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From The Thaiger Thai AirAsia X announced the suspension of its sole Australian route between Sydney and Bangkok, effective August 1. Despite the temporary halt, the airline assures it remains committed to the Australian market and plans a grand return in December with increased flights and enhanced connectivity. The decision to suspend services was driven by fleet management and operation hub movement. As part of a strategic shift, Thai AirAsia X will relocate all operations back to Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport (DMK) from October 1, moving away from Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK). To minimise disruption, Thai AirAsia X will reroute impacted Sydney-Bangkok flights via Kuala Lumpur, operated by AirAsia X Malaysia. Affected passengers can alter travel plans with free flight changes, flight credits worth the value of the flight plus 10%, or opt for full refunds. Notifications will be sent via email or SMS to direct bookers, while others should check their booking channels. Thai AirAsia X previously ceased flights to Melbourne and Brisbane in May 2023 and April 2020 respectively, leaving Sydney as its only Australian operation since December 2022. The move to Don Mueang is aimed at leveraging the extensive AirAsia network for better connectivity and easier access to central Bangkok. Parent company AirAsia has been active in Australia and New Zealand, with new services from subsidiaries including Indonesia AirAsia’s Cairns-Bali route and AirAsia Malaysia’s flights to Perth. The group also plans to expand into Europe, North America, and Africa, reported Karryon. In related news, Thai AirAsia announced a new route connecting Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport and Lampang, marking the airline’s 25th domestic destination in Thailand. Starting October 1, travellers can look forward to daily flights on this new route, operated by the airline’s trusty Airbus A320 aircraft.

Mr. Fisher wasn't screwed over; he's getting exactly what he contracted for. I think his real bitch is that he doesn't like the idea that the lowlifes (most of us) are getting a better deal if we choose to take advantage of it.

From Thai PBS World Thai cybercrime police, working with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission and internet and mobile phone service providers, have launched a joint operation, codenamed “Blasting the Bandit’s Bridge”, to crack down on call centre scam gangs in Myanmar and Laos, operating in the King’s Roman entertainment complex, located in the Golden Triangle. According to Pol Lt-Gen Tatchai Pitanilabutr, the assistant national police chief, the King’s Roman complex contains casinos, hotels, other entertainment venues and an airport to handle tourists from Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and China. The complex and its surrounding areas are known as safe havens for scammers, particularly Chinese, operating call centres defrauding victims in Thailand and China. Thais and other nationalities have been lured by promises of high pay to work in casinos, hotels and other entertainment establishments, but were eventually forced to work as slave labour in call centres. Pol Lt-Gen Tatchai said that the officials will use special signal jamming devices to disrupt internet and phone traffic sent to the area, but with limited impacts on legitimate service users, adding that mobile phone service providers will also cut the signals of suspicious phone numbers. He noted that telecom cables should be confined within Thai territory and should not be extended into neighbouring countries, which would be helping the illegal activities of the call centres. The assistant police chief warned that SIM card retail outlets, which sell SIM cards without proper registration, could face legal action and be banned from selling them again. Commenting on a report that some scammers have resorted to the use of the Starlink service, to bypass ordinary mobile phone services, Tatchai said the Starlink service is not as stable as the use of SIM cards with the mobile phone services provided by the four existing providers. Meanwhile, in Chiang Mai province, police have arrested a Hang Dong district police officer, Pol Lt-Col “Bandhit”, who allegedly ran a call centre in the province. “Bandhit” was booked early this morning at a temple, where he entered monkhood in an attempt to evade arrest. He was rapidly defrocked and escorted to Chang Phuek police station for questioning. The suspect claimed that he was just a member of the call centre, which was actually run by Chinese businessmen.

