sambum

A bit like the rigmarole required for a Marriage Visa (Sorry - Extension of Stay based on marriage to a Thai National - just before somebody points it out!) The photos taken with Thai Immigration Officers at our house required to prove that I/we are living in the same house that we took photos of and gave to Immigration when submitting our application for an extension for the 3rd time- accompanied of course by a Khor Ror 2 (?) to prove that we were still in the same marital status that we were in last year - and the 2 years years prior to this one! As a previous poster put it, Thailand seems to be the only place where you have to report to Immigration that nothing has changed since last year, whereas other countries you have to report when things HAVE changed!!! And 90 day reporting is another similar farce!

The end of the first paragraph says it all - putting overstayers and criminal gangs in the same category:- "going after foreigners on overstay and criminal foreign gangs." And in the meantime, what is the latest on "Boss"?

Whatever happened to the proposed reduction in taxation on imported wine? To great fanfare, it was supposed to happen months ago, but imported wine is still incredibly expensive in Thailand. I guess the "Big Two" decided that they would rather have people drinking their product(s) (But I don't see wine there?) and put pressure on the Government to ensure that it didn't happen. Consequently, it was just quietly swept under the carpet in the hope that it would be forgotten about?

"If people still do not agree, the law can be cancelled entirely." And which people will be "polled" to see if they agree or not? They could always add it to the ballot paper of the next election, which will be "open and fair" ???? so everybody will get a chance to vote on this contentious issue!

"Unfair criticism of Thailand’s immigration is unacceptable...." Why bother starting the sentence with "Unfair"? Most people that I know would probably agree that:- "Criticism of Immigration is unacceptable" (By Immigration!)

"The edict will protect local wisdom,.........." ???

Not just history! Show a group of Thais a map of the World and ask them to point out where Thailand is, and surprisingly few will be able to do it!

I am sorry but I generally do not like Russians! Most of those that I came across here pre Covid I found to be ill mannered and arrogant - especially the families. For example, I have stopped "holding doors open" or letting mothers with children ahead of me in queues as it does not seem to be appreciated - more often getting a scowl in return - certainly not a smile or nod of the head in thanks! Also when they ask for directions, they seem to expect that you should know, and you have wasted their time if you don't! (Forget about any "thank you anway" gestures!) The last time I saw anything about Russian tourists in Samui, it was a report and video of a young Russian "lady" screaming, shouting and physically abusing a Thai who told her she had to pay 50 baht to visit a certain tourist attraction - it turned out that the Thai in question didn't own the attraction in question - but that's not the point! There are good and bad in all nations, but usually you find that groups of families are usually better behaved. Unfortunately, my experience has been that most Russian families seem to think that they deserve better treatment than others, and become "grumpy" when they don't get it. Just my experiences - I am sure there are people out there that have different stories to tell!

Or playing cards?

"...........used for a rifle after the X-ray process." I know nothing about guns, but I didn't realise that bullets had to be put through an X-ray process before they can be used? ????

Wot a wally!

Maybe took them away for more expert "safecrackers' to find that they were completely empty! ????

Possibly when they hand the takings over at the end of the night to their boss(es)?

What kind of behaviour would that be? As far as I can see is that somebody is going to give him a list of people and places to investigate! Or maybe you are reading the post a different way to me?

"There police found 237 people, mostly Chinese, as well as 29 Thai workers and Cambodians. So why doesn't the headline read :-" Many Foreigners, mostly Chinese Arrested with Drugs at Luxury Karaoke Shop" , because if they had been mainly farangs of a specific nationality, it sure would have been mentioned!

Reminds me of the time when I hadn't used my account for a while at a certain Thai Bank (which has to remain nameless - defamity laws may apply!), and decided to close it, as I had moved location. "Sorry, that account has been closed already" "Who closed it?" "We did" "Why" "Because you haven't used it in over a year" "So where is my money?" "Gone" " GONE!!!?" Gone where?" "ADMINISTRATION CHARGES" Now that was only about 500 baht, but it shows how these institutions (and Governments) can work if they want to! What if it had been 10,000 baht? Would the same "logic" apply?

I would say that she's got more balls than all of the Thai Government put together, but it would be a bit inappropriate!

"............alot to be weary of........." Love the typo! ????

Was anybody on here actually surprised that Prayut has blocked the chances of any competition to the Big Breweries? He would have ordered 250 senators to vote against it if it had got that far!

Yes, "Those seats are already reserved, sir!"

So, you want a bunch of flowers from the Police Chief?

They seem to think that just by "opening up" today, tourists will come flooding back in tomorrow - literally! They seem to have no conception of how the rest of the World has been affected by Covid - especially the West. Without getting political, the UK for instance is in a mess, with astronomical increases in utility bills, so how on earth can people afford to pay up to twice the pre Covid price for an airplane ticket and holiday, when they can't even afford to pay for the basic costs of living? I saw the other day some bright spark in the Thai Government suggesting that people should swap their costs of keeping warm in the West for a villa in Phuket! That person has probably never heard of Standing Charges for Gas and Electricity or (as in the UK) Council Tax which still have to be paid whether you are there or not, and the mortgage still has to be paid - does he even know what a mortgage is? And tourists have long memories - they can remember having to queue for hours in the tropical heat to get a "the alien is allowed to stay for ** days" stamp in their passport, plus all the other "inconveniences" they had to suffer, so they are not going to be rushing back somewhere that holds bitter memories for them - so you can forget about a lot of return visitors that the "Land of Smiles" used to get, and will they be advising their friends and relations to come and holiday in "Even More Amazing Thailand"? And add to all of the above that the country is run by a "Democratic Military Government" that elected itself into power, and saw its own people in mile long "food queues" during the worst of Covid that were arranged for the most part by expats more often than not! The list goes on and on, but flies right over the heads of people like TAT who persist in issuing ridiculous forecasts of the millions of tourists that are going to be coming back "tomorrow", but I think it'll be "A long time a' coming"!

"Due to less officials than customers, most tourists managed to slip away."

"Due to his confession, however, the sentence was commuted to 192 years and six months. Nonetheless, according to the Criminal Code, the maximum imprisonment permissible by law is 50 years." So why hand down a totally unattainable sentence - it might as well be 10,000 years! (P.S. I like the "and 6 months" bit - and yes, I know it's a matter of mathematics!)

"Data from the TAT has shown that tourists in Thailand are already spending more now per trip than they were before the pandemic." Wow! I would never have believed it, but as TAT has verified it, it must be right - the prices of air tickets HAVE gone up!