Burma Bill

There was when I lived in Thailand, and still is where I live now in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Having the Membership Card (which is optional) entitles me to free promotion offers/gifts. I have received free plastic sealable food boxes, packs of squash and drinking water in addition to my purchases. Such promotions are not available to "Makro" card-less customers. Here in Siem Reap, Makro occasionally offers sticker schemes (like Green Shield stamps) which enable you to fill/part fill a card for a selection of free items. The number of stamps you get is based on the total value of your purchased goods. In another scheme, we get free tickets for inclusion in a draw for a car, motorcycles, electrical equipment etc. These schemes are not available for non-card holders. You are advised at check-out. I already had a Thai Makro card when I applied for a Khmer one. The cards are only valid in the issuing country. All I had to show was personal identification and my still valid Thai driving license was accepted (I did not have my passport on me).

Including foreign/ex-pat English language teachers????

By means of "dead drops"????

In my opinion, what great news to start the weekend!!

More cigarette smokers now resident in Pattaya???

What a laugh!! Just imagine "hissed" tourist/ex-pat smokers staggering out of a bar in the early hours and having to look for a "communal ashtray".

Perhaps she was just trying to keep abreast of the times!!

Big deal! In a city with a population of 21.54 million people (2018 Google)

Alternatively:

That thought also crossed my mind - Burma also North Korea???

With respect, not if the Chinese tourists paid for package holidays in Yuan back home or were staying in AirBnB apartments on Phuket owned by Chinese investors also back home.

Thanks - exactly the same for me (pre-pandemic). The parking company even provided its own free transport service to the Thai Immigration Office.

Thief Attempts to Steal from Laundry Shop Perhaps he wanted to "wash his dirty linen in public"?

Thanks - my thought as well. The cab unit is well and truly ablaze!

A new source of "income" for Thai Immigration???

First this: Now this:

For reference if you are in, or passing through Khon Kaen with time to spare, there is a Laos Consulate that issues visas in Khon Kaen. It is situated on the east side of Highway 2, north of the city towards Udon Thani. Visa service available normal weekdays (Mon - Fri). You arrive around 8:30am with pp photo, valid passport and whatever the current fee is. You complete the visa application form and present to a Consular Officer. You return at 3pm to receive your passport with Laos visa attached. I used this service when going to visit Luang Prabang and Vientiane. The next day I drove to Nong Khai and parked up in a security area. Having left Thai Immigration, I used the old bus across the Friendship Bridge to Laos Immigration. No problems for me, I bypassed all those wanting visa on arrival and showed my valid Laos visa in my passport. I was cleared to enter Laos - no 100 baht! Admittedly this was pre-pandemic, but hassle free for me avoiding confusion over E-visas and visas on entry for Laos. (photo of Laos Consulate in Khon Kaen - entrance is via small gate on the right - the main entrance on left is usually closed).

The locomotive pictured above, is one of the new Chinese built for SRT. Delivery commenced last year. For reference: The first 20 locomotives among a batch of 50 ordered from Chinese manufacturer CRRC Qishuyan Ltd were shipped to Sriracha Train Yard in Chonburi...................... The new diesel-electric locomotives use German-made engines............................They come equipped with an ATP [Automatic Train Protection] brake system and CCTV cameras, have low emission rates and are compatible European Train Control System (ETCS) level 1. https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40011931 Interesting, they have German engines, unlike the Thai submarines!!

Well blow me down! Mister "Concrete" Anutin now in charge of infrastructure construction projects!!!!!

So much being posted about "agents" and Immigration Offices along with the rights and wrongs - some good, many garbage! Let us not forget the possibility of dodgy dealings at Thai Embassies. The Thai Embassy in Vientiane (Laos) comes to mind. Several years ago (around 2010) I had to go for a visa extension in Vientiane and found a very long queue standing out in the excessive heat and humidity facing a long wait. Across the road was a line of white vans, some containing copying machines linked to shops by electricity cables, with Laos agents ready to process peoples passports. The agent took my passport, pp photo, and gave me a blank visa extension form to sign - he completed the rest of the form. The fee was 1,000 baht. I went to a hotel (owned by the agent's family) where I relaxed and enjoyed excellent food and beer along with many other foreigners on the same "deal". True to his word, the agent appeared at the hotel's reception at 11:00am the next day with all our passports duly stamped with our new visa extensions. No doubt this hassle free 1,000 baht arrangement no longer exists.

Reminded me of the days when KAN AIR operated a fleet of 1 Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, 1 Beechcraft Premier 1, and 2 ATR 72-500's from its base in Chiang Mai Airport to many domestic destinations in Thailand. On two occasions I flew in their ATR from Khon Kaen to Chiang Mai - very comfortable with plenty of legroom and a hot meal! Sadly, the airline stopped operating in 2017 due to technical difficulties and non-compliance with certain safety regulations. When aircraft were grounded for maintenance, no replacements were provided and cancellations became a regular occurrence. Photo of Kan Air Cessna:

In an "off shore" account by now??

To visit the Kings Romans Casino complex on the opposite side to Thailand?? Back in my Tourist Police Volunteer days in Chiang Rai, there was a regular small boat service across the Mekong from a reception center with car park on the Thai side near Chiang Saen to the casino complex opposite - no visas. Car ferries (similar to photo below with a pontoon being guided by a tug) brought vehicles down river (from Burma/China?). This was the only place in Thailand I visited where my mobile phone automatically displayed "China Telecom" instead of "AIS".

I've never heard of it, so for reference (Google)