Re: ''Ripped off at the rank'' (PostBag, July 27).
Really, I'm not surprised. My partner and I are in and out of Bangkok several times a year and have tried getting one of the bigger taxis upon arrival but are always quoted 1,000 baht. I always decline and try to fit all our luggage into a normal taxi, which is a challenge because of the fuel tank in the back.
Let me share a story that happened just this past Tuesday evening. Having arrived from Germany around 6pm we proceeded directly to the taxi rank and were surprised to find no queue and plenty of drivers waiting. We gave our destination as Sathorn/Silom and were given the white receipt. Having taken many taxis from the airport, I'm always wary as they sometimes have the meter on already, showing 35 baht _ but it's in wait mode. This evening that did not happen and the driver turned the engine on and off as we went. About five minutes into the journey he asked for the white airport receipt from my partner and he handed it over.
This aroused both our suspicions and I then began to look at the meter. I immediately noticed the meter was higher than normal and within 15 minutes before even getting to the first toll gate the meter rate was over 400 baht. I then asked for the receipt back calmly, and he handed it over. My partner and I were communicating on our mobiles via Whatsapp in the taxi as I did not want to have an altercation with the driver.
I took more than 20 pictures of the meter without him noticing and by the time we reached my condo on Sathorn the meter showed 255 kilometres and a fare of 2,077 baht with zero waiting time.
The fare to Sathorn is normally 270 to 300 baht plus the 50 baht surcharge. We arrived at my condo knowing full well there were several security guards on duty who know me quite well. The taxi stopped and we removed our luggage from the trunk and front seat and put it in the reception area and handed the taxi driver 300 baht and thanked him and walked away. He was taken aback and started to complain, but my partner said in Thai to him, ''If you have a problem, call the police''. He jumped into his taxi and took off. If I was a tourist I may well have paid this fare and not known better.
In the past I've taken a taxi in the departure areas and never had a problem, though this is considered illegal. The only problems I've had in all the years at the new airport have been at the ''legal'' taxi rank. We have reported this, but of course we don't expect anything to come of it.
SAME OLD, SAME OLD IN BKK
Fair rules for all
Re: ''Visa Discrimination'' (PostBag, July 27).
So Kom Kris, a Thai citizen, got a taste of what it is like to deal with not-so-friendly officers when he was trying to secure a Schengen visa.
We, long-term residents of this country, get such a taste every three months when we are forced, like criminals on parole, to report our current residential address to our provincial immigration bureau.
We go through the same thing again, on a yearly basis, when we request an extension of stay allowing us to reside in this country for another year, never knowing if the rules may suddenly change, if they will demand an increase to the bank deposit of 800,000 baht which must sit idle in an account for at least three months before we make our request, or if an additional copy of an obscure document will suddenly be sought by the officer on duty. Welcome aboard, sir.
As for your question as to why residents of Schengen countries are granted a visa to Thailand upon arrival, the most likely reason is that not too many of these visitors will try to remain illegally after their visit, although the reverse is certainly a very strong possibility.
As Kom Kris is suggesting ''equality'', I would certainly not mind if all Thai citizens residing abroad were forced to report to immigration every three months as I do here, and not just in the Schengen countries, but also in my country of origin Canada.
MICHEL BARRE
CONTACT: BANGKOK POST BUILDING
136 Na Ranong Road Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110
Fax: +02 6164000 email: postbag@bangkokpost.co.th
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