Toolong

'Slightly tech challenged.'? Oh boy, do I hear ya, DrJack. ???? Believe me, you ain't alone. I've got very similarly-related queries that I want to ask on this forum in due course (unless they're by chance answered for me in this thread), but I fear that some members may be too stunned by my ignorance to answer. ????

A verse will do as I'm in the mood for one.....and I'm on the beer Sing, too....so...y'know....cut me some slack. Heavy is the head that wears the crown it's said, But lighter than air are kingly thoughts, A penny for your thoughts Charles is the most I'd pay, but still think I got no bargain, The crown will weigh you down, fathoms deep, End it, can't mend it, but the House of Windsor bends it, To gasp and thrash to the last, like a fat mullet laid on the riverbank mud. (Just sayin')

Well said. And - bar the imaginative allusion to Vatican white smoke!???? - a true enough summary of how it is, has always been...and will likely be yet again. What you mean by 'eventual outcome' clearly (imo, anyway) points to an uprising against perceived electoral fraud & judicially-manipulated power-grabbing by those currently incumbent parties with the power to use foul means not fair to do so. Such an uprising will, I think (if it happens), be distinct from others in recent decades, in one particular regard: a move away from 'colour camps'....red, yellow, orange, etc.....towards a more common cause. And I think that cause is a sense of, 'No, we've really had enough of this ****!'

Yes, I'm looking into the online option. (But......from what I've gathered from this helpful thread .....problems can still arise - though they might be rare perhaps - when hotels submit wrong details. But then maybe I'm being too skeptical about the tm30 online system's reliability. I used to be very skeptical about the online 90 day system until I realised it was actually excellent!) ????????

Sure, I know that. And fair play to any hotel that chooses to abide by that law without exception. But....I'm guessing that some hotels may - if they understand/believe my explanation for why I'd rather not register myself but my Thai wife can - think it reasonable to 'make allowances' in that case, esp. if only for one night or a few nights. But it's their call. ????

Ah, ok....I did not know that. Thanks for explaining that! ????????

But don't they just refer to the passport number which is clearly stated on the Thai DL? ????

555 ???? 'Passport renewal'. ???????? That's a good 'un. PS: Unless it was a top hotel, which wouldn't go for it, I think I'd just be honest and explain why I'd rather not register with my pp number. Just the wife's. Some places might be ok with that. If not, stay home with my limp!

'Limp'!?? How dare you, sir! Pistols at dawn! ???? No, you're right. It IS limp! But let's just say....my overall past experiences with immigration matters has not always been 'smooth', so I kinda like to stay off their radar (so to speak) as much as possible. Of course, maybe I'm just being paranoid! Btw....is it really possible to avoid me personally registering & giving my passport details to hotels - if accompanied by Thai wife/family - like you suggest? If so, that would be fine!

Pure gold, Red Phoenix! ???? I have been needing to understand this for a long, long time! And now I do....thank you! I particularly appreciate your advice on ensuring that hotels do submit the correct details + asking for a copy.......AND.....better still (for me!), alternative ways of using hotels without registering. But anyway, like I said, it's good - thanks yourself and andersonat - to finally understand how the process works, including the pitfalls in it! ????????

Andersonat, Sorry for delay in replying. I very much appreciate you making this post and laying out so clearly what you understand to be the case re hotel stays/tm30 registrations/subsequent online 90 day reporting. Thank you. ???? It sounds very 'logical' to me, in the sense of how the system might be set up to work 'ok', but with potential problems later on - for the foreign 'alien'! - if they are not aware of the points you make. IF the online TM30 system is 'problem-free' (I'm not yet familiar with it) - that's a big IF! - then I guess I should not be so skeptical about using it, but atm I am a bit paranoid about it all. Atm, I carry on my life without any trouble with online 90 day reporting and hate the idea of glitches! (Hour and a half drive away from immigration office!) Price I pay is never staying in hotels when I travel! ???????????????? (Not ideal, I know!)

Sorry, Red Phoenix, delay in seeing your message. Thanks for your advice. I definitely will study the guidelines you kindly sent. But I will be honest and say that I'm a bit skeptical about how 'problem-free' the process might be, in the sense of how much it might actually cause problems to my current trouble-free status-quo (re online 90 day reporting, etc) rather than allow it to continue smoothly. But maybe I'm being paranoid!! ????

Well, well, well....???? What you say gets my attention, andersonat. I'm on yearly marriage extension, live and am TM30-registered, in Korat....and my Thai family are currently enjoying themselves down in Pattaya while I remain here in Korat, after I refused to go with them because of fears that what happened in your case might happen to me. I live very far from the Imm. Office, so 'hiccups' like this would be very inconvenient & quite costly. I guess that apart from just having a good old moan about the system, the point of my post is to say that I just don't feel confident that WHATEVER my 'local' Imm.Office did say ( and tbh I haven't yet enquired) about me needing or not needing to do a new TM30 if I stayed in a hotel in Pattaya (for example), I can rely on that as being true in ACTUALITY, down the line. It's very frustrating. 'Oh, 'The Shifting Fog' of Thai immigration rules! Your post makes me feel maybe I did the right thing by staying home. ????

Oh my......(*sigh*) Mine was bright yellow, bought it second-hand in '83 for 180 pounds (less than 8000 baht in today's money!), a 2 point something litre, had a differential whine that made it sound like an F1 McLaren, and went like a bomb. (Way too much of a cheap charlie to buy a camera then, so no pics......and for any Brits reading this old enough to recall those days, no, I did NOT have fluffy dice hanging from the mirror or played bl**dy Bananarama cassettes really loudly on the cassette player with the windows down, parked in the chippy car park! ????)

