khunjeff

Developing secure travel documents like the ones in your message is actually quite time consuming and expensive. It is surprising, though, that BoI couldn't have at least forked over a few thousand baht for some better quality rubber stamps (and adequate ink for the ink pads, if nothing else), especially since they supposedly believe there will be a million applicants. But then again, they may have offered and immigration might have said no...!

Actually, it's signed by an immigration officer ("Female Police Captain Rachanee Sukkasem"). I had trouble reading her handwriting, but after getting some assistance in decoding it, it basically says that you ("this alien") want to use an LTR visa, so she is noting for the record that she permitted your previous status to be cancelled. I guess that's their way of dealing with the fact that normally you can't switch to a new status unless the previous one was either officially cancelled or expired, but a handwritten scrawl in ballpoint pen doesn't seem like the most professional way of recording that.

Wow, that's incredibly unprofessional looking even by Thai immigration standards - but it does look the way they said it would (albeit with much poorer print quality...) ???? https://www.hlbthai.com/thailands-ltr-visa-process-explained/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=thailands-ltr-visa-process-explained

Download the 'Bkk Rail" app - it gives fare information and trip time estimates for all lines. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=th.ac.mahidol.clare.gorail

The "amok catcher" that they're using has a long tradition in Southeast Asia - you can see them in some museums in Malaysia, and to the right in this old engraving from the Dutch East Indies.

The time period and service for a DTAC roaming package start from the moment that your phone first connects to a partner cellular carrier in your destination country. The connection should be automatic, but that's not always the case - sometimes the package has trouble getting onto the foreign network, and you'll get a message telling you to select the appropriate carrier manually. It works in the end, though.

In fairness, they can be pretty unfriendly to each other as well...

The DTAC data roaming packages have worked well for me in the US and various European and Asian countries, and the prices are reasonable - the only downside compared to getting a new sim at your destination is that you won't have a local phone number. For SMS and voice calls, download and set up the DTAC Call app, then switch it from "SIM Card" to "DTAC Call" (under the "Manage Numbers" tab) when you leave Thailand - you can then make and receive Thai calls and texts at no extra charge. That does require you to be connected to the internet, but if you're willing to wait until you're on WiFi, you should have no problems. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=th.co.dtac.wificalling

It's the same policing theory that requires 30 people sitting in a tent at a checkpoint, rather than having those personnel out at 15 different sites actively looking for lawbreaking.

We have the expectations, now all we need is the railroad.

It has been repeatedly shown in tests around the world that touching a contaminated surface is an extremely unlikely vector for Covid transmission - except in Thailand, where officials reported with straight faces that over 1,000 people were infected from touching a single stainless steel turnstile at the entrance to a market toilet ????

"AOT said that the construction of the 1st secondary concourse (SAT-1); and many other systems was currently undergoing real-time testing to prepare for opening next year. "As for the runway construction, or the third runway, construction is now progressing well... The new runway would help Suvarnabhumi airport to be able to handle air traffic volumes increase to 94 flights per hour from the current 68 flights per hour." That's all fine, but the big bottleneck prior to Covid was moving passengers in and out, mainly through immigration. Neither of these projects increases check-in, immigration, or baggage claim capacity at all, and we won't see those increased until a new terminal is built - a terminal whose location continues to be argued about years after construction was supposed to have started.

The fact that a military leader would answer this question with anything other than "of course not, we're here to defend the nation, we have no role in politics, those days are over" shows the level of dysfunction in the body politic here. The wording of his denial ("well, we're not discussing a military takeover of the government at the moment") would have him immediately stripped of his position and kicked out of the armed forces in any functioning democracy.

They (allegedly) paid that 700M over the course of three years, not just one, so it actually covered about 113 million total tourist arrivals - an average of under 7 baht per person. And according to the World Bank, those tourists generated about 184 billion USD in revenues for Thailand, or roughly 1600 USD per head. Certainly sounds like a financial crisis to me ???? Of course, as many have pointed out in the past, it also strains credulity to believe that so many people managed to escape without paying their bills. Anyone who has ever been in a Thai hospital knows that they almost always demand payment upfront, and, if they don't, won't allow you to leave until you've paid your bill. @Sheryl has also mentioned that many of these "non-payers" probably have foreign insurance, but the hospital billing departments don't understand how to communicate with overseas companies.

Ah, ok - for some reason I thought you would be getting the visa at Chamchuri. Someone a week or two ago posted the fee that would be charged at the Thai embassy in their country - I don't remember which one - and it was quite a bit higher than 50k THB, since they tend to use a poor exchange rate and then adjust upwards to the nearest round number.

