[Thai Visa Calendar]

Hi.  Having purchased a new supply of coloured printer ink, I'd now like to print the Thai Visa calendar for this year.

I can't locate it on a general search.   Anyone have the web site to download this?

Thanks for yr help.

 

[Australia laments Thailand’s high wine tax as excise dept delivers bitter news]

On 1/26/2021 at 9:18 PM, RJRS1301 said:

Nought to do with collapsable containers and oxygen, it has to do with product in the bladder, distatseful going in distasteful comeing out especially being held at room temp in the shops here. Overpriced stuff that rarely sells in its home country.

 

Wrong on both counts!  It's a good product and it sells extremely well in containers from 2 litres to 20litres (for BBQs!)

[Australia laments Thailand’s high wine tax as excise dept delivers bitter news]

32 minutes ago, Dart12 said:

I'll give it a shot.  I've tried Peter Vella and Mont Clair and another (my fave actually), but I can't think of the name right now.  But they aren't true reds at all.

 

 

16 minutes ago, RJRS1301 said:

Whatever you pay for most cardboard wines is way above the value, pity your taste buds

Oh come on!   The collapsible containers in the casks keep out the oxygen and the taste is excellent.  Do you really think we'd be buying casks if the quality was not there? 

[Australia laments Thailand’s high wine tax as excise dept delivers bitter news]

11 hours ago, PatOngo said:

(White) Skin tax!

Same goes for cheese.  I haven't heard of a Thai cheese product to protect, but certainly it's three to four times more expensive than in Australia.

[Thailand Sold Itself as a Paradise Covid Retreat. No One Came]

On 1/16/2021 at 10:25 AM, PatOngo said:

 

I think they have a Ministry For Stupid Ideas!

I have visions of candidates for the Ministry of Silly Walks right next door.  It seems this is where these specialist Ministries are located. 

[Okay given for Bt300 foreign tourist entry fee]

I seem to remember having to pay quite a few Baht to get my first visa.  300 Thai baht seems rather pathetic.

[Fire 'kills dinosaur’ in Khon Kaen]

16 hours ago, klauskunkel said:

"Oh look, there is on orange one..., and this one is bright red with a touch of crimson.."

"Scarlet, I see scarlet everywhere."

"This flame is really big compared to the other flame a minute ago..."

That's how they 'distinguished' the flames as reported in the article.  

[Local production of AstraZeneca vaccine kicks off, Thailand signs up for 2 million doses from Chinese firm]

On 1/4/2021 at 6:42 PM, worgeordie said:

Anybody willing to take the Russian Sputnik vaccine ? ,will Thai people

be told if they are getting the Chinese or Russian versions of the vaccine.

regards worgeordie

Maybe the Sputnik vaccine contains a high level of Vodka.  One jab and you're in orbit!

[Road accidents claim 186 lives in first 3 days of New Year holidays in Thailand]

I can't help wondering, how many of these unfortunate fatalities of both motor vehicle and motor cycle riders, were in fact farang retirees and residents who allegedly are unable to pay their hospital or other bills.

 

We were led to believe that this was the cause of the increased requirements of vastly increased insurance policies and bank balances.

[Thailand to launch first moon mission]

On 12/26/2020 at 12:45 PM, George Bowman said:

Can bamboo rockets travel that far?

I can't help wondering if they now have a fireproof variety of bamboo which will not burn up on reentry.

I also wonder if the speed of the rocket which is listed as 11km per hour has a few zeros missing from the figure.

[Old age when you are too old to travel]

I recently discovered, that having turned 80, some travel insurance companies reject you immediately.  Other have  such high premiums it makes travelling very expensive.  They insist on a doctor signing a multi-page document.

There are also one or two airlines which will not accept passengers over 80.  ????

 

[SURVEY: Would you recommend Thailand as a retirement destination?]

1 hour ago, noise said:

You should have included one or two options worded around speaking the language and accepting the culture.  Thai Visa is full of expats posting about having continuous problems with both.

Before a few of us were let loose on Indonesian students, we were required to attend a 4-week university course in Java, on 1) culture, 2) traditions and religion, 3) language.   In that order.

We soon learned that culture and tradition were much more important.  The language aspect was easier to learn than Thai, as we could actually read it!

It certainly helped us assimilate, and similar training for expats would go a long way in Thailand, although Thais are not so touchy about what they eat, or how they eat (left-handed was definitely out in Indonesia!).  

I have often wondered if there is a book on "introduction to Thailand".  In Jakarta, there was an excellent handbook produced by the American Women's Guild, including photos of fruit and veggies, with local names.  It made shopping at the markets so much easier.

[Guys who have to leave every 90 days is there a preferred destination]

I used to go by bus to the Burmese border, about 4 hours from Chiang Mai and in and out in a few minutes.  The duty free liquor store between Immigration posts has a good range, and tho some say most is fake, the ones I bought sure seemed the same ol' brew the airports sell at twice the price.

[Fingerprinting on entry?]

5 hours ago, JaiLai said:

Yeah right, my bad


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

Also routine for the Philippines and China.   

[Thai Police]

11 hours ago, thequietman said:

This response is because they (cops) are in fact, relaxing at the bar as they don't 'work' after 5 o'clock unless absolutely necessary even though they are on the night shift. Ring the cop shop at night to find out xactly what I mean.

 

A useless shower of barstewarts the lot of them.

Isn't "Police Work" an oxymoron?

[Do you hoard ‘Farang’ food?]

About twice a year, a supermarket chain in Chiang Mai used to get in Fray and Bentos steak and kidney pies.  These cook up wonderfully in the oven.  

