Wiggy

48 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

I think you'd find that the cheap, tacky goods are made in China. Nothing to do with Thailand. Otherwise yes, I agree with all of the above. The scrum of people waiting to check in in the fourth photo above isn't much of an encouragement either. Who wants that before a long flight.

This is very true, but if Thailand made some more local, higher quality merchandise it might attract more tourists. 

6 hours ago, easton said:

This is the exact reason I used them this past September, I am more concerned with the wait to exit than enter. Excellent service provided. 

You can use them to exit? I wasn't aware of that.

These were the exit lines on Sunday afternoon. Took me 45 minutes to get through. 

11 hours ago, rosst said:

I have a house near there and went for three years and never saw a bloody thing and the next year I saw five of these things, obviously some sort of fermentation causing gas to bubble up from the river but no explanation for the source of ignition. 

I was truly amazed. 

What I'd like to know is that if indeed it is a natural phenomenon, as you suggest, it would happen all year round, and not just on a single day. How can it be possible that every year the day that these 'balls' will bubble up is announced in advance? Is it something man-made to earn money from tourism, perhaps?

14 minutes ago, elgenon said:

Do you know what CIP Fastrack means?

Is that the lane an older person would use?

I'm pretty sure CIP means "Commercially Important Person."

The photos in the original article shows one of the tyres is down to the wear limit, so that was probably a contributory factor, and it looks wet.

5 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

You are right 

Below is the entrance in Thailand Immigration area.

Even less people than at the exit 

 

That's incredible. Is this a recent photograph?

I have used this service twice, and both times it was excellent. I was met at the end of the air-bridge and escorted to the fast track immigration counter. Through in no time (five minutes maximum) and then had to wait for my bag and then escorted to an awaiting car. The staff have been very professional and polite each time and I've booked it again for next week. I use the service as it just takes the stress out of arriving.

I also have a credit card that entitles me to the same kind of service twice in a calendar year, but free of charge (I've used this up already this year hence booking the paid service for next week). The most recent time was in July and she said this particular free service had been/is being stopped, but when she saw the huge queues for immigration she seemed to take pity on me and managed to fast track me through anyway. I'm not sure if this is the service that others are referring to that may have been stopped already.

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Planned airport terminal could will cause chaos: experts

More flying flip flops.

16 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Your colleague has been lied to, probably because they can't be bothered to do the work.

I had thought that, but it’s not something I’d like to base my retirement on, hence my post. If it’s not available then I’ll need private healthcare insurance once my work coverage ends, and I’ll need to do it fairly soon. 

13 hours ago, henry15 said:

There seems to be  misundertanding. The 432 Baht paid every month has notthing to do witje the national health care. Because its a fund of the social service of te labour department. Thats why you get an 100% free health care in designated private hospitals. When you 60 you can get premiums back with intrest. but you loose your benefits. Or you van choose to go on paying the monthy premium of 432 Baht. In that case you will be covered till you die.

 

Thanks. This was my understanding as well, but this exactly what I’m being told is no longer an option for foreigners. 

Confusing indeed. 

Apologies if this has been covered (I did do a quick search, but to no avail).

A long-term colleague retired last year. When he went to the social security office to register for his benefits (he had been paying social security contributions for over 15 years) he was told he could have a lump sum or monthly payments. When he asked if he could have the free government healthcare option he was told that that option was not available to foreigners anymore. He reluctantly took the monthly payments.

It has always been my understanding that, on retirement, (and providing 15 years' worth of contributions have been made) we could opt for free government healthcare for life as long as we keep paying 432 baht per month into the system. As this seemed apparently now not the case, I decided to try and find out more. Recently, our local social security office visited for a talk to the Thai staff about the system. As I was away that week I asked our HR manager to ask the office if this benefit had been withdrawn. She posed to question to the director of the local office who admitted that he didn't know, but would get back to her. A month later the response has come that no, foreigners are no longer entitled to the healthcare option, but only the lump sum payment or monthly payment options. If this is true, it's a game changer (for me, anyway). I realise that we can all get private healthcare and other stuff, but I do feel this is an important issue.

I have been to the social security website, but that's about as useful as an ashtray on a motorcycle.

Has anybody else heard of this?

Thanks.