bradiston

I posted this earlier, but here it is again. Up til the end of 2022, Thailand hardly featured as a destination. There are better places to look if Putin was really intent on hunting down traitors, aka those who would rather live a decent life than die a miserable death fighting his imbecilic war. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_emigration_following_the_invasion_of_Ukraine_(2022–present)

Unsuspecting what?

It's not like in France or the UK, where everybody goes on strike, has a punch up with the police etc etc. In Russia, the slightest glimmer of protest and you're hauled off. The parliament's a complete joke. Full of yes men, like China. There's no opposition. Everybody's in jail that has spoken out against the war. All news is censored. Nobody dares speak out. What would you do? Get the heck out.

Well, they didn't invade Poland like Russia and Germany did. Sure, they were reluctant to commit to a war 3,000 miles away, but without them eventually joining the Allies, we would never have defeated the Axis powers. They were, and have been ever since, our allies. People of a certain age who never witnessed Soviet Russia have no idea what it represented. If you'd prefer a Russian government, go there. I don't see a queue to get into the place. Nobody's crossing borders illegally to get in. But millions are queuing to get out. And now we have the rest of the original article. A deal with Thailand to round up supposed "traitors" and deport them back to Russia. There you have it. Naturally this would be illegal from most other countries as they will face appalling state persecution if returned.

If, by westerner, you mean European, I really find it hard to understand any European supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On what grounds? It was patently unnecessary. Putin's pathetic excuse that he had no alternative ("they made me do it") is unworthy of a world leader, to say the least. And the result? Do you see any damage to Russian territory? Nothing! NOTHING! How dare people say Ukraine started this war, or deserved it in any way? Have we lost all morality? Twisted, twisted, twisted.

Russians helping out? They were defending the motherland. Only reason they joined. For the first 2 years Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia were allies.

You could say that about a whole host of immigrants. But many have technical skills, programming skills, etc. There has been a huge uptake in ed visas I believe. Also, a lot are bringing wealth with them, coin, or whatever. It's not just here in Thailand, which didn't even rate a mention as a destination. It's a global phenomenon if you read the link I posted.

My question would be, how do Russian people really view the conflict?

Well no, I don't entirely agree that they are this, that or the other. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_emigration_following_the_invasion_of_Ukraine_(2022–present) Plus, same every year. Refugees from winter, maybe, like a million other tourists. They'll return to their homeland, eventually. But calling them refugees from the war in Ukraine is deeply offensive surely to the 6 million or so Ukrainian people forced from their homes, to flee their country in the depths of winter, on account of the brutal Russian invasion of their country. But, economic migrants, political refugees, anyone expressing anti war sentiments or opinions, and a million others, yes. they might be termed refugees, from their own government's persecution and disastrous policies, if nothing else. Unfortunately, hiding inside these groups will be the groups you mention. So I think it's really a mixture of people. Can't call them all bad! But Bali might be a lesson for eg Phuket. BTW, what pact, and what extradition treaty does the OP article mention? We seem to have come in on a previous article.

You might try an agent if there's one near you. You will still have to appear for the final stage, the test, payment and photo, but it might make things a lot easier for you, if a bit more costly.

Russian what? Refugees? Are you kidding?

I just did an online registration for a guest using the Section 38 app. Just needed the guest's passport and visa details and tm6 number if available. But I'm still waiting for approval. I downloaded the apk for the app from a Google search result. But you must have registered yourself beforehand, and got a username and password, and give details of the property. YMMV.

Somebody posted a link above to Jomtien Hospital, sister of Bangkok Pattaya hospital. They advertise 39k per eye, but when I checked they said that was the old price, even though it says on the ad prices until December 31st 2023. But it's only a rise of a few 1000 THB. Looks like my best option. I checked at Pattaya hospital.on Buakhao. They don't do eyes, but Banglamung does. Some schlepp over there from Pratamnak. But I have to go back to BPH tomorrow to get my prostate checked out my the urologist. It's only a short hop from there.

I'm going to shop around for the surgery, and seriously consider cancelling insurance. The optical package only offers $1000 per annum in cover. That's a third of the quoted cost at Bangkok Hospital. What a headache. Back to square one.

Bah! No cover. First off, it's OPD. Second I'm not covered for eye surgery of this nature. So, think I'll bin Wrlife.

Try EM. It's a liquid.

Seems anyone can set up a "Centre", a "Committee", or whatever, on whatever subject, and start to publish uncredited stats about anything. In a recent survey by the Centre for Managing and Surveying Surveys, 99.9% of respondents agreed.

Then it follows anyone using Tor could be held guilty of trying to access "The Dark Web". What a load of crxp. The Sun makes Fox look almost intelligent.

According to the latest accounts, it's all been turned on its head, and it's the original team of met police who are now being investigated for having the audacity to apply for, and get, the original arrest warrant. Senior coppers weren't consulted. Oh my face!

Hey, it's American Standard!

The bacteria also comes in liquid form. It's called EM. I had a septic tank fill up for no apparent reason after over 10 years use. My theory was, the house had been empty for over a year and the lack of water flowing into the tank - it is just the concrete ring type - had caused the soil soakaway to set like concrete. We had to dig another pit and join it up to the existing tank. A major hassle! So if your place is going to be empty for an extended period of time, asking someone to run the taps and flush the toilets once a week might avoid the same thing happening.

I can't envisage ever actually doing this, I mean buying £s with THB, as I don't intend repatriating at any time. I think what I was suggesting was a way for the OP to convert his THB into £s, at a fairly decent rate, ready for transferring straight to a UK sterling bank account. Slightly lost the point of this thread now. I wonder if the op has figured it out?

Many thanks for all your help. I finally cracked it. Googled the section 38 APK and downloaded it. Agreed to all the risk warnings about unknown sources, got it installed, and have completed the registration of my guest. Now just wait for approval. Thanks again!

I think to a recipient's £ Wise account it would be free and almost instantaneous. I sent a fairly large amount of $ from my Wise $ account to a Wise $ account in a European bank fee free, instantaneous.

Sorry, my comment was sloppy. What I meant was, I can move any amounts from my £ and $ Wise accounts into my Krungthai THB account. Choose the time when the rate is good. And moving £ out from the UK to my Wise £ account is a no brainer, fee free.