Sarana

When I came to Thailand, prices doubled due to Shinawatra's high end tour I policy. I became so stressed (eg. 800 baht for taxi from Koh Samui airport to Big Buddha) or 2 hrs minivan round the island to Maenam instead for 300b) that I ended up in local hospital. Got a 60 day medical visa for convalescence and spent 6 weeks in hotel in Nathon.Local comments: what is she doing here for six weeks in same hotel not taking any tours, and why always going to government hospital, should go to Bangkok Samui hospital (another 25km away.) Much more expensive and 500b taxi each way. Finally rented a house and 2x60 TR visas but market prices, laundry,etc always double.

I found this phenomenon of people raising prices in low season or no business. My friend told me they need to chargeore because no business. Thus, they fail to recognize market forces but so do we...scarcity of customers, businesses close, scarcity of services...and unofficial cartel of local business owners who collude to raise prices and keep them high...but they are only for the farangs, Thais getarket prices that fluciate according to demand. Life sucks, racism lives even here.

I think they have banned border runs for out/in same day. Worth an overnight in KL shopping trip, otherwise o/i is written in passport maybe.

I was stung by bees in Koh Samui who swarmed on my window after the gardener robbed their hive of honey.

I was sick for two weeks after sting on the chin and my whole face swelled up and could not walk about. Still have probls with one foot maybe from an allergic reaction to bee venom.

So glad to have left in box jelly fish season and two murders since leaving.

I have been taking .25 Xanax for more than 10 years for insomnia and anxiety. In Thailand you need to get a prescription and the medecine from a government hospital. If a psychiatrist has previously presrobed the dosage then the general doctor will usually fill your prescription again for at least 1 month once they have you on record. They also run Methadone clinics. But few medical staff understand the dangers of involuntary and sudden withdrawal. I ran out of tablets in Laos and flew to Cambodia where you can buy it over the counter along with Valium at the corner shop because I started going through withdrawal. I recommend anyone running out of meds should immediately taper their dose (anything over 1mg is not effective in my view.) Take the same or a reduced dose (if your dose is over 1mg) every second day then reduce it by half every second day over a period of a week or ten days. But alprax replaced several much stronger tablets I was taking so is quite mild in comparison and low dose but the involuntary withdrawal was very frightening. Take care. I read there are non addictive alternatives to Xanax now so will try to switch. Thanks for more info. Cheers.

Banning overstayers for more than ten years for life? Why aren't they regularizing their illegality to legal migrant and granting them citizenship like human rights groups are demanding for illegals in Europe and Australia? Thai elite does not want any Farang as citizens or legal long term residents. Thailand for the Thais and Australia for everybody or anybody?

Absolutely correct! And the new govt does not seem to be shifting much from the Shinawatra greed is good tourism that wants to attract the "high end" so are knocking down the shacks and budget rooms. Australia offers much better value at the high end of tourism with better beaches and environmentally friendly resorts. So death to Thai tourism as it will price itself out of thearket except for the Russian and Northern European snowbirds who drop South for the winter. Local businesses also want the high end by simply doubling their prices. Good bye paradise,

Over the years I have seen several emerging industries that are initially encouraged and then crushed with bureaucracy.

The jewellery industry, arose and now its in its death rattles.

The film industry really got going but for the last five or more years is stagnating.

The IT business was a late bloomer, but the country attracted a bit of talent and few things started to happen. But its the usual story, a diminishing pool of talent and regulations that seem to "kick in", just when your making some headway. It's not a controversial statement to say that its just an uncompetitive place for the development of these kind of business's.

I've operated companies all over the world. The due diligence and effort required to keep a Thai company legal are horrendous and serve to discourage traders. There are exceptions, but its one of the last places, one would want to incorporate, from a competitive standpoint.

At first I used to think that the authorities must be crazy. Don't they see that they are strangling potential industries? Don't they see that surrounding countries are benefitting from their approach? But this didn't sit with the fact, that many Thais in powerful positions are amongst the most educated and worldly sophisticated people.