Yes. Frustrating.

I hate to complain, cos I like Aseannow and appreciate your service, but the appeal of it all, shall we say, - from a user pov - is really being compromised by ads recently....in particular this Hong Kong rugby ad. ????

Unless it is, for some reason, particularly inconvenient for you to do so (ie, no printer easily accessible) I would advise re-doing the photos. Simple. Then you won't have any niggling worries that the IO's might just be having a bad day and reject them. (Which is a drag if, like me, you live a full gas tank's distance from the Imm. Office.) Margins for stamp? Crikey....is that an issue? At all? I've been pulled up by Imm. for just about every 'paperwork discrepancy' they can come up with (and they can be creative), but never that. ???? Chok dee. ????

Yes, I agree with you about many of the oem rims these days, certainly regarding how they look (to my eyes, anyway). Sometimes they get it right, but very often the design just seems to me like a desperate attempt to be 'different', and maybe it does look different, but too often it looks weird & ugly too! ????

Yes, indeed. With what was, not so long ago, the more conventional set up, that was/is the case. But I've noticed a trend towards more wheel, less tyre, with the wheel sometimes quite prominently exposed to a good mashing by an unforgiving kerb. Not keen on this style personally, but then I'm not a cool, hip dude! ????

Right. ????

Yes....good point. Some of those wheels are just asking for a ding or two. Guess that was an advantage of hub caps or clip on wheel facades that were widely used more often in the past. Easy & cheap to replace. ????????

Thanks for your comments, DavisH.. Yes, I have noticed with new car buyers here that the brand wheels & tyres at purchase often get changed for something more custom in amazingly quick time! Reckon they must have it all planned out before purchase & have it priced in, including the deal on selling the originals. Which of course is fine. ???? You point out the difference in gas consumption between the cx3 & the 2. It's actually hugely important and is one of the reasons for us to get a new vehicle, so despite the appeal of the cx3, it could be a mistake! The test drive may be a deciding factor, so I'll make as much of it as I can. And your point about Mazda bringing out a new 2 variant soon, I agree that they will most likely. So waiting a bit is not a bad idea.....and it gives me a chance to test drive the Yaris. ???????? Thanks....????

It's a 'keeper'! Especially if only 20,000 kms. ????

I'm glad you posted this comment my way, DavisH., cos it gives me a chance to get a niggle off my chest, so to speak! By all means tell me your view on this, if you have a mind to. (Otherwise....if you think I'm talking nonsense, don't sweat it!????????) The local Mazda showroom has only the top variant for each model. Yesterday we went to visit to check out the 2 & the Cx3. The cx3, therefore was the top 'Comfort' variant. The stand-out differences in this top variant from the other cx3 variants - as far as I could tell, there might be others - were a few safety features, like the 360 degree surround view thing, nice suede leather trim.....and 18 inch wheels. My gripe is the wheel/tyre size, compared to the 16 inch size used on the 'lower' variants. I have seen this highlighted in many reviews of the cx3, and I know from my own experience, that the tyre profile used on the 18 inch, the 215/50 R18, will give a much LESS comfortable ride, on poor road surfaces, than the 215/60 R16 tyre used on the lower models. I know on GOOD road surfaces, the 215/50 R18 will no doubt be ok, and maybe even add more overall stability, handling-wise, than the 215/60 R16s, but where I live, a lot of road surface are pretty rough & pot-holed, so those 18 inchers are not what I need. I asked the salespeople if I could order the Comfort variant, but with the 16 inch wheel/tyre set up, paying the same price as I would for the 18 inch wheels. They said no, not possible. I explained the logic of it being a win-win for Mazda, and convenient for me, plus kind of a 'lose' for me, which I would accept. They said just can't be done. I'm not usually attracted by 'bells & whistles' too much, but I admit I do like that suede trim on the top model, and the 360 view monitor would be good for my wife....+ I'm not sure I could get over forking out so much for the next model down, with the hard plastic trim and no 360, despite having (for me) the better wheel/tyre set up. The sales guy suggested I buy it as it is, then trade the 18 inchers for the size I want. While it is possible I suppose, to do that, not only is it a hassle, but possibly it might effect the warranty (not sure). Another issue is that I think my wife has fallen for the CX3, over the Mazda 2! So while I'm now unsure about where to go from here re the CX3, and 'stalled', she's of the mind that it's the one for us.....or her, anyway! ???? Which brings me to the Mazda 2. Regarding wife being a VERY inexperienced, unsure, 4-wheel driver, and therefore getting a car that is small, zippy, easy to manouevre, and good quality....the Mazda 2 is the one for her....as far as I'm concerned! But she wants to run before she can walk, so to speak, and now sees the bigger cx3 is the one for her/us. We test-drove the Mazda 2 (I drove) and it seemed perfectly fine. We will test-drive the cx3 on Monday, and I shall be putting it through its paces on some bumpy surfaces! (If you, or anyone, is wondering why my wife isn't test-driving these vehicles herself, which would make sense, it's cos she is SO inexperienced that I would worry too much about disaster, unless we could find an unused airport runway to drive around! ????)

But there are a lot of nice accessories you can add on to make it a pleasant driving experience for your wife and to ramp up its resale value. Like, say, the roll-down see-through rain screens. What wife wouldn't appreciate that? ????????