richard_smith237

At rush hour, when transferring from the rail link to the MRT and BTS itself may be crowded and too busy... Op may find himself having to wait for a couple of trains.... (not sure if that happens at Makhassan (Petchaburi MRT) - but its happened to me at Asoke BTS and Siam BTS at busy periods). Also the ‘rail routing’ to the Shangri-la involves 1 transfer plus taxi, or 2 transfers.... The rail link and connections is just too much hassle to bother with after a flight. There is no time saving whatsoever unless in very heavy ‘holiday traffic’ gridlock. Options: Rail Link / MRT / Taxi 1) Rail Link Airport to Makhassan. Change / Walk to Petchaburi MRT 2) Petchaburi MRT to Hua Laphong MRT Take a Taxi (very busy area - grid-lock, can even get a taxi) OR... Rail Link / MRT / BTS / Walk 1) Rail Link Airport to Makhassan. Change / Walk to Petchaburi MRT 2) Petchaburi MRT to Sukhmvit BTS Walk to Asoke BST 3) Asoke BTS to Siam BST Change trains. 4) Siam BST to Saphan Taksin BTS Walk to accommodation. OR.. Taxi Taxi direct from the Airport, take expressway to the Silom Exit.... Taking a taxi is an utter no-brainer... I don’t know why anyone would even consider the rail link in such a situation.

I don't think Thais have much of an attention span. The mind wanders. These days they call it a micro-sleep. Especially when a little ‘booze’ is involved... At 3am... what are the odds that deceased had been drinking..... ??? (rhetorical)

Seen it happen loads of times... Truck in middle lane, going very slowly about to turn left... Then can only do so from the middle lane as the ‘entrance’ and turn itself is otherwise too tight to successfully complete.... Its common sense... when a lorry is going very slowly up ahead, slow down... it's about to make a manoeuvre, or has slowed for some other reason that as yet, we cannot see.

Look at the photo again. The bike is in the same middle lane as the lorry. That isn't a sign of undertaking. I disagree... based on that photo I would suspect the motorcyclist travelling at speed saw the truck up ahead and was initially planning on under-taking the truck. However, as the truck initiated the left turn from the middle lane (was the truck indicating ???) the motorcyclist realised the ‘undertake’ was not on and attempted to pull out of the manoeuvre to pass on the right, but, was travelling too quickly for any evasive action to be effective... OR... also not uncommon and it astonishes me how common this is on roads here and how many seem to have such a lack of self preservation - The motorcyclist simply wasn’t paying attention and looking where he was going.

Absolutely !!!.... When behaviour to rip off tourists is the norm a sense of entitlement that they can get away with it creeps in.... When the government practices ’state sanctioned dual pricing’ against foreigners the message is sent out to every Thai business and operator that foreigners are fair game...

But they could sue for defamation... Thats one of the issue here... Poor service etc can’t be made public due to the ridiculous defamation laws (which at the very thin end of the wedge protects poor service and at the thick end protects criminal enterprises) which hinder development and improvement.

[Bangkok taxis are among the best cheapest in the world] There... I corrected it for you.... Bangkok taxi’s are by far, not the best in the world. But, they are excellent value for money when the driver is doing things ‘properly’... By ‘properly’ I mean not attempting some angle to take advantage of the customer, not driving recklessly, not drunk, not high, not overloaded on M-150... In many cases the taxi drivers are excellent, also in many cases they are not.... The anecdotal “I’ve never had a problem” ergo Bangkok Taxi’s are great types of posts are ridiculous. Clearly the standards, service and degree of rip-off attempts vary significantly. ------- One point though - New tourists (people who do not know their way around) often suspect the taxi driver of taking the ‘long way round’.... I thought so too when first in Bangkok. But, I actually find this to be a very rare issue, the one way systems can get in the way of logical navigation which is perhaps what lends to the ’suspicions’ of newbies who do not know the intricacies of the routing through or around Bangkok (its often quicker to take a long way round on an expressway for example).

That’s good news... (Hopefully its not an error on the welcome letter). It would imply that 30 years is passed on to a ’third generation’ member, or, if I am correct, at the very least 27 years - still a very good deal. It would be best to contact Thai Elite and re-confirm exactly what you have and what is passed on to another member. I purchased membership in 2007... and Thai Elite have been clear to me about what would be passed on to a ’second generation’ member.

