Caldera

Very saddening news.

Interesting, but hardly surprising.

Oh look, another high-speed train announcement. Is it just me, or do they just seem to keep pushing the dates forward without actually getting any work done? Meanwhile Laos, of all places and despite the sad state of the economy there, already HAS their first high-speed rail line. I plan to ride it in December. THIS year.

I don't agree with the man very often, but he does have a point, it's cheap and robust.

If you want to live among grown-ups, Thailand clearly isn't the place to be...

Wait a second, Japan is ranked above Thailand, but hasn't even been open to tourists until a few weeks ago? That in itself makes me question this ranking.

Within 24 hours of your arrival there, officially, so prepare for a fine unless you can convince them that you stayed elsewhere and just arrived before filing it.

Check if Fly&Ride options to Mukdahan are available again, that would be the easiest option to get to the border crossing to Savannakhet.

It was once explained to me, at Bangkok Bank's head office which is my home branch, that I can go to any branch for passbook and ATM card renewals - as long as my passport is still the same one that they have on record. With a new passport, however, I'd need to come to my home branch for them to update their records. I don't know if this is actually the case, but when I previously updated my passport details with them, the clerk pulled my paper records and they did still have copies of all my passports since I had opened the account. Quite a thick folder. So who knows. My passport is full every 3-4 years, so I usually do it all in one go - let them update their records, get a new passbook and a new ATM card. Completely different experience with Kasikorn Bank. I've never been back to my home branch and I still have my original passbook. I never update it and they've never pushed for me to get a new one. When I have a new passport, they simply update their computer records (at whatever branch I visit).

How to get taken seriously at the international level. Not.

Nonthaburi immigration. Generally speaking, you need to attend the immigration office where you're staying (as per your current TM30 address report).

That's exactly what I paid last year, without anyone forcing the vendors. So I've got to ask, why? And why now?

That's somewhat misleading, as Vientiane is quite some distance away from the bridge. There's no need to go all the way to Vientiane; what you probably meant was cross the bridge and get stamped in and out by Lao immigration before returning to Thailand.

I wouldn't sweat it. Whenever I was asked for a medical certificate, I didn't even need to go to the hospital in person, let alone allowing them to draw blood for "syphilis tests" and the likes. Just send someone to get it with your passport details and a bit of cash.

And so timely, some five years after I started using Grab in Bangkok. What a joke.

Another shameful decision. If her passport was revoked by the murderous Burmese junta, she clearly deserves refugee status.

Thailand would be in a much better shape if those halfwits focused on either their education or fighting the corrupt and inept government instead of fighting each other like street dogs. It's painful to watch, what a waste.

As always, they seem to be learning how to build such a system on the job. And yes, it's mind-boggling to think of the security implications that might have.

Finally, some realistic numbers.

Deported. Poor guy.

Alright, so she'll probably get a bigger payout and that's it.

On the bright side, his sex partner was female and of age, he wasn't preying on underage boys like your average Catholic priest who gets caught with his soutane down.

That might well be that particular IO"s opinion and MO for questioning people. Other IOs will invariably have other ideas. You will never get a definitive answer to this question.

Generally speaking, traveling with a passport that has less than 6 months left isn't a good idea, for a number of reasons: Some airlines have that requirement in their T&Cs. If you transit other countries or want to make a side trip to another country, their rules might require 6 months. Something unexpected could happen and lead to a delay. Pandemics, volcanoes, floods, accidents and what not.

His silly remarks will only sink the baht further. Well done old chap.