geisha

Rubbish, anyone looking at flights does this to see the airline conditions and costs. It’s when you validate your flight choice and go onto payment that you have to input your details. You think they let you book a flight without passport or credit card details ?? Really ??

Im a firm believer in travel insurance and am always very well insured . I don’t see why it should not be made mandatory for all tourists. I say tourists, not expats, as it’s very often tourists that get into jet ski and bike accidents, drunken fights , diving accidents , rip tides, etc. Of course you have a few expats who don’t plan their old age, but the ones that hit the headlines are very often tourists., A good travel insurance is very reasonably priced.

In the old days, people would have a nest egg. Cash under the mattress, Or a piece of land, or a gold watch , whatever. When times are bad, and it happens often , they would sell something to see them through. This is saving, just as people put a few pounds a month in a post office account. We are not yet at the point where a thousand euros buys a loaf of bread !

Thé poor in Thailand are going through very bad times. There are many who have lost their jobs due to the lack’ of tourists. These are your poorest. Maids, cleaner, kitchen staff, gardeners,,pool cleaners , waiters and shop girls , street sellers. They already had a hard life before Covid. Low wages, small shared rooms, cheap street food. When I left Jomtien as Covid started, I gave all my belongings to Thais I knew from my favorite restaurant and cleaners and pool staff from my condo. I felt so embarrassed as they just couldn’t believe the stuff I was giving them. We’ve all seen how hard they must work and the hours they put in., On the other hand, I don’t feel sorry for the ones with relatively well paid and safe jobs , or the wannabe rich. They should have a minimum of good sense , but don’t. Like the office girl who bought a brand new car , she was really proud. I said she was lucky to get such a nice company car, and she said no, this is my car. I am still in touch with them all, on FB and Line. The poor are poorer still, and the office girl lost her car and her savings to a bank. I think things will definitely get worse for the unlucky ones who nobody cares about and has no family to help them. I’ll never forget an old lady in Patong who slept wherever she could. I was told she had no children to help her out, and after a hard life and too old to work was put out on the streets. I won’t say what I think about Thai authorities I might be banned.

Boots too.

I always choose a low rise I don’t trust them. And I check the fire escapes. Even in Bangkok, my 4 star is low rise . I stayed a few years in Jomtien. 7 floors, pool on 8 th. The condo had two buildings. One day checked out the other one as ours had a few noisy kids. Went with my neighbour , had an hour or two in the pool. Leaving, lift was out of order, blocked. So we walked down , only to find that a few floors the exit doors were locked !!!! Wow, started to worry. Got out at ground floor, we went directly to the rental office in our building and reported this. The girl was nasty, took it very badly even though we only reported facts nicely. I asked for one of the security to come with me to check, and she went mad. Couldn’t understand her ranting but I did mention it again to someone else and security night and day. Disgusting.

Don’t forget the “ quiet” Thais who are very poor , do not pay taxes, but yet earn a small living from the tourist trade ! You take all these unfortunate people who live in shacks , selling cheap wares on the streets of every beach in Thailand , the stalls selling takeaways in Bangkok alone . I saw it in Phuket after the tsunami. No Thai authority took any interest in them, robbed of their means of eating and living through this disaster. Phuket emptied in 48 hours, and those Thais , the shops, Tuc tucs, restaurants etc all closed down, but those beach and street sellers had nothing to eat. The government never counts them in their figures and percentages!!!

You can go about a week before your exit date. Just take into account that there are immigration closures for holidays. Get all your photocopies needed done and a photo. I am not sure about kids, so pay them a visit and ask.

Of course the government has no idea of what it costs to actually get to Thailand these days. Airfares have rocketed, inflation is high everywhere and people are struggling. Staying close to home is the option nowadays. We have an enormous amount of nice beaches in Europe , the weather is hot, and those seeking culture are spoilt for choice. Unfortunately, I think we’re in for the long haul and world tourism won’t get back to normal for a while. Where I live in S France, hotels have been fully booked since March . Most EU countries are happy with their season. It doesn’t matter to the richer tourists of course, but Thailand does not attract them.

