ChiangraiTony

Most foreigners don't understand the goings on deep from the surface of things. Before the police would have numerous opportunities for increasing there take home pay. Now much has undergone a subtle transformation. The police take home pay opportunities have diminished and now the military has that opportunity. Much of the unlawful activities that are reported gets moved to the military to handle. That means that money and drugs have different hands. And if the military has now that opportunity, where do you think that it's all going?

The recent big changes as compared to the players of old have changed, much like the changing of the guards.  Money flows a different way now, and possibly even out from the country.

Can't really talk straight because of the laws but also because of the continuous monitoring.

Its important to be mindful of what you talk about and who you talk about. The outlets are monitored to weed out resistance. In other words, the things you write go beyond what you are thinking, and not much goes unnoticed by the big boys.

What else to say except that more increase in taxes for all except the ones with the golden spoon.  You might wonder why would they increase tax on soapy massage? Some think it's targeting foreigners. Think about it. The people that own these type places are into corruption and they don't want to pay tax. As long as they and the police are happy then they are good. The people will pay their taxes.

Think of all the small Thai businesses on the small roads all over the country. How many are charging and paying taxes? Maybe they might pay 500 baht in taxes. How many places have you gone to eat or shop and not pay the VAT? As for the soapy massage, they have these places all over the country. So many Thai men frequent these places, it's not only about foreigners.

Cannot have an open discussion about much, except to say, don't be under any false ideas, you say the wrong thing and you will have some visitors.

Much better to listen and say very little unless you don't reside in LOS. 

Every time I use the lift at the condo I have fear that it will also plunge. The condo management does not maintain a safety inspection document posted inside the lift. The lift doors open slowly and they close even more slowly to where you sometimes have to use your own hands to help close the doors. 

The condo does not have a committeee and they do not follow the rules of the condominium act of Thailand.

ive spoken with the condo management and he is extremely reluctant to talk anything about the lift. What can I do?

Who can this be reported to where some action takes place?

If only 10,000 baht fine, I'm more concerned now more than ever.

Seriously, does anyone know who to report this potential safety hazard to?

At some point us expats have to consider other options. We live here, we pay taxes. Taxes at the land office, shopping, gasoline, and dozens of more things we contribute to Thailands economy.

Knowing that they apparently do not respect us maybe it's time to come together and start posting this article and articles such as this on social media outlets.  The blatant rip-off news report is pretty much local but I think the FB community and others have a right to know the news too, and before they arrive in Thailand...

What are your thoughts?

Why wait to tell all the foreigners coming here, that they will have to pay 10 times more than the Thai's. No one likes these type surprises, so maybe many more people who know about this before they travel to Thailand, then maybe they will consider other alternatives. After all, no one likes to be cheated. We all are looking to be treated fairly. This is not fair by standard.

Its time that the foreigners have a voice about Thailand and the unfair practices. 

On another note: Do you really think there is fair trade between Thailand and the USA?  Check the local Thai shopping malls and grocery stores and the prices. This does not look like fair trade to me. 

Maybe the new administration in the US, needs some good examples of how other countries take advantage of them and their citizens. 

When expats live in Thailand and bring friends and family to visit, they are stimulating the Thai economy. The expats are doing good things for Thailand but Thailand keeps introducing ways to hurt us economically.

Thank you Sir.

Thank you

A friend of mine over in China is applying for an Thai OA visa. Apparently when he submitted the Medical Certification it was more than 3 months old and did not specially state the prohibitive diseases, as per Thai Ministerial Regulation No. 14 (B.E. 2535). Now have to get another one but need to know the specific prohibitive diseases. Apparently they are listed on the website but only in Thai.

I have a question. What are the 4-5 prohibitive diseases where Thailand prohibits entry?

Apparently it's posted on their website but it's in Thai. Any assistance would be appreciated.

I agree. You can get a sense if the staff are professional. I personally like a strong massage so I ask for a strong massage prior to selection. They pick the girl and I check her hands. I hold her hand and ask for her to squeeze. You can get some idea if this person is for real. The places that offer a hand pleasure for extra money usually are not good at giving a professional massage. If you do get asked by the girl and you're not interested just say you're not interested or say that you don't have the money.

23 hours ago, Don Mega said:

I find it hard to believe 7/11 only pay their staff 120b (the price of a bigmac) per day, where did you get this number from Peterw42 ?

7/11 employees get 42 baht per hour.

Unless someone says different, I believe that there is no longer bowling in CM. The old place closed about 1-2 years ago.

Raji or Hatha? Are you looking for meditation? 

19 hours ago, xng said:

 

If nobody got turned away, why do you have to engage an external company to submit your visa application? I am sure the paperwork is easy for you since this is not your first time.

