Sydebolle

I took friends from out of town to the Nong Khai immigration post and it always worked. A smile here, a "sorry, me fool forgot" and you're sorted. The fee was (beware "past tense") 1,000 Baht single and 3,800 Baht for multiple re-entries. Just don't lose your temper ???? 106 Moo 7 Chalermprakiat road Meechai / Muang Nongkhai 43000 phone numbers: 042-420-242‬ and 042-420-244 042-990-935 and 042-990-941 GPS Navigation coordinates: 17.859662, 102.728092 For sporty chaps, the distance between the Immigration and the border offices at the bridge head is a mere 1.2 kilometres - just in case you cannot get a rentable vehicle like a motorbike or a TukTuk. I also attach a blank TM8 Form, the application form for a re-entry visa. Complete it, possibly in the comfort of a home with a desk rather than a windy window-sill or the bonnet of a car and use a blue ball pen (they have this thing with blue!). Don't forget the passport pictures as that sends you on a lunar orbit here in Nong Khai ???? Good luck. TM 8 Re-entry application.pdf

One senile fellow was given the opportunity to walk the secured garden while the other one should have considered seeing a professional tailor above the porky pig niveau ???? Wondering what they discussed and just hope that the did not get "lost in translation"!

Well, well, the US is aware of the fact, that they sit on lousy card at the Indochina poker. The US' oldest friend in the region - yes - but this friendship was bought after WW2 to put a military supply foot into Indochina in the early 60s of last century. The US alliance was never called for; Kennedy should have taken the North Vietnamese infiltration of the (neutral) Kingdom of Laos to New York and address the United Nations (like what should be done now with Russia and Ukraine). Their so-called "alliance" brought trillions of dollars to Thailand; some of it went into military infrastructure like highway grids and all the airport in Northeastern Thailand. The rest went to line pockets of the men in uniform; unlike other places of conflict, where the US had put its nose in, they could not put the bill onto any Vietnamese desk for payment (unlike Irak paying in oil and Brussels is footing the war mongering in Ukraine). In their failed foreign policy arrogance since 1945, the US has not realized that it had lost the grip on Asia in general, except some spots and tens of thousands of American troops in South Korea, Japanese, the Philippines and Taiwan. The Chinese were and still are of the arguably understandable opinion, that the US had plenty of other higher priorities to attend. In diplomatic terms the US' involvement everywhere was and still is "c'est malvue" and, despite his fourth attempt in visiting the region, this part of the world tilts towards China - for countless reasons. Anyhow, the official doctrine anywhere outside Thailand is, that Prayut and his cronies are meanwhile lame ducks in the departure lounge of power but, as protocol commands, the Americans in this case show them the way out ????

Makes me wonder; how much is the governmental tax mark-up in Europe? The petrol comes from the same non-local sources and as things stand, the Thai government is still making a (slimmed down) cut on tax income on fuel. Obviously here in Thailand the government - for once - has hardly any choice as the voter base runs on diesel vehicles and agricultural machinery. Touch the diesel price and the boys in Bangkok are toast - simple as that!

Well, at least the Indians are back. Unclear though is, what these fellows are doing - decorated like a Christmas tree with all that gold buntings - and then run around and complain being robbed. They come from a "rob" society; whoever travelled in Southasia has stories to share. Hence why on Earth run around like a gold shop display - for what? All this of course on the assumption, that our little friend from beautiful India indeed left home with it ????

Looking forward to Level -4; no nothing and the usual traffic jams on Thailand's road ????

Well, the fruits of his service to the country might have even rewarded him with a maiden flight on one of the three B777's as recently delivered to Thai Airways; despite having B747 and B737 distributed all over the Land, parked for (non-operative) restaurants and other funny things. Well, if you want to shop till you drop then you have to clear the shelves back home first to make space for the new goodies and toys.

No money for kiddies seats? Reminds me of the day the mandatory bike helmet was introduced and they moaned over 400 - 600 Baht for a (more than questionable) helmet. Now it is the same song again, no safety belts and no money for either safety belts nor children seats. Maybe you should only those drive a car who can afford to pay cash in full while putting up steep fines for breaking the rules. But the helmet law saw a juicy increase of 50 Baht notes changing from drivers to law enforcers until Covid 19. Now they drive around with a mask but still no helmet - go figure!

As long as you run a monopoly provider for stamps, approvals etc. you literally can charge what you want and treat your victims likewise. Having said that, there are nice[r] offices than Jomtien but it might have to do with their clientele. Some service seekers are really off the scale and should be sent home to dress properly, get a shave and leave their catch-of-last-night at home ..........

So this little sweet heart of Thai politics is still on its "dirty Farang" and "alien" rampage ..... at least he is consistent!

Why should today's kids get a fair deal when their parents and grandparents were already short changed back in the day? The Thai education ...... too many articles were written and spoken about; changes have to come from within but for the time being those who could change anything are those who directly benefit of the status-quo of uneducated electorate sheep ....... all the rest is smoke-screen!

Apart from blocking it through your phone provider there is another interesting trick. Tell the caller to stay on the line and not go away as you're so interested in what they have to say. Then just put the phone to the side and carry what you've been doing. I had callers from all over the planet's call centres, the most patient one stayed online for staggering 48 minutes. After the second or third attempt ...... silence and I have not been called ever again. With your 'stay online' please you're burning the time of the caller who, in turn, have to call as many as they can to sell whatever stuff they want you to buy. 48 minutes waiting for nothing ....... go figure!

One for the money, two for the face ....... nothing changed.

