KanchanaburiGuy

. You're welcome to control anything and everything that comes off YOUR OWN keyboard. As far as mine goes, mind your own business. Whether you comprehend it or not, there are RECENT posts of people having issues. To some degree, those people will be wondering whether those issues might have been resolved. Consequently, it might be interesting...... and maybe even HELPFUL or USEFUL....... for those people to see a report of someone having NO troubles, and what steps he went through to get there. So sorry, officer, I know you mean well, but you're well outside your jurisdiction, and reaching well beyond your authority! No brown envelope for you!

. And the conclusion....... Wednesday, August 28, 2024. 4 pm. Verified on my last in-office tm47 receipt from June that the barcode has my new passport number. It does. (Tells me the new passport is in the computer!) Went online. Pulled up my form using my old passport number. Used autofill for all the answers on the form except those that changed with my new passport. Changed nothing but the passport number and my last arrival date on the form. Hit submit. All this took 3 minutes. (Would have been less, but, for this first time on the new passport, I double and triple checked that I wasn't missing something else that had changed.) Received confirmation of receipt of submitted application at 4:09 pm. ---------> 30 hours later <-------- Received email of approval on Friday, August 30, 2024, 9:56 am ----- only 30 hours after submission (with two overnight windows, Wednesday and Thursday, since I put it in near the end of the day Wednesday). Absolutely no problems! Perfect performance! Cheers!

Did my in-person visit for tm47 on the new passport I got in March, in June. (Gotta go in for the first one!) No problem. Tomorrow..... (Aug 27)...... I'll try to start up the online process again that had worked so famously on my old passport, with the new one. We'll see! 😁 (Due Sept. 10. -- Tomorrow is 14 days out, if you count tomorrow as day one.)

To verify this, I looked at several "how to" websites. On three of them I found this sentence (or variations thereof): You cannot do ONLINE reporting not earlier that 15 days before the reporting date and not later than 7 days before the reporting date. (Side Note: The double-negative makes it fun. 😂 "cannot do... not earlier that [sic]" Either the "not" in cannot has got to go away, or the "not" in "not earlier than." Otherwise, it says the opposite of what they mean it to say! LOL) Note that both the 15 days mentioned, and the 7 days, are talking about BEFORE the reporting date. This wrong info is probably how I got it wrong three years ago........ (since I got it from SOMEWHERE! 😂)....... and it's still out there! (Thus a good reminder that not all information sources get it right! Which, of course, now includes ME on THIS website! Hahaha!) Thanks for the clarification! Cheers!

I started doing online three years ago. It's been my understanding since I started that the online form must be filed at least 7 days ahead of the due date. That would make the window to file online from 15 days prior to 7 days prior. I assume that means that if it is WITHIN seven days, it's gonna get rejected. Go on in! 😂 My situation NOW is....... I've got a new passport. I tried online in the already-established window, but...... no surprise at all...... it got rejected. First time on a new passport ALWAYS requires an office visit. But....... well....... I thought I'd try anyway. 😂 Used the old passport number to pull up the account...... auto-filled....... then changed the number in the passport window to the NEW number, on the idea that they would have already changed my passport number in the system when they rolled me over into the new passport! Submit! Pffft! (I seriously considered trying to sneak the 90-day report by using the auto-filled old passport info, since it wasn't expired [just dead because it was replaced.] I kinda thought they maybe.... might...... perhaps...... just not notice! The automated system just might get some kind of automatic reaction from the immigration officer, I figured. But then I chickened out! 😂 What if they ~DID~ catch it and think I was trying to pull something??? hahaha! And I would also have already sworn on the submission to the info being correct....... which could wind up biting me in the bottom!) Went in in June near my already scheduled date and got my "first" 90-report done on my new passport. Now anxiously awaiting the September date....... to see if I can get back to doing it online!

