Caldera

7 hours ago, edwardandtubs said:

I don't think people staying in a hotel have ever been asked for a TM30 printout and there are definitely no recent reports of it from anywhere.

It was rare, but not unheard of. Chonburi Immigration made me fill in a TM30 form and put a TM30 receipt in my passport before processing a 30-day extension when I staid at a hotel last year. Different counters and they wouldn't give you a queue number for the extension counter without a TM30 receipt in your passport, no matter what may or may not have been filed online. I've never encountered that elsewhere.

1 hour ago, edwardandtubs said:

You don't need a printout of a TM30. If the hotel has done it, immigration will have it on their online system. I wasn't asked for it in Ubon and I can't see why any other immigration office would ask for it. Remember, if we are asking for a regular extension, we are supposed to be regular tourists and regular tourists don't wonder round with TM30 forms.

While logically true, this differed wildly between different immigration offices - already pre COVID-19. I'd expect the same now, so it's best to be prepared.

I guess I'll need to bookmark their article. One of the very rare occasions that China's state news agency isn't lying!

1 minute ago, samisaurus said:

See if you can edit the date of the document in a pdf editor and then submit to immigration and get your extension. Debating doing this myself , but unsure how much immigration checks into these letters. I had one from March as well

If they do check, I hope you realize that falsifying an official document and using it at immigration is a crime (well, probably two crimes) that can cause you quite some trouble.

3 hours ago, Fibonaqi said:

I have not applied for an extension yet for my visa exempt entry because it was not needed with the first visa amnesty announcement in April, can I get a 30-day extension in Bangkok without the embassy letter? I have a Bangkok local address and TM30 report done for me at the time. I heard reports here that others have been successful (in Chiang Mai).

I haven't seen a single report of doing that successfully in Bangkok.

6 minutes ago, mike787 said:

NOWHERE near as bad as Thai...look at the numbers

I did look at the numbers. Thailand IS worse than Vietnam in that regard, but both are well above the average (worldwide as well as within Southeast Asia).

Moving from Thailand to Vietnam in order to avoid becoming roadkill doesn't make any sense. A more sensible suggestion - for both countries - would be to avoid riding a motorcycle, as motorcyclists are most at risk in both countries (by quite a margin).

It's a tropical banana republic, so in that sense it already is a republic anyway. No big deal.

Boost the economy by killing productivity? I guess you have to be Thai to find that convincing!

Works fine for me whenever I use it in Bangkok. They still accept cash, but promote cashless payments.

I'd imagine that they are a bit more thorough with new applicants now, simply because of the dire economic situation.

That's exciting news at face value, but let's face it, it could well turn into a ghost town of unused warehouses unless they have a good grasp on actual demand (which I doubt).

It sure doesn't help that a big piece of the infrastructure they use to promote this industrial estate - the high speed railway network - is nowhere near ready and just seems to keep getting delayed year after year.

Let me throw out my prediction, while we're at it: Minus 10% this year.

Careful there! If you seek, you may find.

That's the kind of decision that's best revisited once the coronavirus restrictions have been lifted. Who knows how the visa landscape in both Thailand and Vietnam will look like afterwards!

And since tourists now cannot travel to Vietnam anyway, there's really no rush.

Charging $5 per day is probably too low to have any real impact, but I agree that mass tourism is extremely damaging, so thinking along the lines of reducing travelers' impact while maximizing their spend goes in the right direction.

They could start by increasing the departure tax. Flying in for a short trip is a lot worse than staying put for a few weeks.

Attracting quality tourists isn't that easy though and competition is tough. Thailand has tried and failed to do that in the past, they'd need to increase service standards by at least the same rate as they increase the cost, probably quite a bit more.

1 hour ago, ireckonso said:

I just flew out last night no shortage of flights contrary to popular belief on here.

It obviously depends on where you need to go and where you are eligible to transit, if necessary. I could easily get home, too. Others can't though.