jimster

59 minutes ago, Shaunduhpostman said:

Actually I think this is an intelligent way to sort out the problem of having to queue with Chinese, too many of whom are just a bit too raw and just rolled off of the turnip wagon to ask people to have to put up with especially after an 11 hour flight or whatever. If they didn't tack on the  VIP bit then the Chinese would be up in arms about being segregated from the rest of us, that it was discriminatory etc. Problem is though I doubt this will stick and it probably is mostly just a PR gesture to make up for the boat sinking.

The Chinese would complain of discrimination because of this kind of gesture? Nonsense. They wouldn't care, nor have the language skills to make a complaint anyway. Chinese are used to being herded around like sheep and told what to do at home, I don't think they have any knowledge that things work very differently abroad, so they have the same expectations. For example, how many Chinese are even aware how badly censored their internet is?

6 hours ago, grantbkk said:

So the takeaway here is I can fast track at the airport once we have a disaster killing dozen of American?  Thank you Thailand! 

Pretty much. Just that I haven't seen dozens of Americans in one place in Thailand (or anywhere else in SE Asia) for years, which reduces the chances of a large accident involving them from happening. Asian tourists vastly outnumber westerners, most westerners travel alone or as couples, the single exception being Russians, who despite looking farang are technically not westerners.

On 7/31/2018 at 9:21 AM, LomSak27 said:

I did a Visa run ten days ago - It was murky and rainy then BUT not a problem.

However if you are flying to NP then van to Mukdahan, or just taking a bus. The local rivers that feed into the Mekong from Isaan were brimming and that was 10 days ago. I believe a couple are flooding now. 

 

Secondly Air Asia Van takes you back from the Indchine market in Mukdahan - that was on last nights news as minor flooding closed shops and caused the locals to move inventory. So better have the Air Asia numbers on phone as they might move pick up locations

Good Luck

He said he was driving up.

Not sure if he will be driving his car across the bridge or not, but either way, as long as the customs/immigration offices on either side of the border aren't flooded, which is unlikely as they are located some distance from the river and the bridge itself is high enough to avoid even the worst flooding, then he'll be fine. Also, the Thai consulate is located on the slope of a small hill, as the road from the first roundabout after the bridge slopes downhill towards the city so there's little chance of flooding there. The only places that could be affected by flooding might be hotels and restaurants/bars located next to the river, such as the Daosavanh Resort & Spa, Savannakhet's best hotel.

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

Different countries, different laws. In the UK it is illegal not to keep the address on your licence up to date and carries a fine of up to £1000. It is not surprising that rental companies would want to keep their nose clean.

Yes but if the licence remains valid, what reason would a rental company have to suspect the address is not up to date? Especially if you are a British citizen? If they ask you could just tell them, yep, that's my current address. Problem solved.

11 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

1. Disagree, smiling doesn't equate to friendly\

2. Disagree, they will fine you, infringement or not.

3. Paying people off, I don't like bribery. 

4. Agree, Thailand is cheaper than most 1st world countries.

5. Agree, here you can impregnate and walk away. 

6. Disagree, full of MSG and sugar.

7. Half and half, You can pay them as much as you like for sex, but they will still cheat on you.

 

If you marry, easier to live in the Philippines or Vietnam. 

 

1. Not always, but sometimes the smiles really are genuine. It shouldn't be too difficult to distinguish between the two.

2. Not in my experience, particularly if you are street smart and can speak Thai.

3. While I don't condone bribery, but it's better than in the west where our tax money is stolen, laws that we didn't vote on are implemented and if you don't obey you will be heavily punished. In Thailand it's possible to at least use the system in your favor, should it become necessary. For most everyday dealings, it isn't.

4. Agreed.

5. Yep, even if it's not ethical or moral to do so but sure no problem.

6. Depends. Many restaurants don't use MSG and you can always tell the person preparing your food not to use it. If in doubt, ask.

7. LOL.

10 minutes ago, melvinmelvin said:

 

give  me a b,

1400 out of 100 000/200 000 is plenty enough for proper analysis

 

u can't know much about mathematics/statistics

 

 

It seems like you don't know anything about statistics. 1400 is a small number, especially if it is a representative sample of possibly 250,000. 10,000 I would take as a good representation but 1400 mostly TV readers, nope.

