Caldera

We really need to know what it was that she wanted from the duty free store.

15 minutes ago, Dumbastheycome said:

Fooks   Saake !  Show em an English  Pou<nd  and  they  burst  out   laffin !

You could always show £3 where you showed only £1 before, to keep them happy. ????

If you qualify for visa exempt entry, then entering at a land border won't be a problem. If you have entered visa exempt before, you will need to stay out for 30 days before you can enter visa exempt again, regardless of the point of entry.

1 minute ago, onera1961 said:

What kind of decline? Can you please elaborate. I am visiting Thailand for 17-years and now spend 6 month in Thailand, 3-month in Spain, and 3-month Hawaii. I have not felt any decline. More shopping plazas, cheaper airlines tickets to more destinations, better infrastructure, more availability of technology. I cant get my head around the decline part. May be more smog and dirty and crowded beaches. 

That's definitely a big part of it. Bangkok has always been polluted, but this year the air was pretty much unbreathable for months. Bangkok has always been crowded, but nowadays there's (almost) no BTS rush hours anymore, it's crowded like mad throughout the day. Same with popular shopping malls, completely overrun. Bangkok certainly is an extreme, but there are similar developments in other popular places I've re-visited. That can be mitigated to some extent by visiting 2nd and 3rd tier tourist destinations instead of the hotspots, and I will admit that I've had a great time doing that, so it isn't all doom and gloom.

Then you have the most odious government and officialdom imaginable, that promised to "return happiness", but has been busy doing pretty much exactly the opposite. To me, many Thai people seem more stressed and less happy nowadays, long gone seem the days of "sanook bliss". Will they or won't they allow certain pubs in certain areas allow to stay open past 2AM again? It's that kind of kindergarten policy making and policing that I find increasingly annoying.

50 minutes ago, Hal65 said:

 

It's Pattaya or Angeles for me. I've spoken to friends and nothing else competes IMO.

 

You guys speak as if Thailand is in rapid decline. I agree that 5 years ago it was a little better, but not that much.

Okay, if Pattaya is your benchmark, I can see why you didn't see a major decline in the last five years. It's a bit like saying, I've visited Disney World, no idea why people say the USA is in rapid decline.

Overall though, I'd say the decline (in attractiveness for Western expats) is real and has been accelerating.

20 minutes ago, khaowong1 said:

Talk about it any way you like, Vietnam is still a communist country.  Things could go wrong there in a heart beat. 

Unlike in a military dictatorship, you mean? I've seen things go wrong in Thailand - several times.

As for the blog piece that's being discussed here: Never mind that Vietnam doesn't even offer a retirement visa. That ridiculous article doesn't even mention that, but certainly that's one of the most important aspects.

The future standing of "farangs" in the "LOS" is in front of a firing squad.

????

3 hours ago, emptypockets said:

I've never heard of anyone abusing retirement visas.

It's not unheard of though. As being retired isn't actually a requirement for obtaining such a visa or extension, there are people who get it because it's relatively easy and cheap (once you're 50+, that is), but abuse it by working in Thailand illegally. Now with income affidavits gone, it might get abused to a lesser extent.

If his army and their cronies didn't rob the country blind, that would be a start. Order that, General!

5 hours ago, FredGallaher said:

Don't you think that it only a matter of time that land boarders will also have computers to check? Might be OK today but tomorrow might change.

They have computers, and have had for a long time. They just apply the rules differently or have other priorities.

Those who fancy to preach might find a church of their choosing a more suitable place to dispense their useless little sermons than a forum for Thai visa related issues, of all places.

That said, the OP will need to be a lot more clear about his circumstances. It's simply not possible to give advise based on the information provided.

My favorite movie is that of the Thai revolution. The only problem is, it has to happen before the movie can be made. ????

Variety is the spice of life. I like Thai food, but I wouldn't want to live on a diet exclusively of Thai food. I, for one, am happy that there are so many different options in Bangkok, and that includes great "farang" food.

May he (Boris) live in interesting times.

15 hours ago, Jip99 said:

Blaming Payuth for global warming is a poor effort - even for you.

What he does deserve blame for is that Thailand hasn't become more competitive in producing other, more high-value goods that could be exported instead. Thailand simply should have outgrown competing with countries such as India and Vietnam for rice exports by now. His whole Thailand 4.0 project is a joke, and Thailand will pay a high price.

If they had just staffed those counters they already had, this problem wouldn't have been nearly as big. I've never seen them fully staffed, no matter when I've flown in or out and regardless of how busy it has been.

5 hours ago, Brian Allen said:

Staggering the pettiness of and the ends the fascist Left "democrats, their Fascist Media and Deep State and all of the other Trump haters and Trump Deranged will go to looking for ways to treasonously subvert, to bring coup against and/or to defame America's Best and most efficacious-ever President.

Wow, a Trump supporter who knows the word efficacious. How many of you are out there?