Highlandman

I agree. If I were him, I'd be so deeply offended just by being told to stop criticizing the country and not being allowed to speak my mind, I'd immediately leave the country before things get out of hand. I would instantly know, this isn't the place for me. Of course, I know the country very well and wouldn't be so stupid as to do what he did. I wouldn't even run a YouTube channel on a tourist visa to praise the country as YouTubing without a work permit is a bit of a grey area even if you're a 2 week tourist. No chance of me publicly criticizing a country, especially one I'm trying to establish myself in. Everything that could have gone wrong, has gone wrong in his case. I don't understand why so many farang seem to screw things up and then end up prostrating themselves in a vain attempt to try and continue living in the country, especially people who really don't have any strong connections with the country or need to be here. I don't know anything about him, but living in Pai I can draw a few conclusions: 1) he can't speak Thai 2) he's newly arrived 3) due to 1 & 2, he really has no connections to the country, no wife, no children, no local friends as he hasn't been here long enough so he really has no reason to continue living here, especially when the authorities have basically given him an ultimatum.

However, the mask announcements at airports seems to be a continuous thing ongoing since March 2020. While I didn't travel by air during Covid, when I first started visiting the airport in late June 2022 just after the mask mandate was scrapped, sending off some friends, there were announcements. Then in August when I flew out they were still being made (although I barely noticed them). Then in September/October 2022 (Swiss airlines was actually handing out masks at the end of the flight in October 2022 claiming they were mandatory in the terminal). I told the cabin crew that was not the case. Other airlines weren't doing this or making such announcements. However, the mask announcements continued throughout 2023, in April, September and December as well as February 2024. No other country in the world is making announcements for something that isn't mandatory anymore. Something very strange going on in Thailand.

Free of what? I think that is a misnomer because Thailand has never been free...except from European colonization although even that is debatable because the Dutch and the Portuguese certainly set up their own communities and trading colonies in various parts of Thailand a few hundred years ago though granted this isn't quite the same thing as taking the entire country in the name of a colonial empire.

He's right about laughing about masked zombies. It's time to move on. That being said, you don't go around filming said zombies and publicly humiliating them like that. There's a better way of getting your point across.

That I wonder about too. That's one topic not to discuss publicly.

Do you know what he said? What criticisms did he make that ruffled the feathers of the authorities?

Pai expats are a bunch of libtards. They've definitely ruined the place, totally agree with you there.

Nothing to do with the Chinese. Thailand never had freedom of speech to begin with.

Which explains all the mask wearing still going on in Thailand while the rest of the world has moved in. Thailand exists within a Covid bubble and foreigners coming here are bewildered by it. They're still making mask announcements at airports! They even word them in such a way as to imply they're mandatory (of course they're not). I don't understand the purpose, at this point, 90% of airport users and 60% of airport employees no longer wear masks. The whole thing is unfriendly and gives authoritarian vibes in a country that's supposed to be carefree, happy go lucky and tourist friendly.

Which is a totally different thing. A credit card is a physical card. I'm not interested in the truemoney wallet or any electronic wallet. I use cash most of the time and credit or debit cards when I'm out of cash or if it's a high value purchase. You're making your life overly complicated. Just go to an ATM and withdraw cash. Paying for low value items using anything other than cash is ridiculous. I'd be embarrassed to pay for a coffee with anything but cash.

None of this is needed if you use the post office. Never use a courier for vitamins or anything other than documents.

Prayuth was the best thing to happen to Thailand politically for many years, but the expat libtards will get in a tizzy about the "junta" this and that whenever his name is mentioned. Aside from the destructive Covid policies that Prayuth and Anutin implemented (granted, I think if this government had been in power during Covid the rules would have been even stricter) his party actually accomplished quite a lot. A lot of infrastructure has been built in Thailand since 2014. Thaksin did absolutely nothing. Not a single Km of intercity expressway built under that corrupt dictators watch. Prayuth comes along 10 years later and actually begins to get the job done although it's a work in progress.

Get a bigger wallet. At least the Baht doesn't use as many coins as are used in Switzerland, where for some inexplicable reason they decided already decades ago to make the 5 Franc denomination a coin rather than a note meaning you'll end up with huge chunks of change almost every time you buy something unless the value of the transaction is to the nearest 10 Francs.

That is pure conjecture. I've rarely seen anyone pay for a coffee with anything other than cash.

You use cash to purchase a value stored card to make payment. Not exactly "cashless".

What an absolute bunch of nonsense. Foreign cards can generally be used anywhere a local card is accepted. Visa/Mastercard all use the same network. You seem to be making things up now. Here's a hint: wherever you see a visa/Mastercard/JCB/UnionPay/Amex symbol, those cards are accepted. Generally the first two are best followed by UnionPay. Amex and JCB are usually only accepted by large supermarket chains, hotels and high end restaurants. If you do NOT see such a sign it probably means cards aren't accepted, no matter where they are issued. The thing about Thailand is that it's still largely cash based with only larger businesses generally accepting cards. Small merchants have in the last few years added QR code payments, which I hate, but these may come in handy in case you've run out of physical cash and there are no ATMs around.

Credit card for purchases above 200 Baht. AliPay or WeChatPay (maybe not at all stores) if you're Chinese or are an expat living in China. Edit: foreigners not living in China can now set up a WeChatPay or AliPay account funding it through a credit or debit card. However, I personally wouldn't go to this effort but it's an option.

I didn't even know there were vendors on that track. Isn't it illegal for them to set up there at the airport? What you should have done is made your way to the Bang Chak or PTT station (both are next to each other) and bought yourself a drink there. They all accept cash and even cards.

Why wouldn't vendors accept cash? This is Thailand! Talk about shooting yourself in the foot! I can understand vendors not taking credit cards but cash is legal tender and must be accepted!

To send a message. People like you are ensuring we walk head first into a cashless society. I am fine with a cash only store. In fact, I embrace cash only. On rare occasions when I have no option but to charge something to my credit card that day and/or there's no ATM around then it's slightly frustrating if cards aren't accepted, but the shop next door will probably accept credit cards and of course the fact I don't have cash at that particular moment is my problem. I don't like seeing cash or QR code but no credit cards as I think they should either accept cash only or everything, but since cash is an option, I'm covered. If it's QR code only (which is rare so far) its a huge boycott from me.

It exists. You pay inside in cash.

Ditto However, if a shop only accepts electronic payment methods including debit and credit cards I can, in some cases, make an exception but I draw the line at QR code only payments. So far I've only seen one shop that is QR code only so far.

Boycott and tell the merchants why.

There are some regional agreements now but I don't see the point of supporting this horrible system. What's wrong with cash? This QR madness will lead to CBDCs which is what the 10000 Baht digital money scam is all about. Just use cash and credit or debit cards for larger expenses. Isn't that hard. It's all I've ever used and all I will ever use. I'll never use a QR code, ever. Even in China I use cash although 99% of the time on recent trips I've had someone pay for me.

What is the benefit of truemoney? I don't see one. For me it's cash or when necessary, credit or debit cards only. I don't use anything else.