16 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

 

You make some very good points. Thanks for the articulate summation. Been to Burma a few times, and do not need to return. The government and military there are heinous beyond belief. So is Suu Kyi. A real fraud. Been to Vietnam a few times, and will never return. Find most Viet people to be like cold fish. Very aloof, and some are even hostile. Gorgeous women, and great food. But, other than that, I despise communist governments, and all they represent, so would rather avoid lending my support to the govts. of Laos and Vietnam anyway. Crime in Cambodia is out of control. And the government is probably the most murderous and thieving of all of the SE Asian nations. Hun Sen is a serial killing despot multi billionaire thief. No thanks. 

True. I was interrogated once for going to Muse, a town in Shan State on the Chinese border which according to their Ministry of Hotels and Tourism website was open but the official there kept interrupting me and acted quite rude and belligerent, finally he let me stay with the proviso I'm not to cross into China (wasn't even intending on doing so) and that I must report back to him on the way back, which I did. Otherwise I quite like Myanmar, especially the south-east near the Thai border, but only because I like traditional cultures and lifestyles and (I can live without KFCs and McDonalds) and luckily most of eastern Myanmar has finally found peace. However, there is still a sense of tenseness in the air as the peace seems fragile. Religious tensions are rife, with many Buddhists refusing to live next to Muslims and vice versa. Despite opening up, it seems that Myanmar's progress has stalled in recent times; investors are deciding it's still too risky and tourist numbers are not increasing like during the initial spike from 2011 to 2014. There are still too many vestiges of the old military regime - until the checkpoints, the paranoia, the unpredictable violence in some areas and restricted areas disappear, traveling in many parts of the country will still be quite an unpleasant experience for many.

Cambodia seems similar to Thailand at first glance, but as you say crime is rampant, with Sihanoukville after dark being particularly dodgy while everything else is just a worse version of what you get in Thailand with the single exception of tourist restaurants and hotels in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, which are decent.

45 minutes ago, NightSky said:

Im suprized no one has already mentioned it. The survey by THAIVISA is sent out to its readers every 2 years by email..

 

It may simply mean less people are reading email, or less emails are reaching the inbox, or there are less readers on Thai Visa, or more readers are older now since Netflix arrived (example).

 

1400+ respondents is a good cohort but not a large enough slice of the expat community to make sweeping generalized claims that this is a true representation of the entire expat community. Its simply a small slice of Thai Visa readership who had time to respond and who actually saw the email / forum thread. 

Exactly. 1400 respondents out of anywhere from 100,000 to 250,000? expats living in Thailand does not give you good statistical power.

Of course there will be expats moving on - it actually used to be the case that when one moves to a foreign country as an expat, you only move temporarily, for say 2-3 years before moving on to somewhere else or back home. However, in the last decade or two more and more expats have turned into essentially permanent residents (even if they never get official PR status) with no intention of ever going home. I have met dozens and dozens such people and if you are part of the expat business networking scene, you'll see the same faces at their events every time you go - whether it's now or 10 years ago. There are newcomers that really only stay a couple of years and a small number that leave after many years of residence but the majority seem to be long-termers who have married locals, have children and don't want to leave.

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

You can't really manage out there without learning Spanish or Portuguese.

That's what I thought, so what I was told is correct.

Not everyone is good at languages or wants to learn a new one when they're older. In that sense, Thailand is better because as I mentioned, one can get by with just English and many locals start speaking to you in English assuming you can't speak Thai unless you make it clear that you can.

43 minutes ago, JAZZDOG said:

Stayed here one year now to sell my sailboat. Stayed on a retirement extension. Here are the comparisons from my homes in Salvador Brazil, St. Augustine, FL and here in Pattaya. I am US citizen with residency in Brazil.

 

Costs;   Brazil and Pattaya about equal, USA 30% higher

 

Immigration: Brazil life-time residency thru "Stable Union" with my GF, Pattaya, no residency just extension with no assurance in the future

 

land ownership: Brazil, direct oceanfront 5000 Sq/Ft home built total costs US$280K, Pattaya, rent as purchasing condo in swamped market is insane. USA buying same house as Brazil US$ 1,500,000 with taxes insurance US$1,800/month with hurricanes likely.

