Pmbkk

Not anywhere near as good as I was lead to believe - everything seemed old. The inflight service was terrible.

Pre-covid I used to fly B.A. the vast majority of times. 

As B.A. are not flying direct now - just code-sharing non-direct we decided to fly Eva in Nov'-Jan as I prefer direct. 
In my opinion B.A. is miles better other than EVA checked baggage allowance. Hold luggage much better on B.A., entertainment, food, drinks, basically everything & cheaper.

My wife in the last 6 months has flown return from LHR with Emirates, Eva, Qatar. She rated them Emirates, Qatar and Eva. ( Economy ).

If it was me, I'd still fly Eva as I just want to get there in the fastest time without the hassle of connections, I just now know what to expect. 

I'd say it's more down to the price/schedules

It depends on your contract. In general you cannot just walk away just forfeiting your deposit.

If you could,  someone could just smash up a condo and live there until the landlord came around when payment wasn't made - maybe 5-6 weeks into the 2 month deposit.

If the contract is for one year or two years that is the contract period unless there is an explicit exit clause in the contract.  The deposit is to cover any non-payments, damage etc - it does not cover unpaid rent.

You will be charged x per day on any late payment after usually 8/15 days.

Don't forget your landlord has your passport/visa details and can very quickly and simply make it difficult for you if breaking contracts.

@Capitalist - I would advice against buying unless you're here. I just sold a couple of condo's as my Thai wife was sick of dealing with the issues ( and our condo's were very nice in CBD - don't ever do fully furnished). Don't forget you are also responsible for juristic fees etc ( which can be very high in good quality condos - in addition to new lifts, painting etc ).

I still have rental properties, but I wouldn't buy to let in Thailand again. You're better finding a nice area, if flexible you can move as you wish to different areas/towns. That way you can also change your neighbours !!

My most recent UK IDP for Thailand ( 1968 ) is valid for 3 years. I believe it's valid as long as your D.L. is valid. Nothing on it about re x days.

Where does the 90 days come in?

There maybe country stipulations that say something along the lines that after 12 months LIVING in country x you must get a permanent D.L., but as a tourist it should cover 3 years

2 hours ago, In the jungle said:

Which UK bank are you sending the money to?

We've done it to Natwest

I'm in a similar situation

I've used DeeMoney in the past for x hundred thousands. ( their standard limit is still 800,000). - which is limited.

We've used them many times - very straight forward via app. 

We contacted them yesterday re sending larger amounts of cash back and they did ask for additional docs as described above. 

Their rate seems to be still better than banks ( fee 125 + VAT 7% = 134 )

There seems to be limited ways.; Deemoney or bank ( I checked Wise and they're still not doing it )

When I sold a place in Spain a few years ago there were numerous currency exchanges that gave much,much better rates than bank rates resulting in significant cash savings.

24 minutes ago, Guderian said:

This is getting bizarre now. The agent just called me to say that Immigration has told her I need to get a new certificate from the bank as the original one is out of date. Well it wasn't out of date when I gave it to the agent, on the day the bank issued it, so did the agent misplace my paperwork or did Immigration do so, as they only seem to be processing it now, after 2 weeks. Nobody will admit anything, of course, and there's no point arguing about it. I pointed out to the agent that to get a new letter from the bank I'll need to have my passport back, so she claims she'll go to Immigration thsi afternoon and retrieve it for me. How can she make such a mess of it this year when everything went smoothly last year?

You could ask the question "My agent, <company name> has moved & I'm trying to track them down, does anyone know where they are located now" ????

6 hours ago, sqwakvfr said:

ED Visa’s are an easy fix:  Randomly check if the “student” has actually learned anything.  For the Self Defense Visa a brief demonstration in front of an IO could work. The easiest thing would be determining if a “student” under a Thai Language Ed Visa has actually learned anything.  

I'm not too sure about that......:

Prince Harry with the best tutelage money can buy throughout his life ( incl' ex MPs, and failed PM candidates - Eton) amassed a D in Geography ( when I was at school a fail ).

A "B" in Art as that is graded on the person's perception.

You simply can't teach idiots...... ( and language for older people is one of the hardest )

On 12/23/2022 at 8:29 AM, Big Bert said:

Zero bars or restaurants take any notice of the 2-5 ban. only 7-11 and supermarkets. It's just very selective enforcement as usual. 

Midnight was never a standard for 50 years. Pattaya's hours have changed so much nobody is really sure when you should close.

We went to Sizzlers yesterday, by the time we got seated and they took out order it was 14:05 ( We were in before 14;00) and they wouldn't serve me a beer with my meal  !!!

It's a ridiculous law !

There's been no response re location etc.

You really should change your name to Jack ( anory ).....

