fusion58

Another day, another snapshot of a backward-ass culture.

And you'll still be required to report your whereabouts every 90 days like a crook on parole. Nothing "elite" or "privileged" about that.

I pay for a Skype phone number (~$7.99 USD/month) and I'm able to receive OTPs from most U.S. banks while in Thailand.

Seems fewer and fewer airlines are allowing guitars as carry-ons nowadays. It used to be that you could stow a guitar in a soft case in the overhead bin or in the closet, but now it seems most airlines expect you purchase an extra seat for the instrument (yeah, like that's ever going to happen! LOL.) The U.S. airlines I used to fly into BKK always used to allow guitars as carry-on luggage, but, unfortunately, it seems most of them use code share flights with other airlines (e.g., ANA, Korean Airlines, et al) for the final leg of long haul flights into BKK nowadays. My solution, when flying with guitars with bolt-on necks, has been to disassemble the necks and pack both the body and the neck in a checked bag. I've never run into any problems doing it that way. I've read anecdotes from some travelers about how they were still able to finesse their guitars on board in spite of these "purchase an extra seat" policies, but I'm unwilling to take such chances. I lucked out when I first moved to Thailand as I was able to ship all of my guitars via USPS to a relative's APO address at domestic U.S. postal rates.

Jesus is Santa Claus for grownups.

Oh oh! Where have I heard that one before? Didn't get the most votes in that particular instance either, as I recall.

????

And 26 years old? Really? Looks closer to 40 to me.

Looks like I'm in the same boat as others here. Submitted my report on 5 August. Five days later, my application still shows as "pending." Normally, my reports are approved within 24-48 hours. BKK/CW is where I report.

Speaking of rhetoric, what is it about Thai apologists that they always tend to denounce any mention of Thailand’s shortcomings or deficits as “anti-Thai?”

…or build sewer systems.

It’s nice to have ambitions, but shouldn’t Thailand’s big brains start with something easier, e.g., figuring out how to build websites that work?

The OP said he was almost out of pages in his passport, but he didn’t say whether his passport was nearing its expiration date or not. It used to be that you could take your existing, valid passport to the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok and have pages added to it. Is that still an option? I went that route with my last passport, but that was a few years ago.

Welcome to Thai “culture,” where money is the only basis for respect and foreigners are only welcome for their ducats.

“Thai consulate warns against rushed Thai-Chinese marriages…” Translation: “Learn to work the long con like the rest of ‘em.”

“Long holiday sees spike in road accidents, authorities urge caution…” Gee, never seen this headline before. ????

I lived next door to the big kahuna in question for about a year, c. 2016-2017. I still remember how members of his "entourage" were always parking their vans in my parking space, and how neither the building security folks nor the juristic staff would do anything about it.

Doubtful, as these are the kind of "law enforcement" agencies who prefer to keep their activities on the DL (except in those circumstances which lend themselves to self-aggrandizement.)

Not to mention ironic, considering the thread topic.

Because the culture isn’t ethnocentric and xenophobic enough yet.

Preferably from 30K feet or more. That way, the offenders have plenty of time to reflect on their bad behavior on the way down. ????

Unlimited calls from Thailand to the U.S. for $6.99/mo here.

I witnessed a similar disturbance on a Thai Airways flight to Taipei a few years ago - except this time, the individual causing the disruption was a Thai male. One of the stewards did a remarkable job of calming the man down in this instance. As it turned out, the poor bastard was freaking out over threats of bodily harm to his family members and himself from a Thai loan shark.

Gee, it’s almost as if the PT platform was never really about democracy and “the will of the people” and simply about the ambitions and the advancement of the Shinawatra clan or something! ????

^ Way to make his case for him!