pacovl46

20 hours ago, falangUK said:

Just posting my recent experience coming back into Thailand in case it helps others.

I flew into Chiang Mai Airport after a two-night trip out of the country.  
Before that, I had stayed in Thailand for three months, under a 60-day Visa Exemption + extension.

 

I had everything ready  
- A booked onward flight leaving in 3 weeks time  
- 20,000 baht cash  
- Full hotel bookings

 

— but it didn’t matter. As soon as I handed over my passport and boarding pass, the problems started.

 

The immigration officer was extremely rude. She flipped through my passport like she was looking for trouble.  
The moment she saw I had only been out for two nights after staying three months, she flagged me immediately — no smile, no explanation.  
She passed me off to a younger officer who was a lot more polite. I got sent to secondary inspection.

 

At secondary:  
- They made me fill out a form with my flight details and hotel booking info.  
- They asked to show cash — and the officer literally counted each note one by one, like they were trying to find something wrong.

 

Luckily I had everything organised.  
The younger officer checked with the older ones sitting around, and after some discussion they stamped me in.

While I was waiting, I saw loads of people being pulled aside, filling out forms, and getting interviewed.  
It was clear some were going to be sent back. You could see the panic on their faces.

 

 

Meanwhile, the flight itself was half-empty.  
Hardly any foreigners are coming into the country anymore, and hotels are struggling like mad — but immigration officers still act like they’re managing an invasion.

There’s zero friendliness at the border anymore.  
It’s pure suspicion.  

 

Feels almost identical to just before COVID, when they were trying to push as many foreigners out as possible.  
Even back then they were rude when you were leaving.  
COVID destroyed the tourism industry — it’s like they haven’t learned a thing.

 

 

Warning if you're planning to come back in
- Book an onward flight  
- Carry 20,000 baht cash minimum   
- Keep hotel bookings offline too.  
- Mentally prepare for being treated like a criminal, even if your paperwork is perfect.

Final Thought
Thailand may still want your money — but it clearly doesn’t want you.  
If you still plan to come back, you better come back with your eyes wide open.

Why I'm Posting:
I’m sharing this because this forum (ASEANNOW / old Thaivisa) has been a huge help to me over the years.  
Guys like the late Ubonjoe helped me and so many others with their advice.  
So I just wanted to give back a bit — this isn’t drama or fear-mongering.  
It’s exactly what happened.

They do want you, but they do also want tourists to stick to the visa rules and let’s face it, there’s way too many people who abuse it to stay illegally or not in accordance with the law in Thailand, hence the suspicion! But somehow that always gets overlooked by people who complain about being treated like ““criminals!“

Why are people so stupid? If anyone I don’t know asked to see my money my response would be eff off! 

21 hours ago, johng said:

Why can't the instructor take a photo ?

Underwater photography and videography is an extra course you can take. Some diving schools offer a combination of let's say a photography and a buoyancy course. The truth of the matter is that buoyancy and managing your body in a way that you can get close to something without bumping into it isn't exactly easy as it is, especially because you also almost always have a current. Carrying a camera effects your buoyancy because it effects your center of gravity. I never took a camera course, but I definitely accidentally bumped into stuff when I did my open water course. There's no way I could've also filmed at the same time! I was busy enough just trying to not bump into the coral wall. That's why you should have mastered your buoyancy and body control first before you start doing underwater photography. Also, given how long it takes for corals to grow back, especially in the age of massive coral bleaching, I'm all for protecting them. 

19 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

You don't understand as maybe you are Thai..I don't care how they call me

Nah, mate! It’s clearly you who doesn’t get it/doesn’t want to get it! 

There was absolutely no need to kill the snake. Everyone and their dog knows what a king cobra looks like. Also, kings cobras usually make a major fuss when you get near them, which tells me that she might have been trying to kill the snake for food and in the process got bit. 

20 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Hey you Thai... you don't have a name??? Or are you being offended if I only call you THai?? The Thai has comment on my post... That is normal??

Again, it does not have a bad connotation when they use that word and any negativity that you perceive is just in your head. I don’t know how to express that any clearer! 
 