I hope the Thai's adopt the American pastime of suing for any reason... 

Including deaths must be worth billions..

Where are you, I'm pretty sure I'm A- ?

41 minutes ago, NE1 said:

I hope you are wrong , I think there will be a No 9 coming in January . ETH will not want to just have Martial and Rashford to rely on.

I don't think Gakpo is the No.9 required - we have enough of that style of player.

They need someone with a bit of fight and strength

5 minutes ago, RickG16 said:

So it's all the club's fault?

 

Absolute nonsense. He's not been up to it. He hardly got a game (if at all) for City and Dortmund is nowhere even close to the pressure of playing for United in the Premier League.

 

At least do your research 

Joker. Sometimes it's best to be quiet !

Haaland seems to be doing ok......

Really, really engage first !

15 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

And if he’d have gone to Immigration (or left the country) by his own volition, he would have just had to pay a 500b per day fine, do a border bounce & be back again.

 

As he was caught by immigration so he’ll be blacklisted for 5 years (penalty is the same if it’s 1 day overstay or 1 year if you’re caught).

 

Yes, he must feel a little silly now:

  https://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand-visa/visa-overstay-thailand

Snippet:

When surrendering at airport immigration when leaving Thailand:

• Overstay less than 90 Days = 500 Thai baht/day overstay fine (maximum 20,000 Thai baht)
• Overstay more than 90 Days = 1 year ban from Thailand and 20,000 Thai baht overstay fine
• Overstay more than 1 Year = 3 years ban from Thailand and 20,000 Thai baht overstay fine
• Overstay more than 3 Years = 5 years ban from Thailand and 20,000 baht overstay fine
• Overstay more than 5 Years = 10 years ban from Thailand and 20,000 baht overstay fine

When caught while overstaying

• Overstay of 1 day to 1 Year = 5 years ban from Thailand and 500 to 20,000 Thai baht overstay fine
• Overstay more than 1 Year = 10 years ban from Thailand and 20,000 Thai baht overstay fine

55 minutes ago, RickG16 said:

Will they be thinking that? Or will they back their own ability and mindset to be better than Sancho has been?

 

Sancho's form is his fault, not the club's. Looks like Ten Hag had read the riot act so let's see if he can resurrect himself. Rashford managed it

Yes they will ! Sancho's mindset was fine when he was at Dortmund. He was previously at City - so not a totally new environment as some of these kids will find themselves in.

Sometimes please take off those red-tinted glasses off  !!

2 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

What?

I beg your pardon ( back to a classic Benidorm episode )

46 minutes ago, grain said:

I've been in and out of Thailand since 1978, I've been on tourist visas, non-imm visas, marriage exts, retirement exts, I've had WPs, and I've entered without any kind of visa and got 30-day stamps. And in 44 years I've never overstayed a minute, not once. 

I'm sure most of us haven't.....

17 minutes ago, Sparkles said:

Pity we didn't see Sancho. How a young player with his potential can be in such a mess is beyond me.

Problem with this, is that it'll fester in the minds of other younger  players(&their agents) we're trying to attract and put them off joining. What will Bellingham be thinking - I played with him and he was great, now he can't even get a game in a mickey mouse tournament.  Lost his England place.

They'll be thinking someone of Sancho's status went there & he's now been ostracized to some lower league club as his fitness and mind is not correct ( according to EtH.

Doesn't bode well for attracting young players....

Nothing about Snowball stating:

        Thai's good, Farang bad ????

(+1) for Rabbit Resort - It's good - I believe it has it's own little stretch of private sandy  beach with sun loungers. Haven't stayed there for a few yrs due to Covid.

Royal Cliff is a step-up - beautiful pools, restaurants and a beach - but a little out of town. The honeymoon suites are not as expensive as they sound, but are great with bedroom/lounge/terrace overlooking the sea.  

For many, many years we've been going to Samed - get the first speed-boat over at 8 - on the lounger by 9.
I've read on here the quick access(speedboat direct) to the hotels ( ours was always Samed Villa ) is no longer possible & now you have to go to the pier, and then via the park-entrance to the hotel in a shared taxi - all of which takes time - esp' on the way back which is unpredictable.

As an alternative, I'm looking for a nice SANDY beach on the mainland with a few bars/restaurants. It's just me and the wife.
Lazing on a sun lounger on a sandy beach during the day, having a few drinks and then in the evening getting a bit of dinner

We'll be drving from Pattaya so within an hour of that would be ideal.

I'm looking for somewhere nice to feel the sand between my toes -  not the bustle of Jomtiem with its cramped chairs/beds - more of an Island feel.

In Pattaya we usually stay in Areca Lodge so that's the sort of class of hotel but I'm flexible. A nice beach environment is the main objective.

Any suggestions re area/hotels?