sandyf

I was there about a month ago and not everywhere as bad as you make out. No dispute there are problem areas but that is nothing new, back in the 80s there was a part of Sheffield even the police feared to tread. The UK has certainly seen better days and I think the decline came about with the austerity program and massive underfunding. The deterrent institutions like the courts, prisons and police are all working beyond their capacity. On Fri 15th Sept I had appointment at Liverpool office and left about 6pm. I walked back to James Street to get train to Birkenhead. The area was awash with bars & restaurants and being a nice evening they were all rammed with people out on the street enjoying themselves. Hardly an apocalypse, or even a cost of living crisis. On the Monday morning I came off the boat and back across to Liverpool about 7am. As I walked through the city centre different picture altogether, rubbish everywhere, bodies in doorways surrounded by beer cans, even those small tents in the pedestrian thoroughfare. Not many people about which made it a bit intimidating, never know if a junkie is going to pop out of the woodwork. Generally speaking,if you stay away from the city centres it is not too bad.

Bit of an obscure statement as 90 day reporting is carried out at immigration offices. I assume what you are trying to say that entry/exit stamps from immigration border crossings are not being applied to your 90 day history. I doubt if there is anything new in that, it has only come up because they have started to issue reminders based on last report. Haven't done it for a long time, do people that report in person or post get a reminder?

Apologies if I wasn't particularly clear. The point wasn't about covid, which as you say we can only hope never to see again. The situation did however highlight how the authorities viewed marital status, which may or may not influence how things evolve going forward. I did my first 6 years here on ME visas and been on both types of extension, went back to marriage as it was easier to get ME at HCMC. Last couple of years have gotten new SE e-visas which again has been fairly easy being married.

I said "those that couldn't return", but why not distort the context. So you agree you had to be married to return before those that were unmarried on retirement. Nothing incorrect about the implication I made in respect of a marriage extension, surely a bit easier than having to prove you are married.

In 2014 I got caught up in the UK passport fiasco and had to go and get a 12 month extension as I could not leave the country for another ME visa. I went for marriage to get the 30 days in the hope the new passport would be back before then. The passport was full, not enough room for the under consideration stamp without encroaching on other stamps. Immigration didn't like it but they just used the largest space they could find and allowed the stamps to overlap.

Take it you see divorce in the same way as a stroke or heart attack. "One has to be very brave to claim that they will never have a stroke, a heart attack or a serious car accident. Any of which will bankrupt anyone of moderate means."

Tell that to those that couldn't return under the travel restrictions when those with a marriage extension could. It is not really the view of expats that count. BTW Done both and had home visit on retirement.

Quite, a real issue may arise if we see the introduction of TM130 - Notification of tax return submission.

Quite obvious you don't care, otherwise you wouldn't have made this suggestion. " technicaly looks like a fraudulant transaction" Banking wise Thailand is not normal, for example they use 8 character codes for retail banking and 11 character codes for commercial banking. Do you rally think the Barclaycrd staff know the ins and outs of every banking arrangement in the world. HSBC still operates in Thailand, including a private banking service,would that be classed as a major Thai bank?

In other words an emerging economy. When Thai GDP equates to the major economies they will probably be ahead of the curve. The UK will never have a HSR network, just axed part of the one line being built. Rishi Sunak has cancelled the northern leg of the HS2 high-speed rail project, citing ballooning costs and mismanagement. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/4/why-uk-pm-sunak-axed-part-of-high-speed-rail-link-hs2

Apologies it went over your head. original comment "Rishi Sunak is putting AI in charge of the NHS." Alastair James Hay Murray (born 10 May 1968), more commonly known as Al Murray, is an English comedian, actor, musician and writer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Murray

It is a complicated relationship. Water is normally measured in terms of pressure but power is required to generate that pressure so there is an indirect relationship. If you look at pumps the motor power increases with pressure/pipe size. The pump I used for my house is 150 watt and will generate mid range 160 kpa(about 23 psi) into a 1 inch pipe. What comes out the tap I don't know but reducing the pipe size at the outlet increases the pressure somewhat. The same pressure applied to the cross sectional area of 1" dia is being applied to a cross sectional area of 1/2" dia. Ignoring losses that would be an increase of about 4 times. By comparison mains pressure is said to be in the range 40 - 60 psi.

At the time there was no indication it could be vaccine related, easy to be wise in hindsight.

When I went to Penang a few years ago we had to get off the train with luggage, cross the border on foot and get back on the train. Nowadays you just have to go to a different platform. Thailand replaced all the rolling stock on the long distance lines in 2016, can hardly be called outdated.

The OP refers to the Chinese initiative, not the Thai plans. The line is being built by China Railway Construction Corp, and will use Chinese rolling stock based on CRRC’s Fuxing Hao CR300 high-speed trains, capable of reaching speeds of 250km/h. https://www.globalconstructionreview.com/first-phase-of-thai-china-railway-to-be-complete-in-2027/

Kasikorn HK is just one of the many Kasikorn branches in Asia. You have to remember the MFA does not just deal with the UK, it will be receiving payments from around the globe and some payment processors are reluctant to deal with Thailand. Hong Kong has been seen as a financial hub for decades. A bit irresponsible to suggest anything untoward.

The time for the standard service is several weeks and varies from time to time, will be on the rise at this time of year with people looking to Christmas holidays. The same day service has been suspended, has been for some time. The 7 day service is the best bet, you have to make an appointment at any of the regional offices, depending which one you choose appointments can be available at fairly short notice, cost is £160. I went to Liverpool at 17.30 on Friday 15th Sept and received passport on Thurs 21st Sept, had been guaranteed by 23rd.

Would that be Al Murray?

Usually driven by the cost of printing low value notes incorporating security features. China is a good example of how badly printed low value notes led to common place forgeries making the population more than happy to go cashless. Those that object to coins should be careful what they wish for.

Indeed, upward movement started beginning of July and crossed the 40 mark at end of October.

You need to clarify what you are saying. There are 2 different projects and the article refers to the Singapore - Kunming line, nothing to do with the Thai regional HS links. The line in question is part of the Chinese initiative and the article is wrong, for some time completion has been estimated at mid 2040s, think the Malaysians are also dragging their feet. The Laos section is complete as far as Vientiane, waiting on the Thais to cross the river. I came from Luang Prabang to Vientiane back in Jan, took just under 2 hours, 3 and half hours from Vientiane to the Chinese border.

Your opinion is irrelevant, and particularly in respect of the thread. Don't you think you should have read the article from SAGE first.

In the years following 1994, the USD went from about 25 to over 40.

The thread is certainly skewed and ambiguous. There were several covid vaccines and all cannot be seen on the same basis, a bit like saying people are male. However it cannot be ruled out that new style vaccines may create problems that have yet to come to light. In the winter of 2021 a friend of mine developed Pemphigoid and became so bad he became suicidal. It took the medics best part of a year to bring it under control. In Oct 22 he was called to have a covid booster jab and very shortly after the condition had flared up again. Fortunately with some experience under their belt the doctors brought it back under control reasonably quickly, he will now have to manage the condition for the rest of his life. Late 2022 reports from the US started to emerge regarding the condition and the MRNA vaccine and the UK has also picked up on it. My friend's arm was a bit like that in the second set of pictures. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9580082/ Personally I had 4 AZ jabs and would be quite happy to have another.