reader

A Transit Visa is needed unless exempt or transiting within the airport for less than 12 hours without leaving the transit area. Types of Thailand Transit Visas Thailand offers different categories of Transit Visas depending on the purpose of travel: Category “TS” Visa: For individuals transiting from Thailand to a third country. Category “S” Visa: For foreign sportspeople entering Thailand to participate in a sporting event. Category “C” Visa: For crew members of vehicles or vessels coming to a port, station, or area within Thailand. https://www.visaverge.com/guides/thailand-transit-visa-eligibility-requirements-application-process/

...and they'll be next to useless when China builds yet another one upstream.

From Thai PBS World Vareeraya Sukasem, a 12-year-old skateboarder, and 18-year-old sprinter Puripol Boonson will be the flag bearers for Thai athletes at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics on Friday. Thana Chaiprasit, chief of the Thai Olympic delegation to Paris, made the announcement today as the world’s finest athletes gather in France. As many as 51 Thai athletes will compete in the world’s largest sporting competition, from July 26 to August 11. Thirty-six of them are participating for the first time. Vareeraya, known by her nickname “ST,” is the first young Thai skateboarder to qualify for the Paris Olympics and is the youngest of all the athletes competing in this global event. She qualified for the Paris Games after an impressive performance in the Olympic Qualifier Series in Budapest in June. Starting skateboarding at the age of seven, ST has become one of 88 street skateboarders heading to Paris. Fans can cheer her on at the Paris 2024 Olympics, in the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France, on July 28. Skateboarding, divided into park and street events, made its Olympic debut in Tokyo three years ago, with skaters judged on the height and difficulty of their manoeuvres. Vareeraya told Agence France-Presse that her skating idol is Britain’s Sky Brown, who won a bronze medal at Tokyo at just 13 years old and will compete again in Paris. Brown will however be competing in the park event, which involves ramps and half-pipes. The Paris Olympics will also see the debut for Puripol, who has been nicknamed “Angel Bew” by the Thai media. The qualifying heats for the men’s 100m dash will take place on August 3, with the semi-final and final races scheduled for the following day. Puripol, a native of Surin province, won the 100m silver medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, clocking a personal best time of 10.06 seconds.

Four rehearsals for the Royal Barge Procession are scheduled this month, which also sees many other wonderful festivals and events including Summer Sonic Bangkok 2024. https://www.tatnews.org/2024/07/august-2024s-festivals-and-events-in-thailand/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=august-2024s-festivals-and-events-in-thailand

From The Nation The Royal Thai Navy said on Wednesday that His Majesty the King has granted permission for it to put three royal barges on public display this weekend at the Ratchaworadit Pier. The barges, Suphannahong, Narai Song Suban HM King Rama IX and Anantanakkharat, will be tied to pontoons in the Chao Phraya River at the pier. The display will be marked with a recital of the “boat song” in two 25-minute sessions per day. The boats will be on display on Sunday and Monday (July 28-29) at the pier in Bangkok’s Phra Nakhon district. On Sunday, the recital will be held at 3pm and 8.30pm, while on Monday, the song will be performed at 5pm and 8pm. This activity is part of celebrations marking His Majesty the King’s sixth-cycle (72nd) birthday on July 28. The public is invited to watch the performances as well as to check out an exhibition on royal barge processions at the Rajakij Winitchai Pavilion at the pier on the said dates. The barges can also be viewed from the Royal Thai Naval Institute, which is located on the opposite bank of the Chao Phraya River. Visitors are urged to wear yellow, the colour representing the King’s day of birth. Since early this month, the Navy has been taking royal barges out on trial runs to prepare for the Royal Krathin ceremony scheduled for October 27. On this day, His Majesty will present robes to Buddhist monks, which will also commemorate his 72nd birth anniversary. A total of 52 royal barges and 2,200 personnel will participate in the procession down the river towards Wat Arun or the Temple of Dawn. The barges can also be viewed from the Royal Thai Naval Institute, which is located on the opposite bank of the Chao Phraya River. Visitors are urged to wear yellow, the colour representing the King’s day of birth. Since early this month, the Navy has been taking royal barges out on trial runs to prepare for the Royal Krathin ceremony scheduled for October 27. On this day, His Majesty will present robes to Buddhist monks, which will also commemorate his 72nd birth anniversary. A total of 52 royal barges and 2,200 personnel will participate in the procession down the river towards Wat Arun or the Temple of Dawn.

