Everything posted by mikebell
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Thai Armed Forces Conduct Major Joint Disaster Relief Exercise in Sattahip
Yesterday Sattahip police were practicing robbing banks; now the Armed forces are preparing for disasters. What do they know? Will Sattahip become a safe centre envied by the rest of Thailand?
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Pickup Driver Veers Into Wrong Lane, Fatally Strikes Motorcyclist in Chonburi
So the driver fled the scene but returned voluntarily once police had detained him? His offer to compensate the victim's family presumably is dependent on his insurance which may decide not to pay out. His willingness to accept responsibility (eventually) is admirable!
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TDAC Update
I filled them in on on the return plane every year of my family trips home. Then Thai Immigration decided they were unnecessary for some years; then they decided they were and came up with TDAC. Was the country overrun with criminals after TM6 and before TDAC? The point I am trying to make, amid my incompetence, is surely there should be a go-around for long-term expats whose particulars are held annually in triplicate on paper (and often used to print other documents on by officers trying to save paper.)
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TDAC Update
Thank you for your continued support. I am a belt & braces man and the thought of waiting till I got to the airport would have been totally abhorrent to me. It may have resulted in my arrest by Malaga police for causing a public disturbance! I have now two numbers to play with: my retirement 'visa' number valid till next May; and my multi-re-entry permit number also valid till then. I did a dummy run & printed out all the data I thought I would need to satisfy TDAC. Apparently I missed something.
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Sattahip Police Conduct Realistic Bank Robbery Drill
Practice makes perfect.
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Chinese Tourist Robbed of 20,000 Baht by Transgender in Pattaya Hotel
Adding to the myth that Pattaya is a safe and friendly place to bring the family.
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Disoriented Woman Brings Meth and Drug Paraphernalia to Pattaya Police Station
Pattaya Plod's arrest record just went up by 100%.
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TDAC Update
I have a phone which is smarter than me - I don't know how to do screenshots and/or even find them again; I needed my TGF's phone to photo everything. The TDAC is predicated on the fact that everyone has access to the internet. I do not have a plan that allows me access to satellites anywhere in the world; I am reliant on a hotel's wi-fi which in my case was infuriatingly slow and may well have contributed to my impatience.
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TDAC Update
Amid the plethora of false starts, I cannot remember at what point I tried inserting the visa number. I kept getting the 'Insufficient Data' message almost every time I sought to move on to the next page. My experience is sufficient to deter my daughter/S-i-L from T/Land; we're going to meet up in Vietnam.
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Boob Dispute: Indian Tourists Call Cops on Pattaya Bar Girl
How much police time was wasted on this offence only for no charges to be brought? Having witnessed the apocryphal story of three straws per bottle of water, I am willing to bet this was merely a renegotiation tactic by the three punters. Hopefully there photos will be sent to the local newspaper in their own country.
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TDAC Update
'visa # NOT required!!!' I did not get past the 1st page till I had answered this! As I said there will be many who smugly reply about how stupid I must be. Presumably you are a lot younger than 82; have a modern phone/computer access (hi-speed?) and are not an ex-pat. Once you got the reply you were obviously sufficiently tech-savvy to save it without the need for a 2nd phone. I am suggesting that in the world I inhabit, there are dinosaurs like me who armed with a multiple re-entry permit and 20 years of data already collected by Thai Immigration (I have seen pages of this stuff on my records on a computer in a Pattaya Immigration office,) I question the need for TDAC in some cases.
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Pattaya's Economy Set for Lift-Off with New Flight Routes
The article is all about Internal flights presumably competing for the ever vanishing Pattaya farang who has passed the dope test by filling in a TDAC form.
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Pattaya Police Settle Brawl Between Middle Eastern Tourists With Reconciliation & Warning
It saves on the paperwork. They've been doing it for years and it reappears every four months or so.
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Pattaya Police's Heroic Bike Push Thrills Stranded Tourists
Was it a Police Taxi cab?
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TDAC Update
I know I face criticism from those more blessed/smart than I. Before I went on holiday to Spain, I did a dry run and photographed & printed it out. Then I attempted the real thing! It took at least 30 attempts to progress not helped by doing it on my phone with the hotel's slow internet. The site is not kind towards ex-pats. All these years of being carefully to avoid using the 'Retirement Visa' phrase, I now find TDAC asking for my 'Visa number'. I had to check and for the 1st time in 20 years, the number had been printed in pen and legibly. Then came more false starts over my (Thai) telephone number - 'Insufficient Data' times 10. In the end I made up an English one and moved forward. Many have said it's a piece of cake to fill it in; I disagree - I was lucky enough to have my TGF with me to photo my eventual success. When I got to Malaga airport yesterday for the return journey, the authorities asked for it (As I don't have a satellite phone package and relied on her 'Gallery' photo! They've not got it quite sorted as they also asked for my companion's Digital card & I pointed out as a Thai, she did not need one. (Meanwhile Vietnam tourism keeps it simple to visit whilst Thailand's numbers are circling the plughole.)
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Axe Attack in Chon Buri: Road Dispute Escalates Violently
Or she is a trans.
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Pattaya Beach: Locals Unite for Massive Shoreline Cleanup
Next, every soi in the land.
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Pattaya Police Crack Down on Roadside Vendors Amid Traffic Chaos
Now that would be a 1st. It's because the foreigners pay the police more than the locals.
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Chaos in Pattaya as British Man Attempts to End Life by Running into Traffic
With the assisted dying bill passed in Parliament, he could just have waited till he got home.
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Royal Thai Navy Tests Readiness of Peacekeeping Force, Amid National Security Concerns
'National Security Concerns' This is the lot that ban you from taking photos when landing/taking off from Utapao Airport in case you highlight the aircraft carrier that has never moved. (They've never heard of Google Earth.) It's also the same people that allowed a tanker of contraband fuel to escape at breakneck speed AFTER being arrested!
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Bleach Stains and Unexpected Dinner Dates, Only in Patts, Lads.
I believe there's a way of blanking certain contributors; do it or just ignore & don't read crap: it's self-inflicted. Me, I actively seek out the writer and enjoy.
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Coffee, Scooters, and Maybe Someone Else’s Missus — Pattaya Life
Fake stories are called fiction. There is a complete section reserved for them in most libraries. They are designed to create pleasure amongst readers; make money for the writers (check out Lee Child); even educate the dullards.
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Thailand's Legal Wrangle with Hun Sen over Audio Leak Escalates
Thai law doesn't even apply in Thailand; particularly where hi-sos are concerned.
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Kidnap Report Leads to Discovery of Korean Loan Shark Gang in Pattaya
Surely an occupation reserved for Thai Nationals.
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Indian Workers Illegally Operating Tour Services in Pattaya
Unlike Thais who don't learn sufficient English in school so are useless at being tour guides.