richard_smith237

Only at 5V. Many power banks internally have cells with 3.7V so 100Wh would be roughly 27,000mAh. The Thai guidelines linked to above are as usual clear as mud. As usual - vague and confusing specifics on the guidelines. From personal experience (multiple trips per year - at least 8 exiting Thailand). The staff at the security check-points at Suvarnabumi are very hot on checking power-banks. I always travel with a power-bank - IF I forget to, the security staff always ask me to take the power-bank out of my carryon... Then then read the specs. IF I take the Power bank out and place it next to my laptop on the tray, the security staff still pick it up and read the specs. They are looking for that simple magic figure ’20,000mAh’.... (or anything less) - I don’t think they are knowledgable enough or care enough about the output voltage. I think 32,000 mAh is permitted, but security once told me its 20,000 mAh, so I ensure they are always 20,000 mAh or less - this seems to be the international standard.

Getting back on topic... Whether the Yellow Book is useful to us is an individual thing - all our needs are slightly different. IS the Book worth the effort to get, again, thats individual - Some of us don’t mind a little leg work, we also find doing things such as this an interesting insight of how things are done in Thailand and expose us to various aspects / offices / officers etc and interact with people we many not interact with otherwise.... This could be related to the ‘assimilation’ thread.... and how we adapt and adopt... Thus: Obtaining the Yellow book requires some adaptation to a little hoop jumping, some adoption of local tolerance to ‘the silly stuff’.... Op.. Keep trying, you’ll get there and you may find it an interesting process - just for an additional glance at life here if nothing else. But... whatever you do, don’t let another Westerner see it - that Westerner could be Neeraman and he’ll accuse of you waiving it around like you think it gives you special powers !!!!! ????

They are wrong, anyway immigration have nothing to do with these cards. You keep changing your tune to suit your point. You’ve mentioned that they are cars for migrant labourers... You’ve mentioned that immigration have nothing to do with these cards... So what ID do immigration check for when they raid a factory full of labourers etc ???? Yep - I agree with this... (they should made them another colour then)... So, they are the same ‘looking card’ and both function as a 'non-Thai, Thailand ID card’ but their function varies depending on the holder - different card then ? or same same nid-noi different ? Neither are Burger King - whats your point ? So it is different from a Mirgrant workers card or it isn’t... Make up your mind !!!...

Not sure what you mean here. If you have a pink card, you need to take your passport. If not, you don't need to take your passport outside the province, a Driver's license is enough. Ah, OK... I see where you are coming from now. I would never leave the province without my Passport anyway - just incase I need to prove immigration status and they don’t accept the photos on my phone. In fairness, that could also happen in BKK with my Pink ID - but my passport is retrievable within the ‘reasonable timeframe’ stipulation (which has never been clarified - but I’d assume 1 hour). But, as you mentioned DL outside of ’the’ Province, I have the DL to show - the BiB have no idea that I have a Pink ID if I don’t show it (if we're being pedantic, I suppose they could ’search’ and find it). The point I want to make here is that you imply that its actually a ’negative’ to have Pink ID if travelling outside of the province, where as I argue that it makes no difference whatsoever. ------ Going slightly off topic: Many embassies etc advise that ‘we’ [foreigners] must carry our Passports. As I understand it the regulation is... 'Foreigners must carry a form of Photo ID issued by a government body, or be able to provide such ID within a reasonable time frame upon request’... Thus: IS the Thai Driving Licence Valid for this ?... in which case, Is our home country Driving Licence Valid for this ?... Some argue that ONLY a Passport is valid for this - I use the Pink ID for this (in Bangkok) - the reality is that I’m very rarely stopped by the BiB. Last time was a number of years back (in Bangkok, Pre-Pink ID days), I was a passenger in a Taxi, early evening, Asoke. BiB pulled over the taxi, came to my Window asked for Passport. I showed my Thai Driving Licence, they told me to get out of the taxi... I said no. Suggested they take the call I’m about to make. Call my ‘Phone a friend Option’ who spoke with them, Thai DL handed back, waved on.... These were the scamming charlatans from the Thonglor Police station who were notorious for getting people to pee in cups on the side of the road and attempt to extort fines out of them (some 10 years ago) - a money maker until there was sufficient bad publicity. Flawed debate / argument technique - exaggerating your accusation. There’s nothing great about the Pink ID - it can be useful to have, but its not needed - it adds some convenience in some circumstances (I’ve never claimed otherwise(. It is your false claims on these matters that I counter because you are spreading misinformatoin about the card. This is where you highlight your ‘chip on the shoulder’... Your projection that Thai’s laugh, you made such claims in previous threads and then back-tracked when called out for claiming you know Thai’s better than anyone else because you have gained citizenship - note your use of ‘fellow Thais’ to bolster your claims... You've use the ‘gold star - holocaust’ argument before and been slammed for it - a wholly distasteful and wrongly exaggerated straw-man argument there... You should know better than that and present smarter arguments. Looking at the Pink ID card from a ‘Balanced Optic’ - the Cards are not the same. - Migrants Labourers are issued the Pink ID in lieu of a Passport as they entered illegally and have no other form of legal ID in Thailand (in many cases). - Westerners need a Passport and Yellow Book to get the Pink ID. The cards are issue for different purposes - the Pink card is simply an ID card for foreigners in Thailand’... OK... So you have accepted that the Yellow Book can be worth having. So, what’s so horrific about spending the extra 10-15 mins and 40 baht to get the Pink ID at the same time ????

