Quote:
i don't get people bitching about the visa situation in thailand
Here's a short list of reasons the visa situation pisses me off, Danols:
* People over 50 don't have to do it. Yet on average, we spend a ****load more money here than they do.
* Leaving the country isn't that easy from places like Samui. It's not like you can just fly anywhere cheaply from here, the cheapest return flight anywhere from Samui is over 10k baht due the Bangkok Airways airport monopoly. Your other option is a 12 hour boat/ road trip, awesome.
* The "other countries" you talk about aren't as interesting as you might think. I've been to KL dozens of times and hate the place. I'd rather just stay here.
* The total effect of a visa run isn't just a case of a couple of days. I am 6'4". After 12 hours of sitting on a bus, I need 2 days to recover.
But mostly it's this:
* The fact that no matter what happens, I will be subject to the whims of corrupt immigration officials for the rest of my life. Even in 25 years time, even if I got married to a Thai and had 3 Thai children who grew up to be on the Thailand Olympic volleyball team, I would still have to report to immigration every 3 months and kowtow to some low level public servant.
*It's these sort of racist, protectionist government policies that ensure that my Thai friends and their families will always live in poverty. The laws against farangs owning land, becoming permanent residents and imports are all in place mostly because Thais think Thailand should only be for Thais. And because of that their daughters will work in brothels for the next 100 years.
TLDR version:
I hate visa runs because they are a massive inconvenience, and a stark reminder that to most Thais we are unwelcome visitors who will never be accepted as equals.