Briggsy

They have a tendency to be rather trusting, naive and unaware of dangers. However, their recently-arrived immigrant community is giving them a lesson at home, whilst the Thais are giving them a lesson abroad.

There was a study undertaken which showed that Thai drivers are genetically incapable of using roundabouts.

I just looked up what a phytotoxin is. It is any substance that is toxic to plant growth. This could be a herbicide or it could be a chemical produced by an insect, a microbe, the plant itself, etc. No shortage of herbicide use or biodiversity here (insect/microbes/plants) I am binning the phytotoxin theory until further evidence is produced.

Wet cloth, Chinese style?

Did you shower in your home country?

@JimmyTobacco I understand your confidence in the unlikelihood of denials of entry for DTV-holders and I hope that you are right and that the visa is honoured by Immigration for the full 5 years. However, as somebody who has lived here since the 1990's and particularly through the noughties where many people were denied entry every single day, particularly at the 2 Bangkok airports, I don't fully share your confidence. The METV had stringent financial requirements, not dissimilar to the DTV. From memory, I think it was £5000 in GBP compared to £11,000 in GBP. The METV had to show ongoing employment in the UK (home country) just as the DTV workcation category does. Both the METV and DTV have a "no employment prohibited" stamp on the visa. Both the METV and DTV are multiple entry. Previously the METV was not available in neighbouring countries (not sure about now). The DTV is though! Making the DTV easier to obtain. Immigration do not like long-stayers popping out to get a visa at Phnom Penh or Vientiane. It sets them off. As you correctly stated the METV was 6 months (which could be stretched to 9 months) so there is no long term access unlike the DTV in which there is long term access. So the DTV is more likely to irk Immigration and lead to denials of entry. Many people who used the METV never, absolutely never, used visa waiver entries as they flagged you up to Immigration. However, it didn't matter, they were still denied entry. You are mistaken about the DTV requirements. Many people obtain them under the 'soft power' category by booking a dentist or doctor's appointment or cooking course in Thailand. Again this may well irk Immigration. There is no need to show employment in a foreign country under the 'soft power' category. You seem to be unfamiliar with Section 2 denials of entry. There is no investigation, discussion or questioning regarding 'means of supporting oneself'. The stamp is just placed in the passport. It is a done deal. It is simply a catch-all legislative clause they use to justify (weakly) their actions. As the last 20 years in Thailand have proved, the Immigration Department does not care about the MFA and certainly not an interview in English to a Youtuber. They care about the Interior Ministry and if somebody sufficiently senior there gives the instruction to deny entry to DTV-holders spending the majority of their time in Thailand, they will deny entry. So, you can see, there is actually greater reason for Immigration to start denying entry to DTV-holders than to METV-holders. Will it happen? Well, it depends on what very senior officials decide. Let us hope my concerns are unfounded. If it does, I would not be in the least surprised, slightly disappointed, yes, but not surprised.

The model of the molecule is an ethanol molecule not a methanol molecule. Presumably this infers this particular drink is safe.

They happily deny entry for METV's where they are of the opinion that the foreigner has stayed in Thailand for too long. METV's are also multiple entry visas. They use the 2 catch-all sections in the legislation for denial of entry, Section 2 "no appropriate means of supporting oneself" and Section 3 "suspected of working in the Kingdom". Remember that a visa does not guarantee entry. Immigration has the right to deny entry. We have been down this road before. MFA issues visas via its embassies and Immigration does not honour them at the border. However, we may be jumping the gun here. There are no reports of denial of entry for DTV-holders yet. It is very early days yet. I will be paying close attention. I suggested the first denials of entry may come filtering through in the middle of 2025 as that will be when the visas may be a year old. Foreigners staying for 350 days out of 365 in the first year will undoubtedly draw the attention of Immigration. What Immigration do is another matter.

Thanks for the report. I had a feeling this was going to happen. I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing denials of entry around the middle of 2025. It could well be me! MFA says one thing, Immigration says the opposite. No such thing as a free (or 10,000 Baht) lunch. 😒

Why are Thai drivers on the railway road more dangerous than Thai drivers on other roads. This is what I was driving at. What are the dangers of the railway road?

Usually not. However, they are expected to negotiate the release of their employees and foot any bills.

In developed nations, pet owners are encouraged to have their pets microchipped. I think this potentially could save a lot of inconvenience, say at Immigration. They could just scan you rather than asking for packs of paperwork each time. It would also help in this type of situation when your corpse is washed up on a beach. "Beep", scan et voila they know who you are.

What exactly is the danger?

Does nobody here ever do "No Comment" interviews? Or do all Thai criminals take the "It's a fair cop" line and then dutifully make a full confession.

I would go with the Western country address.

I suspect this sex offender is not here as a tourist. There is a high likelihood he is here on business of some sort. If so, he may be confident he can use his connections to escape justice. Either way, he will almost certainly reoffend given the nature and manner of his offence.

Okay, I had another look. I think I have found out. It is really [deliberately?] not sign-posted at all. It is Mobile Usage -> Detail -> Active Package(s) -> Then each package has lots of info but also a dustbin symbol. I assume by clicking the dustbin symbol, i.e. delete, it would bin the package and hopefully stop the auto-renew which is the goal. However as this cycle has 29 days to run, I will not click it now. I have made a note in my diary to end the package just before it renews.

Thanks for replying. Their app does not seem to have a way of cancelling the 200 Baht automatically-renewing package. (I suspect they deliberately make it tricky to cancel. 🤨) It looks like I will need to phone them.

I don't think he "lost" 372,000 Baht. It certainly sounds as if he got quite a lot of his money's worth. Not a scam. He started to tell her who she could talk to, what she could wear, etc. She recognised the symptoms of a classic controller and wisely headed for the exit. Good move, Fon.

Trump likes to instal individuals with a lot of dirt in their closet into these powerful positions. That way he can ensure he can blackmail and control them and they won't turn against him. His mentor (handler?), Vladmir, probably encouraged this behaviour.

I have this extra plan on my tourist Sim which takes a monthly fee of 200 Baht. It is not obvious how to cancel it. The plan gives me 30GB of internet at 15 MBps each month. How can I cancel it?

The editing of the video to conform to local norms is annoying.

Please re-read my post. I am talking about the reputation of Nakhon Sri Thammarat amongst other Thais. It is widely held that being a hitman is a career choice for people from that province. However, as you point out and as with most other stereotypes, it is probably highly exagerrated. I would point out though that the way you flew off the handle there was a bit surprising. You wouldn't live in Nakhon Sri Thammarat, would you? 😃

That should be a prison sentence. It won't.

It is extremely rare for an Asiatic black bear to attack a human. They are not "giant". The bear must have been starving, due to ill health or old age perhaps or the victim cornered it and threatened it.