 

The purpose of a visa agent company like GT4 is to cut the queue and/or give us consultation and help us on the paperwork required if this is our first time in Thailand.

 

 

Sorry! I thought it was somewhat obvious. I don't like sitting in line for hours, and I can afford for GT4 to process. When you've been in Thailand for as long as me, and when you're old, some just don't enjoy sitting in line in one spot waiting for hours. It's really up to each individual and what they choose. The other reason is to learn more information on how things work. When using GT4 service, watching them process and answer questions, I can learn more about how things work with how Thai immigration and this agency work. Sitting on a small hard chair in the early morning hours of darkness doesn't really do it for me. 

1 hour ago, Canceraid said:

Yet common people support local temples by going there and praying and giving alms. In truth, there is no divinity, spirituality or sancity in these places except materialism, misconduct, etc and distorted teachings of real buddhism, nor can one really attain any merits there. Thai buddhism and real buddhism are two different things. Thais have a flair of "bastardizing "all religions or things and claiming it as their own as in the case of the ramayana and now in thailand, the "bastardizing" of hinduism and hindu deities like Lord Ganesha, etc. May karma catch up with them and their loved ones

Agree with most everything you say here, except the last sentence.

On 10/28/2016 at 10:37 AM, NancyL said:

Interesting report.  

So, were you able to access the "visa agent service located within the shopping mall" at 6:45 am?  Why didn't you just wait around until 8:30 am to see for yourself if you were going to get a queue number for the day, rather than having to come back the next day and paying another 3000 baht?

 

It is interesting news that the "visa agent within the mall" wasn't able to promise you same day service.  That's a new development they used to be able to deliver same day service.

This is a follow up from yesterday's comments.  Yesterday I arrived at the visa service shop for my immigration appointment. The agent walked me down to the immigration office with paper in hand. When we arrived just before 1:00pm I was asked to sit down for a few minutes until I was called. After about 5 minutes they called me, the agent and I went to sit at the desk of the immigration officer.  Everything was in order. Even they had a photo copy, they asked to see my bankbook.  The officers was very talkative and nice asking me about my family name and the country in which my surname originated.  After about 15 minutes, I got up and went over to where they take your photo. Holding the completed immigration documents up in front of me they took my photo. After that the agent told me to go back to the visa service shop and wait for him to return with my signed approved passport. 

At 2:20 PM the agent handed me back my passport which is good for 1-year to remain in Thailand. So even using the visa service, it took 1 hour and 30 minutes to get everything completed. The agent did tell me that they had to wait for the boss to give final approval with his signature.

Comment: additional information. I spoke with the immigration officer and he did confirm that in about 1 1/2 years when the new building is complete, the immigration office will move back to near the CM airport.  He also indicated that the current office at Promonade may remain a smaller sub-office.

Additionally, after speaking with the visa service manager/boss, she stated that when the immigration office moves back to the airport area location, the visa service business will NOT move too.  When I inquired further as to why not, she stated that her business in public and not government and so her business cannot move to the airport area location because it is only for government related.  Therefore, it is possible that in the future that the visa service will be quite a distance from the airport immigration location. That is of course, if they actually relocate back there later on down the road.

On 10/28/2016 at 4:59 PM, xng said:

 

According to Nancy, everyone who queued up by 8:30 am should get a queue number.

 

But the reality is different ...... How many were turned away? Do you know?

 

Personally I didn't see anyone being turned away.  If one gets in line early morning, from my understanding, they still have to come back in the afternoon to pick-up their stamped passport.  Everyone has to wait for the immigration boss to sign the passports. The boss generally arrives later in the morning and late after lunch. So no matter how fast your documents are provided at the immigration office, everyone still has to wait until the boss signs his approval.

On 10/28/2016 at 3:35 PM, ThaiPauly said:

Why did you need your yellow book and 2 pictures?

 

I have never been asked to supply a yellow book or 2 pics, just the one that I stick on the application form.

 

 I hope you don't mind me asking but I am slightly confused.

 

Anyway, glad you got it sorted, but I would rather get up at zero dark thirty than pay those agents 3k, that's a lot of money for a small job.

I provided two photos which they took but it's possible that they only needed one photo. I did observe the agent applying glue to the back-side on one of the photos which were then applied to the application document.

As for the Yellow book. I don't think that the book is a requirement. However, by providing my Yellow book, I didn't have to show any other documents to prove my residence.  I believe some have to get a letter of some sort if they live in a condo. They Yellow book saves me one or two steps that I wouldn't have to do if I didn't have a Yellow book.

49 minutes ago, NancyL said:

Interesting report.  

