Highlandman

It's cheaper to pay in USD. While I wouldn't bother exchanging my funds to USD for going to a neighboring country (except for Cambodia, where the USD is the de facto local currency) I most certainly would go out of my way to exchange enough USD for the visa on arrival..only exception is if I lived too far away from an exchange bureau (or i was somewhere in the country far away from an exchange bureau prior to crossing the border), costing me more in fuel bills than the savings from paying in USD. Normally though, I plan my trips in such a way to always have enough USD for a visa on arrival. If you fly, even easier as you can exchange your money at the airport prior to your flight. No excuse for not doing so then.

For anyone who follows aviation vloggers such as Josh Cahill in particular, you will have noticed how other airlines handle criticism. Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways have both reacted negatively to Josh's vlogs, by preventing him from traveling with them after the "offending" videos were released. They did not, to the best of my knowledge, threaten to sue him though and keep in mind Josh is way, way more famous than this Thai guy who nobody even heard of until he made his social media post. Josh's videos have been watched by millions on YouTube. While both Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways reacted quite immaturely, at least they didn't go overboard in the way THAI has. Fortunately for Josh, his review of THAI wasn't negative enough for them to threaten him with legal action, but he should keep Thailand's defamation laws in mind next time he decides to travel on a Thailand registered airline and make a similar review to the ones that got him into trouble with Malaysian and Qatar.

I suspect they threatened to sue him after he removed his statement and apologized, just to make an example of him and because they can, Thailand having the world's strictest defamation laws. Not even in Communist countries is it this bad. One can criticize a Chinese airline and not face this level of legal action.

It's an operational issue. Of course THAI proceeded to bring the passengers from Sydney to Melbourne once the weather conditions improved. Never heard of anyone successfully suing an airline for being a little inconvenienced. You're being ridiculous. I would rather an airline land at their alternate sooner and wait until the weather clears before taking me to my original destination, than insisting on landing in low visibility and then crashing, as happened in the case of the Lao Airlines flight that crashed into the Mekong near Pakse on October 13, 2013, killing everyone on board when the pilot could have and should have diverted to Ubon Ratchathani, where the visibility was better. Yet he insisted on getting to the original airport regardless of the conditions (get there itis). I noticed that during the latter part of the rainy season (and I think this happens EVERY rainy season) based on reviewing FlightRadar24 data, there are flights having to divert away from Suvarnabhumi or Don Muang due to heavy rain or storms over the airport and land at alternate airports. Back in early October, this affected about 10 flights landing on a particular late afternoon/evening (that's when storms normally hit, which is why I don't fly in or out of Suvarnabhumi that time of year between the hours of around 3pm and 8pm). One EVA Air flight from Taipei diverted to Chiang Mai, then flew the passengers to Suvarnabhumi later that evening. An Air Asia flight from Nakorn Phanom to Don Muang turned around and landed in Khon Kaen. Other flights landed at U-Tapao before eventually flying their passengers to Suvarnabhumi or transporting them by bus. Personally, I'd rather they drive me from there to Suvarnabhumi than waiting hours for the flight to depart, given the short distance along the expressway to Suvarnabhumi. I can reach Suvarnabhumi from U-Tapao in 80 minutes by car.

This is the age of social media, with new laws that build on existing ones being introduced or enforced. Are you saying there was no defamation law before 2014 that could be used to prosecute someone who made a complaint? I'm quite sure even way back in 2008 for example, if you criticized a Thai company or individual and they made a complaint, you would have faced a lawsuit. The difference now is that it's easier to do so with the proliferation of social media and all. It doesn't mean that such laws are new. They've simply adapted to the times. Moreover, social media was already in existence before the junta got into power. Certainly already in 2008, usage of Facebook was quite extensive.

You can certainly leave by land. No one is forced to leave by air. Oftentimes, dissidents initially leave by land to say Cambodia, in order to "lay low" before figuring out how to proceed or where to go. It's safer to remain there for a few weeks than planning an exit from Thailand by air. Particularly Thais, who have difficulties obtaining visas to western countries, meanwhile they can easily get to Cambodia or Laos within a few hours by car from most parts of Thailand and enter those countries visa free. Once there, they can fly to other countries or try to claim asylum somewhere. Regarding your advice about restrictions on speech in Thailand, you're very right. That being said, where people get in trouble is when they express their opinions using their real profiles on Facebook, Twitter etc. and someone makes a complaint. That's how it works. Merely making a comment that no one sees is not going to result in any enforcement action. Plenty of us criticize the government, airlines, hotels, anything Thai really on these sorts of forums without incident, but that's because we do so anonymously and our comments can be wiped by the forum administrators if they wish. Otherwise every Tom, Dick and Harry calling the government a "junta" on Asean NOW, Bangkok Post etc would be in jail. It's not quite that bad. In fact, i could name dozens of posters, based on their avatars on these two forums alone who criticize the government daily and have been doing so for years. They will continue posting away for years to come, likely without incident. However, depending on who you're friends with on Facebook, an expletive laden post criticizing an airline such as Thai Airways, Bangkok Air or a hotel, bank or any Thai institution or individual, can land you in trouble. You're right about just liking the "wrong" article being a problem but only if it relates to the nation's highest institution and to be honest a simple like and no other interaction being punishable is a bit extreme. That stated, again, someone would have to "snitch" on you to the authorities for doing that and is what happened in the case you describe.

