Katatonica

No, does not make sense, I am completely baffled. My wife is understandably very upset too.

Warning for VOA arrivals: I entered Phuket by air last week, 3rd VOA in 4 months, longest stay 14 days, had a return ticket each time. I did have a 60 day TV before that as I had almost 90/180 days in-country history and had been out for just 2 months.. They then moved to the 60 day visa and apparent unlimited VOA's so I didn't extend it or convert it. Question for anyone who can help: I am not sure - is it possible to convert TV to marriage or other annual visa (quickly) inside Thailand?. NB I cannot visit a Thai consulate in the country I work in as I do not have residency and it doesn't do eVisa. So the first entry after my TV had expired I was questioned a bit at the IO booth, produced my flight out a week later and he said 'ok but get a proper visa for longer stays, if you hadn't had the return flight you would have a problem.' 5 weeks or so later I enter again for 5 days, again with an outbound flight. Lady was very pleasant, says must be nice to see my wife, no problem with a few days visit at all, have a nice day. Another 5 weeks and I visit for 7 days, produce return flight, get asked why I'm visiting, so say to see my Thai wife. Get told in no uncertain terms that 'free visa not for visit Thai wife.' Tried to explain I cannot get a visa in the country I'm working in and explained why. Get taken to the office at the side where another officer asks me why I don't get a visa: I repeated why although he had discussed this with the first IO already. He then tells me I should look into the DTV. I left it at that and agreed to look into it although.. I cannot get ANY visa in the country where I work. They stamped me 60 days and I had a visit heavily marred by the knowledge that I really do not know when I can return. My next work break will be getting a visa somewhere: the IO typed for ages on my record and told me not to try entering without a visa again. Several officers told me the limit, by air or otherwise, is 2 VOA's in a year and anyone trying a third will one is likely to be expelled. Could it be that I have a Thai wife and do not have the visa specifically for that although I only come for a couple of months a year? They seemed far more concerned with the quantity of 'free visas' than length of stay. BTW my appearance was perfectly smart, long trousers, shoes and collar, don't have tats, a few million goes through my Thai account annually, ie no obvious ostensible reason to deny me unless being British is nowadays.. OK, but I am visa exempt, did I use the wrong term? Apparently there IS now a limit on visa exempt arrivals of 2.

Warning for VOA arrivals: I entered Phuket by air last week, 3rd VOA in 4 months, longest stay 8 days, had a return ticket each time. I did have a 60 day TV before that as I had almost 90/180 days in-country history and had been out for just 2 months.. They then moved to the 60 day visa and apparent unlimited VOA's so I didn't extend it or convert it. Question for anyone who can help: I am not sure - is it possible to convert TV to marriage or other annual visa (quickly) inside Thailand?. NB I cannot visit a Thai consulate in the country I work in as I do not have residency and it doesn't do eVisa. So the first entry after my TV had expired I was questioned a bit at the IO booth, produced my flight out a week later and he said 'ok but get a proper visa for longer stays, if you hadn't had the return flight you would have a problem.' 5 weeks or so later I enter again for 5 days, again with an outbound flight. Lady was very pleasant, says must be nice to see my wife, no problem with a few days visit at all, have a nice day. Another 5 weeks and I visit for 7 days, produce return flight, get asked why I'm visiting, so say to see my Thai wife. Get told in no uncertain terms that 'free visa not for visit Thai wife.' Tried to explain I cannot get a visa in the country I'm working in and explained why. Get taken to the office at the side where another officer asks me why I don't get a visa: I repeated why although he had discussed this with the first IO already. He then tells me I should look into the DTV. I left it at that and agreed to look into it although.. I cannot get ANY visa in the country where I work. They stamped me 60 days and I had a visit heavily marred by the knowledge that I really do not know when I can return. My next work break will be getting a visa somewhere: the IO typed for ages on my record and told me not to try entering without a visa again. Several officers told me the limit, by air or otherwise, is 2 VOA's in a year and anyone trying a third will one is likely to be expelled. Could it be that I have a Thai wife and do not have the visa specifically for that although I only come for a couple of months a year? They seemed far more concerned with the quantity of 'free visas' than length of stay. BTW my appearance was perfectly smart, long trousers, shoes and collar, don't have tats, a few million goes through my Thai account annually, ie no obvious ostensible reason to deny me unless being British is nowadays..

Many state schools are much better than many private ones: maybe the best ones should be restricted to.. er whom then? Or maybe they should just have their good teachers taken away and forced to work elsewhere then? Life is unfair and you can't level up everyone, all this policy is doing, as with the farmers, is punishing those at the bottom of the sector targeted for punishment.. Communism doesn't work I'm afraid.

