ThaiFelix

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Tourism reopening: Four phases on the cards - No quarantine at all from October

I hope the tourists come back soon and in their droves because I am sick of hearing the same broken record every day  

47 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

I think much of this experience is the ‘staff’ did not have any experience. 

Chatuchak DLT - was it the one officer who rejected the Pink ID card and Yellow Book, or the whole department? i.e. did you push it and ask for the supervisor? just to make sure it wasn’t someone who didn’t know with the standard ‘cannot’ response. 

The same for Yamaha.

 

I’ve had a coupe of similar issues - Buying a car: The dealership asked or my work permit, I didn’t have one. I was told I couldn’t put the car in my name, it would have to go in my Wife’s name.

I told them the rules ! (at the time I didn’t have the yellow book) - I told them I will get a letter of residence, which they don’t need at the time of purchase, they just need that to register the car in my name. 

The dealership looked into it and realised I was correct. 

 

A Year later buying a motorcycle, I was told I’d need a letter of residence. I provided a Pink ID and Yellow House book. I was told I’d need a letter of residence to buy a motorbike. I corrected them and told them I don’t need a letter of residence to buy a motorbike, I just need proof of address to register it in my name. The Yellow book is proof of address. They dealership wasn’t sure. They looked into it and realised I was correct. 

 

My point here - In so many cases were are told we can’t do something because the other party doesn’t know how or what to do or how or what is required. In so many cases if we don’t comply with the rules as ‘they’ understand them the response will be cannot. I have found out that when remaining polite, but firm and pressing the issue the ‘cannot’ soon turns into ‘not sure’ which turns into ‘will find out’ which turns into ‘can’ !!!! - its all a matter of getting to that final point while trying not to upset the juvenile mind by making someone who should know something lose face. 

Yeah I get that.  I was told once by a bank dude that your ability as a farang to open a bank a/c here was determined by the branch manager's confidence in his/her staff's English abilities.  If the manager doesnt think the staff can manage to communicate effectively they will give you the run around with excuses such as you need a work permit or permanent residence etc.

1 hour ago, pon2007 said:

No need to get certificate of address for driver license, if have pink id card.

Incorrect because in some areas it is not recognised so you still need to go to Imm Office for Cert of Residence.

1 hour ago, pon2007 said:

Hospitals and dentist accept it

Incorrect depending where you live,  3 hospitals I attend want passport only.

1 hour ago, pon2007 said:

Some online registration and online payment can be difficult with passport number since many passport# contain letters and numbers and are not 13 digits.

 Incorrect.  I do a lot of business online and never had any problems except one time until I discovered all you simply had to do was drop the letter from my passport number.

1 hour ago, pon2007 said:

Pink id card number is your tax id as well.  It is definitely worth to get it for convenience.

Worked in bangkok for 10 years with work permit and paid tax.  Passport only as ID and never had any issues nor asked for P ID card.  Definitely not necessary for myself or the scores of farang I worked with.

Everyone should check the pros and cons in their area  first before applying for one.  Definitely a waste of time for me.

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

I have never had to show yellow book to register at a hospital. Only had to show yellow book when registering for free medical services, which are based on allocation so you must reside in the hospital catchment area.

Every Thai knows what a Tabian Baan is, blue or yellow, it is still a Tabian Baan.

Sorry my mistake, I meant to say they are not interested in the YB or Pink ID card.  But my main point was that my passport was not needed every time as you state, only when first registering.  And it was at that point I found the YB and ID card was not enough for them....only my passport.

On 3/7/2021 at 8:39 AM, sandyf said:

Yes indeed. I am registered with 5 government hospitals but 2 of them and in particular the one I use the most have a system that has your photo on the appointment card. You only need to show ID card if no previous appointment.

The ID card is great improvement on the old days when you had to keep handing in your passport.

I'm registered at 3 hospitals and have only ever had to show my passport the first time to get the hospital card.  None of them know what a yellow book is.

On 3/11/2021 at 1:34 PM, Susco said:

Yes you can use your driver license as proof of address, as has been posted by many on this forum, and is at immigration accepted when applying for a certificate of residence.

You think something issued by a government department is not considered a legal document?