. Whaddya mean? There's plenty of time left in June. 6497 minutes left, as of......... NOW! 6496....... Tick tick tick 6495....... Tick tick tick 6494....... Tick tick tick 6493........ Lots of time! *wink*

Last 90-day check-in was in March, using my old passport. Got new passport in late March, right before renewing my 1-year, non-O [marriage] extension. Did passport changeover and 1-year extension at the same time. All smooth, no problems, easy-peasy. Have NEVER had a problem bigger than needing copies, which they'll now do in the office themselves for just a couple of baht. (You'll note I'm not saying which office this is where for years I've had zero problems........ but my screen name kinda gives that away! 😂) June 2024 -- Time to do 90-day online. Hmm...... Do I want to use the new passport number (the right thing, but possibly rejected)...... or do I want to submit using the OLD ONE, which might just slip by unnoticed? Hmm! Lol Pulled up the pre-filled form using the old passport number. Was a little surprised it came up. (Thought they might have changed it back in April.) Erased the old number, typed in the new number in its place. Submit. Got what I expected: Rejected -- must do FIRST TIME in-person. (Still wonder, though: Had just used the old number instead........if it would have sailed through, like always? LOL I'll never know.......!) Online appointment: 1:15. Arrived a little late, 1:20. Took a number. Five people waiting. This gave me time to fill out the TM47 (two minutes, finding and filling). I was number 169. Five minutes, 167 *ding* Five more minutes, 168 *ding* Three more minutes, 169 *ding* Window 3. I guess it was about three minutes at the window. He checks out the new passport, verifying entries. Looks at my old passport TM47 from March, now paper-clipped into the new. Keys in the computer for a bit. Signs bottom of form, tears off the bottom half and folds. Shows me the next one is in September. "Thank you, bye bye." Presumably, I'll be able to do the next ones online, like I have---with no problems, whatsoever---for the last 8 times, now that this FIRST TIME check-in for the new passport is done. We'll see in September. I know that ~~everything was fine, quick, easy~~ stories are a lot less fun. But I've been going to the Kanchanaburi Office for thirteen years, for a couple of hours once a year (extensions), and had almost no problems. (Had to return to the bank once, for example, because the balance on the paper and the balance in the book didn't match. Of course, had I noticed this MYSELF while at the bank in the first place........! Lol Same thing happened this year, but I knew to look for it, so fixed it before going to Immigration!) This time, for my 90-day Report, I was in and out of the office in 20 minutes, or so. For the 8 times before this, the Online system worked perfectly. Before I go to the office, I always use the online appointment system. I don't think this helps them get to ME any quicker, but I think it DOES help them anticipate expected volume better and schedule their manpower accordingly. (One can hope, anyway! LOL) * * * * * Sorry, I wish I had a worse story to tell y'all! That'd be more fun! But the fact is, Thai Immigration in Kanchanaburi has done a great job for me for 13 years, now: Quick, easy, consistent, and efficient! I say: So I have to give up a couple of hours once a year to do my extension. So what? That gives me 364 days of trouble-free existence (minus one 30-minute in-home visit)...... with the only burden being that I have to spend 90-seconds doing an online TM47...... on a form that fills in its own blanks, for the most part!....... four times a year. SUCH HORRORS! CHEERS!

. In a place where the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing, here's the problem...... *wink*

Saw a video clip from TNT on YouTube. He showed that while last Wednesday they were saying June 1st, an update from Friday said "late June or early July" for these new rules. (He showed a screenshot of the Friday changes.) This, of course, would explain why people arriving on June 1 & 2 were still getting 30-day Exemption stamps, and not the new 60-day stamp. What Thailand shares with my first wife is....... They are not indecisive...... they are multidecisive! "Wait right here, please. A new decision will be along any moment!"

Surely everyone here on AN saw the reports that Immigration has been INSTRUCTED to tighten-up and clamp-down on how they handle entries and extensions. And not just clamp-down, but to file periodic reports of their efforts, showing that they're doing their jobs. This, of course, as in pretty much any bureaucracy, often leads to people "finding" problems...... even where there are none....... so they have something to report! (Having NOTHING to report being, of course, the fastest way to get into trouble! 😂) All this caught my attention because 1) I was literally just about to do my one-year extension, so it made me a little leery; and 2) At the very same time as this INSTRUCTION came down...... they were announcing how they planned to make entry quicker, simpler, and more streamlined at the airport! Pretty Thailand Funny, that! (Extension went flawless. [Very nice and professional IO, a young woman at Kanchanaburi, where I've NEVER had the kinds of problems I read about here on AN -- 14 years, knock on wood!] Home inspection and interview, no problem. Now in that waiting period after everything is done...... and before going back in to finalize. Easy Peasy!) So, sorry Peacock, seeing your GF's troubles doesn't suprise me much. They TOLD US there would be some kind of cracking-down coming! Her story may just be a part of that. She may have just gotten stuck with an Immigration Officer who had to show she was doing........ something! * I'll be looking forward to an update. It's the 17th, now. Did she leave on the 16th? Braving it out until May 9? Or braving it out to get the ED visa? Hurry please! Holding my breath! Hahahaha. Cheers!