 

health insurance; Brazil US$500/month, Pattaya US$190/month, both hospitals suck. USA medicaid

 

crime and safety: All three have issues. For retired guy USA safest followed by Brazil then Pattaya

 

Corruption; Pattaya worst, USA least

 

Quality of life; Brazil #1, Pattaya #3

 

women; Pattaya has mainly uneducated prostitutes available for retired expats. Brazil, even though prostitution is legal there are far to many beautiful women so there is little demand P4P. USA there is little or no option for retiree to find young pretty GF. If one does the price is high and future bleak

 

IMHO one will never find the best place to retire on the internet as those places are  ones that haven't been ruined by hordes of expats and remain under the radar. Twenty years ago I lived and developed property in Costa Rica. Paradise until the hordes arrived. Pattaya the hordes had already ravished the place well before my arrival. Only positives I see now in LOS is cheap rent and if you wish to have P4P sex with young girls. Although Brazil has issues with crime it is by and large isolated to favelas and as a retired white man I have never been affected in 20 years there. I have owned RE and businesses and enjoyed in excess of 10% return on my savings on top of foreign exchange gains which allowed me to invest in properties below market prices. I enjoy life free from police and immigration harassment. Brazil is a huge and proud country that unlike the USA and LOS, welcomes people from all over the world. Don't always believe all that you read until you have lived there a couple years. To be honest after one year here LOS would not be included in my top 10 of places to retire, but then again my top requirements are not prostitutes and cheap discount living.

 

The other thing I was going to ask is the language issue.

I have learned to speak, read and write Thai fluently, but strictly speaking one could get by quite OK in Thailand just using English. This is made possible by the fact a large segment of the Thai population can speak at least some basic English, especially in tourist/expat areas where English is widely spoken, plus you have English language menus, signage etc. all over the country.

Brazil and South America in general strike me as places where there is hostility towards English and you can't readily find an English menu or a local who speaks English, nor is English found on road signs? It's like they assume you can understand their language just because it's written in the same Latin script as English is?

Do you need to learn Portuguese to live in Brazil or can you get by in English? What about other S. American countries? Do you absolutely need to learn Spanish because nothing is in English as I've been led to believe?

27 minutes ago, JAZZDOG said:

Stayed here one year now to sell my sailboat. Stayed on a retirement extension. Here are the comparisons from my homes in Salvador Brazil, St. Augustine, FL and here in Pattaya. I am US citizen with residency in Brazil.

 

Costs;   Brazil and Pattaya about equal, USA 30% higher

 

Immigration: Brazil life-time residency thru "Stable Union" with my GF, Pattaya, no residency just extension with no assurance in the future

 

land ownership: Brazil, direct oceanfront 5000 Sq/Ft home built total costs US$280K, Pattaya, rent as purchasing condo in swamped market is insane. USA buying same house as Brazil US$ 1,500,000 with taxes insurance US$1,800/month with hurricanes likely.

 

health insurance; Brazil US$500/month, Pattaya US$190/month, both hospitals suck. USA medicaid

 

crime and safety: All three have issues. For retired guy USA safest followed by Brazil then Pattaya

 

Corruption; Pattaya worst, USA least

 

Quality of life; Brazil #1, Pattaya #3

 

women; Pattaya has mainly uneducated prostitutes available for retired expats. Brazil, even though prostitution is legal there are far to many beautiful women so there is little demand P4P. USA there is little or no option for retiree to find young pretty GF. If one does the price is high and future bleak

 

IMHO one will never find the best place to retire on the internet as those places are  ones that haven't been ruined by hordes of expats and remain under the radar. Twenty years ago I lived and developed property in Costa Rica. Paradise until the hordes arrived. Pattaya the hordes had already ravished the place well before my arrival. Only positives I see now in LOS is cheap rent and if you wish to have P4P sex with young girls. Although Brazil has issues with crime it is by and large isolated to favelas and as a retired white man I have never been affected in 20 years there. I have owned RE and businesses and enjoyed in excess of 10% return on my savings on top of foreign exchange gains which allowed me to invest in properties below market prices. I enjoy life free from police and immigration harassment. Brazil is a huge and proud country that unlike the USA and LOS, welcomes people from all over the world. Don't always believe all that you read until you have lived there a couple years. To be honest after one year here LOS would not be included in my top 10 of places to retire, but then again my top requirements are not prostitutes and cheap discount living.

