khunjeff

11 hours ago, webfact said:

During the Loy Krathong festival, from November 24 to 28, 2023, the immigration office expects over 50,000 tourists per day.

Thailand has averaged over 50,000 foreign arrivals per day for all of 2023, so I have no idea what they're talking about.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1423617/monthly-foreign-tourist-arrivals-thailand/

So they arrested and punished disfigured people who are victims of human trafficking gangs? I guess they want to get back on the Trafficking in Persons watchlist, as the last TIP Report noted specifically that

"government officials did not identify the majority as trafficking victims, placed foreign victims in immigration detention centers, and arrested victims, including Thai citizens, for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked in these illicit operations"

- exactly what they're doing here, yet again.

20 hours ago, Deserted said:

I'm pretty sure that's Rangsit not Prathum Thani.

Rangsit isn't a province - both Rangsit Station (Red Line) and Khu Khot (Green Line) are in Pathum Thani province.

14 minutes ago, Cabradelmar said:

This is a good thing. Good for departures. Korea uses similar technology.

Hong Kong as well.

On 11/13/2023 at 5:16 PM, scubascuba3 said:

Much better than Shopee app though, always charge delivery so i don't use it

I get free shipping on Shopee all the time, but you do have to know when codes will be distributed, and then use them before the allotment is exhausted. The rules for each code also differ, so I just keep stuff in my cart and then try the various codes until one works.

2 hours ago, Sydebolle said:

Srettha should remind Anutin (in clear terms "kick Anutin's backside") who then can start doing his present job as interior minister and do a serious clean-up job among the police and immigration.

The police were taken from the Interior Ministry and placed directly under the Prime Minister about 25 years ago.

This can join the technology to inspect for black smoke emissions and excessively tinted windows, both of which have been introduced repeatedly over the last several decades with essentially zero result.

2 hours ago, Baht Simpson said:

Beerlao make a very respectable IPA.

I like the flavor, but the mouthfeel and body are poor due to the use of rice in the mash.

It's a nice idea, and better than nothing, but ultimately of little value unless drivers are actually punished for ignoring the lights.

I live close to a very busy zebra crossing with a pedestrian-operated light (not sure if it's penguin, puffin, kiwi, or emu), and some selfish idiot goes through the red light on virtually every change, even when people are actually crossing the street. (There's a countdown clock visible for at least 100m, so "I didn't see it" isn't an excuse.)

I have never seen even a single driver or rider pulled over and fined for this, even on the rare occasions that a policeman is standing nearby, so the message is pretty clear that they authorities just don't care.

1 hour ago, proton said:

Leo did bring out 3 great beers last year, but too expensive and soon disappeared 

I quite liked those special hoppy brews in the aluminum bottles, and I can't stand regular Thai beer. Unfortunately, the advertising ban stopped them from getting into the public consciousness, and as you say the 79 baht price was likely too high for the folks looking for the cheapest possible buzz.

1 hour ago, AAArdvark said:

What are the " designated" zones?  It appears to not be cities but smaller zones. 

In Bangkok, I read that the zones are Patpong/Silom, Ratchada, and RCA, which I seem to recall were the same areas selected for special closing hours back during the Thaksin years. And no, it doesn't make sense that a policy intended to boost tourist spending is mostly focused on areas where most of the customers are local Thais (and often underage Thais at that).

They didn't "clarify" anything - just confirmed what everyone had already observed with their own eyes 👀

16 hours ago, digbeth said:

That is not in Sukhumvit 64 whatever but on Sukhumvit itself near 64/1

The "journalists" seem to have missed the fairly obvious clue of the BTS structure running alongside the road.

11 minutes ago, topt said:

As Interior Minister doesn't the RTP report to him or is that direct to the PM?

The Police have been directly under the PM for several decades already.

All well and good, but what exactly is this supposed to accomplish, other than lowering costs for the often exploitative Thai corporations that use these laborers?

