Greenwich Boy

Most of my Revolut transfers are very quick. As others have pointed out delays do happen for a number of reasons. Confirmation of fees recently attached

I only stay in any one country for a few months at a time (visa permitting) and have had a Revolut account for years. Until recently they applied a mark up on THB as an illiquid currency. That does not seem to be the case now. As a Brit I convert GBP to THB in the app at very close to the spot rate and send it to my Bangkok Bank account. Think I paid 30B or so for the last tranfer. Cash withdrawals in other countries is also free (up to a certain monthly limit) at the same exchange rate. Local bank fees obviously may apply. Over the years I have had my card skimmed twice. Fraudulent purchases were refunded quickly and a new card sent to my hotel (Vietnam and Indonesia) within 5 days. Many friends use Wise and I will open an account and get a card as back up when I go home in the summer

4 teaspoons of instant coffee dissolved in a little hot water. Add one tin of evaporated milk, one tin of condensed milk and half a bottle of Sangsom. Mix well. Job done, one litre of industrial strength coffee liquer ( like Baileys) Serve ice cold. Try it

Yes, they still blatantly burn the roadside leaf litter but when they set a fire in the hills it can cover a huge area

The vast majority of fires in the north are not agricultural but deliberately lit forest fires which can be difficult to access and put out. After burning the 'free' hed thob mushrooms are picked and sold for mega bucks

Not a recommendation as such but there is a bus from Da Nang to Pakse in Laos bus (friends have done this in the last month) There is a Thai border not far from there. You do need a Laos visa in advance which you can get in Da Nang as there is no VOA. Sorry, no further details

Perfect thank you

I will be returning to the UK in June and having read reports here (can't find them) that the METV requirements have been relaxed a bit I might apply for one and complete the full set of tourist visas! If anyone has applied succesfully recently perhaps they could clarify some points from the embassy website. 1. Bank balance of £5k for six months. Do they need six separate bank statements or is money on application ok? 2. Confirmation letter from employer or pension statement. I neither work or take my pension. Will showing the bank statement above work or am I scuppered. 3. Travel records of the last 12 months. Will a word document simply stating where and when I have been be sufficient? If the METV gets rejected am I likely to get a SETV and just have to swallow the cost difference? Many thanks

I normally go down the SETV route and one border run (UK passport) Currently in Hoi An after a cheap flight to Hanoi from Chiang Mai, a few days there then the train down to Da Nang via Hue. Build up to Tet thia weekend, having a ball.

I have done pretty much what you are thinking of plenty of times from CM. You can easily enter on a TR60 and extend by 30. Forget about on line go to immi at Central Festival in the mornings. Quieter than immi near the airport. You will need a TM30. Then fly out. Vietnam is a great choice. Direct flights from CM to Hanoi, Danang and Saigon. Spend a few days, fly back visa exempt. Get a 30 day stamp, extend for another 30 in the same way if you like. Job done

Perfect, I have about 12k equivalent in various currencies. Not expecting to get asked but one less thing to think about

My 'direct' flight next month from Singapore to Chiang Mai is now going via DMK where, presumably, I will clear immigration. Not expecting any difficulties as I have been away for a few months but I do have an extensive travel history to Thailand and a nearly full passport so will cover all bases. I have a confirmed hotel booking and (real) flight out within a fortnight but not sure of the cash equivalent requirement just in case they ask. Is it 10k or 20k? Solo traveller, UK passport, visa exempt entry. Thanks

Nope. I have used them a couple of times. UK passport.

I am here for 4/5 months of the year. I try to enter on a TR60 but with short trips to other countries I often re enter visa exempt. My own method is simple, if I don't have a flight out booked, I go down the onwardticket route. Reckon I get asked at check in 50% of the time (looked at not checked on the system) For me $12 well spent wether it is checked or not. Peace of mind and one less thing to worry about.

In theory as a snowbird this is excellent news for me. If it gets abused by people getting multiple back to back 90 day VE entries it will be short lived. From my personal selfish point of view I would rather they do not consider limiting the number of VE's per year as I like a few weekends in neighbouring countries. Maybe the old 180 in 360 rule for VE entries will prevent abuse. Just thinking out loud.

Gulfstream 650 just taken off from Singapore heading north. Is it his? How exciting????

Agreed, was not aware of the Sydney option so thanks for that. As a Brit I included a copy of my Oz ETA instead of drivers licence last year. Hopefully this works in Sydney as well

I book direct. I provided a short email from my landlady confirming my stay of 60 days at x address. It was legit but could really have come from anyone.

I got a SETV from Canberra last year. I had no onward flight. I included in the application a note explaining that I may extend after 60 days and was unsure when I would be leaving. Accepted, no problem. Passport with visa back in 8 or 9 days most of that being Aus Post

A little harsh, I get someone I know to pick me up from the airport otherwise the taxi system can be a bit of a zoo. Bogan Australis is a pest in some parts ????. Not seen any draft dodgers here in Sanur. From May to August the weather is lovely. Low humidity and almost no rain. I will move on early September

30 days. As all VOA's are paid for now (500k) all can be extended

Evisa is available for Bali. I arrived last month and paid on arrival. No queue. Having said that the queue for immigration was horrible and extending the visa took two weeks and requires three trips to immigration if an agent is not used

To add and agree with your comment on long term tourists not being overly welcome. I got a Special Tourist Visa in April 2021. Did my first extension in Chiang Mai to be told that the extension was from the day of application not added to the permission to stay stamp. At the time the scheme was due to finish 30 Sept so another hurried extension. An announcement that this visa was to continue was made on 29th Sept so really handy for those of us who like to plan ahead. I did get over 9 months stay in the end but used an agent in the end to take some of the pain a2ay.

That could have been me. Postal application to Canberra. The only item I had to provide as a non citizen was my version of an Aussie tourist visa. That may not be the correct terminology. All quite easy, I am planning a similar application from Wellington in September, we shall see

It was Canberra. I have applied for plenty of TV's over the years, triple entry, double entry, 15 days at a land border then 30 days as a G7 passport holder (that one baffled me). One of the daftest current regulations is no onward travel is required once you have a TR60 but in many cases you now need onward travel to get the TR60. I am too old to worry about the logic, plenty of ways to fiddle things if necessary.