Pattaya is a big mess

[1happykamper]

Pattaya is a big mess  Yes. If you think otherwise you're one of the apologist types. 

 

Last week I wrote about my 4 trips to a very crowded Jomtien immigration office. An absolute mess 

 

Yesterday I went for my first visit to the "local" Department of Land Transport... 18 km from Jomtien where I live. The area was absolutely packed! 

 

I was there to renew both 5 year licenses. 

 

I already knew that this trip was just to check my paperwork and get an appointment date. No online appointments possible. Why not? Moving on.... the earliest appointment was February 9. Oh come on! I figured 2 or 3 days later.. not 10!

 

Several posts have been on this same topic... and that is... Why are the government offices in this area so busy and simply chaotic? With hundreds of people OUTSIDE these buildings they are obviously not adequate. 

 

It's no wonder that Thai people don't bother with getting a license... 2 days off work! 

 

The respective DLT in Krabi and Chiang Mai are huge compared to here. In typical Thai fashion.... Thailand government wants more tourists/others but has no facilities to support those visitors. 

 

 

Edited February 1, 2023 by 1happykamper
Add info.

[Henryford]

Yes it is chaos and renewing licences is a real PITA but it's only once every 5 years. For most expats we have plenty of spare time so one or two days out of my life every 5 years is not a major problem. I look on it as part of the price to live here. Similarly half a day queueing to get my visa extension once a year.

[Saddic]

Got my two DL's renewed w/agent... 1st event w/agent after appt at DMV, then another week+ before the upstairs tests, etc...  Agent said lots of Thai ppl just getting around to renewing too, due to covid ...  (btw, very glad I used an agent)...

Edited February 1, 2023 by Saddic

[MRToMRT]

You are lucky you don't live in Bangkok where IMM and LTD are heaving even more.

[1happykamper]

3 minutes ago, MRToMRT said:

You are lucky you don't live in Bangkok where IMM and LTD are heaving even more.

Really? A friend who lives in BKK said last year it was a 3 month wait to get a license ?! 

[newnative]

     Totally agree regarding local government offices.  One is in this part of town.  Another is in that part of town.  Almost all are in inconvenient locations, are too small, and lack enough parking.  The old, decrepit City Hall, sitting on now very valuable land, needs to be bulldozed and a new government complex built that houses all the agencies and has ample parking.   Pattaya has grown way too large to function well with small agency spaces that were set up years ago.   Pipe dream, of course.

[johnnybgood]

Money is number one in Pattaya. How many times have you heard that?

Maybe use it to your advantage,  and all these administration problems

will just dissapear.

p.s. No need to thank me.

 

[BigStar]

Thais put up with a lot more than you do, routinely. Things are quite busy nowadays as tourism and the economy pick up. Whinging doesn't help. Preparation and timing do. I bring along my tablet, waiting rooms don't phase me. Maybe check the T, man up.

 

 

Edited February 1, 2023 by BigStar

[Lucky Bones]

Headline is extremely misleading.????????

[Celsius]

It seems to me like Farang likes corruption only when it benefits him, but when he tries to live like a Thai in Thailand it becomes a bit of an inconvenience. Aww.... poor you nepo baby. The airport is close by.

 

 

 

 

[billyo]

Since I've got plenty of time on my hands I see these visits as a sort of visit to a human zoo to watch the animals cavorting around. If folk are losing their rag it adds to the excitement and that way it's not a burden but a pleasure. Jomtien immiagration never dissapoints and you get to spot who are the mia nois to the pi yais for added interest.

[Salerno]

23 minutes ago, Lucky Bones said:

Headline is extremely misleading.????????

As is the OP's board name 

[ezzra]

Maybe Thai people don't complain as much as we foreigners do, and WE DO, so the government don't have the incentives to upgrade or increase their stuff and local services and just live as is, anyway, that's my opinion...

[brewsterbudgen]

1 hour ago, Lucky Bones said:

Headline is extremely misleading.????????

Agreed.  It's a Thailand problem, not just a Pattaya problem.

[billyo]

38 minutes ago, ezzra said:

Maybe Thai people don't complain as much as we foreigners do, and WE DO, so the government don't have the incentives to upgrade or increase their stuff and local services and just live as is, anyway, that's my opinion...

accept,accept,accept...mai pben rai !

[scubascuba3]

1 hour ago, Saddic said:

Got my two DL's renewed w/agent... 1st event w/agent after appt at DMV, then another week+ before the upstairs tests, etc...  Agent said lots of Thai ppl just getting around to renewing too, due to covid ...  (btw, very glad I used an agent)...

