sandyf

I went to PB on 5th Feb 2020, arrived on the morning Hat Yai shuttle and left on the afternoon one, just wandered about the market for a couple of hours.

Many a true word said in jest. I would suggest Bang Saen, big enough, small enough and easy to get about. Sea air, good hospital and easy shopping. Plenty of good restaurants and not that far from Pattaya. Immigration and airport are fairly handy.

Verification links are normally sent out immediately the account is created and usually only last a short time. They are not used to sign in, that would require email and password. I suspect the message you are seeing is because the verification link has expired. If that is the case then the account was never successfully created and you should be able to recreate with the same email, then verify immediately. If when trying to recreate you get the message that account already exists, there should be a "forgot password" link.

The visas are processed by the local embassy so that would depend on which country you are using. I did mine in the UK and that took 2 days after I responded to a query they raised, 3 days from application.

With that amount it may be worth contacting HSBC in Bangkok. They only operate corporate and investment banking these days but may be able to help or give advice.

They wouldn't say tip it down the sink, you would be asked to hand it over, if unopened it can be reclaimed at destination. Having spent a night adjacent to a bunch of enebriated back packers, looked like they had mixed drink in coke bottles, there is something to be said for the ban.

Indeed. The alcohol ban was not the only outcome, the incident led to female only carriages and carparking.

Along with high prices. GDP per capita based on PPP is more than 3 times in the US than it is in Thailand. One day the penny may drop that you cannot have western standards at Thai prices. Maybe they should implement air passenger duty at the same level as Heathrow to help pay for the upgrades.

Feel free to turn up at as many hotels as you want. Many prefer the concept that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Says it all. The alcohol ban only came in after a girl was raped on a train a few years ago.

I have been traveling around Thailand throughout the pandemic under the WTT scheme. Some of the hotels were fully booked and not a foreigner in sight. Not always the case, beginning of last week we were at a resort in Khaoyai and the only guests in the hotel, asked to eat in the room. The following night at Kabinburi a bit better, maybe 20% occupancy. All about where and when, Thai tourist areas can be busier than those frequented by your "farangs".

That is the dry season(well used to be), not the high season.

That is a question of where and when.

I had a fairly serious issue with them over my quarantine but in view of the service over a fairly long period I wouldn't hold it against them, just a bit more cautious in the future.

That is a bit misleading. Normally there is a full refund period and when that expires only the first night will be charged up until 24 hours before booking starts. Obviously you are of the opinion that "payment on arrival" removes any obligation to turn up. Good luck on finding any reputable hotel that will take a booking without a guarantee of some partial payment.

Discretion is the order of the day. If seen it will be confiscated little risk of being "thrown off". I usually try and get first class, you have your own cabin and once the ticket check and bed is done you are not disturbed by security again.

You would be wrong. I have seen many that thought the same have it confiscated.

Sri Ratcha

Check with the office, my office takes them up to one year old.

UK paper notes have been phased out in favour of Polymer, a growing trend. When I first came here in 1999 the 50 baht note was polymer but it wasn't popular and witdrawn from circulation in 2011 with a paper note being introduced. Earlier this year the 20 baht note was issued as a polymer note.

"Chonburi police admitted that the two sides had a personal conflict." Since when did personal conflicts make a city savage? Didn't Trump have a bit of a personal conflict?

Well said. I have been in the area for many years and really like the place. I used to stay at the Yanadin Apartments in the years prior to my marriage in 2008, had our wedding reception at the Tide Resort. Have lived in Chonburi since then and regularly go to Bang Saen but never witnessed any trouble. Bang Saen has grown quite a bit in recent years and it would be extremely surprising if there wasn't some issue now and again. I grew up in a very small town in the north of Scotland and brawls were a fairly regular occurrance. Bang Saen can hardly be described as a "tourist area", particularly for foreigners. If it wasn't for the expat community on the outskirts the foreigner would be as common as a nine bob note. I go to the hospital there and the number of foreigners I have seen over the years you could count on one hand. As far as I am concerned, one of the best places in Thailand to live, ticks most of the boxes.

Not the case, there has been a multi entry Non O in various types for long enough. I spent my first 6 years here full time on MEs, forced on to an extension in 2014 when my passport got caught up in the UK fiasco, I got another at HCMC in Dec 2019, managed a border bounce just as the pandemic started but again forced on to a 12 month extension in the May when I couldn't leave the country. In recent years they have become less readily available.

Only the £20 and £50 paper notes will be withdrawn from circulation at the end of the month. Any other denominations were withdrawn some time ago and can only be exchanged at a UK bank. Internationally exchangers are only obliged to exchange the latest version of a banknote so the ability to exchange in Thailand disappeared a long time ago. Only viable option is to sell to someone returning to the UK.

Steel. Last week I went to Global and bought 1 length of 2x1 and 1 length of 1x1 coated mild steel hollow section. About 500 baht but the price is a bit academic, just not something you can do in the UK. DIY in general is very good value.