Croyd1

Agreed, and I've looked everywhere. Can't even find the hugely marked-up imported stuff at Villa Market either. Unfortunately, it's become fairly obvious to me that Thai tastes run to the strictly conservative when it comes to soft drinks, and anything that isn't Cola, 7Up or Fanta hasn't got a chance in hell of succeeding here. Dr Pepper? Forget about it. Cherry or Vanilla Coke? Away with you. Like you say, so sad.

Kind of stating the obvious, but if you haven't checked Ebay yet it might be worth looking there. A couple of years back I bought a refurbished European slimline PS2 from a business seller in Germany who specialises in that kind of thing. Cost me a very reasonable £46 in total (£34 for the PS2 + £12 postage to Thailand) which equates to about 2300B. And there were no import charges either. At least, not in my case.

Well, I don't have an iPad myself but on my Macbook I use Safari as my default browser, and in Safari preferences I have it so that anything I download goes automatically to the 'Downloads' folder - I imagine it's the same procedure with whichever browser you use, be it Firefox, Google Chrome, or whatever. From what little I know about the iPad I expect downloaded MP3s go straight into your Music app, regardless of whether they're spoken word or not, but I can't really say for sure.

On a side note, I also use a cool little freeware program called ClipGrab - http://clipgrab.org - for those rare times the Offliberty website can't download the vid I want.

Whenever I need to extract audio from a youtube video, I go to this site - http://offliberty.com - and type in the web address for that particular video. After about thirty seconds or so you'll be given a choice of downloading it as an mp3 or as a video. Click on the mp3 button and it'll do the rest.

That's a different company. I remember the Quick Visa Run website the OP is referring to as I used them myself, but the site was taken down very shortly after the new Visa-Exemp regs were introduced. Not sure why. However, I've just called the number above to confirm whether they're still doing visa runs and this time spoke with the owner (Philip, I believe) and he said they still do runs every Saturday and the price is still 2000B - so it looks like I'll be using them again in a month's time.

As far as I'm aware that particular visa run company are still in business as I used them in January. Not sure what they're called now - a previous poster on this forum referred to them as Visa Express. I think they used to make trips three or four times a week in the good old days, but after the tightening of the visa-exempt rules they had to reduce it to just one run a week (on saturdays, I think) due to lack of numbers. And the price in January was 2000B. No idea why they took down the website, but I think they still do very well through word-of-mouth. There were two minivans on the day I went, and both were full. Good service all round, I thought.

Anyway, the number for the office girl I spoke to is 027132498 - or at least it was when I called before. They operate out of the P.B. Tower on Sukhumvit 71. Assuming they haven't gone out of business during the last five months, I'm planning to use them again in July.

To get a non o visa or a multiple o visa everyone now must go to the Royal Thai Embassy. Consul's no longer issue a non o visa as I just tried to get one in Glasgow and I was told I had to go to London.

This seems to be a massive generalisation and I'm not sure it's correct - especially as there has been no mention on this forum as to UK consulates suddenly being told they can no longer issue multi-entry O visas (and I'm sure there would be a major uproar on these boards if they had been). Yes, I realize that thanks to Hull's previous easy-going attitude to visas all the consulates now have to get permission from the embassy before they can issue a non-o visa, and I can't comment on the Glasgow office as I've never been there, but I picked up my usual multi-entry non-immigrant O visa based on marriage at the Cardiff consulate just a few weeks ago (mid-April) and there were no problems at all, nor any mention that there might be in future.

Or am I missing something?

Ah, gotcha. Thanks.

So what is the current situation with regards to obtaining a 3 month non imm O visa from UK ? Is it personal callers only?

I am looking to travel sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Will call the Hull consulate in the morning but just wondering if anyone has had recent experience?

Thanks in anticipation..................

Forget Hull they will not do one they will sell you a 2 entry tourist visa.. The other consulates will do a single entry non-o if you have financial proof.

Uh, am I missing something here? Ubonjoe, on another thread you say the other consulates (other than Hull) will issue non-imm O visas withOUT financial proof. That was certainly the case when I went to Cardiff last year and got my one-year based upon marriage. Has the situation has changed again?

There is a free shuttle bus that is running between both airports from 5am till Midnight every day.BUT You have to have a Ticket.

http://www.suvarnabhumiairport.com/en/122-transfer-bus-between-suvarnabhumi-don-muaeng

Any idea how long the journey is? And where do you get the ticket?

I realize you've probably already considered this, but I think you'll better off going to one of the consulates (NOT Hull) and getting your visa in person. I get 1-year non-immigrant 'o' visa (spouse) at Cardiff and I'm in and out - with my visa - in fifteen minutes.

Cardiiff requires no financials for a 12-month non-o spouse visa. Went there in March for mine. Took copy of marriage certificate, plus certified translation, copy of wife's ID card, plus two photos and fee. In and out (with the visa) in fifteen minutes. Great service, and friendly too. Only thing is you need to phone ahead and book an appointment.

MCOT Channel 4? Can I assume that's a satellite channel then?

Am I missing something here? I've only got the normal 5 public TV channels and none of them are showing the Germany Australia game. What's going on? Is it only available on satellite or what?

Often, contracts will only be accepted in fax form. And while the OP has surely sorted himself out in the months since his original post, if he owns (or owned) a Mac, it's automatically configured to send faxes as long as it's connected to a landline.

Having used the Birmingham Consulate to obtain my 'B' visa (and for the same reasons as you), I can assure you they won't ask for proof of business transactions. Besides, how can they if you're only researching products?

Thanks for the tips everyone. Tried the large chemist between Soi 2 & 4 on Sukhumvit and they had Drum Mild. Mission accomplished!

Anybody know where I might pick up some decent rolling tobacco in Bangkok? I figure Khao San Road is a good possibility but I try and avoid the area as much as possible so am fairly ignorant of where to start. I find most cigarettes fairly harsh so am specifically looking for a light tobacco, e.g. Drum Light (or Drum Gold as it's called in England). Am I likely to achieve my goal?

Many thanks Yoot, I can finally sleep at night.

Sorry, my Thai text doesn't seem to be recognised. Here's an attachment of the Thai;

Can anyone help with the words "Maai bpra duu" and "Maai bpra yoong" (????????? & ?????????)?

They're types of wood generally used for furniture but I can't seem to find any English translations anywhere, so I'm wondering if they're from trees indigenous to Thailand. www.thai-language.com was of some help with "dtohn bpra duu" which translates as Pterocarpus cambodianus or Crudia chrysantha. But I was hoping there are actual English translations for these woods rather than Latin.

To confuse matters further, the spelling may actually be ????????? & ?????????. Any ideas?