orchidfan

For all of the non~aviation qualified members of this forum, I offer the following clarification : HOLDING of arriving air traffic is mainly, only used/required in the following circumstances. 1. When wx at the destination is deemed, by the pilot in command ,or his company, to be unsuitable, at the time, for attempting approach and landing. Pilot decision....wait or divert. 2. Traffic metering /flow control dictates that arriving traffic must hold to join the "sequence". Taking their turn, as directed by ATC , to exit the Hold and resume the Arrival or as directed by ATC. ATC decision * *but the pilot can reject this holding if there are other reasons for them to divert to another airport or call minimum fuel/mayday fuel or onboard emergency. 3. Aircraft experiencing onboard technical problems which requires them to sort out the problem, dump fuel etc. End of topic.

The metar times are in GMT (UTC), so ,say 2030 GMT is 0730am Melbourne time.

No, not arguing with you Richard .but simply correcting possible misinterpretation of some of your comments... Quote: "If Thai Airways couldn't land due to low visibility and circled, its because ATC instructed them to do so... then range became an issue hence the decision to divert." ???err mmm

ATC do not arbitrarily "put aircraft into holding patterns" due to destination wx. IF the pilot elects to wait and hold,then ATC will nominate a suitable, published holding pattern or make one up on the spot. IF the pilot elects to divert, ATC will coordinate a route and level with adjoining sectors for the diverting aircraft to follow.

So, if they had the diversion fuel plus mandated reserve margins, (a flight which you quote as having taken 60 minutes) where would they have been after holding for another 30~40 minutes and the WX did NOT improve at Melbourne?? Diversion to Sydney cut off (no longer enough fuel reserves remaining ) and nowhere suitable to go! Factor in that QF have flight Ops teams who would have assessed wx trends and advised their flight to wait it out. SQ would have followed what QF did. I believe that, given the situation and useable fuel remaining, the Captain of TG made the correct decision. PS. For other members, Australia and most international airlines and service providers, follow ICAO standards, not FAA. There are some differences !

This is tourist weather, NOT aviation weather. Totally irrelevant to this saga. Note "visibility" N/A.....

Wrong. Totally the pilot's decision when and where he wishes to divert. Sometimes the flight plan will indicate their preferred/nominated alternate airport. Sometimes that alternate will have developed unsuitable wx also, or it may already be "full" of other aircraft which have diverted there already,leaving no bays for de-boarding and only parking on taxiways.

It would have been the pilot's decision to hold for weather improvement or divert to his alternate. If he elected initially to try for Melbourne then he would have been instructed to hold, with a possible "onwards clearance time". Its TOTALLY the pilot's decision to wait and hold or divert. Not ATC's.

Sorry. Wrong . Airsevices does NOT have the authority or ability to "Close" an airport. Only the owners of that airport have that authority. Pilots ultimately make their own decisions whether to proceed or divert, with the assistance of advice on current and prognoses of weather, and their company. This is the international "rule" / procedure these days....not like 50 years ago! (I have 40+ years of experience in this field)

Yes there's a "resident" beggar outside my local 7/11...right at the entrance/exit for the shop....nearly every afternoon /evening. He's not skinny BUT filthy dirty and clothed only in a pair of ragged black shorts. He rummages through the bin for any edible scraps thrown away. I give him some money every time I go by him, for which he is most grateful. BUT 99% of local customers give him a very wide berth. No Buddhist empathy there. It's like (in their minds) he has the plague.....which he does not. A few lice maybe. Thing is, that NO authorities or humanitarian organizations call by to offer help or find out his situation and why. I think it takes a complaint or social media "outrage" to get any assistance ! Appalling really.

Dr Jack, given the wealth of threads and reports on the 90days issue, WHY do people leave it until the last moment or forger?? Mail in, online And personal submission! All mostly easy. I'm in my 70's but even I can put a calendar reminder and alarm into my fairly old Samsung "smart phone" I travel overseas a bit (times overlapping with 90 days reports. But I carefully calculate 90 days from when I return, and set reminder accordingly, Also I keep EVERY boarding pass inbound and outbound to Bangkok# (# these I photocopy in time sequence and submit if an annual extension is due, along with the other normal docs.) It's not rocket science !

Kiwis mate of mine yelled and carried on when,at a 7/11, a thai guy pushed in front of him at the checkout till. He won that little battle (after all he had beers to buy)...... BUT, outside the shop the war raged and he was beaten up by the Thai guy and his mates. (Common 3 on 1) I think he learnt a lesson.

