radjag

#1 get an aircon bus from Morchit, definitely cheapest and (amazingly!) probably lowest risk. #2 If your partner is from the area of your destination, contact someone local with a van or SUV and pay them to drive to BKK, rest up, meet you and drive back.

Married for 30 years - then he enjoyed a BJ and a whole new world appeared!

Excellent responses, thank you all so much. I already wasted about $100 applying to the "background check" agencies in UK as required by the Thai Embassy - that "rabbit hole" just leads to further document SNAFU's if you are not actually resident in the UK - lesson learned. Great, I will just fly back to Thailand and follow the route described above - excellent!

No doubt this question has been asked many times previously - I apologise for my inability to find it via a search. I am a UK passport holder, 67, but when not in Thailand I am in the USA. I had a Retirement visa for several years, then the double whammy of COVID and the sudden, unrelated passing of my Thai missus, and I was not able to get back to Thailand in order to renew my Retired Visa before it expired. Thai consulates seem to have changed the rules, only USA Nationals can apply for an O-A visa from a USA Consul. I am told that I must apply in my country of origin, UK. Not lived there for over 40 years, only visited once, briefly, in more that 20 years. I started the application process, but the online document verification system is difficult. I am working on it, but it would be much less tedious if I could simply go to Thailand, visa on arrival and then "convert" that to a Retirement pass. Is that possible?

Several A340's were very foolishly bought by Thailand years ago to serve very long haul routes (e.g. BKK-JFK direct), but they are one of the most fuel inefficient planes in the market. Most airlines (including TG) stopped using them for commercial flights years ago. Most of them are sitting in arid desert storage yards waiting to be scrapped. As to why they are now talking to the USA - most likely to do with the aircraft leasing company that the General's favour (ask no questions.......) since they are unlikely to want to deal directly with the manufacturer.