Caldera

A picture is starting to emerge...

Oh look, another poll.

I'll wait for the results as they will come in after Nov 3. It will be a long time before I'll trust any poll again!

I hope they cried because they were touched, not because the food was too spicy for them.

Upcoming high season? 2022?

I don't pay cash anymore, so rounding up which I used to do doesn't work anymore. Nowadays I just hand them a 20 baht note. Those who annoy me, which rarely happens, get nothing. Those who go beyond in some way get 40 baht. I don't use the app's tip facility; I get the impression that handing them some cash right there is appreciated.

Hasn't he heard of banks? Safety deposit boxes? I know it's not nice to blame the victim, but it sure looks as if someone knew that he kept quite some valuables at home - that isn't very clever to say the least.

It is pretty grim alright. Now that the long weekend is over (that was supposedly busy, I wasn't here), many parts give the appearance of a ghost town again. Not sure what they can do about it, with only domestic tourists around.

Phuket wants domestic tourists, but they aren't interested. Foreign tourists are interested, but Phuket doesn't want them due to paranoid fear mongering. Lose-lose.

1 hour ago, FlyingThai said:

One could argue over if cannabis is a drug, controlled substance or recreational product and that largely depends on the local laws and regulations.

 

Wherever a product is outlawed there is criminal activity attached to it. Criminals usually apply violence. Cannabis is a soft product, the smell makes me sick to my stomach so I can't speak about how addictive it is but lets say someone gets addicted to cannabis or [insert substance of choice] and has no money to pay you or the middle man who sells it.

 

What do you think happens? More likely than not the addict will commit crimes to procure money for his fix. Be it theft, robbery or in the worst case robbery-homicides.

You've just pointed to the solution yourself: Legalize all drugs for recreational use, which will rid the supply chains of criminals.

Then punish reckless and irresponsible drug abuse only, same as with alcohol. Tried and tested.

Chinese tourists typically stay for less than a week. That this kind of tourism isn't compatible with having to quarantine for 14 days goes without saying.

Also, the Chinese government uses this pandemic to promote domestic tourism and they don't seem to be in a hurry to let ordinary citizens (non government, non business) travel abroad again.

3 minutes ago, Reigntax said:

Unfortunately, it seems all to common.

I know. A lot could be said about the need to reform Thailand's criminal justice system. In my opinion, the death penalty should be abolished altogether, but those convicted for serious offenses should serve their time. I think the single biggest problem is that Thai prisons are overcrowded by mostly nonviolent drug offenders. There's an easy solution to that.

1 hour ago, Reigntax said:

Until the get out early!!

There's the solution then: Don't let them out early!

15 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

As I mentioned, I got my account (Bangkok Bank Branch diagonally opposite T21 at Asoke) about 4 years ago whilst on a 30 day Visa Exempt & was logged into the IBanking & the mobile app whilst still sat at the desk completing the process (In fact the beautiful young lady opening the account for me insisted I made sure everything was working ok before leaving)  

 

I don't know if it made a difference that I had somebody from Siam Legal helping me through the process (Their offices are in the building on the opposite side of Sukumvit Road so quite possibly use that branch for their business) & was opening the account with a 30,000 THB deposit. 

According to their website, Siam Legal still offers to help with opening bank accounts: https://www.siam-legal.com/other-services/opening-a-bank-account-in-thailand.php

Worth considering if the OP is in a hurry and cannot easily find a cooperative bank / branch.

OP, thanks for your report. Confirms that I'm doing well only going there during the week, when it's much quieter.

Panicky little chickens, how will they ever be able to open up the country again after stoking that level of paranoia?

1 hour ago, Phillip9 said:

The keeping hold of his passport part is a bit strange.  I think maybe he misunderstood and nobody should need to keep his passport.  In my case, I paid this extra fee and nobody ever kept my passport.  

So what was the procedure like? You paid the fee, went to immigration to apply for the visa, then you had to go back to immigration after a few weeks to get your visa stamped into your passport? Did they give you an "under consideration" stamp first?

I feel much safer now that the watchman himself has checked the canal.

I'll sue you if you falsely accuse me of studying in Australia. That's hilarious.

That any potential investor would face major inconvenience getting into the country might also be a factor.