From Pattaya Mail Passengers advised to arrive 4 hours early Airports of Thailand (AOT) is facing severe disruptions as the Navitaire check-in system has gone down, impacting automatic passport control. Passengers are urged to arrive four hours early as the manual check-in process causes significant delays. Mr. Kirati Kitmanawat, President of Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT), addressed the issue caused by the failure of the Navitaire Host Data Center. This disruption affects all airlines worldwide using this system, making it impossible for passengers to check in and reserve seats. The primary airlines already impacted include Thai Air Asia (FD) and Scoot Tiger (TR), with potential effects on: 1.Air Asia Berhad (AK) 2.Philippines AirAsia (Z2) 3.Indonesia AirAsia (QZ) 4.Air Asia Berhad (AK) 5.Firefly Airlines (FY) 6.INDIGO AIRLINES (6E) 7.Jet Star Asia (3K) 8.CEBU PACIFIC AIR (5J) 9.GO AIRLINES (INDIA) PRIVATE LTD. (G8) 10.HONG KONG EXPRESS AIRWAYS (UO) 11.JETSTAR AIRWAYS PTY LIMITED (JQ) 12.SPICEJET LTD. (SG) 13.THAI AIRASIA X (XJ) 14.Norse Atlantic Airways (NO) Due to this incident, passenger check-in times are significantly longer. AOT requests passengers to allow four hours before their flights to avoid missing their departures. The automatic passport control system is also down, prompting AOT to coordinate with the Immigration Bureau to fully staff all checkpoints at Don Mueang Airport (DMK) and Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK).

My experience over a half century strongly suggests there are straight guys EVERYWHERE willing to get sucked. Count on it.

From Pattaya Mail Expats angry at huge concessions in latest Thai visa announcements By Barry Kenyon Longstay expats with expensive visas say the new 60 days visa-exempt policy and the 180 days Destination Thailand Visa have made the Elite visa and the annual extensions of stay for retirement and marriage worthless. Geoffrey Fisher, a Brit who recently paid 900,000 baht (about 20,000 UK pounds) for the five year Elite visa said he had wasted his money as more or less anyone can now stay in Thailand almost indefinitely for a paltry sum. The disenchanted argue that the 60 days visa-exempt can evidently be extended at local immigration for 30 days more followed by a border run to start the whole process again. Some immigration officers at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport have allegedly told new arrivals they can now do as many border runs as they like. Separately, the five years and multi-entry Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) offers 180 days on entry for 10,000 baht (around 200 UK pounds) plus the chance to extend for a further 180 days. The process can then be repeated by briefly leaving the country. American expat Dan Silverman, who holds a yearly extension based on retirement, said, “It’s just ridiculous. I have to keep 800,000 baht in a Thai bank, obtain medical insurance, face ever-changing regulations and regularly report my Thai address throughout the year, or be fined.” He added, “And for what, when you can come and go as you please with the new visas?” Views such as this are currently being voiced widely on social media as expats digest the latest visa announcement. Of course, the critics may be over-reacting. Information officially published so far does not specify the number of times the visa-exempt discretion may be used. The DTV requires a cash bond or other proof of 500,000 baht. It is principally aimed at digital nomads and freelancers working for foreign companies (not Thai based) and applicants are expected to show to embassies contracts of employment or portfolios of work undertaken. Yet the foreign affairs ministry also accepts DTV applications from participants in Thai “soft power” activities such as Thai cooking classes, Muay Thai training, medical treatment, music festivals or seminars. Although applicants have to show some relevant documentation on application, there is wide concern about the ambiguities. One expat with a one year marriage extension said, “Would an appointment letter from a hospital for extracting your teeth enable you to get 180 days plus an extension of 180 days? Does a foreigner learning Thai cuisine need five years to learn how to cook?” Immigration consultants say that the basic problem is that the foreign affairs ministry controls visas from embassies, but the immigration bureau under the interior ministry is responsible for extensions and what happens after arrival. Immigration lawyer Jessataporn Bunnag said, “The DTV throws a great deal of responsibility on embassies to check out initial applicants and on the immigration bureau to monitor extensions and repeats.” He expected some clarification once the impact of the changes had been analyzed. Meanwhile, the Bangkok Post suggests that questions may be emailed to deeperdiveThailand@gmail.com Next week that newspaper will interview Narunchai Niddad, deputy director of consular affairs at the foreign affairs ministry. One is bound to wonder how many of the beneficiaries of the new visas will understand that, once they are in Thailand for six months or more in a calendar year, they become tax residents of Thailand and subject to the income tax policy of the Thai Revenue Department. Whatever that is.

