Are they really to make it easier for farrangs

[Bullie]

On 12/17/2019 at 2:55 PM, Kwasaki said:

Get some help I think if you think that of being in Thailand, are you a prisoner of Thailand can you not just leave.

Or maybe your just a  person whose paranoid of wherever you live.

Came to live in Thailand 13 years ago to enjoy freedom. Now have left this year because of all the restrictions. Interestingly I now find that individual freedom in Europe is much more guaranteed, especially in Portugal and Spain.

[brokenbone]

do i really have to bring passport for a bus ticket or am i just too sleepy to grasp this topic ?

 

[chickenslegs]

On 12/17/2019 at 7:33 PM, ChipButty said:

Next year will be a lot easier for Farang you will be able to buy 1 rai of land in your name

... and entry to National Parks and places of entertainment will be at Thai prices.

[khunpa]

No doubt that it will become more difficult for Farangs to live here. 

 

The economy is getting worse each day and more and more Thais are struggling to just get food on the table. An easy way, is to blame the foreigners resulting in more restrictions from the government. This is what we have been seeing the recent years.

 

Overall I think Thailand is heading for very difficult times and unfortunately Thais are not proactive, but have to learn the hard way. It will take a long time, before they realise that they can not isolate themselves and foreigners (investors, tourists, expats) are important for their economy. 

 

The only chance is a completely political change with a young and international-minded leader, which is very unlikely. Personally, I hope my family and I can stay here, but I also have a Plan B ready and will not hesitate to move, when I feel things are becoming too difficult.

 

[zzaa09]

On 12/16/2019 at 7:52 AM, sunnyboy2018 said:

And any foreigner who self identifies as a 'farang' needs help. I think when I go to bus stations to buy a ticket I usually take my passport.

Most will forever be FARANG and appropriately so.

Especially, those who think too much about it.

[scottiddled]

On 12/17/2019 at 12:51 AM, BigStar said:

Never traveled in the USA? Photo ID required for bus, train, and of course airline tickets. EU: ID often required for same. What year do you think you're in now?

 

So hardly a shock at all. Countries rightly concerned about terrorism--and Thailand has an insurgency--will require ID for public mass transit.

 

And the fact that Thais also have to present ID means your original post whinging about victimization is utter nonsense. What makes you think you're owed special privileges?

 

Maybe better to ask that the thread be closed now.

This is why my colleagues don't post here.

 

Disagree with a message? That doesn't mean you have to lambast the messenger.

Don't like a thread? Then don't post in it. Then it's closed to you for all intents and purposes. The trend of members moaning for threads to be closed here is just perplexing and disturbing. "Please, cut off my ability to speak (and everyone else's), overlords!"

 

The OP raises a valid perspective about the hassles (and invasion of privacy) that, in his perspective, have both changed recently and apply differently to foreigners compared to Thai citizens. If the OP is misinformed on one or both of those points, so be it. That doesn't mean he posted in bad faith, is "whinging," or has an unreasonable perspective. 

 

BigStar's message here is--in my view--more misleading than the OP's about which he complains. Photo ID is not required for short bus and train rides in the United States. It varies for longer rides (Megabus doesn't require ID). Concerned about terrorism? I guess all countries are. I get that Thailand has a tiny bit of separatist sentiment in the South and some lingering political unrest, but it's not a big deal. Authorities love to play that up (along with "good guys in, bad guys out") in justifying every burden they place on people and every violation of people's rights. But the inconsistency in Thai law enforcement, the idiocy (how many forests' worth of photocopied documents are stacked up in IOs?) of many requirements, the paranoia of authorities (e.g., passports for tourist SIM cards, requiring cafes to keep WiFi logs, "activists" suing everyone for libel and failing to triple-stamp a political form), the futility of the rules (are "bad guys" going to have accurate TM30 data on file?)...they all add up to both a burden and a sense the powers-that-be either don't care or are clueless.

 

If someone vents on this forum and it turns out they misinterpreted a request, didn't understand the law, or just had an outlier experience, I have no complaint with them. Even if they're wrong, their paranoia and confusion are justified given the bureaucratic clown show we all deal with on a regular basis. Of course, YMMV, and if you find that venting annoying, there are plenty of other threads to choose from.

[Number 6]

We only travel 2x a year on buses now due to work. Routinely book out of Sai Tai Mai. Same company, southbound. Wife books online, pay at 711. No issue. Doubt she states I'm farang, don't think names required, Never asked for passport when we front up at station for actual tickets.

 

Yes, requiring passport effectively kills cheap, anonymous long haul transport for foreigners. But this has been standard in US for years.

[Number 6]

Ever wonder if traveling alone how such a wonder you get randomly seated not next to the pretty girl but the only other farang on the bus?

 

Software.

[Destiny1990]

Somehow we are less desirable than what we are thinking while looking in the mirror!