orchidfan

As I have previously mentioned, I often travel to and from Hong Kong where my Thai wife and I have permanent residency (no local language skills etc as required here). I mainly go for a change of scene and weather, but also for the excellent (almost free) medical care. Every appointment slip or registration clearly states that these services are primarily provided for HK residents and that other foreign walk ins may be treated in an emergency, BUT AT THE FULL COST of the procedure plus medicines. This is NOT "robbing" the foreigners, and is clearly stated, so no misunderstandings. Last year I was in the waiting room for a regular check up when a nonresident man (foreigner tourist?) started getting agitated and rowdy about the time it was taking to be seen. The staff tried their best to appease him, but with no success after 10 minutes, 2 armed policemen (not security guards) arrived and hauled him away. They don't mess around there!

One annoying thing are the 7's that do not sell alcohol due to "apparently " being "close to a school or Wat" I have 3, 7's nearby me but 2 can't sell alcohol (one used to but was stopped) Crazy! I don't know of any schools (including primary schools or Wats) anywhere near these shops! And I ride around the general area a lot. It's no big deal (two mom and pop shops in same locations do!) But must be a real Revenue loser for those 7's who can't

Dr Jack, has that not changed location from the above photo, to somewhere after one has finished with Immigration? I seem to recall reading this on AN some time ago. Can you kindly clarify as I too need one later this month.

I spend many months a year in Hong Kong and have used the Octopus card there for over 2 decades. A while ago they introduced a new Octopus card with your photo on it and entitles "Elders" to pay only $hk2 for most bus,ferry and train trips. Excellent ! Here in TH , being on marriage extensions where I'm required to photocopy months of pages of my bankbook, deducting or withdrawing small amounts constantly (QR code payments etc ) soon fills up the book, as evidenced when doing an "Update" I've already required several new bank books...which is a slow procedure in the bank as many of you know. So I withdraw larger amounts from the ATM periodically, leave the bulk of it safely at home, and only put back 500 or 1000 baht into my wallet. IF I find myself wanting to buy something of higher value, then I use my BBL Debit card

To quote Napoleon when asked what his "strategy" was before going into battle. He replied... "I just turn up and see what happens " (Mind you, it didn't work out well for him at a couple of battles 🤔)

Agreed. The self~made millionaires , I knew, who worked long and hard for their wealth back "home", were usually VERY tight with their money......to the point of having to twist their arm to get them to buy their round of drinks. I suspect this guy had come into his money easily.....but who knows!

Yes that's correct, however this flight has always carried on to Dubai and I've never seen this procedure before (over many flights from Hkg to Bkk. As I mentioned earlier, one cabin crew mentioned that Thai Immigration had requested this so that no pax roll up to Immigration without their boarding pass. Which seems to have replaced the TM6 on airport arrivals.

No it was the special "Priority" line for the aged, disabled, families with small kids etc that I was commenting on.

Well, point taken, and I have flown Biz class on longer flights (Oz to BKK etc) but hardly worth the cost on a 2hr flight from Hong Kong. Plenty of reasonable French red and white wines available on EK in cattle class.

Thanks for your comments. Note that is was the checking of boarding passes whilst DE~planning, at each aircraft exiting door which greatly slowed things up. I had never experienced this before!

An pretty sure my mobile number is given to the bank AND Immigration. What could go wrong with that !

I have to say that the zigzag queue next door appeared to be moving pretty well. As I said in the original post, a guy way back in that line (bright lime green shirt...hard to miss) exited Imm at the same time as I did in the "Priority" queue. IF they had had the 4 Imm booths open instead of 2, things would have been faster.

Yes I am well aware that EK385 goes on to Dubai as I fly it many times from HKG to BKK and return (3 this year and more planned) and I have NEVER shown my boarding pass to cabin crew before deplaning ....nor has anybody else on the many flights I've taken hkg bkk with Emirates . Dubai pax have to remain onboard. As for the IO, she took a longer than usual time to visually scan my PP before the stamping was done. (She was a good looking lady so it wasn't totally painful!) At most (in this lane) I've only ever put right hand fingers on the scanner for a nano second before the OK and heading on. Definitely more thorough "care" being taken by them than in the past. And yes, I know this is just one.of those Thai short lived "Crackdowns" and won't last ! Unlike, as one Thai man said to me... "Marriage is like a police Crackdown that never ends" 😅

I don't think I mentioned anything about "new checks" in my piece. Only the widely mentioned affect that their (supposed) Crackdown might have on us. I could clearly see that the IOs were being far more meticulous and following "full procedure".....as I guess they should.....but weren't so thorough in the past....in my experience.

Yes, I noticed several rented buggies going by on the way. Mostly occupied by young people ! Not oldies.