In HK, I usually know where to look, but failing that,just follow road signs saying "Public Toilet" In English and Chinese 😳

Apart from living most of the year in LOS (Thai wife) I/we also have permanent Residence (HKID ) in Hong Kong (20yrs working there) and one thing is pleasantly obvious every time I go over there.. PUBLIC TOILETS are everywhere ! Hygienic, and well maintained. I guess it was due to having been a former British colony. As for here, the only "public toilet" I have seen and used is in the local wet market and costs 5 baht to enter.

Some countries use the traffic light system of momentarily pUsing on AMBER in BOTH cycles. So it's green, amber, red.....then from red to amber then green. It works if the lights timing is adjusted accordingly.. Mind you, in Thailand, not much adherence to many laws/rules....helmets (if worn, rarely fasten chin strap ), seatbelts, traffic lights, crosswalks, Indicators, NO lights on vehicle or bike at night etc. Not Thai bashing, have seen the same in several South Asian and SE Asian countries, excluding Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam. But those 3 have working police, traffic cameras and heavy fines 😶

I'm sure any of us can find many images / photos of bare breasted women of all ages in "ANCIENT" Siam. Some in Temples and palaces etc. Nobody, it seems, was offended or outraged back then ! It's a hot. and often humid country....so they were just being practical back then. These girls on the grass were just charging up on Vitamin D....something highly recommended and promoted during the "pandemic". Religion gone over the top again.....nothing to do with "culture" , Check the cultural history.

I just want to clarify that the boys who came on the home visit didn't ask for, nor receive, any "bonus" from us on the day. Just coffee, water and bickies. Any small enticement may have been offered at "HQ"..("I know nothing " Sgt. Shultz ) They did get to drive the "smart" BMW though. Neighbours were impressed.

As mentioned in my previous posts, I also use Pathum Thani for marriage extensions and find them quick, smiling and helpful. Note : As from Covid until now there is no "face to face" with Imm officers as in the past. Docs are submitted to the "reception/triage" girl/lady just inside the entrance. She quickly checks them. This year (actually late December 2023) No TM28, or ANY other time wasting nonsense forms to fill out. No request for TM30 or 90 day report. Documents: 1 (one) only copy of the following... TM7 Marriage Certificate and (3 days old) KOR ROR 2. 3 months bank statements, Letter from bank, (same day, but have previously submitted 2/3 days old) 3 months copy of bank passbook including a withdrawal on the day of presentation. Passport.....new, so only 3 or 4 pages. ( previous latest extension stamps already transferred from old PP) Photos....5 coloured, glossy. Normal locations around the house. Wife's Thai ID card and passport# 1st page only. (#probably not required) House book..blue, 2 x double pages. ☆I think wife slipped triage girl a few baht for doing any extra photocopies that they may require. Back outside to wait under the "tent". Not long after my PP arrived with "under consideration stamp". Painless! (Wife did attend with me but was never seen by anyone (I think) apart from Triage girl. Final note: Wife arranged a specific day for home visit......they came as requested in 2 days. Probably a small donation for that too. (2 neighbours kindly attending this annual ritual )

Hong Kong (and I hold permanent HKID) has an extensive and varied list of countries to whom they give a variety of "Visa free" periods of stay. EG. UK 180 days OZ 90 days Thai up to 30 days (7 to 30 days) Philippines up to 14 days. etc. However the IO can vary this and even refuse entry at their discretion on arrival. Source: HK Immigration website.

I think that the burning, unanswered question is......What is the mad rush when locals get in a car or on a motorbike ? For a people who do pretty much everything# else VERY slowly, why the sudden mad rush? (except when they are selling you goods or services.) It burns up way more petrol and brake linings....when a lot of the same people are eating sausages on a stick from a roadside vendor. I think for many it's a "buzz" that's missing in their everyday, boring lives. Hard one to answer or rationalize.

Same reaction when I first took my Thai wife to the UK (I'm from Oz). We stayed in Paddington and the first experience at a crosswalk (no trafficlights) she couldn't believe that cars ALWAYS stopped and let you cross. Just as I had assured her that they would. Education and rules drummed into you from a young age. We now spend a lot of the year living in Hong Kong.....ex British colony, so same rules apply and obeyed.

Currently, citizens of 79 countries and regions, including Australia and New Zealand enjoy visa-free entry into Macao SAR.

I travel regularly, internationally from Thailand and have no problems with my 20,000 mAH powerbank. Maybe Oz rules are different.

Of which they have at 99% of crosswalks in HK, AND many over~pass foot bridges.....which they COULD build at "bad" crossing points here in Thailand. These don't rely an vehicles not speeding or stopping at red lights !

I think that this is all fine for a person on Retirement Visa/'Extension who can renew every year of their remaining life, irrespective of "wife" being alive or not. But not so for those if us on Marriage extensions (and perhaps unable to switch to "Retirement ") whereupon, if the wife dies, they can only stay until the end of current extension....despite wills, chanotes or usefruct(?) documents. Correct or not ?