But sad to say, as soon as any hit the shelves, they're all gone!

Why they can't place a larger order is beyond me.  Same obviously applies to corned beef.

A limit of 1 or 2 per customer might help.

[Expats need to organize in face of Embassies discontinuance of income verification letters]

7 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

What is FCCT ?

I agree that some group representation to the correct authority could be productive but in this case the correct authority would be Thai immigration, not Embassies or MFA.

So, who makes the rules?  Who is "Thai Immigration". Some boffin in the Immigration Dept, or are there consultations with government officials, who in normal circumstances would be your elected representatives? 

[History of Thailand Immigration? Old-timers please]

3 hours ago, worgeordie said:

Well I came here 30 years ago,and have been here ever since,things changed

little by little until what we have today,which can only be called paranoid,

is it necessary ?, I don't know ,all you have to do is follow the rules they

keep coming up with,expect a lot of Expats will be packing up and leaving

now the requirements for actually having the money in the bank.

regards worgeordie

Six or seven years ago, The Aussie $ was getting around 28 - 30 baht and with a little bit of savings, + my pension, 800K was just reached.

Now the exchange rate is a miserly 21 - 22 baht, and it's quitting time!!

As Australia is a fairly properous country with a good export market, it puzzles me that the exchange rate is so poor nowadays.

[Lizards / geckos]

37 minutes ago, peterthaifrench said:

move to ALASKA

 

I can't imagine why anyone would move to the tropics if they have aversions to something as harmless as a little gekko.  The country has a good population of spiders, snakes, pythons, and you worry about a gekko?

The most dangerous thing around a house is a mosquito, transmitting malaria and dengue fever, and you're worried about a harmless gecko, which happens to eat mosquitos.

[Guanzhou vs. Bangkok]

15 hours ago, car720 said:

and you can spell  it correctly too.  

xie xie

[Guanzhou vs. Bangkok]

17 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

I only travelled through Guanzhou a couple of times during my time in China so I cannot answer your question. I would however be interested to know why you would consider it as an alternative to BKK. Have you lived in China at all?

I've been to Guangzhou a few times and will go again in a month or so.  I have always been impressed by its cleanliness both in the streets and the air.  Diesel is not permitted, commercial vehicles run on LNG, motorbikes are almost entirely electric.

The subway system is excellent, if a little crowded at peak times, but the trains run at 1 or 2 minute intervals.

The recreation areas are great, and I love walking through the huge parks, esp the 5 rams park.  It's huge. On weekends there are small local traditional groups of musicians playing.

There are a number of museums both modern and historic.

[Proven way to get rid of Geko's]

On 8/5/2018 at 4:34 PM, spidermike007 said:

Are you willing to eat beef or pork? Or chicken? Why would killing a gecko be any crueler than being responsible for the death of a cow, or a pig? They seem to be nothing but a nuisance, between the noise they make, and the mess they make. I have no issues about killing as many as I can find! 

Maybe you'd prefer malaria or dengue fever?   Geckos do a great job cleaning up mosquitos and are considered good luck to have inside the house.

 

Leave them alone

and reduce spraying.

[What do Scouts do in LOS?]

3 hours ago, jackdd said:

But Thais can't read maps, so at least they don't learn how to read maps there

Never a truer word.  I learned to read maps in Scouts, and amazed that I've never met a Thai taxi driver or Thai friend who could decipher a map.

The scout badge system was excellent, and we often had local volunteers give talks on a range of subjects from beekeeping to stamp collecting, plus essentials such as first aid.

A very practical part of the training was knots, splices and lashings.  These have been so useful to me over the years.

I suspect that the scouts here are not taught these things, but would love to hear otherwise.

[Is Thailand a bad idea?]

3 hours ago, Maradona 10 said:

'I make $100k USD working online,''

 

 

Course you do.

Has anyone mentioned that working on line might be 'doing a Thai out of a job' and is therefore illegal for foreigners, unless of course, you have a work permit?

[Leaving Thailand after 13 Years..]

I moved to Thailand 6 years ago, and in the first 48hrs, discovered I'd been scammed.  Names can't be mentioned, but the volunteer teaching job had cost me $600, and the program had been cancelled.  So much for selling all my household goods plus an almost new car.

Working at anything was not permitted, not even on-line teaching, so I changed my visa to include a retirement extension, which I've renewed ever since.  Just the ghastly annual queues and pre-dawn waits.

But to be honest, it was the deteriorating finances which eventually broke my staying power.  The baht had been 30 per Aussie $, but gradually dwindled, and along with bank charges both ends, and the Thai bank giving a very poor exchange rate, the telegraphic transfer of my pension was costing me $70 each time.

Being a farang, of course, I didn't expect free services of any kind, but an unexpected major dental treatment, a few visits to the doctor and a largish pathology bill, and I was cleaned out.

So, tail between my legs, and I'm back in Oz now;  yes rental costs are more than Thailand, but the air is breathable, the beaches and sea are clean, and there are a lot of freebies for us old guys, from bus travel to doctors, rent subsidy, pathology, dentistry, hospital and my medicines bill per month is now $100 less.  

So I'm not complaining.  Apart from almost 3 months of pollution each year in the north, the people are nice, made friends with the locals and farangs, winters are very acceptable.

If I want to complain, I'd like to invite the powers-that-be in Chiang Mai to travel by foot a few days a week, and see how deplorable the footpaths are, the lack of safe crossings and the proliferation of poles and signs, and the accumulation of rubbish in the side streets.