GigsGigs

13 minutes ago, Oxx said:

 

There have been at least 37,921 lethal Islamic attacks since 9/11 - just under 7,000 days.  That's roughly 5 1/2 per day.  So, you're right, it's not occurring daily:  it's occurring multiple times every day.

What he said.

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Glad he was shot dead, don't want to waste money on these people in court and prison 

French court judges are lefties, prisons are filled to the brim. The ratio should be 2 inmates per cell, we have reached a state of 5 inmates per cell. It tells you the state of disarray of France.

1 hour ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

I read somewhere that each one paid 175k baht for the package ( flights, ASQ, Visa etc ) x 150 = nice little earner !!

Indeed. But then again 175k THB to these millionaires is like 10$ USD to us, scale to scale.

41 minutes ago, connda said:

Cambodia's starting to look pretty good.  Only $3000 in escrow to get you into the country.

Cambodia indeed looks good, but in my case; Laos looks even better! Wife is from a village on the border of the mekong, she has relatives on both sides of the river, my chances at getting a visa for Thailand are slim to none, my chances at getting a visa for Laos is as high as 50%. If we really would re-unite we could easily do so on the Laos side of the mekong river.

TL;DR: !@#$ Thailand for the time being. Laos and Cambodia are the way to go.

13 minutes ago, Jack Hna said:

You got some info to share on Laos besides the girls. Last time I checked it's a no go. 

Patience is a virtue.

6 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

There goes that "I can't fly out" excuse.

Told you so weeks ago.

26th September cometh; farang hunting season opens up for the immigration.

7 hours ago, Bender Rodriguez said:

so it seem to be clear & final

I told you so weeks ago. The party is over, there will be no "excuses" this time. Plenty of flights out of the country this time around.

26th September is hunting season for the immigration.

You will be arrested, detained, deported and blacklisted. (those without a legal proper visa status of course).

1 hour ago, pantsonfire said:

So the EU has started this, why cant Asia

https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/commission-encourages-eu-countries-to-allow-entry-of-unmarried-partners-of-eu-citizens-and-residents/?fbclid=IwAR25REfmwL20phBUsYjTpiiRqeAGqrao9_ElQlD7hBrRoDBiXvY5uX6dTd0

Because of their obvious xenophobia?

I've been saying it for years, Thailand doesn't want foreigners anymore, they just want our money. If they could come up with a scheme where you land in Thailand, hand out all your credit card details, your holiday cash then turn around and board the same plane you just came in, they'd do it without any hesitation.

#LoveIsNotTourism

And yet there we are.

The French secretary to the Ministry of Tourism went on national TV yesterday and announced publicly in the upcoming weeks a new kind of "laissez passer" alike a visa can be applied through French embassies through the World (including Thailand of course).

If you are unmarried but yet have tangible evidences, receipts, proofs, pictures, etc that you are in a stable relationship with a foreigner (regardless of male or female), said foreigner is entitled to apply for a "laissez passer" document which will then allow you to be reunited with your stranded lover/partner.

Once the "laissez passer" document has been delivered all you have to do then is book a round trip flight and you are set, allowed to enter France and the schengen area.

No need for PCR tests, CoE, certificates of blah blah, flight reservations and ASQ or any other bull.

It was also hinted that soon this would be extended to ALL the European countries that are part of the European Union/schengen area.

Thailand has shown their shortcoming again.

TL;DR: You can now be reunited with your Thai girlfriend.

#LoveIsNotTourism

54 minutes ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

I'm noticing condo prices and rents in Pattaya are back to 1997 prices and daily rental prices for short term stays are down as low as US$ 11.

And that is a good thing, my friend.

1 minute ago, Skeptic7 said:

Not sure what your currency, but mine is U$D and it is down against the TH฿ about 2% since mid-July and down more than 5% since early April. But hopefully in the longer run!

EUR went from 34.5 to 37 for an entire week.

Look at the graphs below and the trend:

https://transferwise.com/gb/currency-converter/eur-to-thb-rate?amount=1

1 hour ago, Skeptic7 said:

Personally, I wish The Kingdom nothing but the worst. And honestly...everything bad for Thailand is actually good for me and my Thai family. 

