hidbehindthesofa

I thought under the new rules that drivers were allowed to commit up to 12 offences before they exhausted all their points and had their licence suspended for three months. Had this guy already overcharged 11 others ?

. . . and we are not supposed to be mentioning nationality !

TUT TUT - I thought there was a Government Directive that the nationality of miscreants was not to be mentioned ?

Hmmm . . . this could be so serious that some folks will have to start cutting back on the home deliveries of takeaway food; reduce the number of new tattoos; make their designer tracksuits and trainers last longer than the next colour on the market; forget about the daily green or brown or white; and not upgrade to the latest iPhone 27 (or whatever). I believe it is called ''cutting your cloth according to your means''.

But is it a Rolls Royce or is it a Chinese copy ? I once saw a ''Rolls'' pull up at a restaurant where the staff were running around ingratiating themselves to the Chinese lady that emerged. I realised it was not a Roller when I heard the medallic clunk of the door being closed and the diesel-like rumble of the engine being started !

If you are paying £600 for your airfare to Thailand - is paying £606 really going to be something that will put you off ? Let us try to keep some sort of perspective . . .

The report reads more like a wild west shoot out. Clearly no basic training in the two shot rule - one to wound and neutralise the threat - two to ensure instant fatality if necessary.

Whilst you may be able to book an appointment on line for Jomtien immigration, it seems that the staff at the office do not recognise or operate the appointments system. I presented myself at the door with the appointment but was told to get to the back of the queue. My Thai lady also spoke to another immigration officer and the answer remained the same.

. . . and in the meantime, it seems perfectly acceptable for a three year old to travel standing in the footwell of the scooter with their four and five year old siblings travelling behind the driver - none of whom are wearing helmets.

Agreed. I can only assume it is the resident alcoholics who are obsessed with a relatively minor change to the alcohol content of their favourite tipple. Surely most drink a particular beer because they prefer its taste, or because it is more or less gassy (according to preference), or because it is cheaper (if they drink in quantity or if pennies are limited). Cue the alcoholics in denial . . .

My brief reading of the article appears to indicate the criterion is the number of courses offered rather than the success rate or the quality of the education itself. Most schools, colleges, universities in Thailand issue passes, certificates or degrees to most of the students because to fail them reflects poorly upon the establishment and its teachers.

The heading may be misleading - ''decent karaoke'' is something of an oxymoron based on most that I have heard . . . the average Thai all think they can sing and any cat or dog in pain will probably agree. There are however some good groups - provided of course they do not remove all the mid range on the mixer and crank up the bass and treble to max !

I received the bogus email a couple of days ago - despite having received my TP last November, so I assumed it was as a result of a more recent hack. As we all need a TP to have come here, surely the data breach could have equally been the airline or hotel - not necessarily the Embassy. Mine originated from ([email protected]) so it seems the hackers are utilising a succession of different sites.

All the Indian restaurants are closed too - so we are back to the ''chicken and egg'' . . .

Agreed - as an old git with wonky legs I cannot risk walking on the ''pavement'' which only runs for three metres at a time before stopping at a loosely fitted temporary drain cover or area of exposed water pipes or electricity cables, for fear of falling over or falling down a hole. The ''City Municipality'' has merely paved the easy bits but the remainder seems to be too much of a challenge. It is somewhat ironic when it is actually safer to walk in the road than it is on the pavement !

Whilst I appreciate the rules and processes may vary from office to office - my experience at Jomtien last week was that the appointment system has no validity. I had made an on-line appointment the week before; received an acknowledgement and confirmation; and even received a reminder. But when I arrived at the immigration office I was told to get in the queue along with everybody else. My Thai lady also spoke to two immigration officers and each time was told to just get in the queue.

I too am currently on Post Office travel insurance. I have not checked the small print but I cannot see it providing cover for being admitted to hospital if I am not actually sick or injured or in need of medical intervention. Surely the same must apply to any insurance ? My cover note was initially questioned by the London Embassy when I applied for STV in November 2021. The issue was with the level of cover. They were looking for $50,000 when I had £2,000,000 - which was accepted when I pointed it out. My cover note was also scrutinised at Jomtien immigration last week when I applied for my 90 extension. Initially I was told that I needed separate Covid cover - but following scrutiny from two additional immigration officers my Post Office document was accepted.

As per the previous posters - don't bother making an appointment because it will not be honoured when you arrive at the Jomtien office. I had an appointment last Tuesday (22 February) for a 20 minute slot to extend my STV. I, too, was told to join the queue with everybody else. I had to attend and queue on three consecutive days to complete the process - despite having all the necessary paperwork on the first day. Good luck !

