khunjeff

I know you're joking, but that's actually one of the first things that occurred to me. These self-propelled suitcases are basically novelty items for riding around airports and shopping malls. Do they really have enough battery power to go more than a couple of km, especially on a much rougher surface than they're designed for? And for that matter, the wheels are small, and intended to be used on smooth floors - riding on a Thai highway must have been a very uncomfortable experience!

Let me get this straight. These are Thai restaurants abroad, owned by Thais, with Thai staff, serving food imported from Thailand. OH MY GOD, they're just taking money from local restaurateurs!! (Sounds kind of stupid when the restaurants are Thai instead of Chinese, doesn't it?)

Those are still handled at Immigration Zone 2, next to Visa on Arrival. Premium class passengers were kicked out of that zone last year, and shunted over towards the Thai Citizens queue. The article is saying that First and Business class pax can no longer use that "new" queue, though elderly and disabled apparently still can. It's honestly rather strange that this is happening, especially with no announcement having been made (that I'm aware of). Premium pax can still use Fast Track on departure, so the idea hasn't gone away, and airlines were paying for the service anyway. I have to wonder whether this is just a temporary change during a renovation project or something (that has been very poorly communicated).

No. As the linked article mentions, "There is also a Diplomats/Officials lane, which includes access for travelers with an APEC Business Travel Card and certain Thai Visa holders such as those issued by the Board of Investment."

The concept of the zero dollar tour is that you sell a package for less than the actual cost of the airline ticket and hotel room, and then make the money back by taking the passengers to shops selling wildly overpriced cr@p and browbeating them into buying. China and destination countries have been fighting these tours because they create an unpleasant and sometimes threatening experience for the participants, and ruin their opinion of the country being visited. Only in Thailand is the concern not about tourists being cheated, but only about the fact that local travel-related companies feel that they're not getting their share of the loot. Contrary to the travel industry claims that are spewed out in these identical articles that now come out every week, the zero dollar companies are not undercutting prices in order to drive local agencies out of business. Their business model is completely different, and they couldn't care less what legitimate companies are doing or charging - they just want to keep using low prices to pull in suckers who can then be milked at ripoff shops. And as for the claim that no money goes to Thailand, did these companies bring their own land from China, and their own hotels to put on that land, and their own beds to put in those hotels? Did they bring their own gasoline to fuel their buses? Did they bring all their own food? (And who cares if they did - do you know any Thai who has traveled overseas without a suitcase filled with Mama noodles?) If the problem is that foreigners own businesses illegally through nominees, then arrest the nominees and go after the officials who let the businesses be registered. If the problem is that Chinese products have been imported illegally, then go after the corrupt or incompetent Customs officials who let that happen. But those are separate issues from zero dollar tours. And if everything has been done legally, then there's nothing to see here. Despite what local companies seem to think, they do not have some god-given right to extract cash from every foreign visitor. If a Frenchman comes to Bangkok on Air France, stays at the Sofitel, and only eats imported snails and foie gras at French restaurants during his stay, has he somehow taken money from the pockets of Thais?

They didn't realize that scamming is an occupation reserved for Thais 😁 We see this in many of these reports, but it seems very strange. Why would Koreans enter illegally, when it's so easy to come in properly? Or is this just poor reporting, and they are actually overstays?

I don't quite follow this. This is park land, or railroad land? Or does the railroad somehow own land inside the park?

...and this incident shows that judges unfortunately have exactly the same ethical standards as MPs, senators, and ministers 😕

Fair point, but I think most people who only ever fly on commercial jet airliners would consider anything littler than an ATR-72 to be "small" - so the headline effectively communicates to them that this wasn't, let's say, the Airbus or Boeing that they immediately think of when they hear the words "air crash".

Do you have any idea how that service actually works? Is part of it done by truck? The new Chinese railroad through Laos isn't connected to the SRT rails, and uses a different gauge as well. Even the writers of that article don't seem to know the specifics of the route.

Convicted felon who isn't in the government says whaaaaaat? 🤔

This "new" route being "initiated" by this committee of rail masterminds ran in various forms from 1922 until its cancellation in 2016. Why the insistence on pretending that this is a revolutionary new idea that no one had ever thought of before? I'm not aware of any such train existing, at any frequency, particularly since there is no actual rail link between the Bangkok - Vientiane line and the Vientiane - Kunming line.

Many people don't seem to have actually read this article. The news is not that they are using electric buses (the company has been using those for over a year now, if I recall), but that they are instituting all-night services on a few routes.

Yeah, I switched from the VOA to the e-visa - even though the e-visa costs more - because I got tired of filling up my passport with those full-page stickers. (The e-visa also saves a bit of time upon arrival, but usually only about 5-10 minutes.)

"a few weeks after Trump's visit to the United Kingdom in 2018, Queen Elizabeth confided in a lunch guest that she found the then-president "very rude.""

I doubt it would have made any difference. People are regularly struck and killed after their cars break down on Bangkok expressways - speeding drivers pay no attention to the stopped car on the shoulder and just plow right through 😕

Wow, now there's an idea 😂

The organization that found "evidence of Jagkrit's guilt" was just the police advisory committee on which he served. The bail decision was made by the court, which is a completely different entity. But yes, releasing a murderer on bail is bizarre.

Correct.

...and then we see the schedules below, indicating that only two of the dozen routes actually have hourly service (and all of them start before midnight). Unless these buses follow a very precise timetable, and can be tracked by GPS, it will be difficult for people to rely on them. I used to have to wait (and wait...and wait) for late night buses, and it was no fun at all.

It would be nice if reports like this one could be accompanied by a map so readers could better understand exactly what they're talking about. (This applies to all local media, not just AN or The Thaiger.)

Certainly can't allow that 🙄

"Miss" is a title, not part of her name. Some airline booking sites have a drop-down list of titles (on Emirates it even includes "Prince" and "King"), others don't. If there's a list, select "Miss" - otherwise ignore it.

You operate a railroad with doors that stay open all the time and personnel whose main focus is looking impressive in their uniforms, so clearly the problem is the passengers 🙄

I hope his attorneys are sanctioned for filing a frivolous lawsuit. Every other person who steals highly classified documents is hauled off in handcuffs after a no-knock raid, and kept behind bars pending trial. Trump was given multiple chances to return the papers; notified in advance of the search, and allowed to absent himself; and has not spent a single minute in jail. Yes, he has received disparate treatment, but it has all been in his favor. And by the way, if he doesn't like his privacy being violated by agents going through his bedroom, maybe he shouldn't keep stolen Top Secret documents there? Just a thought.