So, were you able to access the "visa agent service located within the shopping mall" at 6:45 am?  Why didn't you just wait around until 8:30 am to see for yourself if you were going to get a queue number for the day, rather than having to come back the next day and paying another 3000 baht?

 

It is interesting news that the "visa agent within the mall" wasn't able to promise you same day service.  That's a new development they used to be able to deliver same day service.

Yes correct, the agency opens at 8:30. I came back at 2:00pm. yesterday afternoon. Provided my passport, bank book, Yellow book and bank letter along with two photos. Paid them 3,000 baht. They provided me a receipt also indicating that they are in possession of my passport. They also made me sign a "power of attorney" document. The agent mentioned that things have changed there in the past month. Now you have to make an appointment.  So, today at 12:45 pm is my appointment. Once I arrive at the shop, they will provide me a cue number and will walk me down to the immigration office for. 1:00pm appointment. When asked how long it will take, the agent stated between 30 minutes to 1 hour maximum. It all depends on when the immigration boss gets back into the office to stamp the passports.  Hope this helps clarify some of the questions. 

Things at CM immigration have changed considerably. I arrived yesterday morning at 6:45am to do my annual retirement. I was extremely surprised to see the size of the line that was already formed. Knowing that the cue number would be high and the possibility of taking no the entire day, I decided to use the agent service located within the shopping mall. I had all my documents in order along with the required photos. The fee was 4,900baht and I still have to come back the next day.

Note: The past 4 years cost 1,900, waiting in line not more than 1 hour.  It sure does appear that the waiting line and the processing times have increased considerably. 

The foreigner that pays a fee using the agent services definitely gets processed and gets priority over everyone waiting in line for a cue number. Not sure if most recognize that fact. 

I recently had some testing performed and the test came back showing that I have posinious pesdicides in my system.  I've been in Thailand for about 7 years.  I do not trust the businesses that advertise as "organic."  What can one do here in Thailand to ensure that the risk of chemical contamination is minimized?  Can the contamination be neutralized in someway by doing some detox methods and if so, what can you suggest?  The pesticides levels are high and over time will impact the health of each and everyone of us.  

Hard Rock food in my opinion is over priced for a basic meal. The Duke's is more affordable and the quality is just about the same. 

Within in the next couple of years many of the Seafood restaurants in the Night Bazzar area will leave there. I heard this from the owner last year.  The owner of the land (Chang Beer) has been increasing the rent and the owners already know about the future plans. Chang Beer Co. Have different plans for that area. 

If there really is no hard DNA evidence, I'm sure by now the family of the deceased feels terrible if this case gets dropped without any further leads of who the real killers are. There is still more to come so I will refrain from further comment until more unfolds.

The current PM really seems out of touch with many of the Thai's abroad. All my Thai friends that live abroad and those that use Facebook, do not have anything to say in support of the coup. In fact, on many occasion I have heard from Thai's abroad that want the military out, and elections to begin.

Why would the Thai PM want ALL Thai people living abroad to explain the situation. Is it to bring clarity to the other governments so they understand? If that's the case, then it's obvious to see that the Thai PM doesn't have an effective communication channel with those other governments, or its meant to bring clarity to the regular people like you and I with hopes of increasing the numbers of tourists that visit Thailand. In either case, I think it's a desperate move to ask Thai's abroad to do the explaining for the military coup with the hope that it can be justified in the mind of others.

It's kind of like saying, please explain to the U.S. citizens why their President Obama is justified by not recognizing the 4th of July in the way it's been recognized for generations for fear of ruffling the feathers of those who are against US, it's history and what it stands for.

It's a long time past due.

I do not think the question of mailing address for 90 day report was answered,or did I miss it? Mine is due on the 21st of july and would hate to mail it to the old office and be late.Any knowlege about new street address.

My advice to you and others in similar situations is to go in person to complete your 90 day report on this one occasion until everything is established.

A few days after Immigration has opened in the Promenada, I intend to make a visit and survey the situation so at least I will know exactly where to go and what`s what when I visit for my visa extensions and 90 day reports.

Hopefully the 90 days online report system will be fully operational in the future that will take another load off Immigration and save us some visits.

For the moment there are still too many uncertainties that will not be clear until the new premises is in operation.

I did my 90-day address reporting just 2-days ago, along with getting a re-entry permit. I specifically asked three different Immigration police if the internet online 90-day reporting is working. Two of the three responded by saying 'yes' it is working. So, it appears that if in fact it is working, then there are those at the CM that are not aware of it. They also told me that it's Bangkok that is responsible for that online reporting process.

If you believe that you're right, don't give up. Fight for what you believe to be true. Most give in here in Asia and that's why this keeps happening. You need to teach them a lesson so they will think twice the next time. This must stop. Certainly there is someone who will not put up with this if illegal. Don't give in... Don't