Probably saved an hour, hand holding included and 5k down, up to you

[kinyara]

1 hour ago, billyo said:

Since I've got plenty of time on my hands I see these visits as a sort of visit to a human zoo to watch the animals cavorting around. If folk are losing their rag it adds to the excitement and that way it's not a burden but a pleasure. Jomtien immiagration never dissapoints and you get to spot who are the mia nois to the pi yais for added interest.

That's exactly my approach, in the case of immigration for me I doubt it takes up 1 hour of my entire year. In the case of the driving licence renewal it's only every 5 years, I accept the day as a necessary write-off. That said you can at least help yourself, mine falls due in January next year, ( like the OP's now), but rather than wait until the annual masses turn up at the height of the high season I'll go 3 months early in October as permitted. To be honest now that it requires 2 trips, the one off agent fee effectively spread over 5 years, involving being chauffered out there sounds like a reasonable option. 

 

OP, I fail to see the relevance of the situations in Krabi and Chiang Mai if you have decided you'd rather live in Pattaya. Presumably there are some positive aspects of life here that made you make the move. 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 1, 2023 by kinyara

[mikeymike100]

22 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Probably saved an hour, hand holding included and 5k down, up to you

5K to some folks is worth it, its not just the time wasted its the hassle??

[jacko45k]

2 hours ago, 1happykamper said:

The respective DLT in Krabi and Chiang Mai are huge compared to here. In typical Thai fashion.... Thailand government wants more tourists/others but has no facilities to support those visitors. 

 

To be fair, tourists should have little need of immigration or the land transport offices you focused upon.

(Just the TV or Exempt Extensions).

Edited February 1, 2023 by jacko45k

[Kevin Taylor]

It's a knocking effect from those offices being closed much of the last 3 years due to pointless lock downs. Apparently those in charge did not consider their actions would have consequences. 

[Lucky Bones]

56 minutes ago, mikeymike100 said:

5K to some folks is worth it, its not just the time wasted its the hassle??

Agreed. It also makes the small money go around.????????

[GypsyT]

Sounds like Van Nyus DMV in California.....

No trip less than 3h.

Line around the building 30min before opening ????

 

[1happykamper]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

Probably saved an hour, hand holding included and 5k down, up to you

Typical uninformed response. Hence my post. First visit... 1 hour travel time there and back from Jomtien. Wait about an hour... Check docs and get an appointment to return another day... for how many hours.. unknown. So no... It's waaaay more than an hour 

[scubascuba3]

1 hour ago, 1happykamper said:

Typical uninformed response. Hence my post. First visit... 1 hour travel time there and back from Jomtien. Wait about an hour... Check docs and get an appointment to return another day... for how many hours.. unknown. So no... It's waaaay more than an hour 

The queuing in the heat has got to your brain, i was talking about using an agent where people still have to go to the Transport office

[BigStar]

4 hours ago, ezzra said:

Maybe Thai people don't complain as much as we foreigners do, and WE DO

We certain nationalities, mainly. But one of the lovable characteristics of Thais.

 

4 hours ago, ezzra said:

he government don't have the incentives to upgrade or increase their stuff and local services and just live as is, anyway, that's my opinion...

Thai complaining is ignored unless social media (refuge in numbers) and big money (possibly as a result of social media exposure) is behind the complaint.

[BigStar]

4 hours ago, billyo said:

accept,accept,accept...mai pben rai !

And go on not worrying about things you can't change. ????

[BigStar]

2 hours ago, 1happykamper said:

Typical uninformed response. Hence my post. First visit... 1 hour travel time there and back from Jomtien. Wait about an hour... Check docs and get an appointment to return another day... for how many hours.. unknown. So no... It's waaaay more than an hour 

And your time is SO important, normally spent on . . . uh . . . .

[ThailandRyan]

5 hours ago, Salerno said:

As is the OP's board name 

You don't understand what the true meaning of his handle is then do you......Often the phrase is used in a negative manner much like the OP's handle is his way of expressing his feelings........

[ThailandRyan]

3 hours ago, GypsyT said:

Sounds like Van Nyus DMV in California.....

No trip less than 3h.

Line around the building 30min before opening ????

 

It is why I would drive out to Simi Valley to deal with DMV when I lived in Granada Hills. Van Nuys was a s...hole.

[VinnieK]

5 hours ago, BigStar said:

Thais put up with a lot more than you do, routinely. Things are quite busy nowadays as tourism and the economy pick up. Whinging doesn't help. Preparation and timing do. I bring along my tablet, waiting rooms don't phase me. Maybe check the T, man up.

 

 

..or move to a quieter province?

Some ppl cannot live away from the herd.

????‍♂️????‍♂️