jrmaanda

Thank you Mike. I'm trying out your idea.

Thanks Mike, That's what I suspected. They are trying to force me to pay for their exchange service. Their exact wording is " SWIFT CODE : REVOFRP2 can only transfer from Thai Baht into foreign currency and the offshore bank does not Thai Baht account with Bangkok Bank." But if they say "no", what on earth can I do?

Until a few years ago, if one wanted to convert a large sum of money between currencies, say over the equivalent of about one million baht, most banks worldwide would do so at a reasonable rate (typically about 0.3% between buying and selling rates) instead of the grossly rapacious tourist rate (at least 2% between buying and selling rates). Now the only bank I happen to know of anywhere that will exchange at the old honest rate is Revolut. I need to transfer 20 million baht from a Thai stockbroker to any bank in Europe. Before, the broker's bank would have done this at an at least bearable rate, but no more. It would cost at least 200,000 baht. So I set up a multi-currency account with Revolut in France, Euros, £ and baht. I sent £ to it from Britain with no problem. Now I've asked my Thai broker to send baht to it and they claim they cannot because its SWIFT code is denominated in Euros (in which case, how could the British bank manage it?). If anyone has experience of this or can offer a solution, I'd be extremely grateful to hear from them.

I've often wondered about this too. However, one difficulty, given that Pheua Thai has now confirmed its sole purpose has always been to bring back Thaksin, is that once Thaksin is in Thailand, he will be a hostage to his party's deal with the establishment. Even when he's been granted a royal pardon, they can always arrange for other charges to be brought against him (versus quash them if Pheua Thai sticks to its deal with them).

I am due to do a 90-day report on 11 April, but will be leaving the country on 14 April. Can anyone tell me for sure if I have to do the report or can I safely skip it?

Many thanks. Passport British, with French carte de séjour. Original two vaccinations in France, Pfizer. Booster in Thailand: Moderna.

I have paper and digital versions of two Covid vaccinations in France and a booster in Thailand (registered with Mor Prom), but they cannot be combined, or not at least while I'm in Thailand. Can anyone reassure me that I'm not going to have trouble with airline officials in Suvarnaphumi or French immigration?

Thanks for giving me such a full reply. It is not so much that I insist on European style, as that I insist on looking pre-19th century, as I find modern architecture hideous. I've already experimented here with traditional (wooden) Thai architecture and 17th-century European brick, and found the latter much better for comfort and maintenance. I am absolutely keen on adaptation to tropical conditions, but hope to do so without compromising exterior aesthetics. But I don't know how to do so in any detail. No, because I don't want anything modern in any national style. Yes, as with the similar kind advice of AJBangkok, you have here opened me up to possibilities that hadn't occurred to me before, and that I must explore. Thank you.

I'm not sure what you mean by "the traditional Thai way"? My understanding of that expression is a wooden house on stilts. I've already built two little houses that way, one in Lanna style and one central Thai, and I personally think they both look superb, but they leave a certain amount to be desired in terms of comfort. I've also built a smallish house modelled on a 17th-century English gate-house, which worked out well, but it was fairly simple and my craftsman employee "got" it. But my new project is much bigger and this time I know I'm not up to designing it: I'm much too ignorant to avoid serious mistakes. Can you explain a little more why you think a Thai builder wouldn't be able to cope if he had clear instructions from a competent architect?

So where should I look for a good one?

Yes, you are right of course. I must confess I haven't made up my mind on anything specific beyond the requirement that it look pre-19th century (I stress "look" only for the poster who sees inconsistency in my wanting electricity and plumbing). Beyond that, my mind is open, and something hybrid might suit Chiangmai better. Thanks for your kind good wishes. I expect I'll need them.

Can anyone recommend a good architect near Chiangmai, or at least give me advice on how to find one? I may need a rather unusual one as it is for designing a house that will be 17th or 18th century European in appearance. I wouldn't need him to take charge of interior decoration (I already employ a skilled craftsman full-time), and he wouldn't need to speak English fluently (I can speak Thai). But I badly need: - Someone who can advise on and probably take charge of electricity, lighting, plumbing, drainage, ventilation etc. - Someone to draw up plans that would be accepted by the local planning authorities, and possibly for other purposes. - Someone with wide knowledge of how and where best to order the materials needed (excluding the stone and brick to be used for the walls), ideally including knowledge of how to obtain some materials from abroad that can't be found here. I'm afraid I don't even know where to start looking, and I got badly cheated when I tried to find something like this twenty years ago.

Thank you FalangTingTong. Can anyone who has received a booking confirmation from Elegant Hotel please tell me what they filled in for "Booking ID" on the Thailand Pass website? I can't see anything that corresponds to this and dare not simply hazard a guess.

Please could you tell me exactly you booked with them? Did you telephone or did you fill in their online form and wait for them to e-mail you? Could you have paid them by credit card?

Thank you both very much. Does it matter that the "EU Digital Covid Certi ficate" does not have (in addition to the date of the first vaccination) my passport number. (The Thailand Pass website says "The certificate of vaccination should include your personal information for identification such as your full name, date of birth, nationality, passport number and vaccination details.")