sandyf

And as I pointed out, when you reached the immigration desk it never crossed your mind you were abusing the Bilateral Agreement, which was never intended as an alternative to a visa.

My comment was in respect of the change from a discretionary time to a standard 30 days in regard to extending a visa exempt entry which if I remember right came about following an immigration clampdown in 2014. However in pursuit of some hidden agenda you felt compelled to change the context of my post.

Indeed you did, your words. "I've been traveling on exemptions for a couple of years now. Two months in Thailand," Two months in Thailand means you had an "extension to your visa exempt entry" which as I said used to be at the discretion of an IO.

Indeed,and it was a response to the OP, one and the same.

I will certainly stick with the EV ferries, more to do with comfort rather that an anything to do with risk, both being very low. Service craft are a different ball game to private vessels. I don't think marine craft use petrol, more likely diesel, less inflamable but still a fire risk, but then so are lithium ion batteries. Fears over the dangers of EV batteries used on both cars and motorcycles which can produce uncontrollable heat surges, radiation and chemical discharges. Wednesday night’s fire is seen as a wake-up call for authorities. https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2023/09/09/ev-vehicle-concerns-after-bangkok-fire-bangkok-governor-chadchart/

A "realist" would pay attention and be aware that someone asked where I had been treated, not for an irrelevant opinion. One of the biggest failings with this forum is some people feel compelled to post against a piece of selected text rather than staying in context.

Obviously not aware that the Bilateral Agreement is for 30 days. Years ago any extension to a visa exempt entry was at the discretion of the IO, one time I was given 5 days. Now people seem to think that a 30 day extension is a god given right.

Went on one of these a couple of years ago, very good, but I don't think being electric removes the risk from fire/smoke particularly with an enclosed cabin.

The bigger risk is where they stick bottles in the same ice used for drinks.

Terms like Electrolytes and marketing are new but the message isn't. Before the US got a whiff of the oil, the middle east was controlled by UK forces and those of us that done time there are well aware of the need for salt tablets, and the dreaded liquid chalk. Any condition arising from a lack of salt could be seen as self inflicted injury, no excuse, there were bowls of salt tablets on all the dining tables. I followed the guidance and never had a problem but knew many that thought they knew better and suffered as a result.

Elitist attitudes are not particularly helpful or constructive. If I think the surgeon did an excellent job your opinion doesn't count for much.

More about the tax than anything else, yesterday tax on diesel in UK was 50.18%, during covid tax was in the order of 70%. Tax on petrol is a separate calculation and yesterday about 2% higher than diesel. https://www.racfoundation.org/data/percentage-uk-pump-price-which-is-tax-page#:~:text=Percentage of UK pump price which is tax&text=Fuel duty is currently levied,chart to see exact values. Fuel tax in Thailand is less than 25% of that in UK.

I 've slept a few times since then, certainly wasn't anything to do with "units".

Although the Bilateral Agreement says no limitation by air, Siam legal makes this statement which some may consider the "norm". "Those who arrive at the airport without a prior visa will continue to receive a 30-day stamp up to 6 times per calendar year. " https://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand-visa/thailand-visa-latest-update

I have only ever been breathalysed once, in 1967 coming back to camp from Cambridge. Police didn't really know how to use the device so got away with it, bit of a wake up call.

I can only assume this out of context post was down to English not being your first language. Obvious difficulty differentiating "foreigners" and "population".

Fairly obvious they should ban the sale of alcohol leading up to and during Songkran. Everyone wants the numbers down, right?

Many Thais go home, not just from Pattaya. Making merit is a significant part of the festival, when the nieces were younger the family used to go to the market to buy crabs and put them back in the sea. Both are working these days, usually over Songkran, so parents just go to the temple. https://www.richardbarrow.com/2014/04/there-is-more-to-songkran-than-the-waterfights/

It is an age thing, if you look at the Thais majority are relatively young. Foreigners tend to be a bit older but there are those that have never really grown up.

Indeed. At the time exemption from a hotel licence was granted for only a few rooms, the peception was probably a normal domestic residence. Condo blocks are a different ball game and should be seen in the same way as a hotel. I have used Airbnb on a regular basis including Thailand ,Vietnam and China, you need some confidence that owners are in compliance with regulations that are fit for purpose. A few years back we had a weekend at Hua Hin in a 2 bed self contained bungalow. Excellent accommodation in a lovely setting, very enjoyable. Many on here want to distort the rhetoric and claim that was illegal.

I suspect it was more of a marketing ploy hoping to recoup the diffference with an inflated exchange rate. The online form defaults to currency of destination and I should think many just accept it. I change it to GBP but if that comes to an end I will also use Wise.

Not a foreigner in sight.

Tax had nothing to do with it. The whole Airbnb issue is about one particular situation, individual condo units. The court took the view that a condo unit could not be seen in the same way as a normal domestic building. With a normal domestic building the owner would be seen to be responsible for all aspects of the premises and that cannot be said for the owner of a condo unit. If I remember right the focus was on the safety aspects of a large building and ruled all rooms had to be taken into account.

Indeed, the whole condo block would be taken into consideration.

When Wise came on the scene each time I did a transfer I did a comparison and there was very little difference so stayed with what I was used to. I send GBP so would get the rate when it hits BOT, probably a small admin fee for local bank but I have no indication of that. I have the Wise account and debit card so a back up if ever a problem with HSBC. Some time ago they did point out that I should be sending THB rather than GBP, just ignored it and nothing further said. Years ago when I started sending money, HSBC charged £17 for online and £25 at the branch then suddenly around 2012 they dropped it to £4, quite a surprising move. Each time I do a transfer HSBC posts a remittance advice to my account and for immigration I just download them and cross refer to the statement. In the days before covid when you could stay inside I used to watch the IO go through them, a couple of minutes and no questions asked.