I have just spent three days this week doing the very same thing at Jomtien. You will need to complete form TM7, which can be printed out from the immigration website. You need to attach a passport-type pic to the form. Obviously you will also need your passport (with blank pages and validity six months beyond your stay). You will need to have a photocopy of each of the following: passport front page with your pics and details passport page with current entry stamp both sides of the TM6 form which was completed and stamped on your arrival Special Tourist Visa Thailand Pass Medical insurance Quarantine hotel booking from when you arrived Result of hospital/lab PCR test from when you were released from quarantine tenancy agreement or hotel booking for where you are now living and proof of payment You need to sign the front of each photocopied page. The fee is 1,900 baht in cash. I suggest you start the process about 7 days before your current permission expires. If you apply too soon you are likely to be told to come back nearer the current end date. Do not bother with making an appointment (which can be done on line but is meaningless) - just turn up and queue and be prepared to wait. Take a book or reader. Once you are in the office you will be given a numbered ticket at the reception desk to wait in another queue to register your address (regardless of whether your landlord, agent or hotel may have already done so). You will then be given a registration slip stapled into your passport which you will need to copy for presentation at the next stage. (There will be a copy shop or booth inside or outside the immigration office as it is a lucrative business). You may then be lucky and be given a further ticket to wait at another counter to submit your application or you may be unlucky and told to come back tomorrow. The visa extension counter is where you hand in all your documents, pay your money and have your picture taken. It seems that visa extensions are no longer issued on the same day (certainly at Jomtien) and you will be given a ticket to come back the next day to queue up and collect your passport. If you have a Thai friend it may be prudent to take them with you to assist and translate if necessary. I think I have covered everything and can only apologise if there is something I have missed - or if a different immigration officer or a different office requires something different on another day. Good luck !

Just a heads up to those who may be needing to gain the 90 day extension. This is based on my experience at Jomtien this week. Firstly - don't bother booking the 20 minute appointment slot on line. It will be acknowledged and you will even get a reminder. But it cuts no ice at the immigration office and you will still have to line up and wait outside along with everybody else. My first afternoon was spent waiting to register my address - despite this having already been done by the landlord's agent (for which I had proof). There then followed a lengthy debate regarding the exact numbering of the room within the condo - despite me having produced a copy of the tenancy agreement, the water bill and the electricity bill. At the end of all these conversations (which were conducted in a calm and polite manner by my long-term Thai girlfriend whose name is also on the agreement) I was told that immigration was too busy to issue my extension today and to come back again the next day. I duly turned up at 7.15 the following morning to wait my turn. I was firstly told that my medical insurance did not cover covid. I explained (calmly) that the same insurance document had been accepted in the Thai embassy in London and in Bangkok for the visa and Thailand pass and that I had £2m in cover which far exceeded the required $50,000. This was further reiterated in Thai by my girlfriend. As a result, my insurance document was scrutinised by two further immigration officers behind the counter. I was then told I needed to prove that I had stayed in a quarantine hotel in Bangkok and had tested negative for covid. Despite the fact that this was three months previous and hardly relevant now I did not comment as, fortunately, I still had a copy of the one night hotel booking and the copy of the same day hospital covid test result. Despite having jumped through all the hoops and produced all the paperwork before 9.30 - I was once again told that I needed to come back the following day to collect my passport. (On my first visit day people were getting their passports back that same day and in previous years my extension application had all been completed in less than half a day). Fortunately, I now have my duly stamped passport back in my hands. So just a word of warning to anybody else attempting a tourist visa extension - you need to leave yourself three days for return visits and make sure you have copies of every conceivable piece of paper to hand - even a one day hotel reservation and covid test from three months ago that you may well have binned in the meantime ! The office was busier than I had expected as there are so few tourists in town - but certainly not as busy as in previous years. However, if everybody that is here is having to go back two or three times . . .

It does seem perhaps that the ''rules'' differ dependant upon the embassy location. I obtained my STV via the London embassy last year. I submitted my standard travel insurance policy obtained via the UK Post Office. A couple of weeks later I was requested to provide confirmation of an amount of $50,000 of medical expenses cover ( but there was no specific mention of Covid). I submitted confirmation of the cover in £ (which was many -fold the $ requirement) and subsequently received my STV.

The ''novelty'' of bars and restaurants requiring ATK tests in Pattaya seems to have quickly worn off. Three weeks ago, most bars had signs up saying ''no test - no entry''. Some were asking to see tests taken in the last three days or were selling tests there and then. Most of those signs have now gone. This week, nobody is bothering any more. I have been in various bars in various Pattaya locations without question or challenge. Entry to malls and supermarkets is equally lax. No ATK has ever been required and the temperature check is never enforced. Big C has a temperature camera linked to a monitor screen but the operative is too busy playing on their phone to even bother looking up when the audible high temperature alarm sounds when someone with excessive body temperature enters . . .

Quite . . . it would appear therefore that if an 86 year old bed-ridden person was admitted to hospital with a productive cough she may well have had bronchitis and it is likely that killed her. The contraction of the Covids AFTER she entered hospital (claimed passed on from a visiting relative) perhaps indicates that there were no testing or barrier methods in place to prevent such occurrence.

I would also suggest the Special Tourist Visa as the best compromise if you can meet the criteria and pass through all the hoops. Just leave yourself plenty of time for the process and any additional documents that may be requested by the Thai Embassy following the submission of your application. It took me almost a month to get mine in November 2021. It may be difficult to locate on the visa application website. It is not under Tourist Visas. It is a sub menu listed under ''visas for less than 90 days'' (or similar) - so it is not where you may expect it to be. Good luck.

I have recently passed through LHR and BKK with paper copies of everything. My passage was smoother and quicker than a lot of people who only had digital copies on their mobile phones !