Crossy

The excitement is building! Our man has been but I'm at work so can't post the bill. Yet!

Yeah ^^^, condos are usually (but not always) government rate. Apartments are privately metered and so can pad the bill (there are official limits but ...)

That is my assumption, my first pink card was free, I'm over 60. I've never lost it so I can't comment on replacement. I may have missed it, but is our OP over 60?

Offhand no, the Motoring forum would be the place to ask what the core fee would be. 500 Baht for a "tested" used battery sounds cheap.

Used lead-acid batteries are far too valuable for recycling to ever be free.

Lithium makes up about 0.002% of earth's crust, but in geologic terms, it isn't particularly rare. There is also a huge amount in sea water. Meanwhile. Lead makes up only about 0.0013% of the earth's crust (slightly rarer than lithium), but it is easily mined and refined. I agree with @Muhendis, lead-acid isn't dead yet.

Yup, I paid a big, fat, zero, in cash!

Yup, because I paid for it. Note that it is a "for-life" card as she (and I) is over 60.

All clear now @asiaexpat ???? I wonder if the pink card is cheaper because the blank is lower cost (it doesn't have the smarts that the pukka Thai blue one does). IIRC my pink ID was free on first issue, but I'm over 60 so got a lifetime one.

Long, long ago when I was at uni. the Student's Union decided to give away free condoms with a similar message. They decided that the best way to distribute them was to put one with every copy of the SU magazine. To prevent them getting lost they were stapled to each mag

I was responding to this! EDIT I don't know how much Thais under 60 are charged, so you may have received a deal, but TiT so ... I'm assuming you are under 60 as you got a 10 year card.

Madam "lost" her for-life Thai ID, replacement was free even though lost and no police report. "Lost" because the bank told her she didn't look like her photo. So she now has one where she looks 19 61 and a special one for the bank only.

Whilst we are on the subject of Lazada, Madam fended off a potential COD scam for 900 Baht "we haven't ordered anything"! I never use COD, period! Anything which might attract duty I always warn her.

Well, I think you should have received a discount for January, but not >200 Baht ???? I know @JAS21 got his MEA bill recently, anything interesting?

Interesting, I wonder if that's catching up from previous months when they under-discounted you? Our man will come on Friday we shall see what transpires.

Google Translate is definitely your friend ???? If switching Lazada language to English doesn't work, I change to Thai and use the Chrome built-in Google Translate.

Yeah, our two chihuahuas get Pedigree "mini" dried food supplemented by the "extra" chicken / rice / veggies / pork that Madam cooks. I swear that sometimes they eat better than I do ????

Is anyone even slightly surprised?

Memory is a bit hazy, but I think I saw an article stating that the government / BOT had outlawed the purchase of crypto with Thai cards. EDIT It's possible it was this I remembered (from Wiki).

I got an official letter from the amphur office, all stamped up and sealed etc. Cost was zero! Got a certified translation (cost definitely NOT zero) which was accepted in the UK.

Just remember to pass it the right way "Port goes to Port". I got into trouble as a guest in the wardroom of HMS Daedalus for sending it the wrong way. The penalty was that all the officers bought me a drink, which I had to consume at that session! One never forgets!

I'm sure PortugalVisa.com will welcome you with open arms, a 357 Magnum perhaps (NOT an ice-cream) ????

@BritTim Can you help here please?

Sadly, our real expert has left us ???? I'm no immigration guru, just reiterating what was the case in the past. I'm very happy to be proven wrong either by a Thai immigration site or IATA. Note that non-Thai embassy sites are notorious for their less-than-accurate data ???? To be absolutely safe our OP should really renew his PP either before leaving or whilst out of the country.

People. Rather than slinging the mud, why not try to access the IATA site which is the definitive source. I failed to make it work with our OP's data but I'm on a slightly flaky connection at present.