heiri007

Just dropped a friend at Hua Hin immigration at Bluport, for visa extensions. Nice shiny office with lots of desks, but only one desk occupied. Long queue, with lots of people waiting for hours.

Went there the next day again, just to have a look. Same same.

A bit disrespectful, to say the least. Best is to come say 3 p.m., they close at 5, so they'll process the applicant before closing time.

Maybe hardly any naturalizations anymore, so interest is waning?

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

And your comment is too. If you travel to another country, it is behooves  you to follow their laws and respect their culture. What happens in other countries is not the point.... I notice you did not consider China. 

You are correct there, been traveling to a dozen countries recently and did not consider China. Do they even let in biz people and tourists without long quarantine? So you are spot on, I did not consider China, and am accused of a racist comment now? Beware dimwits.

What comes around, goes around. Others might call it karma. Remember in January 2020, Hua Hin was sprawling with Chinese - and then the whole mayhem took its course. 

So are we to repeat the official Chinese propaganda in here that Covid was brought upon to the world by the West a.k.a. foreigners, as the elderly Thai accused a farang in the Skytrain?

It's probably safe to say, but of course not proven, that the virus somehow originated in Wuhan. Even though strains were found months before in Italy and few other places, according to wastewater analyses. 

In regards to China I don't even mind to be called a racist. Look what they do to their own people and the planet, just to mention their complete disgregard for personal freedoms, wildlife, etc. I wish China could be a source of inspiration. It is not.

As to Thais wearing masks before Covid: a few, but certainly not more than 5-10 percent. And then only when PM 2.5 count was very high.

I am a firm believer in the self-healing properties of the body, and the immune system can and has to be challenged and trained. At this stage it is likely better for the whole population to face the (weaker) strains than trying to remain uninfected, at the cost of having a non-responsive immune system that's not trained.

That doesn't mean I'm an antivaxxer. Recently got my second booster, all fine over here.

38 minutes ago, Letseng said:

Listen when getting on the BTS: there is the announcement. But why is it a problem for you to wear a mask for 10 mins? Hard to respect that others prefer not to breath in what you exhale? Or do you feel superior being a foreigner?

What a racist comment. First off, am a local. Second: Just been traveling many countries, you won't see anymore masks. So why should I adapt to the local herd mentality? When more people are dying from regular flu, but no one reports it and baseless fear is upheld?

Disagree with wearing face masks on BTS, there are not even announcements anymore in the trains reminding passengers to please wear them.

If a local is paranoid and blames foreigners for Covid, well chances are high he has some Chinese ancestors, the race which might be at the heart of the disease. Not saying, just saying.

Of course I wouldn't get intimidated by someone scolding at me for not wearing the mask. 

So this commentator Tim Newton seems to be more Catholic than the Pope by suggesting people not wearing the mask now are anti-Thai.

Saw his Youtube roundup for the first time now, and it will be the last time.

On 11/21/2022 at 9:04 AM, khongaeng said:

I usually just hand them my boarding pass and they get the flight number they are looking for.  They always write the flight number above the entry stamp.  If they don't get the flight number, it causes them great frustration.

 

For those that are worried about immigration knowing that you came from your previous nationality country, I have never been asked for previous boarding passes, so for instance if I flew from Frankfurt via Dubai, they never ask to see the Frankfurt to Dubai flight, only the Dubai to BKK flight.  I now have 8 stamps in and out with my Thai passport with no entry stamps or visas to any other country in my Thai passport.  I have never been asked why I don't have any visas in my Thai passport or why I don't have stamps from anywhere else.  

Strangely enough he seemed to type something, obviously the flight number, into the system, but no writing above or below the entry stamp.

It's just noteworthy that at the same airport you have different arrival procedures ????

3 hours ago, BKKBike09 said:

It was me, not DrJoy, who used the e-gates. As per Yankee99, there are 3 different immigration halls. A good point. I don't know if they're working at all of them. I used the outbound / inbound halls I've circled on the airport map.

 

 

Thanks for the feedback @BKKBike09. After an about 1,5 km walk from the gate I used the main Arrival 1, could indeed explain that I wasn't hallucinating handing over that passport to the official who wasn't able to speak a full sentence. The only word he muttered: "krueang." Of course, I said, I arrived by "krueang." He did not think it's funny. Now I know, he just wanted the flight no.