 

Brazil and other countries in S.America look interesting but I'm not sure about their yellow fever vaccination requirements for entry. Seems like they force you to get one, unless you can get an exemption, but if you've ever had a vaccine injury and don't want to get one, it's like you are not given a choice. In Thailand only travelers from countries where yellow fever is endemic (parts of S.America and parts of west Africa) are asked for proof, meaning the average westerner or regional traveler/expat from Asia is not affected.

Doesn't surprise me the USA is the safest especially if you are referring to a small town, but I'd have my doubts if you were comparing big cities like New York , Los Angeles and Chicago, particularly dodgy areas like East LA and other suburbs with lots of gang activity. No parts of Thailand have such areas, though I wouldn't want to spend any time in slum areas like Khlong Toey and even the Muslim slums around Ramkhamhaeng/Pattanakarn don't look very welcoming to outsiders especially after dark. Elsewhere no problem, as long as you mind your own business. I would include Pattaya in that - never felt threatened there ever, whether during the day or after dark. There are annoyances like people selling you fruit, seafood and souvenirs every 2 minutes while you're trying to relax in your deck chair but apart from that, it's quite safe. Suburban and country areas of Thailand are even safer - I'm surprised Brazil would be considered safer than Thailand though I can imagine like you say, it depends on the area but unlike Thailand it definitely does have entire city blocks that are no go zones for outsiders. Thailand only has undesirable slum areas, but aside from that it's safe if you don't go looking for trouble.

On 5/23/2018 at 11:55 AM, shan777 said:

So sad, this happened but so common in Thailand . I get angry at the loss of life ,more so than so many Thais , I say that because, if the Thai people really wanted to change this, they would . But what I see every day would suggest , they  never will. would  I say this , you may well ask , well laws are ignored . 

every day I see this I will list what I see daily .This is just motor bikes.

day time

1. school children to young to have a license  3 or 4 on a bike leaving school directed  by police .

2 . brand new bikes with there mirrors ,removed leaving the local technical school . 

 3. 8 out of ten no helmets,.

4 passengers riding sidesaddle  no helmets 

5 pulling out or u turning and not signaling or looking . 

7 tailgating trucks or cars at speed.

night time

8 no lights at all headlight or tail lights on pitch black roads ,including all the above.

 

I refuse to ride my bike at night , because of the dangers caused by these people .And dogs and tractors with no lights and other transport with no lights , I see it every day and when I go out at night , on the road between where I live and the 10 minute ride to town these are deaths all the time . mostly motor bikes being hit by other motor bikes or cars ,seen kids dead on the road so many time , but you cant stop it no one wants to talk about it.

You forgot riding against the flow of traffic or the wrong way down a one way road. Both of these behaviors are extremely common and occur daily and reportedly only attract a 100-200 Baht fine if caught.

13 minutes ago, stanleycoin said:

I'm on about heath care insurance. not Travel insurance.

what will Thailand do with all the Ex-pats who can't afford insurance or cant get insurance. ? 

 

 

Travel insurance includes health insurance - as long as you can meet the residency requirements it doesn't really matter which one you get. I think you are referring to expat insurance, but that only covers medical expenses in the country you're living in (Thailand in this case), with no coverage in case of a business or leisure trip to say Laos, where additional travel insurance would be required.

The other guy mentioned travel insurance at less than $100 (presumably USD) per month, but that's still almost USD 1200 per year, which is not cheap. I have been used to paying A$400 or US$300 per year for basic travel insurance from Australian based companies.

I don't think Thailand should be fixated on the insurance status of expats - either give us a choice or give us something like it provides the 3 million foreign migrant laborers from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. I can't understand why they are given health insurance when they are foreigners but other expats, whose numbers are much smaller are not. Is it because they look Thai? Besides, Thailand is shooting themselves in the foot with a scheme that is not reciprocated for it's nationals working in those countries. Thais can't access the local medical system in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos unless they pay, the same as any westerner.

3 minutes ago, Berkshire said:

I see the same, many more foreigners in Chiang Mai today than 10 years ago.  And with a proportional increase in western-style businesses to support them.  We're also seeing many more people in CM in general, which brings with it more traffic, pollution, dwindling natural resources, congestion, etc.  I'm not thrilled about this trend, but it is what it is. 

