geisha

Old info. The Paris embassy is the worst ! Just come in on VISA EXEMPT 30 days. Buy a throw away airline ticket to leave Thailand ( for ex Phnom Penh Cambodia. ) which you will not use. Instead , a week before the 30 days visa exempt are up, go to Pattaya immigration office which is in Jomtien Soi 5: and ask for an EXTENSION of 30 days. Take photocopies of passport page, entry stamp, proof of address ( receipt hotel) 1 photo, one form from office filled in. And 1900 Baht cash. easy peasy. Have an insurance covering Covid, and fully vaccinated to get in without quarantine. proof of vaccin in paper form. Insurance mentioning Covid covered.

Very unfeeling answer. Not everyone is super granny like your mum.

It’s everything combined that turn western tourists away from traveling far from home. Flight costs, awful paper work, lack of decent fast visa applications, dangerous roads, price of taxis in Pattaya, and Phuket, low quality food , crumbling infrastructure, air pollution, sea pollution and last but not least, inflation at home of 5% , a war, and many many westerners choosing to visit their own countries to help the economy ( I know many and we have fabulous beaches and summer weather) , and an amazing choice of neighboring countries to discover.

That was apparently not true according to France. Where there are quite a few detected but not hospitalized. Seems nearly everyone had the Omicron with very mild symptoms.

Even tho Omicron is being dismissed as a mild Covid/cold , many people still have to be hospitalized and there are also very vulnerable people who have not been correctly vaccinated ( country folk) . So , why put people at risk, who wants to sit next to an un vaxed person on a flight for example , a bit of thought for others wouldn’t go amiss. I still believe travelers should be obliged to be vaccinated and tested, and not allowed to board flights, or enter foreign countries without. ( except of course people with valid medical condition with proof).

It doesn’t have to be a Thai insurance ! I entered with April, an international quite expensive insurance that is noted one of the very best.I feel better when I’m well insured, and when traveling , I think it’s absolutely necessary for all tourists.

What is wrong with the visa system rules ? Yes, it must be incompetent authorities in Thailand of course. Tried to apply for a Tourist visa 60 days from Paris. It was stated apply at least 6 weeks before flight .Too late ok. Tried a big visa agency , same answer. Pay of course in advance, and no guarantees you get it. I actually got the Embassy lady on the phone, and she confirmed, could be 6 weeks, no guarantees. A friend of mine left without his visa, entered exempt, and so did I. And all this was for an online visa !!!!!!

Virus are not new and here to stay. It s just the way they are passed from person to person that differs. Some viruses are deadly. Worse outcomes if they are highly contagious. The flu kills an average between 300 and 700 thousand people a year !! Less these last two years because of Covid where we wore masks and washed hands more often etc. measles kill around 160 000 young ( normally) children a Year. Similar, Malaria causes 650 000 deaths a year, and we still don’t take it seriously enough !! That’s where wonderful advances in medical research helps enormously. Often said, the main cause of viruses is man itself. Hunting , farming and keeping exotic animals , population growth, global travel, and climate change all cited as contributing to spread of dangerous viruses. This was one of the reasons where keeping those animals close together in wet markets caused a spillover into the human population. Causing Covid pandemic. Maybe it’s up to us to wake up and try to stop some of those causes.

I know a lot of people won’t agree with me, but I always buy directly from the airline. In case of cancellation, for example you’re much better off dealing with the airline and not a booking agency. I also check the options too, ok, price is more, but lots of advantages !! I fly a lot and I’ve never had a problem. Try and email Expedia and complain.

Fact of life, everything is getting more expensive everywhere. Deal with it.

It’s also a question of how much “ license “:every bank has to pay to set up in a foreign country. I think that’s why they’re selling EU banks . Especially since Brexit ! So maybe they will go more overseas.

I’ve heard lots about hsbc lately. Wanting to close my friends account, also, that they were up for sale. Not sure what’s happening.

All airlines have additional taxes. Take a look at the last ones you took. Everything, including fuel, different insurances, lack of staff, will force prices to rise. Just look at filling your car now at 2 € a liter ! They’ve just said there’s a 5% rise in prices over the last year in Europe. It’s going to rise. I remember paying over 1000 € for a return ticket to Thailand over 30 tears ago. They way, where , and how we travel changes over the years.

Really, what you think you get for 300 Baht ?

I agree , space invaders, as photo above, back packs, are a nuisance, along with those who pong, ugh.