There is no funding and improvement, just the removal of choice for people who largely work twice as hard just to be able to pay for their choice of education for their children. Most privately educated children come from perfectly ordinary backgrounds with their parents just wanting them to have the best education they can scrape the funds together for. Imagine how it feels to be pulled out of school mid-year and sent to the one in the nearby sink estate purely through a vicious, spiteful political decision that will not raise an extra penny for public education, in fact costing the state many more millions and increasing class sizes country-wide to boot?

There will always be a huge variance in state sector schools and buying into a better area will generally get you a better school. 'Buying privileges' (note that a plural doesn't have an apostrophe) as you put it will not go away. Now thousands of people will be leaving the British Armed Forces because they can't afford boarding schools and special needs children will not be able to get their niche education that is so necessary for their well-being. The sole reason I made the choice to go to a boarding school was that my local comprehensive made the national news when its assembly hall was burnt down in a riot, just by the way. The state education system will not benefit by this piece of pure envy politics, as is plainly obvious. There is a place available for every child at a state school and the private sector already reduces that pressure by tens of thousands of places. If the system was actually fair, the parents of those children should receive tax credits as they are not being a burden on the state. Private education is thus already a huge benefit to the state education system, taking it away is pointless even if it does make the spiteful far-left feel better.

Far more likely to be accelerator jammed to the floor. Hitting the wall at the speed necessary to demolish it and have the car follow through leads one to think he was going way too fast for a car park in the first place. Maybe got the pedals mixed up..? Or foot jammed, dropped his phone etc.

You're bluffing obviously.

Regarding your last sentence there may be a little intersection there.

In your humble yet unexplained opinion apparently. Phuket has many redeeming features such as many square kilometres of unspoilt forest, dozens of extremely good beaches with clear water in high season, decent surf off-season and the surrounding islands, Phang Nga bay and incredible mainland topography at Khao Sok and Hat Rai Ley, etc. There are many world class restaurants and for the wealthy many incredible resorts. Several hundred villas in the multimillion dollar range as well as several hundred yachts, yacht facilities outclassing even Singapore. Many billionaires seem to be happy to have property there. Maybe you've just visited Patong? Even that's a cut above Pattaya, which I had the misfortune to have to work in for a few months a year or two back, hated the place. I live near Patong but I rarely venture there either.

Thank-you for that information but my concern is whether I will have a problem entering visa exempt again for just my 5 day leave. We were married in Thailand, at a registry office, over a decade ago.

Yes, I was given a hard time last time I entered even showing a flight back out 5 days later. I work in Singapore but cannot use the Thai embassy here because I do not have a long term residence permit. I am signed on to a vessel based here so can stay as long as I need to but no residency permit. I get 5 days a month leave but I am very concerned as to how they’re going to treat me if I go again for my next leave, due next week. I did go to Penang and got a TR 3 month visa a few months ago, which I let expire after 3 monthly 5-day trips, due to the new regulations (which don’t seem to apply to regular visitors at all - I just get told to get a marriage visa but it’s not that simple) but I’m very reluctant to do that again: 2 months without going home to my Thai wife and home and 5 expensive days on my own in a place I would rather not go to, instead.

Very good point and imagine if someone took a picture of your wife from a car window in the UK and posted it on social media saying look at this (non-local colour) foreign person working here.

One of the best places I have ever cruised actually. I take it you haven't? There are 4 big marinas in Phuket, a couple in Krabi, several yacht specialising shipyards, including in Bangkok, many international companies in the marine industry with offices in Phuket and Ocean Marina, Jomtien and smack bang on the route from the Med to the rest of SE Asia, Australia, New Zealand, etc. Hundreds of superyachts base themselves in Thai waters already. Not so much in the Gulf but Samui etc and the northern islands have a lot of traffic.

The one mentioned is sitting on the bottom, melting land-based ice will rapidly raise sea levels. So when the sea-ice has receded to shallower depths we’re going to see a big acceleration in sea-level rise. Not too hard to grasp really.

Not that funny if read properly. He is proposing economic responses to a Greenpeace study.

Quite aware of that, thanks, can see it and the landslide from my house.

Pretty sure the side of that hill is natural woodland all the way to the top. Something built at the top may have affected drainage, like a car park, can’t see anything in the pictures.

Mark Twain I believe.

Kata is adjacent to Karon and in Karon subdistrict so could be the same landslide, not sure, I’m not in the country now. My wife just told me there are 4 fatalities in Kata. Lots of sirens all morning.

Film of a phone that was sent to me, no idea why it’s playing the Doors.. WhatsApp Video 2024-08-23 at 11.04.39.mp4

There’s also a big landslide from Big Buddha down to Kata, with a house demolished. The car park on Kata Beach, newly removated, has been destroyed too, along with lots of mature trees along the beachfront. Not sure how much is left of the beachfront road either.

Syphoned a python apparently.