Likewise. Proof is, Thai economy crashing? Look the exchange rate is back in our favor!

On 8/2/2020 at 8:03 AM, Aussie Col said:

I say again tourists and Non O people will not return to Thailand

What makes you think they actually want/need us here in the Kingdom?

You are looking at this situation only through your end of prism.

What makes you think either the Hi-So thais from Bangkok want to us here to begin with?

What makes you think the Issan farmer family in the upper northeast country wants us here for?

Truth be told and as devastating the state of affairs is in Thailand regarding to tourism, there is a bigger picture here, what have we learnt from all of this pandemic?

Is that no matter how dire the circumstances are, people will always find new ways and adapt to survive, those who fail to adapt are doomed to perish, the strongest will survive.

I personally know of 3 succesful bar girls in Pattaya at the moment who were forced to change businesses;

A. has left her bar on Soi Buakhao due to the owner refusing to pay her, she has invested her 4.500 bahts savings into a small cart, she now roams the streets of Pattaya she is selling barbecued food and reportedely makes 800 bahts a day, she told me it was hard at first but she puts the efforts in and is satisfied with her new job.

N. has been kicked out from her in Soi Made in Thailand, the bar has been permanently shut, she invested 6,800 bahts savings into a refrigered cart, she also roams around Soi 6, 7 and 8 and sells ice cream, the profit isn't there yet but she's more than happy to do 600 bahts a day, to the point she suggested her sister come to Pattaya to do the same, it's profitable still.

P. has been more succesful, she has borrowed a bit, allianced with 2 other ex bar girls and room mates and are now in the same business running a laundry shop, they are very happy as it is.

TLDR; Thailand doesn't need us, Thailand doesn't need tourism, people will adapt and move on with their lives. Plenty of opportunities to grab and money to be made for the Thais.

On 8/1/2020 at 10:42 AM, madmen said:

Why would you think expats have even close to that amount outside of pension day.. 

Truth be told, nobody in the current government cares about expats.

What they do want however are tourists and specially tourists entries/exits so it matches the TAT tourism predictions, they only care about these bloody numbers.

An expat might be living here in the LOS all year around or 6 months/180 days a year, spend monthly on a rent/car loan/insurance/Thai family expenses/gifts for his Thai missus, etc, etc, the reality is that the TAT doesn't care about that expat because at the end of the day it's only *1* single entry into the Kingdom and *1* exit.

They'd rather cater to those 0 baht spending hoards of chinese tourists that roam like herds of zombies in the overcroweded/clogged streets of Pattaya/Chiang Mai/Phuket etc.

They only care about the numbers. Thai logic at it's finest.

And again, the title of this thread is:

"Phuket, Samui and Phi Phi could be first Thai destinations opened to foreign tourists".

They keyword here being, the word tourists, not the word expats.

Expats are not a priority to this government, in fact the latest changes in the immigration rules those past 5 years with the pesky TM30 and then the mandatory insurance and now the $100.000USD COVID-19 compliant insurance for those of us whishing to return at all costs, only exacerbates this behavior from the Thais; They want our money, they don't want expats anymore.

2 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

Fair point,, but I don't think Immigration will care about that - as Jackcwba said, people have had plenty of time to get out, most have chosen not to. 

That is correct and that is also why the upper inner circle at the immigration in Chaeng Wattana feels cheated about this entire ordeal.

Just now, hotandsticky said:

Getting out will be the requirement; they will say "up to you" where you go.

Precisely, as long as you're out of the Kingdom, you're not their problem anymore.

1 minute ago, mtls2005 said:

But you are correct; I doubt people will be able to use a lack of flights as an excuse?

That is the general idea, yes. No more "som nam na" for the immigration.

4 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

I checked Suvarnabhumi's online flight status yesterday and there were 38 outbound, international flights.

Which is the double amount of outbound flights compared to say... a week ago.

Cometh the 26th of September, this whole stranded excuse won't have a leg to stand on any longer, believe me.