 

And it has also been posted many times on this forum that many Imm offices will not accept the YB or PC. 

So yes something issued by a govt dept is sometimes not recognised as a legal document in some places.

20 hours ago, webfact said:

The new rules state that anyone using the outside lane on a highway must not drive slower than 100km/h but no faster than 120km/h. 

And who pray tell will enforce it?  

So if someone on the inside lane is only doing 40 I cant pass until Im doing over  100? (yes this is only a theoretical question because we all know the 40km/hr drivers like to stick to the outside lane) lol!

The Furnace (2020)

The Furnace is a movie starring David Wenham, Jay Ryan, and Mahesh Jadu. To escape the Australian outback, a young Afghan cameleer falls in with a mysterious bushman on the run with stolen Crown gold.

I thoroughly enjoyed this but then I also enjoy vegemite.

A bit of history for those who dont already know.  During the early days in the Australian outback Afghans and Sikhs transported goods from A to B using camel caravans.  Their journeys across the country brought them into contact with native aboriginals who often helped and befriended the cameleers.  To this day there can be found aboriginals with Muslim or Sikh names.........there are also a lot of wild camels.

I found it on 123movies.

On 3/10/2021 at 1:04 PM, Kerryd said:

It's up !

Oh wait, it's down.

But wait - it's up again !

Or is it ? I haven't blinked in 3-4 seconds so maybe it's down again. Scared to blink now, or post this, in case it's down again.

Oh well, here goes noth...........

Its all a misunderstanding!

Oh dear, looks like the TAT will have to announce revised projections tomorrow (again).  Just cant wait lol!

In my opinion, sooner or later this or a successive government will legalise it.   The tide has turned.  I think the "War on Drugs', just like 'Prohibition', failed because governments failed to acknowledge the fact that many people like to "get off".   Look back through history and in just about every civilisation they had something to get off on, be it alcohol, ganga, mushrooms, opium, bark, etc etc.  And the people were happy lol. 

Come the war on drugs, the authorities clamp down, penalties are increased, supplies are restricted and then prices go up.  Bigger money then attracts a more criminal element, corruption, and violence.  Producers, smugglers and dealers are business people who take risks.  They weigh the profits versus the consequences.  Why handle a very bulky smelly 10 kilo of ganga when you can make the same money for the same risk on only 1 kilo or less of say meth, ketamin or heroin?  

So next thing is Cheech rolling up at his dealer's corner to score a bit of weed and he is told "there is nothing around man but I do have some good meth or some really good Oxy".   The war on drugs, including ganga, thus has led to a huge increase in the use of pills, powders and other harder drugs.  None of us has to look too far to see the enormous amount of damage caused by meth all around the world. 

I believe if ganga is handed back to the people, over time, certainly not over night, you will see the whole situation slowly reverse again where a man can come home after a <deleted> day and sit down to enjoy a spliff and it will be enough.  Legal weed will be more economical so no need to steal from his parents or break into the local store or sell his body (....I should have started with 'she' lol).    The use of pills and powders etc will fall.  Ganga will no longer be attractive to the criminal element including police or politicians.  Crime will be reduced.  And the people will be happy again!  

just my opinion.

11 hours ago, J Town said:

I sprinkled that on my pot plants and they started growing better.

 

List ONE link that supports such rubbish.

You want a link?  Well this one will really fix you!!      

4 hours ago, brianthainess said:

I opened my TOT acc with my pink card and have used it at hotels to check in, mine is for life and its good to have a bit more ID on you thats only the size of a ATM card. I might also add it was my wife who suggested i get it and yellow book, easy to get for small fee.

No its not easy nor cheap to obtain because it depends on what area you reside.  

4 hours ago, sandyf said:

I don't know about your local medical services, but around here you cannot register at a hospital or use the free mobile health clinics with a driving licence.

and in my area the hospitals dont know what it is and my banks, the traffic and imm office want nothing to do with it.  Check with your amphur first what hoops you have to jump through and also whether its of any value in your area.  Wasnt worth the hassle in my area especially seeing no-one here knows what it is.

23 hours ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

At 6'5" I still get a few second looks but not like it was on my first trip with my blonde girlfriend in the 80's. Then it looked like I came from the land of the Giants. 