As long as they have money, the Thais will continue to do so - keep an eye on the governmental kindness of subsidy as you're paying it through your tax money. As long as the access to Thailand remains plastered with typical Thai bureaucracy, funny ideas of landing tax of 300 Baht, two-tier pricing, a visa mess of the finest order and corruption literally almost anywhere you look ..... Embassies do not answer phones nor reply to emails and the aliens and dirty Farang are looked down upon. As long as that prevails, yes, indeed, Thais will be the majority clientele - maybe you keep it that way round. This bunch of money-loaded customers you do actually not like has found alternatives in the Caribbean, Central and South America, Senegal and many beautiful, partly less expensive destinations in Europe. There is a message somewhere but it takes an IQ above the shoe size to understand, accept and work on that!

No, that was a specific airport tax, initially 20 Baht domestically and 60 Baht internationally. Later the 60 Baht doubled and then the jump came to 500 Baht with ticket selling booths, girls devaluating the tickets a few meters down the road until all this disappeared from the public eye. The airport tax is still levied but collected through the airlines leaving Thailand and the airlines simply added it to the airfare.

They are paid in ........ mangoes - quite simple ????

Digital Economy Minister talks about health issues - or possibly tax income - while the Health Minister talked about speeding up the railway link from Laos to the seashores. Very sporty comments came from Prawatch on the subject of how many medals Thailand will bring home from the SEA games .... and others organize a 200 million Baht stint for New Year in Phuket which could never have taken place as the two artists were booked much earlier on more realistic projects. Governmental Job description = everybody puts his/her nose into everything which faintly smells of money, limelight or face improvement!

Unlike the border traffic between Cambodia, resp. Laos and Thailand ..... the dirty farang and alien have a choice and certainly will make use of it. The cross boarders got nicely shafted with some funny tests, available at Makro for 45-50 Baht by shelling out 700 Baht. There is no possibility to buy a governmentally imposed mandatory insurance policy - in short - the usual mess for which this country is known meanwhile for 20+ years. Venice has millions of daytime visitors, i.e. they roam the city like crickets in the morning and leave in the evening; by car, rail or by cruise liner. To keep up with the infrastructure, they charge a tax like in Thailand you pay for each and every "historical site" an access fee, locals usually 50% - 90% less than the alien from outer space. So, compare apples with apples as only those border crossers from Cambodia and Laos are daytime visitors (for massive shopping = leaving 80% to 90% of the revenue of places like Nong Khai behind). Put the entry fee of whatever into place and see what will happen. As this reflects, in purchase power, something like (formerly one day) 60% of a daily minimum wage I would suggest, that Von der Leyen in Brussels introduces an arrival fee for the semi-divine Khon Thai of the same purchase power in the respective European country they land. Just wondering, whose pockets are being lined this time round .........

Did it get omitted or did I oversee "the driver fled the scene", the "CCTV was not functioning" or anything else? No insurance in Thailand is deadly, with an insurance you might get died as well with the difference, that your in-laws will not go possibly bankrupt over the "flexible" interpretation of law and order in far-away lands ....... like Lalaland!

Not your day, it seems - lean back, take a deep breath and consider a G+T - who cares about likes?

I hope that the discerned reader and Thai traveller is aware of the fact, that these "subsidies" are nothing but taxpayers money. As the average rice farmer, most likely, is not vacationing in fancy places in Phuket, Samui and elsewhere, it addresses the middle class of Thailand which has seen a massive shrinking over the last 30 months. But yes, it reminds me of the carrot hanging in front it the rabbit (©Alamy).

I believe that I read 490 Baht/day as a proposal by the government (which does not pay the private sector's salaries anyhow). Yingluck floated that populistic idea of increasing from 200 Baht/day to 300 Baht/day while university graduates would get guaranteed 15,000 Baht/month. Not every company adhered to the change but it brought Yingluck to power. The university students were well advised not to insist on the 15,000 Baht/month as they had zero experience and no proven record of anything. If that new increase proposal goes through, the minimum would read 2.5 times what it was ten years ago. My question are: does the average worker's output produce 2.5 times the output of ten years ago? what does this mean in absolute terms of inflation over the last ten years? did the end consumer prices absorb this increase in their products and/or services? is the average employee today better off than ten years ago? I still believe that such Thais do not live, they exist merely which accounts for the lack of dedication, interest and motivation at work ..... but yes, it is a populistic approach, which worked just fine by former politicians in their election race ????

Get some ear protection; this place is to implode one day in not too distant future 8-)

Apart from being more expensive than some European destinations already, this is yet another nail into the tourism coffin of Thailand. It is not the 300 Baht, it is the attitude to skin the dirty farang and alien ..... while the skinning is good. Yet it needs to be seen, if these clowns have to be shown back into their circuses. Taking the (self-proclaimed) figure of 40 million tourists; they left trillions of Baht in dual pricing, cheating and short changing already, Take 15% of said figure for 2023 (if at all) would result in 1.2 billion Thai Baht - will buy quite a few insurances for the alien and, for argument's sake, 36 million American dollars, is not to be sneezed at either. Wondering whose pockets are being lined this time ...

Keep up the good work, you're funneling millions of dollars into the capital's coffers as there are millions of tourists here already. With such taxes, even more people will be coming as they all want to offload even more money. The boys down at the Tourism Authority of Thailand are getting competition; after a "landing tax" there is now this discussion over a "city tax". It's written in the bible "Lord, forgive 'em for they don't know what they are doing". Or is it possibly a populistic election fart - again? It worked higher up with Yingluck - until she got unseated - so why not try the same stint again on a lower level ????