I had to move from my lovely rented condo in Jomtien because of the Soi dogs. I won’t say how mad I was .

Maybe, but the real problem is getting the visa , not paying for it ! The paperwork, and even the online application is absolutely ridiculous. I travel a lot, why is it so easy to get visas to other countries, even neighboring countries of Thailand ? ? Because the Thai systems, lack of technology and mistrust makes it very difficult.

Where was that in Koh Chang please ?i go often and love walking the beaches and never had a problem.

Thailand only accepted the US for their very own benefit !

What’s all the fuss about filling in a TM6 ? Just do it .

News lately is that infections have tripled in just a few days. But not hospitalized so far.

How awful !

I do and will wear a mask when flying, at the airport, inside busy places likes malls, supermarkets, pharmacies, etc.,And I hope I don’t sit on a plane near one who doesn’t.

We will all be back to wearing masks again soon. Lots are wearing them in France now. Infections rising daily and queues outside test centers. It will be worse after the summer holidays I suppose. Health authorities advising the 4th dose for the over 60s already.

How about dress rules ? Cut off t shirts, tatoués and flip flops for the men , 10 cm heels micro skirts and fluorescent tank tops for the girls ?

I see a Casino Visa coming ! The organizers will want to attract the people with cash. Casino business is not something amateurs can do. Done badly, Thailand would be like one big Sihanoukville.

The big difference between Thailand and France as far as tourism goes, is the quality you get. About the same size as Thailand , it attracts world travelers, and lots of them are big spenders. The five star palaces on the Cote d Azur and Var , St Tropez etc draw in buyers of 5000 to 15000 € rooms, and 10:times more for villas and 10:times that for yacht locations. Those people spend on restaurants, nightclubs with huge bills for champagne, flower arrangements, private chefs, staff, chauffeur driven cars for those that don’t fly in their own . Yes, when the Emirates arrive July to middle August the airport is crammed with huge private jets, and truck loads of suitcases ! Chanel , Vuitton , Dior etc work non stop and body guards à gogo everywhere. Paris is the same, Deauville , Biarritz to a lesser extent. Normal 3/4 star hotels are fully booked by March or Easter, yes , some families stay only a few days, but often come back 2 / 3 times a year. Repeat guests from EU and Uk are very present. You do not see this in Thailand ! You will not get this anywhere apart from Bangkok maybe. And even then, even I can afford a 5 star. They’re not the same standard. Some good restaurants yes, very little catering to the rich foreigners. Backpackers, I know a few, most say Thailand ? Been there done that. They move around to see the world. Thailand missed its opportunity to attract well off repeat guests. The infra structure is a sham, and the whole place ( except Bangkok center) looks as if it’s a shanty town. Not exotic. Plenty choice for everyone unfortunately for Thailand.

Same thing happened to the hotel/ restaurant/transport / tourist businesses in EU .During Covid, staff were laid off , they had government help ( unlike Thailand and some countries who got nothing). After Covid restrictions ended, those staff didn’t come back !!! Just like that. In the meantime they found jobs that had easier hours, less travel to and fro., free weekends to spend with their families. Even tho they were generally earning less, they went for the easier way of life. In the 70s to 2018 I worked 7 days a week, no one counted hours. I was happy earning a good salary and had long winters in Thailand or elsewhere. Todays youths/ younger families, don’t want that. They’d rather earn less, closer to home, and spend the weekends with family or friends. Same goes for flight staff. It is a hard job, certainly lots of perks, but hard, especially as you get older. The whole western world is looking for staff !!!

I remember the Pink Panther Patpong, have I got that right ? It had a big pink cat sign outside. Think it was French owned. Loved Trink and his big column , loved his jokes. I kept thinking that I hoped no Thai was reading it. Tho he was never rude or condemned his demi-mondaines. I used to cut out his column and take it back home to show my friends where I was whiling away my winters. They thought it was great too.Sorry I lost them somewhere along the way of life. There was also a very good Post Bag , or box, that was also full of good letters to the editor. Thanks , even if the others “ don’t give a hoot”.

Are you talking bout Jomtien ??

I must say that photo made me laugh out loud. They really should post on international newspapers as joke of the day !