sandyf

Japan still bracing after weeks of flooding. A fortnight ago https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240819_19/ today https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240902_18/

All about getting it right first time Bill. The 2 largest economies in the world have created some sort of unity by military force. Even the UK had Oliver Cromwell.

I would suggest that you think you have some insight to make such a statement. The protests of 2013 & 14 are well documented and they were what led to the coup in 2014. It was in fact the anti-government protesters that deprived the Thai people of the government of the day. Of course you are perfectly free to believe the coup would have taken place irrespective of there being any protests. At the end of the day it should never be forgotten that following the coup the King appointed the military government to run the country. I witnessed first hand the crowds at the funeral, about 5 hours to get to the coffin, like that for months on end.

It doesn't really matter what you have seen and heard from elsewhere, the issue is in Thailand. The last 2 coups have been nothing more than the military taking control in the interests of peace rather than aggression. 2006 was the the only coup in history where no shots were fired. Thailand is an economically divided nation and the last 2 coups have resulted from politicians trying to fuel the division and deliberately create civil unrest. The economically deprived are in the minority and believe it or not there are large parts of Thailand the are more than happy to see the army step in and prevent any move towards civil war. It is not out of the question for politicians to once again try and bring about a disruptive situation, but the outcome will be little different from the past.

The first time I did it I got in a bit of a mess. I got a sim from the UK and put it in a phone that I got here with two slots and activated the sim. When I landed in UK I phoned my son on the UK sim and was a bit astonished when he phoned me back on AIS. I rejected his first call thinking it was someone from Thailand. It is all about getting the setting right for where you are and how you want things to work, particularly the data settings. Once you have a hang of the settings it will work fine.

Some are so desperate to run down the government they just ignore what is taking place. If you don't like the way things are being done I am sure there is somewhere else that will pander to your needs. The ironic thing is one of the greatest obstacles the government has had to face is migration into Bangkok.

Time will certainly tell. There hasn't been a repeat of the 2011 floods, so until there is, no one can say things haven't changed. The United Nations report on reconstruction can be found here. https://www.preventionweb.net/publication/2011-thailand-floods-rapid-assessment-resilient-recovery-and-reconstruction-planning

Of course there is a long term view. It is all about resources but for some reason most foreigners on here seem to think every country has the same GDP. How happy would you be if a stranger told you how to manage your affairs.

Why not pay attention to previous comments. "The reality is the weight is the more important factor and unless the case looks very large it is unlikely to be checked."

Pattaya City is a government hospital, the others you mentioned are all private, that can make a big difference. My niece is a junior doctor in a government hospital, supplements her income freelancing at weekends. When she first started, didn't get paid or have a day off for 6 months.

Indeed, but don't the luggage companies make different sizes of hold bags and cabin bags. Not all airlines allow the same size, in fact the same airlines can allow different sizes depending on class of ticket. It really is a case of caveat emptor.

It is the more flexible approach where they allow variable L, W & H, where W = Width rather than weight. For example 80 long + 50 wide + 28 high would be ok. If you take 2.5cm as being an inch you wouldn't be far out, so that would become 32" + 20" + 11". The reality is the weight is the more important factor and unless the case looks very large it is unlikely to be checked. On our last trip my wife was picked up for the cabin baggage being 1.5Kg overweight, the case was also oversize but nothing was said about that. We just took some heavy items out, put them in her handbag and my pockets and all ok.

Probably varies with hospitals and will depend on whether you are already registered or not. I use the government hospital at Bang Saen and when I first registered I saw a doctor but wouldn't call her a GP, looked like she had just qualified. All she did was based on what you said, decide where to send you. I ended up with appointment for heart and respiratory problems in the Internal Medicine dept. They have about a dozen consulting rooms with doctors of various disiplines but hardly specialists. When I needed to see a dermatologist my wife just rang Internal medicine and asked for an appointment. That doctor then referred me to a specialist. Apart from changing buildings, been going to the first internal medicine doctor 4 times a year for about 8 years now, just dishes out prescriptions and blood tests. With around 30 patients to see in a 3 hour window, not much else they can do.

