Caldera

1 hour ago, dbrenn said:

Nong Khai has its share of idiot immigration officers. I'm a naturalised Thai and was sneered at and asked to sing the national anthem by one of them - a fat bald bloke. I refused to go along with it and was grudgingly allowed in.

I bet you are quite pleased that they use automatic gates for Thais nowadays. Nobody needs that kind of obnoxious behavior by an idiot official.

I didn't expect the General to fail that quickly and that publicly. If he can't even control the sycophants in his own party, surely that won't exactly have a disciplining effect on their coalition partners.

Yet another laughable show of farce (sic).

I think Thailand really needs to reconsider the country's strategy with regards to tourism. Those numbers aren't sustainable, and it's hard to imagine that those who are in the eye of the mass tourism storm are having an enjoyable time. Less is more, seriously.

Simon, out of curiosity and I realize it's quite OT here, what made you change your mind? I remember reading your thread about relocating to the Pyrenees just a few weeks ago.

Is the Lao business visa easy to get without actually running a business, or will you need to set up a business there?

Considering where it comes from, I'm not surprised that this isn't about being smart, but about dressing smart. Same as with Thai colleges - as long as a PowerPoint presentation looks neat and a lot of time has been spent on bells and whistles, who cares if there's little substance?

7 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

When you live here so long that you are a tax resident with your girlfriend, you are not a tourist. Then you are getting a tourist visa under false pretence.

Where's the false pretense, since the consular officer who decides if the visa is issued can see your visa, entry and exit history in your passport?

What's the plan? Will Walter "Heisenberg" White pull a Bobby Ewing and suddenly reappear taking a shower?

Clearly seems to be a Savannakhet thing. I know Lao citizens who have obtained tourist visa from the embassy's consular section in Vientiane. Expect some questions if having an extensive history in Thailand though.

In related good news from Thailand: 59% of vegetables in Thai markets are safe for human consumption.

Beyond ridiculous, even by the low standards of this government of muppets.

12 hours ago, elviajero said:

My point is that they are hardly going to accept a form from a smart arse visitor if they are not prepared to issue one.

 

What is the “victim” going to do if they simply won’t take an appeal? Best to also have an appeal against them not allowing an appeal form filled out!

Entirely predictable answer. You would probably still defend the criminal elements in immigration if they started hanging people from the airport ceiling, also without due process.

Just goes to confirm that certain immigration officers at Aranyaprathet, BKK and DMK have gone rogue and that their denials have no actual basis in either immigration law or orders coming all the way from the top. Just their own local and nonsensical interpretation thereof.

Coincidentally, I recently got stamped in by a very polite female (!) IO at another friendly land border, coming in on my umpteenth visa exempt (but in compliance with the 2 per year at land borders limit, of course) and with plenty of Thai stamps and visa in my passport - no questions asked whatsoever.

"Computer records are not as available, accessible and complete as some posters here make out"

I've often wondered about this, how (if at all) is a denial of entry logged into their system? We know they have several different databases; maybe a denial of entry won't be shown in the list of latest entries that a front line IO gets to see? It would obviously make sense to show it there, but then again, sense is in short supply in the officialdom.

Interesting report.

20 minutes ago, elviajero said:

No, that’s a bad idea. If denied entry you should ask for an appeal form. 

And what, pray tell, should their victim do if they have run out of forms or simply won't provide one? Is there an appeal against not handing out an appeal form?

1 hour ago, madmen said:

It would be unusual to formulate an opinion based on a conversation in a bar with a german couple. Its totally bizarre to actually believe  the world used to/still does spin around Thailand. I have close friends that always chose Vietnam from 20 years ago and would stop only in Bangkok for shopping and a flight back to OZ. It means nothing.

My opinion, of course, was formed long before meeting them and based on trends in visitor numbers. Another good indicator are more flights from outside the region to those countries. From a numbers point of view, a European visitor coming to Southeast Asia who didn't use Thailand as their gateway and who didn't spend much of their time in Thailand was much rarer 10 years ago than nowadays. Of course they've always existed.

Will he withdraw from the treaty before or after annihilating Iran and North Korea? First steps first, Donald, have another Big Mac and think it through.

As you would need to be blind, deaf and brain dead if you failed to realize what Soi 6 is all about when walking the length of it, why didn't they raid some other bars in the neighborhood after the raid party hit gold in the one mentioned? Whatever reason they were singled out for, this saga is a complete and utter joke.

I've seen many European tourists in Vietnam and Cambodia lately. Thailand isn't the natural gateway it once was for those tourists anymore.

Two young German tourists I just met in Trat (after they had just come overland from Phnom Penh) were quite amused by Thailand's left-hand traffic. They had toured Vietnam and Cambodia, then wanted to relax on Koh Chang for a few days before flying back from Bangkok. Thailand was almost an afterthought for them and most of their holiday spent elsewhere - that would have been very unusual let's say 10 years ago.

54 minutes ago, Satcommlee said:

Genuine tourists do not have Thai Bank accounts... think about it?

Local bank accounts can be useful for genuine tourists. Depends on a number of factors. That said, that the bank account is with a Thai bank isn't part of the requirements in any case. I've always shown a statement from a bank in Europe - not a problem at all.

"Big Oud said that Region 2 immigration were investigating if any of his officers were involved in the scandal."

That's the convenient thing about being police. If anything looks suspicious, they can simply investigate themselves. That guarantees a near complete lack of impartiality and transparency, obviously.

As long as it's perfectly okay to drive around on at motorcycle, with a child lacking a helmet sandwiched between their parents, banning smoking at home to protect children has a funny taste to it. Thailand, the hub of ridiculously selective laws and enforcement thereof. How have I missed you.

6 hours ago, pizzachang said:

So I must have US dollars to do the Savannakhet visa run? How about for hotels & eats?

You can pay for the Lao VOA in Thai baht, but it will be more expensive than paying in US dollars. As for hotels and eats, prices are usually quoted in Lao kip. You can pay in Thai baht or US dollars, with varying mark-ups.

"All items must be under 100 milliliters or they cannot come into passenger areas or be carried on planes."

Huh? I've been organizing my carry-on stuff like that since many years already. There have also been signs saying this at Thai airports since many years. How on Earth is this news?