On 11/3/2022 at 11:50 AM, BKKBike09 said:

Pleased to report that outbound e-gates were working today (3 Nov), including for 10-year passport (previously told by Immigration at SVB that the e-gates would not work with more recently issued 10-year passports, those with numbers ABxxxxxxx). Will advise as to inbound when I come back in a couple of weeks, unless anyone else posts on it before then.

 

Came back inbound yesterday, Swampy, still manual processing... with huge queues prepared for non-Thai arrivals.

A bit confused that @drjoy could enjoy e-gates?

Great Billie Eilish show on Wednesday night at Impact Arena. About sold out, and not much special effects and fireworks and lightshow, but pure music and performance.

On stage just Billie Eilish, her brother and the drummer.

Only downers: songs seemed to be cut short and, can you believe it, no encore. This is her last song, she announced her last song, and off she went from stage after about 1 hr 20 mins, and the audience just got up and left, the lights came on and it was over.

Not sure, is this common these days, not wanting an encore? The concert really was great, everyone seemed to enjoy, until that very moment when the audience sheepishly followed the "this is the last song." ????

I don't believe she did it. Where's the proof so i can see it?

Despite all the made-up issues, XRP holds in the top 10 coins. This whole ETHgate saga uncovered since the SEC filed the charade against Ripple, most impressive stuff. Not easy for XRP hodlers, even if they're in it since years. With ODL, mass hirings and x-fold uptake outside of the U.S., Ripple (and XRP) are indeed about to make a dent in the universe, as Ripple's Navin Gupta said. All or nothing.. Might well be the Amazon of modern day. The SEC has nothing in their hands and Gensler is a paid lackey of the establishment. Of course it was Clayton who threw the first stone on the day of leaving office, but this lawsuit is all about the incumbents' fear. First they neglect the change, then they talk it down, then they sue them, finally they embrace it. In this sense, XRP ticks the right boxes.

Stopped wearing the mask some time ago, of course not when shopping. Many folks meanwhile walk around with no masks.

It's funny how they forget where they come from, how this all works, what's the basics of everything. 

1 hour ago, TropicalGuy said:

You had a narrow escape from jail !

NEVER Deface or Discard Thai Money ! It has the King Image so that’s Lese Majesye violation????????

Knew even less back then than today.

Dual pricing? Always avoided the places that do it. Once, in a useless protest, teared a 100 baht note apart in front of the amusement park cashier.

Thais, in fact, also face discrimination in their own country, be it education, career options, access to certain privileges and benefits.

There, it is easier for farangs to enter.

Just demonstrates how backwards the place still is in many ways, albeit being capable of building shopping temples you won't find anywhere else.

Morons in ivory towers. Never giving us our life back. Maybe even the hard-corest yellow shirts start realizing what's going on.

23 hours ago, BayArea said:

Like I said before,  Thailand will have a hard time lifting the much awaited masks mandate completely. It has become a vital weapon for this junta to control the mass without firing a single shot. As long they conditioned the population about the risks of covid, they will appear to be in control.  This perpetual fear prevents street protests and large public gatherings to challenge this unlawful government. 

Well said. What is the security apparatus left do do with when no masks?! Right, now they're all over monkey pox.

52 minutes ago, JeffersLos said:

The OP is definitely not well travelled! ????

That is such a cute observation, I imagined all sorts of deregatory comments by the always-know-better crowd, this one takes the cake. If you'd know, there's hardly a country on earth I have not been to. Or wanna, for instance, share your experiences in North Korea?

Whatever, this country is my home and I love Thailand, and if I'm not forced to waste more hours of my own time because officials, authorities, employees and such screw up basic tasks at the expense of the client / customer, well then we have heaven on earth, don't we.

9 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

He forgot to mention Immigration problems , no problem at

all for me, but for many it seems

regards worgeordie

Another area where Thailand actually made substantial strides, say compare to the 90s. Back then staff where laughing at you when trying to exchange even a broken product. Still not Amazon with no questions asked, but much better consumer protection already, largely thanks to giants Lazada and Shopee.