JemJem

I have a feeling that he won't do any jail time. Or, maybe will do so for only a few weeks these days until trial (IF there will ever be a trial), I mean. He will most probably get deported soon. Him being from a Western country is sadly likely to give him some preferential treatment as not to be sentenced to jail. Then again, I could be wrong of course, because this incident has come soon after the other incident that caused a lot of headlines in Thailand. Time will tell. By the way, maybe some of you will remember. A few weeks ago, in Pattaya, there was a Russian guy who randomly attacked people in the street and in the end punched someone on a motorcycle. I wonder what happened to him afterwards. Sadly, we often don't get followups to some incidents and so, that will most probably stay like a mystery. But, one thing for sure, all this will sadly make things more difficult for us foreigners in some ways.

All this is very bad for us foreigners. And, the second incident coming only shortly after the first one and being far worse makes things even more worrying. And, one weird and annoying thing is that these guys are not even teenagers or twenty somethings. They are 50+. They should have known better. Gees.

Yes but what about, for example, anti-LGBT stuff in Muslim majority countries? Write about that, too, man. I am from Turkey. The anti LGBT attitudes have reached new highs under the Islamic dictator Erdoğan. I am so sick and tired of Muslims playing the victim card. Why the heck am I living out of my country?!?!

Fortunately, at Don Meuang, it is not bad. I did Manila-Bangkok a few days ago. Arrived around 10 pm. Took only about 20 minutes to clear the immigration and customs.

I am guessing that in the majority of these cases, the reason is the low railing. A studio room that I used to rent in Saphan Kwai had a very low railing. I nearly fell once, after losing my balance in the small balcony due to wet floor. I became extra careful after that.

1) As you know, at Bangkok airport, there is Super Rich and its exchange rate is good. Is there a similar place at the Manila Airport? Or should I just exchange only little at the airport and do most of the exchanging at an exchange place in town. By the way, getting pesos in Bangkok versus getting them at Manila airport, are the rates similar? If so, I might get some pesos in Bangkok. So that would save me time at the Manila Airport. 2) Do you know and recommend a hotel at or very near the Manila Airport? I might feel tired so I might opt to stay near the airport first night and then move to a hotel in Makati the next day. I think a rate of not more than 2,000 pesos would be good. Also, advice on a hotel in Makati would be appreciated. For Makati hotel, my budget would be again the same. Of course, if I can get a decent place for around 1,500 pesos, that would be great 🙂 I don't need a fancy place. Just a room with the usual basic stuff and with its own bathroom of course. Thanks in advance.

Yep. The 2 pm to 5 pm ban MIGHT go (but if so, it might happen several weeks or even months later), but I am pretty sure that the midnight to 11 am ban is here to stay, at least for many more years, and I also doubt very much that the tax amount on alcoholic drinks will be reduced anytime soon.

I think like this : If someone is aged between 15 and 18 and commits premedidated murder, he or she should be tried as an adult. But of course, he or she should do the time at a children's jail until the age of 18. Again in the case of premedidated murder, if the person is aged between 12 and 15, he or she should be tried as a child but jail sentence should be possible, and of course in that case, the person should be put in a children's prison till the age of 18. For people under 12, I have no idea what should be done. By the way, what do you think will happen to the Siam Paragon killer? I have a feeling he won't stay in jail, even for a day.

So, Hamas has definitely rejected this offer?? The sad thing is no one knows how many of the hostages are still alive. Several of them have probably died due to Israeli airstrikes or via murder by Hamas and Islamic Jihad. There have been almost no recent videos or even photos of them. One would assume that the terror groups have probably already killed the soldier hostages especially. Just now, I have seen the post by BkkBrian that there has been an agreement on some sort of deal. Let us see if this materialises.

I have been to Thailand so many times. Initially mostly with a tourist visa but in the past few years only visa exempt. Never been asked a return or forward air ticket by an airline or even by an Immigration officer. But I always have it with me, since I don't live in Thailand anymore but just come for long holidays.

Yes. I was again at Laksi last week. A couple of women were wearing short shorts. I guess apparently short shorts are fine for women but not for men at the Immigration offices. Interesting.

A bit off topic but I have remembered this. A few years ago, at the Chaeng Wattana Immigration, a guy was denied service because he was wearing short shorts. I think he was told to change into trousers or at least long shorts. He was visibly annoyed, but as we know, it is no use arguing there. So, he left the place. Luckily for him, that place has many shops selling clothes in the basement level so he probably got something there and went back up. So, I mean, in some places in Thailand, there is quite a bit of sensitivity about clothing. I am not sure how the situation at the Immigration is now. I always wear trousers when I go to an İmmigration place. Also, I am not sure if it is also a no-no for women wearing short shorts.