No.. The Op has stated that he purchased / transferred Membership from another member. In such a case 30 years was transferred to him, when he transfers on the membership to someone else, the remainder of the membership is transferred (i.e. 30 years minus the duration the Op held membership). There is no need to leave the country - an extension of stay is required every 90 days (at the cost of 1900 baht). No speculation from me - I have exactly the same membership as the Op (but 1st hand no second hand) - The info I have is direct from Thai Elite (a coupe of posts up is a ‘copy and paste’ direct from an e-mail from Thai Elite on this very subject). Op needs to secure his facts so that firstly he knows exactly where he stands with membership (he believes he has lifetime membership, he doesn’t if he is a ‘second hand member’), secondly so he can confirm with any potential buyer exactly how many years are transferred (it may still be a good deal).

Here is a response from Thai Elite about a previous enquiry: Since Mr. xxxxxxxx's membership has been activated since 2007, the one who would obtain his membership will receive the following privileges:- Privileges:-- 1. 5 Years Renewable Special Entry Visa with 90 days stamp at each arrival 2. Airport Service (Transport + Airport Assistants) upon International Arrival and Departure at Suvarnabhumi Airport and Phuket International Airport (Only transport service provided at Chiang Mai and Samui Airports) 3. Complimentary Annual Medical Check-Up at Hospitals 4. Daily Complimentary Thai Massage at different spa venues 5. Daily Complimentary Green Fee at different golf courses 6. Government/Business Concierge via Elite Personal Liaison (EPL) 7. Special Prices at Hotels/Restaurants/Department Stores 8. 24-Hour General Assistance at our Member Contact Centre Conditions:-- 30 years of Membership Unlimited times of transfer with the remaining years Membership Transfer Fee at the rate of 10 percent of the Prevailing Rate (Our latest price is 2,000,000 Baht so the transfer fee will be 200,000 Baht.)

Best to check that - Transfer of 30 years for the first transfer, for subsequent transfer is the ‘remaining years’. I am also one of the original Thai Elite Members (LifeTime membership) and have investigated transferring membership to another party. Thai Elite confirmed that 30 years is transferable (on first transfer). Note: it is possible that you and I have slightly different memberships, but it doesn't seem so. Its best to contact Thai Elite and confirm this 100% before the possibility of something being sold under false pretences... 30 years is still an excellent deal.

Its a very good price for that Visa and accompanying perks which include AOT transfers, fast track Greens fees at many top end Golf courses and Yearly Medial Check-up.... The only thing not mentioned (I think) is that Life Time is not transferable - 30 years gets transferred... Thats still equivalent to a 3 Million Baht package (If understanding that the 20 year full membership costs 2 Million Baht). The Affixed S.E. Visa is 5 years (renewable), but an extension must be made every 90 days (at the cost of 1900 baht) [I don’t know why Thai Elite can’t sort this out so the S.E. Visa comes with the same terms as their P.E. visa and the extensions can be applied for on a yearly basis]. This is correct, but this was only for a few members in the beginning when the elite visa was start, you can contact Thai Elite for to confirm this 30 Years of is transferred across for the first transfer from someone holding LifeTime membership - subsequent transfers include the transference for the remaining years of membership. For the ‘first time’ holders of this Life Time membership, life time means life time.. i.e. even if the original member was 20 years old and lives until they are 100 (this is no longer available) Life Time is is why I purchased membership in my early 30’s. Unmarried at the time membership provided a simple option to stay and travel in and out regularly without questions from immigration - now that I’m married the visa is no longer needed but is still extremely convenient, especially airport fast track (14-16 times per year). Over the past few years. have offered to purchase my membership but we have never agreed upon a price (in the past some think they can score the bargain of a lifetime and have offered less than a normal 20 year no perks membership !!).

If the conversion involves switch the powertrain of an already restored classic, then yes, a sin. If, however, a restoration is carried out from the scratch and the conversion to EV is part of that restoration then, no, not a sin - as that car would never be on the road without such work in the first place. I really like the idea of a Classic Landrover defender EV !!!.... I also like the idea of an EV E-type... there’s plenty of them around so the conversion is not really sacrilegiously destroying something rare.