No, it's just that I speak with a Thai like accent. However, you have not explained how or where you get ripped off because in 95% of settings, it's not an issue. I highly doubt Tops supermarket or Lotus's is going to rip you off for being a farang. The vast majority of what is sold in Thailand doesn't require bargaining because prices are fixed. I think anyone with experience would know what a fair price is, only you seem to be so afraid of getting ripped off you have your wife do everything for you. Also no one is forced to buy anything if they don't like the price. You always have alternative options. If you want to fly with THAI, good for you. Don't see what your fear of getting ripped off by Thais has to do with your decision to fly THAI.

I think the action THAI took by landing in Sydney was absolutely the correct one. What they've done wrong is created a media circus out of suing a passenger for making an opinion on Facebook.

Lol. I flew SWISS to Europe just after the end of Covid restrictions and I am flying with them again on my upcoming trip to Europe. Swiss is a more premium carrier, they offer better service, better departure timing ex BKK and my choice at the time of my last flight was also influenced by the fact that SWISS had not only dropped mask mandates but their staff's faces could be seen, meaning actual smiles and no issues understanding their questions. By contrast, THAI, being a very authoritarian airline required their crew to continue wearing face masks for over a year following that SWISS flight I took! Even following the end of the THAI employee mask mandate on October 1, 2023, a large proportion of their crew continue to mask up, such as 2/5 staff on my THAI flight to Ho Chi Minh in December and 4/5 masked crew on the return flight a few days later. I like to see smiley faces and having the faces of the cabin crew being hidden by masks, especially outside of a mandate strikes me as rather unfriendly. I only flew THAI because they were slightly cheaper than Vietnam Airlines but next time I'll revert back to the latter.

An Interpol notice to go after someone who criticized someone else. Lol. Never going to happen. Interpol officials would burst into fits of laughter. Anyway, good post. However, I read that this passenger plans on returning to Thailand, suggesting he lives there but of course I don't know.

It heavily discourages freedom of speech. Yet Thai trolls on social media still like to make the claim that Thailand is a "free country" compared to Laos and Vietnam, when in fact, there's really not much difference between any of them.

Yes but not very likely to go to court in the context of a passenger giving his or her opinion of a flight. Defamation cases in the US are usually politically motivated and high profile. They're not fragile snowflakes like Thais/Thai corporations are, who will sue anyone making even a slightly negative remark.

If you speak fluent Thai like me or you go shopping at malls and supermarkets, you never have to worry about being ripped off, except at dual pricing venues. Therefore, I don't think you need to be particularly concerned and can get out of the car when your wife does and/or change your shopping habits. In Thailand, markets sell produce that is arguably less safe than what supermarkets sell. The THAI flight to Istanbul began on December 1, but you've been able to fly twice or thrice daily to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines for years.

Yes. I won't either, in protest of this action. While I did read the passenger's FB post and didn't necessarily agree with all of it, I think if he wants to vent, let him. Companies suing their guests/customers (passengers in this case) for giving an opinion provides a very dangerous precedent. No way a similar post would result in such actions in the USA, but then again, the US doesn't have draconian anti-free speech laws like Thailand does.

A good idea if such a person still exists. I think Phu Yai Ban are only a thing in rural village areas. There might be an equivalent in the cities, but I can't think of one, other than the "Tessakit".

By public transportation, it's different. Most Burmese are poor, the ones who come into Thailand via land borders and go beyond the border areas are migrant laborers who don't have much money and thus use buses. Hence why they check all passengers on such buses. Most passengers also tend to be Burmese as well; Thai passengers on routes such as Mae Sot-Bangkok and even Mae Sai-Chiang Rai, tend to be in the minority. Burmese aren't allowed to drive their cars into Thailand further than the border areas (usually a max of 15-20km from the border), which is why you generally don't receive as much scrutiny if you're driving or are a passenger in a Thai registered car. I travel extensively by car and often to border regions where they have these checkpoints (Myanmar border). I've only very rarely been asked for my passport and the same goes for any Thai or other passengers inside my vehicle. I've also carried Chinese, Vietnamese, Sri Lankan, European, American, Australian, Canadian, Lao and many other nationalities in my car over the years (all friends or acquaintances/business partners etc). Burmese citizens have also ridden in my car but only in border areas on both sides of the border, never through a Thai checkpoint.

