All Farangs To Be Monitored Online

[lopburi3]

If you check your arrival card (TM.6) you will find over 25 pieces of information are required so hotel report will not be more than right page of that.

Just the serial no of the TM6 and/or passport no should be sufficient.

Just as switched license plates do not prove the identity of a car the TM card does not prove anything by itself. But if the bio data - date of birth - port of entry - passport data - paper trail match it becomes much more convincing.

As passports are now, or are becoming, machine readable it sounds like the future is here and data entry will probably be automatic for most.

[Limbo]

farang ·among Thais) a European or other foreigner.

– ORIGIN Thai,

– ORIGIN : from frank, an early sense being ‘free of obligation’.

see Frank: only Franks had full freedom in Frankish Gaul).

Dear Ajarn,

Thanks for throwing a whole bookshelf on my head.

So the Thai word 'farang' could indeed have originated from the French 'tall men', but not more than that.

Since King Rama V introduced Danish police-men in Thailand I automatically thought that the French life-guards were employed during His reign as well.

The theory that the name came from 'Ferangi', a group immigrating from the Eufraat and Tigris area, doesn't get much support.

That leaves us the question when 'farang' became a generalisation.

The connection with 'frank' in the meaning 'free of obligation' is interesting.

Europeans were 'frank' concerning the law in Thailand untill long time after the Paknam incident. In that case the French would have introduced the word and it would have been incorporated in the Thai language.

I absolutely don't like the word Caucasian. At least I don't feel like one and I don't liked to be referred to as one. Caucasians are people living in the Caucasus area and I never lived there and I don't share their culture.

Thanks for your reaction!

[otherstuff1957]

Big Brother?

It sounds like Thailand is trying to turn into another USA! If they succeed, I'm going to be asking myself why I bothered to leave the US?

[Darlek]

farang ·among Thais) a European or other foreigner.

– ORIGIN Thai,

– ORIGIN : from frank, an early sense being ‘free of obligation’.

see Frank: only Franks had full freedom in Frankish Gaul).

Dear Ajarn,

Thanks for throwing a whole bookshelf on my head.

hahahah great stuff ...

this topic has been done to death over many years ...

[Maejo Man]

Like when I go to pay my phone bill,,First I walk up to the desk and she tells me that I have to have a number, I take a number,then walk to the desk where I give her my number,she looks at my bill and logs it on the computer,then I take it to the next gal,who also looks at and logs the info on the puter,then I take it to the last gal and she looks at it,logs info on the puter and then after bullshitting with the gal that just paid her bill, will make my change and give me a reciept..

So this new deal will save no time,but will have to be done,plus it will all have to be done on paper anyway.

The simplest solution would be to "bar code" the TM cards, and once the information had been entered at immigration, all the hotels would have to do would be to swipe the bar code with a reader. Too difficult?

The same goes for your telephone bill Kevin. Just hop along to your friendly 7/11 and get them to zap the bar code, and pay the bill, plus a few baht. Takes only seconds, and the same goes for your mobile and electricity bills too. My water bill is the only one that has not been bar coded yet, so we are still on manual.

[stumonster]

the water, electricity and telphone bills are best paid at 7-11 for an extra 10 baht.

though if is later than two weeks from the date I think you might have to go to an office.

as with all these promisies from the blokes in charge, we will have to wait and see how much of it comes to fruition. What they are trying to do will end up being done, but not in as quick a timeframe as they think.

how much of this country is still without landline access? though I am sure shin corp will have their satellite in place to take care of that.

computers have yet to permeate thailand as they have in other countries, it will take much more than statements from various government officials to change that. With an average wage of 3000-6000 baht a month I don't think a computer is high on the list of many peoples priorities.

[KevinN]

It was not a complaint as to the time taken to pay a phone bill,,it was a statement on their use of modern technology and their need for extra work as with paperwork. They just do not understand and do not know how to cut time and work loads.

I pay most of my bills at the ATM or if they are busy I just go up into the bank and look at the sweet little things while the do the work for me. They always do it with a smile and at no charge,,I think I am their only farang customer at the branch in town.

Just like the "Take a number" thing,,when I am the only customer in the office.

[PvtDick]

the water, electricity and telphone bills are best paid at 7-11 for an extra 10 baht.

Or better yet, even, pay them on line. My Bangkok Bank Bualuang online service allows me to pay telephone, electricity, internet, and many other things with a couple keystrokes.

[lopburi3]

the water, electricity and telphone bills are best paid at 7-11 for an extra 10 baht.

Or better yet, even, pay them on line. My Bangkok Bank Bualuang online service allows me to pay telephone, electricity, internet, and many other things with a couple keystrokes.

Or even easier use direct debit from your bank account. Have never had an error in 8 years of using for CAT/TOT/TRUE/Water/Electric.

[Kf6vci]

Yeah - right! When I rented a room in Theppratan Apartments, with maybe 6-8 rooms, they never heard about reporting the names of farang tenants to immigration :-) But they sure knew how to overcharge on electricity - demanding 10 Baht per kw/h. ** Germany has been very lenient towards stoolpidgeons. there is no "wastign of Police time" like in the UK. As a result, once I was fingerprinted, with DNA testing and spent half a day in jail because some nutter hat accused me of being a blackmailer. at the time of the crime, I was 10,000 km away in L.A. and Las Vegas, renting cars... So imagine the problems when the public gets involved!

[Limbo]

– ORIGIN : from frank, an early sense being ‘free of obligation’.

see Frank: only Franks had full freedom in Frankish Gaul).

Dear Ajarn,

Thanks for throwing a whole bookshelf on my head.

hahahah great stuff ...

this topic has been done to death over many years ...

Yes Mr. Darlek, I know.

But this thread shows that many of the newer (?) members still are confused on this point.

They think all hotelguests are 'farang'. Even if they are coming from the middle east or Africa or Malaysia. Yes even if they are Thai and staying in a hotel. This is absolutely not the case.

And they immediatly felt a conspiracy in the make by getting the meaning of the word 'farang' wrong.

I wanted them to relax by showing that this new regulation is not directed at them, because I am almost sure that these regulations fit in this so called 'war against terrorism'. I don't think that focusses on westerners.