From The Thaiger Indonesia has introduced a long-term visa scheme aimed at attracting rich, “good-quality” foreign investors, President Joko Widodo announced. The new Golden Visa offers a 10-year residency permit to those rich enough to invest up to US$10 million in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. The scheme includes a five-year visa option, requiring an individual to set up a company worth US$2.5 million, while a 10-year visa needs a US$5 million investment. For those not establishing a company, a five-year permit can be obtained with a US$350,000 investment and a 10-year permit with US$700,000. These funds can be allocated towards Indonesian government bonds, public company stocks, or deposits. Corporate investors are also catered for under this scheme. An investment of US$25 million allows companies to secure five-year visas for directors and commissioners, while a US$50 million investment grants a 10-year visa. Incentives are further enhanced for investments in Indonesia’s new US$32 billion capital city, currently under construction in Borneo. Here, a US$5 million investment provides a five-year visa, and a US$10 million investment secures a 10-year visa, according to the immigration agency.

If a damn is constructed, Vietnam will lose much of its Mekong ecosystem.

FIFO 🙂

Thanks for bringing that up. Very possible. Last time I had that done was about five years ago when arriving in US airport. They did my hands and straps of my carry on bag. What puzzled me is that they swabbed the side of the tablet that was protected by the cover.

Say it isn't so, JD, Say it isn't so.

I agree. Actually, Colombia and Taiwan finished relatively high (13th) as one of the better places for gays in the Gay Travel Index. https://spartacus.gayguide.travel/gaytravelindex.pdf

From Bangkok Post Mark Gooding (left), the British Ambassador to Thailand, and Remco van Wijingaarden, the Netherlands Ambassador, share their experiences at the Bangkok Post Pride Every Day forum on Wednesday at Lido Connect. (Photo: Somchai Poomlard) Despite the tremendous success of Thailand in passing the same-sex marriage bill, the nation still needs to work on other LGBTQ+ issues to ensure equality and pride on a sustained basis. That was the message sent by two ambassadors to Thailand — Mark Gooding of the United Kingdom and Remco van Wijingaarden of the Netherlands — at the Bangkok Post Pride Every Day forum. Their countries enacted similar laws years before Thailand became a leader in Southeast Asia by following suit. The diplomats shared their experiences at the forum that took place on Wednesday at Lido Connect Hall in Siam Square. Both men agreed that Thailand passing such bills would benefit the country in various ways, but added this was only a starting point and there are still many things that need to be done to ensure LGBTQ+ people in Thailand enjoy full rights and legal protections. Mr Gooding said that despite the passage of the Marriage Equality Bill in 2013, which took effect in 2014, the LGBTQ+ community in the UK still faces various challenges. Therefore, it is important to embody the issue of inclusion every day because LGBTQ+ life is not a one-month event during Pride in June, he said. “Marriage equality is a very important step towards equality, but in the UK, we have to focus on various challenges such as the daily discrimination, homophobic bullies in school, access to healthcare for LGBTQ+ people, as well as hate crimes,” Mr Gooding said. “Therefore, it is not specifically in the month of June when the Pride month is [held worldwide](#). I think by working together to exchange views openly about what the challenges are — and that needs to include government — the LGBTQ+ group, government and civil society can concentrate on addressing those challenges.” Mr Gooding said Thailand passing the marriage equality bill was a major step forward. Now, he suggested the focus must be on implementing it effectively. He also pointed out that to further spread equality, all sectors must collaborate as equality requires multi-sectoral dialogue. “Equal marriage legislation is absolutely fantastic. But I would say, that passing legislation is not the end,” he said. “The next thing is the implementation and the key first step is to make sure all the circulation of regulations is in place so the people will get the benefit after it becomes law. We do not want the people to be delayed by some piece of paper.” He said he was delighted to be informed that Thailand would join the Equal Rights Coalition (ERC) as the 44th country in the framework. The ERC is a coalition of countries that come together to exchange and discuss promoting LGBTQ+ rights across the globe. “Thailand has become the leader in Southeast Asia in passing the equal marriage law and I think there will be more we can do together,” said Mr Gooding. “There are many places in the world that face serious drawbacks of LGBTQ+ rights and other rights, including women’s rights. So, I do think we need to work together to ensure international human rights to make sure that our values are protected.” Even though the Netherlands took the lead as the first country in the world to pass same-sex marriage legislation in 2001, Mr Wijingaarden pointed out that passing the bill was only the first step in achieving equality. The bill needs to be translated into adoption law, social security, insurance, inheritance and other areas related to same-sex relationships, he said. Continues at https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2835097/pride-and-prejudice-in-land-of-smiles

Checked in on departure concourse AIR side which you are admitted to at Connecting Flight point. You do not have to pass through immigration check point and reenter again. That is what is eliminated by using Connecting Flights facility. Only had csrry on baggage. if you were flying same airline into and out of bkk you probably could have checked baggage.