You have two options, you can either accept it the way it is or you can get all riled up and bent out of shape over it and let it make your life miserable. Your choice! 

Ok, keep whining and b*tching about a non existent issue that’s all in your head then…

6 hours ago, CallumWK said:

I have no horse in the game, but I have avoided any Nestle product for as long as I remember, and especially since the CEO of Nestle Mr Brabeck-Letmathe said that “access to water is not a public right”

 

 

Exactly! Nestlé is one of the worst companies on the planet. 

19 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Yes the know/knew my name very well but when Thai people are talking with eachother in Thai they still call you the farang..

Yeah, so? Again, it does not have a negative connotation. It's all just in your head. I've been asking numerous Thais of all ages about that word and all of them, independently from each other, have said the same, even that 60 year old, extremely polite female teacher....

22 hours ago, Airalee said:

Nope.  Portugal has France beat by over a century.

 

Using the “history of the word Farang” is a lazy excuse.   If it was acceptable, the N word would be fair game.

Ok, let me spell it out like to a three year old then: the word farang DOES NOT have a negative connotation, while the N-word noat definitely does. Comparing the two is just silly! 

5 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

He is right.. Farang is not a decent word and if Thai people talk about foreigners it is always farang.. I was teaching in a school but nobody ever said my name only the farang...And I always said it must be khon Farang, as it in Khon Jipoon, Khon Thai, etc .. and smiled with it... but even after 10 years in the same school they told me farang....Also in my neighbourhood if they as my friend  it is where is the farang, just if don't know my name while i live here already 20 years.. It is annoying, because how would Thai people respond if we all foreigners call them Thai... Hey Thai can you help me? Hey Thai how are you?... The Thai asked me if I could this or that....... I think big problems would occur as the would not accept it

No, he is not right! The first caucasians Thais came in contact with were the French. The Thai word for France is prathet farangse, which is were the word farang  comes from and it literally just means white person. If that’s offending to you then you’re the problem. It’s that simple. 
 

Also, you can’t really complain about being called farang for full ten years when you could have just told them to use your name instead. Have you done that? 

All you have to do is cover the end where they cut them off the tree. You can use a plastic bag and a rubber band for that. 

The initial dismissal of that case was ridiculous because they had video footage of him hitting her.  

23 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

IMO - For 'public service vehicles' the inspections should be biannual...

 

The issue with such inspections here is that it only takes a little back-hander for them to be passed... 

 

 

But, one of the issues here is the extent of the bus fire... Should it not be made of non-flammable materials ? - there's no mention of LPG.... 

 

The video shows the 'frame of the bus' on fire - was this one of those 'wooden frame' busses, that look modern but are far from it.

 

Perhaps busses made like that should not be on the road in the first place.

 

 

Well, Germany eradicated the "backhander" option by rmaking it mandatory to keep record of who it was who inspectied the vehicle and by making them personally responsible for it's compliance with roadworthiness. So, if a car crashes that wasn't roadworthy and the inspector let it pass in exchange for an envelope, the inspector will go to prison. 

If the plan is to get deported then by all means, make videos of cops in Thailand that portray them in a bad way!

Also, if you don't know what you want to vlog about then how is this endeavor ever supposed to be successful?! 

Making it on youtube is pretty, tough, these days. 

The one thing a lot of people seem to like are pranks. You could do that with your better half, if you have one, or a buddy. 

My recommendation is, to find one thing you like yourself and just keep doing it and upload regularly. If you're lucky one of your videos goes viral and that could be the beginning of your channel taking off. But even then, it's most likely not gonna happen and if it does, it's most likely gonna take years and years before you can live off it. There's also a ton of rules you have to comply with in order to get monetized. 

If you live in Thailand there's so many things to film. And yeah, there's a lot of travel channels, but it could be Thailand through your eyes, the off-beaten path. Show them the places YOU like, places tourists normally don't get to see because they stick usually to the known attractions. Do your research on these places, mention the information in the vlog and pair that with nice videography and some relaxing music.

