British Bulldog

I wonder if this will cover those of us who have to cross the border from Vientiane to Udon and Khon Kaen and alike ... they seem to be hell bent on forcing visa's on us after our 2 yearly freebies and yet we can fly in and out of Thailand everyday without visa hassles !!!

Ditto, better still, set up an Auditor for free or with Thai Visa funding

Maybe an Aussie over celebrating Australia day ??? ????

... And it's the principle of the whole thing, looking forward to a day out on a ferry boat across the sea, remote island and all that, only to be faced with this inconvenience once you arrive on the pier, regardless of the cost, I think most people would simply be 'Pee'd" off and would leave the Pier on principle ...

Basically you are correct, in Australia they have a similar system where a soldier has accomplished outstanding performance in his role but did not attend a Military Academy, however, there is a drawn line, I've heard of lots of 'Warrant Officers', but never to the height of Colonel without additional studies .... but who knows in Thailand where anything can be bought !

Its not just the little guys either, I recall on Thai Visa and in other media, figs of 1600 investors leaving Thailand per year since the Coup and that was pre-covid, it must be even worse now ! Thailand was to purchase up to 22,000 MW's of power from Laos within the next year or so, currently barely purchasing 7000MW's due to failing businesses, lack of investors and of course, lack of tourist (So many Hotels in Limbo or closed down)

King Kanute comes to mind .... ????

Seems to me like he's well known to the Police also ? Probably get locked up for a couple of months and then back on the rampage !

... and they still say that most are business people or returnee's coming back to family's and alike

As a Father of 6, although most are off my hands now, I used to dread going overseas for all the Visa application forms that I had to fill in including my wife, Thailand is not so bad in that regard due to the Visa upon arrival that we obtain, but the thought of organizing so many documents and tests etc. including insurance for everybody ... I'm afraid we will be giving Thailand a BIG Miss for any short term holidays for sometime to come

People wait for 30 minutes to monitor for possible side effects after receiving a dose of the AstraZeneca/Oxford Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine from a “Mobile Vaccination Unit” set up inside a bus .... If that Pic is supposed to be inside a Bus, that's a hell of a BIG Bus ! ????

I see many people saying this will be built into the airline tickets, OK, so what about border crossings ? And adjoining neighbors; Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar and the rest of ASEAN ... will ASEAN agree to these charges ? Tourist ? ONLY ... what about business people and Foriegn residents coming and going, people like myself who mainly visit from Laos for medical treatment and alike ... we already pay 1000 baht if we have entered the Country twice in one year !!!!

As a foreigner in Laos, I pay 500 baht for a Covid test, locals are much cheaper and free in some places

Haa ! That's exactly what I was thinking .... talk about passing the buck !

My guess is, the Thai Govt. are selling the Astra vaccine at a much higher price than they pay for it domestically, thus either getting their share for free or perhaps making a profit on the vaccine that's sold internationally !