It then occurred to me, that perhaps the local oligarchy don't really want these emerging business hubs. They pretend they do, but they don't. Perhaps the development of a mobile, financially independent and educated emerging class of foreigners and locals are not in their interests. Perhaps they reckon they are more secure, if the vast majority of locals are dependant upon benevolence, rural activity and the lowly paid service sector. Certainly massage and related services seem to operate without hindrance.

If one looks at the distribution of wealth and the control of economic activity, it would appear closer to a feudal system than an emerging and competitive economy. And that is how certain sectors of Thai society may wish to keep it.

I thought about teaching English on Thailand but I realize these people are regarded as trash like prostitutes or drug dealers, bar flies and beach bums who are the real visa runners.I have a degree in English and a native speaker. Why don't they bring in Ordinary visa for any purpose lime Cambodia?

I just brush them away like flies...but maybe gang murder or mafia hit as per previous post

Yeah, I never saw 26 million tourats but all the locals is waiting for the cruise ships to pay double for everything except the room. They stay on the boat.

I wondered how all these Thais could afford to drive around in brand new SUV's...I suppose it makes the feel better when their boss has a Maserati.

So I am indeed shocked to learn there was a baby factory in the Condo, helpless human beings. People need to get a licence before they have children to show they are fit parents. It remindse of Lienensbaum, a hospice for babies from Nazi German officers and Scandinavian mothers to breed a 'pure Aryan' race.

I wondered why Interpol never checked people's bank accounts, ATM transa toons of mobile phone records after the crash to see if they were still being used.

I think Thai visa rules and regulations for long stay visas like retirement and marriage should be seriously challenged by expats living in Thailand as they offer no security and needless hassles. But beware, when I requested the Home Ministry of India grant people permanent residency who were eligible for citizenship but could not take it up as it meant surrendering their own nationality...they offered instead a permanent multiple entry lifetime visa to those Indians who had taken the citizenship of another country and just surrender their Indian passport and get the lifetime Indian visa and an Australian/UK/US passport. As an Australian passport holderin India what did I get? Permission to leave the country.

Its all up to the discretion of the visa officers!

Its all up to the discretion of the visa officers!

Why can't they just make simple rules like 2 TR 60 day visas in a year and two visa exemptions/extensions , totalling 6 months in any one year and not leave it to the discretion of the immigration officer at the border post?

Now Thais have become more affluent they want

you to have bags of gold too. It was Ms Shinawatra who said they want to attract the High end tourist so everyone just raised their prices...and looked down their noses at their bread and butter backpackers.

I am not a backpacker but a beachcomber and aspiring author. I found Thai guesthouse owners on Koh Samui were jealous of my freedom and joy and wanted to rob me even of that by harassing me into leaving.

I met some backpackers on the bus and I went for. dinner with four others all quibbling about the price of a glass of water but when missed the VIP a/c bus the next day two of the girls booked a taxi for 6,000 baht! I suppose ppl save money s opp they can lash out...

I have met one long term overztayer and be was from UK and came and ran out of money, so has worked illegally for ten years and cannot afford a ticket home...What bugs me is that if he was not a Farang noone would notice him.

Yes, Australia is a fabulous destination if you can afford it, have a job, a working spouse or five friends to share with otherwise forget retirement unless you can afford to buy your own home.

I understood the crackdown was on overstaying without passport, visa or visa exemption/extension then it spread to border runs that ppl were using instead of visas then they backtracted on issuing 3 back to back visas but I think two is OK and perhaps two visa exemptions. There is a difference between tourism and travel that may require crossing borders several times such as exiting Southern Thailand and entering Northern Thailand. Visiting Mae Sot in Myanmar for a day has been spoiled by border runners for example.

Loltron, I think you are exactly the type of person the new rules and regulations seek to keep from returning to Thailand.