I agree. Same in Bangkok as the other poster you replied to said. There are certainly not fewer expats in Thailand than there were a few years ago, quite to the contrary. I notice foreigners in the outskirts of Bangkok whenever I pay attention, almost on a daily basis. Go to the local Tesco and there's usually one or two, along with the occasional African even. One time this African dude drove a tractor to the local Tesco with his son - that was quite a spectacle, Thais crowded around him and took pictures, it was like wow, this is not something you see everyday! There are always a few farang at the local suburban shopping mall, which granted is quite large but it doesn't attract many tourists simply because it's not located in downtown Bangkok. Otherwise as a mall it's pretty much as good as MBK or Central World and possibly even bigger than either of them.

I have had farang neighbors, and while some have moved on, new farang have come in to replace the ones that have left and there's quite a few farang living in my moo baan. Nearly all (except one American Baptist family that are said to be conducting their missionary activities somewhere in upcountry Thailand now) are in relationships with Thais and some have children.

2 hours ago, Ahab said:

Food might be more expensive in the tourist areas (Siem Reap), but I thought the quality was better than similar items in Thailand. Bread is awesome, a sandwich from a street vender is a dollar (32 baht). Alcohol is cheaper by a bunch. Overall Cambodian food seemed bland compared to Thai food, some of the BBQ was pretty good. 

I agree, although the quality of food in Thailand is just as good for many items really depends what we're talking about and where you go. Obviously you can't compare the quality of the food at the Big C food court with restaurants located on Siem Reap's pub street. The latter is naturally much better but once you get out into the Cambodian suburbs and countryside, the quality of the food becomes pretty sub-par, unlike in Thailand where you can find great food at coffee shops and restaurants even in the most out of the way places, like a rural village in Lamphun province for example.

I like Blue Pumpkin, nice bakery and restaurant with food quality that is on par with similar establishments in Thailand. Prices are average. I try to go there at least once on every visit to either Siem Reap or Phnom Penh.

17 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

I feel like this survey reflects accurately what I've observed.

 

The hollowing out of the under 35 expat demographic probably can be explained by Thailand's war on foreign teachers without work permits, creeping rise in cost of living, and improving economies in the West. Suspect that many working aged expats who were paid in their home currency have found cost of living here has shot up and left as a result. Crackdown on beer bar scene has probably made Thailand less attractive to some as well. Still, expect that next downturn in the West will probably trigger a new wave of retirees and early retirees looking to stretch their pensions in Thailand. With the global homogenization of culture and mass tourism, worldwide tourism has simply lost a lot of its allure. 

 

Survey also thoroughly debunks the myth that majority of expats over here are broke. Note rates of home ownership, car ownership, and monthly expenditures reported. 

 

Also of interest was that while the majority of expats appear to be living in major metropolitan areas and popular seaside towns, a full third (32%) of respondents fall into an "all other" category, presumably many in smaller cities, towns and villages, i.e., rural Thailand, which, in my opinion, is under-rated as a place to live. 

I agree. Just to add to some of your points, other factors include cracking down on visa runners and individuals working illegally on tourist visas, as well as making tourist visas more difficult to come by, thus affecting digital nomads, almost all of whom are young, with most of them aged under 35 or 40.

I'm not sure if western economies have really improved - jobs continue to be outsourced and aren't really coming back, while the cost of living continues to skyrocket. This is particularly true in countries like Australia, which recently lost it's entire car industry with more than 50,000 people becoming jobless by the end of 2017. While housing prices have stablilized a bit over there in the last couple of years, housing is still among the most expensive in the world. Australia is no country to return home to, unless you are about to be paid a minimum of $250,000 a year with expense package. Otherwise, you're better off in Thailand and for retirees there's no comparison.

The introduction of ridiculous liquor licensing laws, making it possible to purchase alcohol (or drink alcoholic beverages at licensed venues) only between 11am and 2pm and 5pm and midnight  while every other country in the region (China, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar) has no such restrictions also makes things less attractive, unless you are a non-drinker or don't drink much like myself.

Indeed the homogenization of global culture and mass tourism means Thailand isn't all that unique or different to what it is used to be, because like everywhere else in the world, the curriculum is largely the same, the culture and what's on TV is the same, even many of the hotels and restaurants are the same (think McDonalds and all the other fast food places). In the future there will be further convergence so what will eventually be left will be a country with warmer weather and nice beaches, otherwise there won't be much difference from the west. A time will come when choosing between the Caribbean, Florida and Thailand will be a decision made primarily on value for money and how far you are away from each of these, because everything else is quite similar - weather, beaches, infrastructure (same high-rise condos and hotel chains etc.)