I think that this “ canditate” wants to follow the European rules. There is VAT and City tax , which is an occupancy tax. Not the same at all. Of course, up to now the government hasn’t brought this subject up. With booking agencies, VAT a is often included in the rates, whereas the city tax is always added on separately on your bill. It’s usually a small amount. Just booked Rome, and it’s 6€ plus on top of price a night.

Yes , in France. You cannot even compare food hygiene in Thailand to France, or most other western/ educated countries ! If Thailand had the western health inspectors that we have here, there’d hardly be a restaurant ( ie anyone selling food) or shop / market left open, and that goes for security / safety at hotels and buildings too. Add onto that social service checks arriving and checking everyone is declared and earning a legal wage . All very valid in most opinions. No, it’s not right to stay stuck in the middle ages and it’s lack of rules .

Loved the comments ! I don’t think this edition of the guide has any resemblance to the real French one. No comparison at all.

Well I would say that depends on where you live in the west and how you live. My quality of life, health care( hospitals doctors the air I breathe ) is better where I live in France. ( south) . Weather is usually very good. Also food quality is very much better in the west, you know where your meat etc comes from, hygiene is respected. Choice as well. Housing / living conditions are also better , generally, especially if you own . ( I am not talking about slum living and those unfortunate not to have a good job/ pension ) So why have I spent a lot of my winters in Thailand ?? Started early 80s, seasonal job so plenty of winters free to travel. Thailand was cheap and cheerful, laid back. There are loads of snowbirds like myself. Though as we have seen , Thailand has become much more expensive over the years, and tourists also change. Before there were much more younger foreigners, now I find it’s usually over 50s and pensioners. Entry rules were easier, the 60 day visa easy to obtain plus an extension and the numerous border hops . I do believe lots of Thais became fed up of the mass tourism, and I don’t blame them one bit . So did I , and the degradation began, with clogged up roads and drains and dirty sea water . The Thai smile faded. Covid has just made everything worse. Tourists are staying closer to home. There’s a war on our doorstep. The Thai government have proved hopeless in running an efficient vaccination program, are they broke or what ? They have also destroyed tourist trust in a country that seems to be run by a bunch of loonies. The endless tricks and scams and certificates are not great fun. So many have lost money on holidays that weren’t one. Ridiculous. Thats my take on what’s happened and will happen over the next few years. Less tourists. I have worked 45 years in the tourist business, and I have never seen such incompetence.

The Thai Pass is unnecessary waste of time. Why not just make travel insurance mandatory for all tourists and a fully vaccinated document ? The Thai government have been complaining for years about tourists leaving bills unpaid in hospitals. The insurance problem solved. Most international insurance companies are way better than the Thai ones and very affordable. seems everything this government does is badly managed. Money talks not intelligence. Though in this case seems like they are losing out on billions Baht.

Strange all these different opinions. I was in Phuket Jan to 1 st March and found the weather unbearable in February. Spent over 20 snowbird years there so I know it’s hot. It was humid, stormy , high winds thunderstorms often evenings. I was glad to leave for Bangkok. There I just found it normal hot. I wouldn’t stay a long time in Phuket again. I only went to see my old friends. All said , I find the Pattaya area climate much better generally. I think the climate it getting more humid. Back in S France home, same thing, awful weather , tho apparently Jan/Feb was good. March and April cold , many parts of France completely dry, it’s warmer in the UK than Cannes !!!!

I would add that I don’t think they know or have the competence to handle the Covid situation.

Really stupid all this. Tourists used to laugh in the buses at trees decorated in plastic bags ! These days this makes foreigners cringe !! The whole idea is to stop plastic !!! It’s the same in most educated countries. Why should Thailand be different , it’s filthy enough without the plastic bags in the sea, clogging drains, flying through the air, all over the beach . Enough, think about going forward instead of spending a few Baht and take your own with you, like we do all over the world.

Personally, would not try to use the old Thai Pass form. The new one is out in a few days. If it’s extremely urgent, contact the advice of an agent given by Sheryl above, or try even Royal Vacation. You can call them or use chat and ask, or email, it’s a big company in Thailand. Is your problem that you can’t change a flight date for entry ?

This is all,over the world and quite right too.The op says he uses them as bin bags, that’s exactly the reason to stop them. Rare is the shop that has plastic here, they’re a different sort. I often buy one of the bags in centrail if I don’t have my own with me.They’re very good, reusable, and not plastic. Honestly , 3 bottles of whisky , 4 Baht, should be ashamed to post this.