
Caldera
-
Posts
7,458 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Events
Forums
Downloads
Quizzes
Gallery
Blogs
Posts posted by Caldera
-
-
Queue up and wait your turn, Michael. You obnoxious piece of lawyer scum.
Who is NOT writing a book on Trump these days?
-
Hillary, dear, the treatment you got had nothing to do with sexism and all to do with your obnoxious personality and unethical conduct.
I'm sure a fine and upstanding lady such as Kamala Harris will be treated much differently.
-
2
-
-
What I don't like about the volunteer visa is that I've asked several agents (in both Bangkok as well as a few other places) who can facilitate this what I thought were perfectly reasonable questions, and none of them could or would give me a straight answer. It's pretty much a pay cash, don't ask too many silly questions and pray for the best kind of deal.
I don't like that your passport goes on a little trip for a few weeks and will then miraculously come back with stamps from an immigration office you've never attended to. Everything else I could probably live with if I had to.
-
2
-
-
4 minutes ago, alexlm said:
I have said MANY times that I'm actually waiting for the borders to reopen before coming back into Thailand. Even though I could come now with my Wife...
The school didn't tell me when the borders would reopen, why do you think they would know that??
When I used to go to Vientiane in solo I paid a similar price anyway so it doesn't change anything.
The thing is that reopening the borders might not be such a binary thing, "open" or "closed". We've seen that already, actually. While I realize that you plan this for the post coronavirus future, it's not unlikely that many regulations we've been used to will change. So when you quote a price for a visa run from the past - it's just that. That option might never exist again.
-
2
-
-
- Popular Post
- Popular Post
I've decided to go for a long-term visa, based on the following assumptions (which might or might not be correct, obviously):
Firstly, the automatic extension will end on Sep 26th and immigration will be frustrating to deal with even in case I would be able to get an embassy letter, which I consider unlikely. I'm also not keen on repeating that after 30 days.
Secondly, the coronavirus mess will drag on for quite a bit longer. At this point, I don't think nearby countries will open before the Thai "amnesty" ends. I also think Thailand will keep the situation controlled, so it's both safer and more fun to be here than in most other countries.
Finally, winter in Thailand beats winter in Europe. I want to be all set and won't risk having to depart on short notice.
This is quite a departure from my usual modus operandi for me! I actually like to travel around within the region, so having to exit Thailand every few months has never bothered me. Desperate times, desperate measures!
-
6
-
2 hours ago, alexlm said:
If I choose the ED visa route:
My school offers 7,000 THB trip to Vientiane, all included, with fast tracking at the Embassy to apply. No waiting time...
So that would be fine.
That kind of plan comes with quite a catch nowadays. Did your school also tell you when the border will reopen, what the entry requirements in both Laos and Thailand will be? For all we know, it could happen tomorrow or in two years time...
-
I think the Scottish government should wait for a little longer to let the economic downturn fester and the Brexit fully materialize. I predict they will be able to secure a much larger majority for independence then, maybe in the 60-70% range.
-
2
-
-
I'm of two minds about the guy. His reporting is often excellent and he clearly fills a void as local journalism is in a really sad state. On the other hand, he often comes across as arrogant and attention seeking for nothing but his own gratification.
I'm not surprised that the Thai authorities see his shenanigans with suspicion, and again I'm of two minds about it. Sometimes I'm glad that he exposes the truth and we all know how much those in power despise that. On other occasions he picks silly little battles (double pricing) and effectively baits the authorities by saying he shouldn't really do that while his "visa" is up for extension. So his trouble is kind of self-inflicted, maybe he wants to get kicked out to secure a book deal or something.
Then there's the fact that he says blogging is his "hobby", when clearly it is a lot more than that. As he gets compensated with stays at hotels quite frequently, the question of illegal work might also be on immigration's mind.
My guess is that he will ultimately get his extension. But who knows!
-
2
-
-
22 minutes ago, brianthainess said:
That would barely cover the fuel cost.
Maybe they do it in the same way as some forms of public transport - you'll have to wait until the truck is full. So depending on how many others they catch who need to be transported to Bangkok, it could take a while. ????
-
1
-
-
On 8/10/2020 at 10:36 PM, edwardandtubs said:
That's a far more sensible way of doing it. Pity the Pattaya branch didn't get the memo.
Apparently they've received the memo in the meantime. When I contacted them a few days later, they only wanted a photo of the entry stamp, plus a confirmation from me that I'm not / wasn't on overstay. I agree that it's unreasonable to expect photos of each and every passport page.
Their deadline (August 17th) is fast approaching though and I'm still exploring other options, so after having received their confirmation that it could be done, I have yet to decide if I'll go ahead with it.
-
As there are flights to the UK available that actually happen, I think they will probably follow other embassies who have stated that they will not issue visa extension letters.
I'd imagine that an embassy (any embassy) might still issue them in cases of extraordinary hardship, decided case by case, but that remains to be seen.
-
1
-
-
"The first case is a 24-year-old Thai construction worker who returned home on July 7 and went back to Japan on August 1, where he was found to be infected, Dr Suwannachai said."