Yes, I am confused to some degree as well. But, I am 99 percent sure it wasn't even in effect in the nineties because I was living in Bangkok in most of that decade, including the late 90's,and I had no trouble buying beer anytime anywhere during daytime. I remember it going in effect sometime in the early 00's. One thing for sure is all places like 7-11's definitely obey this rule, while for restaurants and restaurant/pubs, the situation is confusing.

Well, you might be right. But, anyway, I wasn't asked it in November, 2023. Also, wasn't asked it in my visit there in late 2022. But, because several posters here wrote that some people were asked that, I had it ready with me when I went there in November.

I was at Laksi in November of last year. I wasn't asked the TM30. But, I wouldn't want to mislead the OP, or anything like that. I had arrived in Thailand via air. Maybe for folks who do the land-arrival, they might ask for the TM30. No idea.

Well, here in Bangkok, I see fewer and fewer Thais wearing a mask each day. Outdoors, I would say, as a wild guess, maybe only 30-40 percent of Thais wear one nowadays. As for foreigners, maybe only 5-10 percent. Of course, these percentages go up, for example in public transportation. I have always been pro-vaccine and pro-mask (but also very much anti-lockdown and anti-curfew etc). I still wear the mask most of the time in Bangkok, but come on, it has been nearly 4 fecking years. Just like many Thais, I am also fed up of this mask thing. The Covid thing will never go away for good. It will continue to exist, with various variants. And, most probably, each variant will be less lethal and less hospitalizing than the previous one. Sad that I am still worried about it and still wear a mask, but I think that quite soon, I will stop wearing one.

This 'No sale of booze from 2 pm to 5 pm' thing is both annoying and weird. It is a certainty that supermarkets, Seven elevens and similar places always stick to this rule and never sell booze those times, but for pubs and bars, it is a bit weird. I mean, for example most (maybe all?) touristy venues in lower Sukumvit DO sell booze those hours. But, I have come across a pub, which is actually a part of a 5 star hotel (near Central World), that doesn't sell booze those times. 2 weird things about this are that, one, the same place used to sell booze those times before the pandemic. And, two, one would expect a hotel to have more chance of being exempt from this rule. I have no idea how the situation is at most hotel bars/pubs in Bangkok. Any idea, folks? Usually, I don't drink at hotel venues. That place was an exception for me. From outside, actually, it doesn't even look like it is part of the hotel behind it. I only knew this when a waitress there told me :) Anyway, let us see if this rule will be scrapped sometime soon. Sadly, I give this only 30-40 percent chance.

Christie dropped out only a day after clearly saying he would not be dropping out anytime soon :) And, I wonder why he hasn't endorsed anyone yet. Maybe, he is waiting for the results from Iowa (and New Hampshire).

Oh ok. Thanks. The German place (and the pub/restaurant right across the soi from it) was the farthest I have been to down that soi.

Thanks. I had sort of guessed that it wasn't near the Sukumvit end, because I hang around in the part between the main road and the German Beergarden/Restaurant a few times and I didn't notice any pizza place. I guess if I don't feel lazy, I will walk all the way there. A couple of large slices of pizza is always good after a night out :) I lived in Sydney for about 2 years in the late nineties. And, maybe some of you know King's Cross. There were quite a few places selling pizza by the slice till late into the night. They were great. By the way, I know that the Cross has changed a lot in recent years. Gentrification and all that. Such a shame. Probably, those pizza places are not there anymore.

I might try that SOHO place on Sukumvit Soi 11. By 'top of the soi', you mean near the Sukumvit side of Soi 11, and not all the way by the other side, right? Anyway, I hope this is the case because I know that soi is quite long :)

It doesn't say how many days of visa exempt the Chinese will get. I wonder if they will get 90 days like the Russians, or 30 days like most nationalities. By the way, there has been no development regarding the increasing of the visa exempt period from 30 days to 60 days for European and Middle Eastern nationalities. Well, we are already halfway into the peak tourism season, so, I am afraid this will most probably happen sometime near the end of this year.

I think we all know that the chances are at least 90 percent that Trump will be on the ballot in every state. ie. the Supreme Court factor.

I give it only about 5 percent chance that Hamas political leaders didn't know beforehand about a major attack coming. Whether they had thought that the scale of the attack was going to be much smaller doesn't absolve them of the responsibility, I think.

I have a feeling it will happen but maybe not anytime soon. As we know, these things sometimes take a while to implement. It is a good development but then the single tourist visa will lose its significance. That is also 60 days. People would prefer to come visa exempt rather than applying and paying for the tourist visa. So, I guess maybe then they will make the single tourist visa a 90-day stay instead of 60?