This was my first time using BKK as a transit connection (from Vietnam). Procedure is relatively simple if you follow signs carefully to "Connecting Flights". At entrance to Connecting Flights point you'll be asked to show passport, boarding pass for your inbound flight and documentation for outbound flight. Although they accepted copy off phone, strongly suggest you have printed itinerary available. Once cleared, your bags are inspected and then you take escalator one level to departure concourse air side. Took only a few minutes. Once air side, look for your airline service desk to do standard check in (they're all close by but usually don't open until about 3-4 hours prior to flight). Many of the international airline lounges are located in the general area.

From Pattaya Mail There was a packed PCEC audience on July 24 to hear and discuss a host of expat subjects. Duncan Foster, company director of MOT’S services on Soi Khaotalo, explained that foreigners attending the immigration bureau have to expect a lot of officer discretion these days. “The immigration bureau nationally issues broad instructions, but each local office uses its discretion about the precise paperwork required,” he pointed out. Duncan, who has 36 years of experience in customer service in UK and Thailand, said it was important to recognize that local immigration offices were in some senses “franchises”, responsible to the government for fee collection and monitoring of foreign visitors. MOT’S has been in business since 2010 and offers a full range of visa services which, he said, are the cheapest and most hospitable in East Pattaya or Dark Side. He also updated the meeting with changing regulations for Thai driving licences. When applying for or renewing a driving licence, applicants must now have a valid visa for at least 15 days beyond the appointment date. Duncan then warned about a common boiler-room scam on the internet which offered to provide driving licences without the applicant needing to appear in-person at the land transportation department. The second speaker, Barry Kenyon, brought the meeting up to date with the latest immigration news about 60 days visa-exempt entries and the Destination Thailand Visa. He said they were proving controversial from a security viewpoint as prior-entry vetting had been largely abandoned, whilst expats wondered if their bureaucratic annual extensions of stay and expensive Elite visas were worth the money. “I doubt we have heard the last of updates to the new initiatives,” Barry said. The audience asked both speakers a variety of questions on their subject matter. These covered the ins and outs of international driving licenses, door to door services for immigration customers, problems relating to the 90 days and TM30 address forms and the different responsibilities of the foreign affairs ministry and the immigration bureau.

Duplicate

Recently connected through Doha on Qatar. Upon arrival all connecting passengers proceed to baggage inspection which was fairly quick and efficient before be allowed into departure terminal. You will have bags rechecked before entering your departure gate area. However, I was surprised about the attention afforded my tablet. I was instructed to remove it from the protective case. An agent then quickly placed a card against the back of iPad and then scanned the card into a reader. It all took less than 30 seconds but it was a first in my experience. I can only assume they were electronically reading the serial number on the back of my device. Have no idea if this was US or local requirement. When I collected items from the bin, I had task of reuniting iPad with cover.

Here the Airbus websites for this new version of the A321 XLR and the A350 ULR that has a max range of 9,700 nautical miles. https://aircraft.airbus.com/en/aircraft/a320/a321xlr https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/news/2018-10-the-ultra-long-range-a350-xwb-brings-key-destinations-closer-together-with

Unfortunately the article is behind a pay wall (at least in my neck of the woods). https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3271496/singapore-named-safest-city-travellers-manila-1-riskiest In February, Spartacus published its annual "Gay Travel Index" of cities with the best legal and living conditions for gays that appears constructed not by actual travel experience but rather on an 18-point check list that determines rankings of countries worldwide. Canada, Malta, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain round out the top five. But you have to travel down to #54 to find Thailand, #58 Vietnam, #64 is a tie between Singapore and South Korea, followed by #70 Japan and #84 Cambodia. And if that puzzles you, Colombia and Taiwan tied at #13. As I think Vinapu would say, "go and see for yourself." https://spartacus.gayguide.travel/gaytravelindex.pdf

Guess they don't call it the Secret Service for nothing. 🙂

It is. This could be an ideal fit on some long haul routes that carriers often discontinue on a seasonal basis. It complements the A350 Ultra Long Range (ULR) which I've flown on numerous occasions

I truly don't know how I'd go about finding an "average" American today. Although there's some degree of racial prejudice in all societies worldwide, I think you'd only find remnants of it in some pockets of the old Confederate states. Since there are more women than men living in the US today, it would be difficult to find a bias against women in the 'average" American. I know a lot of people and have never detected such a bias.