. Because elevating oneself to a state of nothingness is revered in Buddhism?

150,000 debtors 125,000 creditors. That's 1.2 per creditor. The first thing I see here is........ these numbers can only exist if it's MOSTLY just one person lending money to another person: "Sure, my aunt Jo had a problem and I tried to help her out." If there was something PREDATORY going on, here....... the number of creditors wouldn't be so close to the number of debtors! If a lender is a predator..... generally speaking...... they're not going to lend to just one person. They're going to have multiple victims, so the profits they get from some........ can make up for the losses that inevitably occur with others. I understand the government getting involved when there's something predatory going on. But when..... as it appears...... 90% of it is just one person lending to another? Seems like more of a Head of Village kind of problem, to me! 150,000 debtors 125,000 creditors In a country of 50 million adults, these really aren't very big numbers.

Anecdotal Evidence: I have been taking one or two "doses" of the enclosed treatment every day since I returned to Thailand, 35 months ago. I have never had Covid. I pay roughly 50 baht for 12 "doses." The "proof" that my treatment worked for ME...... ...Is exactly the same as the "proof" that Ivermectin users have...... ...that their treatment worked for THEM. I repeat: I have never had Covid. Such is the value of "Anecdotal Evidence."

Criminal goes out and robs people, taking their money, wallets, and jewelry. Cop bust the criminal and takes him to jail, pending a trial. Criminal blames the cop for busting him, putting him there. They have a trial and the criminal get convicted; gets sent to prison. Criminal blames his attorney for not getting him off. While in prison, the criminal gets robbed, beaten up, verbally abused, among other things. He's having a very rough time. Criminal angrily and regularly blames both the cops and his lousy attorney for putting him there. Y'see, it's just not the criminal mentality for a criminal to ever blame himself; to blame his own actions. It just isn't! *************** Dear Thai officials.......... The problem here is NOT the documentary. The problem here is the filmmakers being able make a record of something that is actually happening; that is REAL. Don't blame the whistle blower. When you. blame the whistle blower, your acting just like a typical criminal---Your problems are everyone else's fault but your own! If you're embarrassed about people learning about this criminal behaviour......... find a way to put an end to the criminal behaviour! It's not shutting up the whistle blower that solves your problems; it's shutting down these criminal enterprises! *************** If you're going to be an effective problem-solver........ the first thing you've got to do........ is focus on the right problems!

. I assume you've seen the photos. The man is obviously both morbidly obese and unfit. He might have had symptoms but misunderstood them. He might have thought such symptoms as fatigue, weakness, and shortage of breath were all because he's fat and unfit........ and........ because he's walking around a country that is 15°C hotter than he's used to! Even if we discount the heat factor and consider what he might have been experiencing at home, before he left........ doesn't it make sense that he'd believe it was because he's fat and unfit....... and NOT because he believed he has leukaemia or some other form of cancer? Hmm? if you KNOW you've got cancer, that's one thing. But if he DIDN'T know.... I'd guess he's got about 10-stone worth of reasons to think that something else was going on! 😂 So yeah, he mightve been having symptoms, already. But he mightve also had a belly-full of reason to misunderstand them! *wink*

