The Dutch embassy in Bangkok advises Dutch people not to travel to the city center of Bangkok until November 2.
This advice has been brought to the attention of the Calamity Committee, which must then determine whether there is a situation eligible for payment. An email to this effect has been sent to all 3500 registered Dutch people.
Waiting for the water: a war of attrition
Better safe than sorry, Jan Verkade (69) thought about ten days ago. The amount of water that accumulated north of Bangkok did not bode well. Jan lives on a golf course in Bangsaothong. That is officially Samut Prakan, but is an extension of On Nut, seen from Bangkok behind Suvarnabhumi airport. You already understand: Jan does not have to bite a stick in everyday life. But water doesn't stop there…
Message from the Dutch embassy in Bangkok
The Dutch embassy in Bangkok has sent an email calling on registered Dutch citizens in Thailand to be extremely attentive to flooding in the coming days and weeks.
From Hua Hin I have had an uneasy feeling about the state of affairs in Thailand for weeks. I'm talking about the army's official 'call horns' that consistently contradict each other and the frankly amateurish approach to the disaster that is unfolding in the country. Prime Minister Yingluck turns out to be absolutely unfit for her task and the vague figures that the prime minister gathered around her on the advice of her brother appear to be more likely to be at home…
The water is just the beginning of 'the end'
Regular reader of this blog Jan V. lives in a nice villa on the edge of a beautiful golf course under the smoke of the new airport Suvarnabhumi. If the rising water reaches the golf course, it could be three meters deep, according to insiders. The city of Bangkok may be protected on the side of the river by ramparts and walls, water always seeks the lowest point. Chances are that the flood…
Seeing Abraham in Thailand…and doing some island hopping
A good friend in the Netherlands saw his 50th birthday rapidly approaching. He thought it would be fun to celebrate this memorable day with six friends in Thailand. The trip should not last longer than a week. I myself was also one of the 'lucky ones', with the note that I am already staying here. The only question was what the country had to offer them. Pattaya has long been on the wish list because of all kinds of sporting activities. You feel …
Thai water problems and Dutch knowledge
The water situation in Thailand has been dire during certain parts of the year for many years. In some cases, this makes it easy to compare with the Dutch conditions. Floods also occurred regularly in the Netherlands in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, caused on the one hand by the sea, but also often locally by the rivers. Usually the dikes then collapsed, resulting in major flooding. The Dutch have learned a lot from that and that …
The Dutch in Thailand follow the news from their homeland with suspicion
Most Dutch people I speak to in Thailand have been following the news from the Netherlands with suspicion in recent weeks. And in the evening I also look closely at Knevel and v/d Brink, or Pauw&Witteman, for backgrounds and explanation. I have already read the current news about the Budget Memorandum via the Internet. What matters? The economic conflagration that is spreading across the Netherlands and the rest of Europe could have major consequences for the Dutch…
Last week Lily Rouwers came into contact with a Dutch family whose son (17 years old) had a very serious accident two weeks ago. He was here with a group of young people helping in a children's home. The last few days before they were supposed to go back to the Netherlands, they went to Koh Samet, where he had an accident with a quad bike. With very serious brain damage, he was transferred by helicopter to the Bangkok…
Answers Jeannette Verkerk (embassy) to outstanding visa questions
Answers from Jeannette Verkerk (Dutch embassy) to outstanding visa questions from readers of Thailandblog.
The story about the state of affairs at the consular department of the Dutch embassy in Bangkok has attracted many readers. However, not all questions have been answered. Jeannette Verkerk, consular affairs attaché, once again explains how a visa application is processed. Verkerk: “We don't hold separate interviews like the British do. One trip to the embassy is enough. I have only conducted a separate interview once in the last three years that I have been working in Bangkok…
Only 2 percent applied for tourist visas in Bangkok refused (2)
The consular post in Bangkok handled no less than 2010 visa applications in 7997. 7011 Schengen visas were issued, of which 2134 for business purposes and 6055 for family/tourism visits. In 956 cases it concerned an MVV, an Authorization for Provisional Residence, of which 42 percent submitted the application for residence with a partner and 6 percent for a study in the Netherlands. In 14 percent of the cases, invited refugees (including Burmese), often the 'hopeless ...
News: embassy handles income statement (again) by post (1)
First of all, the good news, after a visit to the consular section of the embassy in Bangkok: Dutch citizens can now obtain the statement of income required to apply for a retirement visa at the Thai immigration service by post. That saves a drink on a drink if applicants do not have to travel in person to Bangkok or the consulates in Phuket and Chiang Mai. The recently appointed ambassador Joan Boer has faced the problems after his arrival …
The Burmese children in Pakayor are doing well
For a moment, Hans Goudriaan and I were afraid that the Thai government had intervened in the Karen refugee village of Pakayor. After all, not far from Hua Hin on the border with Burma, houses of refugees had been burned down to force them to return to their own country. In the worst case, that means death by bullet, but often before that they have to do forced labor and girls and women are raped. Reports circulated in Hua Hin that…
Thai tax authorities offer a party in Hua Hin
Maybe they couldn't make it more fun, but it was easy. The Thai tax authorities in Prachuap Khiri Kahn went to great lengths on the golf course just outside Hua Hin to inform about a hundred foreigners about a possible impending attack. Remarkable, because where else in the world does such an institution offer its 'customers' a complete party, including food and dance music. The golfers' clubhouse at Suanson Military Base is certainly impressive, as are the…
Ambassador Joan Boer warns of a decline in Phuket tourism
Phuket must tackle abuses that negatively affect tourism. Otherwise, the flow of foreign guests can quickly dry up. This warning was issued by the new Dutch ambassador to Thailand, Joan Boer, yesterday during his first official visit to Phuket. The diplomat asked Governor Tri Augkaradacha what he intends to do about the problems. Boer particularly mentioned the abuses in the rental of jet skis and the unscrupulous tuktuk drivers. Aiming at a possible…
To find out how to get a retirement visa in the Netherlands, the Non Immigrant OA visa for people aged 50 and older, Rob van Vroonhoven first went to the Thai embassy in The Hague and then to the consulate in Amsterdam. And guess what? There are absurd differences in the demands they make. The Thai embassy in The Hague gave him a paper with the requirements. This paper is titled: www.imm.police.go.th …