12 hours ago, Peabody said:

Isn't the Philippines part of ASEAN? Why don't they seem to be granted these various visa deals

This has nothing to do with ASEAN per se. It's about unskilled migrant labor, which the Philippines does not supply to Thailand.

23 hours ago, mania said:

The thing I have found doing similar with Wise is check operating hours of your bank which if open tends to result in instant transfer

 

Same with Wise to Thailand...If during Thai bank business hours it is instantly done.

It may vary depending on the particular banks and which "reason for transfer" is checked, but my personal experience has been that the opening hours were irrelevant - I've had numerous transfers go through instantly at times when both the sending and receiving banks were closed. So who knows...

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The prime minister tweeted on his X page to suggest that the army-led agency give up on the outdated Cold War rationale and instead render its missions more compatible with the changing environment

In other words, this group is definitely needed, but just give us a moment to figure out what it's needed for...

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

He said that, normally, the cold season starts in the middle of October and lasts through to the following February.

Over the last 30+ years, I can't remember the cool season ever starting in mid-October, at least in Bangkok.

I think organizing the press conference to announce the donation already cost more than 3 million baht...

12 hours ago, In the jungle said:

Palm harvesting is not something you can really do stealthily.  Imagine 30 kg palm bunches falling to the ground from 15 metres up repeatedly.

Plus you then have to haul them away in trucks, due to the weight and size of the bunches - and all for a few hundred baht each. I certainly believe that this theft is happening, but it's hard for me to see how it's worth the effort unless it's being done on a nearly industrial scale.

On 10/28/2023 at 1:35 PM, NanLaew said:

Not all airlines qualify for (or pay for) the fast track immigration service for their Business Class pax at Suvarnabhumi immigration.

That hasn't been true since Big Joke got rid of the coupon system. Under the current system, if you show a business class boarding pass from any airline, you can use fast track.

On 10/29/2023 at 1:59 AM, buick said:

wondering if fast track is open in it's usual spot (hall 2) or has it moved somewhere else ?

The last few times I passed through, hall 2 was being used for all fast track categories except first and business class pax (diplomats, Thai Elite, LTR, etc) - the premium class pax were sent to an area near the queue for Thais. I assume that's a temporary arrangement, but I don't know what the final plan is.

On 10/28/2023 at 1:31 PM, gargamon said:

Please advise what airline did that? Do you use them all the time? EVA would never do that, and if they did I would need to find a new one. BTW, my flight consisted of three segments, and even after that my luggage was still front of the queue in BKK. Did your airline advise you of the fast track immigration for business class? 

This was Ethiopian, which is consistently terrible about not expediting priority baggage, but I've had the same experience on many other airlines, including Thai. Only a few carriers really bother to segregate and expedite priority bags, and even those often have problems with luggage that transited en route to the final destination.

As for advising me of fast track? Ever since they stopped handing out fast track coupons, I've never had any airline advise me that I was eligible for fast track, ever. I always have it through my visa anyway, so that isn't an issue for me.

I just got a VN e-visa last week (American, not Australian, but that shouldn't make any difference). The visa doesn't show an authorized length of stay, just "from" and "to" dates, which is normal (they just admit you to the "until" date, regardless of when you enter).

With both this visa and the several I've had in the past, the dates on the visa have always been exactly what I entered onto the online form, so I'm not sure why you experienced a disconnect.

Two possible issues: first, the form will often pre-populate the "until" date - be sure to change it to the date you want. The limit used to always be counted in months - e.g., one month was Nov 1 to Dec 1 - but now it's in days, so 90 days is Nov 1 to Jan 29. The system will tell you if you entered a date too far in the future, so you can just keep backing up a day at a time until it's happy.

Second, the system always shows you a summary of what you entered so you can review it before going to the payment page. This time around, I noticed on the review page that the "until" date I had manually entered had changed back to the pre-populated default date. I backed out to the data entry page and re-entered the date 90 days in the future, and this time it stuck. Something to watch out for...