On 7/14/2018 at 8:40 PM, The Deerhunter said:

Well I live out on the sticks.  If I lived in BKK I might do things differently.

Riding a motorcycle in Bangkok is scary and dangerous. I would never ride my motorcycle into central Bangkok, unless I had a death wish. I drive my car though all the time - yes sometimes the traffic becomes unbearable but at least it's much safer than riding a bike, plus I'm sheltered from the heat and rain and don't arrive at my destination (for example work) drenched in sweat. Besides, the Thai staff hate that - the females in particular have a particular aversion towards sweaty, smelly farangs. If I drive, I don't have to sweat so problem solved.

On the other hand, riding a motorcycle out in the sticks is something enjoyable. Otherwise, I only ride my bike locally - for anything more than a few km I use the car.

1 hour ago, Vacuum said:

Some folks don't like plastic.

Which is strange - China in the last 3 years has made strong moves towards becoming a cashless society - already around 15% of all transactions in the country are made by cashless means using debit/credit cards and WeChat/Alipay and this figure could exceed 50% in the next couple of years. I was surprised to find almost every merchant, including hole in the wall restaurants with almost no customers in shabby border towns accept cashless payment methods in China. 4 years ago only larger shops/restaurants accepted credit/debit cards and that was it - everywhere else it was only cash.

Even in Thailand, AliPay and WeChat pay can be used in an increasingly large number of places. From restaurants to hotels and all 7-11 stores throughout the country. Combine that with credit cards (including UnionPay, which is widely accepted throughout Thailand) and there is little need to bring bundles of cash. 2000-3000 Yuan in cash is all that's necessary for a 7-10 day trip, everything else should be paid for by credit card and/or WeChat/Alipay.

2 hours ago, overherebc said:

Freezing is relative. Gets down to 12, an extra sock, down to 10, put on the other sock.

Army regulations. Sec' 5 sub-paragraph 22, line 6, in brackets.

Well that's too cold for swimming. In Thailand water temperatures rarely drop below 25 or 26 degrees anytime of year - how cold does the Mediterranean get? Seriously, you can't swim there outside of May to October - it's too cold.

Terrible weather. Would never fly to Dhaka this time of year. When it starts raining in May it basically doesn't stop until October and the whole country turns into a gigantic lake.

On 5/19/2018 at 1:53 PM, bkk6060 said:

The Chiang Mai to HH sounds like a great idea.  Get the Chinese to HH they will love it..

Plenty of Chinese in Hua Hin even without any flights there from China. Only a matter of time before China Eastern, Lucky Air, Ruili Air and buzhidao air start flying there though. Meanwhile THAI Airways loses out because it has this bizarre obsession with Bangkok, as if there were no other places of interest in Thailand.

1 hour ago, My Thai Life said:

These "volunteers" are  not really volunteers anyway, they are on very nice relocation packages.

 

A vile scam which exploits the poorest in the hills.

 

Glad to see the back of them.

 

Maybe their NGOs will send them to spread their word in Saudi, or muslim Nigeria, or Malaysia or Indonesia... now that I would support.

 

 

Nothing wrong with Malaysia though - in many places it's very cosmopolitan, comfortable and safe for westerners. But I can imagine a naive young western girl quickly being put in place if she were to be put up in a conservative Muslim village in Kelantan where there is no alcohol and strict segregation of the sexes, plus lots of local men ogling her.

On 2/14/2018 at 4:51 PM, Briggsy said:

It won't work.

 

The I.T. will fail. The data protection will be non-existent. The smaller hotels, condos, apartments, etc. won't comply.

 

But most importantly, when it gets down to the level of actual application, the lofty goals will be long since forgotten and it will simply be turned into a revenue-raising exercise like all other initiatives.

Even some of the bigger ones won't. They can afford to pay off the cops if necessary anyway. All depends on the location of the hotel, rather than it's brand name or size. For example, I've heard Khao San road is strict (and some places there don't accept Thai nationals as guests <deleted>) but elsewhere in Bangkok they don't care as much. Ditto for many upcountry cities.