Brian Hull

Can anybody explain why Thai Immigration issues 3 months Tourist Visas that are only good for 2 months and then require applying for a 30 day extension. Why not just make a 3 month visa a 3 month visa? Thailand bureaucracy always makes simple things complicated. Thialand is not The Promised Land - it has heaps of competition for international tourists.

How can Thailand be neutral about Russia's unjustified, unprovoked, murderous invasion of Ukraine. The government's attitude is a disgrace and brings great shame to the people of Thailand.

Philosopher John Stuart Mill delivered an 1867 his inaugural address at the University of St. Andrews and stated: “Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing. He is not a good man who, without a protest, allows wrong to be committed in his name, and with the means which he helps to supply, because he will not trouble himself to use his mind on the subject.”

Even if he can't get rid of corrupt senior cops I would like to see him crack down on indolent ones who don't measure up to their responsibilities. Although Thailand has one of the deadliest traffic records in the world and the main cause is that there is NO police control of motor bikes on the roads (at least in Chiang Mai) they are obviously not answerable to any higher ups. So collecting a pay cheque and perks each month but not assuming any responsibility is one form of corruption.

Thais seem to have a hard-wired inclination to make simple things complicated. If they just included the 300B in the cost of a visa nobody would know or care.

Let us hope that all politicians who stole the country from the people are shown the door with a good kick in the bum on the way out. Democracy is not about perfect government. It's about letting democratically elected politicians air their opposing and frequently stupid ideas, then judging them at election time and renewing their contract for a further term or replacing them with others who are more capable.

Thailand does NOT have an easy to renew annual retirement visa. You need to prove THB 800,000 (USD$25K) income p.a. or income/fixed deposit in a bank which is higher than social security pensions from most countries. In addition you require expensive health cover. I do not understand why Thailand isn't content to settle for annual income/assets of say THB 500,000 paid by Social Security in the vatious countries directly into a Thai bank, considering that it is coming in as foreign currency and EVERY BAHT OF IT IS GOING TO BE SPENT IN THAILAND. What's the downside?

The demise of the generals can't come soon enough. Nothing has improved since the 2014 power grab.

For a number of years Thai Immigration has done its best to make travel to Thailand difficult, if not incompehensible. How hard can it be to come up with sensible unambiguus requirements that are followed by all immigration offices, Embassies, and Consulates, and understood by intending visitors? This 'Alice In Wonderland' stuff goes on year after year - it's not rocket science.

He would get much better results by fining or sacking or prosecuting the traffic cops and their superiors who are derelict in their duty and do practically nothing to enforce the traffic rules.

The cause of the problem is not lack of education as getting a licence is not easy (at least in Chiang Mai). You must endure hours of watching videos and then do a written test which I struggled to get through although I had been driving in Australia for 60 years. The problem is that the police don't enforce the rules. In my 6 years living in Chiang Mai I never once saw the police pull over a motorbike or car for anything. Their only activities were grossly over-manned road blocks to check on licences and helmets which, while laudible, does nothing to regulate riding and driving behavior. Any country in the world would have a record just as dismal for road accidents and fatalities as Thailand if their traffic police were not trained, directed and held accountable. Obviously the buck should stop with the lack of action by senior police and the politicians to whom they should be answerable.

My 2 suggestions (1) Scream, and (2) Panic

Completely illogical. I wouldn't want these guys working for me. What's the downside to having lots of tourists spnding lots of foreign currency in Thailand, regardless of how affluent they are?

So many Thai politicians seem to have graduated from the University of Lalaland. Every country would prefer high income, high spending tourists. In the meantime, while they are waiting for this miracle to happen, I suggest that TAT and other agencies should focus on attractiing as many tourists and retirees as possible and on simplifying the red tape. Thailand has dozens of countries competing for the interntional tourist business

Thailand, with a population of 67 million, has done a good job to date in keeping CORVID-19 deaths low. This begs the question of why nothing serious is ever done to tackle the annual road carnage, which gives Thailand the distinction of being in the top few of the worst countries in the world. Every accident is a tragedy but the biggest tragedy of all is that most of these could have been prevented with proper police control. I don’t know where the buck stops in the Thai bureaucratic blame game but it should be obvious to even a blind man where it starts – with the traffic police, who are noted by their absence from the roads. During six years of living in Chiang Mai, not once did I see a motor bike cop or police car stop anybody for anything. Their activities are confined to roadside checks for motorbike helmets and drivers’ licenses. While it is laudable, it does not require trained policemen to perform this function, it could be done by retired school teachers or librarians, and does nothing whatsoever to reduce road accidents. For years, I have expressed my frustration, and fumed about Thailand not having proper road rules but to my surprise, when I did a test for a Thai Driver’s License, I discovered that sensible traffic regulations, similar to those in the West, are in place. The problem is that they are not enforced. I think a basic road rule that applies in nearly all developed countries, including Thailand, is that a vehicle, whether car or motorbike) cannot pass another vehicle that is travelling in the same lane. So, all those motorbikes and scooters that are passing cars on either side of them, and snaking in and out of traffic, are breaking the law and creating mayhem. This, and not drink driving or speeding, is the major cause of accidents. If the police were to crack down on just this one rule there is no doubt in my mind that traffic accidents would be reduced by well over 50%. Any country in the world would have a traffic accident rate as dismal as Thailand’s if they did not have active police control, from the top down. If senior Government officials are not capable of effectively managing their police force, or are just too lethargic, then they should be replaced, and if appropriate, face charges of Criminal Negligence.