[Phuket car rentals must verify tourist driving licenses]

This has been stated before but never enforced. The only way shops will check licences is if they are routinely fined every time a tourist without a licence is found.

 

And why would the police do this? Their income would reduce substantially if only tourists with licences rented bikes. Much easier option to maintain the current system and turn a blind eye to those renting out bikes.

[Thailand faces a decline in British tourists and expats: Causes and Consequences]

I'm in Thailand now for a short time, having been back in Britain for over two years, and I have realised how much I miss the place. 

 

However much I miss it though, I won't be returning full time, even if my pension, when I finally retire, will go a lot further in Thailand. Bureaucracy, the way farangs are treated differently and, yes discriminated against, the stifling heat I'm currently experiencing, language difficulties (my fault for not learning anything other than basic Thai), the changing demographic in Phuket, where I was based, pollution, the cost of health insurance. I could go on but other aspects have been covered in the initial post. 

 

Despite this, I still anticipate being a regualar visitor on a tourist visa with travel insurance. My partner is still in Thailand but our daughter is with me in England, where career prospects are so much better than in Thailand. She already earns more in a day as a part time waitress than many Thais earn in a week. And, apart from property, there's not that much differential in the cost of living.

[ASEANNOW is Joining The Thaiger]

A few revamps I hope they implement: go back to one like button rather than the four similar ones that have now, show the identity of posters reacting to posts, less strict moderation, though of course certain issues need an amount of moderation and get a server with speeds that don't remind me of dial-up days.

 

I also hope they continue stories from all news sources as The Thaiger don't exactly employ the greatest wordsmiths!

[Tourism sector divided over elected versus appointed provincial governors]

A provincial Governor should be someone who knows the province, not someone brought in from outside, and the best way to ensure this if for a proper election.

 

Also, if an appinted governor upsets the status quo, it's easy to get him(or in very rare cases her) moved to another province, something that couldn't happen with an elected governor. 

 

Unlikely to happen under the current regime as this will give too much power to the progressive parties in many provinces.

[Foreigner Questions Thai Dowry: Netizens Respond]

Be careful with dowries. My GF "lent" her nephew 100,000 baht and 10 baht of gold for what was supposed to be for show only. 

 

The in-laws returned the 100,000 baht but took a shine to the gold and it's not been seen since. This was four years ago and still causes friction in the family. My partner still wants it back, for obvious reason, but none of the other family members will take any responsibility.

 

The price of face in this country! 

[PM Orders Crackdown On Cybercrime In 30 Days]

Note to self: wait until next month to start hacking into Thai company's bank accounts.

[Rabid Russian assaults police team in Phuket after going berserk at a city centre hotel]

Whilst appreciating the attempt at alliteration, the word rabid is hardly appropriate.

[Thaksin Has Not Been Seriously Ill At All: Rangsiman]

The only story here is that an MP has come out and said this publicy in a country where lawsuits are bandied around for defaming someone, whether it's true or not.

[Booze battle: Thailand still missing the middle path in alcohol control]

1 hour ago, kingstonkid said:

I can remember a few years back when Thais got arrested because they showed a pic on Facebook

 

There are things they can do.

 

First, give the police a mandate to charge and arrest anyone drinking and driving. PERIOD

Then take away their cars in a lot.

 

Also, and this will upset many Farang, the rules about hours of service and selling alcohol should be changed. Any restaurant or bar that sells beer before 12 should be charged and closed.

 

Can't argue with your first point but when the legal selling time is 11am, not quite so sure about the second, especially in tourist areas, where many Scandinavians are fond of a beer with breakfast!

[“Strictly screen foreigners entering and leaving the Kingdom”, Deputy Chief of police]

No mention of visa agents, who might get even more business if it becomes harder to get an extension of stay. 

[Thailand gears up to become global festival hub hosting Tomorrowland and Summer Sonic]

Wow, global hub of festivals! Woodstock, Glastonbury, Isle of Wight all off to Thailand. Enough to make me return!

 

The problem is they'll probably have a rule that 51% of the acts have to be Thai.

[Political unrest fuels growth in Thailand Privilege Card membership]

18 hours ago, webfact said:

Political unrest and geopolitical conflicts worldwide have propelled the Thailand Privilege Card’s membership count to a staggering 3,871, according to the card’s operator.

 

18 hours ago, webfact said:

Out of 36,397 card members,

????????

[Thai Government Intensifies Crackdown on Foreign Criminals to Protect Tourism]

Do they really think that a crackdown on foreign criminals would have an effect on tourism?

