richard_smith237

yep… email VFS & give them 3 date options.

I’d used exactly the same photo for my other UK passport renewal earlier on in the year so HMPO knew it was older than 6 months…

Take a driving course, then, appears that you need it. No he doesn't.... It just appears that he drives on roads where there are plenty of other vehicles which are ridden or driven recklessly. Every time I drive down my soi I can say I have a near-miss.... (narrow soi, one lane in each direction), cars are sometimes caught up in traffic... motorcycles trying to overtake.... When I'm heading out in the opposite direction the motorcycles will just drive straight towards me - almost as if they are playing chicken, forcing me to brake so the can slot back.... almost each time, if I haven't applied the brakes and come to a near stop to give them space, I would have clipped them with my front right side... (while they are on my side of the road)..... they really don't care - but I would call each one of those a near miss.

While riding on the sub-soi... I ride down the middle of my lane... so I have an option to move left or right, as needed, when there are drains etc... or protect myself if a vehicle appears as though it will pull out from the left... But... Some fool will always pull out from a side street right next to me and nearly hit me, as they think two bikes riding next to each other per one lane is perfectly fine.... (its not when one needs to take evasive action). Another, while I was turning right (from a T-junction) a kid on a bike tried to time it so he could pull out, turning right behind me (from the road I was turning into). He timed it poorly and hit my numberplate. He stopped, apologised, he was about 12 or 13... no real damage to my my bike, just a bent number plate that he caught his foot on (I could bend the number plate back). Very doubtful he would have learned a think from the minor incident. I learned that riders here will just pull out into you - but I knew that anyway !.

I was minding my own business the other day driving about... and this crazy foreigner came speeding up the street and tried to drive into me... .... Then he followed for a bit while belting his horn... utter loon !!! I've no idea what was wrong with him.....

I just completed this quiz. My Score 100/100 My Time 138 seconds  

There's handfull of the 'Thumbs-down' stalkers... juvenile fools who'll post against the poster themself rather than the individual topic... Its also fairly obvious to see who they are... even when they are stalking someone else.

I think allow 2 weeks to make a VFS appointment. Allow at least 3 months ahead of Passport Expiry... renewal should take about a month, but they are notorious for delays due to payment or photo issues (mine took 2 Month Oct to Nov '24). Here was my latest timeline: 02-Oct: Submitted application at VFS 18-Oct: Received HMPO e-mail - unable to process payment (given link to government portal for payment) 23-Oct: Received HMPO e-mail - Confirmed Payment 24-Oct: Received HMPO e-mail - Request to Post new photos (current photos unacceptable) 02-Dec: Received HMPO e-mail - Collect Passport from VFS. But also consider it you might have to travel to any country that insists on 6 months validity in the Passport while you have a renewal application underway.

Au contraire SF.... No thumbs down emojis from me... Most just scroll past your farang-bashing now and just ignore your comments... I'm still amused by how desperate you are to use any opportunity to 'bash-a-foreigner'... that'll wear off at some point.

Before she got hit you can just barely make out she bowed her head a little suggesting she thought the bus saw her and would stop. Yep... I saw that... but it seems she just 'went through the motions' rather than actually looked properly and paid attention...

Ours is a 22kW Wall Box... (Type 2 plug) Which actually works on a 15/45 3x Phase... (i.e. each phase provides 15amps) I believe this charges at 10.4kW Thus: Mathematically it would take approximately 8.4 hours to fully charge our 88 kWh battery (from zero to 100% - with 100% charging efficiency). Real word charging efficiency is approx 90-95% - so we're looking at 9.5 hrs for a full charge. Real Real world charging: we rarely get below 50% running around BKK... so the charge is only ever a few hours to top up... i.e. Plugged in every 3rd night or so.... Location of the wall box to where the car is parked is obviously a key point.

