phuketrichard wrote:od has a bug up his ass about Thailand from hanging out in shv too long

No, I just think it's preposterous how much blind faith you give the government workers there. And how you have this "at any cost" outlook on addressing it's issues.


And my overall point was, since you seemed to miss it, that there were legit tourists improperly being turned away in the attempts to enforce this law. Side effects. Of which you blindly insist there will be none while chanting the general's new happiness song.

OrangeDragon wrote:

phuketrichard wrote:od has a bug up his ass about Thailand from hanging out in shv too long

No, I just think it's preposterous how much blind faith you give the government workers there. And how you have this "at any cost" outlook on addressing it's issues.


And my overall point was, since you seemed to miss it, that there were legit tourists improperly being turned away in the attempts to enforce this law. Side effects. Of which you blindly insist there will be none while chanting the general's new happiness song.

I was slightly reassured on the Aug 29th visa exemption extension announcement that the powers that be are working at getting the message out to all immigration checkpoints on documentary specifics/requirements so it's consistently applied. This remains the key issue for me and whether it will be a true success or one that misses the target. If they fail on this one it will colour my view negatively on the junta's performance.

If they get it wrong OD we'll be able to discuss it at the bar since I'll have been refused entry.

and if they get it right ( which is what we all hope for)
Od can take his anti thai tirades away....

btw legit tourists do not do back to back visa exempt runs month in ..month out

phuketrichard wrote:btw legit tourists do not do back to back visa exempt runs month in ..month out

The Thai authorities can make any visa rules they wish, but who are YOU to say what is legitimate behavior for long term travellers? You can't seem to understand that some of us work for years and save enough money to then enjoy periods of long-term travel (which in my case lasted over 4 years at one point). I used Thailand as a base and headed out in all directions from there over time, racking up 3 passports full of legitimate tourist visas, 30 day extensions and visa exemption stamps. Other times I did short term contract work outside the country, leaving Thailand for 6 to 8 weeks at a time to earn some cash, and then returning to Thailand for 3 to 6 months or until another overseas employment opportunity arose. I followed the rules and contributed quite a bit of money into the Thai economy.

Making up some random number of weeks per year for "legitimate tourists" based on how you choose to live your life is elitist and small minded on your part...and short sighted/economically foolish on the junta's part.

Soi Dog wrote:

phuketrichard wrote:btw legit tourists do not do back to back visa exempt runs month in ..month out

The Thai authorities can make any visa rules they wish, but who are YOU to say what is legitimate behavior for long term travellers? You can't seem to understand that some of us work for years and save enough money to then enjoy periods of long-term travel (which in my case lasted over 4 years at one point). I used Thailand as a base and headed out in all directions from there over time, racking up 3 passports full of legitimate tourist visas, 30 day extensions and visa exemption stamps. Other times I did short term contract work outside the country, leaving Thailand for 6 to 8 weeks at a time to earn some cash, and then returning to Thailand for 3 to 6 months or until another overseas employment opportunity arose. I followed the rules and contributed quite a bit of money into the Thai economy.

Making up some random number of weeks per year for "legitimate tourists" based on how you choose to live your life is elitist and small minded on your part...and short sighted/economically foolish on the junta's part.

this.

when i have the time i go to thailand very frequently from here. it's a nice getaway and a cheap plane/bus ticket. it's not inconceivable for me to have several back to back exempt stamps... even though i'm usually only going for long weekends to a week at a time. sometimes 2 a month for a few months when work lightens up. i'm not living there... i'm a tourist. a legit one. and i'm not alone in it i'm sure.

that's an entire crowd of frequent visitors that are now being shut out of the country.

fuck , i told myself stay out of this but u all are either thick or u just want things to be YOUR way.

it's not inconceivable for me to have several back to back exempt stamps.

CORRECT you are tourist, you are NOT living in Thailand
NOR abusing the visa exempt system.
once again and this is the last time

Back to back visa exempt runners are those that LIVE, possibly work, in Thailand without the correct VISA,
They Get a 30 day visa EXEMPT on arrival, or a single entry tourist visa and at the end of 30/60 days head to a border, have a coffee an come RIGHT back to Thailand REPETITIVELY!!!
These are the people they want to stop.


get it???

phuketrichard wrote:fuck , i told myself stay out of this but u all are either thick or u just want things to be YOUR way.

it's not inconceivable for me to have several back to back exempt stamps.

CORRECT you are tourist, you are NOT living in Thailand
NOR abusing the visa exempt system.
once again and this is the last time

Back to back visa exempt runners are those that LIVE, possibly work, in Thailand without the correct VISA,
They Get a 30 day visa EXEMPT on arrival, or a single entry tourist visa and at the end of 30/60 days head to a border, have a coffee an come RIGHT back to Thailand REPETITIVELY!!!
These are the people they want to stop.


get it???

But that's NOT how it's being implemented... GET IT? You keep talking about it in ways that describe how it SHOULD work while ignoring how it DOES work.

It is quite curious that in the region only Thailand seems to have this sort of issue.

Are there websites such as "Cambodiavisa.com", "Vietnamvisa.com", "Laosvisa.com", Malaysiavisa.com", etc that strive to explain the rules, reassure the uncertain that they can go back to their homes after leaving the country and provide forums for debate about visa policies, crackdowns, definitions of legitimate tourists, etc?

Soi Dog wrote:

Cowshed Cowboy wrote:Not new Soi Dog, this is the date the previously announced enforcement on multiple back to back visa exempt entrants is due to start. The last time I did a border visa run a couple of years ago. I was surprised how many Philipinos were around, so presumably with the announcement above they may be a sizeable contingent who will face problems. Would I be wrong in assuming they are mainly working.

Swedish guy on Thai visa today posted he'd been denied a Tourist visa at Thai embassy in Singapore because of too many entries in the last 6 months. It will be interesting to see how many people are affected come August 12th.

It will be more interesting to see how the Thai educational system fills the void of English teachers so abruptly cut off from returning, as they have been doing this visa run for years. I assumed those masses of filipinas at the Vientiane Thai Embassy were English teachers. I suppose some could be nurses...but that doesn't bode well either.

they don't give a rats ASS about English, jesus. They'll just put whatever Thai can speak ten words into the posts. The outcome will be virtually the same.

Mr Curious wrote: they don't give a rats ASS about English, jesus. They'll just put whatever Thai can speak ten words into the posts. The outcome will be virtually the same.

Then why wouldn't they have done that long ago, and saved the added costs for native English teachers?

By the way, Thai students are learning Chinese now. Seems to be becoming more popular than English, as an elective subject.