. I dunno, start with........ In 25% of the cases where people die from heart disease....... the very first indication that they HAVE heart disease........ is DEATH. Or, to put it another way....... 25% of the people who die of heart disease....... didn't even know they had a problem! They just....... died! * An Appendix can burst. * An intestine can rupture or get twisted. * An aneurysm can rupture. * An kidney, bladder, liver can get infected. * A flu doesn't call you two weeks ahead of time to tell you it's coming! * You might be travelling in a country with dengue fever or malaria....... and lots of mosquitoes! * The challenge to allergies is....... you don't know you're allergic to something until you are EXPOSED to it! Travelling exposes you to lots of new things; especially international travel. It also sometimes depends on how much you are exposed to the allergen: A lot of times, your immune system is able fight off the allergy until, then, suddenly---WHAM!---you can't any more! You've been allergic all along, but there had been no signs or symptoms to your allergy. Now there are! * People can have leukaemia and KNOW they have leukaemia.......... but have been in remission for a while---perhaps for a long time---and not know it's gonna kick'em in the arse again, tomorrow. That's life! ************** Buying insurance........ or NOT buying insurance......... is a form of gambling. In a way, it's a lot like playing baccarat: You can bet that the house will win...... or....... you can bet that the player will win! When you buy insurance, you're betting that you ARE going to get seriously ill or have some kind of serious accident. You "gamble" a smaller amount up front....... to protect yourself from the catastrophic expenses you anticipate are going to happen! When you choose to NOT buy insurance, you are gambling that that sort of serious thing WON'T happen. If nothing serious happens, "the house" wins. If something serious happens, "the player" wins! Buying insurance is really just baccarat writ large! 😂 **************** So, to answer your question....... "How can you feel perfectly normal, go on holiday only to be laid low and bed ridden days later?" The answer is........ Cuz That's How Life Works, Baby! Fate doesn't phone ahead and tell you when accidents are going to happen or when diseases are going to strike! They just.........DO! Life is riddled with uncertainties! And it's all those uncertainties that make it possible for us to have this big ol' Casino Game called.... INSURANCE! Cheers!

. My wife is in America right now. When she comes back, she will probably have at least 20 lipsticks with her. Two of these might be for her. The rest will be little bribes (*ahem* "gifts") she gives to nurses, secretaries, Gov't officers, etc., even doctors........ "From America!" A lipstick to a male Police Major? Sure, he's got wife and three girlfriends, right? 😂 Maybe give him TWO!

. You always want to keep in mind when dealing with insurance companies and claims........ ........They make their money by saying "No!" Saying "Yes" costs them money; saying "No!" makes them money. So, a lot of times, "No!" becomes their automatic, default answer! "First, say 'No.' Maybe they'll believe you and stop asking!" And with a certain percentage of the population, they're absolutely correct! So........ that's what they do! A lot..........! if you're making a claim with an insurance company, always, always, ALWAYS remember the saying....... "The squeaky wheel gets the grease!" They don't make their money by being good guys and helping you. They make their money by saying "No!" Any money they make by saying "No"......... goes DIRECTLY to their bottom-line profits! ALways fight it when an insurance company says "No!" ALWAYS! *********** It's the exact same thinking that goes into add-on sales, and why a business should ALWAYS be trying to get you to buy add-ons: "You want fries with that?" "You really should have undercoating and glare protection, y"know?" "You can add renter's insurance onto your auto policy at a great price. Did you know that?" On anything they can get you to add-on beyond what you INTENDED to buy....... Gross Profit = Net Profit! Their cost of doing business is covered by what you INTENDED to buy....... the only thing you might've bought! So, for anything they can get you to add-on after that........ Gross Profit = Net Profit! You want fries with that? 😂