You exude negative bias in any of these Pink ID threads... You don’t see it as it is.. You see it as your bias allows you to see it. Who told you that it isn’t ? But yes, I have been told by friends who work in Thai Immigration that the Pink ID does not limit travel because we have a passport with Supersedes the Pink ID. Thats also common sense, you don’t recognise the common sense because you bias agains the Pink ID card is blinding you. For everyone else to see where you clearly *(deliberately ?) missed the section and only quoted that holders of the Pink ID cannot leave the province, thus showing your bias and not presenting the full story. Yes... Pink ID is valid in province. No it doesn’t. Because I’m mostly ‘in province’ so don’t carry the passport and rely on the Pink ID for numerous things when in Bangkok. When I travel out of the Province (within Thailand) about once every couple of months, I take my passport, I would with or without the Pink card. Read the threads from May / June 2020 - Mileage varied... but in general those with the pink ID were months ahead of those without. Initially, we also needed the number on the back of the Pink ID to register with Mor Prom (not just the main number on the front). I could, the Pink ID / Yellow Book has saved me money. In previous threads you have agreed that the Yellow Book has its uses - you are changing your tune here. The Pink ID takes and extra 15 mins and 40 Baht to obtain - there’s no logical reason not to go the extra step. What about traveling outside of the province ? (you used that argument earlier).

For some reason your negative bias regarding the Pink ID forces you muddy the waters and paint an inaccurate picture while either deliberately or through inattention to detail you miss out a key piece of information The Pink ID States: < 'The person whose name on the card is not allowed to leave the issuing card area, except those who have an alien identification certificate or who has written permission'. > In this case a Passport is an alien identification certificate - There are no restrictions at all on any Foreigners who hold the Pink ID and a Passport from leaving their province.

You're in no position to demand anything if you're driving without a licence. Your "advice" only risks escalating the gravity of the situation to an unnecessary level & you really don't want that. Nigel is quite correct - When stopped at the road side... there is no reason whatsoever to pay the fine at the road-side... (i.e. folding to bribes). Asking for a ticket and paying at the Police station is the correct course of action. The reality of this is that the BiB may be lazy to write the ticket for a charge which is spurious (IF its a spurious charge). Additionally, IF the BiB wants to write you up for having no licence because you don’t have an IDP, you can argue your case at the Police station (if you wish) and if you have a British Licence (for example) you don’t need an IDP...... There is nothing wrong at all with politely and confidently arguing your case either on the spot or at the station.

Your own fault, get caught driving without a license in another (Western) country and see what happens to you. Why do you want it to be different here. Pay the fine and dont drive until you get a legal Thai license. Som Nam Na. You've misunderstood.... He (sparky) doesn’t want it to be different here. He’s simply pointed out that an IDP is not required if the home Licence is in English (and from a country signature to the int’l conventions). IF a foreigner can speak Thai - he could perhaps explain this to the BiB who’s attempting to fleece him of 1000 baht for doing nothing wrong !!! This of course depends on where the Op is from, what visa the Op is on, how long he’s been here (since entry) etc.

Not quite true - Your travel insurance may be void IF You are driving illegally. For those holding a driving licence from many Western nations with Photo Licences issued in English (and are signatory to 1949 and / or 1968 Conventions on Road Traffic) an IDP is not required.... i.e. IDP is not needed for British, Australians etc... and thus there would be no impact whatsoever to their ‘travel insurance’ as they can legal drive in Thailand on their home country licence. ------- Of question is for how long tourists of *English Language countries may drive on their home country licence. Also of Question is for how long tourists from *non-English language countries can drive with an IDP. *By English Language I mean Driving Licence in English.

I imagine they’d care little that he had an IDP to accompany his home licence or not. Por-Ror-Bor is on the car - and pays compensation / medical costs up to a certain amount. The Police and file criminal charges and IF the driver is at fault / found to be driving dangerously and compensation can be negotiated - licence or not.

That doesn’t help the Op recover their line contacts. Its like recommending to someone who’s had a car accident to use a different car that handles better, it doesn’t help them get the car fixed (the car analogy still seems to work !!!) Agreed, it can be extremely irritating and painful... By the time we’ve gone through all the ‘bot’ help and help pages etc and still not achieved a solution we really need assistance from a human - these companies seem really not to care at all about customer service - its only about the bottom line. Erm... actually, I think the do... these decisions are only about the bottom line. When / IF people vote with their wallets / feet more, we’d see improvement, but the problem is this structuring of customer service and help lines is becoming more and more common. Those companies who do employ more ‘humans’ for customer service are more costly and don’t last because we the customer also demanded the cheapest option.

