NorthernRyland

I don't blame them it just shows the stress on the system. I've always been treated well but there's a tension in the air, tourists included. The influx of Chinese was unexpected also but they did respond nicely by having on-sight translators for them as many seem to not speak English. That must be really frustrating for the IO's too.

Thailand really needs to have queues otherwise people swarm and get anxious. Ever see an intersection where the traffic light fails? Suddenly people have no idea how to take turns and it becomes a total free for all with pushing and shoving. It's a really interesting insight into the culture and how well they trust and respect each other.

Man that's horrible. I wonder why I never had problem. All I had were various kinds of tourists visas back then so maybe they allocated enough of those. Glad to hear immigration is now working better for you guys at least.

You can move to other places besides CM though so it's good to consider these things. It's not just immigration, all manor of things become less tenable every year so it's good to keep an eye on the trend and act accordingly.

It's been a while now so I don't remember if there was queueing outside but that does kind of ring of bell. I don't understand the early arrivers unless that's just their schedule anyways. Worst case is you arrive late and miss the lunch break and have to come back. This sucks too because it's another hour of waiting but that's what I'd prefer. Actually I found out for simple extensions I was able to arrive in the afternoon and this beat the crowds because most people were so determined to be the first ones there. Maybe this only works for tourist visa extensions though. I just started doing non-O marriage extensions two ago so I don't have much experience there.

Yeah I remember it was on the ground floor but within glass. I don't see how they couldn't have AC in there. It would be unbearable otherwise.

That's interesting thanks. Do the guys way out in Fang all go to the same immigration? That would really suck, you'd have to make a full day trip.

It was inside the mall in its own room surely it had AC. They had overflow in the outside area but that was inside the mall too. I remember it all having AC as you would expect in a mall. EDIT: if you had a long wait you could walk around the mall too and get coffee etc.. so there was always space somewhere. That's the nice thing. Had a Rim Ping in there too so you could do some shopping even.

it's not even about that. It's just the sheer volumes of people and the lack of the space. Same for the roads and general congestion.

People keep mentioning this long wait times when there were 10x less tourists in Chiang Mai so how is this even possible? Maybe 10x less staff? Keep in mind I only had a tourist visa back then (or the non-O which they extended improperly) and was doing extensions (like the old METV). Yes it was crowded at some times of year because the small space but it wasn't hectic since the volume of people was so much lower. Less stress and more personal too.

They're stressed for sure. Everyone is edge trying to get in before the lunch break. The C.F. branch has limited service though right? Pretty sure I asked they said it's only has a limited subset of services.

I need to reset mine to not be in December where it's packed. Mine takes hours and unless I get up early enough it can spill over in to the afternoon. It's packed then with people waiting outside and sitting on the stairs.

Promenada was great. You could get up and walk around instead of waiting and always had air con because it was in a mall. For most expats it was more convenient too because it was outside the city but much worse for tourists. I don't know why you were coming so early. That's the part of the problem with CM though isn't it? You're in full panic mode and waking up in the dark to do your visa. Other places are just a simple walk in and forget about it. The vibe in 2006 was much more like this too albeit yet it was swampy and hot but it was a small crowd and not hectic. They needed the bigger building but as soon as it was built tourism exploded and it was back to being fuller than ever. People living hours outside the city must have to stay the night in order to do their visa.

I only had a tourist visa back then. Never had anything like that happen. Felt like there was 1/10th the amount of people back then so how did it take so much longer than today?

it's headed that way too. The slower pace of life in Chiang Mai is fading fast.

They're totally stressed out and it's only going to get worse. I thought they were going to move the building but they built back in the same place after closing for a year or so. They must be tied to that location but's obviously going to be overrun at some point.

uh no? It was always relaxed for me. Just that one small building back then.

I saw hill tribe women doing garden work with the tops pulled down under their breasts long ago. People used to eat rice with their barehands too. The good old days?

Not saying it's the worst thing in the world just reflecting on how it's gotten worse over the years and will continue on this path. It's trend in the city and something to consider.

I was watching a video on YouTube of a guy in Khon Kaen and he showed the new immigration building. Huge building and large open parking lot. Looked pretty much empty. How nice that would be. This made me reflect on the Chiang Mai immigration office. First time I went was in 2006 but Google only has images going back to 2011 but I don't think much changed by then. Back then I only used the small building on the right and even if it got full it didn't feel crowded or hectic. Parking was trivial but I only had a motorbike back then and cars seemed to find places within the grounds proper. I forget but I think they had a simple queue number and just came up and handed over the papers then came back when it was done. Fast forward to today and the old building is now dedicated to solely for Burmese and the rest of the people go to the new building on the left (see second picture). Parking is a non-option now and you need to park across the street and pay 20 baht then cross over the busy road (at least they made a cross walk with a light). During the peak season unless you get there before they open you're probably going to have to come back after their lunch break and there is a pre-scanning process outside before you even go inside. Seating is often so full you need to wait outside. Very hectic and stressful now. They had to add a drive-thru line for 90 day reports and the copy/scanner building is located around the back where before it was right next to the main building (where the coffee shop is now I think, under that large tree). It's a ticking time bomb. It gets worse every year and eventually the outside parking is going to be filled too. Hectic and slow as to be expected given the volume of people. Even so they seem dedicated to this location probably because it's so close to the airport and easy for tourists. 2024. Look at those wires now too. The median in the road (behind the picture) which had nice trees is all concrete now too. Uglier and top of it, except that tree has gotten much bigger but you know they're going to cut that down eventually too.

They're coming for you man! I see people roaming around in places I never saw before and it's happening fast.

With the extreme polarization in the US is anyone surprised? I don't think you can reasonably assume a fair trial anymore depending on the people involved on both sides.

I'm not following maybe, are you saying there is a racial bias favoring whites? That's what I'm disputing.

Why do you guys never learn? Look at the chart again. You're not comparing apples to apples.

Oh great even more of them. The whole world has descended on Chiang Mai now. Not what I signed up for.