It is not really a bridge, it is a road that runs offshore from one side of Chonburi to the other. Some parts, as the one mentioned have stopping points with refreshments and adequate facilities for rubbish. The inland side of the road in that area is mangroves and the amount of rubbish in the roots is unbelieveable. Wouldn't surprise me if at some point they make it so stopping is not allowed.

The quickest one I have ever had was last April, took about 2 minutes, so fast it had to have been automated. Had hoped they were testing a new feature but the next one was back to the usual couple of hours.

Apologies, you are quite right. I should have said "definitive statements made on this forum are very rarely valid." As you well know the majority of issues that arise have so many variables that brevity is often the result leading to statements that may only be true under certain circumstances. People seem to for get that words like, normally, should , maybe etc, would be more appropriate. The bottom line here is some attempt to justify your misleading comment.

You haven't said whereabout in Chonburi. There are 2 offices in the province and if you go to the catchment area for the other office it may be seen in the same way as leaving the province. There have been several adverse reports regarding Jomtien and difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. If you had been using the other office there certainly wouldn't be any problem. I had to do a 90 day yesterday in person and no issue with my 9 year old TM30.

You are mistaken, Immigration cannot transfer a vignette nor can they change the passport number on an e-visa. Years ago you could take your pasport to the consulate in Hull and they would put a visa stamp in your new passport, but that stopped when vignettes were introduced. I came back on a new visa last Oct and did the 12 month extension in Dec. Yesterday I went to do the first 90 day in person and had to give them a copy of a visa that had been expired 10 months. Maybe one day they will get the act together and update visa and passport details across immigration on entry.

I think you are making more of it than the reality, how many times a year do you plan to leave the country or go to immigration. You never said when you passport is due for renewal, if shortly, surely it would have been better to renew it before the visa. My last 2 visas have been e-visas and last year after a couple of days in Laos I came back across the bridge at Nong Khai on a re-entry permit. The IO asked to see my visa, I just said I have a copy on the phone, he glared at me, stamped the passport and handed it back. I would suggest all you need is a copy of the old passport and visa document on your phone. If that makes you nervous then you can fall back on the physical documents.

Brevity and context do not go together, you should be well aware that definitive statements are very rarely valid.

A couple of years ago I did it by train. Took the Hat Yai shuttle in the morning to PB and came back on the afternoon one, no problem. Both Thai and Malaysia immigration are on the platform and a bit more straightforward than the road border. They only open when a train is due. You can walk across the road from the station to the market area.

I would agree with you, the number of lanterns being released has reduced quite significantly in recent years. I think people in general have come to realise how dangerous they can be. I saw a family with some on the beach one year at New Year. The father had lit it and stepped back allowing 2 young girls to hold on to it. They let it go but it only went up a few feet and came down again. Girls didn't move and father had a panic to get them out of the way. It just burst into flames on touching the ground.

Exactly. The visa is granted from an assessment based on the information provided and the perception will vary quite significantly with circumstances. Wife vs GF, young vs old, newly married or long term, assets or not, employed or not, etc etc. One thing you can be sure of, errors and omissions are extremely risky.

Employment is a reflection on character and will always have some relevance. In the case of a spouse visa, quitting could be seen as a natural progression and have little bearing on the matter. In the case of a visitor visa, employment is a significant plus in respect of reason to return. Quitting during application could be taken the wong way and rather inadviseable.

This was the point in question, which cannot be assumed to be the case. "If Bangkok is submerged by the sea, then every island in Thailand would have also been at least partially submerged by then as well. " There was no link to any goalposts, only hearsay. At the end of the day it makes little difference to Bangkok if the water goes up or the ground goes down, same outcome. Both are underway and can only be mitigated.