I understand. Obviously, once you provide your ID card that should be it. I'm sure you've explained that as a Thai citizen, you're not giving your passport as it defeats the purpose?

They don't fly into Bangkok. They only code share, meaning you can earn miles on their frequent flyer programs while flying a partner Japanese airline. An airline only flies into a country if their metal touches the ground in that country. Currently, no American carrier offers flights to Thailand. It's interesting how Delta flies to Ghana of all places but not a single American carrier flies to the so-called "first Asian ally" of the United States, which is Thailand. It's basically a snub, indicating that Thailand isn't an important country for the USA in any terms. Not for business, people to people exchanges or even for vacation. The fact there used to be American carriers flying into Bangkok (albeit never non-stop) but aren't anymore amounts to what is effectively a diplomatic rebuff.

I'm not saying one has to get upset and become aggressive. Quite the opposite, that's never a good idea in Thailand, particularly if it's just a minor issue that simply requires some gentle persuasion. Assuming the OP speaks reasonably good Thai, he can do it himself. If he doesn't, and his Thai wife refuses to engage, then he should enlist the help of someone else to assist him. It's usually a simple case of explaining the issue and that resolves the problem.

Other people have critiqued your comments even more than I have, but you seem to have some sort of personal vendetta against me. Piece of advice - this is the internet. Don't like criticism, don't come here. I haven't said anything different to anyone else, I only used different words. FYI I rarely venture into bars.

I don't think so. I encounter Thais of all education levels and they have zero problems with my Thai or that of a foreigner who speaks Thai well. Sometimes they compliment it afterwards. If anything, its the poorly educated Thais who have zero knowledge of any foreign language who do NOT expect to hear anything but Thai, even from a foreigner. Also, these days there are more and more foreigners who speak Thai anyway, including western actors who star in TV lakorns. I have had Thai colleagues tell me they or their Thai friends (who are also quite successful businessmen) that they don't understand my Thai speaking Burmese colleagues too well, but the one I'm thinking of, doesn't speak emmaculate Thai anyway, though it's reasonably good. The other thing is, his phone connection, being located in Myanmar, though near the Thai border, is often poor. Like I said, virtually the ONLY times and they're rare indeed, that I get anyone refusing to speak Thai to me is when engaging with a small section of highly educated Thais. Usually doctors, lawyers, university professors and the like. I know they know I speak Thai well, but they refuse to speak it because they feel speaking Thai to a foreigner is beneath them or something. I usually shut down on them as a result as it feels like a personal insult. I think it could be that your Thai simply isn't good enough, because outside of the situations I've described you won't encounter this very much at all. You will encounter it frequently if your Thai isn't relatively fluent though. Frankly, that's to be expected in any country and isn't an issue. It's only when you're fluent in the language and know you are, but due to local attitudes, some locals may refuse to speak their language with you. This happens only rarely in Thailand, though first encounters, especially in tourist areas usually involve a Thai attempting to speak English first just because they rarely encounter anything but foreign tourists who don't speak the local lingo.

Unless his Thai is poor, then that would make Thais incredibly racist, because it would be the equivalent of refusing to want expats to learn their language even though Thais speak such horrible English that most of us can't understand what language they're trying to speak. In my extensive experience, every Thai understands my Thai, because it's native like. It's only when a farang has heavily accented and poor Thai, that it's difficult to understand (and this includes Burmese speakers of Thai for example). I once told Thai police officers to speak to me in Thai because I don't understand Thais speaking English to me and it was readily accepted. Normally I don't even need to do this, they get it immediately. On that day I was pulled over for attempting to go straight from the right lane. The only Thais who think they're "too good" to speak Thai to a foreigner in my experience are the highly educated ones, such as university professors who want to show off their English skills, which are sometimes pretty lackluster. These people "pretend" not to hear westerners speak Thai and are secretly racist but don't make a spectacle of it.

That video came up in my feed again recently. Victim was an older fellow, 70ish, with a Thai daughter (his own biological daughter) aged in her early teens in school. Thai man who hit him was in his 30s by the looks of it.

Back around 2004ish, I saw a young Asian American guy begging the staff to allow him through at Don Muang Airport despite not having the 500 Baht..stupidly, they didn't accept credit cards for payment yet at the time, Cambodian airports did, despite the fact credit card acceptance has always been much higher in Thailand than Cambodia. Luckily, they scrapped cash airport tax payments before departure in 2006 and Cambodia followed soon afterwards. My guess is someone lent him the 500 Baht.

I simply greet them in Khmer or Burmese to "suss them out". Luckily I know a bit of both languages.