 

Are they naive enough to think that the recent incidents make news anywhere outside Thailand?

 

 

[Chalong resident hits 30 million baht jackpot in national lottery]

1 hour ago, rwill said:

Yes.  Better to keep it quiet. 

No chance, and miss the photo opportunity with a wall of banknotes? Real or fake?

[Srettha will not declare Chiang Mai a disaster zone to protect tourism]

The insurance issue is just an excuse. The only way a travel insurance might not pay is if someone is sick or hospitalized as a direct result of the poor air quality, and that's generally a longer term issue apart from asthmatics or similar. 

 

It doesn't automatically become invalid once you set foot ia "disaster zone.

 

But with the government's lack of effort on solving this issue, they don't deserve the tourism proceeds anyway.

[Over 400 Thai firms suspected of foreign nominee operations]

The old "crackdowns" that went a bit quiet during covid appearing again. As usual brought about by one isolated incident. I've known many people using this route ( I did myself several years ago) but not known any that have had problems. 

 

It is illegal but as is often the case in Thailand, a two week hit then forgotten about....until another incident makes the headlines!

 

[Thailand’s tourism ministry plans workshop to become global hub by 2030]

Isn't Thailand already a global tourism hub?

[Thailand aims to become Southeast Asia’s top hub for international concerts]

They need to improve public transport to the major concert venues. Muang Thong Thanii and Rajamangala both woefully served by public transport. It can take as long to get a taxi as the duration of the concert!

[Thailand Adjusts Excise Taxes on Local Liquor to Boost Tourism]

If the wholesale price of a box of beer goes down what effect will this have on prices in bars?

 

I'd guess precisely zero.

 

But when it goes back up to the original price again the bars will probably put their prices up!

 

There's no chance of this boosting tourism. Even if duty on imported wine reduces this won't affect tourism numbers, it''s just that more of them might order a bottle or glass of wine with dinner.....but only if restaurants actually reduce prices.

[Phuket’s traffic crisis: over 500,000 vehicles clog the island’s roads]

I wonder if General Yodyut experienced the Phuket traffic between the aiport and town or was he escorted in a police convoy with other traffic stopped, hence worsening the traffic situation?

 

I think I know the answer😉

[Thai wildfires rage across 10 provinces in northern Thailand]

I would like to think that these wildfires might at last cause the Government to take action against the slash and burn practices.

 

But I doubt it it'll have any effect whatsoever.

 

 

[Any meetups anymore?]

I attended two of these, the one at the Ratri Jazz Restaurant in Kata, where partners were invited which made mingling more difficult. I met Donna and chiangmai and that's all I can remember.

 

I was also at the one in Skippers, which was much more sociable, with such characters as the OP, Grumpy Old Man, Valentine, Oilinki, Steelpulse and a few others, most of whom are rare if non-existent posters these days. My posts are few and far between as I'm in England now, so will be unable to attend.

[New Govt Tourist Insurance to Cover Deaths and Accidents]

6 minutes ago, Ty Hareways said:

I've actually asked several expats who have 'local' insurance but they say they've not heard of any where a one month 'tourist' can actually buy the same insurance for just one month.

Whilst i have 'farang' travel insurance i still don't trust them so would gladly pay a local company for one month....i believe thai companies also pay up front for any treatment needed.

I think he means buy travel insurance from their own country, not local as in Thailand as that isn't generally available.

[New Govt Tourist Insurance to Cover Deaths and Accidents]

I don't think they have used actuaries in calculating and budgeting that amount. 1.5 baht per tourist? That 50m baht pot will last long.

 

Policies often contain an "Other Insurance" clause, stating that the travel policy will only pay in excess of other insurance that might be in place. This includes Government pools and schemes. If the Government call this scheme "insurance" there could be some issues in claiming on travel insurance; you can't claim twice for the same incident.

 

 

[Scottish woman’s cliff plunge in Thailand sparks insurance debacle]

14 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Seem's they're based in Ireland (+353 country dialling code)

 

Attached - the 117 page policy wording.

 

This is a policy I am carrying for an 11 day trip (coming up).

 

 

 

6.1) Travel Insurance Policy Wording.pdf 585.28 kB · 3 downloads

Thanks for uploading. I did not read it from cover to cover but take a look at the language; there is no legalese at all, in fact, on my opinin, it is over-simplistic and that is why it is so long. And that's what you should now expect in insurance policies for consumers. The client must be able to understand it.

 

NB Our American readers: your insurance policies are still years away from being consumer-friendly and I can't see any changes imminent. Your lawyers have to keep making money!

 

o