Yes I am over 180 and when I first came here on multiple stays in the mid 80's it was the same.  Getting around you had to be constantly watching out for low structures, umbrellas, signs etc to protect your head while at the same time avoiding broken pavement, rubble, open drains etc at your feet.  When I moved here permanently in 2004 it didnt seem quite so bad.  I still get the second looks but believe this is due to me being a westerner not my height as I dont seem to stand out like that anymore.

Asians are certainly getting taller, maybe we all are.  Seems back in my mid 20's when I went out I could easily see over the crowds, I cant do that now.

7 minutes ago, Jamin123 said:

Since there’s rise in fake vaccine an expatriate is skeptical of the vaccine that’s being dispensed. He says it would be  awesome, if the vaccine could be taken at his home consulate office. Is that crazy or what?

Yes.

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thailand's tourism minister said on Thursday he will propose a plan

Plan?  Somebody correct me if I am misinformed but I believe there is no equivalent of 'plan' in the Thai language and that they use the English word.

From what I have seen here is the Thai version of 'plan' is also very different in that it involves making a decision, make it law, then considering the pros and cons of that decision before reversing it and making another decision etc etc etc on and on.  In the end no-one seems to know whats going on.

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

drunken Phuket police officer who tried to flee the scene

Just doing what any other law abiding  abhorring Thai would do!

41 minutes ago, OldPedro said:

This looks exactly like the vaccine passport we had as kids in Australia, in the 1960's.....Well done Thailand

1960's to 2020 is about 60 years..........yeah thats about right!  Amazing Thailand!

8 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

It's a normal yellow book and has been around for decades. I've had the exact same one for about 25 years. 

 

It is needed to show proof of yellow fever and flu vaccinations to enter most countries in West Africa. 

I have the same from when I travelled southern Africa in the 70's......looks identical.

15 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

I see a Military Intervention by Western Forces is most likely the only way this can be brought to a satisfactory end in the name of Democracy; rout the Burmese Military and kill off all the Generals who were all complicit in crimes against humanity before the Coup even started.   Oh yes; it would bring cries of foul play by China and the likes of the Thai Junta and others but it's time Western leaders grew some Balls and stood up for the rights of the people of these country's who are being bullied into submission by Despots who are power and money crazy.

Cant see that happening unless there is a lot of oil there.

On 3/1/2021 at 5:58 PM, richard_smith237 said:

 

What do you use for proof of residence when you need it? (i.e. renew driving licence etc).

You obviously don’t mind paying 10x at a national park, or just don’t visit them, so that point is moot. 

 

The yellow book is not needed, neither is the pink ID. But it does come in handy.

 

No one in my area even recognises the yellow book, not the traffic office, immigration, hospitals etc.  I have to get the res cert from immigration.  I havnt been to a national park for years and when I did I could show my teachers ID to get in at Thai price.  As I stated clearly and underlined in my post "in my area" no-one recognises the yellow book so pointless having one.

It is only handy if the person/dept you are showing it to recognises it.

20 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Dont need to "look" for anyone, the owner of the land gets the fine, and do it again and forfeit the land.  They'll soon get the message.

While I certainly agree with what you are saying, there are times when other parties are responsible for the burning.  We grow sugar cane and on a few occasions someone else has come along at night and set fire to our land.  On a couple of occasions the fires had to be investigated because the fires had spread into nearby rubber plantations and the farmers there were looking for reparations.  There was nobody else burning nearby from where the fire may have spread and the harvester was nowhere near the land when the fire started.  The only conclusion was it was firebug kids wandering around at night. 

We have also had rice straw, which we normally keep for the home garden/compost etc, mysteriously set alight at night.  Kids out here in the sticks have little to do and have no respect for private property.  We have often gone out to the farm to find someone has been camping there the night before.  They drag straw up from the paddies and make beds and camp fires where they sit and drink beer and smoke yaa ba till the wee hours leaving empty bottles and trash everywhere.......and all the straw stacks have been burnt.

Coming from Australia and with all the bush fires we have, I know there are always lots of fire bugs around.......and not all are kids!