition of "gambling" I could find equates gambling to betting or wagering on an uncertain outcome.  All of the games mentioned in this thread involve uncertain outcomes.  So one COULD gamble on them.  But gambling requires betting or wagering (and the implied passing of money based on those wagers).  It might be reasonable to postulate that gambling was occurring in this instance.  But was there any mention of evidence that they were actually gambling?  Simply keeping score would not constitute such evidence.  Or is evidence not required for conviction in such cases?  Is playing games of chance assumed to constitute per se evidence of gambling?  

I'm an American. I came in on a 30-day visa exempt and had absolutely no problem getting a 90-day non-immigrant ("O") visa in BKK. I'm planning on getting the 1-year extension in about 10 days.  

I don't have specific suggestions... particularly as I prefer the older apartments with larger, more open layouts. But this is an invaluable resource for anyone looking in the Sukhumvit area...  http://www.kobayashi.co.th/Thaigo/sukhumvit/sukhumvit.htm

I agree with other posters that there is no absolute limit. For seven years I worked in Hong Kong and had clients all over the region. I used Bangkok as a sort of home base. I flew in and out routinely on visa exempt status. I remember flying in 37 separate times one year (2012 or 2013).

i think it is true that they are scrutinising such behaviour more closely. Nonetheless, I have not had any real problems. I noticed that they would spend a lot more time leafing through and looking at all my entries. One officer did ask me why I came to BKK so often. I said, "My wife lives here; I come to see her."  No further questions. 

2 hours ago, bark said:

Soi 10 , I didn't like living there. Too many condos and hotels. Very busy with cars, hard to walk. ( My opinion).

I agree with On Nut. Lots there, cheaper. I lived in a 95 sqm. for 14,000 bt. Five year old building. Lots of cute girls.

Warning. When you think you have found the right place. Spend time in the area. Rent hotel near by, and go to the location,

different times of the day. Good luck.

Bark, I've never spent any time in On Nut.  But I agree that soi 10 is not the easiest soi to walk.  How do you get around On Nut?  It didn't seem to me that there was a lot within easy walking distance of the BTS.  It looks more like a place that you can really only navigate with a car.

I live in BKK, but worked (until recently) in Hong Kong. Over the last seven years, I have flown into Thailand >200 times on 30-day visa exempt status. I tend to book my round trips with a BKK origin, as these are generally less expensive. So I often do not have a ticket out of Thailand when I enter.

The airlines sometimes hassle me when I check in. They point out that I am required to have a return ticket out of Thailand before I enter. Having done this many times, I have learned the following...

The airline is responsible for making sure that you have a return ticket. But they (or, at least, Cathay and Thai) have a form you can sign that absolves them of any responsibility. Basically, the form says that if you are stopped by immigration, you will buy a return ticket on the spot. I've signed 10-15 such forms over the years. Never once has Thai immigration raised a whimper.

Good luck!

40-50 years ago in the US, the situation was similar. Doctors were treated as gods. My brother died from a failed kidney transplant. He rejected the kidney, but the surgeon said my brother was too weak to survive the removal of the kidney. So he just left it there. It got infected. The infection spread and my brother died.

My father and I considered initiating a malpractice suit. A doctor friend advised against it. He said there would be no way to prove the case except by getting a doctor or two to testify against the surgeon... and he said that was highly unlikely, since the medical profession at the time was a close-knit fraternity. Doctors did not turn against their own.

I wish this man and his wife good luck, but I suspect they are p*ssing into the wind.

My strategy of dealing with bad/spoiled food is: (1) get the manager to agree that it is bad: (2) if the manager agrees (most of the time), then I ask for a suitable replacement; (3) if the manager says it looks fine, then I request that he take a large bite and tell me how it tastes.

I've actually never had a problem getting a replacement after initiating step #3...

OP: I am about to go to get a SETV in Laos, but I have noticed I only have one full page free, the back one is marked as not being acceptable for visas.

I had the same issue last fall. I booked a weekend in Vientiane with my wife on short notice. I had completely filled my passport (including two 28-page extensions) and had only a few scattered openings for stamps -- no whole pages for visas, and I had no time to renew my passport. I went through the visa on arrival line. The agent ascertained that I had no space for a visa. He told me to wait until everyone else was processed. He then made up a separate six-page insertable "booklet" with my picture and visa. It was ad hoc -- and slowed the immigration process way down -- but at least I didn't get turned away!

Does anyone know if the junior traffic officer who gave her the parking ticket and posted the video has been duly reprimanded and punished? I can only presume it's now time to shoot the messenger...