orchidfan

One annoying thing are the 7's that do not sell alcohol due to "apparently " being "close to a school or Wat" I have 3, 7's nearby me but 2 can't sell alcohol (one used to but was stopped) Crazy! I don't know of any schools (including primary schools or Wats) anywhere near these shops! And I ride around the general area a lot. It's no big deal (two mom and pop shops in same locations do!) But must be a real Revenue loser for those 7's who can't

Dr Jack, has that not changed location from the above photo, to somewhere after one has finished with Immigration? I seem to recall reading this on AN some time ago. Can you kindly clarify as I too need one later this month.

I spend many months a year in Hong Kong and have used the Octopus card there for over 2 decades. A while ago they introduced a new Octopus card with your photo on it and entitles "Elders" to pay only $hk2 for most bus,ferry and train trips. Excellent ! Here in TH , being on marriage extensions where I'm required to photocopy months of pages of my bankbook, deducting or withdrawing small amounts constantly (QR code payments etc ) soon fills up the book, as evidenced when doing an "Update" I've already required several new bank books...which is a slow procedure in the bank as many of you know. So I withdraw larger amounts from the ATM periodically, leave the bulk of it safely at home, and only put back 500 or 1000 baht into my wallet. IF I find myself wanting to buy something of higher value, then I use my BBL Debit card

To quote Napoleon when asked what his "strategy" was before going into battle. He replied... "I just turn up and see what happens " (Mind you, it didn't work out well for him at a couple of battles 🤔)

Agreed. The self~made millionaires , I knew, who worked long and hard for their wealth back "home", were usually VERY tight with their money......to the point of having to twist their arm to get them to buy their round of drinks. I suspect this guy had come into his money easily.....but who knows!

Yes that's correct, however this flight has always carried on to Dubai and I've never seen this procedure before (over many flights from Hkg to Bkk. As I mentioned earlier, one cabin crew mentioned that Thai Immigration had requested this so that no pax roll up to Immigration without their boarding pass. Which seems to have replaced the TM6 on airport arrivals.

No it was the special "Priority" line for the aged, disabled, families with small kids etc that I was commenting on.

Well, point taken, and I have flown Biz class on longer flights (Oz to BKK etc) but hardly worth the cost on a 2hr flight from Hong Kong. Plenty of reasonable French red and white wines available on EK in cattle class.

Thanks for your comments. Note that is was the checking of boarding passes whilst DE~planning, at each aircraft exiting door which greatly slowed things up. I had never experienced this before!

An pretty sure my mobile number is given to the bank AND Immigration. What could go wrong with that !

I have to say that the zigzag queue next door appeared to be moving pretty well. As I said in the original post, a guy way back in that line (bright lime green shirt...hard to miss) exited Imm at the same time as I did in the "Priority" queue. IF they had had the 4 Imm booths open instead of 2, things would have been faster.

Yes I am well aware that EK385 goes on to Dubai as I fly it many times from HKG to BKK and return (3 this year and more planned) and I have NEVER shown my boarding pass to cabin crew before deplaning ....nor has anybody else on the many flights I've taken hkg bkk with Emirates . Dubai pax have to remain onboard. As for the IO, she took a longer than usual time to visually scan my PP before the stamping was done. (She was a good looking lady so it wasn't totally painful!) At most (in this lane) I've only ever put right hand fingers on the scanner for a nano second before the OK and heading on. Definitely more thorough "care" being taken by them than in the past. And yes, I know this is just one.of those Thai short lived "Crackdowns" and won't last ! Unlike, as one Thai man said to me... "Marriage is like a police Crackdown that never ends" 😅

I don't think I mentioned anything about "new checks" in my piece. Only the widely mentioned affect that their (supposed) Crackdown might have on us. I could clearly see that the IOs were being far more meticulous and following "full procedure".....as I guess they should.....but weren't so thorough in the past....in my experience.

Yes, I noticed several rented buggies going by on the way. Mostly occupied by young people ! Not oldies.

I have been traveling between HKG and BKK regularly over the past few years and have "normally " passed Imm with a quick look at the boarding pass, stamp the re~entry permit and on my way. The other night was the first time (for me) to get such a meticulous check (as for every pax, not just me) and the 2 hands fingerprints and photo in this "priority lane". It was a noticeable difference....or maybe they were just (now) doing their job properly ! I don't know what the farang ahead of me's problem was, but I am guessing he didn't have his boarding pass. He should have been moved aside and let following people through. I agree with you that this Thailand requirement for the boarding pass should be made better known in advance. At least Emirates did their best to ensure everyone leaving the aircraft had one. And if they didn't, they had some way of replacing it ~ I think with a phone image.