Our is routed from a mains-breaker in the house, it can be isolated (to off) if we wished to do so. But really, is that something that happens ?.... Neighbours parking in your drive and using your 'charging station' ???

You never can tell. She might be one of those people who actually know how to use punctuation when writing.

Easy enough on todays technology. My phone gives UV index, Humidity, Wind, Sunrise & Sunset in addition to the weather in general. Easy enough - but the question was quite realistic... "does anybody actually do that ?" [check the UV index]

Yep, always read it through before hitting Sumbit Relpy. 555 oh.. no... I did it again... that should have read pRoof reading... honest mistake... 555

And the other is to proof read what you are sending. 555 Fair enough... I'm sure your standards of poof reading are up there with the best...

You are not the only one who has high estrogen levels... Makes sense again... Male menopause, non-existent testosterone levels, baldness, onset of Alzheimers and high estrogen... your openness to identify your issues is a huge step in your journey towards self improvement.... Your emotional development is impressive Malcy...... well done...

Several years ago, my wife was driving when a Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA) bus sped through a red traffic light, narrowly missing her.... (evidence on dash-cam). She promptly contacted the widely advertised BMA complaint hotline to report the dangerous behaviour. Unsurprisingly, the response was dismissive: something along the lines of, “So what? You’re alive, aren’t you? The bus didn’t hit you.” Nowadays, social media is the only truly effective tool for addressing such issues. It forces those in power to act - but only once a certain level of public attention has been achieved. The problem is, not every case attracts media coverage. Additionally, generating the necessary social media spotlight requires careful and strategic effort to avoid accusations of defamation.

"& not just Farang"... Where in the nation are 'Farang' specifically singled out and targeted for law enforcement ? (with the exception of the Patong and Pattaya shakedowns of non-licensed tourists).

How you've managed shoe-horn a 'foreigner bash' out of a news story where there has been not one mention of a foreigner is truly outstanding.... That said: I agree with your sentiment to leave the girls alone - they were making their own decent money, they weren't coerced, its seems this was clearly their own choice... Its seems the videos were not public domain but for private membership... Quite unfair on them I'd say... ... there's a stench of puritanical hypocrisy when I read stories such as this...

It certainly explains a lot about you...

It's not about need at all. No one needs to become friends with anyone - most of us are perfectly capable of living solitary lives in relative comfort. But having trusted friends to socialise and connect with is one of life’s pleasures for many. From my perspective, there’s no reason why that circle of friendship shouldn’t include a Thai, or indeed any foreign male, if there’s genuine common ground. So when someone deliberately avoids such interactions and states they would only befriend fellow foreigners, it suggests a certain negative attitude - a kind of quiet prejudice towards the local population.

Yeah... I just rewatched the video to double checked why she didn't see the bus coming.. And it does look as though she 'leaned forwards' to take a look up the road... but somehow completely ignored the oncoming bus and stepped out anyway.... Almost as if this was nothing more than just a 'movement habit' in the same way Thai's will 'duck slightly' when passing a an elder... more muscle memory than active action.

I believe the fine is 4000 baht for a vehicle going through a Zebra crossing with pedestrians in it, and 40,000 baht if someone is injured. Are they the 'minimum fines' or the 'up-to' fines ?

Should she have known that she was about to be hit by a bus speeding on the wrong side of the road ? Should she have stepped into the road unaware that such a danger was even a possibility - especially in Thailand? Of course she should have known. Or rather, she should have been aware of the potential for vehicles travelling the wrong way, or using the outer lanes (in the wrong direction) to bypass stationary traffic. Had she simply looked, she wouldn’t have been hit - though that doesn’t absolve the bus driver, who was clearly in the wrong. What continues to astonish me is that anyone would step into a lane of traffic without first checking for oncoming vehicles. It’s basic self-preservation. In situations where traffic is at a standstill, it's nearly always motorcycles tearing up the outside. It's common. Predictable, even. And it must be anticipated for basic measures of road safety.