Your old passport gets cancelled once your application is received, allowed to retain in Thailand for the purposes of ID, but invalid for international travel. Interesting.. I never knew it was cancelled until your replacement had been received. That lends to the question of legality - being overseas without a valid passport. Also raise eyebrows in the event of needing to travel in the even of an emergency while the Passport application is in place. I have these options covered (holding two British Passports)... But, obviously not my Son (whose passport expires on Sept & I was going to apply for renewal at the Beginning of April which allows for 3 months... If thats not going to work out then I’d have to apply for fast-track renewal in the UK (hopefully the staff at HMPO are not still striking by then !).

Makes sense... I imagine that applying in an area where there is greater familiarity with such applications is easier than hitting the ‘brick wall’ from provincial offices who are unsure of the process and thus put up stumbling blocks. Anyway... If moving your Yellow Book registration to Bangkok you will not need that for renewal of your extension of stay. A lot of people remain here on an extensions of stay based on marriage to a Thai without being in possession of a Yellow Tabien Baan / house book.

Apparently (I used to live on the flight path into Heathrow) frozen ice from planes would land on the area - at least one car was trashed by a large lump of ice which was believed to have come off a plane that I heard about. Not that common but it HAS happened. And here's the proof : https://www.heathrow.com/company/local-community/noise/what-you-can-do/ice-falls-from-aircraft YAWN... So because something has happened under extremely rare circumstances... do you think think it is the case here [that blue ice, or ice build up fell from an Aircraft] when there was a reported hail-storm ??... ... Or, do think the ice is from the hail storm ? Geez... the people arguing that this could have been from a plane are being utterly preposterous and then doubling down on their daft theory !!!...

Op... after you have exhaust all options such as clearing the cache etc... Try completely resetting the phone to factory settings (backup first, then update from the backup) - see if that helps.

No.... you could be living in rented accommodation and renewing your ‘extension of stay based on Marriage to a Thai’ (and work Permit). That said, I think a Yellow House book is one of the requirements for PR and Citizenship application. Why would you want to move your registered address to Bangkok if you are living in the south ? Can you not apply for citizenship being registered in the South ? or there some advice which suggests its easier if you are registered in Bangkok ?

Nah, Richard, I think he got cheap charlie with the girlfriend and she outed him... Don't ya know? Thats what had me wondering... the linked article states: The legality of ‘random passport checks’ is also a highly vague statement to make as there are specifics surround what type of and rank of police officer can ask to see you passport and immigration status....

Also note - IF the scooter is new, the dealership from where you purchased the scooter should be able to deal with all of this.

It seems you are getting some misinformation from somewhere. If you are holding an Affirmation of Address document from your Embassy, that is sufficient for registering a vehicle in your own name. In short, the staff who told that an Affirmation of Address document from your embassy can’t be used are quite wrong, the staff at whatever agency it is you are using are wrong and clearly lack experience. As Kwasaki mentioned - registering a vehicle in your own name is something you can do yourself. You are already holding the main document required.

Very likely... In all but the rarest of examples the standard of reporting here is abysmal and often leads to much debate as the lack of facts and clarity lends to assumptions and then other posters to dissect and criticise those assumptions shortly before the thread falls apart and is closed by a Mod because its turned into a pithy argument between people telling others what assertions, assumptions, fallacies they have made and how wrong they are !!! ????

Siam Rath reported that the victim lived on the 13th floor So he lived in the parking lot? Really ????? come on !!...

I’m sure there are over-stayers in many countries (Some countries more than others).... But those overstayers are just not paraded with 6 policemen on the News when caught.. because in most other countries the Police simply doing their routine job is not news worthy !!!...

Only police above a certain rank, (don't know which one there are that many) can ask to see your passport. Thats also as I understand it... Only Commissioned officers can ask to see your ID (which must be government issued Photo ID - usually a Passport, but could be something else). Only Immigration Officers can enquire as your Immigration status and thus request to actually see your Passport. That said: These regulations are hard to find and the Police themselves don’t follow their own rules, so its not completely uncommon for a non-commissioned police officer to ask to see your passport; they are just poorly trained and copy what they have learned from others rather than any specific training on the regulations / law. So.. the ‘law’ doesnt actually prevent the Police from doing what they want anyway... hence the question, does that mean the Police are doing random checks of foreigns Passports and Immigration status (on Samui) now ???... IF so, this is pretty invasive for tourists and the optics are very poor.