Pretty foolish.

From Thai PBS World AirAsia announced on its Facebook page that the outage of Microsoft Azure has affected its reservation and check-in systems at all airports. As a result, the airline has had to resort to a manual system, causing delays for passengers. Passengers are therefore advised to arrive at the airport three hours before departure time.

The city

Construction is well underway on a new JW Marriott nearby.

Stayed two nights at Le Meridien and can give it 👍+ for room and staff. Buffet breakfast about as good as it gets. A good splurge treat. (surprised by how many locals still refer to it as Saigon)

Forgot to mention that I did fire up Grindr just to sample what was out there and found mix of some tourists and good cross section of locals. Noting to compare with what you’ll find in Hanoi or HCMC but nonetheless suitable potential. For the record, no one shot me in the ear whole trip.

Rumor that HM’s Midnight Bar finished 51st still unconfirmed. 🙂 From CNN 1. Bar Leone (Hong Kong) 2. Zest (Seoul) 3. Jigger & Pony (Singapore) 4. Coa (Hong Kong) 5. Bar Benfiddich (Tokyo) 6. Nutmeg & Clove (Singapore) 7. BKK Social Club (Bangkok) 8. Penrose (Kuala Lumpur) 9. Argo (Hong Kong) 10. The Aubrey (Hong Kong) 11. Virtù (Tokyo) 12. The Cocktail Club (Jakarta) 13. Vesper (Bangkok) 14. Hope & Sesame (Guangzhou) 15. Sago House (Singapore) 16. Night Hawk (Singapore) 17. Darkside (Hong Kong) 18. Mahaniyom Cocktail Bar (Bangkok) 19. The Savory Project (Hong Kong) 20. Bar Cham (Seoul) 21. Bar Us (Bangkok) 22. The St. Regis Bar (Macao) 23. The SG Club (Tokyo) 24. Penicillin (Hong Kong) 25. Offtrack (Singapore) 26. Quinary (Hong Kong) 27. Pantja (Jakarta) 28. Craftroom (Osaka) 29. Smoke & Bitters (Hiriketiya, Sri Lanka) 30. Vender (Taichung, Taiwan) 31. Native (Singapore) 32. Origin Bar (Singapore) 33. The Curator (Manila) 34. The Bellwood (Tokyo) 35. Analogue Initiative (Singapore) 36. Bar Trigona (Kuala Lumpur) 37. Bar Mood (Taipei) 38. Employees Only (Singapore) 39. Barc (Kathmandu) 40. ZLB23 (Bengaluru, India) 41. Reka (Kuala Lumpur) 42. Fura (Singapore) 43. CMYK (Changsha, China) 44. The Public House (Taipei) 45. Mostly Harmless (Hong Kong) 46. Alice (Seoul) 47. The Halflington (Hanoi) 48. Le Chamber (Seoul) 49. Atlas (Singapore) 50. Pine & Co (Seoul) https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/16/travel/asia-best-bars-2024-intl-hnk/index.html

The “stipulated period” is 60 days. You can apply for additional 30:days for total of 90.

From Bangkok Post The Immigration Bureau (IB) is set to take measures to ensure immigration control at airports takes no more than 45 seconds per person. The move is part of efforts to support the government's expanded visa-free scheme for foreign visitors, which took effect on Monday. Pol Maj Gen Phanthana Nutchanart, the IB deputy chief, said on Tuesday that the bureau is ready to follow the government's policy. The number of immigration officials will also be increased to ease long queues in front of immigration check-in booths at airports during peak passenger hours. "We will try to ensure that each arriving passenger will take no more than 45 seconds to pass through immigration," Pol Maj Gen Phanthana said. Continues at https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2830383/immigration-bureau-implements-45-second-processing-for-expanded-visa-free-scheme

The Thailand News Service is reporting that foreigners wishing to stay in the kingdom beyond the stipulated period must apply for an extension, which can be granted for up to an additional 30 days.