My wife is a retired Thai teacher. Because we are married, I also get full medical coverage through the government. One day, we were at the hospital for some issue, I forget what. My wife....... ever the shrewd manipulator........ wanted to get some pain medication stronger than Para, so she told them I was having pain in my right knee, and that Para wasn't working. I wasn't. No pain in my right knee! What's worse, because I don't speak Thai, I had no idea she had even told them this! 😂 So, the "doctor" signals for me to hold out my right leg straight. I do. Seven seconds. He looked at my knee for seven seconds. He never touched me nor asked me any questions, but he diagnosed the 55-year old version of me with "Rheumatoid Arthritis!" Seriously, a seven second diagnosis! This was at the big government hospital in Kanchanaburi. My wife got the meds she wanted; I got stuck with "Rheumatoid Arthritis" in my permanent medical record after a seven-second "diagnosis!" 😂 Now, about that not-even-from-the-doctor claim of "maybe leukaemia"......... ************* (PS -- 11 years later, and I STILL don't have "Rheumatoid Arthritis!") *************** (PPS -- I should note, though, that this was my ONE "bad experience" at a government hospital. I've been treated for about half a dozen different things and have always been pleased with my treatment. Have stayed inpatient on four occasions for one to four nights. Always clean and tidy. [Although I did thrice pony-up 800 baht for a "VIP" private room! (Probably at least 1000 bucks in the U.S.!) The one time in a 4-bedder because no "VIPs" available...... was also clean and tidy!] Really, even if I was paying full boat for the treatment I've received, I'd have no complaints other than long waits in the waiting room, sometimes. But given that I'm getting it all for free......... that seems like a pretty petty thing to complain about! If you KNOW it's going to be 2 or 3 or 4 hour wait, you can plan for that! [You're number 76 and they're on number 32........ Five minutes per person, 44 people ahead of you. You can probably leave for at least 2-3 hours and come back to a short-ish wait!] 😂)

. Oh, I dunno. When your odds are 99:1....... 99 small wins vs one big-time loser...... ........And when you do lose and you have to go see a doctor or go to a hospital......... it may be only, say, 1 time in 20 that it'll be something so serious that you wouldn't be able afford it, anyway (because medical care in Thailand is comparatively cheap)......... ........ You're now looking at 1999:1 odds that not having insurance will bite you in the arse! 19 times out of 20, if something unpleasant happens on your trip, you can afford to pay for it, anyway (in relatively inexpensive Thailand, anyway.) And you can afford it why?....... Well, because you saved a bunch of money by NOT buying insurance........ the 99 times out of a hundred you didn't need it! When the odds are only 1 in a hundred that you'll need to see a doctor or go to a hospital........ and only, say, one in 20 that it'll turn out to be something beyond your ability to pay, anyway......... Then........ "Don't roll the dice if you cant pay the price"....... should only factor into it if you're being overwhelmed by fear! Because ....... realistically speaking........ it's probably only one time in two thousand that having insurance will actually prove worthwhile! The rest of the time.... The other 1999 times....... you either came out with extra dollars in your pocket....... or....... the bad thing that happened to you was affordable, anyway! (Hell, for all we know, you might walk out of your insurance-financed hospital stay....... and get hit by an ambulance as you're walking away! -------- Cuz' life is full of risks! So we avoid the ones we can....... and insure against ones we can reasonably anticipate.) Personally, I don't think 2000:1 odds against facing unaffordable medical expenses when I travel....... is a reasonable reason to spend the extra money for travel insurance. In terms of risk assessment......... When throwing those dice........ I like the idea of 99 winners ~vs~ one big loser! Because......... even if I'm a loser....... I only lose an unaffordable amount...... 1 in 20 times! (2000:1 odds, altogether) Insurance companies live and die on people's ability to assess risk. They become huge, highly profitable companies ~mostly~ because people do it so poorly! ************** Insurance companies primarily exist to sell FEAR. If they can get you to buy into the FEAR they're selling.......they can get you to buy INSURANCE! [Insert PT Barnum quote here!] 😂

. And yet, 99% of the people who come that HAVE insurance..... don't need it! It buys them some peace of mind and, yes, absolutely saves their skin if they are part of the 1% who DO need it. (Note: 99% vs 1% is just a realistic estimates, I believe, not a specific claim. It's probably longer odds than that!) Not buying insurance is gambling. But so is buying it! It's like the lottery: it's a waste of money........ that is, until you hit the big one. Listen, what I spent on a lifetime of auto insurance in the U.S. that I never once made a claim on........ would have bought and paid for a whole new car (or a couple of used ones!) Everyone is brilliant for buying insurance when they need it....... and foolish for buying it when they don't! 😂 The problem is, knowing which of those is right for you...... at this moment....... requires being able to read the future. Not buying insurance before he came does not make him dumb. He just played the odds differently than you would. You would buy a lottery ticket and he wouldn't. He looked at 99:1 odds and said, "Nah, I'll keep my money." And 99% of the time, his decision would have been BRILLIANT! Thing is...... there's still that 1% -- This time, he lost! If you live in fear of those 99:1 odds....... absolutely, buy insurance every time! The insurance company will love you for it......... 99% of the time! 😂 (BTW -- A year ago, I went back to the U.S. for a five day turn-around. I did not buy insurance [though I have Medicare Part A, hospitalization.] ------- My wife is there right now for one week, keeping her green card active. SHE bought travel insurance for her trip [and also has Medicare Part A.] She buys lottery tickets, I don't! She's wasted tens of thousands of baht on the lottery, with occasional small winners. I still have all my money in my pocket! Lol "Every dollar I don't spend," I tell her, "That's one dollar I 'win' every time!" Of course, if she ever hits a big winner, then I'll be the "idiot!") Insurance companies and casinos LOVE people who have so many fears or expectations of 99:1 odds......... that they'll keep on betting! They build their massive & spectacular buildings that way! Cheers!