I have been traveling between HKG and BKK regularly over the past few years and have "normally " passed Imm with a quick look at the boarding pass, stamp the re~entry permit and on my way. The other night was the first time (for me) to get such a meticulous check (as for every pax, not just me) and the 2 hands fingerprints and photo in this "priority lane". It was a noticeable difference....or maybe they were just (now) doing their job properly ! I don't know what the farang ahead of me's problem was, but I am guessing he didn't have his boarding pass. He should have been moved aside and let following people through. I agree with you that this Thailand requirement for the boarding pass should be made better known in advance. At least Emirates did their best to ensure everyone leaving the aircraft had one. And if they didn't, they had some way of replacing it ~ I think with a phone image.

A lot has been said about the Imm "Crackdown" on Foreigner arrivals and how it might affect we "long term" foreigners living here. I arrived late last night, on an EK A380 from Hong Kong. Firstly, the walk from where the A380 gates are to Immigration is Long (despite the moving 'travelators'(?).....especially if you are over 70 yo ! De boarding of the full A380 was especially slow as every passenger was now required to show their boarding pass to cabin staff when they reached the door - the crew member where i left the aircraft hinted that this was a new Thai Imm requirement! Then after that long walk - "Arrival Hall 1" is closed off ( for some reason -- maybe full already?) So, more walking to "Arrival Hall 2" Finally I get to Hall 2 and, of course, take the "Priority/ Disabled" line. The queue(s) to this "Priority" ( in name only) lane were quite long, as were the normal arrival zigzag lines. BUT only 2 out of 4 positions manned, and moving VERY slowly as Imm officers carefully scrutinized passports and boarding passes. One westerner in my line took forever to be processed - some people swapped lines , but really to no avail - just as slow. Problem was not only the documents check, but the "fully monty" of finger prints of both hands and thumb, and photo !!!! I was following a Korean couple with toddler - never follow families! - so again, took forever. In my case, I had PP and boarding pass ready - plus re-entry permit, but was still very slow.. I had noticed one man earlier on in the main arrivals queue opposite who was way back in the zigzag and we both left Imm to get our bags at the same time!!! So much for the Priority Line. All in all, a very slow , painful experience ( compared to other arrivals I've had here this year). I know we probably shouldn't compare airports, but HKG Imm arrival ( for me) - 3 minutes - put ID card in the machine, then thumb print and gates open and off to get the bags Even non-resident arrivals handled quickly and efficiently ( if there's a problem person they are stood aside and dealt with so as not to hold up the following people) HKG has currently over 60 million arrivals per year and pre-covid, over 90 million. So, similar numbers to Thailand. Just thought I'd pass on my latest experience, for what it's worth.

Ok. So out of Oz let's talk AUD. My browsing for later in the year was about 50% higher than that. (Take a look) So ×2 (Thai wife) in THB makes it very expensive. Even SQ, with a couple of hours stopover in Changi is /was much cheaper. We'll go with SQ I think. Pre covid, we used to pay around THB18,000 each...now it's double.

One way ? What time of year,because this is not reflected on their booking website !!!

And Hong Kong .....the Imm guys from here DO go on "fact finding " junkets" to SIN a.d HKG etc, but never seem to learn or implement anything once back in LOS. (Spent 20+yrs in HK Dept. of Civil Aviation...so first hand observations and experience in a MUCH busier airport than BKK)

Yes, personal opinions and experiences tend to form the major part of this "open" forum.

Yep..it's mainly for the very short (usually) check in line instead of waiting in slow moving zigzag line for 20 to 40 minutes. And yes, the boarding pass they email me can't be used in many places (maybe Dubai for EK), and of course the bags have to be checked in anyway, then issued with a new,hard copy,boarding pass, which is necessary to show in Bangkok, for example. I keep these carefully as they are hard "evidence" of my travels and "missed" 90 day reports (I know the entry and exit stamps are in the passport, but a bunch of collated boarding passes are easier, I guess. Of course the check in staff had my passport for 5 minutes so could peruse my status at the destination. But I've never been asked a single question by them....presumably because it's all kosher

True. But 90+% I fly Emirates, they email me about 48hrs ahead with a link to online checkin. So I was mainly referring to my experiences with them....and the OP photo appears to be at Emirates checkin counters (?)

I just cant understand why people don't do online check~in and join the much shorter queues. Maybe something to do with their Sim cards and data roaming. I departed BKK a few days ago on EK, (check in line T/U as depicted in the OP report) and online checkin line very short , but dozens waiting in the other lines. All done in a few minutes. On another note I also tried the "Fast/Priority line for the first time, as I already had a re entry permit. It wasnt fast track and took ages to get through. The main hold ups appeared to be small family groups....especially of middle eastern and Southern Asian origin. Not sure I'd bother with that again ! I was only a cheap old Economy pax, but the people who had paid for expensive tickets must have been p***ed off

I guess you mean Lithium ION batteries??