doctormann

I was in Egypt one time, long ago, and contracted what is termed as 'traveler's diarrhea'. This was from the dodgy food on a Lake Nasser cruise boat. The usual Imodium stuff has minimal effect on this Egyptian-style bog rot - ended up going to a local pharmacy in Luxor to buy what I can only describe as quick-setting concrete. This enabled me to get back to the UK but the problem didn't go away. My doc reckoned that i just had the aforementioned 'traveler's diarrhea' - Every visitor to Egypt gets it', he said. Just to be on the safe side he gave me a little pot and a small wooden spatula and wanted a stool sample. What a joke - have you ever tried putting a sample of brown water into a pot with a spatula! The problem cleared up after a few days - had to keep drinking re-hydration fluid for a while. I also had an encounter with green mussels from a certain french supermarket - long gone - in Pattaya. That was an interesting 48 hours as well!

Been getting a lot of timeouts on ASAEN over the last couple of days. No other sites affected. Cloudflare Error message says it's a Host problem at your end. I'm in Thailand, using Singapore VPN if that's relevant.

In my experience, 'package is in transit to destination country' doesn't necessarily mean that it is actually on a 'plane flying there. What seems to happen is that the package clears Thai customs, outbound, and then waits until a suitable 'plane is available. If you use EMS then the delay is usually short but registered mail seems to take longer. Again, in my experience, sending stuff to the UK, the package will not reappear on the tracking radar until it has cleared customs inbound at the Langley Postal Centre at Heathrow and this can take several days. Langley has been described as a 'black hole' because things seem to disappear there, sometimes never to re-emerge. Once cleared by Langley it is possible to track the package, either on the Thailand Post website or by using the UK Royal Mail site. For other destination countries YMMV, as they say.

20,000 max per withdrawal so would take quite a long time to withdraw a million - even assuming that there was that much in there in the first place. Do ATMs actually hold that much anyway? How long does it take to make 50 withdrawals? Something doesn't sound right here.

Yes, bankbook needs to be updated on the day of application. Not a problem. Wouldn't it be good if all Immigration Offices and IOs sang from the same hymn sheet!

Yes, if you do the 12 monthly transfer method you certainly need the certified statement from the bank. I deal with TTB who have been good in most respects. However, the branch that I have used previously has been closed so I now need to use another one. Finding out which one was not straightforward as their contact centre gave me bad information, which caused me to waste an entire day, trying to set things up with an incorrect branch. That is now sorted but the question of validity remains as they don't seem to know just how long it will take for Head Office to produce the document. Last year it took a few days. In fact, it should not really matter as the purpose of the statement is merely to certify that 12 transfers have been made over the previous year and the date of the statement is largely irrelevant. However, TiT, as usual. The letter that certifies the account is another matter. That has to be dated on the date of application - but no problem as that can be done on the spot.

As always - no consistency here, TiT!

I need a 12-month statement from TTB bank for the purposes of extending my permission to stay. I recall that, last year, it took several working days for Head Office to produce this. Dates, this year, are not too convenient as I have other commitments so I'm trying to coordinate things. The question is, having obtained the statement, how many days is it valid for? i have heard 3 days but also 7 days. I also need the usual bank letter but this can, i believe, be done on the spot by my local branch. I think that the validity of the letter is 3 days. Anyone have any actual information on this?

Thanks for the replies. WD40 sounds like an easy option for a quick test. I've even got some kicking around somewhere among the junk.

Thanks. I'll take a look.

Anyone have any advice on removing rubber deposits - from car tires - from a tiled driveway? Normal detergent type cleaners do not work so I think that i need some chemical that's specific to rubber stain removal. Suggestions?

Please don't confuse them!

I used to be an avid reader, with catholic tastes. Then my eyes started to give up and reading became difficult so I moved on to audio books. i got my cataracts fixed and my eyes are now fine but, sadly, I've not got back into the habit of reading actual hardware books. So much stuff available on the internet now - and mostly free - that it's hardly worthwhile keeping the bulky 'real' books around. I must admit though that there is something about the experience of reading a 'real' book that you just don't get from reading on a monitor or phone or Kindle.

I'm well aware of what Jomtien require for the annual extension - been doing it for 20 years now. Usually straightforward until last year when TTB apparently couldn't provide the 12-month statement on the spot. Had to come from head office so took a few days. The passbook thing is something else - I suspect that Immigration will still need to see the paper book. i don't really see what benefit the e-book confers, to be honest.

I use the branch by soi 13/4. Bank letter is no problem - done on the spot - but the 12-month statement takes a while. Apparently, they can do a 6-month statement on the spot but a 12-month one has to come from head office, or so they claim. Doesn't make a lot of sense but TiT so no surprise really.