Palmeiras

El Puntido from Rioja. Sensibly priced for it's quality at EUR 30 retail (in Europe). Cost of Lafite etc prohibitive.

I am resident in Portugal and have obtained many visas in Lisbon.

The embassy is in Restelo more or less next to the Belenenses football stadium. It is possible to get the train to Belem and walk up to the embassy but much easier to get a taxi from the centre of the city. Cost of taxis in Lisbon is very reasonable and mention of the football stadium makes it easy if the driver does not speak English.

When I have applied, I have been required to phone for an appointment in advance and supply copies of my residence permit and flight details with the application. I have always had an appointment in the morning and picked up the visa in the afternoon (with one exception when I don't think a signatory was available). Generally, the whole process has gone quite smoothly. The lady who handles the applications speaks perfect English.

I do not know whether they would issue a visa for a casual visitor to the city but suspect, like many countries, they restrict their issue to permanent residents. I suggest you give them a call.

$2900 per year to live here on a semi-permanent basis when 99% of expats don't pay any income tax - biggest bargain of all time!

What would your tax bill be back home?

I have not shipped a car from Thailand but I did ship a Volvo from Saudi Arabia to UK (half the distance) in a 40 foot container. Cost was GBP 4000 approx and then it cost another GBP 2500 to matriculate it (ie tests etc to obtain UK registration). Good advice above to sell here and buy afresh.

I am a British national who is resident in Portugal so I obtain my tourist visas from the Thai embassy in Lisbon. In addition to photos and application form, I have to produce both my Portuguese resident permit and confirmation of return or onward travel. I also take financial proof with me but have never been asked for it.

Got my Macbook air from Chi Chang in Promenada. Straightforward purchase from stock and no problems.

IMF Statement on Taxation

Press Release No. 13/427

November 5, 2013

In response to misreporting of an alleged proposal by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on wealth taxes, Mr. Sanjeev Gupta, Acting Director of the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department, issued the following statement today:

“An analytical box in the recent edition of the Fiscal Monitor reviews a range of external discussions and experiences regarding a one-off capital levy. It also draws attention to the considerable downside risks of such a tax. It emphatically does not recommend a wealth tax.

“The analytical description of the issue in the Fiscal Monitor should not be misconstrued as an IMF policy proposal, which does not exist.”

Maige TV is primarily designed for the Chinese expatriate living overseas and whether a non Mandarin speaker will be able to benefit from it depends upon what you're looking for from the service. If you're looking for entertainment in the form of soaps, dramas, films etc you're going to be disappointed without the necessary language skills. Surely its an unrealistic expectation that a majority of content from a Chinese service will be in English? If, however, you want news and sport there is plenty of programme content which will keep you happy, with lots of tennis, football, golf, etc; some with English commentary. They also have the global news channels - CNN, Sky, CNBC, BBC etc in English. Maige is just one of several IPTV services now available and researching programme content in advance to meet your needs is paramount to your satisfaction level. As regards picture quality, the reception on my Maige box varies from channel to channel - from no picture, through poor, adequate and satisfactory to excellent. I have another IPTV box in Europe which operates to exactly the same standards. My own experience with the Bangkok agent, whilst not perfect, has been OK but it is clear from several internet postings that there is room for improvement.

Through the Pensions Bill, the UK Government is seeking to withdraw state pension payments to expat spouses. They will continue to receive a state pension for National Insurance contributions they have made themselves, but not for contributions made by their spouse. This was announced last Spring although there was no suggestion it would be retrospective.. Maybe Germany is doing the same but on a retrospective basis as well.

3/4 weeks ago

I have hired a car here a few times and the best deal I usually (not necessarily always) get is from www.fastcarhire.co.uk. They are brokers/agents and the last car I had they sourced from Hertz at the airport at a price which was exceptionally good value for that company. Good car, pleasant staff, minimal bureaucracy, good all inclusive price, delivered to and picked up from the property we were staying in. You can ask Fast about the extras you want. There is GPS in Thailand and would certainly be useful if available and you're a stranger to the city.

www.overplay.net or www.strongvpn.com

Buy a bottled wine. Boxes have a plastic coating So why drink water with a wine taste with a plastic finish?

I'm not a wine expert. That's why I depend on wine experts to tell me things like this: evidently wine in a box is actually a better container than a bottle. The valve prevents exposure to oxygen, which is a culprit in a lot of wines going bad. But like screw tops and plastic corks, boxed wine suffers from an image problem. The only reason that there isn't better boxed wine is because the better wines worry about their image if they put their wine in boxes.

