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14 hours ago, bob smith said:

so close the island off to tourism then...

 

they wanted them to come in the first place, no?

 

bob.

Thai are not stupid to  "so close the island off to tourism then... "    as you suggested. 

Looking for info and hope someone can advice. 

Non-O  Visa  retirement visa extension,  800K method, Jomtien location. 

As 1-year visa extension is due on same month of 90-day reporting and just couple of days apart, 

do I need to do Both virtually at same time,   or do I just get 1-year visa extension and ignore 90-day reporting on that month ?  

I lost my five year driver license earlier this year. 

Must have police report,  20 B   and  Residence Certificate 300 B -- all original--  in hand while applying for replacement at DLT. 

I did not have a photo copy of lost license so I had panic before going, anyway it was OK.

Bring passport of course and you will need photo copies of certain pages  -- could do on the spot.  

Cost for replacement was surprisingly low.  around 200 B --- could not remember now.. 

On 11/5/2023 at 4:36 AM, NextG said:

Take a pic next time, rather than just writing. State the time also. 
That way will be closer to understanding at what time of the day they change over. Because it’s obvious that I am right by my picture. So it must be some time in the day that they switch over. Picture please. 

I often take this bus and I just talk facts.   Why bother photo ?

Your info is not up-to-date and incorrect.  SO BE it.

Saudi actively invest in Asia nowadays doing major projects in China, South Korea, Indonesia.  They will do joint venture projects in HK  too. 

it appears Thailand might hopefully get minor share. 

. 

10 hours ago, Digitalbanana said:

 

Perhaps Jonathan Head has resorted to ChatGPT to write his nonsense as well? Made no sense to me either.

True.  It is a bad piece by  Jonathan Head of BBC 

17 hours ago, NextG said:

Are there actually any real people left in Thailand on this board?

Where are their ‘up to date’ pics? Mine was taken a few hours before posting. 
I’m sure the people on the back of the bus can recognise themselves 😊
 

I just cared and talked experience. 

Last I took baht bus at this location was Nov 3, 2023 and boarded the front bus on queue which was the first one leaving. 

On 11/1/2023 at 2:38 PM, NextG said:

Rather than waste my time arguing with you, I’ll provide proof. 
A picture is worth a thousand words?

 

Here are two:

 

 

Let’s see if you are MAN enough to offer an apology. I did state specifically that it was at night time and in EXACTLY the same place as before. 

About 3 months ago,  they changed the queuing system. 

So your info had been outdated.

1 hour ago, Karma80 said:

 

Exactly. The same story as China, was cheap, now not. Once the costs start to increase, it's off to Vietnam!

Vietnam economy was doing very well in 2022 -- over 7% GDP growth in 2022. 

Vietnam economy and export had not been doing so well in 2023 first 9 months on year on year basis,  less than half of 2022 data.  Not so sure of reasoning behind.  

Thailand export and economy are generally OK.  

22 hours ago, billd766 said:

Good for you but the thread was about Thai European and Australian long haul routes and not Thai Smile domestic routes.

 

I

Thai Airway just announced days ago  European and Australian routes had been booked  "full"  for fourth quarter of this year. 

Tourism is up, Airlines are busy. 

Good and Happy for them. 

2 hours ago, John Drake said:

 

American investors should reorient themselves towards the Philippines. Thailand is becoming a hostile anti-American member of the Russian/Chinese Axis.

All Investors only see   $$$$$$$$     Anti this-Anti that is no concern. 

Risk is also bearable as long as there will be high profit,  high return. 

Just Business Course 101

In addition to very low fare,  there are two features in Pattaya Baht Bus --- 

get on/ get off anywhere   and  'door-less' . 

The 'door-less' part is easy enough.  Would the on/off anywhere feature be same in the Phuket bus running the loop ?  if yes, is frequent stoppage an issue ?  

I think 40 B is about the right price.

There are. 

Available in Big C and Lotus Supermarkets in Pattaya and Bangkok.

Actually a better kind/brand available in Thailand just roughly one year ago --  fruitless and more delicious. 

Cheaper too.   I bought and ate plenty. 

1 hour ago, bamnutsak said:

 

 

How can these imaginary and unplanned events "boost tourism"?

 

People have already made their travel plans, so they're coming to Thailand regardless.

 

No tourists are going to wait until next month to hear about events and then book a trip.

 

And this "soft power" thing is getting old.

Not same for Westerners and Asians. 

Westerners booked months prior to departure. 

Very common for Asians decided going and booking a week or two or three or four prior to departure.

The Thai favor and want the new rail system,  period. 

Thai Government is working towards this goal. 

Thailand could not build HSR themselves. 

Japan and China were the suppliers for such project in this region. 

Japan fumbled badly on HSR projects in India and Vietnam in last 5 years.

China was marching on completing project after project and surpassed and beaten out Japan nowadays in pricing and technology and timing. 

