Madness only in Thailand 

14 hours ago, Capella said:

In Bangkok and other city centres you might be right, elsewhere life goes on.

True. The overlords have very limited sway over provincial life and culture, thankfully. In the city centers, they have far more power over areas like nightlife.

7 hours ago, The Fugitive said:

Thanks for the information. However, there are three alternatives at Ringway. Railway station, MetroLink and local/National bus/coach interchange. I'm sure many people could, if they tried, reduce the volume of their luggage to managable proportions?

I have to get to Sheffield so buses are a non starter but quite often use the railway, advance fares and a railcard make it cheaper than the fuel.

Timing can sometimes be a problem and my son will  come and pick me up.

23 hours ago, Oxx said:

Thailand is vilified for its blatantly racist increase.

I am surprised that those with the predictable crystal balls bother to post rather than enjoy their luxury accommodation in the location of choice.

Some of the posts on this thread are quite despicable and the posters should be ashamed.

Many countries around the world impose a tourist tax, usually collected by hotels on a nightly basis. In Europe the tax is normally more per night than what Thailand is proposing to enter the country.

But as usual why would reality get in the way get in the way of xenophobia.

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

Many countries around the world impose a tourist tax

Yes, but this isn't a tourist tax.  It's a tax on all foreigners, irrespective of whether they live and work here and pay Thai taxes.  It's blatantly racist (though that's hardly a first for a Thai government).

4 hours ago, Oxx said:

Yes, but this isn't a tourist tax.  It's a tax on all foreigners, irrespective of whether they live and work here and pay Thai taxes.  It's blatantly racist (though that's hardly a first for a Thai government).

I don't think "racist* is the appropriate adjective to use in this particular case.

17 hours ago, sandyf said:

I have to get to Sheffield so buses are a non starter but quite often use the railway, advance fares and a railcard make it cheaper than the fuel.

Timing can sometimes be a problem and my son will  come and pick me up.

Excellent! Advance rail fares plus a Senior Railcard really reduces the cost. I think of the rail journey as part of my holidays, something to look forward to. Additionally, using public transport, if subject to delay and you missed your flight your travel insurance will pay out. Travelling to airports under your own steam is at your own risk.

6 hours ago, The Fugitive said:

Excellent! Advance rail fares plus a Senior Railcard really reduces the cost. I think of the rail journey as part of my holidays, something to look forward to. Additionally, using public transport, if subject to delay and you missed your flight your travel insurance will pay out. Travelling to airports under your own steam is at your own risk.

When I went in August I bought a 3 year veteran railcard, my wife will also get the discount next time we go. I more than recovered the cost of the card while there, the bulk of it from a train journey to the north of Scotland. Been going with Easyjet last few years but they bumped the prices up so it was cheaper on the train, less the hassle of getting to Luton.

On 1/12/2022 at 7:02 PM, Joe Mama said:

Good Luck with that...You've already scared off all the tourists with your high priced Sandbox schemes, broken promises such as "Thai Pass", ridiculous quarantine policies for fully vaccinated tourists, expensive RT-PCR Tests, expensive health insurance, Phone software to track tourist's every move, & now this...Tax 'em when they arrive, & Tax'em when they leave!  I wish you well!

Sadly throughout all of this I am sure that just as I have, many of you have done all we can to placate the Thai authorities ( I use that word reservedly) with vaccine compliance plus a booster jab, plus in my case a flu vaccine jab so that we can come to see our respective Gfs, wives, children etc etc yet we are still refused entry unless we go to a very expensive quarantine hotel for 15 nights.

We can only conclude that this is because of a lack of understanding of Omicron or the inability to confront Omicron for what it is, the road to herd immunity without the consummate danger of Delta, ( and before the nay sayers have a go this is a published fact by scientists around the world ).

For myself I have for the last 18 months been a volunteer participant in the Oxford university scientific research program wherein both blood and swab tests are taken every month to trace Covid infections across the nation and to test the AZ vaccine’s efficacy.

I have all of these results showing my blood to be full of antibodies against Covid infection but still I am denied.

And on top of that when I can come it appears that I will be forced to commit an illegal act by buying two insurance policies for the same thing, 

Just how many more hoops do we have to confront in order that we may spend time with our loved one’s?

Is it too much to ask that a little common sense begins to show through sometimes, There are no Covid related restrictions on Thais coming to the U.K. so is’nt it time for reciprocal action now?

you can only bend a branch so much before it breaks..Greed pure Greed   

Before people whinge too much , you should be aware that in the EU most local authorities levy a COMPULSORY tourist tax per adult person  on every overnight stay whether at a hotel ,b and b and even camp sites!! This normally  up to a lot more than 300baht for a 2 week stay in a hotel. So for a long stay 300baht is a bargain.

The issue is that the tourist taxes in Europe are ringfenced and used to improve local amenities like street lighting , pavements and car parks which genuinely benefit visitors as well as the local community. However ,will this happen in LOS?

Answers on a postcard to 

Mr. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn

Minister of Tourism and Sports  4 Ratchadamnoen nok Road, Watsomanas, Pom Prap Sattru Phai, Bangkok 10100 ????