Did they provide you with links to these forms yet, or does that come later? I assume they're as short as sweet as the usual immigration forms, but just curious to see what they look like. No mention yet of what payment methods they accept? Again, not a big deal, just curious. Thanks for all the great updates!

I've seen many brands and dosages of locally produced tadalafil for sale at pharmacies in HCMC. I don't know the price, but it will certainly be far cheaper than the original version. Generic zolpidem (from France, I think) used to be sold years ago, but I haven't paid attention to whether it's still available.

I kind of like not being sick or dead, so I get all the shots and boosters that are recommended by the experts. Since I knew it would take Thailand months to discuss and debate and dilly-dally the new bivalent booster, I went ahead and got it last week in the US. Hopefully that should keep me for a while.

I'm sure Grab is very excited to hear that they've received approval to provide the services that they've already been providing for the past 7+ years.

Yes, and he doesn't seem to realize that it's not in Thailand's interests to make public pronouncements that could lead to the country being declared a currency manipulator by other countries - but he's so used to giving orders to subordinates that he can't help himself.

When I transferred stamps to my new passport at CW in early 2020, the officer suddenly asked if I had my bank book. Confused, I said I was there to transfer stamps, not for an extension. But do you have the bank book you used for your last extension, she asked? I replied (truthfully) that I had used an Embassy letter for that extension, and she nodded and said ok, without looking anything up. It seemed strange at the time, and it seems even stranger that they're still doing it today without having ever updated their instructions. And yes, they can indeed justify it by saying it's a check to confirm that you're fulfilling the deposit requirements for the extension, but by that logic they could ask for the bank book anytime you go to immigration for any service at all, or make everyone return with the book three months after the extension is granted, like Jomtien does. It can quickly turn into a lot of extra effort for minimal benefit.

The article claims that the cars went by air. That seems bizarre, since it would have been needlessly expensive, but if it really did happen, the vehicles and their documents would have been much more thoroughly examined than if sent by sea. "DSI said investigation revealed that all the vehicles were stolen in England from July 2016 to March 2017. They were then flown to Singapore from where they were shipped to Thailand."

Agreed - the wording is legally cautious, and could be unclear to anyone unfamiliar with how the dysfunctional US health care system operates, with employer-sponsored group insurance used more often than individual policies. The coverage amount is addressed by the statement "There are no pre-existing conditions or dollar limit on the policy", but I know the authorities are more used to seeing a specific dollar amount (even though unlimited coverage is obviously better). The letter also isn't "signed and sealed", since seals and stamps are not normally used on US business correspondence. An identical letter was accepted last year when I used it to apply for a Thailand Pass, so that gives me some cause for optimism, but I guess I'll find out when I submit the LTR application. I will be annoyed if it's rejected, but I do have money in the bank as a Plan B.

"This letter is in response to your request for verification of health insurance coverage with the Foreign Service Benefit Plan (FSBP). Our records indicate you are currently enrolled in a Self Only (401) policy effective January 1, 1989. Coverage under the FSBP is world-wide, including your stay in Thailand. Your policy provides benefits for medical expenses, including but not limited to physician consults, diagnostic procedures, physical therapy, emergency medical treatment and hospitalization. The policy also provides coverage for mental health and substance abuse treatment and prescription medication. There are no pre-existing conditions or dollar limit on the policy although certain benefits (for instance, physical therapy, chiropractic, home health) are limited. In light of the most recent events concerning Coronavirus (COVID-19) and in accordance with guidance from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), FSBP will provide coverage at 100% - no deductible or other member cost sharing – for the testing of Coronavirus (COVID-19). Provider visits, medications, and other treatments related to Coronavirus (COVID-19) are paid per the terms of the Plan Brochure. The Plan’s brochure (https://www.afspa.org/filestoreAFSPA/2021RI72-001FSBPBrochure.pdf) and ID card act as the certificate of coverage. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact our office."

His use of "apply" is legally correct. If you look at websites from the US State Department or US Embassies, for example, they will state clearly that a visa only gives you permission to "apply" for admission at a port of entry, and that the final admissibility decision will be made by an immigration officer. That is, in fact, exactly the case for most countries, including Thailand. There are a few countries (like Vietnam, I believe) where immigration officers are more or less bound by what's on the visa, but in most nations the officers at the border have wide latitude to determine whether to admit you, and for how long. You are correct, however, that as a practical matter the decision at the airport will usually match what is on the visa, and variance from that will be relatively rare.