Woke to Sounds of Horking

A quaility Kazakhstani tourist. Those 90-day visa exemptions are paying off!

Same story in Kanada - under Turdeau's liberals - only things might be harder for the homeless in Kanada because it's colder for longer and the immigration tap is fully open compared to Oz, even with insufficient housing stock, thereby limiting the number of available dwellings. It's nuts. The country is broken in ways that it wasn't when I was in my 20s-30s. Planning my exit!

Agree. My application for a SETV took 29 business days for fook's sakes. Meanwhile I was reading about folk from Sweden, the UK and USA getting theirs processed in a few days or even hours. There seems to be serious paperwork handling issues at the Ottawa embassy. Won't ever apply again. You want tourism, then make it easy TAT!

In Turdeau's Kanada they certainly are! Dissent will not be tolerated. The PC police are now going to charge you with provoking non-inclusiveness!

What is Pattaya's major malfunction? I mean, I keep reading about the street brawls, traffic accidents and shirtless yobs. Then there was the guy who took a dump in front of a minimart. Not having been there meself, I can't figure it out.

Think you mean SOUTH of the Fraser...

More quality tourists I see!

Just curious - what's the major malfunction of Pattaya?

You don't have to give em anything. But they're out there doing honest work to make a few bahts to buy a burger. Not an easy gig squeegeeing windscreens buddy. I seen it all the time in Truedough's Kanada. Me a liberal? Far from it buddy. Far from it.

it's downright terrible anyone has to resort to washing windscreens to earn shekels. But I suppose it's better than robbing the 7-Elevens as they do in Kanada, where inflation has priced out even the regular workmen.

Time for the Brits to up the ante!

Let's count the adjectives!

I call bs on any foreigner in Thailand being randomly attacked unprovoked by a Thai. But act like a douchebag and you're gonna get clocked. No sympathy for these drunk jokers. I'll walk the streets in BKK anyday anytime over any city in Norte Amerika.

VN never gave out long term visas. They don't have a retirement visa either. Pity. For me the issue with Hanoi is the air pollution and near constant grey skies / drizzle, esp in winter and the overbearing humidity. OK city to visit, but to live? At least with a place like Chiang Mai the air quality might be crap but the skies are generally brighter. Anyone here living in CM comment on the AQI so far in December? Thanks

In 2008 I rode the day train BKK-Sisaket in Isaan. It was slow but fine, and part of the overall Thailand experience at that time for me. Jovial atmosphere onboard. There was food service and you could buy beer. You could stand outside between the cars and smoke a cigarette. The world was more relaxed even a scant 15 yrs ago. A lot of the fun has been sucked out of so many things these days. Perhaps Thailand could update and improve its train infrastructure, but it shouldn't be trying to sanitize the whole country. It's not Singapore, never will be, and travelers don't come to Thailand expecting it to be. Therein's the charm.

Good information. Thanks @OneMoreFarang and @KhunLA

Bringing my recent vision prescription from Norte America with me. I want to get lenses made in BKK and put into frames I already have. Anyone know a good shop in BKK that could do this for less than 200-300 USD? Thanks

Yes, but remember they came out of special wombs and you didn't. "Do as we say, not as we do"

Godspeed you get outta communist China. The best way Suwanna-Don Mueang is the train, aka skytrain / metro / urban rail system.

Will be arriving next month, ready to spend some well earned shekels. Am curious to see just how many Western tourists are out and about. First journey around Thailand was 2008....eons ago in this post Corvid world of crazy. Doesn't help tourism that there's no 90 day exemption for Americans / Europeans / Oceaneans. Whether I visit Chiang Mai -- and spend $$, listen up TAT -- is wholly dependant on the air quality up there. Couldn't care less about the tax on wine, double pricing at monuments, etc. Air quality is the big one.

Geezer wasn't to be outdone by the sword wielding Russian...

They spending their rubles and yuan in the wrong country. Kanada welcomes foreign money into its real estate. Look at Vancouver. That's a no lose scenario. Even a crack shack in the worst part of town sells for $2.5 million and it will never devalue. Unlike in Thailand where there's a surplus of condos and takes a lifetime, if ever, to sell if you want out. Far easier to just rent in Thailand. No commitments, no headaches. In Kanada there is a severe housing shortage and so houses are sure bets. List and in less than a week you've sold for tens / hundreds of thousands above asking. Easy money if you've got it to invest...

Uh-uh. Kanadians love Mr Trudeau, still. The Liberal gov't gave them their pot shops, over-leveraged home mortgage bailouts and upcoming free dental care. Plus, the national anthem was emended - they flushed the highly offensive line "in all thy sons command" down the memory hole in favor of a much more inclusive - but far less mellifluous - "in all of us command."

Sure. A few months ago Air Canada assigned vomit soiled seats to a couple flying Las Vegas-->Montreal. What happened in Vegas didn't stay in Vegas. The incident was thrown up all over the media. When the couple protested, they were threatened with No Fly list! Air Canada is honored to be Skytrax Best Airline in North America, 6th time in 8 years. So the US airlines must really suck.

Not sure about UK wait times, but I did mine online from Kanada and it took 29 business days (!) to get the 60-day SETV (single entry tourist visa) incl a request for further documents. Perhaps someone who did it from the UK will comment. Thailand MoFA has streamlined the evisa site in terms of req's / docs, but there are still bugs, incl the blue button spinning for all eternity. Bob Sultan has made some helpful YouTube videos about applying for the evisa, albeit from the perspective of a US citizen applying, but helpful nonetheless. Hope your mate gets the visa faster than I did!