You also have the option to just record your opinion on current affairs, if that's your thing. Have a discussion about Trump with a buddy that has an opposing opinion to yours. It wouldn't even have to be politics or exclusively politics, just whatever is going on in the world at the time. You could do that on top of travel vlogs ir literally anything else. The world is your oyster, man!

Finally, if you want to upload once a week for example, be prepared for this to turn into a full time job because you'll have to edit the videos and that takes forever! Especially, if you choose longer format videos over short format. 

In regards to equipment, yes  you can use your phone to record, a lot of people do, but if you want to film when it's dark also, you need a light, and you will definitely need a computer and lots of external hard drives, especially when you want to film in 4K. There's tons of videos on vlogging equipment on youtube. 

One more idea, just go and interview expats on what made them move here, what their lives are like here now and how they feel about living in Thailand,  what the up-and downsides are. You could even develop a questionnaire and ask everyone the same questions, like Lipton did at the end of the Inside the Actors studio episodes, and don't be shy to put in some silly questions as well that will get funny responses .

It's ime that Thailand introduces a biennial, mandatory, technical compliance inspection for all motorized vehicles, like Germany has, for example.

Those stairs are extremely steep. Must have been a lot of fun carrying someone up them on a stretcher…

That remark is clearly pro Jews, but of course they cry foul any chance they get. No surprise there. Pffff!

On 4/10/2025 at 4:07 AM, georgegeorgia said:

My favourite youtubers used to be the "pranksters" jokers or whatever you want to call them.

 

Surprised to read VITALY the American Russian famous YouTuber was arrested in the Philippines yesterday playing "jokes" on normal Filipino citizens 

 

The "pranks" he put on live to his audience were stealing a police motorcycle, stealing a security guards cap , walking up to people and making noises in their ears , farting at the police and asking the cops what he can do with a banana lol "can I shove this banana up your ,he asks a street cop ?

Then farts lol 

 

And the silliest funniest one which turned out to be a Filipino Senators wife was last Monday in Manila's upper class BGC he went up the elderly lady and pranked he was going to rob her and then farted 

 

He is currently in a Filipino jail 

And thus my dear fellows this is the age of the generation that thinks it's all a joke ,a laugh to shout in your ear , throw water at you etc 

Oh he was only joking !!!!

How was any of that surprising to you? That guy is famous for his outrageous and controversial pranks. That’s why YouTube demonetized his entire channel. I always liked his pranks, but he definitely went too far a few times and pulling stunts like this one in different countries can go really wrong. Johnny Somali comes to mind. Although that guy absolutely deserves what he has coming to him in South Korea because he’s an obnoxious c*nt! 

21 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

 

Pro Palestine supporters are blind to the fact that they are supporting terrorists, murderers and rapists.

Even the hacker's name gives it away.

They’re perfectly aware of that. You know what else they’re aware of, though? That you can say the exact same thing about Israel, but of course their blinded sheep can’t/don’t want to see that! 

21 hours ago, black tabby12345 said:

 

Quite right.

Rocky said the same thing in 1976.

 

When the underground lender told him to break debtor's finger, he said no.

With the broken finger, he cannot work(therefore unable to repay the money he owes).

 

I got it from the first season of the Australian crime show Underbelly, when Mark Moran asked his brother Jason what the f*cking point is of offing someone who owes you money, after Alphonse Gangitano killed a bloke.

23 hours ago, JonnyF said:

 

Not really. It was the first religion that sprung to mind when you posted...

 

 

Is there a mainstream religion whose belief system affects so many aspects of their daily life as Islam? I'm not sure, let me look into it in more depth and if I am wrong I will do my best to report back and I will be sure to apologize profusely for my assumption about the group you were referring to.

 

Right. It was the first religion that came to YOUR mind. In other words, you were reading something into it that has nothing to do with me, yet you accuse me of being Islamophobic….

6 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

 

Sounds a bit Islamaphobic to me. 

If that’s what you took away from my post then you must be off your meds! 

First he runs his big mouth and when it doesn’t go his  way he backpedals. So spineless!