. No, what I'd suggest instead is you look at the dozens...... nay, HUNDREDS!...... of things that book tells us we are supposed to do and think........ that we DON'T do or think any longer....... because we've gotten smarter than that! ...And then apply that awareness to these archaic ideas of homosexuality being an "abomination." (By the way....... as you toss around these accusations of gays being "abominations"... are you prepared to honor THE REST OF what Lev. 20:13 says: "...they shall surely be put to death?" If we're supposed to honor and respect the first half of Lev 20:13........ aren't we honor-bound, therefore, to also follow the second half? Answer: No! ------- Because we've gotten smarter than that!) My guess is... You're not interested in pursuing the second half of Lev 20:13 because you find the idea reprehensible. So why would you still lend any credence---any credence whatsoever---to the first half? Because we've gotten smarter than that....... should be all the reason one needs to let such archaic ideas go. That, or God forbid you "bear false witness" or show disrespect to your parents, not let your slave rest on "the seventh day" or covet your neighbor's Audi........ because........ the penalty for those, too....... is DEATH! ************** Why should Thailand get rid of laws that prohibit same-sex marriage? Because we've gotten smarter than that!

. Once again, relying on a translation, rather than understanding what the original says, and the subtleties contained therein. https://jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com/redefining-leviticus-2013/ "Looking at the precise Hebrew words in Leviticus 20:13, it is fascinating to note what we actually see and what is not there. What the text prohibits is a sexual relationship between a “man” (ish in Hebrew) and a male (zachar in Hebrew), not between an “ish” and another “ish.” This may sound like quibbling, but where the Torah is concerned, every word counts. Nowhere here do we find the Torah referring to a “female” in discussing forbidden relations; it is “man>woman” in every instance. Only here does the text digress and use “man>male” rather than “man>man,” which is how we have been taught to read the text. [snip] These specific words – “men” and “males” – were used precisely in descriptions of the Greek custom back then because, at that time, only men who were of adult age and of sufficient substance to own land, vote, and marry, could legally be called “men.” Those who were too young to vote, own land, or marry could only be referred to as “males” under Greek law." ************** The Hebrew goes out of its way to distinguish "men" from "males," and this is reflected in the translation you quoted. (Other translations say "men"/"men," which is one example of why translations are not always the best sources.) This prohibition is not against "men" being with other "men." (Adult men, in other words, since only adults were called "men.") It is against "men" (adult males) being with "males" ("males" being how the UNDERAGED were described.)

. Sometimes, if you take a statement out of context or trust what a translation says instead of the original, you will wind up with an incorrect understanding. https://blog.smu.edu/ot8317/2019/04/11/lost-in-translation-alternative-meaning-in-leviticus-1822/ "In sum, traditional English translations of Leviticus 18:22 are known as “clobber passages” that condemn homosexuality. Lings’ philological, literary analysis undermines the inclusion of Lev. 18:22 among those texts. He legitimizes a reading of Lev. 18:22 that condemns incestuous, same-sex rape. Therefore, the use of Leviticus 18:22 as a weapon against all same-sex relationships is not only unjust, but linguistically misguided." "...condemns incestuous same-sex rape." Leviticus 18:22 is a condemnation of same-sex rape by a family member. It is NOT a condemnation of same-sex relationships/ activities in general.

. No, virtually everything I have said has been substantive, actually. Points made and supported. Yours... not so much.