( Japan started in late 1960's ;  China started in early 2000's )  

On 10/15/2023 at 7:49 PM, Mike Lister said:

A major problem is the timing, Thailand appears to be getting ready to create inflation when other economies are trying to slay it. This is going to lead to an out of step relationship as Western economies reduce interest rates whilst Thailand is forced to increase them. A compounding timing problem of course is the blow up in the ME which threatens to push the global economy into recession, just as Thailand is trying to push it the opposite way. This wouldn't be so bad were it not that Thailand is dependent on the global economy for exports and tourism. The consumer led recover that the government seems keen to invoke needs an economy o stimulate! The handout is going to help retail but it wont help manufacturing very much at all and it certainly wont help government debt.

The current inflation rate in Thailand is around 1%,  and you are concerned about inflation rate in Thailand  ?  

May as well be known that  you DO NOT like the Thai live happily in both short and long run. 

Macao had done this multiple time,  Macao had done same,  so were Japan and Singapore. 

Now it is Thailand.  

17 hours ago, Srikcir said:

Has Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman how much Thailand respects the sovereignty of Muslim nations? How much Thailand respects the traditions and culture of Islam without suppression and subjugation to Buddhism? 

There's a bit of Twightlight Zone with the new government's choice of economic partnerships.  

PM  Srettha is Not history guy of religion guy.  I doubt he understand much about either of these subjects. 

He has been too busy running from countries to countries,  meeting to meeting and might not have time to think about    " The West Vs Global South ".

For him, he engages about any business good for Thailand in both long and short run,  regardless of global and geo-politics .  The Thai like this way too. 

22 hours ago, bradiston said:

I'm actually impressed! He's had the ear of Putin and Xi, and they seem prepared to give him the time of day. He's made a speech at the UN, and generally put himself about, so he is by now probably a familiar face on the international scene.

 

His endeavours at attracting inward investment for several mega projects - high speed rail from the North and the East West land bridge - could make an incalculable difference to the Thai economy. Ok, so it's Belt and Road, but he at least has some financial savvy having run Sansiri, so will hopefully bring an astute business sense to the negotiating table. We might hate him for the post election shanannigans, but it has to be time to move on. He seems at home with the Chinese, having a lot of connections in his family background. Maybe he even speaks Mandarin?

 

Anyway, that's my 2¢.

 

I wonder how Pita would have performed in the same set of circumstances?

About the language,  Srettha has an advantage as shown in past weeks that he spoke English quite often  in informal as well as formal meeting with business executives and Head of States,  and also in public speaking on the Forum.   

Almost all executives and politicians in other countries do not know Thai language,  but a lot are fluent in English, or at least know some English.  

Srettha talked with Saudi MBS without translator from both sides, all in English. 

He met with 5-6 business groups in China including Alibaba,  Tencents,  Xiaomi,  etc and spoke English in the meeting.  

14 hours ago, Partenavia said:

I just do not comprehend where the savings are. Not when you take into account 2 x Pilotage Fees, 2 x Tug/berthing costs. Unloading/loading costs. Transportation from port A to B.

Concept is more like the major Hub of airport for transit. 

Singapore has been doing such services ---- unloading/loading and distribution etc ---  and of course quieting making big $$$ for decades. 

Thai Landbridge is to assimilate and share such business with Singapore,  as running a parallel route ( through Thailand is shorter and better route )  

In Beijing five days ago,  Putin initiated and invited Srettha for a short gathering.  It surprised Srettha and the Thai entourage.   So why not ?  it does not hurt Thailand a bit,  but there is an opportunity out there. 

Just two months into his new job,  Mr. Srettha had gone to

NYC for UN Conference,

Beijing for BRI Forum,

and Riyadh for Asian-GCC Summit .

Mr. Srettha indeed looked like a political rookie,  after all, he had been in politics full time for months only and he did not have this level of international exposure in the past. 

 It is very tall order for him matching up Putin, Xi and MBS, all experienced politicians. 

I think Mr. Srettha is more about vision and seriously short of style and details.  

7 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

So 26-27 Million by end of 2023? How does that compare to expectations? Excuses or celebrations on these numbers?

 

They targeted 25 million in 2023. 

5 hours ago, daveAustin said:

Half that. They always base it on arrivals. I could trip here for a few weeks and do Vietnam, Cam, Laos—bouncing each time—and I am three people lol. 

The counting method had been same for decades.   

22 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Thousands of Chinese losing their employment as businesses go bankrupt, factories closing almost daily, cities becoming ghost-towns... condos and apartments empty from what used to be full of workers.

They've had to return to home towns to seek work.

China is slowly imploding... and TAT think China is still Thailands tourism saviour.

T

wo weeks ago,  USA CitiBank and USA J Morgan Bank raised their projection of China 2023 GDP growth from below 5.0%  to 5.0%. 

Sorry to disappoint you who specialized in writing bad news rhetoric for Thailand and for China.