I'm a bit surprised to read such a report. So this construction worker went through all the trouble to secure a repatriation flight to Thailand and spend 14 days locked up in state quarantine, only to travel back to Japan 10 days after being released from quarantine?
I don't buy that Thailand has eliminated the coronavirus, so I'm not surprised that it's seen as a possibility that he got infected while in Thailand.
I think one reason why neither Thailand nor its neighbors seem very eager to open the land borders is that they would all find plenty of cases imported from supposedly virus-free neighboring countries. That would shatter the illusion.
-
1
-
-
Phnom Penh has been known as quite strict and there's very little if anything that agents can do to help. While it's hard to predict what they (or any other Thai embassy for that matter) will be like next year, I wouldn't go there.
-
1
-
-
- Popular Post
- Popular Post
No way.
-
4
-
Well in fairness, according to the news report that included the address of the premises that were raided, this was NOT the Thai Visa Centre office, but Grace's residential address.
If they had targeted Thai Visa Centre, they would have (also) raided their office - even Thai immigration should be able to get that address from their public Facebook page. ????
So their explanation that this raid was related to Grace's other (or past) activities cannot really be dismissed out of hand.
-
2
-
-
Whatever we may think of this drama, I cannot help but notice that they are very confident that they've resolved the situation to everyone's satisfaction. And they probably have, as it so often plays out here.
-
- Popular Post
- Popular Post
1 hour ago, NanLaew said:And, at the end of the day, you'd STILL be here which is what you want, no?
Why on earth should Thai immigration welcome the sort of person who confesses that they, "don't want to go home and try to find a job". They can't easily get a job here even if they wanted to so no, they don't want a whole slew of uninsured 'Covid refugees' with fundamentally limited resources hanging out here only because they think things are worse back home and they aren't willing to lift a finger to make their own situation better.
You're making loaded assumptions about people who have chosen to remain in Thailand on amnesty. Being one of them, let me tell you two things: Firstly, I don't need to work, neither at home nor in Thailand. So it would be pointless for me to go home to find a job. Secondly, I have insurance and my insurance covers COVID-19 in Thailand, which I specifically confirmed with my insurance company.
Maybe Thai immigration shares your concerns, but they did nothing to address them. Before the first amnesty was announced, they asked people in need of a special extension to get silly embassy letters, landlord documents and to take a set of photos at their residence. They didn't ask for proof of funds to remain or proof of insurance. Go figure.
-
4
-
2 hours ago, anchadian said:
Let's hope you do have a plan B, otherwise your preference to remaining in Thailand will be at some other accommodation.
Duh, my plan B remains the same, I simply changed my flight booking from July 30th to September 24th. I'm not feeling stressed at all, I'm just keeping an open mind about all the options that exist and might open up...
-
2
-
-
- Popular Post
- Popular Post
2 hours ago, ttkeric said:Sigh.... I think some people still can't get it into their heads that this isn't a good time to be a tourist. Anywhere. Period.
Sorry, but travelling for leisure is something for the back burner for the moment.
I can only speak for myself, but I had a GREAT time traveling in Thailand in the last two months, since the restrictions on interprovincial travel were lifted in June.
So I used the amnesty for tourists as intended: to do touristy things!
-
5
-
- Popular Post
- Popular Post
1 hour ago, sitti said:I just don't understand some people here. Thai government already gave you plenty of time to leave legally for those who aren't supposed to remain in the country for extended period. You were supposed to use your time given to make your own arrangement to leave. Have you even tried contacting your embassy? I see the complainers are just milking the amnesty.
There's nothing wrong with "milking the amnesty", as long as people have a plan B for when it ends. I was prepared to leave at the end of July, I had a flight booked - one that has a proven track record of actually taking place no less. But when they extended the amnesty, why should I have left? I prefer staying here, it's as simple as that.
-
8
-
24 minutes ago, BritTim said:
I think this thread is a useful one, as it may clarify whether regular 30-day extensions (and 60-day extensions to visit family) will be permitted for those on tourist entries who already have stayed over six months longer than they normally would have been allowed to.
True. I guess the reason why we haven't had reports yet (either way) is that people are waiting for reports before heading to immigration themselves. ????
I'm no exception. I'd go myself to give it a shot, but I prefer to wait for a bit longer to see if any positive or negative reports surface.
-
1
-
-
3 hours ago, mtls2005 said:
Another consitution?
Just make a copy of rev. 1997.
Without going into detail, I think they should go a bit beyond merely going back to the 1997 constitution. But that would make a good interim one that could be enacted quickly.
-
1
-
-
Not sure if insuring them is such a good idea, they will just drive even more recklessly.
-
It isn't believable that they had zero deaths before and now they're suddenly having a handful from just a few hundred cases.
They simply didn't test enough people and the coronavirus has been spreading largely undetected, thanks to a very young population.
-
1
-
Clinton says she hopes Harris gets 'less sexist' treatment on U.S. campaign trail
in World News
Posted
Well I did say "differently", not "better". ????
What do you expect from Trump and his minions? That he's pretty desperate doesn't help things!