We need to be more specific and clarify what we mean by devices... i.e. Phones, Laptops, Tablets. Simply put: LINE on Phone + on LapTop = Yes LINE on Phone + on Tablet = No (I don’t think so anyway). LINE on Phone + on another Phone = No (I don’t think so anyway).

Yep - but its not there all the time... You can guarantee the time you have an accident and fault is ‘negotiable’ you chose not mount the phone because you were only popping down the road.... .... thats why dash-cam’s are so useful. This is the same reason I got a dash-cam for my motorcycle (Innov K2), so that I didn’t have to rely on maybe or maybe not using the go-pro...

Thats very interesting - its the Cam I’ve beee using for over 4 years - no issues at all. But, I’ll certainly re-think my choice IF looking for a new cam.

A dash-cam can mean the difference between proof of being at fault or not in Thailand. Thats clearly worth it.... any dash-cam where its clear enough to see whats going on, is worth it.

It wasn't enough time for me I arrived 3.5 hours before departure missed my flight and had to book a hotel for 2 days and rebook my flight I wouldn’t have been enough for me either.... I waited in the massive security queue (easily 1000 people in it snaking all the way through the airport, I’ve never seen anything like it) - about 1 hour before my flight was called the came through the queue asking for passengers on that flight, we were then fast tracked - I made the flight. Obviously the ’necessity for travel’ and bookings on the other side etc mades the difference on time priority. If travelling for work etc there is only one booking (hotel) on the other side which is easily changed. If travelling with family for a holiday etc and bookings, transport, plans etc are locked in, its different and I’d give more consideration to traffic etc. If travelling for work or holiday over the APEC period - Yes, I’d allow more time as I did in heavy weather.

Yeah... I usually end up sitting at the airport for over an hour anyway... so 2 hours is easily enough ‘usually’ (when flying around Asia)... UK is somehow different with the utter jobs-worths at security and amateur travellers trying to carry everything onto their flight to get their cheap ‘no baggage flights’... The issues in the UK and Thailand are different. In the UK the traffic is reliable, the Airport queues wholly unreliable. In Thailand the traffic is unreliable and the airport queues reliable (except arriving immigration at times).

They’re just covering their backsides (as is everyone else), just incase something goes wrong, then they can’t be blamed - IMO - 3 hours is extremely excessive. With the amount I travel, that would be an extra 18 hours per year hanging around airport !!!... And a lot of the time thats an extra hour with my family before I head off etc.... sometimes means seeing my son for an hour after he gets home from school before I have to head off etc... I’ve not missed a flight yet - but the one I nearly did miss I was there 3 hrs early for anyway !!! With the APEC thing though - the advice is sensible. As was the advice to depart earlier a couple of months ago during extremely heavy rain. At quite periods I actually time it so that I get through immigration with about an hour to spare (and can usually time it better with priority check-in and fast track immigration etc).

My bad - doing two things at once and completely miss-read the Op and somehow understood the advice thinking it was for ‘After the APEC summit’.... !!!!...

Utterly ridiculous... In the UK I was there 3 hours before departure and was going to miss my flight due to the 1hr check in queue and ❤️ hrs security queue... horrific (summer)... In Thailand, in the mids of horrific weather I left home 3.3 hrs early, expecting a very slow journey the airport, I was through Immigration with 2.45 hrs to wait !!!! Last week I arrived at the airport (planned) 2 hrs before departure and was thought Immigration with 1.45 mins to spare. Arriving 3 hours... I don’t think thats necessary at all... departing Thailand I’ve always found 2 hours more than enough time...

Questionable... and mileage may vary. IF people have hired in Thailand on their home country licence and been asked for an IDP, then so be it. This may even be a requirement which differs from rental company to rental company.... Regardless - its a completely separate issue from being ‘fined by the BiB’ for having no IDP while carrying a home country licence.

Would only apply to Thais and expats. An IDP isnt a license. Give it up already... everyone knows the difference between a DL and IDP... Driving without a Licence is the same as driving without permission to drive. Thus: IF an IDP is a requirement (currently being debated) then the overseas DL is void without it. Thus: back to stage one - driving without a licence (without permission to driven Thailand).

Its an interesting thread with plenty of useful information from which we can learn. Why are you trying to destroy it with pathetic and unrelated irrelevant distraction ????... Troll elsewhere if you must... This is why you are treated with contempt in so many other threads even when you do make a valid point.

Yes they were but they don't come into effect till January. Was the ‘driving without a licence’ fine also increased ??? While I could find information regarding the increase of other fines, and, while I could also find information (from two years ago) reporting the proposal to increase the fine to driving without a license to a maximum of 50,000 baht and and / or 3 years in prison, I could not find any updated information regarding the fine for ‘driving without a licence’ or any information that it has in fact changed at all from its original 200-1000 baht (I think it is).

Hired in 11 cities. Not asked once for IDP. Rode past cops today. They could care less. No... I was pointing out the part of Jimjim1’s comment that you didn’t pay attention to when you criticised his point... (all of which you did not quote and you suggested makes no sense) His post makes sense when you understand he was not referring to being stopped when asked to show his IDL (he meant IDP) but was pointing out that he had been asked when renting in Thailand.