From The Thaiger A Thai man filed a complaint against a male escort and his four friends after they lured him to a hotel in the northern province of Chiang Mai before physically assaulting and robbing him. The victim, 31 year old Korn, told officers at Doi Saket Police Station that he lost cash, a mobile phone valued at about 20,000 baht, and a smartwatch to a male escort, whose name he did not know, and four of his friends at a hotel in the Doi Saket district of Chiang Mai province. Korn revealed to police that he hired a man to provide a sex service and met him at the hotel. When Korn arrived, the escort excused himself to use the bathroom before their sexual activities. However, he came out of the bathroom with four other men. Two of them, sporting knuckle dusters on their hands, attacked Korn and threatened him to transfer money to their bank account. They then forced Korn to hand over his phone and smartwatch before he managed to sneak out of the room. The hotel’s security camera captured the moment when Korn ran from the hotel room to save his life. The five thieves were seen running after him before leaving the hotel. Police told Channel 3 that they managed to identify all of the suspects, who were teenagers. Two of them had been previously arrested and punished for similar crimes. A similar incident occurred with a Canadian man in Pattaya last week. The foreign victim told Pattaya police that he hired two Ugandan women to provide him with a sex service at a hotel on Pattaya-Na Kluea Road on June 10 but he woke the next day to find that 90,000 baht in cash was missing. The two Ugandan thieves were later arrested in the area. Another similar theft was reported in 2022 when a man lost 1,200 baht to two Thai sex workers in the Isaan province of Loei. He transferred a deposit for their service but they did not come to meet him and immediately blocked his contact.

Stayed in the Four Points by Sheraton. You can walk the beach or the sidewalks. Plenty of restaurants and convenience stores. I would not want to be in a downtown hotel in Da nang. It’s all commercial and little of interest to see. if I go again I’d do weekdays to avoid weekend crush at hotels. Hope that helps.

Last night’s (Monday) beach walk found that more locals had gathered than the night before and small groups of young men formed circles where they kicked footballs to each other. Fewer tourists were on hand as the weekenders were gone but they were still in evidence along the long stretch of waterfront. This is truly a “public” beach. No hotel has exclusive claim on the sand and that’s how I believe it should be. Shirtless locals beat beach loungers any day. Left hotel about 10:30 to catch next flight to HCMC. Vietjet check in took about 25 minutes (better than the 50 minutes Air Asia check in at DMK Saturday morning) but immigration and baggage checks were relatively quick. Proceeded to lower level to await bus gate departure but 15 minutes before scheduled take off still no agent and no announcement . Finally guy comes rushing down and tells everyone to go to Gate 8 upstairs. Apparently there some electric problem and escalators and elevators were not working. Finally got near gate 8 (bridge gate) but two lines were longer than queue waiting to get into Beef nightclub on Soi 4 on a Saturday. Was among last to board full cabin but luckily found space in overhead for carry on. There was a delay while they located somebody to extend the air bridge. Just as we exited the plane and walked a few minutes passengers came to abrupt halt because someone neglected to unlock door leading out to arrivals area. Once that was resolved I got so see just how busy this place could be. My VN friend guided me through the maze to car he had summoned on app and half hour later we arrived at hotel. I echo everything that bkkmfj2648 said about Da nang. If you get the opportunity, GO!

Used this method in my old condo building and it worked well.

Companies may compensate by upping the current 2,000 baht fee. Somehow I’m not inclined to take their word for it until I hear it confirmed that arrivals by air, land or sea are actually receiving 60-day stamps. When the news first broke about the change a while back, arrivals were disappointed to find that they were still getting 30 days only. Bureaucracy tends to move slowly when implementing new rules.

One Spa posted 44 pics of T&B’s in its LINE feed today. KK Massage has posted a page that appears to include a handful of new faces.

Just learned that one of the transport services that takes clients to Cambodia and back on border runs is telling subscribers on its Facebook page that it will be 60-day stamps, effective July 15th. It certainly comes as great news for many of the guys we know if it turns out to be official.

No problem so long as you accompany guest in and out of building. If you bring him to breakfast you will have to register him as the second person in reservation. Always reserve room anywhere for party of two!

Nothing will change because pols in both parties are cowards on this issue.