In fact, this reminds me of another fun fact I heard from a wine expert. The practice of carefully examining the cork is usually for naught and reveals the examiner to be an amateur.

I'll pass on more expert wine facts as they become available.

I'll make sure that I don't hold my breath!!!

The bottle is still the best container for wine and when you think that there is still drinkable wine, in bottles, decades-old, then that speaks for itself. A little bit of air is always evident at the top of a bottled wine and that assists with its ageing process. As regards the box, in order for wine to flow from the valve, then some air has to be "Introduced" to allow it to flow, so at first pouring it has contact with air, hence its gradual decline in quality in the coming weeks.

Plastic corks are often used for the cheaper wines where they are going to be drunk young, because they don't stand the test of time, especially as regards to expansion and contraction which allows air and other organisms into the bottle which can spoil wine. Whereas the traditional cork, although it can suffer from the condition known as being "corked" due to a chemical 2,4,6, Trichloroanisole (thereby tainting the wine), is very flexible as regards expansion and contraction and does stand the test of time provided storage is correct.

Looking at the cork will give you an indication as to how the wine has been stored, how good the cork seal was and in many cases show you the insignia on the cork which will give you some comfort. Probably no need to smell the cork because the smell and taste of the wine will tell you if the wine is "corked".

Screw tops or the "Stelvin closure" as the best ones are known, are very good, however have not really been around long enough and in as many diverse conditions as the cork to know if they have long-term viability. In addition the jury is still out as to whether the very small amount of air which gets through a normal cork and into the wine in a bottle actually assists with its development or in fact hinders it.

Suffice it to say that the centuries-old tradition of using cork, now with better sterilisation methods, is still the tried and trusted methodology. As they would say in the medical profession, it is the "gold standard".

Gold standard it might be but a very expensive one as wine growers were loosing 10 per cent of their output to corkage. Anyway it is too late to turn the wheel back as Portugal, where the best cork came from, has pulled out vast numbers of their cork trees. So great has this clearance been that it is said it has changed the eco-system of Portugal.

Wines do not react with cork to produce an adverse taste (corked). A minimum of 5% of all wines sold are "off" because of oxidisation. This happens irrespective of whether the wine stopper is cork, plastic or screw top.

Cork remains a staple export industry for Portugal. It is true that they have suffered recently from increased competition in the form of cheaper screw tops and plastic "corks" but there has been no move to run the industry down intentionally. They remain leading producers of wine bottle corks, including the layer of the two part champagne cork which makes contact with the wine..

Is there a minimum balance requirement for the type of account the OP has? If so, perhaps this has been increased. There very often is a required minimum balance with offshore banks and if it's not complied with some banks will ask you to close your account.

Very strange. The HSBC Offshore web site is actively encouraging expats to open accounts. Have they simply not reorganised their business so they have a designated expat branch?

Yes. SCB's OTP works absolutely fine on my "Happy" pre-pay phone when travelling in Europe. Used it several times.

I would be very cautious about this. The website accessed by clicking the link is in Brazil not Portugal (Brazil is pretty high up on the list of scam locations). It is very professional and looks OK, however, there is no mention of the offer on either the Brazil or Portugal Samsung websites if accessed direct. A search for "Dropbox"on both websites also produces no result. I maybe wrong but as well as doubling space this offer may help identity theft or worse.

Just a personal view.

I transfer funds from Santander International in Jersey to SCB - takes 24 hours. ie. set up on internet banking Monday, arrives Tuesday. My other bank takes 48 hours so really it depends who you use and each banks correspondent arrangement

The culture here may like cash but banks don't. It costs to handle it, store it, move it, and secure it. Fees for handling cash have become quite common in many countries. Would there have been a charge for depositing a cheque or was it just because the transaction involved cash handling?

www.easygolfbooking.com

Moneybookers do not operate local agencies like Western Union. They operate via transfers to other Moneybookers accounts from which you may then arrange a withdrawal to your nominated (and verified) bank account. Another withdrawal method is to apply to M oneybookersfor a prepaid credit card and use that for withdrawals. More details available on the Moneybookers website.

Use a VPN

Take your Thai phone with you. Even pay as you go phones "roam". I manage my account from outside LOS via internet and Thai mobile to receive OTP (one time password) by SMS.

I made a swift transfer from my Santander account to Thailand yesterday. This was arranged via the internet and the funds were received in LOS in 24 hours.

A UK passport may be renewed any time within the period 9 months prior to expiry. The renewal will be dated 10 years from the current expiry date (in your case March 2011) so you don't lose any time. Why not renew it now to avoid any potential bureaucratic problem?